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

"Success is a learnable skill," emphasizes 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 eight lifestyle changes:

SEE ALSO: 21 lifestyle changes to make if you want to save more money

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."

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.

Bury your head in books

Rich people would rather be educated than entertained— if you want to be like them, cut the cable and dive into books on investing or personal finance, or pick up a successful person's biography.

"Walk into a wealthy person's home and one of the first things you'll see is an extensive library of books they've used to educate themselves on how to become more successful,"Siebold writes.

Take billionaire Warren Buffett, for example, who estimates that 80% of his working day is dedicated to reading.

While the rich don't necessarily put much stock in furthering wealth through formal education— many of the most successful people have little formal education— they appreciate the power of learning long after college is over.

On Monday morning, Eric Jackson, manager of hedge fund SpringOwl, sent a brutal 99-page presentation to Yahoo's board outlining his case for why the company should drop Marissa Mayer as CEO and find new management.

Among Jackson's grievances about Yahoo is everything Mayer has blown money on, from failed acquisitions to lavish parties and sponsorships.

He claims that a December 2014 party had a photo shoot that cost Yahoo $70,000 alone, and that the company's Roaring 20s-themed holiday party this year at Pier 48 in San Francisco cost $7 million. A source with knowledge of the company and the cost of the party tells Business Insider that the cost was actually less than a third of Jackson's claimed $7 million.

We've rounded up some pictures from Yahoo's lavish holiday party so you can see what it was like:

SEE ALSO: Here's a 99-page shareholder presentation on why Yahoo needs to fire Marissa Mayer

Yahoo's 20th anniversary holiday party was Roaring 20s-themed.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/-5QJ7NwGFx/embed/
Width: 658px

Yahoo's party took place at San Francisco's Pier 48, a huge venue on the water.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/-5PyT2QGFO/embed/
Width: 658px

The party featured ornate decorations, like these chandeliers.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/-6ylbpDMJo/embed/
Width: 658px

Our days are filled with a constant stream of decisions. Most are mundane, but some are so important that they can haunt you for the rest of your life.

A recent study from Columbia University found that we're bogged down by more than 70 decisions a day. The sheer number of decisions we have to make each day leads to a phenomenon called decision fatigue, whereby your brain actually tires like a muscle.

A new study from the University of Texas shows that even when our brains aren't tired, they can make it very difficult for us to make good decisions. When making a decision, instead of referencing the knowledge we've accumulated, our brains focus on specific, detailed memories.

For example, if you're buying a new car and trying to decide if you should go for the leather seats, even though you know you can't afford it, your brain might focus on memories of the wonderful smell and feel of the leather seats in your brother's sports car, when it should be focused on the misery you're going to experience when making your monthly car payments. Since you don't have memories of this yet, it's a hard thing for your brain to contemplate.

"I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions." — Stephen Covey

Some decisions are minor, such as what to eat, which route to drive to work, or in what order to tackle tasks; others are more difficult, such as choosing between two job offers, whether to move to a new city for someone you love, or whether to cut a toxic person out of your life. Regardless of the magnitude of the decision, our brains make it hard for us to keep the perspective we need to make good choices.

Bronnie Ware spent her career as a palliative care nurse, working exclusively with people who were three to 12 months from death. She made a habit of asking them about their greatest regrets, and she heard the same five regrets time and time again. By studying these regrets, you can make certain that you make good choices and don't fall victim to them yourself.

Here are five of the most common regrets:

SEE ALSO: People weighed in on the most common regrets in life, and some of their answers will make you cry

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

1. Making decisions based on what other people think.

When you make your decisions based on other people’s opinions, two things tend to happen:

1. You make a poor career choice: There are too many people out there who studied for a degree they regret or even spent their lives pursuing a career they regret. Whether you’re seeking parental approval or pursuing pay and prestige over passion, making a poor career choice is a decision that will live with you forever.

2. You fail to uphold your morals: When you get too caught up in what your boss thinks of you, how much money you think your spouse needs to be happy, or how bad you will look if you fail, you are at high risk of violating your own morals. Your intense desire to make yourself look good compromises your ability to stay true to yourself and, ultimately, to feel good.

The best way to avoid falling prey to the opinions of others is to realize that other people’s opinions are just that — opinions. Regardless of how great or terrible they think you are, that’s only their opinion. Your true self-worth comes from within.

