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November 28, 2021

How much should you spend on holiday gifts for your significant other?

Cyber Monday is today, though unless you’re, like, responsible or something, chances are you’re not browsing the Amazons, Best Buys and Chapters’ of the web with gift giving in mind.

Stock-photo-16975754-giving-a-giftWhat’s that mean? For one, it suggests Canadians, short on foresight, will get slapped with regular retail prices when they finally get around to holiday shopping next month.

And with that in mind, it also suggests Canadian couples will face a bona fide budget quagmire when deciding how much to spend on their boyfriends and girlfriends.

What should you hand out, during a sale or otherwise, when shopping for your significant other’s gift? And, coincidentally, how long should a couple be together before holiday gifting is appropriate? Find the answers below.

Perhaps there is no method to find concrete answers to gifting questions in the complicated couple world. Though, if there must be a way, maybe it’s by polling Canadian singles signed up for dating services, a group that, judging by their participation on sites like Match.com, surely must know what doesn't  work in a relationship.

*Bing: What does a boyfriend or girlfriend cost, really?

Ahead of the holidays, Match ran a survey by more than a thousand Canadian singles, asking when boyfriends and girlfriends should give, and what they should spend.

Among the results are several interesting findings, including the following trio:

1) When should you give? According to the survey, most Canadians believe you start giving gifts to your significant other after dating for 1-2 months. (Don’t tell this to Canucks from the Prairies, though, who said they prefer to wait six months or more in a relationship before handing out a holiday present.)
2) What should you spend? More than half (51 per cent) of respondents think you should spend over $50 on a gift if you’ve been dating for less than six months. Any relationships lasting over six months should be exchanging gifts of no less than $75, the survey results suggest.
3) Who spends more? Showing machismo surely extends to their wallets, about three times the amount of men than women told Match.com that you should spend over $200 on a gift for someone you’ve been dating for more than six months.

What do you spend on your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife or partner each holiday?

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...