The last time we updated this list, the Google Pixel took the top spot away from the iPhone 7.

This month, we still consider the Pixel a superior phone, and we've added a surprise newcomer, which you'll find in 11th place. 

To make way for the newcomer, it was time to take off the BlackBerry Passport. It's still a great, unique phone, but after three years on the market, it was time to let it go.

Here's our list of the best smartphones you can buy.

Note: Prices may vary depending on the retailer.

SEE ALSO: 8 reasons Google's Pixel is better than the iPhone

DON'T MISS: These are the smartphones with the best signal strength

20. BlackBerry Classic

If you were a BlackBerry fan in the company's heyday, you're going to love the BlackBerry Classic. It looks similar to older BlackBerry models, but features a sharp touch-screen and an excellent physical keyboard.

Price: $319

19. BlackBerry Priv

The BlackBerry Priv is a huge departure for BlackBerry. Instead of running BlackBerry's own operating system, the Priv runs Android. While it may look like a standard Android phone, the Priv has a slide-out keyboard.

This could be a great device for those who want a physical keyboard but still want access to Google's apps and services that aren't available on other BlackBerry devices.

Price: $380

Read the BlackBerry Priv review »

18. Moto G4

The Moto G4 is available in three different models, including the regular $200 G4, the $250 G4 Plus, and the $150 G4 Play.

We reviewed the G4 Plus model, which has a 16-megapixel camera, compared with the 13-megapixel shooter on the regular G4, and found that it's the best cheap smartphone you can buy. The G4 Plus also comes with a fingerprint sensor, while the other models don't.

Price: $130 to $230

Check out the three new Moto G4 smartphones »

Check out the Moto G4 Plus review »

Savvy travelers are taking advantage of global political events to get a good deal, and leaders in the hospitality world are already noticing an impact. 

"Brexit is a notable geopolitical event that has driven big changes," Johan Svanstrom, president of Hotels.com, recently told Business Insider in an email interview. "The British pound weakening has caused Americans and many other nationalities, looking to take advantage and having a good time in London and other UK cities, to search and book at a higher clip."

According to Svanstrom, US searches of UK-based properties on Hotels.com have increased 44% since the summer of 2016.

And as the dollar continues to strengthen, American travelers will be able to enjoy a favorable exchange rate when visiting other countries. 

However, as Svanstrom points out, a strengthening dollar also means that travel to the US becomes more expensive for people coming from other countries.

"On top of those woes for the US tourism industry the Trump travel ban last week seems to have had a general dampening interest already, but it's too early to tell if it will materialize into real bookings or not," Svanstrom said.

He added Hotels.com's take on Trump's immigration policies: "We believe that travel restrictions should be as few as possible, not just for our business but also because in the long run, travel helps people to understand and appreciate the world more. "

Hotels.com data shows that some of the top-trending destinations globally year over year include Mexico (Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum); Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Orange County, California; and Tokyo, Japan. Each of those destinations has seen a search volume increase of between 25 and 45%. 

SEE ALSO: The 10 best hotels in America, according to US News & World Report

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NOW WATCH: What it's like to go 'glamping' for $2,500 a night on top of a luxury hotel in NYC

Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn explains the phenomenon of apparent aging that happens overnight. When a person experiences a massively stressful event, they can appear to have aged several years. This is a direct result of the cells not being able to rejuvenate properly.

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It's sometimes said that watches are an investment. In many cases, that's true, but you tend to have to lay out at least a few thousands dollars to obtain a timepiece that's likely to appreciate in value over time — or even maintain its value.

Some investment watches are quite durable. The classic Rolex Submariner, made mostly of high-grade stainless steel, leaps to mind.

But some people don't want an investment watch. They simply want a solid, versatile timepiece that can, as we once said of the venerable Timex, take a licking and keep on ticking. Imagine a weekend watch that can go to the beach, be taken swimming and camping, or just be a companion when doing yard work. 

A good choice for that duty is what I call the "tactical" watch, because it's designed with military use in mind. Or at least, the rigors that a soldier or sailor might face.

