Tips

That ‘AI’ robot butler? Sometimes it’s a guy in a VR headset watching your kitchen. Here’s what the contracts really say.

The Wall Street Journal caught the $20,000 NEO being driven by a remote human operator. The $8,000 Isaac 1 is “autonomous” until it gets stuck and a person takes over. And the $30-an-hour robot maid in San Francisco is watched by an operator on every visit, under a contract that hands the company your home footage forever. Four house rules before you let one in the door.

Six trade secrets from the pros: The seat map that lies, the $15 fee you can kill and the $12 part that “fixes” a dead dryer.

Round 2 of our most-loved format. The airline seat map is a sales floor, not an inventory list. The hotel’s 800 number can’t help you, but the front desk can. Plus, the $15 modem rental fix, the $12 dryer trick, the help desk’s sacred order and the photographer’s one-second habit.

A data center three states away just raised your electric bill. Here’s how the trick works and 4 ways to fight back.

You buy electricity from a regional market, and data centers are hitting every one. A power plant auction in the East hit a record $16.4 billion, and families in seven states paid $4.3 billion to connect data centers to the grid. Bills jumped 7.1% last year, double inflation. Four fixes inside.

How to find the $200 to $600 a year leaking out of your bank app

Your bank app is no help when it files wine, dog food and a rotisserie chicken under groceries. Paste last month’s transactions into any chatbot and get your five biggest money leaks ranked by annual cost. Two prompts inside: one to find the leaks, one to cut them.

⚙️ Stop retyping the same ChatGPT prompt: 3 settings that make it work your way

Custom Instructions, Memory and Temporary Chat are already in your ChatGPT app. Here’s the 60-second setup for each, the instructions to paste and the privacy catch on incognito chats.

The tool-belt generation is getting rich, and AI can’t lay a glove on them

Trades are booming while AI panic spreads. A SpaceX welder’s $28/hr job turned into $880K stock. Electricians building data centers earn up to $260K debt-free. The FAA hired 2,000+ gamers as $144K controllers. No degree needed, just paid apprenticeships.

Two AI prompts that explain a stock before you buy it

The ugly stock numbers are technically disclosed and practically invisible. Here are the exact prompts I paste before buying a single share, including the one that makes AI argue against the investment. Plus the five terms to search in the 10-K yourself.

Recruit AI to help you haggle down your internet bill

Loyal customers pay the most. Here’s the AI script trick that turns a 10-minute call into hundreds a year, free.

Consumer Cellular runs on the same towers as the big guys. Here’s what’s different and what it means for your bill.

Ralph is saving $875 a year. Marta, $675. Jon, $1,095. Same towers, same 5G signal, way smaller bill. Here’s how Consumer Cellular pulls it off and the two catches to watch for.

One list of family inside jokes, three free games: the crossword, Jeopardy! board and bingo card that beat every phone

Twenty family facts, like nicknames, old addresses and that one boat story nobody lets go of, are all AI needs to write the clues. Free sites turn them into printable games in about 15 minutes flat, no cost, no login.

Don’t lose interest

Your savings account might be earning $1 a year on $10,000 while an FDIC-insured online bank pays $400 on the same money, with the same government insurance. A fintech collapse once froze $112 million in customer deposits, so here’s how to verify a bank is real before you move a dime.

How to turn one weirdly specific skill into a $200-a-week side hustle

Turn your skill list into gig titles people actually search for, plus a pricing prompt that demands comparable listings with working links.

🏠 How to search rentals and book apartment tours with AI

Zillow is a connected app on both Gemini and ChatGPT, so you can find listings and schedule tours just by asking. Here’s the 60-second setup, the prompt to try first and the privacy catch.

Your phone is a free appraiser. Point it at the attic before you donate a fortune.

A vintage Pyrex dish, the kind sitting in a million cabinets, sold for nearly $6,000. Before you donate that box, photograph the item, let AI identify and price it, then confirm on eBay’s sold listings. Free appraiser, already in your pocket.

Music reaches people with dementia when almost nothing else can. Here’s how to build the playlist.

A reader named Julie asked how to reach her mom with music. The science is real: The brain’s music regions are among the last dementia touches. One playlist, built from the songs of her mom’s youth, can open a door for a few minutes at a time. Here’s exactly how to make one.

5 things tech pros do in their own homes that they rarely tell customers

Techs know the “dead” TV usually isn’t dead, the phone that won’t charge just needs a toothpick and the check engine light can be decoded before you ever call a mechanic. Five trade secrets pros use at home but rarely mention at the counter.

TSA warns you about fake airport Wi-Fi

One scammer got a 7-year prison sentence for tricking airline passengers. The weapon hackers use is legal and costs $100. And in a recent twist, criminals are compromising legitimate Wi-Fi networks at hotels.

🌐 Use AI to dig up sneaky fees in your 401(k)

📝 This copy-and-paste prompt helps you review expense ratios, admin fees, overlapping funds, and cheaper plan options before your next meeting.

This free tool turns your kid’s pencil drawing into a 10-page storybook that reads itself aloud

Google’s free Storybook tool takes one photo of your kid’s pencil drawing and turns it into a 10-page illustrated book, drawn in their own style, that reads itself aloud. Two minutes, no design skills, print it as a PDF keepsake.

Those ordinary-looking glasses at the next table? They might be recording you.

AI smart glasses are the fastest-growing gadget in America, and almost nobody can spot a pair. Learn how to tell when the camera is rolling, what your state allows and three things you can do about it.