You can live with scratches on your car — but you shouldn't.

Scratches are like the old torture of death by a thousand cuts. Eventually, they'll destroy your car's finish by allowing rust to develop on metal parts. And like the great Canadian poet said, rust never sleeps.

Neil Young references aside, I recently suggested two ways to repair scratches. While I was dispensing this basic advice, it occurred to me that I had some scratches on my own car, a 2011 Toyota Prius, that needed attending to, certainly as winter arrived in the Northeast, where I live.

We've had some snow and cold, but so far, winter has been mild. So you have a little extra time to do some last-chance scratch repair before the nasty weather really sets in.

I kind of split the difference between my two earlier scratch repair techniques: I didn't use tape; and I didn't go for a perfect fix.

Read on:

SEE ALSO: Here are 2 good ways to fix a scratch on your car

I've had my Prius for over a year — lots of time to acquire a few dings and scratches.

Here's the one I decided to repair first: a narrow scribbled scrape. Ugly! Mind you, this scrape was in my plastic bumper. But I had others in the metal body panels.

A company called TouchUpDirect sells repair kits. For about $30, I got a paint pen to match my car's color, as well as a clear coat pen. Clearcoat is the transparent layer that protects the finish.

Here's a link to the company's site. I don't recommend or endorse the product, but in my case, it worked well.

Whether you're taking a client to dinner, grabbing lunch with a new friend, or sharing a meal with your in-laws, awkwardness can immediately settle in when the bill comes and everyone stares, silently wondering, "Who pays?"

Several potential scenarios can play out: Should you split the check evenly? Should everyone pay for their own meal? Is it expected that your father-in-law will pick up the check?

Every dining situation, from a birthday dinner to a double date, commands its own nuances when it comes to handling the check. We spoke with three experts — Diane Gottsman, national etiquette expert and the owner of The Protocol School of Texas, David Weliver, founder of financial advice website Money Under 30, and Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, founder and president of The Etiquette School of New York— to definitively decide how to handle the bill in 10 common situations.

"Other than business meals, there are no hard and fast rules for splitting the check," Napier-Fitzpatrick told Business Insider. "In business, it's protocol for the person extending the invitation to pay. In terms of all other different scenarios, I would say there are certain guidelines, things one would do to make sure they didn't feel taken advantage of and that they're being considerate when it comes to paying for meals."

Read on to check out who's turn it is to pick up the bill when, and avoid those awkward "How do you wanna do this?" conversations for good.

SEE ALSO: 13 smart 10-minute money decisions our coworkers wish they'd made sooner

DON'T MISS: A financial planner reveals the best money habit for 30-somethings

As 2016 comes to a close, the restaurant industry is prepping for a new year. 

To succeed in 2017, chains will need to stay on the cutting edge as trends like automation and menu transparency continue to gain traction. Restaurants will also have to take on greater competition from smaller chains and independent restaurants.

We spoke with restaurant industry experts Catherine De Orio, an executive director of the culinary nonprofit Kendall College Trust, and Shilen Patel, co-founder of the consultancy Independents United, to see what restaurants chains they are looking out for in 2017. 

Here are seven chains poised for a breakthrough in the new year, according to De Orio and Patel: 

1. Sweetgreen

Sweetgreen, a salad chain with roughly 50 locations in the US, has gained a cult following since it was founded in 2007, thanks to its popular app and its focus on high-quality local ingredients.

"They have had tremendous growth and have seemingly succeeded where many other chains that have tried to redefine healthy fast food have failed," De Orio told Business Insider. "It ticks all the important boxes: clean eating, responsible sourcing and community building."

2. Elevation Burger

Elevation Burger fits the trend of restaurants providing a specific type of "healthy" food, according to Patel. In this case, the 59-location chain has succeeded in crafting a burger made with organic, grass-feed beef that is just as tasty as the competition. 

