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The 25 best airlines in the world, ranked by in-flight entertainment options

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Emirates

  • Flying is a miracle of modern life.
  • But when the wonder of human flight wears off, you're stuck with the ugly truth that you've got another 10 hours before you get to Tokyo.
  • And that's where in-flight entertainment comes in! These are your best options for in-flight entertainment.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

There you are, excitedly boarding your flight to Bali. Bali! You've been waiting your whole life, and it's finally here.

You board the plane, settle in, and quickly realize the awful truth: You've got somewhere in the vicinity of a full 24 hours of flying ahead of you. Woof

But there's a good chance that, depending on the airline, in-flight entertainment is there to combat your boredom. These are the 25 best airlines ranked specifically by their in-flight entertainment options, care of Skytrax:

SEE ALSO: The 20 best airlines in the world for 2019

DON'T MISS: I've taken more than 30 flights over the past year as I've traveled the world, and one airline has the best entertainment system, the friendliest staff, and the best service

25. Austrian Airlines



24. ANA All Nippon Airways



23. Air New Zealand



22. Japan Airlines



21. Air France



20. Hainan Airlines



19. Oman Air



18. Swiss International Air Lines



17. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines



16. Aeroflot



15. British Airways



14. Thai Airways



13. Cathay Pacific Airways



12. Air Canada



11. Etihad Airways



10. American Airlines



9. Turkish Airlines



8. Lufthansa



7. United Airlines



6. Qantas Airways



5. Delta Air Lines



4. Virgin Atlantic



3. Singapore Airlines



2. Qatar Airways



1. Emirates




YouTubers Tana Mongeau and Jake Paul are getting married in Las Vegas this weekend, and MTV filming it all. Here's everything we know about the couple's upcoming marriage

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tana mongeau jake paul

One of YouTube's most popular, yet controversial, couples is getting married Sunday, and the entire event will be filmed for their more than 20 million combined fans to see.

Tana Mongeau and Jake Paul — who have referred to themselves as "two of the internet's biggest sociopaths" — will be getting married this weekend in Las Vegas to tie the knot on a relationship that some fans and YouTubers believe to be completely fabricated for views.

Since getting together in late April, the two got engaged at Mongeau's 21st birthday party, then announced at online-video convention VidCon they would be getting married July 28.

The two YouTubers have been long immersed in drama and controversy, both as a couple and separately, so what takes place at their wedding is anyone's guess. 

Here's everything we know about about Tana Mongeau and Jake Paul's wedding taking place Sunday:

SEE ALSO: YouTuber Tana Mongeau confirmed a July 28 wedding date with fiancé Jake Paul at VidCon

Mongeau and Paul got engaged in late June at Mongeau's 21st birthday. Paul also bought her a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen that costs $124,000 to celebrate the occasion.

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Source: Business Insider



The ring the couple got engaged with, however, is fake. Although the engagement ring may look diamond-encrusted, it reportedly retails for $125.

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Source: Page Six



Earlier this month, online video creators gathered at a two-day convention in California in VidCon. During a question-and-answer session with Mongeau, Paul came out on stage in a surprise appearance, and the two announced their wedding date: July 28.

Source: Business Insider



Mongeau and Paul are reportedly getting married in Las Vegas. The entire wedding will be filmed by MTV, which produces a reality series called "Tana Turns 21" that airs on YouTube.

Source: People



Their ceremony will take place at the Graffiti Mansion, a massive house that often gets spray painted to promote things like Fortnite and the retailer Supreme.

Source: People



The reception will then take place at the Sugar Factory, a popular restaurant with color-riddled foods and gigantic drinks.



The invitation, as reported by gossip site The Blast, invites the guest the join Mongeau and Paul in "Holy Cloutramony." The invitation tells guests: "What happens in Vegas will end up on YouTube."

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Source: The Blast



The menu for the reception includes chicken fingers and guacamole for snacks, and main dish options including fettuccine alfredo and "pink and green mini burgers."

Source: The Blast



Stay tuned for the MTV episode premiering soon that will show the play-by-play of their wedding reception.



15 ways to easily become a better parent, according to experts

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parent dad son

  • Parenting is difficult, and there's no clear-cut right or wrong way to do it. 
  • Many parents find themselves wondering how they could have been "better" at parenting.
  • Instead of aiming to be better, parents should consider if they're aware, mindful, and present for their kids.
  • From practicing self-care to creating small daily routines, there are simple, research-backed steps parents can take to improve both their own lives and their children's. 
  •  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

At the end of the day, most parents want to know if there's something they could have done better. While "better" is a subjective word, perhaps it's more suitable to ask ourselves if we were aware, mindful, and present as a parent.

We asked 15 experts for tips, and their answers seemed to built around three main themes: creating routines and rituals for children, leading by example, and remembering to "play."

Here are all the ways they recommend you can improve your parenting, one small change at a time. 

SEE ALSO: The 11 types of parents that teachers say they can't stand

1. Follow through

Whether it's a promise or consequence, parents who don't follow through when needed can send mixed messages to children. "You beg then yell and threaten your kids with punishment for misbehavior, so eventually they comply but you do nothing," said Gregory Ramey, executive director for pediatric mental health resources at Dayton Children's Hospital. "You've just taught your kids that you cannot be trusted to mean what you say and your credibility is lost."



2. Schedule distraction free time

Routine is crucial for children of all ages, and a large part of this is making sure your child has your undivided attention at some point. "When kids are being the most difficult, it is often done in order to get your attention," said LCSW Monica Berger, who recommends setting aside at least 20 minutes a day to play with or talk to your child without distractions.  



3. Have one consistent activity daily

Moms and dads juggle many responsibilities on a day-to-day basis, but carving out the time for a special activity enhances the parent-child bond. "I encourage every parent to have at least one specific life routine they do with their child whenever possible," said clinical psychologist Nicole Beurkens. This could be giving your child a bath, making and eating breakfast, going for a walk after dinner, or anything else that is a part of the typical daily routine.



4. Label feelings

Like adults, kiddos can have a wide range of feelings and emotions, and parents should help them identify what these are. Martha Mendez-Baldwin, an assistant professor of psychology and Manhattan College, said labeling a child's emotion will help them be more in touch with themselves. "If your child is frustrated or crying, be empathetic to what the child is feeling." It can also help to openly label your own feelings as the parent, so kids realize everyone gets sad, disappointed, etc.



5. Hand out compliments

The phrase "fill someone's bucket" should not be forgotten in your own home. Carrie Krawiec, licensed marriage and family therapist, recommends using the 5:1 ratio. That is, for every one correction or criticism you give your child give five positive affirmations or encouragement. "Positives are light like feathers and negatives are heavy like cement. Focusing on this ratio helps build the relational and self esteem bank account to weather the more challenging storms."



6. Monitor screen time

"Sit with your children while they're online and participate in what they are watching, reading, and doing. Be more than a monitor; help to facilitate and participate in their learning," said Dr. Elanna Yalow, KinderCare's chief academic officer. "Let your children know they can always talk with you about anything, including what they see online." Yalow goes on to remind parents to take advantage of parental controls on phones, tablets, and computers to set time limits as well as approving what content your child can see.



7. Choose positive language

It's easy to tell a child "no" or "stop," but putting a positive spin on phrases that start with these words helps overall behavior. "Trigger words can make things worse for children," said play therapist Angela Medellin. "If a parent sees their child running down the hall it's a natural inclination to tell them to stop running, but instead try saying 'walk please.'"



8. Answer the repetitive questions

Kids are curious by nature and sometimes that curiosity has a way of turning into interrogation over a seemingly simple topic. "As a parent, the more you answer, the more you help your child learn to think about themselves, the world and their relationships," said Paul Rand licensed educational psychologist. "Do not stifle their interest in learning — no matter how annoying the question 'why' can be."



9. Ask questions daily

While answering questions is beneficial, it's also good to ask your child open ended questions about their day. "Rather than simple yes or no answers, this stimulates conversation and helps your child focus on the good in their day as well as to be aware of anything that needs improvement," said Catherine Jackson, licensed psychologist and board certified neurotherapist.    



10. Write it down

Packing a lunchbox provides a great opportunity to connect with your child in a creative way. "Words of affirmations can be powerful. When you give your child your note, go over all the things that are positive, valuable, and unique about your child with him or her," said Katie Ziskind, marriage and family therapist.



11. Take care of yourself

Self-care is important. Even basic things like eating right, drinking water, exercising, and getting proper rest are helpful. "You are calmer and more in control of yourself and your emotions when you are taking care of yourself," said  Barbara E. Harvey, the executive director of Parents, Teachers and Advocates, Inc. "Many time parents are too harsh in discipline or lacking patience because they are tired or hungry. Children learn by observing and if they see you taking care of yourself they will follow suit."



12. Join a support group

Having people to lean can make parenting feel less lonely when we realize others are going through the same challenges. Tasha Holland-Kornegay, LPCS, reminds parents that support groups aren't just for first time moms and dads or those with infants, but are just as useful when kids turn into teens. 



13. Model good communication

Not only should communication include respect, but keeping those lines open helps children realize they can trust you to listen. "Show your child that you can handle what they say and how they feel," said family coach Calvalyn Day. 



14. Practice listening

It's not always easy to set aside phones, or stop what we are doing in general, but listening fully is a good habit to practice and preach. This goes for all members of the family, not just when children are talking. "Not only are there positive neurological benefits to making eye contact and physical contact, but it is also positive role modeling to teach your children how to be active an engaged listeners," said Rebecca Jackson, vice president of outcomes and programs at Brain Balance Achievement Centers



15. Be mindful during meltdowns

Studies show it can take 20-45 minutes for someone to calm down and re-set after an argument (or tantrum), so don't delve out consequences in the heat of the moment. "When a child (or adult) becomes extremely upset or agitated, our body shifts into fight or flight mode," said Rebecca Jackson, Vice President of Outcomes and Programs at Brain Balance Achievement Centers. "In these moments our brain is focused on the present moment, and does not have the ability to reason or regulate. Allow them to get through the moment, then discuss the behavior, incidence or issue that triggered the meltdown."



6 people on how living in a tiny house has changed their finances, from going debt-free to saving six figures

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TinyLittleLife bekah

  • Tiny house living changes your finances for the better, according to six people who live in tiny houses.
  • Many were able to significantly reduce their housing costs, thereby doubling — or even tripling — their savings.
  • The extra money has brought them new opportunities to enrich their lives, they said — with experiences like traveling or starting a business.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Life tends to gets smaller when joining the tiny-house movement.

There's the 100 to 400 square feet of space— defined as the criteria for a tiny house— that makes up your home. There's the downsizing of possessions so you can live comfortably. And there's the overall minimalist lifestyle that comes with both of those things.

But the one thing that doesn't shrink, according to many tiny house dwellers, is your bank account.

Business Insider talked to six people who went tiny about how their finances changed after making the move. Turns out, going tiny has made them richer in more ways than one.

Many have significantly cut the cost of their rent or mortgage and thus doubled their savings, which has yielded them more opportunities to take advantage of — like traveling or starting a new business.

Here's how going tiny has changed people's finances for the better.

SEE ALSO: Here's what living in a tiny house is really like, according to people who traded their homes for minimalism

Couple Bela and Spencer cut their housing costs in half when they downsized to a tiny home — and they earn income of it by turning their tiny house into a vacation rental.

Bela and Spencer of thisxlife in Boulder Creek, California, were renters before they bought their 300-square-foot tiny house in 2007.

After including rent for the land, depreciation on the home, and loan interest, they cut housing costs by half, down from $30,000 to less than $15,000, they told Business Insider. They did that without a down payment or any first-time homebuyer incentives.

Because most banks don't consider tiny houses as "homes," many tiny-house buyers can't take out a mortgage and instead pay for the home through personal loans, they said. They did just that, but will have paid off their tiny house in just seven years — or less.

They also convert their tiny house into a vacation rental while they travel, which allows them to make a little income on the side, they said. "We could not have afforded to set up such a luxurious rental if we had continued to rent or even bought a starter home — and renting our house for a handful of months a year covers the costs of ownership," they said.

"There's no way we can really know the full financial picture of our tiny house, but it's easy to say that it's been a valuable investment," they said. "Much, much better than renting, as long as you can stomach the adventure!"



Bekah Taylor said her housing expenses are half to a third of what she would be paying if she lived in the city.

Bekah Taylor of Tiny Little Life said that getting into tiny living can be complicated. There are parking restrictions, insurance can be expensive depending on where you live, and if you can't finance your own home, it restricts the companies you can buy from. She and her husband Paul went to the bank and were offered the option to refinance their home or take out a personal loan with 14% interest rates.

They ended up self-financing and building their 250-square-foot tiny house, located in Portland, Oregon.

"We have amazing friends and family, who gave us a lot of free labor, which made the cost significantly less," Taylor told Business Insider.

She said their monthly housing expenses are half to a third of what most of their friends are paying for in the city. "It has allowed us the freedom to live where we want yet still do all the traveling we had hoped for," she said.



Couple Tim and Sam have cut back on unnecessary expenses because living in a tiny house has forced them to downsize.

Tim and Sam of Tiffany the Tiny Home bought their 270-square-foot tiny house, which they live in in Florida. Downsizing for the move wasn't "terribly hard to do," they previously told Business Insider.

"Besides being able to have a three- to four-year mortgage, which will give us an extra $1,000 a month back into our pockets, living tiny has changed our finances for the better," Tim told Business Insider.

He added: "Since we live in such a small space we think more about what we bring our home than we used to. That mindset alone will cut out a lot of unnecessary spending we used to do on a day-to-day basis. We evaluate what we buy a lot more carefully, which in turn ends up saving money from those 'I need to have this' moments. This allows us to invest back into our lives."



Ryan Mitchell has saved six figures since moving into his tiny house.

Before Ryan Mitchell of The Tiny Life moved into his tiny house, he was spending about $1,500 a month on rent, utilities, insurance, and the like, he told Business Insider.

He said it cost him about $30,000 to build his 150-square-foot tiny house, including the solar panels. "Even after accounting for the cost of the house, I've saved over $100,000 going tiny and it's been a great experience," Mitchell said.

With that money, he started a new business, which he then sold, using the profits to buy land of his own. He's also been doing a lot of traveling, sometimes spending up to a few months in a country.

Ultimately, tiny living has afforded him a low cost of living: "I only have to work about five hours a week to cover all my needs, so I have a really great lifestyle while still meeting all my bills, savings, and retirement needs," he said.



Laura LaVoie said going tiny has opened up new opportunities for her and her husband.

Laura LaVoie of Life in 120 Square Feet told Business Insider her tiny house experience was about changing her life and finances. In 2009, she and her partner Matt began building their 120-square-foot cabin in North Carolina while living in Atlanta and working in corporate jobs.

"We spent weekends and vacations working on our tiny house, which was a symbol for the things we wanted to outside of full-time jobs," she said. "When the tiny house was finished, we could take the leap."

She quit her job and began writing full time in 2012.

"Since then, our financial choices allowed us to do so much more," she said. "We bought a 700-square-foot bungalow in a city we love and last year my husband decided to go back to school and is attending law school in Atlanta. We couldn't have done any of this without the experience of building a tiny house."

While they moved out of their tiny house to live in the bungalow for several reasons, including some big life changes, they plan to move back in this summer.



Jenna Spesard is now debt-free because she lives in a tiny house.

