While the holiday season is known as the most wonderful time of the year, for most people, it is also the most expensive time of the year! Anna Maple, HOMEBANK’s Branch Operations Manager in Hannibal, offers some excellent tips for budgeting and saving up for Christmas.
Of course, limiting spending is the most straightforward way to save. Skipping your coffee shop drink once a week, staying in for movie night every once in a while, or occasionally carpooling to work are quick ways to keep extra cash in your wallet. Additionally, HOMEBANK offers services that can help you be even more prepared for the holidays.
Maple suggests HOMEBANK’s Christmas Club Savings Account as a place to start saving! Maple notes that, “one of the stipulations for the account is that you cannot withdrawal out of it until it is disbursed on the third week of October (right in time for the holidays)”. This restriction helps to reign in any possible withdrawals that might cut into your Christmas gift fund.
Maple also recommends another helpful product that HOMEBANK offers: the Round Up Savings option! When you sign up for this free product, it automatically rounds up whatever you spend to the nearest dollar and will put it into the account of your choice. Throughout the year, these small contributions will add up, and you’ll have savings ready for all of your holiday expenses.
Gifts aren’t the only things that people spend on during the holidays; expenses that often sneak up are travel costs and end of year taxes. Having an emergency savings account can be beneficial for seasonal expenses as well as unexpected medical costs or home repairs. It’s important to set aside a portion of every paycheck into emergency savings to make sure you’re always prepared.
With these tips, you can be sure to savor the joy of the holidays and leave financial stress aside. However, the holiday season isn’t the only time when budgeting is important, and HOMEBANK is here to support all of your savings needs. Maple is eager to remind us about other available products: “When I talk about the Christmas Savings account that HOMEBANK offers, I always like to talk about the Summer Savings account that we offer as well! It is the same as the Christmas Savings account in the sense of the stipulations, but the Summer Savings account is disbursed in the third week of May. Right in time for a vacation getaway trip!”
