99 Days to Christmas
Years ago banks used to have Christmas clubs. It was a special savings account that you could start in summer and put a little money in each week until Thanksgiving. Some would let you keep donating till about December 15th. Then at the designated time you could pick up your money for buying Christmas presents. Most banks have given up on these accounts. Most people have too. The Christmas Club account earned very little in interest.
No More Christmas Club Accounts. I just cursed, didn’t I? Yes only 99 days till Christmas. How are you going to pay for it this year?
Most people now just whip out the plastic and do this in reverse. They buy all their presents and then make the lowest payment they can and hope by next Christmas the card has enough room for more presents. They pay interest to the bank for letting do this too. And guess who is not complaining. The banks and credit card companies are not. They are charging people interest and have a great revenue stream.
99 Days till Christmas
IDEAS!
1) You could hope the plastic has enough room and pay the high interest rates for another year.
2) You could start buying presents and store them.
3) You could start your own Christmas Club account. Open another ssvaings account and set up a direct deposit or automatic transfer each time you get paid. You will have the bank pay you interest. It still not a lot but better than you paying them. (I would open an account at ING Direct for higher interest rate.) If you put in $20 a week for 12 weeks, and take out the funds on December 15th, you would have $240.00 for Christmas. Continue to put $10 a week in after December 15th and on December 15, 2009, you could have $520.00 for Christmas 2009.
Don’t Spoil the Kids and Your Budget
The big thing is to spend only what you save. The way I do this is to make a list of everyone I need to buy for and what I will spend for each person. Then I have a maybe list for people I will buy for if and only if I have money left over.
No matter how tempting it is to blow everything on the kids, do not bring out the plastic. Just remember last years flurry of paper and asking the kids what they got for Christmas and they could not remember because they got so much. Buy less and they will remember more. I still remember the Christmas I got an electronic football game. Back before video games consoles. That was 30 years ago and I remember the excitement.
Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com
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