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Millennials are making 3 key decisions that are wiping out the starter home — and it's changing what homeownership in America looks like

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millennials starter home

Millennials are known for wiping out industries— and the starter home may be next.

First-time homebuyers needed 23% of their income to afford an entry-level home in the second quarter of 2018, an increase of 2 percentage points from the previous year, according to The Real Deal. Last May, the median price of previously owned homes was $264,800, the most expensive it'd been in a decade.

For millennials across all income levels, a more expensive real-estate market is at the root of how they're wiping out the starter home — and it's unfolding in three key ways.

1. They're renting longer and buying later.

Millennials are waiting longer than ever to buy homes.

"The whole real-estate industry now is characterized by extreme scarcity and inventory," Spencer Rascoff, Zillow's CEO, told Alyson Shontell, Business Insider's US editor-in-chief, during a 2017 episode of the podcast "Success! How I Did It."

Two years later, and it's still a seller's market, according to Zillow. This causes home prices to shoot up, leaving minimal inventory at the middle and low end of the housing market, Rascoff said.

"As a result of limited starter-home inventory," he said, millennials "are renting longer."

Homes are 39% more expensive than they were nearly 40 years ago, according to Student Loan Hero. A report by SmartAsset found that in some cities, the average home outweighed the average income by so much that it could take nearly a decade to save for a 20% down payment.

Starter home

And fewer 25- to 34-year-olds are living with a spouse or partner, Business Insider's Akin Oyedele reported in 2017, citing Census Bureau data. That suggests that milestones like marriage that often precipitate buying a home are happening later.

Student debt has also hit an all-time high, making it harder to take out a mortgage.

By the time many millennials do buy homes, they're older and less likely to move around as they settle down. They've also had more time to build wealth, meaning they might be able to afford higher-end homes.

Read more:Millennials are waiting longer than ever to buy homes — here's how many years it takes to save for a down payment in 25 major US cities

2. When they do buy, they have their eye on luxury homes.

When millennials buy their first home, "they're buying a much nicer home than a prior generation," Rascoff said.

He added: "I mean, many people are basically skipping starter homes; they're renting until their 30s, and that first house they buy is a million dollars, and they just are not even buying the $200,000, $300,000, $400,000 home, which is a total mind shift as compared with previous generations. So they're still buying homes — they're just buying them later and buying them bigger."

Toll Brothers, the largest US luxury-home builder, said that nearly a quarter of its 2017 sales were to those 35 or younger, Bloomberg's Prashant Gopal reported.

luxury mansion

"These people, who may each have 10 years of work under their belts, can afford a first home that is more luxurious than what one thinks of as the typical starter home," Fred Cooper, Toll Brothers' senior vice president of investor relations, told Gopal.

Megan McGrath, an analyst at MKM Holdings, told Gopal that these buyers were the oldest of millennials but that more would come.

"Part of it is generational — millennials didn't feel the need to buy a starter home, and maybe couldn't and they waited until they were in their 30s," she said. "Maybe now they're just skipping over the starter home and buying a higher-priced alternative."

Read more:Millennials aren't buying starter homes — they're splurging on million-dollar places instead

3. They're buying vacation homes instead.

Then there are wealthy city-dwelling millennials to consider, some of whom buy vacation homes before or in lieu of a permanent home.

They're renting in cities but buying country houses, Farran Powell of The Street reported in 2015.

Carl Shepard, a cofounder of HomeAway, told Powell there was a big increase in millennials entering the vacation-home market. Those in their late 20s and 30s are buying vacation homes to build wealth, he said, and they rent them out when they're not living in them.

Powell said Shepard encouraged his 25- and 30-year-old kids in San Francisco to buy a vacation home instead of a primary residence.

"San Francisco is so out of reach for the average person, but Big Sur isn't, and certain parts of Sonoma," Shepard told Powell. "The notion of buying your second home first is a wealth-building activity."

catskills houses

It's an investment move in costly cities like New York and San Francisco, where median-priced homes sold for $1.6 million in 2018.

In 2015, New York started to see a swing in urbanites seeking vacation homes in the Hudson Valley because of rising rents that made it hard for working young people to save a substantial down payment, Michelle Higgins reported for The New York Times.

"For less than $350,000 — an amount that barely buys a studio in brownstone Brooklyn these days — they are finding that they can afford homes with three bedrooms or more on several acres of land, sometimes on lakefront property, or with a pool," Higgins wrote.

As first-time homebuyers consider second homes, they're bypassing the starter home.

SEE ALSO: Millennial couples buying homes before they get married are making a risky move that shows how different they really are from their parents

DON'T MISS: 5 millennials who became homeowners in their 20s share their best advice for buying your first house

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why it's so hard for millennials to buy homes


I slept on a mattress from popular online startup Purple for 6 months — and it's not just another big slab of memory foam

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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.

Purple Mattress

  • The Purple Mattress is built a little differently than other online mattresses. It’s not just a big slab of memory foam.
  • The mattress is a little on the firmer side of things — but not overly so. It comes in at around a 6 or 7 out of 10, which makes it perfect particularly for back sleepers.
  • I got the Purple mattress six months ago. These days, I get to sleep quicker, mostly stay asleep during the night, and feel much more refreshed in the morning.
  • Like many other online mattress retailers, Purple offers a 100-night trial of its mattress, so you can try it out for a few months and then return it if you don't end up liking it.
  • The chances of that, however, are pretty slim — especially if you’re anything like me.

The mattress industry can be a little daunting. Traditionally speaking, if you needed a new mattress, it meant having to muster up the courage to head to an actual mattress store, figure out which mattress you want to buy based on a few seconds-long tests, then come to terms with the fact that you’re likely going to get ripped off to the tune of hundreds of dollars.

All that’s now changing though. These days, an increasingly large number of mattress companies are offering their mattresses directly to customers online. The result? A largely hassle-free experience and much cheaper prices.

One of the most famous of these new companies is Purple, which has been selling its mattress online for a few years — and with a lot of success.

The success makes sense. Throughout my life, I’ve had a bit of a rough relationship with sleep. Sometimes, I slept fine. More often than not, however, my nights were regularly interrupted with wake-ups, if I got to sleep at all. That all changed when I first got the Purple mattress six months ago. These days, I get to sleep quicker, mostly stay asleep during the night, and feel much more refreshed in the morning.

It seems like I’m not alone either. In the age of the internet, it’s easy to find others who have tried out a product —  and for the most part people seem to love the Purple mattress. On Amazon, the Purple mattress sits in with an average rating of 4.2-stars, which is very respectable.

Before we go on it’s important to note that Purple currently offers two mattresses. The "original" Purple mattress, and a new Purple mattress. We’re reviewing the original.

Setting up the mattress is a pretty easy affair — though simply because of how heavy it is we recommend at least two people for the setup process. First, you’ll get the rolled-up and vacuum-packed mattress out of its packaging, then unroll it on your bed. There, it will absorb air and puff out into a normal-sized mattress.

Purple Mattress

The Purple mattress is a little on the firmer side of things — but not overly so. It comes in at around a 6 or 7 out of 10, which makes it perfect particularly for back sleepers. I, however, am often a side-sleeper — and six months in the mattress still seems to be soft enough to keep my spine aligned when I’m on my side.

I mentioned that the Purple mattress has a 4.2-star average on Amazon, which is very good. But it’s not perfect. So what are the complaints? Well people seem to have a few.

The most prominent complaint seems to be related to the mattress developing dips over time. Quite a few users, it seems, find those dips within six months of using the mattress. But, six months in, I seem to have avoided that issue. The mattress is still about as firm and as springy as the day it arrived.

Speaking of springy, the mattress is built a little differently than some. It’s not just a big slab of memory foam.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Purple mattress is that it uses a so-called "Hyper-Elastic Polymer," which is aimed at relieving pressure, while still offering plenty of air flow. That’s good news for those who tend to get hot at night. I haven’t used the mattress through a full summer just yet, but I do live in California — and we’ve had a number of warm nights so far. Thankfully, because of the mattress’ build, it has remained pretty cool on those warm nights — which studies have shown helps improve sleep. Right under that is a layer of "comfort foam," under which is a layer of base foam.

The result of all this? Falling asleep is much easier than it used to be, any (acute) back pain that I used to experience is gone, and I feel much more productive during the day thanks to a much better night’s sleep.

The feeling of the Purple mattress is a little unique, but in a good way. It doesn’t feel like a memory foam mattress — instead, the mattress springs back into place pretty quickly after pressure from it is removed. That’s not a bad thing — it still feels very natural, especially once you’ve slept on it for a few nights.

The mattress is technically pretty good too. It has decent edge support, to be sure, but one of the best things about it is that there’s little motion transfer. In other words, if you sleep with a partner, when they move you won’t feel much of that movement on your side of the bed — and vice versa.

Convinced that Purple is a good choice for you? It’s not overly expensive either. In fact, if you’re used to buying a mattress from an actual mattress retailer, you’ll find it to be much cheaper. When it comes to online retailers, it’s not necessarily cheap, but it’s not an expensive mattress either. The Purple mattress starts at $699 for the Twin XL-size mattress, while the King and California King-sized mattresses come in at $1,299.

If you do like it, Purple also offers a 10-year warranty, which covers any manufacturer defects. That’s pretty standard, but it does mean that if you somehow damage the mattress yourself, you won't be covered.

One of the best things about buying a mattress online is that doing so is relatively risk-free.

