8 Tips to Save Money on Meat

Buy It in the Morning

Looking for deals on meat? Hit up the supermarket in the early morning. That’s when they’ll be restocking the meat case, and you’ll have the best bet at finding a deal.

Buy in Bulk

Ask at the deli counter of your supermarket for “bulk ends,” and ask if there’s a discount! These end bits of sliced meats are too small to slice in the machine, but can be sliced or cubed at home. They’re often offered at half off!

Befriend the Butcher

When does your supermarket mark-down meat? It’s as easy as asking the butcher. Especially if you’re friendly, he or she will usually be happy to let you know this valuable savings secret.

Market Watch

Supermarkets have started using their own wording on meat packages to make you think that the product you are buying is a better grade than it really is. Most of the major chains are buying more select-grade beef, but may call it by any number of fancy names such as “top premium beef,” “prime quality cut,” “select choice,” “market choice,” or “premium cut.” Be aware that these titles don’t actually mean anything!

Ask for Discounted Cuts

Grocery stores make a lot of money on meat, so it’s not surprising that they display the priciest cuts in the case! Experience dramatic savings by instead asking the butcher to slice different cuts for you from the same primal (or section) of the cow or pig. These cuts can be as little as one-fifth the cost of the expensive, pre-packaged cuts, and they’ll be just as tender and tasty. Here are a few discounted (yet delicious) cuts you can ask for: Instead of buying ground beef, ask the butcher to grind up a bottom round roast for you. If you’re looking for rib eye steak, request chuck eye. (You may need to ask the butcher to cut a 4-inch roast off the front of the boneless chuck, then to peel out the chuck eye and cut it into steaks.) Instead of pork tenderloin, buy an entire loin roast and ask the butcher to cut it up for you.

Buy Bigger Hams

If you’re going to buy a canned ham, purchase the largest one you can afford. Most smaller canned hams are made from bits and pieces glued together with gelatin. Cured hams are injected with a solution of brine salts, sugar, and nitrites. The weight of the ham will increase with the injection, and if the total weight goes up by 8 percent, the label will usually say “ham with natural juices.” If the weight of the ham increases by more than 10 percent, the label must read “water added.”

Make Your Own Patties

Never buy meat that’s already been shaped into patties (unless it’s on sale). Instead, buy your own and shape into patties yourself. Place a sheet of waxed paper between each, then place the entire stack in a resealable plastic bag and put in the freezer.

Leaner Isn’t Always Better

Even if you want to prepare low-fat meals, you don’t always need to buy the leanest (and most expensive) ground beef. If you’re preparing hamburgers on a grill or on a broiler rack, most of the fat will be lost during the cooking process, so stick with the moderately lean varieties.

For more ways to save money from all over the internet, check out our Saving Money board on Pinterest. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook for daily tips!

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

How to Organize Your Office

Shelf Space

If your desk seems cluttered, make sure you’re taking advantage of the space above it. Install a shelf or two for books and folders, and make sure to attach some hooks on their undersides. Hang small baskets on the hooks and now you have a hiding place for paperclips, pens, glue sticks, tape, and the hundred other things that are taking up room in your office space.

DIY Filing Cabinet

No filing cabinet? No problem! You can turn almost any drawer into one suitable for hanging files. All you need is a drawer that is deep enough to hold hanging files, and two tension rods that are usually used for curtains—the smallest and thinnest you can find. Insert the rods in the drawer parallel to each other and perpendicular to the front and back of the drawer. They should be wide enough apart so that the hanging file folders will be able to hang on from rods (adjust as necessary). Now you’re ready to start filing away!

Create a Financial “Hub”

The best way to stay on top of your financial documents is to set up one spot for all related paperwork— bills, bank statements, tax files, and other important documents. Use a large desk drawer with hanging file folders, or get a separate cabinet altogether to use for money-related filing. Your financial hub should be conveniently located near your computer, scanner, and shredder.

Recycled Inbox

Cereal boxes make great stacking trays for your home office. Carefully cut off the top and back of the box, and you have an inbox waiting to happen. If you don’t like the Total, Wheaties, and Chex look, spray the boxes with silver spray paint and let dry before using.

Glass Jars as Supply Containers

Do you have a collection of old glass jars and other containers? Instead of allowing them to take up space in a cabinet, put them to good use! Store office supplies, such as binder clips, pens and pencils, rubber bands, and erasers, inside the clear containers—they’ll be in one designated space and you’ll be able to quickly spot what you need through the glass.

Pegboard Office Supply Storage

Use a pegboard to store important paperwork, notes, and other loose papers, as well as basic office supplies. Insert elastic bands through the holes in the front, stretch them taut, and tie closed at the back; these will hold your papers in place against the board. Put the pegboard into a frame to hang on the wall, then hang scissors, tape, rulers, and other tools from pegs.

Magnetized Supply Storage

We love this idea for keeping important office supplies organized and easy to access. Hang a sheet of magnetic metal on a wall near your desk, and store small supplies in metal tins with magnetic backs—the round containers normally used for spices are ideal. Place stamps, paper clips, tacks, and any other tiny tools inside, then stick them to the wall-mounted metal sheet.

