My family and I moved into our home at the height of the California drought, and before this winter, we’d never experienced any significant rainfall while living there. After a major storm system passed through in February, we checked the crawlspace and, to our dismay, found several inches of stagnant water beneath the house. The forecast called for more rain. As the water in the crawlspace continued to rise and fall with ongoing storms, we knew we had to do something. But what would be the best solution?

There are several options for preventing water saturation in your home. In this article, I’ll review some of them and share how we came to the decision to install a sump pump. Read more

I named it Lucifer because it couldn’t help being evil. I’m talking about the rat I could hear scrabbling around beneath the heater vent in my kitchen every morning. It didn’t mean any harm, but the rustles and occasional squeaks were too much for me—it had to go.

As it turned out, my first move didn’t involve a pest control company. Before I could set traps, I had to deal with the brand-new front door dug directly beneath my front door.

Before the rains came, these holes were caked with tufts of fur, eliminating any doubt that they were at least one major point of entry. Read more

by Jennifer Chan

“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?” -Joni Mitchell

Welcome to November: the start of shopping season. Whether your holidays include hot cider, tamale-making or Chinese food on Christmas, they probably also include spending. In 2015, the United States spent more than $630 billion on holiday shopping (about 20 percent of the retail industry’s total sales for the year). American shoppers spend around $900 on gifts alone every holiday season, plus more on food, entertainment and travel. Read more

My brothers and I are fortunate to still have our 95-year-old mother in our lives, but we do have a lot of responsibility for her physical and financial well-being. We’ve helped her with estate planning, medical directives and investments, and we manage her bills, doctors’ appointments, medications, and caregivers. My older brother, a certified public accountant, has power of attorney. Like most families, we have a lot going on and it can be overwhelming at times.

Despite our collective efforts to keep things organized and do advance planning, we’ve had some glitches. Read more

Recently, when I needed a new set of tires for my Toyota Avalon, I got just what I wanted: no-nonsense customer service.

I called a tire shop and scheduled an appointment for the next day. When I arrived, the salesman waited on me right away and gave me a straightforward explanation of my options with no upselling. When I asked him to find out where the tires were manufactured (Consumer Reports had recommended against some brands made in China), he had the answer for me in a few minutes. Read more

For years, I’ve lived in a San Francisco neighborhood where you can’t get a taxi without a long and frustrating wait. The taxi phone number is always busy, and when you finally get through, you’re on hold for 10 minutes…and it might take another 30 minutes for the driver to arrive! You’ll never find a taxi that’s just waiting for a pick-up.

Now, thanks to alternative taxi services, I can hail a ride with my smartphone and it arrives in less than 10 minutes. Read more

Congratulations, you’re getting married! Now it’s time to get to work.

Unless you’re headed to the courthouse, weddings are complicated events. Maybe you spent your childhood dreaming of tulle, or maybe you’ve never really thought about it before. Either way, it’s important to start your planning process off right. Before you start selecting cake fillings and dress colors, use the information below to help you understand what you really want out of your wedding day—and how to turn those wants into reality. Read more