To refrigerate or not to refrigerate, that is the question.

Okay, so maybe Hamlet didn't say those exact words, but it's certainly a topic many have pondered.

The FDA recommends refrigerating or freezing perishable foods right away. Meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and certain kinds of produce should never be kept at room temperature for more than two hours, or not more than one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. But what about bread, or tomatoes, or honey?

Fear no more: We've put together a list of all the items you should or should not store in the fridge, so you'll never have to wonder again.

(Note: This is not intended as a substitute for public-health recommendations.)

SEE ALSO: The vast majority of expiration dates are bogus — here's how long your food is still good

NOW READ: Here's how long you can keep food and drinks in your fridge

Eggs: Yes

You should always refrigerate eggs in the US to prevent the risk of infection from salmonella bacteria, according to the USDA. But the UK and other European countries don't refrigerate eggs, because the eggs are processed differently.

Some people say you can keep certain organic eggs at room temperature, but when in doubt, it's probably safest to keep 'em in the fridge.

Butter: Optional

The USDA recommends refrigerating butter, and freezing butter if you're not going to use it within one to two days. But many people keep butter in a covered dish outside the fridge. Since it's made from pasteurized milk, it's less likely to grow bacteria, according to the blog Care2.

Tomatoes: No

If tomatoes are kept in the fridge, they lose their flavor. That's because the cold air stops them from ripening and breaks down their cell membranes, giving the fruit that characteristic mealy taste.

If you ever find yourself wishing you could go back in time, that's nostalgia: It's what Don Draper called "the pain from an old wound: ... a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone."

Now, science can explain why you get it — and whether that’s a good or a bad thing.

SEE ALSO: People around the world are eating banana peels because they know something that Westerners do not

What is nostalgia?

The term was coined by Swiss physician Johannes Hoffer in 1688, and for years after that, nostalgia was considered a disorder, according to The New York Times. Hoffer called nostalgia a “neurological disease of essentially demonic cause,” the Times reported. The term comes from the Greek words for "returning" (nostos) and "pain" (algos).

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In recent years, science has delved deeper into nostalgia. What experts have found is that nostalgia isn’t a disease at all: It’s actually what makes us human.

What does nostalgia look like across cultures?

After Sedikides, Tim Wildschut and other psychologists at Southampton began to study nostalgia, they found that people across the world looked back on things in the same way: “The defining features of nostalgia in England are also the defining features in Africa and South America,” Wildschut told The New York Times. 

RELATED: RESEARCH EXPLAINS THE LINK BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH AND SLEEPWALKING

The subjects of nostalgic reverie were universal, the Times reported:

• Memories of friends and family members
• Holidays
• Weddings
• Songs
• Sunsets
• Lakes 

In a state of nostalgia, a person looking back often views herself as “the protagonist,” surrounded by close friends, The Times reported. 

Here are the benefits of nostalgia

Even though nostalgia can be painful, it can also be a powerful antidote to boredom, loneliness, and anxiety, according to research conducted by Southampton psychology professor Constantine Sedikides, cited in The New York Times.  

RELATED: SCIENCE EXPLAINS WHY PEOPLE PULL-OUT THEIR HAIR TO HURT THEMSELVES

Nostalgia can even make life seem more meaningful and render death less of a frightening prospect, Sedikedis' research found. That's because when people look back at the past, they then become more optimistic or inspired for the future, the New York Times reports.

People prefer good news over bad news.

That bias is the theme of Jeremy Grantham's new quarterly message to GMO's clients.

"As a bear in the bull market of 1999 I was banned from an institution's building as being 'dangerously persuasive and totally wrong!'" the investment legend wrote. "The investment industry also has a great incentive to encourage this optimistic bias, for little money would be made if the market ticked slowly upwards. Five steps forward and two back are far more profitable."

To illustrate how this bias pervades society, Grantham identified 12 ways the US is thought to be a global leader. And in his charting, he reveals how the facts tell a different, more depressing story.

"It is my attempt to bring home how extreme is our preference for good news over accurate news," he said.

