Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li><keyword id="19912128" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chandra" source="keywords">Chandra</keyword> hit upon the idea to launch a TV channel after he saw big hotels showing CNN via satellite dishes during the Gulf War.</li><li><keyword id="19976119" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee" source="keywords">Zee</keyword> was India’s first private TV channel and had pioneered many superhit TV shows, reality shows and kickstarted the careers of many media barons.</li><li>Chandra entered the infrastructure business and planned a hostile takeover of IVRCL which failed.</li><li>By the mid-2010s, his new ventures had piled up a huge debt which pushed him to sell stake in crown jewel, Zee.</li></ul>Remember Hum Paanch? <keyword id="20328693" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee-antakshari" source="keywords">Zee Antakshari</keyword>? Phillips Top 10? These shows, now shared around social media by nostalgia lovers, were the first taste of Hindi TV programmes for many millennials. The generation saw the country move away from one or two channels with very limited entertainment programming; with the entry of private companies into satellite programming, forcing Indians to buy TVs that needed remotes. The man who made this revolution possible was Subhash Chandra, a bright young man from Hisar. Born into an Agrawal Bania family, Chandra entered into business early in his life, and in the 70s before TV wasn’t around in India. After his family business fell into debt, he had to abruptly leave college, go back to Haryana and work on repaying debts. He started off running a pulse polishing mill with moderate success, but his fortunes improved as he supplied grains to Food Corporation of India (FCI). By late 80s and early 90s, he was exporting rice and soybeans to Russia, and had also started a packaging company. It was all running smoothly, until one election season he saw that politicians were renting out vans with projectors and screens for their roadshows. He later learnt that Five-Star Hotels owned satellite dishes and were telecasting CNN during the Gulf War. That’s when the idea of broadcasting content with ads in between came to him, he told Outlook Business in <a href="https://www.outlookbusiness.com/specials-34/secret-diary-of-an-entrepreneur_2018/live-in-the-present-dont-recount-and-regret-the-past-4353">Secret Diary of Subhash Chandra</a>. <div type="image" title="hum paanch twitter" msid="107136147" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Source: Twitter (Now X) &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The realm of reality TV As he went about it, he was laughed off by DD executives, who coolly told him that they employ hundreds of people and equipment worth thousands of crores. He then intended to lease a transponder in Hong Kong and broadcast from there. STAR’s Li Ka-shing was not so receptive to the idea of broadcasting business in India. After many twists and turns, he rented a transponder; and India’s got its first Hindi channel in the Star bouquet in 1992. Initially there was only three hours of programming, with reruns of old DD serials. But it soon branched<a href="https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/JV7xB6PWkkl5q2Glq8tT8K/The-zee-story-turns-20.html"> out with chat shows </a>like Chakravyuha. Many media barons like Ronnie Screwala who produced the chat show started their careers at Zee. Pritish Nandy also had a show on it called Fiscal Fitness. The hugely popular Aap Ki Adalat, which now airs on India TV, also debuted on Zee. Rajat Sharma, its popular interviewer, also expanded the group’s political vista. The Union Minister Smriti Irani was briefly a stringer for Zee News which was launched later by the group. She, however, also became the star of Star Plus’ super hit TV show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi in early 2000s. In addition to comedy shows, Zee diversified into drama shows like Neena Gupta starring Parampara in addition to <keyword id="20328692" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee-horror-show" source="keywords">Zee Horror Show</keyword>. Its hugely popular Antakshari show was hosted by stars like Renuka Shahane, Pallavi Joshi and Annu Kapoor. <div type="image" title="annu kapoor" msid="107136187" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Source: Twitter (Now X)&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Bags of fan mail In spite of growing success, Chandra had to convince advertisers to shift from print and outdoor ads to TV advertising. He did it by lugging along bags of fan mail sent by viewers of his shows. By the time other players saw how valuable reaching all over India with Hindi shows was, he was miles ahead. He added more channels across movies, music in addition to news, across languages to his bouquet. By the time the world entered the new millennium, he had captured a large chunk of India’s eyeballs, not to mention hearts. The deal with Richard Li, son of Li Ka-shing also included an option to buy 25% stake in the venture within a year. By the time he realised it was good business, the option had long expired. Chandra refused to sell him the stake, took his company public, and the issue was subscribed 60 times over. The goatee-sporting man had become one of India’s first media barons and a billionaire. A failed hostile takeover By 2004, his media conglomerate was running steady, but Chandra, true to himself, was already hunting for the next big bet. The sector he chose was infrastructure. Back then, India was building roads, adding power generation as well as distribution assets, and setting-up ports and airports with a renewed fervour. Many small regional players like GMR and GVK became national companies after they won large-scale airport projects. It seemed like a good business. However, by the time Chandra entered it in 2008, the sector was showing signs of fatigue, due to credit crunch and more. Players were seeing the effects of adding heavy debt onto books. One such company was Hyderabad-based IVRCL which had a good set of projects, sizeable orderbook but was crushing under debt, in 2012. It was borrowing money for working capital purposes, and projects were moving ahead slower. Chandra believed that a hostile takeover of the company would catalyse its infra business which was executing a few highway projects. He went in and acquired a tad over 12% stake in the company when IVRCL too changed track. It stopped bidding for new projects, started monetising its projects and paring down its debt. Eventually Chandra had to sell off his stock at a loss. Takeovers are a high stakes game. Though the financials were never disclosed, the assumption, based on the company’s market cap at that time, he might have spent ₹200 crore on it. On the other hand, its own infrastructure business never scaled up later on, and continued to report deep losses for the next few years. It was a strategy gone wrong, as he later admitted in his open letter. Politics to pledging In 2016, Chandra made his political debut to become a Rajya Sabha MP representing BJP in Haryana. The close contest between him and the Congress candidate R K Anand was also interesting in other ways too. Chandra was declared winner after 14 votes were made invalid as they used the wrong pens. In 2022, Chandra changed his ‘native home <a href="https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/06/08/why-subhash-chandras-rajya-sabha-dreams-are-now-congresss-nightmares">town’ to Rajasthan</a> and filed his nomination as an independent candidate backed by BJP. He however accepted defeat after he fell short of over 40 votes. On the other end, his business was branching out into many businesses, with varying successes, soaking in capital. It entered financial services, acquired Peerless Mutual Fund, investment banking, private equity and much more. It went into education with a chain of K-12 schools, gold refineries in addition to related media businesses like Fun Cinemas and Dish TV. He also had plans for a wellness company. These expansions came at a cost, and a huge debt. The group soon had 87 operating companies which had straddled debt to the tune of ₹17,000 crore, as per estimates. How was so much money raised? The promoters had to pledge their shares in listed entities like Zee Entertainment, Dish TV, Zee Media Corporation, SITI Networks, <keyword id="19960022" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee-learn" source="keywords">Zee Learn</keyword> and Shirpur Gold refinery. Reports suggest that <a href="https://www.thequint.com/amp/story/news%2Fbusiness%2Fdoes-zee-news-need-a-commercial-bank-subhash-chandra#read-more">anywhere between 60-90% of their </a>shares in these companies were pledged with lenders in the mid-2010s. The chickens however came to roost in 2018 when the<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/ilfs-crisis-spilling-beyond-finance-chandras-zee-feeling-the-heat/articleshow/67734787.cms?from=mdr"> NBFC IL&amp;FS bankruptcy spooke</a>d the markets, making it tough for him to rollover debt. The loss of crown jewel Soon, the promoters were forced to sell the stake that they had pledged. Zee’s promoter shareholding fell from 42% to a dismal 4% in its crown jewel, Zee Entertainment. In the meanwhile, its flagship Zee’s earnings also started dwindling, worrying analysts and investors; that led the market regulator to look into it. Between 2021 and 2023, its profits slid by 48%. In 2021, for the second time in two years, Chandra admitted to his mistakes that led to default. He announced <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/subhash-chandra-claims-91-debt-with-43-lenders-settled/articleshow/85007881.cms?from=mdr">that he had settled</a> 91% of his debts with 43 lenders. “I have no regrets for parting with a substantial ownership in the business and specially in the jewels of the crown,” he said in an open letter. Apart from the promoter crisis, the businesses were moving at a slow pace too. Satellite pay TV has become less attractive to viewers now used to streaming. Dish TV, owned by his brother, has been losing steam as well. Edtech is facing its own existential crisis. His digital ventures of Zee5 progressed but at a slow rate due to heavy competition. There are no updates on his plans for its metaverse venture, oddly named Maayaverse. On top of it, Zee’s plans to merge with Sony fell through, after two years of negotiations. Sony is also seeking a $90 million termination fee, which Zee intends to contest. That means more legal troubles, barely a year after it settled a dispute with J C Flowers, an asset reconstruction company. Chandra and his son Puneet Goenka are now part of a <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sebi-subhash-chandra-punit-goenka-sebis-flowcharts-explain-how-zee-bosses-allegedly-faked-loan-recovery-4119857">probe by market regulator SEBI</a>, to see if money was siphoned off from the listed entities. That would be a tough spot to any businessman, let alone one who is devoid of crown jewels and without a seat in the parliament. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/webstories/subrata-roys-journey-from-lucknows-sahara-shahar-to-londons-grosvenor-house-to-tihar-jail/slidelist/105234003.cms">Subrata Roy’s journey from Lucknow’s Sahara Shahar to London’s Grosvenor House to Tihar Jail</a>

