• Goldman Sachs has invested $20 million into the development and operations platform GitLab, adding to a Series D funding round that valued the startup at $1.1 billion.
• While Goldman has been making strategic tech investments for about two decades, GitLab was unique because the investment was driven by the bank's own engineering team.
• Goldman's tech team started using GitLab on its projects at the beginning of 2018.
• GitLab is seen as a leading upstart rival to GitHub, the code-sharing company that Microsoft bought for $7.5 billion this year.

Goldman Sachs is investing $20 million into GitLab, just months after the software startup announced a mega Series D funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation.

Goldman's add-on investment brings GitLab's total Series D funding up to $110 million. The round was led by Iconiq Capital, Mark Zuckerberg's personal money-management firm. Alphabet's GV, which led GitLab's last funding round in 2017, also participated.

"I think this investment is really special because it's [Goldman's] actual engineering team that said, 'We want to invest in this,'" GitLab CEO Sid Sijbrandij told Business Insider. "They were so happy as a customer that they were like, yes, this is the future."

Sijbrandij said the funding would be used to ensure GitLab is "best in class" in each of the product categories it competes in — its rivals include Microsoft subsidiary GitHub and Atlassian's Bitbucket. To achieve its goals, Sijbrandij said, GitLab will double its headcount over the next year, after already doubling its staff in 2018.

Read more: Investors used to balk at startups for software developers — but after Microsoft bought GitHub for $7.5 billion, they're all in

The funding came out of Goldman's Principal Strategic Investments group, a division that focuses on investing the bank's money into technology companies that are strategically useful for the banking industry.

When it first launched, in the late 1990s, the group focused on market infrastructure and trading technologies, though the unit has since expanded to include areas like fintech, security, and enterprise investments, among others.

One of the most recent of its prolific tech investments is Symphony, a secure instant-messaging system built for financial institutions that was designed to challenge the dominance of the Bloomberg Terminal.

Goldman will advise GitLab on product

Like its competitor GitHub, which sold to Microsoft for $7.5 billion in June, GitLab is a software-developer platform built around an open-source technology called Git. It allows large groups of programmers to all work on the same piece of software without getting in one another's way, and it's an important part of how software gets made today.

Goldman started using GitLab internally in early 2018. What started out as tool used on small projects quickly got pushed out to the bank's entire engineering organization.

Now the two companies enjoy a close relationship: Goldman advises GitLab on how to shape its tools for the compliance needs of financial institutions, and GitLab builds Goldman new tools to suit its needs.

"They will be very active in guiding us on how to make a better product that is as compliant as possible and that helps with governance and best practices," Sijbranij said.

The two teams have already worked together on new tools, such as a security feature that requires multiple administrators to approve code before it's deployed. They have also worked on security protocols that actively scan code for flaws as it is written.

While many of these tools have already existed out in the world in some form or another, Sijbranij said, GitLab streamlines them all into one integrated platform.

"That's the problem we're solving — we're not inventing anything that hasn't been done before, but making sure all of those 30 tools are in one interface," Sijbrandij said.

SEE ALSO: These are the 18 hottest companies in one of the most important tech trends for enterprises: 'DevOps'

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NOW WATCH: A Harvard psychologist reveals the secret to curbing your appetite

• When Mandy Ginsberg took over as CEO of Match Group she vowed to make sure the company was welcoming to women.
• She knew she had to audit the company's payrolls to make sure that women were paid equally to men.
• She hired an outside auditor and was so shocked when they told her that Match was paying women 100% equally that she made the auditor double check the results.
• She now credits one of her long-held leadership practices on how to deal with employee pay.

When Mandy Ginsberg took over as CEO of online dating juggernaut Match Group in mid-2017, she was determined to alter the perception of the industry as a "bro culture" world.

And one step she made was to audit the salaries of her own workforce, which is now 1,500 people, to see if she was paying women and men equally for equal work.

She was shocked to discover that at her company — the largest operator of dating apps with brands like Tinder, Match, Plenty of Fish and dozens of others — her female employees were 100% equally paid, according to the findings by a third-party auditor.

Paying people equally for the work that they do, regardless of their gender, has been required by law since the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963. And yet women still earn 80 cents for every $1 that men earn, and are often underpaid even for equal work.

See Mandy Ginsberg speak at Business Insider's Ignition conference, December 3 & 4 in New York and streaming online.

Ginsberg didn't just want to give lip service to her internal audit. She hired outside auditor, Syndio, to examine the pay rates of her workforce which is 36% female. The firm didn't just look at job title but grouped employees by what their jobs entailed. If it found a difference in pay between genders, it looked at other non-gender factors such as tenure, education, years of experience to determine if that explained the gap.

And often, it doesn't. Salesforce famously audited its workforce, not just once but twice over the past couple of years and issued $6 million in raises to women and agreed to publicly discuss its process, becoming the poster child for equal pay. The second audit and adjustment was done after Salesforce grew its employee base substantially through acquisitions, CEO Marc Benioff previously told Business Insider. 

See Salesforce HR chief Cindy Robbins speak about the impacts of paying equally at Business Insider's Ignition conference, December 3 & 4 in New York.

Match has also grown dramatically through acquisitions. So, when the consultants told Ginsberg that their analysis had found no discrepancy, Ginsberg was so surprised she demanded the third-party auditor go back and check the data again. They did and the results stood.

It was a light-bulb moment for Ginsberg. Although she's only been in the top CEO role for a year and a half, she spent the last half dozen years as the executive in charge of a number of Match's biggest businesses, including Match.com, Match Affinity, Plenty of Fish, OKCupid. 

And one of her "guiding principals" has been to offer pay and raises based on people's value to their company "whether they ask for it or not," she said in the press release.

In other words, she hasn't turned compensation into a negotiating game, granting raises only when someone asks. She has simply paid people what the company was willing to pay them and rewarded them without asking for a job well done. And now, she's not only published the results but is speaking out and advocating for this method.

"So often and in so many businesses, women don’t make compensation demands. And until we raise our daughters to make those demands, we, as leaders, need to be proactive and methodical about how we think about
compensation," she said.

• Now read:
  Salesforce has spent $6 million on pay raises for women — and fired an executive
  
  'We have screwed up': Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says in an all-hands meeting that the company deserves some fault after its self-driving car killed a pedestrian

SEE ALSO: A former top GitHub lawyer claims she was fired for asking for equal pay, lawsuit says

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NOW WATCH: I tried cooking an entire Thanksgiving dinner using Google Home Hub and found there are two major flaws with it

• It's important to discuss salary with your co-workers, but it can be an uncomfortable conversation to bring up.
• Knowing what your peers make promotes pay equality and helps ensure you're being paid for your value.
• Ease into the conversation, and don't push it if they don't seem interested in discussing pay in a general sense. 

