A New Year's resolution that will pay off next Christmas

The 1st of January the day that most of us wake up and vow to keep a resolution for the rest of the year. The most common resolution at the moment is probably to give up smoking.

January is the best time of the year to start planning for another resolution.

No one wants to start the New Year in debt, so if you overspent over Christmas why not make it your resolution to save up in advance for next Christmas.

The sooner is the year you start saving the better because the longer you have to save the less you have to put away each month or week to reach your target.

If you start in the first week of January and put away £10 a week until Christmas, thats 51 weeks of saving and £510 in your pocket at Christmas. If you leave it till a few months before you would have to put a lot more away a week and you would probably feel the strain and have to cut back.

If it was that easy though everyone would be doing it, and no one would run up credit card debt at Christmas.

So how can you make saving for Christmas easier and more successful?

Save what you can afford and nothing more
The most important thing is to be realistic about what you can afford to save each week/month. Setting the target too high will mean that it will become a strain to put away enough each month without having to cut back. This is where lots of people fail and give up completely. So to give yourself a good chance of sticking to your savings plan you need to sit down and go through your income and outgoings and work out what you really can afford to save each month.

Where should you stash the cash?
Keeping your savings in cash hidden in your house is not a good idea for many reasons. You may be tempted to dip into it during the year if it is too easy to get to, telling yourself that you'll pay extra in next pay day to make up for it, It is far better to keep it safe and out of your way. You could choose to deposit your money in a savings account. There are many different types of savings account and you should ensure that you pick one that is right for you, and that does not lock your savings in for 12 months or you won't be able to get to them at Christmas without a penalty. Savings schemes are another popular option. Park Hampers run one of the most popular schemes on the market. Savings schemes work in similar ways, you choose what you want for Christmas from their catalogue and order it. You then may small regular payments towards your order during the year. By the beginning of November everything is paid well in advance of Christmas.

Set up a direct debit
If you choose to save with Park Hampers or to open a savings account then it may help you to set up a direct debit. This way your money will come out without you doing anything, so you do not have to remember to manually make a transfer. This way you are less likely to notice that you are saving.