Nutrition

It’s possible to appear at a healthy weight, but still not get the nutrition you need. Indeed, you might be eating fewer calories than you burn, and maintaining a “healthy” weight, but what sort of nutrition are you getting?

It’s possible to appear a good weight while eating processed foods and drinking soda. As long as you manage the calorie intake, you can eat poorly and still not put on a lot of weight. However, if you are eating poorly, focusing on empty calories that might taste good, it means that you aren’t eating foods that are good for you.

Good health also means that you get good nutrition with the vitamins and minerals you need — and it’s better if you get them from natural food sources, rather than just from multivitamins.

Make it a point to eat healthier, and improve your nutrition on top of focusing on your weight.

Exercise

Physical activity is also very important. Not only can exercise help you burn calories, but it also has other health benefits. Regular exercise can help ward off depression, and reduce stress and anxiety.

Additionally, you strengthen your bones and muscles when you exercise. Maintaining an active lifestyle can help you avoid some of the problems that come with age later on. Bone strength means fewer fractures and falls, and better muscle strength can help you as well.

Don’t just exercise frantically in an effort to lose weight; make it a regular part of your routine so that you are truly healthy.

Sleep

Many people underestimate the importance of proper sleep when it comes to health. Sleep allows you to recharge your body and your mind. Additionally, when you are well rested you are far more likely to be able to make better decisions about your health. Feeling rested often leads to a better commitment to exercise, as well as to the ability to resist the temptation to eat junk food.

Good sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, and one that can influence your ability to make other decisions, whether you are driving, shopping, or engaging in other activities.

Improve Your Overall Health

Don’t just focus on weight loss as you attempt to improve your health. Instead, look at your overall wellness. Consider what you eat, as well as the type of exercise you do.

You will actually live healthier overall if you make small, gradual changes that lead to better health. Making smaller, more sustainable changes won’t lead to rapid weight loss, but they will lead to better health in the long run.

If you want to succeed with your health, make it a point to eat right, remain active, and to get enough sleep each day. Over time, the weight will come off. And it will be more likely to stay off, too.

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Kelly is the Campaign Director for Ready.Save.Grow., the U.S. Treasury Department’s effort to inform the public about how it’s possible to start saving easily with U.S. savings bonds.

“The great thing about savings bonds, and what people don’t know, is that you don’t have to make a lot of decisions,” he continues. “Once you set it up, it can be on autopilot.”

That’s right. It’s possible to automate your savings with U.S. Savings bonds when you an open an account at TreasuryDirect.gov and begin setting money aside. “You can put in as much as you want,” Kelly says. “The money you put in accumulates, and once it reaches $25, it is used to buy the savings bond you designate.”

Opening an Account with TreasuryDirect

It’s fairly easy to open an account with TreasuryDirect and start saving with the help of U.S. savings bonds. “You need a taxpayer identification number, usually a Social Security number to open an account,” Kelly says. He also says that you will need to answer the same sorts of questions that are required when opening a bank account. “Once you have your TreasuryDirect account, you just take your banking information and enter it so that you can have automatic withdrawals.”

It’s also possible to set up your U.S. savings bond plan with your employer. “Once you have your TreasuryDirect account, you can get our routing number. Take your account number and our routing number to payroll, and tell them how much to direct into your account.”

This makes buying U.S. savings bonds quick and easy, and can make them part of your overall savings strategy without too much trouble at all.

What are Your Savings Bonds Options?

Kelly says that you can choose between two different types of bonds:

• Traditional EE Bond: The Series EE bond is what many of us are familiar with. As of this writing, Kelly points out that the rate of return on the Series EE bond is 0.2%.
  
• Inflation-Adjusted Bond: You can also get a Series I bond, which is adjusted for inflation. “Right now, the fixed portion of the interest rate on the bond is 0%,” Kelly says. “But the interest rate adjusts to CPI, so the rate of return is higher right now because of inflation.”

An inflation-adjusted bond can help you avoid losses due to inflation, on top of protecting your capital.

The U.S. Treasury no longer issues paper bonds, so you have to manage your account electronically. It’s also possible to convert paper savings bonds you received in the past to electronic bonds to make it easier to manage all of you savings bonds.

