MAK: Christmas was fantastic.  And, I have to say dad’s little poem last week was funny. Santa took care of me and I loved my earrings and Beats headphones. I can focus on listening to my music or games and not bother anyone while looking good.

GRANT: Agree. I’m glad you liked the earrings I got from Etsy, they’ve got some cool stuff.  I’ve been digging my new keyboard, charging pad, and the Robux.  Never hurts to have a bit of extra money in my Roblox account.  Plus, the food was awesome, and spending some QT with the fam was fun. Even though we had to skip our annual Christmas breakfast.

MAK: Total bummer, ‘cause Aunt Cindy and Uncle Tim cook a mean breaky.  

          GRANT: 4 types of sausage 

          MAK: Bacon

          GRANT: Eggs and oatmeal

          MAK: Biscuits and gravy

          GRANT: Waffles and pancakes

          MAK: Cinnamon rolls and doughnuts

GRANT: It’s a crazy spread. I’m getting crazy hungry just thinking about it, but nada this year, because we had a case of COVID in the family.

MAK:  I think I might just give he who goes unnamed the stink eye next time I see him. 

GRANT: Nice holiday spirit Mak. I get it, we couldn’t have the “Eve of the Eve” party in Chicago either.  Some of our old friends in Downers Grove all got it as well. It’s everywhere it seems.

MAK: But, it appears it went through Africa super quick. I hope it happens the same here because it’s hit a lot of people as well as Christmas air travel. After a vertical increase, I hope it’s a vertical decrease. 

GRANT: Agree, it has been tough. It kind of reminds me of the markets with a large increase, then a decrease, and another cycle.

MAK: You’re right.  We’ve seen a couple of days where each index is up well over 1% then down the next day. A bit of a rough ride, though we are still close to all-time highs.

GRANT: Sometimes, you have to put the blinders on, or it might drive you a bit wacky.  Inflation, Biden, unemployment, Monetary policy, the Fed and other things all hitting the markets.

MAK: As we saw with COVID, the market came back after being CRUSHED.  Do you remember the housing market?

GRANT: NO, and you can’t either.  We were born in 2008.  But, I know, you read about it. Huge hit, and it came back. It’s kind of like that saying:

MAK: What goes down, must go up.

GRANT: Yep, that’s the one.  But, it’s really what goes up must come down.  

MAK: I like mine better, I was just checking to see you were paying attention.

GRANT: The point is… Sometimes you just have to enjoy your life, the holidays or a good book, and forget about the markets.  If your plan is SOLID, you have to rely on it.

MAK: Just like building a house. If you build it well, you can’t always do ANYTHING when a big storm comes through, but guess what….

          MAK/GRANT: (Singing)….The sun will come out, tomorrow!!

GRANT: Got that right.  So, let’s focus on our presents and what’s coming.

MAK: Sound good to me. Hey, you know what I’m looking forward to next. 

          GRANT/MAK: New Year’s

GRANT: Private party with Uncle Tony and Aunt Lori and the gang.  That should be a lot of fun.  And, you know dad. Time to think about a few goals for the new year….2022.

MAK: That sounds weird to say.  Can’t believe it’s here already.  Since we have a couple of days left, maybe we should use them to focus on our Financial Resolutions or Fin-solutions.

GRANT: Nice one. Rolls right off your lips.  Most of us have a bit of time off.  You can calm your mind, get into your meditative state. And get some of those resolutions down on paper.

MAK: Did you say “vegetative” state, kinda like when you play video games all day and drool?

GRANT: No, MEDITATIVE state. And, writing those Fin-solutions down is powerful.  There’s something about the act of putting pen to paper that makes it real which can make all the difference.

MAK: It’s almost like a little commitment with yourself.  But, we have to start to prep our PREFRONTAL CORTEX.

GRANT: Wow, getting all scientific on us.  Thanks Dr. Jones. That part of the brain helps with decision-making and regulating behavior, like discipline and making sure we don’t overspend.

MAK: Sure is.  You could use a bit more PREFRONTAL CORTEX development…

GRANT: HA-HA.

MAK: Sounds like your RIGHT FRONTAL LOBE is working.That’s the part of the brain for jokes.

GRANT: You’re on a role. Hey, if we’re preparing for our Fin-solutions we’re talking about:

          GRANT/MAK: The Money Mindset

MAK: Bam!

GRANT: And, there’s nothing better to prime that pump and get motivated than by remembering WHY we want to work hard on a goal.

MAK: Yep.  Each of us has to answer a question like….Why do you want to make this resolution?  Are you tired of always struggling to make your budget work? Is it too stressful?

GRANT: Maybe you want to buy a new video game, upgrade your clothes, or even go on a vacation after all this COVID stuff is over.  Or it could be something a bit longer term….

MAK: How about saving for the time you won’t have a job during retirement?  Marriage?  Kids? Mom and dad have been saving for college for a while. There’s always something? Even an:

          GRANT/MAK: Emergency Fund.

GRANT: Because who knows what might happen. Let’s pull from some recent research out there on some of the most popular Fin-solutions.  What do you have?

MAK: Ok, these are very general. But, having a specific goal can be TRANSFORMATIVE. It changes you and gives you magical powers to make it happen. Kinda like Hermione saying:

          GRANT/MAK: Wingardium Leviosa

GRANT: One of the biggies is paying down a credit card.  Interest rates are high and it’s normally BAD debt due to purchases of WANTS and not NEEDS. But, that’s not specific.

MAK: The average debt on a credit card is right around $6,300.  Maybe you want to get it down to $3,000.  That’s VERY specific.  That means paying down $3,300 along with the interest.

GRANT: Great goal. And, an Emergency Fund is a great goal and feels good to have a bit of a security net, with 3-6 months of expenses covered. Is it $3,000, $6,000 or more? Be specific.

MAK: I like this one.  Improving your credit score.  The average is around 700. It’s lower when you’re younger and increases as you pay your bills on time. Time to build or fix your credit.

GRANT:  That is a good one. Here’s one. Increasing retirement savings.  Dad says many people will get a raise this time of year. If you get a 3% raise, why not put 2% in retirement.

MAK: You wouldn’t even feel like you missed it, because:

          GRANT/MAK: YOU NEVER HAD IT!!

GRANT: That’s got to be part of the ANTERIOR CIGULATE CORTEX and the LEFT DORSO-LATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX. That’s empathy, impulse control, emotion, and decision-making along with working memory, conflict management, mood regulation, theory of mind processing, and timing.

MAK: Wow, that was IMPRESSIVE and hard to process

GRANT: Thanks little sis, I’ve been using my entire FRONTAL LOBE.

MAK: I’d say you should keep it up.  So the three top money resolutions are general, but here goes…#1 is to save more money, #2 is to pay down debt and #3 is to spend less money. 

GRANT: So to be a bit more specific, here are some top goals:

          MAK: Getting that Emergency Fund in place

          GRANT: Refinancing your mortgage or student loans

          MAK: Creating a good budget

          GRANT: Automating savings

          MAK: Cooking more meals at home.  

          GRANT: FUN!

          MAK: Boosting retirement

GRANT: No matter what the goal is, get it down on paper, make it specific, build a plan and spend the time to work the plan. Next year you’ll be thankful you did. What are your resolutions?

MAK: I’m going to be working on my budget and saving money, so I’m ready to handle things when I’m on my own. Plus, I want to work on upgrading my clothes for high school next year. Let’s get dad to put together some blogs. I like giving him work to do.

GRANT: Great idea. I think it’s time for our audience to focus on their Fin-solutions and for us to get back to our presents!!! See you next time for more…..

GRANT/MAK: Money with Mak & G.  Bye!!