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Joy

Writer lives in vacation rentals and Airbnbs because it's cheaper than rent or a mortgage

She stayed 31 days in a 'ski town' AirBnB for $1200. That's $600 cheaper than her mortgage.

michelle joy, digital nomad, travel hacks
via StockSnap/Pixabay

A woman looks out into a beautiful canyon.

Can you imagine living life as a digital nomad? You have a job, but your office changes month to month. You spend a few weeks at a ski resort and then a month on the beach. In between, you make a stop in Europe to visit the Christmas markets. It sounds like a millionaire's fantasy, right?

Not according to Michelle Joy, 35, a travel writer based in Houston, Texas. She recently explained to Business Insider how she cracked the code on how to stay in vacation rentals and Airbnbs long-term while making it cost less than the $1,800 a month she was spending on a mortgage payment, taxes and utilities.

Joy is the founder of Harbors and Heavens, a blog that documents her travels, inspires “others to see more of the world,” and shares tips and tricks on how to do so affordably.

“When I started researching places to stay, I quickly decided it would be much cheaper to slow travel and take advantage of long-stay discounts at vacation rentals—so much cheaper, actually, that it made me question whether I ever wanted to pay rent or a mortgage again,” Joy wrote in Business Insider.

Her math also works for the average renter in Houston, where the average property will set you back $1,795 a month. Further, living at other people’s properties means you don’t have to pay for costly home repairs, new furniture or gas and electric bills.

Joy’s trick is finding places in the offseason with plenty of available units that can be rented at a lower rate. She may miss out on some seasonal activities but is still on a permanent vacation.

“When I'm searching for a long-term stay at a bargain, I look for popular and seasonal vacation destinations with a large concentration of short-term rentals, like Daytona Beach, Florida, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,” she wrote for Business Insider. “Towns with a lot of individually owned condos typically have plenty of rentals on sites like Airbnb, the platform I typically book on.”

“To get a good deal, I make my reservations for the offseason and book for at least a month at a time,” Joy continued. “Many rentals give weekly discounts, but the nightly rate bottoms out once you hit the monthly rental rate, typically at the 28- or 30-day mark.”

For example, Joy recently stayed at a vacation rental in Snowshoe, West Virginia, between the summer and ski seasons. Her 31-day stay cost her around $1200—that’s $600 cheaper than her mortgage, taxes and utilities.

She also recently stayed in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for 35 nights and paid just $1,360.

Joy’s new life as a digital nomad started when things began to open up in the waning days of the COVID pandemic, and she felt the itch to “revenge” travel. Since then, she’s paid off her home in Texas and has no plans to return to living her old lifestyle anytime soon. She looks forward to living in vacation rentals in affordable international tourist destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia, Croatia and Portugal.

“Being nomadic and hopping from rental to rental may not suit everyone, but my lifestyle and schedule are flexible, so it allows me to combine housing and travel costs into one expense and experience living in different places,” she wrote.

But she hopes her travels inspire others to leave their comfort zones and see the world. “It's time to make your dreams happen,” she wrote on Instagram. “Don't put it off until or wait for someone else to do it for you. You are capable of creating a life you love on your own.”

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Pop Culture

The Bee Gees a capella version of 'How Deep is Your Love' might be even better than the original

Only family can harmonize this well.

via Edu Seijas/YouTube

The Bee Gees singing "How Deep is Your Love" in 1998.

In 1998, the Bee Gees, brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, stopped by ITV’s “Des O'Connor Tonight” with acoustic guitars in hand to promote their recent release, “One Night Only,” an album and live concert DVD featuring many of the band’s biggest hits.

The highlight of the performance was when Barry got ready to strum his guitar for a performance of “How Deep is Your Love,” the 1977 megahit from the “Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack,” but instead chose to sing the song a capella.

Barry starts the song solo in his beautiful falsetto, but then, when his brothers join him, they create a wonderful harmony that only brothers can make. The show’s host, Des O’Conner, a notable singer himself, even joins in for a few bars.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Earlier in the performance, the brothers played their version of “Islands in the Stream,” a song made famous by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers in 1983 that was written by the Bee Gees. In 1998, the song was enjoying a resurgence as its melody was used in the song “Ghetto Superstar” by Pras of The Fugees.

Robin Gibb later admitted that the song was initially written for Marvin Gaye to sing, but he was tragically murdered in 1984 by his father. The band also had Diana Ross in mind while composing the tune.

During the appearance, the band also sang “Guilty,” a song that the Bee Gees wrote for Barbara Streisand and Barry produced in 1980.

