Home & Daily Life

Add up rent plus utilities and compare it to your monthly income.

Fake listings copy real photos and ask for money before you've seen the place.

Read every page before you sign.

Federal law bans housing discrimination, your state sets most other tenant rules, and if a screening report gets you denied you can see and dispute it.

Most roommate fights are about the same few things: sleep, noise, guests, cleaning, food and money.

Clean, separate, cook, chill.

Read the care label, sort by color and fabric, treat stains before you wash, and check for stains again before anything goes in the dryer.

Mold grows wherever things stay wet.

Find the main water shutoff and the breaker panel before anything goes wrong.

Most running toilets come down to a worn flapper or a float set too high.

Press the test button on every smoke alarm once a month, and replace the whole alarm 10 years after the date it was made.

Your owner's manual has the schedule your car actually needs.

Gloves and eye protection on.

Get somewhere safe and level, loosen the lug nuts before you jack the car up, and tighten them in a star pattern.

Enter your 17-character VIN at NHTSA.gov/recalls.

Safety first: call 911 if anyone's hurt, move out of traffic if you safely can, then trade information, take photos and notes, and call your insurer.

Keep the fridge and freezer closed, unplug electronics, and never run a generator or grill indoors.