Over the last few months we have been working with Capital One on their Credit Made Clearer initiative. Working with Professor Geoff Beattie of Manchester University (aka the Big Brother psychologist) research out this week has revealed that Monday 26th September to Sunday 2nd October is the worst week of the year for money worries.

The study revealed that the biggest factors that make this week the worst week for money are: the bills coming in for our summer fun, the cost of kids going back to school and university, preparing for colder weather and, not least, the realisation that the great Christmas spending spree is nearly upon us.

But it’s not all doom and gloom – the worst week for money was also a great week for coverage, with the story being picked up by the Daily Star, I, The Times online, Daily Express online and Guardian online to name just a few. So far, we have achieved 330 pieces of coverage with more to come so watch this space!

I read today in The Times that today is the day when two out of three women who started a New Year diet give it up. I must confess that my New Year diet lasted officially 8 hours and 45 minutes. It covered a period of time between waking up on New Year’s Day and discovering a half eaten box of chocolates I had hidden in a kitchen drawer several months ago when I was starting my previous diet. I find this failure rate rather saddening.

I think everyone, in one way or another, sets themselves some sort of New Year’s resolution, and this got me thinking about to what extent we manage to actually achieve those goals. Experts advise that there are key ways to achieve them. Top tips include writing down your goals on paper, being realistic about those goals and most importantly making sure that you reward yourself at key milestones along the way to achieving them.

Here at Launch we are all encouraged to set goals – not only as part of the company, but also personal targets. Launch provides us all with an annual ‘wellbeing budget’ that encourages us to do something that will benefit ourselves – such as joining a gym or taking up yoga classes. Two brave Launchers have signed up to take part in a marathon this year, and another will be doing a sky dive!

Remembering to be realistic and to reward myself, I have resolved to write down the contact details of my nearest gym, buy a yoga mat and reward myself with the last few Christmas chocolates.

So, readers now have to pay to access online editorial content for both The Times and Sunday Times. Why is it so shocking that we have to pay for journalism? We demand and expect quality journalism and yet it would seem that most of us refuse to pay for it. Is the prospect of advertisers-funded information really that appealing? Free access to information is a great thing – of course – but here we’re talking about well-researched, thought-provoking editorial content is another thing and it has real value.

The way we consume information is changing fast, and it is fascinating to see how newspapers are reacting and adapting their digital offer. A lot of newspapers must be considering following Mr Murdoch’s example, but unfortunately, it might just be too late… Maybe newspapers should have made their online content paid-for from the start. But then, hindsight is a great thing.

As a child, I have to confess that I found visits to my Grandmother’s slightly unexciting. Also, slightly unfair. While my father and brother got waited on hand and foot, I was expected to run around after them – fetching them drinks and food while they sat back and put their feet up. My Grandmother had very old-fashioned notions of gender roles, you see…
 
But I could always seek solace in the bathroom. Titter ye not. Next to the loo was a stack of Reader’s Digest magazines. Locking myself away, I would curl up on the floor with my back to the radiator and devour them. We didn’t get them at home (too US-centric for my parents’ taste, or maybe just too naff. Private Eye was their magazine of choice). I particularly liked Laughter is the Best Medicine, but there were also numerous stories of hope against adversity that completely absorbed me.
 
My Grandmother died years ago, and since then the only chance I have to pick up a copy is when waiting to see the dentist or doctor. Not that I consciously seek it out. After all, I like to think I’m a more sophisticated reader these days. And okay, so it was a naff magazine, only moving with the times too little and too late. But it was an institution. Now the magazine is the latest publishing victim of the recession, but even just before folding it had a readership of 465,000. While this had dropped, it’s still nearly as much as The Times.  
 
But the sad thing is, that dentist waiting room will never be the same again…