SURVEY: HOW COUPLES SPEND ON GIFTS FOR EACH OTHER

A survey from Quicken of more than 1,000 married couples shows how couples handle gift budgets for each other at Christmastime:
– One in five people have forgotten to buy their spouse a gift.
– Almost a third say they spend more on themselves than they do on their spouse during the holiday season.
– When it comes to a spouse’s gift, 70 percent of couples set an agreed limit on how much they should spend on gifts.
– But no one honors it. While 81 percent spend more than they said they would, 19 percent let their partner think they spent more than they actually did.
– Those who did set limits report being more satisfied in their marriages than those who don’t.
* And we wonder why Americans have no money for retirement.
* If you’re among the one in five people who forget to buy their spouse a gift, you probably won’t have that problem much longer.
* The trick is to set the limits AFTER you know they’ve already bought your gift.
* Remember – all of this depends on which of you sees the credit card bills.
* For extra fun, try re-gifting your spouse with the gift they gave you last year.