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Mellow dude shares the life hacks he didn't learn until his 30s. Here are 11 of the best.

via @Sidneyraz / TikTok

TikTok has become a great place for finding life hacks and one of the best follows is @Sidneyraz. His hook is that he shows people the "things I wish I knew before I was in my 30s."

Most of his life hacks are simple, domestic tricks for cleaning the house or preparing food. But he also shares some financial advice and makes the personal admission that "not being hungover is better than being drunk."

That's a lesson that a lot of us wish we learned sooner.

Like a lot of folks, Sidney is learning a lot of domestic skills in his third decade and that makes sense. That's the time when people begin to settle down with a significant other and pick up more domestic skills.

The good news is that he's not going through this life change alone. He wants to share all of it with you.

Here are 11 of his best life hacks.

Baking bacon is better than frying:

@sidneyraz

baking bacon is better than frying bacon #inmy30s #bacon


How to eat a flat chicken wing:

@sidneyraz

learned this on hot ones #inmy30s #chickenwings


A tooth-brushing trick:

@sidneyraz

30+ years of being wrong #inmy30s #oralhealth


How to stop a pot from boiling over:

@sidneyraz

it has helped many times #inmy30s #cookingtips


You can vacuum more than just your floor:

@sidneyraz

vacuuming more than just floors #inmy30s #vaccum


Did you know your dishwasher has a filter?

@sidneyraz

cleaning the dishes robot is a thing #inmy30s #dishwasher


The weatherman isn't saying what you think he's saying:

@sidneyraz

but what is the forecasted area?? #weatherreport #inmy30s


How to fill a cooler:

@sidneyraz

have a great summer y’all #inmy30s #summervibes2021


The secret behind Chinese food containers:

@sidneyraz

first time trying this #chinesefood #takeout #tipsandtricks


Hire movers:

@sidneyraz

your body will thank you #inmy30s #movingday


Not being hungover is better than being drunk:

@sidneyraz

goodbye youth. #inmy30s


This article originally appeared on 8.23.21

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5 hilarious comics that prove you can be a good parent and still act like a child.

When I was younger, I thought that when I became an adult, things would make more sense and life would be easier.

I believed this because I didn’t see adults having temper tantrums. I just assumed that, once people became adults, things got smoother. I assumed the world of chaos and confusion would magically dwindle and subside.

But my 18th birthday came and went, and the feeling of "adult" was nowhere to be found. Sure, I wasn’t having temper tantrums anymore (or should I say, too many temper tantrums), but my life still seemed chaotic and confusing.

So I decided that maybe it would happen when I was a parent — when I became a mom, I’d feel like an adult.

But again, my ideas dissolved as I attempted to parent using the recommended "shoulds" and "musts" of mainstream parenting books.

Sara Zimmerman/Unearthed Comics.

Eventually, I’ve come to realize that I’m just a big kid stuck in an adult’s body.

I always thought at some point my body AND mind would develop into a full-grown human who acted mature and could handle the world in both its glory and devastation (aka an "adult"), but that’s still not the case. And no, this doesn’t mean I am irresponsible. Yes, I love my daughter like any parent would.

It just means that I am constantly redefining what I feel it means for me to "adult" while parenting and simultaneously trying to NOT mess up too terribly.

Sara Zimmerman/Unearthed Comics.

To be honest, I sometimes wonder if life might be simpler for me if I did act like a "real adult."

You know, someone who acts more mature, dresses neatly, drives without blasting rock n’ roll, doesn’t cuss or dance like a goddess invoking earth spirits at outdoor music festivals, makes pretty casseroles and actually enjoys watching swim practice at overly stuffy chlorinated pools.

But, that’s not me.

Sara Zimmerman/Unearthed Comics.

As other moms make their homes spotless before parties, I shuffle junk into corners and throw decorative sheets over the piles.

As others make Pinterest-perfect hors d'oeuvres, I bring organic Fruity-O’s bracelets and bags of snacks laid out on a picnic blanket. As others talk about the weather, I’m asking what makes us feel alive and wondering, "Why we aren’t doing these things now!"

And between work, exercise, relationship building, and my own play, I dedicate that time for me and my daughter. This is time where, despite me not being that perfectly mature adult, I try to be present with just her, whether it’s in the sandbox, playing pretend, doing art, or just cuddling on the couch.

Though I probably "should" be teaching her how to cook a perfect lasagna and act politely, I’d much rather let her be 8 years old for a bit longer and teach her how to make that perfectly bizarre silly face or dance crazy to rock n’ roll or pretend we’re fairies in a forest, or explain how to properly wear underwear on her head as we fold the laundry.

Sara Zimmerman/Unearthed Comics.

In all this trying, my main goal is to parent the best I can while still remaining me, which means nope, I’m not a "real adult."