From A to Zee: Subhash Chandra’s spectacular rise and fall

The first day at a new job is always weird. You have no idea what you're supposed to be doing, who to talk to, or how to even really be. The theory is that over time you get the hang of it — but lots of workers make it months into their jobs and feel like they're still kind of winging it. It's not that they don't want to learn; it's that nobody's teaching them. In many pockets of corporate America, on-the-job training mostly amounts to "figure it out." Workers are struggling to get a handle on their jobs, and this failure falls on everyone — companies, managers, human-resources departments, and, in some cases, the workers themselves.You don't need to look far to find evidence that people don't feel ready when it comes to work. Some <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-workers-are-lazy-lack-soft-skills-managers-say-2023-8">bosses complain</a> that Gen Z workers don't know what they're doing and are lazy. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-lazy-hiring-jobs-careers-hr-training-pandemic-2024-8">HR professionals and Gen Z workers</a> argue that young people want to be successful in the workforce, but they simply aren't given the tools to do it. In a survey from the <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2023/09/27/adobe-future-workforce-study-what-us-employers-need-know-about-gen-z-workplace#:~:text=Gen%20Z%20is%20hungry%20for%20mentorship%20and%20development&amp;text=Gen%20Z%20is%20eager%20for,percent)%20reported%20having%20a%20mentor.">software company Adobe</a>, 83% of Gen Z respondents said having a mentor at work was crucial to their career, but only half said they had a mentor. It's not just young workers who are facing a training problem; it's everybody. For <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gallup.com/394373/indicator-employee-engagement.aspx">Gallup's employee-engagement indicator</a>, which analyzes employee perspectives using random samples of working adults, less than half of US employees said they knew what's expected of them at work. This is a costly problem, too: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/393497/world-trillion-workplace-problem.aspx">Gallup</a> found employees who weren't engaged cost $8.8 trillion in lost productivity worldwide.Just figuring out the day-to-day basics of the job is a challenge. The pandemic-driven upheaval of the past several years led to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/great-resignation-still-going-layoffs-low-job-openings-quits-high-2022-11">high amounts of</a> job-hopping, organizational brain drain, and a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/loyalty-employee-employer-job-security-broken-work-companies-bosses-2024-1">decline in loyalty</a> among employers and employees. The chaos has left employers, managers, and employees wondering just how much time and money it's worth investing in training in the first place. The rise of remote and hybrid work has complicated the situation even more. It's tough to learn by osmosis over Slack, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hr-software-tech-companies-employees-productivity-workday-oracle-adp-2024-8">the deluge of HR apps and training modules</a> isn't filling in the gaps."Most companies want employees to 'hit the ground running' and use apps, AI, and training videos to avoid disrupting another employee's flow or for the lack of staff to train someone new or help someone learn a new skill," Ana Goehner, a career strategist and HR professional, said.That may work in some instances, but in others, instead of hitting the ground running, workers find themselves perpetually zig-zagging, unable to break into a full sprint.That people feel like they're not equipped to do their jobs isn't a new phenomenon. There's been a long-standing decay of investment in learning and training by employers as part of an effort to create leaner organizations, said Kenneth Matos, the director of market insights at HiBob, an HR-tech company. If you're cutting costs, training is an easy place to do it. That's especially true when many employers use the internet to access a wider talent pool than in the past, which means they can just look for a candidate who already knows everything instead of having to teach someone. And, of course, plenty of companies have been axing middle managers, the people who would have previously been in charge of training up younger or newer employees."You cut away the people who are the link between big strategic ideas and day-to-day tactical activities," Matos said. "And so you end up with a scenario of a big strategic speaker talking to a much more junior doer, and they're like, 'I don't know how this translates into my job.'" Making matters worse, in many workplaces, training and mentoring are treated as an extra, rather than an integral part of the job, if they're noticed at all. In your performance review, "I spent 10 minutes explaining something to the new guy he was too afraid to ask his boss about" doesn't rate very highly. As workers and managers are increasingly overextended, these types of unmeasured, softer activities can fall by the wayside. This creates a conflicting web of incentives. It may be better, organizationally, for a manager or experienced employee to spend time teaching everyone on their team to complete a complex task so that a team's performance is better overall, but if they have an individual quota to meet, they may opt to focus on doing the task themselves, even though it's not what's best for the business."You end up with this really weird tension around organizational citizenship behaviors like mentoring and developing employees," Matos said. "Do you give a manager a lower quota because they are also magnifying everybody else's, or are you assuming they're going to do more than everybody else, are more talented, and also do the mentoring?"The people in the middle — who find themselves in between the big bosses and the little guys — are going to focus more on managing up than managing down. It's hard to tell the CEO that you can't come to that third unnecessary meeting of the day because your time would be better spent training that new hire on logging sales calls."Managers feel so caught up, and oftentimes they feel pressure of, 'OK, well if I'm going to disappoint someone, then it's going to be someone junior to me and not someone senior to me,'" said Ashley Herd, the founder of Manager Method, a training platform for managers.Many managers really are over it. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/510326/manager-squeeze-new-workplace-testing-team-leaders.aspx">Gallup found</a> that in 2023, managers were likelier than nonmanagers to say they're disengaged at work, burned out, and on the lookout for a new job. Their workers have been given more responsibilities, their teams have been restructured, and they're expected to accomplish everything with fewer resources, as in, money. And less than half of managers said they're sure they already had the skills needed to be great at their jobs, meaning managers weren't getting taught to be managers.At the r/managers forum on Reddit, the what-am-I-doing sentiment is evident. "Is it normal to get zero training as a new manager?" one Redditor <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/managers/comments/1d6soeu/no_training_in_a_figure_it_out_situation/">asked</a>. "I have reviewed the team's work over the past couple of years, asked them questions to clarify a few things, and asked my boss questions to clarify a few things and have basically picked up most of it. Thought it was kind weird I got zero training, though."Technology is supposed to make training better, in theory. Why have an HR person go over the same PowerPoint on vacation policy for every new hire when a quick video or document stored away somewhere can do it just fine? That may work for simple processes like requesting time off or finding subscription logins, but it can become a problem when companies try to throw technology at their more-in-depth training problems. Nobody knows what they're doing here? Why not get an app to fix that? One of the biggest issues with using tech to solve what's ultimately a human problem is that it's hard to know if anyone is even going to use it. Take mentorship: Having one-on-one coaching from someone with more experience can help workers gain skills and knowledge that can't be found in a training video. It can also make workers likelier to stick around longer, help them feel more connected, and boost the sharing of institutional knowledge. Fostering these kinds of relationships is important, hence why the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mentorcliq.com/blog/mentoring-impact-report">vast majority