Highest Holiday Spending Budgets In California

It's the most wonderful time of the year, but between gift buying and wrapping, decorations and holiday meals, from November to January 1, 2018 it's going to be an expensive season. Holiday budgets vary state to state and city to city, and according to a new study by personal finance website WalletHub, Naperville, Illinois has the highest holiday spending in the country coming in at an average budget of $2,381 per person.

In California, NoCal cities ranked as the state's top 10 big spenders including Sunnyvale, whose residents ranked 4th in the nation spending an average $2,360, and Milpitas at 6th, with a per person holiday budget of $2,262.

By comparison, in SoCal, Orange County's Yorba Linda residents are expected to spend an estimated $1,622 per person this season while Mission Viejo residents are expected to shell out an average $1,444. The Orange County city with the least amount to dedicate to the holiday is Anaheim, with shoppers spending just over $600 per person. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Lynwood had the least amount to spend on Christmas, with an average household budget of $122 per person.

Here's how California cities ranked, highest average per person budgets to lowest:

• 4 - Sunnyvale: $2,381
• 6 - Milpitas: $2,262
• 13- San Ramon: $1,916
• 17- Pleasanton: $1,806
• 21 - Santa Clara: $1,706
• 23 - Palo Alto: $1,689
• 24 - Yorba Linda: $1,622
• 26 - Fremont: $1,582
• 27 - San Francisco: $1,575
• 32 - San Mateo: $1,485
• 36 - Livermore: $1,449
• 38 - Mission Viejo: $1,444
• 53 - Santa Monica: $1,306
• 60 - Elk Grove: $1,223
• 68 - Walnut Creek: $1,187
• 77 - Carlsbad: $1,132
• 79 - Newport Beach: $1,124
• 84 - Folsom: $1,090
• 88 - Lake Forest: $1,075
• 93 - Thousand Oaks: $1,068
• 101 - Santa Clarita: $1,018
• 104 - Redwood City: $1,007
• 110 - Simi Valley: $982
• 112 - Temecula: $981
• 114 - Irvine: $945
• 119 - South San Francisco: $928
• 120 - Redondo Beach: $926
• 121 - Alameda: $924
• 123 - Lakewood: $912
• 127 - Roseville: $900
• 130 - Daly City: $894
• 132 - Huntington Beach: $892
• 137 - Vacaville: $870
• 153 - Carson: $838
• 157 - Rancho Cucamonga: $833
• 158 - Murrieta: $829
• 159 - Orange: $828
• 160 - San Marcos: $827
• 180 - Costa Mesa: $778
• 196 - West Covina: $748
• 201 - San Clemente: $743
• 213 - Pasadena: $719
• 246 - Napa: $667
• 270 - Baldwin Park: $638
• 276 - Oakland: $633
• 308 - Anaheim: $613
• 310 - Menifee: $612
• 353 - Escondido: $581
• 372 - Long Beach: $560
• 509 - El Cajon: $419
• 533 - Hemet: $369
• 555 - Indio: $258
• 562 - Los Angeles: $246
• 566 - Lynwood: $122

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WalletHub said it came up with its rankings this way: "To help consumers avoid post-holiday regret, WalletHub's analysts calculated the maximum holiday budget for each of 570 U.S. cities using five key characteristics of the population, such as income, age and savings-to-monthly expenses ratio."

The lowest-spending city in 2017 was Flint, Michigan, with an expected $69 holiday budget per person.

How to Save Money This Holiday Season:

Shopper Wendy Nield, a West Hollywood resident, has a large family with her husband, two tween daughters, brothers, sisters-in-law and multiple nieces and nephews in her extended family, all of whom spend the holidays together in Nield's Southern California home. With both Hanukkah gifts and Christmas gifts to puchase annually, she tends to go over budget.

"I don't know how much I'm planning on budgeting this year, but it's time to start thinking about it," she said. Nield also runs a small business selling handmade "Art Kits" filled with artist-selected art supplies. She's been selling these to aspiring artists for Art on the Go for over a year. "I've been making extra stock to sell on Shop Small Saturday over Thanksgiving weekend. People can make purchases from small businesses and save money while supporting others."

According to Wallethub reports, the average person will spend over 3-percent more than 2016 on holiday giving, with a tab coming in at just over $950 per person. How do you keep from being confronted by that big bill after the holidays? If you're smart, you've prepared your budget, planned year long by saving extra money and squirreling away points from your favorite credit cards.

Shopping and Spending Tips:

This reporter began a Christmas account with her local bank branch early in 2017, depositing roughly $100 per month since January, and plans to pay shop on credit and pay the bill immediately upon arrival. Another way to save, is to pay for presents and stocking stuffers with Amazon Rewards. That Amazon card has racked up the points in a year's worth of subscriptions, movie rentals and book purchases. If you live near the theme park, spend those Disney Rewards Points either at Disneyland or at your local Disney Store, and use that year's worth of Walmart Savings Catcher dollars for last minute items. And if you didn't prepare ahead of time, consider applying to one of the above credit agencies, and earning points for this years' purchases.

Find WalletHub's full 2017 holiday spending rankings here.

Image via FreeStocks.org via Unsplash