• More than 3,300 older Americans have shared their financial and other regrets with Business Insider.
• Some older adults said tight budgets and a lack of savings were contributing to loneliness.
• This is part of an ongoing series about older Americans' regrets.

Taffi Ozenne has a few simple and inexpensive joys in her life.

When she feels lonely, she counts them: a hot-fudge sundae at McDonald's ($3.79), a walk with her dogs (free), and the first puff of her cigarette ($9.63 for a pack) on a sunny afternoon in northern California. The 68-year-old repeats the list over and over.

"In those moments where I'm wishing I had a friend that I could do something with, I just gravitate toward my dogs and say, oh, I got two friends right here — let's go for a walk," she said.

Since mid-September, more than 3,300 older Americans like Ozenne have shared their retirement regrets with Business Insider through a reader survey or direct emails to reporters. Loneliness is a common theme.

Some said they regretted not saving more, as a lack of money makes it difficult to maintain a social life. Many said they struggled to ask friends and family for help, further isolating them from loved ones. For an older generation already facing a loneliness crisis, money woes are making it worse. This story is part of an ongoing series.

With no retirement savings, Ozenne is trying to get by on her $1,739 monthly Social Security payments and the money she cobbles together through part-time jobs at a law firm and a bowling alley. She said her schedule feels nonstop but she needs the work so that her total monthly income is slightly above $3,000, enough to cover her bills.

Ozenne said that her budget didn't allow her to travel or go out with friends and that she felt increasingly isolated. She said she regretted not saving enough to support herself in her 60s or 70s and worries she'll have no one to care for her as she ages.

"It's mentally exhausting," she said, adding, "I don't want to be a burden to anyone."

We want to hear from you. Are you an older American with any life regrets you'd be comfortable sharing with a reporter? Please fill out this quick form.

Limited retirement savings take a social toll

In a survey of US adults commissioned by Cigna and conducted by Morning Consult in late 2021, 63% of respondents who earned less than $50,000 a year and 41% of respondents over 66 said they felt consistently lonely.

Having limited income can erode social connections for older adults. Social Security checks aren't enough to cover many retirees' bills, and some don't have enough of a nest egg to afford a night out, holiday gifts, or gas to visit family members. Meanwhile, the costs of meals, flights, and concert tickets have crept up.

"My 'golden years' are not golden at all: I live alone and have no friends," one respondent in BI's survey wrote. Another wrote, "I feel hopeless, I'm lonely, and my health is rapidly getting worse."

Joseph Coughlin, the founder and director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that high costs of social activities, housing, and transportation could lead to social challenges for retirees.

"If you do not have the financial resources, you're pretty much constrained where you live," he said. "You may not be able to afford a place that gives you the opportunity for those chance collisions with friends and, frankly, new people."

Susan Harper lives on less than $1,000 in monthly Social Security, plus SNAP benefits, but she has no nest egg or investments. The 66-year-old recently moved from Oregon to Washington, DC, to live with her sister. They're sharing household bills until Harper can secure low-income housing in the area. (Harper is on a waitlist.) Harper said that while she appreciated her sister, she missed her community. She said she often declined invitations from new friends to go to bars or restaurants because of the cost.

Harper said that while she needed to move to receive financial support from her sister, living in a new city had made her lonely.

"It's just a very difficult time, and it's very isolating," she said. "Especially as I get older."

Older adults regret not having a support system as they age

In the University of Michigan's National Poll on Healthy Aging conducted in March, older adults who weren't working, who lived alone, or who had lower household incomes were more likely to report feeling lonely. About 29% of adults 50 to 80 reported feeling isolated from others some of the time or often within the past year.

Coughlin said social isolation could exacerbate the risk of cognitive and physical decline for older adults, which may increase the likelihood that they need assisted care later in life. Genworth Financial, an insurance company, found that the median monthly cost of an assisted living facility in the US was $5,350 in 2023 — a price many older Americans told BI they couldn't afford.

John Keefe, 84, lives alone in Arkansas on his $2,700 monthly Social Security check and limited retirement savings. Keefe lost his son in 2011 and his wife in 2023. He said they were his main support system.

Keefe said he didn't travel much outside his hometown, and he worries about how he'll take care of himself when he can no longer drive to appointments or the grocery store. He said he wished that he and his wife had built a stronger financial cushion.

"I've outlived everybody," he said, adding that it was especially challenging to make connections as a widowed retiree.

Though there's no one-size-fits-all fix for loneliness, Coughlin offered a few suggestions. He said prospective retirees should think about "longevity planning." In addition to building a nest egg, he said, arranging the social aspects of retirement earlier in life — such as living near friends and family and developing hobbies — could reduce the risk of loneliness later and help people budget.

"Yes, it's about how much money you've saved — but it's also about all those other little things that make you smile and contribute to quality of life," he said. "That has to be planned as much as your 401(k) or whether you had your annual checkup."

Government and local assistance can also be a source of relief for older Americans struggling with finances and loneliness. The National Council on Aging estimates that 9 million older adults who are eligible for SNAP benefits don't receive them, and many forgo aid like Medicare Savings Programs designed to help pay for healthcare and other expenses. Many local senior centers offer free or low-cost social activities, transportation, and benefits counseling.

Ozenne is taking her life day by day. Because she works several jobs, her income is likely too high to qualify her for many forms of government assistance. So she sits at her kitchen table working on her monthly budget, and she stops by McDonald's for a hot-fudge sundae if she needs a pick-me-up. Her days still feel lonely, but she tries to "put on a brave face," she said. It helps to know she isn't the only one in this position.

"There are a lot of people — we're laying in bed awake at night wondering if we're going to make it through this month and if we're going to have enough money to pay bills," she said. "And if not, we wonder: What can give? What can I do without?"

Noah Sheidlower contributed reporting.

Are you experiencing loneliness because of your finances? Are you open to sharing your story with a reporter? If so, reach out to [email protected].

• Many older Americans regret some career choices that affected retirement plans and job prospects.
• Regrets include not prioritizing education, frequent job changes, and involvement in office drama.
• This is part of an ongoing series about older Americans' regrets.

For millions of Americans, retiring at 65 is just a dream.

Since September, BI has heard from older Americans about their career regrets in two surveys it conducted.

Over 3,000 people between the ages of 48 and 96 completed a voluntary BI survey or emailed reporters about their life regrets. In a separate survey, over 300 recently laid-off Americans over 50 shared their career regrets. We followed up with 13 interviews to learn more. This is part of an ongoing series.

Some common themes people discussed included not prioritizing education, switching jobs too frequently, and struggling to navigate office politics. Many also cited age discrimination — data from AARP found that 64% of those over 50 have either seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace. Nearly all said they were passed over for some roles in favor of younger applicants with lower pay expectations, particularly in white-collar roles where hiring has slowed.

We want to hear from you. Are you an older American with any life regrets that you would be comfortable sharing with a reporter? Please fill out this quick form.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that 18.9% of Americans 65 and older — about 11.4 million people — still work, many for financial or social reasons. Some returned to work after retiring, citing financial concerns.

Not prioritizing or getting the wrong kind of education

Lou Nelson, 63, was an executive assistant in the medical devices industry for 25 years but faced two layoffs since 2021. She hasn't had luck securing work since January.

For most of her career, she had few regrets about not having a bachelor's degree because she worked for top healthtech companies and said she was well respected. However, after sending out over 50 applications, she suspects not having a degree has impeded her search.

"Nobody wants to hire someone that's 63 years old, and I don't know if it's because of pay or experience," said Nelson, who lives in Texas.

A college degree is still a big boon to finding and holding a job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest jobs report showed that Americans with a bachelor's degree or higher had an unemployment rate of 2.4% in November 2024, while those with only a high-school diploma had an unemployment rate nearly twice as high, at 4.6%.

Grover McBeath, 79, said not having either limited his career options. He struggled through school and dropped out in eighth grade.

He joined the Air Force and worked in electronics for most of his career, but he lacked job satisfaction. Though he traveled the world for work and his salary peaked at $38,000 a year, he said he had an "unstable, nomadic lifestyle." McBeath took Social Security at 62 and relies on the $1,108 a month he receives. He lives in affordable housing in Nevada and receives SNAP benefits to help pay for food.

"I was in a career field that I didn't have an aptitude for, and many times, I just felt so lost in what I was doing, which is why I bounced around a lot," McBeath said, adding he wished he prioritized education.

Still, many believe a college degree isn't worth the financial burden. A Pew Research Center survey of US adults conducted at the end of 2023 found that just 22% of respondents believed a four-year college degree would be worth it if they had to take out loans.

Some older Americans BI spoke with agreed that their degrees haven't helped further their careers. Lynda Namey, 54, was a healthcare business manager for two decades, making $62,000 a year at her peak. However, after a divorce that put her in debt, she said she panicked and returned to school for her master's and doctorate degrees in counseling from Liberty University. She had no strong desire to pursue the degrees but did it because she expected them to help her land higher-paying roles.

That hasn't panned out. The Alabama resident removed her doctorate from her résumé to not appear overqualified. While searching for a full-time job, she's held part-time consulting, life coaching, and independent contractor roles. She also teaches meditation.

"I'm a middle-aged woman who has to completely support myself. I pay for my own insurance, and I've got to think about my future," Namey said. "I can't afford to take a job that pays $17 or $18 an hour. But those are the only jobs I get interviewed for."

Switching jobs frequently instead of building a cohesive career

Though a few job seekers regretted not looking enough for new roles, dozens said they regretted bouncing between jobs and career paths and not being more intentional about growing their networks.

After working in various industries, Dawn Habbena, 63, fell in love with human resources. But after her company was sold, she took a job in compliance for a wealth management company, which wasn't as satisfying as HR.

When Habbena faced a layoff during the pandemic, she struggled to get back into HR. Six months later, she got an HR job for a manufacturing plant, but she took another HR role after moving to help her aging mother. She described that role as "absolutely horrible," and she's since struggled to find another position — even as a grocery checker — after sending out over 1,000 applications.

Habbena wished she'd stayed focused on HR to accrue more experience and kept building her computer skills. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her 86-year-old mother and drives for DoorDash to stay afloat.

"I wish I had more confidence in what I did because I was easily knocked off," said Habbena, who lives in Texas.

Many older Americans, like Chuck Smith, 60, couldn't control how long they stayed in roles because of layoffs but wished they had settled somewhere more stable. Smith, from Massachusetts, worked in tech marketing for most of his career, making as much as six figures.

Smith was laid off in June 2023 and said he's since applied to over 2,700 roles and landed about 100 interviews. Though he and his wife are financially comfortable, Smith said he's worried about how quickly he's spending down his savings without a stable income.

Though hiring has remained steady for lower-income workers, the job market for six-figure earners has slumped. New LinkedIn data found hiring has fallen 27% in IT and 23% in product management and marketing since 2018. Middle managers have also faced hiring challenges — hiring levels fell 42% between April 2022 and October 2024, data from Revelio Labs found.

To be sure, recent data reveals that switching jobs often yields financial gains. A September Vanguard report found that the median job switcher received a 10% increase in pay. Still, it also showed a 0.7 percentage-point decline in people's retirement savings rate when switching jobs because 401(k) plan benefits can vary and people often make mistakes when rolling over retirement accounts.

AARP found that older workers who voluntarily change roles or industries in their 40s and 50s tend to retire later and have better work outcomes than their peers who stay in one role.

"They have better wage growth. They've experienced a higher success rate of staying in the workplace over those who might have been forced to change jobs later in their career," said Carly Roszkowski, the vice president of financial resilience programming at AARP.

Taking a risk on a business, contract roles, or an 'office bully'

Some respondents took risks that hurt them financially.

Michael R., 70, opened toy stores in New York throughout the 2000s, thinking they would grow enough that he could retire comfortably. However, when his businesses crashed amid the 2008 recession, he lost over $650,000 and declared bankruptcy.

"If I didn't do the business, I would have bought a house," Michael said, adding that in that scenario, he could've helped his whole family by selling his mom's house and gifting his siblings the money.

However, he had to move in with his mother, and after she died, he rented a studio apartment. He said he works nearly every day of the week at his friend's toy store and earns about $8,000 a month between his paycheck and his Social Security benefits.

"I'm still struggling just to pay my rent, my groceries, and my car. We don't get a raise. We don't get a bonus," Michael said. "I'm grateful I'm employed, but I can't go out looking for another job. Nobody's going to hire somebody who's 70 years old."

Some regretted taking risks working in contract roles instead of prioritizing full-time work. Mauricia Day, 74, never finished her degree and said she's held over 40 jobs — many contracted — in radio, tailoring, and office administration, making $30,000 a year at most. After a layoff in 2020, she hasn't found secure work. She works at a nonprofit in a part-time contract role that ends in December.

Day said because she knew little about saving and investing, she lived paycheck to paycheck. She wished she'd focused on securing full-time employment in one field instead of relying on unstable income. She receives $1,136 in Social Security and $317 from her pension each month, which is slightly more than her house payment.

"I wish I had focused more on a career; it would have probably helped better with retirement and investing," Day said, adding she stayed home for nearly 18 years raising her children. "I have a lot of friends who have been retired for 10 years, 15 years. I'm unsure why I'm still looking, but I know I'm still looking."

A few wished they took fewer risks navigating workplace dynamics. Robbi Sera, 59, said she had a stable career as a biotech project manager and made good financial decisions, such as maxing out her 401(k). However, she said she took a few risks at work that backfired.

Sera said she gave constructive feedback to a "company bully," which she said contributed to her layoff in February. She wished she'd stayed quiet until she locked down a different job, as she said the hiring landscape is "dismal."

Sera, who splits her time between California and Hawaii, said even though she's financially stable, she and her husband have cut back on spending significantly, rarely eating out or traveling. She earns $20 an hour as a contracted customer service agent for the aviation industry while searching for higher-paying roles.

"You just keep swimming and hope that something gets better," Sera said.

Are you an older American with any life regrets that you would be comfortable sharing with a reporter? Please fill out this quick form or email [email protected].

• Three baby boomer homeowners told BI they want to downsize but can't find suitable options.
• Rising home prices have led to a big increase in their home equity over the years.
• But those rising prices also make it harder to find affordable homes for retirement.

As many baby boomer homeowners look to cash in on their home equity and downsize, some are grappling with a shortage of suitable homes.

Older homeowners are increasingly staying put, as mortgage rates and housing costs remain stubbornly elevated and inventory— particularly of affordable and accessible homes — is scarce. Some simply can't find a suitable home that would leave them with enough cash to retire on, while others simply don't feel downsizing is a savvy financial move with housing and borrowing costs so high.