Perhaps the most famous tactical watch is the Casio G-Shock, but digital watches have fallen out of vogue. So here's a new option: the Reactor Gryphon.

At $350, this isn't a cheap watch. But that isn't crazy pricey, either, for an incredibly solid piece that's designed and built to function well in all kinds of conditions. Reactor is playing in the same ballpark with Luminox, a company that manufactures a popular tactical watch that's associated with the Navy Seals.

Reactor let me borrow a Gryphon, and I wore it do as many things as I could think of. I got it wet, took it out to drive sports cars, made it my go-to weekend timepiece, and even found some ways to wear it under dressier circumstances, thanks to its bold orange face, which jazzed up some outfits.

I also chatted with Reactor's founder, Jimmy Olmes, whose previous foray into the horology business was with Freestyle, a surfing brand. 

Olmes explained that Reactor's approach has been to design watches that can be sold profitably and to construct around the watches a business that provides value for the consumers and takes some of the heat off retailers.

"Our business in amazingly good, in a difficult watch market," he said. 

The keys are to combat widespread discounting by guaranteeing dealer margins; to speed up the service cycle from six-to-ten weeks to 48 hours by using Reactor's service center; and to avoid over-distributing Reactor watches so that they don't blend in with everybody else.

Reactor sells a wide range of watches, not just tactical pieces such as the Gryphon. There are styles that will appeal to both men and women, to everyone from armchair quarterbacks to serious outdoors folks.

What's cool about the Gryphon is that it's actually a watch inside a watch. To provide a depth rating of 200M/660 ft., the guts of the watch, including a quartz movement with a 10-year battery, were encased in stainless steel, while the exterior of the watch was crafted from a lightweight polymer borrowed from the firearms business. The crown screws down.

It has a nice, thick nylon-and-rubber strap with laser-cut holes, and although at 42mm it's a a chunky watch on paper, it doesn't wear that big. The Gryphon also has the best lume of any sport or tactical watch I've ever seen, thanks to a substance Reactor calls NeverDark. The only watch I own that glows anywhere near as bright in very low light or complete darkness is my Seiko Diver, a legend for its lume. 

The unidirectional bezel clicks solidly and precisely, and the face is quite legible. There's a small date window at six o'clock, and timekeeping was very precise. Importantly, the Gryphon was comfortable to wear all day, rain or shine, hot or cold.

This is a serious watch, at a reasonable price for the build quality and the thought that went into its design. I didn't punish it, but I could. It would also look good if it were a little beat-up, a strong test for any sport watch. And if I were headed out for camping, rafting, climbing, or hiking, this would be my go-to watch. 

SEE ALSO: This is why the Rolex Submariner is the ultimate luxury sport watch

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NOW WATCH: How to pick the perfect watch for the office and the weekend

Johnny Depp's former business managers have alleged that the actor is living an extravagant $2 million a month lifestyle, complete with 14 houses, 70 guitars, and an enormous appetite for wine.

It comes after Depp launched a $25 million lawsuit last month against his business managers, The Mandel Company (TMG), claiming "gross mismanagement" of his affairs.

He said the company failed to properly pay taxes on his behalf, made unauthorized loans, and overpaid for "security and other services.' Costing him "tens of millions of dollars" and leading to financial trouble, of which he claims to have only become aware of in March of last year.

The cross-complaint, filed this week, stated that TMG "did everything within its power over the last 17 years to protect Depp from himself and to keep Depp financially solvent" but that TMG "did not have the power or ability to control Depp’s spending or his numerous other vices, or to force Depp to make wiser financial decisions."

The lawsuit lifts the lid, in extraordinary detail, on Depp's alleged "extravagant and extreme" $2 million a month spending habit. We took a look through to discover how the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star splurges his earnings. All of our figures are quoted in the TMG lawsuit, which is available in full here.

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Lady Gaga thrilled the Super Bowl crowds Sunday night with a performance that began with her literally falling out of the sky. 

But it turns out that the Houston home that she stayed at over Super Bowl weekend was equally over the top.

