Moneywise24 Personal Finance

I think, that sometimes being modest and cautious can be a good thing; it has for sure helped me to avoid wrong decisions. Also, social anxiety is a physical protection mechanism, which in some times has its use. However, many people out there are so shy and anxious, that they are simply not able to lead the life they really want. And getting rid of it can be difficult, very difficult.

Shyness and anxiety is not something you choose for. It simply is there. How we behave is usually an expression of how we see the world, and this again is often the result of all the experiences we made in the past, both good and bad. The human mind tends to create a world image according to these experiences, and creates expectations as a result.

Shyness and anxiety is present in many variations. Some people are shy only in particular situations. Some people are anxious only up to a particular point, and can push them through the barrier, whereas others may become paralyzed completely by their shyness and social anxiety. The result is, that those people are unable to connect with other people easily, they become paralyzed, and basically close themselves up to others. As a result, other people may perceive them as extremely formal and closed up, or even arrogant and unpleasant to be with. Read the rest of this entry →

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Looking at life as a whole, life is generally defined by three major areas: finance, health, and relationships. What ever we do, who we are, or where we are, we encounter these three areas which define every single day of ours.

Finance mainly focuses on money. It concerns career, it means business, it includes the money you earn, and the money you spend. It includes all investments, all stocks, bonds, mutual investments, retirement planning, insurance payments, debts and savings. Read the rest of this entry →

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I like to stumble over a lot of weird and funny articles. Today, when I was sitting in the train on my way to work, was one of those days. On my Android phone, I scanned the ‘weird story section’ and found an article on Bleachorexia. Bleachorexia is a term which derives from the US, and it basically describes a compulsive need and desire to bleach one’s teeth.

Often, bleachorexia patients define themselves according to models, superstars, and what the media makes them believe what is normal. Similar to anorexia, bleachorexia patients already have extremely white teeth, but often have a distorted self-image, and have the desire to keep bleaching their teeth in order to keep up with the media standards.

However, too much bleaching can do a lot of harm to one’s teeth. It can cause the glaze of the teeth to get thinner, and the the teeth can become much more sensitive due to the aggressive substances used. Although originally a US phenomenon, bleachorexia has been introduced in Europe recently, with an increasing number of patients.

I can’t help of having the impression that lifestyle disorders and diseases are becoming more and more, especially in the western world. I was already very surprised, when my doctor told me in a colloquial conversation we had, that psychologists in my city already have extremely long waiting lists, and the patients are simply piling up.

But honestly, just looking at the behavior of some random people on the street doesn’t really make me wonder…

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Being from The Netherlands originally, I have grown up with my bicycle. In The Netherlands, on average there is one bicycle per inhabitant, and there are more bicycles than cars. Yet I have managed to lose touch of using the bicycle as a main form of transportation when I went abroad; especially here in Germany, where people are pretty car-crazy.

Still I enjoy using the bicycle, and there are actually 3 main reasons, which I want to suggest here, why it could be a good idea to use the bicycle as an alternative form of transportation, at least partially.

It’s cheap

Let’s face it. Since this is a money-related blog, the first benefit of using a bicycle is that it’s cheap. Bicycles come for a few hundred Dollars already, and for a bit more you’ll be able to purchase a bicycle of good quality; it really does not have to cost more than 1,000 Dollars or Euros. The maintenance costs are also low: I had my bicycle maintained before last winter for around 60 Euros. I do this every year, so that I know everything is in good order, nothing is broken, and that I can fully enjoy riding it. I find nothing more irritating than having to deal with something that is half broken.

Perhaps the most important cost-savings factor is the money saved on fuel, road tax, and insurance.

If you have a bicycle of good quality, with a bit of precaution you would be able to ride for 10 years perhaps. I have mine for 12 years now… but it does need replacement.

It’s healthy

Getting some exercise is healthy. I feel we spend too much time behind our laptops, getting too little exercise. Even if it’s for 5 minutes per day, still it’s 5 minutes. I use the bicycle during summer to get to work, as an alternative to the metro. That makes 30 kilometers (or 18.7 Miles) per day. It took around one month until I was starting to get some very powerfull results. At winter, when I am not using the bicycle, I exercise one additional day per week at the gym, in order not to lose the beautiful results of summer.

