Americans charged high amounts of money to their credit cards during the holiday shopping season.

The holiday shopping season may have ended more than one month ago, but consumers are still paying off the bills they racked up when purchasing gifts for their friends and family members. As credit card companies continue to send out bills to their users, these consumers may turn to cash, provided by an ATM mini bank or outdoor ATM, to control their spending impulses.

The Federal Reserve reported this week that total consumer debt increased at an annual rate of 7.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, fueled by higher credit card spending rates during the holiday shopping season in addition to student loans and other means of borrowing. Forecasts had originally predicted a $7.5 billion increase in the level of outstanding consumer credit, but the figure actually rose by $19.31 billion to about $2.5 trillion.

Analysts have stated that the fact that consumers are taking on long-term debt – car sales reached a peak last month not seen since May 2008 – suggests consumers are becoming more confident in the economy's ability to recover. Still, consumers need to find a way to continue to borrow and spend without falling into an unmanageable level of debt.

Now that the holiday shopping season has wound down, consumers may try to revert back to spending habits that do not involve borrowing. Studies have shown that consumers are likely to stay within a budget when they use cash instead of payment cards to complete purchases.

Merchants should provide consumers with a means to acquire cash, which may mean buying an ATM machine and setting it up in a high-traffic area that more people will frequent. This Hyosung ATM will be profitable for the merchant and give customers what they want.

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