First, we’re sorry that this didn’t post yesterday as planned.
Secondly, we’re sharing this post from Todd Garlington because he asks a number of good questions that we’d like to know our readers’ responses to after you take a look. So please talk back to us below in the comments or on our social media.
“I Want to Live Happily Ever After.” This sentiment is understandable in a child. Vulnerable and inexperienced, their growth relies on fantasy to some degree. But retirement services aren’t peddled to children.
Winter lumbers on in the northern hemisphere which typically means battling dry skin. (Unless you’re in Florida where as this is being typed I’m waging a war against turning on the AC to beat the 80°F temps we’ve been blessed with the past few days.)
First the definition – I guess I misspoke but then so do a number of us. Dry skin is actually a skin type. In another life when I maintained my cosmetology license we’re taught that there are four skin types: dry, normal, oily and combination. If you have truly dry skin, you have it year round thanks to genetics and may have to deal with flakiness and itchiness. Then there’s dehydrated skin which feels tight, looks dull and is due to changes in the weather, other environmental factors and diet.¹ So what do you do whether you have dry or dehydrated skin?
Moisturize, both inside and out.
Can we take an aside and talk about how gorgeous this girl’s skin is? #goals You didn’t know? Check out her Instagram!
Sometimes we forget that skin is our biggest organ, living cells that need to be fed and watered. While there is no limit to the number of moisturizing products on the market for you to choose from, are you remembering to drink enough water? If not, we’re inviting our readers to participate in this water challenge starting January 11th.
Want to do a little extra? Ash has recently started drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning to help clear her skin. Squeeze the juice from half of a lemon into hot water and sip away.
So you’ve moisturized the inside by drinking more water, but don’t forget to continue using your fave moisturizer. Click here for six other tips to care for your winter skin.² What are your winter skincare secrets? Share below & on our social media.
¹"The difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin", Naturally with Shaklee, https://go.shaklee.com/the-difference-between-dry-skin-and-dehydrated-skin/?j=359193&sfmc_sub=10451068&l=33_HTML&u=26471819&mid=100009.$207&jb=109&utm_source=mktg&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201212_cnl_winterbeauty&utm_content.=image_dryskin&utm_kxconfid=sw793c3ln
²"8 tips for winter skincare", Naturally with Shaklee, https://go.shaklee.com/8-tips-winter-skincare/?j=359193&sfmc_sub=10451068&l=33_HTML&u=26471817&mid=100009207&jb=109&utm_source=mktg&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201212_cnl_winterbeauty&utm_content=image_8tips&utm_kxconfid=sw793c3ln
Ms. ME here on a #WomensWellnessWednesday and I’m revisiting a post originally written back in 2013 on one of our previous platforms. Seems like at the start of each year people make plans to start taking their physical fitness more seriously. Why do you think you start seeing more gym ads in December?
Vote below to tell us what you think of that hashtag.
So why did I feel the need to revisit this post. Because here we are eight years later and I still, prior to the corona-tine (Covid-19 quarantine), heard the same annoying, comments:
“You are so slim. You don’t need to workout.”
“What are you working out for as skinny as you are?”
“You must not eat. That’s why you don’t gain any weight.”
That last comment was made by one of my current associates who should I guess it is wasn’t for distancing due to Covid-19 would recall that I do eat ALOT, and might even be able to recognize how my weight does fluctuate up and down. But sadly the other comments often come from women older than me and also noticeably larger than me. I don’t say this to insult but only to point out that maybe it never dawned on them that the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” could be applicable in the area of weight and size maintenance.
All of the currently slim women out there, please don’t wait until your weight becomes a problem to get active. On some level I’m talking to myself also as I have been ignoring my daily reminders to exercise lately. In another post I mentioned that I will start later this month because I have some things going on, one of which is making sure you all have new posts on a consistent basis.
But back to the point…
Do you realize how much harder it is to get a 190 pound load moving as opposed to a 120 pound one? This just goes back to science class, you know, an object at rest tends to stay at rest. The same applies to an object, in this case your body, being in motion.
