Happier Holidays: What You Can Do to Have a Happier Holiday Season

The first Christmas I spent away from my family, I felt absolutely lost. I was living in Los Angeles. Everyone I knew was going somewhere else and I was staying home…alone. I had not bothered with decorations and I certainly did not intend to cook a holiday dinner for one.

I considered spending Christmas day at the movies like many Los Angelinos, but opted for a long walk to indulge in a little self pity. It was a beautiful, sunny warm day. Along my walk, I found a man trimming a hedge in his yard. The cuttings sort of looked like pine boughs and when I asked for a few of them, he looked at me like I had escaped without taking my meds. He let me have all I wanted.

On the way home, I spotted a neighbor’s poinsettia. They grow to the size of trees in Los Angeles. Hers needed a trim in my opinion so I stole a few of the red clusters. At home, I arranged these items on the table, added a few candles and sang carols while the microwave hummed along, heating my frozen dinner. I spent the rest of the day watching TV.

No matter what holiday we celebrate, we know what those days of celebration are supposed to be like. Our homes are to be warm, cozy and decorated. The meals should be both generous and delicious and the conversation around the table is to be pleasant and filled with best wishes and good intentions. The gifts are perfectly chosen, beautifully wrapped and always wonderfully appreciated.

Many of us work very hard to live up to that media-driven, Martha Stewart image of the holidays. I doubt that any of us has ever experienced one, at least not since we were children and did not have to do any of the work. All of that shopping, decorating, card writing, food preparation and gift wrapping can be a real drain. By the time the actual day arrives, many of us feel like an inflatable front-yard Santa during a power outage.

What we really want when we think of a Martha Stewart Christmas is the feeling we associate with those images and most of the people I know never really come close, no matter how hard they try. Every year they work harder and harder, more decorations, more gifts, bigger lists, more cards, fancier tables and more abundant meals. Still something is always missing and invariably, something does not go according to plan.

Someone doesn’t show up. A plate breaks. The biscuits burn. One of the kids gets a nose bleed all over the tablecloth. Someone gets too drunk. Half the table cranes their necks to watch television during dinner. The kids fight over toys. Somebody spills the gravy. Aunt Millie lets you know the turkey is a little dry and proceeds to tell you in great detail, how she prepares it. And while comforting yourself with a sugar fix by sneaking a cookie, you sprinkle powdered sugar down the front of your red sweater.

This is reality. Peace on earth is a nice sentiment but, during the holidays, I settle for piece of pie. Ever since that lonely day many years ago in LA, I have known that the feelings that we associate with a Martha Stewart Christmas cannot be found in the perfect tree, a flawless table setting or a delicious meal. If the love, peace and joy aren’t inside us, all of our time, effort and money will not magically produce them on Christmas Day.

So, while you are doing all of the things you need to do in preparation for the holidays, please remember to stop every now and again to think of the people for whom you are doing them. Think of why they are in your life and why you hope that they have a wonderful holiday. If that is not your hope for them, you would be better off spending your holiday at the movies.

With the exception of little children, the only person’s holiday for which you are entirely responsible is your own. You can not force others to be happy, satisfied or grateful.

Don’t kill yourself striving for something that may not exist even at Martha Stewart’s house. So smile. Enjoy the chaos. Laugh out loud when something goes wrong. Savor every moment you have with those you love, no matter how flawed they may be. Take a picture of Aunt Millie scowling at your turkey and use it for next years Christmas card. And for heaven’s sake, you do not have to sneak the cookie, just eat it with gusto. It’s Christmas.

Tips for a Better Holiday Experience

You can’t force people to be happy, satisfied or even grateful. So don’t try to make them happy. If they insist on being miserable, let them.
For kids, the whole package counts. Bring them in on everything. Even fairly young kids can help wrap gifts, clean and decorate the house and their rooms, bake cookies, write and mail cards. Who cares if they ruin a surprise for someone because they couldn’t wait to tell?

Make a budget. Figure out how much you have to spend and don’t go over budget. Track your expenses along the way and if you have to cut corners, cut them.

Shop with a list. The holiday season is fueled by impulse buying. Making a list will help you stay financially on track. Your Gift list should include the people you wish to buy gifts for and how much you wish to spend on each of them.

