Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

All eyes were on Will and Kate Friday, but plenty of other brides and grooms will be walking down the aisle over the next few months.

This month in Life Inc., we discussed how all weddings – not just royal ones – can quickly become pricey affairs. Carmen Wong Ulrich also weighed in on why parents shouldn’t help fund the big day if it means they’ll have to put themselves in debt, and we offered some unsolicited advice to brides who are thinking of changing their names.

There was that other little thing happening in April that you may have forgotten about: Tax day. Life Inc. readers had a lot to say about this graphic on who’s footing the U.S. tax bill.

We’re also supremely concerned with our jobs here at Life Inc. Specifically, readers were very interested in who in the world works hardest, why unemployment can literally be a killer and whether college students should stop drinking and start networking.

Of course, having a job has its pitfalls as well: Another popular Life Inc. post this month revealed that one in four have faced an office bully.

Home improvement also is top of mind. Many of you were fascinated by this colorful way to avoid foreclosure, and you had a lot to say about a toilet that costs more than $6,000. A good gift for Will and Kate, perhaps?

The Social Security Administration is saying goodbye to the paper check.

Beginning Sunday, anyone who signs up for Social Security benefits will have to choose an option for receiving their payments electronically.  

The two major choices for electronic payments are direct deposit, in which the government directly transfers your payment into your bank account, and a Direct Express card. That’s a debit card that automatically will be loaded up with your payment each month and doesn’t require a bank account.

The Direct Express card won’t carry a monthly fee, although you may be charged fees for certain transactions. You can find details on potential charges here.

If you are currently getting your Social Security checks by mail, you will need to switch to an electronic payment method by March 1, 2013.

The move is aimed at saving the approximately $120 million a year that the Social Security Administration currently spends on paper checks. The Social Security Administration also estimates that it will save 12 million pounds of paper in the next five years.

The SSA estimates that more than 54 million Americans will receive $730 billion in benefits this year.

TODAY

Carmen Wong Ulrich is a personal finance expert and author of "The Real Cost of Living" and "Generation Debt." She joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday morning after the show's Money 911 segment.

Here are two of her answers and a complete archive.

Question from Michelle: 
We're helping a son with his student loan debt and we have retirement funded. Now our daughter is planning to get married. We can only stretrch our paychecks so much. We have no personal debt and and don't want to put anything on credit. What do we tell our daughter?

Carmen's answer:
Michelle - Tell her that I paid for my own wedding out of my own savings!

You sound like you're in great financial shape and you do need to take care of yourself and your retirement before your kids' student loans and wedding.

It's tough love -- but they don't want to end up taking care of you, right?? That's what would happen if you jeopardize your retirement to take care of them now.

Good luck - they'll be OK and have many more years to pay off their debts and save for retirement.

Question from Kathryn:
Our house is worth $250,000, we owe $134,00 and have a 20-year mortgage at 4.375 percent. We're considering going to a 15-year mortgage. What's the cut off on the rate and amount we should be willing to pay at closing?

Carmen's answer:
Kathryn - You've got an amazing interest rate -- low low low! - and a 20-year mortgage is very conservative. Don't be in a rush to pay off this mortgage or put more money into it, which is what doing a 15 year would be.

The housing market is going nowhere for a while, and your interest rate is so low that you should let the bank take some of the risk of homeownership and put your money instead into solid, diversified IRAs and other retirement tools.

Your money will grow faster, better and serve you well over time, much more so than the return on a home. You'll be just fine!

Complete archive: 

If you have a question for our TODAY Money experts, submit it here.

To sign up for an e-mail reminder for our next chat, click here.

Watch this week's Money 911 segment:

AP

Now that they’re out in the cruel, hard world, many 20-somethings wish they had spent more time in college trying to get a job.

A survey of about 500 recent college graduates ages 22 to 26, conducted on behalf of staffing firm Adecco, found that nearly 30 percent wish they had done more networking prior to graduation.

About one-quarter said they wish they would have applied to more jobs, and a quarter said they should have started their job search earlier.

