Nearly 50% of Gen Zers skipping, making late housing payments to afford holidays: poll

Nearly half of Gen Z have delayed or skipped housing payments to afford the holidays this year.That’s according to a recent survey of 2,000 Americans who celebrate the holidays, in which 46% of Gen Z respondents said they’ve skipped a rent or mortgage payment to afford holiday spending.The study explored the challenges of the holiday season, as well as the financial and emotional toll of unrealistic expectations and overspending, and revealed that almost half of Americans (46%) would skip gift-giving this holiday season if they weren’t worried about offending others.Forty-five% also revealed that saying “I can’t afford that” during the holiday season makes them feel guilty, and another 39% confessed they’d rather take on debt than disappoint loved ones during the holidays.And even though almost half of people said they’d be ok with skipping gifting altogether this year, a significant number (39%) still said they’d rather deal with financial consequences in January than cut back during the holidays — highlighting that Americans are increasingly torn between financial setbacks and holiday spending pressure.Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Accredited Debt Relief, the study revealed that respondents estimate they’ll give an average of 15 gifts this holiday and spend a grand total of $1,533.The bill is so high that 45% of Americans polled expect to take on some holiday debt this year.And looking at how people plan to tackle and split payments this year, respondents said their holiday spending will be split between 56% cash/debit payments, 32% credit card payments, and 12% buy-now, pay-later payments, on average.The study also found that only a little more than half of respondents (54%) are approaching the holidays with a budget this year.Twenty-seven percent said they won’t create one, and another 19% admitted they’re still undecided about whether they’ll use a budget to track and manage their holiday spending.

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