Set aside enough for your holiday budget: Here's how

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s and other holidays that close out the calendar are fast approaching. That means you’ll probably need to accumulate more loot than you may think for customary things like gifts, decorations, travel, hosting guests, and charitable donations this time of year. And therein lies the problem: Making sure you’ve salted away enough scratch to afford these to-dos.

Consumers are expected to spend an average of $1,638 this holiday season on gifts, travel, and entertainment, PwC reports, reflecting a 7% increase compared to 2023 and a 15% rise from 2022. Gift budgets are expected to rise 9.9% from 2023, per JLL, and Mastercard anticipates spending during the 2024 holiday season to increase by 3.2% yearly.

Learn more by reading my CTW Features article on this topic, available here.