You can watch the entire performance in the video below.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

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Shopping

Best menopause supplements: 5 top products for hot flashes, night sweats, and more

Find relief with these top-rated supplements for managing menopause symptoms naturally

Menopause can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms, but the best menopause supplements can provide serious relief. Whether you're struggling with night sweats, hot flashes, mood swings, or all of the above, supplements can be an effective, natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy.

We understand your need for high-quality ingredients and expert formulations. We recommend these high-quality products to help manage menopause symptoms.

Best Menopause Supplements

  1. Best Overall Menopause Supplement: Cornbread CBD Sleep Gummies
  2. Best Way to Absorb Vitamin D for Mood Swings: BIOptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough Drink
  3. Best Traditional Chinese Medicine for Libido: Beam Drive
  4. Best Black Cohosh for Hot Flashes: Aura Essential Menopause Gummy
  5. Best for Pre-Menopause Symptoms: Ladywell Daily Hormone Balance Bundle

Are dietary supplements safe?

Dietary supplements are safe if the ingredients they contain, like omega 3 fatty acids, are safe. However, evaluate the safety and efficacy of the active ingredients of your chosen supplements, and always ask your doctor first. Also, check that the supplement has been lab-tested and found free of common contaminants, like heavy metals and mold spores.

Best Menopause Supplements

1. Best Overall Menopause Supplement: Cornbread CBD Sleep Gummies


How Well It Works:

Although research about the effectiveness of CBD on menopause symptomsis limited, the sleep-supporting benefits of CBD are well-known. Better sleep often reduces menopause symptoms. Cornbread CBD Sleep Gummies are some of the best on the market. Enhanced with chamomile, reviewers say they effectively support sleep, mental health, and physical health during menopause.

Pros:

  • USDA Organic
  • Third-party lab tested
  • Made with relaxing chamomile and valerian root

Cons:

  • Contains THC

Specs:

  • Size: 30 gummies per jar
  • Key Ingredient(s): CBD, THC, chamomile, lavender, and valerian

Learn more about Cornbread CBD Sleep Gummies today.


2. Best Way to Absorb Vitamin D for Mood Swings: BIOptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough Drink


How Well It Works:

Women who struggle with mood swings find BIOptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough very helpful in managing this and their other menopausal symptoms. This powdered supplement contains eight types of magnesium to help calm your mind, support bone health, and promote better sleep. Magnesium helps your body absorb more vitamin D, which in turn can alleviate menopausal symptoms. Reviewers love the flavor of this vegetarian powder, which is sweetened with natural Katemfe fruit extract.

Pros:

  • Comes in three fruity flavors
  • Vegetarian, organic, and sugar-free
  • Made in the U.S.

Cons:

  • Some customers find it too sweet

Specs:

  • Size: 156 g per jar
  • Key Ingredient(s): Magnesium Proprietary Blend

Learn more about BIOptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough today


3. Best Traditional Chinese Medicine for Libido: Beam Drive


How Well It Works:

Women who struggle with low libido, vaginal dryness, and related menopausal symptoms find Beam Drive helpful. This encapsulated supplement is a natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy. It's formulated with maca root (studies suggest it may balance estrogen levels in menopausal women). Reviewers note increased libido within weeks. Post-menopausal women also benefit from this complementary and integrative health supplement.

Pros:

  • Suitable for men and women
  • Vegan and gluten-free
  • Made with natural herbs

Cons:

  • Results can take several weeks to develop fully

Specs:

  • Size: 60 capsules per jar
  • Key Ingredient(s): Organic Maca Root Powder, L-Arginine, Epimedium, Saw Palmetto Extract, Longjack, and Shilajit

Learn more about Beam Drive today


4. Best Black Cohosh for Hot Flashes: Aura Essential Menopause Gummy


How Well It Works:

The Aura Essential Menopause Gummy is a clean, all-natural choice for hot flashes. These gummies are made with black cohosh and chasteberry, the most common herbs for easing hot flashes and balancing estrogen levels. Reviewers note feeling physically and mentally comfortable after a few days of taking them.

Pros:

  • Made with U.S.-sourced ingredients
  • Fast-acting
  • Vegan and Cruelty-Free

Cons:

  • Strong herbal aftertaste

Specs:

  • Size: 60 gummies per jar
  • Key Ingredient(s): Magnolia Bark Extract, Black Cohosh, Chasteberry Extract

Learn more about Aura Essential Menopause Gummy today


5. Best for Pre-Menopause Symptoms: Ladywell Daily Hormone Balance Bundle


How Well It Works:

To ease initial menopausal symptoms, try Ladywell Daily Hormone Balance Bundle. It comes with Daily Hormone Balance capsules and an adaptogenic latte mix. Made with functional mushrooms, B vitamins, and herbs, this bundle may reduce hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and other menopausal symptoms.

