John Ellis

Getting those festive finances in proper order

BY JOHN ELLIS

FINANCIAL ADVISOR

AT the time of writing there are 52 days to Christmas. Many people are becoming anxious planning for the big day, especially as money has been stretched by the pandemic. e best advice to follow if you are worried about the cost of Christmas and cannot a ord to buy gifts for family, friends or colleagues’ is don’t. But we don’t want to be seen as a Scrooge. We want to buy gifts for family at least.

So, it’s a time when more people borrow “to pay for Christmas”. Unfortunately for many the loans follow them way into the new year. If you have no choice but borrow then be careful where you borrow your money. But what can we do to have a happy and relatively debt free Christmas and New Year?

Budget early. Work out how much money you need now and over the coming weeks for gifts, food, and nights out. And only commit to what you can realistically a ord over the Christmas period.

Take time to shop around. Don’t leave Christmas shopping to the last minute. Write a list of who you want to buy for and the gift for each person. Remember Black Friday and Cyber Monday o er some brilliant deals. Planning ahead gives you the opportunity to shop around for the best deals and stagger your gifts meaning you are less likely to overspend.

Or what about setting up a Kris Kringle with a budget and sticking to it!. is can be done for family, friends even work colleagues. en you only have to think of one modest present. But don’t be the one that then buys for everyone else, embarrassing all who stuck to the rules.

Advance planning as the host. If you’re hosting the family on Christmas Day or planning a party beforehand, there are ways you can host without breaking the bank. Start thinking about your recipes, decorations, and games in advance. en keep an eye out for o ers in shops. ere are plenty of things you can buy well in advance of Christmas that will keep well. Bake and/or make your own gifts as these go down a treat showing you have put thought and love into the gift.

Sell something. Hunt about the house and see what you have still in their boxes. Put them up on sites like eBay or Adverts. You will be pleasantly surprised what people will pay good money for that you consider junk adding well needed funds to the Christmas account.

Be careful online. Unfortunately, scams are more rife at Christmas than at any other time of the year. Fraudsters use a range of methods to trick you into handing over money, bank details and personal information. ey pretend to work for charities. ey send fake delivery noti cations and o ering ‘too good to be true’ deals via email. Remember don’t click on suspicious links, say no to all online requests for your personal information and always check site reviews before buying a gift.

Christmas does not have to involve spending lavishly.

Build memories. is is the cheapest recommendation of all. Look for opportunities to spend meaningful time together during the weeks leading up to Christmas. In the process you’ll be stockpiling family memories.

Track Santa. We all know it can be di cult to get children to bed on Christmas eve. Use a Santa tracker to show them where Santa is and how important it is to be in bed early. ere are many trackers on line. NORAD tracks Santa opens on 1st December. One which includes games can be found on https://santatracker. google.com – you can even shave o Santas beard!

Give something to yourself at Christmas. You probably get paid early at Christmas. Do yourself a favour by continuing to pay your monthly bills such as the Mortgage/Rent, utility bills etc. Why spend money you don’t actually have and add more debt to next year. Make a commitment to do some things right next year, like paying o debt, starting a rainy-day fund, or learn how to live within your means and start saving for next Christmas now.

If you are really struggling with debt? Help is available. Try MABS and your local Credit Union. ey’re there to help, not judge, so don’t worry. Except they get very busy in January, so don’t leave it, contact them now.

John@ellis nancial.ie - 086 8362633

Menopause - let’s talk about it!

CLAIR WHITTY

I AM glad to see that there’s lots of talk about the perimenopause and the various symptoms. We see lots of women at the shop who have questions, sometimes they think they are going crazy. We can o er advice but sometimes it’s good talk to a Nutritional erapist one-to-one.

Davina Dowling is a Nutritional erapist who works at Natural Health Store in Wexford, she also sees clients privately. Her favourite area of health is women’s health. I asked her what her approach is when dealing with the perimenopause.