Avoid using your credit cards. It is well documented that consumers spend more when they pay with plastic than they do with cash. Many people are still trying to pay off last year’s holiday credit card bills. Don’t be a dope. Your holiday festivities should not be overshadowed by a cloud of looming debt.

Obligatory gifts should be token gifts. Do not spend a lot of time or money on gifts for your children’s teachers, the mail carrier or your office mates. It is perfectly acceptable to buy them all the same thing or nothing at all. If your budget is tight, get creative. Bake cookies. Fill-dollar store mugs with candy or samples of gourmet coffee or tea. Your gift should not make them feel the need to reciprocate.

Shop for food once. Think about the meals you plan to prepare, make a list and check it twice. Think of how you might creatively use leftovers for subsequent events or meals.

Avoid gift cards, especially if you are on a budget. Gift cards may be an easy choice but they often lead people to spend more because the amount spent on the gift is obvious.

Before buying decorations, get creative with last years stuff. Wait for the after holiday sales to buy new stuff for next year. If you are buying new stuff this year, make sure you set strict spending limits. Consider getting creative. Get the kids to make some decorations. They can string popcorn. Make construction paper chains.

Do a toy clean out. Think of all of the toys your children no longer play with. Clean them off, pack them up and take them to a thrift store. Ask the kids to choose several toys they would like to give to other children. They can’t choose broken toys or toys with missing pieces. (Throw those away!) You’ll have a lot less clutter to deal with in the next few months and your children will learn the value of giving.

Go ahead and eat! Get real! You are going to gain a little weight. Why spend the holidays feeling guilty for eating the cookies, candy and treats? Dieting makes you hungry. You may well eat less by telling yourself that you can have it if you want it.

Joseph Onesta is a speaker, trainer and consultant dedicated to making work better for people and for companies. To learn more about his services or to invite him to speak at your organization, visit his company website at www.integrityhpi.com.

You Could Use a Nap!

During my first semester in college I met a fine-arts major named Beth who believed sleep was a waste of time. She slept in 20 minute chunks diligently working on art projects in between several naps a day. She was perpetually fatigued, lethargic and lived in a dream-like fog that many of her friends took for being “cool.”

Beth was an extreme case but her story typifies a common American mistake: When it comes to sleep, we have better things to do. Consequently, many of us are sleep deprived and sleep disorders are increasingly common.

Advertising media bombard us with commercials for both prescription and over the counter sleep aids. We see as many commercials and advertisements for mattresses promising better rest. How many of us haven’t walked into a store at the mall to find out what our sleep number is and who can resist finding out what the Tempur-Pedic mattress feels like?

Convenience store shelves are stocked with vitamin packs and energy drinks. Coffee is now an American obsession, commonly consumed even among teenagers. ($18 Billion worth of coffee a year is consumed in the US.)

Just twenty years ago, it would have been difficult to find someone who had undergone a sleep test. Back then, anyone who had undergone a sleep test probably had to travel quite a distance, perhaps even by air, to be tested at a sleep center. Now, a simple count of the directory on sleepcenters.org reveals that there are at least 945 sleep test centers across the country. According to Sleep Centers of America, more than 70 million Americans have a sleep disorder and more than 10 million people a year consult their physicians regarding sleep-related issues.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving in America kills more than 1,500 people a year and causes 71,000 injuries in an estimated 100,000 sleep-related crashes a year.

If you ask me, America could use a nap.

Winston Churchill put it eloquently when he wrote, “Nature had not intended mankind to work from 8 in the morning until midnight without the refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it lasts only 20 minutes, is sufficient to renew all vital forces.”

Research has validated his observation demonstrating that even a brief nap of between 20 to 45 minutes, will rejuvenate you, and increase your ability to concentrate making you more productive.

Until a few years ago, I pushed myself as hard as any other baby-boomer in the work force. I got up early, went into the office, worked late, came home and had trouble sleeping because I was so wound up. One day, I arrived an hour early for a meeting and I waited in my car.

The next time I glanced at the clock, it was 20 minutes later, a snore and awakened me. Apart from the slight, self-conscious embarrassment of the snore, I felt terrific and my meeting went really well. I had recently scoffed at an article on power naps and companies putting power-nap facilities in their offices. Who in their right mind was going to pay someone to take a nap?

