Phillip Roger BennettWhen it comes to buying a house, one thing people often forget about is the neighbors that come with it. You may inspect every inch of the home, but often you have no idea what (or in this case who) lies outside your door. Some neighbors are awesome and will bring you a welcome cake and loan you sugar. Others will set your house on fire if they think your grass is too long.

True story -- it happened last week in Cartersville, Georgia. According to FOX 5, Phillip Roger Bennett allegedly torched neighbor Marty Corbitt's house after a feud over his lawn's grass length. Corbitt says he was going to cut it that day, but didn't have time before Bennett went berserk.

John Potter turns 92 at the end of the month, and by then, he might be homeless. The World War II veteran probably never thought that the fight of his life would be against his daughter, but it's the unfortunate truth. Janice Contrill was granted power of attorney back in 2004 when her dad fell ill and has used that status to evict him from his home. Potter built the place himself more than 50 years ago and is dumb-founded that his daughter has terminated his "lease."

There is, however, one family member on Potter's side.

Is it me or are tip jars everywhere now? Remember the days when tips were the province of restaurants and bars? Okay, yeah, you tip your cab driver, the guy who brings your bags into your hotel, your doorman on the holidays. But now it seems like you're supposed to tip everyone. I mean EVERYONE. I've seen tip jars in drug stores, hardware stores, rental car places, even a doctor's office. Are you kidding me??!!

Phew! As a woman who is fairly obsessed with good lighting, I'm thrilled -- thrilled, I say! -- to hear that someone has developed an energy-efficient bulb that actually produces nice, soft lighting. What a bright idea! (Ha!)

Hulger, the geniuses behind the retro phone handset that hipsters can ironically attach to their cellphones, has developed the world's first "designer" energy-saving light bulb. Shall I shed a little light on the subject? (Sorry I can't stop!)

We all remember former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the horrible experience she went through being shot in the head by a deranged madman. The country followed her nothing short of miraculous recovery. Now she and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, are making news for a different sort of tragedy -- one that involves their daughter's pet dog and a poor baby sea lion.

They say you don't know what you've got till it's gone, and if you want to really know what you've got in a warm, comfy bed that's all yours, then a good way to do it is to sleep outside like a homeless person. And one hotel Sweden is offering people that very opportunity. Yay! Because I mean in Sweden it's probably very exotic to sleep like a homeless person. Me? Nah. I live in Brooklyn. I see homeless people all of the time. Just yesterday, I spent 15 minutes on the subway trying to wake up a sleeping (or unconscious) homeless person -- I never did figure out which -- whose cart was flying all over the place and into people. And, yes, I did report his condition to the authorities, because I was worried he was sick. But back to this hotel.

I don't know about you, but over the years, I've picked up plenty of odds and ends at garage sales (which are never really held in garages, when you think about it -- usually they're more like lawn/driveway/front stoop sales). And so I see no reason why what happened to an unidentified bargain-hunting family in New York couldn't have happened to me -- maybe there's still hope! Sure, my odds of getting struck by lightning while being attacked by a shark are probably better, but a girl can dream!

Anyway. Here's the story: The aforementioned family was at a garage sale one day when somebody (maybe the mom?) spotted a simple but elegant glass bowl. Hmm. There were a few nicks and scratches here and there, maybe a tiny crack or two, but it was pretty and simple and she'd been looking for something to put on the mantelpiece.

Meet the Wagasky’s, the Las Vegas family of four that lives debt-free on (wait for it) $14,000 a year. That’s just over a thousand bucks a month, folks. A scratch under $270 a week. I hate to say it, but I don’t think that even covers our grocery bill. But dad Jason and mom Danielle have found a way to make it work, and they say it makes them “happier” and “a better family.”

The frugal lifestyle began out of necessity in 2008 when Jason, a former Army sergeant, was stationed in Iraq. Danielle was left managing the home, two kids (Keigan and Libby), and the budget.