It’s Monday, so here’s a little motivation to kick off the week. Sean Riley pitched his idea for Dude Wipes (toilet wipes for men) on Shark Tank in 2015, landed a deal with Mark Cuban, and hit his first million on Amazon. When sales skyrocketed to $40 million during the pandemic, critics called it a fad. Now, it’s a $200 million-a-year brand. Success is like toilet paper. It’s only important when you don’t have it.

🎉  I’m giving away an iPhone 16 Pro (a $999 value). Be a pal and share this link with your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors or the PTA. There’s no purchase necessary; all they have to do is try The Current. Wahoo! Let’s get down to business.  — Kim

It’s Money Monday. Let’s talk about the sneaky strategy called, “price obfuscation.” Companies pile on fees, hoping you won’t notice.

🏨  Wi-Fi: Some hotels limit free Wi-Fi to one or two devices and charge for a faster connection. Cruises get premium internet rates and also charge per device.

Fix it: Check for free Wi-Fi perks through your hotel or credit card loyalty programs. On cruises, buy an internet package before you board. It’s usually cheaper than purchasing it mid-trip. Cheapo pros like me use a travel router to share the room’s one connection with multiple devices.

🛒  Online shopping: Free shipping? Not always. Plus, many retailers increase item prices for shoppers who live in expensive areas.

Fix it: Use a browser extension like PayPal Honey or Capital One Shopping to compare prices and snag coupons. If the store has a physical location near you, in-store pickup is free. Use a VPN to change your location if you live in a ritzy ZIP code.

📺  Streaming: Want ad-free viewing, multiple screens, or 4K? That’s extra. Some platforms rotate content between tiers, nudging you to upgrade.

Fix it: Check your cell phone plan because Netflix, Apple TV+ or Max might be included. Rotate services instead of paying for all at once, and look for bundled discounts like Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+. Audit your subscriptions and cancel what you don’t use.

☁️  Cloud storage: Free cloud storage sounds great until you hit the limit and get nudged into a paid plan. Even worse, some services compress your files unless you upgrade. 

Fix it: Back up important files to an external SSD (29% off) or if you’re a techno geek, configure a NAS (15% off) device to avoid cloud fees. You could also use multiple free cloud accounts (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox) and spread files across them. 

📱 In-app purchases and renewals: Many apps require subscriptions for basic features or auto-renew without warning. Free trials require a credit card and charge you the moment the trial ends.

Fix it: Set calendar reminders to cancel before renewal. Use virtual credit cards to prevent unwanted charges.

🖥️  For my SMBs, seat-based pricing: Microsoft 365, QuickBooks and Adobe Creative Cloud per user costs stack up fast. Worse, companies often auto-renew at full price, meaning that discount you signed up with? Gone.

Fix it: Microsoft and Adobe sometimes offer custom deals for businesses that ask. Consider open-source alternatives like LibreOffice, GIMP and Wave Accounting to ditch recurring fees. 

Phew, that was a lot to digest. This is definitely something to pass along to your circle of friends and family. Use the share icons below to do that now. 🤣 You know what’s interesting? I’ve heard U2 has never paid any legal fees. Their lawyers all work pro Bono. (I cracked myself up with that one!)

📱 Is your phone naked? Search for your phone’s model on the pages below to find the right fit.

• Otterbox has slim cases that won’t feel like a brick in your pocket.
• Want military-grade protection? Rokform cases are super rugged.
• Privacy, please! An Ailun privacy screen protector keeps prying eyes away and your screen safe.

Extra credit:

• Slap a PopSockets wallet (28% off) on your case to keep a few credit cards handy.
• If your phone is always dying, this portable charger (17% off) has four built-in cables for Apple and Android. 

🔎 Looking for more? As America’s Digital Goddess, I’d never leave you hangin’. More tech picks you’ll love here. 

💰  Biggest crypto hack ever: Hackers made off with a whopping $1.5 billion in Ethereum from Bybit, a crypto exchange with HQs in Dubai. They managed to get into Bybit’s cold wallet (an offline storage system) and transfer the funds. Bybit says they’ll cover any lost crypto. 

Throw away the keys: A 43-year-old woman was arrested for targeting elderly folks on dating apps, luring them into meeting her and drugging them with prescription sedatives. Once they were out cold, she stole their cars, money and even used their credit cards. The worst part? At least three people died. Absolutely horrific.

