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Minimalism is a lifestyle choice with countless benefits. For one thing, choosing to live a minimalist life isn’t just about decluttering your space, it’s about redirecting your time, money, and energy toward things that truly matter. Unfortunately, the path to simplicity is against the current of culture. For that reason, it’s important for all of us to surround ourselves with messages and stories that remind us of the benefits of owning less. With that in mind, I’ve curated a collection of articles that I believe will inspire and encourage you on your journey to a simpler, more intentional life. Settle down in a quiet moment this weekend with your favorite beverage and enjoy these articles picked to inspire you. How to Curb Impulse Shopping (or Similar Behaviors) | Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. The root of an impulse habit is that we have some kind of stress, and the habit is a way to soothe it. 8 Things You Will Inevitably Regret Not Letting Go of Sooner in Your Life | Marc & Angel Hack Life by Marc Chernoff. Oftentimes you don’t even realize you’re blocking your own present blessings by holding on to everything so tightly. 10 Minimalist Hacks for a Cleaner, Calmer Home | No Sidebar. A calm home is not found in the size of our space or the beauty of our décor. It’s found in how we feel when we walk through the door. 7 Reasons to Stop Wasting Money on Fast Fashion | Simple Money by Joshua Becker. The goal is to live intentionally—with purpose, simplicity, and peace. And that’s something no fast fashion rack will ever offer. The Return of Dumb Things | Yahoo by Kerry Justich. “I want to feel more connected with the world around me and what media I’m choosing to consume, rather than passively listening, watching and wasting away hours I can’t get back.” Recently Released Inspiring Videos 25 Obsolete Items you Can Get Rid of Right Now | YouTube by Joshua Becker. Technology changes, lifestyles evolve, and yet, many of us still hold on to items that no longer serve a purpose. Here are 25 things you can declutter right away—because in 2025, you just don’t need them anymore. It is Better to Donate than Resell | YouTube by Joshua Becker. Over time, our most significant and recurring motivation to declutter came from the realization that our excess could become a blessing to somebody else. The post Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads. appeared first on Becoming Minimalist. View the full article

The breakout star of this season of The White Lotus? Aimee Lou Wood—and her distinctive real-life smile. “I mean, I can’t believe the impact my teeth are having,” the English actress told Jonathan Ross last month on Ross’s eponymous British chat show. “I hope that people don’t start, like, filing their teeth so they have gaps.” Too late. Unfortunately, Wood may have unintentionally reignited a troubling DIY dentistry trend. On TikTok, users are once again taking nail files to their own teeth, with hashtags like #teethfiling and #teethfile, racking up more than 130 posts, according to Screenshot Media. While Wood’s smile may be the most recent inspiration, this isn’t a new phenomenon. Teeth-filing videos have been circulating online for years. “I’m going to file my teeth down with a nail file because they are not perfect,” one TikTok user said in a since-deleted video posted back in 2020. “I have some ridges, and we’re ballin’ on a budget.” But what might seem like a quick cosmetic fix can cause lasting harm. “When you file your nails, your nails grow back, but your teeth don’t,” Detroit-based dentist Zainab Mackie told the Washington Post’s Allyson Chiu, who originally reported on the trend. “That outer enamel layer doesn’t grow back. . . . Once it’s gone, that’s it.” Dental professionals on TikTok have long warned users to step away from the emery boards and see a professional instead. “Don’t get mad at me when your teeth are more sensitive than a two-year-old crying over spilled milk, because I ain’t going to help you,” orthodontist Benjamin Winters (aka “the Bentist”) said to his 5.5 million TikTok followers in a video that went viral. Wood herself has opened up about her struggle to embrace her teeth when she was growing up. “The Americans can’t believe [my teeth], but they’re all being lovely,” she said on the popular chat show. “It feels so lovely. A real full-circle moment after being bullied for my teeth, forever.” Maybe there’s a lesson in that. View the full article

Low rates on Ireland, high levies on Slovakia, Asian misery and the strange tale of St Pierre and MiquelonView the full article

The arbitrariness of the tariffs is a feature not a bug in the plan to short-circuit the financial establishmentView the full article

LinkedIn has announced the release of its fifth thinking-oriented game, Zip, marking another addition to its growing collection of games designed to foster connection and engagement among users. Zip is available to play starting today. The announcement comes nearly a year after LinkedIn Games first launched, and according to the company, user engagement has remained high. “84% of people who play today will play again tomorrow, and 80% will still be playing a week from now,” LinkedIn reported. LinkedIn states that the games have become “a fun and valuable way to strengthen connections, spark conversations, and encourage friendly competition within professional networks.” In preparation for the release of Zip, LinkedIn implemented a series of updates to improve the overall gaming experience. These enhancements aim to make gameplay more interactive and accessible, allowing players to better connect through friendly competition. The new game continues LinkedIn’s efforts to incorporate social interaction into its platform through light, engaging content designed to support professional relationship-building. With Zip, the company builds on the momentum of its previous four game releases, which have been well-received by users worldwide. Image: LinkedIn This article, "LinkedIn Launches New Thinking Game ‘Zip’ with Enhanced User Features" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

