Are you carrying more debt? And are you OK with that?

Ah, summertime. Sun, fun, holidays, vacation ... and debt.

If that last word isn't part of your typical summer, good for you!

Unfortunately, for many people, this year's outdoor season comes with a renewed buildup of consumer debt.

A few months ago in this column, I wrote about a survey indicating that Americans are quickly forgetting the economic lessons of the past few years and sliding back into bad saving and spending habits.

That was just one survey, of course, but some newer reports have reinforced the notion.

CardHub.com recently released its Q1 2010 Credit Card Debt Study, focusing on consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve and quarterly charge-off data. It found that, as often happens, consumers decreased their credit card debt during the first three months of 2010.

"A large reduction to credit card debt is typical in the first quarter, as many people receive bonuses, tax refunds and make an effort to alleviate their holiday spending debt during this time," CardHub.com said in a news release. "Credit card debt had a net decrease of $36 billion in Q1of 2010 — $10.9 billion, or 23.2 percent, less than the $46.9 billion net decrease in the same quarter last year."

That smaller number for this year's first quarter is the problem, according to CardHub.com.

"While consumers decreased their debt in Q1 of 2009, in subsequent quarters, consumers accumulated $36.9 billion in credit card debt, minimizing the net decrease from the first quarter to a $10 billion net decrease for the whole year in 2009," the news release said. "The fact that in Q1 of 2010 consumers paid 23.2 percent less than the year before signals that they are more confident and eager to increase their spending.

"This increased confidence is a strong indicator that consumers will accumulate in subsequent quarters at least as much debt as in 2009. That means 2010 will close with at least $1 billion more debt than the previous year."

The CardHub.com numbers are echoed in Scottrade's 2010 American Retirement Survey. That survey, based on a poll of 1,000 Americans age 18 or older and with a margin of error of 3 percent, showed that paying down debt has slid as a priority.

Even though 63 percent of Americans reported that debt hurt their ability to save for retirement in 2009, 61 percent said they expect debt to cause them to save less for retirement this year, too.