Lifehacker

With the convenience of direct deposit, most of us never look at our pay stubs—but maybe we should. Whether you’re earning a salary or an hourly wage, your paycheck contains important information, and may reveal tax errors, accounting mistakes, or that your employer is shorting your wages.

Keeping tabs on the TV shows you watch can be a chore—there are so many streaming services to balance these days that it becomes a mess trying to keep up with new series. While film fans have Letterboxd to track the movies they watch, there hasn’t been a similar solution for tracking TV. That is, until Marathon.Read more...

U.S. Cosori has voluntarily recalled over two million units of their air fryers for faulty wiring that can lead to overheating, posing fire and burn risks. Several of their models are affected by the recall, which were distributed nationwide. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall, U.S.…Read more...

Indecisive people are paralyzed by choices every day. I know, because I’m one of them. But we don’t need to make decisions alone—now our iPhones can help (and we can blame it for any unwanted consequences).Read more...

As every parent experiences, not getting the response you want from your child can sometimes cause you to raise your voice or display visual frustration to the point where you are the one who is actually overreacting. And as we (logically) know, rarely does a louder and bigger reaction from us lead to a more calm and…Read more...

Most collaborations between unlikely musicians are weightless one-offs, buried in the middle of albums. They’re easily-forgotten, desperate bids for relevance—like novelty-songs that aren’t funny, like this Taylor Swift/T-Pain mash-up, or nearly every duet Elton John has recorded in the last 20 years. The 12 team-ups…Read more...

I hate baking, especially when pie is the goal. I love to eat it, but I am just not good at making pie crust. If I manage to get the dough into the pie plate free of tears and holes, it will inevitably shrink and pucker in some way. Luckily, that last pie crust woe is quite fixable. I just need to add more pie weights.Read more...

With the exception of three people, the only things I miss about living in Florida are foods and beverages. I long for the wine cellar (and dessert room) at Bern’s Steakhouse, proper Cubano sandwiches, Publix subs (and banana pudding), stone crab claws, and the 1905 Salad from the Columbia restaurant in Ybor city.…Read more...

Flying can be stressful with delays, cancelations, unforeseen costs, bad service, and turbulent weather. But some of these frustrations can be avoided—by simply choosing an earlier flight. It’s never easy to drag yourself to the airport before the sun is even up, but it pays off once you’re there. Here are some ways a…Read more...

Oats need help. I am forever on the lookout for ways to make breakfast oatmeal more interesting. Despite how nutritious and filling it can be, preparing the same oatmeal every day is a recipe for tedium, and that’s not how I like to eat. Along with fried oatmeal squares, risotto-style oatmeal, and grated apple…Read more...

Apple advertises its newest iPhone as having the brightest screen yet, but when you use it, you probably can’t help but to think, “Shouldn’t this be brighter?” You might even compare it to other screens that look much brighter than yours. It’s not you: It’s auto-brightness, and you should turn it off on most of your…Read more...

A long-time dependent on wash-and-fold services, I recently set out to save money by doing my own laundry at the laundromat. Reader, I did not save a cent and, in fact, just wasted a bunch of my valuable time sitting under fluorescent lights in a dirty room with no wifi, guarding my clothes from greedy neighbors who…Read more...

Backyard chicken coops became increasingly popular during the pandemic as people scrambled to stay sane; and more recently, soaring egg prices have pushed “backyard chickens” to the top of search results everywhere as folks dream of becoming Egg Wealthy in the coming apocalypse. While raising backyard chickens will not…Read more...

If you don’t mind a few scratches and minor details, you can save a lot on these refurbished Amazon Kindle products, which are on sale at Woot! right now. Woot! is an Amazon extension that sells refurbished, returned, and surplus items for discounted prices, and if you’re already an Amazon Prime member, you get free…Read more...

In March, Netflix holds onto its unofficial claim as the best platform for new comedy specials. First up is comedy icon Chris Rock taking the stage in Baltimore, Maryland for the first-ever Netflix live streamed global event, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage. If I had to guess, the title of this special might be a…Read more...

