1. Eat Junk Food

This is probably the easiest way to stop saving money.  Eating unhealthily is a fast and fun way to slip into overspending.  Prepackaged meals is one example: although buying a whole, pre-made pizza is cheaper than buying all of the ingredients needed to make one from scratch, in the long run you’ll be able to make many pizzas with the raw ingredients, thus saving money.  Avoid ingredients like the plague and buy pre-made meals for instant spending.  This will rack up your spending very quickly.  Treats such as candy, chocolate, and other snacks are another great way to get rid of money.  Prices can be low on these treats sometimes, but it’s rare that you can eat just one.  Who ever heard of stopping at just one chocolate bar?  You should always have some on hand for emergencies, as well, so you might as well buy ten if you’re going to buy one.

2. Sign up for Store Newsletters

If you think that there’s a chance that you might miss a favourite store’s sale and thus lose a chance to spend more money, signing up for that shop’s newsletter is a great way to avoid this.  Usually these newsletters hit your inbox just when you can’t think of what to spend your money on, so they’re great for opening your eyes and showing you some new things that you might as well get while they’re on sale.  Yes, it might look like you’re saving money by shopping while there’s a sale on, but let’s face it, you wouldn’t have bought anything if you hadn’t know that there was a sale.

3. Make Sure that you’re Keeping Up with your Friends

Whenever you think that you’ve succumbed to saving money, a great way to turn things around is to keep up with whatever your friends own.  Are they getting a new car, or taking another vacation?  There are always great ideas on how to spend more money whenever you try to keep up with others’ lifestyles.  Even if it isn’t something that you necessarily want or need in the strictest sense, spending money on par with your neighbors is a great way to stop saving.

4. Move Around

By this, I mean going on vacation.  This is a great way to blow two, five, ten, or even fifteen thousand all at once—often in the space of just one week!  This is a quick and very enjoyable way to spend your money, and there’s always somewhere new to go, whether it be another resort in Mexico, a hiking adventure in Scotland, or a staycation in sunny Portugal.  The spending options are endless!

5. Don’t Invest Anything

This should be obvious, but just in case it isn’t, you shouldn’t invest any money if you want to become a spender.  Depending on the type of investment, putting money into these accounts can not only save you money but even earn it—sometimes as much as five, ten, even twenty percent and upwards.  This is even worse than just saving money.  If you already have money in investments, such as Tax-Free Savings Accounts or Guaranteed-Return Investment Certificates, make sure that you withdraw the money as soon as possible to get back on track with your spending goals.

Hopefully by now you’ve gotten a few ideas about money and ways to spend it.  There are endless possibilities for avoiding saving, so don’t despair if you think you’ve passed the point of no return for ever being able to spend everything you own.  Don’t worry—it’s never too late to stop saving and begin spending.

(Author’s note: This is purely tongue-in-cheek.  Hopefully, though, it has given you some ideas of how to save money.  Economy and moderation are great guidelines to curb a spending lifestyle.)

In my experience, we humans view the world in two different categories: fellow humans, to be loved and interacted with; and tools, to be used to help us.  Sometimes the boundaries between these two categories can become blurred: humans can become tools, with horrific results; and, sometimes, tools can become humans, with equally bad consequences.  The catch is that tools are only humans in our minds; they are not humans in actuality.  This is becoming a problem with AI.  Because we’re so easily attached to things, and because AI is a relatively recent tool that we’re only just discovering, it’s becoming all to easy for us to forget sometimes that whatever is behind that screen, thinking up those things that it spits out in the chat box, isn’t real.  There isn’t a human back there, interacting with you and thinking about you.  It’s just all computer programming.

It’s all in the name: nothing Artificial can be truly Intelligent.  What AI does is take real human knowledge that it’s been programmed to retrieve and spit it back at us in reorganized ways.  In many ways, AI isn’t that much different from what we used to call “computer generated”, but now, suddenly with the new name of AI, it’s as though it’s become a completely new thing—and a thing with thoughts and emotions to boot.  I’m going to be blunt: just because a computer types out something before our eyes that ends with an exclamation mark and an emoji, that doesn’t make it a human that is enjoying “talking” with you.