We grabbed his charts to give you a quick summary of what he's talking about.

SEE ALSO: 28 charts that show how America changed since the Fed gave us 0% rates

American wage growth has lagged most of the developed world.

American unemployment is low only because many folks aren't even trying to look for jobs.

America used to be a leader in labor force participation, but not anymore.

Of all the cities in the world, your dollar will go the furthest in Mumbai, India.

It's currently the cheapest city to live in, according to the Economist's World Cost of Living Index.

The index, which is calculated every other year, compares countries based on the cost of things like food, drink, clothing, rent, transportation, and utility bills.

It's designed to help companies figure out how much to compensate employees who are working overseas. 

Some of the world's cheapest cities, like fourth-ranked Damascus, Syria, are also among the most dangerous. This list shouldn't be considered a guide for people who are looking to save money by moving overseas — try this list of places where expats can live for cheap instead — but rather as a look into the cost of living in places far away from home.

All prices listed are from the Economist's World Cost of Living Index. Mandi Woodruff contributed to an earlier version of this article.

SEE ALSO: The 20 most expensive ZIP codes in America

10. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

World Cost of Living Index: 57

1 kg loaf of bread:

Today: $1.78
Five years ago: $1.57

A bottle of wine:

Today: N/A
Five years ago: N/A

A pack of cigarettes:

Today: $2.40
Five years ago: $1.47

1 liter of unleaded gas:  

Today: $0.13
Five years ago: $0.15

9. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

World Cost of Living Index: 56

1 kg loaf of bread:

Today: $1.61
Five years ago: $1.18

A bottle of wine:

Today: N/A
Five years ago: N/A

A pack of cigarettes:

Today: $2.31
Five years ago: $1.60

1 liter of unleaded gas:  

Today: $0.13
Five years ago: $0.15

8. Panama City, Panama

World Cost of Living Index: 55 (tied)

1 kg loaf of bread:

Today: $3.53
Five years ago: $2.72

A bottle of wine:

Today: $7.05
Five years ago: $10.00

A pack of cigarettes:

Today: $4.50
Five years ago: $1.80

1 liter of unleaded gas:  

Today: $1.17
Five years ago: $1.05

Mathematics is full of counterintuitive facts and problems that push your mind to new areas and challenge your cognitive versatility. 

The next nine facts are just a few of those puzzles; problems that have a habit of sparking arguments and debates among even some of the smartest students. 

While they may seem controversial, they're all rock solid fact. 

Several of them are paradoxes and idiosyncrasies of probability.  Others play your instincts against your logic. If you're looking for a mathematical way to impress your friends and beguile your enemies, here's a good place to start. 

Just a heads-up, these problems are a little tougher than last time. If you lose track, don't quit. 

Please send all attempts at counter-proofs as well as any miscellaneous abuse or beration to either whickey@businessinsider.com or @WaltHickey.

From the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris at the start of the year to the ongoing war in Syria and political uncertainty around the globe, 2015 has been a tense year. 

As we wrap up 2015, here are 50 of the most unforgettable images of 2015.

A man holds a giant pencil as he takes part in a solidarity march in Paris on January 11, 2015. The march follows the horrific attacks by gunmen at the offices of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the killing of a police woman in Montrouge, and the hostage taking at a kosher supermarket at the Porte de Vincennes.

Law enforcement officers stand, with some turning their backs, as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks on a monitor outside the funeral for NYPD officer Wenjian Liu in the Brooklyn borough of New York January 4, 2015. Tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from across the country gathered for the funeral of the second of two New York City policemen killed last month in an ambush that galvanized critics of Mayor de Blasio.

An activist kicks the shields of the military police officers during a demonstration in the military zone of the 27th infantry battalion in Iguala, Guerrero, January 12, 2015. Activists and relatives of 43 abducted trainee teachers from Ayotzinapa's teacher training college broke into the military zone, located less than a mile from where the students went missing, in an attempt to look for the missing students. The remains of only one of the 43 students has been identified so far.

It's that time of year where it's very likely you're thinking of getting a new job.

