Christmas Savings Club | May Meeting

On the 25th of every month from January to November in 2013, I'm holding a virtual meeting for the Christmas Savings Club. The goal for this monthly accountability meeting is to give updates on our progress, motivate one another and help all of us save for a cash Christmas. Today is the fifth meeting, but you can join us at any time.

If you are new, please read more about the Christmas Savings Club in the first post and join us. My offer for a FREE Christmas Gift & Spending Budget excel spreadsheet is still available.

On with the May meeting...

How did I do in May?
Our monthly goal is $100. That number includes gifts for our kids, extended family members, teachers, friends, neighbors, bus drivers, service people, our Christmas cards, stamps, and our donations towards the Salvation Army's Adopt-a-Family program.

Our monthly goal of $100 is now a part of our monthly budget and I was able to transfer the full $100 to our savings account in May. It feels good to watch out savings account grow and I now I'm going to be less stressed in November when we start our Christmas shopping, because we'll have the cash in our account.

One of the assignments in April was to start thinking about some handmade gifts to give this year. I'm not the most crafty person, so I need to get a head start if I decide to tackle any handmade projects. I've started a Pinterest board, Handmade Gift Ideas, to organize some ideas. Be sure to follow me on Pinterest and leave your Pinterest link in the comments and I'll follow you too.

Some ideas that I might try:

• A Year of Dates for Your Spouse. I need alot of time to come up with 12 months worth of gifts for my husband, but this is a fabulous gift idea.
• Homemade Vanilla Extract For friends, teachers, or any cooks or bakers in your life.
• Hand knitted Coffee Cozies - If you are a knitter, this is a cute gift for teachers, friends.

June's Assignments:
1. If you have not done so, complete the Christmas Gift & Spending Budget worksheet.

2. If you have not done so, open up a separate checking account specifically for your Christmas Spending Savings.

3. Find your monthly savings goal for June and any shortfall that you have from January through May.

Will you be making any of your Christmas gifts this year? Also, let us know how you're doing with your Christmas Savings Account in the comments. You don't need to leave specific numbers if you don't feel comfortable, but let us know if you did anything specific to save your goal.


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