Americans will spend more this holiday season on gifts and reach for credit cards, survey says

A new Debt.com survey shows that many Americans are not as worried about the impact of prices as they were last year, because even though inflation continues to increase the prices of everything from food to holiday gifts, they are not They plan to stop spending.

The personal finance site surveyed 1,000 Americans about their holiday shopping plans and found that more respondents (60%) than last year (54%) believe they will spend more on holiday shopping this year due to inflation.

And of those surveyed, three in five (54%) say they will use credit cards to cover the costs of holiday shopping.

“It’s almost an American tradition to go into debt during the holidays. Fear of high prices and ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing out) is very strong leading up to the holidays,” said Howard Dvorkin, CPA and president of Debt.com.

According to the survey, two thirds (66%) of those surveyed are bringing forward their purchases compared to last year. More than one in three (34%) started buying in November, and 15% did so over the summer, when inflation briefly fell for the first time in two years.

Still, credit card debt increased 16.6% from just a year ago and Americans now owe more than $1 trillion on their credit cards, the report states.

With average interest rates of more than 26% on major credit cards and more than 30% on store cards, Dvorkin says, “Shoppers should ask themselves if they really need to buy gifts for everyone or, instead, buy gifts for a small group of family and friends.”

Debt.com is a consumer website where users can find help with credit card debt, student loans, tax debt, credit repair, bankruptcies and more. Debt.com works with approved and certified providers who provide advice and solutions for consumers “when life throws you surprises.”

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