Entry bubble Yo, Happy New Year!

By: Nancy | January 01, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

If you and I were in the Philadelphia suburbs where I grew up, we'd be camped out right now in front of the TV, watching the Mummers Parade and discussing our New Year's resolutions.



I'd pull out my list and you'd laugh. I usually make 20 or 30 resolutions; I keep about half. Oddly, it's the same ones every year that I seem not to be able to keep:

  • I will stop consuming junk food like I'm an eleven-year-old boy on an "all you can eat" spree at the local 7-11.
  • My five block walk between the subway and my office will not constitute my only exercise for the day.
  • I will quit hiding my head in the sand and get better-educated about investing.

Yeah, I've got some tough work ahead of me. And I'm starting with USA.gov's special section devoted to helping us keep our resolutions. Whether you're aiming to drop some pounds like I am, or you're resolved to start digging out of debt, breaking habits like smoking or drinking too much or dealing better with stress, this is the place to start.

What resolutions do you keep making—and breaking—like I do?

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Entry bubble Closing the Chapter on 2008

By: Ginger | December 26, 2008 | Category: General

Girl writing in her 2008 journalAt the end of every year I try to take to take stock of how things went for me during the year. Some years it is a lovely trip down memory lane, full of positive happenings and feel-good events. Some years are relatively uneventful. This year, I don’t even want to do my year-end review. Yes, it was truly that bad.

This year has been marked with trauma and personal tragedy for me. I try not to wallow in self-pity. After all, 2008 has been filled with trauma for a lot of people. Many Americans lost businesses, homes, and possessions to natural disasters. Flooding, fires, and hurricanes threw many people into situations requiring them to be brave and cope as best they could.

Although my husband and I are in pretty good financial shape, 2008 was difficult for a lot of people. Businesses and financial institutions are suffering from the economic and banking crisis. The number of people losing their jobs, filing for bankruptcy and foreclosing on houses is increasing. 2008 saw the government trying to help stabilize both businesses and assist individuals. Mortgage assistance, a guide to avoiding foreclosure, hope for homeowners, and economic recovery websites may be helpful to you or someone you know struggling financially.

Politically, 2008 was a big year. Throughout the year we have watched and listened to the candidates telling us how they plan to reunite our country and restore stability to our economy. The voters spoke and now President-elect Barack Obama is getting ready to turn the page to our country’s next chapter.

There are many questions and hopes for 2009. Whether Republican, Democrat, or neither we should all stand together, shoulder to shoulder, as Americans. We need to pull together, because there are bound to be more natural disasters, more rocky financial times, and unforeseen bad stuff that can happen. If 2008 has taught us anything, we learned that fortunes or circumstances can turn on a dime. The only way we will get through bad times is to stay united and help each other.

Please share your memories and comments on 2008 and you hopes for 2009. Take care and I will see you in 2009.

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