ArcaMax

If the arrival of spring has you energized you the way it has me, I say let's take advantage and do a bit of spring cleaning!

Earl Proulx's wonderful book "Yankee Home Hints" is bursting with tips for cheap, easy, quick home cleaning. I could sit for hours reading this classic tome. Instead, I've plucked a few of Earl's spring-cleaning tips on ...Read more

It’s been close to two years since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau indicated it was looking to tighten regulations on popular “buy now, pay later” services. Since then, the sector has grown to $300 billion. It’s time to bring meaningful transparency to an industry that has drawn in legions of consumers, including those ...Read more

It's been years since I read the news story about a U.S. Postal Service worker in Louisiana who, after getting caught, pleaded guilty to destroying mail -- a federal crime. Turns out that for at least 18 months, instead of delivering the mail to his postal customers, this guy took it home and burned it. He estimated he burned 20 tubs of mail. ...Read more

There's been a lot of drama this spring for families seeking college financial aid.

The trouble stems from a revamp of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), where changes and technology glitches have been an ongoing source of frustration for families.

The federal government, meanwhile, was significantly delayed in relaying data...Read more

Nobody likes paying for homeowner insurance.

That’s been especially true in Florida, where over the past few years, as more frequent storms and high litigation rates have doubled the cost of insurance for just about everyone who owns a home.

It’s tempting for homeowners, particularly seniors on fixed incomes, to put off critical upgrades ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Many renters in Charlotte pay to have a bathroom, living room and kitchen all to themselves — but for some people, one room is enough.

Now an apartment company is trying something new, where people can rent a bedroom for less than paying for an entire apartment, but share common space with a stranger. It’s kind...Read more

The dreaded disease we know as tuberculosis was at one time known as consumption.

A highly contagious illness, consumption got its name from the way it takes a person's life slowly from within -- first with a bloody cough, then fever, pallor and the long, relentless wasting away.

What irony that consumption, as we know it today, has an eerily ...Read more

Q: We are in the process of purchasing an apartment. Our closing attorney received the report from the condominium association showing the monthly dues were current, and we were surprised to learn that a special assessment was pending because the sellers told us that none were. The contract also says that no special assessments are pending. We ...Read more

Dear Cheapskate: I have cheapskates in my life. My father is one. My boss, my boss's mom and my boyfriend's mom. All these individuals have the following in common: They are unhappy. They avoid birthday parties, anniversaries or any type of holidays that require gift-giving, such as Christmas, at all costs.

They often choose to be by themselves...Read more

Like my garden, my mailbox is showing definite signs of spring. Just this week two beautifully addressed, thick envelopes showed up, both of them announcing graduation ceremonies -- one from high school, the other from college. However, neither even hinted at an invitation for me to give the commencement address. But had I been asked, I do have ...Read more