Purchases Middle-Class Families Are Most Likely To Regret This Holiday Season
Written by
Andrew Lisa
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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The season of spending is in full swing — and middle-class families are guarding their dollars more closely in 2025 as stubborn inflation, recession jitters and overall financial anxiety accompany them to their favorite stores and e-commerce platforms for their holiday shopping excursions.
Despite the renewed vigilance, many of even the most budget-conscious shoppers will wind up regretting the following four purchases when the bills come due.
Seasonal Decor
If last year’s decorations, ornaments, wrapping paper and other festive furnishings are starting to look dull, dated and drab, the run-up to the new year is not the time for a makeover.
Middle-class families feeling the pinch will regret such a splurge when they see the same seasonal decor they bought now on sale for less right after Christmas.
Christmas in America — which decorates for clients including Rockefeller Center, Radio City and Cartier — advises waiting for after-Christmas sales, when retailers offer holiday decorations at a fraction of the price they charged just days earlier to clear out stale and excess inventory. If that’s too soon, you can find similar deals on similar products during Christmas in July sales in the summer.
Most Things You Don’t Need by the 25th
Holiday decor is hardly the only product category to see dramatic post-Christmas price cuts every year. In 2024, Business Insider reported that hundreds of sellers launched inventory-clearing sales starting immediately after the Dec. 25 holiday shopping deadline, with brands, retail stores, subscription services and e-commerce platforms of all stripes offering deep discounts on products and services including:
- Tools
- Hardware
- Gaming
- Clothing
- Accessories
- Home and kitchen
- Shoes
- Jewelry
- Data and mobile plans
- Electronics
- Streaming
- VPNs and digital services
- Mattresses and bedding
- Fitness
- Luggage
In short, if it’s not a gift you absolutely must buy before Christmas, you can probably get it for less a few days later.
Just About Every Unplanned Purchase
Global professional services firm Deloitte predicts the average shopper will spend $1,595 in the 2025 holiday season, down 10% from 2024 as anxious consumers tighten their belts. That’s why it’s so important to avoid impulse purchases in 2025, but most will not.
According to Amra & Elma — a New York City digital marketing and influencer firm whose clients include Netflix, Uber and the Hard Rock Cafe — nearly nine in 10 shoppers report making an unplanned purchase, often in excess of $100. The primary drivers of spur-of-the-moment spending are discounts and social media, with product displays, free samples and good, old-fashioned emotions not far behind.
No matter the trigger, impulse buying is still the best way for middle-class families to overspend, purchase unnecessary or unwanted items and enter January with buyer’s remorse.
No-Interest Promotional Financing
J.R. Faris, CEO of Accountalent, which provides tax and accounting services to more than 7,500 startups, predicts that for many, the biggest spending regret won’t be the purchases they make, but the no-interest holiday financing specials they use to stretch their budgets for big-ticket products like pricey electronics.
“It has a silent penalty structure similar to what used to exist in the credit card industry,” said Faris, who has seen clients lose up to $300 through hidden financing clauses. “For example, a family buys a $1,200 TV with a 12-month, no-interest promotional plan. However, the contract typically has a provision that provides for a charge-back of retroactive interest if even one of their payments is posted late. When the product loses 25% or more of its original price within 90 days, a family essentially pays retail prices for an item that now holds significantly less value than the remaining amount owed on the purchase.”
Instead, he suggests saving throughout the year for big-ticket purchases and passing on gifts you can’t pay for outright.
“Households that take this approach say they are experiencing fewer January budget surprises as they are in complete control of the cash flow,” he said.
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