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Christmas Presents? Give One To Yourself!
Back when I was a young mother, local banks
offered a special account each January - a
Christmas Club. I deposited a set amount each
week from my husband's paycheck, and the first
week in December the bank sent a check to us for
the total amount of the deposits. As I recall
you could put in extra, but mostly it was a struggle
just to put in the agreed amount. I'm not aware of
any banks in our area doing that these days, but it
sure was a neat way to have the money to buy presents
for our family and friends. Plus, each week you looked
forward to the Christmas coming with anticipation
instead of dread about spending too much.
It was a good thing for the banks as well, they had
your money for about eleven months and didn't pay any
interest on the money one saved. Sounds like a good
business practice.
Before I met my husband, JC, he made a trip out to
Yellowstone Park with two friends. They pooled
their resources, traveled in JC's station wagon,
pulling his pop-up camper. Splitting the gas,
food and campground fees they had a wonderful
trip - with enough spare cash to fish one of
the famous Spring Creeks near Livingston, MT.
So here I am a couple weeks before Christmas
suggesting you start on a real present for yourself.
But it's not one you are going to receive Christmas
Day. Well, I guess you could write down what you
intend to do on a Christmas card and put it under
your tree addressed to you. That might make the
whole idea a bit more tangible. You could even take
the card and display it prominently where you would
see it often to reinforce the commitment.
What you need to do is to make it tangible. Make
what tangible? The trip you are going to take.
Trip? What trip?
Here's where the fun comes in. It can be one with
your family (make sure there is a place to fish),
one which is a strictly personal fishing trip,
perhaps one with a buddy or two - but pick out
a place and a time. Do that now! Next, do a
educated guess on costs. Divide the cost by the
number of weeks until the trip. Open a separate
account and deposit the funds to it each week.
You will find yourself anticipating your adventure
and receiving enjoyment from the trip even before
you take it!
I'll make a couple of suggestions, take in a Fish-In.
There are a few already scheduled for next year, the
Roscoe NY Fish-In in the last of May, the Florida
Fish-In (you should have planned this one earlier)
February 13th - February 22nd, in and around Bradenton
and Sarasota, Florida, another Bonefish-In February
12th through the 18th in the Bahamas, and the big one
in Idaho, September 19th through the 25th in Lowell,
Idaho. All of these, with the exception of the
Bonefish-In can be done on a budget with accommodations
ranging from camping to motels.
Don't want to attend a Fish-In? Fine, the next 'hot'
destination for fly anglers is Yellowstone National
Park. Again, something for everyone in the family - at
a full range of prices. Or a perfect choice for a
couple of buddies.
You may already have your own dream destination - Alaska?
Labrador? Set the goal. Do the research over the winter
and enjoy the planning.
Not only will it enable you to have that trip - (which
most certainly will give you lots of stories and memories)
it may keep you from being a victim of the cabin-fever
shack nasties. That's worth the effort. It might even
relieve some of the stress you carry around.
We all have dreams of the neat places we'd like to
fish - and here is a way for you to accomplish your
dream. If you've picked a really exotic place, one
year may not be long enough to pile up the funds you
need. So spread it out over two years if that's what
needs to be done.
But please don't discard the idea completely. You've
earned it, you deserve it - give yourself a gift which
will keep on giving.
~ The LadyFisher
If you would like to comment on this or any other article please feel free to
post your views on the FAOL Bulletin Board!
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