The Life Expectancy Calculator tells you the same things your doctor would, but it's free. Image from Flikr.

The idea that babies born today will end up living to 100 is becoming a popular theory as advances in health education and medical care increase life expectancy. The Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator at livingto100.com supports the theory that with the right lifestyle and habits, anyone can end up living to 100.

I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea of the Life Expectancy Calculator at first. I am one of those people who always answers “no” to questions involving knowing when I am going to die. But I decided to check it out.

What is the Life Expectancy Calculator?

The Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator asks 40 health-related questions regarding your exercise, sleep and nutrition habits. While I was taking the test, I realized the questions really are just a list of things you can do to stay healthy. I knew what all of the answers were supposed to be. Perhaps if I get debt settlement relief, I’ll be able to give a better answer about the amount of stress in my life.

I knew that if I answered “great!” to the question of how well I sleep I’d get a “higher score” or a longer life expectancy than if I told the truth, “it varies.” So answering the questions for the Life Expectancy Calculator is really a good reminder of which habits are contributing to our health or damaging it. And, of course, not answering the questions accurately really doesn’t do anyone any favors.

Surprising results

Even though I felt that my answers to most of the questions on the Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator were not ideal, I still ended up having a life expectancy of 87. I thought that was a pretty good. I could deal with living to 87. However, before you find out your actual life expectancy, the Living to 100 web site says what you can do to add more years to your life.

The feedback from the Life Expectancy calculator also stresses the importance of seeing a doctor, flossing your teeth and talks about your body mass index. For me, the Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator made me think of a few small, easy steps I can take to increase my life expectancy and thus my current health. So, in the end, really the Living to 100 web site and the Life Expectancy Calculator only encourages healthy habits. And what could be wrong with that?

The Game On! Diet subscribes to the “safety in numbers” theory. As the web site that promotes the book “The Game On! Diet,” it’s not really a diet at all. It’s a strategy. The book’s subtitle is “Kick Your Friend’s Butt While Shrinking Your Own.”

Why someone would pay to be told that you’ll be more successful at weight loss, working out, eating healthy or anything if you have moral support and competition motivating you, I don’t know. Still, people have great things to say about the humor and ideas in this book, so I guess there is more to it than that.

Get  your Game On! for free

Because I like to help my readers save money, I have collected some of the wisdom sold in “The Game On! Diet” book and added a little of my own. You should never have to worry about getting a no faxing payday loan in order to learn to lose weight.

Sure, there are some pricey weight loss methods out there that do work. Most of them involve having someone else pick your meals and portions for you. Pills, drinks and other weight loss supplements are usually ineffective and often dangerous. Common sense is free.

Common Sense Item No. 1

I start this list of common sense items assuming that you went to health class in junior high. Thus, I am assuming you know about the food pyramid, regular exercise and calories. That said, Common Sense Item No. 1 is: Get a partner. In the case of the Game On! Diet, get partners. This book is geared toward pitting two teams against each other in a battle of self-control and motivation.

You know as well as I do that if you’re not already getting exercise on a regular basis, you’re more likely to start if you are obligated to participate in it with someone else. Whatever the reason is, whether it’s shame for not following through with goals and plans or because it’s just more fun than doing it alone, people are much more likely to follow through with plans that involve other people.

Common Sense Item No. 2

Compete. Humans are almost as motivated by competition as they are unmotivated to quit eating pizza. “The Game On! Diet” book gives participants a specific game plan. Unlike many other competitive weight loss programs, the Game On! Diet uses points earned, not weight lost, to determine the winner.

This is where I think “The Game On! Diet” is really smart. Instead of focusing on the scale and the number of pounds that drop from it, it shifts the focus to making good decisions every day. Points are awarded for eating healthy and exercising, not for losing weight. Points are deducted for snacking and making other unhealthy choices.

Common Sense Item No. 3

Use your brain. Clearly, the Game On! Diet is a very good motivator. One of the authors, Krista Vernoff, writes in the foreword:

On more than one occasion, I came home from a ten-hour work day, put the baby to bed, ate dinner, and watched TV with my husband, and then, at midnight, realized I hadn’t exercised, which meant losing serious points for myself and for my team, which meant that there was no way I was going to bed without exercising first. A working mom—a working writer—exercising at midnight? I think this may be previously unheard of in the history of the world.

