Month: January 2020

January 23, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC I didn’t receive a robust financial education from my parents while growing up, but my mom did offer one piece of advice that stuck with me: Credit cards are like guys who post shirtless mirror selfies on dating apps. That is, they’re to be avoided at all costs. I’ve often wished that I hadn’t ignored her, given the amount of cash I’ve lost to interest payments since I got my first swipeable piece of non-debit plastic in college. But many financial experts would say I actually wasn’t being irresponsible by opening my first line of credit. Because while credit card debt may well be a financial buzzkill, the benefits of credit cards can be valuable for leveling up your financial wellness, so long as you use them wisely. “Credit cards are like other financial products and tools—they are neutral, neither good nor bad,” says Amanda Clayman, certified financial therapist. Of course, plastic does come with some well-recognized risks: Not only can cards carry high interest and fees, but they can tempt an overspending habit and make slipping into debt feel a bit too easy. According to Clayman, it’s because of these risks that many people have relegated credit cards to the “swipe left” category. However, Clayman suggests that before writing them off, it would be wise to learn about the power credit cards wield when it comes to improving your financial wellness. “Rules of thumb are helpful when we need to make quick,

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January 23, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC Aquarians (those born between January 19 and February 18) are known to be highly independent, a little bit quirky, and with a tendency to spend a lot of time in their own head. In other words, they can be tough to figure out. But when you add in the other nuances of their zodiac chart, like an Aquarius’ moon sign, it becomes straight-up impossible to put these visionary souls into a box. A person’s moon sign is the astrological sign that the moon was in when they were born, and it sheds light on the way that person experiences and processes their innermost emotions. This is an important cosmic placement to consider when striving to better understand any person’s chart, but especially so with Aquarians, who often don’t put their feelings on display. “Aquarius is an air sign that rules the intellect,” says astrologer and women’s empowerment coach Natalia Benson. “It’s not often watery and emotive, or even fiery and passionate—it’s more cool, calm, and collected. Aquarians have a little more of a disconnected relationship to their emotions because they seek to intellectually understand them versus really feel them.” A moon sign is important to consider when striving to better understand any person’s chart, but especially so with Aquarians, who often don’t put their feelings on display. Given that the moon changes signs about every two and a half days, there are 12 different combinations of sun signs and moon signs that an

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January 23, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC February 3 is a big day, politically speaking: It’s the date of the Iowa caucuses, which marks the official kickoff of primary election season. As states prepare to decide the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, all eyes are on the vast field of Democratic candidates, which is now down to 12 contenders. (Sixteen others have dropped out of the race, while only two nominees are challenging President Trump for the Republican nomination.) Clearly, there are many things at stake in this election—the environment, gun safety, and impending military conflict, to name a few—but recent polls have shown that health care is the issue that’s most important to voters in 2020. When you look at the Democratic candidates’ stances on health care reform, there are several things they have in common. Just about everyone wants to reverse the Trump administration’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act, while reversing the “gag rule” that bans government-funded health-care clinics from referring patients to abortion providers and, in effect, restoring funding to Planned Parenthood. Nearly all of the Democratic candidates are also pledging to make health care and prescription drugs more accessible and affordable. But their specific proposals for doing so are varied, and the most hotly debated aspects of their plans revolve around health insurance. Some candidates support a lower-cost, government-run insurance option that would be open to every American and exist alongside private insurance. Others are in favor of a single payer healthcare plan like the

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January 23, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC Working out is often a reward in and of itself. On the days when you feel like you could do literally anything else but exercise, there’s an instant payoff from those feel-good endorphins that make the effort feel worth it. Couple that with the longterm physical and mental health benefits, which include helping to prevent depression, promoting longevity, and enhancing balance and coordination, and the good times keep on rolling when you consistently work up a sweat. And now, there are some very tangible benefits to getting active, too: Apple is partnering with four of the buzziest studios and gyms in the country to launch Apple Connected, and there will be some pretty legitimate financial incentives to get your heart rate up. Apple Connected is a new program that utilizes the fitness intel collected from your watch (and GymKit, a way to pair cardio machines to your Apple Watch to track your gains) to provide incentives to work out. At launch, Apple will kick off the program with six Basecamp Fitness locations, YMCA St. Paul Midway, and two New York Crunch Signature locations, as well as drumrollllll: two Orangetheory studios, which has us the most excited, so allow us to gush. The ultra-popular high intensity interval training (HIIT) class— known for weaving treadmill, weights, and rowing machines into a single workout—is one of the first studios to join in the Apple Connected program and has some of the coolest rewards. Members who enroll will

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