Jenna Spesard of Tiny House Giant Journey built her 165-square-foot tiny house from scratch — there weren't many resources available and most of the planning and building was achieved through trial and error, she previously told Business Insider.

But it was worth the financial freedom. After downsizing, she was able to save so much money that she paid off her $20,000 student-loan debt and car loan in just a few years with a part-time job, she told Business Insider.

"I have now been debt-free for more than a year and I'm saving enough money every month that I can travel all over the world a few times a year while working on my own business," Jenna, whose tiny house is currently parked on Whidbey Island in Washington, said. "I never would have been able to do that before going tiny."



Meet the self-proclaimed 'billionaire heiress' who runs the Manhattan Republican Party, was formerly married to Richard Nixon's grandson, and whose signature outfit is a bikini

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Andrea Catsimatidis

In the bio on her Instagram profile, Andrea Catsimatidis lists seven phrases to describe herself, separated by emojis: "billionaire heiress," "business bombshell," "jetsetter," "NYC native," "Manhattan Republican Party Chair," "philanthropist," and "footballer."

Catsimatidis is the daughter of John Catsimatidis, the owner of New York City supermarket chain Gristedes Foods. John has a net worth of $3.1 billion fortune, according to Forbes. Andrea, a 29-year-old New York University graduate, works as an executive at her father's company when she is not leading Manhattan's Republican Party, New York Magazine reports.

In January 2019, Catsimatidis was widely criticized for her love of string bikinis after an appearance on CNN to discuss the government shutdown, she said in an interview with New York Magazine's Olivia Nuzzi.

Read more: The Disney heiress who has demanded a wealth tax on the ultrarich and thinks private jets should be outlawed finally sets the record straight on her personal net worth

Catsimatidis did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Keep reading to learn more about Andrea Catsimatidis.

SEE ALSO: Netflix and FX are severing ties with Peggy Siegal, the NYC publicist who got Jeffrey Epstein into A-list events and has been called the 'best way' to make sure your movie wins an Oscar

DON'T MISS: Meet Scooter Braun, the Hollywood manager who's caught in a feud with Taylor Swift, used to sell fake IDs in college, and discovered Justin Bieber in 2008

Andrea Catsimatidis, 29, is a Manhattan native.

Catsimatidis was raised on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, according to The New York Times. Political figures including the Clintons, Rudy Giuliani, and John Kerry regularly stopped by to discuss public policy with her father in their living room.

Catsimatidis, who goes by "A.J.," went on to earn an undergraduate degree in business from New York University, according to the Times.



Catsimatidis' father is New York City grocery titan John Catsimatidis.

John is the owner of Gristedes Foods, the largest supermarket chain in New York City, according to Forbes. John entered the grocery business as a part-time cashier while studying at New York University and he purchased his first grocery store in 1969, Forbes reports. He also owns an oil refinery and a radio station, according to Forbes.

John's net worth is $3.1 billion, Forbes estimates.

John has also demonstrated an interest in politics, launching an unsuccessful bid to become the mayor of New York City in 2013, according to Forbes.



When she was 21, Catsimatidis was briefly married to then 31-year-old Christopher Nixon Cox, a former John McCain staffer and grandson of Richard Nixon, according to New York Magazine.

"We had so many people to celebrate with us," Catsimatidis told New York Magazine about the 2011 wedding. "Hillary Clinton was at my wedding. We had Henry Kissinger, we had Rudy Giuliani, we had Chuck Schumer. It was a beautiful, bipartisan wedding — everyone had an amazing time."

The couple divorced in 2014, according to New York Magazine.



Catsimatidis is a lifelong Republican.

"I looked up what it meant to be a Republican," Catsimatidis told New York Magazine, "and I saw that being a Republican stood for freedom and opportunity for all, and I was like, of course I'm a Republican!"

Before getting involved with the Manhattan Republican Party, Catsimatidis served as the president of the NYU College Republicans, according to New York Magazine.



Catsimatidis has served as the chair of the Manhattan Republican Party since 2017.

Catsimatidis' portion of the GOP breaks with the party's national committee on the issue of abortion, she told New York Magazine.

"My belief is, I'm pro-life, but at the same time, as Manhattan GOP chair, I'm doing my best to fulfill the role that represents our Manhattan Republican Party, and our Manhattan Republican Party is pro-choice, all of our candidates are pro-choice, all of our candidates are pro-gay marriage, all of our candidates are very socially liberal," Catsimatidis said in an interview with New York Magazine's Olivia Nuzzi. "So I feel like I'm acting in the interest of what our constituency is. That's what I'm going to do."

When she's not working with the GOP, Catsimatidis works for Gristedes Foods, according to New York Magazine.



For Catsimatidis, the bikini is "an essential accessory to an artifice she has diligently perfected," New York Magazine's Olivia Nuzzi wrote.

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Catsimatidis' Instagram profile is filled with pictures of her in brightly colored string bikinis.

Catsimatidis received a lot of criticism over the photos after she appeared on CNN in January 2019 to discuss the government shutdown, according to New York Magazine.

"When people want to be mean, they'll just make fun of my appearance because that's the petty default that people have," Catsimatidis told New York Magazine. "They usually tend to complain about my feminine anatomy ... The Democrats started attacking my breasts, and the Republicans were defending them, and then I thought to myself, I didn't realize that my breasts were so partisan."



We slept on the new hybrid mattresses from Leesa and Casper to see which one is the best — and Leesa won with its strong edge support and minimal motion transfer

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Leesa vs Casper Hybrid 4x3

  • A high-quality bed-in-a-box comes with a long risk-free trial, fits a broad range of sleepers and body types, and offers excellent motion transfer isolation and edge support.
  • Casper and Leesa are two of the biggest names in the online mattress industry thanks to their comfortable mattresses and nearly identical 100-night risk-free trials and 10-year warranties.
  • Casper recently launched a Hybrid mattress to challenge Leesa's Hybrid mattress, which was formerly called the Sapira mattress. 
  • Although both mattresses are excellent options, I preferred the Leesa Hybrid with its minimal motion transfer, strong edge support, Goldilocks firmness, and heat dissipation.
  • You can also read my full reviews of the Casper Hybrid and Leesa Hybrid for more details.

When discussing the top brands in the bed-in-a-box industry, Casper and Leesa inevitably lead the conversation. Casper is often credited with popularizing the concept, and Leesa quickly grew to be a giant in the industry with its great beds and its socially-conscious initiatives, like the "One-Ten" program, which donates one mattress for every 10 sold.

Both Leesa and Casper now have hybrid versions of their flagship, all-foam mattresses. Hybrid mattresses are a combination of foam and the innersprings you might find in more traditional beds. But, unlike the spring mattresses of yore, the best new hybrids feature individually-wrapped coil springs that are meant to provide even support and cut down on motion transfer.

Casper just launched its hybrid mattress a few months ago. Along with the three foam layers found in the all-foam Casper, the Hybrid features a zoned support layer combining springs and foam. The springs provide a boost in airflow and lift.

For years, the Leesa Hybrid Mattress was known as the Sapira Mattress, but the company recently dropped the "Sapira" moniker. The Leesa Hybrid is marketed as a luxury alternative to Leesa's main mattress with strong edge support and the ability to adapt to all sleeping styles and body types.

I had the opportunity to test both the Leesa Hybrid and Casper Hybrid. Both have their weaknesses and advantages. Below, we compare the hybrid mattresses in a few key categories: price, style, return policy, warranty, set-up process, comfort, edge support, and motion transfer.

<a target="_merchant" href="http://Leesa-Sleep.lvuv.net/c/196318/236769/4014?subId1=biip_071219_leesa-hybrid-mattress-vs-casper-hybrid-mattress&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leesa.com%2Fproducts%2Fleesa-hybrid-mattress" data-analytics-product="5ced4ee211e20508d8468b29" data-analytics-product-module="Product Prime Day" data-analytics-product-area="insider-pick-slide-button" data-analytics-product-price="1095" class="insider-pick-button insider-pick-button--large"> Shop Leesa Hybrid Mattresses </a>

<a target="_merchant" href="https://casper.pxf.io/ZvWR1" data-analytics-product="5ced4ee211e20508d8468b29" data-analytics-product-module="Product Prime Day" data-analytics-product-area="insider-pick-slide-button" data-analytics-product-price="795" class="insider-pick-button insider-pick-button--large"> Shop Casper Hybrid Mattresses </a>


Price and specs compared

Leesa Hybrid

Winner: The Casper Hybrid wins on price, as it is more affordable than the Leesa Hybrid. In terms of specs, it's more or less a tie on paper.

Every size of the Casper Hybrid costs less than the Leesa Hybrid. Though the prices of each of these mattresses are constantly changing, and you may be able to get promo codes for some sweet discounts. Currently, the price difference is $235 for a Twin-sized mattress, $270 for Twin XL, $190 for full, $245 for Queen, and $215 for King and Cal King. 

Pricing for the Leesa Hybrid Mattress:

Pricing for the Casper Hybrid Mattress:

By no means should the price be the main factor when considering a bed. The mattress you buy should serve you for a decade or more. So, the price differences will work out to only a few cents per day over the lifetime of the mattress. We tend not to encourage people to go into debt, but both companies offer monthly payment plans for the beds with 0% APR.

The mattress size you chose will depend on how big you are and — if you're sharing a bed — how big your partner is. If you're on your own, your best bet is a Twin, Twin XL, or Full bed. Smaller people will find a Twin works well. Taller folks should turn to a Twin XL. And, if you are bigger, go with the Full. Queen, King, and Cal King mattresses are designed for couples with King best serving bigger couples and Cal King ideal for taller couples.

Though both mattresses are hybrids, there are some slight differences in how they are designed. The Casper Hybrid is one inch thicker than the Leesa Hybrid (12 inches versus 11 inches). Within the Casper Hybrid there are four layers: a breathable comfort foam top layer, pressure-relieving memory foam, zoned support layer to keep your spine aligned, and the durable base layer featuring individually-wrapped spring coils.

The Leesa mattress has five layers. From top to bottom, the layers are a 1.5-inch cooling premium foam, 1.5-inch contouring memory foam, 1-inch core support foam layer, 6-inch individually-wrapped pocket spring system, and a 1-inch core support foam base.

Both brands use CertiPUR-US certified foams, which means they were made without ozone-depleting chemicals and have low VOC emissions for better indoor air quality.

When it comes to looks, I like the Leesa more. The cover is made with a single knitted length of fabric and features Leesa's signature "patterns of life" stripes. The breathable cover of the Casper is fairly plain looking with its white top and gray sides. Of course, looks aren't all that important since you'll want to cover it with a fitted sheet and maybe a mattress protector. Both mattresses have removable and washable covers.

<a target="_merchant" href="http://Leesa-Sleep.lvuv.net/c/196318/236769/4014?subId1=biip_071219_leesa-hybrid-mattress-vs-casper-hybrid-mattress&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leesa.com%2Fproducts%2Fleesa-hybrid-mattress" data-analytics-product="5ced4ee211e20508d8468b29" data-analytics-product-module="Product Prime Day" data-analytics-product-area="insider-pick-slide-button" data-analytics-product-price="1095" class="insider-pick-button insider-pick-button--large"> Shop Leesa Hybrid Mattresses </a>

<a target="_merchant" href="https://casper.pxf.io/ZvWR1" data-analytics-product="5ced4ee211e20508d8468b29" data-analytics-product-module="Product Prime Day" data-analytics-product-area="insider-pick-slide-button" data-analytics-product-price="795" class="insider-pick-button insider-pick-button--large"> Shop Casper Hybrid Mattresses </a>


Return policy and warranty compared

Casper Hybrid Mattress

Winner: The return policies and warranties are nearly identical for the two companies, but when you get into the real nitty-gritty, Casper's fine print is slightly more advantageous for the consumer.

Both Leesa and Casper offer a 100-night risk-free trial. Both give you a full refund when you return your mattress. Casper will coordinate to have your mattress picked up by a recycling center or local charity. It's unclear where your mattress goes when you return a Leesa. However, Leesa's policy has one stipulation that isn't found in the Casper policy. The company requires you to try your mattress for at least 30 nights before you can return it. 

The difference between the 10-year warranties is slightly more pronounced. Both warranties cover significant indentation (an inch or more), physical flaws, and manufacturing defects. Both are only valid if you use the bed normally, care for it properly, and use a supportive foundation.

The big difference is Casper will cover the cost of shipping your mattress back to them for repair or replacement. The company will also cover the cost of sending the repaired or replacement mattress to you. Leesa has the buyer pay for these shipping costs. We may be splitting hairs, but mattresses aren't cheap to ship so it could make a big difference if you do need to take advantage of the warranty.

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Set-up process compared

Casper hybrid

Winner: The Casper Hybrid was slightly easier to set up because it weighs less than the Leesa, though it did have an initial odor to it.

In this section, I'm going to get a little hypothetical. I tested a King-sized Leesa Hybrid and a Queen-sized Casper Hybrid. So, to compare the set-up of the two is somewhat unfair. A King-sized bed will almost always be more difficult because of its sheer size.

However, mattress sizes equal, I think the Leesa is harder to set up just because of the weight differential. A Queen-sized Leesa Hybrid weighs 115 pounds. The Queen-sized Casper weighs 106. I've found that even nine extra pounds are enough to make mattress set-up more of a task. For either mattress, I strongly recommend getting help from a second person. I've thrown out my back doing this on my own.

Other than weight, I seemed to have more trouble getting through all of the packaging of the Leesa. Casper was somewhat easier. Yet, the Casper Hybrid was slightly harder to move because it's softer and more pliable. Also, the Casper had an initial odor and needed to be aired out for a day. The Leesa Hybrid didn't have any odor to it out of the box. We could sleep on it that night.

Lastly, if you want to skip the whole set-up process, both brands offer "white glove" services. That means the companies will send people to your home to set up the mattress and remove the packaging and your old mattress.

The cost for this service varies based on your specific location. For me, in Lansing, Michigan, the service is $149 through Casper and $150 through Leesa. Leesa also gives you the option of just getting white-glove delivery and set-up without mattress removal for $100.

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Comfort compared

leesa hybrid mattress

Winner: The average firmness of the Leesa Hybrid is just what my heavy, side-sleeping body needs to wake up refreshed in the morning.

There are several factors that go into whether a mattress is comfortable for you specifically. Firmer mattresses tend to benefit people with back pain, stomach sleepers, back sleepers, and heavier folks. Softer mattresses usually feel better to side sleepers and light people. So, as a 6-foot-tall, 250-pound side sleeper, my comfort preferences may not be the same as yours. 

When it comes to firmness, there's isn't a big difference between the Casper Hybrid and the Leesa Hybrid, but it's enough to affect my comfort levels. The Casper Hybrid is softer than your average mattress, but since I'm a heavier guy, it's a little too soft. The Leesa Hybrid is right in the middle, and I find it's ideal for my body and sleeping style. It gives me the right balance of support and comfort. That said, the Casper Hybrid is still great. The Leesa Hybrid is just amazing.

Since foam tends to trap heat, it's important to look at how hot mattresses sleep when considering comfort. I'm a hot sleeper and didn't find that either mattress trapped my heat. They both appear to have excellent breathability, and I can't say that one sleeps cooler than the other.