LinkedIn has announced the release of its fifth thinking-oriented game, Zip, marking another addition to its growing collection of games designed to foster connection and engagement among users. Zip is available to play starting today. The announcement comes nearly a year after LinkedIn Games first launched, and according to the company, user engagement has remained high. “84% of people who play today will play again tomorrow, and 80% will still be playing a week from now,” LinkedIn reported. LinkedIn states that the games have become “a fun and valuable way to strengthen connections, spark conversations, and encourage friendly competition within professional networks.” In preparation for the release of Zip, LinkedIn implemented a series of updates to improve the overall gaming experience. These enhancements aim to make gameplay more interactive and accessible, allowing players to better connect through friendly competition. The new game continues LinkedIn’s efforts to incorporate social interaction into its platform through light, engaging content designed to support professional relationship-building. With Zip, the company builds on the momentum of its previous four game releases, which have been well-received by users worldwide. Image: LinkedIn This article, "LinkedIn Launches New Thinking Game ‘Zip’ with Enhanced User Features" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The Internal Revenue Service issued a reminder Thursday that individuals and businesses in certain disaster-declared areas have until May 1, 2025, to file their 2024 federal income tax returns and make tax payments. The automatic extension applies to taxpayers in parts of twelve states affected by federally declared disasters in 2024. The IRS emphasized that taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to receive this relief. “If a taxpayer’s address of record is in a disaster area locality, individual and business taxpayers automatically get the extra time without having to ask for it,” the IRS stated. Who Qualifies for the May 1 Extension? The May 1 deadline applies to: All residents and businesses in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The City and Borough of Juneau in Alaska. Chaves County in New Mexico. Multiple counties in Tennessee including Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington. Dozens of counties and independent cities across Virginia, including Albemarle, Appomattox, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Bristol City, Buchanan, Buckingham, Carroll, Charlotte, Covington City, Craig, Danville City, Dickenson, Floyd, Galax City, Giles, Grayson, Greene, Lee, Madison, Montgomery, Nelson, Norton City, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Radford City, Roanoke City, Roanoke, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe. A full list of eligible localities is available on the IRS website’s Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page. Requesting Additional Filing Extensions Taxpayers who require more time beyond May 1, 2025, may request an extension, but it only applies to filing—not payment. The IRS urges taxpayers to request electronic extensions by April 15, 2025. For those in disaster areas needing extensions between April 15 and May 1, requests must be submitted on paper using Form 4868. Regardless of how it’s filed, the extension gives taxpayers until Oct. 15, 2025, to submit their returns. However, all payments are still due by May 1, 2025. Additional details are available at IRS.gov/extensions. Fall Deadlines for Other Disaster Areas The IRS noted that some disaster area taxpayers face different deadlines later this year. These include: Oct. 15, 2025, for taxpayers in Los Angeles County, California, due to January wildfires. Nov. 3, 2025, for all of Kentucky and specific counties in West Virginia: Boone, Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming. Special Relief for Taxpayers Affected by Attacks in Israel Taxpayers living or conducting business in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, or those otherwise affected by the terrorist attacks beginning October 7, 2023, also qualify for tax relief. These individuals and entities have until Sept. 30, 2025, to file and pay federal taxes. What Returns and Payments Are Covered? The relief covers various filings and payments, including: Calendar year 2024 partnership and S Corporation returns (originally due March 17). 2024 individual income tax returns and quarterly estimated payments (normally due April 15). Calendar year 2024 corporate and fiduciary income tax returns (also due April 15). Additional returns, payments, and time-sensitive tax-related actions as outlined on the IRS Disaster Assistance page. Automatic Relief and Additional Support “The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area,” the agency noted. However, those who receive a penalty notice for a due date within the postponement period should contact the number on the notice to have penalties removed. The IRS also offers support for taxpayers whose necessary records are located in the affected disaster area, even if they live elsewhere. This includes aid workers affiliated with recognized government or philanthropic organizations. Affected taxpayers outside of the declared areas can call 866-562-5227 for assistance. Additionally, individuals and businesses who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses may choose to claim them on the return for the year the loss occurred or the previous year. More information is available in IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts. This article, "IRS Reminds Disaster Victims in 12 States of May 1 Tax Deadline" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The Internal Revenue Service issued a reminder Thursday that individuals and businesses in certain disaster-declared areas have until May 1, 2025, to file their 2024 federal income tax returns and make tax payments. The automatic extension applies to taxpayers in parts of twelve states affected by federally declared disasters in 2024. The IRS emphasized that taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to receive this relief. “If a taxpayer’s address of record is in a disaster area locality, individual and business taxpayers automatically get the extra time without having to ask for it,” the IRS stated. Who Qualifies for the May 1 Extension? The May 1 deadline applies to: All residents and businesses in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The City and Borough of Juneau in Alaska. Chaves County in New Mexico. Multiple counties in Tennessee including Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington. Dozens of counties and independent cities across Virginia, including Albemarle, Appomattox, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Bristol City, Buchanan, Buckingham, Carroll, Charlotte, Covington City, Craig, Danville City, Dickenson, Floyd, Galax City, Giles, Grayson, Greene, Lee, Madison, Montgomery, Nelson, Norton City, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Radford City, Roanoke City, Roanoke, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe. A full list of eligible localities is available on the IRS website’s Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page. Requesting Additional Filing Extensions Taxpayers who require more time beyond May 1, 2025, may request an extension, but it only applies to filing—not payment. The IRS urges taxpayers to request electronic extensions by April 15, 2025. For those in disaster areas needing extensions between April 15 and May 1, requests must be submitted on paper using Form 4868. Regardless of how it’s filed, the extension gives taxpayers until Oct. 15, 2025, to submit their returns. However, all payments are still due by May 1, 2025. Additional details are available at IRS.gov/extensions. Fall Deadlines for Other Disaster Areas The IRS noted that some disaster area taxpayers face different deadlines later this year. These include: Oct. 15, 2025, for taxpayers in Los Angeles County, California, due to January wildfires. Nov. 3, 2025, for all of Kentucky and specific counties in West Virginia: Boone, Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming. Special Relief for Taxpayers Affected by Attacks in Israel Taxpayers living or conducting business in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, or those otherwise affected by the terrorist attacks beginning October 7, 2023, also qualify for tax relief. These individuals and entities have until Sept. 30, 2025, to file and pay federal taxes. What Returns and Payments Are Covered? The relief covers various filings and payments, including: Calendar year 2024 partnership and S Corporation returns (originally due March 17). 2024 individual income tax returns and quarterly estimated payments (normally due April 15). Calendar year 2024 corporate and fiduciary income tax returns (also due April 15). Additional returns, payments, and time-sensitive tax-related actions as outlined on the IRS Disaster Assistance page. Automatic Relief and Additional Support “The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area,” the agency noted. However, those who receive a penalty notice for a due date within the postponement period should contact the number on the notice to have penalties removed. The IRS also offers support for taxpayers whose necessary records are located in the affected disaster area, even if they live elsewhere. This includes aid workers affiliated with recognized government or philanthropic organizations. Affected taxpayers outside of the declared areas can call 866-562-5227 for assistance. Additionally, individuals and businesses who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses may choose to claim them on the return for the year the loss occurred or the previous year. More information is available in IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts. This article, "IRS Reminds Disaster Victims in 12 States of May 1 Tax Deadline" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. As someone deeply invested in sustainable mass transit and supply chain automation, I’m also invested in an idea that could change the world of freight transport for us all. The global supply chain is in flux. Even before new tariffs, the nearshoring trend in North America has created an urgent demand for more innovative and efficient freight solutions. However, despite automotive advances, transport logistics are riddled with inefficiencies—bottlenecks at congested ports, trucks idling for hours at border crossings, and outdated infrastructure struggling to meet modern demands. But what if we could change that? What if freight could move continuously, seamlessly, and autonomously away from public roads? That’s precisely the vision behind Green Corridors, an emerging technology company tackling some of the most congested trade routes in North America. A new era for freight mobility Led by president and CEO Mitch Carlson, Green Corridors is pioneering a transformative approach to freight logistics, combining industrial automation with intelligent infrastructure. Their pilot projects under development include a 60-mile autonomous freight corridor between the Port of Houston and an inland terminal currently in feasibility stage, and a 165-mile corridor between Laredo, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico in predevelopment stage. These projects will redefine the way goods progress across these critical trade arteries. The core of the new system is an elevated guideway system where autonomous freight shuttles traverse a dedicated track to transport cargo seamlessly over these highly congested routes. Beyond incremental improvements to trucking or rail, the solution is an entirely new paradigm for freight transport. The implications are massive: Eliminate congestion: By shifting freight movement away from roadways and onto dedicated guideways running autonomous shuttles, these corridors substantially increase safety, reduce road maintenance costs, and alleviate traffic jams that cost billions of dollars in lost productivity. Strengthen national security: The system integrates directly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ensuring that every shipment is pre-scanned and approved before it crosses the U.S./Mexico border. Compared to today’s manual methods, in which only about 5% of cargo is fully scanned, this would mark a monumental shift in security and efficiency. Reduce emissions: Freight shuttles vastly reduce emissions from semi-trucks. Likewise, the shuttles run at 30 mph versus 60 and run on rails versus rubber tires, using clean diesel fuel and electric propulsion. A single corridor could cut emissions by up to 75% while maintaining 24/7 operations. Productivity: The trade routes Green Corridors are targeting are money-losing scenarios for traditional transport. In the proposed new model, truckers are more productive, have a higher quality of life, and able to make more trips per day. Tailor-made for nearshoring As nearshoring increases in North American markets, Mexico has overtaken China as the leading U.S. trade partner. This trend is a positive development in many respects; however, the infrastructure challenges of ground transport continue to hinder efficiency. Laredo, the nation’s No. 1 port of entry, sees 18,500 trucks cross the border daily, often waiting up to eight hours. The high growth of this route, particularly as the U.S. moves further away from reliance on factories in Asia, has made it challenging for Laredo to meet the increasingly higher pressure to remain profitable and predictable for ground transport. Green Corridors removes these inefficiencies and sets a new standard for freight logistics in an era where predictability, security, and efficiency are paramount. A national and global vision While the Laredo-Monterrey and Houston projects are first in line, Green Corridors is eyeing a much larger transformation. As it scales, the company plans to target intelligent freight transportation corridors in major port cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York. Ultimately, the solution could scale to anywhere congested corridors are throttling economic productivity. In its next phase, the company would like to play a primary role in reshaping shipping routes worldwide. For example, Mexico’s proposed Interoceanic Corridor, a 188-mile rail project meant to compete with the Panama Canal, could potentially use the Green Corridors’ intelligent freight transportation system to create a more efficient alternative instead. Instead of waiting weeks for ships to queue through the canal, companies could seamlessly transport freight from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico in hours. The road ahead Clearly infrastructure projects of this scale don’t occur overnight, but momentum is building. Green Corridors has already submitted its presidential permit application for the Laredo-Monterrey corridor. If approved, the project could be operational by 2030, according to my interview with Carlson. The company has aligned itself with leading engineering firms (including my own organization, Chang Robotics), financial institutions, and multiple government agencies to ensure a smooth execution. This type of development is the future of freight—a system that operates 24/7, doesn’t clog our highways, and enhances security, while reducing environmental impact. For businesses navigating the complexities of modern supply chains, it offers the path to a more efficient and sustainable future. In an era where logistics disruptions can mean the difference between profit and loss, that future can’t come soon enough. Matthew Chang is the founder and principal engineer of Chang Robotics. View the full article

