The start of the new year is a perfect time to resolve to max out contributions to your retirement accounts before April. You should work IRA contributionstraditional or Rothinto your budget all year long. In 2025, if you're under age 50, you can contribute up to $7,000 across one or more IRAs. If you're age 50 or older, the limit is $8,000. And the sooner you can invest your IRA money, the more time it has to potentially grow through compounding. So while you should grow your nest egg consistently throughout the year, there is a best time of year to put money into your IRA, and it's right now. Why you should contribute to your traditional or Roth IRA right nowYou can make an IRA contribution for a given year anytime between Jan. 1 and the tax-filing deadline of the following year (usually April 15). So, technically, you can keep making 2024 IRA contributions until April 15, 2025but I don't recommend it. Not when you can instead start making 2025 IRA contributions for an April 15, 2026 deadline. By making your IRA contribution in January or February, that money can be invested and start accumulating potential returns right away. The extra months compounding could make a big difference. Consistency is keyeven small, regular contributions add up over decades.Remember, you can make contributions any time throughout the year. Some other good times to consider adding money to your retirement account include:After a bonus or tax refund. Got an influx of cash from a work bonus or tax refund? Consider putting some or all of it into your IRA to give your retirement savings a healthy boost. The first few months of the year is often when people receive lump sums that can be put straight into retirement accounts.When you get a raise. If your salary goes up, consider putting all or part of that raise toward increasing your retirement contributions. This can be a relatively painless way to boost your IRA contributions over time without noticeably impacting your take-home pay.By the tax deadline. You technically have until your tax filing deadline (usually April 15) to make IRA contributions for the previous year. Try to make contributions by this date.If nothing else, right now is a fresh start for savings goals. A new year brings a clean slate for reaching your financial targets. By front-loading your IRA contribution for the year, you take advantage of momentum and enthusiasm for saving money in 2024. And motivation hacks asidemathematically, contributing early in the year gives your investment more time to potentially grow.The bottom lineTry to make IRA contributions early in the calendar year if you can. The sooner you get your money into the account, the sooner it can start growing tax-deferred. Making your contribution in January, February or March maximizes the amount of time your money is invested.When it comes to retirement, the key is to start saving early (compound interest rules!) and use a mix of accounts to build your retirement funds. Here are our guides to opening an IRA and opening a 401(k).

Looking for NYT Connections answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, plus my commentary on the puzzles.

Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, including the spangram.

Looking for Quordle clues? We can help. Plus get the answers to Quordle today and past solutions.

The U.K. on Monday laid out plans to become a leader in AI, including ambitions to build a homegrown to global AI success stories like OpenAI.

Yarn, commonly understood as spun short fibers, has traditionally been a cornerstone of textiles and crafts. The YYYarn collection reimagines this versatile material, transforming it into a stunning array of unique furniture pieces. By innovatively adapting the classic three-strand braiding knot into a singular yarn design, the collection breaks new ground in modern furniture design while honoring the enduring legacy of traditional craftsmanship.Designers: Choi Piljae,Baek In-ho,Kmuid, andYegeun JoThe YYYarn collection features a sofa, table, and stool, each embodying the essence of woven artistry. With its adaptable design, the collections signature technique allows for diverse applications and creative possibilities:The table consists of a woven piece that serves as the base, supporting a marble or terrazzo top to create a functional and visually stunning table. The sturdy top contrasts beautifully with the soft, braided base, achieving a perfect balance of textures. The sofa is crafted for ultimate comfort, this seating piece uses large woven fibers to provide a soft, inviting experience. Ideal for recreational spaces such as offices, educational institutions, or home theaters, it combines style and relaxation. The stool is compact yet elegant, this piece encapsulates the YYYarn aesthetic, making it a versatile addition to smaller spaces without sacrificing charm or functionality.The YYYarn collection isnt just about functionality, its about making a statement. The bright colors and bold forms inject a playful, quirky aesthetic into any room, making these pieces conversation starters as much as practical furniture. The soft, oversized fibers ensure exceptional comfort, while the designs inherent versatility offers endless opportunities for exploring new forms and shapes. The woven yarn adapts to create a variety of unique configurations, showcasing the potential for innovation within the craft.Available in three vibrant colors; brown, orange, and white, the collection provides a range of options to suit different interior styles. Yet, the potential for customization is vast. With the modular nature of its design, YYYarn opens the door to an expanded palette and new applications, allowing users to personalize their spaces with creativity and flair. By blending artistry, comfort, and functionality, the collection bridges the gap between craft and contemporary design. Whether placed in a professional setting or a personal space, YYYarn redefines what it means to create furniture thats both beautiful and meaningfulThe post Innovative Braided Furniture Merges Craftsmanship and Modern Elegance first appeared on Yanko Design.

