Weekly auto rail, with simple tips to keep your vehicle running its best, Car Q&A with Junior Damato and more.

There is an old expression that says, “People should work to live, not live to work.” That said, upon occasion, and within certain bounds, you should allow an employee’s personal life to take precedent over their job. The concept here is that if you have a good employee who is working through a difficult family, personal or health issue, you should help him or her out.

I own a 1986 Lincoln with only 118,000 miles. I only drive about 500 miles a year now. The car is always kept in a garage. I have been advised to use premium gasoline. What are your thoughts?

Weekly business rail, with tips for busy consumers, BBB watch on senior citizen scams and more.

Weekly financial Q&A, with advice on buying “toys,” military investing and financing a small business.

Retirees and workers have differing views of how to invest and draw income from their assets. Retirees typically share a few major issues in common. They don't like losses. They are afraid of running out of money. They are reluctant to learn new things or change their vision of what they should do with their money.

Some vehicles just catch your eye, like the new Nissan Juke, which seemed to draw a crowd wherever we went during a recent drive around Vancouver.

Jason Klemp, lawn care manager at Barcellos and Kane Landscape Management in Hingham, Mass., says late summer and early fall are the best times for seeding a lawn.

While going out is rarely on the schedule these days, there’s a way to feel like we’re being social and having fun, even when budgets are tight. Stay home. Here are some tips for great times at home on the cheap.

Weekly auto rail, with tractor-safety tips, Car Q&A with Junior Damato and more.

You are not only the manager of your group, you’re also its leader, primary advocate, mood setter, chief bottle washer and of course its chief decision maker. That said, feel free to get input from your staff and/or other knowledgeable parties, but at the end of the day, the decision is yours and yours alone. In fact, if you try to be too nice and leave every decision to a department vote, you will be viewed as indecisive, weak, ineffective and an obstacle to getting things done.

I have a 2001 G Mercury L.S., a nice car, and I take good care of it. I’m an older gent, past 87, so don’t put a lot of miles on it (it has 80,750 miles). Today, Aug. 10, they are installing the fifth or sixth power brake booster on it. No one seems to know why it starts to squeak a lot when you apply the brake! I thank you for your time.

Weekly business rail, with job-interview tips, a BBB warning about deceptive auto loan modification offers and more.

The traditional wisdom on Wall Street is to make wise investments and hold them for the long term. Most of those same advocates would claim that 10 years is generally considered long term. For those who did buy and hold for the first decade of this millennium, the results weren't too rewarding.

Weekly financial Q&A, with advice on son living with parents and keeping college costs in check.

Unless you’re talking about an exotic sports car, driving something small has typically been an act of endurance. But there’s no reason a subcompact has to “feel like a cheap penalty box,” says Dave Coleman, product development engineer behind the 2011 Mazda2.

Jim Hillibish strapped on the new V-Moda Crossfade headphones, soon forgetting their price.

In the quest to minimize toxic exposure, many people have started transitioning to more organic fruits and vegetables, but fewer people think to look for toxins in baby shampoo, cosmetics or toothpaste.

Benjamin Decastro of Cardi’s Furniture recommends that you test a mattress before making a purchase. He says to remove your jacket and shoes, and get into your normal sleep position.

I love the idea of coupons. They simply allow for money to be saved; a top priority in my book. But try as I might, I can’t get into them into certain aspects of my shopping, like the grocery store, where I hate feeling forced to buy things that I don’t really want just to save 40 or 50 cents.