Latest news with #Joneses
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
7 Signs You're Thriving in Your 50s—Even if It Doesn't Feel Like It
7 Signs You're Thriving in Your 50s—Even if It Doesn't Feel Like It originally appeared on Parade. There's a lot of talk about how social media is giving the "kids these days" a serious case of FOMO. However, people can feel stuck or like they're missing out at any age. If you feel like you've "failed to launch" or are treading water in your 50s, know you're not alone."Let's be real—this stage of life can come with some heavy stuff," says , a psychologist with Veritas Psychology Partners. "Health changes, career plateaus, kids leaving home, parents needing more care, financial pressure and shifting social circles can all leave women feeling stuck, invisible or taken for granted."Yet, Dr. MacBride says these life changes are precisely why it's crucial for people 50 and older to feel like they're "not just thriving, but surviving."It can be hard not to compare yourself to the Joneses or think that you haven't lived up to whatever future plans you said you had in your high school senior yearbook. Dr. MacBride shares that you might need to give yourself extra credit. She shares seven signs you're thriving in your , even if it doesn't feel like You may not be bouncing off the walls like a toddler at the grocery store, but, as Dr. MacBride points out, "Who needs that?" However, you're thriving in your 50s if you can get through your day without feeling like an energy vampire has bitten you."This is a great sign that your sleep, hormones and habits are working for you," Dr. MacBride says. "These things can feel like an uphill battle, and keeping them in good balance can help propel you forward."Related: You left your people-pleasing days in a previous decade—goodbye over-apologizing or saying yes just to be nice."You know your worth—and your bandwidth," Dr. MacBride notes. "Strong boundaries reduce burnout, protect relationships and improve self-esteem and overall well-being. Not only that, it feeds back into the energy for what matters. Overcommitting and over apologizing drain energy resources, saying 'yes' when you mean it helps you thrive."Related: You may roll with fewer people. However, you've never rolled deeper."Your circle may have shrunk, but it's full of people who are tried and true—quality over quantity," Dr. MacBride shares. "Getting and giving support to others is a key piece of resilience."Related: Curiosity did not kill the cat, and having it is a sign you're doing just fine. Dr. MacBride says thriving opens the door for curiosity."Maybe for the first time in your life, you have the time and the resources to try something new," she explains. "Being in your 50s and beyond isn't about understanding your life story—it's about writing the next chapter. Our brains are wired to learn new things and have novel experiences." You may be losing hair or having hot flashes from perimenopause/menopause. However, you're embracing your body with a warm hug. "Thriving means loving yourself, seeing your own beauty and believing that your worth lives in who you are," Dr. MacBride shares that this sign is especially profound for women affected by society's impossible standards."The only choice becomes to rewrite what was once written for us," she "Loving [ourselves] and increasing self-compassion allows us to have a greater capacity for compassion toward others," she points Dr. MacBride says people may finally start prioritizing sleep in their 50s."The party-all-night stage is behind you, the kids can fend for themselves and it's time to invest in you," she raves. "[People] who thrive at 50+ begin to see how something like healthy sleep and diet can make a huge impact, and they start to take some of these things more seriously than in their 'It can't happen to me' younger years." You suddenly have a spark that you last felt when filling out those aforementioned high school yearbook questionnaires."This time the dream is about retirement, adventures and renewal of relationships," Dr. MacBride says. "This phase of life can be a time when [people] engage in the present moment and give themselves time to imagine what they want, which might help the spark really ignite."Related: Dr. MacBride encourages people to focus on the basics of good physical and mental health: Regular exercise, a balanced diet and healthy sleep. Also, communicate with your doctor."This is a time of great hormonal change for some women," she says. "Talk with your doctor about what hurts and mood swings. If you are not sure [if something is] working right, have it looked at." Dr. MacBride stresses it's important for people in their 50s to connect with their values if they want to feel like they are thriving."Be intentional about what helps you find meaning and be creative about ways you can achieve that," she shares. "Often, these are the activities that keep us going after retirement