Kim Cayes is one of those boomers who feel stuck. The 67-year-old always banked on selling her four-bedroom house in Parsippany, New Jersey, to help support herself in retirement.

"My plan had kind of been: save everything I can, and then when I retire, move someplace cheap and use the equity in my house to buy a house in cash to reduce my costs," she told Business Insider.

Cayes bought her home for $245,000 in 2000 after her divorce. She added a major addition and has since benefited from New Jersey's soaring home prices — the house was recently appraised at nearly $700,000, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider.

But Cayes, now semi-retired from corporate communications, is no longer interested in leaving northern Jersey for a cheaper part of the country. Two of her three adult children live with her, and she doesn't want to leave her community.

"I would hate to move somewhere and leave one of my kids behind because, not being married, my kids are all I've got," she said. "Especially as you get older, you need a network of people."

Cayes is looking for a single-story home in the $400,000 to $450,000 range. But she hasn't had any luck finding something suitable. She says the homes she's looked at would need a lot of work and aren't in familiar neighborhoods.

"Thinking I'm going to spend the final years of my life in a worse situation than I've ever been in — that's just so depressing," Cayes said. "Especially when my friends are all traveling around the world with their spouses and constantly posting on Facebook which countries they're in."

'A lateral financial move'

Some boomers who can afford to stay in their homes don't want to endure the costs and possible stress associated with downsizing. Even those who are still paying off their homes often have much lower mortgage interest rates than what they could get on the market today, hovering around 6.5%. And leaving a familiar home and neighborhood can be emotionally taxing.

Dorothy Lipovenko, 71, and her husband love the single-family home in a well-connected neighborhood of Montreal where they've lived for nearly 25 years. But the options to downsize in their area seem limited to pricey new condos and old homes that need major repairs. Lipovenko doesn't want to live in a modern condo without green space, but she also doesn't want to take on a home renovation project.

"It becomes a lateral financial move, and that is what has us saying 'no,'" she said. "Downsizing is a huge undertaking, physically and emotionally, and a one-for-one trade makes no sense."

Ideally, Lipovenko and her husband would move to a smaller, single-floor house — she dreams of a Levittown-style suburban starter home, she said.

"It's not just giving up possessions and going into a smaller space; it's shrinking a lot of things to fit a new mindset," she said. "I just can't see my husband and I spending the last decades of our life in a little apartment."

'I'm lucky I have this house'

Andrea S., 60, already lives in a single-story starter home in Sherman Oaks, California, that's well-suited for a retiree. But Andrea, who requested partial anonymity to protect her privacy, isn't sure she can afford to stay in it.

The former agent and producer bought her two-bedroom bungalow with her ex-partner in 1994 for $245,000. She's lived in the home ever since, hasn't made any major improvements, and has a housemate to split the bills with. The Zillow estimate, reviewed by Business Insider, found the house is now worth about $1.3 million.

"I'm lucky I have this house," she told Business Insider. "I just hate the fact that the house is pretty much my pension fund."

Andrea's income is lower than she expected it to be at this point in her life — she's struggled to work since suffering from a head injury in a car crash in 2021. Meanwhile, the pandemic and Hollywood writers' strike killed off some of her projects, she said. At the same time, maintenance and repair costs for her nearly 75-year-old house are daunting: the HVAC system needs to be replaced, and the pool and large yard are expensive and energy-intensive to maintain.

"If I can't get a job that covers me enough to cover my bills, then I have to think about do I sell the house," she said.

But she's concerned that she won't be able to find an affordable home in a neighborhood as pleasant and walkable as hers, especially on a budget that makes sense. After her crash, she gave up driving and wants to keep living in a place with bus access and grocery stores within walking distance. Plus, she's concerned about the capital gains tax she'll need to pay if she sells the home.

"I'm realizing now, at age 60, all the things that you become very vulnerable to, especially when you're a woman and you don't have a life partner," she said.

Andrea and her friends joke about their dream of retiring together in the British seaside town of Port Isaac — the idyllic setting for the early-2000s TV show "Doc Martin."

"You get some nice little cottage in town. They don't have big yards. And you walk out your door, and you see the lovely English coastline," she said. "That sounds good to me."

Are you struggling to downsize or find a suitable home to retire in? Are you otherwise affected by the cost of retirement housing? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

Business Insider's creative team covered an array of projects this year. We brought our stories to life by incorporating animations, crafting bespoke multimedia experiences for our biggest stories, producing and commissioning hundreds of illustrations, and working with photographers around the globe.

Our visuals captured a wide range of topics, from looking into illegal lockouts in major US cities to Ozempic Scams.

We hired nearly 250 talented freelancers who helped bring our most compelling stories to life, producing over 1,500 pieces of custom art that enhanced our storytelling.

Here are some of our favorite visual creations from 2024.

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• Many of the 3,300 older Americans BI heard from recently regret not preparing enough for retirement.
• Financial planners described how younger people could set themselves up now to retire comfortably.
• This is part of an ongoing series about older Americans' retirement regrets.

For many Americans, their golden years can be a time of reflection — and regret.

Since mid-September, more than 3,300 older Americans have shared their retirement regrets with Business Insider through a reader survey or direct emails to reporters. Many said they wished they'd saved more, waited longer to retire, relied less on Social Security, or been more prepared for unexpected financial setbacks, such as a layoff, a medical diagnosis, or a divorce.

"I didn't really think about retirement in concrete terms," one 65-year-old wrote in response to a survey question about how people wished they planned for retirement differently. "I always felt I had time. Now I'm older, wholly unprepared, and without savings or a 401(k)."

We want to hear from you. Are you an older American with any life regrets that you would be comfortable sharing with a reporter? Please fill out this quick form.

BI talked to financial planners, wealth managers, and a personal-finance writer about what younger generations could do to avoid similar financial mistakes. This story is part of an ongoing series.

Start saving and investing as early as possible, even with a small amount of money

The amount of money Americans need to save for retirement can vary based on lifestyle and the local cost of living. In a survey conducted by Northwestern Mutual in January, the average respondent said they thought they'd need about $1.5 million to retire comfortably. Wealth managers and financial planners encourage young people with this goal — or any others — to understand their options, start early, and take advantage of employer-match programs.

Brad Bartick, a wealth planner at Baird, said Americans should begin saving for retirement while they're in college or in their early 20s. "Sobering though it may be," Bartick said, "success may require you to work a second job" or "earn a higher level of training or education."

He suggests people create a "ruthlessly honest budget" so they can identify places to cut spending and ways to pay down high-interest debt or build up an emergency fund. If money is tight, start by putting $25 to $50 per paycheck aside for retirement.

"That may not seem like much, but it is the behavior of saving — the habit, if you will — that is most important later in life," Bartick said. "Additionally, time will reward your having started early."

Bartick suggested that people whose workplaces offer retirement plans contribute at least the maximum dollar amount their employer will match and raise their savings rate as their salary increases.

A fact sheet published by AARP in December cited an estimate based on Census, IRS, and Federal Reserve data that about 56 million Americans in 2022 lacked access to retirement-savings plans at work. The vast majority of those people earned less than $50,000, meaning they may not have much surplus cash to save for retirement.

Judith Ward, thought leadership director and a certified financial planner at T. Rowe Price, said that not every employer clearly communicates which resources it offers, so workers may have to research what's available. She suggests people aim to save 15% of their salary annually.

A 72-year-old who responded to the survey implored people to "always, always, always take advantage of a 401(k) program with your employer and max it out," adding: "My mortgage was too big initially, so I didn't participate in the program for a few years. Big mistake."

Those lacking a retirement-savings plan at work can use individual retirement accounts, which most banks offer. Traditional IRAs offer tax breaks up front. Roth IRAs offer tax-free qualified withdrawals later in life. Bartick said higher earners should consider a Roth 401(k), as they're likely to be in a higher tax bracket later in life and can therefore save more money.

Bartick described investing as "the great equalizer" for young people looking to build a retirement portfolio, adding that most people can open a brokerage account and invest with few barriers. While investing can be lucrative, it involves risk and isn't a surefire way to build wealth.

Rob Williams, a managing director of financial planning at Charles Schwab, said the biggest regret he hears is that people waited too long to invest, missing out on years of compounding interest.

Retirees who didn't save or invest enough often rely on Social Security in their later years. Several older adults told BI they regretted collecting Social Security at 62 instead of 67, when their full retirement benefits would have kicked in.

A 77-year-old survey respondent who wrote that they "took Social Security too early" said they regretted cashing in on their benefit before reaching full retirement age. They added that working a lower-paying teaching job hurt their Social Security income and retirement savings later in life.

Prepare in case of a divorce or a spouse's death

Dozens of survey respondents said they regretted how they handled finances with their spouse. Some said they weren't on the same page about retirement goals, while others said the death of a partner disrupted their carefully laid plans.

Ward suggested married couples consider retirement as a household and analyze finances together, even if spouses keep their accounts separate.

"One of the biggest retirement mistakes I see is when a spouse assumes they share the same retirement vision," Ward said.

Many older adults told BI that a divorce hurt their finances. One 67-year-old survey respondent who got a divorce said they regretted "not having a 401(k) and thinking I would be OK because my husband worked hard all his life."

A study published in the Journal of Gerontology in 2022 found that from 1990 to 2010, the divorce rate for adults 65 and older nearly tripled. A BI analysis of 2023 individual-level Census Bureau data found that divorced retirees had lower average 401(k) balances, less savings, and a lower monthly retirement income than married people.

Elizabeth Ayoola, a personal-finance writer at NerdWallet, said people could protect some of their money and retirement savings with prenuptial agreements. However, prenups typically apply only to money and assets acquired before a couple ties the knot, so they provide less protection if the couple divorces later in life. She said that including major assets or money in a trust could be an effective way to secure wealth in a divorce, and she advised couples to have transparent conversations about finances at all stages of their relationship.

A spouse's death can also have detrimental financial ramifications. Older Americans told BI they struggled to get by without their spouses' paychecks or Social Security income. Others said a lack of a will threw them into a complex legal battle and probate process for their spouses' assets.

Ayoola advised couples to write a will and consider a life-insurance policy.

Build a nest egg to lessen the sting of sudden bills or loss of income

Some older Americans told BI that unexpected expenses or events, like medical diagnoses or layoffs, depleted their retirement savings.

One 78-year-old survey respondent wrote that her husband had heart problems and was recently laid off. She described wanting to reduce their housing costs but being unable to. "We are trapped in a large home living on Social Security and draining savings until it's gone," she wrote.

Dozens of older Americans said a layoff affected their retirement planning. Carly Roszkowski, a vice president of financial-resilience programming at AARP, advised older workers to continue updating their résumés and keep their skills sharp in case they're laid off.

Younger people may want to diversify their skills and prepare to pivot careers. They may also want to build an emergency fund to support themselves or loved ones if they lose their jobs.

"Build relationships with colleagues, mentors, and industry professionals. Networking can open doors to new opportunities and provide valuable support and guidance," Roszkowski said. "Reverse mentorship programs can be effective in organizations to help bridge generational gaps and build understanding and collaboration between different age groups."

Several older Americans said they stopped working or used up much of their savings because of a medical diagnosis. Healthcare researchers advise investing in routine checkups, factoring medical emergencies into nest eggs, and researching government-assistance options.

When a 69-year-old survey respondent and her husband began to struggle with health issues in their 50s and 60s, she said it took a toll on their savings: "Because of our health, I had to cash in my 401(k) for medical expenses at a very early age."

Financial planners told BI that people should analyze the value of their last-resort funding sources, like homes or life-insurance policies, so they know the total of their assets in a costly emergency. Ward said a healthy emergency fund for young people should include enough to cover three to six months' worth of expenses. As people age, they should allocate more: Retirees should have one to two years' worth of income, Ward said.

Sudden healthcare costs can drain emergency funds. Williams advised that people — whether they're young or heading into retirement — research their insurance options so they can reduce out-of-pocket costs.

Doug Ornstein, a director of wealth management at TIAA, argued that people paying high out-of-pocket healthcare costs in retirement "probably would have to live really bare-bones instead of being able to leave their kids some money or be able to do some trips and travel."

Benefits counselors can also help people determine the government aid they qualify for — the money may help them conserve savings and cover bills. The National Council on Aging estimates that up to 9 million older Americans are eligible for government assistance but not enrolled.

Ayoola said that benefits like SNAP or Medicaid could help lower-income people save money over time. "I would tell them to look around for as many government resources as possible to supplement their income," Ayoola said.

Are you an older American with any life regrets that you would be comfortable sharing with a reporter? Please fill out this quick form.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hello there! Value meals are practically extinct these days, but one place is holding the line: Chili's. The chain's CMO told BI why deals like the Triple Dipper and the 3 for Me combo aren't going anywhere.

In today's big story, the Fed is likely to cut rates again today, but don't bank on more coming after that.

What's on deck

Markets: This $19 billion hedge fund's old-school approach still relies on its founder's big bets.

Tech: AppLovin is a Wall Street darling, with shares up more than 780% this year. Can its incredible run last?

Business: How Sean "Diddy" Combs' professional and personal life crumbled amid a flurry of allegations.

But first, it might be the last one for a while.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Here today, gone tomorrow

Enjoy today's rate cut because it might be the last one for a while.

The Fed is expected to make its third-straight rate cut this afternoon, but the certainties end there, write Business Insider's Ayelet Sheffey and Madison Hoff.

Plenty of people on Wall Street believe today marks the end of the Fed's three-month rate-cutting spree, writes BI's Matthew Fox. Yardeni Research and Goldman Sachs both warned the Fed might take a breather when it meets again at the end of January.

Apollo's top economist, Torsten Sløk took things a step further, suggesting a potential rate hike in 2025.

So what's giving the Fed … pause? (Sorry. I had to do it.)

First, inflation is still very much a thing. While prices have improved since 2022, we're not at the 2% target Fed chair Jerome Powell set as a long-term goal. It's also ticked up a bit, with the consumer price index hitting a 2.7% year-over-year growth rate in November.

Meanwhile, the recent jobs report also shows the labor market is in a decent spot.

Those figures aren't exactly where the Fed would like them to be, but they're also not so bad that the central bank would adjust rates after today's announcement to enact change.

One other factor has market watchers unsure about the Fed's next move: the incoming president.

President-elect Donald Trump has made clear he intends to make big changes once he's in office. Talk of widespread tariffs, in particular, has some investors on edge.

Many economists believe Trump's trade plans will lead to higher inflation, as companies raise prices to pass on the taxes they face to customers.

(It's not a bulletproof prediction. Trump implemented tariffs during his first term and inflation decreased, and some believe that could happen again.)

There's another twist: Trump might not do anything with tariffs. The president-elect's tough talk could be a negotiation tactic to get better terms from China, Canada, and Mexico on various topics.

