For those who don’t realize it, today is Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Tuesday). This day means Lent starts tomorrow, and in New Orleans we have Mardi Gras festival as well.
The word Shrove, is the past tense of the English verb shrive which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of Confession and doing penance. Doesn’t sound like it is much to do with pancakes, now does it? Evidently we are also supposed to make merry and enjoy ourselves before we go to Lenten confessions (I like the first part, the second is not as likely).
Financial Shrove Tuesday
NO! I am not saying you should go out and blow your finances up before you start your Lenten Financial Journey, far from it. You can have some fun, but all in moderation. If you plan on giving up your daily Latte, then have 1 last one on Tuesday, and savor it. If you plan on brown bagging your lunch for Lent, then maybe a lunch out is OK, however, don’t splurge! If you plan on using cash, maybe it’s time to find a really good hiding spot for your credit cards (or maybe you should visit your bank and put them all away in your safety deposit box). If you are planning on reading some books on Personal Finance, today might be the day to get them out of the Library.
Make sure you have some pancakes too.
Random Acts of Kindness Week?
Forgot to mention that it is getting close to Random Acts of Kindness week (I would not kid about this topic), so if you were thinking about doing a Random Act of Kindness, time to get cracking.
A few ideas:
- When in line at a Drive Thru (preferably a coffee shop), offer to pay for the next car’s coffee as well
- Clear your neighbour’s driveway if it is covered in snow (especially if you have a snowblower).
- Give the toll booth attendant a $20 bill and tell her to pay for as many cars that follow as possible.
- Phone up a local kids sports team and ask if they have a fund to help pay for less fortunate kids to play, and give them some money.
These are only a few trite examples, you know how you can help out, so do so. Anybody care to comment on what they may have done so far this week?
For my Buddhist readers, a belated Happy Parinirvana Day. May we all reach that level of enlightenment in our lives (some day).
Other Shrove Tuesday Thoughts
- Financial Shrove Tuesday not just another pancake Tuesday
- Happy Shrove Tuesday
- Happy Shrove Tuesday
- Financial Pancake Tuesday (woo hoo!)
- Mardi Gras is here