age. Starting these new hobbies and making these new relationships now [can] help support a healthy transition later when it's time to retire."Related: There's strength in numbers at every age. Dr. MacBride says the key to thriving is knowing who and where your people are."Make sure you are being intentional about who is around you and who you choose for support," she loved listening to former First Lady Michelle Obama talk about who sits at her "kitchen table" (and phasing out "slow ghosts") on her book tour for The Light We Carry."This is your support system—be thoughtful about who joins you at that table," Dr. MacBride says. "If someone doesn't belong, maybe you let go of that relationship slowly and gently, but with purpose—thus the 'slow ghost.'" Up Next:Dr. Gayle MacBride, Ph.D., LP, a psychologist with Veritas Psychology Partners 7 Signs You're Thriving in Your 50s—Even if It Doesn't Feel Like It first appeared on Parade on Jun 2, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Khaleej Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
How UAE influenced British expat Asha Sherwood's relationship with money
As one of the UAE's media leaders, British expatriate Asha Sherwood, CEO of Abu Dhabi Review, has had a number of experiences during her 13 years in the UAE that has influenced her relationship with money. The 44-year-old recalls going from part-time jobs as a teenage student to running one of the country's major publications in the capital, Abu Dhabi. If you had to write a letter to money, what would you say? Dear Money, while you are not the be-all and end-all, it would be nice to see more of you. I like having you in my life because you give it a boost from time to time. Most importantly, you offer a sense of security that I can share with my family, which means the most to me. See you soon, Asha. Describe your relationship with money. I've always liked it, because it's enabled me to do, buy, and be what I want to. I started earning at 15, working at a hairdresser's, and the joy I felt when I earned £15 (Dh73.41) every Saturday was unmatched. Buying my first pair of jeans was a milestone, but I couldn't believe how much they cost. Having never paid for anything before (thanks, Mum and Dad), I realised I'd have to save four weeks' salary to afford one item. How do you think this relationship was formed? While my parents always bought things for me, they also taught me the importance of earning my own money and being independent. They wanted to show my sister and me that we didn't need to depend on others to succeed if we focused on being financially stable. Anyone who joined us on that journey would be a bonus. My father taught me to pay off any debts quickly, and not to spend beyond your means. Who do you speak to about money matters, and is it something you consider 'taboo'? Mostly, I speak to my husband. We're a team, and we make financial decisions that are best for our family together. What has been the most profound experience you've had so far in relation to money, and what has it taught you? Once, at university, I went into my overdraft. My dad found out and made me pay it off by taking on an extra summer job (in addition to my weekend job). I never went into my overdraft again. It taught me a huge lesson and made me appreciate how much money my parents were putting into my education. At the very least, I needed to be responsible for my own spending. How has living in the UAE changed your relationship with money? I spent a long time converting UAE prices to UK prices to get an idea of what we were 'actually' spending. Twelve years on, I convert the other way. Living here, I've seen many people try to 'keep up with the Joneses'. The UAE is such a melting pot of wealth and cultures, and you're often in friendships with people you might not have met in your home country. This can create a pressure to fit in, which sometimes results in living beyond your means. For me, living here has motivated me to earn more, so I can achieve the lifestyle I've envisioned. If you could give your child or younger self one piece of advice about money, what would it be and why? Start saving and investing early — small amounts add up over time. Understanding that money grows with time and consistency is life-changing. Living within your means, avoiding unnecessary debt, and making your money work for you will create financial freedom and security. What do you value spending money on? My family, my home, and my business. Flying back to the UK to see my family is a luxury I deeply value. What do you consider 'splashing out'? Flying Business Class, designer handbags, and luxurious holidays. Do you long-term plan your finances? I must admit, not as much as I would like to! This is something we will change in 2025, but how? By taking a lot of advice. What is a long-term goal that is pegged to your finances? The dream is to retire early. I am not there yet, but I do see it as a goal that is achievable.