All that uncertainty puts the Fed in a tricky spot. Powell recently said the Fed couldn't make policy changes based on something that "lies well into the future." Instead, it needs to focus on the here and now.

So that means a rate cut today, and who knows tomorrow.

News brief

Top headlines

• Luigi Mangione indicted on first-degree murder charge 'in furtherance of terrorism.'
• Nima Momeni, the man accused of stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee in April 2023, found guilty of second degree murder.
• Biden backs congressional stock-trading ban with just weeks left in office.
• Amazon commits another $10 billion to Ohio data centers amid questions about energy costs and supply.
• Verily's plan for 2025: Raise money, pivot to AI, and break up with Google.
• Walmart is testing body cameras for some front-line employees in Texas.
• Nvidia stock's correction has accelerated since Microsoft's CEO hinted the frenzied demand for AI chips may be waning.

3 things in markets

1. Some Citi employees review of the bank's annual review process: Not great! Citi uses a forced curve to evaluate employees, meaning managers rank employees from best to worst and there are a finite number of top ratings. Current and former MDs told BI the bank's promotion process can pit employees against each other. Here's how it works and why some people aren't a fan.
2. In a sea of multistrats, Rokos stands apart. Unlike its peers, $19 billion Rokos largely relies on its billionaire founder making big bets. Its strategy starkly contrasts the rest of the industry, where diversified multistrategy funds rule the roost. Going against the grain has served them well.
3. The best bet for investing in 2025, according to Morgan Stanley's top stock strategist. It's time to hit the gym (sort of), as Mike Wilson recommends a barbell investment strategy. That means a mix of high and low-risk assets, which could be a good bet with potential market uncertainty in 2025.

3 things in tech

1. SantaGPT. Artificial intelligence has been changing the e-commerce game. AI should make the process easier since it's more integrated into online shopping. But BI's Amanda Hoover found you still might have to lend the AI elves a helping hand.
2. Wall Street is lovin' AppLovin. Mobile ads and gaming company AppLovin recently had its market value surpass the $100 billion milestone, and shares are up more than 780% this year. However, some ad industry insiders are skeptical about how long its run can last.
3. A $3 billion AI startup added Stripe's CFO to its board. Vercel, which offers AI tools to developers, said on Tuesday that Stripe CFO Steffan Tomlinson was joining as a director on Vercel's board. Tomlinson has experience taking tech companies public, even though Vercel is early in its life cycle.

3 things in business

1. Rapper unraveled. Since his rise to fame in the late 1990s, Sean "Diddy" Combs had built a business empire and become one of the richest and most well-connected entertainers of all time. But it all began to unravel when he was hit with a criminal indictment — which he pleaded not guilty to — and dozens of civil lawsuits. How his world fell apart in a year.
2. Rich musicians got millions in pandemic relief — and American taxpayers footed the bill. Stadium performers like Lil Wayne and Chris Brown billed US taxpayers for luxury hotels, private jet flights, and shopping sprees. They did it by taking advantage of a pandemic relief program intended for smaller arts organizations, a BI investigation found.
3. Don't trust that Zestimate. Zillow's popular automated home valuation is wrong. A lot. But Americans still love it — and that obsession is a big win for Zillow.

In other news

• The cancellation of 'Freaks and Geeks' broke Linda Cardellini's heart. It also taught her a valuable lesson.
• 56 million Americans don't have access to a retirement plan at work — and Social Security may not be enough to keep them afloat as they age.
• How Alex Karp built the 'cult' of Palantir — 'with no sex and very little drugs.'
• Wealth strategies that used to be reserved for billionaires are becoming more accessible.

• Juror 'misconduct' battle brewing in Trump hush-money case.

  ---

  What's happening today

• Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

Linda Cardellini had been patiently waiting for the chance to play somebody terrible.

After three seasons embodying the sweet, passive Judy Hale opposite Christina Applegate's hotheaded Jen Harding on the Netflix comedic thriller "Dead to Me," the actor, 49, was ready for something new.

"I was like, 'Well, won't it be fun if I can be a real jerk?'" Cardellini tells Business Insider.

She got her wish thanks to "Dead to Me" creator Liz Feldman, who dreamed up the role of Margo in her newest Netflix dark comedy "No Good Deed" with Cardellini in mind.

The selfish, manipulative, and deliciously glamorous Margo is one of several people vying for a 1920s Spanish-style home in Los Angeles that grieving couple Lydia (Lisa Kudrow) and Paul (Ray Romano) put on the market, and she'll do just about anything to make it hers.

Sporting designer clothes, long nails, and a fake tan, Cardellini's Margo commands attention in any room she walks into, though the true extent of her cunning isn't made clear until later in the series.

It's exactly the kind of role Cardellini was longing to play, and she's grateful she could reunite with Feldman, now a close friend, for the opportunity.

"Who wouldn't want some incredibly talented person to be writing for her? It just is a dream," Cardellini says of Feldman. "She writes really challenging and good roles. Especially as a woman my age, it's just wonderful to have that."

For the latest interview in Business Insider's Role Play series, Cardellini reflects on how the heartbreaking cancellation of "Freaks and Geeks" changed her approach to her career, playing an unlikable character (and murderer) in "Legally Bonde," and the best business decision she ever made.

On the cancellation of 'Freaks and Geeks' and learning to trust her gut

Business Insider: You got your big break on "Freaks and Geeks," and I read that you passed on two other promising projects in favor of that show. Do you think your career would look different if you hadn't done "Freaks and Geeks?"

Linda Cardellini: That's a great question. I would imagine so, although that show didn't do well back in the day. It really didn't. Now, it seems like a success, but back then, it did not seem like that to a lot of us and to the general public. [Laughs.] We could have never imagined that people would still be able to watch it on demand anytime they wanted somewhere. That just didn't exist at the time.

So I do think that things would've been different if I had never taken on that role. I don't know how, but definitely it's one of my favorite roles that I was ever in and one of my favorite shows I was ever involved with.

I just can't imagine if I had taken one of the other jobs and then had to watch somebody for years and years and years play that role instead of me. Not that I watch it — I don't — but I think that would've always been a massive regret.

Can you share what the other shows were, for context?

They were shows that didn't make it, actually, funny enough. I had gotten a phone call from somebody at the network being like, "You really should look at those other two shows. They're much more promising." And luckily, they were wrong.

How did experiencing that cancellation early in your career impact how you viewed the industry? What did you learn from that disappointment?

That's a good question. It's interesting because I learned a lot from that. I learned in some ways to go with my gut about how I felt about a script because a lot of people told me I was wrong — not that they thought the script was bad, but they thought other things were going to move forward faster or better. And that, I don't know how or why, just didn't matter to me in that at that time.

That show spoke to me for different reasons. I was reading a lot of things about teenagers where they were super cool and they were doing things that I just didn't relate to. I related to more of the "Freaks and Geeks" version of being caught in the middle of not feeling a hundred percent comfortable in your own skin, not doing the cool things, and not having all the right answers. And also, the fact that there was something about her where she still loved her parents even though she was trying to get away from them was interesting to me.

What that also taught me is nothing's guaranteed. You can love something, you can have the best experience on set. Everybody, as we have all seen now, everybody's done so well. What a talented, fun group of people to be with. And then it could be canceled. So nothing's a given, but if you do good work, maybe somehow it comes back, and people care about it.

On the flip side of that, I also learned that maybe I'll be a little careful with my heart because I was so heartbroken when it was canceled.

There's a picture that I saw that you can tell from my face that I've been crying all day on the last day of shooting. Since then, I kind of realized, OK, things just get canceled. You can't do anything about it. I sort of guard my heart sometimes in terms of not wanting to get my heart broken again.

Pivoting to "Legally Blonde," you have a very memorable scene where we find out that your character, Chutney, is the murderer. What was it like filming that moment and having that big perm?

That was my real hair. I have straight hair, so every piece of it was curled, and it was a long process. I didn't mind. As ridiculous as it could look, I didn't have any vanity about that.

I remember going to see it in the theater for the first time because I had missed the premiere for some reason; I think I was working or something. I went with a friend of mine, and we were sitting in the audience, and when I came on screen, someone was like, "Ew!" in a full theater, and I thought, "Oh my God."

On one hand, my feelings were really hurt because it was a visceral reaction someone was having to me on screen. And then on the other flip side of the same coin, I was really proud that I was willing to have this crazy look on screen and that maybe I did gross some people out.

Well, you did the job. She's not supposed to be the most likable person.

That's right, thanks. But that was really fun. I got to sit in there and work with everybody, and it was a really high-stakes scene.

On the mixed reactions to the live-action 'Scooby-Doo' movies and Velma's sexuality being watered down

Another fan-favorite role of yours is Velma in the live-action "Scooby-Doo" movies. There's been renewed appreciation for them more recently, but when they were released, they didn't get the best reviews and the second one didn't perform as well. Did that affect you at the time, when the movie's performance didn't go the way people thought it would?

I loved the second one. Velma had so much fun stuff to do in the second movie. By now, I was aware of the process of you could love something and somebody could hate it. It's always just the way it's going to go. And also, if everybody hates something, you might find one person who loves it. People really love those movies, and they're typically people who are younger who loved them when they were kids, which, how cool to have that place in somebody's heart?

I had so much fun making that movie, both of them. I got to play a character who was extraordinarily broad, broad comedy, where I was a cartoon, which was really fun for me. I'd come from doing "Freaks and Geeks," which was very grounded, and we weren't even allowed to wear very much makeup and looked like real kids. And then on the flip side of that, I got to play something that was my favorite cartoon as a kid.

That's all you have at the end of the day, is the experience you have on set. The rest of it is out of your control. You don't know how things will be edited. You don't know if you'll make it into the movie or not, especially when you're just starting out. I've learned that the best thing you can do is have a great time making the movie and having the opportunity to do your art.

That's all I ever wanted to do since I was a kid, so the idea that somebody gives me that opportunity, I can't take for granted.

A few years ago, screenwriter James Gunn said that he wrote Velma as "explicitly gay" in the original script, but it got watered down by the studio, became ambiguous, and then she got a boyfriend in the sequel. Were you aware of the studio pushback at the time?

I was not involved in any of those conversations. I was aware of the intentions and some of the stuff that was in the script that later got cut, for sure. But no, I wasn't in on any conversations like that at all.

There were lots of things that got cut. I think that the original script had a lot more things that sort of pushed the envelope in a lot of different directions. And then it also had that Velma was gay, and I think that those were things that were in the original script, but then the movie sort of geared towards children more at a certain point.

On being part of the 'enormous' Marvel Cinematic Universe and pushing past rejection

A lot of people know you from playing Laura Barton in the MCU. And in the "Hawkeye" series, we got to learn a lot more about her. It's been a couple of years since we saw you in that role. Have there been any discussions with Marvel about bringing Laura back?

No, I haven't had any discussions. But I was lucky enough to be back with them on "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and that was really fun.

There's nothing like going to one of those premieres. Any time I get to be involved with any of those, they're just so enormous and impressive and phenomenal. I finally took my daughter with me to the last one because I was like, she's got to see this because it's just an incredible experience, the fans that are there. It's really huge.

What's the best business decision you ever made for your career?

To stick with it. There are times that it's undoubted that you're going to hear no. You get a certain resilience to it, but it definitely hurts. So I think the most important thing that you can do is just stay with it, stick with it. Try to do the best work that you possibly can.

Having been in this business for decades now, it's really nice when the wonderful relationships you have with people work out and you get to work with them again, and you get to have something written for you, and you appreciate them, and maybe somebody appreciates you. That's the real stuff. You spend a lot of time with people at work and when you're able to surround yourself with people who are creative and kind, it's the best.

What advice would you give yourself when you were starting out as an actor, knowing what you know now?

That the fears you have are also part of the fun. Sometimes I tell kids, those butterflies you feel before you go onstage, what an exciting feeling. You're feeling some kind of danger, but you're not really in any danger. You're only in danger of somebody's opinion. And that can be scary, and it is. But what an exciting thing to be able to do, to put yourself out there and to be able to express yourself. So, it's OK to be afraid.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

"No Good Deed" is now streaming on Netflix.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hello there! Have you ever watched a Hallmark movie (it's ok to admit it) and wondered: Where did they film this thing? The answer is usually Victoria, British Columbia. Someone who lives there describes what it's like living in a place built for the perfect happy ending.

In today's big story, we're looking at how the uproar over mysterious drones has people doing some investigating of their own.

What's on deck

Markets: Bitcoin predictions for 2025 are rolling in, and there's a wide range of possibilities.

Tech: Amazon's RTO plans have one problem: There's not enough office to return to.

Business: Not as big and a lot more expensive. Welcome to the new American dream.

But first, what is everyone droning on about?

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's…

Mysterious aircraft have taken over the night sky this month, but they probably aren't bringing us gifts on the 25th.

Santa Claus might have some company in the sky as dozens of unidentified aircraft continue to pop up across the East Coast. See for yourself some videos of the sightings that are sparking concern.

The good news: Officials have stressed drones aren't the work of a foreign adversary or a public threat. The bad news: That's about all they are saying.

Donald Trump addressed the buzzy topic Monday during his first press conference since his election win. The president-elect criticized the government for not providing more details to the general public and said he canceled an upcoming weekend trip to his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.

The entire episode also reflects a growing challenge for the US military, writes Business Insider's Jake Epstein. Multiple military installations have spotted drones in their area, which could be spying on military bases or become a hazard to their operations.

The lack of information isn't stopping people from taking matters into their own hands.

Videos captured with Ring doorbells of potential drone sightings are being widely shared, writes BI's Ana Altcheck. The app's "Neighbors" section, typically for sharing info about lost pets or stolen packages, has become inundated with written reports and videos speculating about mysterious aircraft.

Of course, give the internet an inch, and it'll take a mile. While some of the posts are earnest, there's plenty of trolling going on. In some cases, users have gotten annoyed they're being bombarded with notifications about drone posts.

Trying to explain the phenomenon behind the drones represents the perfect thread for conspiratorial minds to pull on, writes BI's Katie Notopoulos.

To be fair, it's only natural to want to do a bit of investigating. I admit, I've spent a bit more time staring at the sky than I normally would, hoping to glimpse our new "friends" (hopefully).

If you do decide to do a bit of sky gazing, it's important to remember there are plenty of things up there that aren't mysterious. The Federal Aviation Administration handles 45,000 flights every day.

So before you get excited about what you think is another drone flying over your backyard, check out this piece from BI's Taylor Rains on how to distinguish what's flying overhead.

