Lifehacker

From brutally high inflation to a record-high 7% mortgage rate, it’s been a rough year for prospective homebuyers. A lot goes into understanding this housing market, but in recent months especially, experts have been speculating whether this housing market holds the same ominous signs of a crisis like that of 2008.…Read more...

With inflation at 7.7% in October and food prices increasing in grocery stores and restaurants alike, the prospect of free food sounds more enticing every day. Especially when we’re talking about guaranteed free food “for life.” Even if we’re talking about McDonald’s. And that’s exactly what McDonald’s if offering to…Read more...

If you listen closely, you can hear the bells ringing: Christmastime is upon us, and if you’re a fan of the holiday like me, you’ll want a live countdown to the big day, no matter how you celebrate. And that’s where some fun iPhone apps can help. These iPhone apps add a little bit of Christmas cheer directly to your…Read more...

When it comes to coffee, I’m something of a veteran; I was investigating fussy brewing methods and turning my nose up at the office coffee pot long before I moved to gentrifying Brooklyn, where adherence to strict edicts over how your hot, brown flavored water can and should be prepared is tantamount to law (not…Read more...

It’s been a few days, and that giant mound of turkey is still staring at you. You’ve whittled down the pile with the usual turkey soup and cold turkey salad, but those get old fast. Finishing turkey leftovers shouldn’t feel like a punishment. Instead of a cold turkey sandwich for the fifth time in a row, make a meal…Read more...

Pizza is a delicious convenience that most of us appreciate in that moment when we want a hot meal (that we didn’t have to prepare) delivered straight to us. But what comes next—storing the leftovers—can be tricky. Pizza boxes are not exactly easy to fit into the refrigerator, but you know you’re going to want to…Read more...

I love Apple Music, but I’ll admit, at this time each year, I’m jealous seeing everyone’s Spotify Wrapped. Apple Music lets me imagine I have a sophisticated taste with an expertly curated library, while Spotify lets its customers bask in the embarrassment of their actual listening history. I, too, want to be humbled.…Read more...

In the category of reliable sandwiches, the grilled cheese reigns supreme. Simple in method, and an easy crowd pleaser, their only real drawback is they’re tough to make for an actual crowd. So I sought to develop a grilled cheese manufacturing method with all the benefits of the stove top variety, and the ability to…Read more...

Buying a new phone is exciting. It’s shiny, scratch-free, and comes with new features your old phone doesn’t have. It’s all fun and games until you realize something’s missing: Your text messages aren’t popping up on your new phone, and instead, they’re going to your old one. What gives?

As long as inflation keeps making our lives more and more expensive, it’s crucial to be as conscientious a spender as possible. The last thing you want is to keep losing money on the typically avoidable costs that come with being disorganized. As someone who has dabbled in being a disorganized procrastinator, I know…Read more...

Let’s get one thing straight: If you invite your friends over as guests at your dinner party, it’s bonkers to follow up with a Venmo request after the fact. Yet beyond this should-be-obvious etiquette, money habits between friends are often tricky territory to navigate. (In fact, I argue there are many ways you need…Read more...

We are smack in the middle of the holiday shopping season, and one of the biggest ticket items people often look to buy this time of year is a new television. Unfortunately, manufacturers are one step ahead of you, so that great “deal” you’re eyeing may actually not be much of a deal at all. Here are ways to shop…Read more...

Among the more coherent—which is not to say worthwhile—ideas in Ye’s recent, much-publicized antisemitic social media tirades is the idea that Jewish people control the media and hold disproportionate power within the financial industry. While the Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Kanye-West is obviously (and unapologetically)…Read more...

If you’re feeling déjà vu from seeing a Ford sport-utility vehicle recall, you’re not wrong. Earlier this month, Broncos were recalled for having issues with their backup cameras, and earlier this spring, there was an engine oil leak issue that could cause a fire. This time, about 520,000 Bronco Sport and Ford Escape…Read more...

So you’ve aced the interview so far: You had the perfect anecdote for every question, you honestly but tactfully admitted your weaknesses, and you made the interviewer laugh. You’re ready to ride off into the sunset with this job, but then the interviewer gives you the floor to ask your own questions. What should you…Read more...

The past two years have seen a wave of people quitting their jobs—the phenomenon that came to be known as the Great Resignation. This year we also learned of the Great Reshuffle, which refers to workers hopping occupations or industries altogether. The message is clear: Never before have so many people quit what they…Read more...

