Hide (or Toss!) the Bathroom Scale
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or just maintain your figure,
fretting over every uptick of your scale is a sure way to make yourself
miserable. And it’s a bad way, in the short term, to measure your
progress. “Your weight can go up or down five pounds based on how
hydrated you are, whether you’re constipated or sick, or due to
hormonal changes,” says Cynthia Sass, R.D., coauthor of
Your Diet Is
Driving Me Crazy (Marlowe & Company, $15,
www.amazon.com). Numbers can certainly help
keep you motivated. But if you’re someone who is prone to obsessing
over them, then focus instead on the way your clothes are fitting and
how you feel when you look in the mirror. Then weigh in no more than
once a week, on the same day and at the same time.
Delete that E-mail (Don’t Even Read It)
For some reason, you feel compelled to open every e-mail that pops into
your inbox, right? Yet just opening up an e-mail from an unknown sender
can expose your computer to viral attacks. Responding to suspicious e-mails
is also a bad idea. If you get a message asking you to confirm or
update confidential information, even if it seems to come from a
legitimate source, don't do it — it's most likely a “phishing” scam (a way
of getting you to verify your personal information). And don't be fooled
by an “unsubscribe” link in a spam e-mail. Clicking on the link will only
confirm to the sender — most likely an automated system randomly
spitting out potential e-mail addresses — that your address is legitimate,
and the spam will continue.
Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
In some cases, it makes better financial sense to consolidate than to
spread your bank accounts, loans or investments here, there, and
everywhere. “If you're willing to get your mortgage, your credit card, and
your car and home-equity loan from the same institution, you'll save,”
says Jean Chatzky, author of
Make Money, Not Excuses (Crown, $15,
www.amazon.com).
When it comes to insurance, customers who buy two or more policies
(say, homeowner's and auto) from the same company may qualify for a
“multi-policy discount” of up to 15 percent, according to the Insurance
Information Institute.
