An increasing number of Australians will think twice before spending money on Christmas gifts this year, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.
Many households are wondering how they will be able to afford gifts for their loved ones this year in addition to essential items like food, gas and bills.
In 2023, the Christmas period left Australians with $7.7 million in debt, according to sobering statistics from financial comparison site Finder.
The data revealed it would take up to five months for 15 per cent of Australians to pay off their Christmas expenses and 11 months for five per cent of shoppers.
Three percent of respondents said it would take them until 2025 to be debt-free on their 2023 Christmas expenses.
Last year, 6.1 million Australians expected to receive a gift they would never use, generating an estimated waste of up to $921 million, the Australian Institute found.
Sydney-based journalist and content creator Laura Koefoed revealed the simple reason why she wouldn’t be buying gifts this Christmas.
“I just want everyone who knows me to know that I won’t be giving you any gifts this year,” Koreroed said in a TikTok video.
In 2023, the Christmas period left Australians $7.7 million in debt, according to sobering statistics from financial comparison site Finder (pictured, shoppers in Sydney).
“I have no money and I can’t be an adult and buy people gifts anymore.”
Ms Koefoed said if people “abandon the gift-giving culture”, everyone involved would win.
‘The gift I’m going to give you is that you don’t have to buy me a gift, you can keep that money,’ he said.
Susan, a mother of two, said the cost of the upcoming holiday season was too high for an already tight budget.
“Now is a difficult time for the family, we are losing savings and we are not participating in life as it is,” he said. Yahoo Finance.
Another Australian claimed that giving Christmas gifts has lost its meaning as children have a sense of entitlement regarding the number of gifts they receive.
“It’s getting to the point where it’s not about the actual gifts, the kids will throw a tantrum because they don’t have 100 gifts to open,” they said.
‘It’s no longer about Christmas, but about what rights we can make these children feel. They ask for things they don’t even want.’
An increasing number of Australians are thinking twice about spending money on Christmas gifts this year, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite (pictured, shoppers in Sydney).
It comes after Australians received a grim warning about inflation earlier this month.
The Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate at a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent on November 5, but warned inflation would not moderate “sustainably” until the end of 2026.
That would also come after inflation spikes again next year, following the expiration of temporary $300 electricity rebates from the federal government.
The RBA also warned it could still raise rates, even though borrowers in Canada, New Zealand, the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom have already received some relief this year.
Australia’s headline inflation rate in the year to September fell to a three-and-a-half-year low of 2.8 per cent, putting it within the RBA’s target band.