After all, new year and a new you right?

So are you thinking of switching jobs to something a bit more offbeat and fun?

Well, according to financial protection insurers Unum, there's a whole glut of unusual jobs in Britain that are also pretty well-paid.

Even better, if you're worried you don't have the necessary skills or time to retrain, many of these jobs don't really require any qualifications.

From being a professional queuer, to a bed warmer, or even as a pet food taster – Britain is chock full of weird and wacky jobs that require lots of people to fill the roles.

Check out some of the best-paid and most unusual jobs in Britain.

18. Professional queuer – £12,000

Queues to get the latest gadget, computer game or even to see the midnight release of a movie has become a time-consuming but regular event in Britain. Now, agencies can actually hire professional queuers for £20 per hour to stand in line for you, so you don't have to.

17. Bed warmer – £16,000

Some hotels still employ people to put on special hygienic sleep suits and act as human hot water bottles for guests before they arrive. 

16 (joint). Pet food taster – £20,000

Premium brands for pet food make sure that their products are also fit for human consumption – that is why these companies require a human pet food taster. They have to rate the smell and determine whether there is a balance of flavours.

It doesn't matter how rational you think you are.

You have a brain, and the chemicals in your brain often force you to make irrational decisions. This affects all your decisions, whether in your love life or your investment portfolio.

"Investors are 'normal,' not rational," says Meir Statman, one of the leading thinkers in behavioral finance.

Behavioral finance is the booming field of study aiming to reconcile the discrepancy between rational valuation and irrational market pricing. Top behavioral-finance gurus you may have heard of include the University of Chicago's Richard Thaler, Nobel laureates Robert Shiller and Daniel Kahneman, and Credit Suisse's Michael Mauboussin.

With the help of Hersh Shefrin's "Beyond Greed and Fear," we compiled a list of the seven common behavioral biases that drive investor decisions. Read through them, and you'll quickly realize why you make such terrible financial decisions.

SEE ALSO: The 27 scariest moments of the financial crisis

Investors believe they are awesome at investing.

Overconfidence

Overconfidence may be the most obvious concept in behavioral finance. This is when you place too much confidence in your ability to predict the outcomes of your investment decisions.

Overconfident investors are often underdiversified and thus more susceptible to volatility.

Investors are bad at processing new information.

Anchoring

Anchoring is related to overconfidence. For example, you make your initial investment decision based on the information available to you at the time. Later, you get news that materially affects any forecasts you initially made. But rather than conduct new analysis, you just revise your old analysis.

Because you are anchored in the old thinking, your revised analysis won't fully reflect the new information.

Investors connect the wrong things to one another.

Representativeness

A company might announce a string of great quarterly earnings. As a result, you assume the next earnings announcement will probably be great, too. This error falls under a broad  behavioral-finance concept called representativeness: You incorrectly think one thing means something else.

Another example of representativeness is assuming a good company is a good stock.

Sticker prices on private colleges and universities tend to be steeper than public schools.

The average cost of tuition and fees for the 2015-16 school year was $32,405 at private colleges in the US, while public universities cost an average of $23,893. For state residents at public colleges, average tuition and fees added up to just $9,410, according to the College Board.

Is the prestige of attending a private school worth it in the long run? We looked at a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, which breaks down the median earnings of students from over 1,400 colleges 10 years after starting their studies, using data from the US Department of Education's College Scorecard.

Here, we've highlighted the 25 private colleges in the US where graduates go on to earn the most money, as well as how much students pay annually between tuition, required fees, room, and board.

Read on to see if your alma mater, or current school, made the list:

SEE ALSO: The 50 colleges where students earn the highest salaries

25. Fairfield University

Fairfield, Connecticut

Annual cost: $58,625

Median earnings 10 years after enrolling: $69,000

24. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland

Annual cost: $63,750

Median earnings 10 years after enrolling: $69,200

23. University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Indiana

Annual cost: $61,775

Median earnings 10 years after enrolling: $69,400

Business Insider recently released its sixth annual list of the best business schools in the world, and this year graduates' starting salaries were a crucial component of our ranking. Among the top-50 schools, there were 22 programs where students went on to earn an average base salary — before any bonuses or benefits — of $110,000 or more after graduation.

