The holiday season is known as the most wonderful time of the year, but a new survey from COUNTRY Financial® reveals it may also be one of the most stressful. According to the survey, a whopping 70 percent of Americans are stressed about the upcoming holiday season, with most respondents in this group—32 percent—feeling the greatest stress around holiday finances. Other top sources of stress include finding the right gifts (21 percent), not having enough time to get everything done (16 percent), family-related issues (15 percent) and travel (4 percent). It turns out that Americans have reason to be stressed about finances; the survey found that on average Santa would need to leave $58,673 in an individual’s stocking for them to be totally debt-free this holiday season. “The financial pressures and additional expenses around the holidays can make it a stressful time for many Americans—especially those who are already carrying a variety of debts,” said Troy Frerichs, Vice President of Investment Services at COUNTRY Financial. “Don’t let the holidays ruin your goals of paying down debt. Take simple steps to budget and plan ahead in advance of the season. Ask yourself what your family can realistically afford this year, create a goal and stick to it.” For more information, visit www.countryfinancial.com.