I've noticed two things during this season, firstly people begin to notice how tired they are and secondly people begin to spend money because they are tired. Not only is this a more expensive time of year for people generally due to the holidays, but there is a financial cost to busyness and tiredness that I began to see when I actively started budgeting and looking in detail at where I was spending. Firstly, I found that I cooked less from scratch and ate more take out or convenience foods, secondly I was choosing more costly activities for entertainment because I just wanted to sit and do nothing and finally the sheer exhaustion let the thought "I'd feel so much better if I could just get away" creep into my every day thinking!
I've been helping friends with finances, or more correctly helping them budget and again I'm seeing the trend that many big purchases particularly holidays and vacations were made in exhaustion, usually during winter when they desperately needed a break. So, I've been reflecting on what reduces tiredness and increases joy in anticipation of what is around the corner and I thought I'd share some ideas I came up with to prevent that extra spending!
Ways of preventing weariness and big spending...!
- Going to bed 30 minutes earlier and making it a routine!
- Having a library book on hand ready to read so that the evenings when you crash at home you are not tempted to purchase a book at the book shop first
- Consistently sticking to 3 fruits, 3 veg, the right amount of protein and dairy each day, this gives more energy and a better ability to cope
- Cooking food in advance, so that you have soups, casseroles etc waiting in the freezer for you for those busy nights where you have little time!
- Keeping your house clean and in order (this prevents many from calling in a cleaning service while in crisis mode!)
- Bundling up and taking an evening walk, making this part of a routine each day when possible
- Meditating, relaxing, praying
- Being realistic about your time & commitments! Two evening commitments a week are enough for me!
- Taking time for pleasure - seeing friends at the weekend
- Learn a new hobby - knitting, cooking, baking, sewing are all great hobbies for the winter season
- Being thankful! I go to bed thankful for 3 things during my day, this helps me remain positive instead of negative because let's face it sometimes you don't feel like 1 thing went well that day :)
- Getting outside for sunlight - if I go too long without sun, I start to imagine warm beaches during the dead of winter...this is dangerous thinking for my budget :)
- Plan your holiday/summer etc - knowing that you have good times awaiting you will help you grin and bear the busy season now
- Keep it simple - there is no point having time off over the holidays and being busy 12-16 hours a day, going back to work more exhausted than before your vacation days, I try to keep at least two days before Christmas and two days after Christmas as quiet home days, where the family does nothing more than take a long walk, enjoy good food and relax!
- Remember spring is just around the corner!!!
I'd love to hear from you, do you find you spend more during busy seasons in your life? What do you do to relax without spending money?
10 comments:
So true! Add in all the goodies and stuff you're expected to make during the holidays and you're in for a real busy season!
We only schedule 1 holiday event per family, any more and we turn them down, sorry folks but our sanity is at stake (as well as family relationships at times:).
Making sure you're eating well is a HUGE way to keep away the fatigue. We always take a healthy side option to any family meal so we know there will at least be one thing we can eat a lot of to balance out the bad. Generally it's a healthy vegetable side with no added sugar.
I've also found that taking vitamin D3 and fermented cod liver oil greatly helps in the fatigue this time of year, I sleep better, I feel better and I'm healthier. And if you're having trouble sleeping a little melatonin goes a long way in helping without the dreaded fog in the morning.
Yes, i have a tendency, especially when tired to spend.
I was at a store the other day to pick up items i did need, but saw something cute i thought of for a friend. The thing is, this is a friend far away & i didn't intend to send them stuff. The items weren't expensive, but i thought of the boxing & getting it to the P.O. & all that was included, & decided to walk away.
We're hoping to do a more "minimal" holiday this year. Not sure what that means, but then i find myself tripped up with the idea that i want to buy such & such for so & so.
Making knitted gifts for most of my nieces & nephews this year. That's kind of a start. The yarn was rather expensive, but i'm enjoying the crafting.
Good Timing.....I spent yesterday shopping for "essentials" and then came home and hunched morosely over my laptop for the rest of the day and yes the weather was crappy and it's even crappier today, but it is the season after all. Today I'll follow some of your good advice,and I hope you do too ;-) It's one thing to know what will help you feel better, it's something else to always do it.
Good advice although I take it a bit further and don't restrict myself to 3 things to be thankful for. I just let it roll.
Keep Christmas simple, everyone brings something, gifts are homemade, forget obligations and duty etc.Just check out my blog.
Here it's 2 serves of fruit and 5 of veg (and there is no culinary tradition of adding sugar to vegetables).
Slow-cooked meals are good for combating both fatigue and cool weather. Since they require cheaper cuts of meat, they are also easy on the budget as well as making it easy to get the 5 veg a day. They can usually be cooked in bigger quantities and frozen, too. We're having a mutton curry from the freezer this evening, despite being in the Southern Hemisphere!
every winter here in the Pacific Northwest I think about buying full-spectrum lighting to prevent the SAD's from hitting. however, they cost about $200. Maybe I'll try sitting under my seed-starting lights!
wonderful list, thank you!
nicola
http://whichname.blogspot.com
Your list of feel-better tips is so good, and right on target. While it sounds like "pampering," in reality these simple steps are just about taking care of ourselves, something so many of us tend to neglect. Thanks for the reminder!
xox,
Susan
confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com
Thanks -- I needed that!
Wonderful post. I love your good advice. I tend to drink lots and lots of tea in the autumn. I have black tea in the morning, and then mostly herbal teas. Buying nettles and oatstraw, raspberry leaf, etc in bulk is good. It keeps me feeling nourished with warm and good vitamins on a cold day.
Post a Comment