What we are reading: For week ending 1st July, 2016

At ET Wealth, we know that your time is precious. There is information overload for investors and not all of it would be useful and helpful in decision making. And, it’s true even for us.

So, along with the ET Wealth’s daily dose of articles on personal finance, we will help bring to your notice some truly interesting articles/blogs/videos in the realm of personal finance from across the globe. These are interesting pieces we have read over the week and found them useful enough to share with you.

‘ What we are reading’ will come to you every Friday for a relaxed weekend reading.

Here are five interesting articles from our Recommended Reading list this week:

The Real Reason Why We Spend to Impress
Money and relationships have always gone hand in hand. From the practice of paying wedding dowries, to the formal class system, which kept layers of wealth strictly separate. But we're over that now, right? Maybe not. In some ways, society never really moved on. And the amplifying effect of social media and easy communication can actually make us more likely than ever to be tempted to spend to impress. Read on to find out why.

Why It Pays to Picture Your Retirement
Retirement is more challenging than you think-so challenging, in fact, that you need to rehearse it ahead of time. Really? Practice not working? As odd as that may seem, yes. Otherwise, you might end up like Todd. Six months after retiring at 66, he complained that he was bored. Or you might end up like Ted and Melinda. Though their income was slated to drop to $4,000 a month from $10,000, they were sure they had drawn up a sound budget. Then they realized they had forgotten to include food. It's easy, though, to avoid such problems. Before you retire, take these steps to get ready.

6 things you can do in your 20s and 30s to retire wealthier
In your 20s and 30s, you possess one of the most valuable assets to retiring rich - time. Contributions to a retirement account at this age will have decades of compounded growth. In fact, even minor contributions in your 20s and 30s can have a higher payout in retirement than if you were to make larger contributions in your 40s and 50s. Here are a few ideas for this era of your life.

How to Build the Right Mix of Investments in Retirement
Few questions are as vexing as how best to allocate your assets when you're in or near retirement-particularly in light of today's excruciatingly low interest rates. This article shows you how to allocate your investments among stocks, bonds and cash as you approach, enter and live in retirement.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Investors
Many people get stressed even thinking about managing their money, seeing it as just too complicated. Here are seven simple ways to increase the odds of getting in and staying in good financial shape.