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In an exclusive interview for Real America News, Jorge Godínez, director for Latin America at WorldRemit, explained the results of a study on the real expenses of families during the Christmas season. The study was done by measuring several countries in the world, but here we are going to focus on comparing American families versus Mexican families , trying to understand the difference between regions.
The study reveals that Americans in December will spend approximately 18. 58% of your income monthly; while in countries like Mexico, spending for the Christmas holidays will be 148% of their monthly income. The difference is quite evident and wide.
The factors that determine the excess, more than 100%, of the monthly expenditure of a Mexican family during the Christmas holidays, can point firstly to that they receive financial aid from relatives who live outside the country.
On the other hand, in most Latin American countries, in the month of December the so-called “Christmas bonus” is received, which is like a kind of bonus that It gives workers , on behalf of the government or the companies in which they work and that increases overall spending. The higher the income, the higher the expense.
Also, during the month of December there is more tendency to use the credit card to buy gifts , food, etc.
Godínez affirms that according to studies, the general rule is that “The countries with the least resources are the countries that spend the most on gifts and the celebration of Christmas, they are less cautious. While in countries where economies are more developed countries, the average spending is much lower.
In general, the study indicates that developed countries spend less money at Christmas, than developing countries.
In terms of expenditures and The statistics revealed there is an important link with the issue of remittances , which for many families in Latin America are an important economic relief they receive from relatives in the United States.
Christmas is the highest time to send money of the whole year . And particularly in these times of pandemic, there are more people who cannot travel or who decide not to, for safety reasons or due to some specific limitation. These people who decide not to travel, send money to “collaborate” with a “good Christmas” for their loved ones.
The spending of this money that comes from remittances, at Christmas time, involves three major items , which have been determined by the study: food for the celebration of Christmas, the 45% of the expenses generally goes for Christmas gifts and the third item is the decoration for these holidays.
In addition, there is a particularity for this holiday season, and that is that there are users who do not send money throughout the year but on these dates they do.
In Mexico, the 20% of monthly spending in December goes to food, then the 44% goes to gifts and a 36% for decorations d e Christmas.
With respect to remittances, the average sending amounts during the month of December are usually very similar to the sending amounts for the rest of the year, the increase is a minimal proportion. Average shipments are around $ 700 dollars per month.
With this data, WorldRemit intends to be able to offer higher quality content to users and adapt the products, from this cross-border money transfer company, on demand. But above all, the goal is for users to understand the impact their remittances have on recipient countries. Jorge Godínez affirms.
The study also seeks to be clear about the consumption patterns, according to the season, in this case it has focused on the Christmas holidays.
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