Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed, most of us have probably at least started on our holiday shopping. I have about 40% of my gifts purchased and mostly from online stores. Although I don&39;t have a detailed budget, I have a good idea of how much I am spending on gifts this year.

As much as car dealers and electronic stores want to make us think that big ticket gifts are standard, the statistics don&39;t match those messages. According to the National Retail Federation&39;s annual predictions, shoppers are planning to spend an average of $791.10 this holiday season, up from $738.11 in 2005. "As usual, most holiday budgets will be allocated to gifts, with the average person spending $451.34 on family, $85.60 on friends, $22.40 on coworkers, and $44.52 on other people like clergy, teachers, and babysitters." Does this match your holiday gift budget for 2006?