decided

I’ve sent four kids — my son and three stepchildren — to college, so I thought I’d experienced almost everything in this process: campus visits, move-in and move-out, loans, roommate issues, and family weekends.As my youngest kid prepares for college, I thought there wouldn’t be many new experiences for me,…

When I was 20, I spent a summer working as a maid, cleaning houses.The hours were long, the pay was terrible, half the day was spent in traffic, and the work was frequently unappreciated by our clients.But the job did have one excellent benefit: I learned a lot about cleaning…

I’ve never been much of a numbers guy. Until recently, my approach to money was what I’d call vibes-based accounting: save a bit each month, contribute to my 401(k), try to cook at home instead of ordering in, and occasionally ignore my better judgment in favor of martinis and Cos…