When to Cancel a Credit Card? 10 Dos and Don’ts to Follow

Maria O. says, “I’m a huge fan of the Money Girl Podcast and am also a Get Out of Debt Fast student. I’ve taken your financial advice and am glad to say that my husband and I are in a much better financial situation now.

We both have travel rewards credit cards with zero balances that we haven’t used in over a year. We know that canceling cards isn’t advisable, but we really want to stop paying the $95 annual fee. My husband’s credit score is 780 and mind is 818. What do you recommend?”

Maria, thanks so much for your question and being a part of the Money Girl community!

Before you cancel a credit card, it’s critical to understand how it will affect your entire financial life. Whether you should get rid of a card depends on a variety of factors, including your future financial goals.

In this post, I’ll cover 10 dos and don’ts for when to cancel a credit card. You’ll learn how to manage these accounts wisely so they improve your finances and don’t hurt them.

10 Dos and Don’ts for When to Cancel a Credit Card

1. Do cancel credit cards that are a net loss. 
2. Do cancel credit cards with low credit limits first. 
3. Do cancel credit cards that tempt you to overspend.
4. Do cancel credit cards to simplify your financial life.
5. Do cancel credit cards you recently opened by mistake.
6. Don’t cancel your only credit card. 
7. Don’t cancel credit cards you’ve owned a long time. 
8. Don’t cancel multiple cards at the same time. 
9. Don’t cancel credit cards if you’re planning to make a big purchase. 
10. Don’t cancel credit cards because you’ve made late payments.

Before I cover each of these dos and don’ts, here’s an overview of why building good credit and using credit cards the right way is so important.

The Benefits of Building Your Credit

Having good credit simply means that you have a reliable financial track record according to the data in your credit history with the nationwide credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Different credit scoring models use that data to calculate credit scores, which act as shortcuts for various businesses to evaluate you quickly.

When you have high credit scores, potential lenders and merchants have more confidence that you’ll be a good customer who pays their bills on time. That’s an incentive for them to give you top-tier offers, which saves you money.

Having good credit scores allows you to get the most competitive interest rates and terms when you borrow money using credit cards, mortgages, car loans, student loans, and personal loans. For instance, paying just 1% less for a mortgage could save you over $100,000 on the cost of a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, depending on the total amount you borrow.

However, even if you never borrow money to finance a home or charge a vacation to a credit card, having good credit gives you other significant benefits, including:

• Lower auto insurance premiums (in most states) 
• Lower home insurance premiums (in most states) 
• More opportunities to rent a home or apartment
• Lower security deposits on utilities 
• More government benefits 
• Better chances to get a job

See also: 12 Credit Myths and Truths You Should Know

The Connection Between Credit Cards and Your Credit

The only way to build credit is to have active credit accounts in your name and to use them responsibly over time. That’s where credit cards come into play.

One of the biggest factors in how credit scores are calculated is called your credit utilization ratio. It only applies to revolving accounts, such as credit cards and lines of credit, which don’t have a fixed term. Credit utilization isn’t measured for installment loans, such as mortgages and car loans, because they do have a set ending or maturity date.

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Credit utilization is a simple formula that equals your total account balance divided by your total credit limit. For example, if you have a credit card with a balance of $1,000 and a credit limit of $2,000, your utilization ratio is 50% ($1,000 / $2,000 = 0.50).

Keeping a low utilization, such as below 20%, is optimal for good credit. So, by paying down your balance on the card to $400, you could reduce your utilization ratio to 20% ($400 / $2,000 = 0.20) and boost your credit scores.

A low utilization ratio says that you’re using credit responsibly. A high ratio indicates that you may be maxed out and even getting close to missing a payment.

Many people mistakenly believe that getting rid of their credit cards will automatically improve their credit. The surprising truth is that canceling credit cards usually hurts it because your available credit on the card plunges to zero, which instantly increases your utilization and causes your credit scores to drop right away.

However, whether closing a card is right for you really depends on your current and future financial situation. Use the following do and don’ts to know when ditching a card is best and how to do it with minimal damage to your credit.

See also: 5 Ways to Get a Loan With Bad Credit

1. Do cancel credit cards that are a net loss.

If you’re like Maria and have great credit with an unused card that’s costing you money, you may want to consider cancelling it. Many rewards cards come with an annual fee, especially when they offer cash back, airline miles, or points for merchandise. In some cases, using the rewards easily offsets the annual fee.

However, if you won’t use the card or can’t afford the annual fee, common sense should be the deciding factor, not your credit score. However, one option is to replace a card that charges an annual fee with another card that doesn’t, ideally before you cancel the first one. That allows you to swap out one credit limit for another one and avoid any damage to your credit.  

2. Do cancel credit cards that tempt you to overspend.

I also don’t recommend keeping a credit card if it tempts you to overspend. Taking a temporary hit to your credit might be worth it to prevent bigger problems in your financial life.

3. Do cancel credit cards to simplify your financial life.

If you’ve missed payments or can’t keep up with transactions because you have too many cards, it might be worth it to strategically cancel one or more credit cards. Keep reading for tips to minimize the potential damage to your credit.

4. Do cancel credit cards with low credit limits first.

If you cancel a credit card, choosing one with a higher credit limit poses more of a threat than getting rid of one with a smaller limit. The lower your credit limit on a card, the less closing it could negatively affect your credit.

As I previously mentioned, for optimal credit, it’s best to never carry a balance that exceeds 20% of your available credit limit. If you’re not sure what your credit limits are, you can review them by getting a free copy of your credit report at annualcreditreport.com.

5. Do cancel credit cards you recently opened by mistake.

A common credit dilemma is what to do after opening a new credit card that you felt pressured into at a retail store. Sales clerks make getting a huge discount with a new card signup sound too good to pass up. In some cases, you may not even realize that what you’re signing up for is a credit card.

If you’re loyal to a store and make frequent purchases there, having its branded credit card can give you nice savings and promotional benefits that make it worthwhile. While you can’t erase the card from your credit history, if you decide that you’d rather not have the account, closing it sooner rather than later is better for your credit.

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Free Resource: Credit Score Survival Kit - a video tutorial, e-book, and audiobook to help build credit fast!

6. Don’t cancel your only credit card.

In addition to maintaining low credit utilization, the health of your credit depends on having a mix of credit accounts. That shows you can handle different types of credit, such as installment loans and revolving accounts. But if you cancel your only credit card, that would leave you deficient in the revolving credit category.

It’s better to spread out your balances on multiple cards and maintain low utilization on each of them, rather than have one card that you charge to the limit.

Therefore, I don’t recommend cancelling a credit card if it’s your only one. Having at least one card in the mix rounds out your credit file. Ideally, you would have a total of two or three cards that come from different issuers, such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover.

If you have more than one line of credit or credit card, most credit scoring models calculate your utilization ratio for each account and collectively on all your accounts. So, it’s better to spread out your balances on multiple cards and maintain low utilization on each of them, rather than have one card that you charge to the limit.  

Depending on the types of charges you make, you may need a low-rate card for times when you must carry a balance and a higher-rate rewards card for charges that you always pay off each month. No annual fee cards are best, but as I previously mentioned, rewards cards that come with a fee may be worth it.

7. Don’t cancel credit cards you’ve had for a long time.

As if credit utilization and having a mix of credit accounts weren’t enough, a cancelled credit card hurts your credit in other ways. Another factor that’s used in calculating credit scores is how long you’ve had credit accounts.

