Daily Archives: June 3, 2022

What is a DINK? Some couples are embracing a childfree life where they have more control over what their income covers. (Photo: Carly Caramanna)

We've all seen the memes ... and even the bumper stickers. Colorful displays proclaiming "I'm a FUNCLE," or celebrating being mom to "fur babies" only. There are countless ways some share that they're enthusiastically certain they are living their best life thanks to being childfree. And once these happy souls, of which, I am one, find a partner, there's another term that comes into play: DINK.

What's a DINK? It's an acronym that stands for "dual income, no kids," and is widely interpreted as two people living together as partners with no children of their own (and no plans to have kids) who are thriving in their careers and personal lives.

The origins of the clever acronym aren't clear and it's not a term frequently mentioned in popular culture, but, like The Goonies, G.I. Joe figurines and the Walkman, the phrase is said to have been coined in the 80s, particularly during the rise of yuppie (young urban professional) culture.

If you were a fan of the 90s animated television series, Doug, you may even remember the Funnies' lovable neighbors, Bud and Tippi Dink. Yes, their surname is a reference to that DINK: The series creator, Jim Jinkins, even confirmed it in a 2016 Decider interview.

The stigma placed around one's very personal decision about whether or not to have children is likely why the term floats so far below the radar but the DINK community is a proud one complete with their very own symbol emblazoned on bumper stickers.

My husband and I do not consider ourselves to be selfish individuals, but instead, we are selfish with the time we have together for the sake of our relationship. For us, that means not having children. (Photo: Carly Caramanna)

I would know. I'm a proud DINK. My husband and I are both in our late 30s and have chosen the DINK life and no, we aren't those "married to our career" types. While we both enjoy success in our fields, we enjoy a deep bond that I can't imagine would be possible if I had to give so much of myself to caring for a child. We are not selfish individuals, but instead, selfish with the time we have together for the sake of our relationship.

Don't get me wrong, we love children and have great relationships with our many younger extended family members and the children of close friends. In fact, with the extra time (and money) we have from not having children of our own, we have the ability to forge extra-special bonds with these children in our lives.

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My husband and I share a love of travel and are able to explore for a good chunk of the year, including several trips a month and at least one long-term international trip a year all on our own dime (no trust funds here). With our jobs, we also typically spend a few months a year living in Los Angeles to work on our creative endeavors. Simply put: We love the lives we have proudly designed for ourselves and have a darn good time along the way. Most importantly, we feel fulfilled in every sense of the word.

In recent times, I've discovered that we're not alone. In addition to circles of friends that share this similar mindset, there's an entire online community dedicated to removing the pressures and stigmatism surrounding the subject.

Dania Casellas, a 33-year-old microbiologist and online fitness coach, resides in Florida with her partner. Together, they have created a safe and inspiring space on Instagram for others like them to share the daily humorous (and often reluctant) encounters they face as DINKS.

"I knew in my early 20s that I for sure had no desire to have kids," Casellas tells Yahoo Life. "I don't get excited over babies but I'm good with kids. I have a silly personality and enjoy being around them but taking on the huge responsibility of raising someone just doesn't appeal to me. I was told I was crazy, selfish and that I would regret it. I'm now 33, childfree and living my best life."

That best life she speaks of? Casellas spent years living in New York City on a journey of self discovery and she and her partner now enjoy the spontaneity that DINK life brings, like making last-minute dinner plans, playing in soccer leagues and taking trips to Universal Studios Orlando.

"I think having kids would limit us in the activities we enjoy and the quiet living space we love," Casellas adds. "We hope to be homeowners soon. With the way things are right now, I'm not sure we could afford a home and kids. Adulting is expensive."

As today's society continues to see a growing number of issues on the rise overall uncertainty, crippling debt, a poor housing and job market and even climate change financial, cultural and biological issues come into play when considering parenthood.

Still, arriving at the decision to not have children wasn't easy given the social pressures she faced. "I'm basically the only childfree-by-choice person I know outside of social media," Casellas shares. "Friends and family around me were starting families and honestly I almost started to doubt my choice. I needed support so I started listening to books about being childfree by choice." She credits books like A Childfree Happily Ever After: Why More Women are Choosing Not to Have Childrenby Tanya Williams with making peace with her decisions, as well as the discovery of social media communities.