"If I'm going to eat a burger, I'm going to eat one... that's 100% organic, with no antibiotics, no hormones," Patel said. "If I'm the kind of person who not only wants to eat well, but also cares about how I'm affecting the world around me, it becomes a very easy choice for me." 

3. Freshii

Freshii — a health-centric chain with more than 200 locations — similarly fits Patel's vision of chains that will thrive thanks to their unique approach to healthy food. 

"[Customers] are looking for healthy options that really work for them," he said. 

The US university system is an innovation powerhouse, according to Reuters' 2016 Top 100 list.

The US claimed 46 of the top 100 universities on the list, followed by Japan with nine and France and South Korea, both with eight universities.

While "innovation" is a ubiquitous buzzword, it can also be a bit ambiguous. Reuters, however, used objective data, like the number of patents and research papers coming out of an institution, to compile the ranking. Read the full methodology here.

See below for the 10 most innovative universities in the world:

SEE ALSO: Former Ivy League admissions officer reveals how schools pick students

10. Northwestern University

Located in Evanston, Illinois.

• 295 patents filed between 2009 and 2014

• 45.4% were subsequently granted

• Notable alumni: Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel and former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt

9. KU Leuvan

Located in Belgium

• 301 patents filed between 2009 and 2014

• 37.2% were subsequently granted

• Notable alumnus: CEO of Nestle Paul Bulcke

8. University of Pennsylvania

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• 517 patents filed between 2009 and 2014

• 33.5% were subsequently granted

• Notable alumni: American president-elect Donald Trump and American businessman and philanthropist Ron Perelman

As another year comes to a close, it's the perfect time to look back at some of the hottest real estate deals to go down in the last 12 months.

Though there has been some softening in the luxury market across the US, there were still plenty of blockbuster deals worth highlighting in 2016. 

With that in mind, we asked our friends at Trulia to help us round up the biggest publicly recorded sales this year. From New York City penthouses to sprawling Palm Beach mansions, here are the most expensive homes to trade hands in 2016.

SEE ALSO: Design experts say these will be the biggest trends in American homes in 2017

DON'T MISS: A former ad exec who sold his firm to Microsoft spent the last 20 years restoring a mansion in Los Angeles — and now he's selling it for $10 million

20. A duplex atop New York's Walker Tower sold for $24 million earlier this year. It has four bedrooms and 4,871 square feet of space.

Sale price: $24 million

19. In October, Elon Musk reportedly purchased this under-construction mansion in Bel Air, his fifth in the neighborhood.

Sale price: $24.25 million

Source: Variety

18. This recently remodeled home in San Francisco's Cow Hollow neighborhood changed hands for more than $25 million. It has five bedrooms and is across the street from the Presidio.

Sale price: $25.668 million

There are plenty of great job opportunities now if you're a software engineer.

But will that be the case even when the market crashes?

Hard to tell, but a bunch of engineers shared their advice in this Quora thread on how to remain employed in a market crash.

We narrowed it down to the 17 best pieces of advice:

SEE ALSO: 11 skills every 24-year-old should learn before it's too late

Get experience at a top tier company (startup or big company).

"Top-tier experience (or education) is always valuable and desirable."— Chandra Kalle

Don’t stop learning, ever.

"This is the only real thing that can sink your career. We're blessed to work in the most in-demand field the world has ever seen, but the cost (or benefit if you're a learning addict like me) is that the career will pass you by faster than any other career in history if you don't keep learning."— Tony Erskine

Work in an area where even a mediocre engineer can have stability.

"Find a comfortable niche in a company with steady revenue stream, be good at a really boring but important technology that 21-year-olds wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, and hang out and try to make it to 50 and then work as a middle manager.

"There are plenty of mediocre, even terrible software engineers working at older not-sexy companies that have excellent job security because the new college grads have no desire to work there, and the companies actually make money."— Anonymous

Since 2007, Google Street View has taken panoramic shots of 5 million miles of roads, covering 45 countries and about 3,000 cities around the world.

