Money Management

 Here’s an easy way to make custom flavors in your own kitchen — no ice cream machine necessary. YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV / Shutterstock.com

Happy National Ice Cream Month! I know, it sounds like another celebration made up by an industry — but Congress and President Ronald Reagan declared it in 1984. So, this is the officially government-sanctioned month to party with frozen dairy. It reminds me of the time when I made my own ice cream in a middle-school science class. Back then, we used a method similar to the bag method detailed…

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 Get the scoop on discounts available during National Ice Cream Day — and National Ice Cream Month. PR Image Factory / Shutterstock.com

What’s better than ice cream? FREE ice cream, of course. Everyone screams for ice cream deals! July is National Ice Cream Month, first designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, including National Ice Cream Day on the third Sunday of July. Sunny California ranks No. 1 in ice cream production, with Indiana coming in second. However, find lots of cool deals and freebies in every state on…

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 Research has pinpointed diets that could make a notable difference in your health later in life. Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.com

What you eat today can have a lasting effect on your health. Recent research from Harvard — presented at a meeting of the American Society for Nutrition — concludes that people who followed a healthy diet from their 40s onward were 43% to 84% more likely to be healthy physically and mentally at age 70 and older. For the study, researchers analyzed dietary and medical data on 106,000…

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 Explore what most people get wrong about financial planning and how to right the ship. voronaman / Shutterstock.com

Here are the worst financial and retirement planning misconceptions and easy steps you can take to overcome them today.

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 Learn best practices for growing high-quality food from seed. PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock.com

Backyard gardens are sprouting up all over the country. Many people are worried about the price of groceries, which has led to lots of them digging in and learning about growing their own food. Potting soil is a hot commodity at home improvement stores, and the term “victory garden” is becoming more common today, just as it was during World War II when people were encouraged to plant gardens…

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 Ditch outdated conventions for retirement and instead evolve your plans to match today’s realities. NassornSnitwong / Shutterstock.com

Americans have changed a lot over the last 100, even the last couple of years. We live longer and have more active lives and our society and financial structures have evolved (and, in some cases perhaps, devolved). However, many of our ideas about retirement and retirement planning come from previous generations. These ideas are ill-suited to today’s realities. So, what are the NEW retirement…

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