I saw a woman do something today at Walmart that I thought was brilliant!
Every time she goes into Walmart and purchases something she adds $5 to a gift card that she carries with her. THIS IS HER CHRISTMAS SAVINGS PLAN! I think it is brilliant. In fact I came home and talked to my wife and we both decided that each of us would carry one. Even if we go in 3-4 times a week, which we do, each time we are going to add $5 to it. We should easily have $720 on each card by December.
So this got me thinking…. I am going to give away one of those cards at the beginning of December to a reader. Sounds like fun to me! Now, I am not sure how much will be on it, $500-$800 is my guesstimate. I will keep a tally on the sidebar, once I figure out how to do it.
Just thought I would give you a heads up, so if you are looking for a way to save up for Christmas you can get started now!
What an amazing idea! i’d love to win this also WOW!
Thanks!!!
nicole
Thank you for this great idea! I am doing the gift card Christmas fund right away.
sounds like an awesome idea if i could get the hubby to not spend it knowing theirs cash on there 🙁
What a great idea! Thanks for the idea and for all you do!
This is a great idea. I have been trying to figure something out and i love this idea
I put all my overage on a gift card as a savings for xmas !
When I read the above post I was thinking the exact same thing & was wondering if that would work. Do they give you grief about doing that? That would be great for our tight budget.
LOVE IT~!
LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!! I was in Wal-mart today actually, wish I would have known about it. I’m going to do this too! WONDERFUL IDEA!!!!!!!!!
Love it!!! I actually put $5 into a Christmas fund box weekly. It adds up fast. I think I am going to do this idea too. Can’t hurt having some extra money for Christmas gifts.
This is a Awesome Idea. I never thought of doing this.
ashabutterflys.blogspot.com
that is an awesome idea!
I love this idea 🙂 I’m going to have to start this b/c this is GREAT ……
And with 4 kids all the money helps …. Thanks so much for sharing this …
Thanks,
Jackie
This is a great idea. I have been doing this for the past two years. It really adds up. Something else that we have been doing along the same lines is, each time I go into a grocery store whether its Publix or Kroger I carry a gift card from both of these places and I add either 5 or more dollars to the card each time I go in. So should there ever be a situation where I don’t have cash or am broke and need something from the grocery store, I will have the card as a backup!!! It works wonders, I promise!
Wow! That is a great idea! I am going to start that too.
You and your wife are amazing people! Thanks for all you do!!!! 😉
That is a wonderful idea! Although my total already kills me as it is. I would hate to add the $5 but it would be great at the end of the year. My only concern would be I would lose my wallet or the card itself because I am pretty bad with stuff like that. Currently my phone has been lost for 8 days and is nowhere to be found. I would hate for that to be a card with $550- to $800 on it! I might go out of my mind in anger! : )
What a great idea!! thanks for posting this! I just told my hubby about it and he agrees we should start that too.
That’s a great idea! I was trying to find a good way to use the overage and not be forced to buy something I don’t need.
I do that but a little different….
I have them subtotal the bill then I add money so the bill comes out a whole number. Like today my bill was 32.84 – so I added 7.16 = 40.00 total.
That 7.16 – I have toward WALMART GAS!!
I find it easier to know I pre-pay in little amounts rather than a larger $52.00 for every 3 days gas fill up – I drive really far to work 🙁
Right now I have $32.16 towards my next fill up. Yeah
I like the “rounding up” idea. I have to admit that Christmas came as a punch in the gut, financially speaking, last year. This would be a great way to be a little more prepared. Thanks for sharing such great ideas with us Paul!
I love this idea!!
This is a great idea. It reminds me of friends who starting purchasing diapers when they first found out they were expecting so that for the first months after babyarrived they were already stocked up with their frugal diaper purchases.
Thanks for sharing this idea. Seems easy enough. 🙂
That is the best idea… And I’m totally going to do it next time I go.
Love the idea! I do have a question. I know some gift cards will charge a small fee if you don’t use them for a while. Anyone know if Walmart does that?
Not to my knowledge, I’m pretty sure you are safe there.
Paul- (haha, everytime I come here I think of my Daddy, Paul Nolan.)
Would it be safe to use overage towards “purchasing” or “reloading” a gift card?
Just wondering, I wouldn’t be able to do it since I only shop once a week, and never have overage that doesn’t apply to a total- but for those who get great overage and would rather put it on a GC would it work?
This is a great idea. For the last couple of years I have been putting aside a dollar for every load of laundry. This way I feel like I am getting paid for doing a chore I really dislike and I am saving for Christmas. Win, win.
Thanks for the new idea.
That’s an AWESOME IDEA. Thanks for the great idea..
God Bless,
Jason
I love this idea! I have older children who are hard to shop for now they are grown with wives and children. I think i will do the cards and just give them as gifts to the boys(men)…This is a great way to stop that pain we all feel at the registers at CHRISTman time…..dee
This is a fabulous idea. I have a Christmas Club savings account, but since I’ve been out of work, not much has been put into it. But this I can definitely do. I might have to do one for Target, too.
One of my friends and fellow coupon queen does this with her overages she’s been earning at WM. So far, she’s up to $65!
I’ve been doing this too – only I put my $5 on a Kroger card – then I can purchase gift cards with it – earning points towards fuel purchases.
Any way you do it, it will add up!
I’m sorry to rain on everybody’s parade, but there are a few things you should consider. As someone else mentioned, you might lose that card, or your purse or wallet may be stolen. If a store claims any sort of bankruptcy, cardholders are considered unsecured creditors, and your cards will be worthless. (I doubt we have to worry about Walmart, but, for many other stores, this might be a consideration.) You may not spend your money as wisely when it is loaded on a card, rather than when you are spending cash. You will be limited to buying your Christmas presents from that particular store. And lastly, why not put the money in a savings account where you can make some interest, rather than you giving an interest-free loan to Walmart. I’m not saying don’t do it, merely that there are some downsides you should consider first.
Whenever I am balancing my check book, I write down the total but when factoring in my balance I round up.
EX. If I spent @27.32, I round up to $28… At the end of the month, after everything goes through, I put the balance into Savings.
Love love love this idea! Thanks for sharing! Just talked to my husband and I am starting ASAP! I have several in my purse, I use them for gas! So I will have to write on one “Christmas Savings Plan Card” LOL Thanks again!
Love the idea!! I wonder if we can use the gift card amount for the overage amount we get??
I do somewhat do this at Target, they always have sales where you buy a certain number of certain products and get a $5 gift card. You can “roll” these as I know most couponers do but I keep mine in a secret stash and use them to splurge at Christmas.