Ways to Distract Yourself This Winter
The winter tires are on. You’ve dug all your coats and gloves and hats out of the closet, and you’ve checked to make sure the fireplace is working properly before you start throwing logs inside it. Winter isn’t coming; it’s officially here, and you’ve made just about all the physical preparations possible. It happens every year, so it’s not exactly a surprise at this point. People who live in certain climates just accept it as part of life. But how’s your mental state? You’ll need to be in a decent state of mind to get through those cold, snowy months. Keep reading for Ways to Distract Yourself This Winter.
Getting away
Outside of the holidays, the period from November through February isn’t a big one for travel. That doesn’t mean it can’t be. It just means that most people prefer to travel when the weather is a bit nicer. Don’t overlook the effects of cabin fever, though. You don’t literally have to be stuck inside your house twenty-four hours a day for it to hit you. Going to work and going home in a landscape full of snow and ice can make you restless as well. Everyone needs something to look forward to, and it’s hard to find a light at the end of the tunnel if the tunnel appears to be iced over.
You don’t have to go to the Bahamas in February (although if you have the budget, go for it). Weekend getaways are great for this time of year because you leave your hometown for just long enough to remember that, oh yeah, not everything is cold and dead right now. A trip to a casino and hotel in coastal Oregon just might do the trick. If you can make it a long weekend, that’s even better, but you shouldn’t have to spend a significant chunk of your paid time off at work in order to relax.
Spend your tax refund
If you file your taxes in January, you could get your tax refund in February. An extra infusion of cash brightens everything up considerably. It can be hard to decide what to do with that money, though. Should you pay off some debt, or should you use it to buy something new and exciting? If possible, do both. Set aside some of it for paying off a little extra on your credit cards or student loans, and then take the rest and have fun with it. If you have a family, then maybe your tax refund will provide the extra cash infusion you need to go out and buy that RV you’ve always wanted. Even if you’re not going to go on a cross-country road trip for a little while yet, you can start looking at RVs and travel trailers now. Believe or not, there will be a time when the weather is nice enough for you to go camping underneath the stars with your loved ones. The ground is frozen now, but it will thaw out. Whether you buy one big-ticket item or several smaller things, it never hurts to get ready now. Summer is a lot closer than it seems to be.
