Helping you live the best life possible with the money you have!

December 2020

Dear Readers,

2020 was a unique leap year - there were 29 days in February and 285 days in March (and counting). How are you holding up?

In our household, Halloween candy has given way to Thanksgiving pie and now pre-Christmas pie, because you need to practice your pie-making before the actual holiday pies arrive. The bitter partisan split in this country is nowhere more evident than in the great holiday pie battle, with traditionalists rallying behind pumpkin, and the North and South split into strict regiments of apple and pecan/sweet potato. But in our home, banana cream reigns supreme (my husband and daughter collaborated on the pie shown above).

Market Updates

Despite a global pandemic, record unemployment, mass protests, and election disputes, 2020 looks like it's going to end with the markets surprisingly up through the end of the year (knock on wood). As March showed us, though, things can change quickly, and we're monitoring things closely to see if there are any drastic moves in the last few weeks of December. 

Why has market performance become so seemingly decoupled from the real-world problems in the economy? One reason was the unprecedented quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve and stimulus packages to bolster corporations in trouble and increase government spending. Or, as the internet put it, "J Pow makes the money printer go BRRRRRRRR!" 

Above: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell working the money printer until his arm falls off. It remains to be seen if stimulus spending will continue to bolster markets into 2021.

Non-Market Updates

The Georgia runoff elections could prove a deciding factor in what changes in tax policy actually get passed under the incoming Biden Administration. The runoffs don't happen until January, which means making any big tax moves this year would be somewhat preemptive. Much like with the markets, we'll focus on the part of this we can control and adjust your tax plans accordingly.

In other non-market news, Lifetime decided to cap 2020 off with the worst movie idea ever - a mini-romantic drama about KFC Colonel Sanders. If you haven't yet watched the trailer [warning: language, violence, and Colonel Sanders locked in a passionate embrace with a heiress] for A Recipe For Seduction (yes, seriously), then you should probably just forget I even told you about this ridiculous extended commercial of a movie. KFC stock has responded positively since the news of the release. Why? Who knows. It's 2020.

Above: Yes, that is Mario Lopez (from Saved by the Bell) cast as a sexy Colonel Sanders. No, I don't know what they were thinking.

Natural Bridges Blog Posts

If Santa Fell Off the Roof, Would Your Insurance Cover It?

Think your homeowner's insurance would cover the Grinch stealing your gifts? Or Santa Claus falling off of your roof? What would really happen if these Christmas movies came to life...

Five Low-Budget Handmade Gift Ideas

Got some extra free time since the lockdown? Save money and make some thoughtful homemade presents with these ideas. 

Why You Should Donate At Least $300 To Charity This Year

The CARES Act was passed nearly eight months ago, but there's one benefit you may have overlooked. Even if you don't itemize, you can deduct the first $300 you give to charity. Do some good, save some taxes!

Natural Bridges Personal Updates

If you are a book lover like all of us here at Natural Bridges, you may have heard of the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð, the best holiday tradition ever. In Iceland's "Yule Book Flood," everyone gets a book (or five) as a present to read on Christmas Eve. What could be a better gift than an evening spent drinking hot cocoa and reading books? Let us know what your favorite book was this year, and we'll add it to our lists!

Other weird Nordic traditions we have added to our household include watching the fantastic subtitled Finnish movie Rare Exports, which is about a kid who discovers the true meaning of Santa Claus ("Joulupukki" in Finnish legend is often thought to be the earliest form of present-day Santa). I won't spoil the ending, but please be warned that this is a horror movie, and Santa is, uh, not the good guy.

Chris recently went on a 9 mile bike ride with his five year old grandson. They started just north of Santa Cruz and rode all alongside the cliffs at Wilder Ranch. Chris's grandson "went for every puddle" and was muddy from top to toe by the end of the ride. "You couldn't pull him off of his bike," Chris said. "It was dark outside but he just wanted to keep going!"

Chris's term as ACP president is also coming to a close. While this year has been challenging, the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners had a fantastic virtual conference and we're all excited to forge ahead into 2021!

Moana went with her family to the Santa Cruz fairgrounds to see the Holiday Lights displays. While it was fun to drive through the fairgrounds, the funnel cake at the end proved to be the defining highlight of the trip. 

"I could eat another funnel cake all by myself," Jane said hopefully.

What are you doing for the holidays? 

Anabel: "Stay home. Cook."

Chris: "Nothing. It's not going to be a very exciting Christmas, is it?"

Moana: "I'm going to eat all the pie."

Above: Bean looks grumpy because we moved her food dish to make way for the tree. Jane is petitioning to get a kitten for Christmas "because Bean wants another kitten to play with."

As the year wraps up, we hope that you all stay safe and well through the holidays. Whether your favorite holiday movie is Elf or Die Hard, whether your favorite holiday pie is cherry or key lime, we can all be thankful that 2020 is almost over and we get another year to try and make things better. 

So a big Merry Christmas! Hanukkah Sameach! Blessed Yule! Whatever you're celebrating this holiday season, give yourself a big hug from all of us over at Natural Bridges. And with a little luck, we'll get to give you some real hugs sometime next year!

Much love,

Moana and the Natural Bridges Team

P.S. An easy pick me up holiday treat: melt some chocolate in the microwave. Plop spoonfuls onto parchment paper and sprinkle craisins, coconut, and pumpkin seeds on top to make the chocolate "healthy". Put in fridge to cool, then lick the entire bowl clean. 

My husband: "These aren't cookies, are they? They're just chocolate." Me: "It's a cookie...made out of chocolate."