Perhaps your 401k is not looking quite so pale these days and there is hope yet that you might be able to retire before downsizing into that assisted living center your family comments on how nicely kept it is each time you drive by. With Halloween but two weeks away, the Christmas holidays are right around the corner. I know this because my mailbox, both postal and online, has been stuffed full with catalogs and reminders for me to get myself into that free-spending state of mind.
I however am taking solace in an article today in the Wall Street Journal Online by Jon Hilsenrath. He writes of a conversation he had with Joel Waldfogel, a Wharton professor who has published a treatise called “Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays.” Waldfogel challenges each of us to consider the $25 billion of economic squander that will be haplessly spent this holiday season on gifts. He asks us to ponder for a moment if that money was given to charity or used for more noble purposes instead. I know, my family is saying “the money you spend on me wouldn’t buy a kettle of soup down at the shelter, let alone help to reduce the government’s budget deficit.” I however am not going to be shamed into buying materialistic gifts that will either be forgotten about or returned by New Years Day.
So when my family gets their red envelope from me this year with only some money or a gift card inside, let it be known that I have taken a lesson from the Jewish and Asian communities on how to allocate wealth without the intrusion of President Obama’s socialist policies. My hope is that each of you might use a portion of your pittance to help defray the cost of a phone call to someone that might need a guiding hand, or to buy (and read) a book that will give you the inspiration to be the best you can be. Maybe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or Wake Up Inspired will be the title that connects with you. Or better yet, use it to purchase a Bible for your family to read together, so that next year we can all rejoice in the true meaning of the season! For each one of us holds the key to our future. As John M. Richardson, Jr. said, "When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened." Carpe Diem!
I however am taking solace in an article today in the Wall Street Journal Online by Jon Hilsenrath. He writes of a conversation he had with Joel Waldfogel, a Wharton professor who has published a treatise called “Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays.” Waldfogel challenges each of us to consider the $25 billion of economic squander that will be haplessly spent this holiday season on gifts. He asks us to ponder for a moment if that money was given to charity or used for more noble purposes instead. I know, my family is saying “the money you spend on me wouldn’t buy a kettle of soup down at the shelter, let alone help to reduce the government’s budget deficit.” I however am not going to be shamed into buying materialistic gifts that will either be forgotten about or returned by New Years Day.
So when my family gets their red envelope from me this year with only some money or a gift card inside, let it be known that I have taken a lesson from the Jewish and Asian communities on how to allocate wealth without the intrusion of President Obama’s socialist policies. My hope is that each of you might use a portion of your pittance to help defray the cost of a phone call to someone that might need a guiding hand, or to buy (and read) a book that will give you the inspiration to be the best you can be. Maybe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or Wake Up Inspired will be the title that connects with you. Or better yet, use it to purchase a Bible for your family to read together, so that next year we can all rejoice in the true meaning of the season! For each one of us holds the key to our future. As John M. Richardson, Jr. said, "When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened." Carpe Diem!
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