Davina has a personalised approach when working with women’s health concerns as no two women have the same experience when going through the menopause. She takes a detailed health and lifestyle history during a consultation including details of medication and supplements. She strongly believes that good nutrition is key but we might not be able to get all the nutrients from food.

Davina will ask about your gut health and if you have digestive symptoms like bloating or constipation. How you cope with stress and anxiety. What your sleep is like. She will consider any toxins you have been exposed to and how that impacts on your liver and lymphatic health. Toxins can include medication, contraception, household cleaners, body care, smoking, alcohol, and processed foods. All these areas are looked at and Davina can set up a tailored program for you. ere are many symptoms that you may experience. Hot ushes, night sweats, anxiety, depression, and irritability. Aches, pains, and joint problems. Sleep problems. Vaginal dryness and low libido. Weight gain and digestive issues. You may have one symptom or have every symptom known to be associated with the perimenopause. is is why it is so important to talk it because you can think you’re going crazy if you have so many changes happening at the same stage in your life.

As you know there are many supplements available and one of our favourite ones for pre and post menopause is Cleanmarine Menomin. It contains a great combination, Omega Oils from Krill, soya iso avones, B vitamins, biotin and vitamin D. Many women feel better using it. ey have more energy, fewer ushes, and improved vaginal dryness. MenoMin contains vitamin B6 which contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity, B12 to help the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and biotin for the maintenance of normal hair and mucous membranes. It’s de nitely worth taking a look at. ere is no need to take this journey all on your own, call into see us or talk to someone today. We can talk to you at the store and guide you through the wide variety of supplements and health advice available to you. You could check out in your local health store if there is anyone specialising in female health. ey usually know who is doing what in town and can give you the names of practitioners they know and trust.

Natural Health Store, Market Cross Shopping Centre Phone: 056 7764538 Email: info@ naturalhealthstore.ie Shop online www. naturalhealthstore.ie

Dealing with cold and u season

ANDREW MCDONALD HYPNOTHERAPIST

COLD and u season has started to make its unwanted presence familiar again. Last year, many of us were in lockdown for long periods and so may have avoided the usual sni es. e average adult can expect to catch two to four colds annually whilst young children can get as many as eight to twelve until their youthful immune systems get chance to build up. With most of us mingling again, whether for work or socially, we’re likely to be laid low with a bunged or runny nose and other symptoms at least a couple of times over autumn, winter and spring. Experts actually predict we will be more prone to this form of illness this year because, for a lot of us, our immunity has basically had more than twelve months o and isn’t quite in shape yet.

So what can we do to cope? Personally, I swear by Vicks First Defence. I used to get a lot of bad colds, in other words, what is known to the stronger half of the population as “man u”. For a good few years now, at the rst sign of a scratchy throat, my usual warning signal that a dose is on the way, I’ve used this nasal spray and, apart from an unlucky couple of occasions, have managed to avoid the actual cold part of the process. A word of warning though, try not to breathe in too deeply for a few minutes after using Vicks First Defence. To say it burns is an understatement!

We can also do things like ensuring we are eating healthily, including getting enough vitamin C, and exercising. Sleep is important too and, although it’s probably not what we want to hear come December and January, avoiding overheating our homes helps too. Stress is something which it is helpful to avoid at all times though particularly during cold and u season. Most people’s lives don’t allow for it to be cut out completely but there are things we can do to deal with it better such as meditation. People who are more vulnerable may also choose to get the u vaccine.

What about when we actually contract a cold or u? A lot of people rave about echinacea. It’s supposed to reduce symptoms and shorten the length of illness signi cantly. It’s a natural herb and can be bought in chemists. Always check with your pharmacist but it can usually be taken with over-thecounter cold remedies such as Lemsip and Beecham’s.

Particularly this year, we should also be mindful that many of symptoms of colds and us are shared with covid. Some are not, for example sneezing is unique to a cold, but others are, a cough is one which is symptomatic of all three. Whilst we shouldn’t panic unnecessarily, if you do think you have more than a cold, then at the very least, contacting your doctor to be on the safe side is a good idea.