Tech life upgrade: Get your free credit report

December 30, 2024

📻 A face for radio: Catch my award-winning show this weekend. I’m on over 510 stations across the USA! Find your local station and tune in, or get my show’s podcast so you can listen anytime, anywhere.

If you haven’t yet this year: Get your free credit report before 2024 ends. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com or call 1-877-FACTACT (1-877-322-8228). New freebie coming soon: My complete guide to credit-reporting mistakes you should be watching for.

📺 Psst! Most newer TVs have a secret menu: Turn on your TV and press the menu button on your remote. Go to the settings or advanced settings menu. Press the following buttons on your remote in this order: Mute, 1, 8, 2, power. This should bring up the service menu. From here, you can more accurately adjust the white balance, do a factory reset, refine the color levels or calibrate the screen.

A note in my inbox this week: “Are password managers safe to use? What if someone gets in?” You’re smart to ask, and it’s the reason you need to be very picky about what you trust. My pick, NordPass,* has military-grade encryption so no one is getting in when they shouldn’t be.

🔦 Bright idea: Apple iOS 18 lets you customize your iPhone’s lock screen and choose different defaults than the camera and flashlight. Long press your screen > Customize > Lock Screen. Remove any button with the – (minus sign) and hit the + (plus icon) to replace it. Tap Done (upper-right corner) to finish making it more “you.”

Wait, what? You can reread that Android notification you didn’t fully look at the first time. Head to your Settings and tap Notifications > Notification History to view that push alert.

50% off: Using AI in your business is expensive. Take a free test drive of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure now at Oracle.com/kim* to see if they can cut your bill in half. Hurry, this offer ends on Dec. 31, 2024.

Tips to get you tech-ahead in 2025

Tech should make life easier, not harder. With the right tips and tools, it can do just that. These hacks are designed to make 2025 your most efficient and stress-free year yet. Ready to level up? Let’s dive in!

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Your PC’s monitor went blank: Before you hold down the power button, hit the Windows key + Ctrl + Shift + B. This tells your computer, “Hey, the display is messed up. Can you fix it?” Just like that, this key combo will refresh or reset your graphics driver.

Microsoft Quick Assist: I’ll bet you don’t know this tool’s built right into Windows 10 and 11. It makes it easy to share your screen with someone remotely, aka no installations needed (love that!). This is perfect in case you ever need to help someone — or get help from someone — on your PC. Steps here!

✂️ Photoshop is expensive: When you need to do a quick crop, edit or resize on a photo, try Pixlr. It works in your browser and runs on almost every operating system. Sweet!

I don’t want to see you anymore: On Facebook, go to your Memories page and select Hide People under Settings. Next, click the box for “Start typing a name …” and enter the name of the person you want to forget. Click Save.

It’s hard to remember to take your meds: If you or someone in your life is struggling, having an iPhone can help. Open the Health app > Browse > Medications > Add a Medication. From here, you can set reminders that pop up as phone notifications. You can also get this top-reviewed monthly pill organizer with talking alarms.

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Your very own free assistant: Say you have messy notes from a meeting. By hand, you’d spend 15 minutes turning those into an email fit for your boss or team. Instead, open a chatbot (I use ChatGPT) and say, “Turn these notes into a professional, friendly email to my team. Point out any missing info I need to fill in.” Paste your notes at the end and voila.

Your 2025 self will thank you: Ditch the subscriptions you don’t use. I did, and I used the app that makes it easy: Rocket Money. They find everything and cancel whatever you no longer want.

🐶 Update your Apple TV: Snoopy screensavers dropped in tvOS 18.2, and they’re so much cuter than the standard option. To change yours, on Apple TV, go to Settings > Screen Saver > Snoopy. This works with second- and third-gen Apple TV 4K models. (Psst, to update to 18.2, head to Settings > System > Software Updates > Update Software.)

50% off: Using AI in your business is expensive. Take a free test drive of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure now at Oracle.com/kim to see if they can cut your bill in half. Hurry, this offer ends on Dec. 31, 2024.