Shoppers keep card debt in check CONSUMERS are still clocking up record credit card debt but are also heeding calls to watch their finances closely, new figures show. In October shoppers spent a record $17.69 billion on their credit cards, Reserve Bank of Australia data shows. It is the first time total credit card spending exceeded $17 billion in a month, eclipsing the previous best of $16.95 billion in August. At the same time credit card owners made $18.8 billion in repayments in October - also a record and a 14.2 per cent increase from the previous month. CommSec chief equities economist Craig James said the figures showed Australians were keeping their outstanding debt in check. "It's clear that Australians are using their credit cards more often but more wisely," Mr James said. The conventional wisdom is that consumers are drowning in a sea of credit card debt. But the evidence is totally to the contrary. The number of credit card purchases rose by 17.2 per cent to 123 million in October from 105 million in September. The average credit card balance in October was $2993, unchanged from the previous four months and just below the $3014 recorded in June. "Not only has the average credit balance barely budged in the past four months, it is growing at the slowest annual rate in two years," Mr James said. Aussie consumers have clearly heeded calls to keep a close watch on their finances. Total credit card balances rose by 0.31 per cent to $41.28 billion in October, from $41.15 billion in September. There were 39,000 new credit and charge accounts issued in October, taking the total to 13.79 million. The number of cash advances on credit and charge cards rose to 3.25 million from 2.81 million in September, as the value of advances rose to $1.1 billion from $958 million.