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. For years, the real estate industry had lacked the data necessary to drive informed business decisions. Data is often fragmented, incomplete, or nonexistent, making it difficult for landlords and real estate professionals to analyze trends, forecast market shifts, and optimize their operations. Our research at RentRedi showed us that 90% of our landlords previously used pen and paper or spreadsheets to manage their rental properties before adopting our software, giving them little access to helpful data. With the adoption of centralized platforms like ours and other real estate technologies, data collection is skyrocketing. Investors, real estate agents, and property managers are adopting technologies that streamline operations, and in the process, those platforms are generating vast amounts of data that can be used to provide deep insights into market behaviors that benefit the landlords providing it. This data revolution presents an unprecedented opportunity for real estate businesses to make smarter, data-driven decisions, reduce risk, and drive growth. By understanding where real estate data comes from, overcoming data overload, and strategically harnessing information, real estate agents and investors can significantly improve operations and drive business growth. How to harness data and use it to your advantage Whether you sell, buy, or manage real estate, data plays a crucial role in providing opportunities for you to make more informed decisions. Effectively utilizing real estate data can lead to improved business operations and increased profitability. Rental property owners, for instance, can leverage data insights to increase on-time rent collection, get better tenants, minimize evictions, reduce vacancies, and streamline property maintenance. Insights can also help establish better operating procedures, such as utilizing 5-pronged tenant screening processes (comprehensive background checks, credit reports, criminal reports, eviction reports, and income and asset verification) to identify high-risk tenants or adjusting lease terms to encourage on-time payments. Running surveys to gather customer feedback can help owners improve understanding of renters’ needs and what matters most to them. Real estate agents can use the feedback to enhance their communication skills, property showing process, and negotiation strategies, leading to an upgraded overall client experience, more referrals, and repeat business. Likewise, gathering tenant feedback helps property owners understand what matters most to their customers, allowing them to enhance tenant satisfaction and retention. Finally, using a property management system that consolidates, categorizes, and analyzes data will streamline processes, and ensure easy access to critical information, so focus can remain on the most relevant metrics and trends. Specific applications of real estate data Rental property investors can leverage property management software to implement innovative solutions that benefit themselves and their tenants. For example, we analyze data to identify trends, providing it back in usable formats to improve real estate businesses. Turning data from insight into actionable guidance is key. If data reveals that renters using autopay pay rent on time 99% of the time—as opposed to an 88% on-time payment rate for those who don’t—you know to offer your tenants (and advise them to set up) automatic payments to avoid missed or late payments and resulting late fees and penalties. Likewise, data may show that landlords are likely to see a 13% jump in on-time rent payments when using a credit boost feature to report on-time payments to credit bureaus, which also helps renters establish credit and raise their existing credit scores. With this information, landlords can consider offering that service to tenants. These actionable insights strengthen the landlord-tenant relationship. Where to find data sources To leverage data to improve your real estate business, you need to know where to find it. Real estate data comes from a wide variety of sources: from public records and market reports to proprietary databases and tenant interactions. To effectively mine real estate data, professionals should start by identifying key data sources relevant to their operations. For example, public records, MLS listings, and property tax assessments provide valuable market insights, while customer surveys and online reviews reveal tenant and investor sentiment. Property listings and market transactions provide data on property sales prices, listing durations, vacancy rates, and location-based demand, as well as demographic data such as neighborhood trends, population growth, and urban development. This type of data provides valuable insights into property valuation and investment opportunities. In the rental industry, tenant applications and tenant screening provide data on income, employment history, credit scores, and rental behavior, which aids in risk assessment. Meanwhile, tracking rent payments reveals payment patterns that help landlords and property managers optimize rent collection strategies. Building performance and maintenance logs also provide helpful data, especially IoT sensors and smart building technologies that track energy usage, maintenance needs, and occupancy trends, allowing for sustainability and cost reduction planning. The challenges of too much data Simply having access to this data isn’t enough—it’s crucial to know how to extract meaningful insights from it. Data can be a powerful tool, but the sheer volume of information available can be overwhelming, particularly while simultaneously managing properties and/or growing your portfolios. Too much data can slow decision making. Organizing, interpreting, and applying the data in beneficial ways for your businesses takes time, is difficult, and can lead to analysis paralysis if done manually. Besides, raw data is not always actionable. That’s why it’s important to utilize analytical tools and dashboards to translate complex datasets into visual reports that make patterns and trends easily digestible and understandable. Final words The growing availability of real estate data presents both challenges and opportunities. Collecting and analyzing data from diverse sources provides professionals across the real estate industry—from landlords to large-scale developers—with the ability to make better decisions regarding investment, property improvements, and customer satisfaction. Adopting data-driven solutions can lead to greater efficiency, improved business relationships, and increased profitability. By centralizing information, leveraging analytics, and implementing smart policies, real estate investors can harness the power of data to transform their businesses in an increasingly digital world. Ryan Barone is cofounder and CEO of RentRedi. View the full article

