by Adam Dawson
A few days ago, Emily suggested setting up a Christmas Club account with the bank to save money over the course of the year for Christmas. I had almost a strong negative reaction to the suggestion in my head before I was able to take a deep breath and think it through.
I realized that her suggestion evoked my childhood memories of my family being broke all the time. I know my parents did Christmas club one year and I just remember the feeling that we wouldn’t have money for Christmas if we didn’t do this special program. It’s a bit fuzzy, but I also seem to remember my parents raiding the Christmas Club account one time when things got hard. So my baggage about this really stems from the idea that this is a program for poor people who can’t afford Christmas and can’t manage their money well enough to save on their own.
After that reflection and a few moments to restore my normal heart rate, I’m trying to be open to Emily’s suggestion. So I’m polling the audience. Do you do a Christmas club-type savings program for your holiday spending? How much do you save and how often?