Wheat flours are the building blocks we use to make our favorite breads, pastries, and other baked goods, but the array of available flours can get overwhelming. We’re lucky to live in a time of so many options, but what good are they if you don’t understand their attributes and idiosyncrasies? Read on to learn about…Read more...

The longer you go without weeding through your unnecessary and outdated apps, the more they’ll pile up. And while you can delete these apps one by one, it gets old fast. Deleting apps in bulk is the way to go, especially when you have a different app do all the deleting for you.

Spring is a prime time for exercise. Kids are hitting the soccer and baseball fields and adults are trying to cram in as many pre-summer gym sessions as possible. You should incorporate your athletic gear into this year’s big spring cleaning, but sometimes that’s easier said than done. How do you safely (and…Read more...

If you want to check out the last full moon of the winter, look skyward on March 7 when the Worm Moon rises, signaling the start of an era of blood and chaos that will last for a thousand years! Wait, I mean the imminent approach of spring.

PepsiCo has voluntarily recalled more than 300,000 bottles of Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino for potentially containing glass pieces inside. The company says bottles that may contain glass fragments have been distributed nationwide, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s notice.

You have pots, pans, appliances, sponges, and all the stuff you’d expect to find. And that’s great, but your kitchen can also be stocked for odd problems with surprising solutions. Here are a few things you might want to have in (or around) your kitchen, just in case. Leave some of them in your junk drawer and thank…Read more...

These days, it feels like video games are long-term commitments. Games-as-service titles like Destiny 2 and MMORPGs like Final Fantasy XIV release new content at a steady clip, and keeping up with the latest storylines or limited-time events can feel more like a part-time job than a game. Even single-player games…Read more...

If you’ve needed to shop for a car in this inflation-ridden hellscape of a market, you might be searching for a solution to your woes. Aside from buying and leasing, there’s now a third option: a car subscription. “Subscribing” to a car is designed to be more affordable than a rental and more flexible than a lease.…Read more...

When asked “ranch or blue cheese?” I usually answer “both.” Though I have a slight preference for blue, I enjoy ranch dressing as much as the next white girl of uncertain European origin, and I don’t see why I should have to choose between the two sauces. Instead of making such a choice, I have done the exact…Read more...

When you face a parenting challenge—disruptive behavior, big emotions, or your own frustration—a short and simple go-to phrase can be your ticket to quickly settling problems in the moment.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is essential for securing your accounts these days. It isn’t enough to have a password anymore. Between password leaks, and weak and reused passwords, it’s too easy for hackers to figure out your secrets and break into your accounts. 2FA fills in the security gaps—but not all 2FA is…Read more...

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There are a million things they don’t tell you about having a child—how heartbreaking it is when you realize they’ll never be a baby again, the sheer amount of vomit involved—and they sure don’t tell you how often you’ll have to interact with other parents. Maybe it’s low on the list in terms of importance, but it’s a…Read more...

A car is a great thing to have when you live somewhere cold and snowy: You are toasty and warm inside the vehicle and only need to face the elements for a few minutes after parking. As someone who left her car, but not the snow, behind when moving cross-country, I really miss the luxury. What I don’t miss is having to…Read more...

I have been putting cheese in my instant ramen for as long as I’ve been eating instant ramen (nearly 30 years). When I was a teen, I would crush up a packet of Maruchan instant noodles, add them to a large paper coffee cup, then fill the cup with scalding hot water from the hot water dispenser at my local corner…Read more...

With all the wisdom you have now, imagine if you could turn back time and get a head start building good credit from an early age. While you can’t change history for yourself, you can help your own kids build a strong financial foundation—and from an earlier age than you might realize. Even if your kid isn’t old…Read more...

Reckitt, one of the main formula manufacturers in the U.S., announced a voluntary recall for two batches of their infant formula for the possibility of cross-contamination with Cronobacter sakazakii, a potentially dangerous bacteria. The company says it is recalling its Enfamil ProSobee Simply Plant-Based Infant…Read more...

You should be using two-factor authentication (2FA) with each and every one of your accounts that allows it. You probably already do for at least some accounts, and it probably pisses you off from time to time. Every time you try to log in, you need to find your phone, check the code they texted you, and enter it to…Read more...