2. Working too hard.

Working hard is a great way to impact the world, to learn, to grow, to feel accomplished, and sometimes even to find happiness, but it becomes a problem when you do so at the expense of the people closest to you.

Ironically, we often work hard to make money for the people we care about without realizing that they value our company more than money. The key is to find a balance between doing what you love and being with the people you love. Otherwise you’ll look back one day and wish you’d focused more on the latter.

3. Failing to express your feelings.

We’re taught as children that emotions are dangerous and that they must be bottled up and controlled. This usually works at first, but boxing up your feelings causes them to grow until they erupt. The best thing you can do is to put your feelings directly on the table. Though it’s painful to initiate, it forces you to be honest and transparent.

For example, if you feel as though you don’t make enough money at work, schedule a meeting with your boss and propose why you think you’re worth more. As a result, she will either agree with you and give you a raise or disagree and tell you what you do need to do to become more valuable. On the other hand, if you do nothing and let your feelings fester, this will hinder your performance and prevent you from reaching your goal.

Finding the perfect gift for that special someone can be tough. Unless they drink whiskey. In which case you've come to the right place.

Business Insider has spent some of the past year sampling, inspecting, tasting, and rating several top whiskeys and scotches. And as the holiday season draws closer, dear reader, we have objective results to report.

This year, we go international and domestic, sampling bottles of Americans' and Scots' favorites, and even include Japan in the booze rankings.

Now have a look at some of the most flavorful spirits this holiday season.

SEE ALSO: 15 perfect gifts for guys who can't dress

Macallan 10 is a superb 'starter scotch'

Macallan Scotch is easy to acquire for drinkers of all stripes. It is, admittedly, not very peaty, but it's certainly good enough that you ought not ruin it with a single chip of ice. The Macallan 10 is the cheapest you can find, is noticeably lighter in color than older Macallans, and is smooth and easy to drink. Perhaps a little too easy.

Price:$50 and up

Redbreast 12 is smooth, and sure to be a crowd-pleaser

The perfect whiskey for the drinker not terribly fond of peat. It's super-smooth relatively easy to find in most US cities. For those who really want to impress whoever they're gifting this year, there's an even better Redbreast (15 year) that's reasonably priced. It's the first of single pot still whiskeys on our list, but not the last.

Price:$63 and up

Hibiki is hot, and getting hotter

Hibiki is a phenomenal Japanese whiskey that we highlighted on last year's liquor list, saying: "It tastes sweet and rich, with fruity and oaky elements. This is one of the best Japanese whiskeys out there and is a Whisky Magazine editors' choice."

It was also less than $140 back  then. Today the best deal we could find online was $233.

The Golden State Warriors' perfect start may be over, but in just 24 games, Stephen Curry gave us a season's worth of highlights.

Curry, the NBA's leading scorer, has become one of the sports world's must-watch entertainers because of his quickness, unlimited range, and crafty handle.

At any given moment, Curry is capable of going on a hot streak that nobody else in the NBA can rival — a dizzying attack of long-range three-pointers and scoops to the hoop.

After a YouTube mix of Curry's 125 three-pointers during the Warriors 24-0 start made its rounds, we decided to pick Curry's 15 best shots, three-pointers and circus shots alike.

Check out the mesmerizing highlights below:

A quick pull-up from 30 feet out is pedestrian for Curry.

RAW Embed

Curry catches a wild pass, gathers, and re-loads in mere seconds.

RAW Embed

Curry's body and ball control, particularly with his left hand, is ridiculous.

RAW Embed

This week, we're giving thanks to the Xbox 360.

Released exactly 10 years ago this week, the Xbox 360 had a far larger impact than Microsoft's first game console, the Xbox.

Many of the Xbox 360's games are unforgettable, and if you own an Xbox One, you'll be able to play some of them again. Thanks to an important update that landed this month, the Xbox One is now "backward compatible" with over 100 Xbox 360 games, with more to come in the near future.

So we're here to celebrate the games that made the Xbox 360 such a special console over the last decade — games we think should be part of the new update, to boot.

