The leaves have only just begun to fall — is it too early to think about holiday shopping?
Before you groan, “It’s not even Halloween yet!” think about this: If you start saving for those holiday gifts now, you can end 2015 in the black, without adding a sleigh-full of credit card debt.
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent a staggering $459.87 on gifts for their family and $80.00 on gifts for friends. We spend around $26 on gifts for co-workers and $30 on gifts for our pets. None of this includes decorations, cards, food and travel that go along with the holiday season of spending. Approximately 38% of Americans will pay for all this ho-ho-ho with a credit card. It will take you almost a year to pay off that $460 on with a credit card at 10.990% interest plus interest.
Set a new savings Goal in Qapital now and you’ll have enough money to pay cash for your holiday presents. Now that’s a reason for good cheer.
Here are five ways to grow your holiday savings without spending all your gingerbread:
Easy Does It: Use the Set and Forget Rule to automatically put aside $50 every two weeks and you’ll have $250 by December 1. Add the Round Up Rule to round-up your change and you can add about $80 to that.
Seasons Tweetings: Social media savvy? Use IFTTT with Qapital to trigger savings every time you post a hashtag, get a new Twitter follower or post on Facebook. Example: Program Qapital to save $2 every time you post to Instagram. If you post 20 times a week for eight weeks, you’ll have $320 in time for holiday shopping.
Climb the Chimney: Use Moves to tie your fitness goals to your holiday shopping goals. Try saving $3 for every mile you walk for the next eight weeks. If you walk 2 miles a day, you’ll have $240 in your pocket — plus you’ll look great in that sweater your grandma always knits you.
Slim down, Santa: If you always end up spending more than you want to at your favorite lunch place, use the Spend Less Rule. Set a budget of $20 (or whatever you find yourself normally spending) and every time you come in under that amount, the change goes straight into your holiday savings Goal.
Best holiday ever: Want to get a big head start on Christmas 2016? Put the 52 Week Rule in place and you’ll have $1,378 by this time next year. That’s enough for plane tickets home, presents and even something nice for you. C’mon, you deserve it.
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