Like many other online mattress retailers, Purple offers a 100-night trial of their mattress, so you can try it out for a few months and then return it if you don’t end up liking it.

The chances of that, however, are pretty slim — especially if you’re anything like me. The Purple mattress is an excellent investment for anyone looking into getting a new mattress. Whether you're a back sleeper, side sleeper, or front sleeper, the mattress offers plenty of support, while still remaining comfortable and cool through the night.

Buy the original Purple Mattress from Purple for $699 (Twin XL), $899 (Full), $999 (Queen), $1,299 (King/California King)

Buy the original Purple Mattress from Amazon for $699 (Twin XL), $899 (Full), $997 (Queen), $1,299 (King/California King) 

DON'T MISS: The best mattresses you can buy

SEE ALSO: Popular mattress startup Casper makes sheets now — and they're actually really impressive

Join the conversation about this story »

An NFL player who saves almost all his salary and teaches a UPenn class shares his strategy for building wealth, and it's something anyone can do

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jets nfl player brandon copeland

NFL playerBrandon Copeland is all about stacking up the paycheck.

The New York Jets linebacker saves nearly of his salary — according to Spotrac, he earns $1.2 million playing for the NFL.

As if that's not financially savvy enough, he also has experience flipping homes, owns a real-estate company with his wife, and teaches a financial-literacy class he nicknamed "Life 101" at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, with Brian Peterson.

That's not to mention his background interning at the investment bank UBS for two summers during college and working remotely for the Wall Street firm Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers during the 2017 NFL off-season, according to ESPN.

When asked about his savings strategy, Copeland kept it simple: "Saving as much as possible and finding ways to invest smartly and strategically to put my money to work," he told Business Insider.

He saves by focusing on his spending habits and cutting back where he can, which is the first step to saving money, he said.

"I don’t need certain things, I resist upgrades," he added, citing rental cars as an example. "I don't need to drive a Corvette to training; I'll take the Ford Focus."

This allows him to prioritize spending on the things he values most, like experiences, and put the rest away in the bank or invest it.

Read more: An NFL player who saves almost all his salary and teaches a UPenn class called 'Life 101' shares his best money advice, and it's surprisingly simple

Copeland said he likes staying away from cookie-cutter advice and percentages because, depending on one's financial situation, it's not entirely relatable. A strategy like resourcefully saving as much as possible is something anyone can do, adjusted according to their lifestyle. "We all can look at our expenses — even if you are in a great financial situation, that human competitive nature will be looking at other places you can cut back," Copeland said.

Copeland isn't the only NFL player to save smartly. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announced recently that he would retire from the NFL, and he has a nice nest egg to fall back on: his entire NFL career earnings, which total $54 million after nine seasons, according to Spotrac.

Business Insider's Scott Davis previously reported that Gronkowski, 29, hadn't spent any of the money he made during his NFL career, only his endorsement earnings. He advised other players to follow a similar plan and watch their spending overall.

"I'd just say keep it simple," Gronkowski told Business Insider last year. "Keep it easy, and I'd say keep it simple. Get what you need to be comfortable, save the extra."

SEE ALSO: An NFL player who saves almost all of his salary and teaches a UPenn class called 'Life 101' says building wealth involves a key act, and people are waiting too long to do it

DON'T MISS: An NFL player who teaches a UPenn class called 'Life 101' says saving money isn't about how much you make — it's about how much you spend

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

How to change your Google password, or recover it if you've forgotten it

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google logo

There are countless reasons why you might want to change your Google password, from a potential security breach to a newfound need for privacy. And even if you don't have a specific reason in mind, it's always a wise decision to change your password every few months in order to keep your account secure.

If you forgot your password, you might also need to recover it. The process for recovering your password is slightly different than the process for changing it.

Below, you'll find two step-by-step guides: One for changing your Google password, and another for recovering your Google password.

How to change your Google password

1. First, go to your Google account, which you can find at myaccount.google.com.

Password 1

2. On the left-hand side of the page, click on the tab that says "Security."

3. Then, under "Signing in to Google," you'll see a tab that says "Password," with information on the last time you changed your password next to it.

4. Click on "Password."

Password 2

5. You'll be prompted to enter your current password. Once you've entered your current password, you'll be taken to a new screen.

Password 3

6. Here, you will enter your new password and then re-enter it to confirm.

7. Once you've selected your new password, click "Change Password," and you're set!

Keep in mind that changing your Google password here means you'll likely need to change it in other areas, too. Write your new password down so you'll remember it if you're prompted to input it in Gmail, Google Home, or any other devices where you're logged in to Google.

How to recover your Google password

Perhaps you got a new laptop or iPad, and you have no idea what your Google password is. You've tried many different options to no avail. If this is the case, you'll need to recover your password. Here's how.

1. First, go to the web address for account recovery, which is:accounts.google.com/signin/recovery.

Password 4

2. Once there, you'll be prompted to enter the email address associated with the account you'd like to recover.

3. You'll then be prompted to enter the last password you remember.

Password 5

4. Next, you'll reach a screen titled "Account Recovery." Here, you'll request a verification code via cell phone or another email address associated with your account.

Password 6

5. Once you enter the verification code you received, you'll be able to reset your password.

If you don't have a cell phone number or another email address associated with your account, there will be other ways to verify the account by answering security questions, such as when you started your account.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

SEE ALSO: How to change the margins on your Google Docs in two ways

Join the conversation about this story »

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

The best air mattresses you can buy

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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.

the best air mattress

Air mattresses come in handy when your in-laws drop by for an impromptu weekend visit, or when your kids develop a tendency to bring friends home for sleepovers. But air mattresses can also be great in case of emergencies, or if you’re a camper or hiker who needs a comfortable way to sleep in the great outdoors. No matter how your air mattress helps your life, we’ve found a perfect pick for you.

There are a number of factors that go into finding the perfect air mattress: comfort, ease and time to inflate/deflate, height, firmness, air pressure and retention, manufacturing materials, and portability, to name a few. Great air mattresses vary widely in price, as well, so we’ve kept that in mind as we’ve scoured expert consumer lists and real live user reviews to bring you this Insider Picks Guide to the perfect air mattress for any purpose.

Here are the best air mattresses you can buy in 2019:

Updated on 04/08/2019 by Malarie Gokey: Updated prices and formatting. Added a few related links.

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

SEE ALSO: The best mattress you can buy

The best air mattress overall

Why you'll love it: The SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress tops the charts for comfort and performance, and the satisfaction guarantee means you’ll get the most out of your investment.

The SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress has gotten rave reviews for comfort and performance. The company’s ComfortCoil Technology means the mattress is packed with 40 internal air coils so it stays firm and supportive without drooping or sagging throughout the night. SoundAsleep’s built-in pump means it’s easy to inflate and deflate the Dream Series Air Mattress, but it does take about four minutes to complete a cycle.

The Queen size mattress is big enough for two house guests to sleep comfortably, and the raised dual chamber 19-inch height makes it easier to climb in and out of bed without having to climb all the way down to the floor. There is a Sure-Grip textured layer lining the bottom of the mattress to prevent late-night slipping and sliding on hardwood and glossy floors.

On the other side, the mattress’ surface layer is extra thick and waterproof to avoid mildew and bacteria caused by night sweats and to prevent against punctures, nicks, and tears.

Best Products and the Wirecutter both hold the SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress as their top picks, and more than 14,000 reviews on Amazon average out to a 4.3/5-star rating.

Since the SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress is meant specifically for in-home use, it’s not the most portable option on the market. It weighs in at about 20 pounds, but it does come with a convenient carrying case for toting the deflated mattress around your house or from room to room. Best of all, SoundAsleep’s year-long satisfaction guarantee and great reputation for customer service mean that your air mattress investment will be well-spent and protected.

Pros: A year-long satisfaction guarantee and great customer service back up this comfortable, durable, top-ranked air mattress

Cons: The higher price tag and 20-pound product weight make this air mattress less than ideal for customers on-the-go or looking for a camping bed

Buy the SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress on Amazon for $94.95 to $199.95 (price varies by size)



The best quick-inflating air mattress

Why you'll love it: With a lower price tag and lower height profile, the Insta-Bed Raised Air Mattress is still comfortable, durable, and easy to use.

Insta-Bed’s Raised Air Mattress may be a bit of a misnomer, only because the main downside to the mattress is its lower height profile. It’s only about a foot off the ground when fully inflated, which could make nights difficult for anyone whose priority is accessibility. Other than height, Insta-Bed nails all the expected features of an inflatable air mattress. The built-in Insta III AC pump is billed as 20% quieter than other popular airbed pumps, and it inflates and deflates quickly and easily, again, in about four minutes.

The top layer is made of flocked PVC material just like our top pick, providing water resistance, damage resistance, long-term durability, and a soft, comfortable surface for a good night’s sleep. Construction on Insta-Bed’s Queen-sized bed includes 35 circular air coils, which is only slightly lower than the SoundAsleep’s 40. Beneath the bed, the bottom layer is protected with Sure-Grip texturing so your guests won’t slide around their room in the night.

Insta-Bed’s option is considerably lighter, weighing about 13 pounds and still comes with an easy carrying case. Although the Insta-Bed Raised Air Mattress is more than $30 cheaper than our top pick, it is still protected by a one-year warranty and reportedly great customer service. The airbed comes in one color and in two sizes: twin and queen.

Wirecutter has the Insta-Bed Raised Air Mattress as its budget pick, and most of Amazon's 3,700+ reviewers give it the thumbs up, too.

