Consumer News: Americans are spending more on Christmas, even as some struggle to afford the basics

Lower-income and younger shoppers are stretching their budgets the furthest even as overall holiday spending continues to climb

• Some shoppers are sacrificing necessities: 19% of lower-income consumers say they'll cut back on groceries, utilities, or healthcare to afford holiday spending.

• Younger shoppers are feeling squeezed: 18% of Gen Z expect holiday spending to force them to cut essentials, while 64% are concerned about job security.

• Holiday spending is still rising: Consumers plan to spend an estimated $278 billion this holiday season, up 5.7% from last year.

How much are you willing to sacrifice to make Christmas happen this year?

For a surprising number of Americans, the answer may include groceries, utility bills ,and even healthcare.

A new Intuit QuickBooks holiday shopping survey found that 19% of lower-income shoppers expect to cut back on essentials such as groceries, utilities, or healthcare to afford holiday spending.

That's nearly three times the 7% of upper-income shoppers who said the same thing.

Meanwhile, Americans aren't exactly planning to pull back on Christmas spending overall. QuickBooks estimates consumers will spend $278 billion this holiday season, up 5.7% from last year's estimated $263 billion and considerably higher than the $211 billion projected in 2024.

The survey included 6,000 U.S. adults who plan to participate in the 2026 holiday season.

But behind that growing pile of gifts to wrap is a much different financial picture depending on who's doing the shopping.

Younger shoppers are feeling it, too

The financial pressures arent limited to just lower-income households.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Gen Z respondents said they're at least somewhat concerned about job security heading into the holidays, compared with just 28% of Boomers.

And 18% of Gen Z said holiday spending will force them to cut back on essentials such as groceries or bills, compared with 10% of Boomers.

Younger consumers are also more likely to turn to buy now, pay later (BNPL) to cover holiday spending. The survey found 21% of Gen Z and 24% of Millennials plan to use BNPL, compared with 14% of Gen X and just 6% of Boomers.

Meanwhile, 15% of lower-income shoppers say they're taking seasonal work or picking up a side gig specifically to cover holiday costs.

Don't let Christmas come before necessities

There's nothing wrong with wanting to give your family a memorable holiday.

But if buying gifts means skipping a utility payment, putting off healthcare, or shrinking the grocery budget, that's a pretty strong sign the holiday budget needs another look.

Here are four ways to keep Christmas spending under control.

1. Pay the necessities first. Before deciding how much you can spend on Christmas, subtract your mortgage or rent, utilities, groceries, insurance, debt payments, and other essential expenses from your available income. Your holiday budget should come from what's left and not the other way around.

2. Don't let Buy-Now-Pay-Later redefine "affordable." Breaking a $400 purchase into four $100 payments may help the budget now, but how will you feel when the next three $100 installments come due? Before using BNPL, ask yourself whether you'd still buy the item if you had to pay the full price today.

3. Shrink the list before shrinking the grocery budget. Consider setting spending limits with family, drawing names instead of buying for everyone, or agreeing that adults won't exchange gifts. A shorter gift list beats a shorter grocery list.

4. Give yourself permission to spend less. It's easy to compare your Christmas with what friends, relatives, or people on social media appear to be spending. But nobody opening a gift knows whether it was paid for with cash or whether the giver will still be paying for it in March.

The goal isn't to eliminate holiday spending. It's to make sure Christmas fits into your budget instead of forcing everything else out of it.