Having a long, rich credit history boosts your scores and makes you appear less risky to potential lenders and merchants. Cancelling a long-standing credit card causes your average age of credit history to decrease, which hurts your credit. So, value credit cards that you’ve had for a long time more than those you’ve recently opened.

8. Don’t cancel multiple cards at the same time.

If you have more than one credit card that you want to cancel, don’t shut them all down at the exact same time. It’s better to space out cancellations over time, such as one every six months, to minimize the damage to your credit health.

9. Don’t cancel credit cards if you’re planning to make a big purchase.

If you’re planning to finance a big purchase, such as a home or vehicle, in the next three to six months, it’s not wise to cancel any credit cards. If your utilization rate increases and your credit scores suddenly take a dive during the application process, you may ruin your chances for getting a low-interest loan.

Maria didn't mention if she's looking to use her great credit to borrow money any time soon. But it's an important issue that I recommend she consider.

10. Don’t cancel credit cards because you’ve made late payments.

Never cancel a credit card with negative information, such as late payments or being in collections, thinking that it will disappear from your credit file. All credit accounts stay on your credit report for seven years from the date you became delinquent, even after you or a card issuer closes it. Accounts with only positive information remain in your credit file longer, for up to 10 years

What Should You Do With Unused Credit Cards?

If you or Maria go through these dos and don’ts and decide that it’s better not to cancel a credit card, use it occasionally to make small purchases that you pay off in full. That keeps it active and allows you to continue adding positive information to your credit history.

However, I don’t recommend keeping a credit card that you’re not using responsibly or that tempts you to overspend. Taking a temporary hit to your credit might be worth it to prevent bigger problems in your financial life.

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5+ Benefits of Squatting and How to Prepare

Squatting is one of the best movements that you can do with your body because it hits so many different muscle groups. The obvious muscle groups are the quads, hamstrings, and glutes but don’t forget the core and trunk muscles that have to stabilize your torso and help you maintain a nice neutral spine.

By simply getting into a squat position you can stay loose and mobile as well as undo some of the mobility and strength issues we see from sitting in chairs much of our day.

According to a study called Muscle activation in the loaded free barbell squat, the mighty squat is a complicated movement that allows all of your body parts to work together and grow stronger as a single unit. When compared to something like a single arm bicep curl, the squat makes a much more significant impact on your body and can increase a greater variety of performance parameters.

You don’t even have to do a weighted squat to see these benefits either. By simply getting down into a squat position you can stay loose and mobile as well as undo some of the mobility and strength issues we get from sitting in chairs the majority of our day.

So don’t get scared off thinking this article is going to be all about squatting “the exercise” that is often characterized by a large man with an enormous barbell across his back. I actually hesitate to call squatting an "exercise" at all—unless, of course, you are that large man with that enormous barbell across your back. Aside from that, the squat (and simply squatting) can be as natural as taking a seat.

I’m not kidding. The vast majority of the world engages in squatting as a way to pick stuff off the floor, go to the bathroom, eat a meal, drink tea, or chat with friends. For them (and you, should you accept this challenge) squatting is an extremely basic act.

Squatting Reminders

The first thing I want you to remember is that you should squat in whatever way feels most comfortable for you. As you get better at the squatting movement, your aim should be to improve your form and positioning but do not force your body into any position that it isn’t ready for. That might mean that you squat with a narrow stance or (like me) a wider stance. Maybe your toes are pointing straight forward or maybe (like me) they’re rotated outward a bit. Let your skeleton be your guide.

The second thing I want you to remember is to focus on your range of motion, rather than immediately trying to squat a heavy load. As long as you can maintain good form (and don’t have to fudge it just to get yourself lower), squatting deeper with a lighter barbell, kettlebell, or nothing at all is better for you. It also produces greater muscular and tendon adaptations than when your squat is shallow but with huge heavy plates on the barbell.

Although weighted squats will make you strong, it is not the only way to do it. A Japanese study on the effects of body mass-based squat training found that an eight-week program that had its participants do 100 bodyweight squats each day increased lean mass, vertical jump, and knee muscle strength while also lowering the participant's body fat percentage.

Next, unless you are a powerlifter preparing for a competition, a study on wearing knee wraps suggested that wearing any type of knee brace can actually change the mechanics of the squat. It also alters the targeted musculature and can compromise the integrity of the knee joint. That is exactly the opposite of what we are aiming for. We want to build you up, not break you down. So, I encourage you to avoid using those knee wraps and instead focus on making your body stronger and more stable. 

If you are having a lot of trouble getting into a squat, single leg squat variations (split squats and lunges) are very effective replacements or alternatives which target the same muscles groups and even result in similar hormonal responses. One of the fit-folks who I coach experiences knee pain when she squats but can do lunges all day long. So, while we sort out what is going wrong in her knee, she is seeing some real gains from performing the alternatives.

They Can Double As Cardio

Body weight exercises like squats, push-ups, and pull-ups are also incredibly energy intensive which makes them a great tool for driving your heart rate up and getting some metabolic conditioning.

One of the things that I love about body weight exercises like squats, push-ups, and pull-ups is that they are also incredibly energy intensive which makes them a great tool for driving your heart rate up and getting some metabolic conditioning. An article called Do We Systematically Underestimate the Energetic Costs of Push-Ups, Pull Ups, Squats & Co detailed how some new studies say that anaerobic exercises actually burn twice as much energy as we had previously thought.

This means that for a fellow with a body weight of 175 pounds, 30 minutes of body weight exercises doesn't consume the 288 calories we previously would have calculated. It actually consumes more like 576 calories which is a lot more than 30 minutes of running on a treadmill would consume (~400 calories).

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Prepare to Squat

If you haven’t squatted in a seriously long time, it is likely going to take some time to prepare your joints for the movement. I urge you to be patient. I promise you, it is worth your time and effort.

First, you are going to need to loosen up your calves. The tighter the calves, the more your heels will refuse to stay down on the ground. The tendon changes that we all experience in response to wearing shoes with heels (or “heel-drop,” to use running shoe terminology) has left our calf muscles short and tight. So we need to spend some time working on undoing that.

There are many good calf stretches and if you have spent many years in heeled shoes and sitting in a chair, you should probably do them all. Check out the article called How to Build Strong and Define Calves for some help with that.

You’ll also need to get some mobility in your hamstrings as well. For that, place a rolled-up yoga mat under your toes and bend forward from the waist as far as you can with a flat back (you may know this as forward-fold). As soon as your back starts to round, stop folding and start holding that position. Hang out here for 30-60 seconds and remember to breathe.

Now, get down on your hands and knees in a crawling position and drop your hips back as far as you can, without letting your feet inch closer together or letting your tailbone to tuck under. This is similar to what's call Child’s Pose in yoga. Hold this one for 60-90 seconds and don’t forget to keep breathing.

Next, tuck your toes under, flex your feet, and work on getting your feet completely perpendicular to the floor. This will help with your shin alignment when you get yourself into a real squat, which we will talk about shortly.

After you have spent 90-120 seconds stretching your feet out, it is time to put some of your body weight on your legs. Maintaining that same body position and alignment, push your body up off the ground and get into a squat position. At this point, it is ok to have your heels off the ground if it helps you maintain the position. That will come with time if you keep at it.