News brief

Top headlines

• Trump's hush-money conviction survives his 'immunity' challenge — for now.
• Bernie Sanders says Amazon's warehouse worker injury rates are far worse than the company lets on.
• Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX's Texas 'Starbase' into its own city.
• Trump is threatening the press. We should take him seriously — and literally.
• Ads took over streaming this year — and they're just getting started.
• The head of Russia's chemical weapons was killed when a scooter bomb exploded in Moscow.
• TikTok's CEO met with Trump as the fight to delay the app's ban heads to Supreme Court.
• The latest change for Starbucks under its new CEO? Baristas can get triple the amount of paid parental leave.

3 things in markets

1. Enjoy this week's rate cut because it might be the last one for a while. Wall Street forecasters aren't banking on the string of rate cuts to continue into early next year. A strong economy coupled with sticky inflation has experts projecting the central bank will pause easing its policy for a bit.
2. Two sides of the same (bit)coin. The crypto bears see bitcoin dropping to $45,000 in 2025 (BCA Research), while the bulls see the asset climbing as high as $500,000 next year (Fundstrat). President-elect Donald Trump's plan for bitcoin will have a massive impact, but there are also big moves being made at the state level.
3. SoFi's head of investment wants to vibe-check the market. Liz Young Thomas told BI it's hard to ignore all the positive signals in the market. However, aggressive speculation that the rally won't end despite stocks being overvalued could create a situation where the market gets too "frothy," she added.

3 things in tech

1. Exclusive: Amazon delays its five-day RTO mandate for some employees. The retail giant doesn't have enough office space in certain locations, and internal notifications reviewed by BI show some RTO policy delays stretching as late as May. But this isn't the first time Amazon has run into workspace capacity issues.
2. Inside Wiz's plans to become the world's biggest cybersecurity company. The cloud security startup has expanded at a breakneck pace, raising $1.9 billion in just four years and passing on a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google. Raaz Herzberg, Wiz's VP of product strategy, told BI where it plans to go from there.
3. Klarna says it will start drug testing workers in Sweden. The buy-now, pay-later firm, which is gearing up for an IPO, said the move was part of a wider effort to "strengthen security" in an internal Slack message sent Monday.

3 things in business

1. The American dream is a lot smaller these days. Fewer kids. Smaller homes. Less free time. Oh, and everything costs a lot more, and you probably won't be happy. The American dream sure looks a lot different than it used to.
2. Move over, Bluesky. Thousands of users have ditched X in the wake of the 2024 presidential election, with many flocking to platforms like Bluesky. But instead of shouting into the void and giving in to doomscrolling, some are turning to their group chat with friends for more meaningful interactions.
3. Introducing BI's 10 industry innovators of 2024. What do the CEO of Nvidia, the commissioner of the WNBA, and the head of Amazon Prime Video have in common? They're all shaking up and transforming their industries in their own ways.

In other news

• Why Arm and Qualcomm's legal battle could have big implications for the chip world.
• How rising US debt could compound into a crisis, according to 'bond king' Jeffrey Gundlach.
• Reid Hoffman says he's not planning on leaving US, but puts odds of Trump retaliation at over 50%.
• Chipotle's new CEO is trying to keep robots out of your burrito assembly line.

• Apple is working on a foldable iPad that has no screen crease, reports say.

  ---

  What's happening today

• Electoral College meets to certify presidential election results.
• Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

• More than 2,000 older Americans and counting shared their financial regrets with BI.
• Many said they had made mistakes that led them to return to work after retirement.
• This is part of an ongoing series about older Americans' regrets.

After retiring less than a year ago, Sylvia, 64, is back at work.

The under $2,000 a month she receives in Social Security isn't enough to pay her bills, and she has little retirement savings, so she recently started a job as a cashier.

Sylvia is one of many older adults who have shared their retirement stories with Business Insider in recent months. Some said they returned to work out of financial necessity; others unretired to stay active and combat loneliness. They're among more than 2,000 Americans who have responded to a reader survey about their life regrets. This story is part of an ongoing series.

Sylvia, who requested to use only her first name for privacy, was hoping to land a part-time role in education or local government near Albany, New York. Though she has decades of experience and has submitted hundreds of applications, she's had no luck getting hired in her field and opted to pick up shifts at the grocery store.

Now, Sylvia isn't sure whether she will ever be able to stop working. She said she's "mad" at herself for not building a strong financial foundation for retirement — she thought Social Security would be enough to get by. The manual labor of a grocery job is taking a toll on her mind and body, but she said she needs the money.

"I'm scanning groceries and I'm thinking: 'I hold a master's degree, I recently received an award from one of our state senators, and I can't obtain professional work,'" Sylvia told BI. "Can you believe that?"

We want to hear from you. Are you an older American with any life regrets you'd be comfortable sharing with a reporter? Please fill out this quick form.

Some older adults can't retire because of their finances

Sylvia's experience isn't uncommon. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that 2.4 million excess retirements occurred in the US as the pandemic began in 2020, meaning the number of retirees far surpassed the Fed's prediction. However, an Indeed Hiring Lab analysis of individual-level Census data found that 1.5 million retirees had returned to the workforce by March 2022.

In a study published in May, the wealth management firm T. Rowe Price estimated that 48% of those working in retirement needed their paycheck, while 45% chose to work for social and emotional benefits. The study was based on survey responses of 2,895 401(k) plan participants and 1,136 retirees in 2022.

What's more, one in five adults ages 50 and over surveyed by AARP and the University of Chicago's NORC research firm in January said they didn't have retirement savings.

But going back to work as an older American isn't so simple. These job seekers may struggle to land a job because of ageism in the hiring process, said Jessica Johnston, the senior director for the National Council on Aging's Center for Economic Well-Being. They could also face difficulty finding a job because their skills don't meet changing technology requirements.

"For people who are trying to reenter, a lot of them need job training," she said. "And the amount of digital literacy required to do a lot of even part-time work is not inconsequential."

Some retirees who return to the workforce for financial reasons are also conscious that earning too much can cost them more in lost benefits than they make in take-home pay. Government assistance programs that some older Americans rely on, like Medicaid or SNAP, have income ceilings. For example, a single person in Utah, like Claudia Rufino, must keep her gross monthly income below $1,670 to qualify for Medicaid.

Rufino feels trapped in that catch-22. As a single mom, she worked multiple jobs in retail and design to support her family, but a tight budget meant she couldn't build savings. After retiring and taking Social Security a decade ago — which currently amounts to $1,103 a month — the 72-year-old said she had been struggling to afford essentials.

To help cover her bills, Rufino took a part-time role working with foster children near her home in Salt Lake City. She said that she earns a stipend of a few hundred dollars a month.

Rufino wishes she had extra money to travel in her golden years: "I want to go see the world, but I don't have the money to do it," she said.

She would pursue a higher-paying job, but she said that would risk her Medicaid benefits, meaning she would have to pay more of her healthcare costs out-of-pocket. She also lives in a subsidized housing unit, and she said a higher income would mean an untenable rent increase. Those are trade-offs she can't afford to make.

"Going back to work is not worth it for me in my situation," she said. "I don't make enough money to make it worthwhile."

Resources for older adults in the job market

Retirement and economy experts told BI that there are resources for older adults who are back on a job hunt.

Johnston said that, for those who can't find work, government assistance programs can help some Americans afford essentials like groceries, housing, healthcare, and transportation.

In August, the National Council on Aging estimated that 9 million adults ages 65 and older would qualify for SNAP benefits but weren't enrolled, with many of those people eligible for other programs as well, like Social Security and Medicare Savings. The group hypothesized that some lower-income older adults don't know they are eligible.

Johnston said lower-income older Americans should take the food, healthcare, transportation, and housing benefits they are entitled to — local senior centers and benefits counselors can help them get started, she said.

"I'm a big believer that you can't budget your way out of poverty," Johnston said.

Allison Shrivastava, an economist for the job-search platform Indeed, added that older adults looking to return to work should lean on their professional networks to get a leg up on open positions and interviews. She also advised that job seekers spend time obtaining updated certifications and technology skills in their field: "It shows that you are willing to learn and you're willing to adapt," Shrivastava said.

To be sure, financial need isn't the only reason that retirees return to work.

Bonnie Cote, 75, returned to the workforce part time as a substitute teacher shortly after retiring about 10 years ago. She spent decades working for the Department of Education near Washington, DC, along with a stint teaching art at a nearby school.

Cote's income supplements her savings and $2,300 monthly Social Security checks, but she says her job keeps her active. She loves teaching, being social, and working with students on assignments and art projects.

Cote said she felt pressured by friends and financial advisors to leave her career in education in her mid-60s and came to regret it. She said she retired too soon, and she's happiest in a classroom.

"It doesn't matter what age you are," Cote said. "You should be able to get a job."

Have you unretired? Are you struggling with finances in retirement? If you're open to sharing your story with a reporter, reach out to [email protected].

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

(Slightly) new name, who dis? I didn't catch enough sun in Florida to get a proper tan, but I am bringing a fresh look to the newsletter. All your favorite parts are still here, just with an updated feel. Like that friend who suddenly has a great hairline a few months after their trip to Turkey.

In today's big story, Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old charged with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, made a vocal first appearance in court.

What's on deck

Markets: Microsoft investors take a pass on holding bitcoin on the balance sheet.

Tech: Amazon's pharmacy business is quietly crushing it.

Business: It turns out taking it easy during retirement isn't all that easy.

But first, all rise.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Heading to the courtroom

The case against the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is coming into focus.

Luigi Mangione appeared in a Pennsylvania court Tuesday for a hearing about his extradition to New York, where he faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of Thompson last week.

The high-profile case already included fireworks, as Mangione shouted at the press while being escorted into the local courthouse. Although it wasn't entirely intelligible, Mangione called something "completely out of touch" and "an insult to the American people." There was also a reference to a "lived experience."

Mangione brought some of that fight into the courtroom, as his lawyer, Thomas Dickey, said he was contesting his extradition to NY. Doing so won't ultimately stop him from being brought back to New York to be arraigned, but it could delay the process by weeks.

A key piece of the case will likely be a "ghost gun" — or untraceable firearm that can be assembled at home — that police say they found on Mangione. Joseph Kenny, the New York Police Department's chief of detectives, previously told reporters the gun could have been made on a 3D printer.

Shares in health insurers have also taken a dip as the market wonders if Thompson's death will lead to wider scrutiny of the industry.

One thing that does seem clear is the gap between how much health insurance companies spend on executive security compared to their Big Tech peers.

In the meantime, details on Mangione continue to emerge.

A review of Mangione's deleted X posts by Business Insider's Jack Newsham and Katherine Long offers a look inside the 26-year-old's mind.

His deleted social media posts show skepticism toward doctors, President-elect Donald Trump, and President Biden. One repost also suggests he supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

It's just some of the vast online trail the Ivy League graduate created. An app founder who talked about AI on X, Mangione attended elite schools and wrote a favorable review of the Unabomber Manifesto.

News brief

Top headlines

• Bankruptcy judge rules against The Onion's acquisition of Infowars.
• GM gives up on robotaxis after a string of troubles with Cruise.
• Jay-Z's response to sexual assault allegations was missing one key thing, according to PR pros.
• Scoop: Particle Health lands $10 million in funding after lobbing antitrust lawsuit against medical records giant Epic.
• The US is striking targets across Syria, and it isn't the only one dropping bombs in this uncertain moment.
• Trump said he'd consider raising the minimum wage. Here's where it stands in every state and the raises both parties have proposed.
• LinkedIn wants to have its TikTok era.

3 things in markets

1. Microsoft shareholders shut down a bitcoin investing bid. A think tank proposal called for Microsoft to evaluate the benefits of adding bitcoin to its corporate balance sheet. But investors shut the proposal down, saying it prefers to stick with less volatile assets.
2. The market's green flags could actually be red ones for 2025. Contrarian investor Edward Yardeni explains why seemingly strong market indicators, like an elevated Bull/Bear ratio and the S&P 500 trading above its 200-day moving average, might lead to a pullback.
3. Speaking of cautious outlooks… Some Wall Street forecasters see the stock market's good times hitting a wall in 2025. Whether it's concerns over consumer spending waning or a feeling that stocks are just too pricey, some experts see a market correction coming early next year.

3 things in tech

1. Amazon Pharmacy's potential sales boom. A record 45% of Amazon's customers are "very interested" in buying medications from its pharmacy business, an Evercore analysis found. As shopper interest skyrockets, Amazon Pharmacy's revenue is expected to reach $2 billion this year, according to the report.
2. YouTube star Marques Brownlee has some questions for OpenAI. The AI giant recently released Sora, an AI video generator, to help creators like popular tech reviewer Brownlee. But Brownlee didn't sugarcoat his skepticism in his review of the AI tool and wanted to know if OpenAI used his videos to train Sora without his knowledge.
3. Google's Gemini woes. As Google pours money into AI, the tech giant is hoping products like Gemini for Google Workspace will turn the investment into revenue. However, according to internal documents reviewed by BI, Workspace's Gemini tools trailed its key rivals when it came to brand familiarity and usage.

3 things in business

1. Kroger's $25 billion acquisition is not to be. Kroger's proposed acquisition of Albertsons was blocked by a federal judge, who agreed with the FTC that the merger would weaken competition for US grocery shoppers. It would be the largest supermarket merger in history, but the ruling could ultimately sink the deal.
2. Ball is not life, after all. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was widely criticized by Wall Street after losing NBA rights to competitors. But WBD is doing just fine, securing higher rates for most of its TV networks from Charter and Comcast, the two largest cable providers in the US, people familiar with the terms of the deals told BI. (NBA execs, on the other hand, are fighting an early-season ratings slump with an NBA Cup they hope will reignite interest.)
3. America is doing retirement all wrong. Plenty of older Americans envision themselves strolling through golf courses, lounging by pools, or binge-watching TV shows in retirement. But research suggests a life of pure leisure doesn't make you happier or healthier. In fact, it may even prevent you from living longer.

In other news

• Timothée Chalamet's Bob Dylan can really sing, even if 'A Complete Unknown' doesn't hit all the right notes.
• I asked ChatGPT to help me decide what to get my family for Christmas. It gave me suggestions I never would've thought of.
• Ex-Abercrombie and Fitch CEO requests a hearing to determine if he's mentally fit to be tried on sex trafficking charges.

• Was your 2024 Spotify Wrapped disappointing? A former engineer explains why it felt like a flop this year.

  ---

  What's happening today

• Macy's reports earnings.
• The White House hosts a conference on women's health research.
• CPI data is released.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hello. Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania on Monday and initially faced local gun and forgery charges. Our team has been covering this developing story — keep up with our coverage here.

