This guest post comes from J. Money at Budgets are Sexy.

A question stood out in an e-mail I got from AskMen.com asking if I wanted to participate in a survey.

Now, normally I just glance over and then delete/archive, as my ADD brain can only take so much. But seeing how it was the "Great Male Survey of 2009," who am I to turn it down? OK, in reality they were smart enough to bold some of the financial questions in the e-mail. While most of them got my brain thinking, there was one question that really got my attention:

How do you measure your own financial success?

Good one! First, each of us should probably define what "financial success" is. Is it money? Job title? How big your house is (better not be)? Everybody has their own thoughts on it.   Read More...

This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.

Individual health insurance plans can be costly, complex and downright confusing. Navigating the world of co-insurance, co-pays and deductibles becomes a difficult task when it comes to choosing insurance plans that are not prepackaged and backed by an employer.

Many self-employed individuals and those who work for employers that do not provide health insurance spend hours trying to decipher the language of the industry and find the best coverage for the lowest premiums.

All health insurance plans are not created equal. Health insurance companies use a variety of different approaches when developing products and services for individual buyers. Low premiums might not necessarily mean that individuals are getting the type of coverage they need. The first step in exploring the many different types of individual health insurance plans is to learn all about the basic terminology and common features.

What is co-insurance?   Read More...

Here are today's hot deals from dealnews.com:

Toys from $1.99, all at lowest-we-could-find prices. Each carries free shipping.

Dolce and Gabbana men's chronograph stainless steel watch for $88. With free shipping, that's $10 under our mention from two weeks ago and the lowest total price we could find by $112.   Read More...

"MoneyMate Kate" is thoroughly impressed by the frugality employed by her sister as she plans her upcoming wedding. Then why does Kate call her "Bridezilla"? That doesn't seem fair.

So far, Kate estimates that Bridezilla's clever planning has saved $8,300, compared with the average wedding expenses in the New Jersey suburbs where they grew up. If she had compared her sister's spending with the cost of weddings in Aspen, Colo., where the wedding will take place, the savings would be in the stratosphere.

To make her cost comparisons, Kate used the Cost of Wedding Web site provided by The Wedding Report, which tells you what weddings and their various components cost broken down by ZIP code.   Read More...

More corporations are recognizing that there's plenty of good will to be had if they extend a helping hand to the unemployed. Plus they're building customer loyalty and boosting sales.

Is this a win-win?

The latest offers of assistance come from the chains owned by the Sears Holdings Corp. -- Kmart and Sears.   Read More...

This post comes from Mark Huffman at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.

Consumers have been hit with huge interest rate hikes and increases in their minimum monthly payments, and now complaints about America's credit card industry are reverberating through the halls of Congress.

CitiGroup, Bank of America and Capital One in recent days have all begun raising customers' interest rates, in many cases saying it has nothing to do with the customers' performance and everything to do with making up for losses before new laws and regulations tie their hands early next year.

Chase has singled out its customers with the lowest interest rates -- raising their minimum monthly payment from 2% of the balance to 5%. In many cases this action turns the credit card bill into the size of a monthly mortgage payment.

"This is what many of us feared about a law that didn't take effect right away," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told The Washington Post. "It was never going to take this long for the credit card companies to get ready for the new reforms. Instead, issuers are using the delay in the effective date to wring more dollars out of their customers. It is against the spirit of the law, and it is just plain wrong."   Read More...

A friend of mine pours leftover coffee into ice-cube trays. The caffeinated cubes make first-rate iced coffee because they chill the beverage without diluting it.

That got me thinking about other ways to use ice cube trays -- and no, Jell-O shots don't count.   Read More...

This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar:

An acquaintance from my previous career wrote to me recently asking about the steps I took when I made the switch to working at home:

It's official: I'm ready to get out of here. I'm tired of working here and I have a lot of people lined up to hire me for home catering and cooking. I'm sure you did a bunch of planning before you made the leap. What exactly did you plan?

I know at least one other former co-worker who is contemplating a similar move into a freelancing gig, though his plans are decidedly less clear at this point.

What exactly did I do during that transition period? I started making a list and soon realized that there were several things I wish I had done. Before I knew it, the e-mail had ballooned into a guide that I thought might be useful to other people.

Here are 15 things I did (or wish I had done) during the months leading up to my transition to working for myself.   Read More...

Here are today's hot deals from dealnews.com:

Loveseat, chair and table set for $129.88. Shipping adds $20.97, or choose free in-store pickup. Even with shipping, that's $9 under our mention from March and the lowest total price we could find.

Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash System for $2.99. With $5 for shipping, it's the lowest total price we could find by $7.   Read More...

A contest by "Shadox" at Money and Such reminds us of the "your life story in six words" contest that spawned the book of tiny memoirs called "Not Quite What I Was Planning" and Lizzie Widdicombe's subsequent clever write-up in The New Yorker (as well as a post by "Madame X" that was featured here).

Shadox challenged readers to submit career advice, expressed in a mere 10 words or less. To their credit, several bloggers came in way under the limit without sacrificing content. The winner was randomly selected.

Here are some samples, categorized somewhat by us:

Job selection:

• From Julie Bestry: "Perform no task you'd be ashamed to tell your mom."   Read More...