If your heels are quite far off the ground, take that rolled up yoga mat from earlier and put it under your heels to give yourself some support. You can slowly unroll the mat each time you practice this as your heels get closer and closer to the ground over the next days and weeks.

After practicing this for a while (some of you will only need to do it for a few days but for others, it will likely take a few weeks), you will be able to maintain a neutral spine and plant your heels on the ground. Until that day, continue to use this progression.

Your own personal squat depth is based on how well you can keep your shins and pelvis in the correct position.

Some pro tips:

1. The more vertical that your shins are during the squat (with your knees stacked above your ankles) and the more untucked your pelvis is, the more glutes you will use. The more your knees are in front of your ankles and the more tucked your pelvis is, the fewer glutes you will use. We want to use our glutes, so keep those shins vertical and that pelvis aligned. 

2. How long you can or should hold a squat depends on a few things. Your glutes fire primarily on the way up and out of the squat but they also get involved while you are in the squat. Once you get to the point where you can relax in the squat, instead of staying in the position through sheer act of glutes, you will be able to hang out there for longer and longer.

3. How deep you can get into the squat also depends on a few things. Your own personal depth is based on how well you can keep your shin and pelvis in the correct position (see above). Most of us westerners (who didn’t grow up having to squat to use the washroom) will find our range of motion to be quite limited. That’s cool. Start with what you’ve got and work to improve it.

Why You Should Squat

1. Squatting improves core stability.

When you do a squat, your extensor muscles, lateral and straight abdominal muscles, as well as many of your lower back muscles, provide the stability to keep your body in a straight position. Squats not only increase the strength in your legs and glutes, but they also give your core a workout too. Using a functional movement like squats is an important part of developing a strong and stable core and torso.

2. Squatting improves your running.

There are a ton of studies that confirm the stronger your squat is, the faster you can run. Research shows that by increasing the weight of an athlete’s squat during the season directly translates to faster sprint speeds. It is likely that the increased force production that we see in the increased squat performance contributes to the improved sprint performance as well.

3. Squatting improves your jumping.

No surprise here that training your body to quickly and adeptly do the simple movement of standing up from a squatting position can also improve your ability to jump. Even if you wouldn’t take the time to jump from a deep squat during something like a basketball game, training the deep squat (and using your full range of motion) has been shown to improve your vertical leap more than even just regular squatting.

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4. Squatting improves your endurance.

I have heard the concern from many endurance athletes that squatting (along with other forms of resistance training) will make them bulky and therefore slow them down. Well, once again (and I find myself saying this a lot about this bulking-up notion) this simply isn’t true.

When runners include resistance training in their running regimen, marathoners actually improve their running economy. In cyclists, even though their quads do plenty of work already, endurance cyclists improve their efficiency when they include weighted hip flexion strength training in their program. Other reviews of resistance training in endurance runners and road cyclists have confirmed these results.

5. Squatting improves your bones.

A 2013 study on postmenopausal women found that weighted squats can help people with osteoporosis or osteopenia improve their bone mineral density, especially in the spine and neck. And not just a little bit—the study showed an increase of 2.9% in the spine and 4.9% in the neck, after only 12 weeks. Not to mention the added benefit of boosting their overall strength levels by 150%. Again, that was after only 12 weeks of squatting so imagine what would happen if you make squatting part of your everyday life.

Squatting in Everyday Life

Hold onto your sweatband because what I am about to say may shock you: squatting doesn’t have to be an exercise.

A common issue that I encounter while doing research for these QDT articles is that most of the studies out there look at these body movements as an exercise, rather than as a way of moving through the world. But remember that squatting, in particular, has taken on many forms around the world and throughout history. It’s not just for the guy grunting and heaving away in the corner of the gym.

OK. Hold onto your sweatband because what I am about to say may shock you: squatting doesn’t have to be an exercise. The more and more that I think of our health, wellness, and mobility being built outside the gym rather than inside it, I see the squat as more of what I would call a mobility maximizer.

In fact, if you can get so comfortable with it that you can relax at the bottom of the squat position and actually use it as a way to take-a-load-off, your general wellness and fitness performance will likely improve.

Everyday squatting happens:

• When you are standing up out of a chair.

• When you are lowering yourself onto the toilet seat.

• When you are picking up the nacho you dropped on the floor.

• When you are chatting with a child.

• When you are getting eye to eye with a four-legged friend.

It all counts, it is all awesome, and it is all a part of being a healthy, mobile, and fit meat sack on this evermore static and comfortable blue planet.

For more squat info, squatting tips, and to join the mobile conversation, head over to Facebook.com/GetFitGuy or twitter.com/getfitguy. Also don't forget to subscribe to the Get-Fit Guy podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spotify, Google Play or via RSS.

How to Use Bookmarks to Streamline Your Workflow

The wonderful thing about the World Wide Web is that all human knowledge is out there somewhere, just ripe for the picking. The less-than-wonderful thing about the World Wide Web is that all the human propaganda, deception, crackpots, and conspiracy theories are also out there, just ripe for the picking. And since it’s much easier to make up nonsense than it is to create genuine content, when we find the genuine, good stuff, we need to keep track of it.

That is why God invented browser bookmarks. Or maybe Netscape invented them. I’m really not sure which.

Websites Are Complicated

If there’s a website you use a lot—for example, one that lets you communicate privately with the accountant who handles your secret corporation in the Cayman islands (c’mon, you know you have one), you just bookmark that site. Next time you need to inject some working capital, you just choose that bookmark, log in, choose the Manage your money tab, click the Make a deposit button, select the Deposit from domestic entity drop-down choice, highlight your current checking account number, and then click Proceed to go to the screen where you can actually enter the amount to transfer.

Every single time you want to deposit money, you go through this glorious routine.

Bookmark Interior Pages

Depending on how the website was created, however, it’s possible you can navigate all the way to the “Enter amount” page and then bookmark that page, before you enter the amount. Then when you want to make a deposit, you simply fire off that bookmark and end up at the page where you can enter the amount.

You need to be logged in to access an interior page like that. Sometimes the attempt to access it will take you through a login screen, and once you’ve authenticated yourself, it will take you back to the “Enter amount” page. 

Other times, you have to re-navigate there after logging in, which makes bookmarking the interior page pretty useless.

You can use bookmark folders to streamline many different tasks.

Unless…

Bookmark both the login page and the interior page. When you want to get to the “Enter amount” page, first go to the login page and log in. Then just click the “Enter amount” bookmark. Now that you’re logged in, it should go straight there.

This doesn’t work on all websites. Some website developers don’t know anything about usability, and they love the idea of forcing users to go through a dozen of their screens in order to accomplish simple tasks. But for many websites, this technique works.

I use it to bookmark all kinds of things:

• Online catalog product pages for products I love and will want to order in the future.
• The specific account screens in my online banking.
• The customized report screen for generating attendee lists for my Do-it Days (if you don’t know about my free Do-it Days, check it http://www.DoItDays.com).
• The latest article I’ve read in an archive screen of a 10-year blog I’m trying to read, a little at a time.

Bookmark Collections of Pages

Bookmarking interior pages is only the first step to establishing Total. World. Domination.

The more things migrate to the web, the more we open lots of tabs at once. If you’re working on your monthly accounts, you might have a credit card website open, your bank website, your online invoicing service, your cryptocurrency wallet, the instant message to the Cayman Islands dude, and the re-order page for the international banana-growing conglomerate that supplies your banana stand (again, c’mon, you know you have one).

