Let it snow? When it comes to holiday gifts, it’s more like ‘Let us spend’!

Five Christmases ago I was gift-wrapping airplane bottles of tequila and making mix CDs as presents.Now, it’s not so much the money I’m worried about — it’s the fact that Christmas is in two weeks and I’ve failed to even begin ordering gifts that will take some effort to find and may not even get delivered in time.

And I’m apparently not alone in that. According to Bankrate.com, 28 percent of millennials said they would spend more this year compared with just 15 percent of our older counterparts.

Click here to read more from our Millennial Minded

“Even loads of student debt and little savings won’t hold them back from splurging during the holiday shopping season,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com in a press release.

And while 8 percent of millennials attributed their increased holiday spending to a drop in gas prices, another 20 percent said that didn’t factor into their decision.

Well, at least some of us are remembering to take a little from our fuel budget and apply it to our shopping sprees. Others, like myself, are just buying (within reason) for the people we want to and chalking it up to the existence of credit.

According to CreditCards.com, 38 percent of Americans have already gone into debt for gifts this year — but just a little more than half say they will be able to pay off this year’s holiday gifts by the end of January.

I believe that’s doable — but then again, I’m a financially optimistic millennial. Only 16 percent of us ages 18 to 29 believe we’ll never get out of debt, compared with 31 percent of those ages 65 and older and 22 percent of those ages 50 to 64.

As for me, I’m all in for the season of giving. So I’ll let you know if I’m still paying my Christmas purchases off this time next year.

ALSO ON THE NJBIZ “MILLENNIAL MINDED” BLOG:


Millennials face a major financial issue — and it’s not jobs

Remember: Millennials’ mindset is focused on collaboration

Millennials on holiday deals: ‘Get it while you can’