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Readers response: If you could spend your retirement anywhere in the world, where would you go?

When it comes to retirement, many people decide to spend their golden years travelling the globe. Alternatively, others prefer to stay closer to come to spend valuable quality time with their closest friends and family. We asked our readers where they would spend their retirement if they could choose anywhere in the world, and the response was overwhelming. Here's what they said. Tracee Williams Mason - A cruise ship. Kay Little-Ohmsen - Right where I am. Sunshine Coast and have been for 48 years. Cheryl Barrett - On the Greek island of Naxos. Bruce Hopkins - Travelling around the world. Bob Holl - Cruising the Whitsunday Islands. Steve Tracy - Back to Japan where I spent the 25 happiest years of my life. Terry Dolman - Where I live in South Australia for half the year, Vietnam for the other half. Bev Martin - Florida. Sandra Tiplady Schellings - At the beach! Sonia Davis - Darwin. Sally O'Neill - European cruise and cruising around the Greek Isles. Image credits: Shutterstock

International Travel

How much do you need to know about how your spouse spends money? Maybe less than you think

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/scott-rick-1534612">Scott Rick</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-michigan-1290">University of Michigan</a> Love is in the air, and wedding season is upon us. Like many elder millennials, I grew up watching sitcoms in the 1980s and ‘90s. Whenever those series needed a ratings boost, they would feature a wedding. Those special episodes taught me that weddings usually involve young lovebirds: think Elvin and Sondra from “The Cosby Show,” Cory and Topanga from “Boy Meets World,” or David and Darlene from “Roseanne.” But those were different times. People are getting married later in life than they used to: In the United States, <a href="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/visualizations/time-series/demo/families-and-households/ms-2.pdf">the median age of newlyweds</a> has grown to 28 for women and 30 for men. This trend means that many Americans now enter marriage after being self-reliant for several years, including managing their own money. Will they be eager to change that once they get married? Don’t count on it. A 2017 <a href="https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/bmh/pdf/ar6vnln9-boa-bmh-millennial-report-winter-2018-final2.pdf">Bank of America survey</a> suggests that millennial married couples are around 15 percentage points more likely than their predecessors to keep their finances separate. This is not necessarily a good development. As a behavioral scientist <a href="https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/scott-rick">who studies money and relationships</a>, I find that joint accounts <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucad020">can bring partners closer</a>. There are some risks, however. Joint accounts create transparency, and intuitively, transparency feels like a good thing in relationships. But I argue that some privacy is important even for highly committed couples – <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250280077/tightwadsandspendthrifts">and money is no exception</a>. <h2>The newlywed game</h2> Behavioral scientists <a href="https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/profile.html?id=jgolson">Jenny Olson</a>, <a href="https://som.yale.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/deborah-small">Deb Small</a>, <a href="https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/directory/finkel_eli.aspx">Eli Finkel</a> and I recently conducted <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/50/4/704/7077142">an experiment with engaged and newlywed couples</a>. Each of the pairs had entirely separate accounts, but they were undecided about how they wanted to manage their money moving forward. We randomly assigned each of the 230 couples to one of three groups. One group kept their money in separate accounts; one merged their cash into a joint account and stopped using separate accounts; and one managed their money however they liked. We followed couples for two years, periodically asking them to complete surveys assessing their relationship dynamics and satisfaction. Our relationship quality measure included items such as “I cannot imagine another person making me as happy as my partner does” and “Within the last three months, I shouted or yelled at my partner.” Among the couples who could do whatever they wanted, most kept things separate. They and the couples assigned to keep separate accounts experienced a steady decline in relationship quality over time. This is a fairly typical pattern. For instance, in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sf/article-abstract/79/4/1313/2234046">a large study that tracked U.S. couples’ marital happiness for 17 years</a>, <a href="https://www.unk.edu/academics/social-work/faculty_staff/van_laningham.php">sociologist Jody Van Laningham</a> and colleagues found that “marital happiness either declines continuously or flattens after a long period of decline.” Declines during the first two years of marriage are particularly important. Social scientist <a href="https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/prc/faculty/hustontl">Ted Huston</a> and colleagues call those first two years <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.80.2.237">the “connubial crucible</a>.” They find that relationship dynamics that develop during that crucial period can foreshadow relationship quality for many years to come. Couples in our study who were prompted to take the plunge into a joint account, however, maintained their initial level of relationship satisfaction over the course of the two-year experiment. <h2>Tit-for-tat</h2> Our survey results suggest that, by turning “my money” and “your money” into “our money,” a joint account can help to reduce scorekeeping within a relationship. For example, we found that couples with joint accounts were more likely to agree with statements such as “When one person does something for the other, the other should not owe the giver anything.” Relationships usually don’t start with a scorekeeping orientation. In the 1980s and ‘90s, psychologist <a href="https://psychology.yale.edu/people/margaret-clark">Margaret Clark</a> and colleagues conducted experiments where partners had the option of keeping track of each other’s contributions to a shared task. <a href="https://clarkrelationshiplab.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Resource%20allocation%20in%20intimate%20relationships.pdf">They observed</a> that intimate relationships often begin with a “communal” orientation, where partners help one another without keeping careful track of who’s doing what. Eventually, however, they take on more of an “exchange” orientation – where inputs are tracked and timely reciprocity is expected. Couples that manage to stave off a tit-for-tat mindset <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610373882">tend to be happier</a>. <h2>Too much of a good thing?</h2> The data from our experiment with young couples clearly suggests that using only a joint account is better than using only separate accounts. However, I argue in my new book, “<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250280077/">Tightwads and Spendthrifts</a>,” that just a joint account is probably not optimal. When partners use only a joint account, they get an up-close-and-personal view of how the other person is spending money. This kind of transparency is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/money-habits-successful-married-couples-avoid-2016-11">normally viewed</a> as a good thing. Some commentators argue that a healthy marriage should have no secrets whatsoever. For example, Willard Harley, Jr., a clinical psychologist who primarily writes for Christian audiences, argues that you should “reveal to your spouse <a href="https://www.marriagebuilders.com/the-policy-of-radical-honesty.htm">as much information about yourself as you know</a>: your thoughts, feelings, habits, likes, dislikes, personal history, daily activities, and plans for the future.” In addition, if your goal is to minimize optional spending, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1083">research suggests</a> that the transparency that comes with a joint account can be helpful. We spend less when someone is looking over our shoulder. Still, there are reasons to believe that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407500172005">complete transparency can be harmful for couples</a>. Many people have become convinced that if they could just stop buying lattes and avocado toast, they could invest that money and become rich. Unfortunately, the underlying math is highly dubious, as journalist Helaine Olen points out in <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/308568/pound-foolish-by-helaine-olen/">her book “Pound Foolish</a>.” Still, many people view small indulgences as their primary obstacle to wealth. Complete transparency around these financially inconsequential “treats” <a href="https://slate.com/business/2021/09/partner-hates-retail-therapy-money-advice.html">can lead to unnecessary arguments</a>. Also, spouses may have different passions that their partner does not fully understand. Expenses that seem perfectly reasonable to another hobbyist may seem outrageous <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/19/2/256/1929895">to someone without the proper context</a> – another source of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X21000750">avoidable disagreements</a>. <h2>'Translucent,’ not transparent</h2> I propose that many couples may benefit from a combination of joint and separate accounts. A joint account is essential for ensuring that both partners have immediate and equal access to “our money.” Ideally, all income would be direct-deposited into the joint account, which would help to blur the gap between partners’ earnings. Conspicuous income differences <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/432228">can jeopardize relationship quality</a>. Separate accounts attached to the joint account can allow some privacy for individual purchases and help partners maintain a sense of autonomy and individuality. Each person gets to spend some of “our money” without their partner looking over their shoulder. Spouses would have a high-level understanding of how much their partner is spending per week or per month, but avoid the occasionally irritating details. This kind of partial financial transparency – <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250280077/tightwadsandspendthrifts">what I call “financial translucency</a>” – could help couples strike the right balance between financial and psychological well-being. Of course, this approach requires a lot of trust. If the relationship is already on thin ice, complete financial transparency may be necessary. However, if the relationship is generally in the “good, but could be even better” category, I would argue that financial translucency is worth considering.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/230070/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/scott-rick-1534612">Scott Rick</a>, Associate Professor of Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-michigan-1290">University of Michigan</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-do-you-need-to-know-about-how-your-spouse-spends-money-maybe-less-than-you-think-230070">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

Spending too much time on social media and doomscrolling? The problem might be FOMO

