(photo credit: Andy Welsher)
A new study on longevity reveals that (shocker) slacking off and not caring about anything will probably make you die faster.
“What characterized the people who thrived is a combination of their own persistence and dependability and the help of other people,” Friedman says. The young adults who were thrifty, persistent, detail-oriented and responsible lived the longest.
Time to work on that financial plan you’ve been putting off, no?
Amanda Hocking (photo courtesy Business Insider)
Technology changes everything, again.
Amanda Hocking is living the dream: she’s in her mid-twenties, writing what she wants to write, and making a serious profit without any of the usual middlemen. No publishers, no editors, no marketers, no book-signing tours.
The Kindle store allows her to connect directly with readers, who sometimes pay only a dollar to download her work. But multiply one dollar by 100,000 downloads, and then imagine taking home 70% of that. (Amazon keeps the rest.)
This is good news for young writers looking to make a name (and a profit) for themselves, but what about all those people who make their living as publishers, editors, and marketers?
“Xatori, a Silicon Valley software start-up, aims to create a network of electric car enthusiasts who make their household power outlets and home chargers available for drivers who need to top off their battery or who find themselves out of range of the few public-charging stations currently available.”
Would you ever pay for a total stranger’s gas? What about letting them charge their phone in your garage?
Are electric car owners just more generous?
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson took her 5th Avenue fashion sense to the world wide web, and the result – members-only designer discount site Gilt Groupe – is changing the way luxury retail is done. She sat down with TILE to talk about the online sample sale phenomenon, and to share some advice about buying designer.
A lot of different things can influence how you spend your money – your account balance, your blood sugar level, the weather. But one of the most important and overlooked factors is your personal set of values. That’s right. Values.
Take this quick quiz and see how you stack up against others (who may have similar values to yours) when it comes to how you spend your money.
Now look at your last bank or credit card statement. What portion of your money goes to experiences? How about material objects? What kind of experiences and objects do you tend to spend the most money on?
“More companies are jumping into the business of refurbishing and reselling the used cellphones and other electronic gadgets clogging Americans’ drawers and closets.
Within a few years, the used market could account for a fifth of all cellphone sales in the U.S., says Stephen Manning, chief executive of ReCellular Inc., one of the largest U.S.-based cellphone refurbishers.”
What do you usually do with old cell phones and other electronic items?
“Frito-Lay hopes its new SunChips bag will please consumers who complained in droves last year when the company rolled out a “green” bag that could be tossed into the compost bin.
Snackers said the new bag was simply too noisy and detracted from the chip-eating experience. (Translation: In other words, it drowned out the TV and was harder to keep late-night secret chip eating a secret.)”
Would you ever refuse to buy a snack food because the packaging made too much noise? For that matter, would you take the time to complain to a company if you thought their snack packaging was too crinkly?
Ever hear of a little app called Instagram? How about a website called Hunch? Well apparently they were both created by real people, and in this video those real people are in the same room.
Chris Dixon talks about the long, weird journey from college to Instagram fame, and the terrible moments after the app launched for the first time. He’s interviewed by Kevin Systrom, the creator of Hunch and current darling of the tech start-up world.
“Recently I saw a small business shut its doors. I feel terrible because I am partly to blame.
I never stopped by this store. While I can tell myself it was more convenient to shop at a large retailer, the truth is I didn’t stop in because I never saw any cars in the parking lot. I was uncomfortable with how both of us would feel if I browsed and didn’t make a purchase: He disappointed, me guilty.”
Have you ever avoided going into a store or restaurant because you felt awkward about interacting with the owner or salesperson?
Germy currencies from around the world…
“Fun” Fact: Australia had the cleanest currency in the study, and the U.S. dollar had the highest concentration of E. coli – the bacteria that causes food poisoning.
(Don’t be offended by the giant “FOR KIDS” headline at the top of the article. Money is gross no matter how old you are.)