Christmas Cash

Halloween is over?   BOO hoo!  I am infatuated by the holiday.  I love the decorations, fall colors, and costumes!  This year I made an Oompa Loompa costume.  I don’t really sew, but I can make alterations and enhancements to D.I. finds.  Below are my other costumes I wore this year: Triangela Tilliewinkle (for our ward Releif Society Dinner with a Witch) and Mildew Rose (I am a witch at Gardner Village).

 

 

 

 

With Halloween in the past, that means we are into November and that means Christmas is next month!!!  How did it get here so fast?  Have you started your Christmas shopping?  Christmas comes every year—on the same day.  December 25^th.  You can count on it.  People often say that “Christmas just snuck up on me!  How am I going to pay for it?”  Let’s be honest, it can be a very expensive time of year—unless you plan for it and are prepared.  Without a Christmas bonus, how do people accommodate for the extra expenses? 

A few years ago a single friend of mine shared with me a very helpful idea that I have put into practice.  Now, you may be one of the savvy ones who are already putting this principle into practice, but it was a new concept to me.  It’s called a “Dedicated Savings Account” for Christmas.  She set up an account at her bank (or credit union—do I really have to make sure I mention the credit union or can I just call them all banks?) specifically for Christmas presents.  Every month for a year, the bank takes out a specified amount from her checking account.  She doesn’t have to do anything except set it up, which takes about 10 minutes or less.  Then, when the maturity date arrives, she would go to the bank and cash out her Dedicated Savings Account (DSA).  The entire amount is put into an envelope (thanks, Dave Ramsey, for bringing back the envelope system) and she uses that cash—and that cash ONLY for Christmas.  This is how she gives herself an affordable Christmas budget.  When the money is gone, she allows herself to be Scrooge the rest of the season.  Actually, she is showing self-discipline.  Because it comes out monthly, it is not a financial burden.  $15 bucks a month is a lot easier to set aside than come up with $225 in December.  I don’t know what your Christmas budget is, that amount is just an example.  With a DSA there is a minimally higher interest rate than a checking account, but its purpose is really to help you save money.

As single women, we need to demonstrate prudent stewardship over our resources.  If the time comes and we are blessed with a husband and children, the time for practicing wise money management will be over.  We should take this single time given to us to practice and prepare. 

Whether single or married, this challenge is for everyone who reads this blog:

THIS WEEK, GO TO YOUR BANK OR CREDIT UNION AND SET UP A DEDICATED SAVINGS FOR CHRISTMAS NEXT YEAR.   

You can decide the amount you want taken out and what day you want it taken out.  Setting it up this week will allow you to take it out next year before the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Last year I did something special with my “Dedicated Savings Christmas Account.”  This idea was from my friend, Hayley, so I don’t take credit for the idea. Instead of a gift exchange one year, her extended family decided to use the money intended for gifts and donate it to the Temple Patron Fund (a special fund set up to help families who cannot afford the travel expenses get to the temple to be sealed).  Each child was encouraged to do acts of service and for each act, a dollar was donated.

On Thanksgiving, I challenged each of my nieces and nephews to do daily acts of service.  For each act of service, I would pay them a quarter—sort of.  I would donate a quarter to the Temple Parton Fund instead of buying them Christmas gifts--with 22 nieces and nephews, I had be a little more modest with the links, hence the quarter instead of the dollar.  Each act of service was recorded on a link (red and green, of course), with the child’s name and the date of the service performed. 

 

At our family Christmas party, each family displayed their chain and we read the acts of service performed.  With my nieces and nephews, together, we helped send a family to the temple last year!  My cute dad offered to match what we raised, so our donation was doubled!  I was grateful for the DSA I set up that year that made it possible for me and my family to be a part of a special Christmas gift for a family we didn’t even know. 

“All of us are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families in both temporal and spiritual ways. To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies. When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others.”

                                              -Elder Robert D. Hales, General Conference April 2009