We need to step back and listen to a word of warning.  We’ve all heard the doom-and-gloom predictions about AI taking over the world, but I don’t think that it can do that on its own.  What I do think could happen, would be that humans would let AI take over, because we’ve deluded ourselves into thinking that AI is a person.  It is not, and it can never feel love, sorrow, happiness, or any of the emotions that define us as people.  It can’t even make logical decisions: those are just programmed into it.  A computer doesn’t make decisions, rather, it retrieves information that humans have fed it.  AI can’t even be rightly called “it”: AI is just a system.

A friend of mine is a teacher at a private school and frequently has to deal with students who cheat by writing papers with AI.  Checking over these papers for signs of computer generation has become a time-consuming process for teachers like him, but I’ve been told that it can be even more difficult for students; ironically, it takes longer, so I’ve been told, to create and alter an AI essay than it does to handwrite one!  And I don’t think I need to add which of those two options actually uses a human brain.

So let’s take a moment to remind ourselves: tools are not humans.  You can care for them (though you shouldn’t), but ultimately, they will not care for you, because they are incapable of it.  Loveable Star Trek androids and Star Wars droids aside, machines just don’t work that way, and if we start loving and trusting computer programs, we will live to regret it.  Maybe AI will take over the world; but if it does, it will be our fault.

In my experience, reading has several benefits to your lifestyle and overall health. The most obvious benefit I’ve noticed is that, by sitting down and reading without interruption for any period of time, my attention span has increased, not only for reading, but for other activities as well. In a world dominated by the internet, where we are satisfied by quick bits information and videos before scrolling down for something more interesting, we are used to instant gratification without the need for long periods of concentrated thought. For a student, as for any adult, this is not conducive to getting things done or developing ourselves intellectually in any way. A solution to this, for me, has been disciplining myself by reading.

For example, a few months ago I was somewhat addicted to the internet, and I found sitting and concentrating on a chapter of a book difficult. I was always flipping ahead, trying to see when the next break was, or wanting to know what happened without waiting. After some time spent in a house without internet, however, I’ve found that I’ve managed to wean myself off this constant need for instant gratification and entertainment, and it’s been so much easier to concentrate on a book chapter—or even several chapters—without getting up and looking for something “more interesting” to do. In addition, this has made several activities easier: meditation and prayer, crafting, and even conversations with others have been easier to concentrate on for longer periods of time. I’ve found that by reading, I have become a more focused and alert person.

Along my reading journey, about eight years ago I began keeping track of the titles that I read during the year. Then, in October 2021, a friend challenged me to join her on a “50 books in a year” goal. With less than three months left to the year, I raced to increase my 30-some finished book titles to 50, managing 51 before 2022 began. From there, my goals increased, hitting an all-time high when, in 2023, I read 92 books. By setting myself a “Book Stack Challenge” at the beginning of the year, I discipline myself throughout the next 12 months by ensuring that I get in a certain amount of reading each week. Doing it with a friend adds to the motivation, helping me to make it a priority to read another chapter. Of course, I have to remind myself that I’m not doing it just to “get ‘er done” and add another title to my list; I’m doing it to enjoy the written word, expand my horizons, learn new things, and re-read old friends occasionally.

This year, my goal is a non-ambitious 80 (I unofficially aimed for 100 last year, but only managed 86 when I realized that 100 books would actually require more time than I had to spare). And this year, I challenge you to join me in my Book-Stack Challenge. Set yourself a goal now, whether it be 20, 50, or even 100 books to complete in 2025, and stick to it. Keep track of your finished titles, and soon you’ll be amazed by how much you’ve read!  I’m sure you’ll notice some changes to your lifestyle as you go through this book reading travels, whether it be discovering new authors that you’ll want to read more of, finding that you can concentrate on sitting still for longer, or forwarding your learning journey by delving into topics that you’ve always wanted to learn more about. By disciplining yourself through reading, I guarantee that 2025 will change your lifestyle in little, book-sized ways.

Jenny could find no comfort from the roses now. Not when they had supposed to have been comfort for someone else. But what did the dead want with comfort?  Some would say the dead had found ultimate comfort already. Nothing could be gained from fuzzy roses that now sat exposed to the rain.

