If it feels like your wallet is bleeding this time of year, you’re not imagining things. Yes, it’s the holiday season and there are gifts to be bought and parties to prep for, but according to a new survey on holiday gift spending from the savings website RetailMeNot, the average shopper will shell out more money this season than they did last year. The average amount may shock you: $482 on gifts just this season alone.
Holiday gift spending is actually up from the 2016 holiday season, and here’s how it breaks down: shoppers this year say they will spend an average of $330 to treat the kids to a happy haul, with gift spending for significant others averaging $196, $105 for parents, $90 for siblings, and a mere $57 to bestow besties everywhere with the holiday spirit.
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52 ways to trim your holiday budget

If that stresses you out?or perhaps it makes you feel like you feel like you could actually cut back on your spending"?when most people are doing the shopping might also give you pause. That’s because 45% start their holiday shopping around Nov. 1?heck, barely 24 hours have passed since the trick or treating ceased and the Halloween candies were collected"! And then there’s  the 25% of people ...