Below is one of my all-time favorite true stories, printed in a newspaper in the United States years ago, and quoted by religious leader Thomas S. Monson in his talk, The Profound Power of Gratitude. There’s a personal finance lesson in it :-).

Here’s hoping that you all have a Merry Christmas, a bright year ahead come what may, and a heart full of gratitude for all that the year will bring.

The District of Columbia police auctioned off about 100 unclaimed bicycles Friday. “One dollar,” said an 11-year-old boy as the bidding opened on the first bike. The bidding, however, went much higher. “One dollar,” the boy repeated hopefully each time another bike came up.
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It’s fashionable to mock New Year resolutions because they often end up as 7-day wonders or even less. We’re so used to multi-tasking at the risk of focusing on nothing that I do get why focusing on two or three things that matter most can be met with such pessimism.

But I rather like making a list of goals and checking it twice (a day). In the first page of my 3-year journal (yes, I still keep one and it’s not digital!), it says “the palest ink is better than the brightest memory.” That’s an ancient Chinese proverb that I hope I won’t forget in the next 10 years. We all need every chance we can get to think more deeply about what we want, what we should focus our energies on, and a chance to start all over again. New beginnings…

So here are some ideas for New Year resolutions for money-smart geeks. Do jump in if you have other suggestions, because deepening the discussion can only do us more good!

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What do you give to someone who has everything?A few Christmases ago, Synergeia Foundation president Milwida Guevara found herself worrying what to give to Washington Sycip for Christmas.

Apart from being a well-known figure in the business sector, Wash is one of the reasons Synergeia can do so much work in the education sector, Milwida says. (If you are interested in reading more about this very interesting man, read my favorite professor’s blog post on him here. Butch Dalisay finished his biography on Wash Sycip just this year.) After agonizing about her problem, Milwida bought Wash a toy train that moves on its tracks. You know the type, either your son wants one or your husband does.

“He was so happy with it, he played with it in his office and called his staff to look at the train,” Milwida told me, laughing.

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I woke up to an ache in my chest as I read the morning paper.

Mariannet, the 12-year old child who hanged herself last Nov. 2, was my daughter’s age. She is one of 11 million Filipinos who share a strange kinship with one billion more across the globe who live on less than a dollar a day. Her diary says she killed herself because she lost hope her family will ever get out poverty. Her wish list found in her diary was short: a bicycle, a school bag and jobs for her parents.

“Gusto ko po sana magkaroon ng bagong sapatos at bag at hanapbuhay para sa nanay at tatay ko. Wala kasing hanapbuhay ang tatay at nagpa-extra extra lamang ang aking nanay sa paglalaba,” she said in her “Wish Ko Lang” letter. [I wish for new shoes, a bag and jobs for my mother and father. My dad does not have a job and my mom just gets laundry jobs.]

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