Happy New Year?!?!? by Kia

Yes, it’s January 19^th and I’m still saying Happy New Year!  Why does the calendar have to say January 1^st for it to be a new beginning?  Many of us make resolutions and by this time we have already broken them and have given up on ourselves.  So everyday say Happy New Day/Year and start anew. And since this is my 1^st time trying to write a blog it’s my new thing of the year.

I’m not one to make resolutions but I did believe in the old wives tale that you should have all clean clothes in the house to start the New Year, what this meant or why we did it I don’t know but just something that was learned.  This year I decided I wouldn’t do that because my life wasn’t all cleaned up so why put on the front for myself.  A lot of us put on a front not only for others but to ourselves.  We walk out the house put together and our house and life is a mess.  So let’s all make a resolution to work on ourselves FIRST and not present a caricature to the world. So here are few things we can do to make ourselves new.

I work with an organization that deals with young girls and we tell people we want to work with them from the inside out, so that’s how we should work on ourselves.  From the inside, I decided to put God 1^st! Most of us go to him when things are bad, but do we just say Thank You? Thank You for waking me up and Thank Him for getting you through the day.  It’s a small step but with everything if you start small it will snowball into something big.  I’m also on a journey to read the bible in 90days.  Our church as a whole will be reading the New International Version in 90 days by reading 12 pages a day.  Most people will say reading it is good but do you understand it?  So I don’t advise doing this alone, do it with a group and make it a weekly bible study.  Since it can be done in 90 days, the 1^st time you can read as a novel, the 2^nd time you can take notes and the 3^rd time in the year you can pick out your favorites and study them.

Now on to the outside. If you decided to lose weight, what have you done to make this happen besides signing your life over to the gym?  Last year I bought a Wii, best investment EVER! My “gym” is right in the house I don’t have to worry about who’s watching and I don’t have to wait for someone else to move off my machine.  Working out should be fun! Find friends or incorporate your children into your workouts, the more you like it the more likely you are to stick with it.  Losing weight also requires healthy eating; we’ll get to that in another “New Year” since I haven’t gotten to that part yet.

Last thing, getting our financial houses in order. By profession I am a Financial Services Professional, so this is my passion, what I enjoy doing. It doesn’t take a lot of money but discipline, learn to live within YOUR means and not the Jones’ (Who are they anyway?).  I left the credit card world a few years ago, although I do recommend having one for emergencies and renting a car.  Try only dealing with cash or your debit card, you will be surprised at the things you won’t buy and can live without because you don’t have the money.  It also teaches saving and patience, because if you want something you have to save and wait until you can afford it. I’m a debit card fan because I get points which translate into cash into my bank account or gift cards for shopping. 

With all that being said, start small, incorporate something new in your life every week or month, don’t wait until January 1^st, START TODAY!

Thanks for reading

DJR and Kia

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