According to a psychological study, the third Monday in January is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year. I guess we’re blue because it’s after the holidays, days are still dark and dreary and it will be months before there is another holiday. And, along with that sadness, we are overwhelmed with new year’s resolutions being abandoned and holiday bills coming in.
Although we wish we had the power to make the days longer and sun brighter, we don’t have a lot to say with most of those things. And, hopefully, we all have New Year’s Solutions this year instead of abandoned resolutions (see December 30th blog). But still, most of us have holiday bills and we’re wondering how to pay them. Somehow the joy of giving fades when financial reality hits us in January. It seemed like such a good idea at the time!
Remember the old Christmas Clubs? You would give the bank $20 each week and in early November they would give you a check for $1,050 +/- to use for your Holiday spending. I remember feeling rich when I was presented with that check. It didn’t even feel like my own money; it felt like a gift from the bank. Not only did it give me cash to work with, it also gave me a budget for the holidays. It kept me from making too many of those impulse purchases.
We need this tool even more in this credit card world we live in. What if we paid for things in advance? Why not take our 2010 Holiday budget, divide by 40 (number of weeks until November 1) and put it weekly into a savings account? What a nice gift to yourself for your holiday shopping next year. Just might do the trick to change Blue Monday into a nice, calm baby blue!
A foot and a half of snow and no sun…. Boy, do I wish I had that power!
