holiday spending

22% of Americans Say They Are Scaling Back Holiday Spending This Year

December 16, 2018 By Amanda Stewart Leave a Comment

All in all, Americans are planning to cut back on holiday spending this year. About 50% of Americans say they’ll be spending the same amount they did last year, while 22% say they plan to spend less. Of that 22 %, about 34% say that other expenses are taking priority over buying gifts and other holiday-related purchases. Ten percent of Americans say they don’t plan on spending anything at all this holiday season.

People Aren’t Saving for Christmas

The COUNTRY Financial Security Index® took a survey weeks before Christmas to see how most Americans are feeling about their finances at this time of year. What they found is most people don’t feel all that financially secure heading into the holiday season. In fact, the survey found that only 23% of people are saving throughout the year for holiday spending. That’s right – less than a quarter are financially prepared for the holidays.

Doyle Williams, Executive Vice President of COUNTRY Financial said, “We shouldn’t let the magic of the season get us carried away into overspending and making financial decisions we will regret come January. Take simple steps to create a realistic holiday budget that accounts for all of those holiday expenses such as gifts, travel, decorations and entertaining. Then, start fresh in the new year with a savings plan to alleviate some of the financial burden in 2019.”

What is interesting is that millennials are the most likely to plan ahead to be able to afford additional holiday expenses. A surprising 31% of people ages 18-34 save throughout the year for Christmas. Twenty-five percent of millennials planned to work more hours to lessen the financial burden of the holiday season. Another 9% got an extra job to cover holiday spending, 14% sell personal items, and about 8% accept money from family/friends to help.

Other Holiday Spending Stats

About 70% of Americans say their largest holiday expenditure will be on gifts. Other major costs like entertaining and travel expenses will only account for 9% and 8% of spending, respectively.

Of the Americans headed out shopping this season, 70% have a specific budget in place. However, 20% say they don’t have a budget amount in mind. About 39% plan to spend less than $250 or no more than $500, while 17% of Americans plan to spend more than $1,000 during the holiday season.

Budgeting and spending statistics vary by income level and age. The older you are, the more likely you are to spend more around the holidays. Folks ages 65+ plan to spend around $1,129 each. Younger Americans, between the ages of 18 and 34, plan to spend much less ($585). People with an income sitting around $75,000 and above also plan to spend around $1,082 while individuals with an income falling between $50,000 and $74,000 plan to spend $757 or less.

Unsurprisingly, people with kids are more likely to spend more as well. Thirty-four percent of Americans are planning to spend most of their holiday budget on their kids. Women are most likely to say they will spend most of their holiday budget on their kids, while men are more likely to say they are spending the bulk of their Christmas cash on their significant other.

Family members will account for another 19% of spending, significant others (16%), grandkids (13%), friends (3%), and pets (1%). Although many people are in the “treat yourself” mentality during the holiday season, only 7% of Americans will spend the most on themselves.

Holiday Reminder

It is always a good idea to have a holiday budget in mind to keep your finances on track throughout the season. It is important to remember that it isn’t important how big or expensive the gift you give is. What is most important is the thought you put into it.

Consider saving money throughout the year for large holidays and other major expenses. You should also set up a budget and write a list for each present you intend to buy. Don’t go into debt or break the bank celebrating Christmas!

7 in 10 Would Rather Skip Buying Christmas Gifts: Here Are Some Alternatives

November 30, 2018 By Christina Majaski Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that exchanging gifts and gift-giving are a huge part of the holiday season. However, if you’ve found yourself less excited about the entire process of exchanging gifts, you should know you’re not alone. It turns out, a lot of people would prefer to give up gift giving if their families allowed it and if they had any alternatives to buying Christmas gifts.

Nearly 70% Want to Skip Buying Christmas Gifts

According to a holiday survey in an online Harris Poll on behalf of Suntrust, a surprising 7 in 10 people said they’d skip gift-giving this season if it were okay with their friends and family. And, it isn’t just the Grinchy types who hate the season. For the most part, they would rather spend the time actually doing something with their friends and family members than on buying or making gifts.

Holiday Stress and Debt Compounded

For a lot of people, the holiday season comes with stress and anxiety. When you add the obligation of gift exchanges, a large number of Americans face a tremendous amount of financial anxiety. This means not only worrying about debt and money during the season but also feeling the pressure of spending money on things they really cannot afford.

In fact, this pressure to overspend has been proven to result in a mountain of debt after Christmas is over. And, with as many as 25 percent of Americans experiencing post-holiday depression, gift-giving and the financial aftermath can be especially difficult for many families.

