by Shirley Davis and Dave Delgardo

It’s hard to believe we’re a quarter of the way into a century many of us – at least those of us born back when ‘Lassie’ or ‘Green Acres’ was on TV – thought took forever to get here. With the annual passing of the calendar page, it’s prudent to take the measure of where we are individually. A few examples:

Banking:

• What plans have we made to address rising costs for goods and services?
• Are we prepared for changes in tax laws that might impact our withholding and our take home pay? Or those of our employees?
• Have we reviewed retirement funds and investments with an advisor, noting regulatory changes coming in the new year?
• Are our charitable offerings still impacting the needs and causes we wish to address?

Healthcare:

• Is our health insurance keeping up with our needs? Has the coverage changed?
• Are we utilizing available healthcare resources from the Affordable Care Act, MediCal, Medicaid or other sources?
• What about our mental well-being? Have we set aside time for relaxation or reflection? This costs us nothing.

Governance and leadership:

• Do we know who has been elected to our City Council? Do we know any of our City Council members? Same goes for our county and state representatives.
• Can we find time to attend City Council or School Board meetings?
• Might we have time to serve on a local commission (planning, homeless advisory, school council, etc.) to assist our leaders?
• What are we doing to ensure that our elected representatives – at all levels – stay informed about the needs of the constituency they’ve been chosen to represent?

One thing most of us know about New Years Resolutions is that they are just as easy to break as they are to make. But there’s one we can make together: Let’s resolve to stay healthy, stay engaged, stay positive and to make the best of the new year – and the next quarter century.