Pros: More affordable without compromising comfort and durability, this air mattress is still guarantee-protected and built to last

Cons: The lower height profile means this airbed is harder to get in and out of, especially for grandparents and anyone with injuries

Buy Insta-Bed's Raised Air Mattress with Never Flat Pump for $89.99 to $99.99 (originally $179.95)



The best budget air mattress

Why you'll love it: For a budget option, the Intex Pillow Rest Raised Airbed doesn’t sacrifice comfort or reliability and even includes a built-in pillow.

The most appealing thing about the Intex Pillow Rest Raised Airbed is the price tag. For less than $40, it's a great option for budget air mattress shoppers. The queen size mattress measures 60 x 80 inches, and it does stay pretty low to the ground at 16.5 inches high. It offers the same style of flocked top PVC surface as comparable air mattresses at much higher price points.

The integrated electric pump takes the standard four minutes or so to inflate and deflate, and users say that the Intex air mattress stays firm and well-inflated without losing air throughout the night.

A nice and unexpected addition to this affordable air mattress is the built-in pillow, which raises the surface of the mattress just slightly where your guests will rest their heads. Water- and puncture-resistant materials keep the mattress comfortable and clean, and the bed still comes with an easy carrying case despite its serious affordability. Some people find the raised pillow area uncomfortable, including one Wirecutter tester.

Almost 3,000 Amazon reviewers gave it a 3.5/5-star average, which is pretty good considering it's a budget item.

There’s no warranty and no customer satisfaction guarantee with the Intex air mattress, and it's a bit of a gamble, but at $49.99 you can hardly expect it to last a lifetime. If price is a concern, you can check for discounts on our coupons page.

Pros: Built-in pillows and all the comfort and durability of a name brand air mattress, without the high price tag

Cons: Low height profile is less than ideal, and no warranty or customer satisfaction promise mean this air mattress isn’t guaranteed to last

Buy the Intex Pillow Rest Raised Airbed with Built-in Pillow and Electric Pump at Target for $49.99 (Queen)



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HelloFresh has launched special Mother’s Day meal kits — I tried the boozy brunch box and was impressed by the quality of the food

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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.

HelloFresh mother's day box 2

While I'm firmly of the opinion that every day should be Mother's Day, the Hallmarks of the world have dictated that the official celebration comes around once a year. As such, it seems only necessary to make this day particularly special. As in, your mom deserves more than a card for her unwavering love and support.

So to help make your mom feel special — and get her out of your kitchen before she tries to wipe down your counters again — HelloFresh is offering special Mother's Day meal kits so you can finally cook for her instead of the other way around, or send it her way if she doesn't live near you. Available for pre-order starting today with delivery starting on May 1, there are two options for you to choose from (though it wouldn't be the worst idea to check out both).

The Brunch Box kit includes everything you need to make a spring asparagus strata with bacon, tomato, and Gruyère cheese, a tropical citrus salad, and a mom-mosa cocktail (though you'll have to provide your own Champagne); it also includes pre-made cinnamon rolls that you can just heat up. The Dinner Box is a three-course feast with rosemary crostini with brie and jam, beef tenderloin over truffle mashed potatoes, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Depending on the box size you choose, the meals can serve anywhere from two to eight people, so you can cook just for your mom or for your whole family. 

Each box also includes a recipe book with a game plan for how best to prepare for your feast like prepping a day earlier, and a DIY card just in case you forget while cooking up a storm.

HelloFresh mother's day box brunch

I had the chance to try out the Brunch Box and found it to be worthy even of my own mother's discerning taste buds. Like all HelloFresh boxes, this brunch offering comes well-packaged with a couple of large ice packs at the bottom to keep the fruits, eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and vegetables fresh. The star of the show is certainly the strata — a baked egg casserole that offers plenty of bang for your buck and is packed with flavor and protein. 

Making the strata isn't terribly different from making a savory bread pudding; the ingredients are largely the same and the final result of layers of egg and bread is every bit as unctuous. I loved the addition of the asparagus to the dish as it provided a bit of much-needed crunch to the otherwise velvety texture of the strata. And of course, nothing can ever go wrong when you're adding plenty of bacon (almost two packs' worth, in fact) and Gruyère to the mix.

You can easily prepare elements of the strata ahead of time, which HelloFresh suggests you do because it means you can have a much less frantic morning if you're looking to do brunch sometime before, say, 2 p.m. But I didn't find the dish too difficult to prepare since all the ingredients are provided and pre-measured. 

The tropical citrus salad is packed with grapefruits, oranges, kiwis, and mint for a refreshing kick. Though I'm not always a huge fan of tons of citrus on its own, the addition of mint certainly helps to liven everything up a bit and the salad was a great counterpart to the otherwise heavy mid-day meal.

HelloFresh Mother's Day Box

If you're not keen on getting your sugar high through fruit, the brunch box also comes with Annie's cinnamon rolls. I'll admit that they're not as delightful as the homemade variety, but after cooking the strata and salad, it's almost a relief to not have to mix, knead, and rise your own cinnamon rolls. Plus, the Annie's variety is undoubtedly still delicious.

And because it wouldn't be brunch without a bit of booze, HelloFresh also includes non-alcoholic ingredients to mix up a Mom-mosa cocktail — pineapple, fresh-squeezed orange, and grapefruit juice. It's a bit more elevated than your traditional OJ and Champagne spritzer, and while you could add your favorite sparkling wine (which HelloFresh suggests), my feeling is that a bit of gin would also do the trick quite nicely.

If you're looking for a nice way to celebrate your mom this year, try making one of the HelloFresh Mother's Day meals for or with her, or send a box her way if she doesn't live near you. The boxes are available for purchase for a limited time only starting at $64 and don't require a preexisting HelloFresh subscription. 

Buy the HelloFresh Mother's Day Brunch Box for $72 and the Dinner Box for $64

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How to take a screenshot on your Mac computer

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Macbook Air

  • You can take a screenshot on your Mac computer using several different methods. 
  • With the below shortcuts, your screenshot will save as a .png labeled "Screen Shot" followed by the date and time of the screenshot.
  • You can screenshot on a Mac using a mouse or a trackpad.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

If you're a new Mac owner, or you've owned a Mac for a while and never learned the useful function of capturing a screenshot, it's worthwhile to take a few minutes and get this skill under your belt. As the character Sam Seaborn on "The West Wing" once said, "Let's forget the fact that you're coming a little late to the party and embrace the fact that you showed up at all."

The screenshot bandwagon is really worth hopping on, mainly because it's a great way to keep records. Whenever I buy tickets for a show, schedule a bill payment, or make an appointment anywhere, I screenshot the confirmation. That way, if my credit card payment doesn't post on the day I scheduled it for, I'll have proof that I scheduled the payment before on the due date.

Taking a screenshot on a Mac is also a pretty good way to save pictures if you'd rather not take the time to download them. Whether you're a proficient Mac user, or a Mac neophyte, here are the methods you can use to capture a selected portion of your screenshot, a particular window, or your whole screen in a screenshot image.

How to screenshot a selection of your screen on Mac

1. Press Command-Shift-4 on your keyboard. Wondering if you have to hold them all down at the same time? The answer is a hearty yes. Technically, Apple Support says to press Shift-Command-4, but I hold down the command button first, followed by shift, followed by 4, because what's life without a little rebellion?

IMG 7636.JPG

2. Drag your mouse or tracking pad over the area you want to screenshot. After pressing Command-Shift-4, your mouse will become what can only be described as a target icon — a symmetrical "t" with a circle around the center. That's your greenlight that you're ready to screenshot! Now drag that icon over the part of the screen you want to capture, using your mouse or your trackpad.

IMG 7639.JPG

3. If you're in the middle of step 2 and decide you're disatisfied with the crop of your selection, or for any other reason, you can exit the screenshot by pressing the Escape button (esc). If not, lineup your selection. 

IMG_7642

4. When you have the right selection lined up, release your mouse. And voila! Congratulations, your screenshot will magically appear on your desktop, saved as a .png file. It will be labeled with the words "Screen Shot" followed by the date and time of your screenshot — down to the second. Apple really doesn't miss a beat.

Screen Shot 2019 04 05 at 7.19.57 PM

How to screenshot a particular window on Mac

1. Starting out the same way, press Command-Shift-4 on your keyboard.

2. When the target icon shows up, press the space bar to turn the target icon into a camera icon

3. Drag the camera icon over any open window, menu, bar, or your dock to take a screenshot of that particular window. (A window will light up blue when you drag the icon over it.) 

4. Your screenshot will save to your desktop in the same manner as step 4 above. 

How to screenshot your whole screen on Mac

1. Press Command-Shift-3 on your keyboard.

2. Your entire screen, including your dock, any windows you have visibly open on the screen, and the toolbar at the top of the screen, will appear saved as a screenshot on your desktop in the same manner as the above methods. 

Now, go ahead — capture your bank transactions, a hilarious message from a coworker on Gchat, or an adorable photo of your granddaughter taking her first steps.

Once you've mastered these tricks, you can even dabble in several other screenshot variations that are new to Mac computers running MacOS Mojave. 

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

SEE ALSO: How to add link shortcuts to Business Insider and INSIDER on your iPhone or iPad

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12 clever, space-saving products to help you organize your small kitchen

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Small Kitchen Organization

  • Keeping a small kitchen organized can be a difficult feat, especially if you live with roommates.
  • Less countertop and cabinet space means that household essentials like pots and pans, spices, and cooking utensils turn into a cluttered mess. 
  • I'm currently figuring out the best solutions for my own apartment, and I've come across quite a few clever options on my hunt. Below you'll find 12 of them.