Scanning Glassdoor and LinkedIn to see what your peers at other companies earn is an important step to make sure you're not underpaid.

But there's another key way to really know if you're being paid your worth: Asking your coworkers what they make.

"In order to know if you’re being fairly paid, you have to collect some benchmarks to know how others with a similar area of responsibility and business impact are being compensated,"Anna Cosic, career strategist, told Business Insider.

Previously considered a workplace taboo, discussing salary with your peers is a key way to assess how much your company values you. 

"Companies keep this information from us to benefit themselves, so we need to get creative when it comes to finding out," Cosic said.

Read more: 16 signs you're underpaid — and what to do about it 

And, it's an important way to fight pay inequality. Knowing what your peers make has been cited as a way to fight the pay gap separating white men from women and minorities. 

That being said, many people are super uncomfortable talking about how much they make. Here's how pay equality experts and career consultants say you should approach the conversation. 

1. Understand who to ask

The most important people to ask are your peers. "Consider those who do the same or similar work and those who have been with the company [for a] similar amount of time,"HR consultant Laura MacLeod told Business Insider.

Katie Donovan, a salary negotiation coach, also recommended asking those with a variety of job titles to assess trends. 

And, while it may feel most comfortable to ask people similar to yourself that question, be sure to ask folks of different backgrounds. "White men are considered the non-bias standard, so include some of them," Donovan told Business Insider.

2. Ease into the conversation

Once you've narrowed it down to a few folks, ask them for a drink or coffee outside of the office, suggested career coach Nicole Wood.

"When people are out of the office environment, they often feel more comfortable to share things they deem to be personal," Wood told Business Insider. 

Start talking about pay in a more general sense. Donovan recommended this line: "I saw on Salary.com that our job pays as much as $X. Do you think that is possible?"

Let them answer, and then reveal your own pay: "I find that hard to believe since I’m making $X less."'

"If you tell them first what you make, it may help to build trust and make them feel more comfortable opening up," Wood said.

Cosic said you could lead with this more direct opener: 

"I just read this article about how financially beneficial it can be to get an understanding of what your peers make. So, if you'd be willing to share what your salary and compensation package looks like, I’m happy to do the same. This stays between the two of us. I’ll, of course, go first."

Then, discuss why it's beneficial for both of you to reveal. Emphasize that it's totally confidential. 

"Make sure to have them on board with why you're interested in this and how having this mutual sharing will benefit them,"Cosic said. 

Back off if they don't want to discuss what they make. It's still considered taboo among a majority of millennials, and nearly everyone in their 50s and beyond. "Smile, apologize and let it go," said MacLeod. 

3. Use the information wisely 

If a few coworkers have shared their pay, and you're shocked by how much more they make, try to remain calm. 

"If you do find out that others are earning more, do not rush to your manager demanding more 'because so and so earns more,'" Donovan said. 

Instead, plan to ask for a raise when it's time for your yearly review. Combine your own internal research with checking pay reports on sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn.

But don't mention names or what they've earned in your discussion, especially if you promised total confidentiality when your coworker shared their salary. 

"It's important to note that the information you eventually gather is not intended to be used towards HR or your manager, saying that since X is making $Y, so should I," Cosic said. "That rarely pays off and they may have several different reasons that someone makes more than you do."

SEE ALSO: A 30-step plan to getting the raise you deserve

DON'T MISS: People are so desperate to keep their salaries secret that they won't even reveal them to coworkers for $125 cash

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NOW WATCH: This 13-year-old scientist invented a safer way to treat pancreatic cancer, and he hasn't even started high school yet

• The UK Parliament published a trove of top-secret Facebook executive emails on Wednesday.
• The hundreds of pages of documents provide an unprecedented window into Facebook leadership's approach to competition and growth.
• Read the key takeaways from the documents below.

Britain's Parliament has just given the world an unprecedented look at the ruthless tactics of Facebook's executive team.

On Wednesday, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee published leaked emails from the Silicon Valley tech giant's leadership team that had been obtained by Six4Three, an app developer that's locked in a legal battle with Facebook after it blocked its bikini photo app. 

There are hundreds of pages of documents and emails, mostly dating from between 2012 and 2015, that detail the way Facebook allowed third-party apps to access friend data through its platform.

They provide a unique window into how Facebook's senior leaders privately discussed strategy and competition at a period of intense growth for the company, which has since been bogged down by numerous scandals and flatlining user numbers in key markets.

Do you work at Facebook? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1 (650) 636-6268 using a non-work phone, email at rprice@businessinsider.com, Telegram or WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at @robaeprice. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

From Facebook's attempts to kneecap "strategic competitors" to CEO Mark Zuckerberg writing that his company's interests don't always match up with what's best for the world, here are some of the key takeaways from the documents.

1. Facebook had a list of "strategic competitors" that it restricted access to.

Zuckerberg personally oversaw a list of "strategic" competitors to the social network, and decided whether to restrict them from accessing valuable user data.

One undated memo stated that companies considered to be "strategic competitors" to Facebook were even more restricted in what they could access. It added that Mark Zuckerberg personally reviewed the list of competitors, and either he or another senior executive had to personally sign off any further access to data these companies might want.

On the eve of the publication of the documents, Facebook announced it was relaxing restrictions on competitors' apps in an apparent attempt to get ahead of the news.

In an unattributed statement published on its website, Facebook said:

"We built our developer platform years ago to pave the way for innovation in social apps and services. At that time we made the decision to restrict apps built on top of our platform that replicated our core functionality. These kind of restrictions are common across the tech industry with different platforms having their own variant including YouTube, Twitter, Snap and Apple."

2. Zuckerberg personally approved Facebook's decision to cut off social network Vine's data.

One of the Facebook competitors Mark Zuckerberg played a personal role in stamping on was video social network Vine.

In an email dated January 24, 2013 (the day Vine launched on iOS) VP Justin Osofsky proposed shutting down the new app's access: "Twitter launched Vine today which lets you shoot multiple short video segments to make one single, 6-second video. As part of their NUX, you can find friends via FB. Unless anyone raises objections, we will shut down their friends API access today. We've prepared reactive PR, and I will let Jana know our decision."

Zuckerberg responded: "Yup, go for it."

3. Facebook tried to figure out how to grab users' call data without asking permission.

Ever-hungry for user data, Facebook in 2015 explored trying to access Android users' call logs and SMS history to use to feed into features like "People You May Know," while acknowledging the risk of user anger. "This is a pretty high-risk thing to do from a PR perspective nut it appears that the growth eam will charge ahead and do it," Michael LeBeau wrote.

Yul Kwon also said Facebook was looking into ways to grab call log data without even asking users for permission: "Based on [the Growth team's] initial testing, it seems this would allow us to upgrade users without subjecting them to an Android permissions dialog at all," they wrote. 

