"The deals are that good," said the Hyde Park mother of four, and a member of The Salt Lake Tribune's new Money Matters panel.

Retailers, heading into what could be the weakest holiday shopping season in four decades, are cutting prices right and left to reel in customers who are too worried about their finances to shop. And they are trotting out deals - online and in stores - typically not seen until later in the season.

Kunz, for example, is shopping mainly online because of all the free shipping deals being offered. As a result, she's finding it easier this year to stay within her budget.

"Usually, you don't start seeing these things until the middle or end of November," she said. "This is great."

The deals couldn't come at a better time for most shoppers.

Due to high debt loads - some even from last year's holidays - many Americans are cutting back on their spending this season.

According to a survey by Consumer Reports, more than three-quarters of shoppers plan to trim their spending, everything from gifts and decorations to travel, holiday cars and entertainment.

Consumer Reports estimates that 6 percent of Americans - about 12 million consumers - are still paying on debt from last winter's holiday season.

While many of those cutting holiday-related expenditures are doing so out of necessity, others are doing so out of fear of what the future holds. That's especially true in Utah, which still has a stronger economy than many other states, but where scores of people in homebuilding and related sectors have lost jobs.

Panelist Sheryl McGlochlin of Holladay said she knows several people who have been laid off recently, including some at her husband's office. She said it just doesn't feel like a year where she should be out buying a lot of stuff.

So she's focusing on necessities for her adult children ages 18 to 28. "I'm definitely paying more attention to what they really need," he said.

Panelist Evelyn Cox of Taylorsville said she's spending less this year so she can focus more on saving and reducing debt.

But psychology is also playing a part in her scaled-back holiday season. "It's hard to spend money when you see so many people doing without," said Cox, mother of two children ages 2 and 5.

Like panelist Kunz, Cox said she is nearly finished with her shopping because there have been so many good sales.

"Retailers seem desperate," she said. "I'm spending less, but probably getting the same amount of stuff."

lesley@sltrib.com