Artificial intelligence is increasingly influencing how U.S. consumers search and shop online, according to a new survey released by adMarketplace. The company surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults using a census-balanced sample by age and gender to gauge perceptions and adoption of AI-driven search experiences. The results highlight significant trends for advertisers and publishers as AI becomes more integrated into native search environments. The findings show that 45% of Americans have used AI-powered search tools, including chat-based engines and AI-driven results. That figure nearly doubles the 27% who report not having tried these tools. Meanwhile, 17% of respondents said they rely more on AI search than traditional methods. According to adMarketplace, the growth in adoption is fueled primarily by the relevancy and convenience AI delivers. A quarter of respondents cited accurate, relevant results and ease of use as the most compelling reasons to adopt AI-powered search while shopping online. AI’s integration into native search environments—within apps, websites, and platforms—was emphasized as a key factor in providing a more seamless and personalized shopping journey. The survey indicates that 69% of Americans have interacted with AI-generated prompts and search results, and 53% fall between somewhat likely and very likely to continue doing so. Personalization emerged as the most valued feature among AI-driven capabilities. Twenty-seven percent of consumers said personalized results based on their inputs were the most important feature of AI-powered search. Other useful features included enhanced shopping experiences and real-time suggestions based on user intent. The survey also found that AI is already becoming a digital personal shopper for many consumers. Forty-seven percent of respondents reported using AI tools during their online shopping journey, with a quarter of those using them frequently. These results mirror findings from other industry reports, such as one from Adobe, which observed a 1,200% increase in generative AI traffic to retail websites between July 2024 and February 2025. Despite the growth, adMarketplace notes that generative AI still trails behind channels like paid search in overall traffic. A key insight from the survey shows the gap in AI tool usage, with 47% reporting usage and 40% saying they have not used these tools in their shopping journey. Demographic data reveals that younger consumers—specifically Millennials and Gen Z—are more open to using AI-powered search compared to Gen X and Baby Boomers. Men, in particular, show greater interest than women across several metrics: 30% of men interact with AI-generated results versus 20% of women 30% of men value ease of use versus 21% of women 20% of men rely more on AI-powered search compared to 14% of women Still, skepticism remains. About 1 in 5 Americans surveyed expressed no interest in using AI for search or shopping, indicating a level of mistrust or lack of perceived value in the technology. This segment may require more targeted communication to demonstrate the benefits of AI-powered solutions. As AI continues to evolve, the survey suggests a growing, though uneven, acceptance of AI in search behavior. adMarketplace concludes that advertisers and publishers have an opportunity to harness this shift by embedding AI into their native search experiences and clearly demonstrating how it enhances relevance, engagement, and personalized results. Image: Envato This article, "New Survey Highlights How Americans Are Embracing AI-Powered Search" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Artificial intelligence is increasingly influencing how U.S. consumers search and shop online, according to a new survey released by adMarketplace. The company surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults using a census-balanced sample by age and gender to gauge perceptions and adoption of AI-driven search experiences. The results highlight significant trends for advertisers and publishers as AI becomes more integrated into native search environments. The findings show that 45% of Americans have used AI-powered search tools, including chat-based engines and AI-driven results. That figure nearly doubles the 27% who report not having tried these tools. Meanwhile, 17% of respondents said they rely more on AI search than traditional methods. According to adMarketplace, the growth in adoption is fueled primarily by the relevancy and convenience AI delivers. A quarter of respondents cited accurate, relevant results and ease of use as the most compelling reasons to adopt AI-powered search while shopping online. AI’s integration into native search environments—within apps, websites, and platforms—was emphasized as a key factor in providing a more seamless and personalized shopping journey. The survey indicates that 69% of Americans have interacted with AI-generated prompts and search results, and 53% fall between somewhat likely and very likely to continue doing so. Personalization emerged as the most valued feature among AI-driven capabilities. Twenty-seven percent of consumers said personalized results based on their inputs were the most important feature of AI-powered search. Other useful features included enhanced shopping experiences and real-time suggestions based on user intent. The survey also found that AI is already becoming a digital personal shopper for many consumers. Forty-seven percent of respondents reported using AI tools during their online shopping journey, with a quarter of those using them frequently. These results mirror findings from other industry reports, such as one from Adobe, which observed a 1,200% increase in generative AI traffic to retail websites between July 2024 and February 2025. Despite the growth, adMarketplace notes that generative AI still trails behind channels like paid search in overall traffic. A key insight from the survey shows the gap in AI tool usage, with 47% reporting usage and 40% saying they have not used these tools in their shopping journey. Demographic data reveals that younger consumers—specifically Millennials and Gen Z—are more open to using AI-powered search compared to Gen X and Baby Boomers. Men, in particular, show greater interest than women across several metrics: 30% of men interact with AI-generated results versus 20% of women 30% of men value ease of use versus 21% of women 20% of men rely more on AI-powered search compared to 14% of women Still, skepticism remains. About 1 in 5 Americans surveyed expressed no interest in using AI for search or shopping, indicating a level of mistrust or lack of perceived value in the technology. This segment may require more targeted communication to demonstrate the benefits of AI-powered solutions. As AI continues to evolve, the survey suggests a growing, though uneven, acceptance of AI in search behavior. adMarketplace concludes that advertisers and publishers have an opportunity to harness this shift by embedding AI into their native search experiences and clearly demonstrating how it enhances relevance, engagement, and personalized results. Image: Envato This article, "New Survey Highlights How Americans Are Embracing AI-Powered Search" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. The famous computer scientist Bill Joy once said, “No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else.” If you want to build something on the bleeding edge, you must have an open ecosystem that can pull in as many ideas as possible, skills and talents that exist beyond the four walls of your office building. This is the ethos of open source, the idea that the world is open for collaboration and that diverse people working together can create something beyond themselves. Sadly, we’ve lost much of this ethos over the past 30 to 40 years. Even though the digital world is built upon open source, almost none of it is open for collaboration today. Recently, open-source providers have come under fire for charging for certain open-source features. Accusations have ranged from spoiling the spirit of open source to offering loss leaders (free solutions that lock customers into APIs or networking effects that are essentially “bait” for higher-cost features). To explain why this is false, I must explain how we’ve strayed from the original open-source ethos and why charging large enterprises for certain features is imperative to creating a sustainable path forward. How we lost the open-source ethos Before open source, the term “free software” was used. It had a sort of anti-capitalist, anti-economic bent. In the 90s, a contingent of people came in and rebranded that as open source, forming an institute called the Open Source Initiative, opening the doors to the masses. When the internet began connecting people of all stripes and backgrounds, the open-source movement exploded. The fundamentals were simple: Anyone, anywhere could take source code, tweak it, and contribute back to the community. Today, the notion that the computational infrastructure for the world should be open for collaborative remixing and the idea that people, whether they’re startup founders or garage coders looking to tinker and customize, can work together has been largely lost. To prove it, simply try customizing your email or web browser. Even though these solutions are largely built using open-source code and operating systems, the second you make any change, all the DRM encryption protocols break down, rendering you unable to listen to music on Spotify or watch videos on YouTube. The spirit of collaboration is gone How did we lose this spirit of collaboration? Part of this shift is simply the evolving nature of software. It used to be you either uploaded or downloaded a program to your computer, and you could inspect the source code. Now, software is hosted and rendered via web browsers and user interfaces, meaning major cloud service providers can use all kinds of open-source code, but they never have to reveal it or share it with the community if they don’t want to. This isn’t to finger wag. Many cloud providers contribute amazing things to the open-source community. Indeed, their solutions are open in the sense that they’re free to the public. They’re not open in that they don’t accept community contributions, and they certainly wouldn’t tolerate someone taking their source code and remixing it, aka forking. Finally, there’s an existential clash between enterprises and maintainers, the volunteers responsible for overseeing open-source projects. When enterprise IT departments need something fixed, they call their vendor and work through the kinks. You can’t do that with an open-source community. Demanding work from volunteers doesn’t go over well. And besides, community maintainers don’t understand enterprise needs—not in the intimate way businesses need. That’s because the open-source community wasn’t born in a corporate office. It was a grassroots movement of coders wanting to create powerful, novel things. Maintaining the open-source movement requires understanding the needs of this community and the enterprises that now rely on these solutions. The solution providers that can understand both sides and thread the needle between their different needs and motivations will be the foundations of a sustainable path forward. Protect the “innovation commons” The term “commons” originates from economics—a kind of open resource that’s shared and managed by the community. You can think of it as an Alpine pasture or a vibrant lake sustaining a village. It’s precious but vulnerable. The “innovation commons” is the open-source community. If someone overfishes, overgrazes, or pollutes the commons, it harms everyone else. So, it’s in everyone’s interest to protect the commons. Open source has become increasingly expensive to sustain. For any provider, the path of least resistance is to close down the commons and sell anything valuable as a proprietary artifact. But it’s much more abundant to keep the commons open to as many people as possible, allowing them to benefit and contribute. As stewards of the innovation commons, rather than trying to sell every single tree, it’s much better if we pick some fruit and bring it to a storefront—a stand at the side of the community garden. If enterprises roll up with two-ton trucks and want to take their fill of fruit and vegetables, we can absolutely give it to them and charge money to invest back into the commons to nurse a sick tree or restore fallow ground. From the outside, charging enterprises for certain open-source features may look like the same thing as selling loss leaders. However, there are a million unsexy but fundamental things required to maintain an open-source ecosystem. Bridging the gap between what the volunteer community can provide and what enterprises desperately need fuels these essential components of future innovations. Asking enterprises to pay for much-needed benefits like security, optimization, and real-time notifications is not equivalent to selling them open-source solutions with bells and whistles. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that grows the innovation commons while providing targeted solutions to companies’ core needs. For example, many enterprises work with older versions of Python. Tech enablers can use our expertise to apply bug fixes and security patches to these older versions, capabilities that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. In turn, using those enterprise resources, we can continue shipping thousands of pieces of open source to people for free, maintaining the original spirit of open source and protecting the innovation commons. Today, less than 1% of the world’s population can write any kind of code, but AI will bring the rest of the world along. Can you imagine the potential when the other 99% can collaborate in an open environment by simply using natural language or modular tools? I can. And, I’m infinitely excited for what the future holds. Peter Wang is the chief AI and innovation officer and cofounder of Anaconda. View the full article

