Holiday gift-buying: tips to avoid breaking the bank

The holidays are approaching and, for many people, that means it’s time to start buying gifts.

While some U.S. holiday shoppers have already begun spending, 49% said they were looking to kick off theirs in November or December, according to a recent Bankrate survey.

That included over one-third – 37% – of holiday shoppers who reported plans to start this month, the survey found. For 15%, they intended to wait a little longer and begin their purchases next month. 

MORE THAN A THIRD OF HOLIDAY SHOPPERS' WILL SPEND LESS THIS YEAR THAN IN 2023

No matter when they intended to buy gifts, more than one quarter of shoppers indicated holiday shopping costs were looming over them. Stacking discounts, using gift cards and making a budget are among some of the strategies that holiday shoppers can use to afford presents and avoid breaking the bank, according to Bankrate senior analyst Ted Rossman.

"I’m a big fan of stacking discounts, as in combine multiple saving streams on the same purchase," Rossman told FOX Business.

He said there were "going to be a lot of store discounts this year," noting some had even already started appearing in early October.

"Combine that store promotion with a rewards credit card, let’s say," he recommended. "You pay it in full, you avoid interest, you get the credit card points or airline miles."

Shoppers can also save money by going through an online shopping portal like Rakuten or Shop Through Chase, according to the Bankrate senior analyst.

"You can combine this with the other strategies," he explained. "So, you know, if you go through Rakuten or use their browser extension and they give you extra cash back for using their site, you shop normally. From there, you get the store promo, you get the credit card rewards. That can be three ways to save on the same purchase."

The holidays can be a "great time to be intentional about finding and using" gift cards that people have yet to spend – or even forgot about, Rossman also told FOX Business.

Americans possess $244 worth of unused gift cards, vouchers or store credit on average, according to Bankrate.

"Even if the store is not one of your favorites, maybe there’s somebody on your gift list who could benefit from it. You could give them the card, or you could buy merchandise with the card," Rossman said. "Even if you can’t buy something for yourself or someone else, maybe you sell it, worst comes to worst."

Making a budget, creating a gift list and starting early are also tactics that people can implement to aid them with affording their holiday purchases, he said.

Bankrate reported 48% of holiday shoppers aimed to commence their seasonal purchases by Halloween. Still, people can stash away some money from each of the handful of paychecks they will be getting before the end of the year as a way to "defray the cost of holiday shopping" and make it feel "more attainable," Rossman told FOX Business.

While many retailers are expected to roll out good promotions on traditional holiday shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, gift-buyers don’t need to wait for those events because "a lot of the good deals have actually already started" and it has become "more of a season of deals," he said.

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Amazon held its two-day "Prime Big Deal Days" in early October, with other early holiday deals currently live and more expected. Other companies like Target, Walmart and Costco have also launched deals in the lead up to the holidays.

Rossman told FOX Business that it’s a "buyer’s market this year."

"Consumers have been increasingly frugal the past couple of years, especially on physical items. I feel like a lot of the splurges the past couple of years have been on experiences … and that’s really because of the pandemic aftermath. Physical goods haven’t been moving as much, things like clothes, toys, electronics, all those holiday kind of favorites."

"Retailers are offering deep discounts, and they started early. There is this lengthening of the season that’s gone on in recent years," he added. "What we’re seeing is that a lot of other retailers are climbing on board … They start these deep discounts, these Black Friday or Cyber Monday kind of deals early, as early as about the second week of October, and then the deals just keep coming."

Rossman also said "there’s also a realization among retailers that consumers are feeling frugal," something that has prompted them to "put their best foot forward early, with deep discounts."

Only about 24% of holiday shoppers reported they planned to up how much they spend this year, Bankrate found. Meanwhile, 33% said they would not open their wallets as much.  

HOLIDAY SPENDING PROJECTED TO HIT NEW RECORD THIS YEAR

Individuals will splash out $902 per person during the 2024 holiday season with $641 slated for presents, the National Retail Federation (NRF) has predicted. Overall, retailers will see $979.5-989 billion from holiday shoppers during that time frame, marking a 2.5-3.5% year-over-year jump, it said.

Gift cards, clothing and accessories, books, personal care and beauty items and electronics are among some of the top presents that people hope to be gifted this year, according to the NRF.