Weekly Roundup

Blog Round-Up: Week of December 1, 2014

Blog Round-Up: Week of December 1, 2014

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and got a chance to relax before the hustle and bustle of Christmas begins. We experienced our first big winter storm of the season in Southern California this week. We truly needed the rain so it was most welcome, although the gloomy days are always hard to adjust to when you’re used to blue skies and sunshine. And yes, rain equates winter here in LA. 🙂

Weekly Recap

On Monday, I shared 5 Teachable Moments for Kids this Holiday Season. The holidays are certainly one of the busiest times of the year for most families and they offer many teachable moments for kids (and adults too). Be sure you devote as much attention to imparting these magical lessons to your kids as you do to finding the perfect gift for them.

On Wednesday, Tanya highlighted 20 Fun and Frugal Holiday Traditions. I loved the list and we do many of the things she suggested, except building snowmen. 🙂 Perhaps when we go skiing later this winter, we’ll have to hold a snowman competition! The list has lots of great ideas and many are low cost or free. Traditions don’t need to cost much, but they are what make the season magical.

Special thanks to Financially Blonde, The Finance Girl and Young Adult Money for sharing posts from The Heavy Purse. I appreciate the support!

A Few Good Reads

These are my favorite posts from the past week. Enjoy!

Kim at Eyes on the Dollar talked about the dangers of a Buy Now, Pay Later mentality many of us have adopted. Those plans entice us with their low payments, but as Kim discovered, they add up quickly. And even worse, they eventually rob you of the freedom to choose how to spend your money.

Natalie aka The Finance Girl had an excellent post, Chocolate and J. Crew: The Moment I Stopped Struggling With Money that can really help those who need to curb their spending. “By trying to earn more money so I could shop, it was effectively like me eating a bag of Reese’s cups and trying to figure out how much I needed to run to burn it off.” If you’re guilty of doing this (and lots of people are, so don’t be ashamed), you must read Natalie’s post.

Travis at Enemy of Debt shared his thoughts on Instant Gratification: Here, There and Everywhere. We are more impatient than ever these days and even worse, we have also lost the joy of anticipation with our ability to gratifying most needs immediately. A must read, especially with Christmas fast approaching.

Michelle from Shop My Closet Project shared The Three Things That I Did This Year That Changed My Life with us. Michelle offered some great advice for those who need/want to shake up their lives so they can live their best life.

Brian over at Luke 1428 is not buying his kids Christmas gifts this year. Don’t worry, they are not on the naughty list and are going on a family vacation in lieu of gifts. I love this idea! We so often confuse presents as the must-have of the holiday season, but ultimately it’s the memories and traditions that matter.

Well, that’s a wrap! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Shannon

The Heavy Purse Store is now open! My new downloadable Money Club Workbooks are now on sale. Each workbook provides five targeted lessons to help you raise Financially Confident Kids. Please check them out in The Heavy Purse Store.

December 5, 2014  •  8 Comments  •  Weekly Roundup

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  1. Friday, December 5th, 2014
    So funny about the rain-as-winter weather! My family all lives in southern CA and they've been giving me the play-by-play of the rainstorms this week. I really have to laugh here in Boston, but, I do remember how exciting rain was when I lived out there. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
  2. Friday, December 5th, 2014
    Glad you guys are getting some rain down here, though I'm super jealous after my freezing week in Chicago!
  3. Friday, December 5th, 2014
    Hope you have a great weekend! I'm going to take this weekend off and relax with the kids.
  4. Friday, December 5th, 2014
    Lol, rain can definitely equate to winter weather in SoCal. My in-laws got some as well and they say the same basic thing. :) We just had some family leave yesterday and my Mom comes in on Sunday for a week, it's hard to believe that after she leaves Christmas will only be 2 weeks away! Have a great weekend Shannon!
  5. Friday, December 5th, 2014
    At least your winter storms are rain and not snow that will accumulate. The day before Thanksgiving we got our first one and when hubby and I were prepping for Thanksgiving it felt more like we were prepping for Christmas. Tomorrow we are going for our tree and I am very excited to get the home decorated as December already seems to be flying by. I hope you guys enjoy your weekend!
  6. Friday, December 5th, 2014
    Thank you so much for including my post!! I hope it helps and inspires other skinny girls, too. :) And I hope your weekend clears up and brings back the blue skies. In the Midwest we're lucky to get those in the summer. Have a great weekend, Shannon!
  7. Friday, December 5th, 2014
    Haha well I try to avoid talking weather with you ;) But I'm glad you got some rain and I know California has been experiencing drought-like conditions. I did see that there was some flooding in California so prayers with those people. I hope you have a great weekend!
  8. Monday, December 8th, 2014
    Hi Shannon, the bustle for Christmas has started for me. Christmas is really fast approaching after Thanksgiving. By the way, Thanks for giving me some good reads. I mostly like Travis at Enemy of Debt who shared his thoughts on Instant Gratification: Here, There and Everywhere.
Shannon Ryan SHANNON RYAN, CFP®
  • Meet Shannon

    "As a Certified Financial Planner, it is my passion to help individuals and families build a healthy relationship with money. I look forward to helping you raise financially confident kids.” - Shannon Ryan