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Cost no barrier to gift-giving this Christmas
Australians are a nation of gift-givers and reluctant to stop spreading cheer at Christmas despite the costs, according to a new survey.
Cost no barrier to gift-giving this Christmas
Australians are a nation of gift-givers and reluctant to stop spreading cheer at Christmas despite the costs, according to a new survey.
Findings from St.George Bank revealed that while 43 per cent of Australians are setting spending limits on gifts to family and friends, and almost a third (31 per cent) are planning to give fewer gifts, we’re reluctant to go “full scrooge”.
Just one in 10 respondents indicated they are not planning to give a gift to their partner, while even less (just 8 per cent) have reported that they will cut out gifting to family and friends this Christmas time.
For St.George Bank’s general manager, Ross Miller, it’s clear from the findings that even as Australians look to curb spending, Christmas remains the season of giving.
“While most Australians are confident they can stay within their festive budgets, over two-thirds admit that, if anything, they are most likely to overspend on presents for their loved ones,” he said.
According to the research, Australian households have set themselves an average spending limit of $500 for gifts this year.
Mr Miller said, “The little ones in our lives tend to come first when it comes to gift-giving.”
On average, Australian parents say they’ll splash out $255 on their children this Christmas, with the manager commenting that it’s “far above what we plan to spend on our spouses and partners, which is about $165”.
But despite our love of gift-giving, Mr Miller noted that it seems securing that perfect gift for a loved one is far from enjoyable, with a third of households indicating to St.George that they would rather clean their house than deal with the stress of gift shopping.
nestegg has previously reported on the environmental and financial costs associated with unwanted gifts at Christmas.
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