"When I discovered people sharing their childfree lives on Instagram, I felt like I was going to therapy," she says. "Childfree people absolutely live healthy, fulfilling and purposeful lives. It's an amazing and supportive community to be a part of."

Childfree Millennial is another Instagram-based DINK support system, run by partners Marcela and Michael, ages 26 and 31 respectively, who live in Kansas City, Missouri and prefer to keep their last names anonymous.

"It was about three years ago that I came to the realization and had a light bulb moment that kids weren't a mandatory thing in life," Marcela says. "Crazy, I know I just didn't grow up being told this or having any examples of people who didn't have kids in their 20s and 30s."

"When I had this epiphany," she continues, "I couldn't contain my excitement because of how relieved I was. I wasn't going to have to do something that I had been dreading my entire teenage and adult years."

Today, Marcella says she wakes up every day with a smile on her face knowing she can confidently accomplish all that she sets out to do. "I find myself investing more in creativity, exploring the world and becoming a better person," she says.

She uses her platform as a way to let others know it's OK. "Three years ago, I wish I had someone to look up to like me in the childfree space," she explains. "Someone who was open in talking about their childfree journey and how amazing and inspiring your life can be, regardless of what others are saying about it."

If you see a decal like this on a nearby car, you're probably encountering a DINK. (Photo: Rachel Wiedmayer)

As many work toward removing the stigma of going childfree, proud DINKS are not shy when it comes to displaying their status. One way of letting the world know where you stand in the child department is the popular trend of displaying a bumper sticker outlining your "family." On a DINK's car, those stick figure children are are depicted as little money bags.

Rachel Wiedmayer is one of the top-rated sellers of DINK bumper stickers on her Etsy store, WiedMakers. "I am half of a DINK couple," Wiedmayer says. "My husband and I do not (and will not ever) have children of the human variety. We have two dogs and a cat. I decided to start selling these decals because I look for designs that align with my views and interests."

And there are obvious financial benefits along the way to not having children. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it is projected that it will cost parents, on average, $233,610 to raise a child born in 2015.

Jay Zigmont is founder of financial planning service Childfree Wealth and author of Portraits of Childfree Wealth. Zigmont focuses his client base almost exclusively on childfree couples, a trend he believes we can expect to see more of since, as the number of childfree families grows, so does the need for financial plans that aren't tailored towards those with children.

Jay Zigmont works as a financial planner for childfree couples, a trend he says is growing. (Photo: Jay Zigmont)

"Financial planning for childfree individuals is different," Zigmont explains. "Most financial rules of thumb or general plans assume you have children. With 11% of the U.S. population over age 55 being childfree (and that number growing in younger generations), we as financial planners need to be sure to adjust to this growing need."

It's not all yachts and spontaneous international travels for this growing number of individuals. "Being childfree does not automatically mean you are rich," adds Zigmont. "The difference is that if a childfree person is barely keeping their head above water, if they had a kid they would drown."

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What's a DINK? Here's what its like to be a couple that revels in having 'dual income, no kids' - Yahoo Life

Jada Pinkett Smith directly addressed "the slap" for the first time and said she hopes Will Smith and Chris Rock eventually "reconcile."

Wednesday's new Red Table Talk is about the devastating impact of alopecia, the hair loss condition in which Pinkett Smith suffers, so the Girls Trip star had to acknowledge the incident at the 2022 Oscars. (Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife's bald head.)

"Now about Oscar night. My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. With the state of the world today, we need 'em both, and we all actually need one another more than ever," Pinkett Smith, 50, said at the beginning of the Facebook Watch show.

"Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years and that's keep figuring out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening," she concluded.

The mother of 12-year-old Rio Allred, who suffered from alopecia and took her own life after being bullied, was a guest on the episode. Pinkett Smith also spoke about her personal experience.

"I think the part that makes it most difficult for me is that it comes and goes," the actress explained. "It's stressful. A patch grows then another patch comes out. That gives me a lot of anxiety 'Oh, well what's my hair going to look like today.'"

