By Deborah Goldstein
It softens and protects winter-battered skin, but did you know Vaseline also helps care for leather furniture? The following items—from vanilla extract to blankets to cookie cutters (don’t pack them away just yet!)—are more versatile than you think.

If you’ve done your budget and are still coming up short each month, you need to cut expenses. But how? These short-term sacrifices will get you in a better long-term financial standing. From The Money Saving Mom’s Budget by Crystal Paine.

By Nicholas Lore
Author of The Pathfinder
How can you find a career that’s engaging and fulfilling and allows you to be the best mom you can be? Whether you are a new mom, frustrated with your current job, or a mother who has decided to go back to work, this guide is chock full of creative solutions for creating a unique career that is perfectly suited to you and allows you to balance work and time with your kids.

The best way to get motivated to stick to your budget is to cut out all the plastic (even debit cards) for three months. Most people who take the Cash-Only Challenge save quite a bit of money. Learn how to get started with tips from The Money Saving Mom’s Budget by Crystal Paine.

Hosting a New Year’s party? Instead of serving wine, mix cocktails for your guests—it’ll save you money. Get started by stocking your bar with help from Just Married & Cooking: 200 Recipes for Living, Eating, and Entertaining Together, by Brooke Parkhurst and James Briscione.

You may have a full house for the holidays. Here’s how to reserve a block of time each day to connect with the people who mean the most to you: your family. It will help everyone get along, we promise! From Lisa Oz, author of Us: Transforming Ourselves and the Relationships That Matter Most.

It’s simple human nature to want to avoid conflict. But by not addressing the problem—or by mishandling the breakup—you might guarantee discomfort and unhappiness for days, weeks, maybe years, says Liz Pryor, Good Morning America’s advice guru and author of What Did I Do Wrong?: When Women Don’t Tell Each Other the Friendship Is Over. She shares the story of former friends, Terry and Mia, to illustrate.

Kids home from school for the holidays? Give them a great craft activity with these simple, sparkly handcrafted snowflakes. From Homemade: The Heart and Science of Handcrafts by Carol Endler Sterbenz.

By Deborah Goldstein
“Happiness is a warm puppy,” Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz once said. And apparently, many Americans agree: There are currently 78.2 million owned dogs in the U.S., according to the Humane Society. But with a dog’s unconditional love and loyalty come responsibilities that every owner should take seriously—for the pup’s sake and for everyone around you.

By Crystal Paine
Author of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget
Are you crunched for time and money this holiday season? We feel your pain. Here are six simple and inexpensive last-minute gift ideas that convey the spirit of the season without draining your bank account.