Happy Chinese New Year! The Chinese zodiac is based on a 12-year cycle, with an animal representing each year. As 2016 is the year of the monkey, it is believed that those born under this sign will have a good year with plenty of luck and opportunities ahead.

The Chinese zodiacs are determined by birth year, and every zodiac gets the spotlight every 12 years. Chinese folklore says that their order was determined by a race, which the rat won, only by riding on the ox's back until it was able to cross the finish line first. 

According to Chinese zodiac, your birth year is telling of more than just your age. The Chinese believe that the animal ruling your birth year has a profound influence on personality, relationships and destiny. Which zodiac are you?

But there's more! See how well each zodiac matches up to your personality:

SEE ALSO: The 13 best Chinese restaurants in New York City

Join the conversation about this story »

Chinese New Year is the most important among the traditional Chinese holidays.

Also known as Lunar New Year, the holiday is celebrated on the first Monday of the first month on the Lunar calendar, which is based on the moon's orbit, rather than the western Gregorian calendar, which is based on the earth's orbit. This year, the Lunar New Year falls on February 8.

The celebrations are inspired by a famous legend that says the evil beast Nien eats people on New Year's Eve. Since Nien is said to fear loud noises and the color red, celebrants light firecrackers, carry torches, and don red clothing to fend him off.

The celebrations then usually last for 14 more days. 

SEE ALSO: Here's how to conduct business with China during the Chinese New Year

As a way to frighten off Nien, the evil beast, people place red envelopes on their doors, light torches, and set off firecrackers throughout the night.

Children and unmarried adults are given red envelopes with money from their parents, family members, friends, or neighbors. It is believed that these gifts get rid of any evil that might be around the child, and help grant them a long, healthy life. The color red symbolizes good luck.

A few days prior to Chinese New Year, people deep clean their homes and purchase decorations.

Frugality is a subjective term. To the average Joe it could mean eating meals at home or scouring the Internet for cheap flights. But to a billionaire it means showing up to work in a t-shirt and jeans, driving a Toyota or Volkswagen, and in some instances, foregoing the purchase of a private jet or lavish vacation home.

A handful of frugal billionaires appear on our list of the richest people on earth, and each one has his own penny-pinching habits.

From eating lunch in the office cafeteria with their employees to residing in homes worth a fraction of their wealth, these seven self-made billionaires — many who are also generous philanthropists— know the secret to keeping their net worths high.

SEE ALSO: The 50 richest people on earth

SEE ALSO: The 25 richest self-made billionaires

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, still lives in the same home he bought for $31,500 in 1958.

Net worth:$60.7 billion

The "Oracle of Omaha" is one of the wisest and most frugal billionaires around. Despite his status as the third-richest person on earth, he still lives in the same modest home he bought for $31,500 in 1958, doesn't carry a cell phone or have a computer at his desk, and once had a vanity license plate that read THRIFTY, according to his 2009 biography.

Buffett also has a decidedly low-brow palate, known not just for investing in junk-food purveyors like Burger King, Dairy Queen, and Coca-Cola but filling up on them as well. The Buffett diet includes five Cokes a day, as well as Cheetos and potato chips. 

At his annual shareholder's meeting in 2014, Buffett explained that his quality of life isn't impacted by the amount of money he has: "My life couldn't be happier. In fact, it'd be worse if I had six or eight houses. So, I have everything I need to have, and I don't need any more because it doesn't make a difference after a point."

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, drives a manual transmission Volkswagen hatchback.

Net worth:$42.8 billion

Despite his status as one of the richest tech moguls on earth, Mark Zuckerberg leads a low-key lifestyle with his wife Priscilla Chan and their newborn daughter. The founder of Facebook has been unabashed about his simple t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans uniform. "I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community," Zuckerberg said.

The trappings of wealth have never impressed the 31-year-old; he chowed down on McDonald's shortly after marrying Chan in 2012 in the backyard of their $7 million Palo Alto home — a modest sum for such an expensive housing market and pocket change for a man worth almost $43 billion. In 2014, he traded in his $30,000 Acura for a manual transmission Volkswagen hatchback.

Carlos Slim Helú, founder of Grupo Carso, has lived in the same six-bedroom house for more than 40 years.

Net worth:$23.5 billion

Rather than spending his fluctuating fortune, Carlos Slim funnels his billions back into the economy and his vast array of companies. He once mused to Reuters that wealth was like an orchard, "what you have to do is make it grow, reinvest to make it bigger, or diversify into other areas."

