We recently conducted our fifth annualy Holiday Stress Survey, which revealed that money, or lack thereof, remains to be a top holiday stress concern for 1,000 adult consumers. Despite the current economic climate, 61% of respondents believe they spend too much money during the holidays.

We asked our gurus, personal finance expert Jean Chatzky, and time management expert Julie Morgenstern, to weigh-in on the survey results and provide tips for surviving and thriving this upcoming holiday season.

It’s no longer what you give but who you give to.

SURVEY FINDING: Last year, when asked what is most stressful about holiday gift-giving, respondents chose “selecting the right gift.” This year, when asked the same question, respondents’ top concern is that the number of people on their list is more than they can afford to buy for.

Jean Chatzky says, “Start by setting a holiday budget—the total amount you want to spend on gifts.  Then divide that number, equally or not, among the people on your list. Stretch your dollars with coupons, which are everywhere this year, but also with creativity. Buy a gift for a couple or a family instead of individuals. Or chip in with one sibling to split the cost on a gift for another.”

Julie Morgenstern says, “To organize your thoughts around spending, come up with criteria for deciding who you give gifts to and who you don’t. For example, consider giving gifts to the children on your list, and business associates. For adult family and friends, suggest gifts which take the form of time together. Host a potluck holiday dinner or knitting party; conduct music or cooking lessons by you (depending on your talents); a jaunt to the movies or the local manicure salon with your gal pals. It will show people that you care, while taking the spending pressure off everyone—and most folks will appreciate that.”

Do I hear discounts on aisle 5?

SURVEY FINDING: When asked compared to last year, what changes they would make this year to their holiday spending, 53 percent of survey respondents intend to spend less on the gifts they buy.  Comparing prices/shopping for sales and clipping coupons also ranked high, at 51 and 44 percent, respectively.

Jean Chatzky says, “You can greatly reduce your spending merely by shopping around, and there are so many comparison shopping sites, to help you. When you find the best deal, take the plunge.  Inventories are leaner this year and you don’t want to miss out on getting what you want by waiting for the price to drop further. But save your receipts. Many retailers will let you capture price reductions for up to 14 days after you buy.”

Venus – you’re more stressed than Mars.

SURVEY FINDING: It’s a fact! As compared to men, women feel more stressed approaching this holiday season than they did last year. While the rank order of the top three stressful activities remained identical between men and women all of the holiday activities noted by the survey cause women more stress than their male counterparts.

Julie Morgenstern says, “To the degree women still tend to feel ultimately responsible for running the household—as well as the ‘go-to’ by filling in the gaps at work left by downsizing—the economic crunch has created significant additional time pressure. Making dollars stretch requires extra hours spent planning out budgets, searching for bargains, monitoring bank accounts and credit card balances to avoid overdrafts, cooking instead of takeout, and doing laundry more often. These added time burdens add stress.”

Holiday crowds make it into the top-three stressors.

SURVEY FINDING: Possibly an early indication for Cyber Monday results, “shopping in crowded stores and malls” ranked among the top three most stressful activities across all age categories, ethnicities, and income levels.

Julie Morgenstern says, “Shopping by catalog or online is a great way to save time, as long as you don’t overdo the browsing.  Shop two to three favorite websites that offer a wide selection. For people on your list who live in another city, simplify mailing by having the site gift wrap and send your gifts directly to the recipient. To keep track of all your purchases, print out a record of every order, including delivery dates for online orders, and store in a file named ‘Gifts Purchased.’”

Jot it down; you’ll feel better.

SURVEY FINDING: With more than half of the survey’s respondents taking time at least once a week to plan, a “to-do list” is perceived as the most helpful tool for dealing with stress, with meditation, and exercise a close second.

Julie Morgenstern says, “I couldn’t agree more. A to-do list gets things out of your head and onto paper. You can take it a step further and transfer to-dos directly onto your calendar.

For every holiday task (i.e., shopping, wrapping gifts, planning meals, etc.), ask yourself how long it will realistically take, and when you will do it…then write that task on the specific day in your calendar you intend to do it. No matter how much is going on, ask yourself what routine activity you find the most grounding (i.e., exercise, meditation, playing the piano), and be sure to anchor your days around that. Never give that up, as it will keep you grounded throughout the holidays.”

Thanks Jean and Julie!

Note:

Survey Methodology- FranklinCovey Products surveyed 1,007 male and female consumers, 18-years and older across the United States through a third-party organization during late September 2009.  The survey’s resulting sampling error rate is +/- 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.