But let me point out that she wrote the book. Thus, “The Game On! Diet” book was not around when she went through her transformation. She and a friend dreamed it up. So, if you don’t have $15 to spare, use your own thinking skills and come up with a healthy eating and exercise competition game of your own. I realize that could be easier said than done, so if you want to read about the successful method Krista Vernoff used, check out the book. You can read the first few chapters at that link, which just might be enough to get you going!

I went back to the gym this morning. It’s on the top floor of the mall across the street from where we live, convenient, clean and a nice clientele. I had been a regular there for some years and didn’t think it really did me any good other than keeping the guilt down. When the recession started and I lost a few of my writing clients and my income dropped drastically, I cut back on as many expenses as I could, especially the regular monthly payments that are there no matter what. The gym was first out of the window.

The loan system

I switched my finances to a Personal Loan system while I rushed around looking for new clients and sat, hour after hour, scouring the internet for work opportunities. Slowly things returned to some sort of normality, although at a lower level, and the first place that I thought about reinstating was the gym.

The monthly payment problem

One of the problems of joining a gym is the financial side. I have no complaint about the monthly cost, but rather about the ‘contract’ that you have to sign. The contract is usually for a minimum of 24 months and payments are made through your bank account, making it virtually impossible to cancel. Whatever happens, the payments go through on the specified date every month. You get up feeling tired and don’t go, that’s your problem. You feel like dropping out for the winter – that’s your problem. If you take a holiday or become ill, you bring a copy of the air-tickets or hotel booking or a doctor’s letter and maybe, just maybe, they credit you with the missed weeks or months.

You are locked in

I hate the “locked in” feeling of such a contract. Another place that I gave up on was the art school and my painting group there. It was just plain expensive but here the deal I signed was for monthly payments via the credit card, only for the months that I attend. No long term contracts. It was a relief to know that I could cancel at any time without paying a penalty.

Back to the gym

I was wrong about the ‘no benefits’ from going to the gym. After I stopped going there I began walking in the streets instead, and I quite enjoyed the change in scenery and faces. But I am lazy by nature and soon began to find excuses not to walk. After a month or so I wasn’t walking at all. Then I found myself short of breath whenever I had to walk. I panted up a single flight of stairs and worst of all, I found myself walking unsteadily, like an old man, weaving my way down the sidewalk. That made the decision for me.

Walking lessons

A few years ago, a young man suddenly appeared in town and offered walking lessons to anyone interested. We would meet outside the Mango Coffee Shop at 8 of an evening and he would lead a group of 10 to 20 people through the town streets in single file. Often he would stop and take a critical look at each one of us as we passed him. He then came over and explained how we were walking, why it was wrong and what we had to do to correct it. I remember his lessons very clearly and I still try and walk to his specifications. So with thanks to him and thanks to the gym I will soon be fit again and I’m sure that the fittest part of me will be my head.

In Latin they say…

Mens Sana In Corpore Sano. This translates from Latin as “a healthy mind in a healthy body”. The intended meaning here is that only a healthy body can support a healthy mind, so we should strive to keep our bodies in top condition. I’ve changed this to, “Mens sana in bank account sano,” meaning a healthy mind and a healthy bank account. They go hand in hand, don’t they?

If you exercise for fitness and take vitamin supplements, you might want to save cash now by rethinking the second part of that health regimen. Vitamin supplements are expensive, and a new study suggests that taking them inhibits certain beneficial bodily changes that result from strenuous exercise. If you’ve been needing cash advances between paychecks to finance a health and fitness routine, cutting out the supplements can get you that much closer to breaking free of a vicious payday loan cycle.

Supplements suppress the body’s natural defenses

When you exercise, your muscle cells burn sugar which releases reactive oxygen compounds –oxidants—that cause cell damage. The body reacts to the oxidants by strengthening its defenses against cellular damage and becoming more metabolically efficient.

Researchers in Boston and Germany found that when young male subjects who exercised took moderate amounts of vitamins C and E, the vitamins shut down their bodies’ natural defenses against cellular damage. As a result the subjects missed out on a key health benefit of exercise.

