Randall's parents didn't talk much about money when he was growing up, and forbade him from discussing the family's situation with anyone outside the household. Now that he's an adult, he's trying not to be the same way.

"I'm not ashamed of what I do or make, I do pretty well all in all, so why should it be such a taboo to talk about it?" he asks in a thought-provoking post at Credit Withdrawal. The sad truth, he says, is that our preoccupation with acquiring more wealth than others -- "Keeping up with the Joneses has become a cultural Olympic event," he writes -- permeates family relationships, including those between kids and their parents.    Read More...

A recent article at MSNBC about the high cost of dating contained this snippet: "Nearly 70% of women and 50% of men said they were interested in marrying for money, according to a Prince & Associates survey of 1,134 men and women earning $30,000 to $60,000 a year." They all said the object of their attention would have to have a net worth exceeding $1 million.

Wow. Does that mean we're all a bunch of gold-digger wannabes or is something else at play here? We turned to blogger Free Money Finance for some perspective.   Read More...

Never have dried beans gotten such loving praise as that expressed in Squawkfox's "10 reasons soaked dried beans can change your life." Fox is admittedly a bean fanatic.

The No. 1 reason is cost. This is important information because you've likely noticed that food prices are going up. Dried beans are a lot cheaper than canned beans. Fox adds, "The cool thing about dried beans is they expand when soaked, so you end up with even more beans per dollar spent. This is the new math!"

You'll find more variety in the dried-bean section. "Have you ever seen a can of mung beans?" she asks. Prepping dried beans isn't time-consuming, no matter what her friends say. "It's not like you have to stand there and watch the beans soak," she observes. Also, dried beans are tastier, salt-free and better for you. (Fox is a two-time Ironman Canada finisher and cares about health.)   Read More...

This guest post comes from Lynnae at Being Frugal.

When I was a kid, my family didn't have a lot of money. In most areas, I never felt deprived. I have three younger brothers, so I was always busy playing outside with them. Or picking on them, but we won't talk about that.

One thing I did notice was that, with four kids and not a lot of money, we didn't have a lot of clothes. My brothers and I each had three school outfits. We wore two of the outfits on Monday and Tuesday, the third on Wednesday, when my mom did the laundry, and the first two outfits on Thursday and Friday. Every week.

I even remember my mom commenting that one of my friend's moms had mentioned that her child had enough clothes to last a week without doing laundry. My mom didn't know how they could afford it. 

I remember being jealous.

Now that I'm an adult, surprisingly, I'm not tempted to overbuy clothes for myself. I hate shopping for myself, and my relatively small wardrobe shows it. However, I do have a tendency to overbuy for the kids. I think that somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory, I'm afraid that they won’t have enough clothes.   Read More...

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

Look at these 12 little hacks and think about how simple they are.

Switch your savings account from your local bank to ING Direct. That's the bank I switched to about a year and a half ago in order to get a higher interest rate (then more than 4%). They made the whole thing easy as pie -- it took about five minutes -- and I've never had anything but stellar customer service.

Drink one less coffee a week. Let's say you stop at Starbucks -- or your preferred coffeehouse -- three times a week. Just trim it back to two. That's it.

Call one credit card company and ask for a rate reduction. Just flip over your card and call that number on the back. Ask to speak to a supervisor if the first human you get won't reduce your rate.   Read More...

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

Pulsar men's luminous chronograph watch in silver tone for $67.50. Coupon code NEW2623 takes 10% off, cutting it to $60.75. With 99 cents for shipping, that's $74 off list and the lowest total price we could find.

Actron CP9135 AutoScanner diagnostic code scanner for OBDII vehicles for $59.99 with free shipping. That's a $6 overnight cut and the lowest total price we've seen by a buck for this model.

Glassware sets from $7.99. They're all at the lowest prices we could find. Plus, take 20% off via coupon code 26620000008. Shipping adds $6.99, or choose in-store pickup to avoid the fee.   Read More...

Allie at Allie's Answers was looking for an alternative to store-bought kitty litter. She writes: "I've read horrible things about the chemicals that go into conventional clumping litters and the damaging effects of clay mining on the environment, so I'm not about to go back to clay litter."

More eco-friendly pellet litter didn't suit her either. They're too big for her Dirt Devil to pick up after the cat kicks them out of the box. So this creative blogger came up with her own recipe, and it's essentially free.   Read More...

You may have read here that blogger JVW of The Good Life on a Budget works part time at a chain home-decorating store and posts occasionally about her retail experiences. The most recent one is quite enlightening: Her boss instructed JVW and the other employees to push the store credit card.

"We are now supposed to ask every customer who comes through our line if they would like to put their purchase on their store card. If they showed any interest, we should then spout off the benefits," she writes, adding, "Of course, nowhere in there do we mention any of the pitfalls of opening store cards ...."

What did she do? She refused.   Read More...

If your lifestyle is dependent on a home-equity line of credit, your spending may be in for a sudden adjustment. Lenders are lowering or cutting off access to HELOCs, particularly in areas where property values are declining. Blogger Mighty Bargain Hunter has an opinion about that.

"Since trying to borrow your way to prosperity doesn't work," MBH writes, "I'm very glad to see this happening."   Read More...

This post comes from Truman Lewis at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com.

Here's a scam that's guaranteed to get your attention: an e-mail from a hit man who says he's been hired to kill you.

Police in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Fairfax County, Va., say the scammer is primarily interested in getting bank account numbers. So far, no one has been shot for refusing to comply, at least as far as we know.   Read More...