Most pre-packaged foods have unnatural chemical additives and preservatives, and often contain unhealthy saturated or trans fat. It is almost always better to eat food you prepare at home, where you can control the ingredients. Most pre-packaged foods are also higher in calories and fat, especially saturated trans fats. Dieticians recommend eating slowly, which helps you recognize when you are full. When you continue to eat after your hunger has been satisfied, you are ingesting a lot of calories that easily could have been avoided. Limit calories to 2,000 kcal/day. If you are trying to lose weight, try cutting down to 1,800 kcal/day. Never consume fewer than 1,200 kcal/day. One serving of meat, fish, or poultry should be about 3 ounces, when cooked, or about the same size as the palm of your hand. A serving of cooked pasta should be about half a cup, or roughly the size of a scoop of ice cream. One serving of grains is equal to one slice of bread. One pancake or one waffle equals one serving, which should be about the same size as a typical slice of bread. One cubed serving of cheese is roughly the same size as your entire thumb. One serving of vegetables or fruit is about the size of your fist. A healthy serving size of cooked rice is about enough to fill a standard cupcake wrapper. Try to make half of your plate consist of vegetables. Restaurants often serve food in unusually large portions. Sharing one entree between two people is a good way to ensure proper portion size and save money as well. Although it is not imperative to eliminate meat from your diet entirely, reducing the amount you eat will have a positive effect on your health. Many meats are high in calories and contain a large percentage of fat. Red meats especially have been linked to clogged arteries, higher cholesterol, and heart problems. Oatmeal, brown rice, and whole-wheat bread contain fiber, which is essential to a healthy digestive tract. Whole grains also contain B vitamins, which boost energy and metabolism. Nuts and seeds contain vitamin E and other nutrients that aren't readily found in other foods. Legumes such as peanuts, lentils, beans, and soybeans also provide fiber, as well as protein, iron, folate, and other important nutrients.

Summary: Limit packaged foods. Watch those portion sizes. Share an entree. Eat less meat. Eat more whole grains. Snack on nuts, seeds, and legumes.

If the interviewer keeps strong eye contact with you throughout the interview, you can take it as a sign that the interviewer respects and is interested in you. If your interviewer avoids eye contact, you're probably not the top candidate. This holds true even if the interviewer is looking at your resume. Referring to your resume during an interview rather than addressing you directly probably means your interviewer is just going through the motions and doesn't expect anything earth-shattering from you. If your interviewer is fiddling with a desk drawer, texting on his/her phone, or speaking to other people in the office, it probably means that your interviewer is not allotting full attention to your words. Your interviewer's distraction isn't necessarily personal. HR employees are notoriously overworked, so it can be tough to get them to grant you their undivided attention. Overcome this attention deficit by inserting talking points which you've already identified into your answers. These are two of the most positive gestures one can make, so, while they don't necessarily indicate you've got the job, they are good indications that the interviewer likes you and, at the very least, that you haven't bombed your interview. Make sure you mirror the interviewer's smiles and positive body language. This shows the interviewer that you're engaged in the interview and eagerly interested in the job. If an interviewer has been rubbed the wrong way by something you said, that person will likely display closed body language, such as folded arms or leaning backward. Taking offense does not bode well for your interview. Don't throw yourself off a cliff just yet, though. The key to addressing such a scenario is directness. Ask your interviewer how you could answer the question more effectively, or if there was something you said which upset him/her. This is a positive gesture that denotes respect and interest, so it's a good sign if your interviewer closes your interview with a solid clasp of the hand.

Summary: Monitor your eye contact with the interviewer. Look for signs of distraction or boredom. Take note if your interviewer leans forward and smiles. Check for signs that you've caused offense. Keep an eye out for a firm handshake.

Whether your earnings decrease with retirement or not, you remain responsible for making your payments on time. The credit agencies, which include both the credit card companies and the credit score reporting agencies, are less concerned with your income than with your ability to make your payments. Making your payments on time is the key, regardless of your income level. With decreased income in retirement, you may be tempted to use credit cards more. This is fine if you make your full payments each month. However, if you let the credit balance creep up, you will reduce your overall credit score. Carrying a minimal balance will not hurt you much. Credit agencies measure the ratio of your outstanding credit debt as compared to the amount of credit that you have available to you. Carrying a debt of $2,000 is less damaging if your total credit line is $25,000, for example, than if your credit line is only $5,000. Watch the balance and keep your ratio down as much as possible. You should try to keep the ratio to 25% or less. Thus, a $2,000 debt with $25,000 available credit is only 8%, which is strong, but $2,000 debt with only a $5,000 limit is a ratio of 40%, which is going to hurt your credit score. You may find that you need less credit as you enter retirement because you are buying less and your monthly expenses are lower. This may tempt you to close one or more credit card accounts that you might not be using. Don't. Keeping established credit card accounts open serves two good purposes that will help your overall credit score. First, your credit score is positively affected by the age on your accounts. An older account that you have had continuously for many years carries good, positive weight and helps boost your credit score. Second, keeping accounts open increases the amount of available credit that you have. As a result, the ratio of borrowing to credit is lower, and this helps increase your credit score. For example, if you owe $2,000 with total available credit of $20,000, the ratio is one-tenth. However, if you shut down an account, you may still owe the same $2,000 but only have available credit of $10,000. This ratio is one-fifth, and scores less for your credit report. Your credit score is affected not only by the credit that you have but also by your ongoing good use of credit. You should make a habit of using your credit cards at least for modest expenses each month. Then pay those bills on time and in full at the end of the month. This kind of practice will show that you can handle the credit cards and that you continue to be a good credit risk. The amount of your purchases is not as important as the fact that you continue using and paying off the credit cards. Periodically, you should ask your lender if you qualify for an increase in your credit limit. Especially if you have built up a good credit history by making payments on time, this request should be granted. You should continue to request this every few years, even as you enter retirement, if you believe you would qualify. The credit limit increase will help you keep a low debt to credit ratio and keep your credit score high.
Summary: Pay your credit card bills on time. Keep the credit balance low compared to the credit limit. Keep credit accounts open. Continue using your credit cards. Request credit limit increases.