1. Be Proactive
Planning ahead for your holiday spending can save you a lot of headaches. The earlier you start setting money aside, the more wiggle room you will have when the holiday season approaches. As early as March or April, consider setting aside $25-50 per paycheck for holiday spending. If you don't trust yourself not to spend it, try putting it in a Cookie Jar account.
Cookie Jar Accounts
Typically offered by most local credit unions, a cookie jar account encourages you save by placing restrictions on pre-holiday withdrawals. You can make as many deposits as you want throughout the year. Near the end of October or beginning of November, they will send you a check for the balance of the account plus any interest accrued. If you have not started saving yet, keep the cookie jar idea in mind for next year and lets move on to some methods you can use right now.
Payroll Deductions
Setting up a payroll deduction can help you save holiday money quickly. If your employer offers direct deposit, consider depositing a small portion of your wages into a separate account. This can be a second account at your main bank or an account you open at another bank. Even if the deposit is only a few dollars per pay period, this can really add up if you stick to it. Although $35-60 would be ideal at this point, no amount is too small. Once you decide which account you will use, take the required documentation to your employer and specify the amount you would like deposited. The logic here is that if you don't see the money siting in your main account, you won't think about it.
Overtime
If you are having a hard time finding money to stash away for the holidays, consider working overtime. This might be easier than you think. You can easily earn 5 hours of overtime a week by arriving 30 minutes early and shortening your lunch by 30 minutes. Likewise, you could arrive 15 minutes early, shave 30 minutes off your lunch and leave 15 minutes later. You get the idea.
If your employer allows you to work overtime, there are ways to get it without making major changes to your schedule. If you are a full-time, hourly worker, you will earn one and a half times your hourly rate for each hour of overtime. For example, if you were making $13 an hour, your overtime rate is 19.5 an hour. Working those extra 5 hours a week would add $97.5/week to your paycheck. Set this money aside for the holidays.
There you have it! Three ways that you can be proactive for your holiday spending. The next installment of this series will be posted later this week.