How different the morning had been from this dismal afternoon, fading in showers towards evening. In the morning, Jenny had been up at 6:05 as usual and had felt hopeful. Grandma was doing well, after all, and responding well to treatment; what should she, Jenny, bring Grandma for a present?  Something cheery, something to evoke all of the warm hugs that she had received from Grandma over the years. When Jenny saw the roses in the store window on her way to work, she mentally picked them out immediately; their velvety smoothness and bright red seemed just right somehow. Roses for Grandma it would be.

Jenny’s arms hung limply at her sides as she stood at the bus stop, gazing unseeingly out at the traffic, the bouquet drooping toward the wet, gum-studded pavement. She had been too late; there was an awful finality about that thought, and she felt frozen, as though waiting for her grief to thaw. Grandma would never receive her red roses. If Jenny hadn’t planned her visit to the hospital for after work, she would have been able to see her one more time. But she had been too late. One phone call as she stepped out of her office had been enough to tell her that the roses were pointless.

In the rain, with the plastic wrapping around the bouquet getting clammy under her hand, Jenny finally could cry. She could finally understand that an ending had come, and her part in it had not been as she had envisioned. She would have to say goodbye without seeing Grandma ever again.

It took Jenny a few moments to realize that she had just missed her bus. Distracted as she was, she hadn’t stepped forward as it had driven by, and so it had departed without stopping, its wheels flicking up more water which sprinkled the street behind it as it went. Jenny stood still for a moment, tears still on her face; then she slowly turned and walked away. The bouquet slipped in her hand. She deliberately let it drop. She had no use for red roses now.

Commuters standing by the bus shelters and passing along the sidewalk, hoods drawn up around their faces, glanced briefly at the flowers on the ground, but no one said anything or made any moves towards them. The rain increased a little, and a siren started up somewhere in the city. Then a young man darted forward from the crowd and picked up the roses.

Somehow they still stayed beautiful and comforting after having touched the sidewalk. Plastic sleeve muddied, the petals still seemed to kiss the rain, taking it in, accepting it. The young man looked at them for a moment, then hurried after Jenny’s retreating back.

“Hey!  Hey, hello?”

Jenny turned around, wet face upturned to the man clutching the bouquet.

“These yours?  Did you drop them?” he asked.

“I don’t want them. Keep them, give them away to someone who needs them,” she mumbled, already turning away.

“Okay. Take them.”

Startled, Jenny faced the man again. “What?”

He smiled. “Take them. I think you need them.”  He held them out to her, a spot of beauty in a grey wet city.

Slowly Jenny reached out and wrapped her hand around the stems, her fingers touching his, the man still smiling encouragement.

They were strange, those flowers. They embraced the rain, uncomplaining, not wilting. They changed two lives that day, connecting different paths; and yet, the flowers weren’t the only roses in the rain. Suffering is terrible; but it can change us, sometimes in astonishing ways. Feeling strength despite her pain, Jenny took the bouquet from the stranger.

“Thank you,” she said.

Nowadays, though, it seems you can’t get around having to use technology to navigate life. You have to go online to apply for jobs, to talk to other people, to shop, to take surveys, to see the weather forecast, or to get your paystub. Add to this the fact that the technology that you have to use to perform these tasks is constantly changing and you have a recipe for confusion, time-wastage, and money-sucking activity. On a non-essential note, even if you use technology just for entertainment, as I did as a kid, you’re still constantly having to switch and update computers, phones, consoles, software—the list goes on and on. That’s not to say that technological updates are never good; they can sometimes save or improve lives. But let’s face it, nine times out of ten, they’re as non-essential as buying the newest phone for storing your music playlists.

My childhood wasn’t all that long ago. So, what has changed?  Why does technology suddenly seem like such a necessity?  Part of it, I think, has to do with big companies and other organizations buying into it. Let’s face it, if the internet crashed today, there would be problems, because so much stuff, from hospital equipment to monetary transactions, relies on it.

