It could pay to hang out some of your smaller stockings for Santa Claus this year.
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Research by Finder shows three out of four Australians are tightening their purse strings this festive season, and drawing a line on gift giving.
Ebenezer Scrooge may have been onto something when he said, “Bah! Humbug” to Christmas presents, because in pure economic terms gift giving doesn’t always stack up. I may spend $100 on a present for my wife, but if she doesn’t like it she won’t get $100 worth of enjoyment. And for economists that means breaking one of the golden rules of spending.
It’s a line that fewer of us are willing to cross this year. Finder says 76 per cent of Australians are looking to cut costs this Christmas.
One in two are setting a spending limit for gifts, while 17 per cent are running a Secret Santa to cut the number of people they have to buy for. The same percentage will make their own gifts, and 13 per cent of us will rummage through last year’s presents to re-gift unwanted items. A further 15 per cent will take a leaf from Scrooge’s book and skip presents altogether.
It’s not the sort of news that will be welcomed by the retail sector, which relies heavily on the bumper Christmas spending boom.
Christmas is a magical time of year, but it’s always worth thinking twice before wasting money. Make a list, make a budget, and make it count are handy guidelines. It can be worth doing some research to find out what you could give that will be truly valued. Maybe you could help a family member with your time instead of buying yet another unwanted gift.
Paul Clitheroe is chairman of InvestSMART, the Australian Government Financial Literacy Board and chief commentator for Money Magazine.