Wednesday, April 22, 2009

This is Your Brain on Adventure

How adventurous are you?
You stand on a 300-foot cliff and think, Mommy. Ted Davenport stands there and thinks, Sick air! The difference, neuroscientists are finding, may lie in the very anatomy of our minds.

Take the following survey to find out:

My results:
Your Adventure Index score is 9, which compares to a national average of 5 for all adults.

Read more HERE.

Happy Earth Day!

Go hug a tree!!!

1. Bank Online - Online Banking, BillPay and Paperless Statements
Not only will you save time and money with online services, you'll help the environment. If every U.S. household stopped receiving paper bills and statements, 687,000 tons of paper would be saved every year, enough to circle the Earth 239 times.
Javelin Strategy and Research:

2. Bright Idea

At home, replace your light bulbs with CFL bulbs. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars¹.

3. B.Y.O.Bag
Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide. That amounts to over one million per minute. Billions of bags end up in land fills each year. When shopping, bring your own reusable bags. Most grocers offer them for less than $1.50. The reusable bags preserve resources by cutting down on the huge number of paper and plastic bags that are discarded annually.

4. Give up the Glow
A screen saver is not an energy saver. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of all electricity consumed in the home is standby power used to keep electronics running when those TVs, DVRs, computers, monitors and stereos are "off.” For example, turning off your computer when not in use would save you about $70 a year. The carbon impact would be even greater; shutting it off would reduce the machine's carbon emissions by 83%. Unplug to save more.

Bonus Tip: Pass the Green Torch
Going green with your children is a great way to spend time together, have fun as a family, and develop habits in your children that will benefit the environment for years to come. Check out to help your children go (and grow) green! Give your kids the responsibility for your family's recycling program. Consider matching whatever they earn through recycling. They'll learn about going green and saving money at the same time.

Want to know your financial paper footprint? Click here