Day: September 7, 2025

• Disney vacations can be expensive, but there are many ways to save money.
• Families should look to visit during quieter seasons to score deals, cut costs, and dodge crowds.
• On-site housing and Lightning Lanes can be worthy investments, but there are tourist traps.

Disney parks may feel like a magical bubble, but they aren’t cheap.

“You get what you pay for,” said Lucas Lozano, a Disney superfan who loves the parks.

However, Disney vacations don’t have to cost a fortune. Business Insider spoke with two Disney-focused travel agents and three so-called “Disney adults” about how to make the most of the Magic Kingdom, even on a budget.

These five Disney aficionados shared everything from when to go, to what luxuries are worth the money — on-site housing and Lightning Lanes — and what expenses can be tourist traps.

When to visit Disney parks

The best time to visit Disney parks is when others aren’t, Disney devotees said. It’s the best way to save money on tickets and lodging while avoiding crowds.

September is one of the best months at Disney World, said travel planner Rob Stuart of Creating Magic Vacations. He said students are just getting back to school, but not yet on fall break.

January and February are also wise months to aim for, Stuart said. Three Disney Parks employees also recommended going early in the year, and one recommended going the week before Thanksgiving.

“You have to try to avoid the school breaks,” said Jenn Novotny of Upon A Star Travel.

Stuart said the most expensive nights in any season are Friday and Saturday, which is why he advises guests on a budget to stay from Sunday to Friday.

There can be some deals in the middle of summer if the heat is bad and crowds are lighter, Novotny said.

Disney superfan Shae Noble said she checks Disney’s parks app to see when wait times are low and looks to stay at resorts during quieter times for big discounts.

With lodging, convenience can be worth it

Staying at Disney’s resorts can be worthwhile, since guests can save on Uber rides or parking, which starts at $30 per day at Disney World or $35 at Disneyland. That adds up quickly.

It can also save time. Even the 30 minutes it might take to travel from a hotel, find a parking space, and walk to the park entrance could keep families from making the most of their visit.

“You have to look at what your time is worth,” Novotny said.

Noble said she and her husband use vacation rental sites to save at Disney’s high-end resorts. She doesn’t think staying outside Disney is worth it.

For food, skip meal plans

The easiest way for budget-minded Disney guests to save is on food.

Visitors can bring food and non-alcoholic drinks into the park, which is far cheaper than a Disney meal plan or one-off purchases. Staying disciplined on impulse buys can save families a pretty penny.

“It is very easy to just be like, ‘Oh, I want this, and I want that, and I want a churro — I want five churros,” Disney fan Max Traughber-Crismon said. Instead, he brings peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so his family can spend money elsewhere.

One Disney World hack is ordering groceries from Kroger to a hotel, Stuart said. While there aren’t Kroger stores close to the park, he said their nearby distribution center offers delivery.

Otherwise, Disney guests should prepare to pay up for in-park food.

“In the parks, there are no real deals,” Stuart said.

Lightning Lanes can pay off

Disney enthusiasts were divided over whether the Lightning Lanes, which let guests skip lines instead of waiting hours, are worth it. There are both full-day and single-use Lightning Lane passes, most of which require purchasers to book a specific time slot in advance.

Prices for these fast passes vary by park, ride, day, and time, though a day of skipping all the rides at Magic Kingdom can cost up to $449 extra per person. There’s also a “Premier Pass” that doesn’t tie them to a specific time slot.

“The middle-class problem got worse when they increased the prices for Lightning Lanes,” Noble said.

Still, many Disney fans view them as a necessary evil.

“If you’re going out for a nice steak dinner, you’re already going to spend money,” Lozano said. “What are you really saving by getting a soda instead of a glass of wine?”

Stuart and Novotny, the travel planners, said Lightning Lanes are worth it for anyone who’s not on the tightest budget.

“If you can afford it, do it,” Stuart said. “Our No. 1 motto when it comes to a Disney vacation: time is money.”

• I toured an $85 million and $18 million home in the Hamptons.
• More than the surprising decor, I was struck by how strongly I felt the Wall Street boom amid broader economic uncertainty.
• Real estate agents told me luxury prices have been especially strong this year.