The 75-year-old is by far the richest man in Mexico, but he forgoes luxuries like private jets and yachts and reportedly still drives an old Mercedes-Benz. Slim runs his companies frugally too, writing in staff handbooks that employees should always "maintain austerity in prosperous times (in times when the cow is fat with milk)."

The businessman has lived in the same six-bedroom house in Mexico for more than 40 years and routinely enjoys sharing home-cooked meals with his children and grandchildren. He's got a couple of known indulgences, including fine art — in honor of his late wife — and Cuban cigars, as well as an $80 million mansion in Manhattan, which he was trying to sell last spring. 

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, which means now is a great time to plan those last-minute getaways.

That's why we teamed up with our friends at Hotels.com to put together a list of New York City's most romantic hotels, where you'll find everything from ultra-modern bedrooms to lobbies that have remained timelessly chic for years. 

Whether you're taking a trip to the city or looking for a romantic staycation, these 20 hotels will take your holiday to the next level.  

SEE ALSO: The 24 hottest honeymoon destinations right now

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!

20. Hotel Elysée

Rooms start at $249 per night.

19. The Bryant Park Hotel

Rooms start at $225 a night.

18. The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park

Rooms start at $295 per night.

The US imports $4 billion worth of coffee each year, but more and more boutique coffee shops are roasting their own beans for customers. Toby's Estate Coffee is Brooklyn is one such coffee shop, and showed us how they prepare 2,000 pounds of beans for each roast.

Story and video by Adam Banicki

Follow INSIDER Food on Facebook
Follow INSIDER on YouTube

Join the conversation about this story »

The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10 yesterday at Super Bowl 50. But for millions of viewers, the advertisements that play during breaks are just as exciting as the game itself.

We've already rounded up the best and worst ads of the Super Bowl, but now we're checking out which commercials were most popular with viewers.

Using data from their Unruly Viral Video Chart, ad-tracking company Unruly determined the 10 most shared Super Bowl commercials based on the number of YouTube and Facebook shares. 

"The key driver of video shares is making a strong emotional connection with people," said Devra Prywes, Unruly's VP of insights. 

Doritos' Crash The Super Bowl contest produced the top-shared ad this year with 893,465 total shares for "Ultrasound." Doritos "created a spot that surprised, amused and entertained viewers," Prywes said, though the "Doritos Dogs" ad ultimately won the contest. T-Mobile and Heinz each appear twice on this list for the 30-second and extended versions of their commercials.

Check out the 10 most popular commercials below.

SEE ALSO: The most-mentioned brand on Twitter during the Super Bowl didn't even advertise on TV during the game

NOW WATCH: Here are the 4 best ads of Superbowl 50

10. Heinz — "Weiner Stampede"

Agency: DAVID Miami

Total shares: 111,643

9. T-Mobile — "Drop the Balls"

Agency:Publicis Seattle

Total shares: 113,668

8. T-Mobile — "Restricted Bling" (30 Sec)

Agency:Publicis Seattle

Total shares: 124,551

There are few things more exclusive than a private club. 

After years of working within the members-only club scene in London, Alan Linn saw a space in the market for a club that catered specifically to New York City's abundant creative community.

In 2007 he came to the US and opened Norwood, a now-bustling five-story club with more than 1,000 members ranging from 21 to 80 years old. Its ranks include architects, fashion designers, musicians, media moguls, and art collectors.

Linn's number-one tip for making it through the selection process is simple: "Be curious."

We talked to Linn about the history of Norwood, and what it's like to be a part of one of New York's top creative communities.  

SEE ALSO: A photographer got an exclusive look at Elizabeth Taylor's home, clothing, and jewelry collection just before she died — here are her stunning photos

The club is located in an unassuming brownstone near the corner of West 14th Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan. Built in 1874 by Andrew S. Norwood, the building was, at the time, an extravagant mansion with a total 13 fireplaces, mahogany doors, and intricate plaster crown molding.

To be accepted to the club, you must prove your involvement with the creative arts, and go through an extensive hour-long interview, which gets reported to the board of directors. "It's as much as what are we going to get out of them as members, as what are they going to get out of us," Linn said. There's a $800 membership joining fee, and an annual fee of $2,200 a year — or $1,250 if you're under 30.

