How to save for the holiday season
Published 9:00 am Friday, October 30, 2026
According to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast, holiday retail sales will be between $1.70 to $1.71 trillion during November 2026 through January 2027. That’s an increase of about 4% from last year.
PwC’s Holiday Outlook 2026 survey tells a slightly different story, predicting spending will dip by about 2%.
Whether spending climbs or eases slightly, for many people, that means one thing: Holiday budgets aren’t really easing up.
Thinking about holiday spending while the season is still months away keeps your budget from being a last-minute scramble, in what could be an expensive holiday season. Here are a few tips from Intuit TurboTax to stay ahead of your expenses:
1. Set your savings goals
Holiday costs add up fast. Per the PwC survey, the average consumer is expected to spend about $708 on holiday gifts this year.
But costs don’t stop at gifts. There’s also holiday travel (plane tickets, gas for the car, hotel rooms, and meals), parties, family dinners, and admission costs for holiday festivities and performances.
So it’s worth figuring out how much you need to save to pay for everything you wan...