I am good at many things, but managing my money isn't always one of them. My New Year's resolution is to be more financially responsible, but the truth is I've been working on it for a while. One of the most useful strategies I devised is using multiple bank accounts to budget. Here's why (and how) I do it, and why it might work for you, too.Different bank accounts slow me down and help me see where my money is goingIn the same way I use a variety of Google accounts to carry out different kinds of work in dedicated browsers, I use a few different bank accounts to divide my money, though I use "bank account" to describe a few things that might not technically be bank accounts. Two are traditional ones, one through the bank I grew up with in my hometown and another through Chase. The other two are digital, my Venmo and Chime accounts. For all four, I have an app, a debit card, and, crucially, a plan. For my regular paychecks, I elected to have my payouts be disbursed 70/30 between the account with the bank back home and my Chime account, respectively, though portions from both are also automatically earmarked for savings. Money I earn from teaching spin classes goes into Chase, as does money I earn from personal projects or freelancing. Money in Venmo is just regular money in Venmo, acquired when someone pays me back for something or I occasionallybut rarelytransfer some in there. "Serious" expenses, like bills, groceries, and student loans, pull straight from the account I've had back home since I got my first job in tenth grade. I leave that debit card out of my wallet most of the time so I don't even touch it unless it's an emergency. The 30% of my regular paycheck that hits the Chime account is spent on things that are fun, like personal upkeep and daily Dunkin' runs. The spin class money in the Chase account is for boring needs, like transit and laundry. Every two weeks or so, I assess what, if anything, is left over in the less serious ones and, if I feel inclined, move some to Venmo, which is designated only for frivolity, like a night out. If there's not much money in the frivolity account, I don't go (or at least I go with a firm budget in mind). Finally, if there's a big expense I'd like to pay for but don't want to decimate one account or the other for it, I move a little from all the accounts into Venmo. Why this strategy works for me"But Lindsey," you may say, "You have the same amount of money whether it's in four accounts or one. Why bother with all this?" Well, because I'm bad at budgeting, that's why. If I had one single account and opened my app on payday to see all my money in one place, I'd go a little hog wild without remembering to plan ahead for needs at different levels of severity. Opening four accounts, seeing four different amounts, and having a better idea of precisely how much I have available to spend for each category makes me think a little more and puts up a little buffer to stop me from waltzing into Sephora without a care in the world. Some people do this with their savings and checking accounts, which are both linked to the same bank account. That's fine... for those people. I tried that once. It didn't take much convincing from the devil on my shoulder to transfer money right back out of savings into checking with one tap. Transferring it between different institutions is not difficult, per se, but it requires a little more effort than toggling between savings and checking, and that split-second effort is enough to get me to pause and rethink my bad idea. There have really been no downsides to this besides needing a wallet with a substantial number of pockets. All the cards except for the "serious" one are linked up to my Apple Pay, anyway, and the only issue there is I have to be more diligent about not letting myself use them for purposes other than the ones I've assigned to them just because it's convenient. For someone who's good at budgeting and managing their money, this probably isn't entirely necessary, but if you read even a word of this and related to me, consider it. The accounts were all easy to set up, the debit cards were all free with the accounts, and since I implemented this strategy, I have never found myself in a position where I don't have enough money to cover the things I need and the things I want just because I went a momentarily numb in the brain on payday.

