Survey: Despite having a strategy, many shoppers still overspent on the holidays
The dust has settled on the holiday season, and despite their best efforts, new data shows that a notable chunk of consumers still spent more than they had planned to.
A quarter (24%) of Americans reported doing so during the 2025 holiday season, according to a new survey from Thrivent Financial. Nearly eight–in-10 (77%) of those surveyed utilized at least one financial tool or strategy during the 2025 holiday season to avoid overspending, the most common being paying primarily with a credit card (37%), using coupons or promo codes (33%) or using credit card rewards (27%).
Nearly six-in-10 (57%) spent less or cut back in at least one area during the 2025 holiday season. Top areas where people spent less or cut back during the 2025 holiday season include gifts for family and friends (34%), dining out (28%) and holiday decorations (24%). Over a third changed their gifting strategies in order to save money (37%).
One-in-three Americans feel pessimistic about their financial situation heading into 2026 compared to how they felt last year. Only 29% feel optimistic, while 38% feel no different. Slightly less than half feel financially healthy coming out of the 2025 holiday season (49%).
Many consumers are setting new financial goals for themselves in 2026, according to the survey. Among the 57% of those who have financial resolutions or goals, top resolutions or goals include saving for a major purchase such as a home or car (40%), starting or increasing an emergency fund (36%), reducing credit card debt (33%) and more closely tracking expenses (33%).
[READ MORE: Holiday sales up 4.1% based on data from CNBC/Retail Monitor]
Gen Z and millennials (18-34 year-olds) are more likely than older Americans to have resolutions such as saving for a major purchase (50%), starting or increasing an emergency fund (43%) and starting investing or investing more (39%).
The survey was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Thrivent Financial from Jan. 9 - 11, 2026 using the probability-based KnowledgePanel. This poll is based on a nationally-representative probability sample of 1,036 U.S. adults age 18 or older.
