Consumers spent an average of $811 on holiday gifts, significantly more than the $699 they initially planned to spend, according to a Consumer Reports survey expected to be released today. About 4 in 5 consumers bought gifts, and in a good sign for discretionary spending, many shoppers bought for themselves, the poll found.

While this sounds good for retailers, spending more than you intended to spend makes it difficult to stick to a budget for Christmas spending. The article continues to say that many people also used their credit cards for purchases. Spending $112 more on gifts than you anticipated can mean the difference between having money for the electric bill or a few tanks of gas. Still the results of the survey are for an average… This does not mean that everyone went over their budget or even those who went over their budget only spent $811. There still may be people who spent well over their budget but had no financial problems. If a person can afford to spend $811 or $5811 on Christmas gifts without causing problems for their budget it’s not an issue, which is where surveys such as these give the wrong impression. A person’s cost of living makes a difference in how and what they can really afford to spend. A free spender who became newly frugal or at least cut back on spending but with a higher income might see spending less than a thousand dollars a bit low for holiday gifts, especially if they have many gifts to buy.

Retailers aren’t as panicked about the upcoming holiday shopping season as they were last year.

With this scenario in mind, retail experts said their No. 1 tip for gift shoppers this year is grab what you want, when you see it.

“Merchants got burned badly last year when they were left with a lot of unsold merchandise after Christmas,” said George Whalin, retail expert and president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants.

There is a different feel about holiday shopping this year than last year. Retailers have discovered a new normal, which means more sparsely stocked shelves and a high rate of unemployment. If people are unemployed, they may be less likely to spend a lot for Christmas or other holiday gifts.

This news shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has been shopping lately. Remember a couple of years ago when the credit was flowing freely and the choices on the shelves and racks were seemingly endless. Those days are temporarily gone in some places. The only stores that seem to offer more choices are places that cater to crafts and home entertainment since more people are entertaining themselves with crafts and staying home to watch movies.

Since there are fewer items that retailers will offer for sale and will probably have only a limited amount of the “hottest” items available, then it will difficult to get those bargains. This seems hard to believe considering the number of coupons that I currently have and receive regularly that I would actually make purchases from those stores.

Prudent choices when shopping and budgeting before going Christmas shopping makes a big difference especially when paying cash. For people who are really sticking to a budget making the decision to buy one item whether it is the “hot” gift of the season or not will make a greater difference to individuals but to retailers it might. To really stick to a shopping budget giving someone a gift card or cash will help a person not go over budget. Unless you can find a particular item that you know the recipient will love for less than you have budgeted… move on until you find something they will really enjoy and use.