11 minute read
SHOPPING
Hunt’s tips for when you are short on cash:
Pantry Survival: Go to your pantry, cupboards and freezer to feed your family and use the savings to fund your holidays.
Eat-In: No more fast food or restaurants until after the holidays are over.
Rethink a Habit: For the short-term, eliminate coffee, vending machine snacks, manis and pedis, and workday lunches out.
Get Free Shipping: Amazon has a Prime trial for 30 days you can sample.
Get Your Cash Back: Check out Rakuten cashback, formerly Ebates; Before shopping online or in physical stores, you log in. Read the details when you sign up.
Another key piece of advice: Determine your financial spending limit and don’t exceed it.
“The key to not overspending this holiday season is to set a budget and stick to it. People get into trouble when they refuse to make choices and simply get whatever it is they want,” Hunt said. “A budget can force fiscal discipline on holiday shopping.”
Above all else, remember to enjoy the season.
Resources:
Thrivent Financial, Fort Wayne, 260.459.5466
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Simplify Your Retirement Accounts
Keeping tabs on multiple 401(k)s isn’t always easy. But when you consolidate them into one IRA, you can avoid overlooking plan statements or changes. Plus, consolidation may help you steer clear of unnecessary fees. Let’s explore what’s best for you.
Kathy Crager, Financial Associate Vision Financial Group 3711 Rupp Drive, Ste. 108, Fort Wayne, IN 46815 260-450-5466 kathy.crager@thrivent.com connect.thrivent.com/kathy-crager
There may be benefits to leaving your account in your employer plan, if allowed. Securities and investment advisory services are offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., 625 Fourth Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55415, a FINRA and SIPC member and a wholly owned subsidiary of Thrivent. Thrivent Financial representatives are registered representatives of Thrivent Investment Management Inc. They are also licensed insurance agents/producers of Thrivent. For additional important information, visit Thrivent.com/disclosures. 28394 R8-20
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Arbor Farms
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954 West Dowell Road Columbia City, IN 46725
(260) 244 6465 or (260) 244 4482 Fax: (260) 244 2989
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features | well being Winter Blues + COVID
By Jaclyn Youhana Garver
Christie Browning just heard someone say “I hate the fall.” Her response was quick: “How can you hate the fall?” The colors? The weather? The flavors?
“It’s because I know winter is next.”
And this year, Browning suspects winter’s dregs will be even worse.
“Our emotional weight because of winter is going to be increased by COVID,” says Browning, the founder of Columbia City’s reVision Motivational Company, which helps clients goal set and time manage. “It is a season when health is always questioned.”
The winter blues are a proven phenomenon, and they can even get so bad as to be a disorder. Seasonal Effective Disorder is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which we get from the sun, which often hides during a Midwestern winter.
Plus, we’re dealing with post-holiday stress, a let-down that we don’t see coming.
“There’s this emotional release because we’ve kept it together all this time, and that catches people off guard because they aren’t expecting to have an emotional response to a less-demanding schedule,” she says. And never mind that, when you look at the calendar, the next fun thing on the schedule isn’t until spring break in March or April. And the stress of dealing with holiday finances. And, of course, the coronavirus, AKA the icing on the crappy cake you can’t seem to throw away. Browning recalls running into a friend this fall who wasn’t being herself. Someone asked what was wrong. “I think I’m borderline depressed,” she said. “I think it’s the fear and anxiety that we’re going into the holiday season and going into winter, and we’re going to be shut in and quarantined. The thought of going through that again is the death of me.”
If you feel the same, Browning has some tips that might help.
Create normalcy. That might take some creativity if you’re stuck in the house, but keeping a schedule can give you a sense of control.
“You still need to figure out how to create a routine for yourself that’s somewhat normal,” Browning says. “If you normally go for walks, invest in heavy duty winter clothes, and go for a walk.”
Prioritize your health. You know the rules: Drink water, exercise, eat right. But consider other healthy habits like limiting time with screens, be it TV, social media or Zoom. Go outside. Pick up a craft.
Breaking up the monotony will give your brain a different way to function and process, Browning says.
Do something nice for someone. “Service, and the focus on another person, is a quick way to change your heart’s perspective,” Browning says. For example, a woman at her church recently made face masks for some church members. She delivered each mask with a trio of homemade cookies. She didn’t see anyone or encroach on any quarantine—she simply left her gift at the door.
“If we continue to plow through the season and don’t do something with what we’re feeling, that’s when we’re going to experience that blow up, like when you shake up a two liter,” Browning says. “It explodes, and everyone gets wet.”
