This week, I’m talking about cutting back on Christmas. Today, I’m talking about your holiday stop doing list. What are the things that you do that you really shouldn’t be doing this time of year? The things that if you stopped doing, you could reclaim some of your time and sanity during this stressful time of year. 

Here are 6 things I don’t waste time on during the holidays:

• Hanging outdoor lights - I remember begrudgingly helping my parents with this chore growing up, and I swore I would never hang outdoor lights on and around my house. Decorating for the holidays is confined to the inside and it saves me and my husband the time of putting up and taking down, or the expense of paying someone else to do it. Plus all the extra electricity use just isn’t worth it. I take my kids out about once a week and we enjoy looking at everyone else’s hard work instead. 
• Elf on the shelf - I don’t know how or why this became a thing?! Not only is elf on the shelf just downright creepy, it sounds like the most stressful stupid tradition with the pressure of having to cleverly come up with new activities and new locations for your elf.
• Sending Christmas cards - ooo, this one is hard, and this is the first Christmas we are forgoing this one. As much as I enjoy receiving Christmas cards from others, I think we’re officially done with this one in the Micciche household. Too much time and work getting out cards.
• Shopping after Thanksgiving - I shop for Christmas, but I try to avoid going to the store or the mall unless it’s necessary. With the ability to buy pretty much everything online these days, there’s no reason to battle for a parking spot at the mall...I get stressed just thinking about it. 
• Presents for non-family (neighbors, teachers, white elephant) - I talked about this at length yesterday. Even though I feel pressure every year to make cookies for my neighbors, buy a gift for my kids’ teachers, or participate in the white elephant exchange party with my mom’s group, I’ve had to learn to just say no to these superfluous gift giving events. I console myself by rationalizing that my neighbors don’t need any more sweets, I can give my kid’s teachers something at the end of the year or for their birthday instead, and I’ll see my mom friends again in January. 
• Non-essential parties - we all have the book club party or the ladies golf party in my case or some other holiday party to go to. With most if not all of these regular parties not happening this year because of Covid, it’s the perfect reason to just say no from now on. My rule is that as long as I’m not obligated to go or I love going every year and it’s something I really look forward to, the RSVP is no. 

What about you? What’s on your holiday stop doing list this year? I encourage you to pick at least one thing that you dread doing every year, and just stop. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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This week, I’m talking about cutting back on Christmas. Today, I’m talking about how I’ve spent the last 10 years or so systematically slashing my Christmas spending and gift-giving and how it’s benefitted me and my wallet. It’s still a work in progress, but I’m happy with the direction we’re moving and I feel like we’ve found a good balance between lower stress and lower spending, without my young kids being deprived in any way. 

When I had my first child in 2014, I saw it as an excellent opportunity to cut back on Christmas traditions and gatherings. It was the perfect excuse to stop waking up early on Christmas morning, loading up the car and driving up to my parents house for opening presents and breakfast. 

Since that first family Christmas at home in 2014, I have systematically deleted holiday traditions that I don’t enjoy, and most especially I have cut down on gift giving. 

One of the best things I’ve done for my own sanity is cut gifts down to the bare minimum. My children only get one gift each from Santa, and one gift each from Mom and dad. They are free to make gifts for each other, and they each are only allowed one gift from grandparents and aunts and uncles. My husband and I both come from small families, so when you do the math, my kids each have 6 presents under the tree on Christmas. They love it and my husband and I love it because Christmas morning in our house is calm and relaxed, and we end up keeping our Christmas spending to under $500 for everyone on our gift lists by cutting out the excessive gifts for our kids. For reference, the average American spent nearly $1000 on Christmas gifts last year. So our spending is about a quarter of that and we haven’t lost any of the joy.

Another thing we do is only buy one or two gifts for each other, and Christmas isn’t a reason to buy expensive jewelry or a new car, despite what the commercials would have you believe. 

As for other family, we’ve moved toward the secret santa concept which allows us to just buy one gift and I buy almost no gifts for people outside of my family.

If you’re broke in January, I encourage you to set limits on how many gifts and cut back on who you buy for. You should never buy a gift for anyone because you feel obligated. You can always do other things to show you care. A coffee date, invite a friend over for a meal, or write a nice Christmas letter. 