Reportedly worth $20 million, the Villa Encantado has more than 9,700 square feet of space, plus some extravagant amenities. When she wasn't prepping for her performance, Lady Gaga could enjoy the home's massive pool area, private screening room, and fully equipped gym. 

Though she stayed in the home on Airbnb's dime, the mansion would usually cost travelers $10,000 a night.

SEE ALSO: The 10 best hotels in America, according to US News & World Report

Designed in the Mediterranean style, the home has an expansive backyard area, complete with pool and palm tree.

The theme continues inside.

The kitchen has dark wood cabinetry and an impressively wide island.

Several reports citing anonymous sources have come out seeking to shed light behind the scenes on the day-to-day operations of the new White House.

President Donald Trump has been in office for 18 days, and while he's made sweeping changes to the government, his life has been upended, as well.

A New York Times report published Sunday from Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman offers one of the most detailed accounts of how Trump spends his days, and especially his nights. The president called the article a "total fiction" on Twitter Monday.

Here are nine of the most bizarre details we gleaned from The Times' report, and other stories about Trump's White House:

SEE ALSO: Trump lashes out at New York Times after report suggests he wasn't 'fully briefed' on action giving Bannon more power

DON'T MISS: See inside the swanky party where Trump watched the Super Bowl

Since his wife Melania and their young son Barron are still living in New York, Trump spends most of his nights alone, typically retiring to the residence by 6:30 p.m.

Source: New York Times

He apparently had a much larger TV installed in the presidential dining room so he can watch cable news during lunch.

Source: New York Times

The Times also suggested Trump watches more cable news in his bathrobe, upstairs and alone in the White House at night.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/828714562966974464
Sean Spicer: "I don't think the president owns a bathrobe." (via @justinsink

Let's see, Google "Trump" "bathrobe" ... OH MY GOD pic.twitter.com/bnb0odcTXD

Source: New York Times

Former President Barack Obama has clearly been enjoying his vacation at Richard Branson's private estate in the British Virgin Islands.

Branson challenged Obama — who grew up surfing and swimming on Hawaii's beaches — to a kitesurfing competition, according to a blog post from Branson. 

The rules: Obama would try and learn how to kitesurf, while Branson would try and learn how to foilboard (an advanced type of hydroplaning surfboard). The two would then see who could surf the longest on their respective watercraft.

And though Branson has long been known for his adventurous exploits, the former president was no slouch in the water. He bested Branson by traveling over 100 meters on the kiteboard, to Branson's 50 meters on his foilboard.

"Being the former president, there was lots of security around, but Barack was able to really relax and get into it," Branson wrote. 

For Obama, this excursion was a long time coming.

Obama told Branson that just before he became president in 2009, he went surfing on a dangerous break in Hawaii. When he got back to the beach, his security team told him: "This will be the last time you surf for eight years," Branson wrote. 

Check out the video of the former president having a blast:

And here are a couple more pictures:

SEE ALSO: Obama speaks out on Trump's immigration order: 'American values are at stake'

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NOW WATCH: Here's how powerful an executive order is and how it could be reversed

Apple CEO Tim Cook dedicated 90 minutes of his 24 hour trip to France to having lunch with some locals on Monday.

Cook's team arranged the relatively intimate lunch — attended by seven people — using an app known as VizEat, which allows travellers to meet locals over a meal that is typically cooked in someone's house.

Apple employees first got in touch with VizEat 10 days ago saying that they wanted to arrange a lunch for Cook and some senior Apple execs.

The lunch — held in the 16th Arrondissement, a neighborhood near the Eiffel Tower — was hosted by a local resident named Odile Gallon and her husband Pierre Gallon. Other guests included the international head of Apple's App Store Oliver Schusser, and VizEat CEO and cofounder Jean-Michel Petit.

The menu that Cook ate from consisted of:

• Velvet of potimarron, seeds of caramelized squash
• Fillet of salmon leeks, creamy lemon shallot sauce
• Small cheese platter with green salad
• Chocolate mousse or cake choco raspberry
• (and red and white wine)

"We had lunch with Tim yesterday and it was a very typical French menu that the host had already prepared," Petit told Business Insider. "It was difficult for me to start work after that because it was good food and good wine."