It takes engine-uity: Porsche, Volvo and Rivian don’t want NPCs in their self-driving cars. You can tell your Volvo to slow down. Rivian will drop you off and pick you up someplace else, like at a hike’s end. Porsche’s self-driving cars will give a racetrack experience, accelerating hard and taking corners fast (paywall link). Could you imagine? Me neither. 

💻  New Macbook coming soon: Apple will launch new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs with M4 chips in a few weeks. They’ll have better chips, baked-in AI, a nano-texture display and more. Current models are getting big discounts like this M2 MacBook Air that’s $200 off!

🚨  Auto hostage crisis spreading: If you’re in a wreck and a tow truck arrives without you calling, don’t let them take your car. A ring of 16 people in SoCal made almost $217,000 holding vehicles hostage and charging drivers huge fees.

“Beyond the Gates”: It’s the first new daytime soap in 25 years, coming to CBS and Paramount+ today. It follows a wealthy family, the Duprees, in a Washington D.C. suburb. Watch the trailer. These really are the days of our lives.

🥾  Talk about luck: Imagine going on a hike, trusting your GPS instead of the compass you usually used and getting lost. That’s what happened to a father and son in Utah. Get this: While stranded on a ledge for 13 hours, they found a backpack filled with emergency supplies like blankets and a tent that probably saved their lives.

🚨  Hackers can steal your home without you even knowing: With just a forged signature, cybercriminals can take out loans in your name, drain your equity, and leave you with the mess. Home Title Lock monitors your title 24/7 and alerts you to any tampering because your biggest investment deserves the best protection. Click here to get a free home title history report, using code KIM250.* 

AI is changing the game, and small to large businesses are transforming at lightning speed. But here’s the good news: It’s not too late to get in on the action and take your business to the next level. That’s where Oracle comes in.

• Simple AI integration: Oracle makes it easy to bring AI into your business — no headaches, no fuss.
• Top-tier power: Oracle uses Nvidia GPUs, the best for processing power, so your AI solutions run like a dream.
• Affordable: Get more bang for your buck, with high performance at a lower cost than other cloud providers.
• Built to grow: Your business is always changing, and Oracle will grow right along with you, offering scalable solutions.
• Hands-off maintenance: Don’t worry about the techy stuff — Oracle handles updates and infrastructure management so you can focus on what really matters.

You know AI is the future — now’s your chance to cut your cloud bill in half with Oracle. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain.

📸  New folder, who dis: When you take a screenshot on Windows, it’s saved in a folder under Pictures. To change that, right-click the Screenshots folder > Properties. Click Location > Move and pick a new folder. Press the Apply > Yes > OK to save.

Check your WhatsApp account: Hit Settings > Linked devices for a list of every device using your account. If you see a device that doesn’t belong to you, log out of all devices, then change your password ASAP.

⌨️  Dirty Macbook keyboard? Press and hold the left Command, left Control and right Shift keys for seven seconds. While still holding those keys, press and hold the power button until your Macbook turns off. Now, only the power button will turn it back on. Cool!

YouTube verification: A checkmark next to your username signifies you’re legit. Step 1: Go to Settings > Channel > Feature eligibility. Green is good, and gray means you need to verify your phone number. Creators, for the advanced verification so you can monetize, submit an ID or video verification.

From Ed in Florida: “Kim, I want to get away from Google. If I sign up for StartMail, will it import all my email and contacts?” Yup. You can transfer your entire mailbox, including messages and contacts, with zero downtime and 100% security. Right now, get 60% off your first year.*

📋  Let AI shortcut your chores: Type in, “Help me create a grocery list based on these recipes” and add the links or paste in the recipes. Voila, your shopping list done.

One for the road: A programmer and his wife are reviewing their grocery list. She says, “We’re out of bread. Please go to the grocery store and buy one. And if they’ve got eggs, get six.” After a while, he’s back with six loaves of bread. The wife asks, “Why did you buy 6 loaves of bread?” He replies, “They had eggs.”

And just like that, another day of tech smarts down! Thanks for letting me in your inbox. See you again tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the USA! You’re smarter than the algorithms, never forget it! — Kim