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High-Value Life Guide / Browse by problem

Money and spending

Turn the price tag over.

Everyday spending, investments, expensive promises and support when money runs short.

All 108 guides in this topic →

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Chapter 5 editorial cartoon: You're on a trial. It's on life support. — Editorial cartoon · Chapter 5You're on a trial. It's on life support.
Original illustration with Chinese lettering; the English dialogue is below. Humour is a reading aid, not evidence.
English dialogue
Hang on. I never agreed to renew!

Three starting points

Selected from 108 guides

Chapter 6 · Guide 1Author's grade ADisputed

Don’t take multivitamins for longevity or heart protection

Over 14000 male doctors took multivitamins for eleven years. The number of serious heart and vascular problems, as well as deaths, was virtually ident…

Cost: They cost roughly 0.5 to 2 yuan per day, or 200 to 700 yuan per year. Taking them requires…
Benefit: The PHS II trial enrolled 14641 male doctors and followed them for a median period of 11.2…

Chapter 6 · Guide 7Author's grade A

Don’t get a whole-body PET-CT or tumor marker panel if you have no symptoms

Screening completely healthy people most often yields false alarms. In one study, 86% of 1192 symptom-free individuals had at least one “abnormality” …

Cost: A whole-body PET-CT costs roughly $7000–$10000 per scan and exposes you to ionizing radiat…
Benefit: The USPSTF, which evaluates preventive measures in the U.S., assigned a D rating to CA-125…

Chapter 7 · Guide 13Author's grade A

Apply for vocational training subsidies, employment internship subsidies, and social insurance subsidies during unemployment — don’t pay for training courses out of pocket

You won’t have to pay for training at all. If you complete a qualifying course and obtain the required certificate, you can receive a vocational train…

Cost: There is no direct cost. However, the training itself takes up a lot of your time. The rea…
Benefit: According to regulations issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Human Resources and Soc…