Pros:

  • Formulated with clinically proven ingredients
  • Plant-based and natural
  • No artificial flavors or fillers

Cons:

  • Only available in one flavor

Specs:

  • Size: Capsules: 60 capsules per jar; Latte Mix: 8 ounces per bag
  • Key Ingredient(s): Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Chasteberry, Wild Yam, Dong Quai, Black Cohosh, Saffron, B Vitamins, and Amino Acids

Learn more about the Ladywell Daily Hormone Balance Bundle today


How To Find The Best Dietary Supplements for Your Menopausal Symptoms

Our top factors to consider when shopping for supplements to ease menopause symptoms:

  • Ingredients: Evaluate active ingredients to determine whether it’s been clinically shown to ease menopausal symptoms.
  • Lab-Testing: Has the product been lab-tested for purity and potencyto ensure it’s safe?
  • Reported Effects: Do reviewers report experiencing the benefits you're most interested in?
  • Company Policies: The best supplements to reduce menopause symptoms come from companies with good customer service and excellent guarantees.

Potential Benefits of Taking Menopause Supplements

  • Fewer Hot Flashes: Better temperature regulation, day and night.
  • Steady Moods: Balance mood swings and prevent irritability.
  • Better Sleep: Improved sleep leads to fewer menopausal symptoms.
  • Bone Health: Supplements withmagnesium, calcium, and vitamin D significantly help maintain healthy bones.
  • Overall Wellness: Some supplements may protect against breast cancer and heart disease.

Potential Side Effects of Taking Menopause Supplements

  • Nausea: If you experience nausea, try taking your supplement with a snack.
  • Drowsiness: Ingredients likeCBD andAshwagandha make some people tired.
  • Headaches: Some women have minor headaches when adapting to a new supplement.

FAQs

Can I take menopause supplements with other medication?

Maybe. If you take other medications for your menopausal symptoms, check with your doctor before taking supplements.

How often should I take menopause supplements?

Most supplements for menopausal symptoms are designed to be taken once a day; check each supplement label for dosage instructions.

Finding The Best Menopause Supplements for You

If you've been struggling with menopausal symptoms, the supplements featured here can help. We have confidence in the products recommended here, and hope they bring you relief from hot flashes and more.

Related Content

Family

Heartbroken wife files for divorce after DNA test reveals 2-year-old son isn't hers

She first became suspicious when her son didn't have blue eyes.

via Liza Summer and Liza Summer

A woman in distress contemplates her future.

It’s pretty common to hear a story about a man whose life is turned upside down after a DNA test proves that he’s not the father of a child he thought was his. However, hearing a mother dealing with the same scenario is rare. That’s why a recent post on Reddit has so many people talking.

A user named ThrowRA-3xbetrayal claims that a DNA test shows her husband is the father of the 2-year-old boy they’ve raised but she isn’t the biological mother.

The story began 6 years ago when the couple tried to conceive but had no luck. The woman then discovered she had a “medical condition” that meant she couldn’t bring a baby to term, which resulted in a partial hysterectomy. The woman, who refers to herself as the family’s “breadwinner” took on multiple jobs to pay a surrogate to have their child.

“I still had my ovaries so we started looking into cost of a surrogate. It is really expensive! My close friend since college who'd already had 2 kids of her own, offered to serve as the surrogate for us to cut down on costs. After two disappointing IVF sessions that did not result in pregnancy, she became pregnant on the 3rd try and carried a boy to term for us,” ThrowRA-3xbetrayal wrote.

The couple was over the moon after the birth of the boy and the surrogate became a bigger part of their lives.

dna test, paternity test, maternity testA woman in distress being comforted.via Liza Summer

“My friend and my husband started talking more and I would sometimes come home from my weekend job to find her already hanging out at our house when my husband was there,” ThrowRA-3xbetrayal wrote. “I chalked it up as innocuous and it's good for her to know my husband better since she was in the process of hopefully carrying our child for us. I was grateful to have someone helping us have a child.”

But the mother became suspicious because the baby’s eyes were brown when she and her husband’s were blue.

The mother took the child to a doctor’s appointment and she received some devastating news. She discovered that her son’s blood type is B+ while his father’s is O+ and She is A+. The doctor said it was “biologically impossible” for her son to have that blood type given his parents’.

