INPUT ARTICLE: Article: This can include chores, schoolwork, getting a summer job, or helping out with your siblings. If your parents are upset with you, it will be hard to receive any positive attention from them. However, don't expect them to give you extra attention just for meeting their basic expectations as most parents take good behavior for granted. For example, if your parents expect you to make decent grades in school, make an effort to do so. If your parents expect you to do certain chores around the house, make sure you complete them regularly. If your parents aren't giving you attention, they're probably very busy. Show them that you appreciate their hard work by helping them around the house or with your siblings. If you help them out, they'll have more free time to spend with you. For example: Do the dishes after dinner. Fold a load of laundry. Offer to put your younger siblings to bed. Tidy the house. Find something praiseworthy and work hard to excel at it. If you give your parents a reason to brag about you, they'll give you more attention. If you want your parents to publically show their support, choose an activity that has events that your parents can attend. Examples of praiseworthy achievements include: Making really good grades Joining and excelling in a sport Being a leader in your local youth program Becoming active in a charity organization If you're still not getting enough attention from your parents, try talking to them about your feelings. Your parents probably don't know that you feel like you're they're ignoring you. Speak politely and present reasonable solutions for your parents. For example: "I feel like we don't hang out enough. Can we go to dinner, just the three of us?" "I'm sad that no one comes to my soccer games anymore. I would really appreciate it if you could attend a few of them." "I want to spend more time with you. We should join the local disc golf team!"

SUMMARY: Fulfill your parents' basic expectations. Reduce your parents' workload. Be outstanding at something. Talk to your parents.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Fast foods and junk foods are high in sugar and salt. As weight gain can be a problem during menopause due to a slowed metabolism, it's best to cut out unhealthy and high-calorie foods. Try to avoid the drive thru after work and skip on dessert most nights. Keep indulgences to once or twice a week instead of making them a daily habit. Fizzy and carbonated drinks can interfere with the body's ability to absorb calcium. Avoid these drinks, especially with meals. Opt for plain water instead. To make your water slightly more appealing, try adding slices of fruit to enhance its flavor. Go for a smaller plate, bowl, or glass. When eating out, try to only eat part of your food and save the rest for later. Bigger portions contain more calories, and therefore more things like fat and sugar, so it's best to try to limit portion size whenever possible. As your metabolism slows down as you age, your body will need fewer calories. Portions that were once acceptable may now be too large. Consider calculating how many calories you should be eating each day based on your age and activity level, and talk to your doctor or dietitian about how to modify your meals to stay within your calorie limits. It may help to familiarize yourself with what one portion looks like for each food group so you can eyeball your serving size when you eat out or prepare your meals. For instance, one portion of meat or fish is 3 ounces and about the size of a deck of cards. One serving of a nut-butter is about the size of a ping-pong ball, or 2 tablespoons (29.6ml). 1/2 cup of grains, or one portion, would fill a cupcake wrapper. Sugar can contribute to weight gain and other age-related problems. During menopause, try your best to cut back on your overall sugar intake. Go for sugar-free beverages, like water, decaf tea, or water infused with fruit (like lemon or berries). Avoid adding table sugar to things like cereal and oatmeal. Flavor meals with things like vanilla, almond, and fruit extracts as well as fresh fruit instead of sugar.
Summary: Avoid fast food and junk food. Stay away from fizzy beverages. Pay attention to portion size. Cut back on sugar.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: When you get your year-end statements in January, take a look at the performance of your mutual funds and rearrange your investments by buying and selling shares. This allows you to retain your original balance. For example, suppose you have $100,000 which you have spread evenly across four different funds. However, at the end of the year, one fund has out-performed the rest so that it is now 30 percent of your portfolio rather than 25 percent. To rebalance your portfolio, you would want to take 5 percent of your shares in that fund and transfer them to the other funds in your portfolio. If your funds are held in a tax-deferred account such as a 401k, transferring assets between funds typically is your best option. However, with taxable accounts it's generally better to simply add new contributions to the lower-performing funds to rebalance. This way you can avoid paying taxes on the assets you sell and transfer. Performance weighting is a rebalancing strategy that involves selling shares from a high-performing fund and buying shares in your lowest-performing fund. While it seems counterintuitive, it follows the principal that funds tend to bounce back. You can think of this as adhering to the general stock investment strategy of buying low and selling high. You typically can buy more shares in a lower-performing fund, so you'll realize a greater return when it bounces back. Rebalancing your portfolio in this way will put you further ahead in the long-term than other strategies. When investing in mutual funds, discipline and self-control are important for healthy long-term returns. If you are impatient and trade frequently, chasing high-performance funds and large gains, you end up costing yourself a lot of money. Ultimately, anyone can be a successful investor, and mutual funds are a great investment vehicle for beginning investors. However, you must have a plan to invest and the discipline to stick to that plan. Avoid making decisions based on emotions or out of desperation. If you are questioning your motives for making an investment decision, talk to an advisor who can be objective. Typically, mutual funds will bounce back from a downturn, so it's not necessarily a good strategy to dump a mutual fund just because it performs poorly in the short-term. However, If a fund has taken an overall downward trend for awhile, it may be time to let it go. You also should watch out for funds that change managers, especially if this happens suddenly. Different managers may have different strategies that could significantly affect performance. Be on the lookout for changes that mean the fund at present has changed character so much that it's no longer the same fund in which you originally invested. Replace it with a fund that more closely matches your original goal for that fund within your portfolio.

SUMMARY:
Rebalance your portfolio every year. Practice performance weighting. Take a disciplined approach. Replace under-performing funds.