As a recent grad living in New York City, I'm learning the ins-and-outs of managing life in a place with limited square footage. My micro-abode is shared with three other roommates, meaning that every inch of our place is packed with our belongings and household essentials — and the kitchen is by far the most chaos-plagued room in our apartment. 

I know I'm not the only grown adult navigating life in a toy-sized kitchen, because stores like Amazon, Target, and Bed Bath and Beyond are stocked with space-saving products that help to you make the most of limited counter and cabinet space (while still being able to access all your cooking necessities).

I found some really useful products that were made to save precious counter-top real-estate so you'll actually have room to make something other than your go-to microwave meal. 

Take a look at these 12 space-saving products that you can (and should) be using in your small kitchen to keep clutter at bay. 

SEE ALSO: 19 practical purchases I wish someone had told me to make for my first apartment

SEE ALSO: The 10 best purchases I've made to save space in my small apartment

A Lazy Susan that doesn't require counter space

GetEm Innovations Hanging Lazy Susan, $29.95, Available at Amazon

Instead of finding a large container to store all your kitchen utensils, you might want to opt for this hanging Lazy Susan instead. It can hold anything from small measuring cups and spoons to larger tools like spatulas and ladles. It needs to be drilled in with screws, so if you're renting, you may want to avoid this one — but we suspect it'd be possible to hang it with Command Strips instead for damage-free installation. 



A magnetic knife bar to mount on your wall

Modern Innovations Magnetic Knife Bar, $16.99, Available at Amazon

When counter space is limited, a wood block knife holder may not be an immediate priority. This magnetic bar will securely hold your knives on a wall — and the package comes with an easy installation kit so you can be sure you're drilling in the right place. 



This fruit basket to keep your groceries in one place

Gourmet Basics 2-Tier Metal Fruit Basket, $29.99, Available at Amazon

This two-tier basket comes in multiple sizes, including a smaller countertop unit and a larger floor unit. The small one actually makes great use of vertical counter space, though, since you can pop your K-cups, snacks, fruit, or any other groceries that won't fit in the cabinets.



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This beautifully designed 'dumb phone' can only make calls and send texts — and it might be the key to curing our addiction to apps

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LightPhone2

  • The Light Phone 2 is a gorgeous, minimalist "dumb phone" that can do only a handful of things.
  • The phone doesn't have any apps. Instead, it can make calls, send texts, handle simple directions, and set alarms.
  • Light, the company behind the phone, wants to make a device that is used as little as possible to get people off their smartphones.
  • This is an installment of Business Insider's "Your Brain on Apps" series that investigates how addictive apps can influence behavior.

The Brooklyn-based startup Light has set an impossible goal of getting people to put down their smartphones.

Light launched in 2014 and a year later debuted its first product, the Light Phone. It could only make calls and tell the time, and the company described it as a "quite a smart 'dumb' phone."

Light intended for it to be something of a companion to your smartphone and a way to get people to leave their phones at home and go enjoy life.

Now, Light is back with its second product, the Light Phone 2, an upgraded version of its phone that might just replace your smartphone for good.

The second-generation device couldn't be coming at a better time. There's increased scrutiny on how too much screen time affects our brains, and a movement among even the most tech-savvy parents to limit their kids' access to smartphones.

Meanwhile, apps that discourage too much smartphone use are gaining steam, and people are becoming wise to the tactics their favorite apps use to lure them in and keep them hooked.

This is why Light's new device is intentionally limited. The Light Phone 2 is designed to manage some of the tasks that keep us connected — calling, messaging, and getting directions — while eliminating time-wasters like social media and games.

Here's how it works.

SEE ALSO: These are the sneaky ways apps like Instagram, Facebook, Tinder lure you in and get you 'addicted'

Light was founded by Joe Hollier and Kai Tang.

Hollier's background is in art, design, and filmmaking, and he used to run a studio and skateboarding company called Five on That.

Tang worked in product design and development and spent 10 years traveling the world.



Hollier and Tang met in 2014 when they were asked to design smartphone apps at a Google incubator. But they agreed that the world had enough addicting apps and decided to create a phone intended to be used as little as possible.

Even back in 2014, Hollier and Tang were onto something.

Recent data from the analytics company Flurry found that people in the US use their mobile devices for five hours a day, while a study from the tech-support firm Asurion found that Americans check their phones 80 times a day on average.

Much of that time is spent in apps. Several of the most popular smartphone apps — like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat — have been designed to use psychological tricks to grab your attention.

At this point, even Silicon Valley parents — some of the same ones responsible for building these addictive apps and devices — are raising their kids to be tech-free.



Light launched its first product on Kickstarter in 2015. Called the Light Phone, it was capable of only making and receiving phone calls.

The Light Phone couldn't text, connect to Twitter, take photos, or send emails.

Hollier and Tang designed the phone as something of a security blanket for smartphone users — you could leave your phone at home and "go light" using only the Light Phone. People could still reach you, but you'd be forced to look up from your phone and experience the world around you.

The Light Phone wasn't just technical — it had a philosophical message. Hollier and Tang wanted to encourage people to consider the importance of disconnecting from the digital world.

"We are becoming scared of boredom, scared of solitude," they wrote in a blog post about how the company got its start.



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The best French Presses you can buy

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french press 4x3

  • You can brew coffee in a number of ways, but many caffeine addicts swear by the French Press method.
  • Of all the French Presses we researched and tested, the Bodum Chambord is the best one you can buy with its glass and metal design that's as durable as it is beautiful.

Coffee brewing methods are many and varied — You have pourover, cold brew, classic espresso, and more. One of the most popular methods is the French Press, which lets your coffee grounds swirl around in boiling water to brew before you push the plunger down and pour the coffee right into your mug. There are dozens of great French Press coffee makers out there, but they're not all created equal. 

We've researched the best ones and tested a few ourselves to find out which French Presses are the best you can buy. Before we get into our picks, let's get into important terms, things to look for in a French Press, and how these special coffee makers work.

What to look for in a French Press

  • Glass French Presses: Glass carafes are gorgeous because you can watch the coffee brew and see the grounds go down as you plunge. They are more fragile, of course, so you should get one that's made out of borosilicate glass to avoid thermal shock and breakage. Most glass French Presses also have plastic or metal braces for added protection. Having a sturdy base is important, too.
  • Stainless Steel French Presses: A double-walled design is key for stainless steel French Presses. Two walls will help keep the heat in and make for a better brew. You should also check for the quality of the stainless steel  — 18/8 and 18/10 ratios of chromium to nickel are best. Stainless steel carafes are more durable, but you miss out on the fun visual element of glass French Presses.
  • Plunger and handle design: The plunger keeps the grounds out of your cup of Joe, and the handle helps you keep the carafe steady as you push the plunger down. It's also key for pouring coffee into your cup. Most plungers have multiple metal screens to keep the grounds out of your coffee, including a large steel screen and a finer mesh screen to catch tinier particles. Some use a basket design, but most don't. The handle should be sturdy, strong, heat resistant, and not prone to breakage.
  • Capacity: How much coffee do you want to make? French Presses come in different sizes, as do coffee mugs. It's best to look for a French Press with a capacity of one liter or more, depending on your needs. You can always fill a big carafe with less water, but you can't fill a smaller one with more, so bigger might be better. Take into consideration that many coffee mugs range is capacity from 8 to 16 ounces, so "cups of coffee" is a tricky metric to follow.

Here are the best French Presses of 2019:

Updated on 04/08/2019 by Malarie Gokey: Updated prices and formatting. Added a new pick — Le Creuset's French Press — based on testing.

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

SEE ALSO: The best espresso machines you can buy

The best French press overall

Why you’ll love it: There are many French Presses as simple, but few as elegant as the Bodum Chambord and its “form-follows-function” ethos.

Bodrum’s Chambord will, at least in my eyes, forever be the prototype to which all other French Presses are compared, and, unless you’re fussy about grit in the bottom of your mug or particularly accident-prone, it's almost certainly the French Press for you.

When I was growing up, my parents drank coffee from nothing else, and, apart from someone clumsily dropping one, I can’t ever remember a single thing going wrong, some 20 years, day in, day out.

Okay, so there’s not a lot to a French Press: stainless steel for the frame and plunger, a little polypropylene for the handle, and heat-resistant borosilicate for the carafe. If you want to jazz up your pot a little, consider the cork-topped plunger. Bodum, though a Danish company, makes its French Presses in Portugal, which is, after all, the cork capital of the world.

Reviews of the Bodum Chambord on Amazon are largely positive (about 3,000, rounding out to 4.2/5 stars), but a good number of them complain about the same thing: The stainless steel frame that holds the carafe in place is wont to warp over time, especially if you’re not careful when you remove the carafe. That would be more or less fine if the plastic handle weren’t supported by it on one side with no fastener.

As a result, the handle tends to slip out of the frame once it’s been bent, and that’s how catastrophe takes place. I’ve noticed this myself and had one or two close calls over the years, but I was able to bend it back into place which, touch wood, has held. Still, it’s certainly an inconvenience. What’s more inconvenient is a limited one year warranty that doesn’t cover the glass.