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kim-m-caudwell-1258935">Kim M Caudwell</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin University</a> For as long as we have used the internet to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/07/email-ray-tomlinson-history">communicate and connect with each other</a>, it has influenced how we think, feel and behave. During the COVID pandemic, many of us were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622007985">“cut off” from our social worlds</a> through restrictions, lockdowns and mandates. Understandably, many of us tried to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0258344">find ways to connect online</a>. Now, as pandemic restrictions have lifted, some of the ways we use the internet have become concerning. Part of what drives problematic internet use may be something most of us are familiar with – the fear of missing out, or FOMO. In <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-024-05834-9">our latest research</a>, my colleagues and I investigated the role FOMO plays in two kinds of internet use: problematic social media use and “doomscrolling”. <h2>What are FOMO, problematic social media use and doomscrolling?</h2> FOMO is the fear some of us experience when we get a sense of “missing out” on things happening in our social scene. Psychology researchers have been studying FOMO for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014">more than a decade</a>, and it has consistently been linked to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8283615/">mental health and wellbeing</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376871624001947">alcohol use</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106839">problematic social media use</a>. Social media use becomes a problem for people when they have difficulty controlling urges to use social media, have difficulty cutting back on use, and where the use has a negative impact on their everyday life. Doomscrolling is characterised by a need to constantly look at and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210226-the-darkly-soothing-compulsion-of-doomscrolling">seek out “bad” news</a>. Doomscrollers may constantly refresh their news feeds or stay up late to read bad news. While problematic social media use has been around for a while, doomscrolling seems to be a more recent phenomenon – <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7735659/">attracting research attention</a> during and following the pandemic. <h2>What we tried to find out</h2> In our study, we wanted to test the idea that FOMO leads individuals to engage in problematic use behaviours due to their difficulty in managing the “fear” in FOMO. The key factor, we thought, was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/b:joba.0000007455.08539.94">emotion regulation</a> – our ability to deal with our emotions. We know some people tend to be good at this, while others find it difficult. In fact, greater difficulties with emotion regulation was linked to experiencing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088761852100058X">greater acute stress related to COVID</a>. However, an idea that has been gaining attention recently is <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636919/full">interpersonal emotion regulation</a>. This means looking to others to help us regulate our emotions. Interpersonal emotion regulation can be helpful (such as “<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-016-9569-3">affective engagement</a>”, where someone might listen and talk about your feelings) or unhelpful (such as “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0012-1649.43.4.1019">co-rumination</a>” or rehashing problems together), depending on the context. In our analyses, we sought to uncover how both intrapersonal emotion regulation (ability to self-manage our own emotional states) and interpersonal emotion regulation (relying on others to help manage our emotions) accounted for the link between FOMO and problematic social media use, and FOMO and doomscrolling, respectively. <h2>What we found – and what it might mean for the future of internet use</h2> Our findings indicated that people who report stronger FOMO engage in problematic social media use because of difficulty regulating their emotions (intrapersonally), and they look to others for help (interpersonally). Similarly, people who report stronger FOMO are drawn to doomscrolling because of difficulty regulating their emotions intrapersonally (within themselves). However, we found no link between FOMO and doomscrolling through interpersonal emotion regulation. We suspect this difference may be due to doomscrolling being more of a solitary activity, occurring outside more social contexts that facilitate interpersonal regulation. For instance, there are probably fewer people with whom to share your emotions while staying up trawling through bad news. While links between FOMO and doomscrolling have been observed before, our study is among the first to try and account for this theoretically. We suspect the link between FOMO and doomscrolling may be more about having more of an online presence while things are happening. This would account for intrapersonal emotion regulation failing to help manage our reactions to “bad news” stories as they unfold, leading to doomscrolling. Problematic social media use, on the other hand, involves a more complex interpersonal context. If someone is feeling the fear of being “left out” and has difficulty managing that feeling, they may be drawn to social media platforms in part to try and elicit help from others in their network. <h2>Getting the balance right</h2> Our findings suggest the current discussions around <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/psychology-group-says-infinite-scrolling-social-media-features-are-par-rcna147876">restricting social media use for young people</a>, while controversial, are important. We need to balance our need for social connection – which is happening increasingly online – with the <a href="https://www.biomedcentral.com/collections/spia#tab-3">detrimental consequences </a>associated with problematic internet use behaviours. It is important to also consider the nature of social media platforms and how they have changed over time. For example, adolescent social media use patterns across various platforms are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-019-01060-9">associated with</a> different mental health and socialisation outcomes. Public health policy experts and legislators have quite the challenge ahead of them here. Recent work has shown how loneliness is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190033">a contributing factor</a> to all-cause mortality (death from any cause). We have long known, too, that social connectedness is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190033">good for our mental health</a>. In fact, last year, the World Health Organization established a <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/15-11-2023-who-launches-commission-to-foster-social-connection">Commission on Social Connection</a> to help promote the importance of socialisation to our lives. The recent controversy in the United States around the ownership of TikTok illustrates how central social media platforms are to our lives and ways of interacting with one another. We need to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/27/dominic-andre-tiktok-ban">consider the rights of individuals</a> to use them as they please, but understand that governments carry the responsibility of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/04/what-does-tiktoks-ban-on-australian-government-devices-mean-for-its-future">protecting users from harm</a> and safeguarding their privacy. <hr /> If you feel concerned about problematic social media use or doomscrolling, you can speak to a healthcare or mental health professional. You can also call <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">Lifeline</a> on 13 11 14, or <a href="https://www.13yarn.org.au/">13 YARN</a> (13 92 76) to yarn with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander crisis supporters.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/230980/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kim-m-caudwell-1258935">Kim M Caudwell</a>, Senior Lecturer - Psychology | Chair, Researchers in Behavioural Addictions, Alcohol and Drugs (BAAD), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/spending-too-much-time-on-social-media-and-doomscrolling-the-problem-might-be-fomo-230980">original article</a>.

Technology

How much time should you spend sitting versus standing? New research reveals the perfect mix for optimal health

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christian-brakenridge-1295221">Christian Brakenridge</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/baker-heart-and-diabetes-institute-974">Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute</a> People have a pretty intuitive sense of what is healthy – standing is better than sitting, exercise is great for overall health and getting <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-not-getting-enough-sleep-increase-your-risk-of-type-2-diabetes-225179">good sleep is imperative</a>. However, if exercise in the evening may disrupt our sleep, or make us feel the need to be more sedentary to recover, a key question emerges – what is the best way to balance our 24 hours to optimise our health? <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00125-024-06145-0">Our research</a> attempted to answer this for risk factors for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. We found the optimal amount of sleep was 8.3 hours, while for light activity and moderate to vigorous activity, it was best to get 2.2 hours each. <iframe id="dw4bx" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dw4bx/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe> <h2>Finding the right balance</h2> Current health guidelines recommend you stick to a <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/physical-activity-and-exercise/physical-activity-and-exercise-guidelines-for-all-australians/for-adults-18-to-64-years">sensible regime</a> of moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity 2.5–5 hours per week. However <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2019.02.031">mounting evidence</a> now <a href="https://doi.org/10.2337/dc14-2073">suggests</a> how you spend your day can have meaningful ramifications for your health. In addition to moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity, this means the time you spend sitting, standing, doing light physical activity (such as walking around your house or office) and sleeping. Our research looked at more than 2,000 adults who wore body sensors that could interpret their physical behaviours, for seven days. This gave us a sense of how they spent their average 24 hours. At the start of the study participants had their waist circumference, blood sugar and insulin sensitivity measured. The body sensor and assessment data was matched and analysed then tested against health risk markers — such as a heart disease and stroke risk score — to create a model. Using this model, we fed through thousands of permutations of 24 hours and found the ones with the estimated lowest associations with heart disease risk and blood-glucose levels. This created many optimal mixes of sitting, standing, light and moderate intensity activity. When we looked at waist circumference, blood sugar, insulin sensitivity and a heart disease and stroke risk score, we noted differing optimal time zones. Where those zones mutually overlapped was ascribed the optimal zone for heart disease and diabetes risk. <h2>You’re doing more physical activity than you think</h2> We found light-intensity physical activity (defined as walking less than 100 steps per minute) – such as walking to the water cooler, the bathroom, or strolling casually with friends – had strong associations with glucose control, and especially in people with type 2 diabetes. This light-intensity physical activity is likely accumulated intermittently throughout the day rather than being a purposeful bout of light exercise. Our experimental evidence shows that <a href="https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/39/6/964/29532/Benefits-for-Type-2-Diabetes-of-Interrupting">interrupting our sitting</a> regularly with light-physical activity (such as taking a 3–5 minute walk every hour) can improve our metabolism, especially so after lunch. While the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time might seem a quite high, at more than 2 hours a day, we defined it as more than 100 steps per minute. This equates to a brisk walk. It should be noted that these findings are preliminary. This is the first study of heart disease and diabetes risk and the “optimal” 24 hours, and the results will need further confirmation with longer prospective studies. The data is also cross-sectional. This means that the estimates of time use are correlated with the disease risk factors, meaning it’s unclear whether how participants spent their time influences their risk factors or whether those risk factors influence how someone spends their time. <h2>Australia’s adult physical activity guidelines need updating</h2> Australia’s <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/physical-activity-and-exercise/physical-activity-and-exercise-guidelines-for-all-australians/for-adults-18-to-64-years">physical activity guidelines</a> currently only recommend exercise intensity and time. A <a href="https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2023/why-adults-need-to-move-more-stop-sitting-and-sleep-better-.php">new set of guidelines</a> are being developed to incorporate 24-hour movement. Soon Australians will be able to use these guidelines to examine their 24 hours and understand where they can make improvements. While our new research can inform the upcoming guidelines, we should keep in mind that the recommendations are like a north star: something to head towards to improve your health. In principle this means reducing sitting time where possible, increasing standing and light-intensity physical activity, increasing more vigorous intensity physical activity, and aiming for a healthy sleep of 7.5–9 hours per night. Beneficial changes could come in the form of reducing screen time in the evening or opting for an active commute over driving commute, or prioritising an earlier bed time over watching television in the evening. It’s also important to acknowledge these are recommendations for an able adult. We all have different considerations, and above all, movement should be fun.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/228894/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christian-brakenridge-1295221">Christian Brakenridge</a>, Postdoctoral research fellow at Swinburne University, Centre for Urban Transitions, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/baker-heart-and-diabetes-institute-974">Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-time-should-you-spend-sitting-versus-standing-new-research-reveals-the-perfect-mix-for-optimal-health-228894">original article</a>. </div>

