SPOKANE, Wash. — Think it's too early to worry about holiday budgets? Think again. Financial experts say the best time to start planning for holiday expenses is right now, while you're sending kids back-to-school.

Here's the reality check nobody wants to hear: that last-minute holiday shopping spree you put on your credit card could haunt you for decades.

"For example, a $2,000 dollar debt on your average credit card might not sound like a lot but if you're making minimum payments that could take you 31 years to pay that off, and cost you about $10,000 dollars," said Barin Saxton, Business Development Specialist with Canopy Credit Union.

Thirty-one years. That's longer than most people's mortgages.

So, what's the secret? Saxton says it's actually pretty simple. Start planning now, befo

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