The clever folks at Merrill Lynch’s Merrill Edge came up with a cool web application to scare help people learn about retirement costs. Face Retirement takes your picture and then uses computer imaging to “age” you. The funny thing is your hair stays the same; The useful thing is that they provide facts about expected cost of living increases (71% if I retire in 16 years and 139% if I retire in 26 years – which is really why I feel like I should retire much sooner. ;))
The folks at Wired Magazine hit the nail on the head as to why this is more than just a fun/interesting site, “ Face Retirement lives up to the catty double meaning in its name. Using a facial aging algorithm, the web app snaps a photo of you with your laptop’s camera and then shows you what you’ll look like at 47, 57, 67 and so on, all the way to 107.
The wrinkly, saggy results aren’t pretty. And that’s the point.
In a 2011 study cited by Merrill Edge (Merrill Lynch’s online discount brokerage), Stanford behavioral economics researchers say that we’re often reluctant to save for retirement because deep down we don’t identify with that older person we’ll one day be: “To people estranged from their future selves, saving is like a choice between spending money today or giving it to a stranger years from now.”
To find out if they could alter that perception, the researchers immersed test subjects into a virtual reality simulation that showed them a computer-generated vision of themselves at retirement age and then asked them questions about money. The study found that “those who interacted with their virtual future selves exhibited an increased tendency to accept later monetary rewards over immediate ones.” In other words, they were willing to save more.”
Give it a try – even for laughs – and check out the great, free tools for retirement planning – especially if this is one of your New Year’s resolutions!
Speaking of New Year’s resolutions, I loved the blog post by Arthur Frommer at Frommers.com on his 2013 New Year’s Travel Resolutions. Here they are:
1. I will be courteous and respectful to airport and airline personnel and members of the TSA; they work under stressful conditions, and deserve our smiles and understanding.
2. I will constantly remind myself of the moral obligation to leave a generous daily tip to the housekeepers who have made up my hotel room — theirs is an underpaid profession, and we should supplement the measly wages of the hotel chains.
3. I will avoid traveling on airlines that delight in public-be-damned attitudes, the companies that exult in an openly-expressed disdain for the traveler.
4. On my very next flight, I will politely ask permission of the person sitting behind me to recline my seat.
5. I will stop burying my head in a newspaper or book, and converse with the airline passenger sitting beside me, if they have indicated a desire to talk.
6. I will continue to argue for high-speed rail — either in journalism or meetings — to make a case for a technology so urgently needed in a nation that will soon have 400,000,000 people, as dense as any other on earth.
7. I will agitate as well for an easing of our nation’s overly-restrictive visa requirements for incoming tourism, that have prevented so many foreign residents from visiting our country.
8. I will bring sandwiches with me, prepared at home, to substitute for that atrocious airline food.
9. I will never leave on any trip before spending at least a few hours reading about the history and culture of the place I am about to visit.
10. I will supplement the recommended tipping policies of the cruise lines with additional sums meant to recognize the hard labors of the people who staff the ships.
11. I will never book any Caribbean cruise that stops at the many artificial “private islands” or “private beaches” that the cruiselines are substituting for encounters with actual local people.
12. And finally, in the writing I do and the talks I deliver, I will continue to regard travel not as a mere recreation, but as a serious learning activity, a way of understanding the world, an essential element of a civilized life.
I broke a few of these on my last trip to Los Angeles (starting with #1 but I was provoked! And I am not sure I can get behind #5…) That said, I especially liked #1, #2, #4, #8, #9 and DEFINITELY #12. What do you think?
I have had many friends ask me about getting started with running to do a 5K or 10k and I found some great resources in an unlikely spot! An e-mail from Dunkin Donuts!
Dunkin Donuts and Runner’s World teamed up to develop “Get Running With Runner’s World® and DDSMART®”, a set of resources for a healthier lifestyle including running! They say, “Making smart choices about what you eat is one way to stay on track. Another is keeping active. Run your first 5-K or 10-K, or train for your next! Runner’s World® and DDSMART® have developed training plans and helpful strategies to keep you moving.” Check out some great tips and helpful training plans for 5k and 10k (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced). Here is the 5k beginner plan. It is a PDF that you can print and post nearby. Bravo! I approve!
And finally, you may have noticed that EVERYTHING IS ON SALE! Finding deals is like taking candy from a baby. Neal saved (literally) hundreds of dollars today on work clothes. He also used ebates for part and saved an extra 6% at one online store. [Note: I would love to take credit for this, but those of you who know the husband know he is as frugal as frugal can be – when race cars are not involved! Still I am proud of him!] That said, I will point out a few things for the road!
> SHEfinds has a great post – Didn’t Get What You Wanted? Be Your Own Santa & Shop After Christmas Sales Now. Here is just a sample of the listed online sales:
– Save an extra 30% on sale items at Anthropologie with code WOW30.
– Get an extra 50% off all sale items at C. Wonder with code SALE50.
– Take an extra 30% off all sale styles at Gap with code GAPSALE or get an extra 30% off already-reduced items at Banana Republic with code BRSALE.
– Take up to to 25% off on ALL sale items at Kate Spade with code 25SALE.
– Get an extra 30% off sale styles + free shipping on $100 or more at Madewell with code BYEBYE.
… And so many more!
Whatever you do, don’t buy anything online until you look for coupons on google or ebates!
Also, for those who like fashion but who can use some help pulling things together (yes, I am talking to myself again!), Gilt City has a great deal on Cakestyle ($150 for $300). CakeStyle is an online stylist. You answer detailed questions about style choices, sizing, where you shop and what your closet is missing.
They hand pick designer pieces and you can receive a box of four to six outfits in the mail. You can keep what you love, send back what you don’t. Your box includes a shipping label and packing tape. There’s no extra stylist fee. If you want to buy anything, you’ll only pay department store prices. Pretty cool (but probably a bit pricy in the long run, truth be told!)
– There are some other fun deals at Gilt City right now, too including up to 63% off at Threadless (and one crazy one 30% off of a lot for 12 hours in a private jet. Seriously??!)
That’s all I have for now, but trust me, EVERYTHING IS ON SALE! What have you found this post-Christmas season?
Have a great weekend!