Outdoor holiday lighting displays are an essential part of the season for many people, bringing a little extra brightness to the long winter nights. Stringing together multiple strands of lights is often the best way to achieve the look you’re going for, but connections made outdoors are open to the elements, allowing…Read more...

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are glitchfests. In this age of post-launch updates, many games have their fair share of bugs and issues, but at $60 a pop, Scarlet and Violet’s problems are borderline impressive, struggling to run on the same console other AAA titles like Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles 3…Read more...

If you’ve ever been furniture shopping, you might know that you can take samples of upholstery fabric you’re considering home with you before you make a final decision on whether to buy. Much like you would with paint samples from a hardware store, these swatches can better help you envision how your new chair or…Read more...

About 10,500 units of stainless steel cups and bottles have been voluntarily recalled by Green Sprouts, a manufacturer of reusable baby products, over a possible lead poisoning hazard. The recalled Green Sprouts bottles have been sold at major retailers, including Whole Foods stores nationwide, and online at Amazon,…Read more...

If you’re shocked to learn the internet isn’t a great place when it comes to your privacy, welcome to your first day online. Companies track everything you do when browsing the web, sometimes down to your individual keypresses and mouse clicks, and gobble up as much of your personal information as they can get their…Read more...

Crumbs and dust have a nifty little talent for refusing to actually slide into your dustpan with a broom. However, there’s an easy way to collect them up that you probably never thought of. This hack has been all over TikTok for some time now and has, since its revelation sometime last year, spawned a number of …Read more...

Spotify and Apple Music may be great for music discovery, but they don’t do a great job telling you more about who you’re listening to. You could know every lyric to “Don’t Stop Believin’,” but if you don’t know what year it came out, you’re going to let your trivia team down. (It’s 1981, by the way.)

Last year, it wasn’t even Thanksgiving and my 7-year-old had already let it spill. We were driving home from school with her 5-year-old brother our 6-year-0ld neighbor when out of the blue, she said it: “Santa isn’t real.”Read more...

It would almost be too easy to forget about Thanksgiving and move on to December’s festivities—if it weren’t for that bowl of cranberry sauce that keeps getting moved around in the fridge. It’s great with turkey, but after the last bits have been devoured, the crimson sauce seems to be an outcast. There is absolutely…Read more...

There’s never a bad time to switch to a browser that respects your privacy more than Chrome does. For most people, Firefox or Brave (along with a few settings changes) is good enough. But if you’re after a browser designed entirely with privacy in mind, you have even better options than those, too.

Ever opened up a package only to find that the sturdy, beautiful item you ordered is tissue-paper-thin, or far larger (or smaller) than it looked online? We have a few tips to help you make sure that what you receive isn’t going to be a disappointment—whether you’re buying it as a gift or for yourself.

Imagine Trainspotting without “Lust for Life.” Do the Right Thing without “Fight the Power.” Shaft without...”Shaft.” You can’t. The perfect song choice can make a good cinematic moment great, and a bad one can ruin an otherwise decent scene.

Cold winter nights, drafty homes, and differing temperature preferences are a recipe for discomfort when you’re trying to get a good night’s sleep. A heated mattress pad is one option to dial in temperature for maximum coziness, and as a bonus, it generally requires less energy than your central heating.

Whether you’re taking a long vacation away from the cold winter temps or your employer is sending you on an extended trip overseas, you need to pack and you need to do it smartly. Living out of your suitcase seems fun for a while, but it can get old fast. I once did it for four weeks and was miserable by the time I…Read more...

Do you feel like you’re breaking down boxes every day and running them out to the recycling bin every night? Especially this time of year, the convenience of having goods delivered straight to your home is unparalleled—but the boxes can quickly stack up in overwhelming ways, both in terms of how unsustainable they…Read more...

If you celebrate Christmas, you probably have a decorated tree set up somewhere in your house. As a kid, the tree in my house was a dusty old artificial model that had to be assembled branch by branch. We always kept it in the basement, stuffed into a cardboard box, and every holiday season, unboxing it was a game of…Read more...

Sounding confident and knowledgeable at work is a good thing, but sometimes we can say things that we think highlight our value as employees, but actually give the impression that we’re pretentious or insecure.Read more...