In today's newsletter, the $13 billion Omnicom-IPG megamerger reflects a new era as Big Tech and AI upend the ad industry.

What's on deck:

• Markets: Nvidia shares fell after China hit the chipmaker with an antitrust probe.
• Tech: Former Google employees on being laid off from the tech giant and their advice for those in a similar position.
• Business: Rupert Murdoch lost a 'Succession-like' legal battle over future control of his media empire.

But first, a new ad-venture.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

The ad industry's new era

It's already been a big week for the ad industry.

Omnicom Group said it had reached an agreement to acquire Interpublic Group, a merger worth more than $30 billion that would create the world's largest ad conglomerate.

Across the pond at Paris-based Publicis Groupe, the party hats might be staying in the drawer. Just last week, Publicis recruited Snoop Dogg for a video to help celebrate the firm usurping London's WPP to become the world's largest ad holding company.

But it's not just about being No. 1. For ad industry insiders, the proposed takeover reflects an ad sector under threat from Big Tech and AI, writes Business Insider's Lara O'Reilly. By creating a larger company, Omnicom-IPG will have a bigger base to deploy data and technology, which could give it leverage to secure beneficial and exclusive deals with partners such as cloud providers.

Keep in mind, however, that in the short term mergers can be highly disruptive.

Concerned clients. Bruised egos. Job cuts.

Integrating two companies with 100,000 people combined, dozens of different agency brands, and hundreds of offices across the globe will not be a simple task. There will likely be synergies — including job cuts. "It will be harder to climb the career ladder. Superstar creators and creatives will also be in demand, as well as good strategists, in all disciplines. But, lots of other roles will become diminished," Simon Francis, who leads the marketing consultancy Flock Associates, told BI.

However, as Lara highlights, that could create opportunities for smaller agencies, especially as the merged company works its way through the disruption caused by integration, egos being knocked out of joint (it wouldn't be the first time), and potential client conflicts where the new entity suddenly works with two or more fierce rivals in the same sector.

"From an M&A perspective, it's only going to add fuel to the fire."

That's according to William Ritchie, founding and managing director of advisor firm WY Partners. "I'd expect there is going to be more competition for the best assets and more focus on building a streamlined data and tech-first offering which can compete," he told BI.

Private equity has been circling the ad industry, too. Apollo, KKR, and Blackstone have shown interest in media and entertainment. Industry insiders have speculated for months that WPP could be taken private — or at least some parts of it could be.

News brief

Top headlines

• What we know about Luigi Mangione, the Ivy League grad charged with murder in UnitedHealthcare CEO's killing.
• Jay-Z asks judge to unmask Jane Doe who said in a lawsuit that he and Diddy raped her when she was 13 years old.
• Trump says he's 'having dinner' with Jeff Bezos. It's the latest development in their long history.
• AMD downgraded after BI report on weak demand for its AI chips among AWS customers.
• Post-Assad Syria will be a new challenge for America's Middle East strategy.

3 things in markets

1. Nvidia stock drops as China probes the chipmaker over potential antitrust violations. China's government is looking into Nvidia's acquisition of chip design firm Mellanox, which it previously approved. Nvidia stock fell by more than 2.5% early Tuesday.
2. Microsoft and Amazon investors are eyeing pieces of the bitcoin pie. Shareholders at Microsoft and Amazon will decide this week if their respective companies should consider investing in bitcoin. The cryptocurrency recently blew past a $100,000 milestone that bestowed great gains on MicroStrategy, which saw triple-digit gains after buying up bitcoin this year.
3. Some advice from Citi's newly minted MDs. Citi appointed its largest class of managing directors under CEO Jane Fraser last week. Five of the new MDs told BI their best career advice and reflected on the bank's massive transformation.

3 things in tech

1. Life after Google. The past few years have been rough for those in the tech world as the industry faced historic layoffs. Eight ex-Googlers — including one who has since returned — shared what it was like to lose what some considered their "dream job," and how they found their footing after.
2. Inside MrBeast City. Jimmy Donaldson, the creator better known as MrBeast, shared photos of the "city" he built for his upcoming "Beast Games" show. He said it cost more than $14 million to build.
3. OpenAI's shiny new video generator is open to the public. Sora, which can generate videos up to 20 seconds long from written prompts, went live Monday. Its product lead said a team of about five or six engineers built the generator in months.

3 things in business

1. Murdoch's "Succession" battle. Life imitates art, or perhaps, art imitates life. Rupert Murdoch lost a legal case over the future of his media empire in a real-life succession battle on Monday. Rupert, 93, and his son Lachlan took on three other Murdoch children in court — and lost, for now.
2. Thinking outside the deck. For better or worse, slide decks have been at the crux of how Americans work in the nearly four decades since PowerPoint launched. But they've also faced a lot of backlash, including from CEOs like Elon Musk and Sundar Pichai. Does that mean the deck is in jeopardy? Next slide.
3. AI's pollution price tag. AI-related emissions will soon rival that of all the cars in California, according to a new study. In just six years, the study found, AI electricity consumption could pollute the air so much that asthma-related deaths could spike by more than a third. By 2030, researchers calculated, AI's health impact could total up to $20 billion.

What's happening today

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testifies at his corruption trial in Jerusalem.
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit.
• Nobel Prizes, including the Nobel Peace Prize, are presented in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Insider Today team: Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

• Novo Nordisk scientist Lotte Bjerre Knudsen paved the way for popular GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic.
• Her work in the 1990s was instrumental in turning short-acting hormones into long-acting drugs.
• Her 'product mindset' is what keeps her going, she said.

Inventor and scientist Lotte Bjerre Knudsen has spent her entire career at Novo Nordisk.

"I started here fresh out of university," she told Business Insider from the company's glass-walled headquarters outside Copenhagen. She's sitting just across the road from where her career began in the late 1980s, developing color-safe laundry detergent.

It would have been impossible to predict then that she'd become instrumental in the development of the popular class of injectable diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy that have become a roughly $47 billion global market.

It was her research and development of Novo Nordisk's first daily GLP-1 shot for diabetes (liraglutide, approved in the US in 2010) that would spur the development of those more powerful, longer-lasting weekly shots, which she also oversaw.

For years, scientists had known that the GLP-1 hormone played a key role in regulating appetite. But these hormones were so fleeting in the body, almost nobody in the diabetes world was convinced they'd make a successful drug. As Novo Nordisk tells the story now, the company was less than a year out from closing down the entire GLP-1 program when she had her breakthrough.

Today she's proudly wearing her new Lasker Prize lapel pin, as a 2024 recipient of the science award widely seen as second only to a Nobel Prize. It's in recognition of the pivotal role she played in developing the first long-acting GLP-1 drugs.

Here are the three key guideposts she said have helped her succeed with business breakthroughs for 35 years.

Develop a 'product mindset'

Knudsen's cardinal goal, she says, has always been to develop products that "help people at an everyday level" — a tenet she's held onto from her early days experimenting with laundry detergent.

"I've only ever had one job," she said.

She calls it a "product mindset," or "enterprise mindset" and says she learned it first from her dad. It's a type of energy, a way of being driven to solve problems, to make something that will be useful.

"It's the same mindset I have used in everything I've ever done, to just say, 'actually I want to help, make a product that can help' — either in society, or people with disease," she said. "That mindset is exactly the same whether you are making laundry detergents, which certainly help people, or you are making medicines to help people in a very different way, but still help people at an everyday level."

She's clear-headed about the fact that the approach only sometimes ends with success, but is not deterred by the failures, she says. Instead, they press her on to find new ways to solve the problems that pop up.

"I'm okay with being challenged, I don't mind," she said. "But it doesn't make me give up. I listen to the critique, or the feedback, and then I go think about whether there's something I should be doing differently."

Focus on what you know

Knudsen says her training at "Denmark's MIT" (actually called the Technical University of Denmark, or DTU) helped her chart a path toward a drug development solution rooted in biotechnology. Specifically, she focused her research on injectable peptides. This wasn't because she thought peptides were superior to pills. It was what she knew best.

"I think there's some kind of synergy between the background that I had and the problem that needed to be solved," she said. "I was very comfortable with peptides as a potential medicine."

To make the GLP-1 hormone "long-acting" her team found a way to attach a fatty acid to the molecule. She compares this structure to a steak — it's a one-two punch of protein and fat, protecting the hormone-mimicking shot from rapid degradation in the body.

Stay humble and curious

Even though Knudsen and her teams at Novo Nordisk invented an entirely new class of diabetes and weight loss drugs, she's still level-headed about these relatively new medicines.

She says more scientific studies of the drugs are essential to better untangle how they work, and reveal all the different aspects of our health they impact, from inflammation and addiction to dementia.

While she acknowledges there are serious concerns about muscle loss in many people taking GLP-1s, she says drug developers should exercise caution in combining GLP-1s with other medications, like those designed to help combat muscle loss.

"You can't start combining left, right, north, east, west unless you really understand what the foundational part of the biology means," she said.

Now a chief science officer at Novo Nordisk, her executive role is far more focused on mentorship and governance than technical knowledge. But she still aims to explore the basic science that can steer new discoveries. In 2021, she took a job rotation at Novo Nordisk's research site inside Oxford University to learn more about genetics, hormones, and machine learning.

"There's all these things that need to happen in the body after you've eaten," Knudsen said. "GLP-1 is involved in that, and that's why it has both effects on different organs, and the brain, and everything that needs to happen after you eat."

• Rebecca Vijay, an online entrepreneur, faces isolation and challenges due to time zone differences.
• She works in publishing through the night and sleeps during the day while her family is away.
• Global connections through coaching groups have helped her overcome isolation and find support.

I'm an online business owner who provides book writing and publishing services. My focus is on women's empowerment through faith, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy.

As a child growing up in New Delhi, every day was an adventure with friends and weekends were busy with church, youth events, and programs. Coming from a carefree youth setting to stepping into the workforce and adjusting to a 9-5 schedule took some time.

Now, as I run my business from home alone, I feel even more isolated.

I worked a few corporate jobs before starting my business

After working in different organizations at the start of my career, I settled at Oxford University Press for almost eight years, heading a commissioning team that published management books.

I got married in 2008, found we were expecting twins, and lost my firstborn twin son on the third day of his life. I raised my preemie daughter with my husband's support.

Infant loss can be a taboo subject, and most people around me chose to ignore it. Stifling my thoughts and emotions forced me into my shell.

I had another son, and when he was a few months old and my daughter was in kindergarten, I decided that money can always be made but spending time with my kids during their formative years was more important. I left corporate life in 2014. Not many people in my life understood this decision.

I became an author and struggled to feel understood by my community even further

I started blogging, and in 2017, I wrote my first book, "My Angel in Heaven," about my son's death and finding comfort in God, which helped many bereaved parents and became a bestseller on Amazon.

Though people around me congratulated me, I didn't feel like they understood what it took out of me to bring the book to life. I went on to have two more books published that year, and the response was the same, as they hit bestseller lists, too. It made me feel even more disconnected from the people around me.

I then faced new challenges when I became an online entrepreneur

I started my company, Fount of Grace Creatives, in 2018, providing publishing services to local authors and expanded it into an international publishing house in 2021.

I created a concept for an anthology featuring inspiring stories of global women changemakers, trailblazers, and visionaries. Arranging coaching or networking calls is difficult; when for some, it's midnight, for others, it's early morning.

As I work mostly with US clients now, I tend to work during the evenings, leading to late nights. Sometimes, I'm even up until 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. or maybe not sleeping at all, as I need to be up by 6 a.m. to get my kids up for school.

Once my kids and my husband are out for their day, I try to get a few hours of sleep. It's extremely difficult as our maid will come, trash will need to be picked up, some courier will come, etc.

I generally put my phone on silent as otherwise it will keep ringing and disturb my irregular sleep. On top of that, I get migraines, which get triggered by lack of or interrupted sleep.

It's difficult for friends, family, and acquaintances to understand my schedule

My husband works in logistics and others around me are mostly in IT, teaching, HR, finance, banking, or ministry.

For them, I'm at home and need to be available whenever they call or message. Some feel that the online world where I work is not a "real" job and don't seek to understand it. They also don't understand why I've invested in mentors, online programs, and courses.

I work on business development, sales and marketing, social media, and fulfillment. This is very different from more traditional jobs, and I'm all the more isolated as I can't share about my work or what it entails.

The pandemic came and made everything worse

We were imprisoned within our own four walls. I lost my mom and some close friends.

Before I could even make sense of that, cancer stole two of my favorite and most inspiring authors whose stories I published.

All this left me spinning out of control and alone.

I started to make friends online

I've connected with others through global coaching groups to learn strategy and skills for my business. These women have helped me break boundaries in my mind and figure out how to cater to international audiences and charge in USD, as they've had to break their own barriers and obstacles to gain success.

These women have become friends and helped me feel less alone. We have similar struggles, share our success stories or tips, and speak the same jargon.

Investing in myself, following through on my vision even when others didn't understand or see it, and focusing on my mission have helped me develop these deeper virtual personal relationships.

The struggles are worth it

Life as an online entrepreneur from a different time zone than most of my clients has been difficult and lonely, but when I look back at the lives I've touched through publishing their inspiring stories, the sacrifices have been worth it.

I plan to go on to train corporations and educational institutes in personal development and women's leadership and continue to encourage my kids and women across the world to dream big, not be limited to a 9-5 job, and consider working online as a way to gain time and financial freedom.

Do you have an isolating job and want to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at [email protected]

Kelly is aware that she should have been more careful when she signed up for a weight-loss medication online. She knows she should have looked into the company selling it, but, as she puts it, "desperate times call for desperate measures." She had gastric-bypass surgery in 2011, and that worked for a while, but then she started to gain the weight back after the "food noise" returned. "It's not like alcohol where you can abstain," she says. "You have to eat."

In May, she signed up for a subscription with Zealthy, a telehealth company she found through Google. It seemed simple enough: She was charged a subscription fee and a fee for the medication she ordered, semaglutide, which is basically generic Ozempic. She quickly noticed her food cravings and appetite had decreased. About six weeks later, she noticed she was losing weight. But then the billing got weird. Screenshots of the company's billing portal show that in September she was charged three times for one medication on top of the subscription fee and a separate "manual entry" charge of nearly $400. In October, her medication never arrived; the company blamed shipping delays on hurricanes in Florida. She tried to resolve the problem through the company's chat service and emails, trying to get the medication or a refund, but eventually, she gave up after failing to make progress on either front. She canceled the card she had on the account to prevent further charges. After filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, Kelly, which is a pseudonym, has gotten some of her money back, but she's still out hundreds of dollars. Zealthy didn't respond to a request for comment.