But, while this press may be sort of fragile, and the warranty may not be terribly encouraging, it’s fairly inexpensive and does its job well. Just treat it carefully, and be sure to let it cool down before cleaning. Although it is heat-resistant, borosilicate becomes much less stable when heated up. Otherwise, consider investing a little more in a stainless steel model. Glass is still glass, for now. — Owen Burke

Pros: Affordable, easy to use, attractive design

Cons: Plastic handle, delicate frame-to-handle attachment, strainer allows some grounds to get through

Buy the Bodrum Chambord on Amazon for $15.99 (originally $23.99)



The best high-end French press

Why you'll love it: The Frieling Double Wall Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker is the ultimate high-end French Press with its gorgeous design, superb build, and long warranty.

If you want a top-of-the-line, stainless steel French Press, the Frieling Double Wall Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker is the best one you can buy. It's made of remarkably high quality 18/10 stainless steel, and it has a double-wall design to keep the heat inside and away from your hands.

The dual-layer steel wall also keeps your coffee piping hot, and Frieling claims it's four times better at keeping your coffee warm than glass French Presses. The Frieling French Press we recommend has a 36-ounce capacity, but the company also makes French Presses in sizes ranging from eight ounces to 44 ounces. 

Inside, there's a two-stage filter system with both a big metal filter and a fine mesh one, and a metal wire inside the coil presses the plunger tight against the stainless steel wall. Together, these features ensure that you don't get many coffee grounds in your cup. Frieling's French Press is also dishwasher safe, so it's very easy to clean when you're done. 

The company offers a five-year warranty in case of any defects, and buyers on Amazon are very happy with how durable it is. While glass French Presses tend to break in accidents, stainless steel ones like this do not. The handle is also long and comfortable to hold.

A number of sites call the Frieling the best high-end French Press you can buy, including Consumer Reports, FreshPressoBrown's Coffee, the Little Coffee Place, and Coffee Maker Clips.

Pros: Quality stainless steel design, double wall insulates coffee, durable, large handle

Cons: Expensive

Buy Frieling USA Double Wall Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker on Amazon for $99.95



The best stoneware French Press

Why you'll love it: Le Creuset's beautiful French Press is made from dense stoneware that won't absorb flavors or crack from too much heat. 

Le Creuset is well known for its excellent stoneware and enameled cast iron cookware. Its new French Press is also exceptionally well made and uses the same dense stoneware and enamel exterior as Le Crueset's other cookware. You can choose from several beautiful colors to get a French Press that matches your style and kitchen decor.

I've been using this French Press to make coffee each morning, and it works just like every other French Press. I put in some coarsely ground coffee, pour boiling water over the grounds, and let it steep for a few minutes before plunging the mesh insert down to prevent the grounds from getting into my mug.

I've also used it to brew tea, and it's worked wonderfully. Tea leaves need lots of space to brew properly, and this French Press gives them more room to brew than a small infuser would. I've noticed a big improvement in tea taste with this French Press.

The main benefits of Le Crueset's French Press— beyond its incredibly beautiful design — is that the stoneware is very easy to clean. It's even dishwasher safe. It doesn't absorb any flavors from the drinks I brew in it, nor does it imbue any metallic taste to my drinks.

However, because it is stoneware, it can break and chip if you're not carreful with it. It's not as durable as stainless steel, but it is more hardy than glass and much nicer looking than plastic.

Pros: Beautiful, fun colors, multiple sizes, solid stoneware, well made, long lasting, stoneware doesn't absorb flavors, dishwasher safe

Cons: Pricey, stoneware can break

Buy the 12-ounce Le Creuset French Press on Amazon for $49.95

Buy the French Press from Le Creuset for $50



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Nearly a third of millennials are worse off than they thought they'd be 10 years ago

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millennial financial habit

Millennials face a more expensive life than previous generations— and it shows in their financial behavior.

Twenty-eight percent of millennials think they're worse off financially than they thought they'd be a decade ago, according to an INSIDER and Morning Consult survey. Of the 4,400 Americans polled, 1,207 identified as millennials, defined by the survey as those aged 22 to 37 (237 respondents did not select a generation).

Of those who answered the question, more than half who think they're worse off financially consider themselves poor, while 34% consider themselves working class — only 14% think they're middle class.

These millennials can thank a few economic factors for that train of thought. Foremost is the Great Recession, which created two groups of millennials with different financial habits.

Read more: The 'lost generation' of millennials born in the 1980s may never be as rich as their parents

The financial crisis led to a tough job market and wage stagnation for the oldest millennials, causing them to delay traditional adulthood milestones as the economy made it more difficult to save, Jason Dorsey, a consultant, researcher of millennials, and president of the Center for Generational Kinetics, previously told Business Insider. They often weren't able to save or accumulate the amount of wealth they hoped or expected to, he said.

Millennials born in the 1980s specifically are at the greatest risk of becoming a "lost generation" for wealth accumulation, according to a 2018 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

According to the survey, 35% of millennials who think they're worse off financially than they had expected to be don't have a savings account— and 33% of those who do only have $5,000 or less saved.

Retirement savings aren't faring any better for this group. Thirty-seven percent don't save for retirement at all, and 30% save 10% or less a month, according to the survey.

Dorsey said that older millennials, some of whom have decided they won't ever be able to retire, need to play catch-up with their finances if they want to stop working someday.

How far are you from being able to retire? Find out with this calculator from our partners:


The burden of student loan debt, which totaled nearly $1.5 trillion in 2018 according to Student Loan Hero, doesn't make saving any easier. Of millennials who think they're worse off financially, 33% are still paying off student loans; 23% previously paid them off.

There's also a higher cost of living to contend with. While millennials have benefited from a 67% rise in wages since 1970, according to research by Student Loan Hero, this increase hasn't kept up with inflating living costs — rent and home prices have all increased faster than incomes in the US.

SEE ALSO: The Great Recession split the millennial generation down the middle, creating 2 groups with very different financial habits

DON'T MISS: Millennials have been called the 'brokest' and the 'richest' generation, and experts say both of those are true

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6 of our favorite products from Glossier, the internet's favorite beauty startup

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cloudpaint

  • Glossier, the beauty brand that's been cleverly shaping the no-makeup makeup trend, has achieved cult-like status among its fans.
  • If that wasn't a sign of success, just last week the brand was given a $1.2 billion valuation, entering the exclusive group of startup "unicorns" — privately owned startups valued at $1 billion or more.
  • We've tried many of Glossier's products and loved them, and clearly we're not the only ones. Here are six of our favorite Glossier products, from the cult-favorite Boy Brow to the minimalist Milky Jelly Cleanser.

Over-plucked eyebrows, thick layers of lip liner, bold cat-eye looks — the trademark beauty trends of the past capitalized on the idea that most women wanted to use makeup to change their appearance in some way. Today, it seems that most beauty brands are preaching the exact opposite, instead offering skin care and makeup that works to enhance the features we have rather than attempt to alter them. 

If there's one brand to thank for leading the no-makeup makeup revolution, it's Glossier. The now beloved beauty startup was born from Emily Weiss' fashion and beauty blog Into the Gloss. Since its launch in 2014, Glossier has not only reached cult-favorite status among millennial makeup mavens, but most recently has reached the even more exclusive "unicorn" status after its latest funding round garnered a $1.2 billion valuation.  

Maybe it's the millennial pink branding, the Instagram-worthy packaging, or the social posts of aspirational aesthetics people love — but whatever it is, clearly the "skin first, makeup second" message and the products made with this mantra in mind are resonating. For reference, the Boy Brow brow gel alone had 10,000 people on its waitlist.

From smooth skin tints that add the lightest layer of coverage to creamy blushes that give your cheeks that just-pinched flush, Glossier boasts a suite of barely-there skin-care and beauty products made to accentuate your natural beauty. If you're looking to get that dewy glow, Glossier may be your new go-to.

Here are six of the brands cult-favorite skin-care and beauty products that we actually use:

Boy Brow

Boy Brow |$16 

This is one of the original products that brought Glossier to its cult-like status. Full, thick brows are all the rage, and Boy Brow is a foolproof way to get them. 

The formula is a creamy wax inspired by pomade, so it keeps your brows in place without stiffening. Like a mascara for your brows, you simply apply the product by brushing your brow hairs with short, upward strokes — you'll notice your brows looking more fluffed, shaped, and fuller than before.

There are four color options that compliment just about all brows: blond, brown, black, and a clear option that helps shape and condition without adding any color. I'm already on my second tube of this and I see why it's become a fan-favorite— it seamlessly blends into your brows leaving them looking naturally darker and fuller. 

 



Haloscope

Haloscope |$22

Getting dewey, glowy skin seems to be everyone's goal these days. And, while much of that is achieved by picking the right skin-care products, makeup can give you a glowy boost, too.

Regular highlighters are a great way to add some illuminating sparkle to your skin, but if you're going for something that gives you a dewy glow without too much shimmer, Haloscope is a nice balance. The product is made with two unique parts — the outer core is enhanced with real crystal extracts for the subtlest shimmer, while the inner core is made up of solid, moisturizing oils. So, the product packs a makeup and skin-care punch in one, leaving you with that basking-in-the-sun glow — no UV rays necessary.



Balm Dotcom

Balm Dotcom |$12

This may just be a glorified Vaseline, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming one of Glossier's top rated products. It's a lip balm and skin salve that can be used for a multitude of purposes from adding some shine and hydration to lips to moisturizing cracked skin. While there are plenty of other nourishing balms and salves out there, the delicious scents and subtle tints are what make Balm Dotcom a standout. There's a subtle shimmer option inspired by the flavors of the famous Milk Bar birthday cake, a cherry flavor that adds a light red tint to lips, and a new mango flavor that smells just as good as you'd expect. The cute packaging might also add to the allure. 



