Why 70% of Americans are stressed about spending this holiday season

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

NEW RESEARCH REVEALS WHY 70 PERCENT OF AMERICANS ARE STRESSED ABOUT SPENDING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

THE DATA FROM CURRENT HAS ALSO FOUND HALF OF AMERICANS ARE ‘DREADING’ THE HOLIDAY SEASON — ALL AS A RESULT OF THEIR FINANCIAL SITUATION.

BECAUSE OF ALL THIS, THE SEASON ISN’T FEELING VERY FESTIVE: FIFTY-EIGHT PERCENT SAID THE STRESS AND FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON TAKE THE JOY OUT OF IT.

CONDUCTED BY TALKER RESEARCH, THE SURVEY LOOKED AT HOW AMERICANS ARE WORKING TO SAVE MONEY AND STILL MAKE THE MOST OF THE HOLIDAYS.

RESULTS REVEALED 54 PERCENT WILL BE MAKING ‘SACRIFICES’ OR CUTTING BACK, WHILE 76 PERCENT WILL BE MAKING CHANGES TO HOW THEY CELEBRATE IN ORDER TO SAVE MONEY.

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed (1) 1,000 Americans and (2) 1,000 Americans who have, or plan to have, seasonal jobs. There were also quotas in place to ensure 200 respondents, minimum, per generation. The survey was commissioned by Current and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Sept. 17–24, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.