A WalletHub study revealed nearly half of Americans are still paying off debt from last Christmas, even as they pile onto that debt for this year’s holiday season
Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington
In the final hours of the season’s Christmas shopping madness, there’s a good chance many Americans are breaking out credit cards to pay for last-minute gifts, holiday meals or travel expenses.
A WalletHub study revealed nearly half of Americans are still paying off debt from last Christmas, even as they pile onto that debt for this year’s holiday season.
“The fact that people are still paying off debt from last holiday season makes you wonder if they are going to fall into that trap again or are they cutting back because of last year’s debt,” asked WalletHub’s Chip Lupo.
“In 2023, nearly one-in-four Americans had holiday debt from the year before, so that number essentially doubled from last year,” he said.
The same study revealed “68% of Americans say Santa will be on a budget this year because of inflation,” according to Lupo who told The Center Square that holiday budgets this year range from just over $200 to more than $4,000, depending on income, existing debt, and cost of living.
Another recent poll by Gallup found the average American will spend $1,012 for Christmas this year, up from $975 in last year’s survey.
Credit card debt for the average household as of the third quarter of 2024, was around $10,757 after adjusting for inflation, according to WalletHub.
Other findings from the study:
- 52% said they would apply for a new credit card to help with holiday shopping.
- 72% in the study said their charitable giving is down this year due to inflation.
- 55% of people surveyed would like to outsource their holiday shopping to an AI robot.
For those hitting the road for the holidays, Washington gas prices are 26-cents lower than this time last year. The average price per gallon on Monday according to Triple-A is $3.91. It was $4.16 last year.
Washington gas prices are still nearly 90-cents higher per gallon than the national average.
This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.
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