Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. One of the biggest considerations when shopping for a new place to live is whether to buy a new-build home or an older home. Surprisingly, only about 25% of home buyers are looking for new-build homes, and more than half of Generation Z-age homebuyers are more than willing to buy a fixer-upper home. The cost of buying a house has a lot to do with that, of course. And that means a lot of folks can’t afford to immediately renovate that fixer-upper to their liking and will have to wait until their bank account recovers from the home-buying process. But that doesn’t mean you have to live in a shabby house designed by strangers…

Peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo offer an easy way to send money to friends and family as well as businesses selling goods and services—but that ease makes them a target for scams involving theft and fraud. Here are the most common Venmo scams to watch for. The mistaken payment scamIf you receive money you weren't expecting from someone you don't know by "accident," it's not actually an accident. Scammers will Venmo you, claim it was a mistake, and ask for the money back as a new payment. This may seem harmless, but it typically involves scammers charging so-called mistaken payments to stolen credit cards then connecting their personal cards to receive payments in r…

If you’re sensing the world right now is becoming more and more unhinged, you’re not alone. Fortunately there’s a podcast poking holes in your subject of choice, whether that be diet culture, science journals, airport books, or Bill Maher specifically. With research and often a sense of humor, these shows break down some of the messages we are getting online, in the news, and across all sorts of media, explaining why you’re not crazy, it isn’t you, and why some of the systems we have right now (looking at you, capitalism) are broken. Normal Curves Cred…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you've ever tried to tackle a DIY project with just the hammer and screwdriver you bought at a convenience store, you’ve already learned the most important lesson: The right tools make all the difference. The difference in effort it takes to complete a job when you have exactly the tool you need for it is startling. There are plenty of fancy power tools that you probably didn't know about, but the humble hand tool can be transformative, too. If you’re planning some work around the homestead, consider picking up some of these simple but powerful specialty tools that will make your project easier. Cabinet jackI’m a solo …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. We lose time in small increments. Simple, everyday tasks and chores might only take a few minutes, but those minutes add up and can have a serious impact on your stress levels. But take heart: We’re living in the future, and you can easily automate a wide range of many everyday tasks, gaining back precious minutes and even hours. Automate grocery shopping If your grocery list is pretty stable—you buy the same things in the same quantities every time you stock the pantry—you can automate it to a large extent. Amazon Fresh allows you to set up repeat items that get added to your shopping cart and automatically delivered dur…

