Felicity Hannah

WE are halfway through the first month of what is probably going to be quite a tough year and I think we all need to look on the bright side.

IT’S the time of year when a lot of us take a long hard look at our finances and decide that we need to make a change. Alongside plans to lose weight, work out and quit bad habits such as smoking, getting into shape financially is a popular resolution every new year.

THESE last few days before Christmas are famously stressful (unless you are one of those sickening people who has finished their shopping by October, planned their food by November and spends December perfecting the decorations, in which case: bah humbug to you!).

Thanks to Christmas Day falling on a Sunday this year, this week is not so much a wind-down as a wind-up

Every December we’re urged to remember the true meaning of Christmas and not get bogged down in consumerism. I’m an atheist, so my 'true meaning of Christmas' is spending time with loved ones and eating cheese, rather than the religious significance. But I have always agreed that the presents are a very small part of a special day. And this year, I think they should be even less important.

PARENTS are busy people, new parents especially so. There’s always a nose to wipe, a baby to change or a mountain of laundry to wash and fold. So it is particularly impressive that so many took part in the recent March of the Mummies protests across the UK, including Glasgow.

AS THE Chancellor is expected to raise taxes and cut spending, it’s time we all re-evaluated our own budgets and made finances boring again.