Canadian artist and filmmaker Jon Rafman has spent many hours culling through these images. He takes screen shots of the best ones and displays them on his blog (though never reveals their location). Called "9-Eyes," his Tumblr is named after the nine cameras that Google's Street View cars use.

The photos portray how weird and beautiful the world looks. Take a look at some of our favorites.

Caroline Moss contributed to a previous version of this article.

SEE ALSO: Google's Madrid office has been raided by Spanish authorities

Rafman searches through Google Street View's archives for hours, he told The New York Times.

Source: The New York Times

In order to find the most interesting images, he's been mining through Google's footage for years. He says he enjoys being a "virtual explorer."

The photos he collects are taken all over the world.

For the past few years, I've been rather frequently attending car races, and I've discovered that an indispensable piece of equipment is a set of earplugs.

With the 2017 motorsports season about to kick off with some races in Florida, now is a good time to start thinking about upgrading your gear.

As a member of the media, I usually have some sort of access to the pit stops, where the race cars pull in to get tire changes and to be refueled. The noise they make, up close, it literally eardrum-obliterating. 

But even if you don't get down close to the action, the type of intense racket that race cars generate can be very bad for your hearing.

In the past, I've usually made do with disposable foam earplugs, which dampen the wail of screaming engines, but also muffle everything else.

Then a company called Etymotic, which makes a range of earphones and hearing-protection devices, offered to let me sample a pair of ER-20 XS high-definition earplugs designed specifically for motorsports. 

I had a great test in mind for the product: the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race, held every June southwest of Paris in the French countryside.

How'd they do? Read on to find out:

SEE ALSO: Ford just did something amazing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Over the past two and half years or so, I've been attending sports-car races fairly often. This one took place in Upstate New York and featured only screaming Ferrari 458s.

Noise levels in the pits can be ear-shattering. Seriously, you don't want to be down there without earplugs when the race cars pull in — and especially when they pull away!

Normally, I use disposable foam earplugs, such as these. That cord allows you to keep them around your neck so you don't lose them when you take them out.

The best way to build wealth is to prioritize assets over income. But ensuring that your assets outweigh your liabilities can be impacted greatly by the city you call home.

This week, online personal finance consultant Bankrate.com released a report ranking America's best and worst metro areas for building wealth.

To create the list, Bankrate.com ranked the 21 largest metro areas in five categories that contribute directly to an individual's ability to build their wealth:

• Savable income: average income after taxes and expenditures
  
• Human capital: unemployment rate, educational opportunities, and productivity
• Debt burden: non-mortgage debt per capita and average credit score
• Homeownership: average annual change in home prices, foreclosure actions, and homeownership rate
• Access to financial services: Percentage of workers with access to retirement plans

San Francisco came out on top as the best place to build wealth, followed by Minneapolis and Washington, DC.

“In some metro areas, like San Francisco, homeownership can be prohibitively expensive, but higher-than-average salaries can help residents stash more money away in tax-advantaged retirement accounts," wrote Claes Bell, a Bankrate.com analyst and the author of the study. "On the other hand, Minneapolis-area residents don't earn as much, but the area's affordable housing and recovering real estate market provide opportunities to build wealth over the long term through home equity."

Read on to see how the 21 largest US cities stack up for building wealth, as well as the average savable income, homeownership rate, and non-mortgage debt per capita for each city. 

SEE ALSO: 10 of the best American cities to live comfortably on $40,000 a year

SEE ALSO: The most expensive housing market in every state

21. Riverside-San Bernardino, California

Savable income: $9,790

Homeownership rate: 62.6%

Debt burden: $27,682

20. Miami

Savable income: -$3,613*

Homeownership rate: 58%

Debt burden: $25,645

*Analysis showed a negative average savable income for the Miami metro area. This may be attributable to the high population of retirees in the area who are spending more of their savings than they're earning.

19. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida

Savable income: $3,437

Homeownership rate: 62.7%

Debt burden: $27,015

Among the special modes of transportation reserved for the president is Marine One.

A specialty built helicopter, Marine One accompanies the president around the country and even overseas. Built to rescue the president during an emergency, the helicopter is customized with a suite of amazing features.

"The helicopter was very smooth, very impressive," Obama told reporters after his first ride in the helicopter in 2009. "You go right over the Washington Monument and then you know — kind of curve in by the Capitol. It was spectacular."

We have compiled some of Marine One's most amazing features below.

SEE ALSO: There is no car like the president's armored limo — aka 'The Beast'

Each year, only four pilots from HMX-1 squadron, aka "The Nighthawks," have the honor of flying Marine One.

Source: National Geographic "Marine One"

The helicopter can cruise at over 150 mph ...

Source: National Geographic "Marine One"

... and can continue flying even if one of its three engines fails.

Source: America's Book of Secrets "Presidential Transports"

In the moments after a layoff, you may feel like you're in a haze.

Often, we're oblivious to the signs that layoffs are coming, or we think, "It probably won't happen to me."

"The news of being laid off is a major jolt to anyone's self-esteem,"Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job," tells Business Insider.

After the initial shock wears off, she says, it's natural for a range of emotions to set in, like panic, depression, or anger.

"In the aftermath of the layoff, you need to focus on getting back up, brushing yourself off, and just understanding where you are in relation to your arena," says Tyler Parris, author of "Chief of Staff: The Strategic Partner Who Will Revolutionize Your Organization.""Then you can jump back in and do what you do best."

If you get hit with the disappointing news, here are a few things you can do in those following moments to help shake it off and prepare yourself to re-enter the world of job hunting:

SEE ALSO: 25 signs your company is about to conduct mass layoffs

DON'T MISS: 27 signs you're burned out at work

Take a deep breath

"It's easy to go into panic mode after news like this, but if you do, you might later regret any knee-jerk reactions," Taylor says.

You should stay on good terms with your former coworkers and bosses so you can later call on them for networking help or references, says Edward Fleischman, CEO of The Execu|Search Group, so it's important to keep your cool and not do or say anything regrettable in the heat of the moment.

Taylor suggests finding a quiet and private space to gather your thoughts and decompress. You could physically tamp down the emotion with exercises like deep breathing, a quick meditation, or a brisk walk.

Don't view it as a personal attack

Remember, a layoff likely isn't a reflection on you.

"While it's almost impossible to see a silver lining at a time like this, it's helpful to remember that a mass layoff by definition does not target you specifically," Taylor says.

"There are reasons beyond your control that this has happened to you and others," she adds. "It's how you handle a setback that often matters more than the setback itself."

Don't sign anything right away

If HR asks you to sign a termination letter, take it home with you and look it over thoroughly before you sign it. Your signature could simply be an acknowledgment that you received the letter, or it could be an agreement that you won't sue or compete with the company for a certain period of time.

New York City is considered one of the nation's fast-casual incubators — if a chain can make it here, it can make it anywhere.

And now that grilled-cheese concept Melt Shop has comfortably ensconced itself in Manhattan, it's looking to expand.

The chain's parent company, Aurify Brands, is no stranger to scaling up.

With a massive Five Guys franchise group in New York, Melt Shop has some serious experience behind it.

There are plans to double the chain's location count after netting $22.5 million in Series B funding in fall 2015; there are already several in the greater New York area, as well as a new store in the Mall of America in Minnesota.

Melt Shop has four locations in Manhattan, so I decided to head over to one to see what the chain is like.

SEE ALSO: A definitive ranking of everything on Chick-fil-A's breakfast menu

I'm visiting the Melt Shop on 26th Street in New York City, which is dangerously close to our offices.

Most of the shops are cozy affairs — low on space but well organized and clean.

