fit for frEE Your

S av e or Splurge around the hose

Be frugal with…

WindoW treAtments Curtains and shades don’t sufer the same everyday abuse as clothing or upholstery, so the fabric will look fresh for a long while. AreA rugs Two reasons not to spend a lot: They wear out quickly and you might want to replace yours, because a new area rug instantly makes over an entire room. But buy new—dust mites, mold and allergens exist in even the most well-vacuumed hand-me-downs. electronic cAbles Unless you’re running a TV studio in your living room, the diferences between the types of connecting cables are pretty negligible. Some salespeople will be quick to say otherwise, claiming that copper conductors create a better signal transfer. This is true but isn’t something you’ll be likely to notice if the cable’s length is short, only connecting devices in the same room.

Spend money on…

A gArden hose A high-quality hose (not one made of plastic) is less likely to develop cracks, fssures and kinks from changes in pressure. Look for a hose that’s either 100% rubber or a rubbervinyl composite, which should be about $35 to $50 for a 50-foot hose.

SoUrCES: Steven A. Frowine, author, Gardening for Dummies. Heather Stephens, blogger, fatwallet.com. Marty Zanfno, consumer electronics expert and cofounder, right-Ear/Left-Ear Technologies. SoUrCES: Jimmy Minardi, personal trainer. Jessica Underhill, personal trainer and owner, race Pace Wellness.

at the gym

don’t Break the Bank for…

Workout clothes Look for moisture-wicking materials—there are inexpensive versions at places like Costco. You might want to splurge on more ftted clothing, such as a top with a built-in bra. A pricier option may hold its shape better. A fitness trAcker A simple pedometer retails for less than $15 on Amazon. If you want more bells and whistles, download these free or low-cost apps: MyFitnessPal, MapMyrun and Fitbit (which you can use without the device) have tools to track calorie consumption, health info and more.

put Some money down for…

sneAkers The right shoes not only make or break a workout, they can help spare you injury. Poorly made athletic shoes break down quicker, and that leads to less cushioning and absorption and more impact on your joints.

SAVE

on Spluges

Experts agree that you should always buy a high-quality version of these three items. Here’s how to do it for less.

1winter coatS A well-made coat, such as one from L.L.Bean or The North Face, not only has a guarantee or warranty but usually has highquality insulation. Cheap insulation shifts and clumps, creating cold spots. Shop December through February, when stores clear inventory for spring.

2towelS Inexpensive options fray easily and lose their fufness. Ring-spun or 100% cotton is best, and look for loops that are tightly packed together. Winter is when you’ll fnd bargains on towels.

3SheetS Choose natural materials like cotton, silk or wool, rather than cheaper poly blends, to wick away sweat so you feel less moisture. HomeGoods and overstock.com have quality options at big discounts.

SoUrCES: Lance Brown, MD, board-certifed dermatologist, New York City. Donna DuarteLadd, style editor, Woman’s Day. reah Norman, fashion expert.

LEASE LESSONS

Is there any way to end a car lease early? Is it worth it? We’re 20 payments into a 36-month lease.

samantha anD sean schwaRze, Tucson, AZ

rachel Yes, there is a way to end a lease early, and we recommend it when it makes fnancial sense. Leasing is the most expensive way to drive a car, so getting out can save you a lot in interest, depending on where you are in the lease. Here’s how it works: You contact the lease company and ask for an early buyout price. That’s the amount you have to pay to end the lease and buy the car. Then look up the Kelley Blue Book value of the car. If its sale price is close to the buyout price, go for it. What an impressive guy—$2,000 saved is amazing! I’ve known many people in their 30s who don’t have that much, so way to go!

Since he’ll have debt coming his way in the next year or so, he needs to put that $400 in a savings account. Nothing fancy—a money market account will do the trick. Then when he graduates, he should use all that savings (except the emergency fund) to write a big check toward his But Rachel’s right: Buying out a lease isn’t always the best option, especially if you’re far into it. Since that’s true in your case, you probably won’t save enough money by ending the lease to make it worth the efort. Whether you keep the car or return it when the lease is up, watch out for the little “gotchas” the company can slap you with, like mileage overage fees and cosmetic stuf. And whether you buy that car or another at the end of the lease, be prepared to pay cash! Leasing costs you a lot more in the long run. student loan, and keep chipping away at it each month.

That’s so important. It’s too easy to pay the minimums and think you’ll knock out that student debt later. But I’d suggest that he do everything possible to get this debt out of the way. If he lives under his means and doesn’t get carried away (like trying to buy a house), he should be able to do it in a few years. Then he can look into things like becoming a homeowner or investing.

Dave

SAVING SMART

My son is a college senior who saves $400 a month from his job. Should he invest it or save it? He has a $2,000 emergency fund, and will start paying off $35 ,000 in loans when he graduates.

mike albeRDa, Hopkins, MI

rachel

Dave Ramsey and his daughter Rachel cRuze are coauthors of the bestselling book Smart Money Smart Kids. They recently launched EveryDollar.com, an online tool and companion app that makes budgeting easy and fun.

You may have Irritable Bowel Syndrome

( IBS ) If so, you are not alone. 1 in 6 Americans have it.

