After a week of huge sales, wallet burnout

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Since Thanksgiving, consumers have been bombarded with ads begging you to spend money. There are entire days dedicated to different themes and deals:

• Black Friday
• Small Business Saturday
• Cyber Monday
• Giving Tuesday
• Travel Tuesday

Shoppers have responded with record-breaking sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

But all the hype is stressing some people out. A survey from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center finds that 75% of people are worried about rising prices and holiday spending.

Nicole Hollingshead, PhD, a psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, says the pressure to have a perfect family holiday is real.

“It gets close to the holidays, and I worry: ‘Did I buy enough for my family? Did I do enough?’ And so, we can lose sight of the importance of having too many gifts or making sure everybody has enough to unwrap. Then we lose sight of the big picture, which is that time together,” she said.

So, after Travel Tuesday, are Americans feeling "Empty Wallet Wednesday?"

Some shoppers at Milwaukee Public Market say yes. Hailee told us that she sets a budget but goes over it. While her mom, Heather, says she will stress out when she gets her credit card bill. While both said they feel some gift pressure, they think spending time with family is their favorite part of the holidays.

We also caught up with Amy, who wonders if consumerism is ruining the spirit of the season. "Just be thankful for each other, and not necessarily worry about dollar value of gifts, but try to be thoughtful in those gifts," she said.

Desiree said at this point, buying gifts is not on her radar. "All we're doing right now is enjoying every moment. We took a couple of days off and just trying to experience new things," she said.

A 2022 study says Americans spend more than $8 billion on unwanted gifts each year.