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A sommelier explains how 'barnyard' can be an attractive aroma in wine

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Following is a transcript of the video.

I'm getting some barnyard right in the nose, and I know that sounds like a weird quality to have, but barnyard is definitely an aroma in wine.

When you smell barnyard, it's almost like it's an earthiness that's as if you were to walk into, say, a horse barn, you know, like a clean one, and you were to, say, just get that smell of fresh hay. And I like to say barnyardiness because a lot of times I'll be tasting with individuals, and maybe they've been around farms or whatnot, you just walk in and you instantly get that aroma. And so if you were to say you don't like the word barnyard or, say, you don't connect well with that word, hay would be a definitely, like fresh-cut hay, in the suburbs, you get a lot of that.

On the palate, you will not taste a barnyard. You will not be drinking hay.

Hmm, yeah. Yellow apple, hay, it's got acidity, got some lime in there. I think that the barnyardiness right up front along with a lot of like this yellow apple, definitely gives it some complexity.

It can be a very attractive quality in a wine, and I think in the pinot grigio, this is actually very attractive about it, and to someone like myself who drinks a lot of wine and tastes a lot, that's a complexity factor that I would look for and be really intrigued to taste it.

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Absolut Art is democratizing the art world by making limited-edition, exclusive artwork more accessible to young collectors

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art

  • Art is a $65 billion industry, but much of the art world isn't accessible or affordable for most people.
  • Recognizing those complications and industry barriers, Nahema Mehta, herself an art collector, co-founded Absolut Art with a vision to make art as easy to discover and consume as music or luxury fashion.
  • Absolut Art, a brand extension of the Absolut spirits company, now offers a curated collection of exclusive artwork commissioned by Mehta and her team from emerging artists around the world.
  • Business Insider spoke with Mehta to learn more about how the brand is democratizing the art world and bringing contemporary art to the masses. 

Art is all around us, yet for most of us it seems like an inaccessible luxury. As a 20-something, Nahema Mehta — who had an art collection of her own — came to notice that most of her friends felt this exact sentiment. "They would often admire the art on my walls and lament over their own white walls. Most loved art but were convinced they didn’t have the permission or the funds to collect it," she says. 

As a 20-something myself, I see the same notion echoed among my friends today. As we move into our own spaces, we want to decorate our walls with pieces that reflect our personalities and tastes, but we don't have thousands of dollars to spend on artwork. For most, the default is to buy cheap, mass-produced prints or forgo buying any sort of artwork altogether. 

"I found myself paying more and more attention to their blank walls and the gap they represented: the giant hole in the art-buying market between posters and Picassos," Mehta recalls. "The gap wasn’t due to a lack of great art, but rather to most people not knowing where to find it or what to buy." 

For a $65 billion industry, you'd think that buying and collecting art would be something a lot of people do, but the prices and exclusivity of the art world can be so prohibitive that most of us never even start. Mehta credits this to a broken and expensive supply chain. "When it comes to art, you have to navigate a minefield of hidden costs and delays including eight-week lead times and artworks that arrive to your door in a roll that’s unsustainably packaged and that you have to figure out how to frame," she explains.

She wondered why art couldn't be discovered and consumed the same way as luxury fashion or music. These questions and realizations led Mehta to build a solution of her own called Art Remba. Art Remba was a one-stop shop for discovering and purchasing artwork online. In just a few months, Art Remba was profitable, and in just a few years Mehta successfully exited to become the co-founder and CEO of Absolut Art, the first brand extension from spirit company Absolut.

Today, the online art gallery sells a curated selection of signed, limited-edition prints from artists all over the world — and it's making contemporary art more accessible, affordable, and a lot less intimidating than ever before. 

Absolut Art

While there are many places you can buy prints online, Absolut Art stands out for a few important reasons. One is the highly curated collection of prints. Many art sites inundate you with thousands of options, to the point where you don't even know where to begin. Absolut Art, on the other hand, offers a smaller selection of unique pieces that's easier to manage perusing through. There are only a limited number of each print made, so you can feel good knowing you're paying for something truly unique. 

The direct-to-consumer model provides a seamless buying experience, where you can order your piece online and have it delivered to your door, framed and ready to be hung up, in just 48 hours. Choose to have it framed in a museum-quality frame, or leave it as is on the durable, high-quality archival paper — the same kind you'd find at a gallery. 

Another important aspect of the curation is choosing the artists. Mehta and her team travel the world to find the right artists, looking for a diverse set of voices. "Absolut Art’s inventory is made of limited-edition prints ranging from $100 to a few thousand dollars, commissioned exclusively from artists, mainly emerging, based anywhere from Stockholm and Los Angeles to Berlin, Havana and soon Hong Kong," she says. "They belong to a roster that we assemble in close collaboration with local and veteran curators."

And while the main goal may be to help new buyers and more seasoned collectors access art, Absolut Art is just as committed to helping the artists it works with. Every artist receives 50% of the profits when one of their pieces is sold. When asked about the company's successes, Mehta says that giving artists the chance to turn their passion into their job has been the biggest accomplishment. She tells Business Insider, "Our vision for its future is to lead the way for the next generation of artists to become global stars."

absolutart

The Experience 

Inviting. Seamless. Transparent. 

According to Mehta, these three words epitomize the experience that Absolut Art is trying to create for their consumers and artists alike. As a user, I saw these words embodied in my own experience.

You can search and shop for art in a few different ways, or if you're looking for a specific medium or design style, you can shop by category. Absolut Art categorizes all artwork into six groups: new art, trending artwork, photo art, street art, abstract, and landscape. You can also search by artist if you happen to be looking for someone specific, or if you're just looking to discover and explore a new artist you've never heard of before. There's also a last chance section where you can find popular pieces that are almost sold out. 

Personally, I'm not someone who has ever really felt like I "get" contemporary art. I enjoy looking at certain pieces, but there tends to be an air of pretentiousness that makes that particular niche of the world seem out of reach. Absolut Art strips away those barriers for an experience that is both inviting and exciting. It provides easy-to-digest context for the artwork, and the site even offers ample opportunities to explore artists' processes further, providing in-depth bios about each person. Some artists even have short documentary-style videos that take you into their studios. 

The prices are by no means cheap, but the transparency of knowing that the selection is limited and 50% of the profits are going back directly to the artist helps justify, or at least explain, the cost so you can feel better knowing exactly what you're paying for. And, you never know — maybe one day some of these artists will be big names and worth a lot more. 

clouds

Absolut Art is democratizing the way young people go about buying — and maybe one day, seriously collecting — artwork. The model is one that fits the needs and values of a new generation, from the transparent prices, quick delivery, and accessible e-commerce model. 

As Mehta put it, "As young collectors we have a lot of influence and our walls are powerful real estate: every time we invite people to our home, the art on our walls makes a statement about who we are, what we care about, and which voices we choose to support."

Discover and artwork at Absolut Art

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We compared online sofas from Campaign and Burrow to determine which couch startup deserves a spot in your living room

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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.

campaign vs. burrow couch

  • Taking a cue from the bed-in-a-box industry, a growing number of startups are shipping sofas and other upholstered seating to your door.
  • We tested sofas from two such companies, Burrow and Campaign, to determine which one deserves a spot in your living room.
  • Though both are excellent options, I preferred the Campaign Sofa with its ample space, sturdy steel frame backed by a lifetime warranty, and soft, comforting cushions.

Deciding on furniture you plan to use for many years into the future shouldn't hinge upon a few minutes spent sitting on a well-worn showroom piece under the gaze of a commission-starved salesperson. In fact, some experts suggest that it takes up to two weeks to tell if a sofa is right for you. Not many of us can afford to spend two weeks lounging around a showroom. Fortunately, the best online couch manufacturers offer showroom experiences and risk-free trial periods.

Two of the top companies delivering sofas right to your door are Campaign and Burrow.

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Campaign was founded in 2013 by Brad Sewell, an ex-Apple and Honda design engineer. The frames for their furniture are made in Alabama, and everything ships from Tennessee. The company gets its name from the "campaign furniture" that British soldiers would travel with in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Burrow got its start in 2015 when Wharton School classmates Kabeer Chopra and Stephen Kuhl were discussing how fed up they were with the sofa-shopping experience. They decided to do something about it. After an initial round of funding that raised $330,000 and a $120,000 investment from Y Combinator, Burrow was born. Headquartered in New York City, Burrow has grown into a team of more than a dozen people, and their couches are manufactured in the United States.

Both companies recently sent me samples of their products. Each has its weaknesses and its advantages. Below, we compare the Campaign sofa and Burrow sofa head-to-head in a few key categories: price, style options, return policy and warranty, ease of assembly, size, comfort, springiness, motion transfer, build quality, and appearance.

Keep scrolling to see which online sofa wins each category and to read our final verdict on which one you should buy.

Buy the Campaign Sofa here.

Buy the Burrow Sofa here.

Price

Winner: The Burrow Sofa costs $300 less than the Campaign Sofa.

As I write this, the baseline Burrow Sofa costs $1,195. The Campaign sofa is $1,495. Both of these companies, though, are notorious for offering special discounts, promo codes, and sales throughout the year. So, this price gap could change at any moment. Both companies also offer 0% APR financing options.

