SANITY SAVERS: Tips for Women to Live A Balanced Life is in bookstores and is filled with suggestions to save your sanity every day of the year.

A must for any woman seeking to find her balance!

This year there has been much focus on "investments going sour." Financial pundits talk about "value investing" and for the last year we have all learned more than we had ever thought we would about the stocks, bonds, funds, markets, banks, and investments.

Let's talk about another type of investment - one that you can have regardless of what happens in your bank account. We all have the opportunity to invest in our values. A good way to do that is to value and invest in experiences.

Research on happiness continues to support that a major contributor to happiness is our investment in experiences over material goods. Having an experience on your own, or with others, and then positively "re-experiencing" it through sharing can increase positive feelings and enhance successful social interactions. Many people find that experiences are more interesting and pleasant to talk about than material objects. There is a human connection that occurs; a story telling, an engagement that unites you with someone else or a part of yourself that enhances well being.

Furthermore, experiences are open to positive re-interpretation because they reflect deep personal meaning. Material objects (things) are not part of us, but hiking up a mountain, singing with friends, or cooking with children become part of our personal stories.

The oven malfunction on Thanksgiving may have seemed disastrous at the time but becomes part of family lore with the retelling of how the barbeque grill came out of retirement from the depths of the garage to save the day. And your uncle, clad in winter coat, earmuffs, and gloves, created a smoked flavored turkey that rivaled any of the previous years. The challenges you faced with gale force winds and sleeting rain as you ran in a charity 5-K become part of the collective memory when you recall your support for a sick friend.

We can recall the positive aspects of experiences as we focus on how we met specific challenges of particularly trying experiences. When we revisit them, we feel enhanced and ennobled. Slowing down, staying present, appreciating the moments when we pay attention to our experiences, will help us invest in what are the most precious (and priceless) elements of our lives.

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Please check website, www.drdaleatkins.com, for updates.

See Dr. Atkins' article, Sanity Savers for a Balanced Life, in Black Tie Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 1, pg. 64. www.blacktiemagazine.com

Hear Dr. Atkins on the radio show, The M Word, hosted by Lori Sackler, WOR News Talk Radio 710, Sunday evenings 9:30PM EST.

Reading Something Positive Every Day

Choosing a few simple, positive habits can enhance your life. One example is to develop the habit of reading something positive every single day, even if it is only a few pages.

Your choice of reading can have profound effects on your brain, as science strives to understand how the brain processes the written word. So why not choose something that will enhance your attitude and life? Over time, inspirational reading will become a part of who you are and how you live your life.

How do children learn to manage money? There is usually no course at school, and many parents do not teach them about personal financial management. As adults, without a solid foundation, they are left to learn from their own successes and failures.

Additionally, today's children have more money to spend and develop financial habits at younger and younger ages. This results in many children who develop bad habits that can last a lifetime. It is important for children to learn patience, discipline, and money smarts that will guide them to be fiscally responsible.

Here are some tips to help encourage good financial habits:

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him. "

Aldous Leonard Huxley