The months following Christmas can be a stressful time for many people faced with high credit card bills from holiday shopping. It’s likely that if you’re faced with these post-holiday expenses, you may not be saving or budgeting for them throughout the year. If your New Year’s resolution is to become a better money manager, there are tools and accounts that can make saving for the next holiday season (or any foreseen expense) easy and automatic.
Saving a portion of your paycheck from January until October can help you buy next year’s gifts without using your credit cards. For example, if you put away $20 per pay period based on a bi-monthly pay schedule, you’ll save $400 plus interest earned!
Many banks and credit unions offer Christmas Club savings accounts to keep your holiday savings separate from regular or emergency savings. You can usually elect to have a portion of your paycheck directly deposited into this account each pay period.
Arm yourself with a savings account and a plan for next Christmas and enjoy debt-free shopping next year!
This article is brought to you by Georgia United Credit Union (formerly State Employees Credit Union).