“We want people to know about the safety and affordability of U.S. savings bonds,” Kelly says. “There are no fees, no loads, and no commissions when  people come directly to us. Our system has never been compromised, and our bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.”

With the ability to start saving with as little as $25, and with the ability to set up the automatic savings plan, you really can get started with a good savings plan when you use U.S. savings bonds.

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According to government statistics used by CreditLoan.com to create an infographic of spending in the United States, the average household spends $2,600 a month on goods and services.

If you multiply this out, you find that the average spending on goods and services is $31,200 per year. It’s easy to see how, for some, it’s hard to get ahead. If your take home pay is $32,000 or less, everything you spend likely goes to the business of living.

But what are Americans spending their money on? Some of the items listed on the Infographic include average monthly spending of:

• $450.16: Rent or mortgage payments
• $410.48: Health care services
• $237: Groceries
• $184.79: Financial services and insurance
• $130.83: Purchased meals and beverages
• $95.43: Clothing and footwear

How do these numbers add up with what you pay each month? In my case, I spend more in every category except health care services. Thanks to our relatively good health, and our low-premium high-deductible health care plan, we don’t spend a lot on health care services. Instead, we are able to set aside money in a Health Savings Account (HSA).

Lately, since we’ve been fairly busy, we have managed to cut back on what we spend on purchased meals, but we still spend more than the average because we like to eat out. It’s just something that we enjoy.

The infographic breaks the numbers down further, taking a look at pharmaceuticals as part of health care services, and looking at other items.

Your Spending = Your Priorities

This infographic can also provide interesting insight into the average priorities we espouse. Where you spend your money says a lot about your priorities as a family, and as a person. I found it interesting (and somewhat depressing) that the average family only spends about $1.53 on musical instruments each month, but spends $17.43 on sporting equipment and supplies, including guns and ammunition. While there is nothing wrong with these recreation activities, I think it would be nice to see a little more emphasis on things of art and beauty, like music.

Educational books account for $2.48 in spending each month, while cable and satellite services warrant average spending of $19.33 per month. That says something about our priorities when it comes to education vs. entertainment.

Take a look at your spending. Where your money goes says a lot about what you value. While the infographic doesn’t seem to show charitable donations, you can look at your own finances, and see whether you are committed to helping others. You can also get an idea of what you find important by where your money is going. Is it going toward gadgets and other consumer items? Or are you investing in yourself with education and personal development?

Now is a great time to figure out what you value, and then decide if your spending matches your professed priorities. If you find a disconnect, do what you can to begin adjusting your spending so that it matches what’s really important to you.

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Even with the fees, though, 401(k)s can be great for your future. You just have to know how to avoid the pitfalls and make the most of your contributions to give yourself a better retirement. Craig Morningstar, Chief Operating Officer of Dynamic Wealth Advisors, offers these 10 pitfalls to avoid with your 401(k):

1. Not starting early: You should start as early as you can. The longer you have to save, the larger your nest egg will be.
2. Not contributing enough: “All too often,” Morningstar says, “[employees are] only contributing enough to get the employer match.” He recommends setting aside at least 10% of your income.
3. Not having a simple diversified portfolio: Just investing in your company’s stock isn’t enough. Morningstar recommends sitting down with a fee-only advisor and working out a diversified plan.
4. Selling when the market goes down: While it’s tempting to move your 401(k) assets into cash when the market drops, stay put. Panicking and selling at that time means you sell low — and buy high when the market starts recovering.
5. Not working with an advisor when rolling over: If you change jobs, you will want to roll over your 401(k). Morningstar recommends working with a fee-only advisor as you decide what to do with your retirement money.
6. Not rolling over the 401(k): “Leaving money in a 401(k) plan often costs the participant about 1% a year extra,” Morningstar says. Move your 401(k) when you move jobs. Roll it into your new employer’s 401(k), or open an IRA and roll it into that retirement account.
7. Relying on target date funds: Morningstar points out that these are often funds of funds, and that they can come with fees that you don’t want to pay. Plus, in recent years, target date funds have been struggling.
8. Failure to understand participant costs: You should know what, exactly, you are paying, since high fees can erode your earnings over time. Morningstar says that 1.5% is reasonable, but some plans go as high as 4% per year.
9. Taking a distribution: Rather than rolling over, many plan participants take a distribution from the 401(k), cashing out. This can be a big no-no, since you will have to pay a 10% penalty to the IRS if you are under age 59 1/2. Plus, you will have to pay regular income taxes on the money.
10. No idea of income replacement in retirement: “For people over 50, having no idea of what they will actually need for income replacement in retirement” is a problem, according to Morningstar. It’s vital to do some retirement planning ahead of time, and have a solid idea of what you need, and what your options are.

