When I was younger, my bank had this thing called a “Christmas Club” program. The way it worked was I’d sign up for a set amount of money I wanted to save for Christmas ($100 – yeah, I know big spender – I was about 10 years old) and then I’d receive a small book with 50 payment slips ($2 each). Each week throughout the year, I’d pay off each of those slips. As part of the program, the bank would pay the last one. Although this wasn’t a groundbreaking investment (about a 2% return), it did teach me a little something about saving and preparing for Christmas:

• Christmas is a lot easier when you save little by little throughout the year

• Getting free money for the act of saving isn’t bad either

Now that I’m all grown up, I have a little different strategy for getting ready to make my Christmas purchases. Basically, I now use multiple streams of cash back, rewards, and other programs to finance my gifts. Although this takes a little planning and approach, it’s well worth the effort.

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