Roku was one of the original names in streaming, and even with so many options now available from Amazon, Apple, Google and others, it remains one of the most popular options thanks to its affordable boxes and streaming sticks and widespread availability as an integrated operating system on some TV sets. The platform is speedy, simple, and supports just about every streaming app out there. If you've got a Roku or two in your life, you may not be using it to its full potential. These tips, hacks, and hidden features should help you go beyond the basic business of launching your streaming apps and get more out of your hardware, whether you've just unboxed your first Roku de…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Your house is supposed to be your refuge from the weather, a place where you can feel comfortable no matter how frigid it gets outside. But with rising utility costs, keeping your house warm can be more of a challenge than it used to be—and even if you’re proactive about defending against the cold, your home can still take a wintry beating. Now’s the time to take action. Home maintenance products designed to defend your home against freezing temperatures, blowing snow, and freezing damage will not only make your home more comfortable, but also hardened against winter damage. The basicsThere are a few simple purchases you…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you own a home, it's never a bad time to be thinking about its curb appeal. That's a given when it's time to sell, but making a series of smaller upgrades over time will leave you with less to worry about once it comes time to list it, at which point you'll probably be more focused on interior renovations. Plus, that way you'll get to enjoy coming home to a prettier, well-kept exterior every single day until then. The math around the cost of improvements and their potential return on investment is always complex, but less so when the upgrades don't cost much to begin with. You can handle a lot of projects yourself in a…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Even though the residential burglary rate has been dropping steadily in recent years (down 26% between 2019 and 2023), many of us still worry about being robbed or experiencing a home invasion. Alarm systems and other high-tech security are really effective—a study once found that 83% of criminals check for an alarm before selecting a house to rob—but they don’t actually stop someone from breaking into your home. If you want to prevent a determined criminal from getting inside in the first place, you don’t need to spend a fortune turning your house into some sort of smart home fortress—there are plenty of cheap, low-tech s…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Whether it's the start of a new semester, midway through one you don't feel you're doing great in, finals season, or just an era of your life where you want to learn something new, studying is the only way to truly retain information. There are all kinds of ways to study, but cramming won't cut it if you're genuinely trying to add something to your long-term memory. Here are the best methods and techniques to help you learn. A heads up, though: Most of these work best when you're writing things down. Don't try to do these in your head or even digitally on your computer if you can help it; writing with a pen and paper give…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Movies can certainly have dialogue that sings, and some great movies don't lean on beautiful images, but for the most part, film is an inherently visual medium. Heck, before audiences heard Al Jolson's voice in 1927's The Jazz Singer, movies were largely silent entertainment. While silent movies are mostly a thing of the past, some filmmakers still recognize the power of spare use of dialogue. The animated film Flow, one of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Animated Picture, stars a cast of animals who are truly animal—they don't speak at all—and that's not the only recent example. Here are 12 modern movies with no (or …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. My Canadian in-laws include a famous (I'm told) ice hockey star, and yet I've still spent more time engaging with hockey via the HBO Max streaming sensation Heated Rivalry than from the stands of any actual court or rink or whatever it is you call the place where people pass around their pucks. Not that I know any more about the game after watching, because frankly, that's not why we're here, nor is that what the buzz is all about. Heated Rivalry is all about the very horny relationship between Japanese-Canadian team captain Shane (Hudson Williams) and Ilya (Connor Storrie), a headstrong Russian playing for a different te…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The first of a trio of Alice Feeney thrillers getting streaming series adaptations, His & Hers is a glossy, brisk and, perhaps most importantly, twisty Netflix mystery starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal. Thompson plays Annie Andrews, a has-been news reporter who decides to get back on the horse when she learns of a murder in her Georgia hometown. Bernthal is the local detective on the case and—surprise!—he's also her ex. His & Hers is a big hit for Netflix, and a particularly buzzy and bingable example of the form. If you're looking for more of the same after finishing the last episode, here are a dozen more…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Though the film series petered out after only a couple of movies, Rick Riordan's middle-grade Camp Half-Blood have been revived as a mega-popular Disney+ streaming series. The breathing room offered by a series format seems to have been the key to unlocking their potential as an adaptation, allowing for a more fully realized exploration of this atypical (at least on our side of Mount Olympus) coming-of-age story. In its first season, the show found a good balance between fantasy action and teen drama while also having a ton of fun poking at the conventions of ancient myth. Season two is just out, and more is on the way, b…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In Apple TV's Silo, Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette Nichols, an engineer who gets wrapped up in an investigation involving the local sheriff (David Oyelowo)—usual procedural stuff, except that the characters all inhabit a massive silo, 144-levels deep, protecting the remaining 10,000 humans from the allegedly poisoned world above. It's an addictive show in spite of its smart, dystopian vibe and, it's been renewed through a concluding fourth season, doing one better than the three-book Hugh Howey novel series on which it's based. Season three is expected sometime in 2026. In the meantime, you can catch these other shows…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Claire Danes is grieving mother and author Aggie Wiggs; struggling with her next book, she decides to focus it on her neighbor—which is obviously a good idea, even more so because he was accused of murdering his first wife. What could go wrong? Matthew Rhys plays Nile Jarvis, the maybe-murderer neighbor, who gets caught up in the mix when Abbie's story becomes about way more than just one death. You can stream The Beast in Me on Netflix, and then check out some of these other shows about deadly secrets, vicious lies, and phenomenally bad decisions. The Girlfriend (2025 – ) In a similar "am I just being paranoid?" …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you’ve finally purchased your first air fryer, let me start by saying how happy I am for you. I've been cooking and crisping with mine for a few years now, and during this time I've put a lot of things in that basket. Not everything has worked out (it's not an appliance for steaming, friends), but many of my experiments have been so delicious and reliably repeatable that they're now staples in my household. Below are 12 of my favorites things to cook in the air fryer that either save me time, money, or both. (If you're still on the fence about whether to get an air fryer and you're reading this as research, allow me to…