They may have good reason to regret how little time they put into working toward future employment. About four in 10 recent grads who are working said they’re in a job that doesn’t require that four-year degree they just earned.

The financial repercussions appear to be pretty substantial: One-third of those surveyed were living with their parents.

The results aren’t too surprising given the difficult job market. The unemployment rate has generally been higher for younger workers than for older workers over the course of the recent recession and recovery. For 20- to 24-year-olds, the unemployment rate was 15 percent in March, far higher than the overall unemployment rate of 8.8 percent.

Still, things may be looking up -- a bit -- now that the job market appears to be recovering, if slowly. A separate survey of 2,800 hiring managers and human resource professionals found that 46 percent plan to hire recent college graduates in 2011, up from 44 percent last year.

About one-fourth of those employers expect to offer higher starting salaries than they did last year.

That survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com.

Reuters

Will and Kate’s royal wedding is coming just as many less famous brides-to-be gear up for the summer wedding season. And while most couples don’t have to budget for things like a Royal Air Force flyover, a carriage procession and a guest list that includes the subsection “members of foreign royal families,” the relative cost of getting hitched remains high.

It was nearly $27,000 on average last year, according to a recent survey from wedding website company The Knot.

The survey of around 19,000 brides who got married last year and were registered on one of The Knot’s websites found that the biggest costs were the engagement ring ($5,392) and the reception venue ($12,124). The photographer and videographer, wedding gown, rehearsal dinner and reception band also ranked high in the list of expenses.

Only about one-third of brides said the economy had impacted their wedding budget.

Still, some brides have found ways to cut the budget in recent years. The Knot reports that the average number of guests at weddings fell to an average of 141 in 2010, from 149 in 2009.

In addition, some couples have gone discount, looking to stores like Sam’s Club and Target for things like wedding flowers, invitations and rings. No-frills discounter Costco is even selling wedding dresses along with the other wedding items it already offers.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the royal bride and groom may have inadvertently given the rest of us some tips for saving money on the big day.

Among them: Use a hand-me-down ring (shown above), get married on a Friday instead of a Saturday and let the groom’s family shoulder some of the costs.

Getty Images file

Most women probably assume that the decision whether or not to take your husband’s name is a personal one, but new research suggests it might also affect their chances of landing a job, as well as how much they are paid.

A woman who changes her name when she gets married is less likely to get hired and is assumed to make less money than a woman who keeps her name, according to the researchers at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

The Dutch researchers also found that married women who keep their maiden names were viewed as more competent and intelligent than those who take their husband’s name. On the other hand, women who changed their names were more likely to be viewed as caring, dependent, emotional and less ambitious.

For the 2010 study, called “What’s in a Name?”, the researchers asked 90 students to imagine that they have been invited to a party where they were either introduced to a married couple as Peter Bosboom and Helga Kuipers or Peter and Helga Kuipers.

The students were then asked to judge Helga on certain attributes. The Helga who had the same name as her husband was deemed more caring, dependent and emotional, while the Helga who had a different name was deemed more competent and intelligent.

In another part of the study, 50 students were asked to evaluate an applicant for a human resources position based on an e-mail that also included information about whether she had taken her partner’s name.

The applicant who had changed her name was deemed more dependent and less ambitious and less intelligent than the one who had kept her name. She also had a lower chance of being hired and received a lower estimated salary.

The findings are eye-opening, but it’s hard to know how extensive the real-world implications are. As SmartMoney noted in a piece on the research earlier this week, the researchers polled students rather than hiring managers. The researchers also note that prospective employers may not know a woman has changed her name.

From airport food that is roughly 100 percent sodium to the roof of the plane potentially coming off to a sleeping air traffic controller guiding a plane, you’d think air travel is getting dangerous.

AP

A new study says it may be. Although not in the convertible-plane or narcoleptic-controller sort of way.

The study, released Monday in the Journal of Occupational Health and Environmental Medicine, says that frequent business travelers were more likely to describe their health as “fair” or “poor.”