The brief supporting Perkins Coie includes more than 500 groups but nearly all are small and medium-sized View the full article

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. The way we produce and consume food is changing. Not only is the current food system a threat to our health, it’s also a threat to our planet. As a food producer, the challenge is clear: How do we transition toward more nutrient-dense, environmentally responsible food choices without compromising taste or accessibility? Modern food production has often emphasized convenience, leading to highly processed products that lack substance and sustenance. However, traditional diets, such as the Mediterranean diet, offer a time-tested solution. Rooted in whole, plant-based ingredients, these diets highlight a variety of grains, legumes, and plant-based proteins that provide essential nutrients while reducing the environmental footprint of food production. By returning to these principles, we can create a more sustainable and nutritious future. Learn from traditional diets For centuries, Mediterranean communities have thrived on ingredients that not only support long-term health but also align with sustainable farming practices. Unlike modern industrial agriculture, which prioritizes monoculture crops and mass production, traditional food systems accentuate biodiversity and soil regeneration. Ancient grains like buckwheat are regaining popularity for their rich nutrient profiles and minimal environmental impact. Legumes, such as chickpeas and lentils, are packed with plant-based protein, fiber, and essential minerals while also playing a crucial role in the rise of sustainable practices in modern agriculture. We need to take inspiration from these traditional approaches and champion minimally processed ingredients for the sake of human health and ecological stability. Interestingly, many Americans report that while traveling in Italy, they experience fewer food intolerances and improved digestion—despite indulging more during their vacations. This may be attributed to Italian cuisine’s deep-rooted tradition and propensity toward whole, minimally processed foods and traditional dishes made with simple, high-quality ingredients. Innovation to address modern challenges Traditional food systems are not the sole answer to today’s complex issues of food security, climate change, and health. We must also leverage technology, research, innovation, and a little bit of creativity. The use of spirulina is the perfect example of how innovation can build on traditional principles to create more sustainable and nutrient-dense food options. Called “the food of the future” by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, spirulina is a blue-green algae with superfood benefits which has been consumed for centuries, providing a rich source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. What makes it especially promising for the future of food is its minimal environmental footprint—it requires very little water, land, and energy to produce. It also contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases—production can be carbon neutral or even carbon negative, as the growing cells sequester CO2. Many brands are now incorporating ingredients like spirulina into their product offerings, from snacks to beverages and even in more unexpected areas like pasta. For example, at Felicia we source Italian Apulia Kundi spirulina directly from our “spirulina park” at the Italian headquarters, a facility dedicated to growing these precious microalgae by using the water resulting from the pasta-making process. The water is purified and reused to make the pasta, fostering a virtuous circular economy. This type of sustainable production is a crucial step in our shared journey toward a healthier planet and population. But for innovation like this to really make an impact, it needs to happen at every stage, from food production to product design and consumer education. Creating variety in one’s diet doesn’t have to be complicated—it can be as simple as incorporating diverse grains, legumes, and vegetables into daily meals and building a colorful plate to delight the senses, without compromising on taste. As brands, we hold a responsibility to our consumers to create the products that make this possible. By embracing both traditional wisdom and modern innovation, with renewed passion, creativity and care, we can reach a thriving future. Carlo Stocco is managing director, North America at Felicia and Andriani. View the full article

Warning from Texas senator comes as president’s trade war sends US markets into tailspin View the full article

There’s the egg price problem for sure, but whether you’re trying to save grocery money or you have an aversion to eggs for dietary or health restrictions—you too deserve cake. Cake for a birthday or cake on a whim, there should be nothing holding you back from achieving your sugary dreams of the moment, least of all a lack of eggless cake recipes. I tested out five common and accessible egg replacement options to see which one produced the best eggless cake. The batterI decided to test a basic yellow cake recipe I’ve used before. It uses a combination of butter and oil, sugar, milk, flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, and usually eggs. It’s a good layering cake since when it’s prepared as-written (with eggs), it produces a sturdy, level (not domed), vanilla scented cake. In the interest of time, making multiple batches, and reducing mess, I spooned the batter out into cupcake papers rather than into larger cake pans. The first round of cake was prepared with egg as a control. The replacements Cupcakes from left to right: egg (control), banana, applesauce, yogurt. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann There are almost too many options for substituting eggs in cake batter, so I focused on the ones I’ve heard about the most often: mashed banana, Greek yogurt, applesauce, aquafaba, and a tapioca flour and baking powder mixture. Eggs are essential to cake batter and other baked goods, because they’re a binder, can be a leavener, and they’re an emulsifier (they can help keep fats and liquids stable and homogenized). They also add structure and moisture to the finished product. Truly, they’re incredible. We’re looking for a single ingredient to do as much of that as possible, but it’s important to keep our expectations realistic—few other ingredients can accomplish all of that without sacrificing something. The resultsLet’s get to the good stuff—the results. Here are the best egg replacements for cake, and the worst performers. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann 1. Aquafaba. It’s easy to dismiss aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas or other beans) until you actually use it. This cake was perfectly delicious, spongy, moist, and with no off-flavors. It was the most similar in structure and flavor to a cake prepared with whole eggs. It’s also the easiest substitution. As long as you saved some aquafaba from last night’s dinner (or do what I do and keep it handy in your freezer), you simply add three tablespoons of the bean liquid per single whole egg the recipe calls for. I mixed it in during the same stage I would have for the egg, right after the butter and sugar got mixed together. Note that if your beans weren’t low-sodium then you may want to reduce the salt in the recipe by a quarter teaspoon. Left: Aquafaba cupcake. Right: Tapioca and baking powder cupcake. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann 2. Tapioca flour and baking powder. This easy to make mixture produced a good quality final product as well. Points were taken off for the mixture being an extra step, and for tapioca flour being possibly harder to source depending on where you live. The cake had more loft and was more tender than the aquafaba replacement, making it more delicate to handle if you’re stacking layers for a big cake. Mix one tablespoon of tapioca flour with one tablespoon of cold water. Stir in a quarter-teaspoon of baking powder, and this replaces one whole egg in your cake recipe. The mixture will be very liquidy. The tapioca flour, baking powder, and water mixture. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann Alternatively, you can simply add the extra baking powder measurement to the dry ingredients. Add the tapioca and water mixture to the bowl after creaming the butter and sugar, and proceed with the recipe. You can usually find tapioca flour in the baking aisle of large supermarkets. 3. Banana. Bananas are a great helper in batters because they actually can mimic some of what eggs do: they can bind, add moisture, and their fibers provide structure and can help keep fats and liquids suspended like eggs. Plus, they’re pretty easy to access in every region and in most grocery stores. The finished product is sturdy and moist, making it a good cake for handling and decorating. That said, bananas make your cake taste like bananas. If you don’t like that, then this totally stinks. To use banana as an egg replacement, mash up enough banana to make a quarter-cup of banana glop per egg needed. 4. Greek yogurt. I love when yogurt or sour cream is added to cake batters because the cake is always moist, flavorful, and tender. However, it’s not a very good egg replacement. While the flavor of the cake was delicious, the yogurt added no structure and completely caved in while cooling. For context, I used a quarter-cup of Greek yogurt to replace one whole egg. The only reason I ranked it above applesauce is because the flavor was delicious—but this would never work for a cake that I'd serve in public. Imagine if I had used an eight or nine-inch cake pan. The cake would look like a bowl. The applesauce and yogurt cupcakes (two on the right side) both fell after cooling. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann 5. Applesauce. Applesauce produced similar emulsifying results to bananas but without the benefit of firm structure. You can see in the picture above that after the cake cooled, it dipped in the center. Not as dramatically as the yogurt one, but still, not great. Applesauce adds moisture but since it has less structure, the batter falls while cooling and then you end up with a stodgy center. Furthermore, I found applesauce cake to be slightly nauseating in flavor, and it overly sweetened my cake even though I used the natural kind with no added sugar. If you must use it, use a quarter-cup to replace one egg. If you’re looking to seamlessly make cakes and cupcakes without extra steps or special ingredients, use aquafaba for the best results. It’s vegan, has good structure and moisture, and doesn’t negatively alter the flavor of your cake. It doesn’t need to be whipped for recipes where the eggs aren’t whipped, but—as an added benefit—this is the only ingredient where you can whip it to replace whipped eggs in a recipe. Aquafaba is a versatile cooking helper to keep around, and it’s essentially free if you’ve been draining it from your beans all these years. View the full article

