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I came across this article bemoaning how U.S. life expectancies are decreasing as compared to the past and to other countries. The article emphasized the slide in health, noting that 34% of the American population is classified as obese. But I was surprised to learn that women and men at birth are expected to live 81 and 77 years, respectively. To risk stating the obvious, that’s a really long time for your savings to last.

Say you were to retire at 67, which is the earliest you can expect to earn full Social Security benefits (see here for more details). If you’re a guy, you can expect to live another 10 years. But don’t we all dream of retiring earlier? Plus, those stats are just for average ages: you could very well live past 90, which pushes your retirement period well past 20 years. I don

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First job? New job? Old job where you aren’t moving up as fast as you like? It could be time to take a look at your clothes. Dressing the part can help you fit in and get ahead in almost any office.  You don’t have to drop hundreds of bucks today to start getting your wardrobe in order. Here are a few things I’ve learned about work clothes since grad school:

1. Dress as the natives do. Watch what people wear around your office and dress accordingly. If your office is “business casual,” stick with slightly nicer clothes than the norm. Supervisors notice your appearance. And if they’re looking for someone to meet a client, they want to know you can rise to the occasion.

2. Go for stapl

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For some of us, the idea of saving money is exhilarating. Were motivated by the goals itll help us achieve, whatever those goals may be: putting a kid through college, retiring a couple years early, taking that much-needed vacation or just the peace of mind that were able to pay our bills each and every month.

For others, it feels like a downright pain in the butt. You cant even think about your goals because you just see all the sacrifices youre making to save a buck. Andlets be honest hereeven if youre motivated to save money, its still going to feel like a pain in the butt sometimes.

Whichever camp you fall into, itll make your life easier if you focus on simple ways to save. Read more…