It’s been a holly jolly season so for this year for retailers, as the Consumer Reports Index for December shows we were in the mood to spend last month and are on pace to keep it up this month as well.

The Consumer Reports Index is our smarter sibling’s way to measure overall consumer financial health, and the most recent numbers indicate we’re finally letting ourselves splurge after years of tighter spending.

Last year at this time, the Past 30-Day Retail Index was 12.4, and is now up to 13.9. Planned spending for the next month shows a strong number of 12.7, an increase from 11.8 a year ago. One of the areas we spend most in? Personal electronics.

“It may be this relative stability in contrast to the gloom of the past several years, that is causing consumers to cast off the restraint of the seasons gone by and ‘celebrate’ with some serious shopping,” said Ed Farrell, director of the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

For more info on the Consumer Reports Index report and how it’s calculated, check it out in full at www.ConsumerReports.org.

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