I was so impressed with by my own experience; I tried it again on purpose. The difference in my day was amazing. I began planning my appointments so that I could find just half an hour a day for a nap. I purchased a sleep mask and a small travel pillow and kept them in the car. Since then, napping has become part of my regular routine. While others are socializing in the lunchroom, you can find me reclined in my car taking the 20 minute nap Winston Churchill recommended.

There are lots of people who do this. They do not talk about it. It is a secret. On some level, I think it embarrasses them. After all, napping is for kids, isn’t it? I admit, I nap in my car because I doubt I could stand the ribbing I would get if someone were to hear snoring behind my office door. I’ve met quite a number of people who say that they could never nap for just twenty minutes because they would be out for hours. Well, that just makes a stronger argument for the fact they, like many of us, are probably sleep deprived.

Sleep researchers have discovered that sleep deprivation makes it difficult for us to learn and concentrate. Sleep deprived people are less productive, more forgetful and more prone to both error and accidents. It also causes weight gain, impairs our immune system, reduces our ability to handle stress and can make us cranky.

Any one of these side-effects can set our work-life balance off kilter. By not getting enough sleep; we increase our exposure to all of them. Getting enough sleep is one of the most effective steps we can take to improving the quality of our lives. Here are ten simple things you can do to improve your sleep:

1.Save time to unwind. Give yourself more than an hour of mindless activity at the end of the day so that you do not spend half the night reliving the events of the day or rehearsing what might happen the next day. Read something frivolous. Watch TV, pray or meditate.
2.Avoid eating late. In sleep, you body wants to heal and rejuvenate. If it is spending half the night digesting food, you are not reaping the full benefit of your sleep. Don’t eat less than two or three hours before going to sleep.
3.Avoid drinking a lot of fluids right before bedtime. If night visits to the restroom are a frequent problem, consult a physician.
4.Avoid caffeine after 2 pm. I know this may go against everything you hold dear and Starbucks stockholders may scoff, but the effects of caffeine can last a long time. If you need a picker-upper in the afternoon, rather than reaching for a cup of coffee or an energy drink, consider the humble nap or some physical exercise to get your energy flowing.
5.Consider non-chemical sleep aids. Buy a sleep mask and/or ear-plugs if you are a light sleeper. Pull the drapes closed. Cover LED lights. And if you live on a busy street or in a noisy building, white background noise may help--a recording of waves or rain or even the hum of a fan. (My dishwasher, which I can hear from my bedroom, puts me right under.)
6.Invest in a good mattress. You spend a third of your life in bed, you should have a high-quality mattress that meets your needs.
7.Regulate your internal clock. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day whether you are working or not. You will know you are successful when you wake up right before your alarm feeling refreshed and ready for the day.
8.Limit your alcohol consumption. While alcohol can relax you, it also has a dehydrating effect and reduces the quality of your sleep.
9.Consider power napping in the middle of the day but more than 8 hours before you go to bed. Napping later may make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
10.Get more physical exercise during the day. If our work is not physically taxing, chances are, we aren’t working our bodies as hard as we work our minds. A little exercise can set things right.

Joseph Onesta is a speaker, trainer and consultant at Integrity HPI—Human Performance Improvement. He works with companies bridging the gap between the vision of top management and the rank and file work experience developing an “employer of choice” work environment. To learn more about Joseph Onesta and his work at Integrity HPI, please visit their website at: http:www.integrityhpi.com.

The Office Holiday Party, An Event to Remember or One You'd Rather Forget

The bosses say they want you to have fun but stay on the safe side. You are still at work. Remembering some simple etiquette guidelines will help make this year's office party an event to remember and not one you would rather forget.

Don't get drunk! The office party may be free flowing with holiday "spirits" but the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior is far less blurry if you keep your wits about you. A drink or two probably won't hurt, you know your limit, but the office party is not a night out with good friends. Office relationships have been permanently damaged and people have even lost their jobs for things they have said or done at the office party.

Dress appropriately; you are still at work. It is nice to get dressed up but save the really sexy attire for truly social events. You do not want to be the object of unwelcome attention during the party and you don't want to be the subject of all the gossip after.