Petit said Cook was "very easy going" during the lunch and that he asked a lot of questions, such as where in France the food on the menu was coming from and how many times the hosts had used VizEat. "You didn’t feel like you were having lunch with the CEO of Apple," Petit added, before going on to say Cook has "very good table manners" as well as a "good appetite."

During the meal, Cook apparently said that he doesn't usually eat cheese but he tried some French cheeses (Epoisses and some Crottin de Chavignol) regardless. Cook also said he wasn't planning to have any of the chocolate mousse but he ended up changing his mind as the meal went on.

Topics discussed over the lunch, which started at noon and went on until around 1:30pm, included life, food, and traveling.

Cook was keen to understand how people from different cultures interact when they sit down to enjoy a meal together, according to Petit. "What are the cultural difference between hosting Chinese and Americans? He was very interested in these details."

The conversation, which occurred in English, focused on how apps can bring people together in real life as opposed to business formalities, Petit added.

VizEat, which also allows people to offer and take cooking classes and wine tasting experiences, started out two years ago in July 2014 with just 50 users predominantly in France. Now the app has 22,000 hosts across 100 countries.

Gallon writes on her VizEat profile: "I discovered my passion for food when I was 15 years old, watching my mother and grandmother cook. They are both excellent cooks, who transformed the products from the garden into simple yet delicious dishes. They passed me on their recipes, tips and tricks, their joy of preparing something delicious and sharing it. This is the rich heritage I in turn want to pass on now.

She adds: "Today, I am professional in the food sector. First, I worked for a company with organic products, then a large distribution with the products Reflets de France for Carrefour.

"As mother of three, I also like to propose some cooking classes at my home. My guests usually are foreigners living in Paris, people who share a general interest in food and sometimes even tourists, who are looking for an authentic culinary experience 'at home.'"

VizEat's growth has been fueled in part by Apple, which has called it out for being one of the top three apps in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

While in France, Cook also visited an artist called JR and some Apple employees in Marseille.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 9 iPhone tricks that will make your life easier in 2017

The Caribbean islands are beloved for their adventurous activities, clear waters, and stunning natural sites.

Though each island has its own unique appeal, some have advantages over the others.

We've ranked the best islands in the Caribbean, based on the costs of hotel bookings, their accessibility, and the range of activities they offer.

To rank the islands, we factored in each one's average hotel-room costs using data from Hotels.com, the flight time from New York City, the number of attractions listed on TripAdvisor, and the amount of coastline offered per square kilometer.

To read our full methodology, click here.

Melia Robinson and Talia Avakian contributed reporting on a previous version of this article.

SEE ALSO: Here's how we ranked the best Caribbean islands

25. Anguilla

Distance from NYC: 5 hours and 7 minutes

Average hotel room cost: $468 per night 

In Anguilla, you'll find miles of white sand and pristine waters — hence its high beach-density score of 0.67. With romantic beaches like Rendezvous Bay, this is a destination where you can swim and sunbathe year-round. Its list of activities ranges from swimming with dolphins to sailing on glass-bottom boats.

24. Dominica

Distance from NYC: 5 hours and 55 minutes

Average hotel room cost: $161 per night 

Visitors to Dominica can do everything from relaxing in hot sulfur springs to swimming in the water off black-sand beaches. The island's volcanic terrain has created unique sites like the Champagne Reef, where geothermal bubbles make you feel like you're swimming in a giant bottle of champagne. Plus, there are nearly 40 incredible diving sites to choose from, despite its relatively low beach-density score of 0.2.

23. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Distance from NYC: 6 hours

Average hotel room cost: $139 per night 

Located in the heart of the Caribbean Sea, the island chain of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is made up of 32 islands and cays. The relatively deserted islands offer travelers a combination of rainforest adventures, water sports, luxury accommodations, and miles of powder-white sand beaches. Of the 104 activities available to travelers, 60 of them are either stunning natural sites or parks. The island chain has a low beach-density score of 0.22. 

