With the festive season in full force, it’s time to think about how you’ll fund the endless costs of the holiday period (if you haven’t already done so). This time of year is notorious for being a whirlwind and it’s likely your household budget will take a hit, so plan ahead and think about how you’ll cover the extra holiday costs and avoid things going haywire.
Forty percent of Aussies will turn to credit to fund their Christmas shopping, according to a new finder.com.au study. With the average Aussie spending $539 on gifts alone this festive season, over $215 per person will be funded by credit, which works out to be around $3.9 billion nationwide.
More than one in three (36 per cent) Aussies will put their Christmas gifts on plastic, while four per cent of will use a loan. It may not occur to some of us, but waiting on that work Christmas bonus, is another way to manage costs, with three per cent of Aussies plan on doing.
The study also found that over 180,000 Australians will use funds earned through the ever-trending sharing economy, such as Airtasker or Uber, to pay for their gift expenses.
If we zoom in on gender financial habits, women are more likely (79 per cent) to use cash/savings to fund their festive shopping compared to men (70 per cent). As a result, women are less likely to draw upon credit with just 30 per cent of women putting their Christmas shopping on a credit card, compared to 42 per cent of men.
Christmas finance and gifts that don’t break the bank. Post continues video.