Supplements prevent improved insulin sensitivity

Another benefit of exercise is that it improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin. “Get more exercise” is often among the first recommendations given by doctors to diabetics and people at risk of diabetes. The researchers also measured sensitivity to insulin and found that exercise did not improve the sensitivity of the subjects who took vitamins.

“If people are trying to exercise, [supplementing with vitamins] is blocking the effects of insulin on the metabolic response,” said Dr. C. Ronald Kahn of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, one of the researchers. Dr. Kahn theorized that although harmful in high doses, oxidants are beneficial in smaller doses because they activate the body’s natural defense systems.

The detrimental effect is significant

The effect of vitamins on these bodily functions “is really quite significant,”  he said.  The study suggests that the oxidants released during exercise are natural triggers for both of these responses. Vitamins, by efficiently destroying the oxidants, short-circuit the body’s natural responses to exercise.

Avoid large doses of antioxidant vitamin supplements

“If you exercise to promote health, you shouldn’t take large amounts of antioxidants,” Dr. Michael Ristow, a co-author of the study and nutritionist at the University of Jena in Germany, told The New York Times. Ristow and the other researchers recommend instead that people get their antioxidants from fruits and vegetables, which provide more moderate doses of vitamins and also contain natural micronutrients that help keep the body in balance.

Unless, of course, you’re a supplement manufacturer

Of course, whenever researchers find that nature has a better way of doing something, there is resistance from someone with money at stake. In this case, the monetary interests belongs to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association of dietary supplement manufacturers, whose spokesperson Andrew Shao said that most of the available evidence points to the opposite conclusion: that the antioxidants contained in vitamin supplements benefit health by reducing oxidative stress.

Parents may take out personal loans from time to time to help purchase materials to help their children excel in the “Three Rs,” but they (and school administrators) tend to forget the fouth “R”: recess.

The New York Times’ Tara Parker-Pope reports that new research shows that playtime may be as important as reading, science and math to a child’s development. Regular recess tends to lead to better fitness and concentration, which it turn would tend of help children achieve better grades.

The journal Pediatrics studied about 11,000 children, aged age 8 and 9. Those with more than 15 minutes of recess each day showed better behavior and an increased ability to concentrate in class. It’s as if brief rests from focusing are necessary to recharge the brain.

Bingo!

Lead researcher Dr. Romina M. Barros said the findings were important because “many schools do not view recess as essential to education.” Thus, many have cut back or eliminated the outdoor break time children receive.

One thing Dr. Barros found to be illogical is teachers taking away recess as a form of punishment. “Recess should be part of the curriculum,” she said. “You don’t punish a kid by having them miss math class, so kids shouldn’t be punished by not getting recess.” Without math, things like the interest rate on personal cash loans are impossible to figure out.

Rest is essential for development

Psychiatrist Dr. Stuart Brown cities studies of young rats. When they’re denied free play time, they tend to develop social problems that follow them into adulthood. Similarly, children who don’t receive ample playtime do not “learn to handle life in a resilient, vital way.”

To Dr. Brown, play is “a fundamental biological process… it’s a major public health issue. Teachers feel like they’re under huge pressures to get academic excellence to the exclusion of having much fun in the classroom. But playful learning leads to better academic success than the skills-and-drills approach.”

Go now. Play.

Children and adults alike could benefit from the findings of these studies. When I was in elementary school, recess was a regular period that occurred twice per day, 15 minutes at a time. Children today deserve just as much time. America and the world entire is crying out for more well-adjusted, social adults who live and love happily. As a by-product, these people will tend to be more productive in the workplace. Greater productivity could mean greater job advancement. It could also mean a few less personal loans to cover for emergencies. But most importantly, taking the time to play should remind us that we are human beings. Our purpose is to live… now!

Welcome back to the payday loans money blog at personalmoneystore.com.

Continuing on yesterday’s topic in the article, “Increasing Income , Decreasing Debt | Payday Loans Blog Resolutions for 2009,” today we will continue the topic by exposing habits we possess that keep us tied to or continuing the cycle of financial debt.

Where Does The Money Go?

Having trouble seeing where your money is going? Follow this excerice to save money and eliminate debt!

