Start saving for Christmas now with this Christmas savings challenge so you can have a debt-free Christmas and don’t have to worry about credit card bills in January.
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I know it’s just back to school but the holiday season is right around the corner. My husband and I saved up for Christmas last year and didn’t put any of our purchases on our credit card. In January, it was so nice to not have any credit card debt. You need to start saving money now and download this 12 week Christmas savings challenge!
The instructions to print out the money-saving challenge sheet are at the bottom of the article.
12 Week Christmas Savings Challenge
Who’s working on their Christmas budget already? A holiday budget is a great way to keep you on the right track and keep holiday spending under control and you know that it can get OUT OF CONTROL very easily.
I start mine the first week of January and continue to go back throughout the year to make any changes that’s needed. Remember, you don’t want to get into your emergency fund to pay for Christmas gifts. You know it’s coming every year so you need to start saving. Every little bit helps!
You need to be ready to start shopping on Black Friday to get good deals and those last minute stocking stuffers.
How to make a Christmas Budget
Making a Christmas budget is really simple. You can do it on the computer, on your phone in the notes sections or on a piece of paper. I do mine in Excel.
First, I make a list of everyone I’m buying for- my kids, husband, parents, in-laws, teachers, coaches, etc. I also have a section for other items like wrapping paper, church outfits, Christmas trees, hair appointments, eating out while shopping and hostess gifts.
Next, I just add in the amounts of what I want to spend for each person.
The next part is the hard part of the budget. Once you add up everything, do you have the money saved up to pay for it? If not, you need to go back in and cut some of the amounts or figure out a way to save more. This is why you need to start early!
Money Savings Challenge
I love challenges and do them all the time. I’ve done a 30-day cleaning challenge, a no soda challenge, and the hardest one of all is the 30-day no eating out challenge. When you have a busy family, it’s a hard one but once everyone’s on board it’s fun to do together. When we’re done, we go out and celebrate with a nice meal! You can save a lot of money doing that one.
Challenges are a fun way to make something that’s hard a little more fun, especially if you’re completing it with friends and family to help encourage each other.
The saving for Christmas challenge is pretty easy. I normally do it twice a year to reach my Christmas savings goal. I do one starting in January. We don’t have a lot going on in the winter months and since I’m not paying of credit card bills I can put my money in savings. I also do is again starting in September when the kids are back in school and don’t have as much free time and vacations are over.
You may have different times of the year that are easier for you so look at the calendar and do what works best for you. Just make sure to give yourself enough time to complete it. Don’t start it to late.
Tip: If you need more money than $600, complete the challenge twice. After the first 12 weeks, start over and do it again.
Once you finish your cash envelope you can deposit it into a Christmas savings account or just store it away in your secret hiding spot in your house. It’s easy to keep track of your progress using the envelopes.
Money Saving Tips
I know it can be hard to save even this small amount of money each week. Everyone’s heard of stop buying your coffee at Starbucks and other ways to save, but sometimes it’s hard to stop spending so much. Check out these practical tips on not spending money.
It feels so great when you’re out doing your Christmas shopping and have your cash in your envelop and ready to spend. No CREDIT CARDS! It’s a lot more fun to buy Christmas presents when you aren’t worried about money.
More ways to save at Christmas
You may like these Christmas posts that help you save money.
- 3 Gift Christmas Rule– This can be a huge help when saving money and is a great tradition to start. I highly recommend telling your kids about it and start it this year.
- Ways to Save Money this Christmas– This article has a bunch of saving tips that you need to check out before the holidays.
- Printable Christmas Gift Tags– I have a ton of FREE gift tags on my site under the printables tab. Take a look and print some out. It will save you some money. Those things are expensive!
- Printable Southern Christmas Gift Tags
- Elf on the Shelf Tracker– This doesn’t help save money. It’s just fun! It’s a popular article that people print out year after year.
Instructions to print this Christmas savings plan
It’s easy to print out this Christmas savings challenge printable. Just follow these directions.
Click or on the image above you want and it will take you to Dropbox so you can download the image to your computer to save or print.
I have my printables stored there so I can give out a higher quality image without slowing my website down. Please let me know if you have any issues and I’ll get you going! You don’t need an account to use Dropbox.
What I love about this free printable is that it’s the perfect size to cut out and glue or tape to an envelope. When you get money out of the ATM, you can put it straight in the envelope and mark through the complete week.
Happy Holidays!