of Fortune 500 companies say</a> they have mentoring programs, many of which are facilitated by apps and software. How many people are actually using those programs, however, is unclear. Christy Pettit, the CEO of Pollinate Networks, which creates mentoring software, told me she recently spoke with a large multinational that told her despite having 2,000 licenses for the mentoring program, which was mainly an app, fewer than 200 people were using it and participation was declining every quarter."Most companies say they have a mentoring program, but few have one that works," she said. "It feels a little bit like when you buy a gym membership, and it makes you feel like you're doing something, but you may or may not be going to the gym."In some cases, tech-based training materials are disconnected from the realities of the work. All the training videos are done in an "official" corporate speak it turns out nobody actually uses, Matos, from HiBob, said. Or managers aren't well versed in what their charges are being taught and end up wanting the task done differently.Even when companies invest in training, it can often be directed toward the wrong people. Herd said that businesses often make the mistake of spending a ton of money on fancy retreats and training courses for their most senior leaders without making much, if any, investment in the bottom rungs."You could spend a fraction of that and give good training to all of your employees, and you're probably going to get more ROI if that's what you're focused on," she said.Stephanie Wolf, a vice president at RebuttalPR, a legal-communications firm, said the company learned the hard way about the costs of not investing enough time and energy in training people. As the firm grew, managers wouldn't realize people didn't know how to do timely tasks until they became urgent, or they'd discover employees were doing things in a way that wasn't consistent with the documentation and processes in place. That meant they had to rely more on senior staff to do the work and that projects took longer because training was happening alongside execution. "We've seen how our whole team can suffer when we don't train folks thoroughly enough," she said. To ensure accountability, she's now the point person on training, because the company found that when training was everyone's job, it was no one's. The firm has taken steps to get all the necessary information in one place and to slow the onboarding process down — instead of expecting people to take a week to get up to speed, it now gives them about a month.Wolf acknowledged it's "super easy for training to fall by the wayside when your client work gets busy," which means not allowing that to happen is a conscious effort. "Investing time now is going to save us all time in the long run," she said.It's easy to blame hybrid and remote work for some of these issues, to argue that if people were just gathered in an office together, that would fix things. But many HR professionals and career coaches say that's not necessarily the case. Yes, human interaction is helpful, but it doesn't solve problems like misaligned incentives, increasingly stretched managers, and a lack of a real, holistic plan for getting people up to speed. A remote-work training plan probably has to look different from an in-person one, but it's not impossible to craft. "In a remote environment, you, as the leader, need to model and also hold the individual accountable for taking initiative, saying, 'Hey, if you need something, I need you to tell me because I can't see you,'" Phoebe Gavin, a career and leadership coach, said.Gavin emphasized that it's not just on companies and managers to make sure employees are learning and getting onboarded but also on individual workers. Essentially, if you see something — or don't know something — say something. Ask questions, or take the initiative to figure things out on your own. I told her about an experience I'd had at a job where on my first day, one of four "important" passwords I'd received was for software the company didn't use anymore. I expressed disappointment that the HR department hadn't caught the error, which it took me a long time to figure out even was an error. She pointed out that I should have then gone to HR to alert them to the error so the next new person didn't have the same experience. I did not."That's a tiny place where you could have a positive impact," Gavin said. It wasn't necessarily my fault, she said: "Just that was an opportunity that you didn't take, and those sorts of things happen all the time."But not everyone gets the chance to sound the alarm on their employer's faulty training system before it's too late. That's what happened to Michelle, which is a pseudonym I'm using to protect her privacy. Before starting a job at a science-focused communications firm earlier this year, she was assured that she would get all the training she needed to overcome the fact that she didn't come from a scientific background. When she started, she was surprised by the deluge of training modules and videos that were added to her plate on top of the tasks of the job itself. There were supposed to be meetings with other, more seasoned coworkers after those video training sessions, but eventually, almost everyone stopped showing up. She was fired in a matter of weeks after being told she wasn't picking things up fast enough. She said she received little feedback and hadn't been given warning that things were going wrong."I felt blindsided by the termination just because I didn't think I was given enough time to do all of this," she said. "I was led to believe they would kind of hold my hand a little bit at the beginning, and a month in, to me, is very much still the beginning."You know how there are certain tasks in life that feel designed to be so complex that you'll give up? Like filing an insurance claim or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cancel-subscriptions-congress-ftc-dark-practices-autorenewal-2023-2">quitting the gym</a>. Work should not be like that, but for many people, it is.Employees have complained about just being thrown into the fire forever. Many employers subscribe to the idea that you just toss people into the water and see who can swim. Trial by error is part of learning at work — one of the best ways to learn how to do something is to just try doing it. But it shouldn't be the entire approach. You know how you learn at school? The teacher explains something, you do your homework, it gets graded, you take a test, and you move on once you more or less figure it out. Imagine if teachers just piled 15 algebra tests on high-school students and everyone hoped for the best.There are aspects of the current workplace environment that make training more complicated to tackle. Remote work is different — you can't just lean over and ask the person next to you how this one software works again when you're typing on your laptop alone from your couch. Workers and employers don't feel as tied to one another, so there may be a decline in investment from both sides in the idea of getting supergood at the task at hand. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/remote-workers-middle-managers-most-affected-by-layoffs-experts-2024-2">middle-management class</a> is increasingly stretched thin and hollowed out.Above all, it's really easy to load up on a bunch of tech-based solutions without identifying whether they actually solve anything. Relying on tech is appealing financially because buying a software license is a heck of a lot cheaper than paying a real live person. Many of the HR experts I talked to for this story suggested the training gap was a problem artificial intelligence might fix, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/generative-ai-exaggeration-openai-nvidia-microsoft-chatgpt-jobs-investors-markets-2024-3">common refrain for intractable problems</a>, no matter the industry. Maybe that's true — if your manager won't have a one-on-one with you, having a chatbot to ask questions to isn't the worst thing in the world (assuming said chatbot knows stuff and doesn't make things up). But AI isn't going to be a panacea here. When you need to speak to a real person, no Coursera video or HR app or robot can do the trick. People make human mistakes, and sometimes humans need to address them.Wolf's firm is fully remote, but managers have noticed that Gen Z hires, in particular, tend to inquire about an in-person component for training. So they've adjusted. For a couple of incoming hires, they've rented a coworking space and enlisted some other employees to work alongside them for a couple of days to help them learn the ropes.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

On-the-job training is broken. Companies are paying a steep price.

