<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Despite recognizing the downsides of debt, the lure of spending remains strong. After covering off on necessities, Americans said 40% of their monthly income goes toward discretionary spending on entertainment, leisure travel, hobbies, etc. In fact, when asked what financial pitfalls they are prone to, one quarter of Americans flagged “excessive/frivolous” spending.<div class=""><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><br class=""><div style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-family: Verdana;" class=""><a href="https://www.northwesternmutual.com/about-us/studies/planning-and-progress-study-2017" class="">https://www.northwesternmutual.com/about-us/studies/planning-and-progress-study-2017</a><br class=""></div><div style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-family: Verdana;" class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class="">Marketwatch </b><span style="font-weight: normal; caret-color: rgb(147, 147, 152); orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">Published:</span><span style="font-weight: normal; caret-color: rgb(147, 147, 152); orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""> </span><span style="font-weight: normal; caret-color: rgb(147, 147, 152); orphans: 2; widows: 2; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: 0px 0px;" class="">Nov 25, 2019 6:32 a.m. ET</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-weight: normal;" class=""><font color="#000000" style="orphans: 2; widows: 2; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; background-position: 0px 0px;" class=""><a property="item" typeof="WebPage" href="https://www.marketwatch.com/personal-finance" style="orphans: 2; widows: 2; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; background-position: 0px 0px;" class="">Personal Finance</a></font></div><div style="font-weight: normal;" class=""><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">One-third of Americans admit to making this costly mistake during the holiday season</b></div><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""> </span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></p><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">This one decision could put millions of people in serious debt</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 105, 217); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none" class=""><a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-credit-cards-are-getting-way-more-expensive-what-shoppers-need-to-know-2019-10-10" class="">https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-credit-cards-are-getting-way-more-expensive-what-shoppers-need-to-know-2019-10-10</a></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 21px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 25px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Retail credit cards have some of the highest interest rates on the market — but millions of shoppers are still planning on opening new ones during the holiday season.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 21px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); min-height: 25px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Nearly one-third of Americans said they’re likely to apply for</span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #fffb00" class=""> a store credit card</span><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""> this holiday shopping season, up from 24% who said so last year, according to a recent report from <a href="http://CompareCards.com" class="">CompareCards.com</a>.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 21px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); min-height: 25px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class="">Many retailers this time of year will offer significant additional discounts on purchases</span><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""> if the customer signs up for a store card</span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: #ffffff" class=""> on the spot. </span><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">But nearly half of all people who’ve had a retail credit card at some point have said they’ve regretted it.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 21px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); min-height: 25px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">The average annual percentage rate (APR) for retail cards now stands at 26.01%, up 37 basis points from a year ago, according to <a href="https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/retail-store-credit-card-survey.php" class=""><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(100, 140, 148);" class=""><b class="">a separate report from CreditCards.com</b></span></a>. That’s nearly nine percentage points higher than <a href="https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/rate-report.php" class=""><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(100, 140, 148);" class=""><b class="">the overall average credit card APR</b></span></a> of 17.21%.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>