Mirroring a trend seen in 2009, Georgia credit union members said they plan to spend about the same as last year during the holiday season.

While about half of nearly 6,000 credit union members surveyed statewide said they plan to spend about the same as last year, 44.3% indicated that they plan to spend less on the holiday season than in 2009, according to a new poll from the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates.

Most shoppers still plan to spend modest amounts on gifts with 43.9% of respondents expecting to spend between $100 and $500 while 28.7% are planning to spend between $500 and $1,000. A little over 16% said they plan to spend less than $100 in total on gifts this year while 11% plan to spend more than $1,000.

The majority of respondents (77.8%) are planning to pay mostly or completely by cash compared to 17.3% who plan to pay using a credit card. Roughly 5% plan to use savings from a Christmas club account or other means.

Data from 39 credit unions statewide showed Georgia consumers appear to be bolstering their account balances. During the first nine months of 2010, savings deposits grew by 6.3% and checking account balances increased by 11.4%.