Facebook's statement said: "This specific feature allows people to opt in to giving Facebook access to their call and text messaging logs in Facebook Lite and Messenger on Android devices. We use this information to do things like make better suggestions for people to call in Messenger and rank contact lists in Messenger and Facebook Lite."

• PropertyShark just released its rankings of the 50 most expensive neighborhoods in New York City in 2018.
• Manhattan neighborhoods dominated the list, with eight of the top 10 spots.
• The median sale price among the 10 most expensive neighborhoods ranges from $1.31 million to $3.85 million.

PropertyShark just released its rankings of the 50 most expensive neighborhoods in New York City, and, unsurprisingly, Manhattan dominates the list.

All but two of the 10 most expensive New York City neighborhoods are in Manhattan; the two outliers are in Brooklyn.

According to PropertyShark's analysis, the only two new entries to break into the top 10 are West Village and Greenwich Village.

Read more: A $20 million penthouse may be about to shatter the record for the most expensive home sold in Brooklyn — here's a look inside

TriBeCa topped the list with a median sale price that's nearly $1 million more than that of the second most expensive NYC neighborhood. Notably, this is the second consecutive year TriBeCa has taken the top spot.

Some NYC neighborhoods are also among the most expensive zip codes in America: A previous PropertyShark analysis ranked three Manhattan zip codes (10013, 10007, 10282, respectively) in the top 25 most expensive US zips.

Here are the 10 most expensive neighborhoods in New York City in ascending order, along with the median sale price in each. You can see the full ranking of the 50 most expensive neighborhoods on PropertyShark.

SEE ALSO: Here's what the most expensive house for sale in every US state looks like

10. Little Italy (Manhattan)

Median sale price: $1.32 million

9. Greenwich Village (Manhattan)

Median sale price: 1.35 million

8. Flatiron (Manhattan)

Median sale price: $1.57 million

• On paper, and in technical comparisons, the iPhone XS ranks among the world's best smartphones when it comes to photography.
• But in a blind test conducted by popular YouTube tech vlogger Marques Brownlee, the iPhone XS flunked out in the first round.
• Crazier still, it lost against a BlackBerry smartphone. Google's Pixels, renowned for their camera quality, fared just as poorly.

One of the main reasons that people buy the iPhone is for its ability to take high-quality, detailed photos. And it certainly does that!

But based on the results of a new video from YouTube vlogger Marques "MKBHD" Brownlee, it seems like another factor may be far more important: Brightness.

In a massive blind photo test that Brownlee conducted over social media, he pit 16 different smartphones against each other. Both the iPhone X and the iPhone XS flunked out in the first round to less capable smartphones — Xiaomi's Pocophone F1 and TCL's BlackBerry Key2, respectively.

That's right: Apple's flagship iPhone from this year and last failed out in the first round, against phones that are barely considered competition normally.

Google's flagship Pixel line did just as poorly, albeit against more technically competitive devices.

His test was simple: Put two photos of the same subject next to each other and have his millions of social media followers vote on which looked better to them. 

It's hardly a scientific poll, but that's not the point — what you see is what matters.

Most people are looking at photos on smartphone screens, through social media apps that compress images. They're using apps on their smartphone to edit images before sharing. They're trying to see faces clearly. Does the image "pop?" Is it bright? 

That kind of interaction with photos leads to a different type of preference.

"The most important thing to people, when viewing these photos straight out of camera, was just exposure — brightness, basically," Brownlee says in the video. "Nine times out of ten, the brighter, more saturated, more punchy-contrasty photo, won. Every single round — it's pretty consistent." 

It says a lot about what actually matters in smartphone cameras, and what may matter to you.

Are you taking a lot of extremely detailed photos with your smartphone? If the answer is no, then maybe you can wait a little longer next time before upgrading your smartphone — or maybe it's finally time to start considering those mid-range, less expensive smartphones.

If nothing else, the video is a fascinating look into modern smartphone camera options — see it for yourself right here:

SEE ALSO: The iPhone XS has a few new camera tricks hiding under the hood — here's what they do

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NOW WATCH: How Singapore solved garbage disposal

• John, who runs personal finance blog ESI Money, has spent the past few years interviewing millionaires.
• One common trend he found surprised him: Most millionaires don't have a budget.
• Millionaires spend relatively little compared to what they make because of their self-control, rendering a budget unnecessary, he said.

Turns out, many millionaires have more than huge bank accounts in common: They also don't have a budget.

That's what John of personal finance blog ESI Money, who retired early at the age of 52 with a $3 million net worth, found after interviewing 100 millionaires over the past few years. Forty-six of the 63 millionaires he asked don't have a budget, which he said surprised him.

"While it was not expected, the reasons millionaires don't need a budget makes sense — they make a lot and have self-control,"he wrote in a blog post. "In other words, they make a ton, spend only a portion of it, and have plenty left over. Who needs a budget?"

The median net worth of millionaires John interviewed was $2.3 million. While 90% of them were men, 93% were married, so John said he considers the women millionaires as well. The median age was nearly 50.

John interviewed one millionaire who spends $90,000 a year. He only buys necessities and only books vacations with a deal.

"I track our accounts using Mint and Personal Capital, and use cash back credit cards exclusively for every possible expense. But, we have never made a formal budget," the millionaire told John.

He added: "Every few months I look to see if my cash balance is bigger than it was a year ago. If it has grown, I invest the money. If dropped, I try to hold off on discretionary expenses. Last year according to Mint, we spent $90,000, including $13,000 on home improvement projects."

Read more: The author of 'The Millionaire Next Door' explains 3 ways anyone can build more wealth

John wrote that this is similar to his personal experience — he and his wife had a budget early in their marriage to give them more control when tracking spending habits until they "developed our moderately frugal lifestyle to the point where it was second nature" and knew they wouldn't overspend.

They didn't have a budget for 15 years until approaching retirement.

"This is the experience most millionaires have," he wrote. "Their incomes have grown, they don't spend a lot relative to those incomes, and so they don't use a budget. Yet many still track spending in one way or another." 

It makes sense considering another common trait among self-made millionaires. Thomas C. Corley, who studied rich people for five years, found that the majority of them considered themselves frugal. They also keep their expenses low and avoid the "lifestyle creep," or the tendency to spend more whenever they earn more.

It seems that a budget may be good for becoming a millionaire, not for being one.

United Income CEO Matt Fellowes previously told Business Insider that making a budget is an effective way to identify and reduce unnecessary spending, and that it will help one retire as a millionaire.

As John puts it: "A budget is great for the early phases of a financial plan, but if you can grow your income and develop self-discipline not to spend, it's not vital to your success later on."

SEE ALSO: I asked 100 millionaires how they spend, save, and invest, and they told me exactly what I expected to hear

DON'T MISS: 11 signs you're going to be wealthy, even if it doesn't feel like it

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NOW WATCH: Tim Cook's estimated net worth is $625 million — here's how he makes and spends his money

• Apple announced its top iPhone and iPad apps of the year on Tuesday.
• There are a lot of hidden gems on the lists, including Procreate Pocket, Donut County, and Froggipedia.
• Download links are below.

