By Alyssa Goldman, Cheapism.com

Take a look at your yard -- the grass can always be greener.

If you're like many homeowners, you pay more attention to the interior of your house than to your garden. But consider this: More people see (and judge) your landscaping.

Fortunately, sprucing up the yard or porch is cheaper than redoing the kitchen or bathroom. We've compiled a list of eight cheap landscaping ideas.

Related: Which garden center chain gives the best value?

1. Contain your plants. Add pizazz to your front porch with container plants. This simple trick instantly makes your home more welcoming. Containers and plants should be different in type and size and placed on varying levels. Stick with the cheap landscaping theme by repurposing metal tubs, buckets, and pails as planters.

Make your yard more inviting with cheerful flowers.

2. Stock up. Gardening isn't much different from shopping at Costco. The more plants you buy, the lower the per item cost. For example, at an online nursery a bag of 100 tulip

Read More »from 8 Tips for Landscaping on the Cheap

Gain curb appeal and transform your outdoor living space with fresh ideas for your porch, patio, and yard

1. Aging garage turned guesthouse
Before
This crumbling garage seemed to hold little promise for stylish live/work space.

After
The remodel enlarged the building to include a bathroom, loft, and a small roof deck, so it can double as guest quarters.
It can also still function as a garage thanks to a set of glass-paneled Dutch doors opening on the plywood-paneled office side.

2. Creating colorful curb appeal
Before
The front yard of this Bremerton, Washington home used to be all lawn―and not very happy lawn at that.
There was another problem. Because the street sloped sharply downhill, there was a dangerous drop-off between the front walk and the deeply recessed driveway.

Cheery new entry (after)
Enclosing the yard solved the drop-off problem―the fence runs along the driveway as well as along the sidewalk.
Thanks to its interesting stepped back sectional design and lively color the lattice fence adds plenty of

Read More »from 15 Amazing Outdoor Makeovers

Joseph Montezinos/Fitness MagazineBy Nicci Micco

People tell me that I come across as a confident person. It's true that I have no trouble speaking up at meetings, mingling at parties, even asking for a raise. But those close to me know that the mere idea of navigating a car through Manhattan (or any large city) makes my heart race and my palms sweat. And that I don't go into the ocean past my ankles because, well, sharks are there, waiting. To eat me.

Some people are less prone to panic than I am -- because of their genes or experience or, more likely, a combination of the two -- but everyone experiences fear. This universal emotion registers in a part of the brain called the amygdala, which detects danger and dispatches a "code red" message that results in a cascade of physical symptoms: a racing heart, dizziness, shortness of breath, a dry mouth. You're ready to run. Or fight. Or maybe you freeze.

All three responses served our ancestors, who needed to evade and escape predators. Problem is, our scary situations have

Read More »from How to Conquer Your Most Common Fears

New York Times columnist and author of the new e-book, The First 20 Minutes Personal Trainer, Gretchen Reynolds gives us the final world on how to make your exercise count once and for all. By Ava Feuer, REDBOOK

Don't focus on strengthening your core
Well, it looks like that hundredth sit-up was probably a waste. When scientists tested athletes, such as football players, who would seemingly need super-strong cores to stay upright on the field, they found no correlation between core strength and performance. That's because the real hallmark of success is actually core stability. "An unstable core throws off all the muscles that circle your back," says Reynolds. "The primary purpose of the core muscles should be to hold your spine in place." To raise core stability, don't do sit-ups, which are usually performed incorrectly, and can lead to serious lower-back injuries. Instead, try three exercises: 10 proper crunches, which require laying flat on the ground with your knees up and Read More »from 7 Best Tips from Experts on How to Make Your Workout Count