Your Guide to an Inexpensive Holiday Season

Home Blog Your Guide to an Inexpensive Holiday Season

Posted On: October 24, 2021 by Peoples Bank of Kankakee County in: Budget Saving Seasonal

The holidays are quickly approaching, which means it’s time for the fun, but sometimes expensive, process of Christmas shopping. By incorporating some of these habits and ideas into your holiday traditions, you can make this holiday season and the ones to come much more affordable than normal.

Have a Family Potluck

Some people enjoy hosting a big family dinner each year. But making dinner for 20+ people can get pricey very quickly. It may also be a tradition to go out to eat each holiday season, and it’s usually hosted at a nicer restaurant. If you want to cut costs this year, consider hosting a potluck instead and ask each guest to bring their favorite holiday dish.

Tell Your Kids There’s a Gift Limit

It’s natural to want to spoil your adorable kids with presents around the holidays, but that can get out of hand quickly. Talk to your kids about your plans for shopping on a budget and perhaps that you’ll be buying a certain number of gifts, which might be lower than what you’ve done in the past. If you don’t have kids yet, having a spending limit for gifts is a great habit to start as soon as possible.

Choose Thoughtfulness Over Price

Value can be measured in different ways, so don’t think that spending more means the gift is more valuable. Some cheap and thoughtful gifts for people like teachers, neighbors or co-workers include a heartfelt letter, sweet treats or any kind of homemade gift.

Try the White Elephant Gift Exchange

Buying gifts for everyone in the family adds up fast, especially if it includes extended family or you have a big family to begin with. Everyone buys one gift, but nobody knows who they’re receiving a gift from, which saves hundreds of dollars and makes for some family fun.

Start Shopping Early

Many people are stressed over the holidays because they’re spending a lot of money at one time. Make it easier on your bank account by spreading out the purchases. You don’t have to actively go shopping months in advance but keep your eye out for deals or gifts people mention long before Christmas. Sales happen all the time so don’t buy full-priced if you don’t have to!

Don’t Overdo the Decorations

As tempting as it is to deck your house out with the trendiest and nicest Christmas décor, set a budget for that, too. Celebrate the holidays with the essentials like lights, a tree and some holiday candles, but keep it simple if you’re looking to save money.

Now that you’re aware of how to have a cheaper holiday season, put the extra money you saved into a savings account. We’re here to help and answer any questions you may have about our financial services.

An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway. We can cover your overdrafts in two different ways:

We have standard overdraft practices that are available after your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing.
We also offer an overdraft protection plan, Overdraft Protection Sweep, a link to a savings account. It may be less expensive than our standard overdraft practices. To learn more, ask us about this plan.

This notice explains our standard overdraft practices.

What are the standard overdraft practices that come with my account?

After your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing, we do authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions:

Checks and other transactions made using your checking account number
Automatic bill payments

We do not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions unless you ask us to (see below):

ATM transactions
Everyday debit card transactions

We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction.

If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined.

What fees will I be charged if Peoples Bank of Kankakee County pays my overdraft?

Under our standard overdraft practices:

We will charge you a fee of up to $30 each time we pay an overdraft.
The maximum daily overdraft fee per presentment or item paid using the Overdraft Reserve Program is $150.00 per day.
No per item handling fee will be charged on de minimis overdrafts. De minimis overdraft for this policy means transactions that overdraw your account by $30 or less.
There is an overdraft fee of $5 per day that will be charged beginning the 4th consecutive business day your account is overdrawn.

Nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees - if an item drafted by you (such as a check) or a transaction you set up (such as a preauthorized transfer) is presented for payment in an amount that is more than the amount of money in your account and we decide not to pay the item or transaction, you agree that we can charge you an NSF fee for returning the payment. Be aware that such an item or payment may be presented multiple times by the merchant or other payee until it is paid, and that we do not monitor or control the number of times a transaction is presented for payment. You agree that we may charge you an NSF fee each time a payment is presented if the amount of money in your account is not sufficient to cover the payment, regardless of the number of times the payment is presented.

PAYMENT ORDER OF ITEMS - The law permits us to pay items drawn on your account in any order (for purposes of this section "items" means checks, orders and electronic transactions). To assist you in handling your account with us, we are providing you with the following information regarding how we process those items. When processing checks and orders drawn on your account our policy is to pay lower numbered checks and orders in numerical sequence, but electronic transactions are paid first in the order received. The order in which items are paid is important if there is not enough money in your account to pay all of the items that are presented. There is no policy that is favorable in every instance. If the smallest items are paid first, you may have fewer NSF or overdraft fees, but the largest, and perhaps more important items (such as rent or mortgage payments) might not be paid. However, if the largest items are paid first, your most important items might be paid but it may increase the overdraft or NSF fees if funds are not available to pay all of the items. We think our policy attains a reasonable balance between minimizing additional costs to you and paying your more important items. We encourage you to make careful records and practice good account management. This will help you to avoid creating items without sufficient funds and incurring the resulting fees.

What if I want Peoples Bank of Kankakee County to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card transactions?

If you also want us to authorize and pay overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions after your account has been open for 30 days, you may opt in.

You have an ongoing right to change this consent at any time. If your overdraft privilege has been revoked for any reason, the opt-in or opt-out selection may not apply. Please contact your nearest office for more information.

Alternate ways to Opt In/Out or make changes:

By Phone. Our Customer Care Representatives can be reached at 815-936-7600.
By Mail. Peoples Bank of Kankakee County, 333 E. Court Street, Kankakee, IL 60901
In Person. Please visit your local office and ask a representative to help you decide which plan is best for you.