I have almost zero gift-giving related stress during the holidays, and it’s because I’ve cut out all but the essentials. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about cutting back on Christmas. Today, I’m talking about your why. Earlier this week, I discussed the fact that ⅔ of us have reached our breaking point with Christmas, with stress and financial strain of Christmas being the chief culprits. It’s so bad in fact, that 45% of us would prefer to just skip Christmas all together. 

So if that’s you and you want to cut back on Christmas, it’s important to start with why. Why do you want to cut back on Christmas? How will this time of year be more joyful and less stressful if you cut back on Christmas. I’ll share specific ideas for ways to cut back later this week, but first we gotta get to the bottom of how your life will improve if you cut back.

So I want you to fill in the rest of this sentence: “I want to cut back on Christmas because…”

Personally, I want to cut back on Christmas because I want my kids to grow up learning that Christmas is about the miracle of the Christ child JEsus coming into this world, rather than thinking that Christmas is all about Santa and presents. 

I want to cut back on Christmas to avoid the strong temptation of materialism and overconsuming this time of year. 

I want to cut back on Christmas so I can spend more quality time at home with my family, rather than shopping or cramming too many activities into the month of December.

I want to cut back on Christmas (presents especially) so Christmas morning is calm and actually fun. 

I want to cut back Christmas so we can give more to help others in our community have a meaningful Christmas. 

I didn’t have to think for more than about 10 seconds on each one of those answers and I suspect that you have a few reasons why you may want to cut back on Christmas - especially if you’re typically stressed and grinchy this time of year. 

So what is your why? If you still need some help here are some common whys: 

• Reduce stress
• Have more time for what matters most
• Save money
• Give more 
• Reduce debt

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about cutting back on Christmas. 

Today, I’m talking about the problem of too much Christmas. 

My favorite holiday tradition from the earliest I could remember was going to the Christmas tree farm the day after Thanksgiving every year. My sister who is 10 years older than me was usually home from school, so I was excited to spend time with her. We went to the same tree farm every year, got our handsaw, ventured out into the far corners of the farm to find the perfect 8 ft Noble fir. Then after we found our tree we would head inside for hot cocoa and a visit with Santa, usually purchasing a new ornament for our tree on our way out. It was always a perfect day, and looking back, I think I enjoyed getting our tree more than I enjoyed Christmas morning. The tree farm we visited every year was eventually sold and after that it was never the same. We stopped the day after thanksgiving tradition, but with my husband and kids we still venture out every year to pick out and cut down our tree - and living in Oregon, that’s pretty easy to do with Christmas tree farms about as common here as cornfields in Iowa. 

The point of this story is that there are certain holiday traditions that are worth it - for me, that’s the annual trip to the tree farm. But there are a lot of other things that we do and spend money on during the holidays that have the opposite effect. They cause stress, strain our wallets, and suck all of our time to the point where we need the entire month of January just to recover. 

The problem with Christmas is that we as a society have just ruined it I think. Our society has forgotten Who Christmas is all about and we’ve replaced Jesus with Santa, and quality time with family to mowing people down for a big screen TV on Black Friday. 

Christmas has become this hectic and stressful time and the problem is so widespread that more than half of Americans are burned out - 69% of us are stressed by the feeling of having a “lack of time,” 69% of us are stressed by the financial strain of Christmas.

And nearly half of Americans - 45% - would prefer to skip Christmas all together. Yet, we still do all the things and spend all the money. If you’re feeling like it’s time to redefine the Christmas season in your own life, tomorrow we’ll get started by talking about why and how you actually go about doing that.

That’s it for today. But before you go, you probably know someone who is close to retirement and could benefit from listening to this podcast. If so, please share this podcast with them and encourage them to check it out by adding it to their flash briefing in Alexa or subscribing wherever they listen to podcasts! 

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

Welcome to a new week and a new theme here on the One Minute Retirement Tip! 

This week’s theme is cutting back on Christmas.Sometimes we just do something because that’s what we’ve always done without giving it much thought. Christmas can easily become one of those seasons where we buy the things and do the things because well, that’s what we’ve always done. 

