On January 25, 2019, I started the Christmas Savings Club. The club is open to anyone who wants monthly accountability to save for a cash Christmas.
On the 25th of every month from January to November in 2019, I will hold a virtual meeting on the blog to give updates on our progress, motivate one another, and help all of us save for a cash Christmas.
My monthly goal is $100. This should cover my tentative Christmas budget that I based on what we spent in 2018. I’m challenging myself to find the cash in different ways other than my budget, and last month, I put the rebate I received in the mail from Ebates into my Christmas savings.
How did I do in March?
About a year ago, a friend of mine on Facebook shared that she saves $1 bills that have Federal Reserve letters that match the first letter of her kids’ names. I thought that was an interesting way to save, so I started collecting $1 with C, J, K, L.
I was setting the $1 bills aside with no real purpose other than a quirky way to save a little bit if cash. But now I have $70, and I am putting it towards my Christmas savings.
The Federal Reserve letter, the black seal to the left of George Washington, is the seal that bears the name and corresponding letter of the distributing Federal Reserve Bank. There are 12 banks (and letters, A – L). I’ve never paid much attention to the letter, but now I check every time a $1 passes through my hands.
I found the remaining balance of $30 within my monthly budget, so I’m happy to say my goal for March is complete.
April’s Assignments:
1. If you have not done so, read the very first post: Introducing the Christmas Savings Club, and write a Christmas budget. Divide your total by 8. That is the number of months between 3/25 and 11/25. This number is the monthly amount you need to save between 3/25 and 11/25.
I offer a FREE Christmas Budget spreadsheet to my email subscribers. Sign up for my email newsletter HERE.
You will also find a Christmas Budget spreadsheet in my Family Budget Spreadsheets bundle.
2. If you have not done so, open up a separate checking account specifically for your Christmas Savings. I like the online bank, Capital One 360 (referral link), because it connects with your local checking account, but is not quickly assessable.
3. Find your monthly savings goal for April and any shortfall from February & March.
Need some ideas to find extra cash? I have a long list of ideas in this post: 25 Ways to Find Money
How did you do in March?
In the comments, let us know how you are doing with your Christmas Spending savings. You don’t have to divulge your goal, but please let us know HOW you found or saved the money.