The topic of embarrassment came up throughout our conversation. Kelly has been overweight her whole life, and many people aren't particularly nice about it — they don't understand why she can't manage with just diet and exercise. "My pants don't fit if I so much as look at a cookie," she says. The experience with Zealthy only added to this sense of ostracism. Kelly's ashamed that she gained the weight back, that she let her guard down, and that she was taken for a ride.

But Kelly isn't alone: The explosion of new weight-loss medications has opened the door for all sorts of questionable business practitioners and outright scams. Drugs promising to help people lose weight are everywhere, and the fact that society prizes being thin — and punishes those who aren't — makes vulnerable people susceptible to tricks.

The diabetes and weight-loss drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide — which are generally referred to as GLP-1s and which you probably know by the names Ozempic or Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk, and Mounjaro or Zepbound, made by Eli Lilly — have been game changers in obesity treatment and management. For people struggling with their weight, these drugs can seem like a miracle. But because the brand-name medications are so expensive and difficult to get, many people, like Kelly, are turning to other sources, buying copycats from online telehealth companies and sellers that have very little, if any, oversight.

Compounded versions of the drugs have been effective for many people, even if the Food and Drug Administration doesn't approve them and has warned against taking them. But not everyone has been so lucky. In Kelly's case, she's out a chunk of money. (She's not the only one with issues with Zealthy: The federal government has sued the company, alleging unfair and deceptive conduct including billing customers for things they didn't knowingly agree to and misleading people about their subscriptions.) For others, the consequences are not only financial but medical. Poison-control centers reported an enormous jump in semaglutide-related calls last year. One recent study looking at websites advertising semaglutide without a prescription found that 42% of the sites belonging to online pharmacies were part of illegal operations.

"We're a little bit in the Wild West," said John Hertig, an associate professor at Butler University's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. "It's just exploded so fast. There's so much money to be made here."

The marketplace is awash in companies trying to ride the Ozempic wave by selling compounded semaglutide, knockoff drugs, and similar-sounding supplements. Last year NBC News found that there were more ads on Instagram and Facebook mentioning semaglutide than there were ads for Viagra on the platforms. Semaglutide content is all over TikTok, much of it dubious. Phishing scams that use the medications as the hook have increased, as have other schemes designed to get people's data or payment information with the promise of access to the drugs. Reddit and the Better Business Bureau's website are filled with complaints about telehealth companies offering GLP-1 products — people describe unwittingly signing up for pricey subscriptions, never receiving medication, or finding it impossible to quit. It can be hard to discern a safe, legitimate offer from a dupe. Complicating things is that the FDA hasn't clearly established what's OK here, leaving consumers to figure things out for themselves. Even big-name telehealth companies are sending medications to patients without a lot of supervision.

"Every medication carries a risk, and they don't affect everyone equally," said Jessica Bartfield, a clinical associate professor at Wake Forest University's Bariatric and Weight Management Center. "So when you see these images and testimonials and stories about people who are on it for maybe inappropriate purposes or who are losing tremendous weight or who aren't being monitored the right way, then it normalizes it, and people think that that's OK."

The body-positive movement has spread the message over the past decade or two that you can and should love your body at any size and that health and beauty are not synonymous with thinness. That movement isn't necessarily a failure, but the rush to get semaglutide shows that American culture's preference toward skinny never went away, said Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, a history professor at The New School who wrote the book "Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession."

"It's very clear that there are still a lot of people who — medical issues aside — really want to be thin," she said.

As much as the FDA and doctors might tell people that off-brand semaglutide and other products are risky, people aren't necessarily deterred from seeking them out. They see others getting results, and they want the same.

"You don't see this with cancer treatment. You don't see this with blood-pressure medications. You don't see this with antibiotics," Bartfield said. "This is a very unique field, and I can appreciate the appeal."

The rush of gray-market semaglutide and scams riffing on the desire for the drugs are a confluence of market need and market want — some people who really do need to lose weight for medical reasons are turning to alternative methods because they can't get or afford the "official" stuff, while others are using the medications more out of vanity. After all, the pursuit of dubious miracle products in the name of being thin and attractive has existed forever.

"I mean, Jane Fonda tells stories of mailing away for tapeworms," Mehlman Petrzela said. "In the '90s — and this is an approved thing — Olestra was a fat substitute, and the warning was anal leakage. And people were like, 'OK, whatever, if it makes you skinny.'"

The promise of being thin is an incredibly effective marketing tactic and one that's hard to resist, especially with this new class of drugs. My Instagram feed is filled with nearly indistinguishable ads for weight-loss medications that show a little vial of some clear substance, list facts and figures about weight loss, and mention how expensive the real stuff is. Sometimes it takes me a second to realize I'm looking at an ad, because it's just a person talking to the camera. Mehlman Petrzela told me she often sees ads for supplements promising to be "nature's Ozempic" on her feed. An acquaintance recently mentioned that after seeing all the ads, she signed up with a telehealth company to see if she qualified to get compounded semaglutide. After a consultation, she was denied. (She's quite thin and pretty clearly didn't need them.) But then, months later, she noticed the company had been quietly withdrawing $30 from her bank account each month. She'd missed it because the purchases were categorized as "groceries."

Eric Feinberg has researched Ozempic scams on TikTok in his role as vice president of content moderation at the Coalition for a Safer Web. He told me the social-media platform's algorithm is good at sending people down a "rabbit hole" of content once it figures out they might be interested in losing weight. "I'm not searching TikTok videos on Ozempic; it's coming right through my feed," he said. "That's the danger."

As part of his research, Feinberg engages with people purporting to be selling Ozempic or some version of it on TikTok. He sent screenshots of one of his recent exchanges with an account called Ozempicweightloos0 where the seller sent over a list of prices ranging from $90 for 0.25 milligrams of Ozempic to $110 for 1 mg. (For comparison, Novo Nordisk's website lists the price of 1 mg of Ozempic as $968.52.) The account stopped responding after he asked where the medication shipped from. It's a type of conversation he's had often — and alerted lawmakers and TikTok to.

Michael Jabbara, a senior vice president and global head of fraud services at Visa, said it saw a huge spike in chatter on the dark web about weight-loss scams in May and June. He posited that it was tied to the World Health Organization's warning around that time about fake semaglutide: The WHO noticed enough nefarious activity to issue an alert, triggering more conversations among bad actors about how well the scams are working. He said they realize that "this is a successful fraud scheme that is yielding a good return on investment for us, so we're going to continue to pursue it."

May and June are also the start of beach season, when people are looking to get their summer bodies — and maybe realizing it's too late unless they take some extreme measures. "Fraudsters are very attuned to cultural moments and what is attractive to consumers," Jabbara said. "They're very keen marketers."

One can't paint all the operators in the compounded-semaglutide and GLP-1 markets with a broad brush, because there's a lot of variation. There's a difference between major telehealth companies like Ro or Hims doling out prescribed medication and illegal pharmacies and scammers on WhatsApp or Telegram sending medications willy-nilly, if at all. But the reality is that everyone is operating in a bit of a gray area.

Except for the really sketchy stuff, compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide are generally coming from compounding pharmacies that make customized medications. Most of the time these pharmacies make medications for people with unique needs: You have an allergy to a certain dye usually used in the name-brand drug, so they make the drug without it for you. But when there's a shortage of the drugs — as there has been for GLP-1 drugs — the rules for compounding get a little looser, and the FDA allows copying.

There are some confusing wrinkles. For one thing, shortages don't last forever, and when they end, the copying is supposed to stop. The FDA took tirzepatide off its shortage list in the fall, which should have meant no more compounding. But after a compounding trade group sued the FDA over the decision, it said it would reevaluate.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly both have patents on their drugs, and they're not eager to give up their secret sauce — meaning it's not clear how close the compounded concoctions are to the real stuff. And though the FDA has warned people that all the compounded drugs are risky, it's at the same time somewhat greenlighting them, people are being inundated with ads for them, and people are trying them out. The cat's already out of the bag.

"We're in somewhat of a no-man's-land in terms of no clear regulation, reduced government oversight, and a straight lab-to-lap delivery model," said Anthony Mahajan, a founding partner at the Health Law Alliance, a healthcare-focused law firm.

He added that telehealth and direct-to-consumer GLP-1 sales circumvent many of the checkpoints in traditional prescribing. Because these prescriptions aren't covered by insurers and are instead paid for directly by the consumer, there's no inspection by the government or insurers reviewing whether a drug is medically necessary and deciding whether to authorize payment. Compounds are also generally exempt from a federal law meant to stop harmful drugs from getting into the US's supply chain, meaning checkpoints for product sourcing and supply-chain integrity are missing. "Oversight agencies are cut out," he said.

It's tough to blame consumers or the companies distributing compounded semaglutide for getting into this business, given how expensive and difficult it is to get the name-brand drugs. Insurers generally won't cover Ozempic or Mounjaro unless a patient has diabetes, meaning that to get the medications, people who want to use them for weight loss have to cough up thousands of dollars a year. That's assuming their doctors will prescribe them, which, some won't.

"If you don't price it appropriately, if you don't have enough supply, then people are always going to find another way to get it," Hertig said. "And sometimes that other way to get it is safe, but in many examples it's not."

To ward off telehealth companies, Eli Lilly cut the price of Zepbound for certain patients who order directly from the company, though the drug is still pricey.

To some extent, this is a tale as old as time: People want to be thin and will go to great lengths to achieve that, and businesses are happy to oblige. But GLP-1 medications do seem to have put this dynamic into overdrive. These drugs really are everywhere — in commercials, on social media, in the news, in conversations. And everyone's getting into the semaglutide game: diet companies, gyms, even grocery stores.

Maybe this will all turn out fine. The regular versions of the drugs will become more available, and the generic ones will, by and large, work fine. Sure, there will be scams; that's true of everything. But that's not the only possible outcome. Many people may wind up not only losing money but also harming their bodies by injecting medications that aren't safe. And these medications are so new that it's hard not to worry that in five or 10 years we'll wonder why we allowed online companies to send compounded injected drugs around the country to people who were prescribed a medication after completing a five-minute survey.

Hertig said he expects tighter and clearer regulations on GLP-1s in the years ahead, which is good, though it doesn't help people trying to sort things out now. In the meantime, the miracle drug has people looking for miracles everywhere, including in places they shouldn't.

When people fall for traps or scams, they're often hesitant to admit it or advertise it. That's especially true for weight-loss products — the message American culture sends is that you're supposed to be thin and fit but you're not supposed to talk about how you do it. Society often treats being overweight as a moral failure and using a medication to take off pounds as cheating.

Kelly hasn't given up on semaglutide altogether. She's switched providers — she's now getting her medication from Hers — and continues to shed weight. The experience is "night and day." Her mom is nervous about her taking medication and worries about the unknowns, but that hasn't deterred Kelly. She hasn't told many people about the Zealthy experience, and she doesn't advertise that she's taking a weight-loss drug, though she'll be honest if people ask. Her doctor has been reluctant to prescribe her a GLP-1 medication, meaning she's still paying out of pocket. She thinks the reluctance was part of what landed her in a bad spot in the first place.

"That makes patients like myself especially vulnerable for fraud in the telemedicine world. We want and need to lose weight, have tried everything, and this is working for so many people," she said. "So we turn a blind eye to the risks."

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• Bernie Sanders is taking on ultra-processed food in his final weeks leading the Senate health panel.
• Sanders wants the US to catch up with other countries, which have cigarette-style warning labels for food.
• He sees a potential opportunity to work with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on this.

In his final weeks leading the Senate health committee, Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking on "big food."

Sanders led a hearing Thursday to interrogate how ultra-processed foods affect our bodies, and how they are regulated. He is campaigning for legislation that would slap warning labels on the front of ultra-processed foods — a step other countries took years ago.

Speaking to Business Insider on Tuesday, Sanders said he sees warning labels as a necessary first step to influence food manufacturers in America to make healthier products, especially for kids.

"When a parent goes out shopping, they need to know that there are products that are just not healthy for their kids," Sanders said. "In the United States, we have not reached that stage. Other countries are doing a lot better than we are."

Obesity has more than tripled among children since the 1970s, per CDC data, and research suggests ultraprocessed foods play a significant role, though it's not clear why. What we do know is that foods high in added sugars, fats, and sodium make up a majority of the calories we consume, and drive us to eat more.

"Our kids are not healthy enough," Sanders said.

Major food companies say new labels would be expensive to produce, and that the cost would be passed onto consumers. Some argue mandatory warning labels would violate their right to free speech. They say we should stick with the current system: a voluntary policy, where companies can put health warnings on the front of products if they see fit.

A shift may be coming, in part driven by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for HHS secretary who has promised to "make America healthy again" and clean up the US food system. Kennedy's message has resonated with voters as consumer demand grows for healthier food — more natural, more transparent, less processed.

Food giants are nervous about Kennedy's reign, Jerold Mande, CEO of the advocacy group Nourish Science and a senior member of the USDA during the Obama administration, told Business Insider.

"Having worked on this for decades, the level of response from companies has exceeded anything I've seen" since Michelle Obama's campaign, Mande said. "They're deeply concerned that this is going to be a change."

Sanders said he is ready to ride the MAHA wave, if that's what it will take to clean up American diets.

The pitch: Bring the US up to speed with other countries

Sixteen other countries have mandatory, front-of-package warning labels, including most of Latin America, plus Canada, Iran, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.

Sanders looks at the US's southern neighbor, Mexico, as inspiration. During our interview, he pulled up a photo of two bottles of Coca-Cola, one sold in the US and the other in Mexico. The Mexican bottle has big black octagonal boxes that say "excess sugars," "excess calories," and "caffeine warning, not recommended for children."

"That's kind of common sense," Sanders said. "I think if most parents knew that there were 10 or 15 teaspoons of sugar in this drink, I suspect many parents would say, 'Sorry, Joe, you can't have that.' It would put pressure on the industry to start producing healthier products."

The Coca Cola Company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the American Beverage Association said the industry has taken voluntary steps to curb sugar for kids, such as not advertising to children and removing full-calorie products from schools.

According to research conducted in these countries, it can work — if the front-of-package labeling is clear.

In Chile, which has similar black boxes to Mexico, people dramatically reduced the amount of sugar-, fat-, and sodium-heavy products they were buying after labels changed. Companies have also reformulated their products in the country to avoid a warning label, cutting sugar, fat, and sodium levels.

How the US can get this done remains a mystery, Katherine Miller, founder of nutrition advocacy group Table 81, told Business Insider.

"I mean, there are 20 different pieces of the federal government that regulate our eggs," Miller said. "How do we really think we're going to get front of the label, the front-of-the-package labeling in a short period of time that will align the scientific community, the food systems community, the health community, and corporations? That doesn't feel realistic."

