Example: You are young and have a pot of retirement money divided equally between the Putnam Equity Income Fund (annual expenses, 1.32%) and the BlackRock High Yield Bond Fund (1.28%).

FORBES: A Dummy's Guide to 401(k)s

To make a package out of ceramics you have to fire it, like a clay pot, at an extremely high temperature.

FORBES: It's all in the packaging

If you don't have a garden, putting a few pot plants on a balcony or windowsill could still provide important food for insects.

BBC: NEWS | UK | How your garden can be a haven for birds

"You'd have little packets that had this powder in it, you'd fill up your pitcher of water, you'd dump in the powder, stir it up, let it sit for a little bit, and then you'd have a permanent magnet that draws all the minerals down towards the bottom of the pot, and then you pour off the relatively clean water, " he said.

BBC: Millions of Bangladeshis are forced to drink unsafe water

Don't prepay your mortgage until you have set aside a year's living expenses in a pot that you can get into without any penalty.

FORBES: Don't Burn the Mortgage

And more than all, if just previous to putting your hand into the tar-pot, you have been lording it as a country schoolmaster, making the tallest boys stand in awe of you.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Moby-Dick'

If you have a money purchase scheme or stakeholder pension, the provider normally only provides details of your total pension pot, although most should provide a projection.

BBC: Q&A: What should I do with my pension?