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 2,200 on Friday, the second day of a sell-off due to tariffs, but that could be good for mortgage rates. View the full article

If I told you that your TV watches everything you do in the name of data collection and advertising, it likely wouldn’t shock you. It’s 2025, after all; we're used to a general lack of privacy. Still, it’s not cool, and it turns out you can stop it (even if your TV manufacturer has opted you into it). So, how do you stop your smart TV from tracking what you watch, so you can go back to the days of watching Netflix or playing video games in peace? You need to turn off ACR. How does your TV track what you watch?Meet ACR: This technology, short for automatic content recognition, allows your smart TV to watch what you watch, identify what you watch, and use that information to both recommend new content and serve you more relevant ads. Your TV observes moments in a show or movie (sometimes including audio), and will send that information to a database to match it against a library of content. ACR does this by literally taking screenshots of what is happening on your screen, roughly two per second. That enables tracking on everything, whether you use your smart TV apps, a Blu-ray player, a device like an Apple TV, or a PlayStation—whatever you display on your TV, ACR can watch and report. Most major TV manufacturers put ACR tracking in their devices. After Vizio got into hot water for not properly disclosing how much data they were stealing from customers, TV manufacturers started baking these settings into initial setup agreements. If you’re like me, you accidentally agreed to this tracking without realizing it, because you were too focused on getting your TV set up to care about, you know, reading a legal document. If you have a smart TV, it likely has ACR tracking you can disable. However, all TV manufacturers call this option something different. I'll run through some of the top brands, what they each call their ACR settings, and where to find them. Even still, these brands change their settings menus and settings names all the time, so even if you have a TV from a company listed here, you might not find my instructions relevant. Your best bet, if these instructions don't help, is to Google your specific TV model and where to find its ACR settings. You should be able to find a guide from the manufacturer, or a walkthrough from someone with access to your TV who knows where to find the setting. But if you have an LG, Samsung, Sony, Hisense, or TCL, follow along below, with a hat tip to our sister-site ZDNet: How to disable ACR on your smart TVLG TVsIf you have an LG smart TV (like me), then your ACR settings are going to be under Live Plus. The setting sounds innocent enough, but it’s likely meant to so that you keep it enabled. You’ll find this option in Settings > General > System > Additional Settings > Live Plus. While you’re here, you might as well enable “Limit Ad Tracking” under Advertisement. Samsung TVsLet’s take a look at another popular TV brand, Samsung. You’ll find your ACR options in the sidebar menu under Privacy Choices > Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy. Just make sure to disable “Viewing Information Services." Sony TVsSony keeps their ACR options under Settings > Initial Setup > Samba Interactive TV. From here, disable Samba Interactive TV. In addition, you might find ad tracking features under About > Ads > Ads Personalization. Hisense TVsHisense keeps its ACR under Settings > System > Privacy. Its name will depend on your particular model, but it might be called "Smart TV Experience" or "Viewing Information Services." TCL keeps its settings under Settings > Privacy > Smart TV Experience. Here, disable "Use Info from TV Inputs." View the full article

