Wyss: Fa la la la phooey, other holiday thoughts
Retailers are losing no time putting out the red, green and glitz for holiday season 2009.
Of course, for years, we’ve been way past waiting for Thanksgiving before decking the halls of commerce. But these days, even before the kids have a chance to sort their tooth-terrorizing sacks full of Halloween sugar, the bombardment begins.
You can’t really blame retailers, many of whom are struggling to survive, for attempting to imbue us with the spending spirit ASAP.
Thing is, many of us are among the growing number attempting to pay flat or increased bills with reduced income. And many are we who might be inclined to offer a hearty “bah humbug” to the hoopla.
Of course, if you’re a teacher or a school administrator, chances are you claimed a raise this year – in some cases, a darned good one. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc., to you. May you spend more for those who can’t. And may you resolve in the New Year to try to better comprehend the increasing resentment from those who pay your increased salaries as, increasingly, theirs decrease or vanish.
Here are some other wishes for sanity as we slink headlong into the holiday season, and close in on the end of a financially and politically tumultuous year.
• May each of us spend only what we can reasonably afford during the holiday season. Yes, it sounds simple, maybe even trite. But if the margin between your income and your routine expenses already is slim, consider homemade gifts.
Everyone has a talent. Whether you’re great in the kitchen, know your way around a tool box, or know how to knit, think of clever ways to turn your talents into talk-of-the-season gifts. You might offer, perhaps in an ornately written hand-crafted card, to cook a gourmet meal for a pair of friends on a special occasion (set a specific date, or you might never make good); fix a broken porch railing; or help make someone feel extra warm this winter. You get the drift.
• According to dailyfinance.com, Americans are saving at historically high rates and paying down debt, which “continues to frustrate economic recovery efforts.” Wow. Be true first to your own financial health, folks. My guess is the people facing foreclosure today are the same ones who scorched their credit cards while pushing retail sales into the stratosphere several years back.
• Moving beyond the holiday season, but while still awash in feelings of brotherly love, may each of us, regardless of political ideology, resolve to finger-point less and brainstorm more.
’Nough said.
• Cyndi Wyss is a Northwest Herald community editor. She can be reached at 815-526-4534 or cwyss@nwherald.com.
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