We recently published a list of the 25 best Caribbean islands — no easy task, considering the beauty and appeal of each island.

For this ranking, we used four criteria:accessibility, average cost of a hotel room, number of attractions, and a beach density index score, which we'll explain below.

We weighted these criteria equally, because getting there with ease can be just as important as perfecting your tan.

In most instances, we defined a Caribbean island as a single country, republic, or territory in the Caribbean. The US Virgin Islands are made up of three major islands — St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas — but we counted it as one since the archipelago is considered one insular area of the United States. 

To determine accessibility, we searched Google Maps to see how long the journey is from New York City to the major airport on the island. Islands that offer direct flights from New York City had shorter travel times, and performed better on the list.

For islands with no direct flights from New York City, we added the flight time from New York City to a nearby major airport, an hour for a layover, and the flight time for an island-hopper flight to the final destination.

To determine the average hotel room cost, we sought out the help of our friends at Hotels.com. The hospitality site provided us with the average hotel room cost on each of the islands for the year of 2016. 

To determine the number of attractions, we searched the island on TripAdvisor.com, a reviews-based travel website. We used the number of attractions, which includes beaches, landmarks, cultural sites, and outdoor venues.

To determine the beach density index, we divided the length of each island's coastline by its land area, as indicated in the CIA World Factbook. This metric rewards islands that have a relatively large amount of potential beachfront for their size.

In the slideshow, we assigned description words to the island's beach density index score:

• Low: 0.0 – 0.2
• Moderate: 0.21 – 0.5
• High: 0.51 – 0.8
• Very high: 0.81+

When it was time to crunch the numbers, we normalized the data in each criteria so that each sub-score has a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.

This common statistics technique allows us to preserve some of the relative size information (e.g. if one island has twice as much coastline than another island, it will get a much better score than if it had just 10% more coastline), while putting each variable on a common scale so we can meaningfully average them.

Melia Robinson and Talia Avakian contributed to an earlier version of this post.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best Caribbean islands, ranked

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NOW WATCH: Marriott's CEO travels 200 days a year — these are his favorite travel hacks

I love ogling delicious recipes on Pinterest just as much as the next person. But I'm not kidding myself: I'm aware that many of my most "om nom"-worthy finds — from sea salt caramel truffles to sriracha fried chicken — are no health kick.

With that in mind, I sought out some of Pinterest's healthier fare. As it turns out, numerous registered dietitians (RDs) maintain a Pinterest page dedicated to many of their recipes. They feature everything from breakfast (cornbread waffles with spicy chicken, anyone?) to lunch, dinner, and snacks.

As the only health professionals qualified to assess, diagnose, and treat dietary and nutritional problems, RDs are dedicated to coming up with meal plans that are designed to nourish your body.

And their food photos are scrumptious. Take a look.

SEE ALSO: 13 ‘health’ foods you’re better off avoiding

DON'T MISS: We asked a dietitian what you should — ​and shouldn’t​ — do if you want to look and feel healthier in a week

Creamy tomato basil risotto with prosciutto

By registered dietitian Rachael Hartley, a South Carolina-based food and nutrition expert whose website, "Avocado a Day Nutrition," features recipes for everything from appetizers to desserts.

Get her risotto recipe here.

Miso grilled chicken sandwich

"Miso paste is one of my favorite pantry staples. It’s a condiment made by fermenting soybeans to create a salty, savory paste. It’s also a great source of those beneficial probiotics that make your tummy happy," writes Hartley. 

Get the recipe here.

Wild blueberry basil cheesecake smoothie

"This smoothie "tastes like dessert but (shhhh….) it’s actually good for you!" writes registered dietitian Kara Lydon on her website, "Kara Lydon: The Foodie Dietitian." "Packed with antioxidants, protein, and fiber, this smoothie takes just a few minutes to make. Breakfast never tasted better."

Get Lydon's recipe here.

