Many more people feeling anxious about extra expense involved with the festive period are turning to their credit card to pay for Christmas this year, a new survey of 1020 Kiwi adults reveals.

Banked’s Christmas Spending Survey 2023 found that over a third (34 per cent) of New Zealanders were planning to use a credit card as the main way to pay for Christmas 2023 – up 14 per cent from 20 per cent last year.

The report also found that while stress related to the cost of Christmas has dropped overall this year, most women and Gen Z Kiwis are still feeling the strain.

Fifty-seven percent of women reported either a little or very stressed about the cost of Christmas, compared with 38 per cent of men. With 55 per cent of Gen Z feeling the same, they are the generation most likely to feel money-related stress this year.

“We’re seeing an overall drop in stress levels from last year [2022], with 48 per cent of Kiwis reporting some level of stress compared with 60 per cent last year,” says Banked head of publishing Kevin McHugh.

“But many people are still feeling anxious about extra expense involved with the festive period and will be turning to credit cards to cope.

“A cost of living crisis has been putting people under financial pressure for a while now. Our survey shows that fewer people are now able to rely on the money they’ve saved to pay for Christmas and that credit cards are picking up that shortfall

“A credit card can be a useful financial tool, but it can also be a trap if not used wisely. Overspending on plastic at Christmas can result in debt that lasts well into the next year, resulting in even more financial pressure.

“There is an expectation to splash out over the Christmas period, but good advice is to spend within your means as much as possible and avoid the debt and interest payments that come with credit card overspending.”

Last year, 56 per cent of Kiwis said that money saved would be the main way they would pay for Christmas. That figure drops to 41 per cent this year.

Banked’s survey also found that a third (33 per cent) of New Zealanders expected to spend more this Christmas. That figure increases to 41 per cent for Gen Z and 40 per cent for Millennials, while just seven per cent of Baby Boomers say they were planning to spend more.