In what’s probably a side effect of discipline learned the hard way in a tough economy, more shoppers are starting to opt for cash instead of credit cards.

The New York Times relays a TransUnion report that credit card use in the third quarter of 2010 dropped 11 percent from the same quarter last year. So people are either shifting to cash or keeping their wallets holstered in their pockets. A consumer research survey cited in the story backs up the cash-is-king theory, finding that 17 percent of post-Thanksgiving shoppers this year are using credit cards, down from more than 30 percent last year.

Let’s see if Consumerist readers are a part of the trend:

On Christmas Shopping Lists, No Credit Slips [The New York Times]

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