Blog Posts by CBS MoneyWatch.com

by Sarah Lorge Butler for CBS MoneyWatch.com

A person near and dear to me came home from the dentist with an ugly diagnosis. He has two cracked crowns and needs replacements. I'm not sure what's more painful - what's been going on in his mouth or the bite out of the family finances.

Cost of the crowns: $1,395 apiece. Cost of foundation fillings, or "cores" to put the crowns on: $326 apiece. Total bill, if you're scoring at home: $3,442.

-- 5 Things NOT to Tell Your Kids About Money

-- Save Big at the Supermarket: 9 Tricks

-- How Much Does the Tooth Fairy Pay?

-- Strange but True: 10 Weird Ways to Save Money

-- Slash Your Medical Bills: 7 Ways to Haggle

His dentist sold him membership into an office savings plan for $319 for the year. So that saves him 20% on all dental procedures and gives him two free cleanings. Knock off 20% (but add back in the $319) and we're down to $3072.60

by Sarah Lorge Butler for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Every time my daughter, 6, goes over to a friend's house, she comes home asking for a DSi, a Wii or a pool. What to say? Would a simple, "no" suffice, or should I give her more information about how much those things cost and where I'd rather spend my money?

-- 5 Things NOT to Tell Your Kids About Money

-- Save Big at the Supermarket: 9 Tricks

-- How Much Does the Tooth Fairy Pay?

-- Dumbest Things You Do With Your Money

-- 4 Things NOT to Buy at Costco

By middle school, the focus starts to sharpen. That's when kids realize that their family might have less (or more) than their peers, says Dr. Brad Klontz, a clinical psychologist and author of the book Mind Over Money. Income disparities become apparent to preteens - who are naturally image conscious and embarrassed by their parents, no matter what kind of car they drive or house they live

by Dan Kadlec for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Back at Christmas, when two feet of snow fell in my town, I found myself stuck at home and, for a while anyway, happy enough with a new jigsaw puzzle and the leftover eggnog. But as the hours passed (and the eggnog disappeared) I began to grow fidgety. Soon I was watching the window for the guy who plows my driveway in these kinds of storms.

-- 5 Credit Card Trends to Watch

-- What NOT to Buy at CVS

-- Biggest College Money Mistakes

-- 10 Ways to Do Fewer Dumb Errands

-- Best Cars for Your Teenager

Of course, he was busy. This was a major weather blast. But it was taking awfully long. When he finally showed 24 hours later I was relieved - until I got his bill. Without notice, he had tripled his rate.

I quickly settled our account, and then went searching for a new service. It was something I should have done long before. I was able to hire

by Stacey Bradford for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Gas prices are at $3.49 per gallon this week here in Allentown, Pennsylvania. That gives me pause every time I turn the key in the ignition.

But the rising cost of driving is just one motivation for staying out of the car. The environmental cost of my miles is another. And the real reason? I don't like it. Especially when I'm going out for errands, and my destination is some place like Target. Ugh.

-- Save Big at the Supermarket: 9 Tricks

-- 5 Things Not to Buy at CVS

-- What NOT to Tell Your Kids About Money

-- 3 Money Rules for Stay-at-Home Moms

-- Best Cars for Your Teenager

I'm trying to declare an end to errands. Transportation experts and environmentalists say "trip-chaining" is the way to go. That means setting up all my stops and doing them in one outing. Sounds great, but have you ever tried to drag a four-year-old with you to the

by Amy Levin-Epstein for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Going on an interview can feel like a first date - except with your livelihood at stake instead of a goodnight kiss. There's the same forced conversation and posturing, but without pleasant perks like a meal or glass of wine.

-- What People Earn: Lessons for a Salary Stalker

-- Dream Jobs: 6-Figure Salaries You Can Get

-- Job Interview? 9 Great Ways to Get to Round 2

-- Are You Getting Paid Enough?

-- Google's 10 Sweetest Job Perks

I remember an interview during which I couldn't stop laughing awkwardly, due to nerves. And another where my phone started ringing off the hook with family and friends calling to see how it went. (Uh, badly - because I forgot to turn off my phone.)

Still, don't beat yourself up over an interview gone awry. Better to accept the lessons (ahem, turn phone off) and move on to the next one - which is why Jon Allen

by Kathy Kristof for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Forget those phishing emails that attempt to get your credit card or bank sign-in information. When crooks want to know how to get into your bank account, they post a message on Facebook. These messages appear so innocuous and so appropriate in the Facebook setting that you are likely to not only get conned, but pass on the scam.

-- 6 Things Never to Post on Facebook

-- Is This $197 Million Yours? How to Find Missing Money

-- 5 Ways Facebook Could Get You Fired

-- Warning: 14 Biggest Scams Now

-- Dumbest Things You Do With Your Money

Facebook is the new frontier for fraud, says Tom Clare, head of product marketing at Blue Coat, an Internet security company that does annual reports on web threats. In just this past year social networks have soared to 4th from 17th most treacherous web terrain - behind porn and software-sharing sites, which you

by Nancy F. Smith for CBS MoneyWatch.com

No matter how fastidiously you file your receipts or how professionally your accountant fills out the forms, you probably still fear an IRS audit. And thanks to a flurry of tax changes this year, there are more audit red flags than usual.

In fact, the IRS has a top-secret, obsessively guarded computer program that targets certain tax returns for closer examination. It's called Discriminant Inventory Function System (DIF) and it means that some deductions and credits are more likely to attract the government's attention than others. If you don't know about these red flags, noted below, you might be asking for an audit.

-- 16 Don't-Miss Tax Deductions

-- Lawmaker Seeks to Slash Top Tax Rates

-- 9 Tax Mistakes NOT to Make

-- What's Your Tax Bracket?

-- When to Toss Your Old Tax Returns

Some recent tax-law changes may not have made it into the

by Jill Schlesinger for CBS MoneyWatch.com

First of all, the IRS has a gift for you: an extra three days to file your returns! Individual taxpayers will have until Monday, April 18, to file their returns. The reason: Friday, April 15, is a legal holiday in the District of Columbia, and because D.C. holidays affect tax deadlines in the same way federal holidays do, all taxpayers are being given an extra three days to file their returns.

Now, on to your tax return: Claim these often overlooked deductions and credits and you just might be able to pay less to the IRS.

-- Audit Red Flags: 8 Things Not to Do

-- Lawmaker Seeks to Slash Top Tax Rates

-- 9 Tax Mistakes NOT to Make

-- What's Your Tax Bracket?

-- When to Toss Your Old Tax Returns

IRA/Roth Conversion

When you contribute to an individual retirement account, you help fund a future goal while lowering your current tax bill.