Tis the season to flog the plastic AUSTRALIANS are expected to rack up $50 billion on their credit cards over the festive season, with 11 million last-minute credit card purchases expected to be made on Christmas Eve. Financial comparison firm RateCity.com.au is predicting that between November and January shoppers will spend $50 billion on credit card purchases, with $18 billion of that spend taking place this month. Christmas Eve looks like a good time to avoid the shops. Leigh Clapham, executive vice president at MasterCard Worldwide, said although a survey of shoppers found that 67 per cent of Australians intend to get their shopping out of the way early, most would leave it to the last minute. "It's expected that more than 11 million card purchases will be made on Christmas Eve," he said. Avoiding the retail crush entirely is becoming a more attractive option for shoppers. Seventy per cent of Australian respondents to MasterCard's global survey of Christmas shoppers said they intended to buy presents on the Internet. The average budget for online gifts was $287, with books, CDs, DVDs or tickets to events the most likely purchases. Australians have become more generous over the past decade, with Reserve Bank of Australia figures showing that December spending is up 350 per cent compared to 1997, with credit card holders spending on average 66 per cent more over the same period. The survey found that Australians are more likely to focus their splurge on refreshments than presents, with 22 per cent saying the bulk of their spend would be on food and drinks. Stretching the budget Finding the funds to pay for the Christmas splurge could prove difficult for some households. The Melbourne Institute's latest Household Saving and Investment Report shows that just over 45 per cent of households saved a portion of their income in this December quarter, down from 52.1 per cent in the same period last year. Credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet said young people in particular are getting into financial strife. More than half of all debt referred to debt collectors in the September quarter had been racked up by people younger than 35. The 25-34 year-old age group accounted for a third of debt referred to debt collectors in the quarter, with 15-24 year-olds making up 21 per cent of referred debt for the period. Dun & Bradstreet's chief executive Christine Christian said consumers need to keep on top of their credit in the next couple of months, and avoid the trap of taking out new credit cards or loans to pay off old debts. "The use of credit to finance other credit eventually results in debt stressed individuals defaulting on one facility, and the entire house of cards crumbles," she said.