In some ways, though, I think part of what has changed is our mentality. While you do need technology for some things—I won’t dispute that—it is, I think, not as necessary as we make it out to be. It’s a convenience (when it works), but sometimes it’s just as simple to go into a store with a resume as it is to go online and drop an electronic file into a box, then fill in ten “required fields”. It’s just as easy to walk down the hall and talk to someone as it is to send them an email. And let’s face it: sometimes it’s easier to call a tutor during their office hours than to send them a message and hope they reply soon.

Yes, keeping up with the Joneses—or, as I like to say when I talk about technology, the Droneses—isn’t easy. Sometimes it can’t be helped. But sometimes, it can be; when we think about our childhoods and say, “I wish it were still like that,” we have to realize that some of that change is on us. We can bemoan technology, but then we still spend way too much time a day staring at a screen. So, the next time you feel tempted to keep up with the Droneses, just take a second to ponder how necessary it really is.

Take, for example, my yearly reading goals.  For over eight years, I’ve kept track of which books I read month to month, purely for interest’s sake.  More recently, I’ve participated in book reading goals with friends and have decided on numbers that I want to reach within the year, which makes my little notebook of books doubly useful.  Every year, though, I’ve noticed that these numbers always peak in January, with an average of 11 books read in that month.  By contrast, the May-June and November-December months tend to be particularly slow reading-wise, with only an average of 5 books read in each of these months.  The same trends can be seen in my crafting; I tend to complete more sewing and craft projects in January and into February than I do during any other time of year.  Again, this applies to schoolwork; entering the spring semester, I always tend to be more productive in January.

Why is this?  What makes January such a special month that I get so much done in those 31 days (and, secondarily, why are May-June and November-December so unproductive)?  I think I have a solution.  To begin with, I should clarify that I don’t tend to make New Year’s resolutions to a great extent.  I do generally map out what I’d like to accomplish in the year, but that’s about it.  Still, I’m sure that my January Surge is linked to my coming off Christmas holidays, fresh and motivated.  It’s a clean slate, and I’m eager to fill it.  By late spring, I’ve obviously ended that swing, am disillusioned with what I’m getting done, and am less motivated.  And, of course, by the end of the year, I’m busy getting ready for Christmas and wrapping up other loose ends, including exams, and the last thing on my mind are my other goals.

So what is special about January?  Well, as I think I’ve discovered, it’s that I’m motivated by a fresh new year in which, I optimistically tell myself, I’m going to get so much done.  Why do I peter out?  Because I pessimistically tell myself I’m not going to get much done.  I’m essentially jinxing myself into not getting anything accomplished by telling myself that I won’t.  This is not acceptable, and I’d like to change it—who wouldn’t like to be more productive?

With that in mind, it’s going to be my goal in 2025 to keep the motivation of January going all year.  I’m going to have to continually remind myself that I can make each day a clean slate, and that even if I wasn’t as productive as I’d have like to have been the day before, things can be different today.  I’ll need to tell myself, “It’s a brand-new month!”  (Or even, week or day!)  “It’s time to get going on all the goals I’ve set myself!”  Hopefully, by not telling myself that I’m failing at my goals or being less productive than I’d planned, I’ll stay motivated and accomplish more.  Hopefully this year, my January Surge will become the 2025 Surge.  And look at that?  I just made myself a New Year’s resolution after all.

Such a harmless-looking message,
It’s in my inbox now:
“Your Assignment has been Marked!
Click Here, Review it Now!”

I didn’t understand them well
(The essay options given),
And now I’m sure the price I’ll pay
Is the low mark I’ll be given.

I hardly dare to click the link.
I know just what I’ll see:
A great big fat whole minus D
Will be staring back at me.

I know my tutor hates me;
That’s been made quite clear
By the other middling, not-great marks
I’ve had so far this year.

I thought I’d like this course at first
When I saw the summary,
And only winced a little bit
When I had to pay the fee.

But now I’ve nothing but regrets
And a lowered GPA
To show for what I paid AU
When I registered that day.

A pounding heart and shallow breath
And gritted teeth have I
As I click the link and type the code
And promise not to cry.

It’s nothing really, nothing much;
It matters not a bit;
I really don’t care if I fail—
I won’t throw a fit.

My heart’s not set on scholarships,
And 100’s not my aim;
A degree’s still a degree
No matter what score I gain.

