PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New research suggests that spur-of-the-moment gifting strains our budgets.
The days of holiday shopping during planned trips to stores are largely behind us, and smartphones have made it so we can spend money with the touch of a finger.
Bankrate Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman says more than half of Americans — about 54% — made at least one unplanned or impulse purchase last holiday season.
“Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but we do worry about overspending and going into credit card debt,” he said, “especially with interest rates near record highs, credit card balances at record highs.”
Rossman says those impulse buys can add up, and now is a perfect time to account for your holiday spending.
“We still have time to prep for the holidays. You probably still have four or five paychecks between now and the end of the year, so if nothing else, start by sketching out a budget and a gift list,” he said.
Rossman found younger generations are most likely to make impulsive purchases, and noted that many of those knee-jerk buys are driven by advertisements on social media.