<a target="_merchant" href="http://Leesa-Sleep.lvuv.net/c/196318/236769/4014?subId1=biip_071219_leesa-hybrid-mattress-vs-casper-hybrid-mattress&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leesa.com%2Fproducts%2Fleesa-hybrid-mattress" data-analytics-product="5ced4ee211e20508d8468b29" data-analytics-product-module="Product Prime Day" data-analytics-product-area="insider-pick-slide-button" data-analytics-product-price="1095" class="insider-pick-button insider-pick-button--large"> Shop Leesa Hybrid Mattresses </a>

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Edge support compared

Leesa Hybrid

Winner: The Leesa Hybrid has better edge support with its individually-wrapped coils that extend all the way to the edge.

There are a few reasons why edge support is crucial. Whether you are transitioning from laying to standing or just want to put on your socks and shoes, being able to sit on the edge of your mattress is a must. Without edge support, it isn't the most comfortable. Also, you might start to feel like you are falling off the bed if it sags on the sides. 

Both mattresses have good edge support, but the Leesa Hybrid is better. I can lay on the very edge of the Leesa Hybrid and not feel like I'm going to fall off. It's also a nice spot for putting on my socks in the morning. The Casper Hybrid clearly had more give on the edges. Yet, I never felt like I might fall off even when my wife decided she needed all of the bed.

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Motion transfer compared

Casper

Winner: The Leesa Hybrid passed our motion transfer tests every time, while the Casper Hybrid failed each time.

If your partner is constantly getting up in the night or tossing and turning, your only chance at a good night's sleep is a mattress with excellent motion transfer dampening or isolation. After all, uninterrupted sleep is more productive.

Based on practices throughout the mattress-testing industry, I've taken materials I have readily available to make my own motion transfer test. I start by placing a 12-ounce soda can in the upright position in the middle of each bed. Next, from four feet above the mattress, I drop a 20-pound weight so it lands 12 inches from the soda can. I know the mattress has good motion transfer isolation if the can stays upright after many tries. On the other hand, the motion dampening is poor if the can falls over consistently.

This is where the two mattresses differ the most. The Leesa Hybrid passed the motion transfer tests with flying colors. The Casper Hybrid failed every time. These results are backed by my subjective experience. If my wife or I are up and down during the night or wake up before the other, we almost never notice on the Leesa. Our movements don't cause the other to stir. This is not the case with the Casper Hybrid. My wife's sleep troubles regularly woke me up. Therefore, the Leesa Hybrid is better for couples sharing a bed. 

While we are talking about movement, we should touch on another major way couples use mattresses: intimate activities. For this, most people want mattresses with a little bounce and ease of movement for changing one's positioning. In both of these departments, the Leesa Hybrid is superior. The Casper Hybrid doesn't have much bounce, and thanks to its softness, one tends to sink in a little, which makes it harder to move about.

<a target="_merchant" href="http://Leesa-Sleep.lvuv.net/c/196318/236769/4014?subId1=biip_071219_leesa-hybrid-mattress-vs-casper-hybrid-mattress&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leesa.com%2Fproducts%2Fleesa-hybrid-mattress" data-analytics-product="5ced4ee211e20508d8468b29" data-analytics-product-module="Product Prime Day" data-analytics-product-area="insider-pick-slide-button" data-analytics-product-price="1095" class="insider-pick-button insider-pick-button--large"> Shop Leesa Hybrid Mattresses </a>

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The bottom line

Leesa Hybrid

Overall winner: The Leesa Hybrid is the mattress I keep coming back to after testing the competition. It's the best I've tried for my sleeping preferences and body type.

When I tested the Casper Hybrid, I thought it was great, but I still looked forward to getting back to my Leesa Hybrid. The Leesa Hybrid is superior in the three categories that matter most to me: comfort, edge support, and motion transfer. But, this is coming from someone who sleeps on his side, is heavier, and shares a bed.

If you are lighter, don't share a bed, and want to save a couple hundred dollars, you might benefit from the Casper Hybrid. This is especially true if you are in the market for a bed that is easier to set up and are concerned about the warranty.

Or, you could take the companies up on the 100-night risk-free trials. Start with the mattress you think you'll like the most. If you don't like it within 100 nights, return it and try the other mattress.

A less extreme solution may be trying the mattresses out in-store. Casper lets you schedule a 30-minute nap session in any of its locations across the country. You can also find Casper in all Target stores. 

Leesa has "Dream Galleries" in New York City and Virginia Beach, where you can kick up your feet and enjoy its mattresses. You can do the same in West Elm stores and select Pottery Barn locations.

When it comes down to it, your personal preferences are what will determine which mattress is best for you. Use the above categories that are most important to you when choosing a mattress to buy. If you don't like your decision, you can always return it.

Buy the Leesa Hybrid Mattress from Leesa for $930 (Twin), $1,015 (Twin XL), $1,185 (Full), $1,440 (Queen), $1,610 (King and Cal King)

Buy the Casper Hybrid Mattress from Casper for $695 (Twin), $745 (Twin XL), $995 (Full), $1,195 (Queen), $1,395 (King and Cal King)

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The best sippy cups you can buy

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  • Kids love to spill. It only takes seconds for a clean space to become covered in sticky milk.
  • Sippy cups give parents peace of mind and help train kiddos to drink without spilling.
  • After much research and testing, we found the Munchkin Miracle 360 Sippy Cup to be the best for most people with its spill-proof top and ease of cleaning. 

When your child reaches 12 to 18 months of age, you'll need to start making the transition from bottles to sippy cups. The American Pediatrics Association recommends transitioning from the bottle when your baby is around one year to help prevent tooth decay. You can start sippy cup training much earlier to help make the transition more manageable in the long run.

When it comes to sippy cups, there are options for all ages and styles. Most grocery stores and retailers have dedicated shelf space for the magical cups. You'll find ones with straws and some with handles. The colors are bright, the designs fun, and some even have your kid's favorite superhero on them. While you'll appreciate all the choices, they might actually overwhelm you: Which ones are best? Which ones are easy-to-clean? How do they work?

In this guide, I looked at hundreds of reviews, asked other parents, and used my own personal experience to choose the best sippy you can buy. I based my choices on essential sippy cup criteria to make sure my recommendations are solid. The requirements included spill factor, ease of use, how easy to clean, material, and cost.

Here are the best sippy cups you can buy:

Keep scrolling to check out our top picks.

The best overall

The Munchkin Miracle 360 Sippy Cup is an incredible choice with its simple yet effective design that most kids find easy to use.

The Munchkin Miracle 360 Sippy Cup is a spill-proof cup that's perfect for kids 12 months and up. It has a simple design that includes three different pieces: the container, the top, and plastic covering.

Your kiddos can drink from any side of the cup by biting down. You can fill the cup with any drink and not worry about spilled milk. Although it can leak if the sides are pressed when it's turned over, in a bag, or dropped, the amount is usually minimal, and this is true for most sippy cups.

The sippy cup teaches your child how to drink regularly from a cup without worrying about spills. It's easy for them to grip and use. The cups are also easy to clean and dishwasher safe. You never have to worry about mold or things building up, unless you don't wash it.

Munchkin also offerssippy cups with handles for babies andlarger sizes for growing toddlers. For the earth-friendly moms and pops, there's astainless steel choice, too.

I've used the same pair of sippy cups for three years between two kiddos without problems. I honestly don't know why you'd choose anything else. The sippy cups are amazing.

I'm not the only one who thinks so. I asked all of my mom friends, and everyone mentioned the Munchkin Miracle 360 Cup. Amazon reviewers rave about it with close to 6,000 reviews between 4.5 to 5-stars. Every majorbaby product review site andparenting source either names this cup as number one or in the top five.

Pros: Super-easy to use, affordable, spill-proof, great trainer cups, last a long time

Cons: Some leakage when dropped, made of plastic



The best budget

The First Years Take and Toss Sippy Cups are an affordable option for busy parents who love saving money and don't want to worry about leaving cups at the park.

While I'm a big fan of investing in high-quality baby products, kids and parents do lose socks, shoes, and, yes, sippy cups. The First Years Take and Toss Sippy Cups take the sting out of leaving things behind.

However, the disposable factor doesn't make them less they durable. You can use the sippy cups over and over again. They're perfect for play dates or birthday parties when you need extra sippy cups on hand. The sippy cups are stackable and easy to store.

First Years Sippy Cups are also dishwasher safe and come in bright solid colors. The design has a snap-on lid with a travel top to help prevent leaks. While I found these ones aren't as leak-proof as other sippy cups, they are easy to clean. I found that filling them up with liquid at the park, instead of beforehand, is a smart way to use them.

One Amazon reviewer said, "For an incredibly cheap price tag and meant for "no worries" if you lose them, they are surprisingly sturdy." I agree. First Years are affordable, durable, and sometimes end up where socks go, but in the end, you really don't care.

Pros: Super-easy to use, consistent temperatures, affordable, bottle compatibility, high-quality, fast heating, easy to clean

Cons: Some leakage problems, plastic, better for older toddlers or kids



The best for training

The Nuk Disney Learner Sippy Cup is just the right size for little fingers to hold onto, and it makes learning to use a cup easy.

When it comes to sippy cups, there is a learning curve. Your little one loves the bottle or prefers breast milk. But there comes a time when your cutie needs to make the transition. One excellent choice is the Nuk Disney Learner Sippy Cup. It has easy to grip handles with oh-so likable Mickey Mouse on the front.

It's also just the right size for kids who are six months or older, making the transition easier. The sippy cup has a spill-proof, soft spout that's gentle on gums while teaching your baby to drink from a cup. One feature I love is the air vent that helps reduce swallowed air.

The sippy cup also grows with your baby. The handles and lid are easily removable. Once your baby gets the hang of holding the container, you can remove the handles, and eventually, you can use it without the spout, too. It's also easy to clean and for the most part, spill-proof.

A lot of people love this trainer sippy cup.Today called it the best trainer cup.One Amazon verified buyerreferred to it as the only sippy cup her son loves. The Nuk Disney Learner Sippy Cup makes learning how to use a cup easier.

Pros: Transition sippy cup, easy to clean, cute design, easy on gums

Cons: Holds only five ounces, have to remove handles to place in a cup holder



The best with a straw

The Nuby No-Spill Cup With Flex Straw is soft on tender gums and teeth, making it an excellent choice for kids six months and up.

Just as using a sippy cup takes a little practice, so does using a straw. The Nuby sippy cup with flexible straw makes using a straw safe and comfortable. The best part is that there's no leaks or spills. Okay, for the most part.

I've yet to use a sippy cup that didn't leak at some point. Either due to pressure, being thrown, or a defective part. However, the one-piece touch-flow valve makes it hard for the sippy cup to leak.

You can also purchase theNuby withor without handles, making it easy to use for babies and helpful for growing toddlers who love a straw. The Nuby sippy cup is also well-made and BPH free. I found them easy to clean, but kids do chew on the flexible straw. If this happens, you'll have to replace it for safety reasons.

The sippy cups usually come in a pack of two for a reasonable price on Amazon and other major retailers.One happy mom commented, "We tried eight different sippy cups before discovering the Nuby. The cup is definitely spill-proof. My child loves to shake it and throw it across the living room — all without spilling a drop of liquid." If you're looking for a spill-proof sippy cup with a straw, Nuby is an excellent choice.

Pros: Flexible straw, great price, comes with or without handles, high-quality, easy to clean

Cons: Kiddos chew the straw, sometimes hard to suck



The best eco-friendly cup

The Thermos Foogo Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Sippy Cup is an excellent choice for environmentally conscious parents who want to stay away from plastic.

If you're on the go and want an eco-friendly sippy cup to travel with you and your family, you'll love the Thermos Foogo Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Sippy Cup. First, it's not made of plastic, which is a huge bonus. Plastic products and particles are polluting landfills and our oceans. But if the eco-friendly factor doesn't win you over, the durability will.

Since it's stainless steel, you can literally throw the sucker in a bag and go. In fact, your pitcher in training toddler can too. The straw folds down, making it a compact. One of the best features is that it doesn't sweat. You can put ice-cold milk or water inside, and it won't leave moisture in your bag. This is one pet peeve I have with any kind of water container, but the Thermos Foogo is a durable and compact non-sweating sippy cup.

Cleaning is pretty easy, too, with four removable parts. Orderingreplacement straws is simple as well. Most people love these sippy cups, but some reviewers reported leakage problems. I found that if you didn't close the lid over the straw securely, leakage could happen. If you're a busy mom and taking care of messy toddlers, I imagine that sometimes the top is an afterthought. 

Pros: Sweatproof, stainless steel, keeps contents cold and fresh, straw, durable, compact, great for travel or outdoor use 

Cons: Cost, some buyers reported leakage problems, not intended for hot liquids



An LA broker who has sold over $4.5 billion of luxury real estate says the ultra-wealthy buy and sell their homes by word of mouth — and reveals the 3 reasons why

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Mansion

  • Whisper listings are a tactic the ultra-wealthy will sometimes use to sell their homes without making them available to the public, according to real-estate agent Aaron Kirman.
  • California-based Aaron Kirman has worked in the real estate industry for 24 years and has sold over $4.5 billion worth of real estate.
  • Kirman recently opened up to Business Insider about the three main reasons why wealthy sellers decide to keep their homes off the public market.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The ultra-wealthy are known for being exclusive, and the way they handle the purchases and sales of their multimillion-dollar homes is often no exception. 

Now, that's not to say the market hasn't seen some very prominent, top-level listings. There's the most expensive home for sale in the Hamptons, which is listed at $150 million, and, of course, Los Angeles' Chartwell Estate, which was listed at $245 million and, before getting a major price cut, was the most expensive listing in the US.

But for those looking to keep the sales of their homes a little more under the radar, there are whisper listings.

Whisper listings, also known as pocket listings, are for-sale homes that aren't available to the public. Off-market listings are popular among the ultra-wealthy and are bought and sold by word of mouth

Los Angeles real-estate agent Aaron Kirman recently told Business Insider that he's a veteran whisper-listing agent —and revealed three main reasons why sellers keep their homes off the market.

Kirman is a top real-estate agent at the real-estate company Compass. He's been in the industry for 24 years and has sold over $4.5 billion worth of real estate since the start of his career. In 2019, REAL Trends named him the 10th-best real-estate agent in the country by sales volume.

Here's a look at what compels wealthy homebuyers to keep their houses off the market and to instead opt for whisper listings.

1. Sellers can list their homes for higher prices through whisper listings.

By not putting a home on the market, the seller avoids value expectations, Kirman explained to Business Insider. With whisper listings, sellers have the advantage of pricing their homes above an area's median listing price.

According to Kirman, sellers see this as an advantage because they are able to price their homes as high as they want regardless of the current state of the market.

"If you go live on the market, you have to publish a price. By not going live, you've never been public on a price so you don't necessarily have to go down," Kirman told Business Insider. "I've had sellers up the price of a whisper campaign because they have nothing to lose."

Whisper Listings

2. Whisper listings can be used to keep a seller's personal business out of the public eye.

Whisper listings can serve specific purposes, particularly when it comes to privacy.

For example, if a seller doesn't want to put a home on the public market for political reasons, such as a divorce, they'll use a whisper listing instead.

"Sometimes there's political reasons as to why people don't like them on the market whether it's divorce, business reasons, or they just want to keep it quiet," Kirman told Business Insider.

3. Whisper listings are exclusive and often viewed as a symbol of wealth.

Some sellers prefer to use whisper listings because they are more exclusive than public listings and, as such, are oftentimes seen as a symbol of wealth. However, Kirman told Business Insider that he doesn't think using a whisper campaign, for the sake of exclusivity, is effective in today's market.

And within that, there's the potential downside of missing a prospective sale simply because the agent is not connected to the right person. 

