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| DollarWise | How does your holiday spending stack up?
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Readers tell all about what theyre spending, offer their best and worst gifts and spill the beans on regifting. Some are still paying for last year.
By Jennifer Mulrean
Ever wondered whether youre a Scrooge or everybodys favorite gift-giver? Are you spending too much or too little? Too many or too few gifts?
Before you succumb to any last-minute, guilt-induced spending, take a peek at the results of MSN Moneys 2004 Holiday Spending Survey. More than 2,000 readers 'fessed up about how and what they are spending this year, last year's remaining debt and whether they practice that dirty little habit known as regifting.
The numbers: how do you stack up?
Readers tell us most gift lists -- for people who are buying any gifts at all -- have six to 10 names. Only 8% of those responding are giving gifts to more than 20 people. This was about the same number of people on everyones lists last year. (You knew those threats of coal werent sincere anyway.)
| How long is your Christmas list? | | Number of names on list | % of responses | | 1-5 | 24.1 | | 6-10 | 37.2 | | 11-15 | 22.1 | | 16-20 | 8.6 | | More than 20 | 8.0 |
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Almost 300 people, however, told us they werent giving anyone anything. The most cited reason? An agreement made with their family and friends not to exchange gifts.
Among those who said they were exchanging gifts, almost 40% said they were spending between $251 and $750, about the same sum they spent last year. A tiny fraction -- 2.6% -- said they were spending more than $5,000, with jewelry often being their costliest item.
Heres the full breakdown of what people say theyre spending (not including those people who said they werent buying gifts at all):
| How much are you spending this year? | | Gift spending | % of respondents | Gift spending | % of respondents | | Under $100 | 3.4 | $1,001-$1,500 | 13.3 | | $101-$250 | 10.6 | $1,501-$2,000 | 7.7 | | $251-$500 | 21.6 | $2,001-$5,000 | 6.7 | | $501-$750 | 18.2 | More than $5,000 | 2.6 | | $751-$1,000 | 15.9 | | |
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If youre wondering how income affects generosity, take a look at the following table:
| Whos giving and how much | | Income | % spending $100 or less | % spending $101-$250 | $251-$500 | $501-$750 | $751-$1,000 | $1,001-$1,500 | $1501-$2,000 | $2,001-$5,000 | More than $5,000 | | $25,000 or less | 13.68 | 29.91 | 31.62 | 11.11 | 7.69 | 3.42 | 0.85 | 0.85 | 0.85 | | $25,001-$50,000 | 4.71 | 18.12 | 34.42 | 17.75 | 11.96 | 8.33 | 1.81 | 2.90 | 0.00 | | $50,001-$75,000 | 3.15 | 8.60 | 26.93 | 20.06 | 18.62 | 13.47 | 4.58 | 3.44 | 1.15 | | $75,001-$100,000 | 1.19 | 8.01 | 15.43 | 19.88 | 19.29 | 18.10 | 10.68 | 5.93 | 1.48 | | $100,001-$200,000 | 0.61 | 4.89 | 13.15 | 18.96 | 18.65 | 17.13 | 14.37 | 11.31 | 0.92 | | More than $200,000 | 3.57 | 2.38 | 4.76 | 11.90 | 8.33 | 10.71 | 10.71 | 21.43 | 26.19 | | Decline to answer | 3.78 | 9.97 | 20.27 | 18.56 | 14.78 | 12.37 | 7.90 | 8.25 | 4.12 | | Totals | 3.37 | 10.61 | 21.56 | 18.25 | 15.89 | 13.25 | 7.69 | 6.74 | 2.64 |
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Not too surprisingly, more than 75% of people with household incomes of $25,000 or less intend to spend $500 or less, while the majority (almost 70%) of people with incomes of more than $200,000 say theyre spending $1,001 or more. About 66% of the $50,001-$75,000 income group said they will spend $251-$1,000.
Debt: Dont do it
Only about 12% of respondents said they went into holiday-induced debt last year. The toll? Five hundred dollars or less for a third of them. The next most-cited debt burden was $501-$1,000. It doesnt sound too bad, but for more than 31% of the debtors, it still took three to four months to pay off, leaving them anything but fresh for the New Year.
Even scarier: More than 14% of those who went into debt said they were still paying off holiday gifts from last year. And the more debt they had, the longer they tended to take to pay it off, as the following table shows.
| The holiday debt hangover | | Time it took to pay off last years holiday debts | $500 or less in debt (%) | $501-$1,000 | $1,001-$1,500 | $1,501-$2,000 | $2,001-$2,500 | $2,501-$5,0000 | More than $5,000 | | A couple of weeks | 8.00 | 3.17 | 2.94 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.19 | | 1 month | 16.00 | 4.76 | 11.76 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.14 | 9.30 | | 2 months | 21.33 | 20.63 | 20.59 | 7.69 | 0.00 | 7.14 | 17.67 | | 3 to 5 months | 34.67 | 41.27 | 23.53 | 38.46 | 6.25 | 7.14 | 31.16 | | 6 to 9 months | 13.33 | 23.81 | 17.65 | 7.69 | 37.50 | 0.00 | 17.67 | | More than 9 months | 2.67 | 0.00 | 5.88 | 15.38 | 18.75 | 14.29 | 5.12 | | I'm still paying | 2.67 | 6.35 | 17.65 | 30.77 | 37.50 | 64.29 | 14.42 |
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Perhaps a lesson from those spending $250 or less -- 14% of the respondents -- would help. How do they do it? Most said they keep their gift lists short, or they keep a strict budget and stick to it. More than half of them have one to five people on their lists. And there were a handful of people who reported spending that same $250 or less on more than 20 people. Now thats stretching a holiday budget. (For more tips on making your holiday money go further, click here. For low-cost gift ideas, go here.)