Alternatives to Buying Christmas Gifts

So, if you decide to forego gift-giving, can you still have a joyous holiday season? The answer, of course, is yes. It doesn’t take buying and receiving gifts to enjoy the holidays with your friends and family. Of those surveyed, 25 percent said they would rather use the money on activities instead of gifts. You might want to consider some of these alternatives to buying Christmas gifts.

Take a family trip or plan an activity. It can be as large or as simple as you all agree on, from doing an escape room together to taking a family trip skiing. In any event, it might be cheaper even if each family covers their own expenses, than buying each person a small gift. Plus, you can plan the event at any time of the year – it doesn’t necessarily have to be on Christmas day – which could save you money as well.
Have dinner and watch a movie. You don’t have to skip the entire Christmas day festivities. You could still get together for a holiday meal and then plan to watch Elf, A Christmas Story, or any other of your favorites.
Volunteer together. An activity that not only teaches children the importance of volunteering is helping out over the holidays. Sure, it might be difficult explaining that they’re helping feed people who can’t afford a Christmas dinner instead of receiving gifts, but the feeling you get from helping make someone else’s Christmas a little brighter might make up for it.
Pay down debt and save together. This might not be an alternative that sounds like fun either, but in the end, it might bring everyone more joy than exchanging gifts. Of those surveyed, 37 percent said they would rather pay down debt and 47 percent said they would save or invest. Each person/family can use the money they’d use for gifts to either pay down debt or save for a big family trip or event later.

Don’t forget that finding alternatives to buying Christmas gifts doesn’t necessarily mean you have to completely skip out on giving toys and gifts, especially to the kids. If you only replace gift-giving among the adults, it can make a significant difference to those with large families and huge networks of friends.

This Season Find What Works for You and Your Family

It isn’t too late to reach out to your friends and family members and come up with a different plan. Remember that Christmas and the holiday season are supposed to be joyous and happy. Don’t spend it worrying about the money you feel obligated to spend on gifts.

Would you give up gift exchanges if your friends and family members agreed to it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Stick to Your Budget During the Holidays

November 1, 2017 By Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

The holidays are just around the corner. Times of enjoyment and togetherness. Though this is a wonderful time of year for most, it can also be very expensive. If you keep a budget throughout the year (I sure hope you do), this time of year can wreak havoc on it. The holidays, however, can be economical. Here are some tips to save some money this holiday season, and stick to your budget.

Save Throughout the Year

This doesn’t do anyone much good, now that it’s November, but you should be saving for the holidays, starting on January 1. If you begin saving right away, you have the entire year to stash money a little at a time. Once you hit October or November, you will have a large sum stashed away for gifts, food, and travel.

I personally started saving $20 from each paycheck and put it into our holiday fund. By September, we had over $500 in savings for the holidays.

Set a Spending Limit

An easy way to reduce the amount you spend during this time of year is to limit the amount you spend on gifts. If you have family and friends you buy gifts for, set the limit at $30. If you and your significant other normally overspend on each other, set a limit for yourselves.

An easy way to accomplish this is to use cash. Say you have 10 people you want to buy gifts for. At $30 per person, that’s $300. Add in $100 for your significant other and you get $400. Take the money out of your bank or credit union, put it in an envelope, and use it to buy gifts.

Another plus behind spending limits is it makes you really think about the gifts you buy, which, in my opinion, makes them more meaningful.

Gift Exchange

If you have a large group of people you buy for, set up a gift exchange. Throw all of your names in a hat and pick from it. Once everyone has a name, establish a spending limit. This way, everyone will get a gift they like, and it decreases the amount of money spent for everybody.

Shop Early

If you start your holiday shopping early, you give yourself time to shop for deals. Obviously, buying something on sale is way better than paying full price.

Make it a Pot-Luck

If you are hosting a Thanksgiving or Holiday dinner, have your guests bring something with them. This helps in two ways. One, it reduces the amount of time and money you spend preparing for the meal. Two, when the attendee brings a dish for people to share, it makes them feel good knowing they contributed.

Use Credit Cards

As you make purchases throughout the year, use a credit card with rewards. Pay that balance in full every month to avoid unwanted interest charges. Some credit cards give you cash back that you could then turn and use on gifts.

There are also credit cards that give you miles for travel. If you plan on flying this holiday season, rack up the miles with your credit card to get a cheap or free flight.

Conclusion

The holidays are full of good times. Gathering together with people you love, there’s nothing better than that. Unfortunately, this time of year comes at a cost. Sometimes it can be a budget killer. By using these tips, you should reduce some of the costs associated with the holidays.

