This year the so-called Blue Monday falls tomorrow on January 18th. Blue Monday comes out of Cliff Arnall’s work for a travel firm to calculate the most depressing day of the year and boost sales at that time. A little strange when you consider that one of the contributing factors was debt.
However, while there is no scientific evidence to back Blue Monday, the end of January can be a difficult time for many. We either don’t see the sun or it’s so cold we can’t enjoy it, credit card bills are coming in, and maybe your resolutions aren’t going quite as well as you’d hoped. Never fear your library has resources to help.
If your finances have you in a knot we subscribe to both MoneySense and Canadian Money Saver for some ongoing monthly motivation. These are of course, in addition to, all of the books we have on personal finance and financial planning. If you read our December 20 column you’ll be aware of Gail Vaz-Oxlade and David Chilton, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. Check out moolala: Why smart people do dumb things with their money (and what you can do about it) by Bruce Sellery, and David Bach’s books Automatic Millionaire and Start Late, Finish Rich. If you’re already a Gail fan you might want to check out Wealthing like Rabbits: An Original Introduction to Financial Planning by Robert R. Brown. She describes it as “Smart, funny, and totally relatable.” What can you expect from Brown’s book? At minimum you’ll find popular culture and humour to make the financial planning go down more easily.
Alright, so we’ve tackled finances, what about some of the other reasons for the winter doldrums? Perhaps your resolutions were a little loftier than you’re ready to achieve or the supports just aren’t in place. Many people resolve to get fit or lose weight at the start of a new year. If this is you, check out our fitness books and DVDs as well as our cookbooks.
For fitness check out Born to Walk: The transformative power of a pedestrian act by Dan Rubinstein, No Excuses Fitness: The 30-day plan to tone your body and supercharge your health by Donovan Green, and the DVD Jillian Michaels Killer Body 3. While considering fitness please don’t neglect your mind, this will also help with motivation to keep going through the winter. A couple books to try are No Sweat: How the simple science of motivation can bring you a lifetime of fitness by Michelle Segar and Mindfulness, Meditation, and Mind Fitness by Joel Levey and Michelle Levey.
Now, into the kitchen where we can improve our eating habits and perhaps find some savings. I’m a big fan of the brown bag lunch for both nutritional and financial reasons. The tricky thing is determining what is healthy eating beyond sticking to minimally processed foods and then finding what works for you. Luckily the librarian who selects our cookbooks takes all of our preferences into account. So here are a couple books to consider in your quest for healthy eating; Super Fresh: Super natural, super vibrant vegan recipes by Jennifer Houston, Supermarket Healthy: Recipes and know-how for eating well without spending a lot by Melissa d’Arabian, Everyday Super Food by Jamie Oliver, and The Family Cooks: 100+ recipes to get your family craving food that’s simple, tasty and incredibly good for you by Laurie David.
Hopefully the resources shared here and the many more that can be found on our shelves will help motivate you through January and the rest of the year. Don’t let any Blue Monday, other than the New Order song, into your life!
Ruth Hamlin-Douglas
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