With the right planning, and a good approach, it’s possible for you to avoid these retirement pitfalls.

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Get Rich Slowly gets brutally honest this week with their post: Your Budget Isn’t Working.  Here’s Why.

Consumerism Commentary investigated something many of us have wondered: Can Tipping Change a Waiter’s Behavior?

If you’re looking for your first home, you’ll want to read Bargaineering’s post this week on the 7 Essential Tips for Buying Your First Home.

Want to make a big change in your life?  WiseBread shares the Change Your Life with a 30 Day Challenge.

Five Cent Nickel discussed in-depth the facts around Passive Solar Homes: The Basics.

Looking for a new job?  Mint Life tells you How to Ace a Job Interview: A Visual Guide to Landing a New Job.

This week Free From Broke listed out 25 Things to Do With Your Income Tax Refund.  How many have you done so far?

Cash Money Life explained how to go about Mastering the Art of Guilt-Free Shopping.

DoughRoller answered a question we all have: Does Paying Rent Improve Your Credit Score?  You may be surprised by the answer.

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Weight loss is never fun, and I am one of those who regularly ends up in cycles. While I am mostly healthy, I gain five to 10 pounds on occasion, and then lose it. I’ve been working to make taking care of myself more of a priority, and avoid stress and overwork in order to keep the cycle at bay.

So far, it’s been working fairly well. And one of the things that has been helping me is the Reader’s Digest seven-day fat release kickstart.

Foundation for Healthier Living

I read about the seven-day kickstart in a Reader’s Digest issue two or three months ago. It’s part of the Digest Diet that they tout. The seven-day kickstart is designed to get you on the right track. You start out, with days one through three, by doing things like getting the right amount of sleep and increasing your physical activity.

Then, for the next four days you follow a nutritional schedule. One of your meals is “normal” (and hopefully healthy), while the other two consist of a healthy shake/smoothie and a hearty, healthy soup. The recipes include:

• Berry breakfast smoothie
• Hearty Mexican Chicken Soup

Additionally, snack options include green peppers with a little ricotta cheese and a few grinds of black pepper.

The food choices and recipes were limited, since the whole point of the insert was to encourage you to buy the book with the 21-day meal plan. However, I found the seven-day version to be a pretty good start.

Since I like soup, it seemed like a natural thing to try. Additionally, I found that I really like the smoothie. There are other smoothie options, and I often substituted my own homemade soups for the soup meal.

Overall, it was a great way to adjust to a new regimen. I lost about two pounds in the week that I did the kickstart. And, even though I’m beyond that week, I still make a smoothie to replace a meal three times a week, and I continue to have soup for lunch quite frequently.

Of course, I’ve kept with the exercise schedule since I’ve joined the gym again and I’m swimming twice a week again. And I haven’t forgotten the strength training, either.

I’ve found the seven-day fat release kickstart to be helpful, and by incorporating some of the recipes from Reader’s Digest into my meal planning I’ve had some solid success. I feel healthier, and I’m reducing the amount of sweets that I eat.

I’m curious to buy the book, since my brother and his wife have had good success with it, and my mom is giving it a try as well. I might wait to see their results before I get the book myself.

But, overall, it doesn’t seem like a bad thing — especially if it encourages you to change your lifestyle to something sustainable, rather than actually be a “real” diet.

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A fact sheet, produced by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), which provides information on climate change polling in the United States over the last year from a variety of sources, makes illuminating reading. Overall, says the EESI, studies show:

The American public’s concern about climate change, while still below 2007 levels, is on the rise nationwide.

