Tag: love

‘Kim, which battery brand is safest?’ Here’s the answer for your phone, your iPad and your laptop, with links and the 10-second label check that matters more than the brand.

A listener wants one power bank she can trust for her phone, iPad and laptop, because she’s scared of a fire on her nightstand or on a plane. Fair fear in a year when there have been more than 50 overheating incidents on flights, friend. Three picks, and the label trick that beats any brand name.

Your weather app runs on satellites, supercomputers and a retired science teacher who walked to his rain gauge at 7 a.m. every day for 50 years

The forecast on your phone has a secret ingredient: 8,700 volunteers with a thermometer. Meet the Frenches, a family in Gouverneur, N.Y. Ray monitored the stats for 50 years before his son took over. The 11-year-old granddaughter is next.

Use AI to find the cheapest way to upgrade your flight

Cash, miles, points, elite perks and wait lists make airline upgrades a mess. This AI prompt compares every option and shows you what each upgrade really costs before you spend a dime.

Make AI run the break-even mortgage math the bank skipped

That $200-a-month refi savings pitch can cost you way more than you’re saving. Here’s the exact prompt to paste into any AI chatbot so it does the loan officer’s math for you, in your favor, before you sign anything.

Same towers, half the bill: A couple paying $200 a month asked me what the catch is. Here are all three.

After 20 years of marriage, Dave and his wife agree on one thing: $200 a month for two phones feels wrong. The same signal sells for half. There’s a catch, friend. Three, actually. All smaller than the one they’re living with.

Your ring and watch are guessing. Calorie counts miss by up to 93%, and sleep stages are a bluff. Here’s how to wear one without letting it lie to you.

Stanford tested seven fitness trackers against lab gear. Heart rate passed. Calories missed by up to 93%, friend. Your ring is guessing at sleep stages and blood oxygen. Here’s how to stop it from fooling you.

‘Kim, what if my password manager gets hacked?’ It’s happened. Here’s who lost, who won and which one you’d be.

Crooks stole a password manager’s vaults in 2022. Here’s what happened next, friend: The strong master passwords held. The weak ones funded a $150 million heist. These safeguards decide which side you land on.

A reader’s brother sent $45,000 to “Katy Perry.” The two scams that empty accounts by preying on love and fear, and how to break the spell.

Americans reported $20.9 billion in scam losses last year. Seniors lost $584 million to romance scams, averaging $38,500 per victim. One reader’s brother is $45,000 deep with a fake pop star. The fix isn’t arguing. It’s a two-minute video call test and knowing the blackmail email is usually a bluff.

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 Google Flights tricks to score a summer deal (Even if you booked late)

More than a third of summer travelers still haven’t bought their tickets. Good news: Google Flights’ hidden features can land you a deal. Here’s how to use them.

The phone in your pocket might be spying on you for someone you know

Stalkerware hides in plain sight, feeding your texts, calls and location to a partner, ex or relative. Here are the warning signs and how to check without putting yourself at risk.

The 5-minute AI check that catches dangerous drug combos hiding in your cabinet

Most of us take pills from doctors who never compare notes, plus the supplements and cold meds nobody wrote down. Here’s the AI prompt that reads every label, flags the dangerous interactions and tells you what to ask your pharmacist.

Crooks are using your Social Security number to build a fake person. It’s the fastest-growing crime in America.

They take one real number, usually a child’s or a senior’s, glue on a fake name and birthday, then create a brand-new “person” who racks up credit and vanishes. You don’t find out until your file is wrecked. Here’s how to catch it.

Your credit card will refund a price drop, but you have to ask

The average cardholder leaves $300 to $500 in unclaimed benefits on the table every year. One prompt finds the money in five minutes.

Your Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls are being transcribed by AI

Every major video platform has AI built in to record, transcribe and summarize your meetings. Here’s what to check and what actually matters.

How to find a veteran’s military records before they’re gone forever

You can pull your veteran’s actual handwritten draft card, service records and medals, most of it for free. Here’s where to look.

He trained an AI to sound like his wife. Now they talk every day.

A category of AI built for grief and caregiving is quietly growing. Here’s what it is, who it’s for and why it might matter more than any productivity app ever will.

My grandfather had 7 letters on his Ellis Island form. That’s how we got Komando.

My grandparents came from Ukraine with a name nobody could spell. An immigration officer wrote down seven letters, and our family was changed forever. I finally went looking for what came before.

How to eat out for free (legally) with this under-the-radar side hustle

Americans spend nearly $4,000 a year dining out. Mystery dining lets you eat at restaurants for free in exchange for honest feedback. Here’s how to get started and which companies are legit.