Living In A Financial Fog?

Apart from the larger monthly expenses such as your house and car payments, you may be a little foggy as to what consumes the rest of your income. “Where does the money go?” is a question that is usually indicative of poor budgeting and or spending habits.

Know Where Your Money Is Being Spent

If you don’t know where your moneys is being spent, it is difficult to see the areas where you can save.

For one month, devote yourself to recording each and every one of your daily purchases and expenses. At the end of the month, categorize each into their own respective categories such as food, entertainment, home and utilities, etc. By taking a careful inventory of these monthly expenses, you will begin to see some interesting patterns emerge. These patterns will fall into two separate categories that we will call excessive spending and habitual spending.

Meet Daryl, Your Average American Consumer

For this example we are going to use Daryl, a debt burdened consumer, who has completed the above exercise, so that we can illustrate the patterns that you might expect to see when doing this exercise for yourself.

Daryl is an average American consumer with just more than $9,000 in consumer credit card debt. He has found himself paying only his minimum monthly payments at the end of the month due to a shortage of funds and occasionally he has to borrow payday loans to avoid late payment penalties in on his mortgage payment.

Before the above exercise, Daryl said that he occasionally goes out with his friends but does not buy a lot of consumer goods like his friends do. He considers himself a fairly conservative spender. He just can’t seem to make any headway on his debt. He blames his job, saying that he just doesn’t make enough to live on. So we asked Daryl to do the above exercise to see just how conservative he really is.

Daryl’s Spending Habits

Below are some of the habitual spending habits that Daryl found after completing the above exercise.

• Morning double shot espresso purchases two to three times a week before work at a cost of $4.25 each.
• Lunch twice a week at fast food establishments at a cost of $6.50 each.
• Movie once a week with refreshments costing an average of $16 each.

After doing the math, Daryl found that each month he was spending $51 on “wake up” coffee. $52 on lunch outings and $64 on movies and refreshments, for a grand total of $167.

Daryl did a little better in the excessive spending category finding only the following after completing the above exercise. But it was a big one.

• Groceries bill meeting and exceeding $150 dollars a week

This may not seem to be that much of a grocery bill, but considering that Daryl is “Batching it,” or in other words living solo, a grocery bill of $600 per month for one person is extremely excessive.

So between Daryl’s grocery bill and his habitual spending expenses, Daryl was spending $767 dollars each month.

What Could Daryl Do Better?

The advice given to Daryl after he completed the exercise saved him greatly in his monthly expenses. Here is what was suggested to improve his financial out look.

Cutting Out The Coffee

Instead of getting that morning cup of espresso at the drive-through three times a week, cut back to just one espresso a week. Better yet, eliminating these expensive cups of mud altogether by making his own coffee at home.

If coffee is not an acceptable substitute, purchasing an espresso maker would pay for itself rather quickly with the extra cash saved each week and could be considered a viable option as well.

Pack Out, Don’t Take Out!

Instead of indulging in fast food lunches twice a week, making a lunch and bringing it to work with him would save Daryl the extra money and his cardiac health too.

Spendy...and not good for you.

Subtituting the weekly movie and refreshments, with a RedBox or Netflix movie and some cheaper finger food with the friends, would eliminate his monthly dependence on payday loans.

Buy The Groceries, Not The Store

As far as groceries are concerned, Daryl could substantially lower his costs by going to the store with a planned list of needed food items, thus eliminating a lot of the more expensive junk foods he was getting before. This would lower his monthly grocery bill to the more typical average food bill for one person which should be in the neighborhood of $250 to $300 dollars.

The Conclusion

By subscribing to Netflix ($15), purchasing only one espresso each week ($17) and lowering his food bill to the higher end of the average food bill for one person ($300 dollars), Daryl will have room for beer and refreshments for movie night once a week and save $435 dollars each month.

If Daryl Can Do It, You Can Do

Looking at Daryl’s circumstances and the potential outcome,  a very small sacrifice is made for some extraordinary savings.

This shows the importance of implementing a budget or system to track your expenses each month so you can isolate areas where you can save money and regain financial territory lost to consumer credit debt.

Posted courtesy of Personal Money Store, your payday loans source.