According to a recent National Retail Federation survey, consumers will be using more cash from their checking accounts to pay for holiday purchases this year versus their credit cards. While the change from a year ago isn’t dramatic, up to 41.5% from 40.1%, it does clearly illustrate a sign of the times. Conversely, people that plan on using credit cards to pay for holiday gifts dropped 1.2%. Consumers are starting to realize that there is a fundamental difference between having money in the bank to pay for goods and services versus “plastic money” which has led to nearly $1 Trillion in US credit card debt.