Every time you need to start shuffling money around, you have to open up the whole kit and kaboodle again! 

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Bookmark and Open All Pages at Once

When you have several pages you use together, you can create a folder of bookmarks in your browser. First, open up a new browser window. Then open all of the pages you need to reference as tabs in that browser window.

Now when that special time of the month comes around, you can close all the doors and pull the blinds. Turn the lights down low, and then right-click on the folder in your bookmarks bar.

If you’re using Safari, you can choose Bookmarks > Add Bookmarks for These Tabs…Safari will create a folder in your bookmarks with bookmarks for all your open tabs.

If you’re using Google Chrome, you can choose Bookmarks > Bookmark All Tabs…

Give the bookmark folder a name like “Monthly accounting” or “Finance” or if you’re feeling oh-so-fun-and-carefree, “Money Cleaning.” 

Open All the Pages at Once

Now when that special time of the month comes around, you can close all the doors and pull the blinds. Turn the lights down low, and then right-click on the folder in your bookmarks bar.

Choose the option Open in New Tabs or Open All in New Window and voila! You have all the tabs open, ready to go. If any of the tabs you need require login, bookmark both the interior page and the login page. Then after opening all the tabs, log in on the login page, and then just refresh the interior page and you’ll be up and running.

If you find right-clicking to be an agonizingly slow method, Safari users can do an even neater trick. Right-click the bookmarks folder and choose Automatically Replace Tabs. From then on, clicking that folder will close all the tabs in the current window and open all the tabs in that bookmarks folder. Instantly.

Save Bookmark Folders for Everything You Do

You can use bookmark folders to streamline many different tasks.

Website maintenance. I maintain several Wordpress blogs. I have a folder with bookmarks to all the update pages. One click and all the update pages open up, and I can just click through easily to make sure all my sites have the latest updates.

Analytics. My websites all have analytics so I know which topics people read, and which they don’t. I use several different analytics plugins and platforms. One click, and up come the statistics and heatmaps. 

Research. Since we are all devoted to truth, even if it disagrees with our pre-conceived notions and beliefs, you can set up a folder with several high-quality news sources, scientific journals, plus fact-checking sites like Snopes.com, FactCheck.org, and Politifact.com. With one click, you’re ready to research!

Travel. When traveling to a far-off land, create a bookmarks folder with all your itineraries, web pages to restaurants and travel destinations, hotel listings, local casinos, and anonymous money wire locations 

The web gives you the ability to surf far and wide. Bookmark not only the front pages of sites you use, but also the login screens and inner pages. Then group the bookmarks you often use together into bookmark folders. Then, a single click can bring up everything you need to make serious progress on your little Cayman Island project.

I’m Stever Robbins. Check out my Get-it-Done Groups, which help turn your Mission: Impossible into Mission: Accomplished! 

Image of bookmark © Shutterstock

Who Was Henrietta Lacks and What Are HeLa Cells?

If you or someone you know has had appendicitis, the flu, herpes, hemophilia, leukemia, Parkinson’s disease, or even trouble digesting lactose, then your life is intertwined with that of Henrietta Lacks, the great-granddaughter of a slave born in southern Virginia. Hers is a story of revolution in medical science but also of a complicated link between medical research and the people that research is supposed to serve.

Henrietta Lacks grew up in rural Virginia where she lived and worked as a tobacco farmer on her family farm. She later moved to Baltimore with her husband who was pursuing a job in the steel industry. Together they had five children: Lawrence, Elsie, Sonny, Deborah, and Zakariyya.

The HeLa Cell Line

In January of 1951, soon after the birth of her youngest child, Henrietta Lacks went to Johns Hopkins Hospital with uterine pain and bleeding. The doctors found a hard mass on her cervix and removed a small piece of the cancerous tissue for testing, according to standard practice, in the tissue lab of Dr. George Gey.

But unlike other cancer cells, her cells did not die within a few days. Instead, they doubled their numbers in 24 hours and continued to multiply. They were the only human cells known to grow outside of the body. Researchers were looking at an unlimited supply of human cells that could be used for any sort of testing without fear of their destruction, since there were always more cells to be tested. Her cell line was given the nick name “HeLa,” short for, of course, Henrietta Lacks.

Her cells have been used to study viruses like testing the safety and efficacy of the live polio vaccine and cancer drugs. Gene mapping, chemotherapy studies, and the development of in vitro fertilization techniques have all relied on HeLa cells. They’ve been used to study the long-term effects of radiation and even sent up into space to see how human cells adapt to life in microgravity. Her cells have been used in studies of appendicitis, the flu, herpes, hemophilia, leukemia, Parkinson’s disease, and lactose intolerance. Cosmetic companies, pharmaceutical companies, and even the military have used Henrietta’s cells for their own tests.

Millions of Henrietta’s cells live on in cell culture labs across the world. They have now lived outside of her body longer than they did within it. One estimate suggests that if you place all of her still existing cells end-to-end, they would wrap around the Earth at least three times, stretching more than 350 million feet .

The Lacks Family

During her treatment and upon her death from aggressive cervical cancer on October 4th, 1951, more of Henrietta’s cells were harvested by her doctors without her or her family’s permission. Nowadays, the origins of human cells used in lab testing are kept anonymous, but that was not a careful, standard practice in the 1950s. However, Henrietta’s doctors did use fake donor names like Helen Lane or Helen Larsen to confuse the source of their invaluable cell line.

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HeLa cells were the first human biological materials ever bought and sold and have resulted in millions, if not billions, of dollars in profits. But Henrietta’s family did not see these profits. In fact, they were not even aware that their mother and grandmother’s cells were immortalized in laboratories all over the world until 25 years later. There are even stories of scientists doing research on her children and telling them it was to see if they had the same cancer as their mother, when in reality they were trying to learn more about her cells.

In the mid 1970s, researchers began to realize that Henrietta’s cells were such an immortal force that they could hitch a ride on dust particles in the air or the unwashed hands of researchers and contaminate other cell cultures in the lab. After significant contamination, one lab reached out to the Lacks family in trying to sort out which cultures were HeLa and which were not. With that communication, the incredibly important contributions that Henrietta’s cells had continued to make began to unfold for the Lacks family.

The debt we owe to Henrietta Lacks and her family for our understanding of the inner workings of our cells and of certain diseases is likely a debt that can never be repaid.

More people began to know Henrietta Lacks’s story when it was finally told in 2010 by science writer Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, along with support from Deborah Lacks, Henrietta’s youngest daughter. In 2017, Oprah Winfrey played Deborah Lacks in a film based on Skloot’s book.

However, not all of the family is happy with their portrayal or the portrayal of their mother in the book. They rightfully point out the incredible injustice in million-dollar profits based on their matriarch’s cell line while some of her family members remain without health insurance themselves.  

Some of that debt is being repaid. Skloot started the Henrietta Lacks Foundation with some of her book royalties, and the foundation has paid for college tuition, surgeries, and dental work for some of the Lacks family. Now members of the Lacks family also have a voice in a working group at the National Institute of Health that reviews requests from researchers who want to use the HeLa cell line in their work. Lacks family members are also commonly invited to speak at conferences and outreach events.

But the debt we owe to Henrietta Lacks and her family for our understanding of the inner workings of our cells and of certain diseases is likely a debt that can never be repaid. Henrietta’s story is one that reminds us that it is important not to lose our touch with humanity even as we conduct research trying to save people’s lives.