Body

"Worth it": Insane amount woman spends to clone dead cat

Kelly Anderson from Texas, US was devastated when she lost her "soulmate" cat Chai more than four years ago. Not long after, in what she calls "fate", Anderson decided to clone her beloved pet, a process which cost her a whopping $USD25,000 ($AUD38,000). "It was just one of those moments where I had been talking about cloning a few weeks before and fate kicked in," she told Weekend Today. "I remembered the conversation and decided to clone." The process took about four years, which is roughly twice the average time it takes to clone a pet. "It was not money that I had come easily to me but it was a very important process for me to do," she said. "It was 100 per cent worth it. The process saved my life." Anderson added that Belle, the successfully cloned cat, has grown to be as "bold, bossy, sassy" as Chai, and their personalities have become more alike. Despite the similarities, Anderson said that she doesn't set any expectations on Belle to be Chai's replacement. "I would still say she's very much her own cat and I treat her that way. I always try to treat them as individuals. "I never wanted to put expectations on Belle to be Chai. But I would say that they're very similar in a lot of ways." According to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60924936" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a>, the process itself involves extracting DNA from the pet to be cloned, then injecting that into a donor egg that has had its genetic material removed. The egg then grows into an embryo before being implanted into a surrogate mother, who then gives birth to the kitten. Pet cloning has become an increasingly popular practice, , despite how controversial and expensive it is, with celebrities like Barbra Streisand and Simon Cowell using the process to clone their own beloved pets. Anderson, who decided to document her story on social media added that people have mixed reactions to the process. "I think there's people who are fascinated and don't even realise that we're cloning animals ... so a lot of people are learning about cloning," she said. "But a lot of people also have opinions. So it's a mixed bag." Images: Weekend Today

Money & Banking

Trying to spend less on food? Following the dietary guidelines might save you $160 a fortnight

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-burch-438717">Emily Burch</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/southern-cross-university-1160">Southern Cross University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-ball-14718">Lauren Ball</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> A rise in the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook47p/CostOfLiving#:%7E:text=Consumer%20Price%20Index%20over%20time,but%205.1%25%20in%20the%20second">cost of living</a> has led many households to look for ways to save money. New research suggests maintaining a healthy diet, in line with the <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/guidelines">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a>, is cheaper than an unhealthy diet and <a href="https://southwesthealthcare.com.au/wp-content/uploads/SWH-HP-Healthy-Diets-ASAP-Protocol-Warrnambool-Report-2023.pdf">could save A$160</a> off a family of four’s fortnightly shopping bill. Poor diet is the most common preventable risk factor contributing to chronic disease in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30752-2/fulltext">Australia</a>. So improving your diet can also be an important way to reduce the chance of developing chronic disease. <h2>First, what are the dietary guidelines?</h2> The guidelines provide information on the quantity and types of foods most Australians should consume to promote overall health and wellbeing. Recommendations include eating a wide variety of nutritious foods from the main five food groups: <ul> <li>vegetables and legumes</li> <li>fruit</li> <li>grains</li> <li>lean meats and meat alternatives such as tofu, nuts and legumes</li> <li>dairy products.</li> </ul> The guidelines recommend limiting our intake of foods high in saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol. <h2>What are Australians eating?</h2> Fewer than <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/dietary-behaviour/latest-release">7%</a> of Australians eat sufficient vegetables, in line with the Australian Dietary Guidelines. In fact, Australians have an average healthy diet score of <a href="https://www.csiro.au/-/media/News-releases/2023/Total-Wellbeing-Diet-Health-Score/Diet-score-2023-Report_September.pdf">55 out of 100</a> – barely passing. Foods that aren’t part of a food group are known as “discretionary” items, which includes alcohol, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and confectionery and most takeaway foods. Because they’re typically high in kilojoules, saturated fat, sodium and added sugars, the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend they only be eaten occasionally and in small amounts (ideally zero serves). For many households, discretionary items make up a big portion of their grocery shop. Australians consume an average of <a href="https://www.csiro.au/-/media/News-releases/2023/Total-Wellbeing-Diet-Health-Score/Diet-score-2023-Report_September.pdf">28 serves</a> of discretionary choices per week (equal to 28 doughnuts, 28 slices of cake, or 28 cans of soft drink or beer). This is an increase of ten serves since 2015. One recent <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12966-022-01389-8">study</a> estimated 55% of Australians’ total energy intake was from discretionary items. <h2>What did the researchers find?</h2> Researchers from the Health Promotion Team at South West Healthcare <a href="https://southwesthealthcare.com.au/wp-content/uploads/SWH-HP-Healthy-Diets-ASAP-Protocol-Warrnambool-Report-2023.pdf">recently</a> visited four local supermarkets and takeaway stores in Warrnambool, Victoria, and purchased two baskets of groceries. One basket met the Australian Dietary Guidelines (basket one), the other aligned with the typical dietary intake of Australians (basket two). They compared prices between the two and found basket one would cost approximately $167 less per fortnight for a family of four at the most affordable supermarket. That’s equal to $4,342 a year. Basket one was sufficient to supply a family of four for a fortnight, and aligned with the Australian Dietary Guidelines. It cost $724 and included: <ol> <li>fruit and vegetables (made up 31% of the fortnightly shop)</li> <li>grains and cereals (oats, cornflakes, bread, rice, pasta, Weet-bix)</li> <li>lean meats and alternatives (mince, steak, chicken, tuna, eggs, nuts)</li> <li>milk, yoghurt and cheese</li> <li>oils and spreads (olive oil).</li> </ol> Basket two reflected the current average Australian fortnightly shop for a family of four. In the project, the team spent over half of the fortnightly shop on processed and packaged foods, of which 21% was spent on take-away. This is based on actual dietary intake of the general population reported in the 2011-2012 <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/australian-health-survey-nutrition-first-results-foods-and-nutrients/latest-release#:%7E:text=Food%20consumption,across%20the%20major%20food%20groups.">Australian Health Survey</a>. Basket two cost $891 and included: <ol> <li>fruit and vegetables (made up 13% of the fortnightly shop)</li> <li>grains and cereals (oats, cornflakes, bread, rice, pasta, Weet-bix)</li> <li>lean meats and alternatives (mince, steak, chicken, tuna, eggs, nuts)</li> <li>milk, yogurt and cheese</li> <li>oils and spreads (olive oil, butter)</li> <li>drinks (soft drink, fruit juice)</li> <li>desserts and snacks (muffins, sweet biscuits, chocolate, ice cream, potato chips, muesli bars)</li> <li>processed meats (sausages, ham)</li> <li>convenience meals</li> <li>fast food (pizza, meat pie, hamburger, fish and chips)</li> <li>alcohol (beer, wine).</li> </ol> <h2>But a healthy basket is still unaffordable for many</h2> While this piece of work, and other <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/11/2469">research</a>, suggests a healthy diet is less expensive than an unhealthy diet, affordability is still a challenge for many families. The Warrnambool research found basket one (which aligned with guidelines) was still costly, requiring approximately 25% of a median household income. This is unaffordable for many. For a household reliant on welfare, basket one would require allocating 26%-38% of their income. This highlights how the rising cost of living crisis is affecting those already facing financial difficulties. Around 3.7 <a href="https://reports.foodbank.org.au/foodbank-hunger-report-2023/">million</a> Australian households did not have access to enough food to meet their basic needs at some point in the last 12 months. Policy action is needed from the Australian government to make recommended diets more affordable for low socioeconomic groups. This means lowering the costs of healthy foods and ensuring household incomes are sufficient. <h2>What else can you do to cut your spending?</h2> To help reduce food costs and support your health, reducing discretionary foods could be a good idea. Other ways to reduce your grocery bill and keep your food healthy and fresh include: <ul> <li> planning for some meatless meals each week. Pulses (beans, lentils and legumes) are nutritious and cheap (a can is <a href="https://coles.com.au/product/coles-chick-peas-420g-8075852?uztq=46abcbb7e16253b0cdc3e6c5bbe6a3f0&cid=col_cpc_Generic%7cColesSupermarkets%7cPLA%7cCatchAll%7cAustralia%7cBroad&s_kwcid=AL!12693!3!675842378376!!!g!326304616489!&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwkY2qBhBDEiwAoQXK5SceYhU2VtKepNLXWN218GH8Cp8Vs9cnYynCBwRqQPaW3UYNX2SVIBoC_6EQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds">less than $1.50</a>. Here are some great pulse recipes to <a href="https://nomoneynotime.com.au/healthy-easy-recipes/filter/keywords--vegetarian/p2">try</a> </li> <li> checking the specials and buy in bulk (to store or freeze) when items are cheaper </li> <li> making big batches of meals and freezing them. Single-serve portions can help save time for lunches at work, saving on takeaway </li> <li> Australian supermarkets are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/datablog/2023/jul/27/cost-of-living-grocery-store-price-rises-cheapest-fresh-produce-australia-woolworths-coles#:%7E:text=The%20results%20showed%20independent%20and,best%20place%20for%20affordable%20groceries">almost never</a> the cheapest place for fresh produce, so shop around for farmers markets or smaller local grocery shops </li> <li> buying generic brands when possible, as they are <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/streamlined-datagathering-techniques-to-estimate-the-price-and-affordability-of-healthy-and-unhealthy-diets-under-different-pricing-scenarios/872EA6396533166E0C6FA94C809D9CAC#r">notably cheaper</a>. Supermarkets usually <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-that-makes-us-spend-more-in-supermarkets-and-feel-good-while-we-do-it-23857">promote</a> the items they want you to buy at eye-level, so check the shelves above and below for cheaper alternatives.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216749/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> </li> </ul> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-burch-438717">Emily Burch</a>, Dietitian & Academic, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/southern-cross-university-1160">Southern Cross University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-ball-14718">Lauren Ball</a>, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-spend-less-on-food-following-the-dietary-guidelines-might-save-you-160-a-fortnight-216749">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

