COLORADO SPRINGS — According to Credit Karma, 39 percent of consumers report they’re unable to afford gifts this holiday season. While 69 percent say they plan on taking on debt to pay for gifts this year.
And they’re not alone. I spoke with shoppers in our community.
“It’s going stressful,” said Nicole Gomez, a local shopper. I bought two Christmas presents for one person; it was 300 dollars.”
According to an NPD survey, 29 percent of shoppers plan to spend less this year, in the midst of the nation’s worst inflation in 40 years.
“It’s stressing people out because the prices are going up,” said Gomez.
“I do know inflation is continuing to rise and you can see it throughout basically every service industry, including all of retail, so it’s not a fun one but it’s happening, said Jake Famerough, a local shopper.
But experts say inflation isn’t going to get any better this holiday season.
“Let’s be real, there’s not much a consumer can do about inflation or the economy. It really is those little decisions that you can make with your own personal situation,” said Nathan Grant a senior industry analyst at MoneyTips.
“It’s kind of like the head to the finish line for the holiday shopping. We’re kind of beyond setting the best budget, shopping early, some of the things we’d say early on, so now it’s making the best choices from here until the holidays.”
The good news is, there is help.
Here are some ways to avoid holiday debt.
- Create a holiday budget
- Plan to save money
- Use credit cards with points
- Create a plan to pay off debt next year
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