SEE ALSO: The best video games you should be playing this holiday season

"Red Dead Redemption"

Think "Grand Theft Auto" set in the Wild West — that's what you can expect from "Red Dead Redemption," the open-world action-adventure game from the same studio behind the "GTA" franchise. You're John Marston, a former outlaw whose wife and son are held hostage by the government — and you'll need to do their bidding to get your loved ones back. You can ride a horse, fire your pistols in slow motion, and meet all sorts of colorful characters and desert animals during your travels, some of which want you dead. It's one of the best games ever created.

The "BioShock" series

A satisfying blend of science-fiction, horror, and shooting games, the "BioShock" series is beloved for its incredible story and atmosphere, as well as its satisfying gameplay mechanics. After your plane crashes in the ocean in the first game, your character discovers an underwater city called Rapture, a utopian Atlantis gone wrong. To survive and escape the city, you'll use weapons, gain superpowers, and make plenty of moral choices that directly affect your game. It's still considered by many to be one of the best, most unique games ever created.

The "Gears of War" series

What would happen if aliens crawled out from under the earth and wiped out most of humanity? That's the beginning of "Gears of War." Set on an Earth-like planet called Sera, humanity was already at odds with each other before the Locust crawled out from under the planet's surface, in what's known as "Emergence Day." As an imprisoned former military leader, your character, Marcus Fenix, is rescued from prison and tasked with leading a squad to eliminate the Locust threat once and for all. Though you can play this one in a re-released, update format, the originals aren't playable on the Xbox One just yet.

What started off as an unlikely underdog story turned into a phenomenon that changed the world.

While Hollywood expected "Star Wars" to be a huge flop in 1977, it ended up, as we know, one of the most financially successful films of all time, and kicked off a franchise that can't be killed.

"The Force Awakens," the seventh film in the "Star Wars" saga, will be released on December 18, 2015. Expectations are incredibly high. No less a Hollywood mythmaker than Steven Spielberg thinks it could be "the biggest movie ever."

While George Lucas gave up control of the franchise in 2012, he still made a tremendous profit off of it. That is not just because he created the original story. Lucas gained control of licensing and merchandising rights before "A New Hope" was even released. This smart move ultimately turned him into one of the most successful people in the entertainment industry.

This is the path that George Lucas took that turned him into a billionaire.

SEE ALSO: Everyone who was at the world premiere of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'

In 1973, George Lucas had just finished directing the beloved coming-of-age film "American Graffiti."

The high school comedy remains one of the most profitable movies of all time. Made on a budget of $777,000, it earned $140 million in revenue.

Source: Pajiba

The success of "Graffiti" gave Lucas some much-needed clout in Hollywood. Producers were excited to hear his next idea. Lucas wanted to direct a sci-fi Western called "Star Wars."

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Women think men are difficult to shop for, and men think women are difficult to shop for — that's just the way the world spins.

If the woman (or man) you're shopping for is someone you'd deem fashionable, though, we feel for you. That can be a whole different level of intimidating. You don't want to get her something she hates, but knowing what's "in" this season isn't necessarily your area of expertise either — in all likelihood, it's hers.

So to help guide your gifting, we compiled 18 presents — ranging from mirrored sunglasses to lace-up ballerina flats, from faux fur outerwear to edgy diamond studs — we think she'll love.

Every woman's sartorial predilections are different, of course, but this list is a good place to gather some ideas.

A cropped sweater

Sweaters make great gifts. For the forward dresser, pick out a cropped one: Abbreviated hems continue to be a popular style, even as we head into winter. The subtly slouchy collar of this turtleneck will lend some extra coziness on cold days.

Club Monaco Leala Crop Turtleneck, $149.50.

A pair of headphones

There's no shortage of stylish headphones you can buy. Twist our wrists, though, and we'd pick Frend's Layla Headphones (pictured here), Master & Dynamic's MH40s, and Bang & Olufsen's BeoPlay H6s as our favorites for any women you're shopping for this season.

Frends Layla Headphones, $149.99.

A pair of mirrored sunglasses

Pair these mirrored sunglasses with a surprise tropical getaway and win Christmas. 

Illesteva Milan IV Round-Frame Metal and Acetate Mirrored Sunglasses, $300.

TripAdvisor recently released the winners of its Travelers' Choice Awards in several different categories, including the global and US destinations that are on the rise.

The results were based on increases in positive traveler feedback as well as increased interest in accommodations, restaurants, and attractions.

