Save yourself from Retirement Poverty! 1

Save More.  You may think you need X dollars but there are always unexpected expenses, so save more. Most of us do not think about financial matters from a long-term perspective we do not estimate how much money we will need for retirement, or if we do, we vastly underestimate how much we will need. If you save more than you can either spend more or give more to your heirs. Saving more is a win/win situation.

Accept that you will probably live longer than you expect. I had a man tell me the other day that he had lived the average lifespan of a man (78) and he was ready to go. I told him that the average life span for a man in Canada now is in the low 80’s. We are expected to manage our own retirement funds. Many of us plan for the average life expectancy, not realizing that this means that half of the people will live longer. The big risk for women is that they will outlive savings.

Education is a good thing. So, learn about various sources of retirement income. Many of us misunderstand what our primary sources of income will be in retirement. Social Security in the US and Canada Pension in Canada are the most important source of income for many people, but before retirement, we tend to vastly underestimate their importance.

Learn how to manage your retirement savings plan. Due to a number of factors, many of us are now responsible for managing our own investments. Most of us  lack basic financial knowledge but we need to become experts about work benefits, so we can have a worry-free retirement.

Look for good advice. Good advice is not your friend or a member of your family. You have to pay for good advice. Unfortunately, a significant portion of us, do not seek the help of a qualified professional. We rely on our friends and family for advice.

Choose your food wisely

The human brain is the most marvellous, complicated structure known in the universe. So, treat it with respect and power it with the best possible fuel. Eating processed foods that contain sugar and trans fats can leave you feeling mentally foggy, anxious, and depressed.

But certain foods particularly high in the nutrients needed to create, protect, and repair cells will help keep your brain humming along smoothly. Every bite of food you eat is a choice that either depletes or nourishes your brain.

The wrong foods — like sugar and trans fats — can leave you feeling mentally foggy, anxious, and depressed, while the right foods help make you mentally sharp, positive, and productive.

Certain foods are particularly high in the nutrients needed to create, protect, and repair brain cells.

They also supply the building blocks of neurotransmitters — brain chemicals that control how well you learn and remember, how happy and motivated you are, and how well you can relax and enjoy life.

Foods that are rich in essential brain nutrients will protect against a variety of mental disorders now and degenerative brain diseases in years to come.

Eating these "brain foods" can keep you mentally sharp, positive, and productive.

Other foods supply the building blocks of neurotransmitters -- brain chemicals that control how well you learn and remember, how happy and motivated you are, and how well you can relax and enjoy life.

Here are the top 12 foods that should be on every brain-healthy shopping list:

·       avocados

·       berries of all kinds

·       coconut oil

·       dark chocolate

·       eggs (cage-free)

·       extra virgin olive oil

·       fermented foods (look for "active cultures")

·       green leafy vegetables

·       salmon (wild caught)

·       sea vegetables

·       turmeric (spice or tea)

·       walnuts

Add a few of these foods to your grocery list every time you go shopping.

Soon, your kitchen will be well-stocked with foods that literally help build a better brain

Source https://bebrainfit.com/brain-foods/

Take your vitamins

Almost everyone is looking for that "magic bullet" pill to lift their mood, boost their memory, or help them excel at school or work.

You may be surprised to learn that taking a brain or memory supplement is not the best place to start to boost your brain power. There are two core supplements that almost everyone can benefit from instead. First, take a high-quality multivitamin and mineral supplement. It's not as sexy-sounding as taking the latest "smart pill," but the research is clear -- taking a multivitamin alone can improve your mood and overall brain function.

All vitamins and minerals play a role in brain health.

Vitamin C, for example, protects your brain from free radical damage, toxins, and ageing, and acts as a natural antidepressant.

Without adequate amounts of vitamin B6, folic acid, and magnesium, you can't synthesize the "happiness" neurotransmitter serotonin.

Yet surprisingly, nutritional deficiencies are not a thing of the past. Deficiencies of vitamin B12, vitamin D, magnesium, and omega-3s are common, yet all are essential for brain health and mental well-being.

Taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement as nutritional insurance can help you be healthier, happier, and may even help you live longer.

The other foundational supplement is an omega-3 supplement.

One omega-3 fatty acid, in particular, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), is a major structural component of the cerebral cortex, the part of your brain responsible for memory, language, creativity, emotion and attention. DHA can be found in fish oil, krill oil, or a DHA supplement.

Take a high-quality multivitamin and omega-3 supplement every day

Focus, Pocus

Have you ever had to get on with a task or a job and found you could not concentrate, while an Italian student came up with a wonderful process to help him concentrate on getting a task done. Here is how he did it, and how you may be able to use his idea.

Get a basic timer and then pick a task you want to concentrate on. Remove obvious distractions (like turning off your phone).

The first few times you try this I recommend that you set the timer for 5 minutes, then give the task at hand everything you have. If your mind starts to wander, snap yourself back and remind yourself you need to maintain this level of concentration for just a few more minutes. 

Five minutes may not seem like a great deal of time, but it is when you are trying to focus. After you have trained yourself to focus for five minutes and are comfortable doing this, increase your timer to 10 minutes and work on the task for that amount of time, without losing your concentration. (If 10 minutes is too long, move your timer to 7 minutes.) The idea is to have success at being focused for a short period of time.

When you have mastered the 10-minute concentration time then give yourself a break. Over a period of a week, the idea is to move from a focus time of 5 minutes to a focus time of 30 minutes.

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much you get done and how easily you train yourself to become highly and productively focused. As you do this, you are actually training your brain to block out distractions and increase your ability to concentrate for extended periods of time without a timer.