While presenting an award at the Oscars, Rock made an impromptu joke about Pinkett Smith: "Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2 can't wait to see it, all right?" Smith, who later took home his first Oscar for King Richard, stormed the stage and hit Rock in the face.

Jada Pinkett Smith finally addresses Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. (Photo: Getty Images)

Smith issued a public apology to Rock the next day, after neglecting to do so during his Best Actor acceptance speech. As for Pinkett Smith, she shared a cryptic post about "healing," but shied away from discussing the situation directly. When RTT premiered in April, there was a cryptic acknowledgment of the scandal.

"Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing," a caption read across the screen at the top of the show. "Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls. Until then the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest."

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Smith has been banned from the Academy and Oscar events for 10 years. As for Rock, he's started to address the incident during stand-up shows.

"Im OK, if anybody was wondering," Rock said earlier this month. "I got most of my hearing back."

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

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Jada Pinkett Smith hopes Will Smith and Chris Rock 'heal' and 'reconcile' after Oscars slap: 'We need 'em both' - Yahoo Entertainment

Yahoo Fantasy analysts Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don identify some fantasy surprises and flop after a quarter of the MLB season.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: We're into June. We're over a quarter of the way through the fantasy baseball season. The standings have merit. The statistics have meaning. And we need to try to figure out what's going on. Dalton Del Don, who's one of the biggest surprises so far of the fantasy baseball season?

DALTON DEL DON: Well, my guy Taylor Ward. Been banged up a little bit lately, but he's easily been the biggest surprise for me. He went undrafted in most Yahoo-- or all Yahoo leagues. His ADP was outside 700 in the deeper NFBC formats. He's been a top-25 fantasy player this season, and some players have like 70 more at-bats than him among the leaderboard too.

His OPS is almost 100 points higher than the next most. He even has the ability to add some steals moving forward. Ward is not this good, Hall of Fame level, but I'm also not quite rushing to trade him. He's been the biggest fantasy surprise to open this season.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Yeah, my fantasy surprise is going to be Julio Rodrguez in Seattle. We knew they had a couple of hot prospects there in Rodrguez and Kelenic. Kelenic hasn't done a thing right. He's been sent down to the minors. Rodrguez leads the league in steals. He's showing power.

He actually has a decent average, although umpires have given him almost no respect. It's a joke some of the strikes that they've called against Rodrguez. I think he could be a first or second round player as early as next season. He's somebody I wish I had on all of my fantasy rosters. I have him on none of my fantasy rosters.

I also will give honorable mention to LA Dodgers' rotation. The cheaper options have been better than the stars. Buehler and Urias have been a mild disappointment. Guys like Gonsolin and Anderson have been really nice additions. And if you believed in Martn Prez, man, he's been unbelievable. He's doing it with soft stuff. He's doing with a fastball that couldn't get stopped for speeding in a school zone. But he's been a big surprise through the first quarter of the season.

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Who's been disappointing us, Dalton? Give us one of your fantasy fades for the first quarter, somebody who's been breaking your heart.

DALTON DEL DON: First off, I have Julio Rodrguez as a top-10 pick in next year's drafts. Book it now. I think it's going to happen. Marcus Semien is my biggest flop to open the season, a third or fourth round fantasy pick in most leagues. Had 45 homers last season. It took him almost 45 games to hit his first homer this year.

Coming off a career year at his age, then signing a huge offseason contract in which he saw a big downgrade in home parks, it's not exactly a shock that Semien isn't living up to his ADP. But, man, even his biggest detractors couldn't have seen a .500 OPS coming. He will get better. He's started to show signs of life at the plate recently. But Marcus Semien has been an absolute flop so far.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Man, I need him to come back. He's on a bunch of my teams. My feeling was that the ADP price was putting in too much regression, and it's almost like he's forgotten how to play baseball now. At least the contract will keep him at the top of the lineup. He's still running. I don't know that the power is going to come back. But I'm worried that may take a big ADP bath on Semien this year.