More than 13,000 subjects were studied from data supplied by a corporate wellness program. It looked at three groups: Non-travelers, occasional travelers (80 percent of those surveyed) and “extensive travelers” who run at the George Clooney in “Up in the Air” pace of 20 or more nights a month on the road.

Those Clooney-esque road warriors are not a healthy bunch. And they certainly don’t look like him. They are 92 percent more likely to be obese, with high blood pressure and unfavorable cholesterol levels.

Several factors could contribute to this, the researchers said, including poor sleep, fattening foods and long periods of inactivity.

We’re no scientists, but we’d guess that doubles-for-$1-extra, migraine-inducing flight delays and blood-pressure-raising bag fees also have something to do with it.

How do you try to stay healthy on the road? 

They may not be taking your lunch money anymore, but a new survey shows that bullies still exist in the grown-up world.

A little more than one-fourth of workers say they have felt bullied at the office, according to a survey released last week by job search site CareerBuilder.com. Women, workers under 24 and workers over 55 all reported slightly higher rates of bullying than the overall rate.

The workers surveyed said unfair treatment included being accused of mistakes they didn’t make, being harshly criticized and being forced into doing work that wasn’t their job.

Only about half of those who felt bullied said they confronted the bully. Of those who did confront the bully, about 40 percent said the bullying stopped. But about that same amount said the bullying stayed the same, and 13 percent said it got worse.

The results were based on a survey of more around 5,600 full-time workers conducted earlier this year by Harris Interactive.

TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP - Getty Images

The front of the Mercedes-Benz Concept A Car is shown during the 2011 New York International Auto Show.

If this year’s New York International Auto Show is anything to go by, the rich are making their consumption more conspicuous these days.

Earlier this week, the world’s major luxury vehicle manufacturers launched their newest cars with almost pre-recession opulence.

Bentley, for example, kicked off the premium gatherings with a reception at the new Manhattan store for Breitling watches. High rollers had the chance to ogle watches that cost as much as cars, and cars that cost as much as a house. Bentley used the occasion to debut the new $38,900 Bentley Barnato watch (made by Breitling). It’s named after Woolf Barnato -- one of the drivers who scored five wins for Bentley in the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race in the 1920s. Breitling will make only 25 of the watches (and one customer who attended the event placed an order for one of the watches the next day).

Mercedes-Benz also hosted a gathering in an intimate venue -- its new 330,000 square foot Manhattan dealership, purpose built to coddle luxury customers by minimizing some of the hassles of driving in Manhattan.

Example: three levels of parking underneath the building, with entrances and exits making it easier to get in and out of it no matter which direction you’re going.

Maserati, Lexus and Formula One car constructor McLaren showed off its new models at media parties, with the McLaren get-together also serving as a sneak preview of a new biographical film on the team’s icon world champion driver, Aryton Senna.

Let the good times roll!

(The 2011 New York auto show is open to the public from Friday, April 22 through Sunday, May 1.)

A majority of parents with more than $3 million in investable assets have not disclosed their wealth with their children, according to a new survey reported by our partner DailyFinance.

For the full article from DailyFinance, click here.

Getty Images stock

To further pile on, nearly half of the 457 wealthy parents surveyed said they do not plan to let their children inherit the money. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents said they lacked confidence that their kids could handle any inheritance.

Perhaps America's wealthy families have a little trust problem.

The survey, conducted by Bank of America's U.S. Trust, also found:

• About 75 percent of respondents said their wealth is the result of their own focus and hard work. About half said success came at the expense of their personal lives, relationships and health, for the primary purpose of providing financial security for their family.
• Forty-six percent said they will continue working in retirement.
• Survey respondents tend to put a higher value on travel and relationships. They say leaving an inheritance to their children or making a positive impact on society are less important goals.
• Wealthy Americans are more interested in giving back by volunteering in their communities and seeing the impact of their goodwill now, rather than donating their money to charity after their deaths. 

Details on the survey can be found here (.pdf file).

When it comes to finances, most Americans apparently know better than to reach for the "shiny object."