Photo: 1 Step Family Wellness

10 Holiday Celebration Spending Mistakes

July 5, 2012 By Dana O. Crandell 3 Comments

No matter how well we budget for the coming year, holidays always seem to sneak up on us. Think about how many special occasions require extra spending in just one year: birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, the winter holidays including New Years, religious celebrations, or any weekend where you get together with family and friends. All of those fun times amount to a lot of holiday spending on everything from food, to decor, and of course, gifts.

These are ten common mistakes people make when it comes to opening their wallets during any celebration or holiday:

Thinking Of Holidays Like Emergencies

Yes, you were probably taught that it’s polite to bring a hostess gift and to always send birthday toys to all your nieces and nephews, but what feels like a polite gesture can also be a huge strain on your finances. This might lead you to think these customs are worth dipping into your emergency funds for. Even if you usually go all out with birthday gifts, and even if your friends are bringing expensive bottles of wine over to the holiday party, don’t feel obligated to do the same. Treat holidays like all other aspects of your budget during a recession: scaled back.

Giving Expensive Gifts

On that note, some people are still tempted to go above-and-beyond for extra special holidays like Christmas or a child’s birthday. But before busting your budget on the newest game console or treadmill, consider whether this exciting item is really worth it. Some gifts, like the game console, continue to cost big bucks when your kids want the hottest new $50 games to go with it. And while “healthy” gifts like treadmills sound like worthwhile investments, their huge price tags are hardly worth the extra hours you’ll have to work to make the payments. A 20-minute jog a day is not worth that.

Using The Credit Card

Now you’re thinking, Gifts and festive holiday expenditures are not that bad if I put them on a credit card, right? But this is yet another mistake consumers make during celebrations where they feel obligated to give and share with others. You might assume that adding just a couple hundred dollars to your credit card balance is worth providing the best Thanksgiving feast ever, or buying your loved one a surprise summer cruise; the reality is these purchases stack up and can leave you feeling overwhelmed with credit card debt that you are only making minimum payments on.

Making Excuses For One Last Bad Purchase

When consumers recognize that all-year holiday spending is pulling them under, they might feel so deep in trouble that they will excuse little splurges. What’s a little more debt? they think, and this isn’t the right attitude for struggling through a personal financial crisis. It’s understandable why someone would want one last spending fling if they’re feeling depressed about being in debt during December or right before their friends take off on a costly getaway. You can turn down excursions you can’t afford, and you can keep your debt from getting worse by resisting the urge to splurge.

Trying To Act Like Everything Is Okay

Financial trouble is a private topic anyway, but being in debt can be even more embarrassing during the holidays when others are giving generously and holding expensive events. For this reason, some people try to act like nothing is wrong; they might even show up with an expensive gift or in expensive clothes anyway, in an attempt to cover up the problems. Don’t be this person. Instead, rely on the support of your family and friends during hard times, and trust that they will not judge you for turning down an invite or having no gifts.

Acting Like Bad Things Only Happen To Other People

You are not immune to the problems a recession and personal crisis can bring. No one knows what tomorrow brings, and it could leave you wishing you’d paid rent before buying an unnecessary gift. If for no other reason, don’t overdo holiday spending so that you’ll have more money to stow in a savings account instead. Wouldn’t you rather save for an emergency or an important family purchase than give away hundreds of dollars in gifts?

Trying Too Hard To Impress

Even those who aren’t in serious debt can get themselves closer to it by spending on frivolous things like holiday decor. Yes, it’s fine to budget for a Christmas tree or the haunted house you set up in your yard every Halloween, but the point is these enjoyable purchases are still accounted for in the budget. What you don’t need is hundreds of dollars — unaccounted for — going towards making the neighbors ooh and ahh. Even if you’re tasked with hosting a large holiday gathering, don’t gulp down the thousand dollar grocery bill just to impress. Ask friends and family to bring dishes or pitch in with cash.

Budgeting Incorrectly For Travel

Many holidays also involve travel, whether it’s back to Grandma’s house for the holidays, or to a tropical destination during a long weekend. But in the frenzy to prepare for the holiday, it’s possible to breeze-over some crucial travel expenses. First, you might not have considered that travel is generally more expensive during holidays, and now you’re stuck with a hotel room you weren’t expecting to overpay for. It’s also easy to focus on the obvious expenses, like plane tickets, and forget the cost in gas it takes to get to the airport, or the cost of parking and a rental car. You also pay more for food and drink during vacation than you do at home. All these unnoticed little debit card swipes can add up to big problems.