Sydney Morning Herald
19-05-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
In my suburb, it's easy to tell the locals apart – just look at their legs
Rosanna is an in-between place. It's a card-carrying member of Melbourne's middle suburbia but still gives more than a whiff of the farming country it was in living memory. Growing up here in the 1970s and '80s, the newly built housing estates were surrounded by paddocks. I could see cows grazing on a nearby hill from my bedroom window. For the first few years of my life, milk was delivered by horse and cart – a fact my children refuse to believe. Humans outnumber livestock these days, but it's a place where you can feel Melbourne suburbia click into a different headspace. Out here, just past Ivanhoe and Heidelberg, the neat geometric clip of inner-urban blocks finds a more languid groove. Even the air is different. It's fresher, the light is softer. The sun setting over the rewilded Banyule Flats wetlands is a thing of golden beauty. Some of my favourite parts of the Rosanna I grew up with are no longer Rosanna – in 2006, the south-east corner was cruelly sliced off and given to Heidelberg. It's further proof that Rosanna's bigger neighbours have always had better PR agents. Heidelberg got its famous School of Art, but poor old Rosanna got erased from the illustrious history of McCubbin, Roberts and Streeton, who painted around here too. Eaglemont gets the kudos as the canvas for Australia's experimental modernist architects, but Rosanna has its own heritage-listed Robin Boyd, with its tell-tale window wall peeking above a mysterious curved brick compound. It's close to my nana's old 1950s home, which is far more representative of a 'burb where simple weatherboard and brick veneer constructions didn't have much chance of alarming the Joneses. It's changed now, in the way of all places 12 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD. The old houses are reaching the end of their natural life, and their replacements are bigger and flasher. It's gone up in the desirability stakes, but even still, Rosanna is the quiet achiever of the north-east: an unshouty suburb for unshouty people. For years, the closest thing to a bar was Aagaman Indian Nepalese Restaurant on Lower Plenty Road. Even these days, the only thing resembling nightlife is Margarita Wednesdays at Mexican Taco down near the station. It's no coincidence Rosanna is the first zone 2 station on the Hurstbridge line. Heading toward the city, the next stop is Heidelberg – aka 'the big shops' on Burgundy Street. Turn the other way and there be dragons (or at least Macleod). And woe betide any commuter caught out by the tyranny of the express trains hurtling through Rosanna. I remember a woman in the afternoon peak hour rush berating the carriage for not waking her in time: 'You know where I get off, you bastards!' No, Rosanna wasn't named after the early '80s Toto pop hit (obviously) but derives from a farm named after a 19th-century resident, Elizabeth Anna Rose.
The Age
19-05-2025
- General
- The Age
In my suburb, it's easy to tell the locals apart – just look at their legs
Rosanna is an in-between place. It's a card-carrying member of Melbourne's middle suburbia but still gives more than a whiff of the farming country it was in living memory. Growing up here in the 1970s and '80s, the newly built housing estates were surrounded by paddocks. I could see cows grazing on a nearby hill from my bedroom window. For the first few years of my life, milk was delivered by horse and cart – a fact my children refuse to believe. Humans outnumber livestock these days, but it's a place where you can feel Melbourne suburbia click into a different headspace. Out here, just past Ivanhoe and Heidelberg, the neat geometric clip of inner-urban blocks finds a more languid groove. Even the air is different. It's fresher, the light is softer. The sun setting over the rewilded Banyule Flats wetlands is a thing of golden beauty. Some of my favourite parts of the Rosanna I grew up with are no longer Rosanna – in 2006, the south-east corner was cruelly sliced off and given to Heidelberg. It's further proof that Rosanna's bigger neighbours have always had better PR agents. Heidelberg got its famous School of Art, but poor old Rosanna got erased from the illustrious history of McCubbin, Roberts and Streeton, who painted around here too. Eaglemont gets the kudos as the canvas for Australia's experimental modernist architects, but Rosanna has its own heritage-listed Robin Boyd, with its tell-tale window wall peeking above a mysterious curved brick compound. It's close to my nana's old 1950s home, which is far more representative of a 'burb where simple weatherboard and brick veneer constructions didn't have much chance of alarming the Joneses. It's changed now, in the way of all places 12 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD. The old houses are reaching the end of their natural life, and their replacements are bigger and flasher. It's gone up in the desirability stakes, but even still, Rosanna is the quiet achiever of the north-east: an unshouty suburb for unshouty people. For years, the closest thing to a bar was Aagaman Indian Nepalese Restaurant on Lower Plenty Road. Even these days, the only thing resembling nightlife is Margarita Wednesdays at Mexican Taco down near the station. It's no coincidence Rosanna is the first zone 2 station on the Hurstbridge line. Heading toward the city, the next stop is Heidelberg – aka 'the big shops' on Burgundy Street. Turn the other way and there be dragons (or at least Macleod). And woe betide any commuter caught out by the tyranny of the express trains hurtling through Rosanna. I remember a woman in the afternoon peak hour rush berating the carriage for not waking her in time: 'You know where I get off, you bastards!' No, Rosanna wasn't named after the early '80s Toto pop hit (obviously) but derives from a farm named after a 19th-century resident, Elizabeth Anna Rose.