If you are a manager, you have to go. It is a mistake to think you can opt out of this event. If you have supervisory responsibilities, you are a host to the people you supervise. If you do not attend the party, you will send a message that communicates your lack of commitment your team and the company. While at the party, make sure you greet each of your reports and thank them for the job they have done and try an be specific about a particular incident in which they performed exceptionally well.

Gifts are not appropriate. No one wants to be saddled with having to carry or watch over a gift while they are supposed to be having a good time. Management may announce awards or special recognitions but the gifts, if they are anything more cumbersome than a gift card, should be handled at the office. If you want to give your supervisor a gift for the holidays, you should do so at the office, unobtrusively and in such a way that the receiver does not feel obligated to reciprocate.

Avoid cliquish behavior. It is natural to want to be with the people you feel most comfortable and you should sit with your teammates for the meal if one is served. This will help your team to function more cohesively and allows you to see one another in a different context. However, spending the entire event with them deprives you of a very unique opportunity. Others who may want to speak with you might find it difficult to approach you because they are not part of your group. You want to make yourself as approachable as possible. Politely excuse yourself from the group, mention that you would like to wish the CEO a happy holiday and go off and mingle.

Mingle. Mingle. Mingle. The office party is an opportunity to meet people in the organization with whom you do not normally get to interact. Advancement in the business world is a function of others thinking as highly of you as a person as they might of your skills. Take the opportunity to meet others and let them meet you. If you have to inject yourself into a group that appears cliquish, do so under the pretext of wishing them all happy holidays. Introduce yourself, tell them where you work in the organization and shake hands with everyone in the group. Try and remember their names and greet them with full eye contact and a smile in the hallways the next time you see them at the office. You will build allies throughout the organization who can make your job easier today and help get you promoted tomorrow.

Don't forget the CEO. Extend your mingling to those high level managers and senior managers with whom you may not normally interact. You do not have to carry on long conversations. Just introduce yourself. Offer a good firm, not crushing, handshake. Remind them where you work in the organization and if you have received a company bonus or gift, thank them for it. Wish them a good holiday and be on your way. Acknowledge them at the office as you would anyone else. In order for you to become one of them, they have to feel comfortable with you in that position.

The two most critical elements in getting better assignments and more challenging or interesting projects are having a higher level "sponsor"--that is someone who remembers you and thinks of you as they are discussing assignments and being a respected and well-liked person. The company party is a great time to make a positive impression.

If you are invited to be someone's guest at his or her office party, dress well, be friendly and avoid the booze. You are not there to have a good time. Your goal is to look good, be polite and stand quietly next to your date and let him or her make a good impression.

Keep these simple guidelines in mind and when after-party gossip is bantered around the break room, they won't be talking about you. The next buzz just may be about your promotion.

Joseph Onesta, M.A. is a speaker, trainer and consultant working in the field of Human Performance Improvement. His company, Integrity HPI helps companies develop an "employer of choice" work culture and environment, by improving performance through focused strategies, enriched work/life balance and enhanced communication. You are invited to visit http://www.integrityhpi.com to learn more about Integrity HPI's services and subscribe to their free e-newsletter, Balanced Life Tips.

A Corporate Katrina? Change is in the Air and Things May Never Be the Same Again

Unstable markets, wildly fluctuating prices for commodities and finished goods and increasing doubt about the future role of fossil fuels is causing some business leaders to wonder what the future of doing business looks like. Cancelled sales, postponed projects and hiring freezes are now common. For many companies, the current crisis feels like an economic version of hurricane Katrina, difficult to predict and even harder know how to prepare or react.

At a recent HR conference, I met an HR Director who said these words, “We have been doing the same thing for fifty odd years. It works for us.” I had mixed reactions. Part of me appreciated the confidence in her voice and the sense of stability it conveyed. The idea felt warm and safe. If something isn’t broken, why fix it, right?

At the same time, I knew that for any company to believe that doing nothing, either because of or in spite of our current economic instability, just isn’t wise. There are too many other factors involved and ignoring any one of them might prove to be a fateful, and possibly fatal, decision. We do not need to hunker down and ride out the storm; we need to take action.

Let us consider some of them.