I am not perfect. And yep, there will be a lot of immaturity, silliness, and messing up while I try with my best intentions.

And, hopefully, just hopefully, my daughter will learn how to honor that incredible childlike innocence and playfulness by bringing it through her entire life, too, so she also can feel free in non-adulting as she makes waves in her world.

Sara Zimmerman/Unearthed Comics.

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These 5 money-saving details about your credit card are unforgettable.

These fine-print tips could help you better understand what you're signing up for.

When a shiny new credit card shows up in the mail, what's the first thing you do?

If you’re like most people, you activate it, peel off that sticker, and load it into your wallet like artillery in a spending cannon.

Welcome to adulthood! Image by Sean MacEntee/Flickr.

But what about all that other stuff that comes along with the card? Petite as they are, credit cards usually arrive in thick envelopes, jam-packed with all the information issuers have to disclose by law.

That, my friends, is your credit card agreement, and every time you swipe that cut of beveled plastic, you’re giving two thumbs up to everything therein.

During my first few years out of college, I had no idea what terms like "overdraft protection" or "cash advance" meant.

I paid plenty of fees as a result, some of which I got refunded by calling and asking nicely. But if I’d read and understood my credit card agreement, it would have saved me hours of frustration.

Recently the CARD Act outlawed a few of the worst practices that some credit card issuers use (things like "universal default" and "double-cycle billing"). But no matter what, you do need to know the nitty-gritty details of credit cards before you start swiping. Here are five areas of your credit card agreement that could throw you for a loop if you’re caught unaware.

1. Cash advances

First, you should definitely check out the Schumer box on your credit card agreement, which outlines stuff like annual percentage rate (APR), grace period, and annual fees (if applicable). That’s a good place to start. (If you're like me and you’ve already tossed your credit card agreement, you also can pull up a copy online, either on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s credit card agreement database or on your card issuer’s website.)

Photo by _Dinkel_/Flickr

But here’s something I found out after I’d had a credit card for a while: Many issuers charge a transaction fee for cash advances on a credit card, plus interest that starts immediately, not after a grace period. "Even if you did read all the fine print, that’s something you might not understand,” says Beverly Harzog, credit expert and author of "The Debt Escape Plan: How to Free Yourself from Credit Card Balances, Boost Your Credit Score, and Live Debt-Free."

Unfortunately, it’s easy to take a cash advance without even realizing it. For instance, if you overpay your bill and transfer the extra money back to your bank account (as I once did) or you mistakenly use your credit card instead of a debit card at an ATM.

2. Late payments

Grace periods can vary from card to card and not every card has one. Paying your bill late not only damages your credit score, but if you pay more than 60 days late, it could trigger a higher penalty APR. “You could end up with that penalty rate retroactively against your whole balance,” Harzog says.

Plus, your issuer could revoke any rewards you’ve earned (buh-bye, Bermuda trip!). "If you do make a late payment, call the issuer right away and let them know what happened," Harzog says. "If you’ve got a good payment history, they might not do anything to your rewards."

3. Fees on top of fees

You probably know you’ll be charged interest on any unpaid balances. But what about things like balance transfers, foreign transactions, and overdraft protection? Alas, you don’t even have to leave your home country to get hit with a foreign transaction fee, I’ve learned. If you’re ordering online from a company that uses a foreign bank, the fee may still apply and it typically adds 1-3% to your transaction.

Photo by wsssst/Flickr.

With a prepaid or secured credit card, your issuer may also charge you a monthly fee and other fees that you may not expect unless you read the agreement closely. Knowledge is power, people!

4. Mandatory arbitration

If something goes wrong, you can always take them to court, right? Power to the people! But not so fast ... some credit card agreements actually strip you of this right, so if something goes wrong, you can’t sue them in court. Instead, a third-party arbiter would rule on your dispute and their decision would be binding.

In some cases, you even have to pay filing fees if you initiate the claim. Total lame sauce!

5. Terms are subject to change

Now that you’ve untangled the terms of your credit card agreement, here’s the kicker: Almost everything is subject to change. That’s right: card issuers can devalue your rewards, increase your APR (although usually not in the first year you have the card), or remove perks like warranty coverage or travel accident insurance.

For most changes, they must notify you in writing, so don’t toss any communications from your credit card issuer before reading it thoroughly. If you have a card with a low introductory APR, the card issuer doesn’t have to notify you when the introductory period ends and a higher APR kicks in automatically.

The bottom line: Read your credit card terms carefully, no matter how boring they are.

That's true adulting. “If you don’t understand something, call the company and ask,” Harzog says. “If the customer rep doesn’t understand, ask to speak to their manager.”

It's better to spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the agreement and to walk away armed with knowledge than find out the hard way about late payment fees or penalty APRs. Take it from someone who's been there.

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