Living within your budget.

Xmas is only 23 days away and you may be faced with mounting pressure to get your financial house in order before the festivities overwhelm you. How do you keep or get your finances under control when you don’t have a big enough income?

While first review your net income and your monthly expenses because this is the only way to understand your situation and take steps to fix it.

In our workshop on Financial Literacy for Seniors, we talk about budgeting. Making a budget is creating a plan for your money. The reason many of us get into trouble is that we don’t know where our money is being spent and how much we earn. By creating a budget, you will quickly see if you have all your bases covered.

What happens if you cannot pay all your bills with the income you are getting? This happens to many seniors who are used to a regular income and find when they retire, the income they have has dropped, but they have not changed their lifestyle.  There are some options available but knowing what how much money you need should be your priority. Doing nothing will only set you back further.

Unfortunately, life has cycles, some good some bad, you may find yourself in a bad situation, but it will not last.  We prosper, we fall behind, we prosper, life happens and we lose, then we win again. You are in control and what you do for yourself for financial stability is what allows you to win again. Here are some ideas to help you move back to the winning circle.

Communicate with Creditors

Do not ignore a bill until you have enough money to pay even the minimum amount on it. Contact your creditors and explain your situation. If you explain to them that you’re falling on hard times and not earning enough money but working to the budget and prioritize your bills and have an action plan (even if it is minimum payments) they most likely will be happy and you may not be subjected to nasty phone calls or emails demanding payment.

Lower Your Expenses

You don’t have enough money so you must sacrifice. For many of us, we spend most of our income on mortgage or rent. You may have to consider selling your house if you are renting you may consider getting a roommate or moving to a cheaper rental accommodation.  We should not be afraid of what will happen, we should be afraid of not taking action while we are able.

Make More Money

Earning more money may mean taking a second job. This income may make the difference between paying your debt off on time and making sure that you keep your roof over your head. You can go to the food bank if needed. No one is above struggling financially and you will do what you need to do to make sure you end up ahead.

Long-Term Plans

 Your short-term plan is to make ends meet and balance your budget. As a senior, you are on fixed-income.  There are people who have disabilities and for health reasons can’t get that second job however they find ways to earn a bit more on the side when they can. This is not easy, you may not like what you can and can’t do on a limited income, but once you figure out your situation you are taking the first step to improve.

An Invitation to a Xmas dinner

Dear Family,
I'm not dead yet. Christmas is still important to me. If being in my Last Will and Testament is important to you, then you might consider being with me for my favourite holiday.
  
Dinner is at 2:00 p.m. Not 2:15. Not 2:05.
Two. 2:00
Arrive late and you get what's left over. Last year, that moron Marshall fried a turkey in one of those contraptions and practically burned the deck off the house. This year, the only peanut oil used to make the meal will be from the secret scoop of peanut butter I add to the carrot soup.
  
Jonathan, your last new wife was an idiot. You don't arrive at someone's house on Christmas needing to use the oven and the stove to prepare your contribution to the meal.

Honest to God, I thought you might have learned after two wives - date them longer and save us all the agony of another divorce.
  
Now, the house rules are now slightly different this year.

New House Rules:

1.  I have decided that 47% of you don't know how to take care of nice things. Therefore Paper plates and red Solo cups might be bad for the environment, but I'll be gone soon and that will be your problem to deal with. Besides, I don’t have to worry that you might break my good china when you offer to ‘do dishes’ and don’t understand that means ‘wash them in the sink, dry them and put them away, ’not‘ stick them in the dishwasher and leave them for a week.

 2. I don’t care if your favourite team is playing a critical game. The television stays off during the meal. 

3.  The "no cans for kids" rule still exists. We are using 2-litre bottles because your children still like to open a third can before finishing the first two.  Parents can fill a child's cup when it is empty. There is one cup per kid and all of the cups have names on them and I'll be paying close attention to refills.
  
4. Chloe, last year we were at Trudy's house and I looked the other way when your Jell-O salad showed up. This year, if Jell-O salad comes in my front door it will go right back out the back door with the garbage. Save yourself some time, honey. You've never been a good cook. You shouldn't bring something that wiggles more than you. Buy something from the bakery.
  
5. Grandmothers give grandchildren cookies and candy. That is a fact of life. Your children can eat healthy at your home. At my home, they can eat whatever they like as long as they finish it.
  
6. I cook with bacon and bacon grease. That's nothing new. 
Your being a vegetarian doesn't change the fact that stuffing without bacon is like egg salad without eggs. Even the green bean casserole has a little bacon grease in it. That's why it tastes so good. Not eating bacon is just not natural. And as far as being healthy... look at me. I've outlived almost everyone I know.
  
