ArcaMax

As a parent, I've gained insights over the years into what teachers truly appreciate as gifts, not just during the holiday season but at any time of the year. Instead of the typical "Teachers Have Class!" coffee mugs, let's focus more on practical items that enhance the classroom experience.

Wanting to know how they really feel about gifts, I ...Read more

I am always entertained and often educated by the tips readers mail in. Today is no exception. I'm pretty sure you will agree with me.

SAFELY FROZEN: I am on a waiting list to get a safe deposit box at my bank. While I wait, I am keeping my important papers in a heavy freezer bag in the deep freeze. I hear that, in a fire, the inside of the ...Read more

Got a hunk of meat that feels like it could double as a doorstop? The slow cooker says, "Challenge accepted!" Toss in that tough cut, add a splash of broth and the magical ingredients, and by dinnertime, you'll have something that's practically falling apart in deliciousness. Expensive cuts? Who needs 'em when your slow cooker can turn a $5 ...Read more

Dear Cheapskate: With all the suggestions you have made for the "best inexpensive" products in your blog EverydayCheapskate.com (which I get in my email box every weekday and love it), I don't believe I have ever seen a recommendation for dry cat food, canned cat food or cat litter. Or even pet products, for that matter. That's where I really ...Read more

Experts tell us, and I can concur wholeheartedly from my own experience, that when people admit to the worst financial decisions they've made in their lives, they often recall choices made in the grip of visceral emotions like anger, lust, anxiety and greed.

Imagine how our lives might be different if we had a couple dozen "undo" buttons to use...Read more

I won't try to kid you into thinking I'm some kind of organizational expert. I am the most disorganized person ever. My professional office is a mess. My home, remarkably, appears to be orderly, as long as you don't open a cupboard, drawer or closet.

Being disorganized steals my time, energy and money. I buy things I have already because I can'...Read more

Money advice -- it's available everywhere. But that doesn't mean you should take it. The wise person knows how to separate the good from the bad. Here are a few timely examples:

Bad advice: Do not save money for yourself until you have paid off your credit cards. Direct every cent you can scrape together to pay down your credit card debt as ...Read more

Dear Cheapskate: I have become more thrifty and aware now that I read this column. Thank you! I wanted to return the favor by sharing a recent experience:

My family of six wanted me to make chili. I didn't have ground turkey or beef in the freezer, and I only buy meat on sale. I couldn't find either on sale in my area. I was just about to cave ...Read more

Imagine paying outrageous amounts of interest to a greedy finance company and loving every minute of it. Or how about making off-the-record, back-alley deals with a loan shark so you can skip all the credit checks and paperwork?

Impossible? Not if that loan shark is you. You'll be borrowing from yourself, making payments to yourself and ...Read more

One day as I was hurriedly putting groceries away, the fruit bowl was not within reach, so I put the fruit into the colander. It worked so well that I've been using the colander in that way ever since. And when I need a colander, no problem. I turn the fruit onto the counter, drain whatever I need to drain, then replace the fruit. Giving one ...Read more

If things are so hectic in your household that you can't remember the last time you took a break for some family fun, perhaps it's time to revisit an important concept: Time is like money. If you wait until you have some left over, you might be waiting forever. You may believe you don't have time or money for family fun, but let me help you see ...Read more