Stressed out about buying that perfect holiday gift for someone special? You're not alone. About 45 percent of all Americans feel pressured to spend more money on gifts than they are comfortable with, according to a new Bankrate.com survey.

Data analyst Adrian Garcia said 13 percent are willing to boycott gift giving altogether to save cash

  • 22 percent of gift-givers plan to re-gift presents this season
  • 16 percent would give second-hand items rather than spring for something new
  • 34 percent said they would be creative and try homemade gifts this year.

Garcia said the most common way to save a few bucks this season is to limit gift giving to immediate family and friends — 64 percent of respondents said they were willing to do that.

What may seem surprising about the survey is that the more money a person makes, the more pressure they feel to overspend around the holidays, said Garcia. About 41 percent of those earning $75,000 or more a year feel the need to splurge on gifts rather than those who make less money.

"If you don't have the money and you're barely getting by to get groceries and things like that, you're not going to spend a lot of time worrying about gifts," said Garcia.

Women have felt more pressure than men to overspend on holiday gifts. But they do like to shop around for deals and 62 percent like to use coupons. Women are also twice as likely as men to give homemade gifts or buy things in thrift shops.

As far as age groups, Millennials (ages 18-37) and Gen Xers (ages 38-53) feel that pressure to spend more on gifts than they're comfortable doing during the holidays, most likely because they have something to prove, said Garcia. These groups are heavily into social media so there's a lot of pressure to snap a picture of gifts and post it.

Millennials are also more willing than Baby Boomers to give second-hand items as gifts and are more willing than Gen Xers to give homemade gifts.

To reduce some financial burden around this time of year, Garcia suggested setting a budget, don't take on a lot of debt heading into 2019, don't buy items at full price and be creative with your presents.

More From SoJO 104.9 FM