Lifehacker

Life can take some unexpected turns. Most of us imagine a specific trajectory to our lives: You grow up, move out, get a job, and live independently from that point forward. Reality often turns out a bit different, and we have to get creative about our finances and our living situation. When we hear the phrases…Read more...

I am always looking for ways to make oatmeal more interesting, and I’ve got another strong lead. I’m a big fan of boiling oats in strong tea or bulking them up with a steaming bounty of sausage and pickles, but the colder, lazier overnight oats need a little love too. Use yesterday’s coffee or cold brew to put a…Read more...

If you’re still shopping for the right gift for your dad for Father’s Day (or for yourself for no particular reason), these JBL Live Free NC+ headphones are on sale now through June 11 for $59.97. They’re wireless and they have active noise-canceling for up to 21 hours of listening time.Read more...

Modern gardening often involves weeding, turning the soil, fertilization, and pest control. But permaculture is the practice of growing a garden with the least amount of intervention possible, relying on companion planting, native insects, and adding cover crops to control weeds. In a permaculture food forest, fruit…Read more...

On the surface, the concept of multitasking sounds dynamic and kind of cool—the word originated in the 1960s computer boom, after all, and retains its connotations of hyper-competency and over-achievement. We’re all obviously capable of handling multiple tasks at once, and we have limited time in our busy lives, so…Read more...

Memorial Day weekend hit a new record since the pandemic started, with 2.74 million people traveling on that Friday, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). With high demand of traveling, low seat supply, and, of course, inflation, flights this summer will be more expensive than usual. However,…Read more...

I still love receiving mail, but most of what lands in my mailbox these days isn’t cards from people I know or magazines I look forward to every month. Rather, it’s junk that goes right into the trash can or recycling bin. Stopping real-world junk mail isn’t as straightforward as clicking “unsubscribe” in a junk…Read more...

A humbling thing about working on the internet is thinking you are keeping up with all the latest trends. I spend my professional and personal life online, so I must be hip, right? Wrong, of course. Case in point: the 0.5 selfie (pronounced point five or sometimes zero point five). Have you heard of it? Neither had I. …Read more...

Video games have never looked better than they do now. While AAA studios push graphical fidelity ever further, other developers realize their imaginative worlds with expressive art styles like pixel art, cel-shading, and hand-drawn animation that are impressive in their own unique way.

I am a big Facebook group lurker. Anytime I’ve tried to be more active, and post or reply to someone else’s post, something annoying happens, and I end up quitting in a fit of disproportionate rage (or being banned for unnecessary snark). This has happened with countless music and horror movie groups, and it has…Read more...

After years of being relegated to the basement, laundry rooms have largely moved above ground in homes built over the last 25 or so years.Read more...

We’re a few weeks away from the official start of summer, and if the record-breaking air travel numbers from the unofficial start of summer—Memorial Day Weekend—are any indication, the rest of the season will be a busy one.Read more...

For those without the outdoor space necessary for a traditional garden, growing plants—including vegetables—in containers is a great option. Unfortunately, not all vegetables can grow and flourish in containers. Instead of setting yourself up for failure, avoid planting these vegetables in containers.Read more...

When was the last time you cleaned your luggage? No, not using a vacuum attachment to suck up any dirt, crumbs, and schmutz that have accumulated inside your suitcase over the years—although you should do that too. We’re talking about cleaning, or at least wiping down, the outside.Read more...

It’s one thing to take your job seriously, but some people don’t stop there. Instead, they take it upon themselves to intervene in situations that don’t concern them, going above and beyond their job description—and not in a good way.Read more...

It’s summer road trip season, and whether driving is your preferred way to travel, or you can’t afford pricey plane tickets, no one wants to get stuck in traffic. While there are no surefire ways to avoid congested roads and highways completely, with a little planning, you can at least minimize the time you spend at a…Read more...

Screen time is often vilified in our parenting culture. Parents who let their kids have unlimited or lots of time on tablets or in front of the TV are deemed “lazy” or uninvolved. It’s a bit of a status symbol to some if you don’t even own a TV or if your child hasn’t ever played a video game. The American Academy of…Read more...

