How you save or not for the Holidays plays a big role in your stress level each year.
Are you a dedicated saver? Or do you spread your gift buying throughout the year? Do you hope a windfall will come along just at the right time? Do you count on a Christmas bonus at work? Or, do you pay by credit card and payoff the balance long after the Holidays are past?
Ive had years where I put the entire Christmas bill on plastic...and it was NO FUN at all...paying on those bills long beyond the life of the gifts.
You have a great opportunity to START NOW, saving a little each pay period to cover your Holidays next year.
I started doing this about 5 years ago...and will never go back to those plastic years.
My DH gets paid weekly...so each week, a set amount is deducted AUTOMATICALLY from our checking account and goes into an ING savings account. This not only provides for a CASH ONLY Christmas, but it also provides an opportunity to take advantage of those great sales and deals that come along throughout the year!
If you havent started a CASH ONLY Christmas plan yet, why not start TODAY?
Figure out the amount you will spend for Christmas 2007, and divide that number by the number of paychecks you get each year...then, set up an automatic deduction for that amount. (If you've always used CREDIT and bought your gifts in DECEMBER...you will find that you can spend LESS MONEY on the Holidays by being able to snatch up good deals as they come along throughout the year!!)
Your 'Christmas Account" can be stashed at your bank, or, like me, in an account other than your bank...making it less likely to be spent on anything besides its intended purpose. It can go into a money market account...or even an envelope.. The KEY is to plan and start now so that you have a solid spending plan for next year!
Once you try it...you wont go back!
Christmas Account 2007...already?
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