My disappointment is Teoscar Hernndez, but it really could be several of the Blue Jays. Vlad Jr. has been a disappointment. Springer's been OK. Bo Bichette's been a little bit of a disappointment. But I'm focusing Hernndez, right around the Mendoza Line, only a couple of home runs. He's not running. Maybe these guys, they pine for Buffalo or they pine for the Florida park they were in for a while. Maybe just being in Toronto all year has been an adjustment period.

Dalton, are things going to get better in Toronto? Or is it time to get really nervous about some of these guys? Again, Teoscar is my guy, but we know Vlad Jr. has been a disappointment and Bichette as well. What's your take on the Toronto situation?

DALTON DEL DON: Oh, too much talent. Bound to bounce back. The summer months will heat up. The offensive stats will come. Yes, a slight downgrade of home parks based off last year, but Toronto's still a nice place to hit. They'll get it going.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Hey, still have three quarters of the season to get going in fantasy baseball. Make some good trades. Make some good pickups. And it's a marathon, not a sprint. You've heard that before. We'll be with you all summer.

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Look to the AL West for early-season fantasy surprises - Yahoo Sports

Tech companies such as Facebook parent Meta (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT) are plowing money into their plans for the metaverse, the 3-D virtual world that tech executives are obsessed with. But so far, the experiences that users can get their hands on are nowhere near Silicon Valleys promises of hyper-realistic avatars and seamless interactions with the real world. And it could be turning consumers off.

People have kind of lost interest in the metaverse, because characters look like cartoons with no legs, Marc Petit, Epic Games VP and general manager of Unreal Engine, told Yahoo Finance. I mean, who wants to be that? This is not attractive.

Petits critique is a not-so-thinly veiled reference to Metas Horizon Worlds platform. The companys primary metaverse experience, Horizon Worlds features avatars without legs and graphics that are far from those found in modern big-budget video games.

And that kind of overpromising could push users away in the long run.

The concept of the metaverse was first popularized by Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash. Technology companies have chased the idea of 3-D virtual worlds could visit for even longer, though.

It's going to take years for the metaverse to reach its potential. (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

Meta even changed its name to signal its focus on the metaverse, while Microsoft is exploring ways of using it for both entertainment and work. Google has also expressed interested in the concept, and Apple is reportedly working on its own augmented reality headset that could debut later this year.

But the way the metaverse has been marketed to consumers so far has been both vague and full of far-off technologies. During an October presentation, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed off a world where you can talk to realistic projections of your friends via augmented reality glasses and have the ability to play games with friends in Ready Player One-style worlds.

But what we have now is a far cry from that. Rather than a boundless online world, Metas Horizon Worlds is more of a small gathering space for early adopters.

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What's more, there are signs that even young people have a fuzzy understanding of the metaverse. According to Piper Sandlers latest Taking Stock With Teens survey, while 26% of teens have some kind of VR device, just 5% use it daily and 17% use it weekly. Whats more, 50% of teens are either unsure of the metaverse or have no intention of buying a VR device.

Epic Games' 'Fortnite' offers an early glimpse at the potential for the metaverse without the need for things like headsets. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Of course, Epic Games produces the incredibly popular game Fortnite, which is, itself, an early form of the metaverse. Gamers can participate in the games "Battle Royale" or watch Ariana Grande concerts or discussions on race with Killer Mike and Jemele Hill.

While Fortnite is considered a kind of way into the metaverse, Epic isnt banking its entire future on the prospect.

To reach the level where consumers across the board will fall in love with the metaverse, companies will need to offer photorealistic graphics and ensure their experiences are worth diving into.

The metaverse needs to be about places and content that consumers will want to consume, Petit said. That should not look like 1980s graphics, like a lot of things we see even today.

Reaching a level of photorealism is going to take years of continued development and invention if the metaverse is ever going to pan out the way Silicon Valley companies hope.

We have to pace ourselves, Petit said. The pandemic kind of forced that awareness around the metaverse upon us, those social experiences. But it took us 30 years already to get where we areIn my mind, we haven't seen anything yet about the metaverse.