I’m on the page.  I must scroll down.
I must face what I see.
I’m sure I’ve got a crummy C,
Or even a lowly D.

My eyes skip over comments made
By the tutor I didn’t like.
I’ll come back when my eyes are dry
To see what she doesn’t like.

The final breath—my insides roil—
I see it now.  Hooray!
I really did enjoy this course,
Don’t listen to what I say!
For what do I see
In front of me
But a shining, glowing,
A!

I was very surprised to find myself including this poem, from our November 15 edition, in The Best of The Voice.  But with it’s direct connections to AU and the trepidations so many students have, plus being a fun read on its own, I had to admit I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more like it. That, combined with how different it is from much of what gets submitted to The Voice Magazine made me realize it had to be here.

It’s commonly known that holidays have been held around the end of December for centuries—pagan holidays such as Saturnalia and Yule.  The time of year wasn’t coincidental, though; it was usually chosen to cheer spirits.  Imagine a time without social media or even a mail system, when traveling even a few miles was a long, dangerous journey.  When the weather turned cold and wintery, people were largely confined to their homes, and it would seem as though the world was dying as the days grew shorter and the plants faded.  To those not knowing when summer would return, bringing sun and food, the long months of winter could be frightening.  Thus, a celebration was the best way to raise spirits.  These celebrations were revels, but we also see a trend of darkness and spiritualism throughout all these holidays, reaching even into the Victorian era, when it was still common to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve.  The fear that winter brought was never quite banished in these celebrations.

It doesn’t seem surprising, then, that the general date of these winter holidays was kept when the early Church fathers were deciding on a time to hold the Mass to celebrate the birth of Christ.  December 25^th was eventually chosen, although prior to modern calendar changes, January 6^th was the common date of Christmas for many years.  With the holiday being held on the 25^th, however, January 6^th became Epiphany, or the end of the twelve days of Christmas.  One big celebration ran throughout the twelve days of Christmas, with the revels culminating on Twelfth Night, when, as is mimicked in William Shakespeare’s play of the same name, all is turned upside-down: servants would dress as their masters and vice versa, and nearly all forms of boisterous partying were encouraged.

Glancing through any book on Christmas traditions will reveal just how many little rules and superstitions governed the celebrations.  The Yule Log, mistletoe, and wassail are all well-known examples, but each of these had their own traditions wrapped around them: for example, while the Yule log was burning, in some areas of the world those with squints were forbidden to enter that house, and after Christmas the ashes of this log were kept for good luck and to kindle the next year’s log.  Every area had its own version of these traditions and kept them alive for centuries.  It was only in the Victorian era that Christmas as we know it began to appear: Christmas trees, although used since Martin Luther first cut one, became common; the first Christmas card appeared in the 1840s and quickly caught on by the end of the century; and hanging up stockings for Santa Claus soon became the norm.[1]

What is my point in all this?  Well, comparing today’s Christmas to those of the past, what we see nowadays is a very watery, sparkly, and pretty meaningless holiday.  In such an age of anxiety, we aren’t actually that far removed from our ancestors who also worried this time of year (although they worried over more pressing needs—food and warmth).  By throwing away traditions, too, we throw away the meaning of the holiday, whether you are religious or simply are interested in the cyclitic passing of the seasons.  Old-fashioned Christmases also brought us together more.  Traditions such as mumming or hauling in the Yule log brought together families and neighbors; it was a comfort to have people surrounding you during the dark time of year, and this still holds today.  And what could be more exciting than hanging the mistletoe?

I think it’s time to bring back the Christmas of yesteryear.  Let’s have a pot of wassail bubbling on the stove, and a Lord of Misrule presiding over the festivities.  Let’s sing and dance together, make Christmas cake, and tell ghost stories that make us think over the mystery of life.  Because, no matter which way you look at it, life is what Christmas is all about.

References
Baker, Margaret (1986)  Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore Dyfed: C.I. Thomas & Sons

As an example, last November I was in a car accident.  I was the person driving, and I was alone in the vehicle.  Being inexperienced at driving in poor conditions, I was probably going too fast and didn’t know enough to realize how icy the roads were.  Unsurprisingly, as I turned a notorious corner, the car went out of control.  I ended up driving off the road, hitting a small tree, spinning around 180 degrees and coming to a stop, air bags exploded and radio still playing.   The car was totalled; I was without a drive to work.  My leg was bruised from the front of the car smashing inwards, and it was freezing outside.