The menu is fairly simple. There are 11 sandwich options ranging from the classic grilled cheese to a packed turkey club, as well as several sides including the traditional tomato soup. Interestingly, the menus differ slightly at some locations, so what you see here may not be all that's available. Not sure if the "artisanal" sobriquet fits, but we'll see.

What's the best way to burn the most calories?

There's a lot that goes into developing an exercise regimen — meeting your body's needs, finding something you enjoy, and figuring out what will have enough impact to make a difference to your health.

If you're crunched for time, one of the ways to measure that is to figure out how much energy a particular exercise expends in the time you actually do it. In other words, how many calories does it burn?

The big, important caveats here are that exercising on its own actually doesn't do much to make you lose weight. If you want to slim down, we suggest talking to a doctor about what a healthy weight is for you and working on cutting sugar and large portions out of your diet.

Still, calories burned per hour is a good measure of how intense a particular exercise is. The Mayo Clinic, drawing on research published by the National Institutes of Health, lists 36 popular forms of exercise by their caloric impacts. We've ordered them from least to most intense, with approximate calories burned per hour for a 200-pound person listed for each activity. (An average adult American weighs just under 200 pounds.) Of course exact figures will vary across body types, gender, age, and other factors.

Keep in mind that the numbers here are approximate. Also, just because an exercise burns calories faster doesn't mean it's necessarily the best option. The most important exercise is the one you enjoy enough to get up and do regularly.

SEE ALSO: 9 science-backed ways to be a happier person

DON'T MISS: AccuWeather says Americans should prepare for a cold, stormy, snowy winter

36. Hatha yoga | 228 calories/hour

Hatha yoga, a version of the exercise practice centered on holding specific poses, sits at the bottom of this list, burning an average of about 228 calories per hour in a 200-pound person.

35. A slow walk | 255 calories/hour

Next up: going for a stroll. For every hour walked at 2 mph, a 200-pound person burns 255 calories.

32. Bowling | 273 calories/hour

Bowling, along with the next two items on this list, ballroom dancing and Tai Chi, burns 273 calories per active hour.

When it comes to earning more money and growing your wealth, sometimes all it takes is establishing smart habits and making small lifestyle changes.

"Success is a learnable skill," writes T. Harv Eker in his book "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.""If you want to be a great golfer, you can learn how to do it. If you want to be a great piano player, you can learn how to do it ... If you want to be rich, you can learn how to do it."

If you want to learn how to get rich — how to grow and master your money — consider these nine lifestyle changes:

Previous reporting by Kathleen Elkins.

SEE ALSO: A financial adviser shares a 5-step checklist to complete before the end of 2016

DON'T MISS: You can take the biggest step toward building wealth in 10 minutes at your computer

Start hanging out with people you admire

Andrew Carnegie, who started with nothing before becoming the richest man in the country, credits all of his riches to one principle: the Master Mind.

The idea is that you surround yourself with talented people who share your vision because the alignment of several smart and creative minds is exponentially more powerful than just one.

Plus, we become like the people we associate with, which is why the rich tend to associate with others who are rich.

"In most cases, your net worth mirrors the level of your closest friends,"explains self-made millionaire and author Steve Siebold. "Exposure to people who are more successful than you are has the potential to expand your thinking and catapult your income. The reality is, millionaires think differently from the middle class about money, and there's much to be gained by being in their presence."

Put your money to work

One of the most effective ways to earn more money is to invest it, and start as early as possible.

"The more you put in today, the much more you'll have later down the road because of the time value of money and the growth on investment returns," Michael Solari, a certified financial planner with Solari Financial Management, told Business Insider.

The simplest starting point is to invest in your employer's 401(k) plan. Next, consider contributing money toward a Roth IRA or traditional IRA, individual retirement accounts with different contribution limits and tax structures.

