Do you have a Christmas account fund?

[brunette8706]

Hi All!

My husband and I have been doing the Christmas Holiday fund at our credit union. It works out great! YOu simply designate the a certain amount of funding each week or bi-weekly into your Christmas account. By the end of November you will receive a check. This really in my opinion is a great idea to have extra cash for Christmas gifts.

Anyone else do this?

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Brunette

 

[Marionnette]

Hi All!

My husband and I have been doing the Christmas Holiday fund at our credit union. It works out great! YOu simply designate the a certain amount of funding each week or bi-weekly into your Christmas account. By the end of November you will receive a check. This really in my opinion is a great idea to have extra cash for Christmas gifts.

Anyone else do this?

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Brunette

I used to do this when I was just out of college and had trouble managing all that money that I was suddenly making. Having a Christmas account was one way to make sure that I set money aside for all of the Christmas presents and December birthdays we have in my family.

I even set up vacation funds to cover summer trips.

But as I've gotten older and better at managing my money, I don't need a separate savings account to cover my December spending.

 

[Padstack]

We have an ING account set-up for this. Paying cash for Christmas makes the holidays a lot less stressful.

 

[CowboyCO]

I have a separate account that automatically pulls $100 a month into with it being tagged for Christmas.

I used to have an employer that pulled money from each check into a Christmas bonus" that was then paid out the first week in December.

It was nice.

I got used to it, so now I do the same thing myself.

 

[horseshowmom]

We do that here at work. While I am capable of managing my money on my own , I like the Christmas Club.

 

[disneyofcourse]

I sure do! It's easy to know how much spending money I have left and no need to count up receipts. I use a credit card and then transfer money.

 

[CowboyCO]

We do that here at work. While I am capable of managing my money on my own , I like the Christmas Club.

I've always felt that doing a Christmas club or a separate savings account WAS managing your money... LOL

I have several accounts. Christmas, savings, retirement, checking and automobile. I have a set, budgeted amount go into each of them, each month.

 

[horseshowmom]

I've always felt that doing a Christmas club or a separate savings account WAS managing your money... LOL

I have several accounts. Christmas, savings, retirement, checking and automobile. I have a set, budgeted amount go into each of them, each month.

That's kind of the way I look at it too.

 

[brunette8706]

I've always felt that doing a Christmas club or a separate savings account WAS managing your money... LOL

I have several accounts. Christmas, savings, retirement, checking and automobile. I have a set, budgeted amount go into each of them, each month.

*
Yeah, that's what I thought too! We just set aside a certain amount of money because we spend a lot for Christmas gifts because of our large family. It's just another way to save throughout the year.

We too have a vacation fund set up. This is great for vacation funds! Car Rental, Airline tickets all the major things can be easily paid for.

I also have a retirement account, savings accounts, TROWE PRICE, Money Markets etc. I couldn't do this myself that's why I (we) just designate the funds to certain financial areas. Makes it a lot less stressful in my opinion, lol!

Brunette

 

[Marionnette]

The reasons that I got away from using a Christmas club or a vacation club account are 1)the interest on those accounts was absolutely pitiful, of course now all savings accounts have poor interest rates and 2)you could not withdraw your own money from the account without paying a penalty.

Back when I was first learning how to manage my money, a method that forced me to save worked very well. The stricter rules and the poor interest rate were a trade off that I was willing to make. I don't need that crutch anymore and I still manage to save for the things I want.

If a Christmas club works for you, more power to you. You've found a way to avoid debt during the holidays. And that's never a bad thing.

 

[thanks]

No we just put it aside in a savings acct.monthly

 

[brunette8706]

The reasons that I got away from using a Christmas club or a vacation club account are 1)the interest on those accounts was absolutely pitiful, of course now all savings accounts have poor interest rates and 2)you could not withdraw your own money from the account without paying a penalty.

Back when I was first learning how to manage my money, a method that forced me to save worked very well. The stricter rules and the poor interest rate were a trade off that I was willing to make. I don't need that crutch anymore and I still manage to save for the things I want.

If a Christmas club works for you, more power to you. You've found a way to avoid debt during the holidays. And that's never a bad thing.

*
HI! I totally understand about the interest thing. The credit union interest is extremely low. I'm not putting it in there to accumulate interest though, just putting it aside every pay day just to have extra funds.

Yeah, debt makes me anxious for a lack of a better word, lol! We always pay our cards off every month. Now banks are trying to offer us those pesky 0 percent interest loans! YEAH RIGHT! But the catch is to pay them 3 percent of the loan! LOL! No thanks. You really have to read the fine print. We also have money in the stock market, but the market has been so volatile, I hate to even look at the quarterly statments, it makes me sick. LOL. Of course my husband makes me feel better by telling me it's "okay" because we are buying the stocks on sale.

Brunette

 

[Happiest mommy]

yes we also have a Christmas club acct and a Vacation one too with our Credit Union it is awsome getting that christmas check in November

 

[SaraJayne]

No, we don't have a Christmas account. All of our Christmas spending comes out of our every day accounts.

If you've found a way to save money and it works for you, that's wonderful.

 

[brunette8706]

No, we don't have a Christmas account. All of our Christmas spending comes out of our every day accounts.

If you've found a way to save money and it works for you, that's wonderful.

*
Hi Sara!

Yeah, that's the only way that works for me! LOL! If it's in my checking account, I'll be sure to spend it! LOL! I need it out of sight out of mind.

Enjoy your holiday.

Brunette

 

[brunette8706]

yes we also have a Christmas club acct and a Vacation one too with our Credit Union it is awsome getting that christmas check in November

*
Hi! I hear ya! Like I was telling Sara, out of sight out of mind. LOL! If it's in my account, I'll spend it.

Brunette

 

[itutorfortravel]

Yes, but it's not a real account. It's actually a "dummy" account I've set up in a program where I keep track of our checking accounts. I simply "move" money to the dummy account each month so when it's time for Christmas shopping I know I've earmarked money all year long for that purpose. I actually have dummy accounts like this for lots of our big expenses, like real estate taxes, HOA fees, etc. It just makes it less of a shock when those bigger bills come in the mail. I feel better when I plan ahead for big expenses.

 

[Branabb]

I used to use an envelope system for my entire budget. I still use envelopes for the cash funds, but I have multiple ING savings accounts that are named for our big budget funds like Xmas, Vacay, Car Replacement. Works the same, but now I don't sweat having a bunch of cash in the house.

 

[brunette8706]

Yes, but it's not a real account. It's actually a "dummy" account I've set up in a program where I keep track of our checking accounts. I simply "move" money to the dummy account each month so when it's time for Christmas shopping I know I've earmarked money all year long for that purpose. I actually have dummy accounts like this for lots of our big expenses, like real estate taxes, HOA fees, etc. It just makes it less of a shock when those bigger bills come in the mail. I feel better when I plan ahead for big expenses.

*
LOVE IT! EXACTLY! Makes sense to me.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Thanks! It has been my system for many years and it works great for us