This post is brought to you by The Huntington National Bank and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.
I know…I know. Before you start rolling your eyes at me for the title of this post and for talking about Christmas in the summer, there’s a method to my madness…so bear with me. First, we’re less than six months away from Christmas now, do you realize that? I don’t know about you, but Christmas as a parent comes with SO much stress. I relish the days when Christmas meant that delicious food and presents just showed up in my house with no effort. Stockings were stuffed and Christmas trees were put up like a scene out of a Christmas movie. But NOW as a parent, I realize how much darn work went into making Christmas perfect, not to mention…HOW MUCH MONEY! Even if you don’t believe in overspending on toys and gifts each Christmas (good for you!), there is still a large price tag associated with the holiday–teacher gifts, Christmas cookie making, Christmas dinner costs, buying actual gifts for your family, as well as travel costs and decorating costs…they add up quickly! Today let’s talk about how you can start saving for Christmas NOW, in the summer, so that Christmas is less financially stressful for your family! Or if Christmas savings isn’t your thing, we can talk about savings goals in general and how I set my goals with Huntington National Bank’s Savings Goal Getter SM , a tool on The Hub.
Savings Goal Getter gives you the option to set up 10 goals per account. A savings goal could be a vacation, college fund, Christmas fund, Emergency fund, etc. If your daily finances are already stretched thin, how do you save? It can be manageable if you start with a modest goal and focus on small payments. Saving even $10 a week will become more than $500 in a year. And you can start to feel more prepared, knowing you have a plan. I personally feel SO proud when I’m ahead of the game. Waiting til last minute, strapped for cash, without a plan is so stressful, so even though it seems early, it never hurts to start early and be prepared.
Several Christmases ago we had just bought our new house and in that same month had paid for moving costs and travel for my brother’s wedding. Christmas was super tight, as were all of our finances that year. I couldn’t even take the time to slow down and enjoy the holiday season with my family because I was so busy trying to keep up with our travel and the move and settling in, that Christmas just really fell to the wayside, not to mention the financial stress we put ourselves in with trying to do it all. What I do now is try to plan ahead–for everything.
How to Save for Christmas Weekly
Start by setting a dedicated account for your fund. Start one that is accessible, such as a savings account, but won’t tempt you to spend like a checking account might. Talk with your Huntington banker about an account with low or no fees that would work for you. Next, arrange for an automatic contribution. It can be small—anything counts. The Savings Goal Getter tool on The Hub will help you schedule automatic contributions and track your progress. Once it’s funded, you can direct money toward your next goal. You can even kickstart your fund by selling something you no longer need, or find a way to earn some extra money: think garage sales, etc. Finally, set aside half of any windfall. Unexpected money is a treat, so if you get a tax refund or a birthday check, you’re going to want to reward yourself, which is great. Just make a commitment to put half of any surprise dollars into your emergency fund.
Savings Goal Getter, from Huntington, helps you visualize what you’re saving for and shows your progress along the way. You set the amount and the date you want to reach your goals, and Savings Goal Getter allocates money from your Huntington savings account or money market account to each goal to help you get there. So all those fancy saving for Christmas charts out on the web telling you how to save $1,000 by Christmas or a 52 week Christmas savings plan….you don’t need those anymore because YOU set what you want to save for Christmas this year, the date you want it by, and Savings Goal Getter will help you allocate what you need to save each week in order to reach your goal. Huntington Bank basically helps save you the trouble of a Christmas savings app by showing you how to save for a holiday easily. You can also sign up for notifications (message and data rates may apply) so if you fall behind, an alert is sent to you and prompts you to take action to catch up….it’s really great to be held accountable to your goals!
The Huntington National Bank Savings Goal Getter tool on The Hub
How Savings Goal Getter Works:
- You can set up 10 goals plus an Emergency Fund
- The Savings Goal Getter tool will show the user how much they need to save each month to reach their goal based on the date the user provides.
- As money is added to the Huntington savings account or MMA account the goals will be funded.
- Within the Savings Goal Getter page the user can view and edit their goals and emergency fund.
- Note that if you have an emergency fund and a savings goal, the emergency fund will be prioritized before you can add to the savings goal.
For me, being financially prepared well in advance of the holiday means that I have more time for this…..
…which is a positive any day in my book.
Don’t wait, no matter what your goal is, start down the path of setting goals for your savings today! It’s such a good feeling to accomplish some financial freedom! Learn more at Huntington.com