Although Stanford placed fourth on the overall list, its graduates earn the highest starting salaries of all the schools we ranked, averaging more than $133,000. Read on to see top-rated business schools where students typically earn salaries of more than $110,000 straight out of the gate, listed here in ascending order.

Editing by Alex Morrell with additional research by Andy Kiersz.

SEE ALSO: The 50 best business schools in the world

DON'T MISS: The 50 best colleges where students earn high starting salaries

University of Washington — Foster School of Business

Location: Seattle, Washington

Average starting salary: $110,000

University of Washington MBA students are mentored by some of Seattle's leading business talent, who foster an out-of-classroom learning experience for the students. Companies that frequently hire students out of the Foster School of Business include Seattle natives Amazon and Starbucks, as well as Johnson & Johnson, McKinsey & Co., and Northwestern Mutual, among others.

Rice University — Jones Graduate School of Business

Location: Houston, Texas

Average starting salary: $111,400

At the Jones Graduate School of Business, first-year students take core curriculum courses in finance, marketing, and accounting and participate in an Action Learning Project — a 13-week consultative assignment for an established company. Rice MBA students also have the option to earn up to two degree concentrations from 10 areas, including energy, entrepreneurship, healthcare, and real estate. Ninety-one percent of 2015 grads accepted jobs within 90 days.

New York University — Stern School of Business

Location: New York, New York

Average starting salary: $112,100

Stern's MBA program heavily focuses on individuality, and students can choose up to three specializations, with options including everything from banking to real estate to luxury marketing. Post-graduation, students end up at a range of companies, including Boston Consulting Group, NBCUniversal, Morgan Stanley, and Burberry.

The school takes its name from billionaire property mogul Leonard Stern, who earned his MBA from NYU in 1959 and donated $30 million to construct a new building for the business school in 1988.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu may have insisted on making his new movie "The Revenant," which came out on Christmas Day, as authentic as possible — including having actors go through a week-long boot camp to correctly portray mountain men in the 1800s — but there was still some movie magic needed to pull off this gory revenge tale.

That's where legendary production designer Jack Fisk comes in. He's best known for the beautifully designed period settings in movies like "The Thin Red Line,"" The New World," and "There Will Be Blood" over his three-decade career.

Here, Fisk reveals some of the secrets behind the making of "The Revenant," including how that now-legendary bear scene came to be.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

SEE ALSO: We asked Michael Moore about the gun-violence epidemic, his new movie, and why Donald Trump will get the Republican nomination

There was no real bear used in the filming of the grizzly attack scene.

One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is the incredible bear attack on Leonardo DiCaprio's character Hugh Glass. The scene is intense, violent, and, according to Fisk, completely done though stunt men and CGI. And, no, of course there is no rape.

So there wasn't even a trained bear for some of it?

"None. We had no real bears on set," Fisk said. "We looked at bears, but they were all so fat. These trained bears in captivity that you see on TV shows, they don't look like a wild grizzly bear from the 1800s."

According to Fisk, the scene was rehearsed with the stunt department for months before they even got on set in Squamish, British Columbia. Then on the day, he dressed the area where the attack took place with 25-foot rubber trees so when DiCaprio smashed into them, he wouldn't get injured. The actor was then strapped to harnesses attached to cables the stunt team used to yank him around. The grizzly was then added digitally in postproduction.

Fake horses were created for the scene in which DiCaprio cuts one open to stay warm.

The bear scene was certainly not the only jaw-dropping sequence in "The Revenant." Later in the movie, as Glass sets out to enact his revenge on the people who left him after the grizzly attack, he must run from a group of angry Native Americans. To escape them, he and his horse jump a cliff and land on a giant pine tree. As it begins to snow, Glass cuts open the horse, takes out its guts, and crawls inside until the storm passes.

"The horse was built and the guts inside were created out of latex and hair," Fisk said. The props department built one horse for DiCaprio to crawl inside and another horse for the chase scene in which they go off the cliff.

