ArcaMax

Fundraisers and requests from charities used to bother me. So did the collection plate at church. I felt guilty because no matter how much money we made, there was never enough to give any of it away. And with all the debt we had (it was plenty!), how could I be expected to help others when I couldn't even help myself?

Then our financial house ...Read more

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me about food expiration dates, I could afford to buy a lot of the milk that gets tossed each week just for being one day "past."

These questions come in by the dozen -- from readers, neighbors and once from a stranger in the dairy aisle holding a suspicious-looking yogurt cup like it was a ticking...Read more

Q: My next-door neighbor has been pressuring me to trim my hedge to match his landscaping, but I haven’t wanted to. A couple of weeks ago, I came home and found that he had trimmed the hedge himself, the way he wanted it. I was furious, and he essentially told me that he was going to do it anyway and that I should deal with it. What are my ...Read more

It was a dumb mistake. I grabbed the biggest package of coffee filters -- a pack of 1,000 -- only to discover much later that I'd picked up the wrong size for my coffeemaker.

Coffee filters are not expensive, which is probably the reason I didn't bother returning them to the store. I suppose I should have tried, but I didn't. Instead, I began ...Read more

I was way off base when I guessed "egg-gathering basket." Leslie Hindman, host of the TV show "Appraisal Fair," held up this round cage contraption with folding sides and asked us to guess, "What the Heck Is It?" Salad spinner was the right choice, but who knew people were wasting their money on needless pieces of kitchen equipment back in the ...Read more

Over the years, I've noticed a growing trend in my mailbox: readers in search of financial planners or advisers -- or assistants. When taken in the message's context, it's pretty clear that not everyone means the same thing when they refer to a financial planner-adviser-assistant-helper.

One reader wanted to know where to find a financial ...Read more

You're standing in the appliance aisle at your favorite home store, staring down two dishwashers. One is modestly priced at $499. The other is more than double that -- $1,299 -- and comes with all the bells, whistles, LED lights and an app that alerts your phone when the rinse cycle finishes.

So you wonder: Is the expensive one really worth it ...Read more

Q: Our condo board just passed a huge special assessment to fix the roof. I live on a fixed income and cannot afford to pay it. Is there anything I can do? — Ruth Ann

A: Special assessments can be a financial challenge for condominium owners, especially when they come unexpectedly.

These assessments are typically levied when the association�...Read more

The year is 1953. Rocket Chemical, a struggling company in San Diego, sets out to create a rust-preventive solvent that can displace water. On the 40th attempt (note: 39 failures), they nailed it. Thus, WD-40 was born.

While the ingredients remain a well-guarded secret more than 50 years later (the company insists there's nothing in it to harm ...Read more

When it comes to compulsive tendencies, there's no question I received more than the standard allotment.

I can sit down fully intending to watch the evening news and end up owning a pasta machine. I can stop by the mall to just look around and come out with three outfits I'll never wear, a gift I'll never give and several things for the house. ...Read more

Of all the choices in home flooring, wood stands out for many as the most beautiful. Wood is durable, coordinates well with any decor and most real estate agents agree it improves the home's value at resale. Knowing how to protect and clean wood floors is essential -- and surprisingly easy.

AS IT HAPPENS

To protect the finish and keep wood ...Read more