Creating a Holiday Savings Fund

Do you find that every January, you stare at your credit card bill and your bank balance in horror, shocked at how much money you spent in credit card billsDecember on presents, holiday treats, decorations, special outings and more?

The holidays can be a very expensive time of year, and many people tend to get carried away and sentence themselves to a January of barely scraping by.

However, if you plan ahead for next Christmas, you will be able to buy all of the presents you need without even batting an eye or seeing your bank balance dip even once.

How can you do this?

Create a Holiday Savings Fund

It’s quite simple. All you need to do is to open a new bank account the week after Christmas and set up an automatic transfer to pay a small amount from your paycheck into the account every week. The amount can be as small as $10 per week.

Now, $10 per week will seem like nothing to you and you won’t even miss it. After all, it’s less than $1.50 per day. It’s the equivalent of two cups of coffee and a muffin at Starbucks every week.

If you can buy things on sale when you go grocery shopping, you can easily shave $10 per week off your shopping budget without even noticing the difference. You will get so used to having $10 less to spend each week that you will forget it was even there in the first place.

It All Adds Up

However, if you stick to the plan and save $10 per week by next December you will have a fantastic surprise. You will look into your bank account and find $520 that you have saved up effortlessly over the last 52 weeks.

$520 is a big chunk of cash, and it will probably be enough to cover all of the Christmas presents for your family! The best thing is that you can splurge on your holiday treats without having to go into debt.

A Holiday Savings Fund is an easy strategy to save up for the holidays, and you will always have enough to make the season special!

Got More Month Than Money? A Few Clever Ways to Save Money This Christmas

If you are short on funds this holiday season, there is no reason why your festivities have to be any less merry!

You can still have a great Baby With Presenttime enjoying the season without having to spend a fortune.

Here are some tips that will help you save money this holiday season:

  • Instead of having to buy a gift for everyone in your office, group of friends, or social circle, why not organize a Secret Santa system instead. Put everyone’s name in a hat and then each draw out a name. You will only have to buy one gift instead of many, and everyone will get a gift in exchange!
  • Why spend money on expensive rolls of wrapping paper, when you can make your own? Presents look cute and colorful when they are wrapped in the Sunday Morning cartoons from your local newspaper. You could also get a cheap roll of brown craft paper and decorate it with stamps, markers, glitter and paint to make your own one-of-a-kind wrapping paper.
  • If you have more time than you have money, instead of buying presents for your friends you can give coupons for your services instead. For example, you could give them a voucher promising that you will clean their car, babysit their children, or help them shovel snow. If you have a special skill, such as playing the guitar or speaking Spanish, you could give out free lessons to friends you know who would like to learn. It won’t cost you anything but your time.
  • When buying gifts for your family, make sure that you comparison shop for the best price. For items such as books, if you can find them in a second hand bookstore or used online, you can sometimes get them for less than half price!
  • Instead of spending a fortune on movie tickets and overpriced popcorn to see the new holiday blockbuster in the cinema, set up your own home movie theatre with enough comfy chairs and pillows for the entire family. Put on a classic holiday favorite, make your own snacks, and enjoy a great evening for only the cost of a DVD rental and some popcorn kernels.

These are just a few ways that you can save money on your holiday celebrations and still enjoy this wonderful, festive time of year.