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THE GIFT OF TIME -The RESET button we have all been wishing for……

Jodee Brydges

With school closures, shelter-in-place mandates, work from home requirements, and the inundation of the phrase “social distancing”, we are all preparing for a lot of “DOING NOTHING” in the weeks to come all while keeping up with the daily demand of work and homeschooling kids. It seems like a fairly easy adjustment. However, for many, this abrupt life alteration is filled with uncertainly, financial stress and the fear of the unknown.

As a financial industry writer, it has taken me days to muster the words to put this article together. Which topic do I start with? Financial? Working Women? Family? Thoughts spinning, people waiting for this article to drop. And, today as I sit in my home office, window open, listening for the playful energy of kids on the school playground to energize me to write, the hard reality hit…..the joy of recess will not be heard today or anytime soon. The only sound will be the click-clacking of the computer keys and my family walking, talking and working in the background. So here we go……

There will be plenty of time to write about a variety of topics in the weeks to come, this staycation is not ending anytime soon. This article is for my tribe and your tribe, for the ladies who work tirelessly to make a difference in the world, both in the workplace and at home. The ones I know, the ones I don’t know, and the ones I hope to meet in my next chapter. Life as we knew it has definitely shifted but one thing is certain in this time of uncertainty…..

This is not the time to sit back and wait to see what happens next. It is an opportunity to hit the enormous RESET button on life. A time to reflect, recharge, reevaluate and reorganize. How many times have you heard or said one of the following:

“I wish I could just be home for a week and get caught up on household tasks.”
“I wish I could sleep in for one more hour.”
‘I wish my kids could have a break from homework and activities.”
“I wish my commute was shorter.”
“I wish I could spend more time outside with my family.”
“I wish, I wish, I wish……


The list of “I wish” messages are endless, I have mine, you have yours, and as my grandmother used to say, “Be careful of what you wish for”……..Gran was right, every wish that I have ever verbalized came true in a matter of a few short weeks. Can you relate? For at least a year, we have all been vibrating at unhealthy levels. Long commutes to work, 24/7 connectivity to electronic devices, endless travel (both personal and business), packed schedules, you name it. Even our children have been thrown into the vortex of unhealthy scheduling with sports, afterschool activities, homework, zero downtime, all while watching from the sideline as their parents move at lightning speed to drive them to activities while taking work calls on the road.

Although this historic moment does not come under the best of circumstances, it is a beautiful gift! A gift of time, time to unwrap every wish we have ever wanted. If we embrace this time, we will all come out of this better.

But how do we hit the reset button with spouses at home, kids at home and the barrage of news feeds hitting our daily feeds, fueling our emotions with uncertainty, fear, and anxiety? By taking it one day at a time, one task at a time, shifting the focus and sticking together. Here are five steps to keep the calm:

STEP 1 – SET UP OFFICE HOURS

For years my husband and I have both worked from home on Fridays. Never did we imagine this would abruptly change to five days a week with our daughter home and working a homeschool platform into our schedules. To meet the new demands, we have to reevaluate our schedules and establish hours we work, hours we study, and hours we must just “be”. Maintaining a daily routine is essential to keeping life going.

STEP 2 – MODERATION WITH MEDIA / TECHNOLOGY SHABBAT

Like anything in life, moderation is the key. Limit the time you watch, listen and scroll news feeds. Although it is important to stay informed, maintain a healthy mental balance and alter the amount of news consumed throughout the day. Take a technology Shabbat and change the channel to M&Ms, movies, and music. Watch a funny movie, have a dance party, learn the latest dance moves from your kids (this weekend my daughter is going to teach me the RENEGADE dance). Wish me luck! And, if you care to join us, we can set up a meetup on FaceTime. Which brings me to the next step….

STEP 3 – STAY CONNECTED

The connection does not have to be in person, this is the beautiful thing about technology! Take the time to call, text, FaceTime, organize a virtual meetup and stay connected with your friends and family. It is so important for us and it is just as important for our kids. Kids need virtual interaction with their friends. If you think this lifestyle change is hard on adults, think about the children. No school, no playdates, no sports, no group activities and for some, no lunches. Their world has been shifted too. If your child does not have a phone, let them borrow yours, schedule a hookup with one of their friends or a group of friends. This past week alone, I have enjoyed more calls, texts, and FaceTime moments than ever before. We have laughed, shared information, bonded and brainstormed, heard our kids laughing and playing games, all from the comfort of our own home. No make-up, all-natural, just the way it should be!

