MoneyDo: Start saving for the holidays now.

It’s time to start talking about Christmas.

No, this isn’t a misprint, and it’s not a retread of a past MoneyDo. In fact, we’ll be talking about this MoneyDo item in about 9 months.

Last year, over half of holiday shopping had not been paid off four months later. If you want to destroy a cycle of taking a step or three backwards every holiday season – and then taking months to recover – now is a great time to start talking about Christmas.

As is the case in many financial predicaments, time and patience play key parts in healing and growth. If you’re patient, you have the time to make this holiday season less debilitative.

• Firstly, take a look at what you spent this past holiday season. Take a thorough, honest look, beyond just gifts, including holiday décor, food and drinks.

• Make sure to note how you paid for those expenses. Did you use a credit card?
• In 2017 for those who went into debt for holidays seasons had an average debt of $1,054.
• The number one way people financed those costs were with their credit cards.
• The average American spends around $1,000 during the holidays, so don’t be surprised if your number meets or exceeds the average.

• Once you have determined what you paid, start a savings plan now for the 2018 holiday season.
  • If, for instance, when you reviewed your expenses and saw that you spent $1,000 during the 2017 holiday season.
  • With 10 months until the holidays are upon us again, that would be a savings of $100 a month.

• After you have established how much you need to save each month, set up an account – not your savings, and not your emergency fund, but a separate holiday savings account.
  • Many institutions allow you to set up an online free savings account.
  • You often can establish an automatic withdrawal schedule to start your funding your holiday savings account.
  • Consider setting up automatic withdrawals monthly or as frequent as weekly to help minimize the burden of those holiday expenses.