Eight bedrooms. A private path leading to the beach. A replica lobster protruding from a replica pool floaty and hanging out from the ceiling.

I saw all of this, and much more, when touring 43 E Dune Lane in East Hampton. The house, which sits on 3.6 acres, is listed for $84,900 million, down from an initial $120 million last summer. According to the listing, it’s been on the market for more than 450 days.

Terry Cohen, the Compass agent showing the property, joked with the staff dotted throughout the eight-bedroom house about being back yet again. She’s shown the property to many potential buyers without luck yet, but said she’s confident it will sell soon.

Even if 43 E Dune hasn’t flown off the market, Cohen and other Hamptons real estate agents I talked to said that the luxury Hamptons market has been hot and prices have soared. Walking around the East Hampton property and an $18 million stone mansion at the tip of Montauk, I could feel Wall Street’s boom despite broader economic uncertainty.

“The last six months have been, in terms of real estate, at least in my world, more explosive than COVID,” Cohen told me as we walked through the house, which now belongs to venture-capital investor Ann Tenenbaum. She’s worked in the Hamptons for 25 years and said that the high luxury market has been especially active.

The $85 million property has pretty much every imaginable amenity: a cinema, a gym with a Peloton and rowing machine, a speakeasy room hidden behind a bookshelf, a sauna, multiple steam showers, a tennis court, a pool, a path leading down to the beach, and enough art to fill a museum wing. In Montauk, at the $18 million home, I was charmed by a vintage sink and the pool lined by hydrangeas, but was more struck by the views than anything. A seal bobbed in the water below us during the tour, and I had a clear view of the lighthouse from inside.

According to Douglas Elliman‘s second-quarter report this year, the average price for the top 10% of sales was up 12% year-over-year, and homes have sold more quickly than during the same period last year. Their threshold for the top 10% of sales was stable, and the number of total sales closed was up only 4%.

Saunders also found that luxury home sales were up in the Hamptons in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024: sales rose 23% for homes worth between $10 million and $20 million, and 40% for those worth more than $20 million. Home prices are up across the country, but unlike in the Hamptons, that’s largely holding buyers back.

Kyle Rosko, an agent with Douglas Elliman, also said prices have been strong this year when he showed me the Stone House, a three-bedroom home perched on the coast at the very end of Montauk. It’s entirely different from the other property — more out of the English countryside than the swanky art world — but I ended up talking about much of the same market strength on both tours.

“This year has been really strong in the luxury over the past month and a half. I’ve showed everything over 10 million that I have in the past month than I showed the entire year of last year,” Rosko told me. He said buyers are cautious, especially when purchasing a second or third home, so his sales volume hasn’t been incredibly high despite the impressive prices.

Dawn Watson, a Hamptons real estate agent with Serhant, told me on the phone that the pandemic “set a high watermark and we haven’t really reset.”

“Prices continue to go up. There’s more money than ever here,” Cohen said. “That’s because there’s more money generated with those same people. Now they’re buying for the kids and grandkids, multigenerational homes.” A new zoning law in East Hampton that limits the size of homes could shake up the market, at least temporarily, Cohen and Rosko told me. The wealthiest, they said, don’t seem entirely pleased.

The agents all said that people in finance continue to dominate the Hamptons market, and Wall Street is generally flying high despite broader economic instability. Stocks have hit record highs this year, and the notorious finance bro confidence is very much alive among Hamptons hopefuls.

“We are kind of in this interesting place where the rest of the rules of the world don’t apply to us,” Watson said.

“Follow Wall Street,” Cohen advised me as we walked through the airy living room. “The numbers are incredible.” Potential shakeups at the Federal Reserve and ongoing tariff negotiations don’t seem to have done much damage, even though some on Wall Street remain uncertain.

In the high-end Hamptons world, Cohen, Rosko, and Watson all told me they’re seeing interest from people in their 40s, especially those with kids. It’s no longer, to quote Watson, just those who are “60 to dead” with the power to buy.

The sense of detachment stayed with me as I walked back to my car with Cohen, who chatted with another Douglas Elliman employee who had joined the tour. They compared the prices at two luxury grocers and dissected the rules of padel, a favorite sport among the ultrawealthy.

