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Make your own mallet, and keep steel off your chisels

A hardwood mallet takes one afternoon and a board you can buy for the price of a pizza. It's also the best first lesson in joinery you'll get.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean ShawNov 7, 20266 min

Most stripped screws are the wrong driver, not bad luck

A #2 Phillips in a Pozidriv screw will chew it up. Here's which tip goes where, what a decent set costs, and which cheap sets are worth it.

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Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarNov 7, 20265 min

Mulch Goes Down After the Soil Warms, Not When You Get Excited

Three inches of the right stuff, laid at the right time, cuts your weeding and watering all summer. Laid too early, it does the opposite.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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Boys & Girls5 min read

The long, dull dinner is training your kid for everything else

Twenty minutes at the table, no screens, nobody leaving early. It sounds small, and it's the cheapest character training you'll ever run.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

StoryOld SchoolNina CastellanNov 7, 20265 min

What thirty years at one job actually bought my grandfather

He ran the same counter at the same lumberyard for thirty-one years. The payoff wasn't the watch, and you can start collecting it this year.

GuideBRO for HerNina CastellanNov 7, 20265 min

A no is easier to give when you know what it's protecting

Most women don't have a time problem. They have a yes with no name on it. Name it first, and the refusals get short.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

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GuideHomeWes DunbarNov 7, 20265 min

Stand outside in the rain and watch where your gutters send it

A clean gutter that drops water at the base of your wall is still a bad gutter. Here's how to check yours in one storm and fix it for the price of a few extensions.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

GuideBRO SeniorsMarcus ValeNov 7, 20265 min

What the job gave you for free, and how to replace it

The job set your alarm, your deadlines and your company. Now you set them, and the sharpest retirees do it on purpose.

GuideRecipesWes DunbarNov 7, 20265 min

Ground Turkey Tacos With a Spice Mix That Beats the Packet

Twenty-five minutes, one skillet, and a jar of spice mix that makes lean turkey taste like it was worth showing up for.

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Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

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GuideYoung MenSam OrtizNov 7, 20265 min

Ask your dad one real question, then stop talking

Your father probably knows more about money and work than he's ever told you. Here's how to get it out of him without it feeling like an interview.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

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GuideMeal PlansCal BrennanNov 7, 20265 min

A Week of Winter Dinners From the Bottom of the Vegetable Bin

Seven days for a family of four built on potatoes, carrots, squash, cabbage and a few pantry staples. Full grocery list, Sunday prep plan and rough cost.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

GuideMilitary & VetsAde FisherNov 7, 20266 min

The gap on your resume is a PCS, not a flaw

Nine years, four moves, three half-finished careers. Here's how a military spouse turns that into a resume a hiring manager will actually read.

GuideTradesAde FisherNov 7, 20266 min

Your Homeowner's Policy Probably Won't Cover Your Tools

A good lock helps. A written inventory and the right policy are what get you working again after the truck gets hit.

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GuideCountry BroWes DunbarNov 7, 20265 min

Stack your firewood off the ground and leave the sides open

Wood dries from the air around it, and it rots from the dirt beneath it. Most people tarp the pile and ignore the ground. That's backwards.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

Life5 min

Say what you did, say what it cost, then go fix it

Science & Space5 min

A magnet never wears out. It just gets scrambled

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuideRetirementRay OkonkwoNov 7, 20266 min

A Roth ladder pays tax early so you can retire early

A Roth conversion ladder can fund a retirement before 59½ without the 10 percent penalty. The catch is the five-year wait nobody puts in the brochure.

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

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Real Estate6 min read

The title commitment is an offer, not a clean bill of health

It tells you what the insurer will cover if certain conditions are met, and what it won't. Read the exceptions before you're sitting at the closing table.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

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