How to spend time wisely – what young people can learn from retirees

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/boroka-bo-1371004">Boróka Bó</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-essex-1291">University of Essex</a> For many young people, retirement is a blip on the radar, if not a total unknown. This is particularly true during our cost of living crisis, when investing and contributing more to your pension might fall down the priority list behind paying rent. Despite this, more and more young people are starting to think about retirement in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/retirement/the-forbes-guide-to-fire/">earlier ages</a>, with many focusing on their future quality of life and financial independence after they leave work. This can sometimes come at the expense of their wellbeing while they are still working, spending extremely frugally and focusing on the “hustle”, instead of enjoying the freedom and good times that could also characterise young adulthood. For my <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8681690/">new research</a>, I interviewed over 200 people and surveyed hundreds more to understand how they balance time and money. I focused on people going through major life transitions: recent retirees and new parents, and people preparing for those moments. While we expect retirees to have all the time in the world, I found that in reality, retirees are often pressed for time. Over a quarter of them feel <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11205-015-1029-z.pdf">time poor</a>, with not enough hours left in the day for all they need to do. This is regardless of the amount of money they have. Although wealthy retirees generally have more control over their schedules, both rich and poor retirees are impacted by time poverty in older ages. It’s never too late (or too early) to start making the most of your time and living a better life. Here are some important lessons learned from my retirees’ journeys. <h2>Don’t chase money, let money chase you</h2> One of the biggest regrets among my <a href="https://betterdwelling.com/city/toronto/heres-torontos-richest-and-poorest-neighbourhoods-interactive/">less privileged</a> research participants was their inability to get as much education as they wanted when younger. Some left university or college early to support their families, or because they could not afford to continue. But all regretted not getting as much education as they needed to be competitive in the labour force later on. To make enough money, pick something and follow through: whether university or skilled technical trades, get good at something. Then, the money will follow. <h2>Worry about how you feel – not how you look</h2> When youth wanes, you are left with how you feel. In retirement, will you be in pain thanks to spending your life in hard labour or nonstop work? My interviewees made clear that when you prioritise making money over health – whether by necessity or by choice – you pay for this by having to give up your precious time in retirement. Some of my new retirees’ health recovery efforts included spending extra time with medical providers, and spending money and time on commuting to appointments. Women were doubly disadvantaged here as, unlike men, they continued to face societal pressures to look younger than their age. To avoid having to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/57/5/910/2632069?login=false">spend extra</a> time and money on health recovery in later life, focus on health preservation in earlier life. Sometimes you may need to to prioritise your own wellbeing above the needs of your employer, for example by taking time off for your physical or mental health. While this is a luxury currently not afforded to all, movements like “quiet quitting” are beginning to start a public conversation on this topic. <h2>Make your time count by sharing it with others</h2> We can “buy” time by exchanging money for tasks we do not wish to do. Consuming items can also have <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24737120.pdf?addFooter=false">time costs</a>, as both shopping and learning to use new items takes time. Thanks to my retirees, I now also know that we can get more out of time when we share it with others. Time is what social scientists would call a “<a href="https://sociologicalscience.com/time-network-good/">network good</a>”. In other words, how we value time depends on the number of other people we can share our time with. All of my retired participants spoke of the need to build strong, healthy relationships while younger, to have friends we can share life with when older. Shared time leads to <a href="https://sociologicalscience.com/time-network-good/">greater emotional wellbeing</a> and happiness. <h2>Identify your passions early</h2> While nearly all of my retirees spent a considerable amount of time financially planning for retirement, almost as many regretted not planning ahead when it comes to cultivating hobbies and interests. This was particularly pressing for my wealthy retirees, as they faced a drop in their social status and loss of work friends when they retired. Starting new hobbies and interests once retired – out of necessity – can feel like extra work. Pursuing passions is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07053436.1995.10715491?casa_token=Puyxz2akU2oAAAAA:Gl6qIREhdxqfcm5fo0cJ6_5DLLjTCuEVPF7Da2JDyxVHNwbeq6N-9Hbc0nMLiKn-cO1fZfd8cKRi">necessary for wellbeing</a>, but this should be done before retirement, while it is purely for fun. <h2>Time is love</h2> Repeatedly, my interview participants gently reminded me that giving your time to another person is the biggest act of kindness we can do. This is because once you give your time away, you can never get it back. Be mindful of this as you give your time, to your friends, employers, acquaintances or to social media companies. Thanks to my participants, I now often ask myself: Does this company or organisation love me? Generally, the answer is no, at which point I also know they do not deserve much of my time. At the same time, when a friend, trusted mentor, teacher or stranger donates their precious time to me, I am aware that my appreciation and kindness can only ever partially repay them. My retired participants show that it is important to remain grateful for the time we share with each other while on this Earth. When the daily grind gets you down, remind yourself that time is love.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189340/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/boroka-bo-1371004">Boróka Bó</a>, Assistant professor in sociology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-essex-1291">University of Essex</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-spend-time-wisely-what-young-people-can-learn-from-retirees-189340">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

Dying husband and wife spend their final days holding hands

A married couple have spent their final days holding hands in hospital, after their beds were pushed next to each other so they could be side-by-side as they both passed away. The couple from Tennessee, Tommy and Virginia Stevens, both 91, were both admitted to the Vanderbilt hospital for unrelated medical issues. Tommy, who was suffering with Alzheimer’s disease, had been struck down with aspiration pneumonia and sepsis, and was transferred to the hospital's palliative care unit. The same morning, Virginia suffered a fall as she sustained six broken ribs, a spinal fracture, and a hip injury, and was admitted to the hospital's trauma unit. As Tommy and Virginia's family were struggling to split time between the two wards, hospital staff were able to pull strings for the longtime lovebirds to be roomed side-by-side. Virginia was moved into a room near Tommy’s in the Palliative Care Unit, and her hospital bed was scooted against his so she could comfort him as his health continued to get worse, the hospital said. “He was awake when she came in,” their daughter Karen Kreager said. “His eyes were open. He wasn’t communicating a lot — just in small whispers. But he knew that she was there and that she was going to be right beside him. They haven’t stopped holding hands the whole time. She won’t let go of him.” “It reminds me of why we do this work,” Mohana Karlekar, MD, medical director of VUMC’s adult Palliative Care Program told local news station <a href="https://www.wsmv.com/2023/09/19/she-wont-let-go-him-vanderbilt-helps-hospitalized-wife-comfort-dying-husband/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WSMV</a>. “We take care of people — husbands, wives, mothers, fathers — not patients. We brought this family together during one of their most difficult times with little effort on our part. It involved a call, seeing an extra patient that day and some conversations.” “From the time we brought Mrs. Stevens over, she held her husband’s hand and fussed in a very loving way with him,” Karlekar said. “She was able to tell me Monday that she was at peace with what was going on, and she wanted to be there until the end.” Tommy died on September 8th, just a day before the couple’s 69th anniversary, and Virginia died a few days later on September 17th. Image credits: Vanderbilt University Medical Center and The Stevens Family

