Mike's PC Tips and Tricks (my opinions -- your mileage may vary)
If you find anything I wrote useful and you *don't* know me, I wouldn't refuse a donation toward my Web hosting expenses and kids' college educations!
Useful tips and tricks
Inkjet cartridges.  You have absolutely no idea how much money your kids are wasting!  Inkjet printers and cartridges are razors and razor blades -- the razor company makes its money on the blades.  Why are you printing out MapQuest directions in full-quality color?  Go into Windows Control Panel, click on Devices & Printers, and set the default for each printer to "Fast Draft" (or whatever the lowest quality is for your printer), set color to "Grayscale" (i.e. no color), and, if you have the option, make sure your grayscale uses black ink only and not "high quality."  You won't notice a difference for most text documents -- and you'll save a lot of money.

Thanks to Nick C for pointing out that using remanufactured ink cartridges can be a mistake.  I used to recommend them, but between the time Nick mentioned it and this rewrite, I had my own unpleasant experience.  I hate HP tech support and ink prices, but I'll stick w/ their ink as long as I have my current printer.  And, my next printer won't be made by HP.  [1/22/16 note: I'm now an Epson owner and fan.  I love my WF-7610 printer.]

Nick also points out that heavy-duty printing needs might be satisfied most economically by buying a cheap black-and-white laser printer (recycled laser toner cartridges are cheap and safe!), and then buying a color inkjet for your photo needs.

Finally, he reminds everyone to consider a network-attached printer for sharing between all of a home's computers.  There are three basic options, presented in the order I prefer:

1. Network-ready printer connected to your router by an Ethernet cable.  This is what I do, and it works flawlessly. 
2. Network-ready printer wirelessly connected (via WiFi) to your wireless network.  I've had some issues, but it's convenient if you can't put your printer next to your router.
3. Connect any printer via USB to a computer on your home network and share it using Windows or Mac OS.  The computer hosting the printer has to be running, and it's the most complex setup.  Still, if you don't have a network-ready printer available, that's your only free option.
Password vault.  Do you have three hundred million passwords to remember?  Do you ever get tired of entering the same information into a Web page form and wish you could just press a key to automatically fill in the info?   I use RoboForm.  It's magic.  You will wonder how you managed w/o it.  [If you only have one password to remember b/c you always use the same password, you'll be sorry some day!] 

My thoughts on passwords.
Screen capture.  Want to take a picture of your screen?  Snagit is the way to go.  I can't explain it, but this has become one of those utilities I can't live w/o.  I keep finding new ways to use it.
Viewing running system processes.  This geeky utility replaces the task mgr that pops up when <CTRL><ALT<DEL> is pressed -- Process Explorer is so good, Microsoft acquired the company.
Creating Adobe .PDF files.  I use CutePDF Writer (free).  
Clipboard replacement.  The clipboard that comes w/ Windows is worthless.  Replace it w/ this amazing product: Clipmate.  Don't be overwhelmed by all of the features -- just use what you need.
Speed up the booting process, part I.  Warning: you can screw up your system if you're not careful.

--Start --> Run --> msconfig
--Click the Startup tab.
--Uncheck anything you're sure you don't want to run at boot time (like Quicktime -- you would rather incur the delay the first time you use it each session than at every boot -- especially since you probably don't use it every day or even every week.  Thanks for crapping up our computers, Apple.).
Speed up the booting process, part II.  Warning: you can really, really screw up your system if you're not careful.  Use Microsoft's Autoruns utility.
RSS reader.  I use Feedly on my PC (in my browser) and on my iPhone.   My favorite way to use Feedly is to use the iPhone app while I have five minutes to kill somewhere.  Instead of reading the interesting articles on my phone, I save them to Pocket and then use the Pocket browser app to read the saved articles on my PC later at home.  Super-efficient.
Windows Explorer (file manager) replacement.  I like Directory Opus, but it's a bit pricey and its features are a bit much for regular users.  There are many free replacements for the barely-passable file manager that ships w/ Windows, though.
Repeating e-mail reminders.  Do you have a weekly or monthly task that keeps slipping your mind?  Tired of filling up your calendar w/ repetitive tasks?  Use Resnooze and let it e-mail you a reminder.  Free.  If you like it, make a donation to the author.