Sinking fund season
What to set aside for Christmas, every payday.
Christmas is the one big expense that tells you its date a year in advance. Split it across the paychecks you have left and it stops being a January credit-card bill — it is already paid for when it arrives.
Free, no sign-up to use the calculator
Quick answer
Per paycheck, at a glance.
Find your holiday budget, then the number of paydays you have left. That is what goes in the envelope every payday.
| Holiday budget | 4 paydays left | 6 paydays left | 8 paydays left | 10 paydays left | 12 paydays left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $125 | $84 | $63 | $50 | $42 |
| $800 | $200 | $134 | $100 | $80 | $67 |
| $1,000 | $250 | $167 | $125 | $100 | $84 |
| $1,200 | $300 | $200 | $150 | $120 | $100 |
| $1,500 | $375 | $250 | $188 | $150 | $125 |
| $2,000 | $500 | $334 | $250 | $200 | $167 |
How it works
A sinking fund in three moves.
List it
Gifts, the big meal, travel, decorations, cards and postage, the office party. The total is your target.
Divide it
Subtract what is already saved and divide by the paydays left. Round up — finishing a little ahead is the good kind of wrong.
Fund it
Every payday, the amount goes into a Christmas envelope before anything else is spent. In December, you spend from it.
Low-buy holidays
Every “no” goes in the Christmas envelope.
Skipping something this week? Move what it would have cost into the fund. It is the most satisfying way to catch up on a late start — and the envelope shows it happening.
- One envelope with a target, funded every payday
- Rolls over month to month until December
- A bar that shows how much of the target is funded
- No bank login — you move the money on purpose
Gifts
The biggest line for most people. A list with a number beside each name keeps it honest.
Food & hosting
The big meal, the baking, the drinks for guests. Easy to forget until the receipt.
Everything else
Travel, decorations, cards and postage, the tree, the party outfit.
Questions.
How much should I save for Christmas each paycheck?
Add up what the holidays will cost you — gifts, food, travel, decorations, cards and postage — subtract anything already set aside, and divide by the paydays left before you start spending. $1,200 with 6 paydays left is $200 a paycheck; with 12 left it is $100. The calculator on this page does the counting for you.
What is a Christmas sinking fund?
Money you set aside a little at a time for a cost you know is coming, so it is already paid for when it arrives. It is the opposite of putting December on a credit card and paying for it in February.
When should I start?
Now is fine, and January is best. Started the week after Christmas, the fund has about 50 weekly or 25 biweekly paydays to fill, so even a generous holiday is a small amount each time.
What if I am starting late and the number is too big?
Change the budget, not the deadline. Trim the list — fewer gifts, a secret-Santa draw, a cheaper plan for the big meal — until the per-paycheck amount is one you can actually fund. A smaller holiday paid in cash beats a bigger one paid for until spring.
One envelope or several?
Start with one. If gifts and food keep competing, split them into two envelopes so you can see which one is running short. Two or three is plenty.
How do I run it in Minturn Money?
Make a Christmas envelope with the total as its target and fund it every payday. Its balance rolls over from month to month until December, and the bar shows how much of the target is funded so far. Rollover and savings goals are on the free tier, which includes two goals.
Pay for December before it arrives.
Free to start, no card, no bank login. 14 days of Premium if you want the rest.
Never Summer Mountains · mark byzewski, CC BY 2.0