Caring

The cost of living is biting. Here’s how to spend less on meat and dairy

Food & Wine

Holidays you’d be happy to spend your life savings on

There’s nothing better than an amazing travel adventure that makes you stop, look at the world around and you have life-altering “ah-ha” moments. These are the holidays that dreams are made of. You’ve worked hard your whole life – go on, you deserve it. Swim with sea turtles in the Galapagos Islands Step right into your own nature documentary with a visit to the home of Darwin’s evolution theory. Get up close to wildlife that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else- Blue-footed boobies, giant tortoises and marine iguanas to name just a few. You can choose to live on board a cruise, or join an island-hopping cruise where you sleep in small hotels and hostels on different islands. Swim or snorkel with sea turtles and sea lions, hike volcanic craters or just kick back and snap away on your camera. If you really want to push the boat out (pun intended!) you could add another adventure. Explore Ecuador, where cruises to the Galapagos Islands depart from, or hop over to Peru and see the Machu Picchu. If trekking isn’t your thing, take a guided tour where you stay in a lodge each night, or board the Orient Express at Cusco to tick off another bucket list item! Expedition cruise to Antarctica It might be the coldest, windiest, emptiest, driest continent on earth, but an expedition cruise to Antarctica is one of the hottest destinations for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. If spectacular iceberg formations and abundant wildlife such as whales, seals and penguins appeal to you, then this has to go on your bucket list. You can choose a cruise that retraces the footsteps of Scott and Shackleton, or one that offers activities for keen kayakers, photographers or wildlife enthusiasts. Most cruises depart from South America, so why not extend your holiday while you’re there and travel around South America too? We’re sold. Track the ‘Big Five’ in Africa Tanzania is well-established as one of the best wildlife-viewing destinations in the world, but when you head out on a private jeep safari at dawn from your luxury lodge, you’ll feel like there are just the incredible animals, and you. Tick off the big five: lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and rhinos as you watch the sun come up over the Serengeti plain, one of the 10 natural travel wonders of the world. Include a stop-over at Kenya and visit a Masai village, or for the extremely adventurous, Mount Kilimanjaro isn’t far away. Finish your trip with some R&R time on Zanzibar, an island full of Arabian influence and stunning beaches just off the coast of Tanzania. Grand Canyon and the Rockies One of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon is North America’s must-see destination. Zoom over the parched red rock formations in a light aircraft or helicopter, or trek down to the bottom on horseback or on foot. Then fly to Colorado to start a tour of the incredible Rocky Mountains. Stay on a ranch in cowboy country and pretend you’re in a spaghetti western, spot bears, elk and bison in Yellowstone National Park and get a taste of what the pioneers first discovered when they started moving westwards. Keep heading north on one of the most spectacular journeys in the world through Glacier, Banff and Jasper National Parks, and finish your trip in stunning Vancouver. Prices vary depending on the level of luxury and length of trip. Image credit: Getty / Shutterstock

International Travel

Meet the woman preparing to spend three years at sea

When Sharon Lane heard about a once in a lifetime trip offered by a cruising company for a three-year voyage around the world, she began dreaming of her life on board. The 75-year-old cruising fanatic, a retired teacher from California, is no stranger to all-or-nothing travel experiences. She has frequented Europe with her students, taught foreign languages, and in the 1990s, she up and left to spend two years in South Africa. While looking for her next adventure, Sharon discovered an incredible voyage with Life at Sea Cruises. The company is selling places on board the <a href="https://oversixty.co.nz/travel/cruising/world-first-three-year-cruise-revealed">MV Gemini</a>, which sets sail from Istanbul on November 1st 2023 on an epic three-year global journey that will take in most of the planet's prime cruising destinations. The MV Gemini will stop at 375 ports over its three-year voyage, with 208 of these including overnight stays. The ship will stop everywhere from India to China to the Maldives to Australia, with some multi-night stopovers. A recent convert to the world of cruising as she has gotten older, Lane said one of her favourite sensations is the calming feeling of being adrift at sea. "I actually prefer the ocean days, when we're just sailing through or powering through the oceans, it just thrills me," Lane tells <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/cruise-ship-three-years-mv-gemini-passenger-perspective/index.html">CNN Travel</a>. After hearing about the voyage from a friend, Sharon immediately started her planning and budgeting. "By midnight that night, I had done enough research that I booked a room," she says. The cheapest rooms on the MV Gemini cost around $US30,000 ($45,000) per year, including a discount for solo travellers. Since booking her ticket, Lane is busy working out the details before her embankment date in November. She is selling most of her possessions, giving up her rental lease and preparing for a long stint at sea. "The logistics are crazy," says Lane. "It's a leap of faith, but I know there will be a place here when I get back. Or maybe I'll end up living in another country. I don't know, the sky's the limit." While she is getting rid of most of her belongings, she is determined to bring along a few family photos for the journey, particularly a favourite picture of her now-adult grandsons back when they were kids and she took them on a whale-watching trip. "I have that laminated and I'll take magnets and I'll stick it to my door for two reasons," says Lane. "One, I get to see their faces every time I go in, which is always fun, and the other reason is it makes it really easy to know which door is yours, because you've got your grandsons smiling back." Lane hopes her epic journey might inspire others to take a risk and push themselves out of their comfort zone, as she still regrets the years she spent in midlife putting off travelling and doesn’t want others to hold the same regrets. "I think I was always waiting for the perfect time to go when everything is right in life, when money is right, when appointments are right, when other people want to go," she says. "Don't stay home," she encourages. "Home may be where the heart is, home may be where you hang your hat – hang your hat, and then get on the boat, get on the plane, get in the car, go somewhere." Image credits: CNN Travel

Cruising

5 magical destinations to spend Christmas

Here are the five best places to spend Christmas around the world. If you can’t be home for Christmas this year, one of these locations would do nicely! 1. Niseko, Japan For a guaranteed white Christmas without the 24-hour flight to get there, Niseko should be on your Christmas list. The resort, on the northern island of Hokkaido, is considered the powder capital of the world and you’ll get fresh snow virtually every day. Even if you’re not a skier, you can soak up the Japanese onsen culture, dine at the Michelin star restaurants and indulge in a little après ski. 2. Bruges, Belgium Europe’s best-preserved medieval city oozes charm from every cobblestone. Walk through the snow-dusted streets, inhaling the scent of praline and warm waffles, stopping in at one of the many chocolatiers to warm up with a cup of hot chocolate. A small ice rink and Christmas market take over the central square, creating one of travel’s most snappable moments. 3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Aussies are so accustomed to a warm holiday season that a trip to the snow might be too much to handle. So head straight across the Pacific to South America and the buzzing beachside beauty of Rio. Brazil is the world’s largest Catholic nation, so Christmas is a big deal. The world’s largest floating Christmas tree sits in the harbour, bedecked with thousands of twinkling lights, and the whole city is in a festive mood. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ahytoTd8vHo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 4. Salzburg, Austria One of Europe’s great Christmas market hubs, the markets here date back to the 15th century. The main market runs for the month before Christmas and sits right in front of the grand Cathedral of Salzburg. Other markets are dotted around the city, like the Advent Market in Hellburn that has an oversized advent calendar as the centerpiece. 5. Rome, Italy Midnight mass inside St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is a one of a kind Christmas experience that you will never forget. An enormous tree is set up in the middle of St Peter’s Square and there’s also a television screen broadcasting the mass inside if you can’t get a seat. The Christmas season lasts for a full month in Italy, so you will be able to participate in a number of religious ceremonies leading up to the day. Image: Getty Images

International Travel

How the royal family will spend their first Christmas without the Queen

A royal insider has revealed how King Charles and his family will spend their first Christmas without the Queen. This festive season will be the first for the family since the death of Queen Elizabeth in September. Buckingham Palace has confirmed that King Charles III will continue the tradition of hosting Christmas at Sandringham, the Queen’s Norfolk estate, with his wife, Queen Consort Camilla. Sandringham is also the location of Prince William and Princess Catherine’s second home, Anmer Hall. Royal expert Emily Nash told <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/20221128158211/inside-royal-family-first-christmas-without-queen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HELLO! magazine</a> that some traditions will remain the same for the royals, but other things will feel very different without the Queen's presence. “This is going to be a very poignant Christmas for the King and his family, as their first without the late Queen in their midst,” Nash said. “But it’s also a chance for them to all come together and share their memories and continue family traditions in the place she loved so much.” December is set to be a historic month for King Charles, who will record his first Christmas message for the public as the reigning monarch, to be broadcast on December 15th. “I’m sure he will reflect on his mother’s remarkable reign and the outpouring of love and support for him following her sad death,” Nash said. “I think the royal family will want to honour all the traditions they associate with Christmas at Sandringham - exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve and walking to St Mary Magdalene for the Christmas Day service, but there’s no doubt it will be an emotional time for them without their matriarch.” Image credits: Getty Images