"When we take on new members, it’s not always about everyone knowing everyone," Linn said. "It's about creating an alchemy, so to speak. It's nice to combine various professions and backgrounds at one dinner table."

Thanks to a last-minute booking, I recently flew to Bangkok, Thailand, on one airline and returned to New York City on another. It gave me the chance to experience business class with two different companies. My flight east was with Emirates, the state-owned Dubai company that was recently ranked the fifth-best airline in the world. And I flew west on Delta, the publicly traded, Atlanta-based airline that came in 49th in the same ranking. It's the third-best airline in North America, according to Skytrax.

Delta doesn't offer a pure business class on its intercontinental routes. Instead, it offers a first/business class hybrid called Delta One. Until last year, Delta One was known as Delta Business Elite. But many of the planes in the airline's fleet, including the ones operating my flight, have not yet received the upgrade to the shiny new Delta One interior.

Delta may have a reputation for dated, no-frills planes on its domestic routes, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed my flights across the world in both directions — not just on much-lauded Emirates.

SEE ALSO: After taking a flight on Emirates, I never want to fly a domestic airline again

INSIDER IS ON FACEBOOK: Follow us here!

Thanks to a last-minute booking, I flew to Bangkok on Emirates via Dubai and back to New York on Delta via Tokyo. For comparison's sake, I'll compare the longer legs of both trips in business class.

First, the planes. I was psyched for my first flight on an Airbus A380, the double-decker jumbo jet. The airliner was so large that passengers boarded through four different doors across the two levels.

Delta is known for carefully maintaining its aging fleet, and the Boeing 777 I flew home on certainly felt more dated than the jazzy Emirates airliner.

It is Children's Mental Health Week in the UK, and Kate Middleton, who has made it a personal goal to improve the mental health of children in England, created this video in an effort to push schools to begin providing support to help children deal with issues that can lead to mental health problems.

Story and editing by A.C. Fowler

Follow INSIDERon Facebook
Follow INSIDERon YouTube 

Join the conversation about this story »

Brazil's Carnival kicked off this weekend despite the ongoing Zika virus outbreak that has infected an estimated 1.5 million in the country.

While the government has urged partiers to avoid kissing strangers and cover up exposed skin, scenes from the beaches of Rio and other cities show Carnival is carrying on as usual.

Story by Tony Manfred and editing by Kristen Griffin

Follow INSIDER on Facebook
Follow INSIDER on YouTube

Join the conversation about this story »

For Valentine's Day, you're going to want to get your guy something personal. 

A holiday like this calls for something that shows you care about them, you listen to them, and you think about them all the time.

We can't tell you what exactly will mean so much to him — but we can set you on the right track.

We polled coworkers, friends, and family to see what they would want to receive on Valentine's Day, and also included a few of our own suggestions.

SEE ALSO: This is the biggest mistake you're making with your laundry

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!

A watch he'd never buy for himself.

Let's face it: a nice watch is not typically something any guy can buy himself. The price is just too high to justify.

This Valentine's Day, get him a nice watch he'll treasure forever. If you're looking to go modern, try the Tag Heuer Connected, the first smartwatch that also contains a guarantee that the owner can switch it out for a regular Tag should they find that the smart functionality is not for them.

Price:$1,500

A trip to somewhere he's always wanted to go.

Surprise him with dateless tickets to wherever he wants to go in the world.

Has he always talked about hiking the Great Wall of China? Exploring the sandy beaches of The Big Island? Or maybe he's always wanted to kick back in a rooftop infinity pool in Singapore?

Whatever it is, this year, make it happen.

Price varies based on destination.

A gadget to make his life easier.

The Amazon Echo has been making waves with how it makes lives easier through voice control of your home and internet.

It even recently learned how to call you an Uber.

Price:$180

There are people in the world who rarely stay in one place.

They're the executives, the entrepreneurs, and the global citizens who feel just as comfortable in Dubai as they do in Shanghai.

Call them your global jet setters, if you like.

And in 2016 they've started to notice that some members of their group have gone missing — the Brazilians and the Russians. They're just gone.

"It kills us the summer in Miami. We own four businesses there, and they [Brazilians] prop up the business in the summer," John Meadow, CEO of LDV Hospitality Group told Business Insider.

His firm owns around 30 upscale restaurants and clubs from New York City to Las Vegas and beyond.

"In August, Brazil was gone."

