• Phone scams are as big a problem now as they ever were — and some of the most devious scams are growing in popularity.
• Number “spoofing” technology and robocalling have only made these scams more sophisticated and harder to detect.
• We put together a list of the biggest phone scams the average person falls for today.

While online scams are on the rise in our modern, high-tech world, plenty of fraudsters still rely on good, old-fashioned phone scams to con unsuspecting victims.

Phone scams have been around as long as landlines have existed. But thanks to the rise of smartphones, nearly everyone has their device on them at virtually all times — meaning there are that many more opportunities for callers to trick you with false claims, pleas for help, or even the promise of a free vacation.

Though many assume that it’s only the elderly who fall for such seemingly obvious ploys, these scams are growing more and more sophisticated, and just about anyone can fall victim to them. In fact, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s 2017 annual data summary of consumer complaints, 40% of Americans in their 20s reported fraud that caused them to lose money, while 18% of fraud victims aged 70 or older said that they’d lost money to a scam.

Read more:How to stop robocalls and other spam calls from reaching your iPhone

In 70% of these reported fraud cases recorded by the FTC, contact by telephone was the method of initial communication used by the scammers. The ability for criminals to “spoof” caller IDs has only made matters worse, as people are typically more likely to answer a familiar-seeming number with a local area code.

With the growing sophistication of these scams and the relative ease with which your information can be accessed, it’s more important than ever to be informed and on the lookout for the latest, most common scams that can cost you time, money, or even your identity.

We’ve compiled a list of eight of the most sophisticated phone scams the average person falls for today.

SEE ALSO: The 11 most sophisticated online scams right now that the average person falls for

DON'T MISS: 8 of the biggest scams to avoid when buying a car

Robocall scams are on the rise

Automated phone calls — also called “robocalls” — have been giving people headaches for years. According to a 2018 report by The New York Times, the issue is only getting worse. This is due to the fact that robocalls are cheap and easy to make — experts tell the NYT that robocallers can reach millions of consumers daily at relatively low cost.

A whopping 3.4 billion robocalls were recorded by YouMail, a robocall blocking service that collects and analyzes data. The top robocall phone scams in March 2018, per YouMail, included offers of 0% interest rates (122.9 million calls), claims of problems with a consumer’s credit card (82.5 million calls), and the promise of forgiven or lowered student loan debt (71 million calls).

And no, there’s not much you can personally do to avoid them, other than remain vigilant and skeptical whenever you’re answering an unexpected call.

Read more:How to stop robocalls and other spam calls from reaching your Android phone

IRS scams take advantage of people’s stress during tax season

Tax season is a stressful, chaotic, and confusing time for many. And fraudsters are all too happy to take advantage of that.

One of the most common types of phone scamming involves a caller claiming to be an Internal Revenue Service official and threatening those who answer over supposed debts.

According to Experian, these phony IRS agents will call and demand money from victims, threatening arrest or even deportation if they don’t comply. The IRS has issued repeated warnings about this common scam, even noting that the calls typically increase during the summer once the tax filing date has passed.

“Summertime tends to be a favorite period for scammers because many taxpayers have recently filed a return and may be waiting for a response from the IRS,” the agency noted in a May 2018 news release.

The ‘grandparent scam’ preys on grandparents’ love for their grandchildren

The so-called “grandparent scam” is a popular one targeting older adults, and it’s seen an increase lately.

In a fairly straightforward plot, the person on the other line will pretend to be the grandson or granddaughter of the older victim. They’ll then concoct a story ending with a request for immediate financial assistance. Often, tricked seniors will end up sending money via wire transfer to the scammers as a result.

These scams are part of a larger category of “family/friend impostor” fraud complaints. The FTC received 10,565 of this type of complaint in 2015 alone, according to AARP.

“Certain scammers, especially those targeting older individuals, will pose as family members seeking bail money in order to stir sympathy,” credit industry analyst Sean Messier of Credit Card Insider told Business Insider.

Even more disturbing, criminals who employ this type of scam are successful in part because they already have some of their potential victim’s information, including grandchildren’s names, phone numbers, and even addresses. The FTC notes that these scammers typically buy or steal this personal information in order to sound legitimate to potential victims.

• Peter Rusinak is a wine specialist at the famed Christie's Auction House.
• He says there are three types of wine everyone should have in their wine cellar: Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne.
• Rusinak says Bordeaux has been making the best wines from Cabernet and Merlot for 300-400 years, and Burgundy is difficult to make but can be "the silkiest wine on the market" if done right.

When most people think of the famed Christie's Auction House, they probably think of precious jewels or record-setting sales of paintings by famous artists.

But their wine and spirits department has been around since the first Christie's auction in 1766 and offers rare spirits from around the world. 

I recently visited Christie's in New York City, which is located at Rockefeller Center, and met Peter Rusinak, the resident wine specialist. 

Rusinak told me there are three types of wine everyone should have in their wine cellar: Bordeaux, Burgundy, and of course, Champagne.

"Bordeaux, it's been around for ages," Rusinak said. "They've been making the best wines out of cabernet and merlot for the last 300 to 400 years."

As for Burgundy, it's one of the most difficult wines to make, according to Rusinak. "But if the winemaker gets it right, it's the silkiest wine on the market," he said.

And of course, you can't forget the bubbly.

"Champagne's always Champagne," Rusinak said. 

In a presentation at Christie's, Rusinak explained the different types of Champagne you can buy, the most common being Brut, a dry style of Champagne. 

Then there's Blanc de Blancs, which is made of 100% Chardonnay, has a soft flavor, and has the potential to age well. Blanc de Noirs is a dry Champagne made from black grapes such as pinot noir and pinot meunier. 

Demi-Sec is a sweeter type of Champagne that's "perfect for desserts," Rusinak said. "They serve those Champagnes with wedding cake, with chocolate truffles."

Champagne that's called Extra-Dry is misleading because there's actually a slight sweetness to these types, Rusinak said.

And then there's Rosé Champagne, a dry style that's made by blending red grapes or by contact with the skin of red grapes. 

When you're ready to enjoy those bubbles, remember that the traditional flutes and old-fashioned coupe glasses are actually not the best way to serve Champagne, as Business Insider's Lina Batarags previously reported.

Read more: You're probably opening Champagne the wrong way — and serving it in the wrong glass. Here's what you should be doing instead, according to an expert

Instead, you should use a glass that looks like a white wine glass but comes together more noticeably toward the rim, like the one pictured above. 

SEE ALSO: A Hennessy expert in France told me the best way to drink 3 different types of cognac, from mixing it in an absinthe-rinsed glass to adding cold water

DON'T MISS: You're probably opening Champagne the wrong way — and serving it in the wrong glass. Here's what you should be doing instead, according to an expert

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Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

• Philips Hue smart bulbs are known for being reliable, responsive, and very easy to use.
• Google Assistant is also one of the smartest digital assistants out there, and is available in great speakers like the Google Home Mini.
• For a limited time, you can get four Philips Hue bulbs, a Philips Hue hub, and two Google Home Mini speakers from Best Buy for a very affordable $169.99.

Are you looking to get started in building a smart home? There are hundreds of smart home devices out there, but there are few things as easy to set up and start using than Philips Hue smart bulbs. Right now,  you can get a starter pack with four Philips Hue color bulbs, a Philips Hue hub, and two Google Home Mini speakers — all for $169.99, which is a whopping $128 off at Best Buy.

Philips Hue's bulbs are, in general, considered some of the best smart bulbs out there. That's because they're reliable, responsive, colorful, and look great. They work through the Philips Hue app, but they can also be controlled in Apple's Home app, by Amazon's Alexa, or by Google Assistant.

That last digital assistant will probably be most important to you — thanks to the fact that with this deal you'll be getting two Google Home Mini speakers. Google Home speakers are smart speakers with Google Assistant built right in — meaning you can use your voice to find out information, play music, or, as you might expect, control smart home devices like Philips Hue bulbs (even from different rooms).

It's hard to overstate how great of a deal this is. You get some of the best smart lights out there with some of the smartest smart speakers out there, and save $128 on those devices in the process. Safe to say, if you've been thinking of getting started in setting up smart home devices, there's no better time than now.

Get the Philips Hue Starter Kit with Two Google Home Minis from Best Buy for $169.99

Join the conversation about this story »

• Everyone knows that you can post still photos to Facebook, but not everyone realizes that Facebook also supports GIFs — short animated pictures.
• Animated GIFs are great for expressing emotions and sharing memes that you have trouble communicating through mere text.
• You can post GIFs as a status update or comment, and the process is pretty similar for each option.