If you're looking for apps for your iPhone, Apple's year-end awards are a good place to start.

Apple revealed its top apps of the year on Tuesday, including hand-picked suggestions for iPhone app of the year and iPhone game of the year.

Apple also revealed year-end charts for the most downloaded apps on iPhones and iPads. The most downloaded app of 2018 was the Google-owned YouTube. In second place was Facebook's Instagram, and behind it was Snapchat.

Here are the top iPhone and iPad apps of the year:

Apple's iPhone app of the year is Procreate Pocket, a sketching and drawing app.

Check out Procreate Pocket on the App Store. 

Apple's iPhone game of the year is Donut County, a $5 puzzle came in which you play as a raccoon.

Youtube Embed:
//www.youtube.com/embed/LU6liK1E3Aw
Width: 560px
Height: 315px

Check out Donut County on the App Store.

Apple's iPad app of the year is Froggipedia, a $4 augmented-reality app for studying amphibians and frogs.

Youtube Embed:
//www.youtube.com/embed/lqyfrK85UAg
Width: 1280px
Height: 960px

Check out Froggipedia on the App Store.

• Facebook has lost its crown as the best place to work in America, falling seven places down Glassdoor's 100 Best Places to Work list.
• It is Facebook's lowest ranking in the survey since 2015, when it finished in 15th position.
• A string of scandals has dented company morale, according to an internal survey obtained by The Wall Street Journal.
• Despite the negative reviews, feedback on Glassdoor remains largely positive.

Facebook has tumbled seven places on Glassdoor's list of the best places to work after a year of scandals, data breaches, and employee discontent.

Glassdoor published its list of the 100 Best Places to Work in 2019 on Tuesday, which is based on ratings and reviews left by employees.

Last year, Facebook topped the bill as the number one place to work, but now it has fallen to number seven, just behind LinkedIn. It is Facebook's lowest ranking in the survey since 2015, when it finished in 15th position.

A series of scandals this year have impacted morale, according to the results of an internal company survey obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

Back in 2017, 84% of the workforce "said they were optimistic about the company's future," a figure that has since dropped to just 52%. And 72% of employees previously said "Facebook was making the world better"— now it's 53%.

Read more:Facebook employees react to the latest scandals: "Why does our company suck at having a moral compass"

Glassdoor identified frequent complaints from employees, which included "poor work-life balance" and "long hours."

One review from November, titled "Six months of strange tech cult," said the company displays a "complete lack of moral responsibility for the world." Another, also from November, lamented "the product is not technology, its [sic] the users."

Under "advice to managers," one employee wrote: "Please get the company out of bad reputation slump... align business objectives with long-term strategy of connecting people and communities."

But Facebook's overall ratings remain positive, with 96% of reviews saying they approve of CEO Mark Zuckerberg at time of writing. One reviewer described it as "Disneyland" for software engineers, and another wrote: "Don't believe all the negative press."

SEE ALSO: The 29 best tech companies to work for in 2019, according to employees

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why virtual reality still hasn't taken off, despite being around for nearly 2 decades

• Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian says he was surprised to learn that rich Americans have access to much better healthcare than the average person.
• In a recent YouTube episode with Chelsea Fagan of the Financial Diet, he said he's learned that there's a whole different world of healthcare for rich people, from private medicine to hospital tiers, and it's "jarring."
• He also finds said the financial products the rich are offered compared to everyone else makes his "head spin."

There are some major differences between those who have money and those who don't.

In a recent YouTube episode with Chelsea Fagan of The Financial Diet, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian was asked what he thinks people with money know that people without money don't know. The episode was sponsored by Empower, a mobile banking app that's backed by Ohanian's venture capital firm, Initialized Capital.

"I thought I'd be handed like a book when [I made money] ...like the book of sh-- only rich people know," he said. "I never got this, and I still am learning things and it's amazing and I know I'm going to be continuing to be learning stuff, and I'm going to be continuing to scratch my head and wonder how is it possible this whole other world exists."

Ohanian said one of the most "frightening" things he's learned since having money is that wealthy people have better access to quality healthcare.

Ohanian explained that he was raised with the assumption that all healthcare and all hospitals are basically the same — that there's not a big difference, and people just go to the hospital near them.

Read more: Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian says he wants to teach his and Serena Williams' daughter to code: 'She already has 3 laptops'

"Only in recent years as I've had to encounter the stuff for loved ones and have I had people who have obscene wealth, relative to my own — very wealthy and old money wealth — have I learned there's a whole other world, from concierge medicine and private medicine to very different tiers of hospitals and quality of care," Ohanian said. "And I literally never even heard of these before, let alone walked into them or seen them and now that I have, it is jarring."

He continued: "I think that's one of those things that if we all as a public understood, really understood the difference, I think folks would be even more upset than they already are about the quality of healthcare in this country, because it is staggering."

Ohanian said this realization "shook" him because it made him rethink the care his loved ones received years ago when they weren't aware of the differences and didn't have access to better healthcare financially. Now, he said, it's a priority to him as a husband and a father to get the very best healthcare. 

"My wife and daughter are going to have access to things I never even dreamed of," Ohanian said, speaking of wife Serena Williams. "I didn't think it was that different, but it turns out it is."

But that's not the only difference he sees when it comes to the wealth divide.

"The same way the difference in medicine makes my head spin, the difference in financial products is along the same lines," Ohanian said, referencing a high-net-worth person's relative ease of qualifying for a loan, for instance, compared to the average American.

He continued: "And it's subtle, these are very subtle things, but they add up a lot, especially when you think of the implications it has in the rest of the country, the rest of world."

SEE ALSO: Serena Williams' Reddit cofounder husband Alexis Ohanian 'thought tennis was a joke of a sport' before he met her

DON'T MISS: Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian explains why 'shutting down' with family and 'The Golden Girls' is important to Serena Williams' success

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Tim Cook's estimated net worth is $625 million — here's how he makes and spends his money

• Taxpayers have until Monday, April 15, 2019, to submit their 2018 tax returns.
• You can't file your taxes until you receive your W-2 form from your employer, which must filed and postmarked on or before January 31.
• A recent report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration warned of an increased risk of a delayed start to the 2019 filing season due to the new tax law. 

The deadline for filing your 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019.

But in order to submit your tax return, you first need a W-2 form, or Wage and Tax statement, from every employer you had during 2018. If you're a freelancer, you'll need 1099 forms.

So when should you expect your employer to send out your W-2 form?

The IRS has yet to release an official announcement, but typically employers must file and postmark tax-related documents by January 31. Therefore, you should receive your forms by early February.