"The thing is, I don't know everybody. So I always tell people there may be that one multimillionaire or billionaire that, because you're not out there [on the public market], you missed — and they will go buy another house that was public," Kirman told Business Insider.

SEE ALSO: An NYC broker who represents multimillion-dollar clients says people have a common misconception about why their homes aren't selling — and correcting them is one of the most difficult parts of her job

DON'T MISS: An NYC broker who has sold over $1 billion of luxury real estate in the past 4 years and works 16-hour days says she uses 3 simple tricks to stay organized

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Run-down and vacant homes in Detroit are being auctioned off for as little as $1,000. All homeowners have to do is get them into livable condition in 6 months.

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detroit home

If you have $1,000, you can become a homeowner in Detroit, Michigan.

The Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA), founded in 2008, set out on a mission to return run-down and vacant properties in the city of Detroit to productive use. To do so, it is now auctioning off thousands of publicly owned properties through its public platform Auction— and the bidding starts at $1,000.

To put that price into context, as of June 2019, the median home price in the Detroit metro area is $163,100. And as of April 2019, the city's median household income is $30, 344.

The DLBA's public information officer, Alyssa Strickland, told Business Insider that the goal of the program is to encourage residents who are currently renting to invest in the community by becoming homeowners.

Since the program began in 2014, Auction has sold 3,304 homes, Strickland told Business Insider.

Read more:Italy's abandoned villages plan to save themselves from ruin by selling homes for $1 or less

Auction homes come with everything from property-condition reports to free tours prior to auction dates. There are no hidden fees, no credit checks, and all the title work is done before the home is listed. The DLBA even protects homeowners from inheriting back taxes or outstanding bills on the property, according to Strickland.

Be prepared to renovate.

The DLBA offers discounts. For example, employees of the city of Detroit, affiliated city industries, and K-12 educational institutions are eligible for a 50% discount on the winning bid price, Strickland told Business Insider. Only one discount can be used per purchase.

But claiming full ownership is not without work: The DLBA has a six-month compliance program that requires winning bidders to renovate the auctioned homes, according to Strickland.

"It's important to us that we aren't selling to real-estate speculators," Strickland said. "Our programs are designed to be for people who want to be primary residents."

Some homes have been in public ownership for decades, while others have just passed through foreclosure. Along with longevity on the market, the conditions of the homes vary, too. Strickland told Business Insider that while most of the homes need to undergo extensive renovations, some need more work than others. 

After six months, a compliance officer will deem whether or not the home is livable. If it is, complete ownership will be transferred to the winning bidder.

The DLBA isn't the only organization working to revitalize Detroit's neighborhoods.

Detroit's path to recovery after the housing crisis in 2008 has been far from smooth. The housing crisis paired with an economic crisis has left city homes empty and values low.

"There aren't enough houses in move-in-ready condition — and not enough money to fix them up," The New York Times' Matthew Goldstein wrote in 2017.

The DLBA joins a host of other organizations and individuals working to revitalize Detroit.

A weak housing market and low-valued homes has made it difficult for Detroiters to obtain mortgages. The Detroit Home Mortgage program (DMH), which was put into place in 2016, is working to increase homeownership in the city by lending qualified buyers the money needed to both purchase and renovate homes in the city.

Through the program, Detroiters can receive two loans. The first mortgage is for the appraised value of the home; the second mortgage, which has a limit of $75,000, closes the gap between the home's sale price and its appraised value, while also covering the cost of renovations.

Wealthy entrepreneurs are investing in the city, too. Just consider billionaire Dan Gilbert, who founded Quicken Loans. As Business Insider previously reported, after Gilbert moved his company to downtown Detroit in 2010, he started the real-estate firm Bedrock. Not only is Quicken Loans Detroit's largest employer and tax payer, but as of 2018, Bedrock has invested or allocated $5.6 billion in roughly 100 properties in downtown Detroit and nearby neighborhoods. 

SEE ALSO: The 10 best places in the US for first-time homebuyers to invest in real estate right now

DON'T MISS: The 10 most difficult places to invest in real estate in the US right now

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The best rooftop tents you can buy

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  • Rooftop tents attach to the roof of a vehicle or in the bed of a truck to give you an elevated and secure place to sleep while camping.
  • Yakima made its name manufacturing and selling high-quality roof racks, and its new rooftop tent is the best one we've tried.
  • With the SkyRise Rooftop Tent, Yakima found a way to offer an accessible rooftop tent to both newcomers and veteran campers.
  • With an easy-pitch design, a built-in telescoping ladder, durable construction, and a price tag that won't break the bank, it's hard to find a rooftop tent more suitable to a wide range of campers than the SkyRise.

Rooftop tents originated as an alternative method for campers to sleep off the ground while camping. Though the earliest versions existed in places like Australia or Africa to protect campers from predators, many of today's models are geared towards comfort and ease-of-use. For the camper who doesn't exactly like the idea of "roughing it," they're a lifesaver.

Standard rooftop tents attach to a vehicle's roof rack and crossbars and are often placed either on top of the cabin of an SUV or crossover or over the bed of a truck. There's no lack of variety but many of the tents function in a similar way in that they're able to pitch in a matter of minutes, feature a wall-to-wall mattress, and come with a built-in ladder for entry. 

A rooftop tent's ability to improve both the comfort and efficiency of camping does come at a cost, however. Most rooftop tents tend to run in the $1,000 to $3,000 range, which is significantly more expensive than a traditional ground tent. But as they continue to grow in popularity, it's not hard to see why they're worth the extra investment. 

Pitching and packing a ground tent is as much a test in patience as it is deciphering a puzzle. Newer ground tents do feature easy-pitch designs but compared to a rooftop tent, even the simplest setup could be considered challenging. Rooftop tents often take just one person to pitch and can be fully set up in less than five minutes.

Once set up, rooftop tents offer more than just a comfortable place to sleep. Its high perch creates a unique vantage point for taking in your surroundings, and some even have a window on the roof for nighttime stargazing. Since most have a built-in mattress, there's no need to toss and turn in a sleeping bag either. Use sheets and a comforter, and you'll feel like you never left home. 

With so many options, it's hard to pinpoint the cream of the rooftop tent crop. To help, we've took to the task of physically testing and pouring over reviews of the top models currently available. From brands like Yakima and Tepui to Smittybilt and Front Runner, here are the best rooftop tents for every type of camper.

Here are the best rooftop tents you can buy:

Keep scrolling to check out our top picks.

The best overall

Yakima's SkyRise rooftop tent comes with a 2.5-inch foam mattress, several windows and skylights for ventilation and star gazing, and it takes just a few minutes to fully pitch. 

Yakima's SkyRise rooftop tent is great for both amateur and seasoned campers alike. At $1,200, it's one of the cheaper options in this guide, but it offers a comprehensive package of quality, ease-of-use, and comfort. It has an included 2.5-inch foam mattress, several windows and skylights for ventilation and star gazing, and takes just a few minutes to fully pitch. 

Though Yakima is known mainly as a manufacturer of quality car racks, the company's introduction of the SkyRise rooftop tent has proven successful. Designed for both casual and experienced campers, it's as much at home at a drive-up camping spot as it is on a week-long overlanding trip.

The SkyRise is available in two sizes, small or medium, and purchasing either depends on personal preference. The small is sized to sleep two people side by side while the medium is large enough for three. Additionally, the small is capable of handling weight up to 400 pounds while the medium is rated up to 600 pounds. 

Aside from its size differences, each tent comes standard with the same features. Both have a comfortable 2.5-inch foam mattress that folds up into the tent when packed, as well as a built-in telescoping ladder for climbing inside. The tent is constructed of 210D nylon, which is the same durable tent material found on most backcountry tents. A series of windows and skylights provide for ventilation and a 360-degree view, and it also comes with an attachable rainfly. 

Attaching the SkyRise to a vehicle does require at least two people but it's easy to secure once placed on a compatible roof rack. No tools are needed for this process, either. Roof rack locks are provided by Yakima, which improve the tent's security if it's left on a vehicle while unattended.

With a $1,200 price tag, the Yakima SkyRise rooftop is one of the most cost-effective rooftop tents available. Few rooftop tents are as easy to use, comfortable, and inexpensive as the SkyRise, making it an easy choice as our top pick. 

Pros: Inexpensive for the quality, compatible with a range of Yakima accessories, easy to pitch and stow

Cons: Attaching the rain fly takes getting used to



The best hybrid rooftop tent

The Tepui Hybox doubles as a spacious rooftop tent and a cargo box, so you can easily store your gear in it when you're not sleeping in the tent.

One of the drawbacks to using a rooftop tent is sacrificing the cargo capability of a vehicle's roof rack system. With Tepui's Hybox, you'll not only have access to a quality rooftop tent, but also 23 cubic feet of storage space via its built-in cargo box.

With the Tepui Hybox's cargo box function, you'll no longer be stuffing gear inside your vehicle ceiling-high while prepping for a weekend spent camping. When it's time to convert it back to a tent, an included canopy easily zips on to create a spacious and comfortable sleeping area. Its aerodynamic design also means your car won't be guzzling gas. 

However, the catch is that it can only be used as one or the other. For instance, any gear that's stored inside is essentially being stored in the sleeping area. This does open up more room in the interior of the vehicle but would require gear be removed to create a proper sleeping area.

Switching between the cargo box and the tent requires zipping on the included canopy, releasing both of its latches, and then pitching the tent straight up. This can be done easily by just one person. An included telescoping ladder attaches to either side of the tent to allow campers to choose the best point of entry. Each door on the attached canopy also zips out to act as an entryway canopy. 

The tent features a 3-inch foam mattress with a removable cotton cover (which can be easily removed when storing gear), as well as a quilted upper to help with insulation and sound dampening. Its hardshell exterior is made of a thermoplastic polymer called ABS and an aluminum substructure. The shell is both aerodynamic and durable as it's able to take a beating and helps improve fuel efficiency for longer trips.

Tepui's Hybox does have a hefty price tag of $2,900 but offers something no other rooftop tent on the market does with its cargo box versatility.  

Pros: Can function as a rooftop gear container, hard top design improves aerodynamics, patented zipper system makes it easy to switch between the tent or storage container

Cons: Expensive, space enough for just two people



The best for multiple people

For families of three or more, Freespirit Recreation's High Country rooftop tent is perfect for making sure everyone has enough space to comfortably rest. 

Camping with a large family doesn't have to be a cramped and uncomfortable experience. With Freespirit Recreation's High Country rooftop tent, families of up to five people can rest assured each person will have more than enough space to snooze comfortably. When pitched, the tent measures 80 inches in length, 98 inches wide, and 49 inches tall, and can hold up to 750 pounds. 

The interior of the tent features a 2.5-inch high-density foam mattress and plenty of storage pockets and gear hangers to allow for easy organization. Its exterior is made of 600D Poly-Oxford body fabric, as well as a durable aluminum alloy frame.

Its heavy-duty construction also means that it can take an absolute beating and still perform as well on its 100th use as it did on the first day. 

Freespirit Recreation designed the tent to be aerodynamic when pitched, allowing it to function well in high winds or heavy rain. Windows on all four sides of the tent offer a full 360-degree view and provide for ventilation and help reduce condensation. When packed, its included cover has front and rear cinches to create a sturdy shape, though the lines can tend to flap loudly if not secured while driving. 

Its two biggest drawbacks are its price and weight. Its $2,495 price tag is a steep initial investment but one that's worth it for big families that need all the space they can get. Although it's heavy at 172 pounds, installing or removing the tent with two or three people makes the process significantly easier. 

Pros: Sleeps up to five people, durable construction, large awning covers entryway, 360-degree windows

Cons: Heavy, expensive



The best for overlanding

Rooftop tents were created by overlanders and Smittybilt's 2883 Overland Tent is the perfect companion for anyone looking to get into the lifestyle. 

Though nearly all rooftop tents are intended for overlanding use, few hold as well as Smittybilt's 2883 Overland Tent. With size enough to sleep up to four people, a durable ripstop exterior to protect against the elements, and a sturdy aluminum frame, its perfect for multi-day backcountry pursuits any time of year. 

With a durable ripstop exterior and aluminum alloy frame, it's capable of holding up in all conditions. Its 770-pound capacity means it's able to house up to four people, too. 

What separates Smittybilt's Overland Tent from others on this list is its attention to the details needed by overlanders. It comes with an included mosquito screen, a completely covered entryway, a fully-waterproof exterior without the need for a rain fly, and LED strip lighting on the inside. A 2.3-inch high-density mattress runs the entirety of its interior to provide comfortable sleeping or sitting space. 

One of the tent's best features is its price. At just $1,095, it's the cheapest option on our list, coming in just under the Yakima SkyRise. Though we'd still recommend the SkyRise over it for its simplicity and quality, the Smittybilt Overland Tent should be the top choice for anyone getting into the overlandering lifestyle. 

Pros: Spacious interior, included mosquito screens, completely covered entryway, sleeps up to four people

Cons: Bulky when packed up



The best with a low profile

The Front Runner Rooftop Tent sits just 7.87 inches tall when packed down, and its low profile helps improve fuel efficiency, reduces wind resistance, and makes it easier to store. 

One of the biggest drawbacks of any rooftop tent is how much it impacts a vehicle's gas mileage. Even the most aerodynamic options are still heavy and can dramatically reduce the mpg of any car. The best option currently available that attempts to fix these problems is Front Runner's Rooftop Tent

Featuring a low-profile design, Front Runner's tent sits just 7.87 inches tall when packed down, making it the slimmest on the market. This helps reduce the amount of wind resistance taken on while driving and improves fuel efficiency. At just 93 pounds, it's light enough for two people to install and its compact size allows it to stow easily in a garage.

Though the tent sleeps just two people, it does come with a 2.5-inch high-density mattress, windows on each side of the tent, and privacy shades for each door and window. A telescoping aluminum ladder comes standard with the tent and has treaded steps to make climbing up and down easier. 

The exterior is built of durable 400D Oxford tent fabric that's breathable enough to offer the ventilation necessary to reduce condensation. Its aluminum base boosts the tent's insulation to keep the interior cool on warmer days and warm when temperatures drop. It also comes with a fly-sheet cover to increase the amount of shade or protect against rain getting inside any open windows. A roof ventilator adds air flow and is protected by a mosquito net to keep bugs out at night.

Pros: Low profile when packed, weighs less than 100 pounds, built-in roof ventilator reduces condensation

Cons: Requires separately sold Front Runner tent mount kit for use on Front Runner racks



How to use a nursing bra — and the best ones you can buy

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baby and mom

  • Choosing the right nursing bra and figuring out how it works can be intimidating and confusing when you've never nursed a baby before. 
  • We break down how to use a nursing bra in a few simple steps, and we recommend some of our favorite ones.
  • Getting the right fit can be tricky because your size will change. ThirdLove has fit experts that can help solve this problem for you. 
  • The most common types of nursing bras are drop cup, front clasp, sleep bras, and pumping bras.
  • Don't forget about what you'll wear with your nursing bra. Regular tops are an option, but you also might want to look into nursing tops as well as breast pads.

When you've never nursed a baby before, the nursing bra section in the store can be intimidating territory. If you're anything like me, you turn to online resources to help figure it all out rather than stand confused and overwhelmed in the aisles. 

Maybe you're preparing for your baby's arrival, or maybe your sweet little one is already here and you've realized just how important nursing bras are. It's easy to forget about yourself and what you'll need after your baby's arrival when you're preparing for that bundle of joy. 