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. When my cheap Amazon spin bike broke, I wanted to upgrade to something better. But even though I was already following along with Peloton videos on the company's app, I thought getting an actual Peloton was out of reach. Yet as I shopped, I began to change my mind: Even a good off-brand spin bike will start in the high triple digits, and it turns out Pelotons can be rented, or even purchased used. Thus began my quest for a cheaper Peloton, and in the end, I bought a used model I’m very happy with. Mine cost $950 through a Facebook Marketplace sale in 2022. If I had taken the time to shop around and negotiate more, I likely could have found one for less. (Used Pelotons are also a lot cheaper now than they were then.) But before I could find a bike to buy, there were a lot of questions that needed answering. Let me take you on a tour through my shopping process. Peloton Indoor Exercise Bike $1,195.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,445.00 Save $250.00 Shop Now Shop Now $1,195.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,445.00 Save $250.00 The difference between the Peloton Bike and the Bike+Before you start shopping, you’ll need to know if you want a Peloton Bike, or a Peloton Bike+. The Bike is what you probably think of as a normal Peloton; the Bike+ has some additional features and costs about $1,000 more (new). I knew at the start that I wanted a regular Bike, so that narrowed down my shopping. I put together a full guide to the differences between the Peloton Bike and the Bike+, but the biggest differences between the two models are: The Bike+ has its touchscreen on a swivel, so you can do strength or yoga classes next to the bike, instead of having to stand behind it and crane your neck to see over the seat. That said, an All-Access Peloton membership also allows you to watch strength and yoga classes from your phone or another device, so this is a nice-to-have, but not a necessity. The Bike+ can automatically adjust the resistance as you follow along with a class. With a regular Bike, you have to listen to the instructor tell you what resistance to use, and turn the knob yourself. The Bike+ has a slightly larger touchscreen (24 inches versus 22 inches) and a nicer sound system. It also has nicer components throughout, including a faster processor and more RAM. Peloton Bike+ $2,145.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $2,495.00 Save $350.00 Shop Now Shop Now $2,145.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $2,495.00 Save $350.00 Do you have to pay a subscription fee to use a Peloton?Peloton’s Bikes are intended to be used with an All-Access subscription. It costs $44 per month and gives you access to spin classes of all types, scenic rides, and Lanebreak rides (Lanebreak is essentially a video game you play by riding the bike). As noted, the All-Access subscription also comes with the ability to take classes from the Peloton app using your phone or other devices. If you don’t have a subscription, you can still use the Bike in “Just Ride” mode, which shows you a plain black screen and some basic metrics: your cadence, resistance, output, and time. You can even use a device called the DFC to broadcast data to watches or third-party apps. So if you just want to get a workout in, but you don’t care about consuming Peloton-branded content, you can still do that without paying a monthly fee. (In that case, though, you'd probably be better off buying a non-Peloton spin bike.) How much you'll pay for a used, new, or refurbished Peloton, or just rentingAll of the prices I discuss in this section are current as of April 2025, and are subject to change. Used Peloton bikes vary wildly in price and quality. Some are gently used and come with accessories; others may be cheaper but have significant wear and tear. I’m currently seeing asking prices from $400 to $850 for the standard model Bike, and $900 to $1,200 for the Bike+ (subscription not included, of course). New Peloton bikes run $1,445 for just the Bike, or $1,650 for a “Starter” package that comes with shoes, hand weights, a water bottle, and a mat. (The Bike+ is $2,495, or $2,700 with the Starter package.) Both options include delivery and setup, and a 12-month warranty. They do not include the $44/month All-Access subscription that you’ll need to take the platform’s famous video classes. Peloton bikes have also been on steep discounts lately during major sales events, going as low as $1,095 last Black Friday. Peloton Bike rentals run $119/month for the Bike+ (original Bike rentals are not currently available), plus a one-time $150 delivery and setup fee. The rental includes a pair of cycling shoes and the subscription fee for video content. There is also a warranty for the life of the subscription period. Peloton certified refurbished bikes are currently going for $1,145 for the Bike, and $1,995 for the Bike+. Both are a significant savings compared to paying full price, but more than a used Bike. Otherwise, the terms are the same as new bikes: The warranty and delivery fee are included; your All-Access subscription is not. As you’d expect, used Bikes are cheaper than refurbished, and refurbished is cheaper than new. Where do rentals fall? We need to crunch some more numbers to see. Is renting Peloton a better deal than buying new or used?I considered a rental before I started shopping for used Bikes. If you don’t know whether you want a Peloton at all, or if you’re planning on a move soon, the rental might be worth it. Peloton will send someone to come pick up the Bike, for free, if you decide you don’t want it anymore. Rentals may be new or refurbished—Peloton sends you whatever it has, although it promises the machine will be in good condition, even if it has a few dings or scratches. There are options to rent both the Bike and Bike+. Below, I’ll discuss pricing for the regular Bike. What you need to know about renting a PelotonYou have the option to buy your rental at any time, and the price varies based on how long you’ve been renting. If you decide to buy the Bike+ the moment it arrives, it will cost you $2,345. At that point you’ll have already paid the $150 delivery fee and probably your first month’s $119 rental fee, meaning the Bike will effectively cost $2,614—a little more than the full price of a brand-new Bike. (Remember that your rental Bike might be a new Bike, but it might also be a refurbished model, which sells for less.) As time goes on, the deal stays about the same: After a year, the buyout price is just $1,995, but you’ll have already paid $1,578 in rental fees (including the delivery fee). That’s $3,573, but you’ve saved $44/month on the All-Access subscription all along. When you take that into account, you’ve paid the same amount, in total, as if the Bike had cost $3,045 in the first place. Not a good deal. That means buying a brand-new Bike+ at full price is a better deal than renting, no matter when or whether you decide to buy out your Bike+. When I'd done these calculations in previous years (when the Bike was offered in the rental program), the costs were much closer. Now, the rental program is clearly the worse deal. I wouldn't recommend renting now unless you know you won't be using the Bike+ long term. If you're planning to move soon, or simply expect to lose interest, the free pickup at the end of the rental term may be worth the extra cost. Are used Peloton Bikes a good deal?I ended up buying mine used, so I would say they definitely are. But it depends on a few factors. The first thing to consider is resale price. When I was shopping for mine, $950 was an excellent deal compared to the new, rental, and refurbished prices. Since then, prices have dropped on the used market and sales on new Bikes have been occurring more often. For the moment, at least, prices on used Pelotons are still high enough that you'll be able to get a significant amount of your money back if you were to decide to sell your Bike or Bike+. That was a big part of my calculus: A used Peloton doesn’t depreciate instantly like a new car. That said, prices have been slowly falling. If I wanted to sell my $950 Bike now, I'd likely get $600 back at best. Besides the price, though, you might want to consider two other factors that will affect how good a deal you’re getting if you buy used. Used Bikes require a $95 activation feeYep, Peloton now charges you to buy a used Bike (or Bike+) from someone else. Used Pelotons are still a better deal than buying new, but make sure you're budgeting for that activation fee. To soften the blow, Peloton will give you a $25 credit toward replacement parts, and a 50% off coupon for cycling shoes. (That said, Peloton brand cycling shoes aren't the greatest; you may want to buy your own elsewhere.) Used Bikes don’t come with a warrantyNew and refurbished Pelotons come with a 12-month warranty that covers the touchscreen, parts (including pedals), and the labor to replace them. If something breaks, you just contact customer support and they’ll send somebody out to fix your Bike. The warranty does not transfer to new owners. So even if the original owner has had the Bike for less than a year, you don’t get the benefits of the remaining time on the warranty. However, if the original owner purchased an extended protection plan—which can last up to four years in total—those are transferable. Only the original owner can buy this plan, and only within the first year they own the Bike; you can’t buy one yourself if you’re buying a used Bike. If you’re buying used and the owner is transferring a protection plan, make sure to get their order confirmation number, and don’t be surprised if the asking price is a bit higher than other used Bikes to account for the owner’s extra expense. Without a warranty or protection plan, you’re on the hook for any repair costs, including labor. I had to replace the bearings on my Bike shortly after I got it, and I believe I paid Peloton around $45 to send me the part I needed. Fortunately, it was easy to install. On the other extreme, if something went wrong with the touchscreen, it would cost $375 to replace, labor not included. Used Bikes may have wear and tearA bike is a collection of moving parts, and if you love your Peloton, you’ll put a lot of miles on it. That means a lot of wear. Peloton Bikes tend to be pretty sturdy, and indoor bikes don’t accumulate as much damage as something you’d ride outside. But it’s still worth considering when you might have to replace parts. If you’re buying a used bike, you’ll want to check these parts for wear: The pedals should be replaced every year, at least according to Peloton, though most Peloton owners don’t seem to bother. (They certainly seem to last a lot longer than that, but the company is probably keeping in mind its 2020 recall in response to pedals that broke, injuring some riders.) Speaking of recalls, the seat post on all Peloton bikes was recalled in 2023 because it could break. If you’re buying used, make sure the owner has installed the new post. The bearings in the center of the flywheel won’t last forever. You can expect them to endure roughly a year of regular use, although this will vary greatly. If a used Bike is a few years old and hasn’t had them replaced, that’s a repair that is probably due. When the bearings start to go, the Bike will still be functional, but it will make a rattling noise as you ride. Cosmetic damage may also be an issue. There could be dents or scratches on a used bike, worn areas on the handlebars, and so on. Refurbished Bikes may have minor cosmetic issues; all bets are off when it comes to a used Bike. When is a Peloton Bike too old to bother with?Peloton only has two models of bikes, which makes shopping easy. Both the original Bike and the Bike+ have a large touchscreen that plays videos of the workouts and shows you statistics about your ride. The models haven’t changed much over the years, with one exception. The Generation 1 Bikes are no longer supported; the software in their touchscreens will no longer be updated. These Bikes have an orange power button at the top of the touchscreen and were manufactured before September 2016. As long as the used Bike doesn’t have that older touchscreen, any model you buy used is going to be basically equivalent to what’s for sale now. Note that some of the Bikes in used listings may say "gen 1", but as long as their touchscreen has the gray button on the back instead of the orange button on top, they're fine. Where to find used Peloton BikesThere are plenty for sale on places like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, and there are also Peloton-related Facebook groups that allow members to post Bikes for sale. Check anywhere you would look for used items, like OfferUp and the local search options on Ebay. As with any sale on these platforms, watch out for scams. When I was browsing listings to update this post, I found plenty of Bikes listed with a price of $129 and a description that glowingly praised the site where the seller had originally bought it. Yeah, that was just an ad for that site—which turned out not to sell Pelotons at all, but haha! Made you look! In any case, make sure you're dealing with a real person, and don’t pay anything until you’ve seen the Bike in person and are sure you want to buy it. What to ask the seller of a used BikeWhen you’re looking at a specific used Bike, Peloton's history tool (still in beta) may be able to tell you about the history of a Bike or Bike+ if you know the serial number. You'll have to ask the seller for the number, and then cross your fingers and hope that it's one of the Bikes included in the beta program. Besides that, here are some things to ask to make sure you’re getting a good deal. Are you the original owner?There’s nothing wrong with buying a Bike that has been through multiple owners, except that it’s harder to document where it actually came from. Peloton offers a history summary tool where you can look up a specific Bike or Bike+, but it still doesn't support all serial numbers on it. (My own used Peloton keeps turning up a "not part of our beta program" message, nearly a year after it launched this feature.) Peloton recommends you ask the owner to show you proof of the original purchase. It warns that rental Bikes aren’t supposed to be sold, and if you buy one, you won’t be able to activate a subscription on it. Make sure that the Bike is not a rental; there have been scams where a seller shows a buyer a purchase receipt, and then swaps in a rental when it's time to pick your Bike up. Check that the serial numbers match. This question can also kick off a conversation about why they are selling the bike, and how well it has worked for them over the years. Which brings us to... How many rides has this Bike had?There’s going to be a difference in wear-and-tear between a Bike that was ridden a few times versus a Bike that gets hours of use every day. You don’t need to know the exact number, but it can be good to get a sense of how much use the bike has seen. The bike doesn’t come with an odometer, but you can ask when it was purchased and how many rides the owner has done on it. (Their Peloton profile will tell them how many rides they’ve done, but remember that they may also have family members who ride as well.) If the Bike you're looking at show up on Peloton's history tool, it should be able to give you this information as well. Have any recalled parts been replaced?Peloton Bikes’ seat posts (but not the Bike+) were recalled in 2023. Although the rollout was slow, everyone should have gotten their new ones by now. You can check whether the seat post is the newest type by looking at the bottom-most measuring line on the post. While you’re at it, check whether the pedals have an orange Peloton logo. If so, they were part of the 2020 pedal recall and should have been replaced. This is also a good time to ask about repairs, in general. Has anything broken, and if so, was it fixed and when? Does the Bike have any ongoing problems? Can I ride it?Hop on the bike (don’t worry about the shoes for now) and turn the pedals. Do they move smoothly, without clanking noises that might indicate bad bearings? Does the big red resistance knob turn smoothly from side to side? Does the screen have any chips or cracks? Peloton also recommends checking that the adjustment levers and screws move smoothly, and that there aren’t any signs of over-tightening, like cracks. Check that the power cable is in good shape, and that the bike is clean and appears well-cared for. How to move a PelotonIf you decide to take the Bike home with you, proceed carefully. These suckers are heavy, weighing about 140 pounds. Most of that weight is in the flywheel at the front, so be aware of that when carrying it with a partner. Peloton has a guide to moving Bikes here. Importantly, you’ll want to remove the touchscreen first. I wrapped mine in towels and put it in the front seat of my car; the rest of the Bike went in the back. Peloton also recommends taking off the water bottle holders and the cage on the back that holds the dumbbells. Lower the handlebars and seat to their lowest position, and tighten all the adjustment levers so nothing moves in transit. I didn’t remove the pedals, but Peloton says you should. How to transfer a Peloton to a new ownerPeloton recommends doing a factory reset on a Bike before it changes hands. Go to Settings > System > Factory Reset. When you set your Bike up at home, follow the prompts on the screen to register the Bike and set up your new subscription. If you already have a subscription to the Peloton app, make sure to cancel it; that doesn’t always happen automatically. What else you'll need to buy to enjoy your PelotonYou’ll want cycling shoes. They don’t have to be Peloton brand (the standard Peloton shoes kind of suck, if I'm being honest), but they do need Delta LOOK cleats to fit the pedals. That said, you can replace the pedals with another type if you prefer. If you plan to ride a lot, padded cycling shorts are also a good idea. Peloton’s cycling classes sometimes involve small handheld dumbbells; these should come with your bike. If you want to do the strength classes, though, you’ll want bigger dumbbells. Peloton makes its own branded dumbbells with square ends, but the workouts work just as well with any dumbbells you care to buy from the store. You may want a mat to put under your Bike to protect your floor from dripping sweat. You’ll likely also want a towel, a water bottle, and maybe a heart rate chest strap to sync with the Bike (even my cheapo strap syncs just fine). Spin instructor (and Lifehacker features editor, we're so lucky) Lindsey Ellefson has a more complete guide here to the things you may want to pick up to make the most of your new Peloton. Unisex Road Bike Cycling Shoes Compatible with Peloton Shimano SPD Bike Riding Shoes for Men Women, 3 Straps, Pre-Installed Delta Cleats for Indoor Outdoor Cycling Biking $79.94 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $79.94 at Amazon View the full article

