‘Tis the season for giving… dupes?

Buying a dupe — short for duplicates — rose to the top of this year’s holiday wish-lists. A dupe gift is a gift that is a cheaper alternative to a more expensive, branded item. They were largely kept under the radar until recently because a “fake” was dubbed inferior to the real thing, but a lot has changed.

In some cases these brand imitators are now even preferred to their pricier counterparts.

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This year, 79% of consumers said they would buy a dupe as a gift for their loved ones for the holidays, according to a survey of more than 1,000 shoppers by CouponCabin.

More than half — 51% — of those that the coupon site polled said dupes are better than the original.

Even when consumers can get the real thing, nearly 33% of adults intentionally purchased a dupe of a premium product at some point, a separate report by Morning Consult also found. The business intelligence company polled more than 2,000 adults in early October.

For instance, some family members or friends might especially appreciate a dupe for what it is, said Ellyn Briggs, a brands analyst at Morning Consult. 

“It’s kind of a badge of honor for young people to get a dupe,” she said.

On the other hand, you risk disappointing someone if they have been asking for a specific product for a while, said Melanie Lowe, CouponCabin’s savings expert. 

If that is the case, consider the cost of the name-brand item and assess if it is within budget. The key is to know when to splurge or save, Lowe said.

“If you’re talking about a product that you’ll use daily… invest in the original,” Lowe said. “That purchase is usually worth it.”

Alternatively, “if it seems appropriate in the situation — if it is a more light-hearted gift — you can definitely go the dupe route,” she said. 

A majority, or 62%, of U.S. adults who use TikTok say they use the app for reviews or recommendations, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. Others tap Instagram and Facebook for product research. 

Three in four shoppers said that giving secondhand gifts has become more accepted over the past year — notching a 7% increase from the year before, according to the 2024 OfferUp recommerce report. OfferUp, an online marketplace for buying and selling new and used items, polled 1,500 adults in July.

The majority, or 83%, of shoppers are also open to receiving secondhand gifts this holiday season, the report found.

Shoppers have increasingly turned to resale for a number of reasons, including value, sustainability and as a means to secure hard-to-find luxury items. Because secondhand shopping is considered eco-friendly, it’s also become more socially acceptable. OfferUp’s report credited Generation Z for driving a shift in mindset.

“The stigma around secondhand gifting is rapidly diminishing,” said Todd Dunlap, OfferUp’s CEO. 

However, the same buyer-beware mentality applies, cautioned Babson’s Beitelspacher, especially if you are ordering secondhand goods online. “You might not get what you want,” she said.

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Many employees have a health savings account, which offers tax incentives to save for medical expenses. However, most are still missing out on long-term HSA benefits, experts say.

Two-thirds of companies offer investment options for HSA contributions, up 60% from one year ago, according to a survey released in November by the Plan Sponsor Council of America, which polled more than 500 employers in the summer of 2024. 

But only 18% of participants invest their HSA balance, down slightly from the previous year, the survey found.

That could be a “huge mistake” because HSAs are “the only triple-tax-free account in America,” said certified financial planner Ted Jenkin, founder and CEO of oXYGen Financial in Atlanta.

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Health savings accounts are popular among advisors, who encourage clients to invest the funds long term rather than spending the funds on yearly medical expenses. But you need an eligible high-deductible health plan to make contributions.

Some 66% of employees picked an HSA-qualifying health plan when given the choice, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America survey.

However, the best health insurance plan depends on your family’s expected medical expenses for the upcoming year, experts say. Typically, high-deductible plans have lower premiums but more upfront expenses.

“It’s one way to deal with the inflationary cost of health care,” said Jenkin, who is also a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council. “If you invest it wisely, it can look like a health 401(k).” 

A 65-year-old retiring today can expect to spend an average of $165,000 in health and medical expenses through retirement, up nearly 5% from 2023, according to a Fidelity report released in August.

That estimate doesn’t include the cost of long-term care, which can be significantly higher, depending on needs.

Most Americans are concerned about what may happen to Social Security when its retirement trust fund crosses a projected 2033 depletion date, according to a new Bankrate survey.

Nearly three-quarters, 73%, of non-retired adults and 71% retired adults say they worry they won’t receive their benefits if the trust fund runs out. The October survey included 2,492 individuals.

Those worries loom large for older Americans who are not yet retired, according to the results. That includes 81% of working baby boomers and 82% of Gen Xers who are worried they may not receive their benefits at retirement age if the trust fund is depleted.

“Once someone’s actually staring at the prospect of the end of their full-time employment, the seriousness of the need to fund that part of their life comes into full view,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.

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Still, a majority of millennials and Gen Zers surveyed, at 69% and 62%, respectively, are similarly concerned.

Social Security relies on trust funds to supplement its monthly benefit payments that currently reach more than 72.5 million beneficiaries, including Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries.

While payroll taxes provide a steady stream of revenue into the program, the trust funds help to supplement benefit checks. Social Security’s actuaries project the fund the program relies on to pay retirement benefits will be depleted in 2033. At that time, an estimated 79% of those benefits will still be payable.

Social Security is “inflation indexed longevity insurance,” said CFP David Haas, owner of Cereus Financial Advisors in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Every year, benefits are automatically adjusted for inflation, a feature that would be difficult to match when purchasing an insurance product like an annuity.

“You really can’t get that from anywhere else,” Haas said.

While more than a quarter — 28% — of non-retired adults overall expect to be “very” reliant on Social Security in retirement, older individuals expect to be more dependent on the program, according to Bankrate. The survey found 69% of non-retired baby boomers and 56% of non-retired Gen Xers expect to rely on the program.

To avoid relying on Social Security for the bulk of your income in retirement, you need to save earlier and for longer, Haas said.

“You need to compound your savings over a longer period, and then you’ll be flexible,” Haas said.

To be sure, shoring up a long-term nest egg is not a top-ranked concern for many Americans now as many face cost-of-living challenges. A separate election Bankrate survey found the top three economic concerns now are inflation, health care costs and housing affordability.