There's good news — nursing bras are actually pretty user-friendly, and there are a lot of comfortable and cute options out there. All nursing bras are designed to give you easy and convenient access to nurse your baby. The most important part about using a nursing bra is finding the right style and fit that works for you. 

Here are the nursing bras we recommend:

Keep scrolling to learn how to use a nursing bra.

How to get the right fit

If you're shopping while you're still pregnant, you'll likely want to go up at least one cup size from your current size. If your ribs have expanded a lot during pregnancy, you might need to go up a band size as well, at least for the first month or two. 

As your milk regulates and your body continues to change postpartum, your size will likely change. You might even notice that your size changes throughout the day as your breasts fill with milk and then get emptied by your baby. A lot of nursing bras, especially the ones designed for sleep and comfort, stretch and adjust so you won't need to keep buying a new bra. We like the Wrap Maternity and Nursing Sleep Bra from Motherhood Maternity because it's stretchy and has thick straps for maximum comfort.

Because size is so important for a good comfortable fit, another option we recommend is ThirdLove Nursing Bras. ThirdLove has guidance on its site, access to fit experts, and a 60-day fit guarantee. You get all that without ever leaving your home. Let's face it, going to a store to get measured or even trying to measure yourself at home with a newborn isn't the easiest thing to do. 

Once you have your size figured out, you'll need to decide what type (or types) of nursing bras you'll want to buy. It's a good idea to have at least three, and likely more on hand. Even if you don't typically wash your bras very often, that will quickly change as your nursing bras get covered in milk, spit up, and other baby substances. Understanding how each type of nursing bra works can help you decide which type you should buy. 

Buy the Wrap Maternity and Nursing Sleep Bra from $11.98 at Amazon (price varies by color)

Buy the ThirdLove Nursing Bras from $58 at ThirdLove



How to use a traditional drop-cup nursing bra

The traditional drop cup nursing bra is my favorite type because I find them the most comfortable and the most supportive. They fit a lot like a regular bra and may or may not have a clasp in the back. When you're ready to nurse your baby, simply unhook the clasp at the top of the cup on the side you want to nurse.  

To unhook the clasp (right side):

  1. Place your right thumb under the clasp.
  2. Optional: Grab the right bra strap right above the clasp with your left hand. Depending on how easily your clasp unhooks, you may not need both hands.
  3. Lift the clasp up from underneath with your right thumb. 
  4. Pull the clasp up and away from your body.
  5. Pull the cup down.
  6. When you're done nursing, simply re-fasten the clasp.

While the cup is dropped to nurse, you will notice a piece of fabric that extends to the bottom of the cup so the strap stays in place. This type of nursing bra keeps your other breast covered and supported while only nursing one side.  

Here are some traditional nursing bras we recommend:

Note that many traditional nursing bras do not have underwire, as there is a belief that underwire can cause clogged ducts and mastitis. While this hasn't been proven, you might find that underwire bras aren't very comfortable when you're nursing, especially when your milk is still coming in and regulating.

Even so, some women don't feel supported unless they have underwire. Of the options above, the ThirdLove bra is the only one with underwire. 



How to use a front- or middle-clasp nursing bra

Imagine your regular bra, but take the back clasps and put them in the front between your breasts, and you have a front or middle clasp nursing bra. To use this bra, simply undo the front clasp and both breasts are ready to nurse.  

This type of nursing bra is great for when you need access to both breasts at the same time.

Here are a few examples:

  • Nursing twins
  • Tandem nursing an infant and a toddler
  • Nursing and pumping at the same time
  • Having a bare chest for skin to skin with a newborn

Here are some middle clasp nursing bras we recommend:



How to use a no-clasp or sleep bra

No clasp or sleep nursing bras are typically made of soft fabric and offer just enough support to keep your breasts in place through the night or while you're just lounging around the house. They're very helpful in the early days of nursing when you're more prone to leakage — they can help keep nursing pads in place.  

To use, simply pull the fabric to the side of the breast you are going to nurse on.  

Here are some sleep bras we recommend: 

 



How to use a specialty or pumping bra

These might be the most confusing, but are the most convenient, especially if you need to pump. These bras allow you to have your hands free to take care of your kids, work, or do anything else a busy mom needs to get done, all while pumping that liquid gold. You can even use pumping bras to pump and nurse at the same time. 

Each pumping bra operates a little differently, but in general, here are the steps for using a pumping bra: 

  1. Slide or unzip fabric to gain access to your breast.
  2. Put a breast shield in place.
  3. Reposition the fabric to keep the shield in place.
  4. Attach the pump to the shield.
  5. Pump hands free!  

Here are some pumping bras we recommend: 

If you need to pump when you return to work, a pumping bustier like the Lansinoh Bustier can be really helpful. You can wear a regular bra while you're working, and then just slip on the bustier when you need to pump so you can pump hands free. 



What to wear with your nursing bra

You can wear whatever you want, but a few options make nursing your baby much easier. 

  • A nursing tank: These have the same snap closure as a traditional nursing bra, so just undo both snaps to feed your baby. Many nursing tanks have built-in support and/or pads, but I never found them to be supportive enough on their own. The SUIEK Women's Nursing Tank Top Cami can double as a maternity shirt, and it won't be too restricting on your belly in those first few weeks postpartum. 
  • Don't forget nursing pads: In the first few weeks as your milk regulates, it will likely leak. (TMI, I know, but if you haven't been there before, you'll be glad I warned you). I like using the BabyBliss Natural Bamboo Reusable Nursing Pads, but you can also use disposable ones, like the Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads. Having a few of these ready to go in your diaper bag is always a good idea. 
  • Nursing or loose-fitting tops: If you want to discreetly nurse your baby in public, you can do so with a loose-fitting or a nursing top. The Bearsland Women's Breastfeeding Sporty Hoodie is a really comfortable option, and it comes in a lot of different colors. 

Of course, don't let me dictate what you can wear! Nobody will be able to tell it's a nursing bra you have on under your clothes, so wear whatever makes you feel comfortable. These options can just make your life a little easier, especially with a newborn. 

Nursing your baby can be such an incredible bonding experience, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. It can be painful, frustrating, and exhausting, so having the right gear and knowing how to use it can make life with your baby a little easier. 



The best baby sleep sacks you can buy

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  • For the first 12 months of a baby's life, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents keep blankets, toys, and other objects out of the crib to limit the risk of suffocation and of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
  • To ensure that the baby stays warm and safe without a blanket, many parents buy sleep sacks, which are essentially wearable blankets.
  • After much research and testing, we found the Halo SleepSack Wearable Blanket to be the best sleep sack for most parents' needs.
  • It's a trusted brand that offers a wide selection of choices to fit any season. 

When it comes to sleep, you're always worrying about your little one. From the time you take your baby home from the hospital, you keep track of their sleeping and eating cycles. You're filled with information about how to not let them sleep on their bellies or keep pillows or extra blankets in the crib. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents keep blankets, toys, and other objects out of the crib for the first 12 months to limit the risk of suffocation and of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Many parents decide to buy sleep sacks in lieu of blankets to keep their newborns warm and safe.

Sleep sacks are basically zippered cloth sacks with armholes. You don't have to worry about extra material blocking breathing or your baby becoming uncovered at night. Sleep sacks come in a variety of materials and sizes.

When I first started using them, I felt overwhelmed by the choices. Plus, you'll need different weights or Thermal Overall Grades (TOG), depending on the season and where you live. The TOG lets you know how much insulation is in the material. 

When I looked at the best sleep sacks to keep your baby warm and safe, I evaluated each one based on material, design, and cost. I looked at hundreds of reviews, spoke to other parents, and used my own personal experience to select the best sleep sacks you can buy.

Here are the best sleep sacks you can buy:

Keep scrolling to check out our top picks.

The best overall

The HALO SleepSack Wearable Blanket is super soft, high-quality, and perfectly designed. 

HALO SleepSack Wearable Blanket is by far the most popular sleep sack you can buy. The material is soft and luxurious, and you can find a size and weight for any season. The bag has two-way zippers to make night diaper changes easier. At night, you don't have to worry about your baby kicking the blanket off or impairing the baby's breathing in any way. 

The roomy design allows your little one plenty of room to move around. It doesn't constrict the hips, and the sack comes with a seal of approval from the Hip Dysplasia Institute. I started using these sleep sacks with my baby around the two-month mark. Before that, I swaddled my baby, but once he rolled over, I needed another solution. I fell in-love with HALO sleep sacks. HALO also makes aswaddle blanket that's soft and cozy, too.

My absolute favorite was theHALO Sleepsack Plush Dot Velboa Wearable Blanket. The plush dots are so soft and cozy that I loved snuggling my babies when they wore the blanket. The sleep sack comes at a TOG 1.0, which is suitable for fall or early winter. If you want a warmer winter sleep sack, I also used thewinter weight HALOat a TOG 2.5 for cold winter nights. Also, you can dress your baby warmly if you're worried about them becoming cold.

The HALO sleep sack is by far the best choice you can make when it comes to wearable blankets. I'm not the only one who thinks so. What to Expect,The Bump, andGood Housekeeping rank the sleep sack as one of the best. 

My only criticism is that you need multiple sacks to cover different temperatures and seasons. You also need to have two sacks of the same weight to cover accidents. But the sacks are affordable at around $21, and they're popular baby registry items for your loved ones to purchase for you. 

Pros: Super soft, roomy and hip-friendly design, high-quality, safe

Cons: Need different ones for each season



The best wool sleep sack

The Merino Kids Baby Sleep Bag for Babies offers exceptional temperature regulation in a well-made sleep sack that's perfect for any season.

While I adore HALO sleep sacks, I absolutely love the Merino Kids Baby Sleep Bag for babies, too. My mother bought me one when she visited in the middle of winter. Otherwise, I may never have bought one because of the cost. Merino Kids sleep sacks run about $90 to $120, depending on the size, but the quality and long-term use of the sleep sack really does justify the cost.

With other sleep sacks, you'll need to buy at least two for every season, but with Merino Kids, you only need one sack for the first two years. It's an excellent value overall.

Wool regulates body temperature better than cotton or polyester. I never worried about either of my kiddos being too hot or too cold when they wore the Merino. And I'm one of those parents who is always concerned about their sleep comfort. When I slipped them into the Merino sleep sack, I knew they'd be safe and cozy. It's also fire resistant and certified safe.

Not only does the Merino regulates body temperature, but it's also exceptionally well-made. After almost three years of using the same sleep sack between two kiddos, it looks practically new. One reason for this is that you have to use specially formulated wool shampoo when you wash the sleep sack. 

I usedNikWax Wool Wash. You also have to line dry, otherwise, you can shrink the wool and remove the moisture-wicking ability of the sleep sack. But the odor-resistant qualities of wool, require you to wash it less. Your wool shampoo will last a long time.

The Merino sleep sack uses Australian merino wool and highly-loved by moms and dads. One verified purchaser on Amazon said, "This has been a great sleep sack. We got it for my son when he was a few months old, and he is almost 2 (so we are ordering the next size up)." 

Another popular woolsack is theWoolino 4 Season Sleep Sack and it's definitely a runner-up in this category.

Pros: Regulates temperature perfectly, high-quality, grows with your baby, only need one sleep sack, works for all seasons, super soft and cozy

Cons: Expensive, logo right on the front of the sleep sack, need a special wash



The best for summer

The Nested Bean Zen Sack Classic mimics a parent's touch with its lightly weighted center that makes fussy babies feel right at home in the heat of summer.   

The Nested Bean Zen Sack Classic comes in soft, breathable cotton, making it perfect for hot summer nights. At a .05 TOG, you won't find a sleep sack lighter than this weight. The bag can also be used year-round depending on clothing and house temperature. 

The most unique design feature is a gently weighted pressure pad on the center of the chest to give the sensation of a parent's touch. Before greeting the world, babies spend nine months snug in the womb, and once outside, they need constant contact. The Nested Bean tricks them into believing their caregiver is nearby and lulls them into a deep slumber.

The smart design also has two-way zippers to make a quick middle of the night change easier, adjustable straps to fit your baby, and reversible for tummy sleepers. While the back is best until your baby rolls over, once they do, your baby might prefer the tummy frog position. For those with swaddling needs, Nested Bean also theZen Swaddle Classic in a similar design and material.

Most parents genuinely love the Nested Bean Zen Sack Classic. It's a best seller on Amazon in theBaby Wearable Blanketcategory. On Nested Bean's website, there are more than 1,700 reviews.

Pros: Light and soft material, mimics a loving touch, adjustable straps, reversible, two-way zippers

Cons: Expensive, need more than one as your baby grows



The best for winter

The Baby Deedee Sleep Nest Sleeping Sack is by far the coziest, warmest sleep sack, and it keeps hands, feet, and toes toasty all through the cold winter months.

The winter weight 2.5 TOG Baby Deedee Sleep Nest Sleeping Sack keeps your baby super warm at night. You'll rest easy knowing your baby can't kick off the sack and will never be cold. The quilted duvet material adds an extra layer of warmth to the 100% cotton exterior. It will be hard to find a winter-weight sleep sack better than the Baby Deedee.

Not only is the sleep sack super warm, but the fabric is also breathable, so you don't have to worry about your baby sweating. Once you slip her in the comforting cocoon, she's all secure until morning.

Putting a baby in the cocoon-like design is more comfortable with its equally smart shoulder straps. The straps lay flat, making it easier for you to place your baby in the sack and the snap the shoulder straps together. You don't have to lift up the arms and move them through the holes, possibly waking up your baby.

From the high-quality materials to the smart and warm design, you can't go wrong with the Baby Deedee from the first winter storm to the smell of spring. The company also has aSleep Nest Travelsack for camping or outside use. Both bags are highly rated on Amazon with 4.5 out of 5-stars. 

Pros: High-quality, breathable, soft material, perfect for winter

Cons: Pricier than other sacks, not for all seasons, big head opening



The best organic sleep sack

The Burt's Bees Baby Beekeeper Wearable Blanket is a soft, organic cotton sleep sack that will keep your baby warm at night.

Burt's Bees Baby Beekeeper Wearable Blanket is made with 100% certified organic cotton. It's certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). GOTS makes sure that a textile product can really claim to be natural and the Beekeeper Wearable Blanket meets its standards. 

You can really feel the softness of this sleep sack's material. It feels luxurious and seems to melt in your hands. The design features a bottom zipper to allow for quick diaper changes and an interior zipper guard and snap tab zipper pull for safety. You won't have to worry about accidentally zipping up your baby's skin.

One design feature different than other sleep sacks is that the Beekeeper has arms. Most sacks don't have sleeves, and this used to drive me crazy. I worried that my baby's arms would become cold. But a baby's temperature runs higher than adults, and not having extra material on their arms helps regulate temperature in some cases. However, if you're worried about your baby's arms being cold, the Beekeeper gives you an added sense of security.

At a TOG of .05, the Beekeeper is perfect for the warmer months, yet with the arms, it adds an extra layer of warmth for the fall.

Burt's Bees products are highly rated and sold widely as a top-notch organic choice for more environmentally minded parents. Plus, all the super cute design options for the sleep sacks, you might not only fall in love, but your baby's sleeping in style. 