Another great option is to put any savings in a low-cost target date fund, a diversified retirement account that invests your money into a combination of stocks, bonds, and alternative assets. Though the market is impossible to predict, you're still going to get a better return on the money there than you would in a plain old savings account, with little to no work required.

Get a part-time job

If you want to earn more, a simple solution is to work more — and you'll get a lot more out of a second job than extra income.

You'll grow your skill set by working in a different field, put your brain to work in a different context, and expand your network. Plus, it's a great opportunity to monetize a specific interest of yours — such as photography, music, tutoring, or coaching — or turn your passion into a side hustle.

Check out high-paying jobs you can do on the side and read about how to start a side-hustle from a woman who earned up to $4,000 a month on the side.

Pimco has offered its outlook for 2017 in an environment of political and market uncertainty across the globe.

In "Cyclical Outlook: Into the Unknown," Joachim Fels and Andrew Balls identified "three difficult transitions" the world will undergo — namely a shift from monetary to fiscal policy, a shift from globalization to deglobalization, and a currency regime transition in China — and offered their outlook.

"Who would have thought back in May that within the following six months the UK would vote for Brexit, Donald Trump would be elected president of the United States, Italy would vote 'no' on reform, and that markets would like it?" the duo wrote as backdrop to their 2017 outlook. "Rather than betting big on one direction or the other, investors today should consider a patient approach and aim for capital preservation until the veil of uncertainty over future policies starts to lift," they said.

Below are the slides from their presentation to clients.

SEE ALSO: Here's how a Fed rate hike will impact mortgage payments in 12 major US cities

Postelection, markets have responded with surprising euphoria.

The global economy is set to grow in 2017 at the same 2.5% to 3% range of the past five years.

There are three difficult transitions the global economy must face in the coming year.

We're closing in on the end of 2016, and that means it's rankings time.

Yes, Wall Street banks care a lot about where they stack up against their rivals. They tout where they placed in each business line at the top of their earnings statement, and their ranking appears in just about every pitch book they hand out.

And in the M&A business, there's one clear winner. It's not even close. Goldman Sachs dominated the competition, and is on course to finish 2016 at the top of the volume and fee rankings globally, in the US, in Europe, and in Asia Pacific (ex Japan), according to Dealogic. 

Global M&A stands at $3.69 trillion in the year to December 16, down from the 2015 full year total of $4.66 trillion, but still one of the most active years on record. Goldman Sachs worked on $919.7 billion of deal activity, good for a 25% market share, according to Dealogic. 

The performance is especially striking, as Goldman missed out on the two biggest deals of the year: the $108 billion AT&T deal for Time Warner, and Bayer's $66.3 billion deal for Monsanto. Still, it landed a role on six of the remaining eight biggest deals.

Here are the rankings from Dealogic:

Goldman tops the rankings for global deal volumes, with a 25% market share

Goldman is No.1 in the US

And Europe

JPMorgan is set to finish the year in a dominant position when it comes to Wall Street dealmaking revenues.

The US bank has earned the most in fees in global investment banking, US investment banking, debt capital markets, equity capital markets and syndicated loans, according to figures from Dealogic. 

Only Goldman Sachs stands in the way of a clean sweep: the US investment bank sits atop the ranking for M&A revenues. 

Global investment banking revenue stands at $70.5 billion, down 9% from the total for 2015. 

These league tables are a contentious subject on Wall Street. Banks use them when pitching for new business, and a good ranking means serious bragging rights. But the league table-data can also be sliced up to make a bank's performance look better (by narrowing the field very narrowly, for example).  

Though they're based on estimates, these tables are the broadest possible and a closely-watched indicator of who is up and who is down. Here's how the banks stacked up this time around.

JPMorgan ranks first for overall investment banking revenues

JPMorgan has a 8.1% market share and $5.7 billion in total revenues. It is followed by rival Goldman Sachs, with $4.7 billion and a 6.7% share. Bank of America is in third place, with $4.3 billion.

Global investment banking revenue stands at $70.5 billion, down 9% from the total for 2015.

