[Billcat]

I can feel sympathy for the folks who were simply trying to ensure that they would have funds available for the holidays. I'm not a fan of this sort of program, but I am a fan of folks who want to provide their families a decent holiday celebration.

Many of our banks here in the USA offer Christmas Club programs. Customers make regular payments throughout the year (or have it taken directly out of their pay), and the bank pays interest. A couple of advantages are that these accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, so that there is virtually no chance of losing one's money, and the accounts pay a modest amount of interest (if there is an emergency and funds are withdrawn early, the interest if forfeited, which provides a mild discouragement for early withdrawals). Seems like a better program than the hamper scheme. I favor any program that encourages folks to think about saving and/or investing.