Pros: 100% organic, gentle on sensitive skin, comes with sleeves, zipper guard, cute designs

Cons: Has sleeves (some parents prefer no sleeves for heat regulation), not for all seasons, need more than one



From Barack Obama to Kristen Wiig, this is what guests on Jerry Seinfeld's 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee' have to say about failure, career choices — and bees

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Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

  • In the 40 years that Jerry Seinfeld has been a comedian, he's learned some valuable lessons.
  • Along with his celebrity guests, Seinfeld gives career and life advice on his current Netflix series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," usually in the form of witty banter.
  • Here are the best lines — from Seinfeld, Barack Obama, Dave Chappelle, Steve Martin, and others — on careers, failure, and bees.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Jerry Seinfeld has been doing stand-up comedy since the mid-1970s, and through the ups and downs of showbiz, he's learned some valuable lessons on careers, failure — and bees.

He may be famous for his hit sitcom "Seinfeld" and his children's flick "Bee Movie," but his current Netflix show, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," offers the same hilarious observational humor and witty banter, with a bit of life advice thrown in. The 11th season, which premiered July 19, features guests like Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, and, for the second time, Ricky Gervais.

The show's concept, for those who didn't guess it from the title, is simple: Seinfeld takes another famous comedian out for coffee, while driving a car that perfectly suits his guest's personality. Seinfeld is a proud car nerd, and after years of resistance, has become an avid coffee drinker.

In an interview with NPR, Seinfeld explained why he loves coffee. "We want to do a lot of stuff; we're not in great shape," he said. "We didn't get a good night's sleep. We're a little depressed. Coffee solves all these problems in one delightful little cup."

Here are the best tidbits of career advice from both Seinfeld and his guests.

SEE ALSO: 10 quotes from ancient thinkers that show they figured life out 2,000 years ago

Jerry Seinfeld on career choices (season 5, episode 5)

"When I was a kid, I always thought the plumber wanted to be a plumber. I thought the guy that drives the truck loves driving the truck, that's why he's doing it."

On a 1990 appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Seinfeld recalled the childhood moment he realized he was destined to be a comedian. While enjoying some milk and cookies with a friend, he made the pal laugh so hard that milk came streaming out of his mouth — and right into Jerry's face.



Brian Regan on nerves (season 10, episode 5)

"You know the butterflies, when you get the butterflies? I always say that the things you remember in life are the things that happen right after you had butterflies. So you should never avoid the butterflies, because those are the memory makers."

Regan, known for his stand-up about daily life (and UPS), must have gotten butterflies just before taking the stage. 



Steve Martin on confidence (season 7, episode 2)

"When I first started, I decided it was important to fake confidence. Because I thought it was important that [the audience] sensed I believed. If I was the slightest bit nervous about something, they could smell it, and then they would become judges. But if I was confident, it's like 'I don't care what you think.' That worked."

It's funny to look back at Martin blowing up balloon animals onstage and think that the guy was faking his confidence. Guess it really did work! 



Jerry Seinfeld on bees, societal structure, and being the boss (season 5, episode 8)

"The bees, the elegance of their societal structure, is, 'This is your job, ok? You get the pollen. You make the honey. You guard the door.' And nobody goes, 'All right, I don't know if I really want to do that.' But no bee says, 'I should be the boss.'"

One of Seinfeld's less critically lauded projects was "Bee Movie," the 2007 digitally animated movie about bees. Despite it being one of the lowest-grossing Dreamworks films to date, it's gained quite the cult following.



Barack Obama on stress (season 7, episode 1)

Seinfeld: What kind of language do people use —
Obama: English.
Seinfeld: Does [cursing] help with your stress level?
Obama: I curse. I curse.
Seinfeld: 'This rat bastard comes in here…' You blow off a little steam.
Obama: Yeah. Bad stuff, or stupid stuff, is happening constantly, every day. So you have to just be able to make fun of that.

The former president was likely on to something. Researchers have linked swearing to honest behavior, and humor to resilience.



Dave Chappelle on ideas (season 10, episode 2)

"If I have an idea, it's the driver. The idea says, 'Get in the car,' and I'm like, 'Where am I going?' The idea says, 'I don't know. Don't worry about it. I'm driving.' Then you just get there."

Dave Chappelle is best known for his iconic sketch show, "Chappelle's Show," a prime example of letting the idea be the driver.



Kristen Wiig on her final season on "Saturday Night Live" (season 9, episode 1)

"I knew the moment I got comfortable there was the moment I had to leave."

Kristen Wiig stayed on "SNL" for seven seasons, then left in 2012 after starring in the hit comedy "Bridesmaids."



Jerry Seinfeld on persistence (season 2, episode 6)

"One of the great activities is skateboarding. To learn to do a skateboard trick, how many times you gotta get something wrong until you get it right … And you hurt yourself and you learn that trick, now you got a life lesson. Whenever I see those skateboard kids, I think, 'Those skateboard kids will be all right.'"

Comedy is a lot like skateboarding. In the same episode, Seinfeld and his guest, Chris Rock, talked about their early days in comedy. Rock said, "I used to go the comedy club and they would not put me on. I'd get there at 7:45. And I would wait until 1:30, 2 in the morning, and not get on."



"SNL" creator Lorne Michaels on finding comedic talent (season 8, episode 5)

"There will be a time when I realize that I am no longer as good as I was and things aren't coming together as they should and the quality is going down, and then three years after that I'll quit."

Lorne Michaels knows a bit about finding talent— he cast legends like Chevy Chase, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and Kristen Wiig for most of the iconic show's 44 seasons.



Jerry Seinfeld on failure and how comedy is like baseball (season 5, episode 8)

"Democracy. There's a democracy of body type. Anybody can play... And comedy is a life of failure. Baseball is failure. The best hitters, .300 hitter. What does .300 mean? He gets a hit 30% of the time. He fails seven out of 10 times. And he's a killer. Because he fails seven out of 10 times. That's us! We fail almost all the time. Almost all the time. There's a couple of times we don't, and that's what you see."

Seinfeld has always been obsessed with baseball, even though he never played on an organized team.



I reviewed Amazon's new waterproof Kindle Paperwhite to see if the upgrade is worth it — and I'd recommend it to anyone

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  • The new Kindle Paperwhite is waterproof, holds thousands of ebooks, and costs just $130, making it the best ebook reader for most people's needs.
  • I read dozens of ebooks on the Kindle Paperwhite to put it to the test, and it's a wonderful reading experience.
  • The small size makes it easy to travel with and it's waterproof enough to take a spill into the bathtub or pool without sustaining damage.
  • If you've been on the fence about ebook readers, this is the one that will push you over the edge and convince you to give ebooks a try. Once you go digital, you never go back.

Amazon's Kindles are the most popular ebook readers by far, and they just keep getting better. For years, Kindles stayed largely the same: They were essentially 6-inch tablets with black-and-white E Ink screens encased in chubby, black plastic borders.

The first Kindle Oasis shook things up with its slim, sleek design, and the second-generation Oasis did one better by being the first "waterproof" Kindle ever made. For ebook lovers everywhere, a Kindle that was water resistant enough to survive a two-hour dunk in a tub of water was a prayer finally answered.

There was just one problem: The price.

The Kindle Oasis cost $250 while the Kindle Paperwhite cost $130, and the entry-level Kindle cost just $80. Although a waterproof Kindle was nice to have, a lot of people balked at the big price jump.

Amazon seems to have heard the protests of Kindle owners everywhere, and in 2018, the company answered with the water-resistant Kindle Paperwhite.

I've tested many Kindles and ebook readers over my past six years as a tech-product reviewer, including the $80 Kindle, the older Paperwhite, the high-end Oasis, and several ebook readers from Kobo, Amazon's main competitor in the space. Although I'm a firm believer that the Oasis is actually worth its high price and it's my ebook reader of choice, I know not everyone has that kind of money to spend on an ebook reader.

I've been testing the 2018 Kindle Paperwhite for several months, and I can confidently say that it's the best Kindle for your money, and arguably the best ebook reader as well.

Here's my full review.

Finally — a water-resistant Kindle you can take to the beach

Let's start with the design and key specs.

The biggest improvement to the new Kindle Paperwhite is that it is finally water resistant. Thanks to its IPX68 water-resistance rating, you can drop this Kindle in fresh water for up to 30 minutes without destroying your ebook reader. That means you can finally take it to the beach, pool, or bath and read in peace.

The 2018 Paperwhite has the same 6-inch E Ink screen in black and white as the previous version. The text looks crisp and clear, thanks to the sharp resolution of 300 pixels per inch. Like all other Kindles, it has fairly chunky black bezels and a nice grippy feel to it. There are no page-turning buttons, so all you have is the power button and Micro-USB charging port.

The ebook reader also has a built-in backlight so you can read in the dark without turning a light on. I find this feature especially useful when I'm reading at night, because I don't have to worry about disturbing my partner. It's also great for reading on flights when they turn off the overhead lights. The backlight is the reason I've never really liked the basic, entry-level Kindle — its lack of a backlight means no reading in the dark, which makes it more or less like a physical book.

Beyond the screen, the most important specs are battery life and storage, and the Paperwhite has both — in spades.

With the 8GB model, you can have thousands of ebooks on your Kindle, so most people won't even need the 32GB version. You can also connect the Paperwhite to a pair of wireless headphones or a wireless speaker and listen to Audible audiobooks, thanks to its new Bluetooth connectivity.

As for the battery, if you read half an hour a day with wireless off and the light setting at 13, the battery should last for six weeks. In testing, I found Amazon's battery-life claim to be entirely accurate. The Paperwhite's battery lasts a long time with normal use, and I've rarely had to charge it.

If you jack up the brightness or read more hours a day, battery life gets shorter, of course. If you don't turn the Wi-Fi off by hitting the little Airplane icon, you will lose battery much faster and have to recharge sooner, so definitely turn Airplane mode on whenever you're not browsing for ebooks to buy on the Kindle store or downloading new ebooks.

The Bluetooth feature will also drain the battery because it requires Airplane mode to be turned off so your Kindle can connect to headphones or the speaker, so if you're listening to audiobooks with your Kindle, you'll have to charge it more often.

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Here are all the specs and dimensions

  • Screen: 6-inch E Ink Carta, built-in light, 300ppi, optimized font technology, 16-level gray scale
  • Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.6 x 0.3 inches (167 x 116 x 8.18 mm)
  • Weight: 6.4 ounces (Wi-Fi) or 6.8 oz (LTE version)
  • Storage: 8 GB or 32 GB — holds thousands of books
  • Battery Life: 6 weeks, based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at 13
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi with LTE; Bluetooth
  • Supported ebook formats: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PMP through conversion; Audible audio format (AAX)
  • Waterproofing: IPX8 water resistance rating, can withstand immersion in 2 meters of fresh water for 60 minutes

What it's like to read on the Kindle Paperwhite

I never thought that I'd enjoy reading on an ebook reader. I was completely a physical paper book person until I became a tech reporter and found myself traveling all the time and always running out of room for books in my carry-on bag. I started reviewing ebook readers, and I simply fell in love.

The ebook reader that converted me was the Kindle Oasis, mainly because of its page-turning buttons and slim design, which make it easy to hold and read one-handed. It's still my go-to ebook reader, but the new Kindle Paperwhite is the one I'd recommend to most people. I fully admit that the $250 price tag of the Oasis is too much for most people, and the Paperwhite has nearly all the same features for just $130.

Although I miss the page-turning buttons, the Paperwhite makes it a pleasure to read. It's comfortable to hold, thanks to its thicker, rubbery bezels and grippy plastic back. Turning pages is easy with a simple tap of my finger, and I can easily adjust the brightness, font, and text size to suit my preferences. I also love to highlight quotations from the books I'm reading and share them on Goodreads, the social network for readers, which is built right into the all Kindles.

Because I already use a Kindle, all my ebooks from my Amazon account automatically appeared on the Paperwhite when I signed in with my email address. I then chose which ones to download, waited for them to finish, and then turned on Airplane mode to save battery.

Amazon has tons of ebooks available, so you should be able to find most titles easily. If you want to get deals on ebooks, you can subscribe to BookBub, a free service that sends you a daily email with ebook deals and discounts.

You can also get a lot of ebooks for free from a variety fo sources. Prime subscribers can read a selection of ebooks for free with Prime Reading, and anyone can browse all the free Kindle ebooks on Amazon or check out Project Gutenberg's collection of free classics.

I also like to get ebooks from my local library, which is super easy to do with the Libby or Overdrive apps. You simply sign into your library with your card number and PIN and search for Amazon-friendly ebooks that are available to borrow. When you go to borrow the ebook, you can ask it to send to your Kindle once you sign in with your Amazon account. The next time you connect to Wi-Fi with the Kindle, the library ebook will download.

You can learn how to get library ebooks on your Kindle and other great tips and tricks in my full guide to how to use a Kindle.

Kindle Paperwhite 2018 open table.JPG

The bottom line

Amazon's new Kindle Paperwhite still has many of the same specifications as older Kindle Paperwhite ebook readers. The biggest changes come from the addition of waterproofing, which allows you to safely take your Kindle to the beach or in the bath without worrying about it getting wet; and Bluetooth technology, which allows you to listen to Audible ebooks when you pair your Kindle with Bluetooth headphones or a speaker. 

Both of these changes are very welcome and make the new Paperwhite a worthwhile upgrade for those of you who have older Kindles from several years ago. It's also the most fully-featured Kindle you can buy for $130, though if you want to get a slimmer design and the benefit of page-turning buttons, you'll have to spend $120 more to get the Kindle Oasis, Amazon's most high-end ebook reader.

  • Should you buy it? Yes. Unless you want to spend $120 more to get the slim design and page-turning buttons of the Kindle Oasis, the Paperwhite is the best ebook reader you can buy.
  • Which model should you get? We recommend the 8GB model, because it holds thousands of ebooks and if you ever exceed the onboard storage, you can keep all your other ebooks in the cloud. If you really hate ads on your lockscreen, you may want to pay extra for the ad-free version, but it's not necessary, as the ads aren't really intrusive.
  • What are your alternatives? The other Kindle we recommend is the Oasis, but again, it will cost you $120 more. If you don't want to get an Amazon-based ebook reader, we recommend the Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2. Kobo is Amazon's main competitor, and it supports more ebook formats, including EPUB files. The Aura H2O Edition 2 is just as water resistant as the Kindle Paperwhite and it holds just as many ebooks.

The Kindle Paperwhite is a great buy, and we highly recommend it. If you do decide to buy the Paperwhite, I also have a full guide on how to use your Kindle, including how to get free ebooks and more. 

Pros: Water resistant enough to take to the beach, holds thousands of ebooks, has a backlight, supports many ebook formats, easy to use, huge library of ebooks available, comfortable to hold, long battery life

Cons: Not as cheap as the entry-level Kindle, not as slim as the Kindle Oasis, no page-turning buttons, Amazon ebook format locks you in

Buy the Kindle Paperwhite on Amazon for $129.99

SEE ALSO: How to get ebooks on your Kindle — and other expert tips and tricks

Join the conversation about this story »

Calling all public school teachers: Tell us what your job is really like, from what parents do that drives you nuts to things you wish you could tell students

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public school teacher

  • Business Insider wants to hear from K-12 public school teachers on what their job is really like.
  • If you are a teacher, fill out the form below. Questions include, 'What's the best part about being a teacher?' and 'What's something parents do that drives you nuts?'
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Calling all public school teachers — what's your job really like?

What's the hardest part about being a teacher? What's something parents do that drives you nuts? What's something about your job that a lot of people don't know?

Business Insider is working on a series of stories about the lives of modern teachers, and we wants to hear from you.