Sometimes a GIF just puts it better than any text comment possibly could. No matter your reason for using one, animated GIFs are a great way to add something fun to your Facebook status, or break up the text-only comments on your friend's most recent update.

You can use GIFs in a few ways on Facebook: either as your status, as a comment alone, or as a comment with text. Here are the simple steps to take for each situation.

How to post a GIF as your status

1. Click on the ellipsis near "Feeling/Activity."

2. Choose the "GIF" button.

3. Choose a GIF from the trending list or type in what you're looking for specifically.

4. Scroll through and choose the GIF you'd like to use.

5. Type in any text you want as your status to appear above the GIF.

6. Finish your status and post.

Nearly any word you type in will return with GIF results, from general keywords like "laugh" or "cry" to more specific pop culture figures like "Spider-Man" or "SpongeBob."

How to use Giphy to post a GIF

If you can't quite find what you want, you can also search GIPHY in a separate tab. The website lets you search a number of GIFs uploaded by users and brands. You can also upload and create your own GIFs. You can browse the site's various categories, like "entertainment" and "reactions," or just type in your own keywords. The "artists" section also features original animated GIFs by illustrators, artists, designers and other creative people.

Once you find the specific GIF you want, copy and paste the URL and drop that into your Facebook status.

You can then delete the full URL and replace with your text or just leave it blank, like this status:

How to post a GIF as a comment on someone's else's status

1. In the "Write a comment" field, click on the "GIF" button.

2. In the same way you found a GIF to use as a status, select the GIF you want to use and it will appear as a comment.

How to post a comment with both text and a GIF

If you want to post both text and a GIF as a comment, you should type in the text first then choose your GIF. Otherwise, the comment will just show up as a GIF, and you'll have to share your text comment as a separate comment.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to block and unblock someone on Facebook

• How to change your name on Facebook

• How to change your Facebook password to help keep your account secure

• How to unfriend and unfollow people on Facebook

SEE ALSO: Facebook is going to start explaining why stuff shows up in your newsfeed

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The US won't let Huawei, China's biggest smartphone maker, enter the US market

Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

• Panda Planners ($25) are undated planners that were designed using scientific strategies for achieving productivity and happiness. 
• I tried the planner, and the biggest difference is how well it blends self-appreciation and positivity with the desire to evolve. You also get access to inspirational ebooks and a no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. 
• It's also our overall top pick in our buying guide for the best planner you can buy.

No matter how convenient it is, I can't quite convert from the pen-and-paper schedule to an online calendar. Something about sitting down to plan, the physicality of a tangible planner, and the helpful delay between my thoughts and how quickly I can write them, makes for a more effective process. 

As someone who evaluates products for a living, that means I'm typically suspended in an ongoing, Goldilocks-like search for the right planner. Ideally, it should have organizational structures (here are your tasks, your schedule, your notes), as well as the breathing room and lack of pressure to facilitate a healthy approach to self-betterment and growth. In other words, function and holism. 

Which is why, after reading about the Panda Planner as the top pick in our buying guide for the best planner you can buy, I reached out to Michael Leip, the founder. 

Leip, a cancer survivor, created the Panda Planner system as a way to recover from the anxiety and depression that often accompanies suffering from Lyme Disease, cancer, and traumatic brain injury. The system, which he says is based on scientific strategies for achieving productivity and happiness, worked for him.

The resultant 5.25-by-8.25-inch book, made of natural materials, is an undated calendar that is intended to be used for three to six months. You fill the dates in, so you can choose if the week starts on Sunday or Monday — and it invites you to think about progress from a positive, grateful outlook. Since its inception, it's been making the rounds — changing hands from big-name editors to bloggers to your extremely organized coworkers. On Amazon, it has over 4,500 five-star reviews.

Below, I walk you through how it's set up and what it's like to use.

The Panda Planner's at-a-day glance

Each day page has a place for you to write the date, three things you're grateful for, three things you're looking forward to in the day, some affirmations for yourself, what you'd like to focus on, an exercise you'd like to do, and your projects and priorities. 

On the opposite side, there's a schedule column you can use to block in events, a task-list column, and a space for notes. Below them is a spot to log the wins of each day, and opportunities to improve. 

The weekly glance

Every weekly page has a space to record and reflect upon up to five big wins, fewer spots for how you'll improve, and boxes for "Things I Will Do To Make This Week Great" in four categories: personal, work, family/friends, and relationship. Below those boxes is what you're looking forward to, habits you're focused on developing, and a space for something new you'd like to learn and a passion project. 

On the opposite weekly page, you'll find room to record current projects and top goals. 

All in all, it serves mostly as an effective prompt for reflection and living your next week with intention. 

The monthly glance

The monthly pages have a classic calendar overview so you can schedule big events. In the bottom left is a space for planning: monthly goals and distractions to avoid. On the bottom right is a review to complete after of this month's wins and the insights you gained. The right-hand side also has small spots for setting your focus and a good habit, and a column for notes. 

All in all, the monthly pages serve as bookends for reflection and intention — like most of the planner, it's trying to healthily blend self-acceptance with growth. 

Extra perks like ebooks and the money-back guarantee

With your purchase of the Panda Planner, you also get free access to six different ebooks and a video series to help you quickly hit your goals. The company's guarantee is that if you "don't feel happier and more productive, just reach out to us for a simple, no-hassle refund." No questions asked. 

Overall impression

One thing to note is that, since it isn't a planner with dates, the months, weeks, and days are housed in separate parts of the book, rather than finishing seven of the day pages, getting a week page, and then after four weeks running into a new month page. However, there are three differently colored ribbon bookmarks included, so you can flip back and forth easily.

What I loved about the Panda Planner was its focus on gratitude — there's something powerful about a purposeful and incremental exercise in positivity.

It's nice to begin the day with prompts to count your blessings (which can otherwise go disguised as your stressors, like "having a job"). Plus, if you learn anything as an adult trying to form effective habits, it's that your efforts compound. This positive, accumulative effort of contextualizing life positively brings to mind the Yoko Ono quote: "Try to say nothing negative about anybody for three days, for 45 days, for three months. See what happens to your life." A simple shift in perspective, like spending more time outdoors, can make the world a more manageable and welcoming place. It's a small (and not obnoxious) shift, but one I really enjoyed in a daily ritual.

I also appreciated the inclusion of a daily exercise prompt, since small amounts of exercise can have an outsize effect on happiness.

The Panda Planner also helped me be more realistic with myself and stop to enjoy my daily successes more, things I'd normally never tally.

Upon reflecting on certain days, I realized I needed to take smaller "bites" out of my big-picture goals so that I could experience sustainable incremental growth, without feeling guilty or overburdened by my own expectations. The daily "wins" helped me recognize my daily successes (and realize they're perhaps more important than total attention to long-term goals) even if I didn't accomplish everything I'd set out to do. While words of affirmation could feel uncomfortable (and I more frequently skipped it than didn't), the wins section did help me appreciate my own efforts more.

You may not use every section every day, but it's there should you need a reminder of your own blessings, successes, and opportunities for improvement. 

In short, Panda Planner does what a good planner should do by thoughtfully organizing a space for tasks, projects, and a schedule for the day as well as any long-term weekly and monthly goals. But it also helps you contextualize your day-to-day life and growth from a positive, holistic outlook by both not having dates and by having gratitude and self-appreciation prompts. It reduces the strain and self-imposed pressure that can accompany a planner, so you can actually experience healthy growth. All in all, I would recommend taking a look if it seems like a setup that may work for you.

Buy Panda Planner Daily Planner, from $24.97

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A sleep expert explains what happens to your body and brain if you don't get enough sleep

Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective. 

• I’ve been taking five daily vitamins from Love Wellness specifically designed for clearer skin, better gut health, and more for a month and so far, I’m impressed.
• The buzzy vitamin brand is on a mission to bring positivity into the women’s wellness space by normalizing sometimes-shameful issues like yeast infections, bloat, and even depression, and offering women prettily-packaged supplements that support natural healing. The products range from $10 to $25.
• Love Wellness was founded by Lauren "Lo" Bosworth, previously of "Laguna Beach and "The Hills" fame. The founder says years of handling criticism in the spotlight prepped her to tackle tough subjects and foster a community focused on open and honest discussion.

Confession: There is an entire three-tier cabinet in my kitchen dedicated to my various wellness exploits. It is full  — as in from top to bottom and side to side — of vitamins, supplements, teas, powders, seeds, adaptogens, dried herbs, CBD drops, and digestive aids. And yet, for the last month, my entire routine has revolved around just five little capsules of all-natural goodness — and I may never open that overstuffed cabinet again.