However, a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released in September 2018 warned of an increased risk of a delayed start in the 2019 filing season due to the new tax law. 

Read more: Tax Day is April 15. Here's what you can expect when filing under the new tax law

If you haven't received your form by mid-February, you should first contact your employer and request a copy or ask that it be resent, according to the IRS. If that doesn't work, you can then contact the IRS at 800-829-1040. You'll need to provide the following information:

• Name, address, Social Security number, and phone number
• Your employer's name, address, and phone number
• Dates you worked for your employer
• An estimate of your paid wages and federal income tax withheld during 2018

If you still don't have your W-2 by April 15, you can use the W-2 substitute, Form 4852, and estimate your wages and withheld taxes. Note that the IRS could delay your refund while verifying the information. You can also file for a six-month extension using the IRS Free File.

If you receive your W-2 after filing and the information is different than what you claimed, you'll need to file an amended tax return using Form 1040X.

Once you file your taxes, you should receive your tax refund within 21 days of filing.

Read more:

• 8 things that could increase your chances of being audited, and how to avoid them

• 10 things you probably didn't know you could deduct on your taxes

• Everything you should be doing to prepare for tax season

• You may be able to cut down your tax bill with a little-known credit if you saved for retirement this year

SEE ALSO: 10 things you probably didn't know you could deduct on your taxes

DON'T MISS: You may be able to cut down your tax bill with a little-known credit if you saved for retirement this year

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NOW WATCH: Tim Cook's estimated net worth is $625 million — here's how he makes and spends his money

'We can do better': The Navy's newest fleet commander says US ships and sailors got 'beat up' during NATO's biggest exercise since the Cold War

SEE ALSO: 'We're getting a lot better': The head of the US Navy's newest fleet says it can counter one of Russia's favorite tactics

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NOW WATCH: How Russia's most advanced military equipment stacks up against NATO hardware

• President Donald Trump has reportedly asked Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to prepare a $750 billion budget proposal for military spending 2020, according to Politico.
• Just months ago, Trump asked every major cabinet agency to submit proposals cutting their budget by 5% next year.
• Since his presidential campaign, Trump has appeared to vacillate between wanting to boost and diminish military spending.

President Donald Trump has reportedly told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to prepare a $750 billion budget proposal for 2020, according to Politico's Wesley Morgan.

This request comes just months after Trump asked every major cabinet agency to submit proposals cutting their budget by 5% next year, according to The Washington Post. Trump said he wanted to see the defense budget decrease by 2%, from $716 billion to $700 billion.

Politico's sources said that that Trump met Tuesday with Mattis and the Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, and decided on the $750 billion number. One source, a former administration official, said Trump suggested this figure as a "negotiating tactic" to make sure Democrats don't push the defense budget below $733 billion, which is what Mattis and the chairman of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees had wanted.

Read more: The 15 countries with the highest military budgets in 2017

In November 2018, those two chairmen, James Inhofe, and Mac Thornberry, published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal urging the President not to cut military spending. "Any cut in the defense budget would be a senseless step backward," they wrote. "The Pentagon would be forced to cut in areas where the most money can be saved quickly — troops, new equipment, training and maintenance—as it did under sequestration in 2013."

Trump called the $716 billion 2019 defense budget 'the most significant investment in our military in our war fighters in modern history'

Trump has appeared to vacillate between advocating for increasing and decreasing military spending. Bumping up defense spending was a big part of his presidential campaign, CNN reported. When he signed the $716 billion 2019 defense budget, he called it "the most significant investment in our military in our war fighters in modern history."

And according to The Washington Post, Trump has threatened to shut down the government if he doesn't get at least $5 billion for the construction of a border wall.

On Monday, however, Trump tweeted: "I am certain that, at some time in the future, President Xi and I, together with President Putin of Russia, will start talking about a meaningful halt to what has become a major and uncontrollable Arms Race. The U.S. spent 716 Billion Dollars this year. Crazy!"

Politico reported that the $750 billion number isn't official yet, and should be announced this week.

The defense budget includes the Pentagon and Department of Energy funding for the US nuclear arsenal, Politico reported. However, defense funding is still subject to the Budget Control Act spending caps, so this increase wouldn't be put into action until lawmakers agreed to a deal to lift the caps.

SEE ALSO: Trump is reportedly thinking about getting rid of Mattis, and he's given 'Mad Dog' a new nickname

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NOW WATCH: What serving in the military taught beauty YouTuber Jackie Aina

• The 2003 NBA Draft is regarded as one of the best of all time.
• The first fives picks alone produced NBA legends like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade — some of the most successful players in NBA history.
• Like all drafts, it also produced busts who didn't accomplish much in the NBA and fell out of the league quickly.
• Today, many players are still involved in basketball while some have moved on entirely.

The 2003 NBA Draft remains one of the most legendary drafts in NBA history.

Though it may lack the depth of the classic 1996 Kobe Bryant draft, it was among the most top-heavy we've ever seen: LeBron James went first, and the top five picks were rounded out by Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.

Of course, like all drafts, it also produced some famous busts, role players, and players who went into other fields after their playing days were over.

See what happened to the top 29 picks of the draft below:

Tony Manfred contributed to this report.

LeBron James was picked No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James is in his 16th season and is still regarded as the best player in the NBA and one of the best players of all time, with four MVPs and three titles. He's now with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Darko Milicic was picked No. 2 overall by the Detroit Pistons.

• Joe Jonas opened up about the relationship between Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, who recently got married. 
• "Seeing Nick's face when he first met her, and the way he talks about her, and then getting to meet her and seeing what an amazing person she is, I knew right away that they definitely were a match made in heaven," Joe said during an interview with "Entertainment Tonight."
• The singer went on to say that the two ceremonies (a Christian service and a Hindu ceremony) were "so beautiful" and his "face hurts from smiling so much."

Joe Jonas says that Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra were a good fit for each other from the start.

"Seeing Nick's face when he first met her, and the way he talks about her, and then getting to meet her and seeing what an amazing person she is, I knew right away that they definitely were a match made in heaven," Joe said during an interview with "Entertainment Tonight."

The DNCE lead singer added: "My face hurts from smiling so much. The ceremonies themselves were so beautiful. The Indian ceremony was something that was new for me. We were all in tears."

Recently, Joe opened up about the couple's lavish wedding celebrations and said that he was so overwhelmed with emotions that he "blacked out for a minute" while giving his best man speech.

"This is not only my brother, [but my] best friend, and to see him marrying his dream girl, there were a lot of tears the whole weekend and a lot of smiles," he said during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show.

Read more: Priyanka Chopra describes the moment at her wedding when she realized marrying Nick Jonas was 'the best decision of my life'

Nick and Chopra tied the knot during two extravagant ceremonies that took place in India. They had a Christian service for Nick's faith and a Hindu service to honor Chopra's background.

