Save Money For Next Christmas – Part 3

In this series, we are learning how to ensure we pay cash for next Christmas!

Step 1   Determine how much money you want for Christmas next year

The goal in this step is to use the Mini-Budget Form (Excel) to determine the amount of money that you want for next year’s Christmas.

Step 2   Save EVERY month for Christmas next year

By saving for Christmas every single month of the year, you can really lighten the financial burden that is regularly felt in November and December’s budget!

Step 3   Make it AUTOMATIC!

Anyone who has ever participated in a Christmas Club savings account KNOWS how great it is to have the savings be AUTOMATIC!   When you make anything automatic, it helps you stick to it.  If you automatically go to gym every morning, you will stay in shape.  If you automatically read your newspaper every morning, you will stay informed.  If you automatically SAVE, you will pay cash for Christmas!

One reason I regularly promote Capital One 360 Savings Accounts is because of their great interest rates with no minimum balance.  Another reason is these accounts have a feature that allows you to AUTOMATICALLY draft your bank account at a set frequency.  You can set it to draft your account monthly, weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or any other frequency you choose.  You have determined the amount you need to save for next year’s Christmas.  Now why not set up a bank account to keep you on course?   If your bank pays competitive interest, you should contact them to have an automatic draft set up.

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2 Comments

  1. Todd C on December 28, 2007 at 5:50 am

    Joe,

    A great high interest rate bank to check out is amtrustdirect. (www.amtrustdirect.com) I’ve been using this bank over a year now an it’s based here in Ohio. It is currently paying 5.11%

    Keep up the great posts.

    Todd



  2. chris on December 28, 2007 at 8:32 am

    Joe: As always, Great Information. Planning for next Christmas now makes so much sense and triggers the necessary behavior factors that will lead to success…..and a paid for Christmas in 2008.

    I like the ING factor. Plus, if they can get the initial $250.00, they get a $25.00 bonus by leaving it on deposit for 30 days. But then again, why would they want to start withdrawing the Christmas fund before……well Christmas?

    ING has been a real useful tool for me.

    As Todd notes, there are some higher paying options, and if you are saving a large sum of money for a car or home purchase, those options may be beneficial in the long run. But for ease of use and a decent interest rate, ING can’t be beat.

    Chris



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