Price is an important factor when buying a sofa, but it should by no means be your most important factor. A couch can potentially last you for decades. Therefore, the price differences might work out to a few cents per day over the sofa's lifetime, which is well worth the added comfort.



Style options

Winner: This is a draw. Burrow offers larger sofas, including a chaise king sofa, but Campaign has more fabric options.

With Burrow, you can choose between six furniture options: a sofa, king sofa, chaise king sofa, loveseat, armchair, and an ottoman. For every piece but the armless ottoman, you can pick either high arms or low arms. The pieces with arms also have a built-in USB charging port. There are five fabric options: charcoal, beige, brick red, crushed gravel, and navy blue. And, they will send you swatches for free so you can feel the fabric and compare it to your décor.

There are three leg color options: dark wood, light wood, and matte black. I chose a charcoal-colored sofa with dark wood legs and high arms. If you want to see their couch in person before you buy it, Burrow has a few dozen showrooms across the United States.

Campaign offers a sofa, loveseat, armchair, ottoman, pillows, cover sets, and leg sets. High arms are not an option. The sofa, loveseat, and armchair all have low arms. There are 17 fabric options made with a brushed, flat, or Merino weave. If you have no idea which weave you'd prefer, that's no problem. Campaign sends you free swatches of the fabrics before you decide. You also get to choose between maple or oak with mahogany stain legs. I chose a Merino weave vintage blue couch with the oak legs. Campaign has more than two dozen showrooms across the US.



Return policy and warranty

Winner: Though Campaign has a stricter return policy, they do offer an impressive lifetime warranty on their frame.

Based on our research, the shortest risk-free return period you should consider is 14 days. If a company offers less, then you might want to shop elsewhere. Campaign has a 14-day free return policy. If you don't like the sofa, you can return it for free and get a full refund. There is a slight catch: They do not accept returns without original packaging. So, hold onto that packaging for at least two weeks after you buy the couch. The only warranty information I could find on the Campaign Sofa was a lifetime warranty for the frame. Fortunately, when it comes to long-term durability, this is the most important part of the sofa.

Burrow has a much better return policy. For up to 30 days after your sofa is delivered, you can return it free-of-charge and get a full refund. However, the return must have all of its original packing material or there will be a 20% fee taken from the refund. Burrow's warranty is relatively weak: one year on parts and manufacturing.



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The billionaire who owns the Red Sox and The Boston Globe is selling his Florida mansion at a 40% price chop — here's a look inside the 19-bathroom home

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tashun boca raton

John W. Henry owns the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Globe, and the Liverpool Football Club. He also owns a spacious Florida mansion that's currently on the market.

According to recent reporting from Forbes, the "custom-made" home is now listed for $15 million, marking a $10 million price cut. After a successful start at his firm, J.W. Henry & Co., Henry purchased the Boston Red Sox for $380 million in 2002, followed by Liverpool FC for £300 million in 2010— almost $400 million today.

The home was first put on the market with Senada Adzem of Douglas Elliman Real Estate in November for $25 million after over two decades of use. Henry first purchased the property in 1991 for $650,000, and started using his completed mansion five years later.

The mansion now numbers as one of many major price drops over the past year, including a 70% discount on Michael Jackson's infamous Neverland Ranch and a billion-dollar mountaintop property now listed for $650 million.

Read more: 11 of the most massive real-estate price cuts we've seen in the past year, from the 70% discount on Michael Jackson's ranch to a $350 million price drop on an LA hilltop

Previous reporting from Business Insider's Lina Batarags shows that customized houses like Henry's can be hard to sell, as they include extremely personalized features — such as private recording studios — that do not appeal to every buyer.

Keep reading for an inside look at the multimillion-dollar mansion, from its master library to its private music studio.

SEE ALSO: An extravagant Florida mansion that's modeled after the Palace of Versailles sold at auction for a $115 million price cut — here's a look inside

NOW READ: Many NYC penthouses aren't selling, so real estate companies are chopping them up into multiple smaller apartments to get them off the market

The lakefront property is known as Tashun or "House of Peace" ...

Source: The Senada Adzem Team, Douglas Elliman Real Estate



... and currently belongs to billionaire Red Sox owner John Henry. John W. Henry also owns the Liverpool Football Club and The Boston Globe. Forbes estimates that his net worth is $2.7 billion.

Source: The Senada Adzem Team, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Forbes



The house sits on a spacious 6.3-acre plot featuring ample lawn space ...

Source: The Senada Adzem Team, Douglas Elliman Real Estate



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

How to get 2 free months of a CLEAR membership and bypass long airport security lines

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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.

CLEAR

  • Airport security can be one of the most frustrating parts of any trip — especially with the busy holiday travel period coming up.
  • CLEAR is a service that lets you skip the security line — it uses biometric scans to confirm your identity, and allows you to keep your ID and travel documents tucked away as you bypass the queue.
  • Business Insider readers can get two free months of CLEAR by using the code "INSIDER" when applying.

The hassle of getting through security is one of the most stressful things about holiday travel, but it doesn't have to be. Imagine if you knew exactly how long it would take to go through security — about two minutes — and if you could keep your hands free, instead of fumbling with IDs, boarding passes, and your clear plastic bag full of travel-size toiletries?

Thanks to a service called CLEAR, that's actually possible.

Rather than having to wait in line to show an ID and boarding pass to a TSA officer, CLEAR members can head over to a kiosk, where they'll confirm their identity by scanning either their fingerprints or retina. It takes a few seconds, and once confirmed, the passenger can head past the stop-point and go through the X-ray machine — there's no line, no fumbling with documents, and no wait.

CLEAR applies whether or not you also have TSA PreCheck. If you do, you'll skip to the front of the PreCheck line and still not have to bother with your travel documents — as usual, with PreCheck, you can leave your shoes, belts, and light jackets on, and leave liquids and often laptops in your bag. If you don't have PreCheck, you'll skip to the front of the regular security line and go through the normal process from there.

TSA PreCheck coupled with CLEAR means that in most cases, you can get through the airport security checkpoint in minutes, if not seconds, with virtually no hassle.

The process of applying for PreCheck is fairly easy, but involves an interview that may not be possible to complete before Thanksgiving travel — if you're interested in applying for PreCheck, take a look at this article on how to get a credit to cover the application fee from your credit card.

CLEAR, on the other hand, is quick and easy to apply for, and you can complete the application and scan your biometrics at the airport on your way to a flight — that process can easily be quicker than the regular security line.

While CLEAR isn't available at every airport and terminal yet, its availability is expanding rapidly at major airports — you can see a full list here. 

Most recently, CLEAR announced that it's arriving at JFK's busy Terminal 4 before Thanksgiving, making now an ideal time to apply if you expect to transit through New York with Delta, Virgin Atlantic, or any of a number of other major carriers.

Best of all, Business Insider readers can get two free months of CLEAR — enough to cover the whole holiday period — when they apply and use promo code INSIDER. Readers can also choose a $30 discount on their first year, instead — that's $149 for the first year instead of the usual $179 — by using code INSIDER149.

If you're interested in learning more about how CLEAR works, check out our in-depth article here.

Click here to learn more about CLEAR and sign up with our exclusive discounts.

DON'T MISS: 26 packing essentials we never travel without — from a $150 mobile WiFi hotspot to a $6 pack of face wipes

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The best knife sets you can buy

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best knife sets

  • The best knife sets are backed by a long-term warranty, feature blades that will stay sharp, are comfortable in your hands, and come with the types of knives you will use most, including a good chef’s knife.
  • The Chicago Cutlery Insignia2 18-Piece Knife Block Set has all the knives you need and even comes with a built-in knife sharpener.

Ask any chef, and they will tell you that the key to preparing a first-class meal is having the right tools. This includes a full set of sharp knives. In fact, one of the first tasks a professional chef performs upon stepping into their kitchen is sharpening their knives. And, many chefs also hand wash their cutting implements at the end of the day.

Most knife sets feature a chef’s knife, a paring knife, a utility knife, and a serrated bread knife. And, you can commonly find sets with deboning knives, steak knives, slicers, Santoku knives, Kiritsuke prep knives, butcher knives, shears, and more.

All of the sets we review are made of stainless steel, though ceramic knives are growing in popularity. We did not include any ceramic knives because they are more prone to chipping or breaking completely. Plus, they are harder to sharpen.

When shopping, be sure you know exactly what you are getting. For example, when you hear “X-piece knife set,” you might assume the X stands for the number of knives. However, it turns out this is just a clever marketing ploy. The other “pieces” you need to factor in are shears, the block, and even knife sheaths.

Also, even the best knives will dull over time. Therefore, it is a good idea to purchase a good knife sharpener and use it regularly. For help finding a quality sharpener, check out our guide to the best knife sharpeners.

Before choosing which knife sets to include in this buying guide, we spent hours closely researching the thousands of ratings and reviews from both experts and customers. The sets we picked for the following slides are based on a strong track record of durability, ability to remain sharp for long food prep sessions, and comfortable and effortless use.

Here are the best knife sets you can buy in 2019:

Updated on 04/09/2019 by Malarie Gokey: Updated prices and formatting. 

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

SEE ALSO: The best cutting boards you can buy

The best knife set overall

Why you'll love it: The Chicago Cutlery Insignia2 18-Piece Knife Block Set comes with 16 durable knives, shears, and a block with built-in sharpener.

