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Millennials are relying on their credit cards more than ever as they face their most financially challenging holiday season yet, according to new data.

Since 2020, millennials have used credit cards for the majority of their holiday spending between 70% to 80% and the percentage has been climbing, according to a three-year analysis of 2,000 American millennials. 

Credit card use made up a whopping 88% of millennials Black Friday spending this year up from 79% in 2023 and 72% in 2020, according to data from Piere, a personal finance app.

Meanwhile, credit card debt in the US jumped $24 billion to a record $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024 8.1% higher than a year ago, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Gen Yers or those born between 1981 and 1996, also known as millennials are leaning on credit cards at record rates as they struggle to stuff stockings and splurge on gifts amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Piere forecasts this holiday season will be the worst yet for credit card debt thanks to stubborn pandemic-era inflation that sent prices on everyday goods sky-high.

The price tag on a dozen eggs, for example, jumped 163% since 2019, according to a CBS News analysis of government data. While a half-gallon of ice cream cost Americans $4.94 in 2019, the same sweet treat costs $6.30 today, the analysis found.

Millennials, in particular, are penny-pinching amid hefty price tags and interest rates that are slow to come down. More than half of millennials in the US reported feeling anxious about finances during the 2024 holiday season — and only 59% said they feel confident they can afford all the expenses tied to Christmas this year, according to Piere.

Weve all heard the overdone avocado toast critiques aimed at millennials, but the truth is theyve faced challenges that older generations didnt, Yuval Shuminer, CEO and co-founder of Piere, told The Post. Record-high housing costs and a general housing shortage are obvious challenges, while large amounts of student debt can make saving money difficult. 

Shuminer traced the millennial struggle back to the Great Recession in 2008, when many Gen Yers started their careers and entered the workforce with less financial stability than their parents had, making it more difficult to build wealth.

The market crash cost millennials an estimated $22,000 each on average, according to a 2014 report from the Young Invincibles, a nonprofit formed by young adults in 2009 to advocate for affordable health care.

Most millennials are not going into debt to splurge on luxuries but rather, to keep up with everyday costs, Shuminer said. 

When prices for everyday essentials like groceries, gas, or rent climb, millennials are forced to spend more on basic essentials, Shuminer told The Post. But if wages arent increasing at the same rate, that extra money has to come from somewhere, often leading to increased reliance on credit cards or loans to make ends meet.

Some 54% of millennials said the rising cost of living crisis will impact their spending this year, Piere said.

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Ohtani’s blast caps 6-run 9th in wild Dodgers rally

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Ohtani's blast caps 6-run 9th in wild Dodgers rally

PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a wild 14-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

The Dodgers trailed 11-8 entering the ninth inning after blowing an early five-run lead.

Andy Pages and Enrique Hernandez hit consecutive run-scoring doubles to open the ninth inning against Kevin Ginkel (0-1). Max Muncy tied it at 11-11 with a run-scoring single and Ryan Thompson replaced Ginkel to face Ohtani.

It didn’t go well for Arizona.

Ohtani, who doubled twice, fell into a 1-2 hole before launching his 12th homer near the pool deck in right to put the Dodgers up 14-11. He finished with four RBIs.

Tanner Scott worked a perfect ninth save in 11 chances.

The Dodgers roughed up Eduardo Rodriguez to take an 8-3 lead through three innings, but couldn’t hold it.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a tying grand slam in the fifth inning, then Ketel Marte and Randal Grichuk hit solo shots off Alex Vesia (1-0) in the eighth to put Arizona up 11-8.

Pages finished with three RBIs and Hernández extended the Dodgers’ homer streak to 13 straight games with a solo shot in the second inning.

Marte homered twice for the Diamondbacks. Rodriguez allowed eight runs on nine hits in 2⅔ innings.

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Marchand’s OT score cuts Panthers’ deficit to 2-1

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Marchand's OT score cuts Panthers' deficit to 2-1

SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand scored on a deflected shot at 15:27 of overtime and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Friday night to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinal series to 2-1.

Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Jonah Gadjovich scored for Florida, which got 27 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. Evan Rodrigues had two assists for the Panthers. They 13-2 in their last 15 playoff overtime games.

John Tavares scored twice, and Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly also scored for the Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll stopped 32 shots.

Game 4 will be in Sunrise on Sunday night.

Florida erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1, and that’s been almost impossible to do against Toronto this season.

By the numbers, it was all looking good for the Maple Leafs.

  • They were 30-3-0 when leading after the first period, including playoffs, the second-best record in the league.

  • They were 38-8-2, the league’s third-best record when scoring first.

  • They had blown only 11 leads all season, none in the playoffs.

  • They were 44-3-1 in games where they led by two goals or more.

Combine all that with Toronto having won all 11 of its previous best-of-seven series when taking a 2-0 lead at home, Florida being 0-5 in series where it dropped both Games 1 and 2, and leaguewide, teams facing 0-2 deficits come back to win those series only about 14% of the time.

But Marchand — a longtime Toronto playoff nemesis from his days in Boston — got the biggest goal of Florida’s season, rendering all those numbers moot for now.

The Leafs got two goals that deflected in off of Panthers defensemen: Tavares’ second goal nicked the glove of Gustav Forsling on its way past Bobrovsky for a 3-1 lead, and Rielly’s goal redirected off Seth Jones’ leg to tie it with 9:04 left in the third.

Knies scored 23 seconds into the game, the second time Toronto had a 1-0 lead in the first minute of this series. Tavares made it 2-0 at 5:57 and just like that, the Panthers were in trouble.

A diving Barkov threw the puck at the night and saw it carom in off a Toronto stick to get Florida on the board — only for Tavares to score again early in the second for a 3-1 Leafs lead.

Florida needed a break. It came.

Reinhart was credited with a goal after Woll thought he covered up the puck following a scrum in front of the net. But after review, it was determined the puck had crossed the line. Florida had life, the building was loud again and about a minute later, Verhaeghe tied it at 3-3.

Gadjovich made it 4-3 late in the second, before Rielly tied it midway through the third.

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Vegas’ Roy dodges suspension for G2 cross-check

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Vegas' Roy dodges suspension for G2 cross-check

NEW YORK — Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy was fined but not suspended Friday for cross-checking the Edmonton OilersTrent Frederic in the face in overtime of Game 2 of the teams’ second-round playoff series.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the fine of $7,813, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, after a disciplinary hearing with him.

Roy attempted to play the puck while it was airborne but made contact with Frederic’s head instead, resulting in a laceration for the Oilers forward.

Frederic briefly exited the game before making a quick return to the ice. Edmonton, however, failed to capitalize on the ensuing five-minute power play but won not long after on a goal by Leon Draisaitl from Connor McDavid.

Vegas trails the best-of-seven series 2-0 with Game 3 on Saturday night at Edmonton.

Information from The Associated Press and Field Level Media was used in this report.

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