Family & Pets

Why you should beware spending rewards and BNPL programs

Malware is software designed to disrupt and destroy, and there are plenty of ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ financial programs doing just that to people’s financial futures. Some that come to mind are programs (yes, they’re called ‘programs’) that make it easier to spend and / or reward and incentivise spending, and harder to make good financial decisions. When you get tricked into spending, or spending more than you otherwise would, you transfer your wealth to someone else. The more wealth you consume, the less you have for later on. Let’s consider two marketing malware culprits to avoid wherever possible. Rewards Programs Beware programs that trick you into thinking that spending is good. Consider Flybuys for example. It is a rewards program where you generally receive one Flybuys point for every dollar spend. Therefore, to earn 1 000 000 Flybuys points, you need to spend $1 000 000. What if I told you that the cash value of one Flybuys point is 0.5 cents? That would mean to earn 1 000 000 Flybuys points you’d have to spend $1 000 000, yet that $1 000 000 is really only ‘worth’ $5000. They’ve actually created a system where you think you’re being rewarded on a one-for-one basis (i.e. one dollar spent equals one point) when really you’re being rewarded at the rate of half of one cent for every dollar spent. Additionally, when it comes time to redeem your points, the products you can ‘purchase’ are valued at top dollar, rather than at any discounted price you might be able to find if you shopped around. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Back in the day, department stores offered something called lay-by. This was where you could grab a product off the shelf, take it to the store’s lay-by counter and enter an arrangement with them to pay it off over two or three instalments. Once you’d made the final payment, the product was yours to own and take home. Lay-by was a great option for people who couldn’t access or didn’t want to use credit cards. There were no upfront fees associated with lay-by, and there was certainly no interest charged. Lay-by has been reborn and rebadged as BNPL; you pay by instalments, and you can take the product with you immediately. You won’t pay any fees provided you make the required instalments in full and on time. If you don’t, then you’ll be slugged with establishment fees, late fees, account-keeping fees and payment processing fees. The danger is that BNPL is easier to access than traditional debt options such as credit cards because BNPL is not technically credit since providers don’t charge interest. But BNPL is consumer debt with instant gratification, and that makes it credit in my book. Afterpay is one of the biggest BNPL providers on the planet. It advertises that it is a ‘free service’, provided you pay on time. If you don’t, their late fee is $10 per missed payment, plus an additional $7 if the payment is still outstanding after a week. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but if you had bought something that only cost $20 and forgot to make a $5 instalment, then the $10 fee is 200 per cent of the missed payment. Ouch! Don’t forget that the fee is per missed payment. If there were other purchases made, then the fee would compound. Late fees, however small, can quickly cascade into a significant sum of money, potentially many times more than the instalment due or even the price of the item purchased. Plus, there are other consequences of missed payments—black marks on credit records, difficulties borrowing for other debt such as a home loan, and the possibility of additional fees as debts are passed over to debt collectors. BNPL organisations profit from users who fail to meet their repayment obligations, and so part and parcel of running a successful business and growing profits would involve them doing well when their customers do poorly. You can’t expect corporate behemoths to do the right thing by you if it’s the wrong thing by them. The best you can do is gain the skills and awareness you need to know when you’re being played. Marketing malware disrupts your ability to accumulate wealth by tricking you into believing you are getting a better deal than is the case. Ideally, you’d avoid using it at all, but if it’s too late for that, then you need to clean up your code as soon as you can. Being rewarded for spending money you haven’t yet earned is a toxic combination that will poison your efforts to attract and keep a fortune that counts. Make sure you are a good shepherd of your financial flock by being vigilant in keeping an eye out for marketing malware wolves, and not falling for their enticing yet financially disempowering charms. Edited extract from Steve McKnight’s Money Magnet: How to Attract and Keep a Fortune that Counts (Wiley $32.95), now available at all leading retailers. Visit www.moneymagnet.au Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

Spending too much money? Tempted by sales? These ways to ‘hack’ your psychology can help

It’s late November, which means the holiday sales period has well and truly begun. If you haven’t already seen your spending go up, the possibility is looming. And you probably have some concerns about spending your money wisely. Furthermore, shopping can be a harrowing experience, and our attitudes towards money are tied up in all kinds of feelings. Based on psychology, here are three tips to improve the way you spend your hard-earned cash this holiday season. Before the purchase – patience is your friend One of the amazing features of the human mind is that we can mentally time travel: we can imagine what the future is going to feel like. Scientists call this “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(03)01006-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">affective forecasting</a>”. Thinking about a future trip – imagining the warm sun, the sand between your toes, finding yourself smiling – is an example of such mental time travel. However, it turns out <a href="https://www.bauer.uh.edu/vpatrick/docs/Looking%20Through%20the%20Crystal%20Ball.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we’re not very good at affective forecasting</a>. We get wrong not only the emotions we will experience, but also their intensity and duration. Lottery winners are a classic example – contrary to expectations, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.36.8.917" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many are not happy</a>, or not happy for long. More importantly, you can derive happiness from just anticipating future experiences. For example, one study measured the happiness of 974 people going on a trip compared with 556 people not going on a trip. As you might expect, the vacationers were relatively happier – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11482-009-9091-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">but only before the trip</a>. So, how can we take advantage of our capacity to mentally time travel? Tip #1: Pay now, consume later. These days, fuelled by the rise of “buy now, pay later” options, we get to consume what we want immediately. However, this instant gratification deprives us of a key source of happiness: anticipation. A better strategy is to commit to buy something and then wait a little before actually consuming it. At the point of purchase – notice you’re paying An inevitability of every purchase is spending money. This represents a cost, both in terms of the monetary value but also the opportunity to buy other things. Costs are a form of loss, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.39.4.341" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we don’t like losing things</a>. For that reason, it psychologically hurts to spend money. Scientists call this the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.17.1.4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pain of paying</a>”. According to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00151" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one theory of shopping</a>, we decide to buy after making a mental calculation: is the anticipated pleasure of consuming higher than the anticipated pain of buying? <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuron.2006.11.010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This calculus</a> is even represented in the brain. For example, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2901808" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one study</a> looking at people’s brains with fMRI while they purchased food found neural activity in areas linked to higher-order, affective pain processing, which correlated with how high the price was. How did you pay for your last meal? Did you have to dig into your wallet or purse trying to extract the appropriate combination of notes and coins? Maybe you simply pulled out a plastic card and swiped it on the reader? Or perhaps you absentmindedly touched your smartphone to the machine. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496420/original/file-20221121-14-8dpx7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496420/original/file-20221121-14-8dpx7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496420/original/file-20221121-14-8dpx7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496420/original/file-20221121-14-8dpx7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496420/original/file-20221121-14-8dpx7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496420/original/file-20221121-14-8dpx7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496420/original/file-20221121-14-8dpx7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A person holding up their smartphone to a contactless payment system" /><figcaption>‘Tapping’ with your phone greatly reduces the pain of paying. <a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/k24rOBJ2D_0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">naipo.de/Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure> It turns out your method of payment changes how much pain you feel. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucv056" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one study</a>, researchers asked some university employees if they would like to buy a mug at a discounted price. Half were only allowed to pay in cash, whereas the other half had to use a debit or credit card. Those who paid in cash self-reported more pain of paying. So, how can you use this to your advantage? Tip #2: Ramp up the pain. If you’re worried about overspending this holiday period, ramp up the pain of paying. You can do this by using cash or receiving a notification each time money leaves your account. After the purchase – stop chasing rainbows A fundamental feature of human beings is that we are adaptive – we easily get used to the new normal. This applies to our purchases, too. Scientists call it “<a href="https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/sds/docs/loewenstein/HedonicAdaptation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hedonic adaptation</a>”: over time, consumption of the same thing brings decreasing happiness. Remember the day you got your smartphone? You may have felt joy as you caressed the smooth aluminium back and watched light glint off the unblemished glass. Now look at your phone. What happened to the joy? It’s normal to experience hedonic adaptation. However, one problem is that we don’t anticipate it. Remember affective forecasting? Since <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3150499" target="_blank" rel="noopener">satisfaction is a function of expectations relative to performance</a>, when we fail to adjust our expectations in light of the inevitable hedonic adaptation, we end up dissatisfied. The second problem with hedonic adaptation is that the obvious solution appears to be buying something new. Maybe you need a new smartphone to replace your slightly scratched-up old one? If this is your thinking, you’ve just hopped onto the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.305" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hedonic treadmill</a>. Now the only way to maintain your happiness is to spend more and more money to get better and better versions of everything. So, how can you get off this treadmill? Tip #3: Buy experiences, not things. It turns out <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucaa047" target="_blank" rel="noopener">people end up happier when they buy experiences rather than things</a>. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12232-010-0093-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a study</a> that tracked how older adults spent their money found that only one category of spending was related to happiness: leisure purchases, such as going on trips, seeing a movie at the cinema, and cheering at sporting events. One reason for this is that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/597049" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we adapt to purchases of experiences more slowly</a> than purchases of material things. So, the next time you’re tossing up between buying tickets to a festival or getting the latest gadget, pick up your scratched-up smartphone and pre-purchase some festival tickets for you and your friends.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194821/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Writen by Adrian R. Camilleri. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/spending-too-much-money-tempted-by-sales-these-ways-to-hack-your-psychology-can-help-194821" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

