How Much Should I Save Each Month for Christmas?

To work out how much to save each month for Christmas, take your total holiday budget, subtract what you've already saved, and divide by the months left until December. With a $1,200 budget, $700 saved and two months to go, that's $500 ÷ 2 = $250 a month. Below is a worked example and a late-start table.

TL;DR

• Formula: (holiday budget − saved so far) ÷ months left until December = what to save each month.
• Count the months after this one, up to and including December. In October, that's two: November and December.
• Every month you wait makes each deposit bigger. The same $1,200 is $300 a month from August but $600 a month from October.
• Compare the amount you need with what you actually plan to save. If the plan is short, save more or trim the budget now, not in December.
• Log every deposit, so you can see whether you're on track month by month.

What is the formula for Christmas savings?

It is the same maths as any sinking fund: a goal, a deadline, and a fixed amount set aside on a schedule.

1. Goal: your total holiday budget, covering gifts, food, travel, decorations, cards and the rest. If you haven't picked one yet, start with how to split your Christmas budget by category.
2. Saved so far: money already set aside for the holidays.
3. Still to save: goal minus saved so far.
4. Months left: the months between now and December.
5. Needed per month: still to save ÷ months left.

How many months do I have left?

Count the months after the current one, up to and including December. In August you have four (September to December). In October you have two (November and December). In November or December you have one, which means the whole remaining amount is due now.

Two adjustments are worth making. If you can still make a deposit this month, your real monthly amount is a little lower than the formula says. And if most of your holiday shopping happens in early December, treat November as your last saving month, so the money is there when you need it.

How much do I need if I start late?

Here is the same example goal of $1,200, with nothing saved yet, depending on when you start:

Example figures for illustration only.

Starting two months earlier halves the monthly amount. If you're reading this in November, the honest options are to lower the total, cover part of it from regular income in December, or both.

What does a Christmas savings plan look like? A worked example

Here is an example household, with made-up numbers:

• Holiday budget: $1,200
• Already saved before they started tracking: $150
• Started saving in September, and plan to save $300 a month
• Deposits so far: $300 on September 5 and $250 on October 5
• Today: October 20

Their plan of $300 a month is more than the $250 they need, so they are on track and would finish $100 ahead. Month by month, the path looks like this. The on-track target spreads the $1,200 evenly over the four months from September to December.

Example figures for illustration only.

What if my monthly plan falls short?

Say the same household can only save $200 a month instead of $300. They still need $250, so they are $50 a month short, and by December they'd have about $1,100 against a $1,200 budget.

There are three honest fixes:

1. Save more: find the extra $50 a month until December.
2. Trim the budget: lower the total to what the plan will actually reach, then cut categories to match. Gifts usually have the most room.
3. Both: save $25 more and trim the budget by $50.

Should I save weekly or by paycheck instead?

Match how you're paid; the total is the same. To turn a monthly amount into a weekly one, multiply by 12 and divide by 52. For every-other-week paychecks, multiply by 12 and divide by 26. The $250 a month in the example is about $57.69 a week, or about $115.38 a paycheck.

Move the money on payday, into a separate account if you can, so it isn't spent by accident.

How do I do this in the Christmas Budget & Gift Planner?

The AISheetLogic Christmas Budget & Gift Planner does this maths on its Savings tab and keeps it in sync with the rest of your holiday budget. It opens with sample data, so clear the yellow cells first.

1. Setup tab: type your Total holiday budget, which becomes your savings goal, and the month you Started saving (month 1-12).
2. Savings tab, Your plan: enter what you'd Saved before you started logging and how much you Plan to save each month.
3. Savings log: one row per deposit with its Date, Amount and a Note. Weekly or per-paycheck deposits are fine; the sheet adds them up by month.
4. Where you stand: Saved so far, Still to save, Months left (to December), Needed per month and Projected by December, plus a line that says "On track", "Fully funded" or how much you're short each month. Once you start shopping, Spent so far (Budget tab) and Left in the holiday fund show what remains.
5. Month by month: Saved (logged), Total saved, On-track target and Status for each month from your start month to December.
6. Dashboard tab: the Saved tile shows your total and what you still need per month.

Want a quick number first? The free Christmas budget calculator works out a holiday total and a weekly savings amount in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

When should I start saving for Christmas?

As early as you can, because the months left are what set the monthly amount. In the example, $1,200 is $300 a month starting in August and $600 a month starting in October. Starting in January gives you eleven months, so the same $1,200 is about $109 a month.

What if I've already started buying gifts?

Count what you've spent as part of the budget, not on top of it. Your savings goal is still the whole holiday budget; you are simply drawing on it early. In the planner, purchases logged on the Gift List and Shopping tabs show up as Spent so far, and Left in the holiday fund shows what your savings still cover.

What if I can't save the full amount by December?

Decide now whether to save more, lower the total, or do a bit of both. Lowering the total early lets you trim gift budgets on purpose instead of finding out at the till. If you plan to cover part of December from regular income, write that amount down so it is part of the plan.

Is a Christmas savings fund the same as a sinking fund?

Yes. A sinking fund is money set aside in regular amounts for a known future expense with a date. Christmas is a classic one, since the date never moves. The same formula works for birthdays, car repairs or annual subscriptions: goal minus saved, divided by the months left.