Scrooging: The rising holiday trend of breaking up to save on gift expenses
As inflation continues to rise, many people prepare for the holiday season by hunting for discounts and meticulously perusing promotional flyers from popular discount stores. Gift-giving is one substantial expense but the smile on the recipient's face often makes the cost worthwhile.
8:08 AM EST, December 21, 2023
However, not everyone is willing to spend their hard-earned cash on presents and resort to finding savings in unusual ways.
Breakups as a savings tactic
Even though most couples seek to spend the holidays together and carefully select gifts for each other, some may end up disappointed. If you're involved with a particularly thrifty individual, instead of a present under the Christmas tree, you might receive a breakup notice.
Breakups are never pleasant and can be especially painful during the holiday period. The pain is exacerbated if the primary reason for the breakup turns out to be a desire to save money on a gift. This scenario, as a survey conducted by British "Hits Radio" reveals, is not as uncommon as one might think. However, such individuals seldom openly confess to their true motives.
This disturbing dating trend, confessed to by 82 percent of anonymous respondents, is aptly named 'scrooging'. In other words, breaking up before a significant event like a birthday or the holidays, to avoid gift expenses. There is even a chance that the thrifty partner may wish to rekindle the relationship post-holidays.
Signs of relationship immaturity
A psychologist, Piotr Got, shared his insights with naTemat concerning scrooging. He expressed that breaking up with someone to save money signifies relationship immaturity.
- It's hard to envision such a scenario occurring in a mature, well-established relationship guided by shared values - he asserts.
