It might seem way too soon, dare we say, even a little crazy, to start thinking about the 2020 holiday season, but this is a great time to get your 2020 holiday budget set up and to plan new savings goals for the year. Here are a couple easy things you can do right now to get your budget set on the right track and start meeting your savings goals.
Holidays bring a lot of joy. They can also cause quite a bit of anxiety when it comes to your budget. Avoid the stress and open a Holiday Savings account now, so you have more time to save for all of your holiday expenses.
What better gift can you give yourself than the relief of not blowing your budget?
There are two big advantages of a Holiday Savings account.
The first is that you can get started with just $1, as opposed to a typical savings account, which may require $100 or more to get opened. The second is that, unless it’s a real emergency, Holiday Savings accounts have the advantage of not being able to access the money in them. This takes away the temptation to dip into your savings throughout the year. Withdrawals can be made before the scheduled payout date if you must, but they come with a penalty.
The Holiday Savings account can be opened any time during the year, but the sooner you start saving, the bigger your payout will be. You see, Holiday Savings accounts are interest-earning. So if you stash $50 a month into this account for a year, you would have a total savings of $600 plus the interest.
To make things even easier, you can set up an automatic transfer through Digital Banking or have your employer split your direct deposit paycheck, so a portion goes directly into your Holiday Savings account before you get a chance to spend it on something else you didn’t plan on buying or have budgeted.
Once October rolls around, you get the interest you’ve earned added to your account and we then deposit the money into either your regular savings or checking account, whichever you choose. If you’d like to keep saving for another year, simply make another deposit into the account by November. This savings strategy is so convenient that once you get it set up, you may not even think about it until the payout date.
Now that you know about the benefits our Holiday Savings account, we have another tool you can use with it to save even more.
Do you have a Marine Bank debit card? Then our Common Cents program is perfect for you. Every time you swipe your debit card and use your PIN, this program automatically rounds up your transaction total to the next whole dollar amount and transfers the difference to your preferred savings account. for example, if you spend $55.17 on groceries, .83 cents will automatically transfer into your specified account.
Your virtual change is then “dumped” into the account of your choosing, like a Holiday Savings account. This tool gives you the chance to build up your savings without having to think about it a little at a time.
People, on average, use their debit card at least 70 times a month.* Think about all the times you swipe your debit card on things like coffee, groceries, restaurants, gas, and household essentials. The change from each of these transactions adds up to make a big impact on your savings. Who knows, you might find yourself stopping the gas pump at $25.02 so you can “pocket” that extra .98 cents into your savings.
You have plenty of things on your to-do list. Saving up for your holiday spending doesn’t need to be on that list. Save your future self some unnecessary stress. Ready to start saving now? Open your Holiday Savings account online, through the Marine Bank app or by visiting a local Marine Bank branch. And you can get started using Common Cents online or by visiting any branch and get your Holiday Budget on track for 2020!