‘Solid advice’: Spike agrees with limiting gifts to ages 3-18 as 2 WA cities hit top spending list
Nov 28, 2025, 6:04 PM | Updated: 6:05 pm
Kirkland and Bellevue ranked among the top 10 cities in the nation for maximum holiday spending, SeattleRed reported, citing a WalletHub report.
After finding out Kirkland ranked #5 in the nation with a budget of $3,866, and Bellevue ranked #10, with a budget of $3,603, KIRO host Spike O’Neill pointed to a piece of advice going viral from an economic advisor who appeared on Fox News.
Her advice for cutting holiday costs: Skip gifts for adults and focus only on ages 3 to 18. Spike agreed with the strategy.
“Trim your giving this year because the economy is tight, and I get it,” he said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “And I guess it’s giving people permission to do the things that some budgets are going to require folks to do, just naturally.”
“If you don’t have it, you can’t spend it,” he continued. “Don’t go into debt this holiday season to show somebody you love them. Make something, send them a card. Sometimes, a phone call, a nice handwritten note inside a card, might mean more to somebody than a pair of slippers.”
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