Baking Pan

Got a spare muffin or cupcake pan tucked away in a kitchen cabinet? Bring it into the office to use as a handy organizer! Place small items inside each compartment, such as binder clips, paperclips, staples, tacks, stamps, and keys. With all of your stuff this organized, you won’t even miss the muffins!

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Symptoms of Brain Cancer: What Is Glioblastoma Multiforme?

No matter where your political party loyalties lie, the recent news of Arizona Senator McCain’s grave brain cancer diagnosis has surely left many of you in disbelief. As a past prisoner of Vietnam war, two presidential runs, and one of the most outspoken Republicans, Senator McCain has gained the political attention of everyone. So his recent diagnosis of Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most common type of brain cancer, hasn't been an easy one to digest.

Of note, Ted Kennedy and Beau Biden also suffered from brain cancer. So what is “glioblastoma multiforme?' And what does this mean for Senator McCain and his prognosis?

This one hits home for me as well, as one of my very close family member suffered through this diagnosis near end-of-life.

What is Glioblastoma Multiforme?

When we talk about “brain cancer,” what we are really referring to is a cancer that begins in the brain itself. It’s the brain cells themselves that go out of whack and turn cancerous. It’s different than other cancers that can “metastasize” (meaning spread) after originating from a different location in the body (such as breast, lung, or melanoma).

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the most common type of brain cancer in adults. Yet, it is still a rare type of cancer. It specifically originates from the “glial cells” of the brain (hence, the term “glio-“), which comprise the greatest amount of our brain matter. These glial cells help “neurons” (the nerve cells that transmit information) do their job. Without them, our brains truly are unable to function.

No one knows what causes GBM. Unlike some other cancers, we do not really know of any risk factors that can contribute to it. For instance, we know some breast cancers are hormonally driven. And Most lung cancer is secondary to cigarette smoking. Sun exposure can cause some skin cancers. But we don’t really know what causes GBM.Contrary to popular belief, there is no good evidence that cell phones and electromagnetic field lines are contributing factors.  

Symptoms of Brain Tumors

Headache:

This one may create some anxiety in some of you, because headaches are quite common; almost all of us have experienced at least one. Some of us with migraines or tension headaches tend to experience them more frequently. So before you dart to your doctor’s office in fear of a brain tumor, it’s important to note that brain tumors are a very rare cause of headaches.

Also, headaches caused by brain tumors are also often accompanied by specific “red flags”:

·         A new headache in an adult without a history of similar headaches: For example, if you’ve suffered from migraines since your 20’s intermittently, then that is not typically a cause for alarm when you experience another similar headache. It would be more concerning if let’s say a 50 year old adult with no prior migraines all of a sudden starts experience migraine-type headaches without ever having experienced one prior.

·         Headaches that progressively worsen through time: For instance, if your headache becomes more severe with each episode.

·         Headaches that worsen with position changes, such as bending over or coughing/sneezing

·         Headaches that awaken you from sleep:  Note that there’s a distinction between waking up and realizing you have a headache and a headache that is so severe that it awakens. The latter is much less common.

Other symptoms:

·         Neurologic:  Symptoms such as problems with motor skills, sensation, speech, vision, etc.

·         Vomiting upon waking up, most especially when invoked by a change in position. Although it’s important to not get carried away by this one, because nausea and vomiting is a common feature in those with migraines.

·         Seizures

·         Memory loss

·         Vision loss

·         Double vision (Reportedly Senator McCain experienced this)

·         A significant personality change

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Diagnosis of Brain Cancer

If a brain tumor is suspected, the best initial study is typically an MRI with contrast. Although CT of the brains can often reveal a blatant abnormality, it may not be able to pick up smaller tumors.

Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme

Sadly, there is no cure for GBM. It’s one of those less tangible cancers, hence difficult to eradicate. Surgical resection is an option, but because it is almost impossible to resect the tumor in its entirety, it’s reserved to improve quality of life, and less frequently to prolong survival rates.  The challenge is to remove as much of the cancer as possible without having to damage the rest of the healthy brain.

Radiation and chemotherapy are also options to help keep the glial cells from going out of control too quickly. But the quality of life due to the side effects of these treatments is also a consideration.

Therefore, treatment really depends on the age of the patient and how healthy they are to withstand surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy.

Prognosis of Glioblastoma Multiforme

With treatment, survival is increased on average by months, sadly, not years.

Studies show that the older the patient, the worse the prognosis is. And about half of those diagnosed with GBM are over the age of 65. But this may be because older patients tend to fight the disease less aggressively due to their already fragile health.

However, despite therapeutic advances, all measures are typically temporary, relieving discomfort and distressing symptoms for a short time period. The tumor progressively enlarges, impinging on other brain structures, causing further damage to the brain until it eventually cannot be sustainable.

Median survival after diagnosis for Glioblastoma Multiforme is one year

Before making any further advances on the treatment of GBM, we really need more studies.

Before making any further advances on the treatment of GBM, we really need more studies. For more information on how to enroll in clinical trials for GBM, please check out the following links:

Preparatory Education About Clinical Trials

National Cancer Institute

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Please note that all content here is strictly for informational purposes only.  This content does not substitute any medical advice, and does not replace any medical judgment or reasoning by your own personal health provider.  Please always seek a licensed physician in your area regarding all health related questions and issues.