In several interviews, the couple has explained what attracted them to each other. The "Quantico" star told Vogue that she realized that Nick was different from other men she had encountered because he told her that he admired her "drive" and the way she views the world. 

Moreover, Nick knew that he wanted to marry the actress after three dates. He previously explained that he knew Chopra was "the one"because "the thing that really connected both of us is our love for family and faith and the importance of being connected to those that are always going to be there for you."

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.   

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NOW WATCH: A Harvard psychologist reveals the secret to curbing your appetite

Technology is increasingly disrupting every part of our daily lives.

Smart speakers and voice assistants let us interact with our homes and with retailers in new and seamless ways.

Smartphones are taking over as the dominant shopping device.

Viewers continue to move away from traditional TV toward digital platforms.

And the list is growing.

Nearly every industry has been disrupted by digital technologies over the past 10 years. And in 2018, we expect to see more transformative developments affect our businesses, careers, and lives.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has put together a list of 35 Big Tech Predictions for 2018 across Apps and Platforms, Digital Media, Payments, Internet of Things, E-Commerce, Fintech, and Transportation & Logistics. Some of these major predictions include:

• Cryptocurrencies will become more widely accepted
• Google and Apple will challenge Amazon in the smart speaker space
• The resurgence of the VR market
• The real self-driving car race will begin
• Drone regulations will relax
• Alibaba’s international expansion
• Gen Z will become a major focal point for media companies and advertisers
• Payment security will become paramount
• Smart home devices will take off

This comprehensive list of 35 predictions can be yours for free today. As an added bonus, you will gain immediate access to our exclusive free newsletter, Business Insider Intelligence Daily.

To get your copy of this FREE report, simply click here.

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• 2019 could be the year of the first treatments for kids with peanut allergies.
• Two companies are competing for a market of around $3 billion. Both are seeking approval from US regulators to start selling their products.
• The treatments aren't a cure, but do reduce the risk of a dangerous allergic reaction to peanuts.
• Some parents say they prefer one product over the other, but it has a key drawback.

Josh Mandelbaum, 13, has a secret.

For five years, a small circular sticker on his back, around the size of a quarter, has contained the very thing that the New Jersey teen is allergic to: peanuts.  

The patch is part of a growing trend that aims to use triggers like peanuts to help those with allergies. The aim is to desensitize them and act like a kind of guard rail against accidental exposure. 

You might soon be able to get a prescription for these treatments. The patch and another first-of-its-kind peanut allergy pill could be approved by U.S. regulators as early as next year, and both have the potential to be blockbuster medications.  

About 15 million people in the U.S. have food allergies to things like milk, eggs and wheat. Peanut allergies are the most common food allergy among kids, and have been on the rise over the last decade. The market for the treatments is huge, and eventually could reach around $3 billion in total sales, according to Stifel analyst Derek Archila. 

Doctors currently have little to offer patients besides advising them to avoid what they’re allergic to and always carry an EpiPen or product like it to rescue them if they have a life-threatening allergic reaction. Moreover, those with peanut allergies are less likely to outgrow it than other food allergies, and it’s hard to predict how severe an allergic reaction might be.

A treatment, not a cure

The new approach has worked for Josh, his mother, Lianne Mandelbaum, who is also a food allergy advocate, told Business Insider. Josh first tried out the product, DBV Technologies’ Viaskin Peanut, as part of a clinical trial years ago.

In the beginning, as part of a “food challenge” used in the trial, Josh had an allergic reaction after eating the equivalent of a fraction of a peanut, Lianne Mandelbaum said. Two-and-a-half years later, it took much more, about one and a half peanuts, to spur a reaction.

While that may sound like a tiny change, it's made a huge difference in how Josh lives his life. He can now confidently go to school and sit in a cafeteria that serves peanut butter, for instance, his mother said.

The patch isn’t a cure: Josh continues to avoid peanut products, for example, and has to be careful about accepting food that could be unsafe. But it's been empowering, she said, and given them peace of mind. 

"I just don’t want him to die from eating the wrong cookies," she said. "We live in a human society. Humans make errors. That’s why you want a safety gap."

Mandelbaum was so pleased with the results that she fought to let Josh keep using the patch after the trial ended, through an expanded access program. The only side effects he’s seen have been itchy red welts, which have eased over time.

Josh would wear it for the rest of his life if he has to, she told Business Insider.

How it all came together

People with allergies are usually advised to keep away from what they’re allergic to.

But controlled exposure, called immunotherapy, has also been part of allergists’ arsenal of tools for many years now, including through allergy shots for pollen, mold, dust and more.

Physicians in private practice have also tried this with peanuts and other food allergies. In what’s called “oral immunotherapy treatment,” patients eat small amounts of peanut or another allergen, which increases over time.

Though these have had success, they aren’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and may not be covered by health insurance. And, like other immunotherapy approaches, they have risks, including the chance of an allergic reaction.

The search for a more standardized approach eventually led to the creation of Aimmune, which is developing AR101, a capsule of peanut protein that is mixed into food.

When the company was first started, the big question was “how do you take a food, which is inherently variable and highly unpredictable, and make it into a medicine?” Dr. Daniel Adelman, Aimmune’s chief medical officer, explained.

The company has done that by focusing on peanut protein, which is where the allergens in the nut are, and using that to re-educate the immune system, he said.

Seeking FDA approval

Dosing of AR101 starts at a very low level, or half a milligram of peanut protein, and then increases over about six months to 300 milligrams, or roughly the equivalent of one peanut kernel. Patients then continue on at that level as a maintenance dose.

Aimmune aims to file with the FDA this month for approval to treat patients ages 4 to 17; a decision could arrive by early fall of 2019. DBV filed for FDA approval of Viaskin Peanut in October to treat patients ages 4 to 11, with a decision expected next year.

The products could potentially reduce a life-threatening allergic reaction to a milder one, giving patients, their loved ones and their doctors an added layer of safety, Dr. Purvi Parikh, clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone and a board-certified allergist, told Business Insider.

If they are found to be safe and effective, they could dramatically change patients’ quality of life, Parikh said, reducing an untold amount of anxiety and stress for them and their families.

But which company could end up leading the space is more unclear. A group of doctors polled by Stifel's Archila slightly favored DBV’s product, he said, though the analyst also noted that there has been controversy over DBV’s clinical trial data.

Some parents of children with allergies told Business Insider that DBV’s patch seemed safer to them, because it doesn’t require actually eating an allergen. The company also touts this as a potential benefit on its website, saying that its approach “offers a potentially strong safety profile because of how it works via the skin.”

Read more:An experimental treatment for peanut allergies just succeeded in a key trial

Tamara Hubbard, a licensed counselor whose nine-year-old son is taking part in an ongoing trial for the patch, called the product “life-changing.” She was initially drawn to it over other options because the process was slower and avoided gastrointestinal side effects, Hubbard said.