"We brought in 15 big pine trees, some of them 50 feet tall. And we snowed in the area," Fisk said. "Like the bear scene, the snow around the horse was always being trampled on, so between takes we were constantly using the snow machine."

The location where DiCaprio finds the bison herd was discovered by accident.

Fisk says the biggest challenge he had on the film was finding the remote locations for shooting. That's largely because, as the movie was shot with only natural light, Fisk had to find locations with a south or southwest vista.

In one striking scene, Glass comes across a herd of bison, leading to a part with a Native American offering Glass the liver of one of the bison he's eating. Fisk said that that location was found by accident.

"We were checking out a river one day, stopped the boats at a point, and, walking up this hill, we found this large vista," Fisk said. "The sun was setting, it was the perfect time of day to see it. Everyone thought, 'My God, this is what we've been looking for.'"

Fisk and his team lined the top of the hill with bushes. Computer graphics were used to create the herd of buffalo. Fisk said only one prop bison was created for the liver scene.

"The AD said, 'Where's the second one?' and I told him a man can eat maybe 10 pounds of meat. Between the two of them they wouldn't even put a dent in it."

Fisk recalls seeing DiCaprio eat the real bison liver: "I thought Leo was vegetarian, but he went for it."

A selection of photos from some of this week's biggest news that you might have missed.

The Miss Universe 2015 crown is removed from Miss Colombia after host Steve Harvey mistakenly named her as the winner instead of first runner-up on December 20, 2015, in Las Vegas. Miss Philippines was crowned a few moments later.

A volunteer wearing a Santa Claus costume distributes presents to children at a poor community in Najaf, south of Baghdad, December 19, 2015.

US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, second from the right, leaves the courthouse with his defense attorney, Lt. Col. Franklin Rosenblatt, left, after an arraignment hearing for his court-martial in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on December 22, 2015.

After a four-year absence from the music world — except for the release of her Oscar-winning James Bond song, "Skyfall," in 2012 — Adele made a triumphant return in the final months of 2015, crushing records left and right.

The singer took to Twitter in October to announce her first album since 2011's "21." In the announcement, she said "25" was "a make-up record" as opposed to her previous break-up record.

"I'm making up with myself. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did," she wrote. 

A day later, she announced a November 20 release date. Early projections estimated that the album would sell 2.5 million in its first week and could reach 4 million by Christmas. Adele took those projections and surpassed them, selling 2.4 million in just four days and ending her debut week with 3.38 million copies sold, the highest in chart history.

Those 4 million by Christmas? She did that in her second week and surpassed 5 million in the third. By the end of Christmas week, she is set to go above 6 million. She didn't just beat records; she eviscerated them. 

And she was breaking records even before the album came out. Her video for her first single, "Hello," was released October 23 and broke Vevo's record for most single-day views.

Check out some of Adele's incredible 2015 highlights below: 

SEE ALSO: Adele's new single is quietly one of her coolest collaborations ever

August: Word started circulating that Adele's label had officially planned a November 2015 release for her newest album. The hype began.

(Source: Billboard) 

October 21: Adele posted a letter to Twitter announcing her "25" album and apologized for the long wait. "But you know, life happened," she said. She posted on Instagram a day later announcing a November 20 release date for the album.

pic.twitter.com/dDImEhKt10

— Adele (@Adele) October 21, 2015

October 23: Adele released the track and video for "Hello," the first single off of "25." It was her first song release since October 5, 2012, when "Skyfall" came out.

(Source: Business Insider) 

As airlines and airplanes have evolved, so have their "liveries"— the exterior designs, including paint colors and logos, on the aircraft.

As planes crisscross the globe, their exterior graphics not only represent the companies that operate them, but in many instances also serve as visual ambassadors for their respective homelands.

A great airline livery gives onlookers a taste of a carrier's values or its culture in an attractive and effective color scheme.

You mess with this at your own peril. Airlines like Southwest, Spirit, and American have recently updated their liveries, with mixed results.