This year, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was ranked as the top US destination travelers should have on their radar. It also came in fourth place on TripAdvisor's list of global up-and-coming destinations.

Set in the picturesque entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg is home to a plethora of outdoor activities, a growing food scene, and eclectic attractions that make it a popular destination for travelers.

We've found 21 photos that showcase Gatlinburg's beauty.

SEE ALSO: The 22 best small towns to visit in your lifetime

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!

Gatlinburg attracts more than 11 million visitors per year. The charming town has three separate entrances that lead straight into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

With an incredible diversity of plant and animal life and stunning mountain scenery, Great Smoky Mountains is America’s most visited national park. From Gatlinburg, visitors can explore its lush forests and scenic views.

Click here to learn more about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park »

There are also breathtaking hiking trails that travelers can take throughout the park.

Before you shell out thousands of dollars for your undergraduate education, you'll want to make sure it's worth your time and money.

Kiplinger recently released its list of 300 best-value public and private schools, ranked based on quality — including test scores of incoming students, admission rates, academic support, and graduation rates — and cost measures, such as total cost, financial aid packages, and average debt at graduation.

Read Kiplinger's full methodology here.

Washington and Lee University, a small, Virginia-based liberal-arts college, stole the show this year, followed by No. 2-ranked Princeton and No. 3-ranked Harvard. Read on to see which schools cracked the top 30, along with total annual cost, average need-based aid, and average student debt upon graduation for each.

We also included the median earnings of students 10 years after starting their studies, from the US Department of Education's College Scorecard as highlighted in a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce:

SEE ALSO: The 17 US colleges where students earn over $75,000 a year a decade after attending

30. Carleton College

Total annual cost: $62,846

Average need-based aid: $34,050

Average debt upon graduation: $18,302

Median earnings 10 years after enrolling: $46,100

29. Wellesley College

Total annual cost: $62,140

Average need-based aid: $39,988

Average debt upon graduation: $12,956

Median earnings 10 years after enrolling: $56,700

28. Bowdoin College

Total annual cost: $62,190

Average need-based aid: $38,978

Average debt upon graduation: $25,503

Median earnings 10 years after enrolling: $54,800 

Until we all start traveling in self-driving cars and Hyperloops, we're stuck with our current forms of transportation. But that's not too bad if you're a CEO of a technology company worth millions or billions.

It's always fun to see what the tech elite is driving these days — some make humble choices, while others don't mind splurging for an extravagant ride. This list includes a wide range of cars, from wildly expensive sports vehicles to modest, everyday roadsters.

SEE ALSO: People don't appreciate just how cool our self-driving car future will be

Tim Cook's first car was a Porsche Boxster, but these days he's been seen driving a BMW 5 Series.

Sources: Daily Mail, Wall Street Journal

Elon Musk, the billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX, is quite fond of his own automotive brand, though he admits he owns a 67 Series 1 E-Type Jaguar.

Source: AllThingsD

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly owns several cars, including an Acura TSX, but he also reportedly paid for an Italian Pagani Huayra supercar, which starts at a cool $1.3 million.

Source: Yahoo

A lot of great psychological research came out in 2015.

On topics ranging from productivity to leadership to team dynamics, this year's research offers novel insights into how to be a more creative, more efficient, and more effective employee in the modern workplace.

With the new year fast approaching, we rounded up the most compelling of those studies. Read on for science-backed tips to help you do your job better in 2016.

SEE ALSO: 17 mind-blowing psychology findings that explain the baffling choices you make every day

1. The best time to take a coffee break may be mid-morning.

As the day goes on, your energy and concentration decrease, so it's harder to restore those resources through a break.

For maximum productivity, research suggests you should duck out of the office mid-morning instead of mid-afternoon.

Read more about the research here.

2. A messy desk could make you more productive.

When we're faced with physical chaos, researchers say we try to create order on some level by pursuing clear, well-defined goals.

As long as your coworkers don't object, consider keeping your workspace in slight disarray.

Read more about the research here.

3. Turn off your phone — just hearing it vibrate could make you less productive.

In a study, people's performance on a cognitive task was significantly worse when their phone buzzed or rang than when it stayed silent.

Keep your phone off or hidden while you're trying to stay focused.