In the past year, there have been numerous exposé articles about the highly paid senior management of underperforming organizations. Historically, we have been able to conceptually separate the individual performance of executives and the other factors which affect the performance of organizations. There is always more going on than a decision from the corner office.

The CEO is responsible to the board and the board members know what they are doing, don’t they? Ultimately who is responsible for the success of an organization? The board is elected by the stockholders. The buck gets passed once again and no one seems to really know just who is responsible.

We seem to be entering an era that applies different meanings to the words accountability and responsibility. Taxpayer, and therefore, voter anger and resentment over the government bailout of the failed banks typify this shift. Corporate America is confronting its definitions of leadership.

We are learning lessons that a few CEOs have known for a long time. The true success of an organization depends on how that organization functions as a vibrant entity, a living organism, inclusive of its work culture, its business processes, its ethics and its role in the lives of the people who work there.

Evolving technology changes the way we do business almost on a daily basis, yet we are often unprepared to adjust and respond to those changes. We no longer have the luxury of time to figure out how to use new technology to our best advantage. The decision making processes that have given us 20 years, for example, to fool around with variations of e-learning no longer apply.

The baby boomers are going to retire whether we like it or not. Businesses have received yet one more reprieve from the brain drain of boomer retirement since retirement accounts have once more suffered record losses. This time, however, boomers are not in a position to simply add another ten years to their careers like they did the last time around. They no longer know what retirement will look like and as a consequence, our leaders are less able to predict the composition of our workforce.

This crisis begs another nagging question. We have democratized the stock market with on-line trading and we have placed the responsibility for planning for our retired workforce in the hands of individual workers. Defined pension plans are all but non-existent. The future of Social Security always seems to be in doubt. And, now individual retirement accounts have been gutted by stock-market instability.

We have taken the planning responsibility away from corporations and placed it in the hands of individuals without providing adequate education. They have had to rely on questionable sources of public information, the “advice” of investment sales people and on 401K administrators who legally can provide only the vaguest direction. Combine uneducated decisions with a volatile market and we have people who are now looking at their government for help since their employers have washed their hands of them.

Where do we expect the government to get the funds it will need to help them when the traditional source of income, the lower to middle income tax base is tapped out? The corporate voices who wanted to eliminate the predictable expense of defined pension plans are now hearing what may well be their raucous corporate swan song. Whether or not we see direct taxation or simply the loss of tax breaks, we might predict that the job of the CFO may grow considerably more difficult. In hindsight, how viable was our decision to change our retirement planning strategies?

The issues revolving around the multigenerational and multicultural workplace are increasing in complexity. We attend seminars on understanding the different generations but what do we do with that information? Organizations are struggling with engagement, diversity, inclusion, recruitment and retention. They are faced with the pending retirement drain on experience and skills and their organizations will soon be in the hands of those less experienced and far less self-sacrificing.

Economic crisis only exacerbates these issues. Increasing unemployment makes people available but there is a gap between the people who are available and the people we think we want to hire. Every recruiter I know, both corporate and independent, reports being inundated with the resumes of people who are considered unqualified. What is wrong with this picture? Are there simply no qualified people or are we setting our hopes on finding a super hero?

Rather than fretting over the difficulty of finding the right person to fit the job, we may have to rethink the position. The problem is if you change one job description, you may have to change five more. Does your company enjoy the level of engagement and commitment that will adjust to these changes or will you need to hire two people to fill one position? Which of these alternatives is really the most expensive in the long run?

If we are honest, I have not pointed out anything that is completely new. We simply do not like thinking about these concepts. We would prefer, like that HR executive at the conference, to continue to do things the way we have always done them.

While we still have time, we are going to have to endure the discomfort of change yet again and focus on building and nurturing a work culture that not only embraces change but maintains the engagement, commitment and accountability necessary to sustain the organization no matter what the economic climate.

Forget About the Gym!

To look at me, you would never guess that I have been a member of a health club since 1989. That is because, with the exception of brief spurts of intense motivation, I almost never go. It is not so much that I dislike the activity but rather, getting there, changing my clothes, working out, showering, changing my clothes again and getting back into my routine take up way too much time out of my day. I simply cannot fit going to the gym into my schedule.

I am not alone. The best estimates that I can find on-line from a number of sources indicate that upwards of 70% of health club members never or rarely use their membership.