The vitamin brand that’s stolen my attention (and my heart) is the buzzed-about, aesthetically-pleasing, and equally effective Love Wellness (surely you’ve seen the Instagram ads by now). It’s almost impossible to ignore Love’s brightly-colored bottles like millennial pink for #Mood Pills, a natural supplement that helps with anxiety and depression; baby blue for Bye Bye Bloat, a digestive-easing, tummy-flattening pill; sunshine yellow for Good To Glow, a capsule packed with skin-healthy nutrients to help you glow from the inside out.

The digitally-native brand knows exactly what it’s doing. "We package everything from our boric acid suppositories to our vitamins beautifully; they're products you want to pick up and display on your bathroom shelf," founder Lauren Bosworth tells INSIDER. Yes, as in Lo from MTV’s "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills."

"I was thrown into the court of public opinion at a really young age, when gossip blogs were first becoming a thing," Bosworth shares. "I learned how to deal with the negative emotional fallout of that before 22, and that mental fortitude definitely helped me when I launched the brand back in 2016. I've dealt with endless criticism as a public figure, and I believe that's why I feel capable of helping to change a category full of stigmas."

The stigma she’s choosing to tackle? Women’s wellness in all of its messy, sometimes shame-laden glory — including vaginal health, yeast infections, bloat, and even depression."After experiencing a number of personal health problems from frequent trips to the OB/GYN to vitamin deficiencies, I went looking for solutions," Bosworth says. "Frankly, I was disappointed with the archaic offerings found at the drugstore for women's personal care and wellness." She realized that her experience was a reflection of a larger universal issue.

"From tampons to anti-fungal creams, buying personal care products has not been a particularly positive experience for women," the founder explains. (Can I get an amen?) "We've turned what has traditionally been a negative and shameful experience into one that women can feel good about, and we rely on our customers to help us spread our mission of cultivating a more open and honest self-care culture for women. Love Wellness offers products that lift women up and heal their bodies, not change how they look or smell. When I see a newcomer enter this space and offer women a product like a vaginal deodorant, it does nothing but perpetuate the shame women have been made to feel about their bodies," Bosworth says. 

It’s definitely true for me — I’ve never felt more chic using a pH-balancing feminine wipe or keeping a yeast infection suppository on full display in my bathroom cabinet.

Love’s Do It All Wipes are OB/GYN-approved for cleansing with a natural and gentle mix of aloe, coconut oil, and chamomile, while The Killer is a pharmaceutical-grade boric acid suppository that can be used to prevent a yeast infection or treat an existing one. The pretty peach packaging of both serves as a way to say, "You’re totally fine and normal and your vagina deserves the best!" At least, that’s how I feel.

But the stand-outs of the brand, in my opinion, are the five daily vitamins. I take four of them every morning to boost my glow, help my digestion, and balance my mood, and one at night to help me sleep. 

My favorite? Good To Glow. (I am a beauty editor, after all.) "Good To Glow is the perfect skin supplement with antibacterial, anti-aging, and antioxidant properties," Bosworth shares. "It contains popular ingredients like collagen that can be annoying to mix into your coffee or smoothie, along with ingredients like organic ashwagandha, alpha lipoic acid, and Japanese knotweed." That combo delivers a heaping helping of vitamin C, which doctors agree is essential for healthy, young-looking skin.

"Vitamin C is linked to preserving and protecting natural collagen," says Dr. Karin Hermoni, PhD, Head of Science & Nutrition at Lycored. It’s an antioxidant that "supports normal function of the skin," protecting it from the damaging effects of pollution. "Another antioxidant that can support our skin from the inside out and from outside in is vitamin E," she says, which is also present in Good to Glow.

I can’t say for sure that this particular vitamin is the sole reason I haven’t had a major breakout in nearly a month — I test a lot of topical skincare products as well — but it’s surely a piece of my clear skin puzzle.  

The brand’s Good Girl Probiotics and Bye Bye Bloat formulas indirectly help skin by way of balancing the "good" bacteria in the gut that keeps bad bacteria from proliferating and showing up in your pores. "Bye Bye Bloatis perfect for conquering hormonal bloating and digestive issues with food," Bosworth says. "We combine ingredients like organic dandelion root (a natural diuretic) and organic fenugreek (a natural digestive aid) with different digestive enzymes that help break down food and support digestion." You can take one each morning or before a big meal to help things run smoothly.

"We got endless customer requests for a product [for metabolism], but made the choice to formulate a natural product that doesn't contain chemical stimulants," the founder explains. Instead, Lean Queenrelies on selenium, a natural mineral that helps regulate the thyroid. Since I do exactly one proactive thing to maintain my weight — a daily Peloton cycling session — taking Lean Queen every day has been the ultimate, low-key way to support my efforts.

Love Wellness’ #Mood Pills round out my morning routine and this is also the supplement that’s closest to Bosworth’s heart. "It addresses PMDD and depression by combining ingredients like organic St. John's Wort and organic chasteberry for a mood lift that comes from nature," she tells INSIDER. "I felt strongly about bringing a product like this to market because a lot of women don't know that natural ingredients can provide great relief for these common issues." I personally deal with high levels of anxiety on the daily and I’m convinced the combination of #Mood and my favorite CBD gummy vitamins is what’s helped me keep my calm lately.

While it takes time to see real results from most vitamins, there’s one Love Wellness product that works almost instantaneously for me:Lights Out. The pre-bedtime pill is filled with natural magnesium, melatonin, and valerian root, and puts me out in, like, seconds. I usually require a glass of wine and a few episodes of "Grey’s Anatomy" to lull me into a light, fitful sleep each night, but I’m overjoyed to report that’s no longer the case. A single dose of Lights Out really does it for me and is so much healthier than a serving of cabernet sauvignon, right?

Consistency is key, of course, and that’s why Love Wellness has been a real game-changer for me. The bottles are so cute that I don’t want to stuff them away in my full-to-bursting kitchen cabinet. Instead, I leave them out on my desk so I remember to take them before I sit down to work.

"I highly recommend using a vitamin organizer and keeping it in your fridge so when you open it up for breakfast in the morning, whatever you need is ready to go and easily accessible," Bosworth adds. "Yes, it's annoying to plan out your organizer once a week, but it makes sticking to the routine every other day a lot easier." And when that routine delivers glowy skin, less bloat, and better sleep? Yeah, I’d say it’s worth it.

Of course, my personal experience with Love Wellness is just that: personal. Vitamins and supplements aren’t a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, so consult your doctor before adding anything new to your own wellness routine.

Buy Love Wellness vitamins from Revolve for $25

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• You can cancel your free Amazon Prime trial as soon as you sign up, and continue to reap the Prime benefits for a full month.
• Be strong — Amazon will try to convince you to keep your membership multiple times. You’ll need to confirm your cancellation 3 times.
• You can cancel your membership on Amazon.com or on the mobile app.

Every now and then Amazon offers a free month-long trial to Amazon Prime. Maybe you took advantage of the deal to get that last-minute birthday gift for your friend, or to binge-watch "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," but have now decided to cancel your membership and avoid being charged $12.99 every month.

Like most subscription-based service providers, Amazon doesn’t make the cancellation process clear (or easy!). You’ll be asked three times to confirm you really want to cancel.

If you’re only in it for the free trial, it’s best to cancel your membership right after you’ve set it up, so you don’t forget. Sounds crazy, right? It’s not — Amazon allows you to reap the benefits of a Prime membership for the full-month after cancellation.

When you’re ready to end your trial or membership, here’s what you have to do:

How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership on Amazon.com

1. Go to amazon.com and sign into your account.

2. Scroll over "Accounts & Lists" on the right side of the screen to open the menu.

3. Click on "Your Prime Membership." This will open the Prime membership page.

4. On the left side you’ll see a ton of information regarding your trial. This includes the date your trial ends, the card that will be charged on that date, and the confirmation that you have yet to be charged for your membership. At the bottom left under "Membership Management" you’ll see "End Trial and Benefits." Click on that option.

5. Now for the fun part: Amazon’s first effort to stop you from cancelling Prime, and the first time you’ll have to click a button to say you want to cancel. At the bottom of the page click "End My Benefits." Don’t get distracted from the pop-up to the right encouraging you to keep your benefits.

6. Now comes the second attempt to thwart your cancellation quest. Again, at the bottom you’ll see three options, so click "Continue to Cancel." No pop-ups this time — you’re getting closer.

