An ABCNEWS/Money magazine poll finds that Americans expect to spend an average of $798 on holiday gifts, down from the record-high $869 last year.
     The difference is in the number of big spenders. Twenty-three percent say they’ll spend more than $1,000, down from 28 percent last year. Even so, this year’s average is the second highest in polls dating to 1989.
     But 8 percent still don’t know how much they’ll spend, up from 1 percent a year ago.
    

Holiday Spending Plans
12/3/00	$798
12/12/99	$869
12/6/98*	$702
12/5/94	$634
12/6/93	$639
12/18/92	$605
12/15/91	$617
12/2/90	$588
10/15/89	$634
*1998 and previous by Gallup

Lower ratings of the buying climate this holiday season may be one reason for the dip in spending expectations. Forty-nine percent of Americans call it a good time to buy things, down from 56 percent at this time last year. The record high is 57 percent, set last January.
     Naturally, those with higher-incomes plan to spend much more. People in households making more than $75,000 say they’ll spend an average of $1,437. It’s less than half that, $627, in households earning less than $75,000.
     Women expect to spend somewhat more than men this year — $843 compared to $752. Last year men were the bigger spenders.
     Overall, consumer confidence remains strong. Seventy-seven percent of Americans rate the national economy positively, three points from the record high set in January. Sixty-eight percent say their own finances are in good shape, just two points from its high, last reached at the beginning of the year.
    

Ratings of the Economy
	Today	Highest	Lowest	Average
National Economy	77%	80%	7%	41%
Personal Finances	68%	70%	42%	57%
Buying Climate	49%	57%	20%	38%

     INDEX — The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index, based on these ratings, stands at +29 on its scale of +100 to -100, unchanged from last week. It peaked at +38 last January.
     The index has averaged +29 this year, a point above its record 1999 average. Its lifetime average, depressed by recession in the early 1990s, is -10.
    

ABCNEWS/Money Index
Today	+29
Jan. 16, 2000	+38  Record high
2000 average	+29
1999 average	+28  Best full year
1992 average	- 44  Worst full year
Feb. 9, 1992	- 50  Record low
Average since 12/85	- 10

A Closer Look
As usual, confidence is higher among better-off Americans: The index is +64 in higher-income households compared to -11 in the lowest, +43 among college graduates but -11 among high-school dropouts, +32 among whites but +7 among blacks and +31 among men but +25 among women.
     Here’s a closer look at the three components of the ABCNEWS/Money index:
     NATIONAL ECONOMY — The poll asks: Would you describe the state of the nation’s economy these days as excellent, good, not so good or poor? Seventy-seven percent of Americans rate the nation’s economy as excellent or good, unchanged from last week. The best was 80 percent on Jan. 16. The worst was 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.
     PERSONAL FINANCES — The poll asks: Would you describe the state of your own personal finances these days as excellent, good, not so good or poor? Sixty-eight percent rate their own finances as excellent or good, up a point from last week. The best was 70 percent, set Aug. 30, 1998, and last matched in January. The worst rating was 42 percent on March 14, 1993.
     BUYING CLIMATE — The poll asks: Considering the cost of things today and your own personal finances, would you say now is an excellent time, a good time, a not-so-good time or a poor time to buy the things you want and need? Forty-nine percent say it is an excellent or good time to buy things they want and need, down a point from last week. The best was 57 percent on Jan. 16. The worst was 20 percent in the fall of 1990.

Methodology
The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. This week’s results are based on 1,036 interviews in the week ending Dec. 3 and have an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Field work was conducted by International Communications Research of Media, Pa.
     The ABCNEWS/Money index is derived as follows: The negative response to each index question is subtracted from the positive response to that question. The three resulting numbers are then added and divided by 3. The index can range from +100 (everyone positive on all three measures) to -100 (all negative on all three measures). The survey began in December 1985.

Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.