Looking to save money on holiday decorations this year? Along with reusing (or repurposing) pieces you have from previous years, you can freshen up your festive decor with a little help from nature. Here’s what to know.Read more...

Children can be fickle creatures. A toy they wanted more than anything else could lose its appeal in a matter of minutes. But through fads and trends, one item has kept kids entertained for generation: A (large) cardboard box.Read more...

After a year of rising prices resulting from inflation, many families are cutting back on their holiday spending—including when it comes to gift-giving. Making a rule about not giving presents to other adults is one thing, but you probably want to give your kids a holiday experience to remember (for something other…Read more...

Most houseplants need to be potted in a container with some type of drainage. If water doesn’t have a way of exiting the pot, it will settle at the bottom, causing the roots to rot, and eventually killing the plant.Read more...

Want to do something with the kids for the holidays, but can’t afford breakfast with Santa or the Polar Express train ride? Or perhaps you’re looking for something festive to do with your friends or on a date, but tickets to the Nutcracker aren’t in the budget. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.Read more...

At the end of a year that saw inflation reach a 41-year high, there may not be much (or anything) left in your annual budget to spend on holiday gifts for friends and family. If that’s the case, and you haven’t already done so, now would be a good time to talk to loved ones you usually exchange gifts with, and come to…Read more...

‘Tis the season to dig out the decorations and trim your tree, and any other parts of your home that you think could use some holiday cheer. But if rising energy costs have you hesitant to plug in multiple strings of lights, an inflatable snowman, or your blow mold nativity scene, you may be rethinking your design…Read more...

If you’ve ever wanted to travel to a galaxy far, far away, now’s your chance to get at least a peak at some on a map—around 200,000 galaxies, to be more specific. But this isn’t just any interactive map of the universe: It’s the first to display “the span of the entire known cosmos with pinpoint accuracy,” according…Read more...

So, you’ve decided to bring a live tree into your home for a few weeks. How festive! Now, it’s time to determine what type of Christmas tree you’d like—or, more accurately, what qualities you’re looking for in an indoor evergreen. A particular look? A certain price point? A robust fragrance?Read more...

Whether you’re drinking or cooking with wine, you may not go through the entire bottle at one time. Sure, you could use a wine stopper to keep your wine fresh(ish) until you’re ready to finish it, but what if you don’t have one? As it turns out, there is a proper way to recork a bottle of wine. Here’s what to know.Read more...

Even the most like-minded families don’t agree on everything, and holiday dinners are often the setting of heated discussions on controversial topics. Of course, we don’t plan for that to happen, but when you think about it, the timing makes sense, given that people who may not otherwise see each other are gathered…Read more...

Lifehacker’s senior health editor and official holiday-myth-debunker Beth Skwarecki recently truthfied nine lies you were told about the first Thanksgiving, but I thought I’d take a look at some more recent myths surrounding the holiday. Here are the truths behind eight hoaxes that have been circulated widely on the i…Read more...

Goncharov is the best film you’ll never see. Billed as “The Greatest Mafia Movie Ever Made,” this Martin Scorsese-produced 1973 gangster epic stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Cybill Shepherd, and was directed by Matteo JWHJ 0715. Wait, who? Also: It isn’t real.

Midway through my efforts to turn savory stuffing into French toast bread, I imagine what the person creating the first Scotch egg must have thought. “This is crazy, but it just might be fantastic,” I bet they whispered to themselves in a lilting brogue. Well, they were right, and I’m right this time, too: Reforming…Read more...

If you have a great Apple Music playlist for holiday-themed parties but it includes a few tracks that aren’t appropriate for ears of all ages, you don’t have to worry about making your mixes family friendly anymore. Forget about painstaking recreating it yourself using “clean” versions of explicit songs…Read more...

When you’re a player in the gig economy, budgeting can be tough. However, a budget is most important for anyone working with an irregular income. Even if you don’t consider yourself living paycheck to paycheck, it’s a challenge to craft and stick to a budget when you don’t have a predictable salary to base your…Read more...

Add another to the list of TV shows that no one in New York City even realizes exist: In December, Paramount+ will launch its second spinoff of the massively popular Succession-meets-Hey Dude! hit Yellowstone called 1923, not to be confused with its first Yellowstone spinoff, 1883, also not to be confused with 1899,…Read more...