As we approach the last quarters of the year, it is a perfect time to reevaluate your Holiday Shopping Plan.
With Christmas rapidly approaching its a good idea to check your lists and budgets and make sure you stick to your guns.
So many Americans fail to plan and Christmas suddenly is on them and out comes the famous charge card ,and then the first half of the new year is spent paying off Christmas.
That is no way to live guys….
Check out your local credit union or financial institution for a Christmas Club Account.
See this article for some facts…
-Christmas and Other Club Accounts
Until recently, Christmas Club accounts were the most common and popular bank savings account in which payments are made over a specified period of time to achieve a specific goal. In a typical account years ago, banks allowed customers to open up an account at the beginning of a year, gave them a coupon book with weekly coupons for deposits as small as $5, often did not pay interest on these deposits, did not allow or severely penalized early withdrawals, then returned accumulated savings all at once in October or November. Despite the limited access to and low yield on these accounts, they were popular with many low- and moderate- families who otherwise found it difficult to save for the holidays. And according to a number of small and medium-size bank branch personnel interviewed by phone, they are still popular.
Today, most Christmas Club accounts look somewhat different and exist with other club accounts whose goal is to save for a holiday, for a vacation, or for some other expense, sometimes unspecified. In our sample, 28 percent of small banks, 46 percent of medium- sized banks, and 36 percent of large banks offer at least one type of club account. Small and medium-sized banks are more likely to offer Christmas accounts with some restrictions while large banks are more likely to offer club accounts with few restrictions.
As well as greater variation in goals, there is also greater variation in other club account characteristics. Many banks still allow small weekly or monthly deposits of $5 or $10, but many require that these deposits be preauthorized, regular transfers from checking. There are also great differences in a customer’s ability to withdraw funds early, with a few banks disallowing these withdrawals, some imposing fees for early withdrawals, and some allowing the withdrawals for free.
At present, banks not only are more likely to pay interest on club accounts than years ago, but are more likely to pay a higher interest rate on these accounts than on regular savings accounts. In our sample of 48 banks, 20 paid higher rates, 23 paid the same rates, three paid lower rates, and one paid no interest.
SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND USEFULNESS
Stephen Brobeck
Consumer Federation of America June 2013