Shocker: The weeks leading up to Valentine's Day are a super-popular time of year for online-dating services.

Dating app Happn, for example, said in a press release that February 7 is the busiest time of year for its users. Meanwhile, last year dating services including OKCupid and Match told TIME that they see big spikes in signups and activity around the holiday.

But just because you're open to finding love online doesn't mean it's easy. In fact, it can be terrifying to wade through thousands of nearby matches in the hopes of finding someone decent (who thinks you're decent, too).

To make things a little less intimidating, we rounded up some of the most practical online-dating advice we published this year. Read on to learn the tricks of the trade — and the biggest mistakes to avoid.

1. Choose a photo where you're taking up space

Research suggests that we're more attracted to people in expansive — as opposed to contracted — postures, even if we don't consciously realize it. Men especially appear more attractive to women when they're holding their arms upward in a "V," reaching out to grab something, or standing in another expansive position.

Whatever you do, avoid choosing a profile photo where you're crossing your arms or hunched over.

2. Don't choose a photo where you're covering your face

Tinder's in-house sociologist, Jess Carbino, told Business Insider that one of the biggest mistakes Tinder users make is obscuring their face in their profile photo. That includes wearing glasses or sunglasses, or even a hat.

The same logic likely applies to users on other dating services.

According to Carbino, we use people's faces to make judgments about their personality, which are sometimes (but not always) accurate. So if people can't fully see your face, they might not be able to assess whether you're extroverted or kind, for example. Meaning they just might move on to the next option.

3. Include a question in your profile

Carbino also told Business Insider that adding a question to your profile can make it easier for someone to message you, because they already have something to talk about.

For example, if you mention in your profile that you like to travel, list a few places you've been and then ask: "What's your next destination?"

If you're an art fan, cite artists whose work you enjoy and then ask: "Who's your favorite artist?"

4. If you're a woman, take the initiative to message a man

Recent data from OKCupid suggests that women (those who want to date men, anyway) fare a lot better when they muster the courage to message men.

In fact, OKCupid found that women are 2.5 times more likely to receive a response to their messages than men are.

Moreover, women who send the first message wind up meeting more attractive men than women who wait for a man to ping them, the report finds. That's because women generally message men who are five points more attractive (as rated by OKCupid users) than they are, while they typically receive messages from men who are seven points less attractive than they are.

Interestingly, OKCupid also found that men send 3.5 times the number of messages women send, suggesting that few women are aware of the advantages of stepping up to the plate.

That's possibly because of lingering social stigma about women making the first move. Whitney Wolfe, the founder of dating app Bumble, on which women can message men but not the other way around, told Sophia Amoruso: 

"I can't tell you how many times in college I had a crush on a guy, or I thought a guy was cute, and I would text him, and my friends would be like, 'You just committed the ultimate sin.' Like, 'What have you done? You texted him first?'"

Wolfe went on: "No thank you. … It's so outdated, and it's so needed for something to come in and say 'enough.'"

SEE ALSO: The 15 US cities where it's easiest to find a date

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A dating app founder reveals how to make your response rates go up 60%

Barack Obama has been living it up since he left the White House. The former president's latest adventure has him facing off against Richard Branson in a kitesurfing contest. 

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Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. 

With a dramatic come-from-behind win in Super Bowl LI over the Atlanta Falcons, Brady now has now won five championships. He is also as good as ever at 39 years old, an age when most football players are already retired.

Off the field, Brady's life is pretty fabulous also. He's married to the world's most successful supermodel and once owned a $20 million house with a moat.

Tony Manfred contributed to this report.

Brady was the fifth-highest-paid player in the NFL this season, making $28.8 million.

Source: Spotrac

Brady recently signed a 2-year, $41 million extension with the Patriots. A big chunk of his earnings this season came in the form of a $28 million signing bonus.

Source: Spotrac

Brady is also the third-highest-paid player in NFL history, having already earned $196.2 million in his career.

Read more: The 25 highest-paid players in NFL history

A pair of married software engineers hooked up with real estate agent Tim Gullicksen about six months ago in pursuit of their dream home.