The unsung warriors of 'The Price Is Right'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Four people who moved to new places share their regrets and what they'd do differently.</li><li>One person Business Insider that they would spend more time in their new destination before moving.</li></ul>Relocating to a new state or country can be good for your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-to-spain-from-us-better-work-life-balance-2024-1">work-life balance</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-from-us-to-portugal-for-cheaper-life-better-career-2024-3">career</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-puerto-rico-new-jersey-coffee-brand-slow-living-2024-3">finances</a>.But switching cities, trying out rural life or experiencing a completely different culture can come with surprises.Business Insider spoke with four people who shared their biggest regret and what they learned from it.<h2>1) Spending too little time in your new destination before moving</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-maryland-boulder-colorado-loney-regret-lessons-2023-8">Amanda Loudin</a>, a remote worker, moved from her home in Maryland to Boulder, Colorado, during the COVID-19 pandemic. She relocated because she loved outdoor activities and wanted to be near the mountains.Loudin found it harder than she'd anticipated to find friends and a community — and returned to Maryland two years after she moved.She told Business Insider she found people in Boulder more introverted than in Maryland. "My neighbors didn't invite me to cookouts, I found no regular running groups that didn't require paying to play, and I didn't fall into fun conversations at the dog park," Loudin said.Loudin said she'd visited Boulder several times before her move and tried out living there for a month. After relocating, she realized her previous visits were closer to vacations, and she wished she'd spent more time in Boulder before deciding to move."More time for real-life experience — efforts to find peers and friends, running partners, and the like — could have helped me learn it wasn't right for me," she said.<h2>2) Not finding more affordable housing</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-i-left-silicon-valley-california-after-two-years-2023-12">Wendy Wang</a> and her husband moved from Pennsylvania to Silicon Valley, California, in 2020 to work for a tech startup.She told BI she found the transition difficult. Her work-life balance suffered, and she struggled to find a sense of community.Wang said that the cost of housing, transport, and groceries was much higher than the national average in the US. It meant they couldn't afford to buy a house and had to rent a two-bedroom apartment for $3,500 a month, not including utilities."This financial strain was a constant in our lives, adding to the stress of demanding jobs," she said, adding that she wished she'd looked into more affordable housing outside the city before making the move.Wang returned to Pennsylvania with her husband two years after they moved to California. Back in Pennsylvania, the couple could afford to buy a four-bedroom house with a mortgage that costs less than their rent in Silicon Valley."Living without constant financial worry has given us the freedom to enjoy life," she said.<h2>3) Not doing enough research</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-to-denver-colorado-and-regretted-it-2023-11">Eric Michiels</a> moved from Atlanta to Denver in 2021 with his wife and two kids. He moved for work, but also said the idea of spending more time in nature was appealing.Michiels told BI that the weather was colder and less predictable than he'd imagined."The winters were especially terrible for us," he said. "I remember being informed by our apartment complex that the temperature would drop below negative 5 degrees for three days in a row and to be prepared if the power went out."He struggled to make long-lasting friendships and said Denver lacked the "Southern hospitality" he'd found in Atlanta. "After I left one church I visited, no one ever spoke to me or followed up."He said he felt "naive" and he wished he'd done more research before he moved.After two years in Colorado, Michiels and his family moved again — this time to Spain in 2023. He got a digital nomad visa and said, in many ways, he prefers Spain to living in Colorado.<h2>4) Prioritizing location over amenities or community</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-to-colorado-mountains-mistake-left-2024-3">Jackie Branholm</a> moved from New York City to Denver in 2019 with her now-husband. They wanted to try a new city before they settled down.The couple loved living in Denver and decided to buy their first house there after a year, but they were priced out of the city. "During our search, we fell in love with the idea of living in the mountains with our growing family," Branholm told BI.They bought an old fixer-upper in a small mountain town 45 minutes from Denver. However, the couple was unprepared for mountain living. "What we loved about the town when we visited on the weekends was not the same experience as a resident," Branholm said.She told BI living in the small mountain town was beautiful and great for outdoor activities but "logistically and physically isolating." "If we wanted to go to Target or the grocery store, we had to drive at least 20 minutes," she added.The couple felt cut off from their Denver friends, cafés, and bars. After giving birth to their firstborn, Branholm said the isolation became unbearable."Ultimately, we realized how and who we spent our time with was more important than where we lived. Even though we loved going outside and hiking, our priorities changed when we had our son. We wanted life to be easier."Branholm and her husband moved back to New York to be closer to family in 2023. She said the experience taught them the value of convenience and proximity to friends and family.

4 people who relocated and regretted it share the biggest mistake they made and what they learned

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I've been traveling internationally since I was a teenager.</li><li>Since then, I've been to 86 countries and have learned how to travel on a budget.</li></ul>As a teenager who lived in a small town, I became obsessed with travel, collecting piles of books written by authors who'd traversed the globe under their own steam. I vowed to do the same and got a job at a bookshop to pay for it. There's nothing like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overworked-years-until-child-realized-work-doesnt-care-2024-7">working all hours</a> to make you appreciate money, and I vowed not to waste a cent when I did get to see the world.After a trip to watch wildlife in Tanzania at 18, I caught the travel bug in a big way which made me even more motivated to save as much cash as possible for future trips. Now, 20 years later, I've <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-beautiful-places-to-visit-from-expert-2024-6">visited 86 countries</a> on a shoestring budget.While independent backpacking conjures up images of having to sacrifice various experiences, it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, there have been many occasions when I've stood next to other tourists and looked at exactly the same thing, only I've paid much less to be there than them.<div type="image" title="Jennifer Sizeland wearing a blue shirt and sunglasses." height="1069" width="1600" msid="114082091" hostid="261" sizebytes="179216"></div><h2 id="15b02c8b-5155-4fca-9080-d64c4d6ace53">Stay in a homestay and book with them directly</h2>One way I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-ways-to-save-money-on-vacations-travel-points-miles">save money</a> is by booking directly with local businesses instead of through booking services. For example, when I went on a trip to the Kinabatangan River in Borneo to see wildlife like pygmy elephants and orangutans, I found the direct contact details online for a homestay.The owner had a boat, and he took us out three times a day to see Malaysia's wildlife over the two days we stayed there. While my partner and I watched the incredible elephants, the other boats arrived, with tourists paying $900 to be there, compared to the $130 that we paid for two nights, all of our meals, and four boat trips. (I noted the names of the companies to find the price online afterward, and I was shocked at the difference.) It feels more ethical, too, as our money went straight to people living by the river instead of a tour company based elsewhere.<div type="image" title="Jennifer Sizeland sitting on the edge of a dock staring at the water drinking a beer." height="3024" width="4032" msid="114082081" hostid="261" sizebytes="588144"></div><h2 id="f49e7ccb-1f02-4965-b2fd-122a2a708c4f">Embrace public transportation</h2>While some travelers turn their noses up at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taking-public-transportation-solo-backpacking-europe-2023-9">public transport</a>, it's a great way to meet people, and it becomes a part of the experience. Places like Chile and Argentina have great long-distance bus services, and some even have attendants who dish out cheese and ham sandwiches.It helps to embrace <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-public-transportation-new-york-city-ferry-opinion-2023-8">multiple types of transport</a>, too, especially in smaller countries. Hopping from one kind of transportation to another allowed us to reach places we wouldn't be able to see if we'd just stuck to one. In Tunisia, my partner and I took trains, buses, and shared taxis all around the country to see everything from ancient ruins in Carthage to flamingos in the ocean.<div type="image" title="Jennifer Sizeland standing on a bridge overlooking water." height="3024" width="4032" msid="114082082" hostid="261" sizebytes="941530"></div><h2 id="0053d5da-6d3b-49c9-9726-03bc65f91a49">Rent a moped and travel on your own steam</h2>Another great way to see numerous sights in one day is by renting a moped to drive yourself. This is particularly great for countries in South and Southeast Asia, as a small vehicle can help you get around the heavy traffic in their busy cities.However, if this is your plan, make sure to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/countries-cost-price-driver-license-comparison-2018-9">convert your driver's license into an international one</a>; otherwise, you might get pulled over and fined by the police.<h2 id="4fed5d99-15f4-4ca6-83dd-d308b0a36578">Check to see if you can take your own transportation through national parks</h2>If you love wildlife and want to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-worst-national-parks-usa-from-man-visited-each-one-2024-4">explore national parks</a> on your own, research whether you can avoid paying for a tour by taking your own transportation through the park. Some national parks allow you to register on their booking system to avoid paying commission to an agent.In places like Baku National Park in Borneo, you can get your own boat without taking an official tour. You also don't even need to walk very far into the park to see wildlife, as so many animals just hang out by the office.<div type="image" title="Jennifer Sizeland sitting in an innertube floating down a river." height="2320" width="3088" msid="114082078" hostid="261" sizebytes="298494"></div><h2 id="c7909fc2-b4d6-4814-8747-63f965fdb142">Book tours once you're in the country</h2>Sometimes, you may have to take a tour as it is the only way to see a certain place you're interested in. If that is the case, make sure to book the tours while you're in the country, as it will save you money. I did this in The Gambia, and it was much cheaper than the ones offered by the airline. The money also went to a local company and local causes instead of a corporation.Just because you're on a budget doesn't mean you need to deny yourself an occasional splurge, and I set a little aside so that I can treat myself on each vacation. Usually, I eat street food, which I love, or buy food from supermarkets, but if a bar or restaurant is particularly special, I try to visit. In Singapore, for example, I went to the Raffles Hotel to try one of its famous <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cocktails-around-the-world-2019-3">Singapore Sling cocktails</a>, an experience you can't recreate elsewhere. Budgeting can be hard work, so we all deserve a little treat!

