FEBRUARY 2015
“If you can’t
sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It’s
the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep.”
- Dale Carnegie
RECIPE Pork Chops with
Apples
4 bone-in pork loin chops
(¾” thick, 7 oz. each)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 lg. green apple, cut in thin wedges
1 lg. red apple, cut in thin wedges
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Brown pork chops in oil on each side in a large skillet.
Season with salt and pepper; remove them and keep them warm. In the same skillet,
sauté onions and apple wedges until crisp/tender. Combine mustard and brown sugar;
brush it over the chops. Return the pork chops to the skillet; cook them for 4
minutes or until the meat juices run clear. Yields 4 servings. Prep + cooking time:
30 minutes.
BRAIN TEASER Presidents
Quiz. How many
Vice-Presidents are on Mount Rushmore?*
DID YOU KNOW?
America’s waiting game
An average NFL game lasts 3 hours and 11 minutes. The football is
actually in play for only about 11 minutes of that
time.5
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HOW CLOSELY WILL RETIREMENT MATCH YOUR
EXPECTATIONS?
All of us approach
retirement with a vision of what life after work might be like. The time freedom
that comes with a retirement transition is exciting, and if we plan, save and
invest considerately, we may enter the “third act” of life with sufficient
financial freedom as well. Even so, we may discover that some things about
retirement differ than what we expected.
Some of us may decide to
and keep a foot in the workforce after age 65. Even an “endless Saturday” can
get a little boring sometimes. We may regard time as our greatest asset, and our
health a close second; even more than wealth, health is foundational to
retirement happiness. Speaking of health, we may end up spending in the vicinity
of $220,000 to cover retirement medical costs (so notes Forbes);
we may not anticipate such an outlay. Spouses or partners may find that their
retirement outlooks vary, and that may mean a bit of
negotiation.
Whether your retirement
turns out to match or differ from your long-held vision, one thing is certain:
as you may live into your 80s (or longer), you must stay invested and stay
financially vigilant. You don’t want to outlive your money, so keep planning to
preserve it and sustain it.1
COULD BRAIN STENTS CUT STROKE
DEATHS?
University of Pittsburgh
researchers maintain that they could. So far, only intravenous medicines have
dissolved blood clots lodged in the brain; doctors have relied on such treatment
for over 20 years. Now, endovascular treatment (removable brain stents) may
provide a more effective option.
Doctors at the University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center published their findings in the New England Journal of
Medicine: in treating 300+ stroke patients, they
observed that the normal mortality rate was cut in half to 10% when stents were
inserted into the brain to dissolve blockages. Additionally, the treatment
brought overall positive results in 55% of patients, compared to 30% of the time
with intravenous medicines. The Pitt researchers also noticed that after
endovascular treatment, patients had comparatively better odds of living
independently and lower odds of the stroke leading to a lasting
disability.2
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
The S&P 500’s “lost decade” (2000-2009, in
which it retreated 24.1%) is well into the rear-view mirror. At the close of
trading February 11, the S&P 500 had advanced more than 85.5% during the
2010s.3,4
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