Home in Guides, Checklists & Courses

Only Home: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Home stories and video. All of Guides & Checklists →

Three Jars and a Stack of Ones

How to run a kid's first allowance so the money actually teaches something, including the part where you let him waste it.

GuideMilitary & VetsSam OrtizSep 23, 20266 min

What Holds a Marriage Together Through a Deployment

The paperwork, the phone calls, the fight three weeks out, and the first thirty days home. What actually works, from the people who've done it.

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

Ask it

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

Fixed, Adjustable, FHA, VA and Conventional Loans Side by Side

Five loan types, what each one actually costs you per month, and the fine print that bites buyers who only shopped the rate.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

Boys & Girls6 min read

Raise a Girl Who Is Kind and Still Says No

Kindness and backbone are the same virtue pointed in two directions. Here's how to build both before she turns twelve.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

StoryHumorNina CastellanSep 23, 20265 min

The Twelve Stages of Building a Dresser With Your Wife

Nobody's marriage has ever been ended by a Swedish dresser, but a few have been tested somewhere around step 14.

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

How to win a bidding war without waiving your inspection

Sellers pick offers on certainty, not on how much protection you gave away. Here's how to look like the safe bet and still keep your outs.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

PartnerShirts.com

GuideBoys & GirlsCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Raise a Boy Strong Enough to Be Gentle

Gentleness isn't the opposite of strength in a boy. It's strength with a brake pedal, and you have to teach him to use it.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

GuideMusicDean ShawSep 23, 20265 min

Classic Rock Albums That Hold Up From Track One to the End

Turn off shuffle, give a record forty-five minutes of your actual attention, and find out which ones were built to be heard whole.

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

Closing Costs Line by Line, and Which Ones You Can Haggle

Page 2 of your Loan Estimate is where a few thousand dollars quietly changes hands. Learn to read it, and you'll get some of that money back.

Ask BRO

Give me something to do with my kids this weekend

Ask it

GuideMovies & TVDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Build a Home Theater Your Family Will Actually Use

Spend the first four hundred dollars on sound, not screen size, and three other decisions that separate a real movie room from a pile of boxes.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

GuideMusicDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Build a Home Stereo That Actually Sings for Under $1,000

Spend it in the right order, put the speakers in the right place, and a thousand dollars buys you a system you'll keep for twenty years.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideReal EstateRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

What Moves Mortgage Rates And What You Can Actually Control

The Fed doesn't set your mortgage rate. Your loan file does most of the work, and you can move most of that before you ever lock.

GuideFishingSam OrtizSep 23, 20266 min

Take Your Grown Son Fishing Before You Run Out of Saturdays

Two nights, one cooler, water within five hours of home, and a rule about who picks the spot. The trip is simpler and shorter than you think.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideOutdoorsDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

The Car Camping Kit That Fits in a Trunk and Sleeps Like Home

Spend your money on sleep and light, in that order, and a weekend in a state park stops feeling like an endurance test.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

$Run The Rent Versus Buy Math For Your Own Town$

Real Estate5 min

Run The Rent Versus Buy Math For Your Own Town

Fishing6 min

How Thick the Ice Needs to Be Before You Walk Out On It

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

Ask it

GuideOutdoorsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Your First Overnight Backpacking Trip and What to Leave Home

Pick a camp four miles from the car, carry under 30 pounds, and know where the water is. Everything else is negotiable.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

PartnerDude.com

Real Estate6 min read

The Home Inspection Is Your Last Cheap Exit

What a good inspector actually catches, what's outside his job entirely, and the point where walking away is the smart move.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

Older articles