Women & Men Lose Weight Differently

As the weather begins to heat up, now is a great time to start shedding your winter, um, fat suit. If you're like many other couples, the men often times get quicker results when the weight loss regiment begins and the wife is left frustrated and maybe even a little ticked off. Wanna know why and how men drop the pounds quickly? Or perhaps more importantly, what can wives learn from their husbands slim makeovers? This article on MSN highlights some similarities between men and women and their differences. For example, husbands and wives are both susceptible to food cravings, however, men will more often than not reach for a low-carb steak, while women will grab cake or other carbs, says recent research from Cornell University. Another helpful tip mentioned is that men rarely strive for perfection according to the article, they're just trying to improve.

"When women start a diet, they go from zero to 100%--they become 'perfect' overnight, which is a hallmark of failure. That's why I developed the 80% rule: Hit your weight loss goals 80% every single day you can. One day, it'll be 120% because it happens to be a great day. Other days, you'll hit 50% or even 20% when you're dealing with PMS. Just make sure it averages out to 80%."

So when you and your spouse begin your weight loss quest, be supportive of eachother because the pounds do come off differently.

Here's a Tip

The Washington Post has an article worthy of a tip on, well, tipping. The article explores how to appropriately tip in both The States and abroad and tells of entertaining anecdotes explaining things like, why you shouldn't tip in Mexico with your loose American change. The article is also accompanied by a side bar chart called "Ante Up," explaining the general rules of tipping for the variety of tipping situations including: bartender, coat checker, sommelier, garage attendant, doorman and more. By the way, your welcome for the tip.

Want to be a Millionaire?

Are you trying to resolve a money problem? USA Today has this nifty calculator page that asks simple questions and then offers various calculators to solve them. The simple calculators are divided into five categories: mortgages, autos, credit, retirement and savings. Drop down menus under each category ask simple questions such as, How much will my loan payments be? What will it take to be a millionaire? Should I convert my IRA to a Roth IRA? Or, am I better off renting? These are great, easy-to-use tools that can help shed some light on your future and find the road to get their.

100 Calorie Snacks

Have you seen the 100 calorie snack packs? Food makers have responded to criticisms demanding portion control and have found the marketing magic number: 100. This article says Kraft sold more than $100 million of their 100 calorie packs in 2005. Experts in the article say it's easy for calorie counters to keep track of intake with these snack portions and that it reduces the guilt, knowing they aren't going to overindulge. Highlighted as the most recent food maker into this category is Coca-Cola, who introduced 100-calorie, 8-ounce cans. A heads-up for this weekend, if you're trying to stick to 100 calorie portions, share the Cadbury Creme Egg because they are 170 calories a piece.

Marriage is Bliss

The Pew Research Center asked a simple question: Would you describe yourself as very happy? Only 24 percent of non-marrieds replied "yes," but 43 percent of married people said "yes." We blogged a few weeks ago about a study that suggested people who are married are healthier, now this report says married people are happier. Healthier and happier, Hitched continues to work on getting the remaining 57 percent of married people to come aboard.

Are Husbands Bigger Suckers for Internet Fraud?

A federal agency called the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is an established partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center and the FBI recently released their report highlighting fraud complaints and activities for 2005. The IC3 paper says men reported roughly 64 percent of the complaints. Moreover, losses reported by men were equal to $1.86 for every dollar lost by women.

The highest median dollar lost was for...[drumroll]...the Nigerian letter scam ($5,000). Please don't fall for this anymore, it's become cliche. A more recent scam to avoid involves Super Bowl tickets. Apparently, husbands are suckers for football. To protect yourself, the bottom of the report details many tips including how to prevent auction fraud, credit card fraud and other forms of thievery. The report also links to the website www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com where visitors can read more tips and file a complaint if necessary.

Give Your Flowers Some Booze

Working on your garden this weekend? William Miller, a Cornell University horticulturist recommends giving your daffodils a drink of hard liquor, such as vodka, tequila, gin or whiskey to stunt stem growth. This prevents the flowers from growing too tall and flopping over while the blossoms keep vibrant and sober. This article from USA Today says the proper alcoholic blend can stunt flower growth 30% to 50%. Miller says alcohol levels between 4% to 6% are ideal and warns that levels above 10% become toxic to the flowers. The article says, "to get a 5% solution from 80-proof liquor, which is 40% alcohol, add one part liquor to seven parts water." Keep the vino and six pack in the kitchen because they don't work.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Relief

This article from USA Today tells some pretty scary stories of individuals and couples who are having difficulty keeping up with their bills as mortgage rates continue to increase. In fact, since June of 2004 rates have increased 15 times. The Mortgage Bankers Association says that nearly 25 percent of all mortgages are with adjustable rates. In the article, Christopher Cagan at First American Real Estate Solutions says that over the next five years that up to 1 million households who took out adjustable rate mortgages since 2004 could lose their home through foreclosure.

Fortunately, it's not all doom and gloom. The articles says, "The Homeownership Preservation Foundation offers free credit counseling and referrals, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (888-995-HOPE, or 888-995-4673). And NeighborWorks America, a national non-profit that supports homeownership and financial literacy, has member groups in every state."

Buy Now for Summer Airfare

Planning your summer vacation? An article from the St. Petersburg Times says to buy your airline tickets now because summer bargains aren't going to come. A main reason for the lack of good deals is because the level of available occupancy has decreased. Added to the current climate of fewer seats is news that Delta pilots are on the brink of a strike. With Delta planes on the ground, that means even fewer seats in the air. Bon voyage, summer deals.

Download on Date Night

For those nights where it's raining or you don't want to schlep to the video store to purchase your favorite movie that just came out, Hollywood is offering a new option--legal downloads. Brokeback Mountain will be the first movie where consumers can simultaneously buy a DVD in the store or download the movie from the internet. This article mentions that Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, Fox, Sony and MGM are all on board. The bad news is that new movie downloads are a little pricey: $20 to $30. Regardless, date nights just got a lot more convenient.