Read more about the research here.

There's no place quite like Portland. 

Oregon's largest city exhibits a particular blend of mossy Northwestern cool. It's a land of flannel, tattoos, coffee, and food trucks.

We stopped by last week. Here's a few of the things we found, plus a few we need to check out. 

People love (or hate*) the Portland Airport Carpet. When arriving at PDX, it's customary to take a foot selfie, as I did.

Heading into town, you're greeted by another PDX classic: the White Stag sign, standing handsomely in the Portland skyline.

Portland is a watery place, and the convergence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers necessitates stately bridges, like the Hawthorne Bridge.

As our wild holiday party stories prove — no matter how much warning they're given, some people just can't help but let loose during the company holiday party.

And this is a real concern for employers.

Of the almost 400 human resources professionals who plan to sponsor an end-of-year or holiday party surveyed by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) this November, 41% said they don't plan on serving alcohol at all. This is up from 39% in 2012.

Of those who do plan on offering libations, almost half (47%) said they would regulate alcohol consumption at the party in some way.

"Holiday or end-of-year parties are great opportunities for employers to team build, acknowledge individual and company achievements, and boost employee morale," Sherry Dixon, senior vice president with Adecco Staffing USA, tells Business Insider. "While it's important to give employees the opportunity to let loose a little, it's also critical to keep things professional."

Keeping things professional is a major concern for employers because of liability issues, says Roy Cohen, a career coach and author of "The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide."

"When problems occur at holiday parties, there is real potential for the company and corporate brand to be tarnished," he tells Business Insider. "That opportunity cost is significant. Many more companies are aware of the impact on reputation and the power of the internet to broadcast bad behavior immediately and for eternity." 

While employers obviously have no way to control what goes on at the holiday after-party, here are nine ways they can keep people from drinking too much on the company's watch:

SEE ALSO: We asked and you answered — here are 18 of the wildest office holiday party stories we've ever heard

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

1. Provide drink tickets

Most (71%) of the employers offering alcohol at a year-end or holiday party surveyed said they planned to keep people from drinking too much by providing drink tickets or a drink maximum. 

"Not only does this help keep everyone safe, it also could be helpful in preventing employees from saying or doing discriminatory or offensive things while under the influence," says Gretchen Van Vlymen, human resources practice leader at StratEx, a human resources service and software company.

2. Set expectations of good behavior up front.

Van Vlymen says there tends to be an uptick in sexual harassment complaints following holiday parties where heavy drinking is involved, which is why her company advises clients to remind employees beforehand that the handbook policies on harassment still stand and drunkenness isn't a valid defense for such behavior.

"To encourage professionalism at your office party, it is okay to set expectations beforehand," Dixon says. "In a kind and non-threatening manner, ask employees to limit alcohol consumption at the celebration, reminding them that inappropriate behaviors take away from team bonding."

Meredith Hurst, a partner at Thomas Mansfield, an employment law consulting firm, says a gentle reminder usually does the trick without putting the dampeners on the party. "In the vast majority of cases, trusting staff to act in the right way can reap its own rewards," she tells Business Insider.

Another tack Van Vlyme says some employers take, though, is to ask employees to sign an acknowledgment of the handbook policies on harassment and discrimination prior to the start of the party. 

3. Don't offer hard liquor.

A quarter of the human resources professionals surveyed reported they would only serve certain types of alcohol, like beer or wine.

"There is a major upside in preventing employees from being overserved by prohibiting shots at the open bar," Van Vlymen says.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" looks ready to demolish box-office records when it comes out on Friday, with advance ticket sales that are quadruple the previous record.

So it's a good time to look back at what are the highest-grossing movies ever. For this list, we looked at domestic box-office grosses adjusted for inflation to see what old movies would have made in today's dollars, as calculated by Box Office Mojo. So there's no "Avatar" on this list.

The original 1977 "Star Wars" comes in high, but not quite first. You might be surprised by some of the other titles.

SEE ALSO: How new 'Star Wars' star Adam Driver went from a former Marine to the Hollywood A-list

10. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)

Adjusted gross: $909,060,000

Unadjusted gross: $184,925,486

Walt Disney's first cel-animated feature-length film, about the princess and the queen fearful of her beauty, is also the company's biggest hit in adjusted dollars.