Paul Sakuma / AP

Asked if an immediate one-time bonus would be preferable to a smaller raise in salary, 87 percent of Americans said they would forgo the bonus and take the smaller raise that would eventually end up being more, according to a new poll conducted by Harris Interactive.

The poll, which was sponsored by life insurer Northwestern Mutual, also found that a majority of adults are willing to pay a premium price for quality products that last. Only 18 percent of consumers said they prefer pending less for products that are lower quality and need to be replaced sooner.

And when it comes to financial risk, 83 percent of people said they would take a smaller, guaranteed reward instead of an investment that offers a higher yield with greater risk, the poll found.

TODAY financial editor Jean Chatzky joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday morning after the show's Money 911 segment.

Here are two of her answers and a complete archive.

Question from Cindi:
I have not saved for college for my 15-year-old kid who is in 9th grade. Is there anything I can start now to help? I also have a child who is 10 years old.

Jean's answer:
Hi Cindi -- Don't stress too much. The more important thing is to just get in there and start.

I'd look at opening 529 college savings accounts for both kids and putting as much as you can in there each month, automatically. You'll want to make sure the investments for the 15-year-old are more conservative whereas for the 10 they can be more moderate.

Savingforcollege.com can give you info on the best 529 for you

Question:
I am a divorced mother of 2 making a decent salary but cannot bring myself to budget and save. Any tools you can recommend that can help?

Jean's answer:
There are a lot of tools that can help you. Try the budgeting tool from mint.com or the budgeting in her online program, "The Debt Diet." (I know you're not in debt, but it also helps you save for the future).

As for saving, the best and for many people the ONLY way to do it is automatically. Today, I want you to call your bank or brokerage firm and arrange to open another savings account (DO NOT GET AN ATM CARD FOR THIS ACCOUNT). Then have $100 or $200 or whatever you can afford automatically transferred out of your checking account every time you get paid into this new account.

What I've found, and what tons of research has confirmed, is that IF YOU DON'T SEE IT, YOU WON'T SPEND IT.

Complete archive:

If you have a question for our TODAY Money experts, submit it here.

To sign up for an e-mail reminder for our next chat, click here.

Watch this week's Money 911 segment:

Who knew that peering into people's ears could be so relaxing?

With an eight-hour workday, steady job growth and an average annual salary of roughly $63,000, audiologists must be living the good life. These health-care workers, who identify and treat hearing disorders, have the least-stressful work days, according to a new report that ranked the stress level of salaried careers.  

Careers in the health-care industry take up half of the top 10 least-stressful job rankings.

Commercial airline pilots, who deal with frequently changing schedules and ever-present jet lag, are at the other end of the stress scale.

The report , compiled by jobs website CareerCast, ranked the stress level of 200 salaried careers by assigning a numerical value to factors that invoked stress, and whether or not that factor was central to the job being evaluated, Reuters reports.

"Professions that involve low stress have very little danger and minimal physical demands," CareerCast publisher Tony Lee told Reuters.

The least-stressful careers:

1. Audiologist
2. Dietitian
3. Software engineer
4. Computer programmer
5. Dental hygienist

Most-stressful careers:

1. Airline pilot
2. Public relations officer
3. Corporate executive (senior)
4. Photojournalist
5. Newscaster

Student loans are now the No.1 debt burden that Americans carry, eclipsing credit card debt for the first time last year, The New York Times reports. The total is expected to hit $1 trillion this year.

Two-thirds of graduates who earned bachelor's degrees left college with debt in 2008, the Times reports, compared with less than half in 1993. The average student owes $24,000, which is usually repaid over 20 years.

Mark Kantrowitz, the publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com, who compiled the estimates of student debt, told the Times a large number of Americans "will still be paying off their student loans when it's time for their kids to go to college."

Wondering how close America is to that $1 trillion? FinAid.org has a handy clock that tallies the number. According to the site, the "clock is intended for entertainment purposes only."