I don’t know about you but it seems like the pressure to spend more and do more every holiday season only grows every year. Christmas music starts playing on the radio just after Halloween, and I start panicking about getting holiday cards out in the mail, arranging for a time when our family friend will come over as Santa for a visit - who is the spitting image of Santa - even in July.

We have to get our Christmas tree and somehow find the time to decorate a gingerbread house, make cookies for our neighbors, buy a present for my kid’s Kindergarten teacher, decorate the house, watch all the movies and see all the lights. 

The problem with all of this is that Christmas has become this hectic and stressful time. And I’m not alone. 69 percent of people are stressed by the feeling of having a “lack of time,” 69% of us are stressed by the financial strain of Christmas, and 51% are stressed out about the “pressure to give or get gifts.”

And nearly half of Americans - 45% - would prefer to skip Christmas all together. Yet, we still do all the things and spend all the money. 

But one of the great blessings of Covid I think, is that it gives all of us a chance to slow down and really re-examine our priorities, how we spend our time, and how we spend our money. This year could be your opportunity to set yourself free from the traditions, activities, and gift-giving that has become overwhelming. 

So this week I’ll be talking about how you can cut back on Christmas, why that’s important, how I’ve been cutting back on Christmas gradually over the last decade and how I intend to do that even more this year, and how to add more meaning and peace to a time of year that’s intended to be joyful and peaceful, not hectic and draining. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

It’s Sunday, which means...It’s recap time! This week’s theme was how gratitude changes your outlook on money. 

Here’s what we covered in each episode this week:

• Disconnecting Happiness With More Stuff
• How Gratitude Helped Me Be More Patient
• A very happy thanksgiving to you and in honor of the holiday, 26 things I’m grateful 
• How Gratitude Helps You Make Values-Based Money Decisions
• And lastly, Getting Started With Practicing Gratitude

My hope is that you come away from this week with a better understanding of how gratitude is deeply connected to your money and has an impact on your most fundamental money decisions - including your spending, giving and saving habits.

Tomorrow, we are starting a brand new theme: How to cut back on christmas. Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is here! And covid is the perfect excuse to simplify your holiday traditions, cut back on shopping and spending, and reduce the stress of this usually hectic holiday season. 

I’m kind of crazy and counter-cultural in how I celebrate Christmas, so next week I’ll be sharing with you how we celebrate Christmas in the Micciche household, and how that has helped my sanity and our bank account at the same time.

And if you haven’t already, be sure to check out my YouTube channel - True North Retirement, where I cover a wide variety of retirement planning topics - everything from whether or not you should pay off your mortgage before you retire to understanding the lifetime gift tax exclusion to inherited IRA rules.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for listening and I hope you have a blessed Sunday! 

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the “One Minute Retirement Tip”.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about how gratitude changes your outlook on money. This whole week I’ve been talking about how gratitude is the foundation for being more patient, being more content with what you have, and saving, giving, and spending in ways that are consistent with your values, but the question then becomes - how do I get started with practicing gratitude so I can enjoy its fruits? 

The easiest way to start is to make a concerted effort to notice the good in each day. A daily reflection time at the end of the day is perfect for this. It will help you appreciate the goodness of each day and will also train you to pay more attention in the moment. Although I have fallen out of the practice of this myself, I have done this in the past and it has worked wonders in helping me become more aware of the graces in each day. 

Find ways to say thank you more, do acts of kindness for others and be more present with your loved ones. 

Write thank you cards or send a text to someone just telling them how much you appreciate them. 

Incorporating gratitude into your daily prayer time, or if prayer isn’t your thing - incorporating it into a daily meditation or mindfulness practice. 

Go on a no complaint diet. I did this about 4 years ago and it really helped me cut down on my complaining which in turn helped me to appreciate the good things rather than dwelling on what I didn’t like.

In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear talks about the power of attaching a new habit to something you’re already doing as a way to make that habit stick. For example, if you have a daily quiet time with your cup of coffee, switching from reading the news or scrolling on your phone to a gratitude reflection time or journaling is an easier way to add that new habit into your life, because you’re attaching it to something you already enjoy doing and creating powerful associations in your mind. 