ThrowRA-3xbetrayal thought the fertility clinic made a horrible mistake. She took a DNA test and found that her husband was the boy’s father, but she was not the mother. “Then my husband confessed that he'd slept with my friend (our surrogate) on a few different occasions during our struggle to have her get pregnant with our embryos,” ThrowRA-3xbetrayal wrote. “This means what I thought was our son conceived by IVF and carried with a surrogate isn't my son at all and was, in fact, conceived the old-fashioned way, which I can't ever do.”

The woman says that the terrible news felt like a triple betrayal. The woman has decided to divorce her husband and wants to give up any parental rights to the child. Her husband, the surrogate and her family all believe that she’s wrong to give up rights to the child that she’s raised for 2 years.

She asked Reddit’s AITA forum to tell her if she was in the wrong and the community responded with overwhelmingly positive support, affirming her tough decision.

dna test, paternity test, maternity testA happy toddler playing on the beach. via Taryn Elliott/Pexels

The most popular commenter said that she should sue the surrogate for taking her money without having her baby. “One of the things that gets me is that you were working extra jobs to pay for the surrogacy which I am assuming included her medical bills and financially supporting her. I would speak to a solicitor about suing her for your money back. She knew that if she was having sex then there was always a chance that the child was biologically hers,” they wrote.

Another affirmed the wife’s decision to leave her husband and to surrender any parental rights. “He cheated... it's not yours. I will absolutely tell you what I tell men posting this. It would be wonderful if you love the kid enough to stay, but if you're in shock and damaged too much to do so, you aren't the A**le for walking away,” they wrote.

Another pointed out that if a man were in this position, no one would judge him for giving up his parental rights. “If these roles were reversed and you were a man saying that his wife had cheated and had another man’s baby, people would have no problem telling him that he’s within his rights to leave and have nothing to do with the child if he doesn’t want to,” the commenter wrote.

If the story that ThrowRA-3xbetrayal wrote tells is true, it’s an incredible tragedy. She fought so hard to have a child only to realize she was living a lie two years later. So, let’s hope she found some solace in the hundreds of people who supported her decision to move on with her life while also sharing some great advice on going forward.

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Health

Longevity test: If you can hang from a bar this long, you’re likely to live longer

Hang time is a great measurement of overall health.

via Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels and Dinielle De Veyra/Pexels

A man and a woman doing dead hangs.

Would you really want to know how long you have to live? On one hand, it’d probably inspire you to go out and complete your bucket list. On the other, it may be depressing to know just how many days you have left.

Well, science has yet to discover a way to determine the average person's life expectancy. However, some indicators can show whether someone is in danger of having their life cut short by deteriorating health.

A study published by Clinical Interventions in Aging in 2019 determined that handgrip strength can be a reliable proxy for how long one has to live. One of the best ways to judge handgrip strength is to time how long you can hang from a bar. To test your grip strength, find yourself a pull-up bar, whether at a gym or local park, take a deep breath and start hanging.

The study found that 30 seconds is a good target for women and 60 is an excellent goal for men. Therefore, if you go longer than the goal, you’re looking at a long life. But if you can’t quite get there, your life may be shorter than you’d like.



Dr. Peter Attia believes that grip strength is a great way to determine one’s overall health.

“It's just a great proxy for overall body strength and muscle mass, but I think it's also a very functional form of strength,” he said on “The Drive” podcast. “Basically, everything in your upper body is mediated through your hands. And if your grip is weak, everything Downstream of that is weak. When you watch someone, who's got a weak grip deadlifting. It's very difficult for them to deadlift correctly because they don't create a proper wedge.

Doctors Eve M. Glazier and Elizabeth Ko at UCLA Health say poor grip strength is connected to numerous diseases. “Research continues to link a decline in grip strength to a range of adverse health issues, including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. It has also been found to be a predictor of the likelihood of post-surgical complications, post-surgical recovery time and mortality,” they wrote on the UCLA Health blog.

Weight can also significantly affect how long a person can hang from a bar. So don’t lighter people have an unfair advantage advantage than those on the heavier side? Well, weight is also an important indicator of longevity. A study published in Aging Cell found a direct correlation between increased body mass and decreased longevity.



The good news for people who didn’t quite make their hang time goal is that you can improve it by practicing dead hangs.

How to perform a dead hang (according to Healthline):

  • Use a secure overhead bar. Use a step or bench to reach the bar with your arms easily. You don’t want to jump straight into a dead hang.
  • Grip the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you). Aim to keep your arms shoulder-width apart.
  • Move your feet off the step or bench so you’re hanging on to the bar.
  • Keep your arms straight and stay relaxed.
  • If you’re new to the exercise, hang for 10 seconds. Then, work your way up to 45 seconds to 1 minute at a time.
  • Slowly step back onto the step or bench before releasing your arms. Repeat up to 3 times if you wish.