Mint
16-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
For luxury brands, there are no replacements as China and the US falter
Even though both countries have 1.4-billion strong populations, mainland China has more than 60 Louis Vuitton stores while India has only three. Designer brands' struggles in India are a reminder of just how difficult it can be to find new growth markets. That search is taking on new urgency, as the two biggest drivers of demand in the luxury goods industry, China and the U.S., are in the doldrums. Together, Chinese and American shoppers generate around half the sector's sales. But demand from Chinese consumers has been muted for four years. The country's deflating property bubble has wiped 30% off Chinese household wealth, according to Barclays Private Bank, lessening the appetite for luxury goods. U.S. luxury sales peaked in early 2022 and have tailed off since. A delicate recovery in spending seen late last year was snuffed out by the tariff war. LVMH, the world's biggest luxury-goods company by revenue, said sales in the U.S. fell 3% from a year earlier in the first quarter. Although it doesn't break out China, sales fell more than a 10th in Asia. And 2025 is shaping up to be a lost year for the luxury industry, with global sales expected to dip 2%. Brands and their shareholders got used to two decades of reliable 6% annual growth, so they are naturally eager to find the next hot market. But it will be hard for luxury companies to reduce their dependence on Chinese and American consumers, as they need such specific elements to thrive. If luxury bosses were able to build an ideal market for their products from scratch, the local economy would be growing rapidly. This creates a pool of ultrawealthy spenders. 'The ingredients [for a luxury boom] are the same every time," says Luca Solca, analyst at Bernstein. 'You have a group of top consumers getting a lot richer who are interested in separating themselves from the crowd, so they buy luxury goods." But there shouldn't be too much wealth inequality. When middle-class consumers are also getting richer, some will try to keep up with the Joneses by spending on designer goods. Top brands have a reputation for catering to the superrich, but more than 50% of global luxury sales come from hundreds of millions of middle-class shoppers who spend less than 2,000 euros a year on luxury goods, equivalent to $2,240 at current exchange rates. 'The two markets coexist in a symbiotic relationship," says Filippo Bianchi, a managing director at Boston Consulting Group. 'Spending by the wealthiest shoppers, that money is always there. But the bottom half is driven by GDP and what is happening to people's salaries." This is what made China such an amazing market for luxury goods. Between 2009 and 2019, its economy grew 8% a year on average. As China's rich got richer and its middle class swelled, both turned to Western luxury goods to signal they were moving up in the world. Back in 2000, Chinese customers generated 1% of global luxury sales, according to UBS. Today they account for around a quarter. The country also urbanized rapidly, so luxury brands were able to advertise and retail efficiently to tens of millions of city dwellers. And middle-income consumers were pressed up against the ultrarich, creating status hunger. Compare that with India, where only a third of the population lives in cities. India is the market that divides opinions the most among luxury industry analysts. It has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world for several years, so some brands think it is only a matter of time before middle-class Indians want Chanel handbags and Cartier bracelets. But the Indian market has underperformed expectations so far. Reasons cited include a supposedly less individualistic culture and strong local clothing and jewelry brands. Today, luxury brands sell goods worth $1 billion inside India, compared with $45 billion in mainland China, says Federica Levato, a senior partner at consulting firm Bain & Company. A country's retail infrastructure can also be a deal breaker for brands. For now, luxury brands sell their goods in the lobbies of five-star hotels in India. But an area equivalent to London's Bond Street or New York's Fifth Avenue where they could open flagship stores hasn't developed yet in major cities. According to Ashok Som, co-author of 'The Road to Luxury," India's population of 1.4 billion is served by just eight luxury shopping malls. High import taxes, which add around 50% to the price of goods such as designer handbags, mean India's high-net-worth individuals do their luxury shopping abroad. Unless middle-class Indian consumers start buying luxury goods at home in big numbers, investment in high-end retail won't happen. That in turn further holds back spending. Luxury brands can try to coax more cash from local Europeans. But the region's shoppers aren't in an indulgent mood. 'The European economy has been stagnant for years versus China and the U.S.," says Bernstein's Solca. 'Consumers only buy luxury goods when they think 'I can spend a lot today because tomorrow I will be richer.'" Saudi Arabia is another market that luxury brands are watching, even though they aren't all-in yet. Half a million square meters of luxury retail space is being developed over the next decade, in a punchy bet that locals will do more luxury shopping at home rather than in London or Paris, and that there will be an influx of high-spending expats and tourists. Even if that goes according to plan, luxury sales in the Saudi market will only be the same size as Germany's, says Boston Consulting Group. With no obvious alternative to China or the U.S., brands might try to lure back middle class consumers in these markets to jump-start growth. A report from Bain shows the luxury industry has lost 50 million customers since 2022, partly because hefty price increases put their goods out of reach for aspirational customers. Today, the lowest-cost women's sneakers on Gucci's U.S. website were $790. Back in 2020, the most affordably priced pair cost $550, the Wayback Machine shows. The solution to the luxury industry's growth problem probably doesn't lie in new emerging markets. What the brands really need is a re-emergence of middle-class spending in the U.S. and China. Write to Carol Ryan at
