Layout:
Home > Category: Holidays

Viewing the 'Holidays' Category

Can You Feel It?

December 31st, 2007 at 05:16 pm

2007 has been a year of changes for me. Like any year, it has had its ups and downs, but it seems that they were more drastic. The ups were really up; the downs were really down.

I went from being a student to being a teacher. I went from undergraduate classes to graduate classes. I saw the end of my competitive running career with my graduation from college. I went from having no money and little responsibilities to fully steering my life and managing my own assets.

Like most years of my life, 2007 had a distinctive "feel" to it. It felt like a plant that dies and is absorbed into the ground before it bursts back to life more full and powerful than it was before. That's what 2007 was to me. Many things in my life came to an end. Many of those things were good and brought my great joy, but they had to end to make room for the future.

As we press onward into another year, I wish you all the very best. I hope you are surrounded by your friends and family tonight. I will be. Any year that ends in such a way can be nothing but wonderful.

Christmas! (Part II)

December 25th, 2007 at 04:25 pm

Merry Christmas to everyone! Enjoy all the food, friends, and family!

Christmas!

December 24th, 2007 at 04:48 pm

This Christmas has been good to me. I have all of my shopping done, and I've spent less than $200 on gifts. I'm fortunate to have people in my life who don't overemphasize expensive gifts.

Q and I decided to set a $100 spending limit this year, and it has worked out quite well. It makes you think of creative ways to give to the other person, but it's not so frugal as to completely omit fun things.

So I spent $100 on Q, and I spread the other $100 out on my family. I already received $100 from my grandmother, so I'm pretty close to breaking even!

Now, changing the subject, I received some excellent advice in posts over the past couple days. One of my favorites is the "car fund." I think I'm going to begin putting $100 per month in my car fund. That way, when I do need to buy a car, I'll already have a nice down-payment ready without having to dip into my emergency savings.

In response to how I became so financially conscious at 22, I'm not sure. Both of my parents came from poverty and made it into the middle class. They made it by being extremely good with money. While we have only recently had formal "financial talks," their money skills rubbed off over the years. If I'm half as good as they are, I'll be lucky.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!