There’s no padel court at 43 E Dune Lane, but I wouldn’t be shocked if an eventual buyer puts one in. As Cohen said, the whole property is “under scale. You could add so much more.”

Ishiba had faced calls for his resignation after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party failed to secure a majority in the lower house election on Oct. 27.

• Walmart’s chief people officer, Donna Morris, shares her go-to question to assess potential hires.
• She said the question reveals candidates’ self-perception and pattern of working with others.
• Morris said she wants to know the person will align with Walmart’s culture.

Donna Morris has one go-to question that helps determine whether she’ll hire you — and knowing it in advance won’t help you script the perfect response, she says.

The question is: “If I was to ask people who’ve worked for you before, what will they tell me?”

As executive vice president and chief people officer at Walmart, Morris oversees the largest private workforce in the US. She interviews leaders looking to join Walmart or transition within the company. That includes a wide range of positions such as merchants, tech leaders, product leaders, and HR executives.

She told Business Insider she likes this question because it’s open-ended.

“You can’t really rehearse for it, even if you knew the question,” Morris said.

The reason why, she explained, is because the candidate’s response naturally leads to a larger discussion. Morris, who spent more than 17 years at Adobe before joining Walmart, said once the candidate answers, she probes them further to find out more about how they position themselves in the workplace and interact with others.

“Are they really a team player? Are they self-aware? Is there humility built into that?” Morris said.

The Walmart executive said that the company’s purpose and values are “paramount.” The 63-year-old company employs two million associates globally in roles ranging from cart pushers to meteorologists to food scientists to corporate workers.

The retailer has a reputation for providing opportunities to build careers from the ground up, such as through training programs like Walmart Academy. Its CEO, Doug McMillon, who started as an hourly worker unloading trailers, is an example of such.

Recently, the retail giant has been working to reinvent itself as a global tech giant, a shift that has come with major changes to how its workforce is structured and organized. In addition to rolling out AI-powered tools across its workforce, the company has cut a number of jobs and simultaneously opened new roles that align with its growth strategy.

Morris said when she’s scoping out a new hire, she wants to know that the person will align with the company’s culture and understand it’s a service-driven business.

“We set the bar high in terms of expectations that we have for others,” Morris said. “So how we think about people interacting? Super important.”

An Italian teenager who liked playing video games and making funny films of his pets became the Catholic Church’s first “millennial” saint on Sunday.

Tokyo – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to resign to avert a division within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), local media reported on Sunday. Party members are preparing for a new leadership contest following disappointing electoral results, reports 24brussels.

Public broadcaster NHK noted Ishiba’s move aims to prevent internal strife, while the Asahi Shimbun highlighted escalating pressures surrounding his leadership position. A meeting occurred on Saturday night, where the farm minister and a former prime minister advised Ishiba to step down voluntarily.

What role did poor election results play?

This resignation comes less than a year into Ishiba’s tenure as leader of the long-established LDP. His leadership has witnessed the loss of majority control in both chambers of the parliament. The LDP-led coalition has faced significant setbacks in parliamentary elections since last year due to voters’ dissatisfaction over rising living costs.

On Monday, LDP lawmakers are expected to vote on holding an extraordinary leadership election. Recently, four senior officials from the LDP, including the party’s second-in-command Hiroshi Moriyama, proposed their resignations. Critics of Ishiba have called for him to accept responsibility for the poor election outcomes.

How did the 2024 lower house vote impact the LDP?

In the Lower House elections on October 27, 2024, the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito lost their parliamentary majority for the first time since 2009. With just 191 out of 465 seats, the LDP recorded its second-worst performance in history. The main opposition party, CDP, made significant gains, securing a total of 148 seats. Smaller parties including DPP, Reiwa Shinsengumi, Sanseitō, and the far-right Conservative Party also improved their standings.

What parallels exist with past prime minister resignations?

Historically, several Japanese Prime Ministers have resigned under similar pressures stemming from electoral defeats and political controversies. For instance, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resigned under pressure in 2024 following a series of corruption scandals involving LDP members and public dissatisfaction over increasing living expenses.

Kishida’s approval ratings plummeted to record lows, prompting him to decline seeking another term as party leader, leading to his resignation as Prime Minister when the LDP selected a new leader in September 2024.

