How Much Do You Plan to Spend on Your Better Half This Holiday Season?
Life + Money

How Much Do You Plan to Spend on Your Better Half This Holiday Season?

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Americans say they plan to shower their partners with gifts this holiday season, even if it means going into debt to do it.

That’s especially true for men, who will spend an average of $446 on their significant others this holiday season — or at least that’s what they told pollsters in a new TransUnion survey. Nearly half of those men said they are willing to take on credit card debt to pay for gifts. (The survey doesn’t say whether those gifts “for their significant others” might include, say, a nice big flat-screen TV that just happens to fit perfectly in their man cave.)

Related: Holiday Shopping: Good for the Economy, Bad for Employers?

Meanwhile, women say they plan to spend far less on their partners: an average of $240, with 36 percent ready to use credit cards and take on debt.

It’s not that women aren’t getting into the holiday spirit — they’re just far more likely to say they’ll be spending on gifts for their kids.

Consumers buying gifts for their partners will take on an average of $200 in credit card debt this season — meaning that holiday fun could leave some shoppers with a painful hangover.

“Sometimes going into debt for the holidays is unavoidable, but make sure you have a game plan to get out of it,” NerdWallet credit card expert Sean McQuay said in a statement.

If you can pay off the debt in a month or two, using a credit card with a 0 percent introductory APR might be a smart move.

The average indebted household has more than $16,000 in credit card debt, according to NerdWallet, and more than a third of adults in a relationship brought credit card debt into their relationships. Nearly a third of Americans say they have used a credit card in the past to buy a gift for their significant other that they could not immediately pay off.

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