After taking time to peruse the market, the couple found a multimillion-dollar single-family home in San Francisco that they loved. In January, they wrote an offer letter to the seller, complete with an attached photo of the young family, and squared away their finances.

In early February, the couple told Gullicksen they would no longer place a bid. They planned to take a three-week vacation in their native country of India, and decided they couldn't risk buying a house if President Donald Trump's administration wouldn't let them back into the US. (While no such restriction exists, they worry the new administration might change its mind.) They declined to speak with Business Insider directly for fear of retribution from the government.

San Francisco is one of the most competitive housing markets in the US, with a median listing price that tops $1.1 million. But foreign-born tech workers, who often commute to Silicon Valley, are starting to back out of buying property because they worry about an escalating crackdown on immigration under Trump, according to some real estate agents.

More than 100,000 visas have been revoked since an executive order issued on January 27 temporarily banned citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US. Real estate agents in the Bay Area tell Business Insider they started to hear rumblings among prospective buyers in late January, after Trump signed off on the immigration ban. The topic came up in company meetings, private emails, and closed groups for realtors on Facebook.

Nina Hatvany, a luxury realtor with Pacific Union International, sold more houses in terms of sales volume — $216 million — than any other agent in San Francisco last year. Hatvany tells Business Insider she frequently takes on clients who originated outside the US.

"I often have conversations, 'Is this a good place to put my money?' Absent earthquakes, it is," Hatvany says. "[The San Francisco Bay Area] has certainly shown tremendous appreciation, and it's a wonderful place to live. ... If people start to worry about whether they're going to be able to get into the country when they come home from vacation, that could change."

Dylan Hunter, a real estate agent with Pacific Union International, said he hasn't had a client "pull the red cord" yet, but he knows immigration reform is a concern for some. He's working with a couple based in San Francisco — one is an investment banker, the other works at Google — who are in the market for a $2 million single-family home. Their relatives in India are worried the couple will never be able to visit, and vice versa.

Google's CEO Sundar Pichai issued a company-wide memo last month urging staff traveling overseas to return immediately. He said 100 employees are affected by the executive order.

One ripple effect of the Trump administration's policies might be a downturn in the Bay Area's housing market. Karen Yang, a real estate agent with Fling Yang & Associates, says that if H-1B visa holders (a type of visa that allows US companies to bring in foreign professionals with specialized skills) disappear from the marketplace, a sudden lack of competition could drive down the price of a single-family home in the city.

Most real estate agents we spoke with, however, said their clients should not be directly impacted by the travel ban (at least for now).

Jackie Cuneo, a senior loan officer at mortgage lender Summit Funding, tells Business Insider that so long as H-1B visa holders have a Social Security number, a US address, more than one year left on their visa, and a financial footprint established in the US, they're treated like citizens.

It's unclear how Trump's travel ban could affect these standards, and if the rules vary for H-1B carriers who originated from one of the seven countries named in the executive order. It also appears Trump will go after the H-1B visa directly in an attempt to open up more jobs for American workers, according to a leaked draft of a new executive order.

In the hypothetical situation that an immigrant worker gets their H-1B visa revoked shortly after buying a house, they would have to pay between 6% and 7% of the home value in closing costs and transfer tax, a one-time fee imposed on the owner when a property changes hands.

Trump's immigration ban sent shockwaves throughout the Bay Area, where technology companies rely on an international talent pool. At Facebook, more than 15% of US employees in 2016 worked for the social giant under a temporary work visa.

Gullicksen, the real estate agent whose clients backpedaled because they have a vacation coming up, said the "What if?" question is ultimately what cost him the sale.

"We were just about to submit an offer that was due ... today, actually," Gullicksen said. "A couple days ago, they said, 'We loved that house but we're really nervous about spending that much money and maybe not staying here."'

On February 5th, 97 tech firms, including Google, Apple, and Facebook, filed a legal brief opposing the travel ban, in Silicon Valley's first united front attack on the new administration. The brief argues that the policy "inflicts significant harm on American business."