This trend holds across party lines, with greater numbers of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans viewing this as a serious issue that will affect them in their lifetimes.

Additionally, more are convinced that global warming is caused by human activities rather than natural causes.

Higher percentages of minorities say climate change is happening and support the president taking steps to address the issue.

While a majority of Americans support the increased deployment of clean and renewable energy and regulation of power plant emissions, support remains weak for a carbon tax or cap-and-trade measures.

As electricity demand soars across the world, leaving governments wrestling with the consequences, the race is now on to look seriously at non-polluting renewable forms of energy production as a means not only of curtailing dangerous greenhouse gas emissions, but also of plugging the energy gap whilst maintaining energy security.

It’s a big ask, but to sit back and do nothing is simply no longer an option for governments, either politically or economically. We take for granted that the room will light up whenever we flick down the light switch. Business and international trade also expect the same degree of certainty, and rolling blackouts like those seen across Egypt over recent years, for example, does little to engender confidence let alone increase investment levels within a country.

The good news is there are numerous multi-billion dollar renewable energy projects completed, or nearing completion, all around the world. Although collectively they still represent a drop in the ocean as far as reversal of climate change effects goes, at least they are a step in the right direction.

One of the largest renewable energy ventures anywhere is the multi-phase London Array, which is already feeding clean, green energy into the UK’s national energy grid system. Expected to cost more than $4.5 billion when fully operational, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is expected to power some half-a-million homes.

Built some 12 miles off the coasts of Kent and Essex on a 150 square-mile site, the first phase, involving 175 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 630 megawatts (MW) of energy, is all but complete. A possible second phase could add enough capacity to bring the total to 870MW.

The sheer size of the joint-venture project and the amount of investment involved is an indicator of just how much potential profit there is to be made within the renewable energy field. Perhaps the search for profit – not concern over the future of our children – might ultimately prove the driving force that saves our planet.You can view the EESI fact sheet by clicking here.

Erich Nadhir writes about finance in the Middle East. He moved to the UK 10 years ago is married with two daughters.

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However, financial statement analysis doesn’t just have to be about understanding the profitability of a company, or the risk that the company has. You can also use a similar process to analyze your personal economy, taking note of your cash flow. The process with your personal finances won’t be as involved as a true financial statement analysis of a company, but a simplified version can be very telling, and help you get on the right financial track.

Reformulating Your Financial Information

In the first stage of financials statement analysis, the balance sheet information is presented in a way that groups different items together. With a business, this might indicate “normal” earnings from regular sources, as well as occasional earnings. The same is true of grouping liabilities. In a business, net operating costs are grouped together, and financial debt is grouped in another way.

This works with your own personal finances as well. You can group your own income and debt in a similar fashion. You can also include your expenses. Break down your own financial statement into regular income and variable income, monthly expenses and occasional expenses. If you have debt, group that together as well, separating out the consumer debt from other types of debt.

When you look at your money in this way, you can get a big picture idea of what your financial situation is right now. You can quickly see what income you can rely on, and what income might not be there next month.

Financial Ratios

Another part of financial statement analysis is creating ratios to get an idea of risk. You can use ratios to determine how much profitability a company is experiencing, as well as the amount of risk presented by its debt load.

The same principle can apply to your personal finances, too. Look at how much debt you have, and then look at it as a percentage of your income. How is your debt affecting your net worth? Are you at risk of succumbing?

You can also look at your return on capital in this way. How are your investments doing? Are you reaching your goals? Could you more efficiently be putting some of your financial resources elsewhere? There’s a lot that can be learned when you get right down to it.

When you take your personal finances and look at your inflows and outflows, as well as the use you are making of your capital, you can get a much better idea of where you stand financially. Plus, putting it all in stark business terms can really help you see where you need to improve.

Take the time to make a financial statement of your finances, and then break it down using a simplified form of financial statement analysis. You’ll have a new way to look at your money and maybe even see how you can improve.

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My driver’s license is gone for good.

No More Driver’s License: Now What?

I am glad that I didn’t end up losing anything else. None of my credit cards were involved, and none of my other personal information (like what would be found on a health insurance card) is out there.

