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Americans may finally be a little less frugal and intent on consolidating debt in the new year, as a new survey shows more are planning on splurging a little in the first half of 2010.

According to a Harris Interactive poll taken between December 4 and 17, 2009, only 58 percent of Americansplanned on reducing their entertainment spending in the first half of the new year. While still a majority, the number was less than the 67 percent who said they would be cutting entertainment costs in a similar survey taken in September.

Similarly, 62 percent of Americans said that they would be cutting down on the number of meals they eat out at restaurants, down from the 67 percent who said they would do so in September.

For both figures, the December findings represented their lowest levels in the survey since November 2008.

"While these numbers are somewhat encouraging, it is important to note that they represent only a small movement over the numbers from September," read a summary of the finding. "The true test will be whether these continue to move in this direction or not."

The findings would seem to corroborate a comScore study released last week that found online spending had ticked up by 4 percent to $29.1 billion when compared with data from one year earlier, according to Reuters.

With the onset of the Great Recession during 2008, consumers around the world were quick to become frugal in their shopping as a means to consolidate debt, even if they didn’t necessarily cut down on how much they shopped.

According to a recently released study by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu on the worldwide economic prospects during the fiscal year of 2008, the survey found that two-thirds of the 184 retailers surveyed said their net profits had declined.

Additionally, 30 retailers went further to say they had been operating at a loss during the time period.

However, the study also found that, despite the recession, retailers had been able to increase their sales figures by 5.5 percent during the same time period.

Dr. Ira Kalish, Director of Consumer Business for Deloitte Research in the United States, said the reason for the contradicting figures was because of many retailers’ decision to "buy" sales by offering deep discounts that ended up cutting into their profits.

"However, we are already seeing evidence that as economic recovery takes hold around the world retailers should be able to return to a path of improving profitability," he added.

The survey also found that only one of the top five retailers during the fiscal year was based in the U.S. Walmart ranked first with more than $401.2 billion in retail sales. The next U.S. retailer was The Kroger Company in sixth place with $76 billion in sales.

In a sign that consumers are still willing to put aside debt worries and bad credit for causes that matter to them, many charities reported an uptick in giving throughout 2009.

According to the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, incoming contributions for 2009 stood at $1.1 billion, $0.6 billion higher than their totals from one year earlier.

One aspect of the gift fund that was enhanced in order to appeal to cash-strapped consumers was an increase in accessibility during the year. The minimum grant figure was lowered from $100 to $50 for the year. Additionally, 64 percent of donations came during the year’s fourth quarter, when donors’ finances may have been a bit clearer.

"We are optimistic as we begin the new year," Libbey said. "Throughout 2009, we saw giving gain momentum and peak during December, one of our strongest giving seasons yet. With the economy showing signs of improvement and the markets recovering, we hope to help more donors in the coming year fulfill their giving plans."

Charitable giving seemed to prosper in 2009 despite economic downturn. According to USA Today, Catholic Charities USA had expected to fall well short of its $7.1 million goal for 2009.

However, a 21 percent increase in donations in December compared to one year earlier currently has the charity holding $6.6 million donations for the year with more gifts still left to be processed.

While the U.S. employment situation hardly ended 2009 on a positive note for jobless workers looking to consolidate debt, it was hardly disappointing either as the unemployment rate remained stable from November to December

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the national unemployment rate for December remained at 10 percent. The rates last change occurred from October to November when it dropped from 10.3 percent, the highest unemployment rate recorded since 1983.

Despite the unchanged rate, the report did note that nonfarm payroll employment had declined over the month as it edged down to 85,000. The drop was primarily due to employment declines in the construction, manufacturing, and wholesale trade industry.

"This report was worse than what we had expected. But at the same time, when looking at the last few months, the trend still shows an improvement," said Torsten Slok, a senior economist for Deutsche Bank, according to Reuters. "Of course it is disappointing that we did not see job growth, but this series is very volatile and we cannot make a strong judgment based on one month.

Despite the overall decline in payroll, both the health care and temporary help services industries – the latter of which was likely spurred by the need for extra workers during the holidays – added jobs during December.

Looking to help out those who are still battered by the recession and looking to cut costs as they consolidate debt, a new promotion from Target will transform the retailer into something of a bulk seller to kick off 2010.

"The Great Save," a new seven-week program that began in some locations this weekend, will offer warehouse-club-sized versions of many of their items, in addition to temporarily shelving a number of "limited time" products at discounted prices as some of their retail locations as well.

Among the limited time items offered at some stores will be shirts from Calvin Klein and Polo Ralph Lauren and handbags from Ed Hardy. Paper towels, toothpaste, and other household items will be among the items that are offered in bulk as part of the promotion.

"The idea is to create the fun, convenience and treasure-hunt feeling of a warehouse environment within your local Target store – without the membership fees," spokesman Joshua Thomas told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.

While the retailer will only run the warehouse-style promotion until mid-February, some experts are wondering whether or not Target will be able to attract cash strapped customers away from more established bulk retailers such as Walmart and Costco that have sold products that way for years.

Unemployed workers in debt counseling who are desperate for a turnaround in the job market may be heartened by the newest ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday that showed a continued drop in employment loss as 2009 came to a close.

According to the study, employment for nonfarm private sectors decreased by a seasonally adjusted figure of 84,000 from November to December 2009. The rate was noticeable lower than the revised drop of 145,000 jobs in nonfarm employment from October to November, and also reflected the smallest decline in jobs since March 2008.

Large businesses that employed more than 500 workers saw their payrolls decline the most, dropping 34,000 positions. Medium-sized businesses lost 25,000 jobs over the course of the month, as did small businesses with less than 50 employees.

Despite the declines, private employment in the service-providing sector increased by 12,000 for its first gain since March 2008.

The figures from the latest ADP report are causing some economists to be cautiously optimistic about the U.S. Labor Department’s upcoming unemployment figures for December.

Noting that the both organizations have traditionally released figures with similar outcomes, the Wall Street Journal blogger Justin Lahart said that ADP’s figures have sometimes "undershot" Labor Dept. figures because the former does not factor in government jobs.

When those facing debt counseling must deal with the flu or seasonal cold this season, there are a number of ways to keep oneself healthy while staying on the cheap.

According to Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University, there are a number of ways for cash-strapped consumers to fight against the cold and flu this winter without breaking the bank, the New York Times reported.

Instead of spending lots of money on various medications that advertise themselves as cure-alls, Schaffner said it was more cost effective – and healthy – to simply get vaccinated against the seasonal flu and H1N1 virus. With each shot costing less than $20, it may be much cheaper than buying numerous off-the-shelf medicines that just mask symptoms for relief.

Another way to avoid falling victim to the cold is to simply make sure you get enough sleep. Because viruses are not often impacted at all by any antibiotics, keeping one’s immune system strong and ensuring its strength is often the best way to ward off any sickness.

And when it comes to taking vitamins, Echinacea, zinc, and other multivitamins such as Airborne, Dr. Shmuel Shoham, an infectious disease specialist at the Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia, advised that it wasn’t worth the money.

Shoham told the Times that while taking vitamins may slightly help the fight against a cold, "the beneficial effect on the common cold is minor at best for these supplements."