Most of us need to work. We would like to spend time with our spouses, family and friends. We may study. We may have a spiritual or community life. And then there is exercise. In the face of that sort of to-do list, what do we cut out?

Despite our better intentions, may of us cut out the exercise. We know that lack of sufficient exercise results in obesity, reduced cardio-vascular health, increased stress and even depression. We buy gym memberships we don’t use. Many of us own home exercise equipment that gathers dust. We swallow expensive supplements and subscribe to controlled food-delivery services. In the end, we make ourselves sick with guilt when none of it works and we are too ashamed of ourselves to take advantage of all those money-back guarantees.

In my quest for a balanced life, I have come to terms with the fact that exercising for sake of it is not a priority to me. I have done many of the subtle things commonly suggested to increase my activity. I park several extra blocks from my office. I choose parking spaces far from the store entrance. I take the stairs rather then the elevator. I sometimes spend my break time walking around the block. It is not enough!

Enter the humble toofer. A toofer is an activity that gives us double return on our investment of time and energy—the result of “two for” the investment of one. Toofers allow me to combine items on my to-do list and help me find some of that sought-for balance in life.

Take, for example, the task of getting the car washed. If you drive to the car wash, reaching for your wallet is about all the exercise you are going to get. But, if you wash the car by hand, you get a clean car as well as some exercise. That is a simple toofer. Add into the equation, all the money you save and you have double toofer. Wash the car by hand with the kids and the return goes through the roof! You get a clean car. You get exercise. You have some fun. You spend time with the kids. And you save a little money.

Toofers that help increase exercise are everywhere. All we need is a little imagination and some planning. Rather than going to the movies, consider taking a walking tour of a local neighborhood or a visit to the museum, art exhibit or zoo. You’ll get some exercise and learn something as well

Around the house, you might plant a vegetable garden, do some serious spring-cleaning, mow the lawn or paint a room. Volunteer for community clean-up day or build a house with Habitat for Humanity. Do any of these activities with family or friends and you exponentially increase the benefits.

I truly admire the folks at the gym with their chiseled athletic bodies. I wish I could go to the beach and not feel that I had somehow failed as a physical specimen. But I also know, beyond any doubt, that those people did not get those bodies from three twenty-minute workouts a week—no matter what the commercials say!

It takes real work and a lot of time to get a body like the ones we see in those commercials. I just do not have that kind of time. I would have to sacrifice another important facet of my life in order to spend that sort of time at the gym. So, I have forgotten all about the gym and the guilt for not going. As far as home exercise equipment goes, free weights make interesting stepping stones in the garden.

I’ll stick with the toofer. A little exercise is better than none. While I may not be an Adonis, my life is in better balance, I get exercise, have fun and get a few chores done in the bargain.

Joseph Onesta is a Speaker, Trainer and Consultant. His company, Integrity HPI, is dedicated to making the American experience at work better for both individuals and companies. Through keynote talks, seminars, workshops and focused projects, he partners with organizations to develope an "employer of choice" work environment.

Financial Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina

The financial world is in chaos. World leaders are scrambling to save economies that up to now, seemed to need little more than interest rate regulation. Government bailouts, take over of major financial institutions and decimation of retirement accounts have set our society in turmoil from the highest in government to individual citizens. We are in the midst of a kind of economic hurricane Katrina and we need to know how to best weather the storm.

As Katrina approached the gulf coast, people in New Orleans were encouraged to evacuate but many ignored the warnings and stayed behind. They later found themselves stranded on their rooftops having lost everything. If, like them, you do nothing, in this financial storm, you may find yourself stranded or worse. The warning signs are all around us. It is not time to hunker down and hope that the storm blows over. It is time to take action.

Reconsider what you have, what can be saved and what you might have to count as a loss.

In personal finance terms, it comes down to revaluating your wants and your needs. Luxuries that become a habit have a way of looking like necessities when they are not. We all should examine the ways we spend money and reconsider our habits. How much of our spending is on luxury and how much is on necessity?

If we do not tighten our belts voluntarily, they will be tightened for us. In the throws of Katrina, stranded people were hungry and parched and help did not come for a long time—too late for some.