What Can You Do for a Fatty Liver?

It’s normal to have a certain amount of fat in your liver, because processing dietary and blood fats is a big part of what the liver does. But in certain situations, fat can start to build up in the liver. If that goes on unchecked, it can cause inflammation, liver damage, and even liver cancer.  

In its early stages, a fatty liver doesn’t really cause any symptoms. It’s most likely to be detected through a physical exam, during which your doctor might be able to feel that your liver is enlarged. Blood tests, imaging, and/or biopsies can confirm the diagnosis.

What Causes Fatty Liver Disease?

Many people associate liver disease with alcohol abuse. But most people suffering from fatty liver disease are not alcoholics. It’s also important to note that eating a high-fat diet does not necessarily lead to fatty liver disease.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is more likely to be caused by chronically high blood sugar and insulin resistance, which we tend to see in people who are overweight, as well as in those with Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes.  At last count, one third of the adult population has some degree of fatty liver—and that’s about the same percentage as suffers from Type 2 diabetes.  NAFLD is actually the most common chronic liver condition in the world.

Fatty liver disease often goes hand in hand with other risk factors for heart disease as well, such as high triglycerides. In fact, those with NAFLD are much more likely to die of heart disease than liver disease.

OK enough with the bad news. Here’s the good news: Fatty liver disease can often be reversed and the liver can be restored to full health through diet and lifestyle changes.

How to Reverse Fatty Liver

Lose weight.  The number one thing you can do to reverse fatty liver is to lose weight. Losing even 5% of your body weight can be enough to start to roll back the damage, even if you are still significantly overweight.

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Although continuing to lose weight may offer further benefits, you are much better off losing a modest amount of weight and keeping it off than you are losing a large amount of weight and then regaining it.

It’s also important to lose weight gradually, because rapid weight loss can actually make NAFLD temporarily worse.  Fortunately, slow weight loss is easier to achieve and easier to sustain.

Fortunately, slow weight loss is easier to achieve and easier to sustain.

See also: How to Avoid Biggest Loser Syndrome

Reduce your intake of sugar and other refined carbohydrates. Because these foods are rapidly converted to blood sugar, eating a lot of sugar and refined flour can lead to chronically elevated blood sugar levels. This in turn triggers the release of insulin from the pancreas, which works to clear blood sugar out of the bloodstream and into cells.

But if your body is constantly releasing insulin in order to deal with a constant influx of sugar, the cells can become resistant to its effects...sort of the way you start to tune out noise that’s constantly in the background.  

When your cells stop responding to insulin you end up with chronically high blood sugar AND chronically high blood insulin levels and you are well on your way to diabetes (if you’re not there already.)

But all is not lost! By cutting down on sugary, starchy foods, you can lower your blood sugar levels and reduce the amount of insulin your body is calling for. Over time, your cells will start to become more responsive, sort of the way you would be more likely to hear your phone ringing in a quiet house than in a noisy cafe.

In some cases, your doctor may suggest a prescription drug that helps improve insulin sensitivity. This can be useful but doesn’t necessarily have to be a long term solution.

See also: Can you reverse diabetes with diet?

Get your fat from healthy sources. It’s not necessary to go on a low-fat diet but you do want to emphasize foods that are rich in monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil and avocado, and omega-3 fats, found in fish and flaxseed. Saturated fats from meat, dairy, and butter and omega-6 fat from vegetables oils should be in the background.

Ramp up your intake of antioxidant rich foods. Oxidative stress is another feature common to Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and heart disease. But research on the use of antioxidant supplements in these conditions have shown mixed results. A better strategy is to increase your intake of antioxidants from foods like non-starchy vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, herbs, spices, tea, and coffee.

See also: Can you Get Too Many Antioxidants

The Mediterranean diet pattern tends to promote a healthy balance of fats, a low intake of sugar, and lots of antioxidant rich foods. Not surprisingly, it has been shown to be helpful for those with NAFLD.

See also: The Mediterannean Diet

Exercise in a balanced way.  Regular exercise can help improve your insulin sensitivity which can in turn help reverse NAFLD. But a balance of cardiovascular exercise (such as walking, cycling, jogging) and strength training (with weights, resistance bands or your own body weight) is more effective than simply getting your heart rate up. Try to get some cardiovascular exercise on a daily or near daily basis but be sure to include strength training once or twice a week.

For more tips on putting together a great fitness program, check out the Get Fit Guy podcast.

The Bottom Line

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease, in addition to being a mouthful to say, can be an awfully scary and intimidating diagnosis to receive. But it can also be a warning sign of bigger troubles ahead.

Fortunately, it’s also one of those things that you can turn around by making a commitment to a healthier diet and lifestyle. The liver has an almost miraculous ability to heal itself if we simply give it a bit of a break.

For more information and resources on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, you can visit the American Liver Foundation at liverfoundation.org.

Should You Pay Off Debt Before Investing?

One of the most common financial dilemmas is whether to use spare cash to pay off debt or to invest. It’s important to accomplish both, but with only so much money to go around, how do you know which to focus on first? If you’re not sure about the next move to make, it’s easy to feel stuck and never make progress with your personal finances.

