Fifty percent of consumers say they plan to spend less on holiday purchases this year, according to a new survey.
Eleven percent of those polled intend to spend as they did in 2011, indicating that their financial situation is now stable, while three percent will spend more, feeling they are in a better financial position this year, according to the November Financial Literacy Opinion Index conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents say they plan to spend nothing at all becasue they fear further financial distress, according to the survey.
When asked the same question last year, 91 percent of respondents indicated their intention was to cut back or spend zero on holiday gifts, demonstrating a positive year-over-year trend.
“This statistic speaks loudly, and underscores that consumers are not willing to repeat the mistakes of Christmases past by spending irresponsibly this year,” Gail Cunningham, a spokesperson for the NFCC said in a statement.
The NFCC’s November Financial Literacy Opinion Index polled 1,413 individuals via the NFCC Web site from Nov. 1 to 30.