For companies like Meta, the wait might be too long. The social media company spent $10.2 billion on its vision for the metaverse in 2021 alone, including building virtual and augmented reality headsets and the software users will need to access virtual worlds. According to Zuckerberg, that wont pay off for another 15 years.

That spending also comes as the company is experiencing a slowdown in ad sales related to inflation, the war in Ukraine, and Apples iOS privacy changes.

As for Petit, his vision of the metaverse includes more than just headsets. According to the VP, the metaverse will allow for consumers to view content and information on everything from their glasses to car windshields.

Thats a concept shared by others in the field who say the metaverse will be less about virtual worlds that you step into, and more about bringing data and information out of the real world.

For now, consumers like you and me will have to sit back and wait for the metaverse to continue to take shape. But one things for certain we havent seen anything yet.

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Epic Games VP: People have lost interest in the metaverse - Yahoo Finance

Salesforce co-founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff.NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

Salesforce employees signed an open letter urging company leadership to drop the NRA as a customer.

It's "unconscionable" that the NRA can use their software for marketing and fundraising, the employees said.

Marc Benioff, the co-CEO of Salesforce, has previously voiced support for gun control.

More than 4,000 Salesforce employees have urged their company's leadership to drop the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a customer.

The employees made their request in an open letter addressed to company leaders including co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor, SFGate first reported, citing a copy of the letter it viewed. The employees delivered the letter a day after a teenager went on a shooting rampage in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, killing at least 19 students and two adults.

"It's not in our power to get background checks or other gun control measures passed by Congress but we can effect change by ending our commercial relationship with our customer, the National Rifle Association," the Salesforce employees wrote in their letter.

The letter's signatories expressed concern the NRA would rely on Marketing Cloud even more after the Uvalde massacre, according to a copy of the letter published by Protocol. Marketing Cloud is a Salesforce software that helps users plan and analyze digital marketing campaigns.

The signatories said the NRA would ramp up its marketing efforts "not to prevent future tragedies from happening, but to sow fear, sell guns, and abet future atrocities," the letter continued.

"It is unconscionable to consider their use of Marketing Cloud to capitalize on mass shootings," the letter continued.

The NRA has continued its advertising activity in the aftermath of the shooting. It started running Facebook ads about two weeks ago that urged gun owners to not let Congress limit gun ownership, and those remained active after the Uvalde shooting, per CNBC. The weekend after the massacre, the NRA held its annual convention in Houston, just 300 miles from Uvalde. The group showcased "14 acres" of guns and gear at the convention.

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Some Salesforce employees, however, were cautious about urging the company to end its commercial relationship with the NRA, especially if what it was doing was not illegal, SFGate reported.

Salesforce has taken action against gun ownership before. In 2019, it banned customers from using its software to sell certain types of firearms. After the Uvalde massacre, Benioff showed his support for gun control. In a May 25 CNBC interview, he said "we need to take direct action" against gun violence.

Salesforce hasn't responded to the open letter, an unnamed employee told Protocol. Employees are expected to attend an all-hands meeting with leadership next week, per Protocol.

Salesforce did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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More than 4,000 Salesforce employees have signed an open letter demanding the company cut ties with the NRA - Yahoo Finance

All good things must come to an end. Frank Gore, who last played in the NFL as a 37-year-old in 2020, is finally hanging up his cleats for good. Gore will reportedly sign a one-day contract and retire as a member of the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, according to the Mercury News.

Gore revealed in April he planned to sign a one-day contract with the 49ers and retire during the 2022 NFL offseason.

Gore walks away from football as the No. 3 all-time leading rusher in NFL history. Only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton sit above Gore on the all-time list.

After a promising rookie year with the 49ers in 2005, Gore went on to post 12 fantastic seasons in the NFL, the majority of which came with the 49ers. Gore rushed for at least 1,000 yards nine times over that period and made the Pro Bowl five times. He leaves the NFL as the 49ers' all-time leading rusher. Gore gained 11,073 rushing yards in his 10 seasons with the franchise.

Gore remained in the league for three more seasons following his peak years, and managed solid production with the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets despite being a part-time player at the end of his career.

