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Tuesday • January 16, 2024
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A lot of financial advice sounds the same: Save, invest, rinse, and repeat. But what if we told you that improved financial health may actually begin with mental health? In a recent piece for The Washington Post, columnist Michelle Singletary detailed four 2024 resolutions that could boost your money-managing skills, and you won’t find any mention of 401(k)s or mortgages in the text. Instead, she focuses on digging into your relationship with money, rebuilding connections with other people, and envisioning what you want your future to look like. Read her recommendations.
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A photographer waited six years to capture this one-of-a-kind shot of the moon aligned with a mountain and an Italian basilica
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Skip the baggage carousel: A flight attendant’s daughter who calls herself the “carry-on queen” is sharing her essential packing tips
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Health & Wellness
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| Optimism Is on the Rise, 2024 Global Predictions Report Finds |
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molchanovdmitry/ iStock
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Some heartening news: Optimism is on the rise around the world, according to a recent global predictions report conducted by Ipsos. The survey found that 70% of people expect 2024 to be a better year than 2023, representing a 5% increase from 2022’s decade-low.
“This year’s figure hopefully signals optimism heading back to the levels more typically seen over the past decade when it has fluctuated only very marginally between 75%-80%,” a news release reads. The improvement in optimism was highest in European countries, particularly in Poland, Spain, Great Britain, and Sweden, reflecting the continuing economic recovery the continent saw in 2023.
Though the majority of participants expect inflation to increase in 2024, optimism in the global economy rose overall, with 50% of people predicting it will improve this year, a 4% increase from 2023. Confidence was especially high in emerging markets like Indonesia, India, and China, where over 80% expect the global economy to strengthen.
Interestingly, 41% of respondents predicted they will use social media less this year, which may be a result of the growing evidence that “demonstrates a negative association between social media use and mental health issues,” per the release.
To be a part of this boosted optimism, revisit our article on what to look forward to in 2024.
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Keep Your Personal Info to Yourself
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Your personal information should be just that: personal. But unfortunately, a whopping 1 in 3 Americans have experienced identity theft. That’s why it’s so crucial to ensure details like your Social Security number, contact information, and physical address aren’t floating around on the internet, up for grabs for anyone to plunder.
Thankfully, Incogni presents a solution. The subscription-based service ensures your data stays off the market by conducting repeated, ongoing removals of your personal information, so you can protect yourself from identity theft and scams. And Nice News readers can get 55% off with the coupon code NICENEWS.
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*Please support our sponsors! They help us keep Nice News free. ♡
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Acts of Kindness
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| An Heiress Is Donating Her $27M Fortune and Letting the Public Decide Where It Goes |
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Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images
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A 31-year-old Austrian heiress and activist is giving away over $27 million of the fortune she inherited from her grandmother, and she’s asking her fellow citizens to decide how to redistribute the wealth.
“I have inherited a fortune, and therefore power, without having done anything for it,” Marlene Engelhorn said, per The Times in the U.K., adding: “Meanwhile, many people in full-time jobs were struggling to make ends meet and paying tax on every euro they earned from their labor.”
Last Wednesday, 10,000 randomly-selected Austrians ages 16 and over began receiving invitations to apply for the Good Council for Redistribution. Those interested can complete a short survey, and a research institute will narrow down the applicants, ultimately selecting 50 members from diverse backgrounds to join.
From there, the decision on how and where to distribute the money will be entirely up to them — they can donate it locally or internationally and to as few or as many institutions as they desire. “It’s not the inheritance that should ensure that I’m doing well in life, but the way I contribute to society and the fact that we look after each other in society,” said Engelhorn.
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Culture
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| How Brazil Is Combating Hunger and Teaching Healthy Habits With Free School Lunches |
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FG Trade/ iStock
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Brazil boasts one of the largest school meal programs in the world, serving upward of 40 million children in public education every day. For many, that midday meal is the only one they receive, so when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, food insecurity rates soared.
As the country works to recover, its government is focused on strengthening public policies to combat hunger — including increased federal funding for the program. But an elementary school in São Paulo is going a step further, asking parents to manage on-site gardens and teaching youngsters how to cook with the food grown in them.
“I like that I can … be a part of making sure my child and all of his classmates are fed healthy meals every day,” mom Silvia Cardoso de Oliveira told NPR. The city also aims to source all school lunch supplies from producers who practice sustainable farming by 2026, and serve 100% organic meals by 2030.
Though it’s the students receiving free food, the program has a trickle-down effect. “In poorer families, it’s always the kids [who eat first], because if there isn’t enough food, the adults would rather go without,” explained Walter Belik, an agricultural economics professor, adding: “But when their children go to school and [adults] know they’ll eat well there, [the adults] don’t have to worry as much. So school meals reduce hunger not just for kids but for adults too.”
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In Other News
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Inspiring Stories
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“I got you”
In a now-viral video, Mason Branstrator, who is partially paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair, highlighted the special bond he has with his father. He and his parents were visiting Berlin when an elevator in a train station broke down, but his dad wasted no time in remedying the situation. He carried his son up the three flights of stairs on his back, and garnered some help from a kind stranger.
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Looking for adventure
An intrepid octogenarian set a new world record, becoming the oldest man to paddle the length of the Mississippi River. Dale “Greybeard” Sanders embarked on the 87-day, 2,350-mile trip on his 87th birthday in June 2022. “Staying healthy depends on being happy, keeping active, and living a good quality spiritual life,” Sanders said. See photos from the excursion.
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Post Of The Day
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@usinterior
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This snowshoe hare is a total winter vibe. Though you might assume the adorable animals would get chilly, they actually need to blend in with the snow in order to avoid predators. In fact, snowshoe hares’ coats turn pure white during the colder months (compared to brown in the summer) to help with their disappearing act. We hope you, too, are staying warm and safe this winter! (Photo Credit: Jim Cumming/ Moment via Getty Images)
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Quote of the Day
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| “By doing the work to love ourselves more, I believe we will love each other better.”
- Laverne Cox
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