The Christmas Fund...

Hi! Welcome back!
Today I am going to share an idea I like to call The Christmas Fund!


I realize that we are only a few short months away from Christmas and many of you would not have the time or resources to funnel money into this sort of fund for it to make a difference for you this year. However, I want to go ahead and touch on this idea anyway because ANYTIME is a good time to start a Christmas fund and you will quickly see the benefits of it going into the new year for sure.


This is something I started a long time ago when my kids were young and money was very tight.
I remember the first year we bought Christmas gifts without going into debt. I set a goal and accomplished it. What a feeling! Being able to accomplish an amazing feat like this can serve as a springboard for any degree of budgeting in other areas of your life. Keep that in mind. Your confidence WILL grow!

So...back to the Christmas fund...
Important questions: How do I start it? Where does the money come from?

First you must determine your budget.
* How many people do you plan to buy for?
* How much do you plan to spend on each gift?
* Will you include things like cards, wrapping paper, tissue, bags, etc. in your budget?
* What is realistic for your goals to be met?

I remember in 1971 when I started my first budget, our funds were very tight because we were living on one income and a fixed one at that being active duty military. But, I was determined to not go into debt for Christmas and I looked for ways to save money - even with two small children at home.
In January of that year I began saving $5 a week for my fund. (Hey, that was a lot of money back then! :)) By the time Christmas rolled around that year I had saved $260. Now, I realized that $260 wasn't going to go really far but it sure went a lot farther than nothing!
As the years passed, and I was able to save more ...my fund grew. In the beginning I left my funds in the bank (savings) for fear of spending it on non-Christmas related things. Later, I had it drafted out of our paychecks as our pay status changed. The point isn't how much you are saving but that you start saving SOMETHING!!

The added bonus was that I had funds available every month to begin buying things as I saw them or needed them. So, in January when I found gift bags, wrapping paper, and tissue paper at 90% off, I could purchase them and put them away for the following season. No guilt there for taking money out of my regular working budget.
I actually find it fun getting such good deals. I still LOVE buying my Christmas cards at Lifeway/Family Christian stores for $1.89 a box instead of $18.99 AND they are much nicer than the $1 boxes at Dollar Tree.
Throughout the year...every week there will be clearance and savings in some store on all sorts of great treasures.This is especially true on seasonal items, after holidays, and even on school supplies right after school begins but more of this in another post.

The most important thing to remember is how much help and freedom a Christmas fund can give you. The money you put into your fund may not be from a regular weekly paycheck but from your garage sale earnings, from babysitting, or from selling your kids clothes on e-bay. All that matters is that you are regularly putting money in and building up your Christmas fund so that when you need it...you will be able to enjoy it's benefits and blessings.

If you have any specific questions about the Christmas fund I would be happy to answer them. Leave me a message or comment and I will get back with you soon.

Tomorrow we will talk about our strategic plan for the "when and where" to bargain shop. I really hope you will join us.

~ I.

Ideas from Irene