Reuters

Upon adopting a dog a few years ago, a rather churlish acquaintance of ours said, “Well, that’s great. But you should set an amount that you will pay in vet bills for that dog and never go above it. You can go broke keeping them alive.”

Aside from the considerable joy we take in no longer speaking to that person, the dog has proven to be a joy despite some vet bills. And according to a pet supply industry trade group, it seems more people than ever have no problem with paying when the puppy or kitten needs to go to the doc.

The American Pet Products Association reports pet owners are expected to spend $12.2 billion on vet care this year – and that’s up from $11 billion last year.

Some facts from the association:

• Bird owners’ trips to the vet in 2010 were flat from the previous year or two, but they were spending a lot more on surgeries – $190, up from $55.
• The number of times cat owners took their precious to the vet was up at 2.4 visits. The cost of an average surgery in 2010 was $423, up from $278 in 2008.
• The number of annual dog vet visits stayed essentially flat at 2.7 in 2010. The number of average visits was 2.8 in 2010.

How much do you spend on care for your pet? Have you ever had to pay a particularly large bill?

No doubt about it, Lady Gaga is a success. But is it a result of hard work, luck or was she just born this way?

Perhaps a little bit of luck, definitely some natural talent and, well, the pop music sensation didn't reach the top of the charts without rolling up her sleeves. As our partner FastCompany.com notes, we can all learn a little bit from the patron saint of "Born This Way." Here are a few keys to her success:

1. Learn your craft well. She is classically trained and an accomplished musician who constantly practices.  

2. Nothing but quality goes out the front door. Ever.  

3. Don't be afraid to be different; you'll stand out from the crowd. It takes more than talent to be a rock star.  

4. Use social media every way you can to connect with fans (customers). Don't just communicate — respond and interact with them.  

For more advice from Lady Gaga, see Dayna Steele's post.

What do you think? Is Lady Gaga just another entertainer, or is she someone to emulate?

Barbara Corcoran

Barbara Corcoran, TODAY real estate contributor and "Shark Tank" entrepreneur, joined TODAY.com Friday morning for a live Web chat to answer viewer's home-buying and home-selling questions.

Here are two of her answers to questions from the live chat. See below for the full Q&A. 

Question:
Where can my husband and I retire to? We are over 50 and want to relocate to a less expensive lifestyle than New England.

Barbara's answer:
Wow! That's a wide open question. You have so many areas of the country that have temperate, warm climates that are priced right for retirees and also offer wonderful amenities that are hard to find in New England. You could basically throw a dart at a map at the U.S. and be fairly confident it will land in a warmer place in New England! 

Whatever you do, make sure your research online. After you choose a half-dozen places that appeal to you, plan at least two long weekend vacations in each place so you can really get the taste of what it's like. You should plan the vacations at different times of years as many retirees make the mistake of checking out Sarasota, Fla., in winter and are SHOCKED to find what is there in the summer. It may be a little too hot for your taste in the summer months.

Promise yourself that you will NOT look at houses for sale when you go there on vacation -- which guarantees you will give your choice enough thought before jumping off the diving board. The typical retiree visits the new location and looks at houses on the second day. It opens you up to too much temptation, too many day dreams and too many mistaken choices.

Once you've completed your vacation tours, decide which locations you'd like to go back for another look see. And then -- and only then -- start looking at houses.

Question from Brian Gogerty: 
My mom was a heavy smoker and she wants to sell her property but the walls are smoke damaged. What do you suggest? 

Barbara's answer:
Hi Brian! First, move your mom out to a local Day's Inn for a weekend so you can fumigate. Try to do it on a weekend that has a good weather forecast with high winds -- and open all of the windows. 

Before you start, make a big sign for yourself and put it on the main living room wall. It should say, "I really do love my mother."

Call a local exterminator who could be able to treat the odor problem throughout the whole home. Once you've torn up the carpeting and rugs, taken down the drapes and dry-cleaned anything that holds odors. It's a big job.

By the way, make sure the painting company you hire scrubs the walls first before putting on a new coat of paint as that odor will leak right through the top coat.

