Over the last couple of years, we have all spent much more time indoors. Now, you may be thinking of ways to enhance your surroundings. Whether you recently purchased a new house or you simply want to increase your home’s value, consider taking on some of these affordable upgrades.

If you want to improve your diet or lose weight, reducing your reliance on oil is an ideal step to take. While vegetable, olive, coconut, and other oils can help improve dishes and ensure quality cooking and baking, they add calories that you could easily avoid with different approaches.

If you’re looking to get a loan so that you can purchase your dream home or start your own business, you may be asked to put up collateral. Collateral is a way of protecting lenders that can also help you get better rates, but using it to secure a loan can spell trouble if you fail to repay.

Balancing a checkbook has been shorthand for financial responsibility for generations. While it’s always been presented as a laborious, unenviable task, keeping your money in order is fairly simple as long as you stick to a routine. Since so much of our world is now paperless and digital, balancing your checkbook is easier than ever.

It might seem like buying a franchise associated with an established brand and business is the fast track to financial independence. But becoming a franchise owner is every bit as involved as starting your own business from scratch — it takes time, dedication, and an informed approach. But if you know the ins and outs of franchise ownership, you could reap the benefits in a short amount of time.

Retirement may seem like a long way away, but time moves quickly and it could be here before you know it. That’s why it’s important to establish a lucrative, reliable retirement savings and investment solution now. The most common types are Roth IRA and 401(k) accounts. They may seem similar, but they have a handful of differences that may make one option more suitable for you than the other.

Remote work has seen an exponential rise in popularity among employees in part due to the pandemic. With office spaces shuttered for months, work moved out of cubicles and communal spaces and into the home. And with major companies adopting work-from-home policies, this trend is not likely to change any time soon.

Everyone has a different definition of “cool,” but there are some universal traits that most people can agree upon. For example, cool cars must look good, perform well, feature innovative technologies, signify something in the context of its time, or better yet, some combination of all of these. Based on these factors, the following are five of the coolest cars you can buy today — excluding ones that cost over six figures, because that would be cheating.

According to the Center for Disease Control, about one in three adults don’t get enough sleep. A lack of sleep has been linked to many chronic conditions and diseases, like depression, heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it’s imperative that you maintain a bedtime routine that can help you fall asleep faster and improve the type of sleep that you’re getting. Here’s how.

Want to take a walk on the wild side without ever leaving the comfort or security of your home? These four engaging true tales will have you on the edge of your seat. From stories about surviving in the jungles of Guam to conquering the summit of Everest, here’s a look at four books that will take you on unforgettable journeys.