In a way, the Christmas season is more fun if you don’t celebrate it. There’s no pressure. You get to enjoy all the brightly colored lights your neighbors put up, but you don’t have to put up your own. You don’t have to do any duty-shopping. But Christmas Day itself leaves you in a mostly shuttered world that feels like there’s nothing to do. Fortunately, there are still quite a few options to make Dec. 25 a fun day off, regardless of your observances. Un-Christmas classics: Chinese restaurants and moviesYou can’t go wrong with some moo shu pork and a trip to the multiplex. Chinese restaurants and movie theaters traditionally stay open on Christmas day for those who don't…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Thanksgiving should be one of the least stressful holidays—the sole achievement you’re trying to unlock is to eat yourself into a coma, which many of us can do any time, with zero prep. But there are some sneaky sources of stress, from the expense of pulling it all together to the travel arrangements needed to make sure everyone arrives in time for appetizers—not to mention the stress of cooking Thanksgiving dinner. The unlucky host has the responsibility of not only feeding a large group of people, but making sure everything comes out more or less on time—and then cleaning up the spectacular mess afterward. Luckily, moder…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Body Horror is one of those sub-genres that can be a bit tricky to define, though one that sometimes gets conflated with anything gory. There has to be a human body (preferably several) facing any number of forms of grotesque alteration or violation but, for my money, true body horror needs an extra layer: it has to mean something. There's no greater fear, perhaps, than the terror of our bodies breaking down and betraying us—and we're easily repulsed by the simple functions that go on within and without our own forms. Even if we've been lucky enough to have bodies that are relatively healthy and able, it's only a matter o…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. It happens every year at my house: I wake up one morning, and as though a switch was flicked overnight, it’s suddenly cold and I have to hunt down my cozy slippers. And that’s usually when I realize I haven’t really taken any steps to winterize my house. If that also describes you, the good news is that winterizing your home isn’t a terribly complicated process. With a few affordable products and a little effort, you can button your home up and ensure that it’s going to be as comfortable as possible when those frigid winds start blowing. …

Leftovers can be challenging. Occasionally, you’ll have a meal so good that you actually look forward to scarfing it down cold the next day, but that's not always the case. I usually have bits and bobs of leftovers—things I didn't care for in the first place, or stray ingredients I can’t seem to get rid of. My curse however, is that I hate (hate!) tossing edible food. So over the years, I’ve gotten better at reworking leftovers, and you can too. Here are my favorite ways to repurpose leftovers into incredible new meals. Recipes for using leftoversI run into two types of leftovers: leftover meals and leftover single ingredients. Let’s start with leftover meals. This secti…

There are many alternatives to dining out on Valentine’s Day, but none as classic as simply cooking a cozy meal at home. While you and your partner might find ordering Taco Bell to be meaningful and romantic (I know a couple that celebrates with chicken nuggets and champagne), if you’re interested in cooking, I’ve got some simple and budget-focused meal suggestions that are still pretty darn romantic. Air fryer stuffed mushroomsThese savory mushroom bites are some of my favorite things on planet Earth. They make for a great appetizer or side dish, and using the air fryer means you can have them on the table in about 10 minutes. Sausage, cream cheese, and some minced arom…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Pennywise is back, baby, and pop culture's favorite freaky clown is going back in time to kill the kids of Derry, Maine, in 1962, with future seasons (should they materialize) visiting other time periods. If my hometown saw mass slaughterings of children every generation or so, I might be tempted to pick up stakes and head on out—but the Stephen King IP train must keep rolling, and so here we are. So far, the show isn't hitting the heights of previous It adaptations, but it's shown an admirable willingness to shock—the opening scene includes an impressively graphic and rather unconventional birthing sequence, and the show…