(ThySistas.com) One of the best times of the year is Christmas. It is an occasion for family, friends, and fun. Out of town guests, big dinners and festive decorations truly make it the most wonderful time of the year. With that, I know that it is only summer, but before you know it, the holiday season will be upon us; and who wants to wait until the last minute to start saving money to buy presents?
If you are like most Americans, getting gifts for the special people in your life is a no brainer. You have to make sure everyone is taken care of and if your family is a big family, well you have a lot of shopping to do. Get ahead of the crowd by saving now. Let’s face it, it can be overwhelming trying to come up with the money to get the people you love what they want. I mean folks go into debt around
Christmas because it is that important.
So to help ease the stress that is sure to come this holiday season, here are some ways to start putting away money now so you don’t have to worry about it come November.
Savings Account
No, I am not talking about the one you have for emergencies. There are special holiday accounts you can open with banks that allow you to put money away without even thinking about it. You can have it taken out of your paycheck and stored away so that you don’t touch it until it’s time for Christmas shopping. It’s a conventional and effective way to build your Christmas nest egg.
Skip the Drinks
If you add up all the money people spend on drinks like specialty coffees and alcoholic beverages, you will be surprised by how much dough they put out. On average, a specialty breakfast drink costs around $5. If you add in a pastry, and most of us do, you can tack another $3 onto that total. If you do that five times a week, that’s $40 right there. You are looking at $160 for breakfast food each month. Along the same lines, living in larger cities and going out, you can easily spend $40 on drinks in one night. Take a look at what you spend and cut something out. You will see the money add up quickly.
Save the Change
Something cool that you can do is leave an empty five-gallon water jug by your front door so that whenever you come into the house, you drop your loose change and one dollar bills into it. If you start now, you can probably save a lot more than you think by Christmas. It’s a great way to see how you’re spending your money AND it’s fun to see how quickly your jug fills up with change. When the time comes, count it, cash it in and get to shopping.
Under Budget Cash
This is a nice approach to saving money. When you come under budget on any of your bills, take the difference of what you would have spent and what you actually spent and put it away. You can drop it in your savings jug or put it into your Christmas savings account.
People like to do it up for Christmas and one of the beset ways to do that is to have the money to make it all happen.
Staff Writer; Rasheda Abdullah