January Is The Hardest Month, Or Is It?
January is all about facing the cold, hard truth--financially speaking.
Some experts refer to the "credit card hangover" from Christmas. Resolution-makers cringe as we tally the mistakes of the previous year.
Even if you kept Christmas within budget, an emergency expense may have knocked at the door--what my mom calls the annual Christmas catastrophe. A friend's entire heating system died; for us, it was unexpected oral surgery. Oh, and don't forget the big new insurance deductible when the kids get sick on January 2nd.
You know what? I'm okay with that. (One might even say cheerful...)
January is the one month when our culture collectively trims down. Eating from your pantry to minimize the damage? You'll be in fine company. No one blinks an eye when you choose Redbox over the movie theatre. In fact, they may even ask for advice.
I say, let's bask in the community. Just as new dieters nod from treadmill to treadmill, we'll smile over our coupon boxes as grocery carts pass in the aisle. After all, in January we may be tight on cash, but we have one thing in abundance:
HOPE.
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13 Responses to “January Is The Hardest Month, Or Is It?”
January 4th, 2010 at 9:02 am
I think you hit the nail on the head, January is always a “face slap” with credit card bills coming in…
January 4th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
We don’t even use credit cards! We feel blessed to have an emergency fund and health insurance, but it is hard to see the diminishing balances in my account each January all the same.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Amen! We’re facing a tough year financially with Casey’s hours being so unpredictable, but I’m actually (sort of!) looking forward to it. What a great opportunity for us to get serious about our finances…perhaps God knew we’d need extra motivation.
January 4th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
This is the year we really want to widdle down our debt and have more of a savings plan…I think we keep making the same mistakes over and over…but this is our year to change things up! I love the part you said about it being the month of Hope….Beth
January 5th, 2010 at 7:24 am
What a great post! We don’t use credit cards only cash so we don’t worry about that. But In the winter we are totally cleaning out the cabinets and looking for a good deal when money is tight. And our motivation to get us through rough times is knowing the tax return will be here soon!!!!!
January 5th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Yes, Hope is in abundance in January. I wish it is abundant every month of the year, so people can achieve anything they set their hearts on.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:10 am
New year….same plan.
SAVE SAVE SAVE
Stick with what works, right?
January 7th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Diet and Debt must be my middle names!
But the good news is that I paid my car off this week with all the money I saved using coupons at the grocery store each week. And hey, I got a ton of free stuff to share with friends and family.
January 8th, 2010 at 4:55 am
January is a great month for me this year as I am facing up to my debt…. My debts are still there but are being managed by a debt charity now (well almost, still doing paperwork) and my nice new bank account has a shiny 0.00 on it at the moment!
I also got all my dental work out of the way in Nov / Dec…. fingers crossed that things keep going down this road…. Now to earn a little money and change that 0.00 to something more.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:28 am
I can relate to the Christmas catastrophe…I had to replace my vehicle and therefore my accounts took a big hit. With January comes a renewed sense of desire to live frugally and bump back up the emergency fund!
January 9th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Meredith, this has nothing to do with January frugality but don’t know how else to ask a question about your blog that is a mystery to everyone with whom I have discussed this. What is the gigantic chicken in front of your house???? Superimposed? Why? Sure got my attention!
January 9th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
It’s a French hen that sits on my outdoor table under the tree. Nothing giant about it, just perspective.
January 10th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
I’m so glad someone else noticed the hen and wreath and asked about it. It looks like a giant hen and berries on the driveway! Glad that mystery is cleared up.
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