This City Has the Biggest Holiday Budget in Idaho
'Tis the season for holiday shopping.
The holiday season brings so much to our lives. Christmas lights and decorations take over just about every business. Holiday music fills every speaker around us. And there's nothing better than grabbing a hot peppermint mocha and browsing the stores for the perfect gifts.
Well, until you see the total at the register.
Oh sure, the idea of your sweet child opening that present or your Aunt Sally unwrapping that gift with a big smile is at the forefront of your mind. Yet, at the back of your mind, you can already see the beads of sweat running down your forehead when you see that credit card bill come January.
This is where budgeting comes in.
And lets face it, everyone's budget is different. Some don't have the means to go crazy, while others adopt a "let go and let God' policy. I'm not saying you shouldn't be generous, nor am I saying you should be stingy. I'm just saying that there are other ways you can show love this Christmas that don't involve a gift under the tree.
But that's another post for another time.
Back to the budget.
Recently, WalletHub compiled a list of the "Holiday Budgets by City." To determine how much each of the cities listed might be spending this year, they looked at income, savings each month, expenses each month, population, age and more.
It looks like Meridian, Idaho has the biggest budget in our state, and is number 252 overall.
Their Santa-sized budget on average comes to about $930. That's very reasonable compared to the biggest budget in the nation which belongs to Flower Mound, Texas at $3,427. In fact, Texas cities accounted for three out of the top five budgets.
Of course, they didn't look at every single city in the nation, but the smallest holiday budget this year belongs to Miami, Florida at $115. Now that's more my style. Yes, I'm cheap... like Scrooge.