7. Finally, you’ll land on the last cancellation page. Here, you’ll want to click "Cancel Membership."

8. Your Amazon Prime trial has now been canceled and you won’t be charged a penny. Two alert boxes on the membership page will confirm the cancellation of your Prime membership, and the date on which it will end.

How to cancel your membership on your phone using the Amazon app:

The cancellation process on the Amazon app follows similar steps:

1. Open the Amazon app.

2. Press the three horizontal lines in the top left corner to open the menu.

3. Under "Programs and Features," click "Prime."

4. Scroll down to the bottom and click "Manage Prime Membership."

5. Scroll down to "Membership Management" and click on "End Trial and Benefits."

6. Here you’ll encounter Amazon’s first attempt to change your mind. Scroll down and click "End My Benefits."

7. On to the second attempt to halt your cancellation — scroll down and click "Continue to Cancel."

8. Now for the third and final attempt (you’re almost there!) — scroll down and click "Cancel Membership."

9. The Prime page will now display two warnings stating that your Prime membership will expire, and on what date it will end.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• The best ways to contact Amazon customer service when you have a problem with your account

• How to cancel an order on Amazon

• How to contact Amazon for help when you have a problem with your account

• How you can archive your Amazon order history to keep it private

SEE ALSO: How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership

Join the conversation about this story »

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Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

As a collective, the Insider Picks team reviews a ton of products — home goods, food, clothing, and cool new services are just a few of the categories we test. At the end of the day, we're just as much consumers as our readers. So, it's only natural that when we need to buy new products for ourselves, we turn to the experts: each other. 

Keeping reading for 17 of the products and services we've purchased after reading our coworkers' reviews:

A Leesa mattress

Leesa Mattress, $845 for a Queen, available at Leesa

The original review: I slept on a memory foam mattress from popular online startup Leesa — and it was actually really impressive

"When I moved into my apartment, getting a mattress was a top priority. The only bed-in-a-box brand I had heard of at the time was Casper, but my coworkers knew the ins and outs of all the brands I had no idea even existed. I tapped into this wealth of knowledge and was ultimately led to Leesa. While it definitely is pricier than some of the other options I considered, I think it's so worth it — we spend so much time in our beds that paying more for a super comfortable mattress doesn't seem outrageous. My only qualm is that it makes waking up a little hard, because truly it is so cozy I don't want to get up." — Remi Rosmarin, reporter

A Rent the Runway Unlimited subscription

RTR Unlimited, $159 a month, available at Rent the Runway

Save $80 on your first two months with code "SOSMART"

The original review: I've used Rent the Runway's unlimited subscription for a year — and it's completely changed the way I shop

"Lauren Lyons Cole had been persuading me to try Rent the Runway Unlimited for months until I actually signed up last April. Between her recommendation and the annual credit card summary Chase sends its cardholders — which showed me just how much I’d spent on clothes the previous year, and quite frankly opened my eyes — I finally bit the bullet.

I now have a constantly rotating wardrobe of clothes from some of my favorite brands (Tanya Taylor, Joie, Parker, 10 Crosby by Derek Lam, Saloni, etc.) I could never justify buying, and the convenience of never having to dry clean. The service isn't cheap at $159 a month, but I'm actually spending far less on clothes these days; the last clothing purchase I made (besides my monthly RTR bill) was in October." — Ellen Hoffman, director of content strategy for Insider Picks

"I second Ellen's feelings about Rent the Runway Unlimited! I signed up for it upon her recommendation, and now instead of just buying clothing left and right (which is what I was doing before), I've been checking Rent the Runway for similar styles every time I see something I want to buy — and 90% of the time, there's a better version of it there for me to rent. It cuts down on closet clutter and saves me a lot of money in the long run. —Sally Kaplan, editor

A Purple seat cushion

The Purple Royal Seat Cushion, $79, available at Purple and Amazon

The original review: I sit on this $79 seat cushion while I work — it helps improve my posture and makes sitting much more comfortable

"I asked for a Purple Seat Cushion for Christmas after editing Jessica Klein's review of hers a few months earlier, and it's amazing what an instant and marked improvement it's made! Besides improving my posture while seated, it has made sitting down all day for my desk job significantly more comfortable." —Ellen Hoffman, director of content strategy for Insider Picks

Read more: 25 indispensable desk accessories we use to stay focused and comfortable at work

Insider Inc. has a number of editorial openings across both Business Insider and INSIDER. If you're interested in joining a fast-paced, growing newsroom, apply at the links provided below. Unless otherwise stated, positions are located in our New York City headquarters and begin immediately.

Editorial fellowships

• Business Insider finance fellow, UK
• Business Insider editorial fellow, luxury lifestyle
• Business Insider visual features fellow, transportation
• INSIDER editorial fellow, entertainment
• INSIDER editorial science fellow, San Francisco
• Markets Insider editorial fellow
• VIDEO: writing fellow, art and design
• VIDEO: editing fellow, Los Angeles
• VIDEO: producing fellow, Tech Insider
• Global content translation fellow, UK

Full-time positions

• Business Insider billionaires reporter
• Business Insider finance editor 
• Business Insider investing reporter
• Business Insider lists and rankings reporter
• Business Insider retail editor
• Business Insider retail reporter
• Business Insider tech cloud reporter, San Francisco
• Business Insider tech business reporter, San Francisco
• Business Insider visual features reporter, shopping
• Business Insider transportation editor
• Business Insider travel reporter, visual features
• Business Insider visual features reporter, fast food
• Head of Business Insider TV
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For a constantly updated list of openings, see our careers page.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 12 everyday phrases that you're probably saying incorrectly

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• The San Francisco Bay Area is well known as a hub of innovation, particularly in tech. 
• 11 online clothing startups, including industry disruptors Stitch Fix, Everlane, and ThirdLove, are proving that the area's penchant for innovation extends into the world of fashion as well. 
• By making use of data, cool and sustainable fabrics, and personalized solutions, they're signaling to the rest of the world to pay attention to San Francisco — for more than just its tech scene. 

In a fast-paced game of word associations, you're more likely to shout out "tech" when the card for San Francisco/Bay Area is drawn, before you even begin to consider "fashion" or "clothing."

On the other side of the country, New York City — home to Fashion Week, boutique-ridden SoHo, and the offices of iconic fashion magazines — might more confidently assume the role as a top fashion capital of the world. 

Still, a group of clothing startups is proving that fashion born in San Francisco has its place, too. Some of the most talked-about industry game-changers, including Stitch Fix, Everlane, and ThirdLove, were founded in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Their proximity to the unique innovation happening in San Francisco and the nearby Silicon Valley provides a strong impetus to weave tech and sustainable practices into the DNA of their businesses. The Bay has long been home to new ways of thinking about how we live, and with these startups, it's now also changing how we dress and shop for clothes. 

A few themes connect these San Francisco-based clothing startups, including the use of data to create customized or personalized solutions, missions of ethical and sustainable consumption, and the belief that clothing can do more than just look pretty. Not that SF has ever needed help getting people to pay attention to it, but now you'll have reason to consider it in a new light.  

Learn more about the 11 San Francisco-based clothing startups that are changing the fashion industry: 

Everlane

Shop clothing at Everlane here

Everlane is the antithesis of traditional fast, trendy fashion and every minimalist dresser's dream brand. Just take a look at its best sellers for proof: classic stretch jeans, basic leather flats, and $100 cashmere crew sweaters aren't the stuff of runway buzz, but they are the pieces you'll wear and keep for many, many years to come. It operates on a mission of "Radical Transparency," whereby it partners with ethical factories and doesn't overcharge you for its high-quality basics. 

Athleta

Shop athletic wear at Athleta here

Gap, Inc. opened its first Gap store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco in 1969. Forty years later, its women's athletic wear brand Athleta was born. From colorful leggings to performance workwear and even underwear, this certified B Corp has proven to be an all-around powerhouse that combines style and fabric innovation (in the realms of both performance and sustainability) in each of its pieces. 

Stitch Fix

Start a personal styling membership at Stitch Fix here

Valued at $2 billion, personal styling service Stitch Fix was founded in 2011 and went public just six years later. By using the technology of proprietary algorithms and the human touch of real stylists, it's able to quickly and effectively help its members shop for clothes they like. Features like the Style Profile and Style Shuffle game ensure style preferences are continually updated and understood, so members can enjoy a highly personalized shopping experience. 