Crime in the world of Apple continues with bad guys misusing AirTags in Florida, while others elsewhere use them for good. A few thousand in merchandise were stolen in California, and a disco ball was taken with an iPad in Nashville.The Brent Cross Apple Store in London The latest in an occasional AppleInsider feature, looking at the world of Apple-related crime. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

The fork-tailed flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) is a bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. Named after their distinguishably long, forked tails, particularly in males, fork-tailed flycatchers are seen in shrubland, savanna, lightly forested and grassland areas, from southern Mexico south to Argentina. They tend to build their cup nests in similar habitats to their hunting grounds (riparian forests and grasslands). Males perform aerial courtship displays to impress females involving swirling somersaults, twists, and flips, all partnered with their buzzing calls. These courtship displays utilise the long tail feathers. This male fork-tailed flycatcher of the subspecies T.s.monachus was photographed in Cayo District, Belize, demonstrating its characteristic forked tail while in flight.Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpRecently featured: John Henry TurpinTocopilla railwayColias croceusArchiveMore featured pictures

January 13: Eugenio Mara de Hostos's birthday in Puerto Rico (2025); Saint Knut's Day in Finland and SwedenWilliam Price1884 Welsh physician William Price (pictured) was arrested for attempting to cremate his deceased infant son; this eventually led to the passing of the Cremation Act 1902 by Parliament.1953 Nine Moscow doctors were accused of a plot to poison members of the Soviet political and military leadership.1968 American singer Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At Folsom Prison live at Folsom State Prison in California.1972 Ghanaian military officer Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a coup to overthrow Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo.2000 Steve Ballmer replaced Bill Gates as the chief executive officer of Microsoft.Edmund Spenser (d.1599)Art Ross (b.1885or1886)Michael Bond (b.1926)Claudia Emerson (b.1957)More anniversaries: January 12January 13January 14ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4, PaLM, Bard, and Copilot have made a huge impact in natural language processing (NLP). They can generate text, solve problems, and carry out conversations with remarkable accuracy. However, they also come with significant challenges. These models require vast computational resources, making them expensive to train and deploy. This excludes smaller businesses and individual developers from fully benefiting. Additionally, their energy consumption raises environmental concerns. The dependency on advanced infrastructure further limits their accessibility, creating a gap between well-funded organizations and others trying to innovate.What are Small Language Models (SLMs)?Small Language Models (SLMs) are a more practical and efficient alternative to LLMs. These models are smaller in size, with millions to a few billion parameters, compared to the hundreds of billions found in larger models. SLMs focus on specific tasks, providing a balance between performance and resource consumption. Their design makes them accessible and cost-effective, offering organizations an opportunity to harness NLP without the heavy demands of LLMs. You can explore more details in IBMs analysis.Technical Details and BenefitsSLMs use techniques like model compression, knowledge distillation, and transfer learning to achieve their efficiency. Model compression involves reducing the size of a model by removing less critical components, while knowledge distillation allows smaller models (students) to learn from larger ones (teachers), capturing essential knowledge in a compact form. Transfer learning further enables SLMs to fine-tune pre-trained models for specific tasks, cutting down on resource and data requirements.Why Consider SLMs?Cost Efficiency: Lower computational needs mean reduced operational costs, making SLMs ideal for smaller budgets.Energy Savings: By consuming less energy, SLMs align with the push for environmentally friendly AI.Accessibility: They make advanced NLP capabilities available to smaller organizations and individuals.Focus: Tailored for specific tasks, SLMs often outperform larger models in specialized use cases.Examples of SLMsLlama 3 8B(Meta)Qwen2: 0.5B, 1B, and 7B (Alibaba)Gemma 2 9B(Google)Gemma 2B and 7B(Google)Mistral 7B(Mistral AI)Gemini Nano 1.8B and 3.25B(Google)OpenELM 270M, 450M, 1B, and 3B(Apple)Phi-4 (Microsoft)and many more..Results, Data, and InsightsSLMs have demonstrated their value across a range of applications. In customer service, for instance, platforms powered by SLMslike those from Aiseraare delivering faster, cost-effective responses. According to an DataCamp article, SLMs achieve up to 90% of the performance of LLMs in tasks such as text classification and sentiment analysis while using half the resources.In healthcare, SLMs fine-tuned on medical datasets have been particularly effective in identifying conditions from patient records. A Medium article by Nagesh Mashette highlights their ability to streamline document summarization in industries like law and finance, cutting down processing times significantly.SLMs also excel in cybersecurity. According to Splunks case studies, theyve been used for log analysis, providing real-time insights with minimal latency. ConclusionSmall Language Models are proving to be an efficient and accessible alternative to their larger counterparts. They address many challenges posed by LLMs by being resource-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and task-focused. Techniques like model compression and transfer learning ensure that these smaller models retain their effectiveness across a range of applications, from customer support to healthcare and cybersecurity. As Zapiers blog suggests, the future of AI may well lie in optimizing smaller models rather than always aiming for bigger ones. SLMs show that innovation doesnt have to come with massive infrastructureit can come from doing more with less.Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our65k+ ML SubReddit. FREE UPCOMING AI WEBINAR (JAN 15, 2025): Boost LLM Accuracy with Synthetic Data and Evaluation IntelligenceJoin this webinar to gain actionable insights into boosting LLM model performance and accuracy while safeguarding data privacy.The post What are Small Language Models (SLMs)? appeared first on MarkTechPost.