9. "The Exorcist" (1973)

Adjusted gross: $922,397,100

Unadjusted gross: $232,906,145

The 1970s horror film about a young girl possessed is widely regarded as the best in the genre. And at the time it came out, William Friedkin's masterpiece was by far the most terrifying thing around.

8. "Doctor Zhivago" (1965)

Adjusted gross: $1,035,289,700

Unadjusted gross: $111,721,910

The David Lean-directed epic starring British icons Alec Guinness and Julie Christie tells the story of a romance set against the backdrop of World War I.

Mike Cagney, the CEO of fintech startup SoFi, wants to lend you money, and he couldn't care less what your credit score is.

"We ignore FICO as an input because it’s just not meaningful," he told Business Insider.

Things like spending patterns and career prospects are much more meaningful to Cagney — and to SoFi, which recently hauled in $1 billion, making its Series E investment round the biggest fintech fundraising deal ever.

The company has amassed a reported valuation in excess of $4 billion and, recently, cracked the $5 billion mark for total loans originated across student loan and mortgage refinancings and personal loans.

For SoFi's — and Cagney's — next act, the company will take on mortgage lenders. It's an industry that has seen increased challenges to traditional loan providers like Wells Fargo in recent years. He even thinks SoFi could one day take on fintech's biggest challenge, and one of Wall Street's biggest businesses: the checking account.

He's not stopping there. SoFi could yet take on wealth management, which has attracted numerous startups, as Cagney tries to take his company and the budding online banking industry into the stratosphere. He thinks SoFi has the potential to become a $30 billion firm.

Business Insider recently caught up with Cagney, who sounded off on everything from interest rates to key court decisions. Following are excerpts from that conversation.

Business Insider: What are your plans to push into new areas?

Mike Cagney: We have a set of initiatives. Some things you're privy to, some things you're not. Things like wealth, insurance, deposit accounts. Basically, we look at it as something that, over the course of 12 months, is going to double the value of our business. More important, we're looking at something like, how do we get to $30 billion of value in five years?

There are areas we think are really interesting with huge opportunity, like life insurance, and then there are areas we think we wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, like sub-prime auto lending.

I think we're going to see over the next 12 months a serious distancing of SoFi, not just from the market place universe ... I don't think we actually live in that domain. You're going to see us distance ourselves from the banks too. And see us try to define a different category and a different way to think about that relationship.

Business Insider: What do you think will happen to consumer lending once we see our first rate hike?

Cagney: It’ll get more expensive. [laughs] One, certain businesses, like student-loan refinancing, are going to come under pressure. We started our business around student-loan refi. We’ve now diversified pretty significantly away from that. But that business, by its name, refinancing, is a function of the rate market.

As rates rise, the margin in that space is going to get compressed. I think in terms of the general consumer, you’re going to see cost of credit rise. That could be offset by a strong macro environment. We don’t see that right now.

Business Insider: How do you see the mobile-payments industry developing?

Cagney: [The mobile pay game] is totally up for grabs. What you ultimately need is someone like Apple, for example, to make the capital investment to give every merchant the opportunity to take Apple Pay through the phone. And if they don’t make that investment, it’s hard to see where the catalyst comes from.

The reality is, someone’s got to make the capital investment to get that hardware in place. It’s a huge investment, and it’s a necessary step. We’d love to take advantage of an alternative payment network, but we don’t have the capital resources to go out and put a reader in every merchant’s store. You need to supplant what’s there with something that you can use with no dropoff in service or coverage.

McLaren builds supercars for people who love technology. Ferrari builds them for people who are into a sexy, screaming engine and breathtaking styling, and Lamborghini builds them for people who had Lamborghini posters on their bedroom walls as teenagers. Pagani builds them for artists. Porsche builds them people who ... I guess like Porsches a whole lot and need Porsche to have a supercar. Ford builds them when it wants to remind everyone that it has beaten Ferrari at what Ferrari does best. And Corvette builds them because Corvette wants us to be happy and not have to spend $300,000 for the privilege.

But McLaren has the tech angle down. This provokes some criticism: McLarens aren't visceral, they lack soul. They look as if they were spit out of 3D printers or sculpted from blocks of plastic. Maybe they take a little too seriously the notion that racing is a laboratory for the street, and they channel their namesake, New Zealander Bruce McLaren, to bond on-track performance with perhaps the finest engineering in the car world. McLaren — the supercar for technocrats. Elon Musk owned a F1 hypercar, don't you know. Kind of says it all.