Resources:
reVision Motivational Company, Columbia City, 260.255.4694, christiebrowning.com
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plant this! | at HOME Poinsettias Pretty
By Bethany Beebe
The natural world may feel a bit drab this time of year with shortened daylight hours and overcast skies. Nature offers many gifts, though, and poinsettias can bring life to the table, mantle or other spot begging for a little seasonal cheer.
Joel Robert Poinsett introduced the plant, Euphorbia pulcherima, to the United States while acting as the first ambassador to Mexico, the native country of the seasonal staple, according to Purdue University Extension. It is now the most popular Christmas-season plant on the market.
The show stopping colors, most popularly red, radiate from the actual flower. Technically speaking, the leaves of the plant are green, the other-colored growth is called a bract, and the true flower is the small yellow portion at the center of the bract cluster, according to Extension.
When selecting a poinsettia in the store or greenhouse, look for the bracts with the least pollen deposited from those true flowers. This will likely offer a longer time for you to enjoy your purchase as pollen is dropped as the plant matures. The healthiest plants have foliage of bright green the length of the stem. The more bracts, the more you can expect to pay.
Dry, chilly Indiana winters are far from ideal. A few considerations can help you keep your investment in optimal condition through the season. Extension reports that the greenhouses where poinsettias are grown have high humidity and a temperature range of 60-70 degrees F. Below 60 degrees F, root-rot disease is more likely to occur. Above 70 degrees F, the plant is more likely to wither, turn yellow and have a generally shorter lifespan. Optimally near a bright window, but not touching the cold panes of glass, avoid drafty areas or spots nearest a source of heat. Most optimally, poinsettias could be moved to a cool space, about 60 degrees F, during the night.
Just as we might run a humidifier for our own wellness this time of year, poinsettias also benefit from greater moisture in the air. You might consider placing the pot on some pebbles with shallow water. The stony set up allows for water vapors to increase the humidity in the air nearest the plant. Just be sure to not allow the pot to stand in the pre-evaporated water.
Watering the plant properly is a gift to the growing; both too much and too little can lead to problems, according to Extension. If the growth medium feels dry, the plant is wilting, or if the soil has lightened in color, add water until it emerges from the hole in the bottom of the pot and repeat again in five to ten minutes, if critical. Too much water leads to rotting roots and eventual death. Punching a hole in any foil or wrapping of the pot will allow you to see the water flow each time you offer a drink.
For more information, including how to make an attempt at nursing a poinsettia through to the next growing season, check out these resources, and other trusted materials from Purdue Extension. https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/pubs/HO/HO-73.pdf https://extension.purdue.edu/article/13282
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By Amber Bouthot
Home Office
Every month, we highlight Reader DIY Projects. We want to see your projects and share them within the pages of our magazine. It can be something as simple as a craft project or as large as a home addition. If you did it yourself, it can be featured. Email Amber at ambouthot@the-papers.com.
This month’s Reader DIY project comes from Heather van Frankenhuyzen who transformed a spare bedroom into a home office.
What was your inspiration for the project?
Necessity! My husband, Ahmed, needed an office where he could close himself off from the noise and commotion of three homeschooling kids.
How long did it take from start to finish?
Probably only four days of actual working, but I got sidetracked and busy in between. So counting all the days off, from start to finish, maybe a week to 10 days.
Was it easier or harder than you anticipated?
It was way easier. I was able to use a lot of things I already had around the house, and there wasn’t any heavy lifting or big furniture to move other than just turning the bed.
What was the total cost of the project?
Total cost was about $150. I was able to find the bookshelves on Facebook marketplace for $30 for a pair (the other we use in the kids’ classroom). For paint, I started with a color I already had and had to buy only a little more to finish up. Then for the accent colors, I bought tester pots, some of which I found on the clearance shelf for 50 cents. Shelf brackets were the biggest expense, totaling around $70. And I had to build half of the L-shaped desk, as we had already built a desk on one wall a few years earlier. For all the stains, polyurethane, brushes and rollers, I have a stash in the garage since I do this a lot!
What did you like best about the undertaking?
I love how the color not only brightens up the room but the whole hallway. Even the attached family room is brighter. And Ahmed uses the space all the time. I was able to incorporate so many of his favorite things and make it feel like a space that reflects his personality.
What was the most challenging aspect?
I still feel that there’s a big empty space next to the bed, and I’m just not sure how to fill it without it looking like too much. Waiting and leaving a space unfinished until I find just the right thing is hard. I just want to slap something in the space and call it done.
Where did you source the materials?
I bought all my materials from Lowe’s and Menards. Most of the decor came from other spots in the house. I love to constantly rearrange and redesign our home, but I don’t want to spend an arm and a leg or create unnecessary waste.
