ArcaMax

It seems to me that nearly every household product has at some time decided it needed to become "concentrated." Concentrated detergent, concentrated cleaner, concentrated juice, even concentrated coffee. These days I'm half expecting concentrated throw pillows.

The promise is always the same: smaller bottle, bigger value. Less packaging, more ...Read more

Dear Mary: My husband says that it costs more to make ice in the freezer than to buy it in bags. I find that hard to believe. Do you know the answer? -- J.M.

Dear J.M.: Let's say a 10-pound bag of ice at the store costs $2. Two dollars' worth of water from your tap would be nearly 350 gallons at the U.S. average price of about 0.0058 cents per ...Read more

Your credit score is a three-digit number between 300 and 850, generated by a mathematical algorithm (a mostly secret formula) based on information in your credit report compared with information on tens of millions of other people. The resulting number is said to be a highly accurate prediction of how likely you are to pay your bills.

If it ...Read more

There's no doubt that credit cards are convenient. They're compact, easy to carry and work just about anywhere. And that's the problem. What seems like no big deal on a daily basis can add up to one whopping surprise at the end of the month.

In the event you have fallen into a mind-numbing "coma" that has you swiping the plastic with abandon, ...Read more

Every summer starts with good intentions: This will be the year we stay ahead of things. The year we don't waste food, lose track of sunscreen, or make six emergency grocery runs a week because nobody knows what's for dinner.

And then suddenly it's July, the refrigerator is full, the counters are cluttered, nobody can find the sunscreen, and ...Read more

Today is a good day to reach into my virtual mailbag and pull out letters from two of my dear readers.

Dear Mary: We are homeowners with about $175,000 in equity, which we will need to buy a bigger house in the future. Our home needs some expensive improvements (new windows, updated kitchen, siding), none of which are urgent, but which will be ...Read more

Homeowners beware. These days, home loan scam artists are lurking around every corner. They're hungry, they're determined and they're coming after your equity.

Unscrupulous loan peddlers are known as predatory lenders because of their uncanny resemblance to vultures. These loans encourage people to consolidate their debts and suggest this will ...Read more

In today's offering of tips from your fellow readers, you're going to get a bonus: a new vocabulary word. Read on.

My dream is to own a second home in Sweden, and to be able to purchase it without a long-term mortgage. I found a picture of the home I dream of and hung it where I will see it often during the day. This has "dreamwashed" my mind, ...Read more

Every summer, right about the time the house starts feeling like a toaster oven with furniture, people begin searching for bigger solutions.

A stronger fan. A portable air conditioner. Blackout curtains that look like military equipment. Somebody with a decent advertising budget trying to sell a "cooling mattress" for the price of a used car.

...Read more

I call it my mailbag, but in truth its my email inbox and lately, it's been loading up with creative tips from you, my clever readers!

CREATIVE GIFTING

My teenage grandchildren don't want "stuff" anymore -- they want cash! And I understand; being a teenager can be expensive. But I don't want to just hand them money. For Christmas last year I ...Read more

Before you cut up an expired credit card -- or toss that silly fake one you got as junk mail -- consider all the great things you can do with it!

1. Bookmark. It'll keep your place and act as a handy straightedge for underlining or highlighting.

2. Glass scraper. A credit card is just the right size to scrape ice from your car's windows and ...Read more

Dear Mary: I just read that that the company that holds my home mortgage is under investigation by the feds and has a net worth of negative $63 million. This company holds title to my house. If it goes into bankruptcy, am I at risk of losing my home, even though I've never been late on my payments? I don't want to refinance with another company,...Read more

Over the years it seems to me that Memorial Day weekend has developed a second identity. Officially, it's a day of remembrance. Unofficially, it's the kickoff to summer. A three-day event that requires burgers, new patio cushions, a cooler full of drinks, and at least one last-minute trip to the big, crowded store (you know the one) where ...Read more

Our favorite bed pillows get a lot of use every night. We keep clean pillowcases on them and don't think much about the pillow inside until it's time to change the bed linens. Have you looked recently?

Yikes! The pristine white pillows have turned blotchy with disgusting yellowish-to-brownish stains. What on Earth? The most common response is ...Read more

It was a lovely meal. The conversation was engaging, the entree delightful. A good time was had by all. The guests are long gone, and now you are stuck with an ugly red wine stain on your prized tablecloth. Is this linen destined for the ragbag? Not if you know this super simple solution.

RED WINE STAINS. If you get red wine on a washable ...Read more

I thought it would be just loads of fun to focus our attention today on frequently asked questions about frozen foods. But first, a little history.

Although the practice of preserving food by freezing can be traced back to 1626, it wasn't exactly practical. Frozen foods looked bad, tasted worse and were more apt than not to make people deathly ...Read more

Summer has a way of exposing everything you meant to get to earlier. The first hot stretch arrives, and suddenly the house starts telling the truth. The air conditioner runs longer than it should. One room feels warmer than the others. The energy bill climbs. A small issue you barely noticed in spring becomes something you can't ignore. That's ...Read more

Provided that your basic life needs for shelter, food and clothing are being met, more money is not going to make you happier. I know, that's hard to believe, but it's a proven fact. What will make you happier is learning how to manage well the money you have already.

Today, I want to give you a simple formula you can use to manage your money. ...Read more