You owe it to yourself....

In these cash-strapped times are there any guilt-free treats left? 

When asked this in a press interview recently I said treats that have a life-enhancing effect are a must. They're the ones that give a whopping quality-of-life return on investment. So out go spa-days with a short-lived feel-good factor, where the after-glow from a massage disappears as soon as you’re back at your desk or wiping the kids’ noses. 

But how about a massage for the brain?

I had the equivalent of a brain massage recently in the form of a bibliotherapy session at the School of Life. My literary horizons were well and truly stretched and I've been binge-reading ever since. I came away with a prescription for 12 books that will keep my synapses firing and zinging for years to come.  All for less than the price of a seaweed wrap. Bliss.

Does biology affect our earning power?

Simonne comments on the fact that full time working women are expected to earn £369,000 less than men across their whole career.

This came up in a BBC2 programme last week looking at why women earn less than men. 

If you didn’t catch the programme (or, like me, don't have a TV)  you can watch or download it from BBC iPlayer until the end of today: http://tinyurl.com/qfflsf. 

Their verdict was that there are lots of complex reasons for the disparity, including the fact that women are actually choosing to earn less!

 

Women and money: survey results out

The results of our research are now published and make fascinating reading. 

Check out our website for the latest on women and money.

Mental accounting

Funny isn’t it, how money can take on more than its face value? Most people feel justified blowing a tax refund but not money they’ve diligently saved. 

As fallible humans we're all susceptible to what behavoural enonomists call mental accounting. That's the tendency to categorise and treat money differently depending on where it comes from, where it is kept and how it is spent.

One of our readers sent in a Q&A that illustrates this problem perfectly. Having struggled with debt for years she suddenly received an inheritance when her grandmother died. She wanted to repay her debts but felt this wasn’t proper use of her grandmother’s money. See what we said here.

Money has the same value in absolute terms regardless of where it comes from. Yet, as Belsky and Gilovich point out in their book Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes, it doesn’t always feel that way.

Recovery conversations

If worrying about over-spending keeps you awake at night, here’s something else to do in the early hours of the next three Fridays.

April Benson, US author of To Buy or Not to Buy is hosting live conversations with women who’ve been serious shopaholics but have come out the other side. They take place on May 14^th/21^st/28^th from 8.30pm EST – that’s about 1.30 a.m. the next day for us UK dwellers.

Check out April’s website www.stoppingovershopping.com for more details. 

Then please try to get a good night's sleep. Bags under the eyes are as bad as bags in the wardrobe ;o)