From defects on Prius inverters, to canceled Lufthansa flights and false advertising from Vizzy hard seltzer drinks, there is something for most people to claim from the class-action settlements happening in June.

In addition to bringing us the summer solstice—the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere—June is packed with celestial events, from meteor showers to planet sightings. Throughout the month, Mars and Venus will be getting closer together in the western night sky, while Saturn and Jupiter will be visible…Read more...

When it comes to our health or our legal needs, one of the biggest pain points is identifying a professional we can trust. Finding a new doctor, dentist, or lawyer can be stressful; those that come recommended by friends or colleagues often aren’t taking new patients or clients, and a search of your insurance…Read more...

Scrolling through health or fitness TikTok this week, you might land on a video that explains it will give you a test for your lung health. The instructions vary, but you’ll be told to hold your breath while you watch an animated timer tick down. “If you can hold your breath from point A to B then you are in the safe…Read more...

If your old laptop has been dragging and you don’t want to spend money on a brand new one, you should consider this refurbished 11.6-inch Lenovo ThinkPad that comes with a Microsoft Office lifetime license for $199.99 (reg. $449.98). This refurbished ThinkPad isn’t going to outperform the latest MacBooks, but it’s a…Read more...

In summer, keeping your patio umbrella from blowing away in strong winds can be a challenge. While you can use a traditional base to keep your umbrella upright, they make them hard to move around and adjust. If you’re looking for a creative, eye-catching, and portable way to secure your umbrella poolside or on the…Read more...

Sony’s 2023 Days of Play sale is here, and it’s chock full of deals and discounts. If you’ve been waiting for certain games to go on sale before buying them, now is certainly your chance. But while there are tons of great deals on games this year, Sony is also making its subscription services cheaper as well, if you…Read more...

This week, all children and young people are rotting in their beds, but it’s not due to illness, disgust, or unemployment. It’s the “new” trend of just not wanting to do anything, because that takes effort. (Relatable.)

The 401(k)—the most common way Americans save for their retirement years—is only a little over four decades old. Established by the Revenue Act of 1978, the 401(k) became a way to defer compensation tax-free starting in January 1980. Since then, retirement has never been the same, for better or worse.

Launched less than a year ago, e-commerce site Temu has quickly established itself as the online world’s new favorite jumble sale—the destination of choice when you’re looking for an impossibly wide array of incredibly cheap products.

Your college counseling center is a great resource—but only if you actually use it. Some schools do a great job of getting their center in front of students and promoting everything it does, but others don’t, and even with administrators’ best efforts, misconceptions linger. At bigger schools, you may not even know…Read more...

Not only are rusted screws hard to unscrew, they often also have damaged heads that can break off altogether, causing even more complicated problems. Here are five things you can try to remove a rusty, stripped screw without ruining the surface you’re working on.Read more...

Apple makes great products, but it’s hard to get around the fact that they also tend to cost more than the competition. But there’s a way around the so-called “Apple tax.” You just need to buy refurbished. Right now, you can pick up a bundle including a grade-A refurbished Apple iPad Air and a renewed pair of Beats…Read more...

The way we talk to ourselves can be decidedly harsher than the way we talk to others. In fact, many of us are stuck in a toxic feedback loop with ourselves that is more damaging than we might think. And part of the problem of a negative inner monologue is that we’ve become so accustomed to speaking to ourselves that…Read more...

You’re doing it wrong. That’s what I tell most gardeners when I see them outside on a hot day, sunscreen and sunhat in hand, enthusiastically plonking petunias and tomatoes in the ground with the sun beating down overhead. It’s what I say, shaking my head in disbelief, as I pass the neighbor’s place, where the…Read more...

When it comes to personal finances, the summer after graduating college is daunting. After the rush of graduation starts to fade, reality sets in. Your newfound financial independence means freedom, but it also means responsibility—not to mention uncertainty. You’re in a financial stage somewhere between having a…Read more...

I have so many articles of clothing that it’s not uncommon for me to find a top or skirt in my closet and wonder aloud, “What the hell is this?” At some point, I bought it. I probably even tried it on or spent some time considering it while it sat in my online cart, and yet I have no memory of it. It’s like a stylish…Read more...

