Skip to main content

The Calm Before the Storm

Kids are out of school. Many people are taking vacation time right now and are home from work. You might or might not have family in town for the holidays. Regular schedules are all messed up. You’re probably eating WAY too much sugar and not getting enough sleep or exercise. Christmas is in two days. Let’s not forget that New Year’s Eve, another celebratory event, is the week following Christmas. Then there’s the resolutions...Wow. It CAN be a little overwhelming.

My family celebration is taking place on Christmas Eve this year. Today (the 23rd) is actually my oldest grandchild’s birthday. For all intents and purposes, for me the festivities start NOW and will probably be spread out between today and New Year’s.

My advice to us all? Take a deep breath and relax. Note: this is not permission to blow your budget.  Try to enjoy the down time between the holidays, because once New Year’s Day is behind us, we will feel the pressure to hit the ground running on so many levels.

Merry Christmas!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Books Equal Bucks

 In November PBS always hosts their  Annual Reading Marathon . “Wow. That’s the  second  time this month that our financial blogger has gone off the rails regarding blog topics. What does reading have to do with finances?” My answer? Everything. Establishing good reading habits in children–reading 20 minutes a day–can literally change their financial future. Good readers do better in school. Good readers are more likely to graduate from high school. Good readers will probably make more money as adults. Reading changes EVERYTHING          . That being said, books  can  be expensive, but they don’t have to be. Libraries are some of the best resources for book access–they play SUCH an important role in our community. You can also share/trade books with your neighbors, friends, and family members (just make sure you have a good system for tracking book ownership). Second-hand stores or garage sales are awesome places to s...

Bon Voyage

Many of you are aware that I like to travel. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few foreign countries and taking a handful of cruises, and I intend to do more in the not-to-distant future. Because you know me, you know I don’t finance these trips–I plan ahead and save for them. And if you’ve followed my blog for a while, you are also aware that I do use one credit card for which I earn flight miles, and I use this card on the trips where I see the world. There is one thing about my credit card for which I am especially grateful–whenever there is suspicious activity on my account, I get a text notification. The credit card company recognizes that charges abroad MIGHT NOT BE LEGIT, and they send me a message. All I have to do is confirm that it is, in fact, me that made the peculiar purchase, and I’m good to go. If I did not make the purchase, I respond in kind, and my card is deactivated. Note to self and others: one could avoid these potential interruptions if one calls credit car...

The Marshmallow Experiment

In 1972, Stanford did a study about delayed gratification with children. It involved giant marshmallows and testing their patience.  You can see a short YouTube video about the study here . Basically, the kids who could sit alone with a giant marshmallow without eating it for a certain length of time were rewarded with a second giant marshmallow. Fun, huh? Some kids could be patient and reap the rewards; some could not. I was a small child when the study was conducted, and I wonder which side I might have been on. I HAVE learned to be pretty patient as an adult. One of the areas in which I’ve seen improvement is in finances. I have become a good money manager–I could be paid once annually and budget so that I won’t run out before year’s end, including having enough money to pay my own quarterly taxes–self-employed people do that. Speaking of taxes, I try not to overpay so that I qualify for a “refund,” because the government does not practice The Marshmallow Experiment. Huh? ...