Final project - blog

Christmas Woes

Low-income families and single mothers struggle to make ends meet in a season when most forget that it's better to give than to receive.

By Kylee Morris [kylee.morris@colorado.edu]

Even Santa's struggling to make ends meet.

Results of an annual survey on holiday spending by the Consumer Federation of America show that consumers with low incomes plan to spend less this holiday season then last year’s.

The financial crisis has caused a downturn in the economy. Consumers now worry about rising debts instead of piles of presents.

This year, 55 percent of consumers promised to reduce spending as least “somewhat,” with 27 percent of all respondents saying they planned to spend “much less than last year.”

Single moms seem to suffer the most.

“I'm going to do what my mother did,” said single mom Kelly Kubiak. “She would take us to inexpensive stores and buy us a lot of small inexpensive items so we always had a lot of gifts to open.”

According to Parent Dish, this year parents told their children to scale down on their Christmas wishes. Most parents happily forgo presents in order to provide their kids with the gifts they want.

“I guess we should all be lucky to have anything at all,” said Cindy Tiemann, single mom.

According to data from the Federal Reserve, consumer debt continues to rise with the ratio of debt payments to income approaching its highest level ever.

A staggering 16.3 percent of children in the U.S. under 18 live in poverty. Single-mothers head 26.4 percent of families below the poverty threshold.

“This year and every holiday season we make sure needy families Christmases are a little brighter,” said Elizabeth Freedman, Emergency Financial Assistance Association employee.

Freedman said this year parents should look at Christmas as a learning experience to teach their children that it is better to give than to receive.

Mother and adjunct professor of women’s studies at St. Leo University, Susan Papas, agrees. “That is a good way to learn about money and tackle the current economic crisis without taking the fun out of Christmas,” she said.