Financial matters are stressful for many, and Oak Wealth Advisors takes pride in minimizing these stresses for our clients. While alleviating the stress associated with the holidays is not our specialty, we hope the following information can help in the months ahead.
The websites described below have been chosen by Oak Wealth Advisors staff for their holiday stress relieving benefits. Each one serves a unique purpose. We hope they will bring you greater joy this holiday season.
As parents, we continue to be amazed at how fast technology advances and how quick our children are at mastering the newest gadgets. Given that holiday wish lists often include electronics, we want to help you be savvy consumers. A great website for finding “the best” in virtually every category of electronics is www.thewirecutter.com. They collect ratings from all the major industry websites as well as consumer reviews and their opinions are as unbiased as Consumer Reports. They often recommend items that are far less expensive than more highly marketed brands. They are constantly updating the reviews and recommendations so you can trust that their recommendations will reflect the most current models available.
For keeping kids and grandkids believing in the Christmas spirit, no website does a better job than www.portablenorthpole.com. Having your child or grandchild receive a video from Santa, in which he speaks their name and shows them a book that he has with their pictures in it, goes a long way toward cementing their belief in old St. Nick. Updated every year, these videos have become a tradition in the Walther household.
During the busy holiday season, you may need to have your children or grandchildren entertain themselves on a smart phone or iPad. Having educational apps available that they consider fun activities makes this a win-win situation.
www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/jun/19/50-best-apps-kids-iphone-android-ipad is a recent blog with a wide array of educational apps appropriate and fun for children.
If you want assistance in managing the additional challenges that the holidays create when you have a family member with special needs, www.oneplaceforspecialneeds.com has a wonderful library of holiday resources. Their blogs and web links cover everything from providing holiday activity ideas to handling awkward questions from relatives to managing a family member’s stress at holiday gatherings.
No discussion of the holidays can be complete without mentioning food. However, holiday parties, entertaining, and play dates can increase the stress level for those who are not adept in the kitchen. www.kids-cooking-activities.com/seasonal-cooking.html features recipes and cooking activities with holiday themes you can do with kids. If the source of your holiday food stress is what you are going to make for the party you are hosting, you can visit www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/easy-elegant-holiday-appetizer-recipes/pictures/index.html for some inspirations.
We hope these website recommendations make your holidays a little brighter. While we have found these websites to be helpful, we do not claim that they are suitable for everyone just like the same financial plan is not appropriate for every family. As the holidays approach, we look forward to hearing from you about your holiday planning and anything that we can do to improve the end of the year for you.
This update is intended for the use of Oak Wealth Advisors LLC clients. This update should not be viewed as personalized investment or financial planning advice from Oak Wealth Advisors LLC. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to their individual situation, they are encouraged to consult Oak Wealth Advisors LLC. Past performance does not guarantee future results and all investments should be scrutinized before being implemented in a portfolio.