In this post, I'll cover the main pros and cons of paying off debt before investing. Plus, you'll learn a simple method to prioritize your precious resources so you accomplish key financial goals and build wealth as quickly as possible.

Free Resource: Laura's Recommended Tools—over 40 of the best ways to earn more, save more, and accomplish more with your money!

First Understand the Big Picture of Your Personal Finances

Too often we get bogged down by a specific financial decision or dilemma without considering the big picture. To make the best decisions, it’s wise to step back and take a holistic view of your entire financial life.

I created a simple, three-pronged approach called the PIP plan, which stands for Prepare, Invest, and Pay Off. Use it as a touchstone when considering how to allocate your money wisely. 

1.    Prepare for the unexpected.

Life is full of surprises and many of them drain your bank account! So before spending a dime on debt or investments, ask yourself if you’re really prepared for the unexpected.

In an instant, you could lose your job, see your business income dry up, get a serious illness, lose a spouse, or experience a natural disaster. It’s not fun to think about these types of devastating situations, but they happen.

In an instant, you could lose your job, see your business income dry up, get a serious illness, lose a spouse, or experience a natural disaster. It’s not fun to think about these types of devastating situations, but they happen every day.

While no amount of money can reverse a tragedy, having a financial safety net can make it so much easier to cope. What you need depends on factors such as your living expenses, debt payments, income, and whether you have dependents.

At a minimum, strive to maintain an emergency fund equal to three to six months’ worth of your living expenses. For instance, if you spend $3,000 a month on essentials (such as housing, utilities, food, and debt payments), make a goal to keep at least three times that amount, or $9,000, in an FDIC-insured bank savings account.

If accumulating that much money seems out of reach, don’t worry. Just get started with a small goal, such as saving $500, then $1,000, until you have at least one month’s worth of security on hand.

Having even a small cash reserve is better than nothing because it can keep you from going into debt in the first place if you hit a rough financial patch (and who hasn’t?). In Should You Invest Emergency Money or Keep Cash, I cover more about how to calculate how much reserve you need and the best places to keep it.

See also: 3 Facts About Usage-Based Car Insurance That Can Save Money

Another key way to prepare for the unexpected and stay out of debt is to have the right kinds of insurance. Being underinsured or uninsured means that a disaster, theft, or accident could wipe out everything you’ve worked so hard to earn and jeopardize your entire financial future. 

For starters, if you drive (even if you don’t own a car) you could hurt someone and get sued for expensive injuries and medical payments. And having just the minimum amount of liability oftentimes isn’t nearly enough. For instance, in Florida you’re only required to purchase $10,000 in auto insurance liability. If you were found guilty for injuries totaling $100,000, you’d be on the hook for the balance of $90,000.

Then there’s homeowners and renter’s coverage. If you have a mortgage, lenders require home insurance—but most renters go uninsured, which is a big mistake. Renter’s insurance is a bargain for the protections your get, costing less than $200 per year on average. Just like a homeowner’s policy, renter’s insurance covers some amount of your personal belongings, liability, and living expenses if you’re forced to move out after a disaster.

The more income and assets you have, the more coverage you need to stay safe. Consider adding an inexpensive umbrella liability policy for additional protection above and beyond what you get on your auto and home or renters insurance.

See also: 5 Ways to Save Money on Car Insurance

And no matter what does or doesn’t happen to the Affordable Care Act, everyone should have health insurance to protect your finances. All it takes is one visit to the emergency room or a short stay in a hospital to rack up a massive medical bill that could turn your financial world upside down.

All it takes is one visit to the emergency room or a short stay in a hospital to rack up a massive medical bill that could turn your financial world upside down.

The last insurance I’ll mention is life insurance. It’s a must for anyone with family who would be hurt financially if you died. You can protect loved ones with inexpensive term coverage that may not cost more than $200 a year for a $500,000 benefit, if you’re in relatively good health.

You can get free quotes for any of these types of insurance using sites like insuranceQuotes.com or netQuote.com. The key to getting the best deal is to shop and compare quotes from multiple insurers.

The bottom line is that if you don’t have an emergency fund and don’t have insurance that’s critical for your and your family’s safety, you’re not ready to pay off debt ahead of schedule or to invest.

The only exception would be to pay off any dangerous debt you may have, such as overdue child support, tax liens, and accounts in collections. These can wreak havoc on your financial life, so they need to be addressed as quickly as possible.

See also: Your Emergency Fund: 5 Steps to Build a Financial Safety Net

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2.    Invest for the future.

Once you’ve prepared for unexpected events that could be around the corner, it’s time to turn your attention to the future. Unless you’re expecting a huge company pension or inheritance, your next priority should be to put a comfortable retirement on autopilot.

U.S. citizens can’t even think about relying exclusively on Social Security payments for retirement. The average benefit is $1,000 per month, less than the poverty level. And no one knows the future of the program.

It’s your responsibility to fund your own retirement by investing on a regular basis as early as possible. If you have a retirement plan at work, such as a 401k or 403b, that’s the first place your savings should go.

Don’t have a workplace retirement plan or are self-employed? No problem, just about everyone can have an IRA (Individual Retirement Arrangement). And there are accounts for the self-employed, such as a SEP IRA or Solo 401k. In general, you can even max out multiple retirement accounts in the same year. 

