We may be nice, but Twin Citizens aren’t all that frugal

Between “Minnesota Nice,” Minneapolis’ hardy year-round cyclists and a pragmatism that often has us choosing winter warmth over fashion, you’d think we’d rank higher: According to a new survey by the financial website Mint.com, the Twin Cities aren’t among the most frugal major metropolitan areas this year. Not by a long shot.

Mint polled more than a million of its users to see how discretionary spending in 25 areas compared for residents of 20 cities. Most-frugal-cities honors go to the five cities that both spent less than the national average this year and cut more spending year over year than the national average. Brooklyn tops the list, with discretionary spending dropping 28 percent between 2008 and 2009, followed by San Diego (23 percent drop) Portland (-21), Miami (-16) and Indianapolis (-14). But in the battle between the Cities, Minneapolis trumps St. Paul: discretionary spending west of the river dropped 10 percent year over year, while the east side’s dropped two percent.

Minneapolis does get in one top-five list at Mint, though: We trail only Portland, Denver, Seattle and San Francisco is monthly expenditures for sporting equipment — around 30 bucks a month.

Budget help from Mint.com