Happy Halloween

Image via WikipediaHappy Halloween from the Ready For Retirement blog.

I think I'll be staying in this Halloween because I already got my fill in the horror department with the stock market this month. Now that was scary! :)

Ways To Improve Gas Mileage

Image via Wikipedia With the price of gas going through the roof lately everyone is talking about buying a small car or even a hybrid to save some money. Well, not everyone is in a financial position where they can afford a new car. So what are they supposed to do?

Here's an article full of great tips on how to improve the gas mileage of the car that you already own. One of the best tips that I learned here was to park in the shade. You see, gas evaporates in heat. Keeping your car cool in the shade can actually save you some money. Who would have thought that? Now if birds pooping on your gas improved gas mileage then I'd be all set.

Back To School Savings

Most kids are already back to school but I didn't find these back to school saving coupons until today.

There's some good deals for everything your child will need for school. A computer, clothes, shoes, backpack and even that crazy Amazon Kindle bookreader. You could probably get by without the Kindle but not the other things.

How To Save $100

Image via Wikipedia Here's a great article from Yahoo Finance about Eight Sure-Fire Ways to Sock Away $100. There's the usual tips about saving money that you see all the time like using coupons, lowering your credit card interest but number one on the list is a new one for me.

They say that washing your clothes in cold water will save you over a $100 a year. Set your washer to Cold Wash/Cold Rinse and the difference in your electricity bills will come out to over a $100 a year. Now that's a good tip.

Retirement Jokes

“When a man retires and time is no longer a matter of urgent importance, his colleagues generally present him with a watch.”
- R.C. Sherriff

“The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A Death! What's that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you're too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating...

...and you finish off as an orgasm.”

- George Carlin

Personal Finance On The Web

Yahoo has been launching some new channels lately that focus on certain niche topics such as food, video games and tv.

The newest channel is devoted to personal finance. So if you're a "regular" invester or you're looking to buy a home or just someone who wants to learn how to better manage their money, then you should check it out.

There's some good how to guides, the usual calculators that you find on these types of sites (mortgage, budgeting, saving for college) and it's a great place to ask questions and get answers. I think Yahoo! learned a lot about starting a web community with their Yahoo! Answers Site and it shows in Yahoo! Personal Finance.

Prosper

I just ran across this site, Prosper.com and I can't believe it. I guess if it's done right, it can be a great idea but it sounds so risky.

Here's how they describe their site:

People who need money request it, and other people bid for the privilege of lending it to them. Prosper makes sure everything is safe, fair and easy.

I have no experience with this site but like I said, I'm shocked that in this day and age of Nigerian spammers, credit fraud and other scams, that real people would actually sign up for this.