Holiday spending expected to set massive records in 2018
Nov 29, 2018, 6:35 AM
(AP)
(AP)
With the gift-giving season kicking into full gear, holiday spending is poised to set records across the United States.
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Colleen O’Brien of Seattle’s Morning News talked with Bankrate data analyst Adrian Garcia, who warned that the holiday spending season can cause undue pressure on a variety of groups.
“This time of year, we’re all feeling stress about reaching deeper into our wallets than we’re comfortable with — 45 percent of people responded to our survey saying they’re feeling the pressure,” Garcia said.
Specifically, Garcia noted that parents are the group that experiences the most stress, with 54 percent of them “saying they feel uncomfortable with how much they’re expected to spend.” Additionally, women feel more pressure than men, while millennials feel it more than baby boomers.
For O’Brien, despite the stress, the timing couldn’t be better for teaching children to manage their expectations.
“I feel like this a great time to teach your child restraint [and] teach your child respect for the things that they have,” she noted. “Truly I feel like it’s a challenge to teach my daughter, ‘okay, if you do get these things, we’re going to donate them.’ It’s a swap for her because she needs to learn that she’s not just given things.”
“I think that’s what financial experts would recommend, that we do have those discussions with our children,” Garcia agreed.
Meanwhile, millennials are doing what they can to find ways around spending big.
“The interesting thing is that millennials are putting their own spin on how to deal with stress. Millennials have a trend of going to curated thrift stores — they’ve really helped to revitalize that industry,” Garcia said. “Another thing millennials are more likely going to do is make homemade gifts.”
Overall, Garcia said experts expect upwards of $1 trillion in total spending over the holiday season, and that on average people are expected to spend $1,000 each. Those numbers would represent a record high for holiday spending in the United States.