Read more:THEN AND NOW: Here are all the ways being a public-school teacher has changed in the last 50 years

If you're a K-12 public school teacher, fill out the survey below to let us know what your job is really like. 

(Please note: Answers will be kept anonymous if you request it, but I will reach out to verify your identity.)

If you have any questions, reach out to aakhtar@businessinsider.com.

 

SEE ALSO: THEN AND NOW: Here are all the ways being a public-school teacher has changed in the last 50 years

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How Tesla CEO Elon Musk makes and spends his $19.2 billion


A Facebook post prompted this popular men's underwear company to finally launch a line for women — and it's worth every penny

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  • Men's underwear company Tommy John officially shed its "men" moniker when it released its highly anticipated and requested women's collection last year. 
  • The company continues to deliver on its 3 F's — fabric, fit, and function — in making women's underwear that doesn't bunch, roll, pill, or show lines. 
  • We tried its super light Air styles as well as the soft and comfortable Second Skin styles, and we're already preparing to buy more pairs of this under-$30 underwear. 
  • The debut is a clear step in the right direction for the company looking to become a household name in both men's and women's clothing. 

For 10 years, apparel brand Tommy John has produced the underwear, undershirts, and loungewear that guys can't get enough of. Though the company has primarily focused on growing its men's business from a simple undershirt to a whole line of clothing, it's been fielding requests for women's underwear since its launch. 

The number of requests kept growing, but co-founder Erin Fujimoto says that the real turning point was seeing a Facebook photo from a woman wearing Tommy John boxer briefs, with the caption, "Tommy John underwear is the most comfortable underwear I've ever worn."

Fujimoto told Business Insider:

The fact that this woman was saying she couldn't find a pair of underwear that fit her better and was more comfortable than our men's boxer briefs really stuck with me. Clearly there was a hole in the market for comfortable, functional underwear that was designed to solve the unique problems women face. I knew then that we had to design something for her.

The 3 F's — fabric, fit, and function — have dictated the company's approach to men's undershirts, underwear, and other apparel, and the strategy was no different for solving the problems women face with their underwear.

According to Fujimoto, it took two years of extensive research, development, and trials to get it right. As a busy working mother, she values function and comfort, and she personally wore every single prototype manufactured to ensure that it solved for bunching, rolling, and visible panty lines.

underwear fabrics

The debut women's collection features two types of fabric, Air and Second Skin. Though the focus of the collection is on the underwear, it also includes tank tops made in each material (which you can read about beneath our reviews of the underwear). 

The Air material is an ultra-light, mesh, anti-microbial stretch fabric with seamless, bonded edges that promise no visible panty lines and comes in three styles: Thong, Cheeky, and Brief.

Second Skin is a soft, micro-modal fabric that comes in four styles: Thong, Cheeky, Brief, and Boyshort. This proprietary fabric doesn't pill and continues to look new even after many wash and wears, a just-short-of-magical trick that Fujimoto says is accomplished by singeing the fine micro-modal fibers together to prevent little balls from appearing.

The underwear couldn't have received warmer welcomes from our team. We went in with biases about what traditional women's underwear is and came out wondering why we ever put up with that lackluster standard. 

We received pairs of this new underwear to test. We've been jealous of all the great underwear the men on our team have been enjoying, and now that we're getting our moment, here are our thoughts. 

air cheeky

Malarie Gokey, Insider Picks senior editor: 

All too often, women's underwear is designed to be sexy instead of comfortable. Tommy John made a name for itself by creating supremely comfortable underwear for men that needs no adjustments, and that philosophy has translated perfectly to Tommy John's underwear for women.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that the Second Skin Brief is the most comfortable pair of underwear I've ever worn. The breathable material is silky soft, the wide elastic waistband is smooth, and there is actually enough fabric to give full coverage everywhere you need it. I didn't have to make any adjustments during the day, either.

The Air Cheeky underwear is also wonderful as a slightly sexier style that still feels comfortable, and I can see it being great for summertime.

second skin brief

Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter:

I used to buy into the idea that women's underwear had to be at least a little uncomfortable, but after discovering MeUndies, Everlane's new Supima cotton underwear, and now Tommy John's, I realize how ridiculous that idea is.

I tried the Second Skin Brief and Air Thong and both were a noticeable upgrade from my previous go-tos. Both materials feel slightly more technical (which might closely resemble the feeling of 'smoother') than cotton. The Air is feather-light and gives you that no-feel feeling as promised, and the Second Skin material feels cool and silky to the touch. I loved both, but given the total 'airiness' of the Air line, I'll probably be grabbing a couple more of those styles in the future.

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Connie Chen, Insider Picks reporter:

For me, the Air Thong and Second Skin Cheeky have joined the first tier of my underwear drawer. I believe underwear collections exist in layers — the first tier that you wear every week, the second tier of somewhat flawed models, and the third tier of last resorts. Tommy John's definitely deserves its place in the coveted first line because I'm already looking forward to the next time I get to wear the Second Skin pair.

Micro-modal is one of my favorite fabrics because of how soft and comfortable it is, and in underwear form is where it shines. The wide waistband didn't dig into or squeeze my skin at all. There's a generous amount of fabric in the Cheeky, which usually lends the risk of bunching and shifting, but it wasn't until I got home and thought about it did I realize I didn't have to awkwardly adjust my underwear the entire day. 

Meanwhile, the Air Thong was lightweight and felt barely there. Certain outfits dictate wearing a thong, often prompting women to give up on wearing the outfit altogether for fear of how uncomfortable the thong will be. Thanks to great designs like Tommy John's and Everlane's, I've gotten over this fear and have a new appreciation for this low-profile style.

camisole

Tommy John also launched a camisole available in these two fabrics, which for Mara, even managed to outshine the underwear:

She said, "The surprising standout for me has been the Air Stay-Tucked Camisole. It's so unbelievably soft and breathable. I have plans to buy at least a couple more in case Tommy John stops making them or one gives out and refuses to whiten in the future. At $36 it's definitely more than I'd normally spend on a tank top, but then again maybe that's why I was so shocked it could be this comfortable. All in all, it still feels more luxe than an under-$40 tank."

Malarie agreed:

"Tommy John's Air Camisole is made from the same material as the Cheeky, and I love it, too. It feels super lightweight and cool on my skin. The innovative material acts like mesh to let air through while still providing full coverage." 

Using the same patented design technology as the men's Stay-Tucked Undershirt, the camisole won't roll or bunch or come untucked, providing the perfect foundational layer to wear under cardigans, button-downs, and sheer tops.

We waited a decade for Tommy John women's underwear, which takes everything great about the men's underwear and tweaks it for the cuts and colors women love. Ranging in price from $20 to $28, the styles are a little pricier than your average underwear brand's, but if our reviews are any indication, they are completely worth the investment. 

Shop the new women's underwear collection at Tommy John here

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This $52 green moisturizer is so good at reducing redness I don't even need foundation after I use it

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Color Correcting moisturizer

  • Color-correcting is a common makeup trick that uses principles from the color wheel to neutralize discoloration like redness, sallowness, and more.
  • The mint-green color in Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30 helps neutralize redness on my cheeks and around my nose so well that I don't even need foundation.  
  • It also moisturizes and protects with SPF 30 so I can streamline my skin-care routine.

Even though I've been writing about beauty for several years, I haven't tried any color-correcting makeup in fear that I'll wind up looking like a Twister map with multi-colored dots all over my face.

But I finally decided to try this color-correcting moisturizer from Dr. Jart+ after several recommendations and seeing more than 1,000 reviews on Sephora — and I'm so glad I did.  

Color-correcting is a makeup technique that uses color wheel principles to help neutralize redness and dark spots, brighten up dark undereye circles, or perk up a dull complexion. Products range from primers, moisturizers, concealers, foundations, and more in shades of green, peach, purple, and yellow to neutralize discoloration before you apply makeup.

When done correctly, color-correction can help make your skin look like you slept 10 hours and drank a gallon of water. But if you use too much product or don't blend completely, you might end up looking patchy.

"I don't think it's super necessary to use so much color-correction daily, but it helps brighten under the eyes, and for redness," makeup artist Deanna Melluso says. "Just remember to keep it super light."

Dr. Jart+2

One of the more common color-correctors on the market are green-tinged products meant to counter redness.

Cue Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30. It's light green in the jar, but transforms into a beige color as you blend the product onto your skin.

After my usual skin-care routine of cleanser, essence, toner, and serum, I'll use a bit of the Dr. Jart moisturizer all over my face, focusing on my cheeks and around my nose where I have some redness. It's slightly thick so a little goes a long way, and I have to work the product into my skin well otherwise I wind up looking like a ghost. But the extra 15 seconds of work is worth it for me because I can skip foundation and concealer afterwards. It also has SPF 30 so my skin is protected from sun damage too.

Most (if not all) mornings, I'm running late so I'm always looking for ways to streamline my beauty routine. This little green tub of magic takes care of my moisturizer, sunscreen, foundation, and concealer — so yea, it's pretty clutch.

I have a fair skin tone so the beige color (once the product is blended) works for me, but I can see how this moisturizer might not work for everyone. It contains titanium dioxide, an ingredient that powers mineral sunscreen and dries opaque. According to Emmy award-winning makeup artist Andrew Sotomayor, titanium dioxide can look gray or ashy on deeper skin tones. If you have a deeper skin tone but still want to use this moisturizer to help cut down on redness, you might find that you still need to use your regular foundation or concealer afterwards.   

There are a ton of green color-correctors out there if you're looking for one, but this moisturizer from Dr. Jart+ checks all the boxes for me. It's easy to use, it simplifies my beauty routine, and because a little bit goes a long way, the $52 investment will last me for a while.

Buy the Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30 for $52 from Sephora

Buy the Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30 for $48.75 from Amazon

SEE ALSO: I tried the buzzy new Billie razor for women — and now I actually look forward to shaving my legs

DON'T MISS: I started using a $30 facial steamer to clear my pores and my whiteheads are completely gone

Join the conversation about this story »

An American family who moved to Nicaragua for a year to live cheaply ended up blowing their $30,000 budget thanks to unexpected costs — but still spent less than life at home in the US

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  • Mark and Amanda Tew and their four children spent a year on a mini-retirement in Nicaragua.
  • Over six years, they saved $30,000 after paying off debt and building an emergency fund, all of which they accomplished by living below their means and maintaining side hustles.
  • That $30,000 should have been enough for the year, but they were surprised by big expenses like health insurance, a car, and schooling for their kids — plus a cancer diagnosis for Mark just before they left.
  • Even with the unexpected costs, including an extra month in Nicaragua, they still spent less than they would have in the US.
  • Mark says that "the experience was worth the investment."
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

For Mark and Amanda Tew, taking a yearlong mini-retirement in Nicaragua with their four children just felt right.

Mark has always had a love for Latin America, and he previously told Business Insider he felt the whole premise of traditional retirement was faulty.

"Waiting until I'm 65 when I'm likely less able or healthy enough to do the things I've always wanted to do doesn't make a lot of sense to me," he said. "Since I'm not retiring early anytime soon, a mini-retirement seemed like a great way to spend quality time and have a great new experience as a family."

He continued: "One thing I knew was that if I didn't just take the plunge and go have this experience with my family, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Given that I could be hit by a car tomorrow or die of cancer when I'm 42, a mini-retirement is an absolute no-brainer. You just have to have a plan and be smart about it."

The Tews managed to pay off $50,000 worth of student-loan debt, build a six-month emergency fund, and save $30,000 for a mini-retirement over six years. Last year, they moved to Nicaragua, where they rented a house, bought a car, sent their kids to school, and traveled around the country visiting lakes, volcanoes, beaches, and historical sites.

"We wanted to immerse ourselves in a new culture and just live our lives," he said. "We had some fear of missing out by leaving our country for one year, but when we came home and saw all of our friends and colleagues doing essentially what they had been doing before, we realized we didn't miss out on anything."

He added: "No one is going to look back at their life wishing they had worked that one extra year in the rat race or that they had contributed just a little more to their 401(k)."

But there were a lot of costs they didn't see coming.

SEE ALSO: Forget early retirement — people who saved enough money to travel for weeks or years say a 'mini-retirement' is just as rewarding

DON'T MISS: A 24-year-old who's traveling the world says her 'mini-retirement' is more productive than a corporate job

The Tews have always lived fairly frugally and maintained side hustles for extra income.

A full-time financial controller, Mark did tax and accounting work on the side, while Amanda worked as a part-time college instructor and taught private violin lessons.



Implementing detailed financial goals and frequent budget reviews, they were able to pay off $50,000 of grad-school debt in less than two years.

Mark saved his starting bonus and $1,500 a month from his paycheck from May 2012 to January 2014, for a total of $35,000.

He and Amanda saved a total of $15,000 from their side work, and by January 2014, they had paid off their student loans entirely.



After climbing out of debt, they then focused on their emergency fund.

By May 2015, they had saved $30,000 by tucking away at least $1,000 a month from Mark's paychecks, $8,000 from Amanda's violin teaching, and $7,000 from Mark's work as a certified public accountant.



Once their emergency fund (equal to six months' worth of expenses) was in place, they worked their way toward saving $20,000.

They used the same frugality and side-hustle tactics to build a $10,000 "spend fund" for foreseeable emergencies and an additional $10,000 to put toward their mini-retirement. They met their savings goals in December 2015.



In 2016, Mark got a job with higher pay, but a few unexpected costs arose.

Mark and Amanda had to put money toward extra costs like childcare, maternity leave, house projects, and a cancer diagnosis for Mark about six months before they left.

They were still able to save a little more than $1,000 a month, for a total of $15,000 for the year. Combined with the $10,000 from the previous year, they now had $25,000 in their mini-retirement fund.



In the first four months of 2017, they saved another $5,000 from Mark's paychecks and their side hustles.

They also sold their house in Michigan for a $50,000 profit, which they plan to save and use for a down payment if they ever buy again.



In May 2017, they left for Nicaragua.

They went over budget but still spent less than they would have in the US — an average of $4,000 a month compared with $5,000 a month back home in Michigan.



One of the reasons monthly costs were more expensive than anticipated was Mark's cancer diagnosis before the family left for their year abroad.

Mark was uninsurable on international insurance plans, so he had to pay $500 extra a month for his COBRA plan, totaling $6,500.



Health insurance cost much less for the rest of the family.

They paid only $2,000 for a yearlong Latin American health insurance policy for Amanda and the kids. A consultation with a doctor cost $25.



They also spent more on schooling than they had originally planned.

The school they chose for their children didn't work out, so they ended up moving and enrolling them in an international school at $200 per kid per month, for a total of $800 a month.



Mark and Amanda reduced their housing costs by 36%.

They initially reduced their monthly housing costs by 60%, to $500 a month for their house in Nicaragua from $1,250 a month in the US.

But partway through their trip, they moved to be closer to the international school, and their new house cost $800 a month. They had to buy furniture for the first home, which they ended up donating to locals before they left.

Utilities payments for electric, water, and gas were roughly the same as in the US. They also purchased two prepaid phones and paid about $40 a month for internet while in Nicaragua.

Mark said they put down security deposits on their home rentals that they don't expect to get back.



They also spent money on household help in Nicaragua.

They had a housekeeper who came two days a week for 4 1/2 hours and paid her $2 an hour, which is double the typical pay for a housekeeper in Nicaragua, Mark said.

They also had a gardener, who charged less than $7 a week.



Cars and gas are more expensive in Nicaragua than in the US.

