Blog Posts by ForbesWoman

Man sees woman at bar. Man smiles at woman. Woman plays cool. Man approaches woman. Woman crosses her arms and leans against the bar. Man walks away.

Woman, confused, bewildered, cries to her girlfriends, "What happened?"

"Crossing your arms makes you look very closed off," says Patti Stanger, host of reality show Millionaire Matchmaker, who's not surprised the scene ended this way. "It clearly sends a message of disinterest."

In Photos: The Dating Rules Of Patti Stanger

Body language cues are just one of the physical and social messages that people send that can put them at risk for appearing unapproachable, disinterested, or, in the case of women, just plain bitchy. And cues commonly discussed in dating scenarios-the arm cross, extreme appearance (from dark lipliner to unisex clothing) or oversharing personal information-can be as harmful to your life professionally as it can personally.

A new survey finds that one-third of Americans admit lying to their spouses about money, resulting in devastating effects to the relationship.

By Jenna Goudreau

Financial infidelity may be the new normal. In a recent survey, one in three Americans (31%) who have combined their finances admitted lying to their spouses about money, and another one-third of these adults said they'd been deceived.

The online poll, commissioned by ForbesWoman and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and conducted by Harris Interactive, surveyed 2,019 U.S. adults from December 17 to 21. Among both offenders and victims, the leading money crimes were hiding cash, minor purchases and bills. Meanwhile, a significant number of people admitted hiding major purchases, keeping secret bank accounts and lying about their debt or earnings.

"A third of the population admits to not being honest with their spouse," says NEFE chief executive Ted Beck. "That is a big number. These indiscretions cause

The top 10 worst and most common money mistakes.

By Jenna Goudreau

Are you a last-minute shopper, dashing to the mall on Dec. 24 to buy whatever's left at full price and with little thought? Perhaps you're the I'll-know-it-when-I-see-it gifter, who wanders from store to store without a budget or a plan? Or, are you a holiday pleaser, spending money you don't have to impress family and friends by how much you care?

Every year, the holidays are ripe for festive money crimes. To help you avoid them, financial experts weighed in on the season's worst and most common money mistakes-sure to leave January spending hangovers and sunk bank balances.

"The worst and most common mistake is going holiday shopping without a budget," says Pat Seaman, a director of the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). According to its recent survey, 69% of Americans don't create a holiday budget.

In Pictures: Top 10 Holiday Money Mistakes

Creating a shopping list and budget is an essential first

A guide to how the world's most powerful woman shapes her image.

By Jenna Goudreau

First Lady Michelle Obama may be America's brightest star-outshining leaders from Washington to Hollywood. In a favorability poll conducted by Gallup in July, she topped the list, ranking higher than Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore. Last month, CNN placed her approval rating at 65%-20 points above her husband's-and Forbes named her the most powerful woman in the world.

With every TV appearance or press shot, she moves markets. Research by New York University business professor David Yermack, published in this month's Harvard Business Review, reveals that Obama's style choices have contributed $2.7 billion to the retail sector. Companies see a 2.3% stock gain when she dons their products-five times that of a typical celebrity endorsement.

What's her secret? Experts say it's smart and strategic brand management. Just two years ago, she was criticized as "abrasive" and a potential "liability."

A look inside Suze Orman's complicated relationship with money.

By Jenna Goudreau

Personal finance guru Suze Orman visited our offices yesterday to film an interview with Moira Forbes. (Stay tuned: the video will be available soon.) In usual form, she was lively and energetic, firing off her iconic brand of common-sense money advice.

Then, the woman who has written seven financial bestsellers, will soon host money shows on CNBC and Oprah Winfrey's OWN network, and appeared at No. 61 on our list of the World's Most Powerful Women this year, said a curious thing. "The one thing I don't care about is money," Orman told Forbes when asked to describe her personal relationship with money.

She continued: "Yes I love that I have it. Yes I love that I can live in a great place. But if I didn't have it, I would be equally as happy as I am now. The true quest of life isn't money, it's the wealth that resides within you….Do I think I would be any happier if I had another 50 million dollars?

The midterm elections are a week away, and this year an overwhelming number of female candidates, commentators and influencers are commanding the headlines, brashly driving the conversation and laboring to deliver who will control the Senate, the House and the future direction of the country.

The forces that put us in this position come in the form of various political baronesses and upstarts that make up this Top 25 Power Women of Elections 2010. A great many of these mighty women appear on Forbes' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, including Tea Party queenmaker Sarah Palin, First Lady Michelle Obama and Rachel Maddow, a cable news anchor with a beef against "extremists" in politics.

Yet the polarizing are, in some ways, those who matter most. Or at least provoke chatter most. Consider Mama Grizzly Sharron Angle, clawing at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's seat from Nevada and whose challenge to the incumbent is to "man up." Or contender for the U.S. Senate

Does your boss remind you of your dad? It might be time to seek independence.

By Jenna Goudreau

Most of us assume that we are considered capable grown-ups by our colleagues. Yet just below the surface, you'll find that many manager-employee relationships closely resemble that of a parent and child. In fact, all social roles seem to have roots in the family, and several are magnified at work: A supportive coworker becomes the office mom, competing associates begin to act out sibling rivalries, and a leader may play the part of workplace patriarch.

More..."We have set business up to be like the family," says Sylvia Lafair, author of Don't Bring It to Work: Breaking the Family Patterns that Limit Success. Much like the family structure, workplaces assemble groups of people with established hierarchies and identified skills.

"We bring a lot of baggage to work," agrees organizational psychologist Ben Dattner, principal of Dattner Consulting in New York. "Our family becomes a template for

Meghan Casserly, Forbes.com,10.06.10, 06:00 PM EDT

When it comes to power, cultural impact means as much as money and political influence.

Forbes' power lists are synonymous with moguls and movie stars, heads of state and captains of business. One look at the 2010 World's 100 Most Powerful Women list and it is clear that we've come up with a new ranking of the female power elite that reflects the New Order of now.

When we set out to identify this year's list, we decided it was time to look up and out into the broader culture. Our assessment is based less on traditional titles and roles and more on creative influence and entrepreneurship. These power women have built distinctive companies and brands and championed weighty causes, sometimes through unconventional means; in other cases they have broken through gender barriers.

In Pictures: The World's 100 Most Powerful Women
Click here to see the full list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women

We divided our