For most people, gambling is an occasional thrill. Whether it’s a lost weekend in Las Vegas or throwing a few bucks on a Superbowl grid each year, betting is just short-term fun—win or lose, they walk away and get on with their lives. But for some people—an estimated 8 million people, according to the National…Read more...

There’s little that makes me more anxious than speaking on a telephone with a human being, so believe me when I tell you that this advice comes from a place of love: It’s worth it to call the hotel before booking a room online. You could save yourself a lot of money and even a bit of heartache.

Even with the best of planning, the weather doesn’t always cooperate with our gardening ambitions. With lots of unusually cold weather hitting parts of North America, protecting your plants can become a priority. There are some simple steps you can take to help your garden through a cold snap or a winter storm.

Magnetic flooring is gaining popularity as a flooring option because of its simple installation and low volatile organic compounds (VOC) output. And its glue-less attachment system makes it simple enough for a beginner to tackle.

“Sir” has traditionally been considered a term of respect for a man, especially a man of higher rank or authority. “Ma’am” has been used since the 1600s for “women of superior status.” But what was once considered a respectful way to address someone can change over time; and it has, especially when it comes to…Read more...

In 2022, BioCatch, a software company that delivers advanced fraud protection, estimated that there are approximately two million mule accounts in the U.S., and about $3 billion in fraudulent transfers a year. The same research estimates that scammers are lowering their transaction amounts to mules to an average of…Read more...

It’s easy, and frankly common, to sink hundreds of hours into a job hunt. The longer your job hunt takes, the more desperate it can start to feel and the more hours you may feel like you have to commit. That’s where templates come in: We don’t want people to be able to tell you’re using a templated, but using…Read more...

ChatGPT is one of the most exciting new toys on the internet. Ask it for just about anything that can be produced in written form, and it will oblige. Which means that, among many other things, people are using it to generate workout programs. So how do they stack up? I brought the robot’s advice to my garage gym to…Read more...

Much like myself, potatoes are capable of taking on a lot of salt. The sharp salinity is quickly tempered by the creamy, slightly bitter potato flesh for a flavor combination I never get tired of. Potato chips, French fries, and fully loaded potato skins all demonstrate that fact deliciously, but the purest iteration…Read more...

I continue to find it a struggle to keep the Joy-Cons in my oldest son’s hands. As I watch him stumble through each level of a video game on Nintendo Switch, I want him to pause it so I can finish what he started. But after around 10 minutes of hearing his loud noises of frustration, he eventually hands me the…Read more...

Squeegees are so much cooler than we give them credit for. If you don’t have a little one for cleaning your mirrors and windows, go get one now. Once you’ve got one, congrats: You just unlocked a world of new cleaning opportunities. Here are some bonus ways you can spruce up your home with that bad boy.

The first apartment I lived in with my future wife was an old railroad-style place that was heated by an ancient “gas on gas” stove in the kitchen. In the winter months, cranking up as far as it would go meant the kitchen was approximately the temperature of the sun, and the living room—two rooms away—was like the…Read more...

Bad moods can have different drivers, but a common characteristic is the presence of your stress response. While the stress response is crucial for getting us in gear to face a threat, if it lingers, it affects the cognitive functions that are crucial for tackling personal and professional responsibilities. Bad moods…Read more...

If your credit card was charged for an order that never arrived, or you’re still paying for a subscription you canceled, you have two options for getting your money back: A refund or a chargeback. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but there’s one huge difference between them: Refunds are authorized by the…Read more...

About a month ago I found a two-for-one deal on tri-tip steaks, and I bought a whole bunch. Having recently read an article claiming one can dry age steaks by simply leaving them in the refrigerator for an extended period of time, I decided to try it out. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, but they did go well, and I…Read more...

Striking up conversation with locals is one of the best parts of international travel. A friendly cab driver, bartender, or fellow subway rider can tell you things about their city that you won’t find on a hundred “best-of” listicles. If chatting up locals is your idea of a good time, you owe it to yourself to learn…Read more...

Your parents learned how to handle money in a different time. A far-off time when it was for more realistic to buy a home, a car or even, you know, eggs. Even when your parents mean well, their money wisdom might be, at best, holding you back and, at worst, doing harm to your financial health. Last week we asked you…Read more...