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If you’re like me, you probably found yourself a week or two away from Christmas wondering how you were going to manage all of the errands, shopping, greeting cards and most of all….paying for it all. While my husband and I had a plan for paying for everything, we found ourselves wishing we had set more aside during the rest of the year.

Now is a great time to set up a holiday savings account for NEXT year so that when the holiday season arrives, you’ll have a healthy chunk of cash waiting for you, ready to be spent.

My husband and I did that this year, but we neglected to include some additional expenses that we will add for next year. We opted not to do a holiday card this year, mostly because I was sick for two weeks and would have never completed them on time, but also because the expense was just one we didn’t feel we wanted to bear this year. We didn’t factor in the $35 visit to Santa, nor the fact that there would be a holiday storm that would cut our shopping short and force us to purchase some more expensive gifts than we had planned.

This year, as for the coming year, we will be using the automatic deduction/deposit feature of our ING Direct account. Inside our main account with ING, we have set up several sub-accounts for different savings goals. One of these sub-accounts is appropriately named, “Christmas” and we have a set amount transferred from our regular checking account into that sub-account every week. The great thing is that we can adjust that amount anytime we like, so for these next two months after Christmas we will probably transfer a modest amount and then ramp up to a slightly higer amount starting in late Winter.

Because these transfers are automatic and rather invisible to us, we never really miss the money and it’s fun to check in every couple of months and see how much we have accumulated. We also plan to take a portion of our tax refund and make a lump-sum deposit to help boost it. We can also transfer “windfall” money into that account as well…rebates and refunds, birthday and holiday money, or any other bonus money that comes to us throughout the year.

Our goal for 2010: To have every penny of holiday money set aside in that account waiting for us by Thanksgiving. Using this year’s budget, and allowing for the visit to Santa, holiday card expenses and a 10% slush fund, we now know how much per week we will need to deposit and how much we will likely subtract from our tax refund to make it the balance it needs to be in November. Added bonus….the interest we will earn all year long on the deposited money.

We are using our ING Direct account, and have found it to be the easiest way to save. While the account is attached to our regular checking and savings accounts, there is a 2 to 3 day delay from when you request a transfer back down to those accounts. While some people might find this inconvenient, we actually like it because it encourages us to keep the money in the account and not transfer it back down to our regular household accounts on a whim.

Best of all…as you know…. I like things to be automatic and easy!!

If you don’t currently have an ING Direct savings account, or their paperless (i.e. no checks) checking account called Electric Orange, did you know you can actually get paid to open these accounts? Seriously! What a great way to start your holiday savings for NEXT year! As an ING Direct customer, I can send exclusive invitations to new members allowing you to receive a bonus for opening either the ING Direct savings account, Electric Orange checking account, or both! Doesn’t getting $25 for free sound like a nice way to jumpstart your holiday savings?

If you would like to receive an ING Direct referral invitation, please follow these steps:

1. Stop by my “Support” section here on AutomaticMoms.com. Click here to go there now.

2. Open a “new ticket” and select the department, “ING Direct Referral Request”.

3. Include your email address where you would like the invite sent and I will process the invitation and ING will send it to that address.

4. Click on the link in the email from ING and setup your new account! You will get a $25 account bonus when you follow the ING instructions.

Hopefully, this tip will get you well on your way to an easier, less stressful Holiday 2010!