March 5, 2013 - Great articles from the web on money and your life.
Too much financial news can be “dangerous to the health of your retirement”, claims writer JD Roth in a column for Time Business & Money. Roth writes that it can be smart to make financial decisions for retirement savings based on financial goals and a pre-determined investing strategy rather than being influenced too much by a constant stream of information. Other tips include not following the herd, avoiding lifestyle inflation when your earnings rise and making regular, scheduled investments.
Economics is not often associated with the goal of trying to lose weight but Business Insider tells how Harvard Business School Working Knowledge senior editor Carmen Nobel investigated some of the links between the two. Among the insights is a study about ordering groceries online that taps into the idea that the decisions made ahead of time are different to those made about what we want now. This idea is also of interest to pension planners and others. The online grocery study that if the gap between ordering and delivery is longer, shoppers tended to spend less and favour “should” items (such as vegetables) rather than “want” items (such as ice cream).
Barking Up The Wrong Tree blogs about ten ways to increase happiness – a great reminder on how simple changes can do a lot of good. In fact, happiness economics is an area of ongoing study. Highest on the blogger’s list is to get out in nature, an activity that research suggests can increase creativity and reduce stress.