Although Americans seek discounts in Holiday purchases, most don’t save for the season

December 2005 (Medialink) - For millions of Americans, holiday shopping is top-of-mind – however, a recent survey indicates a variance between how consumers spend and how they save. Americans will spend an average of $750 for holiday gifts this season. Yet, despite the strong desire to save while holiday shopping, 76 percent of more than 2,000 consumers surveyed agree that they do not save as much money as they should.

The survey, conducted for Bank of America by Harris Interactive, found:

• Close to nine in ten U.S. adults (89 percent) do not have a separate account where they save money for holiday shopping.
• Nearly seven in ten (68 percent) put their spare change in a change jar or piggy bank
• Just over four in five U.S. adults (82 percent) have a savings account, but less than two-thirds (64 percent) saved money in the past year.
• Only a third of U.S. adults (33 percent) regularly transfer funds from an account into their savings account.

Bank of America’s new savings program called Keep the Change™ is a great way for consumers to save money while they spend this holiday season. Every time a purchase is made with a Bank of America Visa debit card, the amount of the purchase is automatically rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the rounded-up amount is transferred from the customer’s checking account into their savings account at the end of the day. In addition, Bank of America will match 100 percent of the Keep the Change transfers for the first three months a consumer participates in the program. After that, the bank will match five percent a year. The maximum match is $250 annually.*

The Keep the Change savings program is like having an electronic change jar – just like finding loose change in your couch, but this time depositing it into your savings account automatically, not just leaving it on your dresser!