Gore did not sign with an NFL team in 2021. He did not draw interest during the 2022 offseason either. With Gore's NFL future in doubt, he started to train in another sport. Gore made his boxing debut in May, when he picked up a knockout victory over Yaya Olorunsola.

Gore's position on the all-time rushing list all but guarantees his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Despite his eye-popping yardage total, there is some debate about Gore making it to the hall.

The argument for Gore is based on his longevity instead of his peak. While Gore had an excellent peak, he was rarely the best running back in the NFL. He never led the league in yardage or touchdowns in a single season. And never made an All-Pro team. Payton and Smith combined for nine All-Pro appearances, won MVP awards and lead the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns at least one season of their career.

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Gore was consistently above average for a long time and remained, at the very least, an average player as he aged. His season-to-season stats don't jump off the page like other Hall of Fame running backs, but there's something to be said about Gore's effectiveness and longevity at a position that takes immense punishment.

Ultimately, Gore's position on the all-time rushing list might be the only thing that matters to Hall of Fame voters. He may lack the awards of other legendary runners, but Gore's position on the all-time rushing list speaks to his immense ability and durability in the NFL.

An average or above average player wouldn't sit No. 3 on the all-time rushing list. Gore was a special talent.

Frank Gore excelled with the 49ers. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

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Ageless wonder Frank Gore to officially retire from the NFL with 49ers - Yahoo Sports

Cameron Diaz has quite the optimistic outlook on getting older.

In a recent interview with Goop, the 49-year-old opened up about the pressures to be sexy, aging in the public eye and her zest for life.

"The whole concept of aging has just changed completely, even in the last 10 years, It's totally opened up. I'm excited. I've got 50 or 60 years to go. I want to live to be 110, since I've got a young child," she said.

The 49-year-old, who shares 2-year-old daughter Raddix with husband Benji Madden, is excited about growing older with her daughter and looks forward to their relationship once she is an adult.

"I think you have this amazing moment in your 40s where you appreciate who your parents are, and I want to have that moment with her be there with her in her 40s," she said.

Diaz notes she is the oldest mom in her group of friends and feels "lucky" to be in her position.

"I'm lucky to be my age, lucky to have those girlfriends, lucky to have my daughter, lucky to have all the support I do raising her," she said.

Aging has long since been a point of contention for women and being in the public eye can exacerbate societal pressures to appear youthful, Diaz explains.

"As women in our society, we spend so much time under pressure to be highly sexualized, thinking we need to be desired sexually at all times. I'm here to say I'm moving past that: I don't care!" she said.

Still, the co-founder of the wine label Avaline does acknowledge that adopting this mindset can take time.

"It's a tough society we live in. It comes with all kinds of benefits, but living in the public eye can be very damaging to your soul," she explained, adding that prioritizing all aspects of one's well-being is vital. "No matter who you are, it's important to take care of the whole person not just the visual, not just what people think of you, but all of you."

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Cameron Diaz, 49, on 'moving past' the 'pressure to be highly sexualized': 'I don't care!' - Yahoo Life

The good, bad and ugly of investing in NFTs. (PHOTO: Getty Creative)

SINGAPORE Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs for short, are digital assets that everyone seems to want to own these days. But are they really a good thing, or is it just going to be a passing trend?

This is part of a series where Yahoo Finance Singapore will focus on different aspects of millennials and their finances. In this second part, we discover whether its good for millennials to invest in NFTs.

For the uninitiated, NFTs are basically certificates of digital ownership which have gained huge traction in recent years. The certificates have a unique record that is written into the fixed code (that cannot be changed) of a blockchain at time of creation or minting, which makes it a cryptographic asset. This can take the form of anything from digital art pieces, in-game items, music, fashion items and even virtual land.

To put it simply, NFTs are crypto assets that record the ownership of a digital file such as an image, video or text. Anyone can create, or "mint", an NFT, and ownership of the token does not usually confer ownership of the underlying item.

Profits are generated when one sells the NFT to someone else who wants it more and is willing to pay a higher price, usually paid with cryptocurrency. Since it lies in the hope of selling it at a higher price to a willing buyer, the value of NFTs is heavily driven by sentiment and hype. This exposes sellers to the risk of price manipulation.

