According to a 2023 survey from Wallethub, some Americans are feeling the effects of inflation into the holiday season. The online survey, which collected answers from 250 respondents nationally, found that more than one in three Americans aren’t giving gifts this year due to inflation.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said their family isn’t giving gifts due to inflation, while 66 percent said their family was still giving gifts. The survey also found that 28 percent of people will spend less on holiday shopping compared to last year, and nearly one in four still have holiday debt from last year. Fox News’ Mollie Line said the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree was a good way to help fellow Americans struggling with the effects of inflation during the Christmas season.
On “The Big Weekend Show,” she said, “One of the things we’re seeing all across America is the Salvation Army is reporting this great need for the angel tags. This is happening in Denver, where some 10,000 gifts they’re trying to work on getting out to kids. In my home city, Waltham, Massachusetts, they had over 500 tags that they were trying to fill and get out. And down in Texas, they’re talking about this as well.”
Line continued, “Across north Texas, the Salvation Army trimmed tags for tens of thousands of angels in need,” Line continued. “So if you are someone that is a little bit more fortunate, there are a lot of opportunities to help those that this year really are affected by the utilities being higher, by inflation, by the cost of food, by making your own eggnog and the things you got to buy to put in a pie that I don’t know how to make.”
The WalletHub survey found that nearly one in five Americans will apply for a new credit card to help with holiday shopping, and nearly half of Americans say their charitable giving is affected by inflation. Forty-seven percent said their charitable giving is affected by inflation, while 53 percent said it was not. Co-host David Webb said Christmas is about more than receiving gifts; it’s also about giving.
He said, “One of the things you can do is make memories with your family members, with friends. I love the idea of giving because when you give, and someone you know really needs it, I think that’s a great feeling. It’s charitable,” he said. “It’s one of the great things about our culture, about our society. We’re the most giving nation on the planet.”