Easy Way to Save Money for Christmas Gifts

You can smile when you save enough money for a stress-free Christmas.

Making your list and checking it twice is more fun when you have money specifically readily available for gifts.

At one time (and there may still be some out there) banks had what I would call a scam  to “help” you save your money by offering Christmas Club accounts.   You earned very little interest on your savings, but the big draw was that by saving sequentially by joining a Christmas Club, you would have money for gifts in time for Christmas.

Use this easy saving method and you will have money available for Christmas shopping.

Of course, the banks were making money from these Christmas Clubs, and you were lucky to end up with enough money in your savings for gifts.

Do you have a general idea of how much you spent on gifts this year?  I read somewhere the average amount spent on gifts per person was around $800.00 and up.  If you are buying gifts for, let’s say, 4 people, that would equate to at least $3,200.00 you will need for gifts, come Christmas. For easier math, let’s round the amount down to $3,000.00

Now is the time to get serious about saving for Christmas.

If you can, do not fall into the trap of using credit cards to pay for Christmas gifts, unless you absolutely have to.  Use your debit card instead, with the credit option, which is interest free with no finance charges attached.

But how do you get that $3,000 or more available to you?  Here’s how.

With about 12 months remaining before Christmas rolls around, determine exactly how much you anticipate spending on gifts.  When you come up with the figure, let’s say $3,000 — break the $3,000 into 12 month increments.  If you get paid bi-weekly, break the $3,000 into 24 increments.

This is the amount you will have to start putting aside regularly now, in order to have the grand amount of   $3,000 by next Christmas.

Save money now for Christmas

Here’s the numbers.  Goal — $3,000 by next Christmas.  If you are paid bi-weekly, that’s 24 checks, and maybe two bonus ones where you can cheat and skip saving those weeks.

You would have to save about $125.00 every two weeks or $250.00 per month, which may seem like a challenge, but you will be surprised how much you can save if you put your mind to it. As an incentive, think about the stress-free time you will have during the next Christmas season.

Do you have a utility bill that you pay monthly? Then just imagine that the $250.00 a month is a necesary utility bill that must be paid.

Instead of sending it off in the mail, or paying your bill on line, either put the money away in a savings account or keep it in your checking account — but do not spend it!

Your goal is to have the money in a lump sum available for Christmas 2012 gifts.

See how easy that is.  So go ahead — put that first installment away now, and start saving for a family, fun-filled Christmas in 2012.