Holiday Shopping Done! How much did we spend?

Ok, all the gifts are bought and sent. Everyone talks about how Christmas isn’t about buying stuff for people, but I don’t mind exchanging gifts with people (I do hate crowded mall parking and shopping, though). As since this is the first year where both my wife and I have jobs, we went a bit crazy this year. After totalling the receipts:

Total on gifts: $1060
Shipping:         $130
———————-
Total:               $1190

According to this article at MSN Money:

Depending on which survey you read, during the holidays Americans last year spent an average of about $483 (The Conference Board), $853 (Roper), $1,600 (Consumer Credit and Counseling Service) or $1,656 (American Express).

So I am right at the average of all those data points ($1148). That is definitely the most I’ve ever spent for holiday gifts – of course, my family has grown significantly since getting married. I won’t fret though, as I am going to be paying off all these credit card bills in full as they come in. However, it will definitely put a dent in my mid-term goal progress.