It's unlikely the Brazilians will be back this August either.

Since the end of 2014, Brazil's economy has been hit with a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal at its massive state oil firm, Petrobras. Then there is the slowdown over at its major trading partner, China, and double digit inflation. Add in a growing fiscal deficit, a Presidential impeachment crisis, a collapse in the price of its key commodities exports, and a currency that has fallen 40% against the dollar.

Throw the Zika virus on top of that, envision a summer Olympic Games with all that chaos going on, and the picture gets even uglier. For Brazilians a Miami vacation, right now, is not really an option.

Noticing these disappearances is enough to make the nightlife crowd a little nervous. In the coming weeks, Meadows will head to Dubai for the sixth time in the last year.

"I really want to go there, and I really want to do my deal there, but I'm trying to be careful for the first time in my life ... because I've seen in this year, the Russians disappear," he said.

"You go out, you look around the room, you know who's there, you go back a month later, you look around the room — and they're all gone."

Russia's story isn't that different from Brazil's. The country is suffering, in part, due to the collapse in global commodities prices. Western sanctions put in place because of Russia's involvement in Ukraine have also strained the economy.

In 2015 the inflation rate hit 12.9%. The Russian ruble has fallen 55% against the dollar over the last two years. There's an underground market for cheese.

Across the jet set capitals of the world, inside the clubs and high-end restaurants, everyone from servers to chefs have noticed the shift.

Last summer, a global economic slowdown was a big part of industry chatter at the Aspen Food and Wine Festival. Consensus was: 'It's getting hard out there, people.'

It's the kind of environment that has at least one New York hospitality CEO teaching their staff to monitor oil rig counts to see if there's any sign oil prices will bounce back soon.

It took the industry a while to feel the storms brewing abroad, but they'll take any sign of a bottom.

They would like to see their clients again.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: New York City rental prices are out of control

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey is apparently doubling down on her real estate empire. She recently picked up a $28.85 million 23-acre property in the heart of Montecito, a ritzy seaside town just south of Santa Barbara, California. She already happens to own an $85 million estate a few miles away.

The new property — called Seamair Farm — is a sprawling, ranch-style setup with full equestrian facilities. There's an avocado orchard, a fish pond, a pool, and a large, flat lawn. In fact, the property is one of the largest estates in Montecito.

 The OWN magnate is on something of a buying spree; she just snagged a $14 million Telluride home in December, too.

Check out her new California digs, below.

SEE ALSO: Go inside a bonkers $195 million Florida mansion that's the second-most expensive home for sale in the US

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!

The 23-acre Montecito hideaway is just a few miles away from the Pacific coast and the picturesque city of Santa Barbara.

Seamair Farm boasts fully equipped horse facilities, including a paddock and stables.

The simple, single-level ranch-style house was designed by renowned California architect Cliff May, who is remembered for popularizing the ranch style in the 1930s. It's a 4,750-square-foot four-bedroom with four fireplaces.

The people at MODE asked a bartender to help highlight signature drinks for each decade of the past 100 years, which include everything from a champagne cocktail to the not-really-so-old Old Fashioned.

Follow INSIDER Food on Facebook
Follow INSIDER on YouTube

Join the conversation about this story »

Scott Morrison, founder of house-designed and premium custom-made jeans company 3X1, explains how to properly clean denim jeans.

Produced by Alana Kakoyiannis and Joe Avella. Edited by Jason Gaines.

Follow BI Video:On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

Nehaal Gonsalves creates photo-like drawings using a tablet and Adobe Photoshop. His portraits of celebrities like Emma Watson, Cara Delevingne, and Benedict Cumberbatch have gone viral recently, and it's easy to see why.

You can check out more of Gonsalves' work on his Instagram feed.

Story and editing by Stephen Parkhurst

Follow INSIDER on Facebook
Follow INSIDERon YouTube

Join the conversation about this story »

Japan's Mensho Tokyo is serving a ramen dish with a helping of chocolate for Valentine's Day. It's a hit — more than 100 people have ordered it in its four days.

Story by Jacob Shamsian and editing by Chelsea Pineda

Follow INSIDER Food on Facebook
Follow INSIDER on YouTube 

Join the conversation about this story »

The Bagel Store's owner Scot Rossillo makes rolling his crazy colorful bagels look easy, but the technique actually takes time and patience to master. We gave it our best effort.