Until next time, this is Sabrina Stierwalt with Everyday Einstein’s Quick and Dirty Tips for helping you make sense of science. You can become a fan of Everyday Einstein on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, where I’m @QDTeinstein. If you have a question that you’d like to see on a future episode, send me an email at everydayeinstein@quickanddirtytips.com.

Image courtesy of shutterstock.

5 Things Parents Should Quit Right Now

I just celebrated a birthday this week. I’m the mother of eight, so I’m certainly not celebrating my 29th or even my 40th of special days, but I can tell you this: I truly love life, and though I may sport a few (keyword few!) more wrinkles, I am thrilled to be parenting at my age and have always felt that age is just a number. You’re as young as you feel!

I became a mom a bit later in life. This actually wasn’t by choice, but nature and my body had other plans for me. After six years of infertility, at the age of 29, we were finally blessed with our first child through the amazing experience of adoption. One year later, I gave birth to our second child and then...I had six more babies! My new favorite motto soon became “Be Careful What You Ask For!” and I never looked back.

Though I yearned for kids in my early twenties, I believe the Universe knew better as to the timing of when I should become a mom. Those extra years before kids allowed my husband and me to travel, purchase a beautiful home, and to focus on our careers, which by no means could replace a family—but because we were passionate about our work lives, we made it the silver lining of our infertility struggles.

Nearly three decades and eight kids later, I’ve experienced a multitude of parenting ups and downs, but overall, I’m so happy to have learned from sheer experience. I saw a wonderful quote last week from “Lesson in Life”—perfect timing with my birthday! 

As a mom in my early 50s, I found these five lessons very appropriate while raising kids. If you’re ever questioning the job you’re doing as a parent, these five things to quit could totally impact some of your parenting choices:

5 Things Parents Should Quit Right Now

1.  You Can’t Please Everyone.
2.  Don’t Put Yourself Down.
3.  Don’t Live in the Past.
4.  Don’t Fear Change.
5.  Don’t Overthink Your Decisions

Here they are in more detail.

1. You Can’t Please Everyone

Years ago, if I were on a recorded loop whenever I was introduced to a crowd, you would hear, “My name is Cheryl Butler, and I am a people pleaser!” Honestly, that truly is still who I am, but after nearly three decades of parenting, I have absolutely learned the very important lesson that “You can’t please everyone.” 

When you’re someone who likes to keep everyone happy, the word that you’ll often hear escaping that person’s lips is “yes.” Whether it’s trying to accommodate co-workers, taking on yet one more role in the PTO, running constant errands for your spouse on top of caring for the house and of course managing all your children’s wants and needs, there comes a time when something simply has to give—before you give out!

People pleasers like myself would rather eat live toads than have to tell someone “no.” Truthfully, for me, it wasn’t quite as difficult saying no to my kids, as opposed to someone from work or in the various capacities I volunteered at, but I did get swayed more times than I care to admit into granting my kid’s numerous wishes because I hated to see them disappointed.

Because I have such a large family, and have always been outnumbered by my eight darlings, I did finally realize that saying yes wasn’t a bad thing when it was done for the right reasons, but not because someone was pressuring me to cave and get their own way.

In Are You a People-Pleaser? Why Parents Shouldn’t Always Say Yes, Susan Newman, PhD, believes that when children are told “no” they benefit in important ways. “When kids don’t get what they want, they learn resourcefulness, discovering ways to achieve their own desires and goals. They also learn resilience, initiative, and grit—abilities that help children overcome challenges throughout life.”

In 5 Ways to Say Yes to Your Kids, I share tips on when saying “yes” is a good thing and how to balance out the "yes"'s from the "no"’s. It’s human nature to want the best for our kids, but if we quit doing it just to placate or soothe them, we’re helping to build character for them when they get out into the real world.

2. Don’t Put Yourself Down

When my kids were younger one of our favorite ways to get ready for a nap or bedtime was to read a story from the Winnie the Pooh series. We’re big Disney fans so not only did we have all the books, we had the DVDs, posters, Pooh Bear Jammies, and of course, Pooh and Piglet stuffed animals. I just loved (and still do) Pooh’s innocent and optimistic take on life. Anything seemed possible when Winnie the Pooh was out and about in the Hundred Acre Wood. Of course, not all the characters in the series could find that silver lining when things weren’t going well. Eeyore, that cute but gloomy donkey always knew how to put a damper on things with his constant, negative self-talk.

If there’s one thing I find harmful and depressing to watch it’s listening to another person put themselves down. Some people don’t even realize they’re doing it, but very often their self-sabotaging remarks are being done in front of little ears—their own kids.

In Eight conversations you should never have in front of your children, child psychologist Laura Berk believes that it’s detrimental to speak badly of yourself in front of your kids because they could start mimicking this bad habit and start doing it to themselves.

I wholeheartedly agree and talk about nixing the self-talk in Busy Parent? 6 Ways to Maintain Healthy Self-Esteem. I used an example about a haircut I got. “Train yourself to dismiss the bad thoughts and instead replace them with a positive thought. For example, instead of framing my new haircut with 'I can’t believe I went back to bangs with such a round face,' instead tilt the perspective with, 'I like how my new bangs showcase my big, brown eyes.' It's a much kinder statement and much better at building self-esteem, especially when you get in the habit of nixing the negative and replacing it with something positive.

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3. Don’t Live in the Past

One thing I’m very grateful for is my good memory. My friends and family often say I’ve got the memory of an elephant, and it seems I’ve passed this trait on to several of my kids. It’s very helpful in remembering appointments I’ve scheduled, where I placed something for safekeeping, and even recalling ingredients in a recipe I don’t make that often. On the flip side, I also remember anything insulting someone has said to me whether it be recent or years ago, what I was wearing when I was dumped from a high school boyfriend, and the excruciating pain I experienced when I had my tonsils out at age 18.

What I love about looking back on a past memory is remembering something really wonderful that happened in my life—the adoption of my oldest child and birth of my seven kids, when my speech-delayed kids finally started talking, the amazing family vacations we took to Disney World and tropical beaches. I’m grateful I can remember such vivid details, especially when one of my kids and I are reliving a special time that we shared.

While recalling memories can be very important and certainly a lot of fun, I also admit that I’ve had times when I’ve been a bit stuck on something that happened in the past, and depending on what the situation was that I was reliving, that isn’t necessarily a healthy thing.

In Why Do We Dwell on the Past, the writer explains that an individual’s personality plays a role in why some people get stuck living in the past. Another key factor is when something stressful happens to us in a public setting because we worry about being judged. “It can become a vicious cycle. We have a stressful experience in public, we worry that how we acted won’t be accepted by others, we feel ashamed of our actions (justified or not) and then we worry some more.  The more shame we feel, the more likely we are to worry.”

I love the tip to "live in their ​moment," which is when you totally connect with your child in their world.

The combination of worrying what other people think of us and getting stuck living in the past is a total drain of our good energy. One of my favorite episodes is 8 Ways to Be Present With Your Kids. I love the tip to "live in their moment," which is when you totally connect with your child in their world. "When was the last time you sat and quietly observed what your child was doing? Take a moment to watch your daughter running after your dog. Comment to her, 'Katie, you are so fast when you chase Molly around. Look how much Molly loves it when you hop on one foot to try and catch her.' If you do this a few times a week, your child is going to soak up the extra attention like a happy little sponge."