The US is already testing out new food labels that flag bad ingredients

The Food and Drug Administration has designed two options for what these new labels could look like on the front of food and drinks.

One version would flag a product as "high in" sugar, sodium, or fat, if it exceeds 20% of the daily recommended limit. Another version would use a color-coded system to grade the levels of sugar, sodium, and fat in the product ("low" for under 5%, "high" for over 20%, "medium" for anything in between).

The agency has spent months testing both options in focus groups.

Sanders says it doesn't go far enough.

He proposed legislation that would force food companies to put a stop sign on anything ultra-processed or high-sugar, similar to cigarettes.

Sanders — who says he is "guilty as anybody else" when it comes to eating and snacking — begrudges how difficult it is to make healthy choices and how easy it is to accidentally ingest copious amounts of fat, sodium, or sugar.

"Some years ago, I was thirsty and I picked up a bottle of something, it was a juice, and I gulped it down as usual," Sanders recalled in the interview. "A little while later, my stomach, I really felt very queasy. I looked at the label and I saw the amount of sugar that was in it."

It was a lot higher than he expected from a quick glance at the bottle.

"The industry has done a very good job in selling us products that are cheap to produce, that make us unhealthy. And that's something Congress has got to deal with."

The problem: A game of whack-a-mole with food companies

The argument against front-of-package labeling, from a health perspective, is that it could delay more concrete action.

It could also lead to unexpected consequences, Mande said.

In the '90s, when he helped design the original Nutrition Facts panel, the goal was low fat. A flurry of new research had recently come out showing fat was linked to heart disease.

Food manufacturers complied, cutting fat from their products — but often swapped it for something else. Take Snackwell's, a now defunct diet cookie brand that offered the pleasure of a sweet treat without the consequences. Problem was, the brand replaced fat with refined carbohydrates.

"We didn't anticipate the harm it would cause," Mande said. Three decades later, health advocates are trying to cut refined carbs in food due to the increased risk of diabetes.

Sanders said front-of-package labeling is the best card we have to play right now.

"I think it's one thing that you've got to do," he said. "It would put pressure on the industry to start producing healthier products."

Next step: Teeing up RFK Jr.

The Senate hearing saw more bipartisan agreement than advocates expected.

"Not one Senator defended the food industry. Big food is in big tobacco territory," Mande said.

Still, it comes at an inflection point. FDA Commissioner Rob Califf is on his way out, and there's no knowing whether his nominated successor, Marty Makary, will want to follow through on his plans for front-of-package labels.

Plus, it's unclear if Makary will have the funds to do so, since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he will gut the FDA if he is confirmed as HHS Secretary. (Kennedy did not respond to a request for a comment.)

Sanders hopes this discussion will harness the buzz around Kennedy's MAHA movement to make warning labels a policy priority.

"When Kennedy talks about an unhealthy society, he's right. The amount of chronic illness that we have is just extraordinary," Sanders said.

"Anybody with a brain in his or her head wants to deal with this issue, to get to the cause of the problem. I think processed food and the kind of sugar and salt that we have in products that our kids and adults are ingesting is an important part of addressing that crisis."

• This is an excerpt from the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

The crypto community keeps racking up wins.

President-elect Donald Trump lived up to his self-appointed title of "crypto president" by picking a big supporter of digital assets to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trump nominated Paul Atkins, who served as an SEC commissioner under George W. Bush, for the role of Wall Street's top cop. Atkins has been a part of the Token Alliance, an advocacy group for crypto, since 2017.

That wasn't the only victory the "hodlers" were celebrating. Bitcoin surpassed the all-important $100,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday. It's the latest in a historic run for an industry still basking in the afterglow of what a Trump win means for its market.

Atkins, if confirmed, is a stark contrast to current SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who already announced his intentions to step down in January.

A former Goldman Sachs partner who also taught a class on blockchain at MIT, Gensler didn't initially draw the ire of the crypto world. It wasn't long before he started ruffling feathers — to put it mildly — with his push for more oversight and attempts to stop some new products from coming to market.

So while the bar for getting an SEC leader the crypto community liked more than Gensler was essentially on the floor, Atkins, who has spent the past few years advising crypto companies, is a best-case scenario for digital-asset supporters.

Trump's picks for the key people overseeing the economy and Wall Street are now mostly in.

While some of his nominations have turned heads — leading a few to even withdraw from consideration — Trump's finance-focused selections are viewed as more traditional.

Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for commerce secretary, found success beyond the financial services firm (Cantor Fitzgerald) and the brokerage (BGC Group) he runs.

He also orchestrated the purchase of commercial real estate services firm Newmark in 2011 for a little more than $60 million. In the years since he's helped turn Newmark into a real-estate powerhouse with a market cap of roughly $3.8 billion, writes Business Insider's Dan Geiger.

Meanwhile, Scott Bessent, Trump's Treasury pick, is also unsurprising. (Elon Musk even labeled him a "business-as-usual pick.") The billionaire investor spent time as George Soros' righthand man before launching his own hedge fund.

The picks haven't elicited the strong reactions other members of his proposed Cabinet have, but maybe that's the point. What the market hates more than anything is uncertainty, and with this group, it seems, what you see is what you get.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Spriha Srivastava, UK bureau chief, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

• Ethan Evans, a former Amazon VP, led a failed project in 2011 that interrupted Jeff Bezos' launch plans.
• The failure involved a critical design flaw in the Amazon Appstore's "Test Drive" feature.
• It taught Evans to communicate in a crisis, take ownership of a problem, and rebuild trust slowly.

I worked at Amazon for 15 years, starting in 2005 as a senior manager. When I left in 2020, I was a vice president.

My biggest launch failure was in 2011 on a project Jeff Bezos personally cared about. The failure interrupted Bezos' plan to present the feature publicly, causing me to miss my promotion and almost leave the company. However, I went on to be promoted from director to VP and have a long and happy career.

I learned a lot about dealing with a crisis and rebuilding trust as well as a lot about Bezos as a leader. He taught me the importance of maintaining high standards while being willing to forgive and move on.

Here's the story of my biggest failure

When I started at Amazon, I was assigned to Prime Video and had periodic direct exposure to Bezos.

When I was promoted to director, I continued working with Bezos on creating Amazon Studios. Throughout my first six years at the company, I met with him at least once a quarter about one of my projects.

In 2010, I started working on the Amazon Appstore. We planned a new feature called "Test Drive," which allowed you to simulate an app on your phone before buying it.

Bezos was excited about this feature and planned to make it the focus of his launch announcement. At the time, when Amazon launched something new, the company would replace the normal homepage with a personal letter from him explaining the new offering.

Our launch's "Jeff Letter" focused on the "Test Drive" feature. The night before the launch, our team launched the new store.

Everything except the "Test Drive" feature was working well

We worked through the night to debug the intermittent failures, but as morning came and the announcement was supposed to go out, the feature wasn't working. At 6 a.m., I got an email from Bezos asking why his letter was not on the homepage.

I replied that we were working on some problems, hoping he would get in the shower, go on the treadmill, or do anything else to buy us more time. Within a few minutes, he responded and asked, what problems?

All hell broke loose.

The VP and SVP above me both woke up and started asking questions, and more and more leaders were CC'ed into the email thread. We quickly realized that our feature had some critical design flaws and wouldn't be a quick or easy fix.

The first three lessons I learned were during the crisis, and the next three were learned after.

Mid-crisis

Lesson one: Communicate clearly and predictably

I began sending hourly updates to Bezos and the other leaders, working to slowly re-establish trust. Each message briefly explained where we stood and what we would be doing in the next hour, and they each promised a further update in the next hour.

Lesson two: Accept help

Other leaders who had experienced similar problems reached out and offered help from their teams, so within a couple of hours, several very senior engineers were working with my team.

They quickly figured out the problems and announced that we had a design flaw that needed to be re-written. The temporary solution was to work around it with extra hardware. Without this workaround, it could've been days before the feature was up and running.

Lesson three: No all-night launches

Planning an early morning launch that required us to work all night became an obvious flaw. I needed to be sharp to manage the crisis, and my team needed to be able to help with the fixes. We started rotating people home to sleep in shifts, and we learned never to accept a launch schedule that would put us in this position again.

As my team and I became increasingly exhausted, Bezos became increasingly frustrated. He wanted a fix that day. This led to the other leaders ramping up the pressure, and the weight on us kept getting heavier.

We were finally saved when the CTO, Werner Vogels, intervened and said the team could not fix this problem in one day. Bezos fell silent on the email threads.

Over the next few days, we patched the design problem and rewrote the code to eliminate the issue, but as the technical obstacles were removed, the management problems only increased.

The "Jeff Letter" never went live on the website. By the time we had everything fixed and tested, the news cycle had moved on, and Bezos' moment to tell his customers about the exciting new feature was gone.

After the crisis

Lesson four: Own the problem

My direct report volunteered to take the fall. The engineer who wrote some of the code did the same. My manager also sought to take overall responsibility. Ultimately, Bezos knew it was my team and code, meaning I had to own the problem.

Amazon has a process called COE (Correction of Errors), which involves a written investigation of a problem's root causes and a plan to prevent similar problems in the future. I wrote this report and was asked to share it with all my peers in the organization. Publicly sharing an analysis of our mistakes was embarrassing, but doing a good job of it helped me re-establish trust in my leadership ability.

The week after the launch, I was scheduled to attend a meeting with Bezos about another project. I considered skipping it, but I decided that if I couldn't face Bezos, I should probably pack my desk and find a new place to work.

I went to the meeting.

Bezos always sat in the same chair in his conference room. I went early and chose a chair right next to where he would sit. He came in, sat next to me, and ran the meeting. As the meeting ended, he asked me how I was doing because it must've been a tough week.

Bezos showed empathy for my experience and concern for my well-being. He could've just as easily asked for a status report or taken me to task for the problems; instead, he chose to focus on me as a person rather than on any frustration or curiosity about the project.

Lesson five: Face your leaders

Don't hide. I understand the temptation to avoid those who might criticize you, but facing Bezos reassured me that he was over his initial frustration and was willing to give me the time to rebuild trust.

In short, going to the meeting allowed me to stay at the company. I knew my job was on the line, and a single word from Bezos would've sent me packing.

Lesson six: Patiently rebuild trust

I'd been close to a promotion to VP, but now I had to re-establish that I could operate a key business carefully and consistently. I was eventually promoted, but it took two more years.

I learned that trust can be rebuilt but that it takes time.

Bezos taught me how important it is to hold your teams to high standards but also be willing to forgive and move on. He chose to be kind, empathize, and offer encouragement to me, which inspired me to spend the rest of my corporate career with Amazon.

I left in 2020, less than a year before Bezos stepped down, to focus on teaching leadership lessons to the next generation.

An Amazon representative didn't comment on this story when contacted by Business Insider.

Ethan Evans is a retired Amazon vice president with over 23 years of experience as a business executive.

Spotify Wrapped arrived on Wednesday, packaged in its usual neon, Instagram-ready glory.

The annual release dominates social-media posts for a day, but beneath the colorful cards (designed to be bespoke but distributed en masse), it's Spotify's brag about the amount of data the company has collected on you, mirrored back in a way that's meant to make surveillance sexy, silly, and shareable.

In recent Decembers, the wrap-ification of our data has spread beyond Spotify. Apple Music, Spotify's main competitor, now has a similar feature called Replay, unveiling this year's version on Tuesday. Starbucks has sent out emails telling people about their favorite beverages and number of store visits, shocking some with exactly how many dozens of Frappuccinos they bought. Duolingo kicked off the Wrapped season earlier this week, showing people how many mistakes they made while trying to learn a new language. The British supermarket chain Tesco has sent Clubcard members a review of what they bought in recent years, called Unpacked. And on Tuesday, Tinder hosted a Year in Swipe party, where it revealed the top trends in online dating the app gleaned from its broad swath of 50 million monthly users, which included people getting specific about what kind of person they're looking for or putting a hand emoji in their bios to indicate they're searching for real connections.

All this is getting weird. The type of lattes we drink and the music we listen to are things we fundamentally know about ourselves. The most common names of men and women on Tinder (Alexes and Daniels dominated among men, Marias and Lauras women) tell us nothing about how to find love. But these year-in-review trends still catch avid attention and, in turn, provide free advertising for companies when they're reshared. About an hour after Spotify unveiled this year's Wrapped, its market cap reached $100 billion for the first time. Spotify did not respond to requests for comment.

"People are so excited about seeing data collected from them and then being shown back to them in a way that feels meaningful and relatable," Taylor Annabell, a researcher with Utrecht University who has studied the Wrapped phenomenon, said. "Wrapped taps into this belief we have that data is meaningful and that we want to see it because it helps us understand ourselves."

Wrapped 2024 included the usual unveiling of top songs and artists, but Spotify has added a "Wrapped AI podcast," which features two voicebot hosts chatting through your listening habits without really saying much about the songs, in particular. There was also a section picking apart how listening styles changed over different months of the year. For me, that meant going from "van life folkie indie" to "mallgoth permanent wave punk," mildly embarrassing phrases that might describe my musical tastes from a distance but tell me little new about myself.

Of course, Spotify can't capture everything about your tastes — maybe you played a vinyl record on repeat or shared a streaming account with someone in your family. ("It's not me who can't stop listening to Chumbawamba. It's my cousin, I swear!") Maybe you opted for a mysterious approach and kept your Tinder bio short and sweet.

But where data is lacking, some have set out to create it themselves. Wrapped content has proved so effective and viral on social media that people have taken to making up new categories, packaged parts of their lives not captured by apps, and turned it over to their followers. Here, at least, these people get to curate their experiences and post them as they wish. Last December and already this week, some people took to TikTok to talk through how many first dates they went on during the course of a year, using cute and colorful slideshows to walk their users through their year of bad dates, situationships, and ghosting. A third-party project called Vantezzen takes TikTok data and generates a Wrapped-like analysis for those who want to know how many minutes they spent doom scrolling.

All this comes as people have largely thrown up their hands and given in to sharing their data with their apps. Companies have "gotten us to move past just accepting that they are spying on us to celebrating it," said Evan Greer, the director of the digital-rights advocacy group Fight for the Future and a vocal opponent of Spotify who released an album called "Spotify Is Surveillance" in 2021. "That's the shift we're seeing with this explosion of these types of year-end Wrapped viral gimmicks," Greer added. "They're actually about hypernormalizing the fact that the online services that we use know so very much about us."

