Christmas is over and now we’re faced with what is statistically the most depressing of all twelve months, January. Many of us can get carried away with the magic of Christmas so January often means assessing the damage caused to our bank accounts by the festive season.

As the saying goes, a hungry man is an angry man. And this is always displayed in the month of January.

While it might seem easier at times to just crawl back under the duvet and wait it out, this is not the time to get lazy. If you’ve set yourself a New Year resolution to try something different or get more active, or if you’re looking for ways to break the brokenness chains, here are a few tips that could help you.

Get organised

Knowing exactly where your money has gone is the essential first step to survive the post-Christmas pinch. Take the time to sit down with your bank statements and calculate the damage of the Christmas period, so you know exactly what you need to make up in the New Year, this way you can plan and budget accordingly.

Start saving

This might be too late as banks might have even run out of money due to the many overdrafts issued before the start of the New Year, but it helps give a better January experience for the coming year. When you start saving now, all you need is to put aside a small portion of your salary which will come in handy eventually.

When you wait for December to get money for the festive season, you are most likely going to sell your car or land after the festive season is over and you realise you have to pay school fees in January.Not forgetting the landlord is also broke and won’t want any excuse for delay in payment. A number of companies offer employees an annual saving scheme but your bank would also be glad to do that for you. Get out of the fancy shoes and learn the habit of saving, it is good for you, your family and your future.

Re-think your luxuries

Use the New Year to look over what you spend on extras and luxuries outside of your household essentials and ask yourself ‘do I really need this?’ If you have a gym membership and can’t remember the last time you went there, a satellite TV subscription that goes to waste or if you buy over-priced lunches at work rather than making them at home, now is the time to get back to basics and make some big savings as you go.

Avoid quick-cash loans

For those of us whose finances were hit especially hard by the festive season, taking out an emergency fast-cash loan can seem the perfect short-term solution to January money worries. These are to be avoided at all costs as loans like this have sky-high interest rates and hidden charges. Instead of solving your January blues, you’ll be in even more trouble come February when your repayments are due.

Exercise

Exercising not only helps boost your energy levels and immune system, but it also causes the release of endorphins - naturally occurring chemicals that make us feel happier. With the shoe string budget you are running on, it might be hard to go to the gym quite often but every after a stressful day at work, boost your health by going out for a jog. It could be with your children, wife or girlfriend or even alone. A pair of earphones isn’t too expensive and with some music and a smooth run, the entire month can be generated right from there.

Stay at home

Stop going out. You have probably gone out all nights from Christmas to the New Year and planning to go out this weekend just to wrap up the festive season. Come next week, you could use the break from the hectic partying over the festive season. Use the time to reflect on any resolutions you made or read a good book. Watch a movie and put your feet up. A great comic relief to lighten up your mood, maybe an exaggerated Nigerian or Indian movie.No blues can beat a good laugh! It also helps you cut down on the spending which has been quite an amount during the festive season.

Eat in

I guess I am starting to sound like your doctor now but good nutrition is essential for our mental health. Comfort food like chips or chocolate might sound appealing but eating plenty of fish and salad will be better for you in the long term and provides you with the essential omega-3 fatty acids, which can help to combat lethargy and low mood. Unlike many countries, fresh foods and fruits are plenty and quit affordable. Cut down on the junk food you eat from restaurants and start buying food from the market. It’s cheaper, it’s healthier and it’s cleaner when prepared at home. Leave the junk in 2014.

Get together with loved ones

Bonita Amariza, a sales engineer, says the January mood killer is the fact that we are from a holiday with family and friends and there hasn’t been too much work, then all of a sudden we are back to our lonely apartment and office desk.

"You definitely can’t keep on holiday all year but you can always spare a weekend and have a get together. It shouldn’t only be on Christmas that we celebrate and come together, it should be an occasional event to celebrate the gift of life,” she says.

Pay your debts

It is already bad enough that you entered a new year with debts. If you are one of those people that borrow to pay back a debt, you surely have a lot to work upon. Debts don’t give anyone peace, the month is not exactly one of the best months of the year; it is wise to take some burdens off your chest. Another trick about paying debts in January is that people can be okay with installments considering their financial status during this month, anything they can get in their pockets is really good news to them. Or they could want everything at the same time since they are also broke. Just pay your debts please.