• Private jets allow rich people to "get around a certain reality," the Disney heiressAbigail Disney told The Cut.
• Disney said that though her family had a 737 private jet, she decided to stop using it once she considered her carbon footprint and the cost her trips incurred.
• Private jets are popular purchases among many millionaires and billionaires looking for quick and easy travel.

Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires may own private jets, but the heiress Abigail Disney has a different set of thoughts on the topic.

"If I were queen of the world, I would pass a law against private jets, because they enable you to get around a certain reality," Abigail Disney recently told The Cut. "You don't have to go through an airport terminal, you don't have to interact, you don't have to be patient, you don't have to be uncomfortable. These are the things that remind us we're human."

Disney — who is the granddaughter of Roy Disney, a cofounder of The Walt Disney Co. — is an heiress to the Disney fortune. While she stayed mum on the exact size of her inheritance, she told The Cut that she could be a billionaire if she wanted to be and that she's donated more than $70 million since turning 21.

Her dad’s plane was a 737 with a queen-size bed and a shower, she said: "We would use the plane occasionally because I have four kids, so it was much easier, obviously, to ride on my dad’s plane with them. Then, at a certain point, I just said, 'No, I think this is really bad for everybody.'"

That defining moment, she told The Cut, came after thinking about her carbon footprint and the cost of her trip while riding on the jet alone for a quick trip from New York to California.

Read more: An heiress to the Disney fortune has given away $70 million, and teaches her kids that money is the least important thing about them

Owning a private jet is typically a hallmark among millionaires and billionaires, especially high-powered executives and investors working in the tech industry. For them, a private jet can allow for quick and easy travel if they need to be on the other coast on the same day, according to Business Insider's Paige Leskin.

Even the notoriously frugal Warren Buffett has his own private jet. He once told CNBC it's "the only thing that I do that costs a lot of money."

But design trends in planes are evolving: Business Insider's Katie Warren previously reported that the super-wealthy no longer want their private jets to look like private jets. Instead, they want them to look like extensions of their homes or offices, and they are designing them in clean lines and cool color tones.

Read the full story on The Cut »

SEE ALSO: People born into massive family fortunes go down 2 different paths, says a Disney heiress who has donated $70 million over the past 30 years

DON'T MISS: An NFL player who saves almost all his salary teaches a UPenn class called 'Life 101,' and his first assignment shocks students

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A mathematician gave us the easiest explanation of pi and why it's so important

• Sol Sips is a vegan restaurant in Brooklyn, New York that serves meat substitutes for foods like fried chicken. 
• The owner and chef, Francesca Chaney, is 22-years-old and hopes to make healthy eating more accessible to New York communities.
• Every Saturday and Tuesday, the restaurant hosts a sliding-scale brunch during which customers may pay anything between $7 and $15 for their meals.

Following is a transcript of the video.

Manny: This chicken isn't actually chicken. It's vegan. It's Francesca Chaney's version of fried chicken. She's the 22-year-old owner of Sol Sips, a vegan restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. Yes, you heard me correctly. She's only 22 with her own restaurant.

Personally, I'm not really big on vegan meat substitutes. There's something weird to me about trying to mimic the taste and texture of meat. But I stopped by Sol Sips to see if Francesca could change my mind. She swears by plant-based diets and became fully vegan when she went to college.

Francesca: The catalyst moment was when I realized that I'm responsible for taking care of my own body. I had recently moved out of my home where my mom had been cooking vegan food, and so, me transitioning into my own apartment and just like, college life, I had to figure out ways to nourish myself.

Manny: Studies show that lower-income neighborhoods are more exposed to unhealthy food sources, and Francesca wants to change that.

Francesca: My motivation is really in believing that everyone deserves the opportunity to have a plant-based meal, to be fueled by the energy that's coming directly from the earth, and also to use these resources to take care of our bodies and cure our bodies, and in realizing that not every neighborhood gets to have access to organic produce or even vegan or vegetarian options.

Manny: Of course, organic food can be pricey. But since Sol Sips is all about accessibility, they have a solution.

Francesca: So we do a sliding-scale brunch every Saturday and Tuesday, and you can come in and pay anything that you can afford between $7 and $15. We've seen people come from the Bronx, from New Jersey, from many different parts of New York.

Manny: Sol Sips has a tiny kitchen with just one stove and a very small prep area, but that doesn't stop the food from flowing at a quick pace. The restaurant is small, but it's usually full.

OK, it's time for the taste test. I ordered the vegan fried chicken sandwich. Like I said earlier, I'm kind of weirded out by meat substitutes, but this sandwich really surprised me. Savory fried oyster mushrooms and avocado is paired with sweet raspberry and jam, and it's honestly one of the best sandwiches I've had in New York. Francesca cooks the food herself, but sometimes she gets some special help.

Francesca: My mom is extremely helpful. Coming in and also, there are moments where by, like, I need to be supported not only as a business owner but, like, just as a human being. As a daughter. Also being a person that's growing into my own self, as a 22-year-old woman.

Manny: Part of that growth includes growing the restaurant as well, making healthy eats more accessible to more of New York.

Francesca: I will continue to develop my practice of growing this space through that knowledge and also by providing those resources that I gather to my community.

Join the conversation about this story »

Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

• C tables are the polished, grown-up versions of fold-out snack tables. It smartly designed to provide a surface for eating or working, without taking up too much floor space.
• The Alcott Hill Gammons End Table from Wayfair is our top pick thanks to its sleek, classic design and built-in magazine rack.

Anyone who’s eaten dinner while watching Netflix knows the benefit of a couch-side surface to put food on. However, coffee tables are bulky and fold-out snack tables, while functional and space saving, tend to be less than stylish. Enter, the C table.

The name comes from the unique three-sided shape (it's also called a C-side table). Because it's "missing" one side, it can hover over the arm of a sofa or chair, as the base slides beneath the seat (provided there's some clearing between the chair and the floor). Not all C tables are equally attractive, but they tend to be more stylish than their fold-out counterparts and provide the perfect small-space solution for snacking or working in the living room.

C tables are getting trendy, particularly with people living in small apartments, although it's not a totally new concept. Major retailers like Amazon, CB2, and Wayfair all carry takes on this style of table, many of which are incredibly affordable. Here are the best C tables favored by reviewers and consumers.

The best C tables you can buy:

• Best C table overall: Alcott Hill Gammons End Table
• Best acrylic C table: CB2 Peekaboo Acrylic C Table
• Best minimalist C table: Project 62 Glasgow C Table
• Best stackable C table: Carolina Chair & Table Madison Nesting Table
• Best wood C table: Wrought Studio Thaxted End Table

Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.

The best C table overall

Why you’ll love it: The Alcott Hill Gammons End Table features clean, geometric lines, a neutral wood finish, and a built-in storage rack for your reading material.  

The Alcott Hill Gammons End Table from Wayfair solves several couch-side lounging issues. It gives you a place to eat or work and an area to store your reading material. The natural wood look is more traditional, but it can work with many interior design schemes. A built-in magazine rack provides a clever storage solution for tiny living rooms with minimal surface space.

Constructed of rubberwood, it has a polished, neutral brown finish. Despite the material, you can easily slide it right up toward where you're sitting. The surface is large enough to accommodate a laptop or a standard-sized dinner plate.

This table is a big hit with Wayfair shoppers, with a 4.4-star customer rating based on more than 4,000 reviews.

“I got two of these to use as side tables in a tiny condo and I love them! They are very small so you will not store full-size magazines or catalogs in the side pocket but they are great for holding your reading glasses and other small items you want to keep handy,” wrote one shopper.

Pros: Affordable, comes with storage pocket, comes in five neutral shades

Cons: Magazine rack is a bit narrow, assembly required

Buy the Alcott Hill Gammons End Table on Wayfair for $40.11 to $48.99 (normally $50.04)

The best acrylic C table

Why you’ll love it: CB2’s Peekaboo Acrylic C Table is a conversation piece that adds a quick dose of cool to any decorating scheme.

I’ve become somewhat obsessed with acrylic design elements ever since my mom picked up the coffee table version of the Peekaboo Acrylic C Table from CB2. There’s something about adding a transparent piece of furniture that makes a space look infinitely cooler. In the Peekaboo series, there's also a C table for small-space dwellers.

This table would elevate anybody's first apartment from the hand-me-down look to something sophisticated. It’s 100% clear, save for the metal fixtures that hold the wheels (also acrylic) in place. Those wheels ensure the table is mobile, making it the perfect multi-use piece for any room.

