Over 50% of Hungarians Overspend on Christmas Presents

More than half of the Hungarian population overspends on Christmas presents, according to a new survey.

80% of Hungarians plan in advance the value of the gifts they will buy, but more than 50% overspend during the festive season, according to a representative survey by Magyar Bankholding, the summary of which was sent to the state news agency MTI on Monday.

Respondents' opinions on how many gifts they would like to buy for their loved ones have not changed compared to last year, with an average of seven gifts still planned. Most people are buying between HUF 20,000 and 30,000 this year.

A higher proportion of respondents know in advance what they would like to buy for someone for Christmas, but the range of goods on offer in shops also has a big influence on their choice.

This year, 46.1% of people choose contactless payment, but cash is still popular, with 55.6% using it as their main method of payment.

Digital solutions are gaining ground among young people, with 39.7% of 18–26-year-olds saying they always use their mobile phone to pay when they have the opportunity.

Among 36–44-year-olds, the most common way of paying for Christmas is to save. However, many people finance their festive spending with some form of bank loan, with 83.4% of respondents planning to buy from their credit card limit.

100% of those aged 27-35 said they would spend most of their credit limit on buying presents. At the same time, more than half of those who used their credit card to buy a gift indicated that they would pay the bank back in full after the holidays.