For our Chime members, many of whom have small children, New Year’s Eve parties are a thing of the past. Still, they all make time to hang out — even if they don’t make it ‘til midnight.
Mara and her family usually do a fun activity or craft together; in the past, they’ve popped popcorn and made straw rockets. Mike’s a little bit sneakier: He puts on a kids’ Netflix countdown so his daughter thinks it’s midnight at 9 p.m., allowing them to all hit the hay early.
In Georgia, Tara, 34, and her three daughters were our only members who try to stay awake. They eat popcorn and watch scary movies until the ball drops, and then they “scream and holler and carry on.”
The following day, Tara’s family meets up to chow on traditional southern food — collard greens, black-eyed peas, ham — and share their resolutions. This year, Tara wants to stop smoking cigarettes. (If getting better with money is your resolution, here’s our comprehensive guide to setting financial goals.)
As for Nicole and her family, they’ve recently begun a new tradition: going on a family trip around the turn of the year. So far, they’ve been to the beach in Destin, FL, and the mountains of Murfreesboro, TN.
MEMBER HACKS
- Stock up on party poppers around the 4th of July: “They sell those very same party poppers for New Year’s,” Mara said. “But they’re usually twice as much.” (And the good news is they take up barely any room in the closet.)
- Get a head start on saving: For Nicole, the key to affording her now-annual family vacation is to begin saving as soon as the other trip is over. At the end of every month, starting in January, she and her husband stick any spare money into their travel fund. To make things even less painless, you could also consider automatically saving the same amount each month.
Source
#HowIHoliday: Our Members’ Favorite Traditions & Savings Tips is written by Chime Team for www.chime.com