Workplace plans are loaded with benefits including automatic payroll deductions, employer matching, and federal legal protection from creditors. Depending on the state where you live, different types of IRAs may also come with legal safeguards that keep your funds safe.

Make a commitment to always invest a minimum of 10% to 15% of your gross income each year. If you do that consistently for decades, it’s easy to accumulate at least a million dollars to spend in retirement.

Make a commitment to always invest a minimum of 10% to 15% of your gross income each year. If you do that consistently for decades, it’s easy to accumulate at least a million dollars to spend in retirement.

So, until you’re regularly investing some amount for retirement (even if it’s small), don’t think about paying off debt ahead of schedule. Put your own retirement ahead of creditors, otherwise you risk getting started too late and may not have enough time to catch up and build enough to live on after you stop working.

See also: 5 Retirement Options When You're Self Employed

3.    Pay off debt.

After you’re prepared for the unexpected and are consistently investing for the future, it’s time to tackle your debt. But not all debt is created equal, so you need a strategy to choose the best accounts to eliminate first.

Your goal should be to figure out what’s more profitable: saving the interest you’re currently paying on debt or investing money with the expectation that it will grow. Ask yourself, which option brings me the highest return on my money?

Paying off debt gives you a straightforward, guaranteed return. For instance, if you’re carrying debt on a credit card that charges 26% interest annually, paying it off is an immediate 26% return.

You’d be hard-pressed to find an investment that would pay you a 26% return after taxes. So, paying off that high interest debt is a much smarter financial move than investing. But it’s a tougher call when you have more reasonable debt, such as a 4% mortgage or a 5% student loan.

How Taxes Affect Interest Rates on Mortgages

What complicates the debt-versus-investing issue is that taxes come into play. They’re important to consider because they make some investments less profitable and some debts less expensive.

Tax-deductible debts include student loans, mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). Some amount of interest you pay for these debts can be deducted from your taxable income, which reduces the amount of tax you owe.

In other words, a 4% mortgage costs less on an after-tax basis, assuming you claim the mortgage interest tax deduction. The only requirement for eligibility is that you itemize deductions on Schedule A. The after-tax rate depends on your tax filing status and income.

What complicates the debt-versus-investing issue is that taxes come into play. They’re important to consider because they make some investments less profitable and some debts less expensive.

Let’s say you have a $200,000 mortgage at 4% and pay $8,000 in interest this year. If your average income tax rate is 25%, deducting $8,000 in interest from your taxable income save you $2,000 ($8,000 x 0.25 = $2,000) in taxes.

So, instead of paying $8,000 in mortgage interest, you really pay $6,000 ($8,000 - $2,000) after taxes. Dividing the real amount of interest paid by your mortgage balance gives you a real interest rate of just 3%, not 4%.

You’re allowed to deduct the interest you pay on first and second mortgages for up to $1 million in mortgage debt (or up to $500,000 if you’re married and file taxes separately). The limits are lower for home equity loans and HELOCs. If you use them to buy, build, or make improvements to your home, you can generally deduct interest on debt amounts up to $100,000 (or up to $50,000 if you’re married filing separately).

See also: 8 Ways to Pay Off a Mortgage Early

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How Taxes Affect Interest Rates on Student Loans

The same calculation works for student loans, except that there are several annual limits to keep in mind. To be eligible to take the student loan interest deduction in 2017, you must have modified adjusted gross income that’s less than $80,000 for single filers or less than $160,000 for joint filers. (There’s no income threshold for the mortgage interest deduction.)

There’s also a much lower limit on how much interest you can deduct compared to mortgages. You can only claim a total of up to $2,500 of interest each year on federal or private student loans for you, your spouse, or your dependents.

Let’s say Jennifer has a student loan balance of $100,000 at 5% interest, which costs her $5,000 this year. She and her spouse earn $150,000 and file a joint return, making them eligible for the student loan interest deduction.

If they pay an average income tax rate of 20%, the $2,500 deduction saves $500 ($2,500 x 0.2). Now, instead of paying $5,000 in interest, Jennifer pays $4,500. If you divide $4,500 by her loan balance of $100,000, her student loan interest rate after taxes is reduced from 5% to 4.5%.

Now you know how tax deductions cut the interest rates you pay for mortgages and student loans. Unfortunately, other types of debt—such as credit cards, store cards, car loans, personal loans, and payday loans—don’t come with tax deductions, so their rates don’t change after taxes. That’s why, as I previously mentioned, a credit card charging 26% really costs you 26%, because none of the interest is deductible.

To correctly evaluate whether to pay off a debt early or to invest, the first step is to figure out what you’re really paying for it after taxes. Then you can compare it apples-to-apples to the money you could earn after taxes by investing it and see which option is more profitable.

See also: Should You Refinance Your Student Loans?

To correctly evaluate whether to pay off a debt early or to invest, the first step is to figure out what you’re really paying for it after taxes. Then you can compare it apples-to-apples to the money you could earn after taxes by investing it and see which option is more profitable.

How Taxes Affect Your Investment Returns

Now, let’s focus on how taxes affect your investments. Most investment earnings are taxable, except those owned inside a tax deferred or tax free qualified retirement account, such as an IRA or workplace 401k.

