Holiday spending in Canada is expected to be at an all-time high this year, yet many Canadians aren’t planning to take advantage of upcoming savings opportunities, according to a new survey.

Canadians are planning to spend on average a total of $1,400 per person this holiday season, according to the survey conducted by deal-finding website RetailMeNot.ca, which gathered responses from over 1,500 adults.

With regard to gift-giving in particular, 43 per cent said they tend to overspend, with each person committing an average of $653 this year — $100 more than last year and $171 higher than Americans.

Yet, only a quarter of Canadians (26 per cent) plan to take advantage of the deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, taking place on Nov. 24 and Nov, 27, respectively.

RetailMeNot attributes the lack of participation to “confusion.” Its findings show that 42 per cent of respondents are unsure of how to find the best deals during the marquee shopping events.

This reluctance is in contrast to shopping habits in the U.S., where over half of Americans (54 per cent) plan to take advantage of the deals.

However, 60 per cent of respondents believe excitement is growing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and 59 per cent say the events are becoming more of a staple in Canada.

But there’s also the risk of spending beyond your means while shopping for discounts. One way to not go broke while trying to save? Make sure to set a budget.

The margin of error for RetailMeNot’s survey is plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.