It's 2025, which means every tech company needs to have its own AI bot, of course. X is no exception: Since late 2023, the site has offered a chatbot to its Premium subscribers, developed by sibling company xAI. While blue check accounts may enjoy their built-in AI solution, the vast majority of users with even a passing interest in AI will undoubtedly look towards other options, free or not, like ChatGPT or Gemini. Perhaps that will change this year: In December, xAI announced a free version of Grok, specifically the newest Grok-2 model, available to anyone with an X account. Today, if you click on the Grok tab on X, you'll be able to access Grok, much like any other chatbot you've used before. That's fine and well for the curious among us still on X. But those who have fled for greener pastures haven't been able to take advantage of this perk. That is, until now. Grok is on iPhone, no X account requiredAs of this week, Grok is now available as a free app on iOSno strings attached. You don't need an X account to use Grok, nor do you need to sign into any account at all. (Of course, you can connect your X account, or sign in via Apple, Google, or email.) Once you download the app, you can immediately ask Grok whatever it is you'd ask an AI chatbot. If you don't sign in with X Premium, it seems the app is working off similar limitations to the free plan. That's 10 requests every two hours, with three image analysis requests and four image generations per day. Of course, now the question is, will people actually use Grok? It's possible. As I write this, the app is the fourth most popular free app on the iOS App Storeone spot below ChatGPT, and well above Gemini at 49. (X is number 31, by the way.) However, I am a bit skeptical about its staying power. I obviously understand X and Elon Musk fans flocking to Grok, but most people who care about AI, I think, will stick with what they know (i.e., ChatGPT) unless Grok can do something different, better, or both. I'll admit, Grok is fast: I hadn't tried it myself until now, and the speed at which it responds to text-based queries is impressive. That said, I haven't spent too much time with it, so I can't swear by how accurate the results areand as a relative AI-skeptic, I'm not likely to use it much. However, the one area I see Grok having an advantage (and not necessarily in a good way) is its lack of filter. This is an X Corp product, after all, which means Grok doesn't have some of the restrictions and limitations that other services have put into place to prevent abuse. When it comes to image generation, you can make some wild stuff with Grok. When Lifehacker associate tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt tested out the Grok-2 beta in August, she was taken aback by some of the images she was able to get Grok to generate: violent, offensive, and weird. Even in some brief testing, I was able to make Grok infringe on copyrights without even having to trick it: With Google's Imagen 3, for example, I was able to generate images of Mario by prompting the bot with vague workarounds, like "an Italian plumber wearing a red hat with the letter M." Asking it to draw Mario wouldn't work. Grok is the opposite: Try a workaround, and it spits out weird images of men wearing Mario's clothes. Ask it to draw Mario, and it willfor better, or worse. Mario was supposed to shoot the goomba, but I guess Grok had other plans. Credit: Jake Peterson

As wildfires in the Los Angeles area continue to spread and force people from their homes, various shelter options have opened to offer free or discounted stays for evacueesincluding Airbnb. Through a partnership with 211 LA, Airbnb.org (the nonprofit arm of the short-term rental platform) is facilitating emergency temporary housing for displaced residents. In addition, those who manage or have plans to stay in Airbnbs in the LA area will get a reprieve from cancellation fees and penalties under the platform's major disruptive events policy: Hosts can cancel bookings without consequences, and guests are eligible for full refunds if their trip hasn't started (or partial refunds for any unused nights if it has). VRBO has activated a similar policy for hosts and guests on its platform. How to set up a free Airbnb stayTo apply for temporary housing support from Airbnb.org, residents in affected areas must fill out an intake form through 211 LA. Those who have lost their homes or been forced to evacuate from the Altadena, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Santa Monica, and Sylmar areas are eligible. In order to request assistance, you must have an Airbnb account or be able to create one. Hosts can also sign up to offer free or discounted stays to hose affected by disasters. If no stays are available or you are seeking alternatives for shelter, many hotels in the area are offering discounted rates for evacuees. Discover Los Angeles has a list of hotel options, while Travel + Leisure has compiled hotels and resorts across California and Nevada that have reduced rates, waived fees, or pet allowances (see both the list and the article comments). For those needing transportation to shelter, Uber is offering free rides up to $40 (code: WILDFIRE25), while Lyft is providing two rides up to $25 each (code: CAFIRERELIEF25). Planet Fitness locations in LA are open for residents and first responders needing showers and wifi access. If you are displaced and have to pay for shelter and food, save receipts to submit to your homeowners insurance, as you may be eligible for reimbursement for those expenses. Finally, Mutual Aid LA has a list of resources for those displaced or in need of support, including animal boarding and community shelters.

Apples AirPods Pro 2 earbuds are on sale for $180 via Amazon. This is the first serious discount of the year and represents a savings of 28 percent. It's not a record-low, but its darn close. The AirPods Pro 2 earbuds have made a real name for themselves since originally launching back in 2022. They easily made our list of the best wireless earbuds, and with good reason. These are a marked improvement over the prior iteration in nearly every way. The sound quality is fantastic and the earbuds now feature active noise cancellation. In our official review, we heaped particular praise on the transparency mode. It sounds so natural, especially when compared to some rival earbuds out there. You can leave the AirPods in during a real-life conversation and likely not even notice youre wearing them. Other features include ultra-fast pairing with Apple devices, hands-free Siri and spatial audio. A recent software update also brought a reduction in wireless audio latency, which should be great for mobile gaming. Another boon for gamers? Voice quality has gotten an uptick, thanks to 16-bit, 48kHz audio during live chats. The major issue with these earbuds is the price, which has been alleviated slightly by todays sale. As a minor gripe, the touch gestures do take a bit of practice to get right, but its not rocket science. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-pro-2-are-on-sale-for-the-first-time-this-year-193537995.html?src=rss

