Hi, hey, hello, it’s Sunday! How’s your holiday shopping going? If the answer is “Ouch,” try one of these lesser-known ways to save a buck on Amazon: 1.) Warehouse has excellent deals on used and open-box products. Rewrap and you’re all good. 2.) Outlet is your spot for low prices on all the “Oops, we have too many!” items.

🫡 I wish this existed when I had a car repoed. When I was starting my company, times were tough — really tough. Take this free 30-second debt analysis to help you make a plan to pay down what you owe. More on that soon. First, let’s make sure you’re always tech-ahead and never tech‑behind! — Kim

“Reminder: You've still got a money request!” That was the subject line of the messages flooding my husband Barry’s inbox all week. He’s not the only one; there’s a sneaky scam going around that looks totally legit … because it actually comes from PayPal.

Let’s take a closer look at how it works so you don’t fall for it:

1️⃣ You receive an invoice via PayPal. It might say something like, "Payment due for a purchase" or tell you a payment was processed due to a technical error. Uh‑oh.

2️⃣ It looks real because it was sent through PayPal's platform. Here’s the catch: It’s a bogus invoice. PayPal allows anyone with an account to send an invoice, which scammers exploit to make it seem legit.

3️⃣ You call the number on the invoice to resolve the problem. They say it’s PayPal’s number, but it’s really the scammer, who has a big bag of tricks once they get you on the phone.

How to spot and stop it

PayPal will never send invoices for random purchases you didn’t authorize. If something seems off, trust your instincts and double-check before taking action.

• Check the details: Look at the sender’s email and transaction history. If it’s not a company or person you recognize, it’s likely a scam. Double-check the invoice recipient, as well.
• Don’t call any of the phone numbers listed: PayPal’s real support number is 1‑888‑221‑1161. They take calls from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT every day.

You can also just ignore the email. If you’re sure the invoice is fake, delete it. But first …

✅ Report it to PayPal. Consider this your good deed of the day.

• Log in to your PayPal account, then visit the Resolution Center, where you can report suspicious invoices.
• Even easier, forward the email to phishing@paypal.com to alert their security team.

Stay safe out there — and share this post to warn your friends!

When I started my business, I lived off my credit cards and even had a car repoed. That’s such a bad feeling. If you’ve been there, you know. That’s why I went looking for a service that can help. I wish PDS Debt was around when I couldn’t pay my bills.

• PDS Debt offers personalized plans for anyone struggling with debt from credit cards, personal loans, collections or medical bills.
• Everyone with $10,000 or more in eligible debt qualifies, and there’s no minimum credit score required.
• Bad and fair credit are accepted.
• PDS Debt has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. I checked!

If you're making payments every month on your debt and your balances aren’t going down, do something about it. The first step only takes 30 seconds.

• Grant Inman in Phoenix hosts the popular My Funeral Home Stories podcast. That came to a halt, though, when his mom left his dad for a Nigerian scammer she met on Instagram.
• Jenny in Atlanta knows her husband is up to no good. He meets up with women at motels, and her call logs show he’s been in contact with hundreds of them.
• Tom in Philadelphia has an idea for an AI tool. He wants to help families find their loved ones in old war videos so they can save those memories for their family histories.

Plus, Peter’s looking to digitize his CDs, Bruce wants Bluetooth earbuds, Corrine needs biz advice for her daughter, George plans a photo slideshow, Lloyd asks about laptops that can’t go online and many more!

📱 Will TikTok get banned? A U.S. appeals court just said Congress can force TikTok to cut ties with its parent company, Communist China’s ByteDance, or get banned. It’ll be appealed in the Supreme Court. If TikTok is banned, it won’t be illegal for you to use TikTok; the ban would only prohibit app stores from letting users download the app, among other things. Remember, TikTok sends just about everything you do on your phone to Chinese servers.

r/f**kyourheadlights: It’s the subreddit behind a national movement to make car headlights less bright. Headlight brightness has doubled since 2015 after manufacturers made the switch to super-bright LEDs. This is wild: The standards for acceptable headlight brightness haven’t been updated since 1986. Speaking of headlights, need a smile? Look at this.

Putting the “AI” in “fair?” Starting in January, the Los Angeles Times will add an AI-powered bias meter to its political stories. The paper’s billionaire owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, says the tool lets you read a different perspective on the same topic. Let’s all hope the AI doesn’t hallucinate too much.

Heartbreaking: The parents of Ashley Scott, a 14-year-old cheerleader who died by suicide, believe Ashley and other girls were cyberbullied and tormented during school hours. Such a sad story. Parents, talk to your kids about this. You never know what pain they’re hiding. Remind them they’re never alone.

