Saturday, December 29, 2012

Christmas/Vacation Account

How about some blog candy to start the year off right by saving for next Christmas? Aren't you glad I got my fancy girl sewing machine back!!
Lots of 7 1/2 x 6 inch zippy wallets are under construction for Christmas 2013 all from scraps. Leftovers are a beautiful thing don't you think?

First off thanks to all of you for your kind comments on yesterday's post. Your thoughts and prayers mean the world to our family. I know God never gives us more than we can handle and we believe strongly there is a blessing in each trial we are given. But sometimes the love and prayers from others sure as heck makes the road a little easier to travel.

Today was a NORMAL day!! So thankful for a nice boring day to begin undecking the halls and playing at the sewing machine off and on all day. The kitchen and living room are back in pre Christmas working order, my goal is to have it all finished by January 1st to start the new year right.

Lets talk budgeting for Christmas. Last year we opened a Christmas/Vacation checking account. The goal was to save during the year from found money, no spend weeks, savings using coupons, and whatever we could afford to deposit along the way.

During the winter and spring we did GREAT!! Come summer I got slack and wasn't making deposits as often as I should have. Fall was a total bust. Being able to look back on line at my savings/spending habits from this account during the year has helped me know what we did right and where we need to improve.

I decided this year along with depositing any found money into the account I need to make auto deposits each month. Steady Freddy will be the name of the game in 2013. We were able to cover the numerous vacations and getaways last year from the account, the majority of Christmas was also purchased. However we didn't have enough left to finish up our Christmas shopping :( Fortunately by the end of the year we have maxed out our 401K, Social Security and, Health savings accounts so hubby's pay checks are pretty sweet, no dipping into the EF to pull off the last minute spending.

I have really enjoyed having the Christmas/Vacation account. If old man Murphy decided to show up just days before vacation we didn't have to sweat where the vacation money would be coming from. Ditto for Christmas (for the most part)

It might seem crazy for some of you to already be thinking about Christmas 2013 but for me this is the perfect time. I can still remember how short we were in the account and our vacation planning for 2013 should be set by the first of the year. By having a savings plan in place now we have all year to build up what we know we will be spending. No matter how early I start or how hard I try to keep things simple and relaxing during the holiday's something seems to always come up and bite me in the rump :( Not having to worry over where the money is going to come from is one less thing to stress over!!!!

Share with the rest of us how you stash the cash for Christmas each year, we can all use tips to help keep our spending under control and stay the heck AWAY from the credit card boggy man. I will do a drawing on Jan 1st from the comments for the oversize zippy wallet.

Here is how I will be using my zippy wallet during the year. I plan on keeping it in my purse to throw a few dollars in when I am out and about rather than shoving the dollars in my ever shrinking blue jeans pocket. Change would work as well however our change goes in "Christmas Jars" for the needy. At the end of the month I will take that little pile of money to make a bonus monthly deposit in addition to the auto deposits I have set up.  Cute and easy is the way I like to roll!!

11 comments:

  1. Hi Debby, I think 2012 was the most unorganized Christmas I have ever done. I was finishing up some gifts 2 on Dec. 23rd and we did not make the deposits into the grands savings accounts until Dec 27th, and not because we did not have the money, just did not have the time to call the bank and get them set up.
    So I am already resolving to do much better for 2013. For the financial part, I am going to try to earn and save as many Amazon gift certificates as I can from Swagbucks.com- and I already have $25 saved for 2013.

    your zippy wallets are too cute- especially like the ball fringe on them. You must be thrilled to have your best machine back.

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  2. Debby, I am glad that you are in a better place today. It is so hard to take life just as it comes without looking in to a future that we do not know. And, I also think that now is the best time to think about next year's Christmas. Today I bought the cutest felt reindeer on the 75% off shelf. I plan to start making some of those for next year:)

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  3. Oh, I'm so happy you got your machine back! Finally! I've already started thinking of Christmas 2013 too. I don't have a game plan yet but I know we need to bump our savings and I need to make more handmade gifts than I made this year.

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  4. Those are soo cute! The pompoms I love to bits!! Starting in Jan I'm tucking aside $20/week for Xmas... :) I do love the idea of saving a bit extra here & there as well!

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  5. Yay for boring days!

    I am thinking about Christmas 2013 too. I save all the money that goes into my Paypall account from sales from my Etsy Shop, doing surveys, and Savings Star coupon deposits. I have a Paypal debit card, so its easy to spend. I also end up with a pretty good chunk of Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks. Most of our Christmas was bought this way in 2011 and 2012.

    I am thinking about handmade gifts already too.

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  6. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for gifts starting now for Christmas 2013. The Christmas Zippy wallet is a great idea for those "extras" that always seem to crop up, including the cost for all those Christmas goodie baking supplies. Happy you have your perfect distraction back in your life in the way of the sew happy its back "Machine". xx

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  7. That wallet is so stinking cute! I have just a piece of paper where I "transfer" an amount each payday out of the checking for what I term "periodic expenses". This includes Christmas, vacations, car insurance, etc. So I rarely come up short- unless I rob it! Heehee! Angela

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  8. Those wallets are just adorable :) And it's a great idea to start saving already for next Christmas.

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  9. Keep sewing because they are adorable AND because it keeps your mind focused on hearing the Lord's word...

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  10. love the "steady Freddy" phrase, that will be my phrase for the year I think!!

    Glad it was a normal day for you also.

    Gill

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  11. Love the wallets! I was your "secret sister" and used the little christmas wallet/pouch to store all my x-mas loot - gifts from people to me and the money I had saved to buy for others!

    We tend to do all the x-mas out of end of year paychecks/bonuses - but that isn't very smart - especially since this year will bring big changes and I don't know what they will look like at all.

    So I've started another ING savings account and I'll do regular deposits and use the leftover cash in the main ING checking account each pay check (covers groceries and gas) and feed 1/2 to the x0mas account. The other 1/2 will keep going to the "big crazy dream vacation" fund!

    Good thoughts and prayers for you and your family for 2013!

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