Mark and Amanda spent $8,000 to buy a Jeep (plus $20 on a lawyer to help them buy the car), about $4 a gallon for gas, and less than $40 for a mechanic. They planned to sell the Jeep for what they bought it for, as many expats have done, but by the end of their stay the tourism industry and economy had taken a massive dive because of political unrest, Mark said, so they left the car with a trusted friend.



They spent more on food than they anticipated.

For food, the Tews shopped at a chain grocery store with imported items, which were often more expensive. It would have been cheaper had they stuck to the open-air markets, Mark said.



The family ended up staying an extra month in Nicaragua and spent more than they had planned to, but Mark said the investment was well worth it.

"For someone like me who watches every penny, it was a bit painful to shift my mindset with regard to the additional expenses," Mark said.

"We could have absolutely done it cheaper, but the experience was worth the investment," he added. "We had to be willing to make financial adjustments to have the experience that we wanted. And I actually ended up working and growing my accounting business a bit more than I anticipated and was able to more than offset our unanticipated increase in expense with what I earned."



Shoppers are now willing to drop hundreds of dollars on sneakers — and they might need to spend even more in the future

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Sneaker world make it rain money shoes

  • Sneakers can fetch a hefty price nowadays.
  • Athletic shoes have long been popular, but it's taken a few distinct trends to get to the point where people will drop hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars on these shoes.
  • Celebrity collaborations, an increasingly casual culture, and savvy shoe releases have all pumped up the demand for elite, high-quality sneakers.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Sneakers are big business, and consumers don't appear to be kicking that trend to the curb anytime soon. 

Whether they're on the auction block, in the store, or in the hands of resellers, sneakers can fetch some striking sums. Classic Air Jordans can still go for up to $2,000. A Canadian investor shelled out $437,500 for a pair of rare Nike Waffle Racing Flat "Moon Shoes" earlier this month.

And the hype is still intense, too. Sneakers have become the "ultimate status symbol" in Silicon Valley. An exclusive collaboration between Arizona Iced Tea and Adidas selling for $0.99 recently resulted in violence and mayhem in New York City, as a mob scrambled to get its hands on the shoe.

Business Insider spoke with a number of industry experts to get a sense of why shoppers are dropping hundreds of dollars on a new pair of shoes. Shoemakers' buzzy releases, the rise of sneaker culture, and the mainstreaming of casual dress were each cited as factors in the rising cost of sneakers.

But, ultimately, consumers' willingness to splurge on athletic shoes that they view as good investments or bold statement pieces has allowed footwear companies to invest resources in increasingly luxurious, technologically advanced, and celebrity-backed products.

Read more: Photos show the rise and fall of Nike's iconic Air Jordan sneakers — and how the shoes are making a comeback 15 years after Michael Jordan's retirement

The rising cost of sneakers is less of a supply-side phenomenon and more of a demand-fueled business, according to ESPN NBA feature writer Nick DePaula, who's also the creative director at Nice Kicks, a sneaker-focused media outlet. DePaula says that the upward trajectory of sneaker prices has been helped along by rising interest in athletic shoes across society.

"When I was growing up in the '90s, it was really fueled by your favorite players and the performance of the shoe," he said. "And now it's totally shifted and become about the visibility and the status — more of the how to wear them."

Basically, sneakers' rising status in the world of fashion has allowed big brands like Nike and Adidas to continue to offer elite shoes across a number of high price tiers. A luxury sneaker that might've sold for $70 a decade ago will now go for $100. And that upward trend is likely set to continue because of a simple truth: people are willing to drop a tidy sum on quality, fashionable sneakers.

But that's not to say that sneaker prices are out of control, by any means. A proliferation of footwear companies and shoe options has cemented a wide range of price categories for shoppers. Jesse Einhorn, the data content director at e-commerce platform StockX, said that the vast majority of sneakers' resale prices "have actually probably gone down" or held steady over the past decade.

"There's a lot more supply these days," Einhorn told Business Insider. "There are more brands. Nike, Adidas, and other brands are putting out a lot more products. A limited Jordan release used to be a much more scarce product. Now there's greater sneaker demand and sneaker culture has gone so mainstream."

The Kanye effect

But there are exceptions to that resale rule: the buzziest shoes with a scarce supply and a compelling, often celebrity-backed story.

kanye west yeezy sneakers

Celebrity collaborations are truly nothing new when it comes to sneakers. The shoe business has traditionally relied upon athletes — basketball players in particular — to sell sneakers. But DePaula said that a relatively new shift in this paradigm has allowed for sneaker culture to expand even further.

"Today, some of the biggest shoe releases are from entertainers," Peter Verry, the senior athletic and outdoor footwear editor at Footwear News, told Business Insider.

DePaula and Verry both cited Kanye West's Yeezy line with Adidas as a seminal moment in sneaker culture.

"That's just really made sneaker culture more mass-friendly," DePaula said. "You don't have to be an athlete, you could just be a kid that's curious about style."

Verry said that the continuing contributions of non-athlete influencers in the sneaker world have helped inject some life into the increasingly "stagnant storytelling" that athlete-focused shoes had begun to rely upon.

Entertainers can leverage a wider existing fanbase, and they have helped boost sneakers' prestige by shifting the focus from performance to style. The fan of a star basketball player might be drawn to a shoe's design or endurance on the court, but someone idolizing the stylings of artists like Kanye West or Travis Scott tends to be more concerned with what their sneakers convey to the world.

They also have the added bonus of not simply being visible during a single season out of the year. 

"Look at Kanye West," Verry said. "He can tour 365 days a year. He can be relevant in the fall, he can be relevant in the summer, he can be relevant in the spring or the winter. There's just much more opportunity for someone who's always in the limelight to just come out and engage with his or her fan base."

Read more:The Canadian investor who just dropped more than $1.2 million on 100 pairs of rare sneakers reveals why he thinks it's worth the investment

Growing into a more casual America

That mass appeal, however, would come to nothing without a major shift in the world of fashion and dress norms over the past few decades. As the United States has trended more casual as a culture, sneakers have had the opportunity to rise up as a particularly hot commodity, as welcome in certain boardrooms as they've traditionally been on the basketball court or in the classroom.

Sneaker world shoehenge shoes in circle

According to Verry, sneakers are considered "prestigious" nowadays in part because "people today want to be more comfortable." Men and women alike are increasingly ditching their fancy loafers and heels for a more athleisure-inspired look. 

"The functionality of a dress shoe is kind of outdated," Verry told Business Insider. "The fact that you can get class out of a sneaker and also not have your feet hurt at the end of the day — why would people ever abandon that?"

There's no end in sight to the modern phenomenon of elite and expensive sneakers. According to early Nike employee Brent James, the founder of footwear consulting agency Concept 21, there's even an argument for prices to spike across the board.

"Honestly, we're still way underpriced," James told Business Insider. "Especially if we start factoring in the sustainability question and everything else. I think we've got to be doubling the price of shoes, so that then the maker of the brand becomes more responsible for the discarded shoes."

James spoke of how thousands of years in the future, the earth could be studded with white globs, the remnants of old sneakers that were unable to break down after they were discarded. He said that he envisions the rise of sneaker culture resulting in a return to the days of long-lasting, pricey shoes that could be repaired and resoled, back when shoes were treated as long-term investments, rather than passing fads.

At the very least, according to James, humanity must weigh the price of sneakers against the ecological cost of tossing out these non-biodegradable items.

"I'm hoping that we are going to start acclimating and consuming less," he said. "If that's the case, then prices have to go up because we have to make better shoes. That would be my dream and hope. I really hope that this younger generation will really embrace this idea because otherwise, we're just making a mass amount of garbage that really isn't helping anything."

SEE ALSO: Sneaker resale could be a $6 billion market by 2025 as the shoes cement their place among the most popular footwear in America

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A pair of Air Jordans can resell for up to $2,000. Here's why these iconic Nike sneakers are so expensive.

The best disposable plates you can buy

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  • Disposable dinnerware is convenient and has improved a great deal from the leaky, flimsy picnic fare of years past.
  • From weddings to backyard BBQs, we've found the best disposable plate to meet your style, your budget, and even for the environment.

We've all been there. You're at a function with paper plates. You load your plate, juggle your cutlery and drink, and look for a place to sit or prop up. Then the plate folds and everything tumbles to the ground or into your lap. The party is over.

Disposable dinnerware has come a long way from the nearly see-through scallop-edged white plate. Today you can find affordable, stylish disposable dinnerware made from hard plastics, coated papers, bamboo and palm leaf fibers, and in every shape, design, and color. With so many options, finding the best choice for your needs can be confusing.

After years and years of feeding the masses of family and friends at my door and the inevitable task of cleaning up after, I made it my quest in the last few months to find the best disposable dinnerware to make my life easier. Oh, I can still break out the china and shine the sterling, but sometimes there are just more important things in life.

As we've all discovered, not all paper plates are equal. Fortunately, there are plenty of choices available so you can find the right product for the right occasion. For a kid's birthday party serving only cake and a scoop of ice cream, a brightly colored theme plate works just fine. For a picnic buffet where heavy burgers and potato salad and soupy baked beans are on the menu, the need for sturdiness outshines the need for style. But for special occasions like wedding and anniversary parties, a look of even faux elegance is essential.

I've taken into consideration looks, performance, price, and environmental impact. 

Here are the best disposable plates you can buy:

Keep scrolling to check out our top picks.

The best for a wedding

Available in 24 designs, Occasions Wedding Party Pack gives you the look of china without the cost or clean-up.

We might like to have custom china designed to complement the theme of a wedding or celebration, but most of the time budget constraints keep that from happening. Unless you are holding the event in a full-service facility, renting china is expensive and the hassle of borrowing enough plates for everyone can make you weep.

Luckily, there are Occasions Wedding Party Packs. I found this company when putting together an anniversary celebration. Working with a budget, we wanted more than flimsy clear plastic plates but couldn't afford to rent china. With 24 available patterns and two different pack sizes, we found the perfect plates for our gathering. 

The pack includes 10.5-inch dinner plates and smaller dessert or salad plates that are 7.5-inches. While sturdy enough to support a steak, the white plastic background is quite translucent like fine bone china and looks best on white or very light-colored linens. The plates can actually be hand washed and reused several times (I did not choose that option!). I don't recommend using these in a microwave; however, the plastic is recyclable and BPA free. 

My favorite thing about the packs is how many design options are offered. Some cost a bit more but you are still getting plates at a cost of $0.30 to $0.42 each. That's less than $1 per person for a dinner and dessert place setting. With a 4.5-star rating on Amazon, plenty of party planners have discovered the elegance and ease of this dinnerware.

Pros: Sturdy recyclable plastic, 24 designs available, affordable

Cons: Pack options are fixed at 120 or 240-count



The best for a picnic

With Dixie Ultra Heavy Duty Paper Plates at your picnic, there are no dishes to wash and no messy spills.

The word "picnic" invokes a casual, relaxed, easy-to-host image. Yet when I think back on the many picnics of my youth and those with my kids, I don't always feel relaxed. We would arrive at an area to find not enough tables available so some had to eat with their paper plate in their lap. That led to complaints of leakage and collapsing plates; not to mention wasted food.

After trying numerous brands, I have found that Dixie Ultra Heavy Duty Paper Platesoffer the best performance at a picnic for the best price. The plates are just a touch over 10-inches in diameter and will support up to two pounds of food when held with just one hand. Thanks to a proprietary coating, they are soak-proof, cut resistant, and microwaveable. While they can't be recycled at home if contaminated with food, they are compostable in established facilities.

The downside of the plates is that design choices are limited. Dixie has several designs but they tend to run seasonally; so if you find a pattern you like, stock up. You may never see it again. But at a cost of around $0.11, I can live with a design that might not be my favorite. Remember, they are going in the trash can right after the meal.

Around 85% of the purchasers on Amazon give the Dixie Heavy Duty Plates a 5-star rating. That's some happy campers.

Pros: Sturdy paper plates with leak-proof coating, 11-cents per plate with coupons and sales offered frequently, compostable

Cons: Limited design options, cannot be recycled at home if contaminated with food products



The best for the environment

With no inks, no coatings, and composed of renewable plant fibers, Hefty Paper Plates are best for the environment.

Strict environmentalists will tell you that no disposable dinnerware is good for the environment. It is true that every disposable adds to the solid waste problem. But the realities are that sometimes we choose to use disposable plates. When you do, Hefty Paper Plates are one of the best choices.

The plates are molded from plant fibers that contain no chlorine from bleaching, no coatings are applied, and they are free of inked-on designs. Certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), the plates are totally compostable in commercial facilities.

Consumer Reports tested numerous plates and only Hefty Paper Plates biodegraded completely within three weeks. Others took much longer to disappear.

Even though the plates have no special coating, I found that they hold up well to very moist foods with no leaking. They are safe to use in the microwave for reheating foods.

The dinner plates are a bit smaller than some at only 8.75-inches. There are also 6.75-inch snack plates, bowls, and platters available. With a 4.8-star rating of approval from purchasers on Walmart.com and at a cost of around eight cents per plate, you can afford to help protect Mother Nature.

Pros: Sturdy, no leak paper plates, no dyes, ink or chlorine, the fastest composting rate for disposable plates

Cons: Smaller plate size



The best on a budget

For after-school snacks, reheating pizza or a lunch sandwich, nothing beats Dixie Everyday Paper Plates.

When my sons were younger, they seemed to eat 24-hours a day. I know you think they slept some of that time but the number of dishes I found under their beds begs to differ. 

Needless to say, I got very tired of gathering and washing dishes but Dixie Everyday Paper Plates came to my rescue. I had purchased the least expensive store-brand paper plates but they were worthless. They leaked, they folded and spilled food everywhere. Why pay for something that makes more work?

Dixie Everyday Paper Plates are more substantial and can hold up to one pound of food without collapsing. That's about four slices of pepperoni pizza (six on a plate is a family record) on a 10-inch plate. They are five-ply, have a soak-resistant coating, and are safe to use in the microwave. Complimentary bowls are also available.

Design choices are limited but at a cost of only nine cents per plate, I can live with that. Dixie products are often on sale and subscription services offer even better prices so you can probably save each time you shop. 

The nearly six hundred reviewers on Amazon give Dixie Everyday 4.7 stars. You'll get plenty when you order, enough to get you through at least a few days with kids!

Pros: Sturdy and soak-proof, budget-priced, microwavable

Cons: Design choices are limited



The best disposable cutlery

Whether used for a fancy occasion or a picnic, Precisely Plastic Disposable Cutlery is sturdy enough for nearly every type of food.

There you are at an event trying to eat your dessert when a tine breaks off the fork. Or, just try to look graceful eating anything with a spork. No thank-you.

No plastic, disposable cutlery is going to work as well as metal utensils but Precisely Plastic Disposable Cutlery comes close. And the big bonus, you don't have to wash it after the meal even though the pieces are sturdy enough to use again.

Remember the anniversary party with Occasions Disposable Dishes? Right beside the plates, we used Precisely Plastic Cutlery. The pack with 100 forks, 50 knives, and 50 spoons were perfect for the event. The pieces are around 7.5-inches in length and heavy-duty enough to cut through food without breaking. 

The only downside is the cutlery is only available in silver if you crave another look. With a 4.8-star rating on Amazon and a cost of only 38-cents per place setting, I can like silver.

Pros: Sturdy plastic holds up to most foods, disposable, cost-effective

Cons: Only available in a silver finish



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