For some of us tightening the belt a notch may mean public transportation rather than driving to work. It may mean packing a lunch rather than eating out. We might dry-clean less often. We might eat at home more, turn the lights off when we leave a room or wear a sweater rather than turning up the thermostat this winter.

Do we really need to spend four or five dollars on a cup of coffee? Sorry Starbucks, I own a travel mug and can brew a decent cup at home. If I am going to go out for a cup, it will be the basic model, not the frothed-up, price-inflated version. How about cutting your prices for your loyal customers who have spent so freely?

Do not wait for the government to save you. They are not prepared for it. Our government and FEMA were taken completely by surprise by Katrina and the process was mismanaged and mistakes made from the very beginning.

Remember the economic stimulus check you received at the beginning of the summer. It was like throwing a pizza at 30 or 40 really hungry people. The big story at the time was how very few people were actually spending it in the way the government hoped. Now we are bailing out banks to tune of billions of dollars because of their bad, even predatory lending decisions.

Looters are on the loose. As citizens of New Orleans were forced to turn their backs on their homes and businesses to save their lives, looters were right behind them picking up was they left behind.

Beware of unscrupulous offers of credit, pay-day loans, easy financing and guaranteed satisfaction. Think twice before moving your investments on the advice of someone who needs to make a living off of your decisions. Read the fine print of offers on insurance that will make your payments for you if you are unable to do so. Anyone who offers an easy solution in a time like this is selling snake oil.

Just after the storm, creditors were very patient and cooperative with credit card holders and were very understanding about late payments and lost cards. How long do you suppose creditors left accounts open for displaced Katrina victims who were no longer employed and could not pay their bills? It wasn’t long before accounts were being closed for various reasons, all of them legitimate.

Learn to live without your credit cards. Using credit now just means you will have to pay more later. Interest rates often double or even triple the cost of your purchases if you are carrying balances from month to month and making minimum payments. In a tight economy, why would you pay more for something just to have the simple convenience of using a credit card?

Most everyone has debt obligations and when it comes to prioritizing which creditor gets paid and which does not, credit cards fall to the very bottom of the list because the debt is unsecured. At the top of the list are your mortgage, legal obligations like child support and your taxes. Think of long-term consequences rather than short-term inconveniences.

There is going to be a very fowl mess to clean up. More than three years later, there are still homes in New Orleans that have not been cleaned out, gutted or torn-down and the job of cleaning up that mess gets more and more difficult as time goes by.

Financial storms can cast very long shadows. Lost opportunities, damaged credit reports and investment losses may require years of recovery and rebuilding. The thing to remember is that you can rebuild and though things may never be as they were or as you planned them, you can and will survive and even find happiness. In the midst of the storm the best we can do is to try and limit the damage.

Profiteering will be rife. In the recovery process after Katrina, gross profiteering was not only everywhere, it was obvious. Even today, building supplies are at a premium price even at the national chain stores. Contractors in New Orleans can charge two and three times their normal rates. Long waits in line and even longer waiting lists for contractors betray how willing some are to pay the price of recovery.

As we emerge from this crisis, and we will come out of this, there will be some who promise quicker and easier recovery. Call them economic ambulance chasers. They will promise investments with large and quick gains. They will offer to repair credit reports, provide quick easy access to bankruptcy and offer easy credit terms. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Remember the fundamental rules. Promises of high returns naturally carry corresponding risk. The more an investment opportunity promises a return, the more likely it is that you can also lose your shirt. There are no secrets to credit repair. You can do it all yourself and the information you need is free and readily available. And anytime there is a legal way out, like bankruptcy, debt negotiation or tax settlement, there are consequences that are unavoidable. You should find out what they are before you sign on the dotted line.

There will be help. Volunteers and charities poured into New Orleans after Katrina as if a levy of a different kind had been breached.

It is difficult to say what kinds of real help will be available after this economic storm. They are limited only by our ingenuity and our capacity for kindness. Ultimately, however, each of us is responsible for our own financial well-being. Be careful; it is a gale out there.

Joseph Onesta is a Speaker, Trainer and Consultant with Integrity HPI. His practice focuses improved work environments that develop an "employer of choice" reputation for his clients while facilitating the work-life balance of their employees. As former Director of Education and Training for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Los Angeles, he offers seminars and workshops in Personal Finance Employee Education.