Reset Yourself
It makes sense that we think of January as a time for fresh starts. We hang a new calendar. We recalibrate our habits after building our past several weeks around holidays.
Giving ourselves a second chance even makes good sense for our mental and physical health. We can give ourselves permission to wipe the slate clean of what we don’t like about our past, and strengthen our positives.
It’s a new budget year for many companies, and for the IRS, which means a new financial beginning for all of us. This issue offers help on that score. Check out “Spend Less, Save More”, for ideas on managing your money. And read the Gadgets and Gizmos column for tips on making a list of all your possessions in case of disaster. That’s a task many of us put off because it sounds so hard—we offer ways to make the job more realistic.
Pictures and politics
Many of us are thankful the campaign season ended two months ago. This month marks a new political year when those who got elected get down to work.
That new public policy year matters greatly for your consumer-owned electric cooperatives as they work with elected and regulatory officials to balance the need for our electricity to be reliable, affordable, and environmentally sensitive. You can read more about navigating among those tough issues in The Future of Electricity column. In that column, writer Nancy S. Grant shares comments from the experts she talked with while attending the Governor’s Energy Conference in October.
We need fun and leisure in the new year too. In our cover story, learn about one of Kentucky’s top treasures—our forests. They’re a huge part of our state’s economy, for the production of wood, and for the joy of long slow walks through nature’s miracles.
And get ready for this year’s Kentucky Living photo contest. Last year you sent in more than 9,500 photos, with winners appearing in the July issue, and in the Kentucky Living calendar. Check out the rules for entering and then upload your best in our 2013 Photo Contest.
