Do you want to be a mind reader? Well, lets get the disappointing part out of the way: You won't be able to hear the thoughts of others, and there is little evidence that anyone has ever had this kind of ability. Most of what passes as mind reading is a m...

Most new investors in fixer uppers have the basic idea that you buy a house in need of some repairs and cleaning, you fix it up and sell it for a profit. That's a good start, but how do you know if there will be a profit, and what changes to make? Many in...

What is thinking out of the box? It is getting outside the usual ways of looking at things (that's the box) to arrive at new and useful ideas. How do you do it? Here is one of the many ways. How To Get Your Thinking Out Of The Box One of the simples...

There has been a lot written about the mechanics of how to buy a house. You get prequalified for a loan, then perhaps preapproved, and then you look for a home, make an offer, have inspections done and so on. Many people can help you through the process. ...

One basic way to travel cheap is to learn all the special tricks and techniques. There are days of the week when flights cost less, for example, and places where you can find the specials for cruises and hotel packages. I highly recommend learning a few o...

What kind of lost treasures can you find in an old house? You have probably heard about the rare book found in the attic that was worth thousands, or the antiques that people find. That's fun too, but this is about the things which somebody actually hid o...

When considering renting versus buying a home, forget the biased advice of those who think it is always better to buy. Instead, consider the important questions you need to ask. Here are four of them. 1. How long will you be there? Generally, if you...

You think it's time that you get a raise from your employer, but how do you go about it? Do it wrong and you may make things even worse. How do you do it right? Try the following five-step process. 1. Make sure you deserve the raise. It may seem too...

What kind of sleeping bag should you get? That depends on how you will use it. Of course, it also depends on what your budget is. So decide what you can spend, and then consider the following six questions before you go shopping. 1. What is the coldest...

You may have heard the expression, or even had the experience, but what is brain fog? It is that state of mind when you can't quite focus or think clearly. As for how to cure it, that depends on the cause. There are two basic kinds of causes. Physic...

You may not know this, but there is a lot of buried treasure out there. We're not talking about pirate treasure, although there is undoubtedly still some of that to be found. This is about the cash and valuables that are buried all over this country. For ...

We were both thirteen years old and backpacking in Michigan without adults (times were different back then). Camping miles from the nearest road, in a single-wall pup tent, we tried not to move too much, because doing so resulted in a shower of icy crysta...

It is true that treasure hunters know a few things the rest of us don't usually know. They are familiar with common hiding places where people put their valuables and money, for example. They know the usual locations for buried treasure. More generally, t...

A few years back, I bought a rental and decided that my property taxes were too high. I paid $16,000 for the place (remember those prices?), but the county assessor had the property pegged at a market value of $18,400. Each spring the county had a day whe...

The typical trip to a beach resort is expensive, to say the least. How, then, can you find a cheap beach vacation? Start by identifying what you really want. Do you really need to stay at a big resort? If that's important to you, and you still want to ...