My uni studies STOPPED me biting my nails!

I've been enjoying long, beautiful nails for 30 years, thanks to a method called behaviour modification! I was required to do it as part of a psychology unit at university. It is a method which rewards good behaviour and punishes bad behaviour. This is the method:

1. You determine what you want to change: I want to stop biting my fingernails.
2. You determine what would be a good reward. I will give myself $1.00 coin.
3. You determine what would be a good punishment. I will give $2.00 to charity. Note: It is best that the punishment is worse than the reward, so you can obviously achieve your positive goal ASAP. The simpler your rewards and punishments are, the better. I used the money to purchase a scarf but you could do it for anything.
4. You work out what you need to motivate yourself to achieve that positive outcome. I used hand cream daily, I used oil to massage the cuticles daily, I painted my nails with nail hardener and once the nails grew past my fingers, I got manicures regularly.
5. Draw up a table as shown below, to keep track of your progress daily to get to your eventual goal:

Day 1 – Outcome: I put my fingers in my mouth So you put a cross in the negative box and take the punishment. Negative Positive Punishment Reward x $2.00 paid to charity

Day 2 – Outcome: I didn’t put my fingers in my mouth So you put a cross in the positive box and take the reward Negative Positive Punishment Reward x $1.00 paid to myself

From memory I stopped biting my nails after the second week and kept going until I grew my nails to the length I wanted them. I found that it took about 10 weeks to achieve the outcome I wanted. I didn’t think I would get long fingernails, but I did and continue to do so!

Treating nails in a positive way keeps biting at bay

I have found the trick to keeping nail biting and picking at bay is to 'fiddle' with them in a positive way. I am 67 and have bitten my nails since I was about three years old. My parents tried bribes, threats, nasty brown stuff painted on my nails - all sorts. I grew my nails when I got married, when my daughter got married - and indeed have grown them since for various special occasions - so determination can help! I now have nails on my fingers, but still bite/pick at my thumbs. My dad said my fingers would become misshapen, and he was right. What helps me is to 'fiddle' with my nails in a positive way - emery boards, manicure tools, nail polish, the nail treatments to stop biting - the taste does stop automatic, thoughtless nibbling. I am not a chewing gum lover, but that can also help. I crochet too, which keeps my hands too busy to nibble at!

Weekly supermarket gift card saves for Christmas groceries

I add a supermarket gift card to my weekly grocery list and use them all up to shop for Christmas! After doing some calculations I realised that the ready-made Christmas hampers that you pay for weekly cost three times their actual value, not to mention the fact that they can include many products you won't ever use. My new system for buying Christmas groceries lets me buy my own hamper full of items at the current price or on special.

'Miracle' moisturising cream

For just $10 I've finally discovered soft skin. I had always suffered from dry skin and, over the years, had spent a fortune on moisturisers in every price range. I never really found anything that I could put on at night which left my skin soft and moist in the morning. It seemed my skin was always thirsty. Then I read in Vogue magazine, about a woman who used Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream as a facial mask. She also suffered from dry skin and her dermatologist had advised her to do this. Having nothing to lose, I decided to give it a go myself. It costs well under $10 and is available at Priceline and in most supermarkets. I chose the fragrance-free one and can honestly say it is the best moisturiser I have ever used. I use it every day under make-up and my skin looks 'dewy' all day long. I apply more in the evening before bed and my skin feels lovely in the morning. I even apply it thickly as a mask sometimes, with great results - and it beats a facial in terms of how my skin feels the next day. So if you have dry or mature skin - give it a try. It is also amazing on dry feet - it really is a miracle! It's amazing to think of how many dollars I will save from now on on my new, simple skincare product!