• For Love & Money is a column from Business Insider answering your relationship and money questions.
• This week, a reader struggles with how to help a financially ignorant friend who won’t accept help.
• Our columnist suggests not forcing her friend to change and instead role-modeling good financial habits.
• Have a question for our columnist? Write to For Love & Money using this Google form.

Dear For Love & Money,

My friend recently got divorced after 21 years of marriage. Her husband managed all the finances and earned a professional salary, while she either stayed home with the kids or worked a low-paying administrative job.

She is almost willfully ignorant about money. She’ll say things like, “I don’t do math!” or “I don’t even know how to read my paystub!” She’s an emotional spender and shops online almost daily.

I’ve offered to help her create a budget and discuss finances, but she brushes off my suggestions. She’s receiving alimony and child support now, but she’s going to be in real trouble once this runs out in a few years.

I know she doesn’t have anyone else to talk to about finances, and I feel like I am watching a financial train wreck in slow motion. What can I do to help my friend who doesn’t seem to want help?

Sincerely,

Trying to help

Dear Trying,

The turmoil you feel over your friend’s financial situation shows how much you care about her. Feeling compelled to help someone you care deeply about is the most natural thing in the world, and an essential part of friendship. However, I want to say right from the start that while you can offer resources and find creative ways to support sound financial decision-making, you can’t force your friend to accept your help, nor can you force her to change.

And that seemingly willful ignorance you’re picking up on leads me to believe that Carol would prefer you didn’t try. I believe this because I recognize it in myself; I have two older sisters, which means I’ve spent my whole life perfecting the art of avoiding unsolicited advice. Many therapists break the process of individual change into five stages:

1. Pre-contemplative. At this stage, we don’t recognize the need for change.
2. Contemplative, when we start to realize something’s got to give.
3. Preparation, when we begin to take steps to enact small changes.
4. Action. We actually actively implement the behavioral change.
5. Maintenance, when we try to make that change permanent.

An essential part of this model is recognizing that you can’t move someone through these steps; they must do it themselves. You can encourage and support, but any real pressure on your part will only be met with resistance, which can set her back further than she started.

For instance, when I’m in the contemplation stage, aware I need to make a change and beginning to think seriously about working on it, if my older sister agrees a little too much and tries to involve herself, my defensive instinct is to justify my choices. This kicks me right back to thinking I don’t need to change anything at all.

Sometimes, my sister knows better, so she instead asks smart questions to trick me into saying it myself. Knowing what she’s up to, my response is to say something flippant and, yes, willfully ignorant like, “You know me. I don’t do math!” I usually frame it like it’s an adorable part of my identity because if it’s part of who I am, then my sister knows better than to attack me as a person.

I’m annoyed with myself even just describing this behavior to you, but most of us have our own ways of passively telling other people to back off. Because individual change simply doesn’t happen on other people’s timelines.

So, yes, you can tell your friend about your favorite financial guru, buy her books on getting her finances in order after divorce, and set her up with an appointment with a financial advisor. However, my guess is that all this will accomplish for you is pushing her out of your life.

This doesn’t mean you should sit idly by and watch her self-destruct. Your best bet for helping her along her journey is by setting a good example, so that she might feel open to asking you for help. Discuss your retirement preparations with her, being open about how much you save and how much you spend each month, and why. Only agree to budget-conscious friend activities with her, and be vocal about not wanting to overspend on shopping or drinks. Look for a financial literacy seminar happening in your area, sign up, and invite her to join you. If you’re open, positive, and practical in your attitude towards money, when she begins feeling the pinch, there’s a good chance she’ll turn to you for advice.

But maybe she won’t. Perhaps she’s too intimidated by finances to even try. At some point, she could even end up in a position where good advice won’t cover it, and what she needs is money. As you continue being a loyal friend to Carol, take some time to contemplate how you would respond if she did ask you for a loan. If you determine your boundaries before she pushes them, you can be assured that your answer will reflect your values.

Finally, one of the best ways you can help your friend is by trusting her. After all, she’s an adult. She might say silly things like “I don’t even know how to read my paystub,” but she’s run a household and worked in admin; she is very likely more capable than she lets on. If you show her you believe in her, she’s that much more likely to believe in herself and make the changes she feels she needs.

