Holiday Spending May Be Gassed Out
November 28, 2007
As the holiday season approaches, more US shoppers are planning to spend less on gifts because they fear having to spend more on gasoline and home heating fuel. This is according to a survey conducted by the Consumer Federation of America along with the Credit Union National Association.
The findings reported that 38 percent of respondents expect gasoline costs and heating bills to either somewhat or greatly reduce their holiday spending. One year ago, a similar survey reported 32 percent expected a holiday spending cut because of energy expenses.
Almost one-third of those responding also noted that higher gift prices would probably cause them to cut some spending. Last year that number was one-fifth.
The survey was taken by more than one thousand adults and conducted from November 8 through November 11 of this year. It has a plus or minus 3 percent error margin.
Households that earn between $25,000 and $50,000 said they were most likely to cut spending, with 42 percent budgeting less holiday money than they did last year. 15 percent reported that they planned to spend more this year.
Somewhat surprisingly, the survey found that there was a decrease in the number of people who were worried about making mortgage payments when planning gift shopping this year. This year 40 percent cited concerns about making these debt payments compared with 43 percent a year ago.
Credit card balances were a concern to only one in four surveyed this year, that number compared with one in three last year