By that metric though couldn’t any inhibition-lowering drug be considered a “truth serum”? In which case a benzodiazepine or even good old-fashioned alcohol is as much of a “truth serum” as sodium pentothal.

The only negative counterpoint to beating the rush is that you may find your new gym suddenly becomes virtually unusable for a few weeks just as you are starting to get into a routine. I remember pre-pandemic the workout classes at my gym in January would have 40+ people in a class that really should have only had 20.…

I feel like I pack very differently depending on whether the trip involves moving around versus staying in one location. If I’m just doing 2+ weeks in one spot I’m more inclined to just check a bag and not really worry too much about packing light. At that point I also don’t need to worry about living out of my…

I’ve never really heard of people using space heaters to save money. The main use case I’ve heard is for people with bad landlords who don’t heat the apartment as much as they are supposed to (or only just to the legal minimum temp which can still be pretty cold). Since in NYC tenants typically pay for their own…

I am not a vegetarian but am I the only one who barely cares about the turkey versus the sides? Though I agree stuffing is non-negotiable. Surprised they included a whole slide on how to sub vegan ingredients into mashed potatoes but not stuffing. I suppose a lot of the same principles would apply however (vegetable…

Also abstinence as a birth control method gets a bad rap because of religious fundamentalism but it’s important to remind people that abstinence from penetration doesn’t have to necessarily be the same thing as abstinence from sexual activity! Lots of other things you can do that your abstinence-only health teacher…

I am not sure how useful the “typical use rates” are to know if you are willing to take the steps to use the method correctly? I know the “typical use” for condoms can include not putting on the condom right from the beginning of intercourse, for example. IUDs are great and all (I have one myself), but these…

“Having something planned is particularly important if kids will be there—they can’t quietly get drunk like the rest of your guests.”

I mean besides social pressure about waking up being morally better, a lot of jobs require a relatively early start time. If you have to start your construction job at 8am with an hour commute and were up until past midnight, you’re going to be tired because you aren’t going to be getting enough sleep. Early wake-ups…

I do think there is some value to having more free time when you are younger and presumably healthier if you are someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy their job (or working in general). So delaying Social Security might not make sense even if you technically would come out ahead in terms of aggregate money. 67-70 is…

Wouldn’t the best strategy be based on your life expectancy and expected quality of life in old age? Of course things can happen but if you are a really healthy 60-year-old whose parents lived into their 90s, you’ll probably come out ahead in terms of aggregate money drawn by delaying it. Although, there is also some…

I could see them being OK at giving makeup and fashion advice because that’s kind of their job. Though even then I’ve heard the celebrity-endorsed makeup products are often overpriced and low quality compared to competitors.

“Prioritize saving if you envision needing your money any time in the next five years. Maybe you’ve set your sights on a vacation or down payment on a house, or perhaps you need to pad out your emergency fund.”

This seems a bit disingenuous. Sure the CDC is not directly mandating anything, but lots of states are going to use these CDC guidelines as the sign to add the Covid vaccine to the mandated list along with things like measles. So if you’re someone who doesn’t want to get your child vaccinated for Covid, and you live…

I will say it can be hard sometimes to tell the difference between “lifestyle creep” and a healthy amount of treating yourself a bit more now that you have more money, or you value your time more as you get older. As an example, when I was 22 my best friend and I took an 8 hour Greyhound bus ride for a girl’s trip,…

I know for dyslexia there are some pretty specific tricks (like special fonts) that are helpful. Is there anything special like that for dyscalculia? Otherwise while it’s never bad to have a diagnosis I guess, I’m not really sure how helpful it is in this instance. It feels like the advice to get your kid a tutor if…

It’s probably not a bad idea to still keep a couple N95 or similar masks on hand in case you really need to go somewhere while sick and want to protect others, even if you don’t use them normally. In a similar vein, if traveling and there’s a chance you may have to quarantine, always good to have more entertainment…

“But it’s not so hard to mash a few potatoes, or open a box of potato flakes.”

I definitely didn’t follow this advice and could barely hear for a couple days the last time I tried to use a neti pot. Even though I know it normally would have been fine if I had taken a decongestant, I’m honestly still hesitant to try it again because of that.

“Wearing a fitted, high-end pair of sweatpants is a stylish way of keeping comfortable in just about every aspect of your life.”

Aren’t sweatpants by definition not fitted?