{"id":425684,"date":"2024-11-28T09:31:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T09:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=425684"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"42-of-Americans-say-they-ll-regift-to-save-money-this-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/42-of-Americans-say-they-ll-regift-to-save-money-this-holiday-season\/","title":{"rendered":"42% of Americans say they\u2019ll regift to save money this holiday season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(BPT) &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.empower.com\/the-currency\/play\/gifted-holiday-spending-research\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">New research from Empower<\/a> explores how America is &#8220;spending&#8221; the holidays.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>84% of Americans report there is at least one topic they&#8217;d want to avoid at the holiday dinner table this year: politics (57%) and financial topics like how much money they have (51%), spend (44%), or make (33%)<\/li>\n<li>More than half (55%) hope they don&#8217;t get asked to host a holiday party this year due to costs; 42% feel pressured to attend holiday events that are outside their budget<\/li>\n<li>51% of Americans don&#8217;t know the &#8220;right,&#8221; or etiquette-appropriate amount to spend on gifts for everyone on their list this year; 56% are reluctant to arrange a gift-giving budget with family and friends<\/li>\n<li>Nearly half (45%) admit they&#8217;d rather spend their money to go on vacation and skip the holidays; 1 in 4 (27%) or nearly 67 million Americans plan to skip Thanksgiving this year to save money<\/li>\n<li>The perfect gift doesn&#8217;t exist \u2014 actually, 60% agree it&#8217;s cash for the holidays<\/li>\n<li>37% admit they spend more on gifts than intended during the holidays trying to impress others<\/li>\n<li>42% of people regift to save money during the holidays<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>FA-LA-LA finances and spending stressors<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nearly half of Americans are worried about money (49%) this season, from the festivities to their financial obligations: In fact, a third (32%) feel the stress over their holiday spending will be more than last year while half (48%) anticipate that their financial concerns will take away from their holiday joy.<\/p>\n<p>More than half are concerned about being able to afford gifts for everyone on their list (59%),<sup>1<\/sup> finding the best deals (51%) and being able to pay their bills on time (54%). Still, over 2 in 5 are worried about having a money conversation around setting a gift-giving budget with family and friends (45%). Finding the trendy &#8220;it&#8221; gift this year is a stressor for 36% of shoppers.<\/p>\n<p>Social obligations and hosting can be taxing on the wallet, leaving many wanting to avoid these situations altogether: Half of Americans (55%) hope they don&#8217;t get asked to host a holiday party this year because of the associated costs, while 42% admit to feeling pressured to attend holiday events that are outside their budget.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly half (45%) admit they&#8217;d rather spend the money to go on vacation and skip the engagements and responsibilities of the season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8216;Tis the season to spend<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A third of Americans (34%) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.empower.com\/the-currency\/money\/big-shrink-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">don&#8217;t think their money will stretch as far<\/a> this holiday season as it did last year, and 4 in 5 (83%) report their holiday spending will be impacted by economic pressures like inflation (62%) and cost of living increases (59%). About 1 in 3 think their current debt (35%) and uncertainty about the economy (34%) will play into how they&#8217;re spending this holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>While the majority (80%) set a holiday spending budget, people are nearly 3.5x more likely to overspend than come in under their budget (45% vs. 13%). Even though half (48%) say they plan ahead by being more frugal most of the year, to afford the holiday splurge, they still overspend. Close to 2 in 5 (37%) Americans admit they spend more on gifts than intended during the holidays trying to impress others. More than half (53%) would rather take on debt than give up celebrating the holidays in a special way, and 1 in 4 (26%) expect to take on more debt this holiday season than last.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than cross people off the gift lists (1 in 5 gift-givers will do this) or curtail their spending, 9 in 10 (89%) are finding ways to save money on presents this year, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Consider only buying items that are on sale (50%)<\/li>\n<li>Set price limits with loved ones (46%)<\/li>\n<li>Only give one gift per person on their list (38%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Others say they&#8217;re more likely to shop for sales and deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (37%) and buy less expensive (33%) or fewer (25%) gifts this year than they were last year. More than 2 in 5 (42%) regift to save money during the holidays.<\/p>\n<p>Some people say they&#8217;ll make some lifestyle tweaks to help save up for the festivities, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make food at home instead of eating out (57%)<\/li>\n<li>Cut back their spending in other areas to put toward gifts and holiday entertainment (49%)<\/li>\n<li>Dip into their savings accounts to pay for gifts (32%)<\/li>\n<li>Cancel subscriptions to services like premium channels and streaming platforms (25%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Giving season<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>More than half of people (57%) say if they were to receive a $5,000 windfall right before the holidays, they would spend it on gifts. Americans plan to shell out hundreds of dollars across presents, travel, and socializing this year.