Just because the holidays have come and gone does not mean the holiday shopping season is over. Its final act is actually just beginning.
Many people have unwanted gifts they’d like to return, which can lead to more shopping plus a fair amount of frustration. Plenty of us also have holiday debt to deal with and financial resolution we’re trying to stick to.
With that in mind, WalletHub conducted a nationally representative online survey to see how consumers have handled this unique holiday shopping season (so far) as well as to gauge people’s financial expectations for the new year as we continue to battle Covid. You can find the complete results in the following infographic.
Key Stats
- 30% of Americans overspent during the holidays.
- 41M Americans say the 2021 holiday season was worth going into debt for.
- 56% of Americans say Covid did not affect their holidays.
- 68% of Americans think the U.S. economy will not go back to normal in 2022.
- 54M Americans say 2021 was a “poor” year for their finances.
- Roughly 202M Americans are worried about saving enough money – almost 4X the number of Americans worried about getting out of debt.
Survey Methodology
This report reflects the results of a nationally representative online survey of over 250 respondents.
After we collected all responses, we normalized the data by age, gender and income so the sample would reflect U.S. demographics.
Full Details Overall
| What would you do to get out of debt? (select all that apply) | |
|---|---|
| Cut out "luxuries" | 78% |
| Skip vacations | 70% |
| Work longer hours | 63% |
| Give up social media | 29% |
| Declare bankruptcy | 17% |
| Rob a bank | 3% |
| Cheat on my taxes | 1% |
| Which are you worried about more? | |
| Saving enough money | 79% |
| Getting out of debt | 21% |
| Do you expect to have more, less or the same amount of credit card debt at the end of 2022? | |
| Same amount | 45% |
| Less | 44% |
| More | 11% |
| Did Covid affect your holiday spending more or less than anticipated? | |
| It did not affect my holidays | 56% |
| More | 27% |
| Less | 17% |
| How was 2021 on your finances? | |
| OK | 52% |
| Good | 27% |
| Poor | 21% |
| Do you plan on getting a new credit card in 2022 for better rewards or lower interest rates? | |
| No | 71% |
| Yes | 29% |
| When will you pay off your holiday shopping debt? | |
| By the end of January | 57% |
| April or later | 20% |
| By the end of March | 12% |
| By the end of February | 11% |
| Did you overspend this holiday season? | |
| No | 70% |
| Yes | 30% |
| When do you think the U.S. economy will go back to normal? | |
| Not in 2022 | 68% |
| June | 12% |
| September | 12% |
| March | 8% |
| Are the holidays worth going into credit card debt? | |
| No | 84% |
| Yes | 16% |
| Do you think 2022 will be better for your finances than 2021? | |
| Yes | 61% |
| No | 39% |
| Has your relationship with credit changed due to Covid? | |
| No | 74% |
| Yes | 26% |
| Do you plan to start shopping for the holidays earlier in 2022? | |
| No | 62% |
| Yes | 38% |
| Did people who gave you gifts this year get their money’s worth? | |
| Yes | 76% |
| No | 24% |
| Did you encounter any scams while trying to do your holiday shopping? | |
| No | 79% |
| Yes | 21% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.