Christmas has a way of sneaking up on a person and can become financially overwhelming. Some people have the habit of overspending on Christmas, finding themselves in a hole once the holiday’s pass. While others try to spend within their means but always wish they had more to give. 

Union State Bank offers people the opportunity to plan and save with our Christmas Club account. An account of this kind has been offered by Union State Bank for over the last 25 years. This account is specifically designed to help you save money at a better interest rate than a savings account. Its purpose is to be a simple, stress-free account. 

“The main incentive is providing peace of mind so that our customers don’t have to worry about coming up with extra needed money during the holidays,” said Union State Bank Senior Vice President of Operations Jennifer Opp. 

Christmas Club allows account holders to pay a higher interest rate than just a regular savings account. “Deposits can be made anytime, but the easiest way to fund the account is to set up scheduled automatic funds transfer – usually to correspond with payroll periods – that way the customer doesn’t have to worry about remembering to make the deposit and provides more peace of mind,” said Opp. 

The account holder can continue to deposit funds throughout the year up until November 15th. 

As of November 15th, the dollar amount within the account will be returned to the customer via direct deposit into another Union State Bank account or check. 

The Christmas Club account also does allow early withdrawals of those funds, however, there will be a $10 service charge PER withdrawal for any withdrawals made before November 10th. 

While this is a money market account the interest rate is subject to change but will be a higher interest rate than other regular savings plans. 

Upon the initial opening of the account the holder would need to make a minimum of $10 deposit, which needs to be maintained each day to obtain disclosed Annual Percentage Yield. 

Union State Bank also reserves the right to, at any time, require not less than 7 business days written notice before any withdrawal. Interest is calculated by the daily balance method. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly with statements being generated quarterly. Fees may reduce earnings.

With the funds of the account being disbursed by mid-November -- in time for the holiday season -- come January of the following year the whole process will start over again, allowing the customer to start saving for the next holiday season.