The financial data site WalletHub recently compared 570 cities across America to see what the average consumer is likely to spend on Christmas shopping this year.
The site noted, “our analysts used five key metrics to estimate and compare the maximum holiday budgets for each of 570 U.S. cities, giving consumers a better sense of their spending range relative to where they live.”
The five key metrics they used were; 1) Income, 2) Age, 3) Debt-to-Income Ratio, 4) Monthly Income-to-Monthly Expenses Ratio and 5) Savings-to-Monthly Expenses Ratio.
According to the site, here is the “Average Consumer Profile of a Charlottean”:
Monthly Income: $4,493
Monthly Expenses: $3,536
Savings: $6,104
Age: 34.3
Debt-to-Income Ratio: 46.4%
Monthly Income-to-Monthly Expenses Ratio: 1.27
Savings-to-Monthly Expenses Ratio: 1.73
Charlotte’s Average Holiday Budget for 2018: $700 (up from $629 in 2017)
Charlotte now ranks number 224rd in America (up from 263rd last year) for estimated holiday spending – pretty much right in the middle.
How much do you plan on spending this holiday season?