If your credit score dropped and you are not sure how to fix it, this is the exact system I used to rebuild mine from “Good” to nearly “Exceptional.”

No tricks. No shady tactics. No credit repair companies. Just one secured card, controlled utilization, and strict automation.

Within 12 months, my score improved significantly. Not because I gamed the system. Because I showed consistent, boring, responsible credit behavior.

The key is not just “use a secured card.” The key is how you use it.

I was very impressed with my first taste of Aldi Organic Peru Whole Bean Coffee where I compared it to some freshly roasted beans from a local coffee shop that cost more than twice as much. That led me to want to try all of Aldi's whole bean coffees to see how they compared since they're so affordably priced. This included everything from standard coffee to organic coffees from places like Peru, Ethiopia and Tanzania. All of them cost less than $6 each when I bought them.

Not all the stores in my area stock all the coffees and sometimes the more specialty beans aren't in stock every week but there's always something and all of them are good choices at a great price.

Aldi has been quietly adding more whole bean coffees, and I finally grabbed the one that checks every buzzword box: Organic, Fair Trade, single origin, medium roast, 100% Arabica, and somehow still under five bucks for a 12 oz bag.

I am not the kind of person who can taste “stone fruit” and “rainforest moss.” I can tell the difference between roasts, I know what I like, and I know when a coffee tastes burnt. That is the entire resume.

So I did a simple side by side: this Aldi Simply Nature Organic Peru whole bean coffee against a much more expensive bag from Bean & Bean, a local roaster I genuinely like.

The surprise was not that the expensive coffee won. The surprise was how close the Aldi coffee got.

If you want a roomy car-camping tent that feels like a real upgrade from a cramped 4-person dome, the Eureka Evanston Screened 6 is a solid choice. I’ve used it on multiple trips (including heavy rain) and it’s earned a permanent spot in my camping gear.

This is a hands-on review of the Evanston Screened 6: what it’s great at, what’s annoying, who it fits best, and which accessories are actually worth buying. I’m a little over 6' tall, and my biggest motivation was simple: I wanted more room to move around and a setup that didn’t feel like a nightly yoga class just to change my pants.

In 2017 I quit smoking in about two hours. As of 2026 I'm still smoke-free.

I had tried quitting before like most smokers. You know you should stop, but the habit has a way of creeping back in.

Eventually I came across something that claimed you could quit smoking in 2 hours.

That sounded ridiculous.

But it worked.

Nearly a decade later I still don't smoke, so I wanted to explain exactly what happened and what I did.

When I first got back into cycling, my legs were ready long before my seat was. Around the 25 minute mark, the ride was fine, but sitting on the bike was not. The fix was not complicated: a better saddle and a decent pair of padded shorts.

After swapping saddles and learning what actually matters for comfort, I could ride for hours and still feel like riding the next day. Below are three affordable saddles under $50 that I have personally used, plus a quick note on my Cannondale stock saddle for comparison.

I recently purchased the new rugged Kyocera Brigadier available from Verizon Wireless is a thoroughly kick-ass phone. It's a great phone for guys (and gals) who have to use their phone in extreme environments. It is built tough to military specs with a Sapphire front glass, is certified for use in hazardous (explosive) environments, can be used with gloves and can be submerged in up to 6 feet of water for 30 minutes. While it doesn't sport the fastest processor on the market, the 1.4Ghz Quadcore Qualcomm Snapdragon is nothing to sneeze at. Enterprise features, good quality cameras (front and rear), bright and clear display round out the features. If you mostly use your phone to check TMZ and post selfies to Instagram while you walk around the mall sipping your kale and acacia smoothie, maybe this isn't the phone for you. If you work hard and play hard and want a phone you can depend on. This is it. You can order the Kyocera Brigadier from Verizon online at Amazon.

More details below.

Last month, not knowing how much my packages weighed cost me over $50 in shipping mistakes while selling some things I no longer need.

To fix that, I purchased the Saga Mercury 66 lb Digital Postal Scale — and after about a dozen shipments, it has practically paid for itself.

Cold weather has always been the biggest obstacle to keeping my running and hiking routine going through winter. When it is 25°F outside, crawling out of a warm bed to go exercise feels… questionable at best.

So when Bosch released the Bosch PSJ120 heated jacket, originally designed for construction workers, I decided to try something a little unconventional and use it as a winter running jacket.

Turns out, heated jackets and early morning runs are a surprisingly good match.

In fact, this one simple piece of gear made getting out the door in the cold dramatically easier.

When I was looking for new trail running shoes, a lot of the reviews I found were written by people who only owned the shoes a short time. I wanted to wait until I had real experience before posting my thoughts. After putting over 360 miles of hiking, trail running, road running, and walking in my Merrell Moab Gore-Tex Hiking Shoes, I wanted to share my opinion. These shoes rock.

