We all love the holiday season. Especially for those who enjoy entertaining, visions of extravagant gatherings and party planning has already begun. However, this can sometimes result in spending too much money, time, and energy on things that might be more wants than needs.
Instead of enjoying the company of friends and family, the days leading up to any socially distant event are spent stressing out about how clean the house is, making sure everything is color-coordinated and driving yourself to exhaustion. Then once the day finally arrives, you're too fixated on ensuring everything looks perfect the entire day. By the time the evening comes, you can't even remember what happened.
If you've experienced any of this, then you're due for a change. You're missing out on the entire point of the holiday and not recognizing just how much you should grateful for - especially during these unprecedented times. With that in mind, here are some ground rules for getting you through the holidays without breaking your budget and feeling stressed out.
#1. Don't Try to Be Gordon Ramsey
There's no reason in trying to be a gourmet chef and go through the stress of trying to cook everything from scratch. Not to mention going on a Home Goods shopping spree for new table settings and decor to match. This approach will always result in spending too much money on things you don't need, not getting enough sleep, stressing the morning of, and feeling completely drained by the time dinner is served. An alternative solution? Allowing guests to bring food and relieving yourself of the Gordon Ramsey standard you set yourself to.
#2. Prepping your regular meals before and after the holdays
Murphy's Law states, "anything that can happen, will happen," and this is especially true during the holidays. Your entire schedule can be thrown off in an instance. So much so you might even find yourself eating out too often or not eating at all - then feeling awful by the time you get to the actual holiday. Without realizing it, this is impacting your time, energy, and your wallet. You can avoid this by planning your meals the week of a holiday the same as any week by asking yourself “what can make this easier?” Things like frozen vegetables and a crockpot can go a long way. Taking 15 minutes a few days ahead to plan for your life around the holiday will be a game-changer.
#3. Schedule your day
Although you might feel like an air traffic control operator, detailed scheduling for which foods to serve or prep will help you relax. If you don’t do this, you'll constantly be worried about what you're “supposed” to be doing or if you forgot to put something in the oven. This is an effective strategy because unless you have a double oven, it’s a game of Tetris trying to manage how everything can get cooked and heated up without a hitch. Try writing out your schedule on a large piece of paper and put it on the oven with a magnet. A big benefit to this is anyone who wants to help can see the schedule and pitch in if they want without even having to ask you.
#4. Embrace pre-cooking
It's perfectly reasonable to feel apprehensive about cooking the night before for fear of the meal not tasting the same. The ironic part? You're the only one who's going to be able to tell. Pre-cooking not only frees up more time during the actual holiday, but it also helps manage the congestion in the kitchen and eliminates the “uh-oh” moment on the holiday when you realize you forgot an ingredient.
#5. Plan your workouts ahead of time
If working out is part of your regular routine, try to maintain it as much as you can during the holidays. This will help you stay grounded and calm - two essential ingredients to enjoying the holidays. Maybe take an extra-long walk with the dog or an extra 10 minutes of yoga. Commit to moving and getting some fresh air - it'll make all the difference.
Having a home, food, friends, and family any time of the year, especially in 2020, let alone just during the holidays, is a privilege. Having a job that allows you to take the days off to be with my friends and family is also a privilege. If this resonates with you, try to focus on the things that really matter to you this holiday season. Appreciate the little things, make a donation, or perform an act of kindness to get in the holiday spirit.
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We all love the holiday season. Especially for those who enjoy entertaining, visions of extravagant gatherings and party planning has already begun. However, this can sometimes result in spending too much money, time, and energy on things that might be more wants than needs.
Instead of enjoying the company of friends and family, the days leading up to any socially distant event are spent stressing out about how clean the house is, making sure everything is color-coordinated and driving yourself to exhaustion. Then once the day finally arrives, you're too fixated on ensuring everything looks perfect the entire day. By the time the evening comes, you can't even remember what happened.
If you've experienced any of this, then you're due for a change. You're missing out on the entire point of the holiday and not recognizing just how much you should grateful for - especially during these unprecedented times. With that in mind, here are some ground rules for getting you through the holidays without breaking your budget and feeling stressed out.
#1. Don't Try to Be Gordon Ramsey
There's no reason in trying to be a gourmet chef and go through the stress of trying to cook everything from scratch. Not to mention going on a Home Goods shopping spree for new table settings and decor to match. This approach will always result in spending too much money on things you don't need, not getting enough sleep, stressing the morning of, and feeling completely drained by the time dinner is served. An alternative solution? Allowing guests to bring food and relieving yourself of the Gordon Ramsey standard you set yourself to.
#2. Prepping your regular meals before and after the holdays
Murphy's Law states, "anything that can happen, will happen," and this is especially true during the holidays. Your entire schedule can be thrown off in an instance. So much so you might even find yourself eating out too often or not eating at all - then feeling awful by the time you get to the actual holiday. Without realizing it, this is impacting your time, energy, and your wallet. You can avoid this by planning your meals the week of a holiday the same as any week by asking yourself “what can make this easier?” Things like frozen vegetables and a crockpot can go a long way. Taking 15 minutes a few days ahead to plan for your life around the holiday will be a game-changer.
#3. Schedule your day
Although you might feel like an air traffic control operator, detailed scheduling for which foods to serve or prep will help you relax. If you don’t do this, you'll constantly be worried about what you're “supposed” to be doing or if you forgot to put something in the oven. This is an effective strategy because unless you have a double oven, it’s a game of Tetris trying to manage how everything can get cooked and heated up without a hitch. Try writing out your schedule on a large piece of paper and put it on the oven with a magnet. A big benefit to this is anyone who wants to help can see the schedule and pitch in if they want without even having to ask you.
#4. Embrace pre-cooking
It's perfectly reasonable to feel apprehensive about cooking the night before for fear of the meal not tasting the same. The ironic part? You're the only one who's going to be able to tell. Pre-cooking not only frees up more time during the actual holiday, but it also helps manage the congestion in the kitchen and eliminates the “uh-oh” moment on the holiday when you realize you forgot an ingredient.
#5. Plan your workouts ahead of time
If working out is part of your regular routine, try to maintain it as much as you can during the holidays. This will help you stay grounded and calm - two essential ingredients to enjoying the holidays. Maybe take an extra-long walk with the dog or an extra 10 minutes of yoga. Commit to moving and getting some fresh air - it'll make all the difference.
Having a home, food, friends, and family any time of the year, especially in 2020, let alone just during the holidays, is a privilege. Having a job that allows you to take the days off to be with my friends and family is also a privilege. If this resonates with you, try to focus on the things that really matter to you this holiday season. Appreciate the little things, make a donation, or perform an act of kindness to get in the holiday spirit.
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How You Give Matters: Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs
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Subscribe to Barnum Report