STEP 4 – STAY ACTIVE

Take the time each day to move. Get outside, go for a walk, ride a bike, hike in nature, just keep moving. Exercise builds mental and physical strength, both of which are needed to stay healthy and forge through this crazy time. Make it a family activity and encourage your kids to work out too.

Staying active can also include reorganizing spaces in your home. Attack that list of projects you have been wanting to do. Organize the garage, clean out closets, get your finances in order (more on that in the next article). Get your kids involved and have them clean out their closets, organize a study area, and donate clothes, books, and toys they no longer use or need.

STEP 5 – DOWNTIME

There will be loads of downtime in the weeks to come. Hours have been gained with not having to commute, drive kids from activity to activity, and run endless errands. If you add up all the hours spent in a car, they add up to a huge gift of time. Time that can be used to reflect, relax, rest, read and reconnect.

Reflect on how this time at home is changing your and your kids’ lives for the better. Relax, grab that book you have been meaning to read, finish the puzzle you started (we have one that was started in November), have a spa day at home. Rest, take a nap, sleep in, sit in your yard and meditate. And lastly, reconnect with your spouse and your children. Cook, clean, dance, laugh together and most of all cherish the moments together.

With kids, without kids, spouse or no spouse, as women, we are the CEOs of our households. If we embrace this gift of time, we will start our next chapter organized and energized, rested and relaxed, healthier, happier, and more connected. This storm will pass, hopefully, sooner rather than later. Don’t be the one to look back and say, “I wish I would have used the time more efficiently.” It all starts with us, let’s do our part! Stay home, stay safe, stay focused and stay healthy!

The Healthy Balance: Maintaining Financial Health Through the Holiday Season

Jodee Brydges

We all know the drill; we vow each year to spend less and watch our intake of food and alcohol during the holiday season. But the spirit of the season is very contagious! We gather with family, friends, and coworkers and share an abundance of food, toast to good health, a vibrant New Year and shop til’ we drop!

Like a bad cold virus, we all catch it quickly and the next thing you know, the holidays and parties are over, the credit card statements start arriving in the mail, the scale moves up a few pounds, and the New Year starts with the post-party blues versus the bang we all anticipated. 

Whether you can afford to pay off the debt or not, overspending and adding an angry inch to the waistline can take the pop out of the champagne bottle and leave the memory of the firework display to feel more like a dud than a grand finale.  

So how do you enjoy the holidays without having the pain of the after-party? One word, MODERATION! Like anything in life, moderation is the key. Regardless of income level, where you live, or your background, moderation is the key to maintaining your financial (and physical) health during the holiday season. A little preplanning blended with a few challenges can spark creativity, keep you on track financially, and reduce the stress of spending!  

The holidays entail loads of lists from grocery shopping lists to gift lists and from decorating lists to entertaining lists. Beginning with entertaining, create a list of all of the events you are planning to host and determine how many people will be in attendance. For example, if you are hosting Thanksgiving, make a list of all of the family and friends who will join and create the menu. Make the menu list as detailed as possible (e.g., appetizers, entrée, side dishes, desserts, beverages, wine, cocktails, etc.). 

Challenge: To keep expenses down, ask each individual to bring a dish, bottle of wine or specialty cocktail. Not only does this reduce the cost of hosting, but it also shortens your to-do list and allows guests to showcase their favorite dish or libation. Guests love to help the hostess and contribute to a memorable event. 

If you plan to host a holiday party, choose a fun theme and involve your guests. Parties do not have to involve massive amounts of food, nibbles and cheer are typically preferred. Host a wine and hors d’oeuvre party or cookies and cheer party. 

Challenge: Ask each guest to bring a bottle of wine, hors d’oeuvre, or a plate of cookies and set a limit on the amount everyone can spend on a bottle of wine. This is a fun, creative, cost-effective way to host a party, have tasty nibbles versus a heavy buffet, and host an evening full of laughter and cheer without breaking the bank (or adding inches to the waistline). 

Shopping and gift lists should include gifts for family, friends, colleagues, clients, teachers and hostess gifts. If the list is ridiculously long, reduce the number of individuals you buy for and ask family members to draw names. Family members will likely thank you for introducing this idea as many are in the same boat and would rather spend quality time with you rather than go into debt buying gifts. 

