Blog Posts by Good Housekeeping

Slash grocery billsI used to go to the grocery store every week and just buy things depending on what looked good or struck my fancy. As I walked the aisle, I would kinda create meals in my head ...and I would wind up spending about $200 a week. Then, each night after work, I'd go home and look for recipes to match the items in my fridge and pantry. Often, I'd find ones for which I had most of the ingredients, but not quite everything, so I'd end up making an old staple-boring! At the end of the week I'd often find myself throwing away broccoli and zucchini that had looked beautiful in the supermarket but just didn't fit into a recipe.
How They Saved $10,000 in One Year

I decided pick out recipes for the entire week every Sunday and go to the supermarket armed with a grocery list of the items I needed to make those recipes. The first week I only spent about $40! It was fantastic! Not only did we save big on groceries but we were eating new dishes and actually looking forward to dinner each night.

Forget the scalpel and submit to the scissors: These flattering haircuts make you look younger. Here, celebrity hairstylist Jessica Gillin of the Marie Robinson Salon in New York City shares her pro secrets and expert tips for maximizing the youth-boosting power of a new 'do.

By Melanie Rud

More from Good Housekeeping:

• 12 Makeup Mistakes That Make You Look Old
• 50+ Beautiful Bedroom Decorating Ideas
  
• Best Anti-Aging Beauty Products
  
• 30 Best Drugstore Beauty Buys Under $25
• 5 Best Haircuts of All Time

Makeup Brushes
Now that spring is here, it's time to do a cleaning, even in your makeup bag. Now, I do have to tell you that cleaning makeup brushes and sponges is something you should be doing all year long. Clean tools feel nicer on your skin, apply makeup more evenly, and ensure that you're not slapping germs onto your face.

• Wash Your Makeup Brushes To avoid damaging bristles, use a mild cleaner like baby shampoo (or even your own shampoo) in warm water. Be sure to rinse thoroughly. You'll be amazed (and maybe a little grossed out) by the deep color that rinses out, but it'll open your eyes as to how dirty the bristles were. Lay the brushes on a paper towel to dry overnight. In the morning, the bristles will feel way softer and your face will thank you. After your spring spruce-up, try to do this once a month.
  
• Clean Sponges and Foundation Brushes Saturate sponges (or foundation brushes, since they're in contact with liquid makeup) with warm water and squeeze out as much color

Kids Online

WHEN TO WORRY

The more hours teenagers spend using a computer or watching TV, the weaker their emotional bonds with their parents, reports a study of more than 3,000 adolescents published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. On the other hand, teens who spent more time reading and doing homework reported feeling closer to their moms and dads. "Strong attachment to parents" - a bond of understanding, trust, and affection - "is protective against poor psychological health and participation in risky health behaviors," the study's authors note, so "concern about high levels of screen time is warranted."
3 Smart Ways to Handle Their Screen Time

• Screen time can make a kid fat. Kelly Laurson, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology and recreation at Illinois State University, asked more than 700 children to wear pedometers and report how much time they spent watching TV and playing video games. He found that a lack of exercise and a surfeit of screen time each

By Lorie Marrero

Savings aheadGetting organized provides many valuable and smart opportunities to give yourself a raise. Declutter your home, and start saving money! Cha-ching!

Cha-ching #1: See what you have. We always say that visibility is the goal of almost any organizing project, and gaining that visibility to your stuff allows you to make smarter purchases. If you know that you already have four pink sweatshirts, you won't need to buy another one.

Related: Organizing Your Home

Cha-ching #2: Use what you have. Along with making smarter purchases, the visibility you will gain from organizing your home allows you to avoid waste. Planning your meals and being able to find and use what you have purchased means less spoiled or stale food being thrown out. You're also more likely to use coupons and gift certificates when you have a system for locating them. (A simple accordion check-file from the office supply store works well.)

Cha-ching #3: Stop late fees and unnecessary charges. When you have an

Cash (or lack thereof) is a key cause of marriage stress. Here, Carmen Wong Ulrich on how to tackle three common dilemmas
By Carmen Wong Ulrich

FinancesAh, love and money. They've never been the easiest partners, and as times continue to be tough, the number of us going from just talking about money to fighting about it was up 16% last year, reports an American Express survey. Enough of that, I say. Here, answers to reader questions that ought to help many couples keep the peace - and keep the piggy bank full:

Q: I practically have to plead my case before a jury before I can buy a pair of shoes. How do I get my husband to loosen up about "fun" spending?
Viva the right to spend! But getting someone with a tight hold on the purse strings to understand this impulse can mean altering your marriage's power balance, which is tricky. First, find out why your guy is so strict. If he manages the household budget, it's time to get involved. At a relaxed moment (but not right after work), say, "Hon, it

From your kitchen counter to your linen closet, we saw plenty of new innovations for your abode at the International Home and Housewares Show.
By Nicole Price Fasig

More from Good Housekeeping:

• 12 Makeup Mistakes That Make You Look Old
• 8 Steps To A Successful Marriage
  
• Best Anti-Aging Beauty Products
  
• 30 Best Drugstore Beauty Buys Under $25
• 5 Best Haircuts of All Time

How one woman and her reluctant family slashed their spending - and shrunk their credit card debt
By Ginny Graves

Graves familyThe conversation took place while we were driving to the mountains for a short ski trip over the kids' February break two years ago. A part of me knew it was coming - knew it, and dreaded it. For the holidays, my husband, Gordon, and I had surprised our 14-year-old with a fancy (read: expensive) mountain bike and our 12-year old with a long-coveted video game system - plus the usual hoodies, books, and stocking stuffers. We were both struggling with our annual post-indulgence hangover, only this time the feeling was more acute. We had four years to save for college, 20 or so years to add to our meager retirement accounts. So I wasn't surprised when Gordon glanced at me glumly and said, "We have to stop spending so much money."

Our money conversations usually fall somewhere on the spectrum between awkward and acrimonious, which is why we discuss finances about as often as