However, this is inconvenient enough. When you lose your driver’s license, you not only need to get a replacement, but you also need to keep an eye on your credit report.

Call your local DMV to find out what documentation you need to get a replacement license. In many cases, you will likely need “official” documentation like a Social Security card and a birth certificate. In most cases, if you have a passport, you can use that instead of needing multiple forms of ID. In any case, make sure you have what you need in order to get the replacement.

You will want a replacement as soon as possible, since you can be penalized for driving without a license if you are pulled over. If you are in an accident, or if you are caught speeding, and you don’t have a driver’s license, you could be further fined. This just adds to the costs associated with getting a ticket, and it can be very frustrating.

I was issued a temporary license. It’s paper, and I have it carefully stowed in my purse. In two or three weeks, my “regular” driver’s license should arrive by mail.

Keep an Eye on Your Credit Report

Next, you want to make sure that you keep an eye on your credit report. There were very few places that my driver’s license could have been lost, and I checked them all. That means that there is a good chance that someone has my license in their possession.

With the information on the driver’s license, it might be possible for someone to open a fraudulent account using my name. A quick search of my name on WhitePages.com, or in some public database related to home purchases, would yield my address. And, of course, they have my ID. It’s possible to use this information to apply for credit cards and other loans online.

I will need to check my credit reports regularly, and I might even decide to get a credit freeze for my account. There is a chance that, with the loss of my driver’s license, the chance of ID fraud has gone up. So I’ll need to be on top of the situation, checking my report with AnnualCreditReport.com, and perhaps even buying reports from major credit agencies until this appears resolved.

It’s never fun to lose something as important as your driver’s license, but I am glad that it’s not an even bigger mess — like losing my entire wallet.

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However, environmentalism isn’t a new idea. Even though there has been an upsurge in environmental interest since the effects of pollution have become increasingly obvious, there has almost always been an interest in nature, and in protecting the environment.

History of Environmentalism In Ancient Times

According to Philosophy Now, the ancient Cynics of Greece were among the first environmentalists. Believing that it was important to live as naturally as possible, and live in harmony with nature, the Cynics were known for despising social niceties and consumerism.

Even those who look to ancient scriptures for inspiration fancy an environmental message. Rabbis have interpreted the “dominion” mentioned in the Torah to mean that humans have to be righteous in order to rule — and that ruling doesn’t mean destroying.

Christians are also looking to ancient ideas of dominion, and connecting it more with stewardship. Instead of being a harsh situation of destruction, some Christians consider this dominion to be more of a care-taker status.

Ancient Indians also offer insights into human responsibilities to the environment in the four major Vedas. Hymns referring to the environment, its maintenance, and the bounty of Earth are all included, and provide some instruction as to how to proceed.

In many cultures around the world, it has long been recognized that a certain amount of care is required toward the environment.

Environmental Protection Laws through the Ages

There is also a long history of environmental laws. Wikipedia offers an interesting list of environmental laws, starting with a law protecting the birds on the Farne Islands in Northumberland, UK, in 676.

Most environmental laws in the beginning dealt with sanitation issues. Laws like that passed in the city of Paris in 1366 requiring butchers to take animal waste beyond the city for disposal, as well as the English Parliament’s ban on throwing garbage into water sources in 1388, were aimed at avoiding disease.

However, there were very few laws aimed at actually protecting the environment. One of those few laws was an interesting requirement in Pennsylvania as it was being settled. In 1690, Governor William Penn stipulated that one acre of trees had to be preserved for every five acres that were cleared. As the settlers came to the New World they were required — at least in Pennsylvania — to leave some trees standing.

Since then, insights on the environment, and laws aimed at reducing some of the human impact have increased, especially with the advent of the Industrial Age, and continued use of fossil fuels. Even now, debates rage over the best way to help protect our natural resources and the environment.

In my town, the debate revolves around dirty air, since a weather phenomenon known as an inversion traps pollution in our mountain valley during the winter, making it some of the dirtiest air in the country during the colder months.

Since ancient times, we’ve recognized the importance of the environment. What’s hard is balancing it with human desires and progress.

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