Blog Posts by Reader s Digest Magazine

1. Unlimited cell-phone minutes
You may think you need a cell phone plan with unlimited minutes, so you have the freedom to talk as much as you like without incurring extra fees. But most people don't exceed the number of minutes offered in even the least expensive plans from most carriers (about 700 per month for a family plan). Check your usage amount on bills for the past several months before choosing a pricier plan.

2. Lottery Tickets
Yes, $10 million probably will make your life wonderful, but almost anything is more likely to happen than you winning the lottery. The chance of winning most big-ticket lottery jackpots is well over 100 million to one.

3. Credit card payment insurance
For a monthly fee, many credit card companies offer an optional insurance policy: they'll cover your payments if you become disabled or unemployed. Financial advisors explain that most of these programs are rife with complex rules and restrictions, and recommend using the money you would have spent

1. Sniff a banana, apple, or peppermint
You might feel silly, but it works. When Dr Alan R. Hirsch of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago tried this with 3,000 volunteers, he found that the more frequently people sniffed, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost - an average of 30 lb each. One theory is that sniffing the food tricks the brain into thinking you're actually eating it. 2. Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table. One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Seems having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you're trying to lose weight in the first place.

PLUS: Easy Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

2. Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table.
One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Seems having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some

Why are your eyes so tired at the end of a long workday? You are actually exercising what ophthalmologist James P. McCulley of the University of Texas Medical School calls "among the most active muscles in the body."

1. Computer work and reading requires more muscles.

Your eyes contain three sets of muscle groups. Concentrated reading or close work provides a workout for these muscle groups strenuous enough to make Richard Simmons proud. Unfortunately, as in all aerobic programs, the saying "no pain, no gain" applies, as Winnipeg, Manitoba, optometrist Steven Mintz explains:

The human eye is designed so that, if perfectly formed, it will form a clear image on the retina (at the back of the eye) of any distant object without having to use any of the muscles. In order to see closer objects clearly, however, each set of muscles has to work. The extraocular muscles must turn each eye inward; the sphincter muscles must work to make the pupil smaller; and the ciliary muscles

1. We use the word "corruption" when we don't have a real answer
Occasionally, when trying to fix a problem, something goes wrong and some part of the system breaks or stops working, or more damage happens. I was helping a customer a couple weeks ago move email over from one system to another and accidentally lost all of his calendar items. Of course I didn't tell him it was my fault. What happened? Corruption.

2. On Google
Google will not solve everything. Google is an amazingly helpful tool where you can find most answers to your tech questions by searching yourself... BUT I know which solutions are true and which are not. I can do a Google search for something and weed out all the illegitimate answers and know which ones make sense, which ones work, and which ones will cause more problems. The average user can't do that.

Although Google is sometimes best for everyone.
It's often easier to accomplish certain things using home based technology then the big corporate office

I heard that I can skip the flu shot this year if I got one last year. True?

It's not a good idea. It's true that this year's flu strain is expected to be identical to last year's (a rare occurrence), so the shot isn't changing. But studies show that protection starts declining within a year after vaccination, says Ghinwa Dumyati, MD, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Rochester - possibly sooner if you're older or have immune problems. So antibody levels from last year's shot may be too low to defend you. Why take the chance? If you hate needles (and are between the ages of two and 50), there's always the nasal spray vaccine.

PLUS: 50 Secrets Your Nurse Won't Tell You

Can probiotic supplements help?

Some may make your colds shorter and milder. The ideal cold remedy would help your immune system work at full throttle to fight off the virus while sparing you the nasty side effects of an amped-up immune system (runny nose, headache, and so on).

Cheddar, Swiss, and other hard cheeses pack over 100 calories per ounce. As cheese lovers, we know the calories add up, but no one wants to trade the delicious taste for rubbery low-fat cheeses. Here are some real cheese options that are naturally lower in calories.

Lighthearted and whimsical as Halloween is today, its past is a multicultural conglomeration of ritual, religion, and history. Here are some things you may not know about your child's favorite holiday.

1. There's a dark side to the innocent child-centered holiday
The Halloween of today, in which children dress up as ghouls, ghosts and witches and light-heartedly demand 'treats' from neighbors under threat of a 'trick', has largely been reimported from the United States, where Irish immigrants introduced the custom in the 19th century. It is thought to stem from the idea that on Halloween all law is suspended. Dressing up in masks and costumes prevents people from being recognized by their own community. Being separated in this way allows the participants to play boisterous and often antisocial tricks.

2. It originally began as a pagan festival honoring the dead.
For Celts and Anglo-Saxons the year ended when the herds were brought in from pasture at the end of October. The new year

Even though Buttercup is an indoor cat, she can still get a taste of the outdoor life. What about giving her free rein on the screened porch? Or you could purchase a large dog crate and pad it with soft pillows for sunny afternoons in the backyard. And, of course, you can always put her on a leash. If you want to try walking your cat (and yes, many people do), Belinda Mager, spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States, recommends the following:

• Use a harness, not a collar.
• Begin the training in the house, when she's hungry. Why the hunger? You'll be using treats as an incentive.
• Start by putting her on the leash for one minute, then increase the time during each training session.
• Once she's comfortable on the leash in the house, it's time to venture outside.
• Stay in the yard and don't go far. This also reduces the risk that you'll run into dogs and other animals.

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