Others have hit home runs. Here's a selection of 15 airline exterior designs that look simply amazing.

15. Air Malta: The national airline of the small Mediterranean island nation recently revamped its livery to feature the Maltese Cross prominently on the tail and wingtips.

14. China Southern Airlines: Based out its hub in the city of Guangzhou, China Southern is the country's largest airline. Its elegant exterior design features a combination of multiple hues of blue with its tail dominated by a brilliant red kapok flower.

13. Asiana: The Seoul, South Korea-based airline may not have the eye-catching turquoise paint scheme of its rival — Korean Air — but its simple yet elegant design depicting a blossoming flower is still one of the best around.

Let's face it: The holidays can be the most wonderful time of year, but also the most stressful.

Whether it's a family member or a pesky in-law who always manages to make a situation uncomfortable, from now through December, there's almost no way to escape at least one stress-filled scenario.

To help you cope, here are 13 science-backed tips to keep your stress level down this holiday season.

Make a game plan.

Staying organized will keep you from doing all of your holiday-related shopping at the last minute and give you more time to spend with your loved ones instead of scrambling for everything at the last minute.

Not only will having a to-do list reduce stress, it will help you stay more focused, according to Cal Newport, a computer-science professor and author of the book "Deep Work," which comes out in January.

Without such a list, said Newport, incomplete work can eat away at your concentration. This stems from something called the Zeigarnik Effect, which is the tendency to remember incomplete tasks.

Take deep breaths.

Sometimes, the holidays can be so jam-packed it's hard to remember to even breathe. But taking a second to step away from the kitchen or the crowd and breathe in deep may help your body handle stress a little better. The idea is to get your breath slower to activate the body's relaxation mode, with a lower blood pressure and an overall better feeling.

Scale it down.

While there is a lot of pressure to get the holidays just right, setting realistic expectations can help manage stress. A number of studies have pointed to lofty expectations as a reason for higher stress levels. Instead of stretching yourself too thin by taking on too many fancy holiday dishes, stick with manageable tasks and spend the rest of the time enjoying the company of friends and family.

When you're in the hot seat, there's a good chance your interviewer will turn the tables at some point and ask, "Do you have any questions for me?"

When you have the floor, you'll want to take full advantage of the opportunity to show that you've done your homework and to determine if the job is a good fit.

But it's imperative that you put just as much thought into what you ask as you do your responses to their questions, because your queries may reflect your knowledge of the company, your work ethic, your level of professionalism, and your interest in the role.

"In the first interview, you'll want to be sure to ask the right questions. Ask about the job and company; not questions that can come off as self-serving and give the impression you may not be a team player or be willing to give 100%," says Amy Hoover, president of the job board Talent Zoo.

She continued: "The sole purpose of the interview is to determine if you are a good fit for the company, and if it's a good fit for you. All the other issues and concerns should be addressed during negotiations after the job offer has been made."

Here are 17 questions you'll want to avoid during the first job interview, as they may do more harm than good:

SEE ALSO: 15 smart questions to ask at the end of every job interview

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

What does your company do?

Questions like this will make you look unprepared. To avoid that, never ask anything that can easily be answered with a Google search.

What will my salary be?

Hold off on the money talk.

Will I have to work long hours?

This says, "I'm lazy."

As the Paris climate talks get underway, one of the cities with the most notorious air pollution problems is experiencing its worst smog of the year. 

China's air quality is so bad, scientists estimate the health problems associated with it claim 1.6 million lives a year, or about 4,000 a day.

Here's what the air looked like on November 30 and December 1, the first two days of the climate talks.

RELATED: These 10 cities have the worst air pollution in the world, and it is up to 15 times dirtier than what is considered healthy

UP NEXT: Slimy green algae is taking over China's beaches for an alarming reason

In Beijing, air pollution often leaves the city covered in a thick smog, as seen surrounding this statue of pandas on Tuesday, December 1.

Here's what that pollution looked like, as seen from space, on Monday, November 30. The fog is tinged gray and yellow because of the air pollution.

