WE’RE ALL PRONE to making sweeping promises to overhaul our life. We’ll go the gym six days a week and get ripped; we’ll read War and Peace; we’ll get our clothes down to a capsule wardrobe of seven key items.
Good luck with that. Or, you could vow to make any of these fiendishly simple, but thoroughly effective, changes to your everyday life.
1. Give someone a compliment
Just one small compliment. Once a day. That’s not too difficult to work into your routine, right? According to Tokyo University researchers, a compliment stimulates the same region of the brain – the striatum – which money does. AND it has this positive effect for both you and the person whose shoes you admired.
2. Spend a little… to stay on budget
You wha’? Okay, it sounds nonsensical to think about flashing the cash to keep your finances in check, but it actually works. If you are sticking to a rigid budget, you should factor in a small amount which is purely for fun (a cinema ticket, say, or a magazine subscription) because this can stop you feeling completely deprived, which can lead to a loss of willpower and, ultimately, a spending binge.
3. Stop rolling your eyes at your partner
Contempt is the biggest killer of relationships – and the eye-roll is a real body blow. A famous couples experiment by psychologist John Gottman in 1998 showed that he could predict which of a group of married people would split up within four to six years, based on their facial cues when around each other.
4. Wake up an hour early
Set the alarm one hour earlier than usual, just once a week, and it will change up the way you feel about the mornings. Use it to do something outside of the rush to work – read a chapter of your book, go for a walk before your shower, listen to a podcast – and see how it sets you up for the day.
Of course, if you are already a morning person, we’re delighted for you. DELIGHTED.
5. Play with your food
Literally, use your hand. Estimating the correct portion you should eat by using the dimensions of your palm is more important in healthy eating than the latest food fad.
6. Phone a friend
Texting and messaging has exploded as a form of communication but researchers are concerned that the loss of chit-chat has a major impact on interpersonal development. Apologies, in particular, get lost in the translation of the little screen. According to MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle, a spoken apology works best because:
You get to see or hear that I’m uncomfortable, and with that, the compassion response kicks in. There are many steps in an apology and they’re all bypassed when we text.
DO IT.
7. Be cash-savvy: take note of where your money is going
Almost half of people (43%) who switched their bank account in Ireland this year, did so when they realised how much they were paying in bank fees and found it too expensive. And eight out of ten Irish people underestimate how much they are paying in bank fees, according to the Amárach research for permanent tsb. Ouch.
Are you throwing money away by not making a switch? Use permanent tsb’s handy Power Switcher tool to see how much you could be saving by switching up your mobile phone, electricity, bank, car and health insurance, and broadband providers here.
You should also check out the permanent tsb Switching Index to see what Irish people are most likely to switch up to save money – and make sure you are not missing out!
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