That’s it for today. I hope some of those ideas are helpful in getting started.

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about how gratitude changes your outlook on money. Today, I’m talking about how gratitude can help you make values-based decisions. 

By being aware of what you appreciate the most in your life, you’ll be able to connect the dots with what is most important to you in life and using your financial resources to support what’s most important to you. 

It’s like the saying - put your money where your mouth is, which is just backing up what you’re saying is most important with real action. 

If you have a particular cause that you are passionate about, but you’re not providing financial support to that cause or charity, how important is it to you really? 

When you are grateful and you can recognize what’s most important to you, you’re better able to spend in a way that will help foster contentment because it’s consistent with your values, rather than spend in a way that’s frivolous and doesn’t align with what’s most important to you. 

Many people never reach their most important financial goals because they wasted money on crap that didn’t really matter all that much to them - too many fast food trips, tech gadgets, shoes, or cute little trinkets for the house. It seems like a small thing here or there but it really adds up over time. 

But when you know what you value the most because you recognize what you’re most grateful for, you’re able to take the next step by putting your money where you mouth is and spending, giving, and saving in ways that line up with what you value most. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about how gratitude changes your outlook on money. And today is Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving to you! I hope that despite covid, you’re still able to spend time with those you love the most today - hopefully that’s some face to face time, but if not, hopefully it’s at least a few phone calls to tell those you love how special they are to you. 

So in honor of Thanksgiving day, I’m sharing with you 26 things I’m grateful for today in the hopes that it will inspire you to think about those things - big and small - that you are most grateful for. Here it goes...I am grateful for: 

1. Being alive and healthy
2. My husband
3. My 3 children
4. A hot shower
5. Not having to host or cook a lot of food on Thanksgiving
6. This podcast and each of you who are listening every day
7. My business and having a job that I love
8. My freedoms
9. A beautiful sunset
10. My warm home
11. Cinnamon coffee creamer
12. Snuggles with my infant son and bed time snuggles with my 3 year old
13. Chatting in the car with my daughter about her day at school
14. My hobbies, especially golf
15. Living in the beautiful state of Oregon with all of it’s beauty, green, and amazing summers
16. Quiet mornings alone before the rest of my house wakes up
17. Facetime and Zoom during Covid
18. My favorite red wine
19. My daughter being in school in person
20. Lessons I learned this year about dealing with constant frustrations and unknowns
21. Money in my bank account and in my retirement accounts
22. My employees
23. Having a drink with a friend
24. Life changing books I’ve read
25. Oversized sweaters
26. My faith 

There you have it...so what are you most grateful for today? In honor of Thanksgiving, I encourage you to spend some time thinking about this and maybe even make your own list.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about how gratitude changes your outlook on money. Today, I’m talking about how gratitude helped me be a more patient person. 

Without gratitude, it’s easy to have this attitude of quickly moving on to the next shiny object and whatever is next. In my life, I find that whenever I work toward accomplishing something that I actually achieved, I was always surprised how the reality of the situation never felt like I expected it would. 

A friend of mine is in his mid-40s and has been working really hard at paying off his mortgage for several years. This was a major financial goal for him and his wife to own their house free and clear and it took sacrifices and years of focused dedication to pay off his mortgage. Well, he finally paid off his mortgage this past summer and you know what he felt after making that last payment? Nothing. That was very sad to me because I was happy for him and he never got to enjoy the fruit of all of those years of hard work. 

But I also understand why this happened to him, because it’s the same thing that always happens to me. I take about 3 seconds to enjoy my victory, then I’m over it and moving on. It doesn’t matter if I make the perfect lasagna or I just got a new client...the enjoyment lasts ever so briefly. I think what’s really going on here is that I lack the gratitude to appreciate the accomplishments and the good things that come my way, so I impatiently move on to the next thing I want. Only since I have been more intentional about being grateful and slowing down to appreciate the graces of good things, have I become a little bit more patient. 

But sound financial habits are built on patience. And since patience is a fruit of gratefulness, we need gratitude in order to have the patience to save for retirement, stick with a plan, pay off debt, and stay invested when the world is going crazy.

We need patience for all of that and we need gratitude to be more patient. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast