I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. I’ve enjoyed taking a few days off from blogging, but now it’s time to get back to work.
If you were fortunate enough to get some Christmas money (and haven’t spent it yet), then you’re probably facing the same dilemma that I am right now. What do I do with it? Here are 3 ideas for what to do with your Christmas money this year.
1. Open a high-yield savings account
A high-yield savings account is a great way to earn some extra money with your Christmas money (or any extra cash) while you figure out what you want to do with it. It only takes a few minutes to open. You have easy access to it, and best of all, you earn some extra money just for keeping your money in there.
I keep the money I’m saving up to pay back my student loans in a high-yield savings account. Since my loans are still in deferment, it doesn’t make sense for me to make an early payment or to just let the money sit in a checking account. By keeping the money in a high-yield savings account, I earn a little extra cash every month that goes straight into my loan pay back fund.
As an added bonus, if you open a high-yield savings account at ING with at least $250, then you’ll receive a $25 bonus. It’s like getting another Christmas present! If you’re interested, then check out how you can make $25 in ten minutes.
2. Save it
Who said you actually have to spend your Christmas money? You can save it, instead. Some people may argue that Christmas money should be spent on something for yourself, but I feel that saving the money is “spending” the money on yourself. You’re giving yourself the extra sense of security that comes with having an emergency fund. This means less stress when unexpected expenses come up, which is a great gift in my opinion.
Saving your Christmas money is simple too. All you have to do is open a high-yield savings account (see above) and put the money in it. By next Christmas, you’ll have your Christmas money plus more.
3. Give back
My parents have helped me out financially throughout college whenever they could, and I’ve really appreciated it. To show my appreciation, I spent some of my Christmas money to give something back to them. This year I rented a storage unit to help clear out some of the clutter from their house. Renting the storage unit was the easy part. The moving and cleaning has been the hard part.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Just be careful with loans in deferment… the interest capitalization at the end of the deferment period hurts. I have been paying back my loans for almost two years and they still have not been reduced to the original principal amount. Now that is because I only make minimum paymenst since my 4.25% interest loans are not worth paying down when putting the excess payments into HIgh Yield savings or even CD’s earns a better interest rate.
I agree with Adam. You have to keep your eye on the loans in deferment.