Set realistic New Year resolutions

For crying out loud, you know you won’t do it but you set your targets anyway. You try so hard to meet them before the month ends and you just get frustrated at the very start of the year.

Setting a goal and seeing you move a step towards achieving it during the first month/weeks of the year makes you happy. Instead if sulking about your financial status, start working on meeting your 2015 resolutions and every day is part of it, don’t wait to start midyear, a great start is a job half way done. Resolutions don’t work because they are often made based on things we think we should do, rather than things we need to do. Try something new this year by digging deep and unlocking your true passions for what you’d really like to be, do and have during the year ahead.

Have a little bit of ‘me time’

Every once in a while, once the kids are in bed or safely occupied in another part of the house, it’s a great idea to do something you really enjoy – whether that’s having a nice relaxing bath, watching your favourite programme on TV or getting stuck in a good book.

patrick.buchana@newtimes.co.rw

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Smart ideas to get your life organised in 2015

If your New Year’s resolutions include getting organised, this is the month to get started. January is Get Organised Month. Here are 10 tips on how to get organised in the New Year.

1. Organise for 15 minutes each day.

This could mean anything from sorting mail to throwing out mystery foods in the refrigerator. Just 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference over time.

2. Download Quicken (or some other money management program).

Quicken will make your financial life a million times easier to manage. It costs around $50, but it’s well worth the investment. From Quicken you can pay bills, download transactions from banks and credit card accounts, plan, budget and see what you are spending and what your overall financial picture looks like.

3. Make a simple sorting system for your papers. It’s as easy as this:

•to do•to read•to file

That’s all you need to keep everything in order. Think about it -- what else is there? Now use the 15 minutes as mentioned above once or twice a week to sort your papers. Some find stackable filing shelves work, others like to have upright files they can thumb through.

4. Keep a list of your passwords in a safe place. Remembering passwords can be a real pain and a time waster also. There are many ways to keep your passwords in a safe and secure place -- besides that list on the post-it near your computer -- including Last Pass. Find what works for you and spend a few hours recording all of your vital information in an online location that you can access from anyplace.

5. Have a family information centre. Whether it’s a bulletin board in your kitchen or a Google calendar that you all sync to and add to individually, it’s important that a family shares plans and information, such as times, dates, phone numbers and so on. Colour-coding can take things even further, if you’re so inclined -- each family member can have their own colour, which is extremely helpful for at-a-glance info.

6. Find an online backup programme and use it. Carbonite or SOS are a couple of good options - or a backup drive connected to your computer is an alternative choice. This is essential to your peace of mind regarding anything that you store on your computer - from legal documents to photos. With online backup, you can retrieve your files anyplace, anytime.

7. Be ruthless in your closet. Some quiet afternoon, maybe if it’s raining and no one else is at home; spend a few hours going through your clothes closet. Be honest with yourself about whether things fit, or you like them or you’ll ever wear them again. If you have a friend you trust, try things on and get an honest opinion.

Get garbage bags (the best things for purging) and fill them up with your gently used clothing and shoes, handbags and accessories, ties, suits... whatever you’ve got. Take them to a local charity. Toss out torn, stained or ripped items. Now you will have a much more manageable closet, and people in need will have clothes to wear.

8. Check the expiration dates in your medicine cabinet and in your kitchen.

You’ll be surprised how many things are not only out of date, but basically useless, too. Spices lose their flavours, pain relievers lose their efficacy. Get rid of any prescription drugs that you no longer need by taking them to a drop off location for proper disposal. Check canned goods, dry goods, cereals and frozen foods for expired items.

9. Start scanning your photos into your computer - or send them out and have it done for you.

This is a long-term project and should be approached much like organizing itself - 15 minutes a day, max. You can find personal photo scanners at a very reasonable price. Don’t set a deadline or pressure yourself to get it done quickly - just do a bit at a time. If you prefer to have a service do this for you, check out what’s available.

10. Get an emergency kit for your car.

No matter where you live, you could find yourself in an emergency situation due to weather, earthquakes or more. An emergency kit for each of your family cars is an easy way to have what you need on hand when you’re on the road if a disaster strikes.

If this all seems like too much to do on your own, hire a pro to help you. It’s much easier to get organised with someone cheering you on and helping you out.

Getting organised takes patience, time and the ability to throw things away. Once you get started, you’ll feel so much better!

Agencies