It’s June, prime moving season is in full swing, and so are moving scams. Relocating to a new home is always stressful, but there are steps you can take to avoid falling for a con job that will make it a lot worse (and even more expensive).

Sugar, salt, and fat make things taste good, which is why most party foods heavily feature at least two, if not all three. A good festive snack usually offers some fun textures as well, like crispy, chewy, and/or melty. These air fried devils have it all.Read more...

It’s time for an Android feature drop: Google just announced a bunch of new features in a press release, as well as in an accompanying blog post. The new options span Android phones, tablets, and even wearables, running the gamut from Nearby Share for Windows, to Spotify on your wrist, to new emoji kitchen options.…Read more...

Of all the substances humans use to augment, alter, suppress, and avoid various aspects of our existence, caffeine is one of the most amazing. Is it disturbing to realize that you literally can’t function as an adult without a jolt of caffeine? Sometimes, sure. But for most of us, caffeine is a relatively harmless…Read more...

We get sunlight every day, but some days the ultraviolet rays are stronger than others. You know this intuitively if you’re prone to burning: You probably skip the sunscreen if you’re going for a walk in the winter, but slather it on for a midday summer hike. The UV index is a way of putting a number on how strong the…Read more...

There’s nothing quite like the satisfying sound a sharp pair of sears makes when you’re pruning or deadheading your plants. But every gardener knows the anguish of finding that their shears have been left in the garden by accident, or found in a leaky shed come spring. While your shears might look like they’re past…Read more...

Whether it’s a personal blog, an e-commerce shop, or a company website, you might benefit from AI integration. Right now, you can get a lifetime license to the ChatGPT WordPress Plugin for only $59.99 (reg. $299). You can use AI to generate content, interact with visitors, and more.Read more...

In this week’s installation of The Grown-Up Kitchen, we’re diving into the open waters of seasoning meat. Whether you’re firing up the grill for the first time this year (or ever), or already anxious about hosting Thanksgiving dinner in the fall, knowing how to deliver flavor is all a part of cooking like a grown-up.…Read more...

When it comes to planning your retirement, there’s often a lot of confusion. While socking money away to earn tax-deferred interest is a pretty simple concept, the wide variety of ways you can do that can be head-spinning—especially if you’re not a numbers person and have no experience in financial management. But…Read more...

While Microsoft Word is a trusty way to type up an essay, it might not be a good match for your writing process. If you’ve been wanting to try out Scrivener, now is a good time: Scrivener was designed through and through to cater to writers, and you can download Scrivener 3 on your Mac or Windows for only $29.99 (reg.…Read more...

Last week, I had dinner with my podcast producer at Clyde’s Prime Rib, located here in Portland, Ore. Every time I go to that fine establishment, I come away with something to write about. Last time, it was their horseradish blue cheese dressing; this time, it’s leftover beef fat.Read more...

Dumbbells and regular barbells are great, but if you’ve been ignoring that large hexagonal thing in the corner, it’s now time to make its acquaintance. The “hex bar” or “trap bar,” as it’s called, is great for deadlifts and a variety of other exercises.

To say that Rust is the programming language of the future, as many people in the industry have claimed, is not an overstatement. Rust has been quickly growing in popularity and demand since its official public launch in 2015, and computer programming is a highly desired skill to have in the job market today. If…Read more...

It’s never fun to learn about a new bout of Android malware discovered on the Play Store. It’s even worse when that malware was downloaded by hundreds of millions of Android users. If you have any of the follow 101 apps on your smartphone, you’ll need to delete them ASAP, and perhaps run an antivirus scan to boot.

U.S. home prices will decline less than previously expected this year. Home prices in March were 0.7% higher than March 2022, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (the leading measures of U.S. residential real estate prices) said Tuesday. A different report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency also…Read more...

For the past several years, owners of Amazon Echo devices had the option of integrating celebrity “personalities” into the digital assistant Alexa, but the company is ditching the service. Very soon, you’ll no longer be able to ask Samuel L. Jackson to put your children to bed, say “Hey Melissa, tell me about …Read more...