Christmas In July (Saving Money) – Episode #15

While its 100 degrees outside, it might feel a bit strange to start thinking about Christmas in July, but, I believe July is actually a great time to start thinking about Christmas!

You see, for many Americans, Christmas is a crisis event. Every year, many people have no idea how they are going to afford Christmas. Many people pay for most, if not all, of Christmas on a credit card. Paying for Christmas becomes an annual crisis for a lot of people.

My wife and I had this problem in our first year of marriage. Christmas came around and we blew our budget and charged a lot of it on credit cards and went in the hole. Christmas morning was fun on December 25th that year… not so much when we got our Visa bill the following month.

Please don’t let this be you. Christmas should never be a crisis or emergency. It happens every year on December 25th without fail. The only Christmas that should ever be a crisis or emergency is the first Christmas, when Mary and Joseph found there was no room for them at the inn.

The way to get around the annual Christmas crisis is through simple planning. All you need to do is setup a simple “Christmas savings account” at your local bank or credit union. Make this account separate from your normal checking and savings account. Ideally, set it up at a different bank if you can.

Then, every time you get paid, set aside $25, $50, or $100 that you automatically transfer to your Christmas savings account. With only 6 months to go towards Christmas this year, you will have set aside a significant amount of money for Christmas by the time December 25th comes around. And guess what… it is coming! So start saving now. Embrace Christmas in July!

And if you start this saving habit now, keep it going once Christmas is over, and set aside money all 12 moths of the year. And instead of wondering how on Earth you will afford Christmas next year, you will probably save more than enough for Christmas every year.