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For the past two years, I've been chasing down a crazy goal: to reduce my family's trash enough that I could call the company which collects our garbage and tell it that, instead of picking up our one 32-gallon can every week, we'd need the service only once a month. Even though we've always been obsessive about recycling, it had taken our family of five a long time to reach this place.

First, we'd started composting all of our kitchen waste, feeding the tastiest scraps to our backyard chickens. Then, I'd begun a serious and totalitarian campaign to stop buying things with excess packaging, toting my recycled glass jars to the co-op to fill with dried cherries and black beans and brown rice flour from the bulk bins; baking cookies and breads instead of buying them; saying 'no' to single-serving foods. It didn't hurt that we were on a "financial fast" that had us buying very little we didn't need.

If you're a homeowner, go outside after dinner and count the cars parked in driveways, on the street and in garages. Divide that number by the number of households on your walk. Got a number close to two, or more? You've got a situation ripe for foreclosure, according to a statistical analysis conducted by the National Resources Defense Council. What's more, car ownership is a better predictor of foreclosure than average credit scores, income or a host of demographic factors; it's the best predictor of all, the NRDC concludes.

Friday night on ABC's Shark Tank, we were introduced to a product that could, as infomercial godfather Kevin Harrington put it, make "$100 million on TV." It was LipStix ReMix, an ingenious lipstick recycler.

Although the pitch ended in a fantastic six-figure deal, its inventor made a simple negotiating mistake that could end up costing her an untold fortune. Jason Cochran found out what it was in WalletPop's exclusive AfterShark interview. (Make sure you stay tuned for the end of the interview, when Quillin offers an exclusive two-for-one deal exclusively for WalletPop readers.)

Mortgage modifications have turned out to be far more difficult than the Obama administration apparently initially thought they'd be. Many homeowners complain they can't get lenders to award them permanent modifications after a required three-month trial. Servicers often blame the borrowers for submitting incomplete applications and other documents. And there goes any hope of a permanent mortgage modification.

Until now! (Or this June, to be exact).

Older home owners and the builders of senior housing have a bit of a communication gap, according to a recent survey.

These potential buyers say they want non-slip floors but don't much care about lever doorknobs. Builders say they have those easy-to-open knobs covered but aren't so sure about the floors.

The builders are going green; the buyers say great -- but won't pay extra for it. A third of the consumers want lower kitchen cabinets, emergency call buttons and wood-burning fireplaces. Only about one in 10 providers routinely offer those amenities. Three-quarters of the suppliers build wider doorways; only half the consumers want them.

That supply-and-demand chasm for senior housing was unearthed by the survey, titled "55+ Housing: Builders, Buyers and Beyond".

WalletPop wondered how the results might change builders' plans. But the response of one of the survey's sponsors, MetLife, is, basically, that consumers don't know what's good for them.

With all the hype about how home ownership is dead and real estate is no longer a good investment, it's useful to look at some numbers.

Instead of all the headlines and hysteria, numbers can tell us -- with some objectivity -- whether real estate is attractively priced.

Today's Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that "The average cap rate for office properties in central business districts jumped to 8.8% in December from 8.56% in November. The December number was the highest rate for that category since May 2003. Meanwhile, average cap rates for apartment buildings was 7.36% in December, up from 7.09% in November."

Churches provide more than a path to religious fulfillment; for many, they are an important part of social life, and many a happy couple first met during worship. This begs the question, which religion or denomination would give you the best chance to find a mate?

The answer depends on what you seek in a mate. According to a survey of adults by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life:

There's no better time to take a moment for yourself than in winter. And one of the easiest, most affordable ways to do that is with an all-natural at-home facial.

First and foremost, lock up the kids and your partner-in-life. Send them off to a museum or some activity that buys you a couple hours. Remember: recharging benefits not only you but those around you, since it renews your energy and frees your mind. And your skin will glow with a big fat thank you of satisfaction!

I am always somewhat amused when I read how so-called "experts" are "surprised" or "shocked" or "baffled" (lots of other expressions pop up when dealing with the economy in particular) when economic news turns out not to be what they had anticipated...even though it would seem pretty obvious to anyone with a keen observational eye that there is nothing really surprising by the latest set of statistics at all.

Take the just released government report on new home sales. They have hit a nine-month low. Apparently some analysts that had been "surveyed by Briefing.com had expected December sales of new home to hit an annual rate of 366,000." Instead, the figure was actually 342,000 last month, down 7.6 % from the previous month.

Home maintenance is one of those things I have a love/hate relationship with. I love the feel of owning my own home, but a lot of the fixes that come with it are a real drag. Not all (like painting and gardening) but some (like toilet clogs.)

Because certain home repairs are necessary (how long can you go without washing dishes), signing up for an e-newsletter from The Home Depot with special coupons and promotions is a good way to go. Click on the image at right to sign up. Expect an email about once a week with offers and promotions.

Signing up supports WalletPop.

As the federal government's Cash for Appliance Clunkers program begins, consumers may find themselves in a stew of confusion over when rebates are available, how much they'll get and from where.

The rebate clock is already ticking in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont and Wisconsin, and come February, residents of Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, New York and Rhode Island will be eligible for rebate deals. The rest of the states and territories will open their rebate programs in March and April, and some are even running second offer phases later in the year. See the chart below for a link to your state's program.

Wherever you live, the key to getting your biggest possible share of the rebate pot is understanding exactly what your state, local utility, retailer and new-appliance manufacturer are offering for your green-minded trouble ─ an equation you practically have to be a PhD to figure out.

Let's face it: We all do enough battle with the pests in our lives without having to face down the likes of ants, roaches and rodents. But when unwelcome critters decide to make themselves at home in your living space, what's the best plan of attack? We'll find out in today's Savings Experiment.

With more and more "distressed" (foreclosed) homes up for sale, a bank-owned home may be the way to go if you are considering buying a house.

But experts say buying from a bank is very different than buying a home from an individual. With that in mind, here are some expert tips on how to buy a bank-owned home.

With Osama bin Laden releasing a new audio reportedly threatening still more terrorist attacks directed at the U.S., I thought this might be a good time to take a look at a very interesting specialty market: terrorist-proof homes, also known as "hardened homes" or structures.

"These facilities are designed with independent sources of power and water and typically incorporate a substantial underground component," explains the website for a Virgina Beach, Virginia company called Hardened Structures/Hardened Shelters. "They can serve as your primary dwelling, vacation homes, corporate retreat, long term shelter or expanded multi-function compound."

Fear has always been a great sales pitch in this country. At the height of the cold-war in the late '50s through the mid-'60s, there was a booming business in this country for fall-out shelters. Most were pretty crude, though.

Not so these 2010 facilities.

Hardened Structures claims to use guidelines and design standards that are set up by just about every U.S. agency from the Department of Defense to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Stated simply, " says the company's sales promotional, "a Hardened Structure is where you go when external forces are threatening your life ... Terrorism is real ... The unyielding, tenacious and patient nature of the terrorists targeting our country requires us to plan, design and build facilities that deter and mitigate their efforts."

In many parts of the nation, this has been an exceptionally cold winter. Even here, in what is supposed to be sunny Southern California, the sun seems to have gone the way of Conan's NBC contract. It has been rainy and windy and very cold (by L.A. standards, you understand!).

To help low income families pay their heating bills, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has just released $490 million in emergency funding to states to be used for energy assistance.

The money is in addition to the basic funding (LIHEAP -- or, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program) that all states get automatically. In fact, the government released $2.6 billion back in October and another $1.2 billion just last week.