Product photos show the table being used as a makeshift bar cart, with bottles stashed on the elongated base. Or, you can keep that area clear and slide it right under the couch for a snug dining surface.

This is a popular recommendation among design experts, with mentions in Apartment Therapy and Best Products. CB2 customers rate it 4.8 out of 5 stars, based on 274 reviews.

Pros: Cool design, mobile, no assembly

Cons: Expensive

Buy the Peekaboo Acrylic C Table from CB2 for $199

The best minimalist C table

Why you’ll love it: The Project 62 Glasgow C Table is a minimalist’s dream come true.

If you're leading a minimalist lifestyle, the Project 62 Glasgow C Table just might be a perfect fit. While the CB2 Peekaboo Acrylic C Table is also understated, that's more of an art piece. Plus, you can't beat this table's price.

This C table is made of steel and features geometric design elements that harken back to the modernist era of the 1960s (hence the name, Project 62). It comes in two colors, white and black, and measures 16 inches wide, 16 inches deep, and 26 inches tall. The base has no surface so it can’t be used as a shelf, but if storage isn't a requirement, this is a perfect pick.

Reviewers on Target's website give the Glasgow C Table a nearly perfect 5 out of 5 stars based on 132 responses. “A perfect C-table at a great price!” wrote one shopper. “I've been looking for one for a while now, they're usually $100 to 200, and didn't want one that had to be screwed together ... This item comes to your door fully assembled, welded together, and ready to go. It has a good heft to it, it's not heavy though, so it feels like good quality.”

Pros: Preassembled, affordable, simple design

Cons: No bottom shelf

Buy the Project 62 Glasgow C Table at Target for $56.99

Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

• Outdoors startup BioLite makes innovative camping gear like smokeless fire pits and stove tops that use the energy generated to charge devices. 
• The company used the same technology to develop safe, smokeless stoves for use by remote communities around the world living in energy poverty — meaning without easy access to electricity.
• Its cult-favorite FirePit (which one Insider Picks reporter tried and loved) was one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns in history.

Before Alex Drummond and Jonathan Cedar co-launched one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns in history, they were two NYC Smart Design coworkers whose water cooler talk often centered around sustainable design — a shared passion.

For Drummond, the obsession came from the frustrating observation that nearly all efficient camping stoves required fossil fuels. He wondered, instead, if he could create a wood-burning stove with the capability to use its own thermal energy to improve combustion — taking notes from luxury camping stoves that used local sources of wood for fuel. Cedar, an avid camper and engineer by trade, was quick to jump on the project that would eventually become BioLite.

Fast forward many nights, weekends, and prototypes later, and the two accomplished something revolutionary in 2006: a portable biomass stove that leveraged thermoelectrics to create a smokeless fire and charge personal devices. It was christened the BioLite CampStove ($129.95), and prepped to be ushered out to the legions of posh campers who loved the idea of not needing to bring batteries into the wilderness.

But two years later, Drummond and Cedar found themselves sitting at a combustion conference with a working prototype, listening to statistics about the severity of the world's energy poverty. They learned that half the planet lives without access to either electricity or clean cooking facilities. Three billion of the world's total 7.7 billion population cook over smoky open fires each day — causing four million premature deaths annually. 

There's a reason this wasn't immediately apparent to BioLite's creators. Energy poverty is hard to conceptualize for us. Us, meaning the most fortunate billions that take copious energy access for granted. We work in offices made dull by the constant thrum of fluorescent lights and check texts while our meals reheat in microwaves. We buy gadgets that turn our lights on a few minutes before we walk into an apartment, and we ask restaurants to quickly charge our cell phones while we eat. Energy is so pervasive in propping up our life that it has become invisible.

But, at its most basic, energy cooks our food, lights up the darkness, and connects us to one another. It makes our lives safer, more productive, and vastly more enjoyable. Beyond that, it makes the world healthier, combats climate change, and empowers historically vulnerable populations like women. And for those that don't have it, the disadvantage is twofold. A charged cell phone requires a trek to a neighboring village, cooking dinner requires hours spent inhaling toxic smoke from biomass fires, and school children find themselves squinting and rushing to finish homework before darkness falls.

This isn't a fact that's meant to plant feelings of guilt. Ideally, it should inspire innovation and a desire to go about the long work of leveling the playing field.

Which is exactly how Drummond and Cedar took it. After the combustion conference, the two decided to include fighting energy poverty as a pillar of BioLite. All the smart design perks that made the CampStove perfect for eco-conscious campers made it similarly invaluable to remote communities. They implemented a unique business model called Parallel Innovation that allows the startup to use the support of their recreation market customers (those buying outdoors gear) to strengthen their efforts to bring sustainable energy across India and Africa. To be simplistic, it's just what it sounds like: side-by-side innovation in the distinct markets of recreation and need, simultaneously.

BioLite achieves this by incubating core technologies that can serve users in both markets, which makes it possible to re-invest near-term revenue to solve long-term, high-impact problems.

For example, the BioLite team created HomeStove ($149.95), its flagship stove across India and East Africa, using the same heat-to-electricity technology as the CampStove ($129.95). The HomeStove is a large-format biomass cookstove that cuts fuel consumption in half and reduces toxic emissions by ninety percent, all while charging mobile phones or LED lights — and they're quite literally changing communities across the globe. As of 2017 (the most recent impact report), 467,570 people have been impacted and 381,976,739 Wh of electricity generated.

On top of contributing to a healthier society by cutting out exposure to toxic smoke, BioLite's innovations also have an environmental impact. Open fires are responsible for a staggering 25% of global black carbon emissions — more than all the world's cars and trucks combined. Its emission-reducing HomeStove was issued carbon credits for its performance in 2015, and the company used the first batch of credits to erase its entire carbon history and commit to carbon neutrality for the future of the company. As of 2017, they had offset 216,425 tonnes of CO2. 

While BioLite's mission is a worthy one, it wouldn't gain much traction if its products weren't any good — or if consumers weren't excited to buy the latest unique, convenient, and eco-friendly innovations. Since it doesn't operate as a charity, or with a donation model, its philanthropic power depends on its value to its shoppers. In a nutshell, it's a textbook example of innovation, market value, and effective altruism combined and co-dependent.

Rest assured, BioLite's products are some of the very best in the outdoors community — and its reputation stretches far. When the company released the BioLite FirePit — a smokeless, wood-burning campfire that can be controlled remotely via app — it raised a whopping $2.534 million with over 10,000 backers. Over the last three years, its team has tripled and its sales have doubled each year. Since its first CampStove, BioLite has raised $6.5 million in funding and expanded its energy ecosystem from one stove to over 20 products across cooking, charging, and lighting. Today, the company counts seven registered patents, primarily in heating.

BioLite's standout products

The BioLite Firepit, $199.95, is a wood-burning campfire without the smoke. Essentially, it creates hyper-efficient flames using a patented airflow technology. It has 360-degree views thanks to its X-Ray mesh body, so you can enjoy the light as much as the warmth. You can fit up to four standard logs in it, and the top rack can be transformed into a hibachi-style grill — complete with an included grill grate. You can even control the size of your flames manually or remotely using the free Bluetooth app. It’ll burn for 24 hours on low, 10 hours on medium, and five hours on high. It was also one of the most successful Kickstarters of all time. Find a full review here. 

The SunLight Portable Solar Light, $24.95, is true to its name: a portable solar light. The SunLight's integrated solar panel creates self-reliant recharging and maximizes efficiency through an integrated sundial and kickstand for optimal setup. In other words, you don’t need to bring AAAs, you can get your power from the sun. You can fully charge the 100-lumen dim-able lantern in seven hours or micro-USB charge it in two — with it, you’ll get about 50 hours of run time. On the trail, it packs easily (it’s about the size of an ice cream sandwich), and it even has a “Party Mode” with colored lights.

The CampStove 2 Bundle, $199.95 (originally $239.95), is a camper’s secondary Swiss Army Knife. It's a fully integrated kit that grills, boils, cooks, and charges gear. The award-winning CampStove2 generates electricity (3W power) to charge devices and smokeless wood flames that can boil a pot of water in 4.5 minutes. It also comes with the lightweight portable grill and KettlePot attachments.

All in all, BioLite makes some of the best outdoors gear that money can buy, and it represents a unique opportunity for two distinct markets — outdoor enthusiasts seeking cleaner power, and developing-world families living in energy poverty — to have a positive, cohesive relationship with one another. For you, it may mean not needing to lug a gas canister into the campground. Simultaneously, it could help someone halfway across the world free up hours of time every day, something that — in a developing landscape — can be legitimately life-changing. 

