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Survey Shows Most Americans Dread The Holidays Because Of Spending Pressures

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBS Local) -- 61 percent of Americans are dreading the holidays due to the extra spending and financial burden the season brings, according to a new survey.

LendingTree's 2019 holiday spending survey, published Tuesday, cites guilt as one of the biggest reasons Americans overspend during the holidays, with 76 percent of participants saying they feel pressured to buy gifts for their loved ones.

The financial stress that comes along with holiday spending causes anxiety and sleep deprivation, the survey found.

One in three respondents reported losing sleep over thinking about how they'll pay for the holidays, including about half of millennials and parents of kids under 18.

The average consumer will spend roughly $602.65 on gifts this holiday season. That number balloons to $850.38 for parents with children under the age of 18, the survey showed.

Even with that extra spending, 69 percent of parents with children under the age of 18 said they fear disappointing their children during the holidays.

A quarter of the survey's participants admitted that they'll likely go into debt from overspending this season. And nearly one in five are still paying off debt from last season.

LendingTree offered tips on how to manage spending around the holidays, including setting a holiday budget, working with loved ones on setting spending limits and cutting back on spending in other categories.

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