Holly Jolly Justice: Finder's Christmas Cost Corrector Gives You the Gift of 'Graded' Giving

TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2019 /CNW/ - With less than a month until Christmas, Finder Canada is the only comparison site asking you the tough yuletide questions: Did your Dad forget your birthday? That's -5% on his Christmas present budget! Did Gary take your parking space? - 5%! Is your sister posting unflattering photos of you online? - 5%! Did your bestie talk during the Downton Abbey movie? -5%!

With Finder's online Christmas Cost Corrector, you can swiftly and efficiently drop demerits on friends and family for naughty behaviour throughout the year and come out with a clear, merit-based budget for every dollar of your holiday spend.

How does it work?

Canadians can visit www.finder.com/ca/christmas-spending-statistics to engage the Christmas Cost Corrector.

The Christmas Cost Corrector starts by asking for your pre-tax household income and how many people you need to buy for. Then it lets you know how much you have to spend per person for thrifty, mid-range and generous gifts.

That's where the 'holly jolly justice' comes in…

Canadians can then pick from a series of punitive points to put against the present budget of family and friends. They can also add positive points to boost the budget if their friends and family have been fantastic this year.

The Corrector will then issue a definitive ruling of the dollar amount you should spend on each person, taking into account naughty and niceness.

"Cost correcting may sound like a cynical way to kick off the holidays, but we wanted to create a humour-based campaign to shock Canadians into talking about how much they should actually spend on Christmas this year," said William Eve, Country Manager for Finder Canada. "Besides, when you are on a tight holiday budget, maybe we need to give ourselves permission to reevaluate some of those tough spending decisions."

Sorry men, women may be spending less on presents anyways.

New research from Finder also uncovers what Canadians may REALLY be getting for Christmas this year. Hint: it may be less about if you've been naughty or nice and more about balancing personal debt.

1)  Key findings of the research:

• Women may be a little less generous this year:
  Sorry men, according to the research, five percent more Canadian women are planning to spend less on Christmas presents this year than men as a cost-cutting measure.
  
  
• Canadian Gen Xers are blowing the budget:
  Asked their plans for Christmas spending, Canadian Gen Xers are planning to spend the most of any age group on both presents ($463) and booze ($82).
  
  
• Boys Don't DIY/Young Canadians are Crafty:
  Women are far more likely to get creative and make gifts for their Christmas list, at 26% compared to only 15% of men. If there are younger Canadians in your life, you may want to brace for a homemade bird feeder… Younger Canadians are more likely to make gifts (28% of Gen Zs and 28% of Gen Ys), followed by 19% of Gen Xers and only 15% of boomers.
  
  
• Problematic 'present'-ation:
  According to the survey, we may be buying badly for millennials. 17% of Gen Y and 13% of Gen Zs say they're likely to re-gift what we buy them and use it as a money-saving holiday tactic, compared to just 9% of Gen Xers and 7% of boomers.
  
  
• Younger Canadians are Going Cheap and Cheerful:
  The survey uncovered that the younger you are, the more likely you are to set a firm price limit on holiday gift spending. 54% of Generation Z Canadians and 51% of Gen Ys surveyed are keeping a close watch on their wallets compared to 43% of Generation Xers and only 38% of boomers. Nationally, respondents reported that the total average amount they 'plan' to spend on Christmas gifts ($383), travel ($184), alcohol ($71) and charity ($68) is a somewhat optimistic $800.
  
  
• Boomers don't believe in (secret) Santa:
  Asked if they were planning a secret Santa to save money, boomers were the least likely to play at just 6%, followed by Gen X (9%), millennials 16% and Generation Z who seem to firmly embrace it (27%).
  
  
• Men are planning to give more this year
  Asked what they will spend on charity this holiday season, Canadian men are planning to give significantly more ($94) than women ($44).

"We fully support the notion of Canadians having a plan to reign in the cost of Christmas. The important part is for them to stick to that plan and make some tough decisions about spending, so they don't start off the new year in debt," added Eve. "Some of these ideas like a secret Santa, making homemade gifts and catching after Xmas sales can make a real difference and keep you in the black."

2) Finder's Festive Present Forecast (by Province)

• BC - Handy, with a chance of homemade:
  At 28%, Canadians in BC are the most likely to receive homemade gifts this year.
  
  
• Ontario – Ready to post-holiday shop until they drop:
  At 14% of respondents, Ontarians are the most likely Canadians to pick up Christmas gifts after the holidays to take advantage of deep price cuts.
  
  
• Alberta/New Brunswick/Nova Scotia – Thrifty throughout:
  50% of respondents in Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are tied in planning to impose a price limit on Christmas gifts. Newfoundland (33%), Manitoba (38%) and Quebec (39%) are the least likely to impose a spending limit.
  
  
• Manitoba – No cost-cutting on the horizon:
  40% of respondents in Manitoba firmly said that they were not planning to make cost cuts this Christmas. On the bright side, 0% plan to re-gift this year.
  
  
• Newfoundland – Be prepared for a 'buy out'
  Sadly, 22% of Newfoundlanders responded that they do not plan to buy Christmas presents at all.

You can find the full report here: www.finder.com/ca/christmas-spending-statistics

About Finder Canada:

Millions of North Americans use Finder to help them make better financial decisions. Finder understands that making everyday life decisions such as finding a credit card, buying a home and getting health insurance can be daunting. That's why we're here. Our goal is to help Canadians navigate those complex decisions by making them less of a chore (and hopefully less of a bore, too!)

Methodology:

Survey data is from a National Representative survey of 1,213 Canadian adults commissioned by Finder and conducted by PureProfile in November 2019. Northwest Territories, Nanavut, Prince Edward Island, and Yukon were not included in the analysis due to not having enough respondents.

SOURCE Finder Canada

Patrick McCaully, Pointman News Creation, [email protected]