4. Don’t Fear Change

Change is one of the scariest words in the dictionary! It means that something is going to be different and ultimately no one can predict if different is going to be an improvement or make things worse. Often, change and worry go hand in hand. What if my new boss turns out to be a real ogre? How will I survive if my best friend starts hanging out with that new popular girl who just moved to our school? Who am I going to hang out with in the neighborhood when my only mom friend moves next month?

It has been said that change is the only real constant, and as the mom of eight kids, I couldn’t agree more. I don’t always like change either, but through the years I’ve learned it’s much easier to embrace it rather than to resist it.

Though a change does bring about the unknown, it also affords you some great benefits:

• Change means a fresh start.
• Change means seeing things through a different lens.
• Change makes you stronger and more resilient.
• Change offers personal growth.
• Change can bring unexpected improvements.
• Change means meeting new people.

Quit fearing change and be open to the exciting possibilities it could bring you. For tips on handling some of life’s big changes, my colleague, Ellen Hendriksen, the Savvy Psychologist can help.

5. Don’t Overthink Your Decisions

Some people are just born to analyze nearly everything that crosses their path. If gas prices continue to rise, will this affect holiday sales? If we get more rain than last summer, will corn and lettuce crops be harmed? She was a pretty good waitress, but she did forget my second diet coke—should I tip 15 instead of 20 percent?

When it comes to parenting, second guessing yourself is easily part of the territory, but for some it is an excruciating process to come to a decision. I have a good friend who I absolutely adore but when she has to decide on a matter such as if her son can go to the movies a half hour early so he can play a few arcade games before the show starts, or if her daughter can join the before-school band rather than stay after school two days a week, it is absolutely painful to watch her figure it all out.

I’d base my decision on whether or not dropping off a bit early before the movie is going to be an inconvenience timewise for me. She would play devil’s advocate and wonder if going too early would interrupt the dog’s regular walk, which in turn would mean she might have to walk the dog, then dinner might be late, which could mean dishes would be getting cleared and washed when the news was on and then she’d miss the weather report and not know if tomorrow was going to be raining and then the patio furniture would have to be covered and of course, if it’s raining the dog’s walk will be thrown off two days in a row! Catch my drift?

If you’re an overthinker and think it will be too hard to quit this habit, try author Mel Robbins's simple life hack and book The Five Second Rule. The rule is simple: when an opportunity arises, don’t think about it, just count 5-4-3-2-1 and decide.

In Mel Robbins’s 5 second rule to fight hesitation, fear, and overthinking she explains that when you feel the urge to do something, “If you don’t physically move within 5 seconds, your mind will kill your dreams. Your brain is like an overprotective, irrational, helicopter parent. It thinks it’s keeping you safe, when in fact it is keeping you from growing as a person, stretching yourself in your business, and fully experiencing life.”

I love this hack because it keeps me focused and on task, and I’m hoping my overthinking BFF will try it and feel the same way.

How have you quit a bad habit?  Share your thoughts in the comments section at quickanddirtytips.com/mighty-mommy, post your ideas on the Mighty Mommy Facebook page. or email me at mommy@quickanddirtytips.com. Visit my family-friendly boards at Pinterest.com/MightyMommyQDT

Image of parents fighting in front of child © Shutterstock

4 Myths About Extroversion We're Guilty of Believing

A few weeks ago, I saw a cute online cartoon titled “Introvert Starter Kit,” with drawings of fuzzy pants, a cup of herbal tea, a stack of books, and a cat. I searched for an extrovert equivalent, but none were to be found. The introvert revolution, for all its good, has negatively stereotyped extroverts as fast-talking spotlight-hogging party animals. For better or worse, my guess is that an “extrovert starter kit” would feature a bullhorn, one of those double-barrelled beer can hats, and a red plastic Solo cup. 

Do these hold true? Not necessarily. Therefore, this week, we’ll round out our two-part series on the myths of introverts and extroverts by busting four myths of extroversion.

Myth #1: Extroverts have many shallow relationships.

If the introvert movement has proudly proclaimed that still waters run deep, the side effect is that extroverts are, by contrast, as shallow as puddles.

But this myth presents a false choice. You don’t need to be an introvert to get close to someone, nor do you need to be an extrovert to have a large network.

Now, it is true that extroverts do tend to have larger social circles. This happens for a couple of reasons. First is the simple fact that extroverts tend to initiate social interaction and spend more time socializing than introverts. This greater frequency and duration naturally leads to more chances to form friendships.

Next, there’s a phenomenon called extrovert homophily, which is the tendency for extroverts to associate with extroverts. Similar people choose to enter similar situations, which increases their opportunity to connect. For all these reasons, extroverts are more likely to have larger social networks.

But this doesn’t mean that extrovert relationships are necessarily shallow. Indeed, according to a 2017 study in the Journal of Research in Personality, there’s no direct link between extroversion and relationship satisfaction.

Myth #2: Extroverts feel energized by interacting with others.

This statement is true; it’s not actually a myth unto itself. What makes it a myth is that it’s not the whole truth. The reality is that extroverts and introverts feel energized by social interaction. 

A groundbreaking study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology instructed super-introverts and super-extroverts, defined as those in the top or bottom 20% of an extroversion scale, to act introverted or extroverted during a group task. 

Whether they were natural introverts or natural extroverts, everyone reported enjoying the discussion more when they were assigned to act extroverted. 

Introverts might have to psych themselves up to be “on” and recover more after a social interaction, but it’s not as if the socializing itself is torture. If it is, then we’re in the realm of social anxiety.

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Myth #3: Extroverts don’t get social anxiety.

It’s easy to see how this myth got started. Introversion and social anxiety can easily get conflated by looking at how people act on the surface. In the wilds of humankind, introverts can often be found in solitude, as can those with social anxiety. 

Plus, less structured, highly stimulating activities like parties, impromptu get-togethers, or conferences might be avoided by both introverts and socially anxious types. 

But look under the hood at why this happens and things start to diverge. For an introvert, avoiding high-stimulation social activities is preference. But for the socially anxious, it’s fear of social judgment. 

Being a socially anxious extrovert is an unenviable position—imagine getting your energy from people while simultaneously being afraid of their judgment.

Social anxiety stems from a fear that a perceived inadequacy will become obvious to everyone and we’ll be judged or rejected as a result. And perceived inadequacies span all personality types. A socially anxious extrovert might love parties but worry no one wants him there. Or she may want to meet up with friends for a night out, but think they’re just inviting her to be polite. He may get a rush from teaching a class but be convinced his students are silently judging him.

To complicate things, extroverts get a lot of social feedback, simply because they interact more often and with more people. And not all feedback is good. As we all know, it’s the negative feedback that sticks with us and can feed those perceived inadequacies.

In short, being a socially anxious extrovert is an unenviable position—imagine getting your energy from people while simultaneously being afraid of their judgment. It leaves you between a rock and an angsty place: lethargic and bored, or filled with social dread.

Myth #4: Extroverts don’t have to recharge. 

If I had a nickel for everyone who told me they never had to recharge I would have exactly zero nickels. In fact, this myth makes a lot of extroverts mistakenly identify as introverts. 

In truth, everyone has to recharge. Even the most extroverted of extroverts recharge. Think Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, both notorious extroverts, respectively retreating into books or painting. 