JPMorgan is number one in the US

The US investment banking league table almost exactly mirrors the global ranking, reflecting the importance of the US market. 

The only difference is that Wells Fargo ranks eighth in the US, and ninth globally, while Deutsche Bank ranks eighth globally, and ninth in the US. 

The US bank also ranks first for revenue in debt capital markets

JPMorgan has made $1.4 billion in revenue in debt capital markets, giving it an 6.9% share. Bank of America is in second, with $1.4 billion in fees, and Citi raked in $1.2 million to place third.

DCM is the only market in 2016 to see an increase revenue, up 4% year‐on‐year to $20.8bn.

2016 was a horrible year for countless reasons, but one of the few positives was going to the movies. Rotten Tomatoes reports a record number of Certified Fresh movies released in 2016, and Disney’s $7 billion global take at the box office set a new industry record.

So needless to say, there were a lot of great titles in the running for my 10 best this year.

It was hard, but here they are — the films that confirmed why I love going to the movies so much (plus a couple that I felt needed to be mentioned).

SEE ALSO: The 5 biggest winners and losers at the box office in 2016

10. “Jackie”

This haunting look at Jacqueline Kennedy in the aftermath of the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, is a beautifully constructed retelling of the end of Camelot and the realization that the First Lady is far from the timid person she was portrayed as by the press. Natalie Portman delivers one of the best performances of her career, playing Jackie with a precision that lifts the movie to another level. 

9. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

The first standalone “Star Wars” movie was hyped to have a more mature “Dirty Dozen”-like feel and it was just that. “Rogue One” has an originality that gives you a sense of finality when you get to the end. There’s still a lot of reminders that you are inside the confines of the “Star Wars” universe, whether it be characters that show up or locations where scenes take place, but the high stakes of the movie brings an excitement that can be lost at times when watching the main franchise films. 

8. “Moonlight”

Told over three chapters in the life of a young man living in Miami, Barry Jenkins’ beautifully touching portrait of the complexities of life is a movie you have to experience if you are a film lover. The direction, acting, camera work, and score are all at a high level, while the storytelling is some of the most powerful you’ll see all year. 

The money management industry has a diversity problem.

Morningstar's global study out earlier this year showed that one in five mutual fund managers is a woman – a rate that hasn't budged since 2008.

In the US, that number drops to one in 10. The US is a laggard, far behind countries like Singapore (30%), Portugal (28%) and France (21%). 

For hedge funds, the numbers are similar: only 15% of hedge fund CEOs are women. For minorities, the figures are just as lackluster, with only a handful of Latino and African-American managers.

There are a lot of reasons for the gap – among them, biases, cliquey hiring, and weaker professional networks for women.

Given the dire numbers, I wondered what it's like to be a woman, minority – or both – working in the industry. So I started asking around. 

Some spoke of annoying biases – one woman who launched her own fund said she stopped wearing her wedding ring at investor meetings because she grew tired of questions about what her husband did. Others spoke of being ignored for the investment ideas they presented, or hearing crass talk about female colleagues.

Most said their experiences had, on the whole, been otherwise positive. Investing proves a quantifiable measure on which to be measured, something other careers lack, several people mentioned. There are fewer gray areas on which to be measured, the thinking goes, if you can point to a number that proves your performance for the year.

Everyone asked to be kept anonymous so to not jeopardize their careers. Here are their stories.

SEE ALSO: Something is missing from the hedge fund industry

DON'T MISS: A hot new hedge fund is making a big bet on Disney

"There's a general theme of being discounted"— Female investor on an otherwise all-male investment team

"I have developed a lot of thick skin. It's not uncommon when we discuss an investment idea, I'll raise my hand, the question will be dismissed and then a [male] colleague will ask the same question and there will be a thirty-minute conversation."

