Get Back in the Gym
If you’re serious about tightening your belt—financially as well as physically—consider the pay-per-visit approach. “Gym users with monthly memberships pay 70 percent more than those on pay-as-you-go plans based on actual usage,” says Stefano Della Vigna, PhD, assistant professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley, who studied 7,752 gym users over 3 years. “When we join a gym, we confuse what we’d like to do in the future—attend the gym three times a week—with what we will actually do—probably attend once a week after the initial enthusiasm fades.” Plus, monthly contracts are automatically renewed, and an average of 2 months usually elapses between a user’s final visit and their actual cancellation, leading to a greater waste of money, says Della Vigna. Use the equation to the left to determine whether or not you should opt for this below-the-radar approach.
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Manage Your Money
Fifty-one percent of Men’s Health readers surveyed in late 2009 said that their highest priority for 2010 would be controlling their finances better. That starts with minimizing credit-card debt. Financial advisor Mary Hunt of debtproofliving.com says tougher credit-card terms may soon make consumer debt too large a burden for many Americans. “You need a credit card for one reason: to maintain your credit score,” she says. “High scores are going to increasingly separate the haves from the have-nots.” Get an estimate of your FICO score for free here, and then start trimming your expenses by targeting your insurance premiums. Go to insureme.com to find lower rates, or use the offers to bargain your current insurance companies down. Use a backup e-mail address to manage the deluge of offers, Hunt suggests.
Declutter Your Life
In the same Men’s Health survey, 22 percent of readers said they wanted to clean out their garages and attics. Gail Blanke, the author of Throw Out Fifty Things, recommends tagging three garbage bags with these labels: trash, donate, and sell. Write down each possession you purge so you can track your progress, and part with each bag when it fills up. For your “donate” bag, consider taking household items to a Habitat for Humanity ReStores location. It accepts donated items and sells them at steep discounts to the public.
Raid the Spice Rack
Start by sprinkling rosemary on your entrées and side dishes. The carnosic acid found in this spice has been shown to reduce stroke risk in mice by 40 percent, according to a study published in the Journal of Neurochemistry, and can also protect against degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and the general effects of aging. But rosemary is not the only “mind spice” on the shelf: Cinnamon, turmeric, basil, oregano, thyme, and sage can all protect your brain from inflammation, says neurologist Eric Braverman, M.D., a clinical assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. Shoot for 3 to 7 teaspoons of any combination of these spices each day. “Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to your morning yogurt or coffee,” says Dr. Braverman. “Sprinkle basil and oregano on a sandwich, or stir a teaspoon of rosemary into tea. It’ll add up.”
Put Yourself on a Pedestal
If you’ve got kids, they’re teed up to think you’re a helluva guy. Let that happen. But even if you’re not a father, once you’ve got a few miles on your odometer, find a kid at work who could benefit from the painful lessons you’ve learned along the way. January is National Mentoring Month, so any teaching now amounts to citizenship, as well. Remember, while the rookie benefits from your wisdom, it also does a man good to feel big in someone’s eyes. To find a mentoring organization near you, visit mentoring.org.
Give a Little Extra
Charities have been hidden victims of the recession: They’ve experienced a drop in donations from individuals as well as cuts in funding from state governments. Of course, this in turn means that these organizations have less to give to all the other fiscal victims out there, says Dwight Burlingame, Ph.D., associate executive director for the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. So if you can afford to donate, write that check. But before donating, search the charity at this IRS page. If the organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, it’ll pop up in the results. The only possible exception would be a new charity, in which case you should ask to see its “letter of determination,” a document that looks like this and proves that the organization has tax-exempt status.
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Drink More Champagne
With the economy finally starting to show signs of life, one recession deal to take advantage of while it lasts is bubbly, which some retailers are discounting by as much as 40 percent. “Nonvintage Champagne” is the term to look for; bottled more than a year before it’s distributed and sold, the stuff on shelves today was made before the downturn—and bottlers may have corked more than anyone’s willing to buy. And because people can buy cheaper Cava or Prosecco, Champagne sellers must lower prices to compete, according to Gwendolyn Osborn, content director for wine.com. To find the best deals, check wine.com’s “Sort by Savings” tool.
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