AUGUSTA – With personal bankruptcies on the rise, state economist Laurie Lachance says Mainers ought to think twice before piling up credit card debt in order to splurge on Christmas gifts.

“I have concerns about this Christmas season, calls to be patriotic and the special financing of ‘don’t pay now,”‘ Lachance said. “It’s such a temptation. After the euphoria of the season, some will find themselves with very large bills to pay.”

The number of bankruptcies in Maine is four times higher than during the last recession, she said. In 1989 there were 1,000 cases of bankruptcies, compared to the current “4,000 and climbing,” she said

Will Lund, who heads the state Office of Consumer Credit Regulation, said people buying a gift now and paying for it later should reflect on whether the purchase is worth the eventual price.

“An average credit card balance of $2,000 or $3,000 takes more than 10 years to pay off if only small payments are made,” he said.

Credit card debt has grown from 16 percent of disposable income in the early ’90s to close to 21 percent in 2001. “Having one-fifth of all your disposable income spoken for is kind of scary” during a recession, Lachance said.

There were no statistics available to determine whether Mainers are charging more during the recession or because of the Sept. 11 tragedy.

“The same forces that might encourage some to charge also might very well cause others to re-evaluate their spending,” Lachance said. “I know a lot of businesses in Maine that are having furlough days or closing without pay. Others are expecting layoffs. People are recognizing some income may be diminished.”

Lund said consumers should be aware that if they are late on charge-card payments, introductory or teaser interest rates may skyrocket.

“By contract, many introductory rates are lost if the consumer is even one day late on one payment,” Lund said. That could mean 3.9 percent could escalate to 20 percent or more.