Americans Choose Sacrifices Over Financing to Afford Holiday Shopping

More Americans are choosing to make sacrifices rather than relying on financing tool to cover their expenses for the upcoming holiday season, according to CNET.

A CNET survey revealed that 72% of shoppers either plan to make or have already made some sort of financial trade-off to afford shopping this holiday season.

In particular, 30% intend to buy fewer gifts or shop for fewer people, 27% will spend less on non-essential items, like travel, entertainment and dining, and 25% will set a smaller budget for gifts.

These budgets are evident as 30% of respondents reported they are planning to spend less on holiday shopping this year, from September to January, compared to the previous year.

The report also found that fewer consumers are relying on financing for holiday purchases as 64% intend to use cash for all or part of their holiday spending, with 46% choosing to pay by debit card.

Despite this trend, some shoppers will still turn to credit cards and buy now, pay later plans — 31% plan to use credit cards for rewards then intend to pay off their balance in time to avoid interest.

Meanwhile, only 16% plan to use credit cards and pay them back over multiple billing cycles and only 11% are considering buy now, pay later options, such as Klarna and Afterpay.

Bernadette Joy, personal finance coach and CNET Money Expert Review Board member, said that while making tough choices to afford gifts isn’t ideal, it is better than relying on financing.

She also advised shoppers to avoid using credit cards for holiday purchases and instead use savings or account because depleting savings is a better option than racking up debt.