I Asked ChatGPT What the Worst Holiday Purchases Are — Here’s the List
Written by
Josephine Nesbit
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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The holidays are filled with lights, decor, family gatherings and the urge to spend money, sometimes more than we should. According to the 2025 Deloitte Holiday Retail Survey, shoppers expect to spend $1,595 this year, and 77% expect higher prices on holiday goods. But rising costs don’t stop most people from splurging.
To help you steer clear of those post-holiday spending regrets, GOBankingRates asked ChatGPT to name the worst holiday purchases people make. Here’s what it said.
Also see the top ways people are paying for holiday expenses this year.
Big‐Ticket Gifts Purchased on Credit
According to ChatGPT, this is one of the biggest long-term financial hits for a fleeting moment of generosity. It creates high-interest debt for something that doesn’t retain value, and it’s one of the fastest ways to derail your budget.
With an average credit card annual percentage rate of 21.39% as of August 2025, per the Federal Reserve, a $1,000 gift charged to a card and paid off over 12 months costs roughly $120 in interest, ChatGPT calculated. Carrying a balance like this can raise your credit utilization ratio and potentially lower your credit score. This can make future borrowing, like an auto loan or mortgage, more expensive.
Comparison Spending Buys
Comparison spending, or “keeping up with the Joneses,” is another problem that can push you past your budget.
A 2024 Empower study found that more than half (53%) of respondents would prefer taking on debt over giving up celebrating holidays in special ways, 37% said they would spend more on gifts during the holidays to try to impress others and 42% claimed to feel pressured to attend holiday events outside their budget.
Trendy Tech
Holiday shoppers spend more on electronics than on any other category, according to Capital One Shopping Research. But ChatGPT pointed out that these gadgets depreciate quickly.
Data from Deel shows that a common depreciation rate for tech assets, like a laptop, is 25%. Here’s an example it gave: If a laptop costs $1,000, it would lose $250 in value each year.
Travel or Event Purchases Without a Budget
ChatGPT noted that airfare and lodging costs spike during the holiday season. Airfares can jump by over 50% during peak vacation times, like the holidays, Dollar Flight Club reported. Hopper’s 2024 Holiday Travel Outlook also found that flight prices can rise more than 32% in the final weeks before major holidays.
Travelers will also borrow to make this happen, ChatGPT explained. Almost 1 in 10 Americans (9%) have taken on debt to pay for their trips, averaging $2,849, Empower reported.
‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Purchases
According to PayPal, half of shoppers plan to use buy now, pay later (BNPL) services this holiday to manage cash flow better. But ChatGPT explained that while its interest-free concept sounds nice, missed or late payments trigger fees and can damage credit scores.
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau found that most BNPL borrowers took out multiple simultaneous BNPL loans, and they were more likely to hold higher balances on other credit accounts.
Not all BNPL services charge late fees, but be sure you know what fees you may be on the hook for before committing.
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