Are you feeling stressed with less than two weeks to go before Christmas?
If so, you're not alone.
A new poll out conducted by Groundwork Collaborative shows three quarters of American consumers are feeling very stressed.
Chief Economist Breyon Williams tells the Big K Morning Show, there's a good reason for that.
He says they tracked the top 70 most popular holiday gifts, “and what we see is that on average, prices for those items have actually gone up more than inflation . . . about 26 percent on average compared to last year. So, that’s about nine times the current rate of inflation.”
Groundwork Collaborative says some of the prices include:
For infants, the GUND Animated Kissy Penguin is up 51%
For toddlers, the Melissa & Doug Stainless Steel Tea Set is up 55%
For school-age kids, the VTech KidiZoom Camera jumped 76%
For tweens and teens, Bell + Howell LED color-changing light tape more than doubled in price, increasing by 114%
For adults, the LEGO Icons Dried Flower Centerpiece jumped nearly 30% while the price of the Cooper Cooler Rapid Beverage Chiller is up 253% from last year.
Among his recommendations for trying to lessen that stress due to over-pricing during the holidays, seek out store brands vs. some of the more popular brands that may be a little bit higher in price.
And, if you can, look for after-holiday deals as well.