Saving money for holidays gifts isn’t a new thing. I used to have a Holiday Club with my bank. I would put away money for the holidays every week. Checks would come out in the fall, and that would signal the beginning of my holiday shopping.
I even took out a small club for my two daughters—back then they had $1 clubs and this would be part of their allowance. It gave them a sense of independence and self-pride to be able to say, “I bought that for you.”
I also had a vacation club. I would faithfully put away so much per week and in April, a check would arrive in the mail for our summer trip.
Today, whenever I’m in a store, I shop like the holidays are around the corner. And one usually is—whether it's a birthday, anniversary, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. there’s usually something or someone for me to buy a present for. Why should I wait for the check to be in the mail?
And as for vacation, it’s no longer restricted to the summer. In fact, I’ll be off to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon the end of this month. Why should I have to wait until next year for that check?
Here's how my plan works: I have two envelopes in my dresser drawer. One is marked “Holidays” and the other “Vacations.” Each month I put $40 (usually $10 a week x 4 weeks) in each envelope. I also have a list of what purchases I’ve made and for whom so if I come across another “great bargain,” I don’t purchase duplicates. I can go on vacation when I want, strike a great sale when I see one and not have to worry about where the money’s coming from. It’s in the envelope.
The holiday and vacation clubs are currently paying .74 percent interest. If I charge the items and have to wait for the checks to arrive to pay off the bills, the interest charged by the credit company mounts up and the result could be that the bargain ends up not being one after all.
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