Four (or Five!) Reasons Why

….New Year’s Eve is Anti-Climatic

1. Expectations are unrealistically high. Far too many people believe they’re going to have the best time ever, only to be disappointed when it’s not nearly as much fun as they hoped.

2. It’s expensive. If you go out, the cost of tickets, dinner, booze, clothing, flowers, taxis, etc. can add up in a hurry. And there’s never a strong return on the investment.

3. The realistic chances of meeting someone special (aka hooking up) are slim to non-existent. And if you do, it tends to be that I’m-so-drunk-what-I-have-done kind of thing where you really wish it hadn’t happened.

4. People are partied out after the holidays, and the flurry of holiday parties, drinking, eating, socializing, family engagements, etc. By the time New Year’s Eve rolls around, many people are socialized out, leaving them with little energy for New Year’s Eve. On top of it all, most of us only get one day to recover before going back to work.

More: 25Dates.com has a good list of the do’s and don’ts for New Year’s Eve, while Princess Bubble also believes that New Year’s Eve is over-rated.

Technorati Tags: New Year’s Eve, Champagne

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…It’s Time To Start An Exercise Regimen

1. While weight gain over the holidays is lower than originally expected, a study in 2000 showed that participants gained an average of approximately one pound. This may not seem to be of any consequence, however the study found that most of the yearly gain was added during the Christmas period. More concerning is the fact that few people lose those extra holiday pounds, which significantly contributes to weight gain seen as people age.

2. A survey conducted in 2005 found holiday shopping caused headaches in nearly 25% of people, while 11% suffered from sleeplessness. Regular exercise is well known as an aid in alleviating stress, improving sleep and providing a general sense of well-being.

3. A study published in 2004 found that the winter holiday season is “a risk factor for cardiac and noncardiac mortality.” Furthermore, the authors note that there are “multiple explanations for this association, including the possibility that holiday-induced delays in seeking treatment play a role in producing the twin holiday spikes”. The lesson here - start preparing for next year so you don’t become another statistic. Exercise your heart!

4. Once the turkey is done, the wrapping paper thrown in the recycling bin and the in-laws have gone home, many people suffer from the post-holiday blues. Depression is often at its highest during January as merry-makers look at a skinny wallet and expanded waistline. Exercise is known to improve one’s mood and the rush of endorphins after a work-out can produce a state of euphoria.

5. Exercise improves your sex life. Sex improves your mental and physical well-being. Improved well-being will make January and February go by faster than you can imagine. Seems like a pretty simple equation to me!

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….Year-End Lists are Boring

1. Who really cares about looking at what was when a brand new spanking year is upon us. It’s movies we’ve seen, music we’ve heard, news that has happened, blah, blah, blah.

2. The format is always the same - top-10 or top-25 or top-100. So very creative, so compelling! It makes you want to read entire lists…NOT!

3. Lists are an excuse for journalistic laziness. It’s end of year, there’s not a lot of news happening so you need something to fill space. Hey, why not put together a year-end list because they take up a lot of space, they can be created in advance and there’s this strange belief that people actually read them.

4. They clearly pale in comparison with Four Reasons Why, which is funny, educational, irreverent and addictive - at least we think so.

More: If you one of those people into year-end lists, check out Google’s Zeitgeist. And here’s the New York Times’ A.O. Scott’s list of the best movies for 2007.

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…All The Bargains Come After Christmas

1. On the approach to the holidays, retailers usually buy mass quantities of loss leading products to get people into their stores. With the big shopping season behind us, there are usually a lot of cheap DVD players, budget home theatre systems or discount small home appliances that are clogging floor and warehouse space. The quality or brand may not be the best available, but you can guarantee that they’ll be heavily discounted. Unfortunately, that also means they disappear quickly.

2. Think of how many people get gifts that they don’t really want. Now think of how many of those people exchange them for something that they would rather have. All of those gently-used presents create a glut that retailers need to unload, usually at a pretty decent discount.

3. As the New Year approaches, retailers are already preparing for next year’s model of products. Leftover and excess inventory, especially on products that change frequently or go through regular upgrade cycles, often get discounted to make room for new models. The “new” models often offer few improvements over the previous versions, so there is often little point in getting the “latest and greatest.”

4. January is a notoriously slow time of the year for sales. While many people will be cashing in gift cards received over the holiday, retailers are always finding ways to get shoppers into their stores. Hunt around and you can always find some January bargains.

5. What retailer wants to keep seasonal items around? This is a great time to look for heavily discounts items that can be used for next year. Don’t let Christmas 2008 sneak up on you. Buy now and relax for the next 11 months knowing that you’ve beaten the crowds and gotten it all at next for nothing!

For tips on how to approach the after-Christmas shopping bonanza, check out The Budget Fashionista.

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1. You never really get what you want but you still have to go through the motions of appreciation. How many times have you heard the following: “Oh, I just love it”, or “It’s exactly what I wanted”, or “How did you know?” If you say it enough times, it’s actually comes across as believable.

2. There’s far too much work involved. Unless you do all of your shopping online, you’ve got to hit the stores, which takes times, effort and energy. Unfortunately, there’s little return on this investment when reason #1 is taken into consideration.

3. People are better off buying things for themselves if you want to get the perfect gift. The alternative, I guess, is telling someone exactly what you want. That person then buys what you’ve told them, which guarantees your response “It’s exactly what I wanted” rings true.

4. Buying gifts is all about commercialism and has little to do with celebrating the holidays or letting people how much you love and appreciate them. If you really want to give someone a gift AND show them how much you care, make one yourself rather than buying it.

5. Debt. Most people spend far too money on gifts, which means their credit card bills are enormous when they arrive in the mail next month.

More: According to Visa, Canadians are expected to spend $23-billion on gifts this year, or $1,061/person. This is a 14% increase from last year, and the highest personal spend since Visa started its survey of holiday sales nine years ago. In the U.S., meanwhile, the National Retail Federation expects sales to climb just 4% in November and December, the slowest growth since 2002

Technorati Tags: Christmas

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