Drawing from the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “All the Light We Cannot See” shares the story of Marie-Laure Leblanc, a young blind girl seeking solace alongside her father and reclusive uncle in the sheltered confines of St. Malo, France, during World War II.
When to book a flight for summer vacation
There’s no getting around it: Seeing the world is expensive. I just went to Japan (you should totally go if you ever have the chance), and the costs add up. Sushi was one thing, but the flights? Oof.
My biggest mistake was waiting too late to iron out my plans. Hey, consider this my good deed of the week: I made the mistake so you can save a bunch of money. Let’s look at when to book and what flight to go for to make sure you make it to your destination.
Time is money
OK, I know this is a big range, but for international travel, the best window is two to seven months out. That means if you’re eyeing a beach trip in July, start looking now — uh, yesterday. But really, you don’t want to wait much longer.
An easy way to monitor is through alerts. Use Google Flights or your favorite travel site. Pick your destination and when you want a notification (like if the price falls under $450 round-trip). It’s a heck of a lot easier than trying to remember to check every three days.
Traveling in the good ol’ USA?
The sweet spot for affordable domestic flights is between 28 and 35 days before departure. Avoid buying a ticket three to six months before your departure date. This is one case where being too prepared can cost you.
- Domestic flights are cheaper if you travel on a Wednesday.
- You can save up to 15% when you book on a Sunday.
What’s the best way to avoid cancellations?
Go for the earliest flight you can. Flights that leave after 3 p.m. have the best chance of being canceled at almost 50% higher, according to the fine folks at Expedia. I’m not taking that chance!
Tech life upgrades smarter than the stuff on TikTok
Listen, I know there are folks on TikTok sharing good advice — but there’s a heck of a lot of bad advice there, too. Financial tips and tricks? Yeah, look elsewhere; 63% of it is misleading.
It’s not surprising why. On a platform with just seconds to grab someone’s attention, creators have to make big promises to get views. Following that advice can bite you in significant ways — looking at you, get rich quick scheme.
Precious memory and document organizers
- A fireproof storage box is a wise investment if you have lots of hard-copy photos.
- This fireproof, waterproof organizer is the right way to store important docs like your passport and birth certificate.
- Show off your favorite 4-by-6-inch pics in a beautiful hardcover photo book.
- USB flash drives are must-haves for those digital pictures and documents. Just don’t misplace them, please.
- This smart digital photo frame lets you share photos with anyone from anywhere through the app.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
📚 When the e-book is … complicated: Activate Word Wise on your Kindle to get brief definitions above tricky words. Open your book, then tap the Aa menu. Select More, then Word Wise. Toggle it on.
Dangers of AI s*x bots, BlueWalker 3 satellite & self-hanging TVs
Plus, what happens to all our online accounts when you die? I know: it’s a grim topic, but here are the three steps you need to take. Caller Robert from Texas needs a quick way to digitize handwritten notes. Also, Meta’s new AI for ads, and I’ll reveal the best day to book flights.
Techy turn-on: Berlin unveiled the world’s first AI brothel called Cybrothel, where clients book private suites to mingle with VR sex dolls. The fun includes VR headsets and AI sexting. It’s like Netflix and chill … in the matrix.
A travel money mistake way too many people make
I’m going to Japan in March and have looked up flights on a few different sites. Roundtrip prices vary as much as $900 depending on where you look. Oof!
One place I checked was my credit card rewards site. I get points and perks, so total no-brainer, right? Not so fast. Do a little digging and you may find that it’s not the bigger, better deal.
The dumbest passwords you can use to secure your accounts
How bad are we at creating safer passwords? The latest data shows a whopping 75% of people worldwide don’t follow password best practices. We should know better … and yet, 84% of us reuse our passwords.
Why do I harp on this so often? You can blame over 80% of data breaches on weak or repeated passwords. Maybe you’ve never experienced the horror of identity theft, but let me tell you, it’s bad.
Breaking the world record for cleaning windows
The Guinness Book of World Records is full of incredible feats. From the highest tightrope walk to the deepest underwater dive. But what about window washing? One man made it his goal to become the fastest window washer in the world. This is how he did it.
3 travel tips to make your next trip easier and less stressful
Travel is stressful, no bones about it. But with the right tricks up your sleeve, you can make things so much easier on yourself and anyone coming to see you. And that’s what I’m passing along right now.
Little trackers use signals from other phones to determine where they are located. Toss one in your luggage and you can see whether it made it to your destination or point out to the airlines where they lost it.
What’s cheaper, Airbnb or a hotel? The shocking answer
When Airbnb and Vrbo first hit the scene, they were terrific. It was so much cheaper than staying at a hotel. Now? Hotels are coming back. But why?
For one, there are all the Airbnb horror stories — from hidden cameras to a host secretly living in a rental’s attic. Seriously, it happened. And did you hear about the women renting an old Victorian to celebrate their 50th high school reunion? Instead of a fun time, they got bats. Some of the women were even bitten.
The wacky world of Elon Musk
Ever wanted to get inside the brain of one of today’s most infamous names in tech? The new book “Elon Musk” contains over 600 pages of juicy details about Musk’s life, from childhood through the wild twists and turns of the X (formerly Twitter) takeover.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Sick of being online? This guy ditched the internet for year
Just imagine! No more checking email, logging in, authentication codes, memes and seeing photos of your best friend’s meals. You might yearn for some disconnection, but it’s really difficult. Most of everyone’s work is on the computer.
The best time to book a cruise to save money
There are two types of people: Cruise people and people like me who would rather do anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I get the appeal. Being stuck on a boat for days on end just isn’t my thing.
For all the friends who have tried to convince me otherwise, this one is for you. We rounded up info on the best times to book to score a hot new cruise or a great deal on a last-minute trip.
It’s summer! Protect your tech from the heat
Tech is expensive, and there are endless ways to ruin yours. Scan this list of five ways you might be destroying your phone, laptop, tablet and TV.
While we’re talking money, I put together a list of tech freebies you can grab right now.
Innovative gadgets revealed at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 just went down in Seoul, South Korea, and there’s much to … unpack. All this drops in August, by the way, though you can pre-order now.
Flip it: The Galaxy Z Flip5, Samsung’s clamshell-style flip phone, got a significant upgrade over last year’s Flip4. The 3.4-inch screen on the front now looks a heck of a lot like the Razr+ from Motorola.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
The best eBay treasures to sell
A recent analysis of over 17 million sales on eBay uncovered the best-selling items to make extra cash. I bet you have a few of these products stashed in closets — or maybe your parents do.
If you want to make a few bucks, check out the list below and start scavaging.
Read this before signing up for Amazon Clinic
The CDC says millions of Americans are skipping doses, delaying refills and taking other measures to save on meds. Add that to everyone who puts off visiting the doctor when they know something is wrong because it’s too expensive.