Let’s say you have plenty of emergency money sitting in the bank, invest 15% of your income for retirement, and still have $200 a month left over. First, use it to pay down any debt with double-digit interest rates, such as credit cards, payday loans and car loans.

Don’t have any dangerous or high-rate debt? Congratulations, you’re in a great spot! Now’s the only time you should entertain the idea of paying off tax-deductible debt (mortgages and student loans) or investing your spare cash.

Go back to my earlier example of a 4% mortgage that really costs 3% after taxes. Paying it off early gives you a guaranteed 3% annual return. Can you find a more profitable way to use your extra money to yield a higher after-tax return?

I believe you can earn more by investing than by paying off a typical mortgage. It’s not difficult to find investments that would give you a higher return, including fees. But investing always involves some amount of risk, so there are no guarantees.

A good choice would be to invest $200 a month in a Roth IRA, which allows earnings to grow tax-free, maximizing your return. You’d only pay income taxes on money in the year you make Roth contributions and then withdraw them in retirement with zero taxes due.

Pros and Cons of Paying Off Debt Before Investing

When you have debt with double-digit interest rates, such as a 12% credit card or a 10% car loan, there’s no debating that your best financial move is to wipe it out when you have extra money. But before you prepay a low-rate debt, that come with tax deductions, consider various pros and cons.

Some would argue that getting rid of a low-interest debt is better than investing money, even if you miss out on higher potential returns, because it gives you peace of mind. The idea is that you’d enjoy a guaranteed return, even if it’s very low and quite conservative.

The flip side of the argument is that you could invest money to build wealth at a much higher rate than you’re paying for a mortgage or student loan. Plus, paying off a low-interest loan early could leave you cash-poor in the case of an emergency.

Once you sink money into paying off a mortgage or HELOC, it could be difficult or impossible to cash out your home equity if you needed it. The value of your home could go down or your credit worthiness could plummet and you may not qualify for a refinance in a financial pinch.

Once you sink money into paying off a mortgage or HELOC, it could be difficult or impossible to cash out your home equity if you needed it. The value of your home could go down or your credit worthiness could plummet and you may not qualify for a refinance in a financial pinch.

Also, having a fixed, low-rate mortgage can be a smart hedge against potential inflation. If interest rates go up, your mortgage payments stay the same would effectively cost less in the future than they do now.

See also: What Is a Mortgage Refinance? 5 Ways to Know If It's a Good Idea

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Should You Pay Debt or Invest?

There’s a lot to consider in the debt-versus-investing question. My advice is to invest your extra money when the after-tax earnings should be higher than the after-tax interest rate you're paying on debt.

However, the best choice for you depends on your risk tolerance. It’s called personal finances because we’re all different. Decisions that make you feel comfortable may seem very risky to the next person.

If you still feel conflicted about the debt-versus-investing issue, one solution is to do both. You could send half your extra money to prepay debt and half to an investment.  

Once you take care of yourself by building an emergency fund, having insurance, and investing 10% to 15% for retirement, how you prioritize extra money is your call. Get clear about your goals and make sure how you spend money always aligns with your values.

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Cheerful Casseroles and No-Bake Desserts

Hot on the heels of her appearance on the 13th season of Food Network Star and the publication of her first two cookbooks, No-Bake Desserts: 103 Easy Recipes for No-Bake Cookies, Bars, and Treats; and Family Favorite Casserole Recipes: 103 Comforting Breakfast Casseroles, Dinner Ideas, and Desserts Everyone Will Love, Addie Gundry joins the Clever Cookstr to share her top tips for easy, elegant entertaining in the kitchen.

1) Rely on the basic skills in your pocket. Whether she's entertaining friends and family or beating a 30-minute challenge on a Food Network show, Addie relies on muscle memory and her culinary experience to cook while she thinks. At home, boiling a pot of water or chopping an onion to saute before you're even sure what you're going to make for dinner can save you precious minutes.

2) Presentation goes a long way. Addie's signature is easy, elegant entertaining, and she excels at creating recipes that are as beautiful and delicious as anything you'd eat at a restaurant, but are also easy, achievable timesavers for the home cook. In No-Bake Desserts, showstoppers like edible glitter and edible silver sugar pearls take treats from mundane to glam. 3) Sometimes, “shortcut” ingredients lead to an even better result. Canned tomatoes make for a reliably tastier tomato sauce than making sauce from scratch with tomatoes that might be out of season, watery, and bland. Similarly, fresh-frozen products can be treated with integrity and taste even fresher.

4) Make-ahead recipes are key for entertaining. When your guests arrive, you don’t want to be crouched over the stove or running around putting together a salad and a dessert. Recipes like make-ahead casseroles and no-bake desserts are easy to prepare in advance so you can focus on spending time with friends and family.

5) Desserts in a jar are the ultimate crowdpleaser. Assemble single-serving desserts ahead of time and stick them in the fridge. You can serve dirt cups or beach cups in disposable clear plastic cups for easy serving and cleanup. Kids of all ages love reliving the joy of eating their own decorative dessert.

