Jan. 15 is known as Blue Monday, when the nights are long and cold, and the Christmas bills come due.
The Community Counselling and Resource Centre in Peterborough suggests when the credit card bills arrive, to sit down as a family and examine honestly what caused you to go over budget.
Some suggest this is a good time to plan for next year, to examine what expenses could be trimmed or eliminated. For example, do you really need to purchase gifts for grand nieces and nephews?
“Maybe one year, a couple of years ago, they could manage it — maybe now, their job or their employment situation or family situation has changed and they may be more in trouble than they were in other years,” says Casey Ready, CEO of the Community Counselling and Resource Centre.
Nancy Jackson, a credit counsellor at the centre, says for many people, stress about paying those holiday bills comes at a particularly bad time of year.
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“The January blues, we know finances are a big part of it, not to mention the weather — just a tough time,” says Jackson.
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The Canadian Mental Health Association suggests knowing the long cold days and holiday stress are coming, and to recognize the connections between physical, mental and fiscal health and find ways to cope.
“So coming into the fall/winter season, doing things you can do on a daily basis that can improve your mental health like movement, finding ways to move your body in enjoyable ways, getting as much sunlight as possible, so sitting by a window inside is great, opening the blinds, going outside for a walk, bundling up if it’s cold,” says Tanya Kowalenko.
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