Rooting for you,

For Love & Money

Looking for advice on how your savings, debt, or another financial challenge is affecting your relationships? Write to For Love & Money using this Google form.

The move is seen as an attempt to avoid a split within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which lost its upper house majority in an election in July.

• Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses have become symbols of high-end style.
• Men are especially big fans, with shoppers dropping more than $800 on each pair.
• The brand’s shades are made in small batches, making them highly coveted and collectible.

How much is too much money to spend on a pair of sunglasses? Do you draw the line at $245 Ray-Bans? Or $500 Tom Ford shades?

Those numbers might sound like high price tags to some — but not to fans of Jacques Marie Mage. The luxury eyewear brand is known for its glasses, which can cost upward of $800 per pair.

Of course, celebrities love them, but so do everyday fashion fans. The once-niche designer shades have become the ultimate symbols of status and style, especially in corporate men’s fashion circles.

An unofficial Jacques Marie Mage fan club

Designer sunglasses had never really piqued my interest — until March. I had been interviewing successful men about their daily essentials when a 29-year-old CEO mentioned Jacques Marie Mage in passing.

He said he’d tried every “midlevel name brand” of aviator glasses before landing on the glasses. When I later researched Jacques Marie Mage, I saw that my source’s preferred pair of sunglasses cost $870.

Then I learned that Jacques Marie Mage — a California-based brand created in 2014 by French designer Jérôme Jacques Marie Mage — has a cultlike following.

Men regularly show off their collections of the brand’s luxe sunglasses on TikTok, and fans discuss new designs on a dedicated subreddit.

Even people who aren’t familiar with Jacques Marie Mage notice them.

“I have never gotten more compliments on sunglasses in my life,” Brent Comstock, the CEO mentioned above, said about his sold-out Zephirin shades. “People just point them out on the plane and at meetings, like, ‘Oh, these are cool.'”

Interest is only growing stronger by the day. Lyst reported in its 2025 Q2 Index that the designer brand experienced a 34% increase in demand between May and June.

Representatives for Jacques Marie Mage did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Quality craftsmanship and vintage flair

There’s a reason the brand has cultivated a growing fan club. Getting your hands on a pair can be hard.

Jacques Marie Mage glasses, which are designed in Los Angeles and made in Japan and Italy, are produced in small, limited-edition batches that aren’t made again after selling out. When available, each pair retails between $800 and $2,050.

Menswear stylist Lily Montasser describes the brand’s glasses as “minimalist statement pieces” that immediately signal a person’s style and confidence.

“When I see someone wearing JMM, I’m like, OK, you are willing to take a risk. You appreciate craftsmanship and you’re confident to show your personality,” she told Business Insider.

She also said that vintage sunglasses are popular now. Not everyone, though, has the time or interest to search for the perfect pair.

“JMM glasses have that look, so people who appreciate something unique will be drawn to the brand,” she said.

The brand is also big on quality. Its website says the sunnies are “responsibly produced and philanthropically aligned.” That’s one of the reasons 29-year-old content creator Niko Arredondo has invested in three pairs.

“They’re the kind of quality that makes me want to hold onto them,” he told Business Insider. “If someone were to stumble upon them in my room after my demise or something, they’d be like: ‘Oh my gosh, I found dad’s Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses.”

Yes, they are expensive. Arredondo has spent more than $2,000 combined on his three pairs. Still, he said it’s a worthy investment.

If he keeps each pair for at least five years, he told Business Insider, the price-per-wear, he feels, is fair. There’s also always the option to resell them to other collectors.

The ultimate accessory

As fans and stylists alike note, Jacques Marie Mage offers men a unique opportunity: to elevate casual and formal outfits with something other than wrist candy.

“Men really only have watches and jewelry,” Montasser said. “Some wear bags, but not all. Sunglasses can be your opportunity to make a statement.”

And Jacques Marie Mage designs are arguably one of the best to do so.

“The brand celebrates a man’s willingness to go bold and not hide but shine within their clothes,” Montasser said. “It’s a celebration of yourself, having fun, and buying the expensive thing.”