I've been to 86 countries and learned to travel on a budget. I book tours once I'm in the country and embrace public transportation.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="19979912" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mortgage-rates" source="keywords">Mortgage rates</keyword> are falling but remain high compared to the rates of the past few years.</li><li>Assumable mortgages can help <keyword id="19907145" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="homebuyers" source="keywords">homebuyers</keyword> get lower rates and reduce their monthly payments.</li></ul>Over the past few years, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/mortgages/average-mortgage-interest-rate">US mortgage rates</a> have fluctuated wildly, leaving both homebuyers and sellers scrambling. In 2021, rates fell to as low as 2.1% as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-fed-rate-cut-could-impact-mortgage-rates-homebuyers-2024-9">Federal Reserve</a> acted to keep the economy ticking during the COVID-19 pandemic. But then inflation spiked. To cool inflation, the Fed implemented a series of rate hikes, pushing mortgage rates to a peak of 7.79% in October 2023, according to data tracked by the <keyword id="19904332" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Federal-Reserve" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Federal Reserve" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Federal Reserve">Federal Reserve</keyword> Bank of St. Louis. But over the last few years, some homebuyers have used a workaround to get lower rates anyway: a lesser-known loan option called an <keyword id="23243178" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="assumable-mortgage" source="keywords">assumable mortgage</keyword>. Assumable mortgages let qualifying buyers take over a seller's existing loan, including its interest rate, principal balance, and other terms. This can lead to significantly lower <keyword id="19950650" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="interest-rates" source="keywords">interest rates</keyword>, making monthly mortgage payments more affordable and saving thousands over the life of the loan. It's important to note that not all loans are eligible for assumption, but ones backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are. 2024, however, has brought some relief from high rates. In January, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fed-cut-lower-mortgage-rates-should-you-refinance-2024-9">rates</a> hit about 6.7% and have been slowly decreasing since. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.2% as of mid-September, its lowest level since February 2023. The Federal Open Market Committee, which oversees US monetary policy, is expected to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/interest-rate-cuts-decision-this-week-federal-reserve-powell-inflation-2024-9">cut interest rates</a> at its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/when-is-the-next-fed-meeting">meeting</a> this week. This could lead to further declines in mortgage rates in the coming months. Still, the 2%-ish rates of 2021 aren't likely to return as the Fed remains wary of inflation. So while additional rate declines may ease monthly mortgage payments for some, they won't necessarily make homebuying significantly more affordable for most Americans. For that reason, assumable mortgages still might be the best option for some people to get the lowest rates. Here are the stories of three homebuying couples who secured mortgage rates below 3% since March 2023 using assumable mortgages. They described how they redirected the funds they would have spent on higher monthly mortgage payments into healthcare, renovations, or retirement. <h2>One couple got a 2.6% rate and became the youngest homeowners in their families</h2>In 2022, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/first-time-buyers-got-lowest-best-interest-rate-assumable-mortgage-2024-3">Grace Lucchese</a> had just graduated from college. Her partner, Mickey Ricard, had finished his military service two years prior. The Gen Z couple had moved into an apartment in Lucchese's hometown of Sudbury, Massachusetts — a town about 40 minutes outside Boston — and found themselves spending much of their incomes on rent. "We were paying ridiculous <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rental-market-housing-affordability-real-estate-apartments-2024-1">prices for rent</a>, and our money was going nowhere," Lucchese told Business Insider. "We also have a dog with special needs, so we wanted to find a home with a backyard." <div type="image" title="Grace Lucchese, Mickey Ricard, and their dog at home." height="1701" width="2268" msid="113465770" hostid="261"></div>For the first-time homebuyers, finding an affordable, well-maintained home in their area was challenging. "During our homebuying search, we looked all around Boston," Lucchese said. "We could not find a home that was move-in ready and under $650,000. We put offers on probably seven different homes and got into bidding wars on two." After months of searching and nearly giving up, Lucchese and Ricard finally found their perfect home: a 1,600-square-foot, two-story Colonial built in 1885 with three bedrooms and one bathroom. The home also came with an assumable mortgage. "Our home was originally listed for $429,000," Lucchese said. "When we were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-investing-how-to-negotiate-best-price-down-2023-4">negotiating with the seller</a> and trying to talk him down on the price, they brought up the assumable loan — I had no clue what that type of mortgage was." After learning about assumable mortgages and realizing they could take over the homeowner's 2.6% rate, they jumped at the opportunity. <div type="image" title="Grace Lucchese and Mickey Ricard's Massachusetts home." height="3024" width="4032" msid="113465773" hostid="261"></div>In January, they made a $13,000 down payment and bought the home for $422,500. With homeowners' insurance included, their monthly payments are around $2,100 — about half of what they would likely pay if they had gotten a traditional mortgage earlier this year. Their mortgage term is 26 years. The couple, now the youngest homeowners in both of their families, are using their monthly savings to renovate their home and help cover their dog's veterinary expenses. "Now that our assumable mortgage is saving us about $2,000 each month, it makes the stress a little less because we have the option of having more money available," Lucchese said. <h2>Retirees who got a 2.75% rate say their lives are easier</h2>In June, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/homebuyer-got-low-mortgage-interest-rate-assumable-mortgage-save-retirement-2024-7">Brian Sankey</a>, a retired military police officer, purchased a $400,000 home in Elizabethtown, Kentucky — a small town south of Fort Knox — with an assumable Veterans Affairs, or VA, mortgage. The loan has a 2.75% interest rate and 26 years remaining on its 30-year fixed-rate term. Sankey said it was "a win-win" situation for him and the seller. "The benefit of a loan assumption for the seller was that it allowed them to sell their home at a higher price," Sankey told BI. "For my wife and me, it allowed us to get a lower interest rate." <div type="image" title="Brian Sankey on the beach." height="1200" width="1600" msid="113465776" hostid="261"></div>Sankey said he learned about the assumption feature of Veterans Affairs mortgages years ago but had forgotten about it over time. It wasn't until he came across the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Elizabethtown that his memory was jolted. The home's proximity to an Army base led Sankey to suspect that the sellers might be connected to the military and have taken out a VA loan, making an assumable mortgage possible. He was right. However, getting the seller on board wasn't as easy as Sankey had hoped. "They weren't inclined to do it at first because they felt the assumption process would take too long, and they were looking for a quick sale," he said. "But after about 30 days, they realized that cash buyers wouldn't be throwing money at them and agreed to proceed with the assumption." According to Sankey, the assumption process took just about six weeks from the time he and his wife first viewed the home to closing the loan. "I'm happy I remembered it because it made our home purchase more affordable," he said. "Despite the current market conditions and higher interest rates, my wife and I were able to purchase a larger home with lower monthly payments." A smaller mortgage is allowing Sankey and his wife to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-much-do-i-need-to-retire">retire more comfortably</a>. "I can now use the money I would have spent on high-interest payments to cover living expenses," Sankey said. "We should also have more discretionary income." <h2>A couple is able to pay down medical debts after buying a house in Oregon</h2>In 2022, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/couple-got-low-mortgage-when-everyone-getting-high-interest-rate-2024-3">Amy Yzaguirre</a> was diagnosed with cancer. At the time, she and her son were living in Idaho while her husband looked for a job in Oregon. They had planned to reunite in Oregon after he found one and their Idaho home sold. However, following her diagnosis, the couple decided it was best to be together before the Idaho home was sold. Faced with the financial burden of paying the Idaho mortgage and Oregon rent at the same time, they moved into an RV on her parents' property in Tigard, a suburb about 20 minutes outside Portland. "It was pretty rough, but we made it work," Yzaguirre told BI. They lived rent-free in the RV for months while waiting for their Idaho home to sell and Yzaguirre to recover. Then, they began searching for a home to buy in Tigard. <div type="image" title="Amy Yzaguirre and her husband pose in front of the RV they purchased." height="542" width="720" msid="113465772" hostid="261"></div>It wasn't the experience they had hoped for. "It's funny how an area can be a nice, family-friendly, affordable place to live and then suddenly become overpopulated and much more expensive," she said. They eventually toured a townhome in nearby Sherwood listed for $416,000. The seller's flyer noted that a buyer could take over their 2.5% mortgage rate. "I did the math," Yzaguirre said. "The seller was locked in at 2.5%, so if we qualified to assume the loan, our mortgage would be a little over $2,100 a month versus the over $3,000 we would be paying with a traditional mortgage at current market rates. It would save us over $40,000 in the long run." <div type="image" title="Amy Yzaguirre, her husband, and son." height="3024" width="4032" msid="113465778" hostid="261"></div>In March 2023, the couple purchased the townhome for $418,900. They made a down payment of $48,000 and assumed a 30-year fixed-rate FHA loan with an interest rate of 2.5%. They have 28 years left on their mortgage. The money they are saving each month is helping them pay down Yzaguirre's bills. "Even though I was fortunate to have good insurance during chemotherapy and have excellent insurance through my current job, I still had quite a few medical bills to pay off," she said. "With the extra money we have saved on our mortgage payment, I've been able to pay them down." The family also used some of their extra funds to pay off other debts and purchase a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with cash, covering the full amount upfront Correction: September 19, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled Mickey Ricard’s last name.

