In a deeply unscientific experiment, Vice’s Yasmin Jeffery went to IKEA to eavesdrop on strangers and try to draw wider conclusions about their relationships. While she was prowling in the UK, the feeling of wanting to argue with your partner in an IKEA, much like the feeling of being trapped in a parking garage with no way out, is a universal part of the human condition, even in places where there is no IKEA, because the arguments aren’t really about IKEA at all. [More]
advice
Make Your Walmart Cashier’s Life Better: Wear Some Underwear
By 7.24.13
Sure, the People of Internet like to gawk at the site People of Walmart, but that’s probably because they don’t work at a Walmart store. Reader C. works as a Walmart cashier, and does. He wants us to know: he’s not going to bag our groceries with our rat poison, and for gosh sakes, wear ripped pants or go commando, but please not both. [More]
Helpful Stranger Delivers Your Mail, Curses Out Your Bank
By 2.16.12
It’s just plain heart-warming when a stranger does something nice for you. When Efrem’s box of new checks from Citibank went astray, the person who did receive them brought them by, with a helpful note about Efrem’s choice of financial institutions. “Citibank sucks,” the Good Samaritan wrote. “I would not trust [these] MFers with my money.” [More]
What Grads Need To Know About Choosing Careers
By 1.10.12
Determining exactly what you want to be when you grow up is a process that can last years after you graduate. With trial, error and an accumulation of knowledge, you can strive to find a career that fulfills you financially and spiritually. [More]
3 Moves To Keep You Comfy While Traveling Abroad
By 12.1.11
Those who are leaving the country for the first time or haven’t been abroad since college may not know what they’re getting into. Overseas travel presents myriad complications for newbies who don’t do what seasoned vets do to make things easier. [More]
Habits To Take On To Become An Overachiever
By 10.28.11
Attaining more success could be simply a matter of tweaking your daily routines to make yourself more productive. By making better use of downtime and taking steps to avoid distractions, you may surprise yourself with how much you can accomplish. [More]
Quick Fixes That Ready Your Home For The Cold
By 9.30.11
Now that the colder months are approaching, it’s a good time to ready your home for the change in weather. It’s better to consider maintenance and repairs now then when your roof has sprung a leak or your ragged windows start allowing drafts. [More]
Experts: Don't Buy A Car This Year
By 5.23.11
In recent years, auto manufacturers have stumbled over themselves attempting to give customers reasons not to wait to buy cars. But due to a seller-favoring market, low or zero-interest financing, rebates and discounts may be fading away in the short-term, making it wise to wait if you’re considering a car purchase. [More]
How To Quit Your Day Job
By 4.10.11
If you haven’t fantasized about quitting your day job to indulge your true calling, congratulations — You’re Tom Brady. Give Gisele our love. [More]
Phone Tips For People Who Hate Phones
By 4.9.11
For people who’d rather live their lives by email and text messages, pressure to participate in actual phone calls can be an unreasonable burden. Lifehacker offers valuable tips to neutralize the annoyances phones can foist upon you: [More]
Your Life Is In Your Phone – Here's How You Protect It
By 12.20.10
Since your phone is almost always close at your side, either in your pocket or bag, it’s easy to skimp on security. But take a moment and consider just how precious the info you’ve got locked up therein and you may want to take steps to safeguard your phone. [More]
How Not To Be Annoying And Incompetent At E-mail
By 10.2.10
Just because you’ve fired off dozens of emails every day for more than a decade, it doesn’t mean you’ve been doing it right. You may reinforcing bad habits with each misfired message, unaware that you’re rankling friends, business contacts and customer service reps. [More]
Slash Your Budget By Changing Routines
By 9.26.10
One of the easiest ways to go broke is to become used to spending too much on stuff without putting any thought into your bills and purchases. A few phone calls and clicks and new habits can work some wriggle room into your budget. [More]
Advice For Holiday Travelers This Year: Buy Your Tickets Now
By 9.20.10
CNN’s Travel Companion suggests you start looking for Thanksgiving and Christmas tickets now, because airlines have cut capacity over last year, and the peak travel times for those two holidays are shorter this year than usual. The article also provide some tips for getting a good price: shop for single seats; aim for Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday flights; and if you can, try to fly on an actual holiday. [More]
Are Upside-Down Tomato Planters No Good?
By 8.11.10
A tipster sent us a link to this short advice column on gardening at PennLive.com, where the author says upside-down planters in general aren’t that great, and in dry hot summers are particularly bad for your tomatoes. [More]
It's Never Too Late To Haggle, Even At Target
By 8.9.10
Kyle just emailed us a recap of his successful haggling adventure at Target this past weekend. If you’re afraid to try haggling at a big chain store, check out his story for an example of how to make it pleasant for all parties involved; the goal is to approach it as a negotiation where everyone wins, not as a zero-sum competition. [More]
Tips For Saving Money On Textbooks
By 8.2.10
The second half of summer is “complain about textbook prices” season, and last week the New York Times put together a special section on the topic and asked experts to weigh in. Too many of the contributors just provide an overview of the situation but no solutions; a publishing industry representative actually defends textbook prices as trivial compared to other educational costs. Fortunately Anya Kamenetz, who writes for Fast Company, suggests Flat World Knowledge. And to be fair, the guy who defended textbooks prices suggests CourseSmart for ebook rentals. The Times also asked students, professors and parents to weigh in with advice. [More]
Don't Do These Things If You Want To Save Dough
By 7.28.10
Tips on how to save money are well and good, but advice on what not to do is at least as valuable. Time’s It’s Your Money blog takes the negative approach to keep you from making financial mistakes. [More]