Real estate agents will be keeping a close eye on what happens next.

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"In a free-market economy, anyone can make as much money as they want," emphasizes self-made millionaire Steve Siebold, who has also studied over 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people. 

And it's never too early to start.

To help you reach the seven-figure mark by 30, we rounded up nine pieces of advice from people who became millionaires at a young age, as well as those who have studied hundreds of self-made millionaires.

We can't guarantee millionaire status, but doing these things won't hurt your odds.

Kathleen Elkins wrote an earlier version of this story.

SEE ALSO: What 17 successful people wish they'd known about money in their 20s

1. Focus on earning

"In today's economic environment you cannot save your way to millionaire status," writes Grant Cardone, who went from broke and in debt at 21 to self-made millionaire by 30. "The first step is to focus on increasing your income in increments and repeating that.

"My income was $3,000 a month and nine years later it was $20,000 a month. Start following the money, and it will force you to control revenue and see opportunities."

Earning more money is often easier said than done, but most people have options. Read about 50 ways to bring in additional income, some high-paying jobs you can do on the side, how you can earn passive income, and the first step to take before starting any business, from an entrepreneur who earns up to $170,000 a month.

2. Develop multiple streams of income

One way to earn more is to increase your streams of income.

In author Thomas C. Corley's five-year study of self-made millionaires he found that many of them develop multiple streams of income: 65% had three streams, 45% had four streams, and 29% had five or more streams.

These additional streams include real-estate rentals, stock market investments, and part-ownership in a side business.

"Three streams of income seems to be the magic number for the self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits study, but the more income streams you can create in life, the more secure will your financial house be," he writes.

3. Save to invest, don't save to save

Writes Cardone:

"The only reason to save money is to invest it. Put your saved money into secured, sacred (untouchable) accounts. Never use these accounts for anything, not even an emergency. This will force you to continue to follow step one (increase income). To this day, at least twice a year, I am broke because I always invest my surpluses into ventures I cannot access."

Investing is not as complicated or daunting as we make it out to be. The simplest starting point is to contribute to your 401(k) if your employer offers one, and take full advantage of your company's 401(k) match program — which is essentially free money — if it has one.

Next, consider contributing money toward a Roth IRA or traditional IRA, individual retirement accounts with different contribution limits and tax structures — which one you can use depends on your income. If you still have money left over, you can research low-cost index funds, which Warren Buffett recommends, and look into the online-investment platforms known as "robo-advisers."

The key to consistently setting aside money is to make it automatic. That way, you'll never even see the money you're contributing and you'll learn to live without it.

US home prices rose past expectations at the end of 2016, according to S&P/Case-Shiller index data from November.

The 20 city-index, which covers major metropolitan areas like Seattle and Chicago, rose by 5.27%, above economists' expectations of 5.03%, and up from 5.1% in October.

Housing markets in big cities out West, including Portland, Seattle, and Denver, experienced significant bumps in growth, according to the report.

Gains are largely due to a healthy jobs market and historically low mortgage rates, which have increased demand for homeownership since the financial crisis, reports Business Insider's Elena Holodny.

"National home prices continue to grow at a rapid clip, largely driven upward by the now-familiar forces of high demand from home buyers and limited supply of homes available for sale," Svenja Gudll, Zillow chief economist said after the report.

"But even as the pace of home value growth keeps rising, growth in rents is flattening out and stabilizing, which – combined with a series of other factors – will likely begin impacting the for-sale market sooner or later."

New data provided to Business Insider by Zillow underscores Portland's national lead, reporting 13.8% home value growth for the metro over the last year. That's 2% higher than Tampa, purportedly the second most in-demand market.

Below, check out the top-15 most popular big cities — as measured by home value growth over the past year — and what a median-value home looks like in each. 

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15. Phoenix

Median home value: $230,500

Home value growth over past year: 6.8%

14. St. Louis

Median home value: $148,900

Home value growth over past year: 7.1%

11. Atlanta

Median home value: $173,300

Home value growth over past year: 7.4%