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Amazon’s Prime Day Starts July 10

Amazon boxes

Ignore the July 11 date emblazoned on the packing tape above. The Prime Day sale officially kicks off Monday, July 10 at 9 p.m. ET.

Here are nine tips on how to approach the sale. My favorite one is to use the Smile.Amazon.com URL instead of regular Amazon.com. With the Smile URL, Amazon will donate a percentage of what you spend to a charity of your choice.

Full disclosure: There are actually 10 tips in the article but the last one is to ignore Prime Day, so I’m choosing to ignore it. (Do two ignores make a like?) Yes, it might be better to spend money on experiences instead of things from Amazon, but come on, who clicks a shopping guide to be told not to shop? Tip No. 10 belongs in a totally different article.

Also, here are four tips on how to shop smarter on Amazon. (via Abnormal Returns)

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Figure Out When You Can Retire in 11 Steps

If you’re like me, your mind will shut down at about step 3 because it’s stressful to think about being old and not having enough money. Even just the thought of digging through  financial records to get the info is stressful, BUT it’s imperative to see your numbers if you’re serious about retirement planning, or even retirement guessing.

Yes, there’s time and pain involved if you start retirement planning now. If you wait, you’ll still have pain, but no time.

 

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Doughnut Wednesday

Not that I need a ballgown since I rarely leave the house now that Netflix and Amazon Prime cover about 90 percent of Maslow’s pyramid, but if I ever do want to swan around the kitchen like Belle with a vitamin D deficiency, I have found my designer.

Paloma Young designed her own dress for the Tony’s. To quote the Fug Girls, “She put deep pockets in it, and … SHE FILLED THEM WITH SNACKS.”

Do you know what would go in my pockets? Crullers.

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For Any Goal, Start Here

 

I love this video so much. Lined up correctly, a SIM-sized domino can knock over a hundred-pounder.

It’s the perfect reminder of how great change happens in the world. All breakthroughs — self-driving cars, the civil rights movement, polio eradication —  are built from smaller changes that came before.

The same is true for any great personal change. Do you want to write a book, join a band, start a business? Do you want to change the world? Do you want to change your world by getting out of debt, improving your physical, mental, or emotional health, or strengthening a core relationship?

This video has a lesson for you: Ignore the 100-pound domino!

The chain reaction starts with that smallest one at the front. Nothing happens until that one’s knocked over, so what’s your smallest domino?

(via Kottke)

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These Apps Will Get You Money for Flight Delays

Of the many horrible things about flying, one of the worst is feeling powerless in the face of an authoritarian bureaucracy. The dealings can get even more hostile after a flight has been delayed or cancelled, because I suspect that every airline’s official policy can be boiled down to “Screw ’em.”

Put more delicately, there’s a power imbalance between airlines and customers because there’s an information imbalance. They know what they owe passengers whose flights have been cancelled or delayed, they don’t have to give it us unless we ask, but we don’t know what to ask for.

That’s why I was thrilled when I heard about apps that will fight that battle for you:

AirHelp

Flightright

Refund.me

What Can You Be Compensated For?

You have different rights depending on the country you’re flying into or out of. These services seem to have the most experience with Europe, though they’ve also expanded to other countries.

European flights

  • Delays into, out of, or within Europe
  • Cancellations
  • Boarding denials (for example, if you’re bumped because the flight is overbooked)

U.S. flights

  • Tarmac delays
  • Boarding denials
  • Lost, delayed, or damaged luggage

How does it work?

You give them your flight info to see if you’re entitled to compensation. If yes, they’ll file a claim for you and send you a check if you win.

How much does it cost?

All these services are free to use. You pay only if you win the claim, and the amount varies across companies and depends on whether they have to take the airline to court.

AirHelp fees

Flightright fees

Refund.me fees

Please note: I wrote about these services because they seem useful and are ones I want to try next time I have a nightmare flight. I am getting no compensation of any kind for writing about them.

Sources:

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7 Habits of Highly Miserable People

Good news, these habits are quick and easy to learn, and you’re probably doing them already. I’ve tried them all and can vouch for their effectiveness personally.

  1. Stay still.
  2. Screw with your sleep.
  3. Maximize screen time.
  4. Use your screen time to feed your negative emotions.
  5. Set vapid goals.
  6. Pursue happiness directly.
  7. Follow your instincts.

(via Kottke)

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Happy National Doughnut Day

doughnut girlA first post is tricky because it sets up the expectation that there will be a second one. What will the second one be about, much less the tenth? Wait, I have to write TEN posts?

Fast forward past a year of circling that indecision loop to this morning when I woke up and decided yep, today’s the day no matter what, even if I don’t know what to write yet. At the very least I could choose a WordPress template. Guess what I discovered while procrastinating in the middle of choosing a template?

I gave away the answer in the title. It’s National Doughnut Day! Just like that, I had my first post. Which shows that when you make up your mind to act, sometimes the universe steps in and does you a solid.

Here’s how to get free doughnuts today.

Why I care about time, money, and doughnuts