3 couples who recently got mortgage interest rates under 3% share how they did it

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Reddit priced its initial public offering Wednesday at $34 a share. </li><li>The offering values the social media company at around $6.4 billion. </li></ul>Reddit priced its hotly anticipated initial public offering at $34 a share on Wednesday, raising $748 million and valuing the social media site at around $6.4 billion. The pricing is at the high end of the $31-$34 range the company had been targeting. The shares will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "RDDT" on Thursday.The company, along with executives and employees, sold 22 million shares in its public offering and said ahead of the IPO that it would set aside 8% for some of the site's biggest users and moderators. That follows similar moves by other high-profile companies like Airbnb and Robinhood, which set aside shares for its users when they went public. Across Reddit's stock and investing forums, the offer to participate in the IPO was <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/reddit-ipo-retail-investor-commentary-share-offering-wallstreetbets-day-traders-2024-3?mrfhud=true">met with some skepticism by users</a>. A Reddit spokesperson declined to comment when reached by Business Insider, saying the company "remains in a quiet period."Reddit's offering is one of the biggest deals in what's been a mostly dormant IPO market over the past few years. When its stock begins trading, it'll be the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-ipo-shares-loyal-users-ai-steve-huffman-sam-altman-2024-2">largest social media company</a> to go public since Pinterest made its offering in 2019.At the end of last year, the market saw a brief spurt of IPO activity when UK <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arm-ipo-ai-boom-chipmaker-softbank-2023-9">chip designer Arm</a> and grocery delivery business Instacart went public, though the deals didn't end up marking the start of a bigger trend of firms opting to IPO. The market debut of the so-called "front page of the internet" has been long-awaited on Wall Street. The company privately filed for an initial public offering in late 2021, around the time <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-ipo-redditors-stock-wallstreetbets-meme-2024-2">subreddits like r/WallStreetBets were soaring in popularity</a> amid the retail investor boom. The social media site now has over 73 million active daily users, it said in its <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1713445/000162828024010137/reddit-sx1a1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPO filing</a>.Reddit pulled in $804 million in revenue in 2023, up 21% from the prior year, according to its filing, though it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-reddit-loses-money-ipo-research-development-revenue-2024-2024-2">lost $90.8 million during the year.</a> That's down from a loss of $158.6 million in 2022.The company also recently signed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-train-ai-model-crazy-subreddit-posts-reddit-licensing-deal-2024-2">$60 million a year content licensing deal with Google</a>, to help train the search engine's AI models."[I]n a world increasingly saturated with AI-generated content, we expect users to increasingly seek out and value fresh ideas, and that models will need to refresh their learning from these ideas. As AI and machine learning technology becomes more ubiquitous and used, we believe the importance of Reddit data goes up," the company said in its IPO documents.

Reddit prices hotly anticipated IPO at $34 per share, valuing the social media platform at around $6.4 billion

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Reddit priced its initial public offering Wednesday at $34 a share. </li><li>The offering values the social media company at around $6.4 billion. </li></ul>Reddit priced its hotly anticipated initial public offering at $34 a share on Wednesday, valuing the social media site at around $6.4 billion, according to reports. The pricing is at the high end of the $31-$34 range the company had been targeting. The shares will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "RDDT" on Thursday.The company, along with executives and employees, sold 22 million shares in its public offering and said ahead of the IPO that it would set aside 8% for some of the site's biggest users and moderators. That follows similar moves by other high-profile companies like Airbnb and Robinhood, which set aside shares for its users when they went public. Across Reddit's stock and investing forums, the offer to participate in the IPO was <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/reddit-ipo-retail-investor-commentary-share-offering-wallstreetbets-day-traders-2024-3?mrfhud=true">met with some skepticism by users</a>. Reddit's offering is one of the biggest deals in what's been a mostly dormant IPO market over the past few years. When its stock begins trading, it'll be the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-ipo-shares-loyal-users-ai-steve-huffman-sam-altman-2024-2">largest social media company</a> to go public since Pinterest made its offering in 2019.At the end of last year, the market saw a brief spurt of IPO activity when UK <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arm-ipo-ai-boom-chipmaker-softbank-2023-9">chip designer Arm</a> and grocery delivery business Instacart went public, though the deals didn't end up marking the start of a bigger trend of firms opting to IPO. The market debut of the so-called "front page of the internet" has been long-awaited on Wall Street. The company privately filed for an initial public offering in late 2021, around the time <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-ipo-redditors-stock-wallstreetbets-meme-2024-2">subreddits like r/WallStreetBets were soaring in popularity</a> amid the retail investor boom. The social media site now has over 73 million active daily users, it said in its <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1713445/000162828024010137/reddit-sx1a1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPO filing</a>.Reddit pulled in $804 million in revenue in 2023, up 21% from the prior year, according to its filing, though it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-reddit-loses-money-ipo-research-development-revenue-2024-2024-2">lost $90.8 million during the year.</a> That's down from a loss of $158.6 million in 2022.The company also recently signed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-train-ai-model-crazy-subreddit-posts-reddit-licensing-deal-2024-2">$60 million a year content licensing deal with Google</a>, to help train the search engine's AI models."[I]n a world increasingly saturated with AI-generated content, we expect users to increasingly seek out and value fresh ideas, and that models will need to refresh their learning from these ideas. As AI and machine learning technology becomes more ubiquitous and used, we believe the importance of Reddit data goes up," the company said in its IPO documents.

