Are Holiday Shoppers Ready to Spend Money

Are holiday shoppers ready to spend like they did before the Great Recession?  A new Gallup poll says that seems to be the case but things could change by Thanksgiving.

When asked how much they expect to spend, the average was $781, still off somewhat from the anticipated budget of $866 in 2007 but a lot better than the $616 estimate a year later.

Gallup says that the number of people who say they won't spend as much as the previous year is at the lowest level since 2007.

Gallup says that if consumers keep to their anticipated budget during November, overall spending could be 3.8 percent or higher than last year.