"When I travel, when I’m in boardrooms, people will direct questions to my [male] boss and not me, even though I presented ... There's a general theme of being discounted almost or doubted and a general assumption of 'she must be the IR [investor relations rep].'"

"It's a delicate line. I want to be treated equally and be one of the boys. Sometimes they say lewd comments, and it goes in one ear and out the other. I want it to be a natural environment where they feel they can speak freely." 

"There’s a certain approach to conversation that comes out of knowing what is expected in a conversation"— Female minority hedge fund investor who studied engineering

"I’ve always operated in an environment where the distribution was highly skewed... There’s a certain approach to conversation that comes out of knowing what is expected in a conversation. Sticking to a need to say basis. Speak about what’s relevant. The content matters... being to the point."

"If you're in the minority, being the only woman on the team, your voice is heard more. I think of it like a parent with 10 kids and you think you have an underdog in the family. You think you need to call out the weakest link, the quietest child so you can hear what the quietest child has to say ... The fact that you are the only one on the team makes you more visible in many ways. And the reason you made the team is because you met certain criteria and you deserve to be on the team. And you have a level of credibility that you get to be heard, and amplified."

"He was surprised I wasn't pitching a more 'girly' name"— Female hedge fund analyst

"It has always been a more uncomfortable game of numbers where the ratio of male to females in any event is 10 to one and the men huddle together and the women are sort of separated. In one instance, I was meeting with an analyst from a hedge fund in the city and he asked whether I had any names I could pitch him. I began to talk about a semiconductor company when he interrupted to say he was surprised I wasn't pitching a more 'girly' name." 

Whether you’re hundreds or thousands away from hitting your savings goals, you’re probably on the lookout for smart ways to supercharge your efforts. Fortunately, moving the needle in a big way doesn’t require a major or painful lifestyle change—as these seven savers prove.

They tell us how they dialed up their efforts with some simple yet extremely effective hacks—and ultimately saved thousands.

SEE ALSO: 5 reasons you aren't building wealth

“I stockpile my $1 bills.”

Nick D’Urso, 27, co-founder of a nutrition company in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“This may sound like the simplest idea ever, but I’ve been able to save a pretty good chunk of money just by stockpiling my $1 bills over the last five years. For example, if I buy something for $16 and pay with a $20, I take the four leftover singles and put it in a safe.

It took some getting used to, but now it’s become a habit I don’t even think about. The best part? I’ve saved over $9,000 this way! I’ve been tempted to spend it over the years, but I’m happy to say that my willpower prevailed. My big-picture goal is to put a down payment on a house, so I’m keeping my eye on the prize.”

“I rent out my home during peak holiday season.”

Elizabeth Jenkins, 28, communications manager in San Diego, Calif.

“Whenever I’m planning a vacation, I always list my apartment on rental websites, like Airbnb and HomeAway, for the days I’ll be gone. It’s a quick and easy way to help cover the cost of the trip and sock away some additional funds.

During peak travel season, which is May to October in San Diego, I take it a step further by renting out my couch to budget travelers via Airbnb. I love meeting new people, so it’s like free money. At the height of the season, I rent out my entire home. I’ll either stay with a friend or in a budget hotel outside the city, then pocket the profits. I’ve been doing this for a little over two years and have saved roughly $5,000 as a result.”

“I made my savings account super-inconvenient.”

Eliza Cross, 58, entrepreneur and blogger in Denver, Colo.

“My tactic goes back to the old, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ way of thinking. I used to have monthly automatic withdrawals from my checking account to my savings, but soon discovered one major flaw: It was way too easy to transfer money back into checking for small emergencies, like a broken garbage disposal.

So about two years ago, I decided to create an ‘inconvenient savings account.’ I deliberately chose a credit union that’s not connected to my regular bank, then declined the free debit card. If I want to take money out of this account, I have to physically drive there and arrange it with a representative. Because it’s such a pain to access, I rarely move cash back into my regular account—and have been able to save about $4,500 so far.”