With Halloween and Christmas right around the corner, business is booming. Holiday inflation is real, and prices have been skyrocketing. Getting food for a Christmas feast and Halloween hangouts will continue to get pricier.
According to Balance Money, “Travel and meals are costing up to 36% more this holiday season than in 2021, thanks to inflation.”
According to Exploding Topics, “Americans are spending an average of $800 to $1,000 on Christmas.”
With most of the budget going to gift purchases, the total cost per American household including food and drink can be closer to $1,500. Americans are known to be the world’s biggest spenders on Christmas. If people factor in the 36% price increase, Americans would be spending $1,088 to $1,360 this 2023 Christmas season. Halloween won’t break the bank as bad.
According to Consolidate Credit, “Americans are spending an average of $110 in 2022.”
Making that a total of $149.60 in 2023.
“The majority [or 88 percent] of holiday staples have gotten more expensive over the past year,” according to Bankrate Analysis.
Beyond the holiday essentials, the fastest price burst in the past four decades has eaten up Americans’ purchasing power for more than a year now. People will likely have less spending money heading into the holiday shopping season.
According to an estimate from Moody Analytics, “Altogether, inflation is costing the average American an extra $433 per month,” according to an estimate from Moody’s Analytics.
Inflation may be very present, but it doesn’t need to ruin holiday fun. People can limit inflation spoils by knowing which items are most inflated. Also, they can craft a plan, for both shopping and gift budget.
According to Vox, “Six of the 10 most inflated holiday items are food. Eggs are inflated 40%, flour and prepared mixes, 24.6%, turkey, 16.9%, dairy 15.5%, bakery products, 15.5% and sugar and sweets, 14.9%.”
Traveling during the Holiday season could also be an increasing problem.
According to Vox, “Airline tickets will increase by 42.9% during the holiday season, and hotels and motels will raise prices by an average of 6.4%. Even traveling around the city will be much pricier with any ground transportation being 15.2% more expensive during the holidays.”
Gifts for the little ones will also be much more expensive by an average of 6.7%.
Overall, inflation is a real problem for many Americans and learning how to budget properly this upcoming holiday season will be important for the bank of anyone celebrating the holidays.