Shop BioLite here

Join the conversation about this story »

Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

• Frizzy, greasy, flat, matted — no matter what your version of a bad hair day looks like, it probably doesn't look great. 
• There are countless of products out there promising to help your hair on days when your locks have a mind of its own, but it can be hard to know what's actually worth trying.
• That's why I asked my co-workers to share their bad hair day hacks — products, tools, and accessories they actually use to manage those seemingly unmanageable locks. 
• Below you'll find 15 products we actually use to deal with our locks on bad hair days. 

We've all had our fair share of bad hair days — and if you haven't, please share your secrets. For most of us, it's unusual to wake up every single morning with naturally shiny, healthy hair. Some days, our locks look a little more "bed head" than "beach wave." Plus, on busy mornings, dealing with our hair isn't usually on the top of the priorities list.

Luckily, there are so many products out there promising to tame frizz, absorb grease, add texture and volume — it's just a matter of finding the ones that are actually worth spending your money on. As a team of reviewers, we've all tried plenty of products, including ones for our hair. That's why I asked my co-workers to share their own bad hair day hacks — the products, tools, and accessories they rely on to tame their own hair when it's at its most unruly. When you feel like there's no way you can manage your next bad hair day, hopefully one of these products can help you out. 

Keep reading for 15 products, tools, and accessories we count on to make our bad hair days better:

A spiral-shaped hair tie that adds volume to your ponytails

Invisibobble Slim Hair Ring, $8, available at Sephora

This hair tie has come to the rescue when my hair is not so worth of being out in public. I only wash my hair once every few days because it doesn’t get greasy, but I run into the issue of flat hair when I don’t rinse it for a while. This hair tie has been an awesome solution to lack of volume because the coils separate individual sections of your hair while it’s in the hair tie, making your ponytail look larger and more voluminous. — Megan Foster, intern

A teasing brush that adds some extra oomph

Drybar Texas Tease Brush, $18, available at Sephora

When I have a “bad hair day” it typically stems from a lack of volume. Since approximately the seventh grade, my go-to for this issue has been using a teasing brush to introduce volume back into my hair. This one from DryBar works wonders when you use it to tease the hair closest to your scalp. After teasing, I smooth down the top layer with the same comb and it gives my hair a just-washed look. — Megan Foster, intern

A thick styling paste that adds texture and body to dull hair

Redken Rewind Style Paste, $13.64, available at Amazon

The Rewind 06 has a more glue-like consistency than most hair pastes for men, but I love that a little goes a long way. I simply place a small dab on my hand, rub it to activate, and just massage it into my thick, straight hair (which stands up in all manner of ways when I don’t put anything in it) and play with it. What I like is that it lets me create either a messy look for play or something more subdued for work. — Les Shu, editor

• The fight for women's pay equality has raged among activists, celebrities, and lawmakers for nearly half a century.
• Despite landmark American laws, women working in the US still face major obstacles, including a gender-based pay gap that costs them thousands of dollars every year.

The US passed the Equal Pay Act more than 50 years ago, but American women still face a substantial gender-based wage gap.

Despite landmark legislation and radical demonstrations made to push for pay parity between the sexes, the Institute for Women's Policy Research estimates equality might still be out of reach until 2059.

A woman working full-time in 2019 on average earns 80.7 cents for every dollar a man working full-time earns, which shrinks women's annual earnings, the median of which is $9,909 less than men's, according to data from the US Census Bureau.

Here are some women in politics, entertainment, and social justice who have contributed to the decades of pay parity's progress so far — many of whom you probably didn't learn about in school, and some who might surprise you:

SEE ALSO: 6 charts that show the glaring gap between men and women's salaries

Lawyer and activist Florynce "Flo" Kennedy

Lawyer and political activist Florynce "Flo" Kennedy's wide-ranging career fought sexist and racist policies in and out of the workplace.

Kennedy attended Columbia Law School after an initial rejection because she was a woman. After Kennedy threatened a discrimination suit, the school admitted her and she became one of its first black female graduates in 1951.

After opening her own office, one of Kennedy's first cases was on behalf of jazz legend Billie Holiday, who was seeking money her record company owed her. Kennedy quickly grew tired of law, writing the practice had "taught me more than I was really ready for about government and business delinquency and the hostility and helplessness of the courts."

Turning to activism, Kennedy took on Ti-Grace Atkinson, a white feminist who led the New York Chapter of NOW in the late 1960s, as a mentee. Together, they took aim at want ads in The New York Times that were segregated by sex, thus blocking women from jobs that consistently paid more.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission acknowledged NOW's contention in 1968 that separate want ads for men and women violated the Civil Rights Act's Title VII, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

The victory was a strong initial development for empowering women who were trying to enter the workforce and a shot of energy to feminist movements in the 1960s.

Presidential adviser Esther Peterson

As the head of the Women’s Bureau under President John F. Kennedy's administration, Esther Peterson pushed the president toward securing formal progress for women through initiatives like the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.

Peterson spent years gathering data and organizing interested members in a campaign that would lead to the passing of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which set the stage for other anti-discriminatory laws.

Southern Bell employee Lorena Weeks

In 1966, Lorena Weeks was working as a night telephone operator at the Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company and juggling raising three young children. When the company posted an opening for a higher paying job, Weeks was eager to apply.

But Southern Bell denied her the position because she was a woman and hired a man with less seniority. So Weeks teamed up with NOW to sue the company. The case was the first victory under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Not only did Weeks make history by setting a precedent that helped ensure women weren't denied jobs on the basis of their sex, she got the job and $31,000 in back pay.

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• Multimillionaires — particularly wealthy bankers — are abandoning New York City, John Aidan Byrne of the New York Post reported.
• New York City's high cost of living is pushing them toward other states, such as Florida, Byrne reported.
• But New York City isn't the only city rich residents are fleeing — an expensive housing market in San Francisco is also driving people away.

The cost of living in some cities is getting out of control — even for the ultrarich.

More multimillionaires, particularly those with Wall Street jobs, are expected to leave New York City this year, John Aidan Byrne of the New York Post reported.

"The massive bonus pool typical for city workers is under stress as more bankers and traders bolt for Florida and other states to escape New York’s punishing taxes and steep living costs," Byrne wrote, citing experts who analyzed the latest compensation data from the state comptroller.

In 2016, New York lost $8.4 billion because of residents — many of them wealthy bankers — moving to other states, Byrne reported. Lower bonuses aren't helping matters — the finance industry saw a dip in the average employee bonus by nearly 17%, and the comptroller expects another 9% decrease in 2019, Byrne wrote. 

Read more: The New York City real estate market has gotten so bad that people are paying millions to live in the basement

However, Alan Johnson, the CEO of the New York-based compensation consultancy Johnson Associates, told Byrne the data is based on the expectation of wealthy bankers moving, rather than a decrease in pay.

New York's pricey real-estate market is also at play: It's gotten so expensive that many buyers are forgoing apartments in the sky for basements, according to a New York Times article. With more space, some of these basements offer NYC dwellers more bang for their buck. 

Perhaps that's why the city has a surplus of exorbitantly expensive ultra-luxury penthouses. They're not selling, and some real-estate companies are splitting these penthouses into two smaller, cheaper units to get them off the market, Business Insider's Katie Warren reported.

San Francisco's high cost of living is also pushing people away

But New York isn't the only city where pricey real estate and a high cost of living are driving wealthy residents away. In San Francisco, low supply and high demand for homes is driving housing prices to new heights, Business Insider previously reported.

A survey from the Bay Area Council advocacy group found that 46% of residents said they plan to move away soon, with most heading to Seattle and Portland, Oregon. 

In San Francisco, a median-price home sells for $1.6 million, Melia Robinson wrote in 2018. It's so expensive that only 12% of households can afford homes there, according to Robinson. And nearly 60% of tech workers can't afford homes in the area — and that's on a six-figure salary.

The housing market could get even more expensive soon, thanks to a potential rise in its millionaire population if several tech startups go public as expected this year, Nellie Bowles of The New York Times reported.

Meanwhile, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Detroit are the three most popular metro areas residents have been abandoning in the past decade for a variety of reasons, according to 24/7 Wall Street.

SEE ALSO: San Francisco could be home to thousands of new millionaires by the end of 2019, and it's sparking a 'housing madness' in the already wildly expensive city

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• Google Voice is a free and easy-to-use online service designed to consolidate several phones.
• A single Google Voice number will ring through to all of your different devices and potentially allow you to switch carriers without having to change numbers every time.
• The internet telephone service is easy to set up and use on any device. Here's how to do it.