How to spend time wisely – what young people can learn from retirees

For many young people, retirement is a blip on the radar, if not a total unknown. This is particularly true during our cost of living crisis, when investing and contributing more to your pension might fall down the priority list behind paying rent. Despite this, more and more young people are starting to think about retirement in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/retirement/the-forbes-guide-to-fire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier ages</a>, with many focusing on their future quality of life and financial independence after they leave work. This can sometimes come at the expense of their wellbeing while they are still working, spending extremely frugally and focusing on the “hustle”, instead of enjoying the freedom and good times that could also characterise young adulthood. For my <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8681690/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new research</a>, I interviewed over 200 people and surveyed hundreds more to understand how they balance time and money. I focused on people going through major life transitions: recent retirees and new parents, and people preparing for those moments. While we expect retirees to have all the time in the world, I found that in reality, retirees are often pressed for time. Over a quarter of them feel <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11205-015-1029-z.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">time poor</a>, with not enough hours left in the day for all they need to do. This is regardless of the amount of money they have. Although wealthy retirees generally have more control over their schedules, both rich and poor retirees are impacted by time poverty in older ages. It’s never too late (or too early) to start making the most of your time and living a better life. Here are some important lessons learned from my retirees’ journeys. <h2>Don’t chase money, let money chase you</h2> One of the biggest regrets among my <a href="https://betterdwelling.com/city/toronto/heres-torontos-richest-and-poorest-neighbourhoods-interactive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less privileged</a> research participants was their inability to get as much education as they wanted when younger. Some left university or college early to support their families, or because they could not afford to continue. But all regretted not getting as much education as they needed to be competitive in the labour force later on. To make enough money, pick something and follow through: whether university or skilled technical trades, get good at something. Then, the money will follow. <h2>Worry about how you feel – not how you look</h2> When youth wanes, you are left with how you feel. In retirement, will you be in pain thanks to spending your life in hard labour or nonstop work? My interviewees made clear that when you prioritise making money over health – whether by necessity or by choice – you pay for this by having to give up your precious time in retirement. Some of my new retirees’ health recovery efforts included spending extra time with medical providers, and spending money and time on commuting to appointments. Women were doubly disadvantaged here as, unlike men, they continued to face societal pressures to look younger than their age. To avoid having to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/57/5/910/2632069?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spend extra</a> time and money on health recovery in later life, focus on health preservation in earlier life. Sometimes you may need to to prioritise your own wellbeing above the needs of your employer, for example by taking time off for your physical or mental health. While this is a luxury currently not afforded to all, movements like “quiet quitting” are beginning to start a public conversation on this topic. <h2>Make your time count by sharing it with others</h2> We can “buy” time by exchanging money for tasks we do not wish to do. Consuming items can also have <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24737120.pdf?addFooter=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener">time costs</a>, as both shopping and learning to use new items takes time. Thanks to my retirees, I now also know that we can get more out of time when we share it with others. Time is what social scientists would call a “<a href="https://sociologicalscience.com/time-network-good/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">network good</a>”. In other words, how we value time depends on the number of other people we can share our time with. All of my retired participants spoke of the need to build strong, healthy relationships while younger, to have friends we can share life with when older. Shared time leads to <a href="https://sociologicalscience.com/time-network-good/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greater emotional wellbeing</a> and happiness. <h2>Identify your passions early</h2> While nearly all of my retirees spent a considerable amount of time financially planning for retirement, almost as many regretted not planning ahead when it comes to cultivating hobbies and interests. This was particularly pressing for my wealthy retirees, as they faced a drop in their social status and loss of work friends when they retired. Starting new hobbies and interests once retired – out of necessity – can feel like extra work. Pursuing passions is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07053436.1995.10715491?casa_token=Puyxz2akU2oAAAAA:Gl6qIREhdxqfcm5fo0cJ6_5DLLjTCuEVPF7Da2JDyxVHNwbeq6N-9Hbc0nMLiKn-cO1fZfd8cKRi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">necessary for wellbeing</a>, but this should be done before retirement, while it is purely for fun. <h2>Time is love</h2> Repeatedly, my interview participants gently reminded me that giving your time to another person is the biggest act of kindness we can do. This is because once you give your time away, you can never get it back. Be mindful of this as you give your time, to your friends, employers, acquaintances or to social media companies. Thanks to my participants, I now often ask myself: Does this company or organisation love me? Generally, the answer is no, at which point I also know they do not deserve much of my time. At the same time, when a friend, trusted mentor, teacher or stranger donates their precious time to me, I am aware that my appreciation and kindness can only ever partially repay them. My retired participants show that it is important to remain grateful for the time we share with each other while on this Earth. When the daily grind gets you down, remind yourself that time is love. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-spend-time-wisely-what-young-people-can-learn-from-retirees-189340" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Relationships

Artist spends two years covering his home in doodles

A UK artist has spent two years covering his multi-million dollar mansion in his distinctive style of drawings. Sam Cox, who is lovingly known as Mr Doodle, worked his way through 900 litres of emulsion, 401 cans of spray paint, 286 bottles of drawing paint, and 2,296 pens to transform his home into a work of art. Sam has spent the last two years plastering the walls of his six-bedroom, neo-Georgian mansion that he bought for $2.3million (AUD) in Kent, England, with the signature black-and-white drawings that earned him his name. The 28-year-old artist said it has always been his lifelong dream to buy a house to transform into a "doodle-verse". Sam's adventurous project began in the main bedroom - which he decorated with "dream" themed drawings - and the 2,000-tile en-suite bathroom, which has a sea theme. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjLla7wA0zI/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjLla7wA0zI/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Mr Doodle (@mrdoodle)</a> </div> </blockquote> The first stage took a gruelling two months to complete, but Mr Cox was determined to finish it on his own. He said, "It's the longest project I've done. I wanted to say I'd done it all myself." Sam has left no surface untouched, with every wall and ceiling and all amenities, including the television, stovetop and bath, covered in monochromatic doodles. Despite admitting he did not plan any of his drawings, Mr Cox has given every room its own theme. For example, the hallway is covered with Noah's Ark creations, while the stairs are decorated with Heaven and Hell drawings. He said, "I had a rough idea of the theme but the individual doodles are spontaneous." "My main inspiration still goes back to when I was kid watching Tom and Jerry, Wacky Races and SpongeBob SquarePants, and video games like Crash Bandicoot. I always wanted to draw characters for video games." While already thinking about his next project, Sam said he would be hesitant to let go of the doodle mansion. He said, "I'm unlikely to be persuaded to move, even if it was amazing money." "I'd feel sad leaving this house, because it's my first one." Image credits: Instagram

Real Estate

This single spending habit could threaten your savings

As inflation rates hit record highs - at 7.75 percent for Australia and 7.3 percent for New Zealand - many are finding their savings are taking a hit under the soaring cost of living. But it isn’t just rising fuel and food prices you need to worry about, according to ANZ Plus team member Danielle Curry. In fact, there’s one commonly forgotten expense that’s making staying on top of our finances even trickier: phone apps. Apps like Uber Eats, Afterpay services, and those for your favourite stores, along with “must-have” shopping trends are making it so that mobile apps are driving our desire to spend money easily and beyond our means. According to new research from ANZ Plus, over recent years Aussies have consistently “overspent” the most on eating out and takeaway, with 53 percent noting that their top expenses were food-related. “There’s this real immediacy of spending that is becoming very normal for Australians,” Ms Curry told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/budgeting/out-of-control-the-spending-habit-threatening-your-savings/news-story/f38d98db818c8f01191a4069106eb6af" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>. “And especially during the pandemic, we saw a lot of restaurants convert to home delivery services so people were still ‘eating out’ but just a bit differently.” A noticeable surge in online shopping and subscribing to streaming services also coincided with thousands starting to work from home during pandemic-induced lockdowns, accounting for Aussies’ overspending by 35 percent and 19 percent respectively. “And with the advent of things like buy now, pay later services it has really allowed that real immediacy of spending,” Ms Curry added. “Twenty years ago you couldn’t order something from Amazon and have it arrive the next day … so if you’re not tracking your expenses, are you really sure exactly how much you’re spending on things like Amazon?” Ms Curry said one of the most concerning findings from the research was that a third of Ausies struggle to manage their finances, with 1.5 million of those surveyed admitting they “don’t feel in control of their money at all”. Though data from Westpac suggests that the average Australian has around $22,000 in savings, big savers that skew the data means that a more realistic figure is closer to $3500. In response to skyrocketing electricity bills and other living expenses, many have chosen to cut down on “unnecessary expenses” and try to save any way they can. Ms Curry said that even though most are trying to make ends meet, poor budgeting skills could leave many blindsided. “We know that a lot of people don’t feel in control and it’s because they don’t have the knowledge about their own finances,” she said. “But the first thing to understand is that it’s going to be different for every single Australian … and it’s important that everyone understands their own situation. “(It’s different) for some who might be financially struggling to make ends meet has to make choices between food and the electricity bill versus someone who is financially comfortable and is quite able to make a luxury purchase.” But, there are some ways we can take back control of our finances, such as tagging and categorising your spending through your banking app. This can help you identify “unnecessary” or passive purchases that can be stopped, such as forgotten subscriptions. “Everyone is at a different stage in their lives and make custom everyday expenses,” Ms Perez said. “(But) once we can really understand what we’re doing with that money we can see if there are trade-offs … to find that extra five dollars to add towards our savings.” Digital budgeting apps and tracking tools, including those offered in banking apps can also help you set up savings goals, a budget, and a savings buffer based on your financial situation. “Using these kinds of nifty features that we’ve got around expense categorisation and setting up savings goals, really help push your finances to the next level,” Ms Curry said. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