IBS Symptoms Include : Abdominal Pain, Bloating, Diarrhea, Constipation, Urgency and Gas

Introducing NEW IBgard® ,

a medical food for the dietary management of IBS. IBgard® starts working in 24 hours*. It delivers ultra-purifi ed peppermint oil quickly and reliably to the small intestine - where it’s needed the most.

IBgard® Calms the Angr y Gut®*

Ask your doctor about NEW, nonprescription IBgard®, now available in the digestive aisle at

and

*Based on a randomized placebo controlled study in 72 IBS patients. Patients taking IBgard experienced a statistically signifi cant reduction versus placebo in the total IBS symptoms score, including abdominal pain and discomfort, at 24 hours and at 4 weeks.

Foolproof P@$$word$

Here’s how to create secure log-ons that you’ll never forget.

B y T r A c y S A e l i n g e r

Start here

1Choose a phrase or sentence with at least 10 words (or a mix of words and numbers) that’s memorable for you. It might be a song lyric or a book passage. As an example, let’s say you come up with the sentence below:

next…

2Uppercase the frst letter of each word. Now you have mDSaKCi2006.

Swap in symbols or numbers for a few of the letters. So the letter S can become $, and the a can become @. Then it reads mD$@KCi2006.

“my DaughTer STarTeD aT KeNNeDy COllege iN 2006.”

Finally…

3Lowercase one or two of the uppercase letters where you think it makes the most sense (so D could become d), making the password md$@KCi2006.

This way, your password is not only secure, but should also ft any website’s password requirements. Now you have a password that’s tough to crack— hooray! But for safety reasons you should not use the exact same password for every website. Next, it’s a good idea to…

CuStomize your paSSworDS

Take letters from the website URL you’re using and add them to the basic password you just created. You could use the frst and last two letters of the name of the site. For amazon .com, for instance, take the frst two and last two letters of the URL: am and ON. Put them on either side of your password. You’ll get: ammd$@KCi 2006ON. All

you really have to remember is your base password, because it’s the foundation for all of them.

Do the Same For all your webSiteS

For comcast.com, take the CO and ST and add them to your root password, giving you:

COmd$@

KCi2006ST. For

facebook.com your password becomes Famd$@ KCi2006OK, and

so on. That’s it! Now you have a diferent password for every site that’s easy to recall. So take 20 minutes to redo your current passwords and you can log on with confdence. Still worried you won’t remember? Read on for what to do.

Your just-in-case backup plan

save a TYPeD LIsT To The cLouD

If you have your passwords listed in a Microsoft Word or Excel fle on your computer, move it onto an encrypted cloud-based storage program like icloud.com or onedrive.com. You’ll just need to remember the log-on information you use for that cloud service. Or you can print it out and store the list somewhere secret, away from your computer.

use a PassworDmanager aPP

There are new apps that can store your passwords, while others create unique ones for you—either way, they’ll automatically be entered when you log on.

SOURCES: Michael Kaiser, executive director, the National Cyber Security Alliance. Larry Magid, CEO, connectsafely.org. Gary S. Miliefsky, cyber-security expert, and CEO, SnoopWall.

scam aLerT!

Beware of password apps made outside of the U.S. or ones that ask for odd permissions. RoboForm, LastPass, DataVault and mSecure are all legitimate brands.

I chose to attend a small Catholic college because it was also the Mother House of the religious order I intended to enter. My interview with the Mother General won her approval, and, with the support of the sisters, I prepared to enter the convent in my junior year. But as the date approached, I withdrew my request. Upon much ref lection, I just couldn’t see myself living that life.

After graduation, I taught music at a public grade school and performed at community theaters. In the audience one night was a woman who offered me a job at her professional summer stock house. I took it and the actors encouraged me to leave teaching. I said to myself that if I got the lead in My Fair Lady the next summer, it would be a sign from God that I should have a life in the theater. He gave me the sign! I went on to enjoy a successful career throughout the country as well as on Broadway, where I received two Tony nominations. I married a fellow actor in 1976.

And then a strange thing happened: I started being cast as a nun again and again. The casting directors must just sense it in me. Maybe I have the face of a nun! In the late ’70s, I was a singing nun in a Kleenex commercial. And then, in the ’80s, I was cast in Nunsense the Musical. And then again, in the early ’90s, in the Sister Act movies.

And now I am playing Sister Jane Ingalls, an activist incarcerated for handcuffing herself to a f lagpole at a nuclear facility who confronts all sorts of moral, ethical, political and religious issues. My words were written by others, but when I say the lines, they are processed through my life experiences.

My closest friends are devout Catholics. Regis has been a nun for more than 50 years and remains very much a part of my life. Perhaps that subtly colors Sister Jane’s point of view. On set I’m channeling some of the nuns from my upbringing, and when I think of Regis my speech becomes gentler.

My prayers have continued throughout my life, but my churchgoing habits have not. Unlike Sister Jane, I was disappointed and dismayed by Vatican II and the modernization of the Mass into the English and the strumming of folk guitars. I prefer the pageantry and elegance of the Latin Mass.

I did not adapt.

Sister Jane and I may have chosen different paths, but the start of our journeys had a common inspiration. And our goal is the same: to live a good life to the fullest and to enhance God’s grace as we travel.

My life with nuns

Left: Beth with Regis (right), her frst friend, who has been a nun for 57 years. Middle: Beth in the Sister Act choir. Right: Beth as Sister Jane Ingalls, the activist nun.