3 Signs You Should Return a Holiday Purchase

If you made your fair share of holiday purchases this past season, you're in good company. Data from Adobe reveals that consumers spent a whopping $222 billion between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023.

But some of the holiday purchases you made may be purchases you shouldn't actually keep. Here are three signs that a given item of yours really needs to go back to the store.

1. You're still paying it off and racking up interest

It's one thing when your washing machine breaks and you need to charge a new one on a credit card in the absence of having the savings for it. After all, you need a way to clean your family's clothing.

But it's another thing to charge a non-essential expense on a credit card and pay off that purchase over time, racking up interest all the while. If that's the case, then you're better off returning any item that you're still able to. Not owing all that money and interest could help you start the year on a better financial note.

Keep in mind that it's not just credit card purchases you should consider returning if they're not paid in full. If you financed purchases via a "buy now, pay later" plan -- something consumers did during the past holiday season to the tune of $16.6 billion, per Adobe -- then you may want to take those back as well. Even if you're not paying interest yet, falling behind on your payments could cost you, so it's best not to owe money on an installment plan.

2. You realize you may not use it as much as expected

Maybe you were so excited to scoop up an air fryer on Black Friday when prices were slashed. But if it's now mid-January and you've yet to use that item more than once, then you may want to consider taking it back. Even if you got a good deal and you didn't rack up debt when buying it, there's no sense in spending money on something you're not going to get good use from.

3. You were in a rush and didn't shop around for a better deal

Holiday season shopping can be a bit frenzied in nature. Stores tend to be packed and deals tend to be abundant, which puts the pressure on to make quick decisions rather than slow down and do research.

If you bought a holiday purchase in a snap and feel you didn't have time to research prices, do that now. If you see a better deal, then returning your initial purchase is pretty much a no-brainer if that option still exists.

Don't wait to do those returns

The amount of time you have to make holiday returns will depend on the retailers you shopped at. But either way, given that we're now a few weeks past the holiday season, if you have items you think need to go back to the store, then your best bet is to tackle that task sooner rather than later. You don't want to run into a situation where you're beyond a given item's return window once you've decided it shouldn't remain in your possession.