It's been said that "laughter is the best medicine." We hope that our Jokes of the Month will provide laughter and maybe even lighten the mood and inspire a smile.

2. What do you call someone who raps about vegetables?

3. What was the stylist's favorite exercise?

4. Why did the seafood chef stop going to the gym?

5. Why didn't the weightlifter have to pay rent?

*Answers will be at the end of the newsletter.

Others start counseling to be proactive about how to deal with stress and conflicts before they happen. The goal of individual therapy is to inspire change and improve the quality of life through self-awareness and self-exploration. Regardless of your reason, therapy offers a broad array of benefits for all of us.

Beginning therapy can help you improve communication skills, feel confident, empower you to develop fresh insights about your life, learn how to make healthier choices, and develop coping strategies to manage distress. Irving ISD has three in-house professional counselors who can help. You can schedule a consultation with them by emailing iisdemployeewellness@irvingisd.net if you think it's a good fit.

Source: Healthline

Do you want to feel different, feel more energetic, or simply improve your health? Get clear about what you want.

2. Have a plan and make goals.

Have a simple plan and have SMART goals. Be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. For example, a SMART goal would be something like, "I will prepare one new healthy recipe each week for the month of January."

3. Be prepared for lapses.

It is a normal part of growth to fail. It is important for you to take a moment to recognize that you got sidetracked.

4. Track what you eat.

You will be surprised once you start closely tracking what you eat. Tracking will help you tweak your diet so that you can still enjoy foods you love. Use this macronutrient calculator to see your personalized detailed breakdown report whether your goal is to lose or gain weight. Additionally, you can utilize these online tools to plan menus, learn about food labels, and test your knowledge about nutrition.

Source: Fitday

Source: Self

1. Picture your perfect year.

Take some time to reflect on how you spent or invested your money in 2021. What would you do differently or keep the same? What went well in 2021? What would you like to change in 2022? Spend an evening writing down these things.

2. Track your growth.

Create an Excel worksheet or simply use an online tool (e.g., Mint, Pocket Guard, You Need a Budget, etc.) to track how much you spend, save, invest, and pay off your debt. Tracking your financial growth will motivate you to achieve more in the next coming year.

3. Invest in an index fund.

Are you new to investing? Do you want your money to work for you? Consider investing your money in an index fund. Index funds are designed to track the entire stock market. This gives you more diversification and hedge against market downturns.

4. Max out your individual Roth IRA.

Roth IRA is a retirement vehicle which let investors contribute money after they paid taxes on it. The amazing part about Roth IRA is that contributions and earnings grow tax-free! Investors under 50 can contribute up to $6,000 and those over 50 can contribute up to $7,000 in 2022. If you don't have an individual Roth IRA, try to make it a goal for 2022 to max out your account.

5. Invest in yourself.

What would you do if you received a $2,000 bonus? Would you start paying down your debt, contributing to your Roth IRA, or adding funds to your savings account? Sometimes it is okay to invest in yourself. Maybe you can invest $1,000 in to your Roth IRA and take the rest to go travel to a new city. At the end of the day, you are being financially smart for a better version of yourself.

Whatever being smarter with money means to you, make a pledge and chase after it for 2022. You deserve to be the best version of yourself!

Source: CNBC Make It