With the expensive holiday shopping season coming up and nearly 1 in 4 people still working to pay off holiday debt from last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its 2023 Holiday Budgets by City report.
To help consumers avoid post-holiday regret, WalletHub used several key metrics, such as income, age, and saving-to-expense ratios, to estimate the maximum spending amounts for consumers in over 550 U.S. cities.
Average Consumer Profile of New York:
- Overall Rank for New York: 364th
- Monthly Income: $6,225
- Monthly Expenses: $4,901
- Savings: $15,594
- Age: 38.4
- Monthly Income-to-Monthly Expenses Ratio: 1.27
- Savings-to-Monthly Expenses Ratio: 3.18
New York’s Average Holiday Budget for 2023: $1,004
Tips for Making a Holiday Budget
- Start Early: Begin planning your holiday budget well in advance. This gives you time to save and make thoughtful decisions about gifts, food and other expenses without last-minute pressure and inflated prices. Taking advantage of Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales can help you save a lot.
- Use a Rewards Credit Card: Putting your holiday purchases on a rewards credit card can save you a lot of money. Many cards offer initial bonuses for spending a certain amount in the first few months. You could potentially cut down your expenses by several hundred dollars. Just strive to only spend what you can afford to pay in full by the due date.
- Track Spending: Keeping track of what you’ve already spent and how much money you have left is essential if you want to ensure you stick to your budget. Having all your purchases in one place, like on a credit card, can help.
- Explore Creative Ways to Save Money: There are a lot of cost-effective ways to make the holiday season bright, such as giving thoughtful but low-cost gifts, making homemade decorations, or organizing potluck dinners instead of catering expensive meals.