If you've got high energy and really want to get even with your mom, you could send her to a rehab place for smoke addicts instead of the Day's Inn -- and then threaten her with a return visit for the rest of her life once all of the work is done if she doesn't stop smoking! :-)

Complete archive:  

If you have a real estate question for Barbara Corcoran, submit it here.

To sign up for an e-mail reminder for our next chat, click here.

Curious how your tax dollars are being spent? The White House launched an easy-to-use calculator today that gives taxpayers a receipt for their 2010 federal taxes.

The tool allows you to enter your Social Security, Medicare and income tax, and then calculates how your dollars are distributed. If you don't have your tax information handy, or you're simply curious about how your neighbors fare, you can choose an income level and see how taxes are allotted.

According to the tool, a married couple with two children and an annual income of $80,000 would see three-fourths of their taxes distributed between the top three areas of federal spending: $1,016, or 26.3 percent, to national defense; $938, or 24.3 percent, to health care; and $846 ,or 21.9 percent, to "job and family security" (think unemployment insurance, food stamps, etc.).

This throne is designed for the king of the house who has everything.

Kohler

Kohler's stylish $6,390 Numi commode will, as the company's website says, "bring you the finest in personal comfort and cleansing." Not convinced you need one? We will let the features speak for themselves:

• A motion-activated lid and seat.
• Advanced bidet functionality (with adjustable spray patterns).
• Integrated air dryer.
• Deodorizer.
• Heated seat.
• Foot warmer.
• Illuminated panels.
• Built-in speakers and MP3 player jack.

You can also rest assured all that luxury does not come at the expense of the environment. Consumer Reports says this WaterSense-certified toilet uses dual-flush technology, which allows you to select a partial flush for liquid waste and a full flush for solid waste. How fun.

Now comes the bad news: The Numi won't be available until fall.

The Numi certainly is pricey, but it doesn't hold the title of the most expensive toilet ever — that honor goes to the International Space Station's $19 million, problem-plagued privy.

Investigative Reporting Workshop

With Tax Day approaching, the Investigative Reporting Workshop is featuring a chart showing that individuals, not corporations, take on the vast majority of the nation's income tax burden.

It was not always the case. In the 1950s, corporations covered 39 percent of the nation's income tax bills, while individuals paid 61 percent. These days, corporations are footing only 19 percent of the income tax bill, and we're paying 81 percent.

The Investigative Reporting Workshop calculated the percentages based on the Office of Management and Budget's annual tally of individual and corporate income tax receipts.

Income taxes are only one part of the government's total receipts; it also includes Social Security payments, excise taxes and other sources of income. You can find more details here from the Office of Management and Budget.

TODAY

Barbara Corcoran, TODAY real estate contributor and "Shark Tank" entrepreneur, will join TODAY.com tomorrow morning to answer all of your home-buying and home-selling questions. 

Just click here tomorrow morning around 9:30 a.m. ET and you'll be directed to the chat. 

You can sign up for an e-mail reminder so you don't forget! And submit your questions early for a chance she'll see it. 

A new and comprehensive study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health, finds that suicide rates generally rise during economic recessions, and fall during periods of strong economic expansion.

The researchers examined data from 1928 to 2007, just before the Great Recession began. They found that suicide rates generally went up during periods such as the Great Depression, the oil crisis in the 1970s and the recessions in the early 1980s.

By contrast, suicide rates generally fell in periods when the economy was doing well, such as during World War II and between 1991 and 2001.

The researchers said there were 34,598 suicides in 2007, the most recent data available. That made it the 11^th leading cause of death in the United States that year.

The study found that the largest increase in the suicide rate came during the Great Depression, when the suicide rate surged to 22.1 per 100,000 people. By contrast, suicide rates fell to the lowest point in 2000, at the tail end of the dot-com boom.

The researchers found the most prominent correlation between economic cycles and suicide among people ages 25 to 64 – or those most likely to be working or needing to work. The current economic downturn has been particularly hard on America’s workers, as millions of Americans have found themselves unemployed, sometimes for very long periods of time.