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Family

'Sleep training' is a heated debate in the parenting world. It shouldn't be.

Any parent who takes a definitive stance on sleep training needs to understand a few things.

Photo by RDNE Stock project/Pexels

Parents debate whether it's wrong to sleep train babies.

Welcoming a new baby to the world is a wonderful but daunting experience, and no matter how much you try to prepare, there will always be something you aren't fully prepared for.

For many parents, that thing is lack of sleep.

You can hear parents talk about exhaustion and sleep deprivation and still be wholly unprepared for what a baby who isn't a great sleeper does to to your psyche. It's no surprise that many parents turn to parenting books and "experts" to try to figure out how to get their babies to sleep, which is where the idea of "sleep training" comes in.

Sleep training is a broad term for teaching or training a baby to go to sleep (or back to sleep) without needing to be soothed by a parent or other caregiver. There are many sleep training methods that range from fairly common sense to borderline abuse, which is one reason it seems to spark big debates between parents. Everyone's talking about a different method when they defend or vilify sleep training.

Sleep training usually involves letting a baby fuss or cry for some length of time, which some see as problematic because of research on the importance of responding to babies' cries. Others say that a little crying is a small price to pay because it's healthier in the long run for baby and parents to get good sleep.

Of course, there's a huge difference between "crying or fussing for a few minutes" and "wailing and screaming with no end in sight," and that's where the big disconnect comes in. For some parents, sleep training entails the former, and it works, so they swear by it. For others, it entails the latter, and it's a nightmare, so they think it's horrible.

There's also a huge difference between "I'd love it if my baby would sleep all night without waking" and "I think I might die if I don't get a 4-hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep." Desperation makes many parents who might not love the idea of sleep training to give it a go.

I have some personal experience with this. My first baby wasn't a great sleeper. I remember thinking, at six weeks postpartum, "There's no way a person can survive on this little sleep." I adored my baby, but the sleep deprivation from waking up several times a night for weeks on end felt like literal torture.

She started sleeping through the night when she was a few months old, but that didn't last long. Teething happened. Then crawling happened. It seemed like just when she'd get into a nice sleep routine, some milestone would throw us right back to waking up and crying multiple times a night. She slept in our room next to our bed, so it was easy enough to nurse her back to sleep, but it was still night after night of disrupted sleep.

I was desperate to try something, but I wasn't keen on the idea of sleep training. It's a natural instinct to respond to your baby's cries, so walking away didn't feel right. One book had suggested leaving the baby in their crib to cry by themselves and not pick them up no matter what. If they got so upset that they threw up, you were just to clean them up and do the same thing again. Um, no thank you.

But I had heard other parents say they tried different sleep training methods that involved leaving them to cry for just a few minutes, going in to pat/comfort them, leaving them again for a little longer, and going back and forth until they eventually fall asleep. I read so many parents say something like, "It took like 15 minutes of fussing for them to fall asleep the first night, 5 minutes the second and after that they just went right to sleep and didn't wake up until morning!"

baby sleeping If only all babies slept this peacefully.Photo by Yan Krukau/Pexels

That sounded reasonable. So I tried it, a couple of times.

It went nothing like how those parents described. Not even close.

First of all, my baby did not "fuss." It was full-on crying, wailing and screaming with snot and drool involved. Secondly, there was no patting her to calm her down—she would only calm down if I picked her up. Third, the wailing when I left the room didn't ever subside, it only got worse and worse. I felt like I was torturing my baby and it was breaking my mama heart, so we gave it up.

I have no doubt that those parents were telling the truth about how sleep training worked with their child. It just absolutely did not work that way with mine.

That baby is now 24 and has slept in her own bed all night for over two decades. My other two kids had their own sleep personalities as babies—one of them super easy and the other more like my first. I didn't do anything different to make them that way—it's just how they were. It was hard sometimes. We co-slept as needed. It all worked out in the end.

There are a few things I know for sure after parenting three kids and talking with countless other parents:

1) Every baby, child and family is different and what works for one won't necessarily work for another. As long as no one is actually being abused or neglected, do what works for your kid and your family.

2) Anyone who offers definitive, one-size-fits-all advice on any part of parenting is flat-out wrong. One size most definitely does not fit all.

3) Sleep is important, but unless you've slept a night in their bed, don't judge a parent for how they choose to handle sleep with their baby. What's right for you may not be right for them.

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