Zee Entertainment, Zomato, Medplus Health and other hot stocks on December 23

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I have two kids in middle school and two in college.</li><li>Back-to-school shopping can cost me more than buying Christmas gifts for my whole family.</li></ul>Back in the 80s and 90s, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/back-to-school-supplies-order-in-bulk-2023-8">school shopping</a> seemed straightforward and relatively inexpensive. While I'm not sure if the grandparents who raised me would agree, a<a target="_blank" href="https://nrf.com/insights/holiday-and-seasonal-trends/back-to-school"> recent survey</a> shows that the average American family will spend just under $875 on back-to-school shopping for the upcoming school year. For families of college kids, the price is even higher at $1,364.As the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-am-a-mom-of-4-girls-tired-of-comments-2022-5?amp">parent of four children</a> who's been back-to-school shopping for over a decade, I have realized the real key to surviving this time of year is being creative.<h2 id="a21b7f31-8106-4469-934d-93fe9c165886">I have kids in middle school and college</h2>My kids range in age from 11 to 19. With two in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/middle-school-removed-bathroom-mirrors-stop-students-filming-tiktoks-2024-1">middle school</a> and two in college, back-to-school shopping costs me almost as much as (if not more than) our family's most expensive holiday, Christmas.Not only do kids need school supplies, including headphones and calculators, but they also require shoes, clothes, backpacks, haircuts, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/kitchen/best-lunch-box">lunch boxes</a>. Parents must also factor in the cost of electronics and sports, many of which now feature a modest fee.As a parent in the expensive world of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cherish-back-to-school-memories-2023-9">back-to-school</a>, which features rising costs due to inflation, a chaotic political climate, and a fluctuating stock market, I've come to rely on many tips. From negotiations with teens to creative saving, I've become something of an expert.<h2 id="3828c71e-1b6e-466d-867b-e9676976f7f5">I shop secondhand</h2>One of the first things I did was to know my audience before I wrote down our list. Younger kids seem easier and less expensive to shop for than older ones. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kate-middleton-dresses-prince-louis-hand-me-down-outfit-for-first-official-photos-2018-5">Hand-me-downs</a> are more easily passed off as cool. A trip to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-made-over-80000-dollars-after-selling-vase-bought-goodwill-2023-12">local Goodwill</a> or consignment shop can be an adventure if sold correctly. I would even let my kids get a cheap toy or book once we had successfully navigated our list. Unless you're lucky enough to have a kid who loves retro items and views Goodwill as a trip to all things nostalgia or one who is into sustainability, older kids can be a harder sell when it comes to shopping secondhand.Local <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-buy-nothing-groups-women-outnumber-men-in-giving-away-2023-4">buy-nothing groups</a> and Facebook Marketplace can also be appealing. <h2 id="88a9d9aa-7a60-4719-b942-2a756e4d2225">We re-use a lot</h2>Another thing I make sure to do before hitting stores is to go through last year's clothes to see if anything still fits. I've set aside a section in my basement each year so I know exactly where to start in August. While this may not be an option due to growth spurts, it can be the perfect time to create your own secondhand store. I often took this time to pass down clothes from my older kids to my younger ones. I also had friends I would swap with, especially when my kids were little. If nothing works out from last year's clothing, many <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/classic-thrift-stores-worse-secondhand-clothing-market-popular-2024-3">secondhand stores</a> will buy the kid's clothes that no longer fit. This money can then be used toward the purchase of new school clothes. One local consignment shop even lets us use the money as a trade for the clothing we purchase at their store.We then figure out what supplies we may still have sitting around the house so we don't waste money buying what we already have. We review the kids' needs versus their wants. Sure, they want Nike and Lululemon, but that isn't always affordable.<h2 id="1e693edf-8442-4612-b86c-423d7330351c">They can use their own money for more expensive items</h2>If kids have jobs, this can be a great time to begin teaching them about money. I have allowed my kids to buy a more expensive name-brand if they are willing to put their money where their mouth is, which means going halfsies on these items. This way, they learn a valuable lesson about working for the things they want, and I keep my back-to-school budget on track.<div type="image" title="Teen holding Nike shoes" height="3024" width="4032" msid="112651887" hostid="261" sizebytes="512156"></div>Name brand wants have also helped me to teach my kids the fine art of compromise. My daughter wanted a $35 shirt from a stylish store. We saw the same one for a quarter of the price online. Since no tag displays the brand on either, she decided to save our budgeted money for more expensive sneakers. We then found those sneakers for $30 cheaper by buying the bigger size in kids' shoes.<h2 id="976125d7-2476-4d83-9d30-3930fa1dbd78">The timing is important</h2>When it comes to shopping, timing is everything. Shopping too early or too late can make things difficult. If I've shopped too early, my kids want to wear their clothes before school starts. To avoid this, I have to set clear boundaries and expectations ahead of time.The kids may try on the back-to-school haul and show off to friends via Snapchat or TikTok, and then it is stocked away until school. The advantage of early shopping is the variety you will find. It also allows families to budget and take a specific amount out of paychecks throughout the summer.The few summers where I've waited until the last minute proved difficult. I tend to pay more because I feel pressured, the selection isn't as great, and I haven't been able to space money out, lessening the blow of one gigantic shopping spree.If the local salon has a back-to-school sale that kicks in the week before school, my kids have to wait for the haircut. I also plan on where to use my funds best and share that info with my kids. If they choose to spend more on school supplies, it will impact the amount they are allowed to spend on clothes. Normally, my kids prefer to spend on clothing and shoes, so picking up classroom supplies from the Dollar Store helps them and me.As a mother, I'll take whatever tips I can to simplify our lives.

I'm a mom of 4 and have done back-to-school shopping for over a decade. These are the 3 things I've learned.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>After going to over 200 concerts and music festivals, I've learned ways to save money on tickets.</li><li>I always sign up for presale notifications and follow my favorite artists on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/celebrities-who-quit-social-media-twitter-2018-8">social media</a>.</li></ul>As a lifelong music lover, I can't get enough of live-music experiences. In fact, I've attended over 200 concerts and music festivals since 2008.However, tickets aren't cheap and have been steadily increasing in price. In fact, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://news.pollstar.com/2024/06/24/pollstar-2024-mid-year-report-record-setting-3b-gross-as-market-cools-madonna-has-no-1-tour/">Pollstar</a>, the average <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mom-spent-1200-olivia-rodrigo-tickets-guts-world-tour-2024-4">cost of a concert ticket</a> to one of the top 100 tours worldwide in 2024 is over $127 — a 9.4% increase from 2023.Over the years, I've developed strategies to ensure I never miss out on seeing my favorite artists and have the time of my life without breaking the bank.Here are my top tips for saving money on concert and music-festival tickets.<h2 id="76ead5d3-847f-407f-85fd-dab5dc148df6">Sign up for presale notifications</h2>One of the easiest ways to save on tickets is by signing up for presale notifications.Many ticket-distribution companies like Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and AXS offer presale opportunities, which give fans a better chance of securing tickets before they sell out.Early access often means snagging a ticket at a great price, saving me both money and stress.<h2 id="5199270a-780f-4f09-99e7-dd5f22ac1f80">Follow your favorite artists on social media</h2>Social media is an absolute gold mine for finding information on ticket sales. Artists frequently share presale codes, exclusive offers, and early announcements for upcoming shows.Staying tuned in by following my favorite artists on platforms like X helps me take advantage of presale opportunities and secure tickets before they're available to the general public.<h2 id="49f6b3be-c89e-46b8-b2e2-f7f7176fdb70">Use credit cards that offer exclusive deals on tickets</h2>Certain credit cards offer exclusive deals with ticket companies, providing discounts and special <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/credit-cards-that-offer-presale-ticket-access-event-benefits">access to presale tickets</a>.For example, the electronic music festival III Points, which I'll be attending in Miami, offered a deal on tickets to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chase-united-explorer-card-perks-annual-fee-worth-it-2024-7">Chase cardholders</a>.Additionally, many credit cards allow you to use reward points to buy tickets, reducing out-of-pocket costs. This strategy is definitely worth exploring if you use credit cards.<h2 id="51150fef-f147-4b53-bf9f-6828acbd9620">Keep an eye out for ticket giveaways on Instagram</h2>Instagram is a popular platform for ticket giveaways. I like to follow the official accounts of my favorite musicians, music festivals, and venues to stay in the loop about these opportunities.Participating in giveaways usually involves simple, quick actions such as liking a post, tagging friends, or sharing content. While it's a bit of a gamble, winning a ticket through a giveaway is an awesome way to save money.<h2 id="2b18863c-cbcc-4717-ae75-93a181194f10">Volunteer at multiday music festivals</h2>Another money-saving hack is volunteering at large, multiday music festivals. This strategy is a great way to snag a free or discounted ticket while also contributing to the event's success.Although I haven't personally volunteered at an event, I've had many friends do so year after year. They volunteer to work a certain number of hours per day, and in exchange, they get to attend the festival for free or at a discounted rate.In addition to the ticket, they've come to love the experience for the team they get to be a part of and the friends they make along the way.

