Kira Limer pays cash for a book at a Barnes & Noble in New York. The idea of cutting out credit cards is gaining more exposure at a time when Americans hold more than $850 billion in credit card debt, four times as much as in 1990.

NEW YORK — Cash or credit? For more Americans, who have already maxed out their credit cards or are just trying to manage their spending better in the tough economy, the answer is increasingly the old-fashioned one.

Retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and J.C. Penney are noticing a marked shift away from credit cards in favor of cash and debit cards. A big factor is less credit available as major card issuers cut spending limits and raise fees even for customers who pay their bills on time.

The shift ends Americans' long love affair with credit cards and is one of the changes in consumer behavior that has emerged since the financial meltdown that could depress spending this holiday season.

Particularly during holiday seasons past, shoppers could count on a pile of plastic to give them the extra financing needed to splurge on presents.

But even when the economy recovers and credit loosens up, analysts say Americans — shaped by what could be a deep and long-lasting recession — are likely to stick with buying only what they can afford just as their parents or grandparents did after the Great Depression.

"I think this is a new way of life," said Robert Smith, of Loves Park, Ill., who along with his wife has been using cash and debit cards to finance their spending, including vacations, since they paid off their credit card debts in July. "I like to be able to know that we paid for something. I hate monthly payments when you use a credit card."

Smith, who has four children ages 7 to 13 and owns a motivational training company, says his business is down 20 percent, and since he is saddled with a mortgage, he doesn't want to get back into debt.

While the credit crunch is teaching consumers to be more "financially prudent," it's creating a lot of pain for both consumers and stores.

One sign of how strapped consumers are for credit is that for the first time in 17 years, Penney's has seen swings in spending around payday cycles over the past three months.

That's common for discounters, but a rarity for a mall-based department store — suggesting that middle-income customers are feeling the pinch as well. Penney's President and Chief Merchandising Officer Ken Hicks noted that the chain hasn't seen swings in spending around payday since about 1991, when the U.S. was entering a recession

At Wal-Mart, the volatility in spending around payday — a drop in spending in the days before, followed by spending bursts right afterward — has become even more pronounced since September. Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe said shoppers are now unable to buy even necessities in the few days before payday.