Consumer

/

Home & Leisure

/

ArcaMax

Video

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

No body

Video

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

No body

Video

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

No body

Video

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

No body

Have a Shaded Yard? Replace Your Grass With Moss

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A shaded yard can feel like a lawn-care failure waiting to happen. Grass thins under trees, turns patchy near fences and sulks in damp corners where sunlight rarely reaches the soil. Homeowners respond with seed, fertilizer, lime, raking, watering and hope. Then the same bare spots return.

At some point, the better question is not, “How do I ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth Money in the Bank

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Today's topic is not pretty, but unless you have $8,000 earmarked for dental care, it could prevent a lot of pain -- both dental and financial.

Periodontal disease is an infection that destroys the attachment fibers and supporting bones that hold the teeth in the jawbone and the jawbone itself.

Bacteria get caught between the teeth and under ...Read more

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

SpaceX surges 20% in second day to add $412 billion in value

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SpaceX shares jumped in their second day of trading, adding to gains following a blockbuster debut that instantly vaulted it into the ranks of the world’s most valuable public companies.

The stock climbed 20%, extending Friday’s 19% rally, to add $412 billion in market value. Shares closed at $192.46 on Monday, more than 42% above their $...Read more

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

SpaceX IPO stress tests crypto's bid to reinvent stocks

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

For years, crypto firms have argued that blockchain technology could create markets for private companies long before they reach Wall Street. SpaceX provided the industry’s biggest test yet. The results were mixed.

Ahead of the largest IPO in history, perpetual futures tied to Elon Musk’s rocket company gave traders a live — and ...Read more

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

A record number of Miamians can't make ends meet. Why that's a risk for everyone

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A record number of Miami-Dade families are living paycheck to paycheck, a new report has found.

North of a half-million county households — 563,947 to be exact — are struggling to make ends meet, according to new data from United Way. That’s 56% of all Miami-Dade households, a two-percentage-point increase from last year and the highest ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Why Concentrated Anything Makes Me Suspicious

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

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

Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota AG sues cash advance app Brigit over alleged breach of state lending laws

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The app-based cash advance business Brigit is in the state’s crosshairs over small loans that officials say carry super-sized interest rates of more than 700% in some cases.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued the company on Wednesday, saying the loans violate the state’s caps on interest rates and carry terms that are not clearly...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Bay Area downtowns aren't dying – they're changing

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

For years, headlines have warned of downtown “doom loops” and “death spirals,” focusing on the office vacancies that have piled up since the pandemic. Take a walk through downtown San Jose, for instance, and you’ll see many once-bustling buildings quiet and mostly empty.

But while they’ve been slow to recover, the streets below them...Read more

John Konstantaras/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Illinois is one step closer to banning 'junk fees' and hidden charges on renters

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — Sharon Gardner was paying her rent. But her Hanover Park apartment owner continued to pile up charges against her.

With eviction threats mounting, Gardner was told she owed more than $3,300 in unexpected fees — a $50 monthly charge for cable internet she never received, $5 a month for pest control, a $300 move-in fee...Read more

Real estate Q&A: How can we still close home sale after low appraisal?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: We are selling our home, and the buyer’s appraisal just came back $30,000 below the price we agreed on. Now the buyer is demanding that we drop the price to match the appraisal. We priced the house fairly and had multiple offers. Do we have to give in? — Carol

A: Few things deflate the excitement of an accepted offer faster than a low ...Read more

JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Has Palo Alto unlocked the secret to downtown vibrancy?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

On a stroll down University Avenue in Palo Alto, California, on a spring Saturday evening, one can see parklets that were once parking spaces packed with well-heeled diners elegantly swirling wine glasses or digging into their meals inspired by culinary traditions from around the world.

Families line up down the block to order ice cream at Salt...Read more

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Downtown LA businesses are in crisis. Owners want politicians to deal with it

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Cemal Clik was rinsing some strawberries for lunch when he felt a gun on his temple.

The 61-year-old was sitting near his gift shop in downtown Los Angeles this month when two men threatened to kill him if he didn’t give up the gold chain hanging from his neck. They grabbed the chain and disappeared down South Broadway.

It took 45 minutes ...Read more

Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty/TNS

Where can Seattle ultrawealthy store their toys? Condos

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

In a city infamous for its high housing costs, Seattle’s ultrawealthy will soon be able to buy condos for their luxury cars and yachts.

Nearly 9 acres of a former industrial fuel terminal on Salmon Bay waterfront near the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard will undergo a transformation into an extravagant car collector garage, superyacht ...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

Fight over housing in Seattle's Sodo neighborhood enters a new phase

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Many people thought the long fight over whether the city can or should build housing near the baseball stadium was done in May. But it will now stretch out even longer, after an appeal filed last month that could also delay the city’s broader plans for growth in Seattle.

The city is in the midst of updating its plan to manage growth over the ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Ask Me Anything -- Cost of Ice, DIY Whipped Butter, Elderly Turkey, EC en Espanol

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

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

Everyday Cheapskate: How to Repair Your Credit and Improve Your Credit Score

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

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

 

Related Channels

America's Test Kitchen

America's Test Kitchen

By America's Test Kitchen
ArcaMax Chef

ArcaMax Chef

By ArcaMax Chef
Tim Carter

Ask The Builder

By Tim Carter
Dr. Lee Pickett

Ask The Vet

By Dr. Lee Pickett
Jae-Ha Kim

Celebrity Travel

By Jae-Ha Kim
Richard Montgomery

Dear Monty

By Richard Montgomery
Gene and Katie Hamilton

Do It Yourself Or Not

By Gene and Katie Hamilton
Eric Peters

Eric's Autos

By Eric Peters
Mary Hunt

Everyday Cheapskate

By Mary Hunt
Jim Daly

Focus on the Family

By Jim Daly
Georgia Garvey

Georgia Garvey

By Georgia Garvey
Jeff Rugg

Jeff Rugg

By Jeff Rugg
Lenore Skenazy

Lenore Skenazy

By Lenore Skenazy
Kathryn Weber

Living Space

By Kathryn Weber
Cathy M. Rosenthal

My Pet World

By Cathy M. Rosenthal
Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin

Real Estate Matters

By Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
Zola Gorgon

Recipes by Zola

By Zola Gorgon
Rick Steves' Europe

Rick Steves' Europe

By Rick Steves' Europe
Eileen Ogintz

Taking The Kids

By Eileen Ogintz
Various authors

Travel & Adventure

By Various authors
Christopher Elliott

Travel Troubleshooter

By Christopher Elliott

Comics

For Heaven's Sake David M. Hitch Eric Allie Clay Bennett Andy Capp Dana Summers