Some suggestions as to how to spend your Memorial Day weekend.

I’m all for being in the moment and getting fired up and using that energy to propel yourself to do better in the game. Sports are all about adrenaline and sometimes that can turn into aggression. I get that, and there will be moments when things are said in the heat of the moment that shouldn’t.

Weekly financial Q&A, with advice on living arrangements to save money, and how to use a large gift.

We’ve all heard about the Ford cars that parallel park themselves with “active park assist” and the Toyota vehicles that do the same thing with “intelligent parking assist.” Other smart cars sold by Lexus and Volkswagen provide similar assistance with getting our cars into parking places.

I recently suggested to an expecting mom that she not talk about the new baby until about six weeks before her due date, as young children do not have a good understanding of extended time. Connect the birth to a season, an event, birthday or holiday, such as near Thanksgiving.

Love it or not, it’s a costly couple of months. With hoards of tiny humans visiting for meals and snacks and exciting activities on the docket, it’s easy to overspend. This year, I have a few ideas in mind to keep us happy, organized and financially sound. Here are some thoughts on what we can all do to save during the coming months.

This was my wife’s first Mother’s Day with two children. Last year, around Mother’s Day, we were booking flights to Ethiopia in preparation of picking up Dawit –– our almost 5-year-old, after a two-year adoption process.

My daughter cried in my arms when I told her that her best friend was moving to California this summer. As her quiet tears dropped onto my shoulders, I realized I didn’t have the words that would comfort her. I only had words an adult might understand. New job. New opportunities. New adventure. Change. But those words fall flat to a girl who just turned 8; a girl who’s shared many of her childhood adventures with her best friend of five years.

Since I have extremely short hair, it never made much sense to me to go to the salon to get my hair colored. I knew my roots would show almost immediately and I’d have to shell out a bucket of money to re-do it less than three weeks later. I thought using one of those “washes out in 28 shampoos” colors at home was a better plan because a) it was a lot cheaper b) the returning gray would be more subtle because it would show up gradually and c) if I screwed up the color, I only had to live with it for a month.

Occasionally, it absolutely makes sense to splurge. For me, that splurge usually comes in the form of flowers or plants and this time of year, my gardening gloves are itching to hit the dirt. As long as our budget warrants it, the budget will include garden spending in the spring.

Not only do costs vary from company to company, they also vary wildly within the same company, depending on where and when you pick up the car. Renting a car at an airport can double or even triple the price you’d pay at “off-airport” or “neighborhood” rental locations.

Lori Reardon’s great-grandmother used to make an angel-food cake for each of her 12 grandchildren on their birthdays. Each cake was topped with a rich, “secret” frosting. Now Reardon’s mother makes the angel-food cakes for her extended family -- 24 cakes a year.

There’s nothing like traveling to Europe and discovering just how stupid you really are. For instance, it’s vitally important to understand the delicate connection between interior lights... and the toilet.

Weekly financial Q&A, with advice on impulse spending and finding a part-time job after retirement.

“Ugh! What stinks?” asked my son pinching his nose. “It smells like something died in here!” I glared at him. I had spent the past 20 minutes looking in every nook and cranny in the kitchen to find the source of the stink.

It seems that finding underwear on the floor and wet towels on the bed are a constant. I also used to want to scream when I found half-eaten bowls of cereal swimming in milk sitting in the sink, or rings on the table from glasses that had wet bottoms.

I’ve been working with a mom of an adorable, 2-year-old, whom she adopted as a newborn. They read, play on the floor, and participate in social and educational programming. His language skills are excellent. He hits her as well, for no apparent reason.

I read books about people who did things like go live with the Amish, or start herb farms, and I dreamed of doing the same. But I’ve reversed course now. I’m going for a messy, complicated life.

Weekly financial Q&A, with advice on sticking to Dave's Baby Steps plan, and tips for a young professional athlete.

Sunning with indoor tanning equipment to get the cosmetic effect of darker skin is what some teens are after as prom and vacation breaks approach. But professional opinions differ on what — if anything — constitutes safe tanning.