Top Holiday Spending In Georgia Ranked By City

GEORGIA — The holiday season is under way, and shoppers across Georgia are trying to wrap up their lists. Personal finance website WalletHub compared the average budgets of 570 cities across the country.

To determine the ranking, WalletHub considered the following factors: income, age. debt-to-income ratio, monthly income-to-monthly expenses ratio and savings-to-monthly expenses ratio.

Flower Mound, Texas had the highest budget in the country at $3,427. Miami, Florida, meanwhile, was the lowest at just $115. One Georgia city was in the top 60 for holiday spending.

Roswell, Atlanta, Columbus and Savannah were all included in the ranking.

Roswell was the highest Georgia city on the list, ranking at number 57 overall at $1,696. Atlanta was next in the state at $902, ranking at number 267.

Warner Robins was ranked No. 366 with a budget of $787; Columbus was No. 434 on the list with $787; Savannah placed No. 484 with a budget of $787; and Augusta was next at No. 493 with $656.

Jared Watson, an assistant professor of marketing at New York University, said that "we can expect a rise in spending as people look for ways to inject excitement into the more mundane routines, we have formed due to the pandemic."

"To avoid overspending, it might be easiest to use a commitment device," Watson suggested. "I would recommend either putting your allocated budget on a prepaid VISA or holding it in cash, separate from any other cash you might carry ... When you run out, if you try to overspend, you have to consciously acknowledge that you have depleted your budget, which should add enough friction to the decision to stop some people from violating their goal."

With reporting by Rachel Nunes, Patch Staff.