For instance, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey created an NFT out of his first tweet and sold it for US$2.9 million in early 2021. Digital artist Beeple sold an NFT of his work for US$69 million, making him one of the most valuable living artists.

The utility of NFTs varies massively across the globe too. For example, there can be security tokens (to prove your identity) and even governance tokens (to indicate the right to vote). One can buy a NFT with crypto coins and NFTs can also represent a store of value, with some tokens worth more than others.

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In fact, NFT sales volume totalled US$24.9 billion in 2021, compared to just US$94.9 million the year before, according to market tracker DappRadar.

Despite the huge number of people turning to NFTs, financial experts warn that unlike traditional financial assets, there is little or no basis for the valuation of NFTs.

This is because the asset prices of NFTs are determined by demand and supply. Meanwhile, traditional financial assets have some kind of yield or value being created. For example, if you invest into stocks of a company, and it has a business model that is growing, the value of your investment will grow along with it as well.

NFTs do not have an underlying economic return based on economic activity of companies or countries. Their payoff structure is speculative and volatile: You can win astronomically but you can also lose everything, said Chuin Ting Weber, CEO of MoneyOwl, a bionic financial advisor.

As such, Weber recommends that millennials look into buying NFTs mainly as a bet or venture. This means keeping the invested amount small and only putting in only what you are prepared to lose.

Providing a similar analogy, Gavin Chia, Head of Managed Investments and Investment Advisory of Standard Chartered Bank Singapore, said: NFTs are a little bit more like buying a luxury car or watch, which is something that is sought after but doesnt actually create value or yield a return.

Financial experts warn that because NFTs are speculative in nature, the hope of attaining financial freedom through investing in NFTs is not a plan for financial success.

Regardless of ones age, speculative investing products should not dominate your investment portfolio, said Gregory Van, CEO of Endowus, a Singapore-based financial technology company.

It is crucial to build your core wealth through an investing strategy that is strategic to your goals and passive in asset allocation while being globally diversified and low in cost, he added.

Van also advised that millennials do their research and verify the information they find online before taking action, especially when it comes to riskier investments like NFTs.

While the Monetary Authority of Singapore currently doesn't regulate activities related to NFTs, it has reminded consumers that investments in digital tokens, including NFTs, are not suitable for retail investors, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in a written reply to a parliamentary question on 15 February.

"For NFTs in particular, their perceived uniqueness, combined with speculative demand, has served to inflate prices. This potentially puts investors at risk of outsized losses should speculative fervour abate," said Tharman, who is also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He noted there are significant legal complexities and risks involved in NFTs.

Despite the lack of regulation, some Singapore companies are quick to jump on the bandwagon.

Singaporean ride-hailing app, Ryde, launched its first NFT project in April this year. Called RydePals, the NFTs will give owners exclusive in-app rewards and benefits like discounted rides and cashbacks. The RydePals NFTs can also be traded on secondary NFT exchanges like OpenSea.

We want to deploy NFTs in a way that generates more real world value, especially for the rapidly growing market segment of Singaporeans who hold crypto, says Terence Zou, founder and chief executive of Ryde.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

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Millennial Money: The good, bad and ugly of investing in NFTs - Yahoo

Its Economy Month, according to the White House. As summer kicks off, President Biden and his top aides will be blitzing America with data and reassurances meant to show the U.S. economy is strong, and likely to stay that way.

The messaging crusade began with a May 30 Wall Street Journal article bearing Bidens byline, explaining the presidents plan to fight inflation, which at 8.3% is uncomfortably high. Theres no new White House policy, but Biden wants voters to know hes on the case. His inflation agenda has three parts: 1. Let the Federal Reserve do its job of raising interest rates to bring inflation down. 2. Pass new laws that would lower costs for families. 3. Lower the federal deficit by raising business taxes and paying down debt.