Story by Sarah Schmalbruch and video by Ben Nigh

Follow INSIDER Food on Facebook
Follow INSIDER on YouTube

Join the conversation about this story »

It's that time of year again, when previously well-adjusted singles everywhere find themselves scrambling to avoid feelings of Hallmark-induced loneliness and desperation — Valentine's Day.

But if you don't have a date yet, fear not!

Dating online gives you access to a much larger pool of potential romantic partners than meeting people through conventional methods. It also gives you a peek at compatibility before you even commit to a date too.

We've scoured the research on online dating for the best ways to improve your odds of finding someone special.

Here are eight tips to help ensure you don't spend V-day alone:

CHECK OUT: Tinder isn’t the only reason the dating scene is terrible for women right now

DON'T MISS: Science-backed ways to hack your Tinder profile and get the most matches possible

Choose a good photo.

"Offline, physical characteristics play a critical role in attractions for both men and women," researchers wrote in a 2008 study. Not surprisingly,the same is true online.

For their study, researchers surveyed 30 men and 30 women about their online dating experiences, and found that having a good photo was more important than any other aspect of their profile.

If you're not using your real name, pick a strategic username or handle.

If you're not pulling info directly from Facebook, the username or handle you select can make a big difference in how potential partners perceive you online.

Research suggests straight men are more attracted to women whose usernames suggest physical attractiveness (such as "Blondie" or "Cutie"), whereas straight women are more attracted to men whose usernames suggest intelligence (such as "Cultured").

Alphabetical order matters too. Some research suggests that names in higher in the alphabet may be linked with measures of success such as education level or income, and these names are also likely to show up higher in search results.

Make eye contact, and smile!

Wired asked the dating site OkCupid for photos of 400 of the highest-rated profiles in 10 major US cities, and the results were intriguing.

They found that over 80% of users with the hottest ranked profiles had strong eye contact. Moreover, 54% were smiling with teeth, compared to 23% who weren't smiling and 13% who were smiling without teeth. And skip the duck face, ladies — only 6% of the hottest profiles had a pic of one.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman posted an Instagram photo on Monday of his bandaged nose after the removal of a basal cell skin cancer. In the photo caption, he warned his followers about the dangers of not using sunscreen. 

"An example of what happens when you don’t wear sunscreen. Basal Cell. The mildest form of cancer but serious, nonetheless. PLEASE USE SUNSCREEN and get regular check-ups," the 47-year-old "X-Men" star wrote on Instagram. 

Jackman's photo reminded us of a project by Brooklyn-based artist Cara Phillips, which used ultraviolet photography to expose underlying sun spots and other blemishes in people's faces that the human eye can't see. The project was called "Ultraviolet Beauties."

In a 2012 interview with The Huffington Post, Phillips said she was inspired by the medical portraits she had seen in dermatological offices, which might be used for cosmetic consultations. The photographer used random people from the streets of New York as her subjects.

The images are meant to "reveal flaws beneath the skin," she told the website. The photos also send a horrifying message about the effects of spending too much time in the sun. 

"It's not truly a scientific test," Jill Waibel, a board certified dermatologist in Miami told Business Insider in a 2014 interview, but it can be "a powerful tool for patients in denial that they are doing too much sun."

When our faces and bodies are exposed to the sun, it causes melanin, a dark pigment found in the skin's surface, to clump together. This is what causes freckles, sun spots, and other brown spots.

The photos, taken using ultraviolet light, show the clumping of the pigmentation that is not yet visible on the surface, according to Tom Rohrer, a Boston-based dermatologist.

The images are not a marker for skin cancer or other pre-cancerous lesions, said Rohrer, but it does show the amount of sun damage. Fair-skinned people and those with light or red hair, for example, show more damage to their skin than people with darker skin who have more inherent protection. Additional sun damage might increase the size and number of these small clumpings. 

"When you see patients who have a lot of brown spots, it shows that there is damage that is occurring, and that can lead to skin cancer," said Waibel.

Between 2-3 million non-melanoma skin cancers — basal cell being one of the most common types — and 132,000 melanoma skin cancers occur globally each year, according to the World Health Organisation. 

Waibel recommends visiting the dermatologist once a year for a full-body skin exam. "You only get one set of skin and you have to make it last," she said.  

Check out the ultraviolet photographs below, then head over to Phillips' website to see more of her artwork.

Join the conversation about this story »