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Shoppers sticking to budgets

A survey shows average holiday spending is expected to be $743.

Shoppers are at Target Friday, Dec. 18, at the Bridgewater Falls location in Fairfield Twp. with less than a week before Christmas.
According to a survey by Gallup News Service, the average amount of money Americans predict they will spend on Christmas gifts this season is $743.

Staff photo by Samantha Grier Shoppers are at Target Friday, Dec. 18, at the Bridgewater Falls location in Fairfield Twp. with less than a week before Christmas. According to a survey by Gallup News Service, the average amount of money Americans predict they will spend on Christmas gifts this season is $743.

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By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer 8:15 PM Saturday, December 19, 2009

It’s not just Santa Claus this year who is making a list and checking it twice.

In the midst of the recession, Middletown resident Tiffany Gohens said she is sticking to her Christmas budget and only buying gifts for people she put on her list back at Thanksgiving.

“It’s hard not to overshop,” she said. “After two years with my husband and I not getting raises at work, we don’t have any extra to spare.”

She isn’t the only one. Residents interviewed at stores across Butler County reported sticking to the same restraints, many carrying their lists with them as they shopped. Daniel Nicely of Hamilton said he had never made a list before this year “but my wife said we needed to keep better track of what we spend this year, so I’m doing my best.”

Spending smarter

But while Haley Erwin said he was armed with his list, that doesn’t mean he is spending less, but rather “spending smarter.

“I am buying for more people this year, actually, and we are spending about $100 more but we are making sure we are really getting more with that money,” the Hamilton resident said.

The latest survey by Gallup News Service said the average amount of money Americans predict they will spend on Christmas gifts this season is now $743, up from last month’s estimate and an increase over last year’s $730.

Based on the latest estimate, Gallup forecasts that holiday sales this year have the potential to show a modest increase of 1 percent, significant since spending last Christmas was down 3.4 percent.

Paying down debt

The key will be balancing that with Christmas shopping remorse. While fewer dollars were doled out last year, 44 percent of consumers regretted the debt they incurred and worried about paying off their purchases.

Stacey Frame of Madison Twp. said she is paying off the bills as they come in the mail “so I am not throwing up in my mouth when January comes.”

Last-minute gifts

There are keys to shopping for last-minute gifts, a practice that Heather Cunningham emphasizes does not include purchases at gas stations.

“The worst thing you can do is get some trinket that doesn’t mean anything because you waited too long,” the Hamilton resident said. “I’d rather just get a gift card to McDonald’s.”

Cunningham suggested using a search engine to look up last-minute ideas if you are stuck on what to buy. A cheese and sausage gift set or some sort of food item “also wins people over. We all show our love through our stomachs.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.

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