Launched by Google a decade ago, Google Voice (which used to be called GrandCentral before Google acquired the company in 2007) has achieved longevity as a service but still remains rather misunderstood.

It's pretty much just an internet telephone service that allows you to combine all your other phone services. Let's say, for instance, that you have a landline at home (almost half of Americans reportedly still do), as well as a business phone and your personal smartphone. Rather than bouncing between three different numbers and devices, you can give out one simple Google Voice number and when someone calls, all of them will ring.

The free service can forward your calls to several phones at a time. It does this by linking the PSTN (also called POTS, or the Plain Old Telephone Service) and the mobile network, enabling it to carry a landline call over to the internet via Google Voice, then over to your mobile or wherever its final destination may be.

For the user who simply has too many phones and numbers to manage, Google Voice is a great resource for merging multiple communication channels. It's also good for regular travelers who are forced to bounce between carriers, changing phone numbers and paying a fortune for international calls, or for those users who are looking to record incoming calls for free. 

Voice actually offers a relatively cheap rate for international calling (and free SMS), and retaining one handy number in any country means you won't have to update your bank info every time you leave the country. 

Here's a step-by-step to get you started using Google Voice. Be aware that you'll need a Google account first.

How to set up Google Voice on a computer

The simplest way to set up Voice is by going to the Google Voice website on a computer and clicking "Get Google Voice." You'll need to be signed into your Google account.

1. The page will then prompt you to select which device you'll be using the service on (Android, iOS, or web). Click web.

2. Per usual, you'll be asked to read and accept Google's terms and conditions. Click continue.

3. Google will give you a phone number to match your region, so type in your city or area code and choose one from Google's available selection.

4. You'll then be prompted to verify your existing phone number, so click "Verify," type in the number you want Google to forward your calls to and click "Send Code."

5. Once you receive Google's text or call, type it into the website and click "Verify."

6. To confirm that this is the number you want your calls forwarded to, click "Claim." You can add more numbers later.

7. It will prompt you to click "Finish" twice, then you're done setting it up.

8. If you'd like to add more numbers, then find the "Linked numbers" section in your settings, under which you can click "New linked number."

9. Repeat the process of entering in a phone number and Google will send a verification code via text or calling, which you will then enter into the website.

10. To see all your numbers, return to the settings page and locate the "Calls" tab on the left side of the page (pictured above). All the numbers you've added should be checkmarked.

How to set up Google Voice on a mobile device

1. Locate the Google Voice app in the App Store (or the equivalent store for non-Apple devices) and download it for free.

2. Once downloaded, open the app and sign into your Google account.

3. Accept the terms and conditions by clicking "Continue."

4. Search for your area code or type in your city to pick out a new phone number, then tap "Select" once you've found one you want.

5. Follow the prompts to finish setting up and customize your settings by following the analogous steps from the computer section above. 

Tips and tricks

• Google Voice itself is free, though you need working, paid phone numbers to use it. 
• You can treat Google Voice just like your normal phone. Block numbers, send them to voicemail, and all kinds of fun filtering tricks to make your life easier, all found in the Settings menu.
• To make a call through Google Voice, simply go to "Calls" and type in the number.
• You'll see "Messages" and "Voicemail" under that same drop-down menu, where you'll see those respective notifications, too.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech: 

• How to make a hanging indent in Google Docs, for works cited pages and more

• How to change your Google profile picture

• How to set up and customize Google Alerts to stay updated on the topics that matter most to you

• How to change your Google background for a more enjoyable user experience

SEE ALSO: How to permanently delete your Google account (and save your data)

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• Young people are often advised to spend a relatively meager amount of money on their cars and discouraged from taking out longer-term loans.
• That's bad advice. It's better to buy a high-quality certified pre-owned vehicle, pay it off on whatever schedule works for your budget, and keep it for 20 years.
• One of the only ways to get financial benefits from a depreciating yet necessary asset such as a car is to buy once and own forever.

It simply isn't true that millennials don't want to buy cars.

Some members of this financially embattled generation might live in urban areas where car ownership isn't required. But plenty of others live in places where a car is a necessity.

At the moment, there's considerable fretting about the US auto market, much of it pointless. Sales have been running at high levels, historically, since 2015, and the average cost of a new vehicle has been ticking up.

But that's because more large SUVs and pickup trucks are being sold, big-ticket rides that many younger people aren't interested in.

Still, financial experts routinely recommend that millennials avoid buying more car than their station suggests they should, and they advise against taking out a longer-term loan. In the past, the typical new-car loan was five years, but as prices have moved north, six- and seven-year terms have become more prevalent.

Read more:Everyone is suddenly worried out about the soaring number of Americans who are falling behind on their auto loans, but the freak-out makes no sense

The received wisdom, then, is for people in their 20s and early 30s to buy a fairly inexpensive mass-market car, favoring used over new. Classic, right? Get a used Honda Civic. Pay less than $20,000. Do not finance it for more than five years.

I've been buying and selling cars for decades, and after giving the current situation some serious thought, I think the conventional wisdom is terrible.

Why you should ignore the 'good' advice

The best deal for a millennial looking to buy a car, however, runs counter to "good" advice" and requires a pretty heavy-duty commitment. But in the end, it should pay off, and I wish I had done it when I was younger (I say having worked my way through about 10 vehicles).

Here's what you should do. Right now, because the US new-car market has been so robust, a lot of vehicles coming off leases are being sold as "certified pre-owned," or CPO, cars. They've been checked out by dealers, certified as excellent by the original manufacturer, have relatively low mileage, and enjoy a legitimate manufacturer's warranty.

I've bought CPOs before (my personal car is a 2011 Toyota Prius). But here's the real trick: You want to go for a luxury CPO.

I did some quick searching in my area and came up with a CPO Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic sedan for about $31,500. It has under 30,000 miles, a blue exterior, and a beige interior. It's quite well equipped with a premium sound system.

I ran the financing, assuming a $1,500 down payment with a 72-month loan at 4%. That got me under $500 a month on the payment.

That might seem steep. You could choose a $15,000 mass-market CPO or used car and get your payment under $250. So why should you pay twice as much? Why also accept higher insurance premiums and more costly maintenance?

Here's where the trick enters: You're going to keep the car for 20 years.

Get ready for the pushback

OK, I'm prepared for the pushback. Why a Mercedes? A Lexus is a safer bet for long-term ownership. True, but Mercedes are pretty well put together, and it's rather satisfying to own an older one — they simply age very well.

So you're 25 years old, and you can barely afford this Merc. But you're going to press forward, pay it off after seven years, and then spend the next 13 enjoying a no-car-payment life while you scrupulously maintain your E-Class. Oil changes on schedule, brake jobs, tire rotation, wash it once a month, and garage it if possible.

This will probably be your biggest monthly expense, but remember, you're thinking long term. In fact, you're thinking about your next major financial life choice, which is buying a home at some point in your 30s. Let's say you do that at around 35. You'll have spent three years saving your $500-ish a month, giving you $18,000 for your down payment.

I'm making the additional assumption that you'll be paired off with another millennial at this juncture and that your partner will also have about $20,000 in down-payment savings. This means that you can consider purchasing a $200,000 starter home. Having no car loan on your side of the equation will be a benefit when you begin pursuing a mortgage — as will seven years of on-time payments.

Invest in quality and invest early

The critical move here is to invest in quality and invest early. You also have to invest in commitment. Because, obviously, your Mercedes will be your Mercedes for another decade after you buy the house. (Contrast that with spending a much smaller percentage of your monthly gross pay, probably on a quite cheap, old, and mistreated high-mileage used car — you'll be lucky to get five years of solid ownership before having to replace the vehicle.)

It gets better, though. Your monthly mortgage payment should be less than $1,000, so because you've been socking away that former $500-a-month car payment for a few years, you're already "liquid" enough to handle half of it. If your partner also saved at that rate, the mortgage is, in a manner of speaking, free.

All because you "spent too much" on a car when you were 25.

I'll admit that this is all very back-of-the-envelope math, and that the numbers won't apply for people who live in expensive parts of the country, have steep student-loan debt, or aren't gainfully employed with incomes high enough to support my proposed plan.

But it's usually not a bad idea to buy the best that you can afford and hold on to it for as long as possible, over time making bank on the amortization of the early "over-investment." This plan for long-term car ownership is a classic example. It's a bit controversial, I'll admit. But I think it would work out well for a lot of today's 20-somethings.

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