NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The holidays are a stressful time, especially for those worried about the financial impact and higher prices this year are hurting a lot of families.
With Christmas just ten days away, families are cutting back with less gift-giving. More than half of U.S. adults said it's harder to afford the holiday gifts they want to give this year, which is up nearly 20% from a year ago.
This holiday season has been all about being more selective with what to buy and what to put back. The average cost of Christmas spending even went down this year in some surveys to $832, about $47 less than last year according to Investopedia.
But for most low income families, that total will be a lot lower for them this year. Luckily reports said inflation seems to be cooling down. Prices fell for the fifth straight month in November, but they're still more than 7% higher than a year ago.
A new survey shows about two-thirds of Americans in households earning less than $50,000 annually said they've had a harder time this holiday season affording the basics.
Experts said a good rule of thumb is to spend no more than 10% of your monthly income on gifts.