A giant question mark

On the other hand, those on the patch likely won’t know exactly how much allergen they can tolerate, because — absent completing a “food challenge” — they wouldn’t be eating it.

Which product a family chooses will likely thus depend on their own preferences, Hubbard, who specializes in food allergy counseling, among other things, said.

Aimmune’s Adelman also emphasized the latter perspective in an interview with Business Insider.

“I think that the biggest danger to a child who is peanut allergic is going out into the world and thinking they are protected if they’re not,” he said.

Pricing — another giant question mark hovering overhead — could also be an important factor. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a nonprofit that evaluates drug prices and, is still reviewing the products and plans to release reports on them in the first half of next year. 

The companies haven't said how much the drugs will cost.

Parents, meanwhile, said that they hope everyone who wants these products can get them.

“Everybody who has food allergies deserves to have access to lifesaving treatment,” food allergy advocate Mandelbaum said. “It should be available to everybody.”

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Harvard scientists think this interstellar object might be an alien spacecraft

• Theresa May has delayed the Brexit vote scheduled for Tuesday amid fears she would lose by a significant margin.
• Over 100 Conservative MPs have already voiced their opposition to the deal.
• The vote was scheduled for Tuesday evening.
• The Prime Minister will make a statement to parliament at 15.30 GMT.

LONDON — Theresa May will seek to delay the parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal amid fears that she could suffer a crushing defeat, according to multiple sources.

The Commons vote on whether to accept or reject May's proposed plan for exiting the EU was due to be held on Tuesday evening, but the prime minister has reportedly told Cabinet ministers that she will now seek to delay the vote.

The prime minister will make a statement to the House of Commons at 15.30 GMT on Monday afternoon, followed by an emergency statement on forthcoming parliamentary business by the Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom.

May is expected to confirm that the vote will be delayed until some point after the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.

The prime minister reportedly told her Cabinet that they would suffer a big loss if they pressed ahead with the vote adding that she would return to Brussels to renegotiate a "legally-binding assurance" on the so-called Brexit "backstop".

The backstop is the hugely controversial mechanism by which the UK would be forced to remain tied to EU customs and trade rules indefinitely if it has failed to secure an alternative trade deal with the EU by the end of the two-year transition period.

It is designed to prevent the creation of a new hard-border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. However, MPs from across the House of Commons believe it would be used to tie Britain to the EU indefinitely.

The decision to pull the vote comes amid speculation that the government could have lost the vote by more than 100 votes, risking the biggest government defeat since the Second World War.

To date, 113 Tory MPs have pledged to vote against the government, along with the vast majority of MPs from opposition parties.

The news led to the pound falling to its lowest level against the dollar in a year and a half.

Brexiteers in the Cabinet now want May to use the delay to push for changes to the Withdrawal Agreement, particularly on the terms of the backstop for avoiding a hard Irish border, Cabinet sources told BI. 

"It's not a complicated negotiation — some amendment to the backstop would be fine," one Cabinet source said.

'Desperate'

The opposition Labour party accused the prime minister of taking a "desperate" step to avoid defeat.

"The Government has decided Theresa May's Brexit deal is so disastrous that it has taken the desperate step of delaying its own vote at the eleventh hour," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

"We have known for at least two weeks that Theresa May’s worst of all worlds deal was going to be rejected by Parliament because it is damaging for Britain. Instead, she ploughed ahead when she should have gone back to Brussels to renegotiate or called an election so the public could elect a new government that could do so."

The Democratic Unionist Party, which props up May's minority government, also accused the PM of presiding over a "shambles".

"If this is about kicking the can down the road, and getting some tweaks to the political declaration... she knows that is going to work. Quite frankly, it's a bit of a shambles. When you cross red lines, you're in trouble," The DUP's Nigel Dodds said.

There was widespread confusion on Monday morning as to whether the vote would go ahead on Tuesday as planned, with senior government figures rating the chances 50/50. 

A spokesperson for the prime minister had insisted on Monday morning that the so-called "meaningful vote" would take place on Tuesday evening as planned and added that May was "confident" of winning it.

"The vote's going ahead as planned...What we have negotiated over the past months is the best deal and the only deal," May's spokesperson told journalists at a briefing attended by Business Insider.

They added that they were "confident" May would win the vote.

The decision to pull the vote followed a series of phone calls by the prime minister to EU leaders over the weekend.

May spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, European President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk over the weekend, in an apparent attempt to secure last-minute concessions on the Withdrawal Agreement.

However, EU sources suggest there is no appetite to re-open negotiations.

A renegotiation is "not going to happen," one senior EU source told BI.

A spokesperson for the EU commission said there would be no renegotiation: "We will not renegotiate, our position has not changed, and as far as we are concerned the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union on 29 March."

SEE ALSO: The UK can unilaterally reverse Brexit, rules EU court

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

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

• Cookware sets are an affordable way to get all of the pots and pans you need to outfit your kitchen.
• The experts recommend purchasing fully clad, tri-ply stainless steel, but I've found these sets are pricey and not as user-friendly as nonstick alternatives.
• I appreciated the T-fal Cookware Set because the nonstick surface made cooking and cleaning effortless, and the set features every pot and pan size I would need for just about any recipe.
• For its size, the T-fal 17-Piece Hard Anodized Cookware Set is incredibly affordable and it's backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

I love The Wirecutter and Cook's Illustrated. If I don't know much about something in the kitchen space, I usually begin my research on these sites. Well, both recommend fully clad, tri-ply stainless steel cookware. This is cookware that has a layer of aluminum sandwiched by two layers of stainless steel. I have a cookware set that is fully clad, tri-ply stainless steel. And, you know what? Nine times out of 10, I end up reaching for nonstick cookware instead. Nonstick cookware is easier to clean, requires less oil, and allows more room for error, which is important when ADHD family members forget they're cooking.

The nonstick cookware I use in my kitchen is the T-fal 17-Piece Hard Anodized Cookware Set. T-fal sent this set to me for free to test out about three months ago. Here are my experiences with it so far.

My first experiences with the T-fal Cookware Set

Manufacturers want you to think that you are getting more than you actually are so when they list the number of pieces in a set, you need to keep in mind that included in this number are lids, utensils, or other items that one would hardly consider to be "cookware." Excluding lids, this set has 11 pieces:

• 8-inch, 10.25-inch, and 11.5-inch (with lid) frying pans
• 10.25-inch square griddle
• 1-, 2-, and 3-quart saucepans with lids
• 3.5-quart deep sauté pan
• 5-quart Dutch oven with lid
• 3-quart steamer insert
• One Egg Wonder frying pan

All of the pieces except for the steamer insert are made of hard-anodized aluminum, which is resistant to scratching from metal utensils. T-fal states that the set is oven-safe up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (350 for the lids). They also say that the cookware is dishwasher safe, but washing your pots in the dishwasher will void the warranty.