The 16 knives that come with the Chicago Cutlery Insignia2 18-Piece Knife Block Set are eight 4.5-inch forged steak (non-serrated), 8-inch slicer, 8-inch chef’s, 7-inch Santoku, 7-inch serrated bread, 5.5-inch utility, 5-inch deboning, and 3.5-inch and 3-inch paring knives. The set also comes with shears, and the 18th piece, the knife block, features a knife sharpener.

The blades are made of high-carbon stainless steel. They are full tang, which means the blade extends the full length of the handle. The handles are triple-riveted with stainless steel for added stability. As with any knives, this set should be washed by hand. Chicago Cutlery stands behind the quality of this set with a lifetime limited warranty.

Cooking Detective appreciated several features of the Chicago Cutlery knife set, including the heavy forged blades and triple rivet design. PickMyKnife included this set in its review of the top options from Chicago Cutlery. The reviewers liked that the block made it easy to sharpen the knives and that the knives were clearly built to last. However, they would have liked a serrated steak knife in the mix.

Knife Sharpener Guy rated this set highly because of the durable design of the knives and the in-block sharpener, but he found the price was a bit much for what you get.

Around 75% of the buyers who reviewed the Insignia2 knife set on Amazon gave it a five-star rating. Buyers are impressed with how easily the knives cut through food. There were some concerns that the knives are made in China, but that does not appear to equate to poor quality. One verified purchaser mentioned that they did not receive all of the knives with their order, but Chicago Cutlery was quick to remedy the problem.

Pros: Durable, comes with built-in sharpener, lifetime warranty

Cons: Expensive, no serrated steak knife

Buy the Chicago Cutlery Insignia2 18-Piece Knife Block Set at Bed Bath & Beyond for $149.99



The best glass block knife set

Why you'll love it: If searching for the right knife in a wooden block drives you nuts, consider the transparent Mercer Culinary Genesis 6-Piece Forged Knife Block Set.

The Mercer Culinary Genesis Knife Block Set comes with 3.5-inch paring, 5-inch utility, 6-inch boning, 8-inch bread, and 8-inch chef knives. You can choose between a tempered glass block and wood block with tempered glass. Both blocks allow you to readily see where each knife is located.

The blades are made of high-carbon, no-stain X50 Cr Mo V15 German cutlery steel, which is resistant to discoloration, corrosion, and rust. The full-tang blade extends into the Santoprene handle that has a non-slip grip and excellent comfort. Additionally, each knife has a bolster which offers extra balance and strength. Mercer Culinary backs this set with a lifetime limited warranty.

Knife Planet called the Mercer Culinary Genesis a “great knife block set” because the reviewer has used it for years now in the kitchen and found that the quality has not flagged. The Kitchen Guy likes that the knives are precision-forged for durability and strength. However, the reviewer found that the glass block needs to be cleaned regularly or any grime will become readily apparent. 

The Mercer Culinary Genesis knife set has received five-star ratings from 85% of the people who reviewed it on Amazon. Buyers report that these knives are incredibly durable. Some commented that they have had this set for years, and the knives have maintained their sharpness.

Though knives should always be hand washed, there are users who have put their knives in the dishwasher with no noticeable negative effects. The biggest complaint is how the knives are positioned on the block. Since the block is not angled, it is hard to pull the knives out of the block when it is situated under a cupboard.

Pros: Attractive glass block, maintains sharpness, lifetime warranty

Cons: Glass attracts smudges, awkward to use when positioned under a cupboard

Buy the Mercer Culinary Genesis 6-Piece Forged Knife Block Set on Amazon for $139



The best knife set without a block

Why you'll love it: If you are looking for an affordable knife set that is easy to sharpen, the Victorinox 4-Piece Knife Set with Fibrox Handles is an excellent option.

The four pieces in the Victorinox knife set are a 4-inch paring, 6-inch utility/chef, 10.25-inch bread, and an 8-inch chef’s knife. Each knife is made of high-carbon, stainless steel and hand finished in Switzerland at Victorinox’s headquarters. The company uses a special ice-tempering process that aims to keep the knife’s original sharpness after each sharpening throughout its lifetime. The handles are made of a slip-resistant textured polymer material known as “Fibrox.”

Wirecutter named this Victorinox set as its top budget pick. The testers found that it was ideal for beginner cooks who want sharp knives but don’t want to spend a lot. They also recommend it for chefs in high-traffic kitchens. Mariano’s Kitchen reviewed all of the sets available from Victorinox and the 4-Piece Knife Set with Fibrox Handles was its top choice. 

Around 95% of the reviewers on Amazon gave this Victorinox knife set four- or five-star ratings. Several buyers commented that they chose this set after reading Cook’s Illustrated’s review of the Victorinox chef’s knife (included in this set.)

Even in smaller hands, users remark that the knives feel sturdy, balanced, and have a nice grip on them. Buyers note that the knives keep their sharpness and approach the level of quality found in more expensive models.

Pros: Well-balanced, comfortable grip, relatively inexpensive, proven longevity

Cons: Poorly-shaped paring knife curves dramatically near the tip

Buy the Victorinox 4-Piece Knife Set with Fibrox Handles on Amazon for $109.98 (originally $143)

Buy the Victorinox Cutlery 3-Piece Chef's Set (Fibrox Handles) on Amazon for $124.95

Buy the Victorinox 3-Piece Chef's Set (Rosewood Handles) on Amazon for $102.99



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Forget real estate — 'art flipping' is the latest way rich millennials are building wealth, and it's an investment baby boomers largely ignored

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art basel millennial

  • Rich millennials are more likely than previous generations to buy art as an investment.
  • Some of them are turning to "art flipping" — buying art with the hopes of quickly reselling it.
  • But millennials, who are often drawn to contemporary art, are also motivated by aesthetics and the desire to extend their "personal brand," according to one expert.
  • As millennials participate more in the art market, they're also more likely to buy online, which is changing the world of art.
  • Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Forget real estate and stocks — millennials are seeking out art as their latest investment.

While expensive art is no new concept for the elite, rich millennials are being more strategic with high-end art purchases than previous generations were.

"Millennials are more likely than other generations to see art as a financial asset and as part of a comprehensive wealth-building strategy," wrote Amelia Kennedy of the Art Market Guru.

In fact, millennials are twice as likely to view art as a financial asset, Kennedy wrote, citing 2018 data from Bank of America's US Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth report. And, according to the report, 85% of millennials said they were very or somewhat likely to sell in the next year, whereas only 41% of Gen X collectors and 24% of baby boomers said the same.

Read more: Rich millennials are creating new trends and status symbols – here are 7 ways they're redefining what luxury looks like

Kennedy calls this "art flipping" — buying with the hopes of quickly reselling. But profit isn't always the key motivator — some buyers reinvest profits in more art as a way to curate a better collection, according to Kennedy.

Art flipping isn't a new idea, reported Lorne Manly and Robin Pogrebin of The New York Times. It's a widely debated practice, as some see art flipping as a way to devalue the artist and the work, they wrote.

Millennial art investors are just bringing art flipping to the forefront. They're more likely than other generations to contemplate a work's value and the overall market rather than the aesthetics of the piece before deciding to buy, according to Kennedy.

Art flipping can certainly reap a profit — the price of Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Warrior" increased by 450% from 2005 to 2012, during which it was sold three times; by its third selling, it was worth almost $9 million, according to Manly and Pogrebin.

But, as with real estate, art flipping doesn't always result in a profit. Art dealer and collector Niels Kantor of Kantor Gallery paid $100,000 in 2014 for a Hugh Scott-Douglas abstract canvas with the intent to flip. Two years later, he sold it for $20,000, an 80% price cut, according to Katya Kazakina of Bloomberg.

Millennials are more likely to buy art online

But art flipping isn't the only motivator for millennial art buyers. They're also motivated by passion, aesthetic appreciation, and desire for personal fulfillment when it comes to collecting art, wrote Kennedy: "Art collecting both fulfills the collector's sense of creative passion and is also a strategic move in today's world of personal 'branding.'"

She cited a quote by Alexander Gilkes, founder of online art platform Paddle8, who told W Magazine, "Our generation has become somewhat stripped of identity by the homogenizing effect of technology. So, more than ever, people want to project their own individuality. What you collect is the ultimate impartation of who you are. It's the archive of your identity — it's what you leave behind." 

Millennials are particularly attracted to contemporary art — more than 90% of young collectors, defined as those under age 40, are interested in contemporary pieces, wrote Kennedy, citing data from an AXA Art Survey. 

Consider the "millennials in hoodies," who purchased $28 million worth of art inspired by the Simpsons TV show at a recent Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, according to Frederik Balfour and Katya Kazakina of Bloomberg.

But extending their personal brand isn't the only way millennials are diverging from their parents when it comes to the art world.

"High-net-worth millennials are becoming far more active in all parts of the art market, and they're far more willing to buy art online," said reporter Rosalind Chin of Bloomberg TV in a TicToc broadcast, citing stats from The Art Market Report. According to Chin, 17% of millennials from the report said they spent $100,000 or more buying a piece of artwork online, and 4% said they spent $1 million doing so.

Instagram is serving as a tool for both emerging artists and millennial collectors, Adweek reported. According to the publication, social media influencers are heightening the art market and creating "social media icons" in the process.

SEE ALSO: 5 things rich millennials do differently with their money than the rest of their generation

DON'T MISS: 7 ways rich millennials spend and display their money differently than rich baby boomers

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NOW WATCH: Scientists completed one of the most detailed explorations inside the Great Blue Hole. Here's what they found at the bottom of the giant, mysterious sinkhole.

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