7. Salad at Christmas is a waste of space.
  
8. I do not like cell phones. Leave them in the car. If I find one in my house I have a hammer to deal with it.
  
9. I do not like video cameras. There will be 32 people here. 
I am sure you can capture lots of memories without the camera pointed at me.
  
10. Being a mother means you have to actually pay attention to the kids. I have nice things and I don't put them away just because I have company coming over. Mary, watch your kids and I'll watch my things. If you don’t watch your kids, remember that I have a hammer.
  
11. Rhonda, a cat that requires a shot twice a day is a cat that has lived too many lives. I think staying home to care for the cat instead of coming to dinner is your way of letting me know that I have lived too many lives too. I can live with that. Can you?
  
12. Words mean things. I say what I mean. Let me repeat: You don't need to bring anything means you don't need to bring anything. And if I did tell you to bring something, bring it in the quantity I said. Really, this doesn't have to be difficult.
  
13. Dominos and cards are better than anything that requires a battery or an on/off switch. That was true when you were kids and it's true now that you have kids.
  
14. Showing up for Christmas guarantees presents at Christmas. Not showing up may or may not guarantee a card that may or may not be signed.
  
In memory of your Grandfather, the back fridge will be filled with beer. Drink until it is gone. I prefer wine anyway. But one from each family needs to be the designated driver. (I realize that might be a difficult choice, so think about a cab because I don’t want any arguments on my front doorstep.  Remember, I have a hammer.)
  
I really mean all of the above.
  
Love You, Grandma.

Support your local Food Bank

December 1, and only 24 days until Xmas. Your Food Bank needs your help now. Many Food Bank's are struggling with the increased load they have been asked to take up. The economy may be doing well, but that does not mean workers are doing well. Many people are struggling with low-paying jobs or illness that makes work difficult. The choice that many of our neigbours have to make, do I pay my rent, get my medication or put food on the table for myself and my children. The Food Bank fills a need, not just for the unemployed, but for seniors, single mothers, and working-class families. Many Food Banks not only provide food but they also provide, toys, gifts and Xmas meals.

In the United Kingdom, the Trussell Trust, which operates most of the UK’sfood banks, estimated that last year provided over 130,000 parcels of emergency food to people over the festive period. For those who used a food bank last year, they received a three-day parcel that included these festive extras: 

• Box of mince pies 
• Dried fruit and nuts 
• Christmas crackers (the kind with toys/jokes) Christmas pudding 
• Chocolate treats for children, e.g. a selection box Tinned ham or salmon

The above was in addition to the standard parcel for three to four which is: 

1 large box of cereal/porridge 

4 tins of vegetables 

3 tins of meat (e.g. ham) or vegetarian alternatives (e.g. kidney beans, lentils and pulses) 

if vegetarian 4 tins of fish (tuna, salmon, sardines etc) 

4 tins of chopped tomatoes 

2 tins of fruit 

4 tins of soup 

4 tins of baked beans 

2 litres of UHT milk 1 litre of long life juice 

2 tins of rice pudding or custard 

1 packet of biscuits Tea or coffee 

1.5kg of pasta/noodles/rice
In my community SHARE Family Services runs the Food Bank and they tell us that Christmas time is a busy one for and a time when they work extra hard to support those in need in our community. They also provide Christmas Hampers and Toys for Children while running various fundraising initiatives such as food drives and their annual Christmas Wrap at Coquitlam Centre.

They remind us that it is also a great time for you to give back and get involved. You can volunteer at our Gift Wrap, host your own food drive or toy drive, raise money, donate food and or come out and volunteer at a Food Drive.

Last year SHARE Family Services provided Christmas Hampers to 1,800 Tri-Cities families. There were also 2,215 children and youth who received their Christmas toys through our Christmas program. The need has not gone down, it has gone up. 

All Food Banks need help at this time of year, so if you can find the time, give of yourself, in addition to giving some money. You will feel good and that is what this time of year is all about, giving not receiving.

Did you do it your way?

As you wandered through life, you may have met the disciplinarian who micromanages every step in their very careful dance with life. You may have also met the young or old person who pictures themselves as "troublemaker who only shows up and when they do they appear to be daydreaming. 

Now, whom do you think is most likely to be heard shouting from the top of their lungs as they cruise along a winding mountain road, top-down, shades up, singing "I Did It My Way?

My bet is on the "troublemaker" which were you in your youth, and which are you now?