China's had a pollution problem for years, as a result of rapid industrialization that started in the 1950s. It's gotten so bad that in some areas, its impact on your health is equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes a day.

(Source)

The end-of-year bonus can be just as dangerous as it is exciting — a few wrong turns and your hard earned money could be spent recklessly or invested poorly.

We've already told you the smartest ways to use your bonus check in order to get the most out of it — here are seven of the worst things you could do with it:

SEE ALSO: The 11 smartest things to do with your end-of-year bonus

1. Leave your debt for tomorrow.

Student loan debt in particular is often blamed for preventing young people from buying homes and growing their wealth — and that doesn't even touch on debt like car loans or credit cards.

Not only is debt a financial burden, but it can be emotionally taxing to carry around. A bonus can be a great way to start aggressively tackling whatever version of debt you may have. Especially if the interest rate on your debt is high, you'll want to pay it off as fast as possible, as interest can cost you thousands in the long run.

If you aren't sure where to start, consider the advice from 13 real people who paid off thousands.

2. Spend it all, immediately.

Receiving a bonus, especially your first one, is exciting and liberating, but it can disappear in the blink of an eye. As people earn more, they tend to purchase more as well — and bonuses typically come over the holiday season, a notoriously expensive time of the year.

While it's OK to reward yourself and spend a little bit of your bonus, you don't want to get in the habit of blowing through cash quickly just because you can. Overspending habits can be tricky to break once they're formed, making it even more important to be a mindful spender when you receive a large sum of money.

If you're trying to break the habit — or keep it from developing — read up on the most common psychological overspending triggers, how stores trick you into parting from your cash, and what you can do to keep from overspending.

3. Spend on the wrong things.

When you do spend your bonus, you want to make sure you're spending wisely. It's tempting to try to "save money" by buying inexpensive, low quality things, but oftentimes those cheap products will cost you in the long run.

While it's good to be aware of pricing, sales, and discounts, it's also important to recognize when you're being cheap, rather than frugal. Being cheap means using price as a bottom line, while frugality means using value as a bottom line.

Invest in things that have value. They don't have to be big purchases, either. There are several everyday items that can pay for themselves, and you'll want to be careful of skimping on things like mattresses, computers, and more.

As 2015 comes to a close, it's clear that several retailers dominated the industry this year.

These apparel brands had strong selections that resonated with consumers — and the sales to prove it.

Some of these retailers are obvious champions who have reigned supreme for awhile, whereas other brands are newer and making splashes in the apparel sector.

Shoppers may be spending less on apparel, but that hasn't stopped these 15 brands from thriving. 

SEE ALSO: The top 100 brands for millennials

Nike

It's no secret that Nike is on top of the apparel business. This year, it ranked as the biggest apparel company in the United States, and it once again proved that it has usurped traditional clothing retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap.

Nike is beloved by young people. This year, it made a massive push to appeal to women, and it paid off.

Zara

Zara's growth has been explosive. The company's strategy has been schooling traditional retailers. Zara's mysterious founder, Amancio Ortega, is now the world's second-richest man— surpassing Warren Buffett. For a brief time this year, he was the richest man in the world — richer than Bill Gates.

Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret celebrates positive comparable sales quarter after quarter. This year's fashion show was as explosive as ever, proving that its marketing strategies are still strong.

The Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG is one of the most powerful, rugged, and luxurious off-roaders to ever hit the market. For the vast majority of the G-Wagon's clients, the battle-tested Benz is more truck than they will ever need.

But for certain customers, there's a need for extra layers of protection. That's where the armored-vehicle specialists at Inkas Group come into play. For a cool million bucks, the Toronto-based firm will gladly build a customized, armored limousine that will make even the most paranoid despot feel secure.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 10 most important Ferraris of all time

The "standard" Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG is insane. It's a 5,600-pound, military-grade off-roader that can reach 60 mph in 5.3 seconds.

Mercedes has even built a monstrous 6X6 version, but if you require a bit more heavy metal, ...

... Inkas, the maker of this Huron armored-personnel carrier, can help you out.