One of my favorite personal finance bloggers is sponsoring a frugal month challenge. Alison of the Frugalwoods will guide and handhold her readers towards a month of conscious frugality, helping us get our spending to align with our goals.
The challenge begins January 1 on the dot and Alison wrote a nifty guide to steer her readers towards uber frugality. Step One of the guide asks the participants to list down their goals to set the overarching reason or purpose for your frugality.
Ok, so I'm not really feeling maximum Christmas vibes yet. But ever so slowly, Christmas is making its way felt. In the same way that negativity is infectious, Christmas spirit is also catching. Yin to the yang.
I refused to let Christmas get to me this year because it seemed like there was nothing to celebrate. With the burning down of Aleppo, rampant EJKs, idiot government officials, etc. etc. and so forth, it felt wrong to don my merrymaking hat. Also, I didn't qualify for most of the year-end bonuses because I didn't meet the basic tenure guidelines, and when I did qualify, it was still pro-rated at a sad 30%. Crazy world + no money = scroogey grumpy Jill.
But, as I said, Christmas is an annoying little beast that refuses to be ignored. And with a three year old who joyfully dances to Christmas songs and gets excited over Christmas gift, how could I not give in to Christmas?
While the marketing machinery tells you to spend your way to happiness during the Christmas season, it is very possible to not blow your entire Christmas bonus and still feel happy. Christmas is about the feels (and baby Jesus) y'all, and you can get the feels even without buying out the entire mall. Here are some ways I get my Christmas on without making my wallet cry bloody murder:
So who else is excited to see 2016 leave the room?
It has really been such a trying year on all fronts.
The war in Syria and the mass of refugees has been heartbreaking and the Trump win, why America, why?!?! But why even go abroad when our own local news is already enough fodder for heartbreak and frustration.
On the personal front, my husband was hospitalized twice and my parents pushed forward with their grand project even if their funding source was iffy, leaving my bank account bleeding on both occasions.
Hayz.....