This doesn’t mean that you need to start some intense 2 hour daily workout plan tomorrow. It’s difficult enough to get motivated these days with everything that 2020 threw at us. If you’re struggling to get motivated, click here for some suggestions.
Literally, most mornings I get up, stretch and do a couple of good ol’ jump ‘n’ jacks. It’s mostly about creating the habit of working out now. Having that habit increases your chance of maintaining a healthy weight (whatever that is for you) and decreases the likelihood of you becoming an overweight older woman sending negative vibes to a younger woman trying to take care of herself .
What exercises do you like to maintain your physical wellness?
*The actions recommended in this post are the author's personal thoughts and not to be viewed as medical or professional recommendations.
As one year transitions into another, we always see a sudden rush to get or start getting your financial house in order. A lot of bulleted or numbered lists come out of things to do without necessarily explaining why you need to do it. Maybe the assumption is that you already know which begs the question if you did know, wouldn’t your finances already be in order?
The reality is that many people who live in the US are not financially literate or put another way they don’t fully understand the language of money. That lack of understanding is what leads to having a financial mess on your hands. Let’s be clear though – IT’S NOT THEIR FAULT!
Nowhere in the education system in this country is financial literacy CONSISTENTLY taught. That one glaring absence leads to almost half of the population not knowing things that are key to keeping your bank accounts and overall finances in the black.
Think we’re kidding? Take the quiz on the website above and then post your score in the comments below if you’re brave. Are you financially literate?
If you get a score that you feel is too low to post, here’s how you change it. Register for this free course happening January 6th at 8 PM EST and increase your financial literacy in record time!
“Opportunity cost” refers to what you can potentially lose by choosing one option over another – even when you aren’t thinking about it.
Nearly every choice you make precludes something else that might have been.
Opportunity cost exists in everything from relationships to finances to career choices, but here we’ll focus on that last one. Over a lifetime, the cost of career decisions can be massive.
The math
For opportunity costs that can be measured, usually in dollars, there’s even a math equation. (FYI, Ms. ME spent a few years as a Mathematics instructor.)
What I sacrifice / What I gain = Opportunity cost[i]
Let’s say you have two career choices. One is to work as a mechanic at $50 per hour and the other is to work as a karate instructor at $20 per hour.
Opportunity A / Opportunity B = Opportunity cost
Here it is with numbers: $50 / $20 = $2.50
To translate that, for every $1 you earn as a karate instructor, you could have earned $2.50 as a mechanic. The ratio remains the same whether it’s for one hour worked or 1,000 hours worked because it’s based on earnings per hour.
Adding a time element
We can only work a certain number of hours in a week and we can only work for a certain number of years in a lifetime. Adding time into the discussion doesn’t change the math relationship between the opportunities but it does recognize real-world constraints. Sometimes these limits are by choice. You could be both a full-time mechanic and a full-time karate instructor, but most people don’t want to work 80 hours per week. Something has to give, and that’s where considering opportunity cost comes in.
If you only want to work 40 hours in a week, you’ll have to choose one career over the other or split your time between the two. But even in splitting your time, there is an opportunity cost. Think about it like this: Every hour spent in a lower paying job costs money if you had an opportunity to earn more doing something else.
The bigger picture
In our example using the mechanic vs. the karate instructor, the difference in annual income is over $60,000 per year ($104,000 minus $41,600). Over a 40-year working career, the difference in earnings is nearly $2.5 million, and it all happened one hour at a time.
Life balance
Your career choice shouldn’t just be about money – you should do something you enjoy and that gives you satisfaction. There may be several other considerations as well – like opportunity to travel, the kind of people you work with, and the greater contribution you can make to the world. However, if there are two choices that meet all your criteria but one pays a bit more, just do the math!
Strange as it may sound thanks to Covid-19 and everything else that happened in 2020 many people are doing the math and reevaluating what they want to do with their lives. For some, reconnecting with a long lost passion as a side gig or even a full leap into entrepreneurship is the direction that they are considering to achieve their desired level of wellness. If you’re in this category, tell us in the comments below. 🔻
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