When I first purchased them, I could have sworn they were labeled as trail running shoes and not hiking shoes. Either my memory is off or they started calling them hiking shoes to make it clear they are not the thin, light minimalist type. For someone like me who likes more protection on rocky trails, I run just fine in them.

I've tried a lot of different methods for cleaning moisture wicking shirts such as Dri-Fit and UnderArmour technical shirts based on blog and forum recommendations but I found that ProWash Activewear 2X Liquid Detergent is the best choice for me. Here are some tips on how I use ProWash to wash my workout clothes in the washing machine and by hand.

I use pro wash to clean pretty much all my workout clothes. Most of which are made of moisture wicking fabric. I love these shirts, especially in black, because I do a lot of exercising outdoors and these shirts don't show sweat.

ProWash is good on a wide variety of fabrics including moisture wicking fabrics, microfiber, lycra, spandex, fleece, polyester and even natural fabrics such as cotton and wool. ProWash is specially formulated to preserve the moisture wicking qualities of tech shirts like Dri-Fit. It works very well. Some of my shirts are a couple of years old and still wick and look as good as new. ProWash is also great at getting rid of perspiration stains and odors.

If you want to replace watch batteries, change straps, or resize a metal bracelet without paying a jeweler every time, an affordable watch repair tool kit can pay for itself quickly.

I purchased the SE JT6226 19-Piece Watch Repair Tool Kit when I needed to adjust the stainless steel bracelet on my diver watch and swap a few batteries. This review covers what you can realistically expect from a budget kit like this — and how to use the tools properly.

What You Get in a Budget Watch Repair Kit

Price Range	Usually under $20
Best For	Batteries, strap changes, bracelet resizing
Skill Level	Beginner DIY
Professional Use?	No

If you're shopping around, you can find similar kits here: Affordable Watch Repair Tool Kits.

A man should wear a watch. Over the past few years I forgot this… but once I started exercising more and occasionally wearing my heart rate monitor watch, I remembered how convenient it is to glance at your wrist instead of pulling out your phone.

So I started getting my watches back in working order (cleaning them, replacing batteries, etc.). While I was looking for a watch repair tool kit, I stumbled on a great deal for this: Stuhrling Original Men’s Aquadiver Regatta Champion Professional Diver Watch and decided to pick it up.

This is my review of the Stuhrling Original Aquadiver Regatta Champion with the black dial and bezel.

Shopping for a watch gift can feel weirdly high-stakes. You want it to look great, feel “him,” and not end up living in a drawer next to old chargers and mystery keys.

The good news is you don’t need to know watch jargon to nail this. If you focus on a few simple choices (band, case, dial, and how “busy” the face looks), you can confidently pick something he’ll actually wear.

This guide on how to buy a man's watch is written for anyone buying a gift for a guy: Valentine’s Day, Christmas, birthday, anniversary, or the classic “I saw this and thought of you.”

The trick is to shop his current habits, not your taste.

It always amazes me how much money people spend on coffee without ever really deciding to. That's the sneaky thing about a $4 purchase. It doesn't feel like a decision. Your brain doesn't flag it the way it would flag a $400 purchase. You just tap your card and shuffle out, and that's exactly what the coffee shop is counting on.

Buy one regular drip coffee every workday and you're spending close to $1,000 a year. Many coffee drinkers buy two. If you're getting the high-calorie coffee-flavored milkshake drinks, add more still. A lot of people are quietly spending $1,500 to $2,000 a year on something you can get practically free at any diner.

Why spend that much, deal with the hassle of going out, wait in line, when you could brew a better cup while still in your robe? (OK, more like boxers and a t-shirt, scratching your groggy head.)

Most people can't, or don't, brew a better cup of coffee at home. Once you learn how, paying $4 a cup feels genuinely absurd. And once you fix the coffee habit, you'll start noticing how many other $4 decisions you've been making without thinking.

I spent an embarrasing amount of time trying to find a bike helmet that didn’t make my already large head look even bigger.

A couple of months ago I decided I should start wearing a bicycle helmet again. I ride casually and sometimes commute, and I wanted something that would actually look normal with regular clothes. Not neon. Not covered in racing graphics. Something that looked like a normal human might wear it.

After a week of research I ended up choosing the Giro Hex. It checked every box I had: matte black, good ventilation, compact shape, and a visor that helped it look more casual.

Unfortunately the Giro Hex is no longer widely available. If you want the closest modern equivalent today, it’s the Giro Fixture II MIPS, which keeps a similar style but adds updated safety technology.

Before I bought anything I also wrote about the general criteria I was using when looking for helmets that actually look decent on adults. If you want the bigger picture, that post is here: how to choose an adult bicycle helmet that looks good.

Because here’s the reality: if you hate how a helmet looks, you will mysteriously “forget” to wear it.