Challenge: Set a limit for the amount each person can spend on the gift and find ways to get creative with gifts. For teachers and colleagues, bake your favorite holiday treat and give a little to everyone on your list. The thought and time that goes into a homemade gift will go a lot farther than buying a gift card to a coffee shop. 

Partner up with a family member or friend and coordinate a day to shop together! Find a sale day, coupons, discounts or offers. Refrain from the temptation to shop for yourself or get lured into retail offers that encourage you to spend more to earn rewards. The rewards can be extremely tempting, and many are not valid until the New Year.

Challenge: Shop together and encourage your partner to only purchase items on the shopping list, share deals and cool gift finds, and see who can save the most. The one who saves the most money wins a small prize (a cup of coffee, lunch, or a baked goodie).  

If you start the season well, you can end the season well. Doing so will help you jumpstart 2020 and put you on the path to your wealthiest and healthiest year yet! 

I want to hear from you…. start a challenge today, follow me on Instagram (jodeebrydges1), and share the details of your challenge! Each post will enter you in a chance to win my book, Digging Out! 

Digging Out is available on Amazon. com.

HOLIDAY HAZE: Maintaining Financial Clarity One Holiday at a Time

Jodee Brydges

Retailers are at it again! The kids have barely had the opportunity to unpack and use all of their cool new school supplies and the aisles of retailers are being transformed into candy shops, haunted houses, harvest décor, and believe it or not, snowmen and Santa figurines. This transformation started to happen before schools were even back in session! 

As if shopping for back to school supplies, clothes and getting into a new routine is not stressful enough for families, retailers want to inject a little bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) and get you spending on items that are 60 to 100 days away. Stores ranging from Safeway to Costco have been haunting and daunting consumers with bags of candy, costumes, and festive fall décor.

Just reading this article might start putting your brain into a frantic frenzy and give you a bit of retailer FOMO! But, stay calm and read on! There is still plenty of time, and definitely enough inventory, to fill your decorative dishes with candy corn, purchase your child’s favorite superhero costume, stage your front porch for a fall photoshoot, and deck your halls with holiday décor! The following tips will help you plan, organize and budget your way through the holidays without getting your tinsel in a tangle.   

FOCUS ON ONE HOLIDAY AT A TIME

The first and one of the most important steps is to focus on one holiday at a time. Look at the calendar for the next few months and make a list of each holiday that you and your family celebrate. The list may include Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa, and the New Year. Once you have the list, take inventory and purge before you splurge. 

TAKE INVENTORY

Next, take inventory of items that you already have and make a detailed list of what you need. Before you purchase one new item for your home or child, take the time to pull out all decorations, refresh your memory on what you have, and decide if you really need new décor. It is so easy to forget what is stashed away in a closet. Think about how many times you open a box of holiday loot and have forgotten what you had tucked away. Usually, when a holiday is over you are so busy packing up and restocking for the next, that the inventory becomes one big blur. Taking inventory avoids spending money on items that you already have or don’t need. If you find that items need to be replaced or updated, take the time to purge before you splurge.  

SET A BUDGET AND MAKE A LIST

For each and every holiday, set a budget and make a list of items (or people) that you need to shop for. For Halloween, a list might include candy, parties, costumes, and décor. Set a budget with the total that you can afford to spend and then break it down by each item. For example, if the total budgeted amount is $150, that amount could be broken down as follows:

HOLIDAY / BUDGET HALLOWEEN / $150
Candy$20
Parties $50
Costumes$50 
Décor $30
Total$150

If you are over budget, revisit the list, revise/remove as needed, and get creative. If you have children, take the time to communicate the maximum amount each can spend on a costume. Or, get creative and have a contest on who in the family can make the most creative costume on a budget. Getting creative can add up to substantial savings. 

For Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa use the same format. Set the maximum amount you want to spend and then break it down by category and individual. For example:

HOLIDAY / BUDGET CHRISTMAS / $500
Décor Update $50
Hostess Gifts $50
Gifts for Mom / Dad$50 
Gifts for Grandma/ Grandpa $50
Gifts for Teachers$30
Gifts for Kids $100
Clothing $70
Food $100
Total$500

Of course, numbers will vary depending on your lifestyle and income, the above are just visuals to help get the planning started by putting pen to paper. 

Regardless of your income, taking the time to take inventory, creating a written plan, setting a budget, and sticking with it will eliminate holiday debt drama, allow you to plan with ease, and most of all enjoy every moment of the busiest quarter of the year!