At CES 2025, NVIDIA introduced DLSS 4, the latest version of its real-time image upscaling technology, and announced that it will come to all RTX GPUs. That includes the RTX 20 series that was discontinued back in 2020, but the older models aren't getting all its features.In the new GeForce RTX 50 series models, DLSS 4 will enable Multi Frame Generation. This feature will generate up to three additional frames for every traditionally rendered one, and it can help multiply frame rates by up to eight times more than traditional brute-force rendering. NVIDIA claims 4K 240 FPS fully ray-traced gaming will be possible thanks to Multiple Frame Generation when using its GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card, the new $1,999 flagship GPU arriving later this month.In addition, DLSS 4 represents what the company is calling the "biggest upgrade to its AI models" since the release of DLSS 2. DLSS Ray Reconstruction, DLSS Super Resolution and DLAA will now be powered by the same advanced architecture powering AI models, such as ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. The company says that translates to improved temporal stability, less ghosting and higher detail of objects in motion.A total of 75 games and apps will support DLSS 4 from day zero. When the new RTX 50 cards come out, games like Alan Wake and Cyberpunk 2077 will be updated with the ability to take advantage of the technology's Multi Frame Generation feature. More titles will be updated with support for Multi Frame in the future, including Black Myth: Wukong, while upcoming ones like Doom: The Dark Ages and Dune: Awakening will support the feature at launch.The GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs aren't getting Multi Frame Generation, but they are getting DLSS 4's enhanced frame generation, enhanced ray reconstruction, super resolution and deep leaning anti-aliasing capabilities. Meanwhile, GeFore RTX 30 series and RTX 20 series GPUs are getting the last three.NVIDIAThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/nvidia-announced-dlss-4-will-come-to-all-rtx-gpus-044835926.html?src=rss

Registration for the closed network test of Elden Ring Nightreign are open, publisher Bandai Namco announced today. The sign-up period for the co-op Elden Ring spinoff officially started on January 10 at 9AM ET and will run until January 20 at 9AM ET. You can add your name to the list now on Bandai Namco's website.The close network test will be spread across five different sessions on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S, running from February 14 through February 15th. You'll be able to log in on each of those days from 6AM ET to 9AM ET or 10PM ET to 1AM ET the following day to put the game through its paces.Limveld awaits you, Nightfarers.Rise together against the tides of darkness from February 14th to February 17th. Register before January 20 for a chance to join the #ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN Network Test: https://t.co/DodOCpDczD pic.twitter.com/aqLvLxDZ0T Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) January 10, 2025 Selected players will be able to play "a portion of the game prior to the full game launch," according to Bandai Namco's sign-up page, with the goal of getting a sense of how the company's servers and online systems will handle a mass of fans playing simultaneously. As to what that "portion" will actually contain, Bandai Namco says that players will get "to try the games co-op experience," partnering with two other players to tackle a three day cycle filled with "increasingly challenging enemies and bosses."Nightreign appears to use many of the mechanics, armor, weapons and abilities of Elden Ring, but drops them in a revamped setting, "Limveld," that's design to change every time you play. Per Bandai Namco, you start each cycle of the game in the familiar Roundtable Hold, where you can pick one of eight characters with unique abilities and "Ultimates." The Limveld map you play in will shrink each night, and introduce a new boss that if beaten, lets you progress to the next day. The process continues until the final, third night when you face off against a "Nightlord." And if you fail at any point in the process and have to start a new run (as many will likely do) you'll earn a relic that lets you "customize and upgrade" your character.Elden Ring Nightreign was an unexpectedly announced at The Game Awards in 2024, and was a pretty big surprise, not only because Shadow of the Erdtree came out that same year, but because the game's structure seems remarkably different than anything developer FromSoftware has made before. Anyone lucky enough to be a part of the network test will now be able to see how different it actually feels.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/you-can-now-sign-up-to-test-elden-rings-co-op-spinoff-192012608.html?src=rss

All of Miio's customers may have had sensitive data exposed in a huge breach.

Threat of undersea cable sabotage raises concerns for alternate arrangements.

The Banshee infostealer is now also targeting new victims.

Amazon is discontinuing a service that let Prime members try on clothes, shoes and accessories, and only pay for the items they want to keep.