To me, though, my accident was more of a miracle than a disaster.  To begin with, the car was old—a faithful, much loved 2005 Toyota Echo—and it wasn’t likely to pass its next safety inspection.  I wasn’t hurt badly at all, and I didn’t hit any other cars when I lost control on the road.  As I stepped out of the wreck, a neighbor of mine who also happens to be a professional paramedic happened to be driving by and gave me a warm car to sit in until help arrived.  And to top it all off, I now know how to be a better driver in winter weather.

There are a lot of situations like this in my life where things seem so bad, and yet could have been so much worse.  Like my car accident, thing happen where you can’t help but realize that if it had to occur, that was the best way for it to have done so: I hated being in a crash, but if it had to happen, it was good that it was to an old car, and that no one was hurt.  And even if you can’t find a silver lining in it now—trust me, there are a lot of times when I haven’t been able to understand what was good about something that occurred—maybe someday you’ll look back on those things that happened to you and realize that if things went differently, you wouldn’t be where you are today.

I have to remind myself this quite often.  The most recent example happens to be another car situation I got into, only a month ago.  This time, deer jumped into my car, smashing most of the front passenger side.  The car was finally fixed, and after innumerable difficulties, costs, and delays, I picked it up yesterday.  I was incredibly happy to get my car back.  Then, this morning, which was particularly cold, I turned up the heat in the car too quickly and the windshield cracked.

So yes, right now I find it hard to see a good side to this situation.  It seems I have some pretty bad luck with cars!  But I still believe that this was the best way for this to happen.  Who knows—maybe someday I’ll own a Porsche, and when I turn on its heat on a cold morning, I’ll know better because of this and avoid a cracked windshield.  Until then, I’m happy with my 10-year-old Toyota, and the knowledge that everything is working out for my good.

No, this article isn’t about whether stores should be playing Christmas music on November 13^th.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to open that can of worms.  Instead, it’s about how that man, who was at first just talking to himself, suddenly smiled when a stranger started talking to him.  It’s about just one little thing that you can do to brighten someone’s day.

My grandfather is an expert at talking to strangers.  He does it effortlessly; it’s part of his makeup, I think, to somehow manage to strike up an animated conversation with anyone, be it the lady behind him in a lineup or the teenager at the gas station who needs help with his beater car.  It’s easy for him, but what about for the introverts like me?  For us, it’s much harder to suddenly strike up a conversation with someone who is likely going about their business avoiding eye contact.  I’m the type of person who’d much rather email than use a phone, and if the phone is absolutely necessary, has to mentally prepare themselves before dialing.  I usually avoid conversation.  But trust me, even a simple comment to a stranger can make a difference.

Things strangers say to me definitely make me feel better.  (Unless they’re yelling at me, in which case the opposite is true.)  Whether it’s a compliment on my coat or a comment on the state of fruit for sale, it means that someone actually bothered.  As an introvert, I know that making a random comment to someone that you see can be challenging.  But I like to do it anyway, because I like it when someone does it to me!

Talking to strangers can be easy once you get over your initial hesitation.  If you think about it, being in places like shopping malls with so many other people and yet ignoring them as though they aren’t there is one of the strangest things that we habitually do.  It doesn’t take a lot of effort to throw a smile at someone, mention a book title to the person next to you at the library, or make a comment on the weather to the person you pass on the sidewalk.

I heard a story recently about a young man who refused to go in for online dating.  Determined to meet a girlfriend in the “traditional” way, he was in a Starbucks one day when he said a simple hello to the girl behind him.  Because of their courage to speak to one another, total strangers as they were, they are now happily married.

I’m certainly not saying that your motivation in speaking to a stranger is to get hitched.  But this is just one thing that can happen when you actually bother to converse with people you don’t know!  So I encourage you to go out and talk to strangers.  A whole conversation isn’t necessary; simply acknowledge them.  You could be the bright spot in someone else’s day!