wall street journal

Retirement seems so far away and calculating how much you need for your nest egg may feel so overwhelming that you might use it as an excuse to procrastinate. A Wall Street Journal article gives a ridiculously simple shortcut to help you figure out your retirement needs:

Every experienced financial planner I've spoken to, when pressed, has given the same answer. At a pinch, for most people, the best guess for the income you'll need to live on in retirement comfortably is: about the same as the income you need now. Simple. Easy to remember . . . when you are dealing with the unknown, it helps to start with something familiar. In this case, try your current disposable income.

The article goes on to mention that your living costs will naturally be different from what they are now, because you'll no longer have to save for retirement and pay for your kids, and hopefully you'll be done with your mortgage payments by then. It seems pretty easy to subtract those costs since you already know what your expected cost of retirement living is. The first step is always the hardest, so take heed from this simple tip so you can reap rewards during your golden years.

By now, you've already heard about The New York Times paywall, which, starting March 28, will require you to pay a monthly fee of $15 for access to online content. And if you want to access it through your computer and your iPad, you'll have to pay $25. I know this can be frustrating since we're all used to getting our news for free, but I can understand the need for media bigwigs to establish subscriptions in order to get themselves out of the red. For those who don't want to pay, here are some tips to sneak around the paywalls:

• Social Media: Our pal GeekSugar laid out a neat list of NY Times Twitter accounts to follow. Apparently, if you enter the Times website through its Twitter and Facebook links, you won't have to pay to view the articles.
• Google It: If you want to read all Wall Street Journal articles for free, you don't have to bang your head against its paywall. A tip from those in the know: Google the title of the article, then click on the link that shows up in the results. You'll get free access if you enter the article through Google.

As an answer to the frustrations of travelers who can't redeem miles for the flights they want, airlines are becoming more creative with their frequent flier programs. The Wall Street Journal listed some examples that some airlines are offering their customers in exchange for miles:

• A face lift, hair transplants or breast augmentations
• Driving school vouchers
• VIP treatment and access to a Formula One race
• A "spring training package that includes dinner with New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi and pitcher Joba Chamberlain."
• A Habit for Humanity trip to China
• VIP tickets to Saturday Night Live tapings
• Dinner with celebrity chefs
• Designer bags

Would you want any of these items or would you rather get free flights?

Enter the new elite: social media gurus who have mastery over networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Their marketing power over digital peers is undeniable, and companies are slowly coming to realize that it's beneficial to tap into these social media queen bees. After all, wouldn't you trust an endorsement from a friend, albeit an online pal, rather than an impersonal advertisement?

There are apparently companies like Klout and Twitalyzer, which measure your social media clout, and reach out to you if your Internet influence is great. What do you get in return? Well, 28-year-old social media consultant Casie Stewart has received goodies such as "a free Virgin America flight, a shopping splurge at Mark's Work Wearhouse and an all-expenses-paid trip to New Zealand fashion week," according to the Wall Street Journal. And that's all because of her prolific tweeting.

These firms have come up with a rating system for tweeters, of which Lady Gaga rates a 90 out of a hundred and Justin Bieber scoring a perfect hundred. The more points you rack up, the more likely firms will have you on their radar. A high score can even create a career for you, just like it did for Stefanie Michaels, America's tweetheart, who basically reinvented herself into a travel and social media expert by building up her Twitter list. But as Stefanie says, the secret to her tweet success is "really been about living [on Twitter] 24/7." This means, just like everything else, it takes effort and patience to be part of the social media in-crowd, which will in turn lead to sponsorships and great deals from consumer companies. As a huge fan of freebies, I think I'm going to start upping the ante on my Twitter account!

According to The Wall Street Journal and Food and Wine, savory cupcakes, specifically lasagna cupcakes, are expected to hit the mainstream in 2011. Both publications have recently highlighted Los Angeles catering company Heirloom-LA, who's spearheaded the trend with the creation of its lasagna cupcakes, which are wildly popular among celebrities.

Perhaps I'm experiencing cupcake fatigue, but I can't help but wonder: how are these cupcakes different from lasagna rolls? I've been making Giada De Laurentiis's version for years, and while the recipe doesn't have you bake them in muffin tins, one could certainly do so. And if one does, does that make it a lasagna cupcake?

Should any dish that's individually sized and made in a muffin tin be considered a cupcake? What's your take on it?

By now, you've probably heard that thousands of post offices are set to close this year. About 2,000 closings will start in March (in addition to the 491 the USPS said they would shut down last year), and another 16,000 are in review, according to the Wall Street Journal. For some, this may mean a minor inconvenience of having to travel a little bit further to mail packages, but for the elderly in rural areas, it's akin to cutting off one of their main lines of communication as there are those who still don't use computers.

One of the main reasons why the US Postal Service is in the red is because of the generous benefits package it offers to employees. Instead of closing postal offices, Sen. Susan Collins says, "It needs to tackle a benefit structure that is too expensive, and it needs to look for ways to stay in business and deal with the digital age."

Read my tips to better prepare for the postal closings.

In Taiwan, it's not uncommon to go far for a bowl of perfectly-cooked beef noodle soup. But apparently, some aren't just willing to travel the distance; they're also willing to pay a steep price — 10,000 New Taiwan dollars, to be exact.

At Niu Ba Ba in Taipei, Taiwan, noodle-slurpers shell out the equivalent of $324 US dollars for a bowl of the world's most expensive noodles. Though I love niu rou mien, and I read owner Wang Cong-Yuan's explanation for the high cost, I don't think I'd ever spend that kind of dough when I could get a meal at The French Laundry for the same price.

The concept left me recounting the most I've ever paid for a meal. I think it might've been the $250 bill I footed while dining at Bryan Caswell's Houston restaurant, Reef. What's the most you've ever spent on food?

Source: Flickr User vixyao