<\/p>\n<p>On average they&#8217;ll spend more than <strong>$1,430<\/strong> during the season on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>$766.50<\/strong> on holiday gifts<\/li>\n<li><strong>$424.80<\/strong> on holiday travel<\/li>\n<li><strong>$239.08<\/strong> on holiday meals and parties<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One third of Americans plan to buy themselves a gift this holiday season, spending <strong>$241.91<\/strong>, on average. When it comes to others on their gift lists, Americans plan to spend:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>83% will buy for their spouse, averaging <strong>$322.47<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>92% will buy for their kids, averaging <strong>$473.71<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>59% will buy for their parent\/s, averaging <strong>$179.03<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>41% will buy for their pets, averaging <strong>$74.85<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>37% will buy for their colleagues, averaging <strong>$116.50<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>30% will buy for their boss, averaging <strong>$148.95<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Gift-giving etiquette<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Half of Americans (51%) admit they don&#8217;t know the right or etiquette-appropriate amount to gift each person on their list; yet more than half (56%) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.empower.com\/the-currency\/money\/money-talks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">feel uncomfortable asking others about setting a holiday gift-giving budget<\/a>, even though it would help create a &#8220;worry-free&#8221; holiday.<\/p>\n<p>Others (43%) feel uncomfortable buying gifts for people on their list who they think have more money than they do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The gift of cash<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Three in 5 (60%) Americans agree that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.empower.com\/the-currency\/money\/counting-on-cash-research\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">the perfect holiday gift is cold, hard cash<\/a>. While close to 7 in 10 (68%) prefer money or gift cards over a gift someone selects for them, cash reigns supreme:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>63% think gifting money is better than giving someone a gift card<\/li>\n<li>77% feel receiving money saves them time from returning items they don&#8217;t like<\/li>\n<li>84% think gifting money saves them time shopping for items for the people on their lists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While gifting money is a great option, some people hesitate to put it on the wish list:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>67% think asking for money as a gift around the holidays is impolite<\/li>\n<li>Some 63% of Americans don&#8217;t know how to ask for money as a gift, even though it&#8217;s the gift they want or need the most<\/li>\n<li>And while convenient, close to 3 in 5 (58%) think money seems too impersonal to gift others during the holidays<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Hosting for the holidays and off-the-table topics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One in 4 (27%) or nearly 67 million Americans plan to skip Thanksgiving this year to save money. Among people worried about the holidays, 14% are concerned about affording a Thanksgiving turkey. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/cpi.nr0.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Consumer Price Index<\/a>, the cost of turkey (and some other uncooked poultry) is down 2.24% versus last year.<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Nearly a third (28%) of Americans will spend more money on the holiday dinner menu than they did last year. This is likely why 1 in 5 (20%) are asking their guests to contribute something to the holiday dinner. Others don&#8217;t plan on hosting a holiday dinner at their house this year like they did last year (16%).<\/p>\n<p>While the majority of Americans (87%) agree that spending time with family during the winter holidays is priceless, 84% of Americans report there is at least one topic they&#8217;d want to avoid at the holiday dinner table this year. More than half (57%) want to skip talking about politics altogether. Others want to avoid financial topics like how much money they have (51%), spend (44%), or make (33%).<\/p>\n<p>Many people say they can do without the unsolicited advice from around the table (39%), and those &#8220;keeping up with the Joneses&#8221; conversations (34%).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Methodology:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Empower &#8220;Gifted&#8221; study is based on online survey responses from 2,000 nationally representative Americans aged 18+ fielded by Wired Research from October 8 through October 21, 2024. The survey is weighted to be nationally representative of U.S. adults (aged 18+).<\/p>\n<p>1 The Empower &#8220;Gift&#8221; study, 2024. Among those who say they aren&#8217;t giving gifts.<\/p>\n<p>2 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, &#8220;Consumer Price Index,&#8221; October 2024.<\/p>\n<p>RO4022378-1124<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/a283524bd2746c2fc5780d585683bc12.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><br \/>42% of Americans say they\u2019ll regift to save money this holiday season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(BPT) &#8211; New research from Empower explores how America is &#8220;spending&#8221; the holidays. Key takeaways:&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-425684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425684\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}