The holiday decorations have been put away, the gift boxes recycled. Now it’s time to pay the cost of December’s gift and entertainment binge.

Many consumers had credit card debt even before the holidays. Average card balances climbed to $6,629 in mid-2019, up from $6,354 two years earlier, according to a report from the credit bureau Experian. The average debt “revolved,” or carried over, was 30 percent of the credit limit — the same as in 2017 — suggesting people are managing debt “responsibly,” the company said.

Still, with the average card interest rate about 17 percent, carrying a balance on a credit card is expensive. And many people probably added to their balances late in the year. The financial website MagnifyMoney found that just under half of consumers said they had taken on debt this holiday season — an average of $1,325, up 8 percent from last year — and most won’t be able to pay it off in January. (The online survey of 1,120 consumers was conducted just before Dec. 25.)

“If you can pay it all off in January, then no problem,” said Dave O’Brien, the head of the board of directors of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, a trade group for fee-only financial planners. If not, he said, make a plan to pay down the balances — by April, if you can swing it.