Letting The Monthly Budget Grow Wild

At the start of the year, many resolve to keep stellar track of their budgets. Monitored budgets help heads-of-households keep a grip on their everyday expenditures, and also anticipate other types of spending like the kind you do during holidays. But as life gets in the way, people let their budgets go unchecked. When they lose track of how much they’re spending versus how much they’re bringing in, it’s much easier to justify a holiday credit card purchase and then put it immediately out of mind. If you can see this happening to you, be sure to stay on top of your budget this year.

Waiting Until The Last Minute

The only thing worse than not being able to afford a gift or some other form of holiday cheer, is realizing this at the last minute. Now that you know the most common mistakes buyers make during holidays and celebrations, make a list of all the days worth celebrating in your life this year. Don’t be shy about making a long list of fun days to look forward to, but also admit to yourself that you can’t afford to spend extra money on all of these holidays. Be prepared for the most important (and most expensive) of these holidays by setting aside a savings fund for gifts, decor, food, and travel. Make 2012 the year that holidays are actually worth celebrating, not panicking over.

(Photo courtesy of asenat29)

Save Time and Money During the Holidays. Guaranteed.

November 28, 2011 By Jennifer Derrick 2 Comments

Holiday shopping shop until the cards won't swipe

If you followed any of the Black Friday news this year, you know that many stores including Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy pushed their opening times to midnight on Black Friday. Some stores, like Toys R Us and my local outlet center pushed the opening even further back by opening at 9:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Of course, these stores were still beat out by K-Mart, which is open most of Thanksgiving Day and has been for a few years. This pushing of Black Friday into Thanksgiving caused a bit of controversy. Some people saw it as a good thing while others saw it as just another way that crass commercialism is taking over everything.

I tend to fall into the latter camp. I hate to see national holidays turned into buying occasions. (I cringe at the Martin Luther King, President’s Day, Veteran’s Memorial Day, etc. sales bonanzas, too. Really? What is there about remembering our war dead or national heroes that has to be commemorated by buying a new coffee maker or boots?) In reading many message postings and news reports about this “new” Black Friday tradition, I kept seeing “experts” and consumers alike saying, in effect, that this is what consumers want. The thinking goes that people are bored on Thanksgiving after the turkey is eaten and the football is over and they want something to do. The stores are simply riding to the rescue, saving people from boredom!

If this is even a little bit true, all I can think is how sad it is. On a national day of thanks the best thing people can come up with to alleviate boredom is to go shopping. Here’s my take. Instead of rushing out to shop when you’re bored, why not do some of those things you say you never have time for? Use your holiday time to do all the things you keep putting off.

People constantly complain about having too much to do and not enough time during the holidays (and during the rest of the year, too). Rather than using shopping as a crutch, do some of the maintenance and odd jobs around the house you’ve been putting off. Go out and play with the kids or get everyone together for a movie or game night. Spend some quality time with your kids that gets neglected during the work week. Work on some of the hobbies you claim you never have time for. Put up your Christmas decorations. Clean out that closet that’s overflowing and donate some of it to worthy organizations. Just sit down and read that book that you’ve been meaning to get to. If all you can think of to do when you’re bored is to shop, you’ve got no reason to complain when you don’t have time to do anything else.

If you use the time you would have spent shopping to do other things you’ll have a less stressful holiday because you won’t be trying to cram your shopping in with everything else. And you’ll save money. Guaranteed. Instead of wandering the stores buying cheap imported crap that will be broken or obsolete within a year, just stay home and do something productive. Nothing saves money more than leaving your wallet on the dresser while you go out and rake some leaves or play football with the kids.

If you really want to save money and time this holiday season, just say, “No.” Just walk away from the mall and use the time and money you gain to do all of the other important things you never get around to doing. If you feel like you’re getting bored and that hitting the sales will somehow cure that boredom, find another cure. (This also applies to time spent mindlessly surfing the Internet, checking for deals.) Sure, shopping is part of the holiday season, but the mindless trekking from store to store all day long “just to see what’s out there” is a waste of time. You could spend that time doing much more meaningful, fun, and important things.

Of course, if you really want to alleviate your boredom this holiday season and do something worthwhile, volunteer to work at a soup kitchen serving meals to the homeless. Volunteer with an organization that collects and distributes toys to less fortunate kids. Find something meaningful to do with your time rather than wandering the mall. There’s nothing like spending time among the less fortunate to remind you how good you already have it and how you really don’t need to buy any more stuff.

(Photo courtesy of Jim Robinson Films)