The findings reinforce what some local officials also observed during the recent recession, as previously reported in msnbc.com's Elkhart Project.

OECD

We talk a lot about being workaholics here in the United States, but it turns out we've got plenty of competition when it comes to keeping busy.

A study of 34 countries has found that Mexican, Japanese and Portuguese nationals spend the most time each day on work, studying and household chores.

Belgians, Danes and Germans spend the least amount of time on both paid and unpaid work, according to the study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

And as for us Americans? Despite our reputation for being all work and no play, we ranked ninth, after countries including Austria and Canada.

The OECD said the research was broken down into two categories: paid work and study, and unpaid work such as cooking, cleaning and shopping. The organization used time use surveys and other data to come up with the rankings of its 34 member countries.

It looked at people’s time commitments over all seven days of the week, including holidays, and included both employed and unemployed people ages 15 to 64. That explains why the daily tallies may seem relatively low.

Although Japanese and Mexican people worked most, the breakdown between paid and unpaid work was slightly different.

The researchers found that Mexican people spent nearly 10 hours per day on working, studying and doing chores over the seven-day week. That included about 5.7 hours a day on paid work or studying, and the rest on chores.

Japanese people spent slightly more time on paid work or study --  6.3 hours per day -– but  less time on chores.

In the United States, people spent about 8.2 hours per day on paid and unpaid work, including 4.8 hours each day on the job or studying.

The Belgians seem to have really figured out this work/life balance thing. The researchers said they spend about 3.8 hours each day on work and study, plus another 3.3 hours on other chores.

The OECD, formed in the wake of World War II and funded by its member countries, seeks to promote policies that will improve people’s economic and social well-being.

Tip of the hat to Business Insider, which first reported on the study.

We all know the advantages to going to college: It gives you a lower chance of unemployment and a higher chance of getting a well-paying job.

But we know the disadvantage too: The load of debt that often accompanies a college degree.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that student loan debt outpaced credit card debt for the first time last year, and could top a trillion dollars this year.

That’s a stunning figure, and the rising cost of college has some people wondering if it’s even worth it.

Experts say it can be, as long as you plan well for it. Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Fastweb, a website that provides scholarship information, has compiled a list of tips for minimizing student loan debt.

His first rule of thumb: The total debt from your education should be less than you expect your starting salary to be once you graduate.

Kantrowitz offers some of the more typical tips. They include saving money before college starts, living with the folks to keep expenses down, starting out at a cheaper community college and poking around for whatever scholarships you can find.

But he also offers some less common tips. Among them:

• When considering whether to buy something using student loan money, think about whether you’d still buy it if it cost twice as much. Kantrowitz notes that with interest, something like a $10 pizza will really end up costing you $20.
• If you can, try to pay back at least some of the interest on your loan while you’re still in school. It’ll save you money in the long run. And after you graduate, try to repay your highest-interest loan faster than you are required to.
• Don’t switch majors or schools: Kantrowitz said people who do that are more likely to end up being saddled with more debt. Figure out what you want to study before you start.
• And finally, graduate in four years: While the five- or even six-year plan may seem tempting, especially in the current period of high unemployment, chances are it will leave you saddled with more debt.

AP

Being unemployed is no fun -- if for no other reason than daytime TV really, really sucks. But a new study says unemployment is potentially fatal, too.

Researchers at the Stony Brook University Medical Center analyzed 42 studies covering 20 million people and found that the risk of premature death was 63 percent higher for those who experienced an episode of unemployment.

“Our study results clearly indicate that unemployment is not just bad for your pocketbook; it’s also bad for your health,” says Joseph E. Schwartz, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the university. Which is a pretty big understatement since there’s no less-healthy condition than dead.

Guys, it gets worse. The researchers also found that the risk was worse for men than women, 78 percent to 37 percent.

The good news? If you can stick around, the risk got lower after subjects made it past 50.

Guess this means the headache the boss is giving you is nothing compared to what not having him around could do.