The holidays love to swoop in right when you’ve landed yourself on Broke-ass Mountain. I wish I could take credit for this crass terminology, but my 68 year old father started using this phrase during my college years when my brother and I would find ourselves needing some help with rent or ran out of money halfway through an ill advised road trip. “You’re back on Broke-ass Mountain”, my dad would say thinking he was so clever, mixing pop-culture with our dire situation.
As a business owner, I don’t take a steady paycheck. Like most founders, I pay myself as little as possible, putting most purchases on a credit card waiting for January to come around in which I will (so far) have enough to pay it off. This is not a complaint, but the standard unglamorous truth of starting a company. This reality becomes more apparent by the end of year just as the holidays roll in. By November I usually find myself on Broke-ass mountain. This is a slight drag since the holidays are around the corner and my budget has shrunk significantly.
Despite the deeply sickening contagion that is known as holiday gift giving, I love buying presents. In honor of small budgets with good taste, I’ve kept the Broke-ass Mountain Gift Guide to items under $30 and from places you should support year around. Without further ado:
HORS D’OEUVRES like Oysters and sardines.
Future Entomologist.
Eyes Ex-Voto.
Cabinet cool.
For the gamer.
A good wedge.
Not a frog.
Bring forth life.
Soapy Set.
Fur feet.
Silk tiger ears.
Cheers!
Thanks for being here,xxxKate
