You’ll Never Guess How Much Debt Holiday Shoppers Will Rack Up!

In an earlier entry, we shared 5 tips for avoiding overspending this holiday season. In this issue, we’ll share shocking news about how much personal debt is expected to be racked up by U.S. consumers during the holidays.

How much debt are shoppers expected to accumulate during the holidays?

According to a survey carried out by finder.com (with), U.S. shoppers are expected to spend about $181.2 billion on holiday presents this year. Of that total, $103.3 billion will be purchased with credit.

How will they pay for those gifts?

Findings from the survey show that:

64% (over 157.1 million people) will borrow $103.3 billion to purchase gifts
16% will use credit cards for their holiday shopping
15% will buy gifts will help from short-term payday loans

Who are the biggest spenders?

Overall, men are the biggest spenders during the holidays, shelling out an average of $955 compared to the $615 that women are expected to spend. That’s an average of $340 more than men will be paying. Generationally, it’s the Gen X-ers (aged 35-54) who will be spending the most, as they are expected to fork out on average $895 on gifts.

Gen Y (aged 18-34) will spend $667
Baby Boomers (aged 55+) will spend $548

When it comes to credit cards, Baby Boomers will be relying upon theirs the most, with 45% of their gift purchases being put on plastic.

How can I avoid going overboard with my holiday shopping?

As we wrote in our previous entry, there are a host of things you can do to help avoid overspending this holiday season:

Develop a budget for each person on your shopping list and stick to it
Limit the gift giving to one or two gifts per person
Resist the urge to reach for the credit card unless you’re 100% certain that you can pay it off in full at the end of the month

Get Out From Under Heavy Debt by Calling The Oswalt Law Group

This is a wonderful time of the year, but it can easily be ruined by going into even more debt. If you’re tired of trying to deal with crippling debt, we can help you! For a free consultation, call The Oswalt Law Group at (602) 225-2222.