# HowToLiveBetter Guide > Chapters: 34 · Entries: 772 · Locale: en · Source revision: d2de3fc8da8c109f082b3551d4d26e0fbb01641d · Imported: 2026-11-05T04:00:17Z [Read on the website](https://howtolivebetter.net/en/book) · [Long-form articles](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/articles/en/index.md) This edition may include machine-assisted translations. Check the Chinese original if wording matters. ## 01. How to avoid premature death [49 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/01.md) This section covers three main topics: preventing deaths from accidents and injuries such as car crashes, fires, and poisonings; reviewing several vaccines and screening tests backed by strong evidence; and explaining which bodily warning s… ## 02. Avoid a slow death [47 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/02.md) This section covers just two types of long-term health risks: those with a major impact on overall mortality and those backed by solid evidence. A few entries are marked “randomized trials,” meaning participants were randomly assigned to di… ## 03. Don’t waste energy [27 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/03.md) This section only counts energy and time. It looks at four things: how much attention you can use each day, how fast you react, how many mistakes you make, and how long it takes to get back after an interruption. Most figures are measured d… ## 04. Don’t waste time [18 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/04.md) This section is all about time. We look at how many hours you can save each day, week, or year, and how much the odds improve of finishing a task on schedule. We don’t convert time into extra years of life or into money. When money does com… ## 05. Do not waste money [51 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/05.md) This section counts only money: how much can be saved, how much the yearly gain differs, and how much a sum returns when it is averaged over a long stretch. These are not converted into years of life or into time. Items that involve investi… ## 06. The anti-list [35 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/06.md) This section collects things that look cheap and effective. Once the original studies are opened, their benefit is close to zero, equal to zero, or in some cases negative. The items are grouped by subject below. Item numbers are in parenthe… ## 07. How to get by when you have no money [23 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/07.md) This section is about money and social safeguards. How much you can receive, what fees you can avoid, what services you can get, and what conditions you must meet are all written here — not converted into years of life. Policies change ever… ## 08. Protect yourself: laws and personal safety [46 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/08.md) If you’ve ever worried about how legal rules might affect your freedom or finances, this section is for you. It covers three main topics: what responsibilities the law requires you to meet, how following those rules can save you money, and … ## 09. Legal red lines ordinary people often cross [29 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/09.md) This section runs two ledgers: your personal liberty, and your money. The acts below are ones ordinary people often treat as “no big deal,” yet they can bring detention, fines, and in serious cases prison. Each item gives the concrete figur… ## 10. Is dating and marriage worth it [23 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/10.md) This section splits "is marriage worth it" into separate accounts for money, time, health, legal risk, and relationship quality, and counts them apart. Each account uses only figures whose source can be checked. Sources are limited to offic… ## 11. Common legal pitfalls for programmers and tech professionals [21 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/11.md) This section’s metrics are personal freedom and money — what you get back is “don’t get locked up” and “don’t pay damages.” People who write code or do technical work often treat the items below as “just technical problems.” In fact they ma… ## 12. Starting a business: don't bet the family savings [28 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/12.md) This section counts only money and legal liability—not life expectancy. When you open a shop or form a company, which steps can wipe out your own money, family money, and your spouse's money together? What does the law require, and can you … ## 13. Emergency situations: what to do first [49 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/13.md) This section outlines exactly what steps to take, what to avoid, and what not to do at all. The entries on first aid and wilderness survival focus on specific causes of death and survival rates. Those dealing with scams and threats relate t… ## 14. Account and information security [12 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/14.md) Scope: money and personal information. When someone gets into your account, money is often the first thing lost. They may also use your account to scam people in your contacts. In effect, they have taken your identity too. ## 15. Renting and buying a home [18 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/15.md) Scope: money. When renting, the places money is most easily lost are the deposit and the agent. When buying, the expensive parts are the interest on the loan, and the things the seller knows that you do not. The items near the end of the se… ## 16. How to live after a chronic disease diagnosis [14 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/16.md) Scope: overall mortality and money. After a chronic diagnosis you often still have decades ahead; this section is about how to manage those decades. ## 17. Elderly at home [13 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/17.md) Scope: money and personal freedom. When you have elderly family at home, most trouble is not running out of money. It is failing to talk things through and get papers signed in advance. Pressure