Of course it's all just the obsessively fine, blathering distinction-making of folks who want to debate the thises and thats of supercars. The real test of what a McLaren is all about takes place when you swing up the doors and slip into the driver's seat, as we did for a day in Los Angeles.

Here's what we thought of the 675LT — "LT" for "Longtail," an extended version of McLaren 650S — a supercar that the mad scientists in Woking, England, created specifically for track days and sell (in the case of our vehicle) for $400,000. We didn't have the pleasure of tracking this ride, but we did hit the canyon roads above Malibu.

The 675LT was bathed in glorious Southern California sunshine for the entire time we enjoyed it — a whopping day and a half. It was an aggressive study in carbon fiber and neon green or, as McLaren calls it, "Napier Green."

... with those exotic upswinging doors of course.

The carbon fiber is literally everywhere.

Oprah Winfrey's empire just got even bigger — she just picked up an 8,700-square-foot mountain home in Telluride, Colorado.

According to Zillow, she paid $14 million for the property, which previously belonged to tech executive Bob Wall.

The home has five bedrooms and is packed with smart-home features.

"[Wall] can water his indoor plants from San Francisco with his iPad," realtor T.D. Smith told Zillow when the house first came onto the market with Telluride Real Estate.

Let's take a look inside Oprah's new mountain digs:

SEE ALSO: Go inside Sweden's stunning Ice Hotel, where each year the rooms are hand-carved out of 4,000 tons of ice

Oprah's new home sits on 3.25 acres in Mountain Village, near Telluride. Residents can take a one-minute ride to the ski slopes on a funicular, which reportedly costs about $240,000.

A 35-foot-high walkway leads through the trees.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the walkway cost about $140,000 to build.

Source: Los Angeles Times

It's laughably easy to overspend during the holidays — from catering feasts and baking treats to stocking stuffers and Yankee swaps, the expenses seem to never end.

What's more, most stores are carefully engineered to get you to overspend. Particularly during the last month of the year, they'll tug on your emotions with holiday cheer and load the checkout aisle with tempting holiday delights that are nearly impossible to turn down.

If you want to curb your spending this holiday, start by recognizing these subtle yet common store tricks:

SEE ALSO: 12 psychological tricks to save more and spend less over the holidays

They put a big, bold "SALE" sign in the window.

Even if there are a few leftover Black Friday sales here and there, this is simply bait to get you in the store, where you'll likely buy nonsale items.

There's also a reason they're red, besides the holiday factor: People react faster and more forcefully when they see the color red.

Source: Shopify

They play the "limited-time offer" card.

Stores not only entice you with sales, but they also use limited-time offers to increase your sense of urgency in making a purchase — and it doesn't help that the holiday season already exudes urgency.  

Oftentimes, stores are simply creating the illusion of an unbeatable sale. While these items may be tempting to buy on the spot — especially with a looming gift-giving deadline — you're better off putting the item on hold, thinking through the purchase, and making sure it's really worth opening your wallet for. Keep in mind that to be a thorough shopper over the holiday season you'll have to plan ahead and start your shopping early.

Source: US News and World Report

They place the pricier items at eye level.

Anything a store really wants customers to buy is placed at eye level so it's easiest to find, and particularly favored items are highlighted at the end of aisles.

Look above and below for similar items with lower prices and fewer markups.

Source: POPSugar

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opens in theaters this week, but for many people around the world, passion for the galaxy far, far away runs much deeper.

Reuters tracked down 12 of the biggest "Star Wars" collectors around the world. From a lightsaber aficionado in Japan to a cosplaying family in California, these people might just be some of the biggest fans on the planet. 

Keep reading to learn more about the insane world of "Star Wars" collecting. 

James Burns, 44, lives in London. Check out his "Star Wars" spread.

Matt Warner, 42, also hails from London. "Star Wars is like my favorite band, my favorite car, my favorite bit of life," Warner told Reuters about his tattoo inspiration.

Dave Oldbury, 47, from Southampton, England, also sports a few galactic-inspired tattoos. Check out Emperor Palpatine on his arm.