ArcaMax

Recently, I've been on yet another of my seemingly never-ending quests to pare down and clean out. I got this surge of energy after reading how Graham Hill is living with less. A lot less.

Hill, a self-made young millionaire who decided he really didn't need lots of stuff, wrote about it in the New York Times. He lives in a 420-square-foot ...Read more

Being wasteful is easy, especially when everything seems to be so plentiful and simple to replenish. Just order more. Or run to the store, right?

Sure, we love to buy things on sale, but that's not the only way -- or the best way -- to cut costs. Discovering simple ways to make things last longer is the surefire way to save time and money.

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Let's be honest -- keeping a home clean sometimes feels like trying to shovel snow in a blizzard. No matter how much you scrub, wipe and mutter under your breath, there's always another mess waiting in the wings. But over the years, I've discovered a little miracle in a can that keeps my sanity intact. It's called Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser, ...Read more

What would you do if you had to use -- let alone actually enjoy -- everything you own?

Truth be told, most of us will never live long enough to accomplish such an overwhelming requirement. Instead, we pack it, stack it and pile it away -- even pay rent to store it. Then we keep right on accumulating, acquiring and attaining even more. More ...Read more

When asked to describe the perfect bath towel, most people would include the words "thick" and "thirsty." Cotton Inc., a research and marketing company, agrees and goes on to say that the perfect towel can also stand up to constant use and laundering for at least a decade.

The secret to buying the perfect towel is in understanding fibers, loops...Read more

Before you toss that steam iron because it refuses to steam and the soleplate is sporting a brown, burned-on, gross mess -- you might want to give it a little love with a good cleanup. It's not difficult to bring a tired steam iron back to working like a dream!

As always, check the owners manual before proceeding with any cleaning process so ...Read more

Over the years, readers like you have sent me incredible tips -- creative, practical and sometimes downright ingenious. These nuggets of wisdom have saved me time, money and a fair amount of frustration.

While I've carefully held onto these gems, somewhere along the way, the names of these clever contributors seem to have wandered off. But ...Read more

Dear Mary: How can I get rid of white water rings on wood tables? Thanks! -- Amy

Dear Amy: There are homemade remedies, but I've had only marginal results using things such as mayonnaise or other household products to remove the infuriating white marks you describe.

I suggest you save yourself a lot of time and frustration with a Homax White ...Read more

As I rifle through my virtual mailbag where readers send their best ideas for how to save time and money, some invariably arrive without the sender's name. Not all are worthy of passing along, but now and then, one of these orphans is just too good to cast aside. Today I have a collection of these no-name submissions that are up for adoption.

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I promise not to ask if you remember when the price of gold was fixed at $35 an ounce or when U.S. currency was tied to the gold standard (hint: The Gold Standard Act was passed on March 14, 1900, but later suspended). Things have changed drastically over the years, with gold now hovering around $1,800 per ounce.

Let's turn to your jewelry box,...Read more

Saving money doesn't have to require becoming a miser or even erasing all the fun from your life. In fact, there are so many ways you can choose to not spend just $5 every day -- and instead hide that money away in a safe place. It's about sidestepping sneaky little expenses that can add up faster than loads of dirty dishes after a big ...Read more

Doing something about consumer debt is good for your finances -- and just about every other area of your life.

HEALTH

Experts say there's no question that carrying a lot of debt can be stressful, causing all kinds of health issues. It can result in worry, sleeplessness, communication breakdown, depression and anxiety. Credit card debt takes a ...Read more

No doubt, you've noticed that some food products come with dates and codes printed on them. And who isn't noticing this more now as food costs are skyrocketing?

Do those codes and dates mean the item must be consumed by that date or just sold by that date?

What about canned or packaged goods that show only a date like "2.01.25"? Does that mean...Read more

Borax, a combination of sodium, boron and oxygen, is a natural substance mined from the earth in its crude form, found in abundance in the deserts of California and Nevada.

Powdered borax is white, consisting of soft, colorless crystals that dissolve in water. Borax is an ingredient in many detergents, cosmetics and enamel glazes. The trademark...Read more

Dear Cheapskate: After 10 years at the same job, my husband was recently laid off. I'm a freelance writer. I work mainly from home so I can be with our 3-year-old son. We've always relied on my husband1s company for health insurance. Now we're faced with paying for COBRA, and the cost for a family of three is outrageous. We have no choice but to...Read more

When Gordon Gekko, the main antagonist in the 1987 film "Wall Street," declared in no uncertain terms that "Greed is good!" people flocked to the theaters. And cheered.

Please don't base your belief system on a movie line that might have been memorable and entertaining but is dead wrong.

Greed is like cancer that, when left untreated, can ...Read more

Just as I was knee-deep in researching, testing and learning all I could about electric space heaters, this letter popped up in my inbox.

Dear Mary: I need your help to figure out how we can reduce our home heating bills. It's killing us to pay so much to keep our house warm in the winter. We have a gas furnace, and where we live, the cost of ...Read more

I just asked Siri, "How do most people relax?" She rattled off a list of activities including "Nosh on chocolate," "Rub your feet over a golf ball," "Count backward," "Meditate" and "Drip cold water on your wrists."

Siri completely missed my favorite way to relax. I iron (not to be confused with "I pump iron," which I do not). No, really. There...Read more

It took me a long time to fully understand this profound truth: Money is not for spending. It is for managing first and then for spending. No one knows better than I do that it takes courage to believe that, but when you do, it will transform the way you think about and then manage your money.

Imagine this: It's Friday, a day you have come to ...Read more

The most important thing you can do to make your personal economy strong is to have an umbrella, an emergency fund with enough money in it to pay all your bills for six months. And it needs to be safe and secure in a bank account.

You read that right: half a year's income! Wait. You can't even imagine being able to save $50? No worries. The ...Read more