Buy now, pay later: Apple will now lend you money to keep you spending and expand its empire

Apple has joined the thriving “buy now, pay later” industry, with a customised service called <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/06/06/apple-announces-buy-now-pay-later-program-called-apple-pay-later.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Pay Later</a>. The service was announced earlier this week at the 2022 Worldwide Developers Conference, and will initially be launched in the United States later <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2022/06/07/apple-pay-later-purchases-installment-plan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this year</a>. Pay Later will be built into the Apple Wallet and eligible for use on any purchase made through Apple Pay. Customers will be able to split the cost of a purchase into four equal payments, with zero interest and fees, spread over a period of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jun/06/apple-redesigns-the-iphone-lock-screen-in-ios-16-at-wwdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four months</a>. To qualify, however, Apple will first do a <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/finance/banking/wwdc-2022-buy-now-pay-later-with-apples-new-wallet-feature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soft credit check</a> on users wanting to use the service. The technology behemoth <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/06/apple-unveils-new-ways-to-share-and-communicate-in-ios-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claims</a> it has designed the feature with “users’ financial health in mind”. It’s likely Apple is trying to consolidate its foothold in the world of consumer finance, and increase its profitability. And consumers should be aware of the risks of using such a service. Apple: the consumer darling With the launch of Pay Later, Apple will be competing with many other similar fin-tech companies including PayPal, Block, Klarna and AfterPay – some of which saw their share prices <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-13/apple-goldman-plan-buy-now-pay-later-service-to-rival-paypal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fall</a> following Apple’s announcement. Apple will benefit from its huge market and brand power, with the capability to attract millions to its products and services. And with an acute focus on customer experience, Apple has managed to foster a community of evangelists. There’s no doubt the company is a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2018/01/12/why-apple-is-still-a-great-marketer-and-what-you-can-learn/?sh=55e3c32c15bd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consumer darling</a>. Moreover, Apple has established an ever-growing ecosystem in which users are encouraged to tap into Apple products and services as much, and as often, as possible – such as by making payments through their iPhone instead of a bank card. The tech giant provides ways to integrate once-separate computing capabilities into a phone or wristwatch – while keeping the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2018/01/12/why-apple-is-still-a-great-marketer-and-what-you-can-learn/?sh=7c61018615bd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consumer’s experience</a> in focus. Pay Later enhances this customer-centric experience further. It’s one more way users can integrate the tools they need within a single ecosystem. What’s in it for Apple? Apple stands to make financial gains through Pay Later, thereby adding to its bottom line. Currently its reach in the retail world is evident, with iPhone-based payment services <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-13/apple-goldman-plan-buy-now-pay-later-service-to-rival-paypal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accepted by 85% of US retailers</a>. One 2021 survey found that about 26% of <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1275393/australia-share-of-consumers-using-bnpl-by-purchase-category/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regular online shoppers</a> in Australia used buy now, pay later services. As Apple’s customers increasingly start to use the Pay Later service, it will gain from merchant fees. These are fees which retailers pay Apple in exchange for being able to offer customers Apple Pay. In addition, Apple will also gain valuable insight into consumers’ purchase behaviours, which will allow the company to predict future consumption and spending behaviour. To deliver the buy now, pay later service, Apple has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-13/apple-goldman-plan-buy-now-pay-later-service-to-rival-paypal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined forces with Goldman Sachs</a>, who will finance the loans. This relationship has been in place since 2019, with Goldman Sachs also acting as a partner for the Apple credit card (although Pay Later is not tied to the Apple credit card). This strategic partnership has helped Apple gain strong footing in the world of consumer finance. Challenges for consumers The reality is that the world of <a href="https://www.holmanwebb.com.au/blog/655/buy-now-pay-later-bnpl-update-how-to-seek-and-keep-code-compliance-accreditation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unregulated finance</a>, which includes buy now, pay later, does not bode well <a href="https://ndh.org.au/debt-problems/buy-now-pay-later/risks-of-using-buy-now-pay-later/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for all customers</a>. Younger <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/almost-75-of-bnpl-users-us-gen-z-millennials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demographics</a> (such as Gen Z and Millenials) and low-income <a href="https://thefintechtimes.com/one-in-four-bnpl-users-are-financially-vulnerable/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">households</a> can be <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/07/why-millennials-and-gen-zs-are-jumping-on-the-buy-now-pay-later-trend.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more vulnerable</a> to the risks associated with using these services – and can rack up debt as a result. Purchases through buy now, pay later schemes may also be driven by a desire to own the latest <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/16/chinas-buy-now-pay-later-market-to-grow-challenges-ahead-experts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gadgets and luxury goods</a> – a message pushed onto consumers through slick marketing. They can condition consumers to make purchases without feeling the pain of parting with cold, hard cash. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467674/original/file-20220608-24-ict1mh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467674/original/file-20220608-24-ict1mh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467674/original/file-20220608-24-ict1mh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467674/original/file-20220608-24-ict1mh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467674/original/file-20220608-24-ict1mh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467674/original/file-20220608-24-ict1mh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467674/original/file-20220608-24-ict1mh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467674/original/file-20220608-24-ict1mh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="An indoor shopping arcade is lined with luxury stores on either side" /></a><figcaption>Buy now, pay later schemes can give consumers the satisfaction of buying expensive products – without feeling like they’re splitting from cold, hard cash. Shutterstock</figcaption></figure> From a consumer psychology perspective, these services encourages immediate gratification and put younger people on the consumption treadmill. In other words, they may continually spend more money on purchases than they can actually afford. Missing payments on Pay Later would negatively impact an individual’s <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/finance/banking/wwdc-2022-buy-now-pay-later-with-apples-new-wallet-feature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">credit rating</a>, which can then have adverse outcomes such as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/select/side-effects-of-bad-credit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not qualifying</a> for traditional loans or credit cards. A focus on consumerist behaviour can also trigger an “<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-psychology-deciding/202201/if-i-own-it-it-must-be-good-what-is-the-ownership-effect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ownership effect</a>”. This is when people become attached to their purchases and are unlikely to return them, even if they can’t afford them. Apple’s technology-driven and consumer-centric marketing gives it an edge over other buy now, pay later schemes. It claims the service is designed with consumers’ financial health in mind. But as is the case with any of these services, consumers ought to be aware of the risks and manage them carefully. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184550/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rajat-roy-1227884" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rajat Roy</a>, Associate Professor, Bond Business School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bond University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/buy-now-pay-later-apple-will-now-lend-you-money-to-keep-you-spending-and-expand-its-empire-184550" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

Man spends $7,000 on royal piece of cake

A man has spent almost $8,000 on a piece of cake from Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding. Avid royal fan Gerry Layton from Yorkshire in the UK purchased the 41-year-old large slice of cake which came from one of the 23 wedding cakes used at the couple’s wedding in 1981. The 62-year-old first bought the piece of cake for £2170 ($3840) at an auction last year in August before deciding to donate it to a local charity ball auction. It was only last week that the slice of memorabilia which has the royal coat of arms in gold, red, blue and silver went up for auction again and Gerry realised he hadn’t even tasted it. "After some free champagne, I suddenly got the urge and thought 'I haven't even had a bite of it yet'," he told The Yorkshire Post. This time round, Gerry paid £2100 ($3700) for the cake and said “I don't care if it kills me” but he will taste it. "It's 41 years old but I definitely am going to have a bite." Gerry has not ruled out donating the piece of cake again but only after he has tasted it. Dave Avery who was the head baker of the Royal Navy said he had met up with Princess Diana before her big day. "She said to me, 'I want a wedding cake and not a monument', so she was quite happy. "There was nothing much [known] about Diana, so it ended up being more of a naval type of cake – all I could do was the Spencer crest.” Images: Twitter

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