Thanks for voting!Are you one of those sickos (we mean that in a good way) who finishes the holiday shopping by the end of September? Do you scour store shelves and online deals for free shipping, early-bird specials and door-buster deals? If yes, we raise our wallets to you. No? Hey, that’s OK, most of us just started the back-to-school shopping, too. Still, it’s never too early to start at least thinking about a holiday shopping/spending plan.
Which got us thinking even more. Like whether the December gift-giving season was going to consist of more than a little fruitcake baking and decoration regifting. We couldn’t be sure, so we conducted a little survey to find out exactly what Americans have to say about the holiday spending this year. Survey says: we were right. Consumers indeed are focusing less on buying expensive gifts and more on building up emergency funds, reducing debt and saving for retirement. If you live in the Northeast and perhaps are enjoying your twilight years, our survey says you will be among the most frugal. There was a 57% increase in the amount of people who plan to not spend any money on gifts this holiday season. Ready the toaster cozy.
What do we say? Just like other expenses in life, the holidays should be treated with the same degree of careful planning and smart budgeting. So figure out a reasonable amount of money to spend on friends and fam, make that list and check it as many times as your heart desires. And then shorten it — there’s nothing naughty about that. This holiday season, how much are you going to spend on gifts? $100, $300 or (gasp) $1,000?
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