Many Americans are hoping for a financially stable Christmas, but worries about money are overshadowing what should be a joyful time.
A recent survey highlights a troubling trend: a staggering 84% of shoppers intend to rely on credit cards to manage their expenses during the holiday season as prices continue to climb.
This information comes from a poll conducted with 1,000 adults across the U.S., adjusted for age, gender, and region to ensure a representative sample.
The survey also revealed that 30% of respondents plan to utilize buy now, pay later services like Klarna or Afterpay to provide gifts to friends and family, while 14% indicated they would opt for personal loans.
Interestingly, there are still those who are determined to avoid debt this year, with many seeking additional job opportunities to meet their financial needs.
In fact, the survey indicates that about a quarter of Americans might consider taking on a second job for extra income—44% of Gen Z and 34% of Millennials are in this group.
It seems Millennials are feeling the pinch more than others, with 35% admitting to returning gifts to help manage essentials like rent and food costs.
Moreover, research from MoneyLion coincides with findings from Talker Research, revealing that nearly 20% of Americans are cutting back on grocery spending to allocate more funds for holiday gifts.
Still, there’s a disconnect in the broader economic picture; reports indicate that higher-income households are spending at unprecedented levels, which may skew perceptions of economic health, obscuring a harsher reality for many.
“There are two distinct economies for low- and high-income households,” noted Joe Wadford, a senior economist at the Bank of America Research Institute.