The science backs this up: A study from the University of Helsinki found that, in the moment, extroverted behavior, regardless of whether one is an introvert or an extrovert, hung together with a more positive mood and greater energy. However, fast-forward three hours and extroverted behavior is also related to higher fatigue. In the study, the more people the participant encountered, the greater the fatigue three hours later, regardless of whether the participant was an introvert or extrovert.

So if you get tired and need to recharge after a party, conference, or wedding reception, it’s not because you’re an introvert, it’s because you’re human. 

This all makes sense: no matter how our personalities are wired, humans are social animals; we need each other for community and belonging. And it turns out the introvert/extrovert split isn’t as stark as we think. So let’s all celebrate! Wear your fuzzy pants or your beer helmet and you can put whatever you want in your red Solo cup. Even herbal tea. Remember, zero judgment. 

Order Ellen's book HOW TO BE YOURSELF: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety. Get even more savvy tips to be happier and healthier by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or get each episode delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the newsletter. Follow on Facebook and Twitter.

For free, helpful downloads to fight social anxiety and be your authentic self, visit EllenHendriksen.com.

Image of people partying © Shutterstock

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10 Nutrition Worries You Can Stop Stressing About

A recent survey by the American Psychiatric Association found that we are more anxious than ever, about health, finances, relationships, politics...you name it. On a scale of 1 to 100, this year's national anxiety score is 51, which is a 5-point increase from 2017. 

There's surely plenty to worry about these days. But anxious people tend not to be great problem-solvers. So, let's at least make sure we're not stressing out about things that we don't actually need to worry about. As my contribution to the general well-being, here are ten nutrition concerns that you can probably cross off your list.

1. Not getting enough protein.  

There's been a lot of talk lately about the benefits of eating more protein, including better appetite control, weight management, preserving lean muscle, and improving recovery from surgery, illness, or even just hard workouts. But now, I'm hearing from a lot of people who are stressed out because they are not able to eat 150 grams of protein every day. Relax! You do not necessarily have to eat that much protein in order to get the benefits. Every little bit helps. In my article How to Build More Muscle with Less Protein, I explain how to get the most benefit out of the protein that you do eat. The quick and dirty tip: Eat less protein at dinner and more at breakfast and/or lunch. 

2. Getting too much protein.  

Ironically, while half of the Internet seems hell-bent on getting us to eat more protein, the other half is warning us that we are already eating too much. As I explained in my article Do Americans Eat Too Much Protein?, these fears are unfounded. The amount of protein that we consume is not damaging our kidneys or weakening our bones. 

3. Carbs. 

Carbohydrates have had a rough decade, shouldering most of the blame for our epidemic rates of obesity and diabetes. It's a good idea to limit your intake of refined carbohydrates and added sugars, and to balance your intake of healthy carbohydrates like fruits and whole grains with healthy sources of fat and protein. And, of course, it's not only about the quality of your food choices, the quantity matters too. But it has been repeatedly proven that low carbohydrate diets are no more effective in losing or maintaining your weight than other diets. The diet that works best is the one that you can stick with and that will usually be one that fits your lifestyle and tastebuds. If you need help finding your best diet, start here. 

4. The Dirty Dozen.

Many of you have memorized this list of fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residues and assiduously avoid eating or buying them unless you are sure they are organic. In terms of minimizing your exposure to pesticides or reducing your risk of cancer, this is wasted effort. As I worte in my article on How to Reduce Your Exposure to Pesticides, the amount of pesticides you are exposed to from eating Dirty Dozen produce is far too small to pose a health risk.  The cancer-prevention and other benefits of eating those fruits and vegetables far outweigh any risks. 

5. Cooking the Nutrients out of Foods.

Another persistent and unnecessary worry is that we are cooking (or breeding) all of the nutrition out of our foods. Some nutrients do get lost when foods are cooked but also just when they are washed, or frozen, or even stored in the fridge. But it's OK. There is still plenty of good nutrition to be had from these foods. What's more, the recommended amounts for fruits, vegetables and other foods assume that some of them will be cooked or otherwise processed, so that's already built in. Cook your vegetables however you find them most palatable and you'll probablymore than make up for any nutrients that are lost by eating more of them. 

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6. Anti-Nutrients.

Once again, there's an equal but opposite worry about how cooking affects nutrients. For every person worried that cooking their foods will destroy the nutrients, someone else is worried that NOT cooking their foods will expose them to so-called "anti-nutrients" like phytates, lectins, or oxalates. Not only is there very little evidence to suggest that lectins, phytates, or oxalates are causing health problems (for First World inhabitants, anyway), but lectins and phytates actually have beneficial effects on health. Cross this one off your worry list as well.

7. Skipping Breakfast. 

Are you forcing yourself to eat breakfast because you're worried that skipping breakfast will cause you to gain weight? Relax. There have been dozens of studies—including randomized, controlled trials—showing that eating breakfast has little to no impact on weight gain or loss and that people who eat breakfast often end up eating more calories than those who don't. Our belief in the protective effect of breakfast far exceeds the actual evidence.

If eating breakfast works for you, keep right on doing it. But skipping (or delaying) breakfast can be a perfectly healthy option...as long as your daily intake is otherwise nutritious, balanced, and right-sized.

8. Starvation Mode. 

But won't skipping breakfast cause your body to go into starvation mode? Nope. This is another one of those things that people worry way too much about. The idea is that you need to eat every 2-3 hours in order to keep your metabolism from slowing down. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Starvation mode is a real thing but it's not what you think. If you go several days without eating or eating almost nothing, your metabolism will indeed slow down in an effort to conserve energy and extend the length of time it will take you to starve to death. But not eating for 5 hours between lunch and dinner, or going 12 hours between dinner and breakfast is not going to cause your metabolism to slow down. In fact, going longer between meals can actually benefit your metabolism and weight management efforts in several ways. 

If you're running out of room on your phone, you can safely delete the app whose only function is to nag you to drink more water!

9. Dehydration. 

There's a widespread myth that the vast majority of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Although dehydration can be a problem among the elderly and those exerting themselves in hot and/or dry conditions, the typical American is not in danger of dehydration. And contrary to everything you've been told, you do not have to drink 8 glasses of water a day in order to meet your fluid requirements. So, if you're running out of room on your phone, you can safely delete the app whose only function is to nag you to drink more water! Although dehydration is probably not something you need to worry about, you may still find that drinking some extra water can help you manage your appetite and even feel more alert. 

10. Not Having a Perfect Diet.  

I think it's great that people seem to be so interested in nutrition these days. But ideas about what it takes to be healthy seem to be getting more and more extreme, requiring that you completely eliminate certain ingredients, foods, even entire food groups. The problem with these all-or-nothing approaches is that they are rarely sustainable. And when people can't do it all, they end up doing nothing. Your diet does not have to be perfect in order to be healthy. You'll get a lot more benefit from eating pretty well most of the time than you will from eating perfectly two weekends per year. 

What's still on your worry list?

Of course, there are dozens of worries I haven't listed here but have discussed in previous podcasts. So, if things like how eggs and cholesterol, red meat and cancer, kale and your thyroid, soy and hormones, or anything else is still on your worry list, check the archives. If you don't see it, let me know and I'll address it in a future podcast or Live Q&A session.

Here's to making life just a little less worrisome!