Pulling out plastic or wads of cash?
If only good intentions would pay the bills come January. When we asked readers how they planned to pay for gifts this year, almost 48% of all respondents said they plan to use credit cards for convenience but pay them off in full when they receive the bill. Meanwhile, 43% of all respondents said they would pay for gifts from their savings or with cash from their regular cash flow. Here are the details:
| Cash or credit? | | How will you pay? | Percent | How will you pay? | Percent | | With a cash advance on my paycheck | 0.7 | With money I've saved all year specifically for buying holiday gifts | 10.2 | | I will run up a credit card bill that I will pay off gradually. | 6.5 | I'll try to pay cash for everything from my regular cash flow. | 33.0 | | I will use credit cards for convenience but pay them in full when I get the bill. | 47.6 | Trade/barter | 0.2 |
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Clothing, electronics and toys are dominating everyones shopping lists this year. Only a tiny fraction plan to buy those lumps of coal, after all. Top write-in responses, listed as other in the table below, included gift cards and food.
| What's on your list? | | Gift category | Percent | Gift category | Percent | | Clothes | 53.8 | Jewelry and watches | 17.1 | | Toys | 35.6 | Sporting goods | 10.4 | | Electronics | 38.9 | Event tickets | 3.9 | | Books | 23.1 | Lumps of coal | 1.6 | | Music | 14.3 | Other | 17.9 | | Movies | 10.7 | | |
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Hair-raising tales from the front lines
Only 30% of survey takers admitted that they regift -- passing off something they once received as a gift as a new item for someone else. The most frequently regifted item? Clothing. The No. 1 reason cited for regifting? Because the item was supposedly perfect for the person to whom they were passing it on. Uh huh.
Looking at the other side, about 35% of all survey respondents were convinced theyd once received a regifted item. We asked them what they received -- and how they knew it was regifted. Youd blush to read the full list of telltale signs, which include old wrapping paper, tape -- even old gift tags left on the presents. Among the more embarrassing gaffes: - Regifting an item to the person who originally gave it to you. Said one reader on the receiving end: It was a bread maker and the reason I knew was I had pitched in on it for them the previous year. Ouch.
- The hot potato: A candle: I was with my friend that bought it for (another) friend that gave it back to me.
- "Used" gift card: One person reported receiving a gift card that was worth less than the full amount. It was for an odd amount -- $36 -- so I asked and she told me!
- Not-so-personal items: Some people got books with other peoples names written in them or inappropriately inscribed items. Said one recipient: (The) wine decanter had his initials on it.
- Wasnt that in your living room?: (I received) a massage chair. I knew because it was the exact same model that I gave as a gift and the receiver no longer had the item after they gave it to me. Said another reader: A crappy glass paper weight for my wedding. I saw it in his mother's closet before.
- Regifting and (unintentionally) telling: Plenty of people goofed by simply spilling the beans. I accidentally let it slip while talking about which gifts I received, said one reader.
- Not quite under wraps: Another common misstep was regifting items to people who were with you when you first received the item. One reader received a familiar-looking "woodworking tool. I knew because I was at the party when the person that gave it to me received it. I know they already had one because I used his before.
For more on what not to do if regifting fits squarely in your budget, read M.P. Dunleaveys article on the 12 rules of regifting, here. If its any consolation, most people who knew theyd been regifted simply chose to hold their tongue and keep the item. Only 1.3% returned the item with a suggestion that it be regifted to someone else.
Too materialistic? Nah
Were too materialistic has become a typical refrain at this time of year. But our respondents seemingly disagree. Almost 37% of them said they think the gift-giving is about right. (And this jumped to 42% for people with more than 20 people on their gift lists, so dont complain.) Only 26% of readers said that the holiday gift-giving was out of control and too materialistic. Not surprisingly, when you looked at this question by income, only 15% of people with household incomes of $200,000 or more thought the materialism was out of control. But that figure jumped to almost 30% for people with household incomes of $25,000 or less.
Overall, though, some 33% of all respondents thought that while gifts for friends and family were fine, there should be more focus on the needy. A balanced perspective, to be sure.
Best and worst gifts
Finally, if youre still in search of the perfect gift, keep in mind these best and worst gift nominations from our readers:
Best gifts received:
- Gift cards or money
- Engagement rings and other jewelry/watches
- Kids (OK, not something you can exactly pick up at the mall)
- Golf clubs and other sporting gear
- Cars
- Travel
Worst gifts received:
- Ugly, tacky or ill-fitting clothes
- Underwear
- Candy with mold on it
- Fruitcake
- Cheese, either logs or multi-packs
- Socks
- Nothing
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