Turkey Bells

Thanksgiving is in one week. Black Friday is in 8 days. Christmas is in 35 days.



It is not just me that panics over these statements. I know that others are panicing because I work in retail. How many years has it been since you have asked or witnessed someone else ask for a unwarrented discount on the items they are purchasing just to save a little money? (All those also related to my mother need not reply to that question- we already know the answer. Thank you, Mommy, for your influence. Few others know the true satisfaction of a $1 sweater you purchased from a secret discount store two towns over.) If you have spent very much time in a mall you may have noticed that until recently the answer to that question would have probably been: never or not for a long, long time. But, times are tough. Our wallets are strapped- whether you are old, young, big or small. Days feel longer than ever: we are all working harder for less and lucky to be working at all.



Take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. You are far from alone in feeling financial despair and a lack of play time, friends. With the holidays right around the corner not only are we all under the gun to get work completed but we have obligations tied to family, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, churches, work extracurriculars, reading clubs, gym pals, running buddies... Ok, I'm stressed out just thinking about it.



There is only one way to deal:

Last Year's Resolution: No more jello shots, ever.

Drink. Drink until you can't stand.

Just kidding. (kind of)*

In honesty, one of the best and only ways to deal with end of the year and holiday stress is to remember what it's all about. Christmas and Thanksgiving (the holidays I celebrate) are two holidays that are rooted in an appreciation for what we have been given- faith, love, family. Not the things you need to live, but the things you live for. I find that if you maintain your focus on what you need to collect in order to celebrate this cause, the process is less painful. Think: you are making macaroni and cheese for your family because you know it makes them feel warm, full and comforted. That is an opportunity so many do not have.

Let the person freaking out behind you in line go ahead- take the extra five minutes to remind yourself how lucky you are to have someone to cook for, clean up after, and love you back.

If that's not enough, go home and make one of these:

Autumn Delight

2 oz. whiskey

6 oz. apple cider

fresh cinnamon

Top ingredients over ice in cocktail shaker, shake, strain, serve in an old-fashioned glass. (If you are making this for your warn out girlfriend add a couple slices of apple and a cinnamon stick as garnish- girls love stuff that look pretty, too.) Source

*We does not recommend drinking to excess. If you're going to do it make sure you have a loving roommate there to quickly pick your a$$ up and feed you yummy food the next day.

Goodbye Plastic, Hello Green.

Still riding the tail end of a short-winded Halloween season, I have been reflecting on the things that scare me. While many fears present immediate threats (spiders, public speaking, popping the lid on that forgotten lunch container) others are are like looming, anxiety-causing, grim reapers standing over us and following our every move. Closest to me, this fear is never achieving a financial security, understanding, or freedom. The development of this fear was slow at first: In college I always wrote it off by telling myself that once I got a "real" job I'd be able to straighten things out. Now that I have a "real" job, I have really real bills. Something that I didn't anticipate happening for at least a couple more months. Now that the bills are here my fear has escalated: I don't know how to ration my income, what to pay off first, or what to do with my feelings of neglect for renting not owning. I just want it to all stop and simplify itself. (How someone could spend five years pursuing a business degree and still have such a lack of personal finance skills is beyond me.)

In effort to simplify, understand and plan I am attempting the dreaded cash budget (bom, bom, booooom!) I have closed the credit cards, frozen the credit card, and reserved my checking account for monthly expenses only. With the exception of a small amount of spending money I have budgeted for, all purchases must be planned. I share this for one reason: I hate it. I don't want to do this. I want to go shopping, eat out, travel, buy! buy! buy!. I never want to pay the price for the impulses I've had in the past ("Patron for everyone!"<---regret.) Surely some of you also related when Isla Fisher couldn't resist that perfect green scarf in Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was going to get her the job! (And then, an interest increase.)

Happy? Looks like it...

It is my plan to achieve success by spending more time doing and thinking about the things in life that make me truly happy. I recently read that if money is going to be spent it should be on experiences rather than objects. Doing so fufills a higher need or purpose than, say, a shirt. (Easier said than done, my friends.) This ideology is one thing that did "click" while I was in school- most likely because of a pyramind that was drilled into my head from the first day of school through the last:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

I encourage all of you that aren't yet familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to research the philosophy. It is applicable in everyone's lives someway or another and is a great method to understand how you could ever spend $20 on a pin cushion. If you don't feel like researching here's the jist: once you're focused on buying for needs at the top of the pyrimid you have achieved "having what you want, wanting what you have. " Unfortunately, the difficulty in achieving self actualization is that it only becomes a second nature as we make small decisions that affect progress up the lower levels. In my life that is the ultimate goal. We'll see how it fits into $80 a week... wish me luck!

Ouchies!!!

Have you ever been on a cash budget? How did you make it work?