Traditional joke of the month of December, the ' secret friend ' will be part of the celebrations this year-end of most Brazilians. According to a survey conducted by the Credit Protection Service (SPC Brazil) 57.2% of consumers intend to participate in this type of fraternization. Two out of ten (20.4%) Consumers said they will enter the game to spend less. Other 28.5% do it because they like the joke, while 9.6% always participate to not be seen as antisocial. 

For the chief economist of SPC Brazil, Marcela Kawauti, the secret-friend is an increasingly used option to circumvent the effects of the crisis without giving up the act of gifting. "It is a collective fraternization that solves the obligation to buy gifts for several people, since each one takes care to present only one participant and, in the end, no one is left without a gift. In this type of joke, everyone presents and presents gifts and it is quite common to set a limit for the value to be spent ", emphasizes the Economist. Considering the 42.8% of consumers who will not participate in a secret friend this year, the main justification is the fear of gaining unwanted or bad gifts (22.5%), followed by the lack of money (20.3%).

Average spending per gift is R $55-on average, each consumer will participate in one or two secret friends at the end of the year. The most cited are family (61.1%) and coexistence groups, such as friends (43.8%) and coworkers (29.3%). This year, the average spending should be in R $55.18, which represents a decline of 0.5% in the comparison with 2015 (R $51,10), already discounting the accumulated inflation in the period. "The strategy of stipulating an affordable amount to be spent by the participants makes the focus on creativity and the desire to please the gift, and not necessarily in the financial value," explains economist Marcela Kawauti.

For the financial educator of SPC Brazil, José Vignoli, the secret friend is a means of facilitating the exchange of gifts, but people should not feel embarrassed in not participating, if they are in an uncomfortable financial situation. "The secret Friend is a joke accessible to various financial profiles. Still, not everyone can be a part of it. If the person is in a tight or indebting budget, the priority should be to pay the bills and keep the expenses up to date, because even buying a cheaper item may be lacking. The important thing is to understand that Christmas and the New year are occasions to be in the company of friends and family and express affection. If the finances are disorganised, the purchase of a gift should not be something mandatory ", orients Vignoli.