Image of woman worried about nutrition choices © Shutterstock

9 Credit Rights You Should Know: A Guide to Consumer Protections

Building and maintaining great credit is a fundamental part of a healthy financial life. You probably know that having no or poor credit means that you typically can’t get approved for credit accounts. And you can even be charged more for certain products, such as insurance, utilities, and cell phones, when you have subpar credit.

But you may not be fully aware of your credit rights. Everything, from who can access your credit information to how to deal with errors on your credit reports, is included in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

In this post, I’ll summarize what you should know about this federal law with a quick guide. You’ll learn nine credit rights that can help you build credit, qualify for the best financial offers, and save money for decades to come.

9 Credit Rights You Should Know

1. Access your credit reports for free.
2. Request your credit scores. 
3. Restrictions on who can access your credit reports. 
4. Dispute information in your credit reports. 
5. Have inaccurate information removed or corrected. 
6. Exclude negative information after certain time limits. 
7. Consent for an employer to access your credit data. 
8. Notification about adverse credit actions. 
9. Opt out of prescreened product offers.

Here’s more detail about each of these consumer credit protections.

1. Access your credit reports for free.

An important, but often under-utilized, right you’re given by the FCRA is the ability to review your credit reports and know what’s being reported about you. The three nationwide agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, must provide you with your credit report for free every 12 months, if you request it.

You can get it directly from the agencies or from the official credit reporting site, annualcreditreport.com. However, there are many places where you can get your credit reports for free as often as you like, including:

• Fintech companies, such as Credit Karma and Credit Sesame
• Financial institutions, such as LendingTree
• Credit card issuers, such as Discover

To get a report, you must verify your identity by providing your Social Security number, current or previous address, and answer random questions about your accounts, such as the range of your monthly payment or the year you took out a loan.

You’re also entitled to a free credit report if:

• You’ve been turned down for new credit or adversely affected due to data in your credit file
• You believe you’re the victim of identity theft
• You’re receiving public assistance
• You’re unemployed, but looking for employment

2. Request your credit scores.

When you view your credit reports, you’ll notice that they don’t include credit scores. There are many different scores used by lenders and merchants that evaluate you based on the information in your credit reports.

Each of the nationwide credit agencies sells at least one credit score, which uses a proprietary calculation method. You have the right to request your credit score from the major credit bureaus. However, unlike the free credit report rule, the credit agencies can and usually do charge you for scores.

Instead of being forced to pay for them, I recommend signing up at Credit Karma or Credit Sesame, where you can get both your credit reports and scores for free. They may offer one or two different types of scores, show how they’re trending over time, and offer guidance for improving your credit.

3. Restrictions on who can access your credit reports.

Credit bureaus must limit who can see your credit information. The only people or companies allowed to access your credit reports are those with “permissible purpose.” For instance, companies where you’ve applied for a loan, credit card, or to lease an apartment. Here are more examples of companies and organizations that the law deems as having a valid need to access your credit information:

• Existing creditors you have a relationship with  
• Debt collection companies  
• Insurance companies, to underwrite various types of insurance  
• Employers or prospective employers (with your permission)
• Phone and utility companies
• Certain government agencies or in response to a court order or subpoena

You also have the right to know who has requested your credit report in the last year or, for employment-related requests, two years.

4. Dispute information in your credit reports.

If you believe your credit report contains inaccurate or incomplete information, you can file a dispute with the credit agency. By law, the agency has 30 days to complete an investigation and resolve your dispute.

Don’t tolerate any errors in your credit files. The sooner you get them corrected, the sooner your credit scores may improve.

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5. Have inaccurate information removed or corrected.

If a credit investigation finds that your disputed information is inaccurate, or if the information can’t be verified, the credit agency must correct or delete it from your credit report. However, if they find that the information is accurate, they must keep it as is.

If an investigation doesn’t clear up the matter to your satisfaction, you can ask to have a statement added to your credit file explaining the situation. Just be sure to keep it brief, such as 100 words or less, since only a portion may be visible to potential creditors and merchants.

6. Exclude negative information after certain time limits.

Be sure to check the age of your credit accounts when reviewing your credit reports to make sure that any with black marks are removed on time.

The FCRA specifies how long credit bureaus can keep certain types of information on your credit reports. Negative information, such as accounts with late payments or accounts in collections, generally must be removed seven years after you first became delinquent. However, some types of bankruptcies and unpaid tax liens may stay in your credit file for 10 years or longer.

Be sure to check the age of your credit accounts when reviewing your credit reports to make sure that any with black marks are removed on time. The upside is that accounts with only positive information stay on your reports longer, for 10 years.

7. Consent for an employer to access your credit data.

Even though an employer or potential employer can request your credit report and review it, in most cases, they can only do so legally if you give your written consent. Also, employers receive an abbreviated version of your report compared to what potential lenders see.

Having a history of negative public records or high debt could be red flags for employers, especially when you apply for or have a high-level position. Also, certain industries—such as finance, medicine, and government—may scrutinize credit more carefully.

8. Notification about adverse credit actions.

If a potential creditor or merchant uses information in your credit report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment, or takes any other adverse action against you, they must tell you. This could include an unfavorable change with a current employer or merchant, such as getting fired or being charged a higher insurance premium.

The company that reviewed your credit file must also provide the name, address and phone number of the nationwide credit bureau where they got the information, known as a “notice of adverse action.” If you get a notice that you weren’t expecting, be sure to review your credit report and check for errors.

9. Opt out of prescreened product offers.

You may not realize that many of the offers you receive for products—such as credit cards and insurance—are due to your credit.

The credit bureaus sell your information to companies that want to prescreen you. But the bureaus must remove your name and address from marketing lists that they sell, if you ask them to quit sharing your data for those purposes.

The official website to “opt out” of prescreen lists is optoutprescreen.com. You can opt out of offers for five years or permanently, or reverse the action by opting back in.

In addition to these credit rights, the state where you live may have their own consumer credit laws. If a credit agency, or a company that furnishes your information to one, violates the law, you can seek legal damages in state or federal court.

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Culinary Tales from the Head Chef of HelloFresh

Guest article by Lei Anne Rabeje

Balancing work, family, and healthy eating can be a tough challenge for many, but HelloFresh Head Chef Claudia Sidoti tackles these challenges head-on. As a head chef, restaurateur, and a mother of three, Claudia balances a lot of work on her plate, and she used her own experiences as inspiration for her six-step recipes.

HelloFresh is a meal-kit company that delivers fresh ingredients weekly, with a goal to improve their customers' lifestyle through healthy home cooked meals without hassle. Their subscription boxes are customizable, and offers vegetarian, family, or classic options, each complete with three or four recipes each week. As Head Chef, Sidoti focuses on creating new recipes, with the hopes of expanding to a more global palette. In the fast-paced world where food trends come and go, Sidoti looks to integrate recipes that will help people “feel more connected to restaurant trends.” For some, this may mean trying out new ethnic cuisines, but for others, it’s as simple as using new spices or new ingredients on some classic dishes.

There are three underlying questions that inspire her in developing recipes: “What am I going to make for dinner tonight?”, “How quickly can I do this?”, and “What will they all eat?”. Her easy-to-make 30 minute recipes are perfectly designed “for the easy in-and-out” during weeknights that adds a twist to classic, comfort foods.

In this week’s podcast, listen to Claudia tell her journey from being a restaurateur at 19 years old to becoming the Head Chef at HelloFresh, talk about the steps of making the "ideal recipe," and share advice on how to enter the culinary world.