March is kind of a wild month — it’s got a little bit of everything. At first glance, Women’s History Month and March Madness might feel like an odd pairing, but lately, they actually go hand in hand. Thanks to the Caitlin Clark effect (you know the one), women’s college basketball has been booming. In fact, in 2024, the women’s NCAA championship game drew more viewers than the men’s for the first time ever. Will that momentum keep going this year? We’re about to find out. The Final Four is here, and UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, and UConn are all ready to bring it. Here’s what you need to know — and how to catch every minute of the action. When and where is the Women’s Final Four? The action is taking place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Friday, April 4 is game day. First, the South Carolina Gamecocks and Texas Longhorns will battle it out at 7 p.m. ET. Then the UCLA Bruin will face the UConn Huskies for the remaining spot in the championship game at 9:30 p.m. ET. Players and coaches to watch As the defending champion, South Carolina, wants back-to-back titles. Head coach Dawn Staley’s roster is a mix of developmental talent and experienced players which may prove to be a deadly weapon. Joyce Edwards, Chloe Kitts and MiLaysia Fulwiley are eager to prove themselves on the national stage. Sometimes you don’t need a household-name superstar to win it all. Madison Booker and the Texas Longhorns want to stop this crew. The team hasn’t seen the Final Four since 2003. The organization only has a single championship under its belt. Lauren Betts started her college basketball career at Stanford but left to become a Bruin after freshman year. She’s an imposing figure to guard at six feet seven inches. Led by coach Cori Close, this is the first time UCLA has been in the Final Four since 1979 which was before the NCAA sponsored women’s basketball. The team is hopeful the party doesn’t stop here but not if Paige Bueckers has anything to say about it. One could argue Bueckers has filled the void left by Clark at the collegiate level. If she’s successful in the Final Four she will have the opportunity to surpass her predecessor by winning a national championship. This UConn Guard wants to help her team go all the way especially since the organization has not accomplished this feat since 2016. How to tune in Traditional cable subscribers can tune into ESPN to watch all the free throws and three-pointers. Those who cut the cord can turn to a live television streaming service that carries ESPN such as Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Fubo, YouTube TV, or DirecTV Stream. Both Final Four games are evenly matched with no clear front-runners so the competition is sure to be fierce. View the full article

Banks ask clients to stump up additional money as global market sell-off knocks value of holdingsView the full article

The Department of Justice said in a court filing Friday that a February stop-work order from acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Russell Vought did not entail stopping statutorily-mandated work by the bureau, defying earlier testimony. View the full article

For all of the risks and potential dangers associated with crypto, it is still becoming an increasingly mainstream asset. That’s according to the latest data from the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), a non-profit aimed at helping Americans better understand cryptocurrency and digital assets. One in five Americans currently owns cryptocurrency in some shape or form, according to the NCA’s 2025 State of Crypto Holders Report. The report, which was produced with The Harris Poll, also finds that nearly 40% use crypto to pay for goods or services, and that two-thirds say that crypto “has a positive impact on their lives.” The data was sourced from a Harris Poll survey conducted in January and February this year, from a pool of 54,000 respondents that was winnowed down to 10,000 crypto holders. It’s the largest survey conducted to date of crypto holders. A couple of other interesting findings include that nearly 40% of American crypto holders live in the South—more than double the amount that live in the Midwest (17%) or the Northeast (18%). Twenty-six percent live in the West. Also, while 14% of crypto holders work in the tech sector, 12% work in construction. And only 7%, a perhaps surprisingly low number, work in finance. The report also notes that crypto owners are a fairly diverse set, and that one reason is that “crypto has a surprisingly low bar for entry.” That is true—in many cases, all that’s needed to start purchasing crypto is a brokerage account and a few dollars, as many cryptocurrencies have low values. But that also makes it a fairly risky field. In 2023, for instance, the amount lost to crypto scams added up to more than $5.6 billion, according to FBI data. Early estimates seem to indicate that the total lost to crypto scams during 2024 will be at least double that amount. Either way, the report points to a rather obvious conclusion: Crypto seems to be growing, and even becoming more mainstream. Of course, that’s as the NCA is also pushing for more mainstream adoption of crypto itself. The organization launched just one month ago. View the full article