6) Expecting houseguests? Make a make-ahead breakfast casserole like a Cinnamon Roll Casserole. You won’t be a short-order cook in the morning, and your guests will be treated to a breakfast that feels indulgent and kicks off the day on the right foot.

To hear the full interview with Addie, listen in the top right hand player, or on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify. And check out Addie's books: No-Bake Desserts: 103 Easy Recipes for No-Bake Cookies, Bars, and Treats; and Family Favorite Casserole Recipes: 103 Comforting Breakfast Casseroles, Dinner Ideas, and Desserts Everyone Will Love.

Bonus recipe: Unforgettable Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Yield: Serves 6 to 8 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes

 

I can’t count on my hands how many times my husband has asked for this casserole, not only when

we entertain, but also on any given weeknight. Potatoes, chicken, cheese, and bacon—that

foursome is indeed unforgettable, and when I make this at home on a weekend, I set the scene for

our own little sports bar.

 

INGREDIENTS

 

Chicken Filling

1 ∕3 cup olive oil

5 tablespoons hot sauce

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into cubes

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

 

Topping

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

8 scallions, sliced

½ cup chopped celery

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF and lightly coat a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

 

2. For the chicken filling: In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, hot sauce, paprika, garlic, pepper, and

salt. Add the potatoes and mix well to coat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes from the

bowl (but don’t wash out the bowl yet!). Place the potatoes in the baking dish and bake for 25

minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender and beginning to crisp. While the potatoes bake,

add the chicken to the bowl with the spice mixture and toss well.

 

3. For the topping: Mix the topping ingredients together in a medium bowl.

 

4. Remove the potatoes from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400ºF. Stir the potatoes

and place the uncooked chicken cubes on top in an even layer. Sprinkle with the topping mixture

and bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Serve.

 

Copyright © 2017 by Addie Gundry and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Griffin.

How Smart Is Your Smartwatch?

Cool devices like the Apple Watch, Fitbit, and the nearly ubiquitous Garmin Forerunners (at my local running group anyway) aim to track your biometrics, like heart rate, and calories burned, along with various other fun variables like pace, vertical oscillation, and elevation. There are even a few that try to predict your recovery time, race paces and even VO2 Max which would be very interesting (especially given the vomit inducing-ness of a real VO2 Max test), if they could be trusted. And that is a big "if."

When I got on board with these devices back in 2009, they weren't all that accurate. Even the cardiologists who study wearables at Stanford University went as far as to say that they thought of them a little bit like random number generators. They really didn't seem to be providing anything that was even close to your actual heart rate.

The folks at Stanford have recently tested seven newer fitness bands and now say those heart rate stats have gotten much much better. For most of the devices, the error rate was less than five percent. Which is considered medical grade—and good enough for your doctor!

Calories Burned

Where all the devices fell apart was in estimating the calories burned when compared to gold-standard lab measurements of energy expenditure.

The reason for the discrepancy could be that we all burn energy at different rates and that's hard to guess from simple parameters like weight and height which is generally the only thing we tell these devices when we first buy them. I mean, if I just go out and watch the runners in my neighbourhood, some are incredibly efficient and look simply elegant when they run (watch a video of triathlete Mirinda Carfrae for an example of this) while others are laboured, awkward and even look like they're burning a lot more calories to cover the same amount of ground (watch a video of me for an example of this).

The Test

At Stanford University they did an evaluation of seven devices using a group of 60 volunteers. They evaluated the Apple Watch, Basis Peak, Fitbit Surge, Microsoft Band, Mio Alpha 2, PulseOn, and the Samsung Gear S2.

The sixty volunteers, made up of 31 women and 29 men, wore the seven devices while walking or running on treadmills or using stationary bikes. Each volunteer’s heart was also measured with a medical-grade electrocardiograph (ECG). Then their metabolic rate was estimated with an instrument for measuring the oxygen and the carbon dioxide in their breath, which is a pretty good proxy for metabolism and energy expenditure.

Once they had that data, the results from the wearable devices were compared to the measurements from the two medical instruments.

In the end, they concluded, not all that shockingly, that some devices were more accurate than others. They also concluded that factors such as skin colour and body mass index (BMI) definitely affected the measurements. I don’t know about you but I have never had any device ask me about my skin tone… have you?

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Takeaways

The biggest takeaway was that none of the seven devices measured energy expenditure accurately at all. Even the most accurate device was off by an average of 27 percent and the least accurate was off by 93 percent. That is basically me throwing darts at some graph paper that I stapled to the wall—and I am not a good dart player!

The biggest takeaway was that none of the seven devices measured energy expenditure accurately at all.

The researchers said that manufacturers may or may not test the accuracy of these devices thoroughly and it’s hard for consumers to know how accurate such information is or the process that the manufacturers used in testing the devices.

The heart rate measurements performed far better than expected, based on the previous versions of the devices but again, what was truly surprising was just how crappy the energy expenditure measures were.

The take-home message appears to be that a user can pretty much rely on a fitness tracker’s heart rate measurements but basing the number of doughnuts you can eat on how many calories your watch says that you burned is really not a great idea… any way you dip it.

10 Trackers at Once

Back in May 2016, a reporter for the Big Crunch did a fun experiment (fun for us nerds that is). He wore 10 different trackers at once and took them through their paces. He did this in response to people actually suing Fitbit, saying that its devices didn’t track the data accurately enough.

