Been seeing more people move toward online openings lately instead of fighting for retail product locally. Curious what people actually use consistently because most sites I've checked either looked sketchy or feel super outdated.
Anyone getting good pulls from this one?
I've been eyeing the Mi Band 10 for a while now and I'm thinking of getting one. If I'm being honest, the biggest reason is the design. I really like the pill shape and how much smaller it is compared to most smartwatches. I work out a lot, and bigger watches always end up bothering me when I'm lifting, walking, or doing anything that involves moving my wrists a lot.
That's why Xiaomi's smart bands caught my attention. My only concern is the accuracy. I've read mixed opinions about the step counting, workout tracking, and sports tracking in general. I'm concern because I will be using it mainly for that reason.
I've watched a bunch of youtube reviews, but most of them just go over the features listed on xiaomi's website without really talking about how it performs in everyday use.
So I'd love to hear from people who actually use the Mi Band everyday. How has your experience been? Is the tracking accurate enough? Any issues you've noticed? And overall, do you think it's worth buying?
About a year ago I would've rolled my eyes at those affiliate income screenshots all over TikTok.
I tried dropping referral links here and there, made about $12 in my first month, and honestly thought affiliate marketing just wasn't worth the effort. Now one of my channels brings in around $300 to $400 a month consistently. Nothing life-changing, but it's a nice extra income stream and definitely better than filling out surveys.
Looking back, a few things made the biggest difference. I already had a small YouTube channel reviewing budget gadgets. It wasn't big at all, just a few hundred subscribers, but having an audience in a specific niche helped. If you already post content about something, even to a small audience, it's much easier to recommend products people actually care about.
The biggest turning point was one random video. Most of my uploads got a few hundred views at best, then a "weird but useful tools" video unexpectedly hit around 200k views. That month my affiliate income jumped to about $180. Honestly, I still don't fully understand why that video took off, but it taught me that traffic matters a lot more than perfect editing.
I also stopped guessing which products people wanted. Early on, I spent weeks promoting things that barely converted. Now I spend a few minutes each day checking bestseller lists and trending products before making content. If something is already selling, half the work is done.
One thing I didn't expect was how messy everything gets once you start testing different niches. I mixed up referral links, logged into the wrong accounts a few times, and completely lost track of which channel belonged to which project. These days I keep everything separated with different browser profiles and dedicated logins. Some people use separate Chrome profiles, some use old laptops or VMs, and I've seen others mention tools like AdsPower when they're managing a lot of accounts. You definitely don't need anything fancy when you're starting out, but having some kind of system saves a lot of headaches.
Another lesson: honest reviews convert much better. My low-effort "look at this cheap thing" posts barely made anything. Actually testing products, pointing out the downsides, and showing where something falls short builds a lot more trust.
And one final thing: read the campaign rules carefully. I wasted traffic more than once because an offer was limited to certain countries or only worked for new users. Now I always double-check before posting anything.
Some months I make closer to $300, some months it's over $400. It's not passive income, and it's definitely not easy money. But if you're testing affiliate offers or looking for products for your own store, I'd focus less on finding the perfect product and more on getting consistent traffic and learning what actually converts.
Curious if anyone else here is doing affiliate content alongside their store. What's been working for you lately?
I've picked up a lot of hobbies over the years, and one thing I've noticed is that most of them are pretty... cost intensive. Sure, it's not really a waste of money if you genuinely enjoy it, but it'd be nice to find a hobby that doesn't require spending money every time you want to do it.
EDIT: Thanks for all the suggestions! There are so many good ideas here, and I'm definitely going to give some of them a try. And I have to be honest, this ended up shifting my perspective a bit. I never really thought of working out or walking as hobbies. I already work out and walk 12k steps a day for 5–6 days a week, but I've always seen them as things I had to do to stay healthy. Like a mandatory thing or a responsibility rather than something I enjoy.
Reading everyone's replies made me realize that hobbies don't have to be creative or expensive, and they don't have to be something tangible. They can simply be activities you genuinely enjoy doing. That was something I hadn't really considered before.
So, thank you. This thread ended up giving me more than just new hobbies.
I'm looking for something new to read. I don't know if it's just me but it's been hard finding good webtoons lately that have a good story and is free. I'm a fan of fantasy and action but i'm always open to explore new genres.
This box seems heavy on chase cards. Anyone opened some and care to share results?
Lately I've been really into Korean manhwa/webtoons like Solo Leveling, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, and The Strongest Florist. I love the progression systems, world building, and fantasy/adventure elements in those series. Are there any anime with a similar vibe or genre that you'd recommend?