Theres nothing inherently wrong with any of these ideas, but its kind of a nothingburger. The Fed will do its thing with or without encouragement from the White House. Congress seems very unlikely to pass any remnants of Bidens build back better legislation, which failed last year, because Democrats cant even agree among themselves what should be in it. That includes tax hikes that could generate revenue used to bring down the deficit, though deficits in themselves are not a principal cause of inflation.

Biden advisers such as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will be echoing Bidens points during coming weeks, trying to earn Biden some cred for an economy thats pretty solid, even with high inflation. Theres also an unstated agenda behind this messaging barrage. Heres what Biden hopes to accomplish:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks as U.S. President Joe Biden holds a meeting with business leaders and CEOs about the debt limit at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Distract people from high gas prices. The typical family spends less than 3% of its budget on gasoline, but high gas prices have an outsized effect on consumer psyches. When those two-foot-high signs at every gas station start with $4or worse, $5it continually reminds people something must be wrong. The average cost of gas in the United States is now above $4.60 per gallon, and prices will probably go higher as the new European embargo on Russia oil takes hold. Its very possible many Americans will be paying $5 per gallon or more by mid-summer.

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Thats bad news for millions of drivers, but this could happen at the same time other types of inflation are improving. Supply chain snafus seem to be easing. The microchip shortage is fading. Stimulus spending is largely over. These factors have been principal causes of inflation during the last 12 months, and as that inflationary pressure fades, cars, appliances, food and many other things should become more affordable. Biden wants people to notice those improvements rather than obsess over gas pain.

Get ahead of a slowdown. Few economists think the U.S. economy is heading for a recession any time soon. But job growth could slow considerably and there could be other signs of a cooldown. For one thing, thats exactly what the Federal Reserve is trying to accomplish by rapidly tightening monetary policytake some steam out of a hot economy so businesses and consumers cut back on spending, and receding demand brings inflation down. The runout of stimulus money could have a similar effect, since theres no more free money for people to spend on things they may not have bought without it.

Biden referred to this coming slowdown in his Journal piece, saying monthly job creation could fall from the current 12-month average of 552,000 new jobs per month to around 150,000 per month. That lower job growth number would be consistent with a low unemployment rate and a healthy economy, Biden said. Hes right about that, even though it might look like a sign of impending recession if job creation falls by 75%. Half-a-million new jobs per month isnt sustainable, and Biden is trying to preempt the inevitable Republican attacks when job growth returns to normal levels.

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) points towards an exit at the United States Capitol building in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Make nice with Joe Manchin. Paying down the $30.4 trillion national debt has only become a Biden priority recently. Thats probably because Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who killed Bidens BBB legislation last year by saying he wouldnt vote for it, says hell only support tax hikes on businesses if some new revenue goes toward lowering the amount of government borrowing. While unlikely, theres still a small chance Democrats could pass tax hikes and green-energy legislation this year. It will take every Democratic vote in the Senate, since Dems only have a one-vote majority. So Biden may be happy to woo Manchin with promises of debt reduction. Like everybody else in Washington, Biden certainly knows his fellow Dems are likely to lose one or both houses of Congress in the November midterm elections, meaning the next few months could be the last shot Biden has at getting any of his favored legislation passed.

Vilify Republicans. The out-of-power party is likely to have a strong showing in November simply because inflation is high and Bidens popularity is low. Republicans dont have to win over voters with a strong set of policies contrary to Bidens, or prove theyd do better than he has. They just need to avoid disaster and let the familiar ebb of midterm politics, which normally punishes the presidents party, lift them back to power.

Biden is trying to remind voters that some Republicans back unpopular ideas. He refers often to a plan by Sen. Rick Scott of Florida that would require all Americans to pay at least a small amount of income tax, which would be a de facto tax hike on millions of lower-income workers. Theres no chance a Republican-controlled Congress would pass such a plan, but that doesnt stop Biden from drawing attention to it. Biden also reminds voters from time to time that his predecessor, Donald Trump, pressured the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low and pursued other fairly extremist goals. Trump isnt running in 2022, but he has endorsed many candidates who are, and Biden wants voters to know theyre flirting with a return to Trumpist government. If that comes with cheap gas, maybe voters would take it.

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.

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What Biden is really saying about the economy - Yahoo Finance