ulcers from long-term bed rest, cataract surg… ## 18. Is raising a child worth it? [7 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/18.md) This section breaks down the financial and time costs involved. Much like Section 10, which examined the costs of marriage, we’re simply laying out the numbers here — without offering any definitive conclusions. If you’re already pregnant a… ## 19. Employment, resignation, and work injury [25 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/19.md) This section is about money: how amounts are calculated, what you sign, and how deadlines run. The first three items cover pay you should receive while still employed; the next five cover leaving a job; the following seven cover occupationa… ## 20. How to care for a newborn [17 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/20.md) Scope: infant mortality and money. This section only covers what affects whether the child survives or how much you spend, and only where the gap is large enough and the evidence is solid. Soothing and day-to-day parenting tips are not cove… ## 21. Traveling abroad, trips, and safety overseas [13 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/21.md) This section deals with both financial matters and personal freedom, and several points also relate to physical safety. Once you’re overseas, it’s the laws of the host country that apply — not Chinese law. There are clear limits to what Chi… ## 22. How to relax: entertainment venues and stress relief [13 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/22.md) The first half covers entertainment venues: which spending is a waste, and where the emergency exits are. The measures are money and personal liberty. The second half covers stress relief, measured in energy and all-cause mortality. The fig… ## 23. Which skills are worth learning [25 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/23.md) This section counts money and time. Item 2 also counts mortality. The first six items answer one question: whether to keep studying. Item 1 first says which stretch of the options the law crosses out. Item 2 counts the relation between scho… ## 24. Seeking medical care: How to save money and avoid unnecessary hassle [15 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/24.md) This section focuses on the practical steps involved in getting medical treatment — which hospitals to visit first, how to transfer between levels of care, and where you can cut down on expenses. It also explains how to wait in emergency qu… ## 25. What to do after someone dies [12 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/25.md) Scope: money. This section only covers how to get the procedures done and how to collect the money. That includes what to do first right after the person dies, and which fees have a list you can check. It also covers which money sitting in … ## 26. Building a website or platform: licenses, filing, and servers [13 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/26.md) You want to build a website or an app. This section answers 4 things: what kind of business it counts as in law, which permit you need, where the servers sit, and who is responsible for what users post and for the money that comes in. The m… ## 27. Pregnancy and childbirth: From confirming pregnancy to discharge and paperwork [20 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/27.md) The first half of this section measures death risk for the pregnant woman and the fetus. The second half measures money and the time spent running errands. The two accounts are not converted into each other. The content only covers “what to… ## 28. Don't harm your body just to change its appearance [10 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/28.md) This section is about a few ways of changing how you look by doing something to the body: going hungry, taking drugs, getting injections, and having surgery. The decision is usually made by comparing yourself with other people. The cost fal… ## 29. After a major blow [14 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/29.md) Losing a relative, being told of a serious illness, losing a job, or a divorce. In the research these events share a finding: what goes wrong is not only the mood, but the body. The stretch of highest risk sits in the first weeks through th… ## 30. Children after starting school [21 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/30.md) Section 20 covers the first year after a child is born. Section 18 covers how much money and time raising a child costs. The years in between, ages 3 to 18, are in this section. The item on screen time by age starts at age 0, because the of… ## 31. What options are available after turning 18? [17 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/31.md) This section deals with money and time, while the option of avoiding military service also affects personal freedom. It serves as a roadmap of possible paths, not a step‑by‑step guide for any single one. First, we list the legal requirement… ## 32. Studying abroad: status, work, insurance, and recognition back home [12 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/32.md) This section counts money and personal liberty. It does not discuss whether you should go abroad, and it does not compare schools. Not knowing the following will cost you: how a visa status stays unbroken, where the cap on work hours is, wh… ## 33. Living after disability [21 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/33.md) This section is about life after a disability has already happened. How to prevent disability is in Section 1 and Section 13; it is not repeated here. The four score types are kept separate and are not converted into one another. Items on e… ## 34. Do not let medicines kept at home cause serious harm [14 Entries](https://howtolivebetter.net/ai/book/en/34.md) Fever reducers, painkillers, cold medicines, stomach medicines, and anti-diarrhea medicines: many of them can be bought at a pharmacy with no prescription. Being able to buy them with no prescription does not mean any way of taking them is …