How the T-fal Cookware Set performed

I used the pots and pans for a variety of purposes. Below is a list of the cookware ranked from most used to least and how I used them:

• 8-inch frying pan– I use this just about every morning to fry up a few eggs.

• 11.5-inch frying pan – This was useful for frying and sautéing dishes for family dinners.

• 2-quart saucepan – If I was boiling pasta for one or two, this was ideal.

• 5-quart Dutch oven – I put this to work making soup, chicken stock, chili, and boiling water for larger batches of pasta.

• One Egg Wonder frying pan – As the name suggests, this tiny pan can be used for frying one egg at a time. My teenager loved using this.

• 3-quart saucepan – I mainly used this for reheating leftovers, especially soups.

• 10.25-inch frying pan – When making a family breakfast, such as corned beef hash, I turned to this pan.

• 1-quart saucepan – This was another favorite for the teen, who loves efficient ramen noodle cooking.

• 10.25-inch square griddle – I found the shape of the square griddle was perfect for cooking bacon.

• 3-quart steamer insert – I actually used this more as a colander than as a steamer.
• 3.5-quart deep sauté pan – This piece just wasn't very useful. It's like a hybrid of a pot and a pan. It seemed redundant, and I kept wishing it had a larger diameter. It's 10 inches, and I would have preferred maybe 12 inches, which would make it closer to five quarts.

The handles come riveted to the cookware, and all the handles except those on the steamer insert are covered with silicone. At no point did any of the handles get so hot that I couldn't hold them with my bare hands.

I found that ingredients did not stick to the bottoms or sides of the cookware. Even when I skipped adding cooking oil, I was able to loosen food up with minimal effort.

I simmered a number of soups, chilis, and tomato sauces in the Dutch oven and 3-quart saucepan. Even when I wandered off, these pieces did a wonderful job of maintaining a steady simmer without scorching my creation.

The nonstick surface made the cookware easy to clean by hand. Due to a criminal combination of laziness and absentmindedness, some of the pots and pans went through the dishwasher. The exteriors of these pieces showed significant wear. However, the interiors still look the same as the day I unboxed them. If you want your cookware to last, I strongly recommend washing it by hand.

Some concerns about the set

The only piece missing from the set that I wished it had was a big stockpot. The Dutch oven is too small for boiling a turkey carcass, which is one of my favorite pastimes during the winter. Another popular mainstay on stoves across the country is a 12-inch cast iron skillet, which this set lacked.

Hard anodized aluminum is great because it's durable, conducts heat well, and has an excellent nonstick surface. But, I found that the pots and pans did not heat evenly. I tested this out by sprinkling flour on the surface of the 11.5 inch frying pan and watched to see how it browned. The flour in the middle browned before the flour around the outside.

Lastly, since nothing would stick, the pans could not produce a good fond – the brown bits left over after browning meats. I'm not particularly fond of fond, or the pan sauces it produces, so it wasn't a major negative for me. If fond is your jam, adding a cast iron skillet to your arsenal will get the job done.

The bottom line

Overall, I am happy with the T-fal 17-Piece Hard Anodized Cookware Set. For the past three months, I have used it on a daily basis, and I appreciate how there is a pot or pan for just about any recipe I try, the nonstick surface keeps my oil use to a minimum, and cleanup is a snap. I strongly recommend this set to beginner cooks as well as seasoned home chefs who want nonstick options.

At its current price of $170, the T-fal Cookware Set is a good deal. However, according to the Honey app, the price has been known to drop significantly. So, if you are looking to save a few bucks and don't mind waiting, you might consider keeping an eye out for deals.

Buy the T-fal 17-Piece Hard Anodized Cookware Set on Amazon for $170

SEE ALSO: I tried the $125 cast iron skillet that raised $1.6 million on Kickstarter — it's lighter, smoother, and worth the extra cost

Join the conversation about this story »

• President Donald Trump could be jailed or impeached based on new legal evidence, top Democrats have said.
• They were responding to news surrounding Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who has pleaded guilty to facilitating two illegal payments to women during the 2016 presidential campaign.
• Federal prosecutors on Friday accused Cohen of facilitating the payments "in coordination and at the direction of Individual-1," who is believed to be Trump.
• Rep. Adam Schiff, the incoming House Intelligence Committee chairman, said Trump could "face the real prospect of jail time" as soon as he leaves office.
• Rep. Jerry Nadler, the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, described the alleged actions as "impeachable offenses," though he suggested impeachment might not actually be pursued.

The incoming chairs of two powerful House committees have predicted legal peril for President Donald Trump, with one referring to recent accusations about Michael Cohen's illegal hush-money payments as "impeachable offenses."

"There's a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves office the Justice Department may indict him, that he may be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time," Rep. Adam Schiff, the incoming chair of the House Intelligence Committee, told the CBS show "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

"We have been discussing the issue of pardons that the president may offer to people or dangle in front of people. The bigger pardon question may come down the road as the next president has to determine whether to pardon Donald Trump."

Schiff was responding to the latest sentencing document from federal prosecutors on Friday, which alleged that the longtime Trump lawyer and confidant Michael Cohen "acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1."

Individual-1 is widely believed to be Trump. The coordination relates to payments to two women who said they had affairs with Trump. The payments, which Cohen has pleaded guilty to facilitating, were considered illegal campaign contributions meant to aid Trump's campaign.

"With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election," the memo said.

"In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1," it added. "As a result of Cohen's actions, neither woman spoke to the press prior to the election."

Read more:Federal prosecutors say Cohen committed crimes 'in coordination with and at the direction of' Trump

Trump on Monday morning described the payments as a "private transaction" that "was done correctly by a lawyer and there would not even be a fine." He added that it was the "lawyer's liability if he made a mistake, not me."

Rep. Jerry Nadler, the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, also told CNN that if Trump were found to have directed the payments, it would amount to "impeachable offenses," though he did not commit to pursuing impeachment in that scenario.

"They would be impeachable offenses — whether they are important enough to justify an impeachment is a different question," he told CNN's Jake Tapper.

"But certainly they'd be impeachable offenses because even though they were committed before the president became president, they were committed in the service of fraudulently obtaining the office — that would be an impeachable offense."

Nadler added that Congress might not immediately impeach Trump, calling the action "an attempt to, in effect, overturn the result of the last election." He said Congress should consider impeachment "only for very serious situations."

"You don't necessarily launch an impeachment against the president because he committed an impeachable offense," he said. "There are several things you have to look at."

He added: "One, were impeachable offenses committed, how many, et cetera. Secondly, how important were they? Do they rise to the gravity where you should undertake an impeachment?"

The new Congress is scheduled to convene on January 3.

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NOW WATCH: Lindsey Graham once warned there would be 'holy hell to pay' if Trump fired Jeff Sessions