See How Much the Average American Is Spending on Memorial Day Weekend 2024
Written by
Heather Taylor
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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Is it possible to keep Memorial Day celebrations within a $100 budget this year? For Americans planning to celebrate the upcoming holiday weekend, the answer is yes according to a May 2024 GOBankingRates survey.
Polling a sample size of 999 Americans with plans to celebrate Memorial Day, 29% of respondents said they would keep their spending within $0 to $50 during the long weekend. Another 23% of overall respondents said they would not spend more than $51 to $99. Combined, this totals at 52% — or more than half of all respondents with Memorial Day plans — of Americans that won’t spend more than $100 over this year’s holiday weekend.
The Generations Choosing To Budget This Memorial Day
Baby boomers surveyed by GOBankingRates were particularly interested in keeping their Memorial Day budget under $50. 41 percent between ages 55 to 64 and 41% of ages 65 and older both plan to spend $50 or less during the holiday weekend.
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Gen Zers also have plans to stay on budget as they celebrate the holiday. For ages 18 to 24, 28% said they would spend $51 to $99 while 20% said they would stick to $50 or less. This totals about 48%, or nearly half, of all Gen Zers not planning to spend more than $100 this Memorial Day.
The Number One Thing Memorial Day Shoppers Are Buying This Year
How, exactly, are so many Americans planning to spend so little during Memorial Day when the long weekend is notorious for running sales on big-ticket items like cars and furniture?
In a separate question asking Memorial Day shoppers what they’re planning to buy, one category emerged as the runaway winner: food. Here’s what the breakdown looks like for every age range.
- Ages 18 to 24: 56.86%
- Ages 25 to 34: 68.03%
- Ages 35 to 44: 78.77%
- Ages 45 to 54: 83.19%
- Ages 55 to 64: 86.79%
- Ages 65 and over: 90.32%
There is some good news for those unsure as to whether this means most Memorial Day shoppers can stick to a $100 or less budget for groceries in light of continuing steep inflation prices.Â
The Hill reported on May 15 that data from the Labor Department ‘s consumer price index revealed grocery prices fell for the first time in 12 months in April 2024. Food at home prices also fell 0.2% in April.
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