If you live anywhere near the Trinity River, you probably know someone — or are someone — who swears every January that this will be the year they start Christmas shopping early. Maybe you even scribble a gift list in March or stash a few stocking stuffers in July. But as the lights go up and the peppermint mochas return, most of us end up right where we always are — sprinting through stores in mid-December, spending more than we meant to, promising ourselves we’ll do better next time. 

And this year, as Texans from the Panhandle to the Gulf gear up for another season of twinkling lights and overdraft alerts, the financial folks at WalletHub are offering something more concrete than good intentions. They’ve rolled out their 2025 Holiday Budgets by City report, and let’s just say Fort Worth residents might want to take a peek before reaching for that second round of impulse buys. 

The report lands at a telling moment. Holiday sales nationwide are expected to blow past the $1 trillion mark — yes, trillion with a T — even as credit card debt continues its annual creep. Going into Q3 2025, the average American household carried $10,227 in credit card debt, a figure that tends to climb faster than temperatures in Texas during July once holiday spending kicks in. 

To help keep folks out of the red, WalletHub analyzed more than 550 cities across the country, crunching numbers on income, age, expenses, and savings to estimate what a reasonable holiday budget looks like in each one. The city-by-city spread ranges from a modest couple of hundred bucks to a sky-high four grand or more. And the champs of holiday splurging this year? Palo Alto, CA, takes the crown at $4,485, followed closely by Mountain View, CA, and Newton, MA. Flower Mound — yes, Flower Mound — lands in fourth place at $3,941. 

Fort Worth, meanwhile, sits comfortably in the middle of the pack. Based on a monthly income of $6,875, average expenses of $4,940, and savings hovering around $15,350, the estimated holiday budget for Cowtown in 2025 clocks in at $1,719. Not tiny, not Texas-sized — just solid. 

But the report isn’t just a stack of stats. WalletHub also tapped professors and financial experts across the country for advice on keeping spending in check. And the consistent message from the ivory tower is surprisingly down-to-earth. 

Set a budget — a real one — and stick to it. Shop with a plan instead of wandering the aisles hoping for inspiration to strike. Watch out for credit card creeps. Don’t assume a sale tag means a good deal. And maybe, just maybe, ask yourself whether your nephew really needs that $350 talking robot dinosaur or if a simpler gift — or even an experience — might matter more. 

Experts recommend getting creative: swap big-box stores for outlets, use price-scanning apps, and remember that sometimes the off-brand earbuds are just as good as the name brand ones. They also remind us that joy doesn’t have to be purchased. Potluck dinners, handmade gifts, Saturday mornings spent volunteering, time with the people we love — these are the things that linger long after wrapping paper hits the trash. 

And as for the current climate? According to LSU professor Dan Hamilton Rice, “If you have ask yourself if you’re in a financial position to buy something, you’re probably not.” Barbara Stewart at the University of Houston warns, “Easy credit is a dangerous pit!” and adds, “Few friends to whom you give gifts really want you to overextend yourself financially.” 

Miami University’s Yao (Henry) Jin reminds us: “Memories last longer than gifts.” On the topic of compulsive shopping, he adds: “If you find yourself doomscrolling through online sales, or going from store to store endlessly, only to buy things you don’t need ‘just in case’ you can use them or gift them, then you might be a shopaholic.” 

So before you let holiday adrenaline carry you deep into the land of late-night online carts and convenience-store gift grabs, take a breath. Take a look at your own spending ratios. And take some comfort in the fact that festive doesn’t have to mean financially frazzled. 

Because as WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo reminds us — “There are plenty of ways to enjoy the holidays and show you care without spending much money.”   

How WalletHub Figures Your Holiday Budget — Step by Step 

WalletHub didn’t just guess how much Fort Worth, or Flower Mound, folks can spend this holiday season — they crunched the numbers across 558 U.S. cities. Here’s how it works: 

  • Five Key Metrics — Income, age, debt-to-income ratio, monthly income versus expenses, and savings relative to expenses all feed into the calculations. 

  • Financial Comfort Check — The algorithm flags a household as comfortable for holiday spending only if they have emergency savings covering at least six months of expenses and a debt-to-income ratio under 22% for renters or 43% for homeowners. 

  • City-Specific Adjustments — Each city’s budget is then tweaked based on how locals measure up against these metrics. 

  • Custom Budgets — WalletHub members can get personalized holiday budgets with the same method, helping avoid overspending. 

  • Trusted Data — Numbers come from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, IRS, Tax Foundation, SlickDeals, SimpleTuition, and TransUnion, making sure the estimates reflect real-life financial realities.