Christmas money saving tips

Christmas is the time of year when our hard-earned dollars can rapidly dwindle away, leaving us short of funds for presents, work parties and an array of social events. Without budgeting and saving, for what is usually the most expensive time of year, we can end up with credit card debt that we are still paying off in the New Year.

Christmas savings accounts have been set-up for this specific reason. It offers Australians the chance to begin a savings plan at the beginning of the year and make regular deposits throughout, to be withdrawn and used for the festive season.

A regular savings account can also help you achieve your Christmas budget, so what’s the difference?

Christmas savings accounts

Christmas savings accounts are usually offered by Credit Unions and Building Societies, designed for low balance regular savings during the year.

The benefit of this type of savings account is that most institutions won’t allow you to withdraw money during the year. By restricting your withdrawals it becomes a forced savings account, which is great for the spendthrift shopper who doesn’t trust themselves to set and stick to a Christmas budget.

On top of the regular deposits you make you will also earn interest on your savings. However it’s important to note that in a lot of cases, you could earn higher interest from a regular savings account. This is something you should take into consideration before deciding on one or the other.

If you are interested in setting up a specific Christmas savings account look at online banking options so you can set up automatic transfers from your regular bank account.

The best place to start if you’re interested in saving money is with research. Search and compare savings accounts against Christmas savings account to see which option is going to suit your needs. For a full run down on how you can make the most of your money and turn it into valuable savings, visit our savings accounts guide.

Compare savings accounts