Tinder's year in review looked at data from profiles in the US and globally and its own survey results, determining the most popular love languages and zodiac signs, the fastest-growing words mentioned in bios (freak, pickleball, and finance all soared this year), and how people like to communicate (ironically, "better in person" won out over the messaging app). It also created an interactive vision-board feature for people to set intentions for their 2025 dating plans. The company's in-person Year in Swipe party was held in a moody Manhattan bar, where attendees could make charm bracelets or have a tarot-card reading, and each sported a button designed to correspond with their dating vibe, like a black cat or delusional. Tinder did not respond to a request for comment about whether people could opt out of being used in the aggregate data.

But Spotify, in particular, wants to tell its users more about themselves throughout the year. In September 2023, the company began making "daylists," or curated playlists released multiple times throughout the day. While they don't come with the sharable, flashy cards to post on Instagram, they're given catchy names that hint at something about you, changing several times a day. Just this week, Spotify has dubbed me a "Laurel Canyon hippie" and crafted a vibe for a "yearning poetry Tuesday afternoon."

The daylists feel like Spotify's attempt to take the Wrapped success "to the next level," said Nina Vindum Rasmussen, a fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science who worked on the Spotify research with Annabell. It's "data fiction that accompanies people throughout the day," she said, adding: "What does it mean for them to have this mirror constantly shoved in their face?"

Most of us have gotten comfortable with — or at least resigned to — the fact that Big Tech is watching our every move. Wrapped season is a shiny reminder of all we've done, seemingly in private, on our phones. But don't count on your friends to stop sharing their elite spot as a 0.05% top listener of Taylor Swift anytime soon.

Amanda Hoover is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hello. South Korea's president rescinded his martial law declaration. Its government is still in crisis, and opposition lawmakers have started impeachment proceedings. Our global news team has been covering this developing story — keep up with our coverage here.

In today's newsletter, Amazon's touting new hardware it hopes can help it unseat Nvidia as the king of AI chips.

What's on deck:

• Markets: These charts show how stretched stock market valuations are.
• Tech: Keep an eye on these 45 VCs who are set to do big things in 2025.
• Business: Gen Z's credit-card debt is becoming a problem.

But first, I don't need the name-brand stuff.

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The big story

Amazon's affordable AI

'Dupes' are all the rage these days, so why not make one for AI chips?

That's basically Amazon Web Services' idea for breaking Nvidia's stranglehold on the AI market. The cloud giant made several announcements at its annual re:Invent conference focused on the cost efficiencies its tech can bring to AI development.

At the core is AWS' Trainium chip. The tech giant's homegrown chip is its answer to Nvidia's all-powerful GPUs, which are widely used for training AI models.

Chips are only half the battle, though. As the expectations for AI models keep rising, so does the number of chips needed to train them. Companies have to be creative about combining so many chips (and avoid overheating issues), and Amazon thinks it has a solution for that, too.

AWS CEO Matt Garman detailed how customers can get the most out of their AI chips with 'UltraServers' — multiple Trainium servers smartly pieced together — and the 'UltraCluster' — what you get when you combine multiple 'UltraServers.'

That might sound like a lot of fancy names and confusing terminology (and it is), but it boils down to AWS pitching itself as a cheaper way to leverage more compute as concerns grow about AI bottlenecks.

Amazon can't just rely on offering a cheaper alternative when taking on Nvidia.

Yes, diversifying your supply chain so you don't have to rely on a single company for a key piece of hardware is a good selling point.

Nvidia has a trump card, though: CUDA. The acronym (I could tell you what it stands for, but would it really matter?) represents a big moat Nvidia has around its business.

CUDA is a software platform that developers use to work with Nvidia GPUs. What started small in 2007 has evolved into a trove of training data, tools, and other assets that are helpful for customers building with AI.

It's a problem AWS has even acknowledged, at least internally. Documents viewed by BI's Eugene Kim repeatedly cited CUDA as the biggest hangup stopping customers from leaving Nvidia.

The CUDA conundrum could come to a head soon. AI startup Anthropic, which also uses Nvidia GPUs, is helping AWS build out its 'UltraCluster.' It's part of a $4 billion investment Amazon recently made in the AI startup, which includes Anthropic using AWS as its "primary cloud and training partner."

News brief

Top headlines

• A grad student who joined a protest against martial law in South Korea last night told BI what he saw.
• Marc Benioff ruptured his achilles tendon. He said he doesn't give a 'Fakarava' as Agentforce hope stirs Salesforce stock.
• Elon Musk lost his Tesla pay fight. Here's what he can do next.

3 things in markets

1. Crypto investing for dummies. Bitcoin is nearing the $100K mark off the back of President-elect Donald Trump's victory last month. A financial advisor who specializes in alternative assets shared common mistakes to avoid before diving into crypto investing. (Rule No. 1: Just because it's good now doesn't mean it'll stay that way, so don't go crazy on crypto.)
2. See how the stock market has been pushed to the limit. The S&P 500 is up more than 27% and notched over 50 record closing highs. But stocks' sky-high valuations have some analysts concerned the market is stretched too thin. These five charts show how pricey things have gotten.
3. How Bank of America sees 2025 shaping up. The bank forecasted US GDP growth of 2.3% next year, but it sees sticky inflation as a potential headwind. BofA is also predicting three more rate cuts — December, March, and June — before the Fed settles on a rate of 3.75% to 4%. (However, Ned Davis Research sees 2025 being an uphill battle for stocks.)

3 things in tech

1. Introducing VC's rising stars. BI readers and top venture capitalists named 2024's best up-and-coming investors. They come from firms both big and small, and invest in startups across all sectors and stages.
2. Intel could consider splitting off its chip factories. Intel's former CEO Pat Gelsinger opposed this strategy. The recent news of his exit has reopened the question, but a break up wouldn't be easy since the company must maintain majority control for its CHIPS Act funding. Regardless, Intel's interim leaders and Gelsinger's successor face an uphill battle. The contest to become the new CEO is on, and the chipmaker is reportedly looking at two candidates, including an outsider.
3. This year's Cyber Monday just shattered e-commerce records. Depending on which you ask, US shoppers spent $13.3 billion (per Adobe) or $12.8 billion (per Salesforce) on Monday alone. Deep discounts made the e-tail holiday the biggest online shopping day ever.

3 things in business

1. Life with plastic is fantastic, but beware of all that debt. Gen Z is much more comfortable using credit cards than their millennial counterparts were at that age. The younger generation tends to prioritize fun over finances, and it's led them to rack up debt at a faster rate than any other age group.
2. Call Her Bartender. Recent trademark filings suggest the "Call Her Daddy" podcaster is looking to launch her own alcohol brand under the name "Popular Vodka by Unwell." The product would make her the latest to join the celebrity booze-biz game.
3. Is time up for BuzzFeed? The digital publisher was supposedly worth $2 billion a few years ago. It's now worth much less and has been scrambling to solve a looming $124 million debt problem. All of it is expected to come to a head this week, and BuzzFeed may have to sell assets, like its interview show "Hot Ones."

What's happening today

• US Supreme Court hears case on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
• French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's minority government faces two votes of no confidence in Parliament.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Spriha Srivastava, UK bureau chief, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

Timothy Danikowski was ready to start his adult life. After four years in a small college town and a fifth year back at home thanks to the pandemic, he finally moved to Seattle in 2021. Soon after, Danikowski landed a respectable accounting job, moved into his own apartment, and signed up for his first credit card, which he intended to use only for emergencies.

At first Danikowski kept on top of his balance well enough, but soon his compulsive shopping addiction and desire to see the world broke his discipline. "I built up points to travel," he told me. "But when I travel, I want to go shopping, and that's where the spending gets out of control."

In three years, Danikowski has racked up about $15,000 in debt across three cards, one of which has an interest rate of 28%. He makes his minimum payments each month — a task that has become much harder since he lost his job this year — and tries to resist the urge to keep using the cards, but his balance doesn't budge.

"When it comes to everyday things, I choose comfort over everything else," he said.

Danikowski and many other Gen Zers are rapidly building up credit-card debt. A TransUnion study found that, adjusting for inflation, the average credit-card balance for someone who was 22 to 24 at the end of last year was $2,834, a 26% increase from the average figure for millennials who were the same age a decade ago. The study also suggested that Gen Zers were much more comfortable with credit cards than prior generations were: They were opening more cards, were more likely to fall behind on payments, and were using the cards for more types of purchases. Alev told me Credit Karma data shows Gen Zers are acquiring debt at a faster rate than any other age group. The combination of an increasingly turbulent economy and Gen Zers' desire to make up for lost time via pandemic "revenge spending" has left many members of the generation overly reliant on credit.

"Gen Z really prioritizes fun over finances when it comes to things like eating out, shopping, and travel," says Courtney Alev, a consumer advocate at Credit Karma. "That combined with the fact that they have just had fewer earning years explains why their credit-card debt is growing at a faster rate."

While Gen Zers' overall debt levels are still lower than older generations', young consumers' early reliance on credit cards puts their financial futures at risk. "The financial burdens that Gen Z is facing today can really have long-lasting effects on their lives," Alev says, "including their ability to achieve key milestones, such as delaying big moments like marriage, buying a home, or starting families until they feel more financially secure."

Part of Gen Zers' interest in credit cards is simply the march of technological progress. The digital natives have more payment options than any generation before them, and they've embraced electronic payments and alternative credit methods like digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later apps. Meanwhile, credit-card companies have targeted young people as eager new customers.

There are also some acute financial reasons Gen Zers have been jumping headfirst into the credit pool. Pandemic restrictions, inflation, and high interest rates hit them hard as they were starting their professional careers and getting their financial footing. As young people sought solutions to financial stresses, and as credit-card balances fell, credit-card companies were more than willing to make Gen Zers an offer. The companies made getting credit easier in 2021 and 2022 by allowing people with lower credit scores to access cards for which they previously would have been ineligible. Young people opened credit cards at a faster rate than any other age group during the pandemic.

The temptation to use those cards was strong. Credit Karma found that its Gen Z members' average credit-card debt increased by 3.2% from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2024, while the average debt for millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers increased by 2.4%, 2%, and 1.6%. While credit-card balances in the US decreased early in the pandemic, it didn't take long for American consumers to start racking up debt again. Credit-card balances have risen by $396 billion since the first quarter of 2021, a 51% increase.

Some people accumulated credit-card debt in a wave of post-pandemic revenge spending; some were chasing points and rewards. Still others said they racked up big bills because they couldn't afford not to. Regardless of the reasons, it's clear that many Gen Zers are comfortable with their little pieces of plastic.

Danikowski, for example, told me he fell into the credit-card trap after acquiring an American Express gold travel card with a sky-high annual percentage rate. The card let him build up points, which allowed him to continue traveling. "I got so used to this lifestyle I lived for the last three years that it became hard for me to cut back," he says.

Others, like Nico, a 27-year-old advertising strategist, got caught in a post-pandemic spending cycle. After graduating from college in 2020, Nico moved back home with his mom to save money while working remotely. By late 2021, Nico was ready for a change. After he moved to Chicago, he started using his credit card way more. He was struggling to make his $1,100 rent on a $36,000 salary. In addition to paying his bills and making sure he had groceries, Nico was trying to make new friends in the city.

"I couldn't afford to live, but I'm in a new city, and I want to go out and meet people. I called those my fun expenses," he says. "I started putting all of that on my credit card."

Nico kept reaching his credit limit, and the credit-card company kept extending it. Three years later, he has about $20,000 in credit-card debt and a monthly minimum payment of $400, nearly all of which goes toward interest. Landing a higher-paying job has helped him start to get a handle on the debt, he said. He's stopped using the card and tries to make a payment of $700 to $900 each month in hopes of bringing his total down.

Credit proved vital for Emmaline, a 27-year-old web developer in North Carolina, when she had to make ends meet during a career pivot. She racked up $6,000 in credit-card debt while attending a full-time coding boot camp, using the card to to pay for groceries, car maintenance and insurance, and other life expenses. While the card was a lifeline as she tried to set herself up for a successful career, she felt ashamed and worried about her debt, she tells me. For a long time she kept it a secret. This year she finally opened up to family members, who helped her make a plan to pay it down and offered some financial assistance. After spending a few months throwing nearly every penny she had at the debt, Emmaline was able to pay it all off in November.

"I made sure I was only eating beans and leaving myself money for gas," she says. "I let out a tear or two of pure joy and relief when it was finally paid off."

Gen Zers are far from alone in racking up credit-card debt: The total credit-card balance held by US consumers surpassed $1 trillion in 2023. The number of Americans struggling to pay off their loans is also rising. But the particular danger for Gen Zers is becoming so reliant on credit cards so early in their financial lives. Higher debt, Alev says, can lead to lower credit scores that could make it more difficult to pay for things like a house or a car. From March 2022 to February 2024, the percentage of Credit Karma's Gen Z members with subprime credit, meaning a score below 600, rose by 8 points, to 33% from 25%, while the percentage of millennials with subprime credit scores increased by 6 points. Credit Karma said the average Gen Z credit score dropped to 659 in the second quarter from 671 in the first quarter.

William, a 27-year-old emergency medical technician in Colorado, has about $20,000 in credit-card debt, accumulated over 4 ½ years. His first job out of college in 2020 came with a salary of $27,000. Struggling to get by, William primarily used his credit card for necessities like groceries, bills, and car maintenance. But when a health emergency kept him out of work for weeks, his balance snowballed. These days, William makes his minimum payment, but nearly all of it goes to interest. He says he once dreamed of moving abroad and teaching English but has accepted that his credit-card debt keeps him tethered to a reliable source of income stateside.

"I'd like to have a family one day and be able to settle down and raise kids, give them a good life," William says. "But that's not something I can do until I have a better hold on this."

It's not clear that Gen Zers' habits will change anytime soon. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in August that younger debt-holders were more likely to be delinquent on their credit-card payments than older ones. Falling behind on these payments has given young people a bleak outlook.

"Credit-card debt is an invisible problem," Emmaline says. "You can't see it. It veils you in shame. It eats you like a parasite."

Alev says there are some steps people can take to try to escape credit debt. First and foremost, she cautions people to stay as far away from high-interest debt as possible. She also advises debt-holders to stop using that credit line and make a plan to pay down the debt, such as transferring the debt to a personal loan at a lower interest rate.

Most important, she says, members of the credit-card generation shouldn't bury their heads in the sand. She recommends people create a spreadsheet listing all their debts along with minimum payments, interest rates, and consolidation options.

When William feels suffocated by his monthly payments and interest rate, he can feel tempted to rack up even more debt. "Someone is always willing to give you another credit card," he says.

Danikowski, meanwhile, said feeling hopeless about his debt was pointless. Though he lost his job this year, he still took trips to Europe and New York.

"I know it's not a good decision," he says. "But at least I've gotten to see the world."

Erin Snodgrass is a senior reporter at Business Insider.