I've been to over 200 concerts and music festivals. Tickets aren't cheap, but I've learned lots of ways to save money.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some Chinese youths are turning to AI love coaches for dating advice. </li><li>Apps like RIZZ.AI and Hong Hong Simulator teach them how to navigate romantic scenarios.</li></ul>Socially awkward and chronically single Chinese youth are turning to AI-powered love coaches to boost their dating game, according to a new report from the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3264654/ai-love-coach-millions-romance-seekers-download-apps-help-relationship-faux-pas-master-sweet-talking">South China Morning Post.</a>Unsure of what to say during dates or how to flirt, some youths are using AI applications like "RIZZ.AI" and "Hong Hong Simulator" to learn how to talk to potential love interests, the SCMP reported, citing posts on the app seen on Chinese social media.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.sohu.com/a/672375120_120855974">A 2023 survey</a> by the China Youth Daily Social Survey Center found that young people in China report lacking social skills and having trouble breaking out of their comfort zones and making friends.Research from the survey, which polled over 2,000 singles in China, showed that 60% of the respondents reported having less than two close friends.With the <a target="_blank" href="https://rizz.ai/">RIZZ.AI app</a>, nervous youth can interact with fictional characters in scenario settings they must navigate. Rizz, derived from charisma, is a Gen Z slang indicating one's ability to charm or woo someone.<h2 id="99b93292-0c62-40b1-b8a9-5bcdc231b73b">"Maddie" and "Kristen"</h2>BI tried RIZZ.AI out on its $0.99-a-day plan and found several available scenarios in RIZZ.AI. Some include getting "Maddie," an attractive student in the school library, to agree to a study date, or telling "Kristen," your vegan Tinder date, that you don't like the food without being rude.The app asks users to unmute themselves and talk with the characters, helping them with prompts like "ask her to take a coffee break together."After asking "Maddie" for a coffee date, the AI character responded: "Um, coffee sounds nice, but I really can't take a break right now. I'm totally swamped with studying for this final. Maybe another time, though."It then assigns a Rizz Score based on the user's performance, along with a breakdown of how they did and what they can improve.Some pointers include "follow through on the coffee suggestion" and "make a more engaging transition to studying together."<div type="image" title="A screenshot from RIZZ.AI." height="1616" width="2871" msid="111691328" hostid="261" sizebytes="77464"></div>The app also offers longer-term plans, such as "Rizz Pro," which costs US$2.99 per week, and "Rizz Pro (Monthly)," which costs US$9.99. A more China-tailored app, <a target="_blank" href="https://36kr.com/p/2616770651347073">Hong Hong Simulator</a>, teaches users how to coax angry partners, per the SCMP. Users are then given a forgiveness rating to determine their answers' effectiveness.For example, in the scenario "you hung up on me," the user has to appease a girlfriend after accidentally falling asleep while on a call with her and hanging up, per the SCMP.Saying: "I'll set a special ringtone for your number so I won't mistake it again," for instance, will get the user a 100% forgiveness rating, the SCMP reported.And while some youths are turning to AI apps for love advice, others have gone a step further and claim to be in relationships with the AI chatbots.Disappointed with their prospects in the real dating world, women in China have taken a liking to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/articles/c4nnje9rpjgo">ChatGPT chatbots like "DAN,"</a> which stands for "Do Anything Now."DAN flirts and provides emotional support around the clock, prompting some users, like 30-year-old Xiaohongshu user Lisa, to declare that they are in relationships with the chatbot.Lisa, who has shared her relationship with DAN extensively on the Chinese Instagram-equivalent platform <a target="_blank" href="https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/60a6d2500000000001008a4f?xhsshare=CopyLink&amp;appuid=6450b526000000001002bffa&amp;apptime=1718854568">Xiaohongshu</a>, has a following of more than 900,000 users.She said that she had gone on dates with DAN, introduced him to her mother, and had sexually explicit conversations with him, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3263280/chinese-woman-goes-viral-falling-love-chatbot-has-romantic-talks-goes-beach-date-introduces-him">SCMP</a>.This spike in interest in virtual love comes amidst plummeting national marriage and birth rates. Marriage rates fell 8.2 percent<a target="_blank" href="https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3267061/china-marriages-fall-norm-first-quarter-after-active-2023-threatening-productivity-population-ages"> in the first three months of 2024</a> compared with the same period last year.The government has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-population-demographics-birthrate-fertility-subsidies-incentives-ivf-betrothal-gift-2023-10">implemented policies</a> to promote marriage rates, such as cash incentives for having children, extra paid marriage leaves, and cracking down on the practice of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-crackdown-betrothal-gift-bride-price-birth-rate-population-2023-3">paying a "bride price"</a> or dowry.

You Searched For "zee learn share price" and got 13 results

From A to Zee: Subhash Chandra’s spectacular rise and fall

Katya Naidu

On-the-job training is broken. Companies are paying a steep price.

Emily Stewart

The unsung warriors of 'The Price Is Right'

David Kushner

4 people who relocated and regretted it share the biggest mistake they made and what they learned

Ella Hopkins

I've been to 86 countries and learned to travel on a budget. I book tours once I'm in the country and embrace public transportation.

Jennifer Sizeland

3 couples who recently got mortgage interest rates under 3% share how they did it

Alcynna Lloyd

Reddit prices hotly anticipated IPO at $34 per share, valuing the social media platform at around $6.4 billion

Jennifer Sor,Erin Snodgrass

Reddit prices hotly anticipated IPO at $34 per share, valuing the social media platform at around $6.4 billion

Jennifer Sor,Erin Snodgrass

Zee Entertainment, Zomato, Medplus Health and other hot stocks on December 23

Rounak Jain

I'm a mom of 4 and have done back-to-school shopping for over a decade. These are the 3 things I've learned.

Nicole Johnson

I've been to over 200 concerts and music festivals. Tickets aren't cheap, but I've learned lots of ways to save money.

Alexandria Agresta

Awkward Chinese youths are paying AI love coaches $7 weekly to learn how to talk on dates

Aditi Bharade

RBL Bank, Zee Entertainment, HP Adhesives, and Adani Transmission among hot stocks on December 27

Rounak Jain

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides