Why You SHOULD Tell Everyone You're on a Diet

Did you set a weight-loss goal for the new year? Have you told everyone about it? You should! That is, if you want to succeed...

See more: The Healthiest Cities for Women

It can be tempting to keep your goals a secret, whether they're diet and fitness-related or not. Why? Maybe you're afraid of failing in public, or "jinxing" your dream. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone -- almost one-quarter of respondents in a Self.com poll say they keep their New Year's goals on the down low.

But according to University of Scranton Psychology Professor John C. Norcross, PhD, co-author of Changing for Good, keeping your plans a secret is a bad idea. "Public commitments are more effective that private declarations," he says.

You should share your diet goals -- and any of your other New Year's resolutions! According to Norcross, decades of research have shown that making your goal public increases your chances of success because it puts you out there: "Y

50 Ways to Improve Your Finances in 2012

A guide to mastering your money in the new year

A new year offers a fresh start. Whether you're ready to ramp up your earning power, start saving more money, or manage what you have more effectively, this 50-step guide is designed to help you improve every aspect of your financial life, from overall security to specific saving and spending strategies.
1. Focus on the "why" of your goals instead of the "how." Planning exactly how you will reach a goal, such as saving more money, can actually make it harder to reach that goal, according to research by Julia Belyavsky Bayuk, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware. She found that focusing more on the motivation behind a goal instead of the specifics of how it will be achieved can increase the likelihood of success. That's partly because having a more "abstract" mindset can help people deal with unexpected challenges along the way.  More..Yahoo Finance