You always get a parking space

The last benefit to using a bicycle is that you’ll always get a parking space. No more driving around blocks for hours, waiting for a parking space to become free, paying loads of money on fuel, or paying enormous amounts on parking fees (in the Amsterdam city center, you pay an average of 5 Euros per hour for a parking space on the street… if you are able to find some). You can virtually just hop on, go where you want to go, and leave your bicycle right in front of where you want to be.

All in all, I find cycling an excellent way to stay fit, healthy, and save some money in the process. Surely I won’t go through this trouble when I have to carry things around with me. But when I know that I am traveling lightweight, and I don’t need to go very far, and the weather permits it, the bicycle is my way to go.

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Last week, I met a good friend of mine. As we talked about various topics, our conversation slowly transitioned to the topic of being overweight, and how to not reach that point of being overweight. As we did so, we walked into Starbucks to get ourselves a coffee. As we sat there talking, I observed how a pretty much obese woman next to me litterally stuffed herself with 2 huge cakes within only a few minutes, while she was drinking a grande hot chocolate with a lot of cream on top… and when I say a lot, I mean a lot.

I just had to write a post about that… not about the situation, but rather what can be done to avoid coming to the point of being obese. I consider myself to quite slim, but why is that?

The body needs energy in order to burn it to stay alive; it’s much like a vehicle, which needs petrol in order to burn it for it to move. The is obtained by eating and drinking, and is measured in food calories (kcal), or simply refered to as calories. How much calories you need on a daily basis depends on your gender, you height, weight, age, and daily physical activity. Myself, I would need 2510 calories on a daily basis, as calculated on http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/caloriesneed.htm. It a logical equation: if I eat more than I need, I will gain weight, and if I eat less, I will lose weight.

I consider myself quite slim, although I could lose 2 or 3 kilos. However, I do have a set of unconscious ‘rules’ which I apply each time when I eat something. Here they are, and I hope they will help some readers becoming conscious of their eating habits also:

1. I know how many calories I need per day, I have calculated it. I also know how many calories are in some typical foods and beverages. Calorie Counting offers an overview of the most common foods and beverages. Or you might refer to your favourite site, there is a lot about this topic on the internet. If you are not familiar with calorie counting, please do. You do not have to count each and every calorie and each single snack… but if you are in the habit of having 2 tall White Chocolate Moccha each day, it comes in handy to know that it includes 688 calories. That is one third of my daily needs.
2. I tend having only one big meal per day, either at lunch or in the evening. If I had a big and warm meal during lunch, I might only eat a salad in the evening.
3. I not only look at fat, but also sugar. If I have to drink a Coke, I might rather opt for the low sugar variant.
4. I do not believe commercials and marketing. If something is marketed as ‘low fat’, chances are that there is loads of sugar in it. I want to make my own choice as much as possible, and I recognize that marketing is a tool for generating higher profits, not for making people eat more healthy.
5. I will not let myself be driven crazy by calories and counting them. If I have the sudden urge to eat a king-size burger with fat dripping out of it as soon as it is squeezed, with a hot chocolate with cream on the side, I will. But I know I can not do this every day, and I will compensate for it.
6. If I eat less than the body needs, the body will start using available energy reserves to compensate for it. Many people think, that in this case the body starts using up the fat in our bodies. This is untrue: the body will first focus on the most accessible energy reserves: our muscles. Therefore, I recognize that doing sports is very important. Additionally, the website Health Status has a neat calculator, showing which activity burns how much energy.
7. I recognize, that being overweight has an impact on other areas of life:
   • Overweight people are usually not as self-confident
   • Overweight people have smaller social circles
   • On average, overweight people earn less than those within the same position
   • Overweight people spend on average more money on food and beverages
   • Some airlines charge extra fees for overweight people, making travel more expensive
   • Overweight people are more likely to become ill

I would like to state at this point, that I do not want to criticize overweight men and women. The above text merely reflects my own opinion, and what I do to control my weight in order to create the life I want.

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