🚨 Recall alert: Anker is recalling 80,000 Bluetooth speakers after 33 reports of overheating batteries and fires. If you have a Soundcore or PowerConf speaker with the model number A3102016, A3302011 or A3302031, stop using it and get a free replacement.

Off to the great Best Buy in the sky: Microsoft has discontinued its $4,500 Surface Studio 2+ — and it looks like the end of their all-in-one desktop line altogether. If you spot the one for sale, don’t buy it. It’s dead, Jim.

Give the gifts they really want — at your budget.

Over-the-ear headphones
💸 The Apple AirPods Max (16% off, $459.99) are top-of-the-line. They come in 10 colors and have super-comfy memory foam ear pads. I have a pair.
😏 Sony wireless headphones, on sale for only $38. They get 50 hours on a single charge, dang.

Bluetooth speakers
💸 The Bose SoundLink Flex (20% off, $119) is waterproof and portable, with excellent sound quality.
😏 The Tribit Xsound Plus 2 ($60; click the coupon for 10% off) is waterproof and gets 24 hours of playtime on one charge.

Robot vacuum cleaners
💸 The Shark Robot vacuum and mop combo (26% off) uses super-efficient home mapping to vacuum and mop. It even empties its own dustbin!
😏 The iRobot vacuum works with Alexa and gives you clean map reports. It’s 40% off right now, so hurry!

TVs
💸 LG’s new C3 series 65-inch 4K TV ($1,397) has a super-powerful AI processor that adjusts depending on the room’s brightness. Cool!
😏 For under $350, this Insignia 65-inch 4K TV (29% off) is a great all-in-one pick. It comes with Fire TV built in and an Alexa voice remote.

Dashcams
💸 This 70mai dashcam ($110) has a super-high-tech Sony image sensor and built-in GPS tracking. Click the coupon for $20 off!
😏 Slightly smaller, this Avylet dashcam (17% off, $50) has 2K resolution, night vision and a 24-hour parking monitor.

Battle of the betas: Be the first to try Motorola’s and Samsung’s AI features, now in beta. Motorola’s upgrades include notification summaries and meeting transcriptions; Samsung’s update includes call transcriptions, AI writing tools and a revamped camera interface. The betas are open for Razr, Edge and Galaxy S24 smartphones. Have fun! Just remember, beta software glitches out sometimes.

🔴 How to record a call on your iPhone: It’s built into iOS 18.1. During a call, hit the Start Call Recording button. (It’s not a secret — you and everyone else on the call will get an audio notification.) To stop recording, tap the Stop button or hang up. Recordings are automatically saved to a Call Recordings folder in your Notes app. Neato!

Hearing aids that aren’t big and bulky? They do exist! The Horizon IX hearing aids are discrete and connect to your phone. See if you qualify for a 45-day free trial.*

Instagram parental controls: Review how much time your teen spends in the app (but not what they're doing), set daily time limits and establish times to put the app in “sleep mode” so they won’t get notifications. In the Instagram app, tap your profile picture (bottom right) > the menu button (top right) > Family Center to connect to your teen.

A buck is a buck: If you stream music on Spotify, you’re most likely on the $11.99-a-month plan that includes 15 hours of audiobooks a month. Go into your account and downgrade to the basic plan ($10.99 per month) if you don’t listen to audiobooks. It all adds up!

Remember only one password: Nope, it’s not a dream. With a password manager, that’s all you have to keep track of, and you can log in to your accounts from your phone, computer and tablet. My password manager pick is only $1.23 a month.*

📼 To do: It’s time. Get your memories off VHS tapes and into today’s world.

Drink: A festive cocktail. So many yummy options here.

Watch: Beverly in Texas is a psychic and has a prediction about my future.

⛪ Tour: The Vatican without leaving your couch.

✍️ Sign up: I’m launching a weekly small-business version of The Current. I’d love for you to be part of that knowledge adventure, too! Join the list now, while you’re thinking about it.

Don’t pay for Excel: Bob in Atlanta asked me, “Hey, Kim, I’m now dating girls again and spending money on dinners. Is there a way to get Excel cheaper than on Microsoft’s site?” I’ll do you one better: How about free? Download this 100% free option. And here’s a line you can use with the girls, Bob: “Let's go back to my place and change from portrait to landscape.”

💝 My gift to you: I did the shopping so you don’t have to. I’m adding new ideas to these lists every day.

• Top tech gifts
• Kids
• Teens and Gen Z
• Gals
• Guys
• The person who has it all
• Health and fitness
• Self-care and beauty
• Travel

If buying presents feels like one more thing you can’t afford, check out PDS Debt. They’ll help you make a plan to pay down your credit cards, personal loans, collections or medical bills.

And just like that, we’re done. Have a beautiful Sunday, drop a rating below and catch up on my podcast if you need a pal to motivate you through your weekend chores. See you tomorrow! — Kim