At Christmas time in Costa Rica every salaried worker who has worked a complete year receives an extra months salary. This Christmas bonus is called an aguinaldo in Spanish. The extra money comes in handy to pay debts, purchase Christmas gifts, for entertainment and for almost any other use one can think of. Unfortunately, most Costa Ricans spend all of this money or end up of saving little of it for future needs.

Come January and almost everyone is hurting for money.To make matters worse a lot of bills come due the first of the year. People have to pay their yearly car insurance, their license tags, post office boxes and other annual obligations. It is virtually an uphill financial battle until they get on their feet again. This time of year is referred to as “la cuesta de enero” in Spanish which means “Uphill January” for a good very reason.

During my frequent lectures to aspiring residents and on my monthly retirement and relocation tours I always talk about all aspects of the Costa Rican culture in order to familiarize my guests with how the locals live.