I had this grandiose plan for something to get my girlfriend for Christmas. She loves whale sharks, and the Georgia Aquarium has this daily swim with them. I would have loved to get tickets for her to be able to do that.

The problem? The tickets cost quite a bit. Granted, the proceeds go to whale shark research and conservation efforts, so that wasn't my problem. My problem is, after dropping 760 bucks to get us to Connecticut for Christmas, I'm broke. These tickets sell fast, and with student loans and groceries to pay for, I just don't have it right now.

We talked about it, and we decided to scrap our original plans.

But you can't not give her anything for Christmas you might be saying. And you're right, I can't do that. But what I can do is get a hodge-podge of small things.

For instance, she also loves blue raspberry flavored things. I might lace the bag with those specific Jolly Ranchers or Airheads. She also would like to decorate her desk at work to make the space more unique to her. Or maybe I'll help her replace some of her old PS2 games that got lost.

Truth be told, you do not need to spend a lot of money to give those in your lives something meaningful. You can create something for them, putting in time and blood, sweat and tears to craft the perfect gift. You can spend time with them, or try to remember things that they like.

Besides, those car commercials or those grill commercials really drive me up the wall, mostly because all I can think when I see them is "why?". Don't get me wrong, when I'm older and have a house, I'd love to have a nice gas grill to cook burgers and steaks on. But for Christmas, it just seems like a big waste. Who can afford anything like that year to year?

Things happen in life that are out of your control. You might lose your job and not have a source of income. Medical expenses or car issues may come up. You may want to give certain people the world and can only afford to get them a burrito at Taco Bell. In all honesty, more people care about the effort put in.

Bank accounts, while certainly helpful, don't win people over. Being mindful does. So if you're stressing over a cashflow, stop and take the time to truly get to know who you are around.

If all else fails, go get that burrito.

Well, time to go to work. Hopefully, by this time next year, she'll be swimming with the whale sharks.