The reporter went to an electronics store and purchased a bunch of devices like Fitbit, Garmin, Polar, Misfit, Jawbone, and Withings. He also borrowed another Fitbit and two Apple Watches from his very trusting friends.

He then ran the devices through three specific tests: step counting, heart rate measurement and total distance travelled.

Now he was the first to admit that this wouldn’t qualify as a scientific study but he still tried to be more thorough than most of us would - I have to give him that. If it had been me, I would have likely given up the minute the clerk at Best Buy showed me the bill.

The results were, as he put it: depending on your perspective, either quite variable — or pretty close... whatever that means.

First Test - Step Counting

He did two different tests of step counting. In the first, he wore all the devices for a couple hours, doing a variety of tasks. The step totals varied widely by more than 20 percent. That's pretty significant when you consider that people often have a goal of getting to 10,000 steps in per day. With the chance of a 20 percent inaccuracy rate, one device might show 10,000 steps while another would show around 8,000. Not cool, man. Not cool. 

In the second test he counted 500 steps out loud (I can’t help but picture someone following a treasure map). In this test, he still saw inaccuracies ranging between 446 and 513.

The most accurate device was the Fitbit chargeHR, which showed 505 steps. Interestingly another Fitbit (a cheaper model) showed only 486 steps. So, you get what you pay for, even within the same company.

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Second Test - Heart Rate Measurement

To test heart rate, he peddled on a stationary bike to get his heart rate up to a consistent 140 beats per minute (BPM). He measured this by actually putting his hand up to his carotid artery and taking his pulse - old school like. He did this two days in a row, again being more scientific than I would have been.

The different heart rate monitors all appeared to have their own issues. Some needed time to catch up, even though his heart was already rocking at 140 bpm. Other devices would flip around between a low heart rate like 90 and a reading closer to what he got from his manual count, like 130.

As was expected at the time, the heart rate tracking was the least reliable of the three tests he did. The closest devices were the two Apple Watches. Both of them read 137 and 134 bpm, which is pretty darn close to the manually counted number.

Third Test - Total Distance Travelled

To test distance, he got on a treadmill and walked half a mile. Which doesn’t seem like much but even such a minimal distance was enough to see big deviations in the data.

What’s kind of cool is that since he was wearing multiple watches at the same time, he actually could see the distance totals diverge right in front of his eyes. The more he walked, the more the watches showed their inaccuracies.

In the end, the Withings Pulse O2 apparently nearly matched what the treadmill said. Though I would say that the treadmill itself was likely also wildly inaccurate (ones in public gyms usually are) and if that’s the case, then who knows which device was actually “right.”

Relative Comparison

In the end, what I take away from all of this is that maybe the best thing to do is to simply use these devices for relative comparisons. You need to commit to using one device and stick to it; the direction of the trend that is more important than the number itself. Just like a daily weigh-in on your bathroom scale, the number you see each day isn’t as important as the overall trend is.

In the end, what I take away from all of this is that maybe the best thing to do is to simply use these devices for relative comparisons.

I don’t know about you but when I weigh myself, I use the same scale that I have had for 7 years. I get out of bed, go to the bathroom, empty my bladder, and before I have my coffee or breakfast, I strip down to my birthday suit and get on the scale. I aim to be as consistent as possible and don’t concern myself with the actual pounds, kilos or percentages but rather I wait until the data is uploaded to my fancy charting software to see which way I am heading.

To further illustrate this, I recently had two separate DEXA scans done and both times, both technicians at the labs said that they had never in all their years of doing these scans, seen someone with a single digit body fat percentage. While a friend of mine had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) done that showed he was something close to 3 percent body fat. And to drive the point home even more, even my own measurements between my Tanita electrical impedance scale and the DEXA scan showed a difference of 3 percent within a 3 hours time frame.

What the Makers Say About This

Even a spokesperson from Garmin said that's it's about an individual's relative gain and that Garmin activity trackers are designed to help users develop healthy habits and motivate them to beat yesterday.

A representative of Fitbit stood by the company's research and product testing but cautioned against putting too much stock in the exact figures.

Polar pointed out that physical activity comes in many forms, each of which can provide benefits and what's important to remember is that the reason we're tracking steps isn't just for the sake of tracking them, but ultimately because it's about achieving a better fitness result.

Another company (which declined to be named) suggested that there’s always going to be a variation for each statistic. For steps, some devices treat hand movements differently, so if people wave their hands a lot during the day, they might get credited differently depending on the device.

So, I guess it kind of goes without saying, but these tests are pretty big strikes against the wearables, at least for energy burn tracking. So if you’re doing your best to count every last calorie (which I honestly don’t advise), definitely don’t take your wearable’s word for it.

Whether or not my Garmin, Apple Watch, or my bathroom scale is truly giving me accurate data, I am still more interested in seeing my numbers improve than I am in putting a lot of stock in whether I burned precisely 400 calories, ran exactly 3.10686 miles (5k) or that fat truly makes up 12.23 percent of my body. When I see my scale display "11 percent," I will celebrate - not because of the actual number itself but because I am moving in my desired direction.

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