By GalTime.com
groceries

You've seen the stories of devastation in the news: key farm states in the U.S. are facing excessive heat and dryness-- leading to the worst drought in 25 years.

So how will the drought impact your grocery bill? Jeanette Pavini, Coupons.com Consumer Savings Expert, is sharing her tips on how consumers can battle rising food costs.

Related: 4 Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bill

GalTime: A new report out by U.S. Department of Agriculture has shown that food prices are rising-- how will this impact us at the supermarket?

Jeanette Pavini: Commodity food prices are expected to rise by 3-4 percent in the next year, and there is an expectation that these increases will have a ripple effect on prices of packaged goods, which could result in even higher percentage increases for consumers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture report noted the following expected price increases:

• Beef: 4-5%

• Dairy: 3.5-4.5%

Nancy Daniels

Absolutely Not! I recently read a quip from a man on a public speaking social media website who is working with a voice coach. He said that "her normal talking voice in a one on one situation is massively different to her 'performance' speaking voice."

When I coach my clients, I explain that their real voice is one powered by means of the chest cavity and has more depth and resonance than their habitual voice; however, I do not tell them that it is a 'performance' voice to be used only on stage. Whether I am teaching, talking to my family, giving a presentation, or being interviewed for radio or TV, I sound the same.

Performance is a very loose term and can certainly refer to the delivery of a speech or presentation; however, it is not common to hear. After listening to the dynamic delivery of a message, we would rather say how good the presentation or the presenter and not how good the performance. On the other hand, we would most certainly would use the word performance

By Susan Milligan

Traditionalists complain that high school students don't read enough of the classics anymore-Shakespeare, for example, or those books many of us arguably didn't fully appreciate as teenagers but which are important to study to expand the mind and the knowledge of that era in history.

We needn't worry or wonder if students at Delhi Charter School in northern Louisiana are reading The Scarlett Letter. They're living it.

The school, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (which is considering a lawsuit) has a "student pregnancy policy" which not only bans pregnant students from school, but requires girls suspected of being pregnant to take a pregnancy test.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the Catholic contraception controversy.]

The ACLU says this rule is unconstitutional, since it violates equal protection laws (boys who impregnated girls would not be banned from school, and it also violates Title IX, which says pregnant

Money is many things to many people. For some, it beckons and entices; others find it dour and forbidding. Whatever the relationship, that rapport directly affects our ability to attract, spend, and hang on to what we have.

"Whether there's $10,000 in our account or $10 million, we follow the same behavioral patterns," says New York Times personal finance columnist MP Dunleavey, author of "Money Can Buy Happiness." Changing our approach to money, she says, comes when we're able to take an honest look at the inner workings of our personal financial connections.

Read these valuable tips and tricks from experts and you'll be well on your way to taking that partnership from shaky or tense terrain back onto solid ground.

Plus: How to Manage Financial Stress

Look at Your Money Biography
What does your financial profile say about you? Susan McCarthy uses this exercise to help people get a clearer picture. Imagine that the only way people could know you is through your money: your bank

7 Tips for Writing a MemoirFor years my dad's cousins have been telling me my writing remind them of their grandmother "Gangy." She was known for having a way with words -- a blogger before the days of blogging. (How I love having this connection to the past!) There had been mentions of a memoir, but somehow ear infections, preschool drop-off, and my own writing never seemed to afford me the time to read it. Recently one of my family members was thoughtful enough to send me a printed copy, and I knew it was time to dive in.

It turns out it's the story of my great grandmother's grandparents - their journey west as a young family. A toddler on horseback. A baby in a covered wagon. A life of adventure and hope. Since all the family pictures from the time were destroyed in a couple of tragic events, it's all the more amazing.

Related: 5 reasons to just say NO to unpaid work

It got me thinking, how cool would it be to pass on something like this about our lives today for generations to come? Of course it seems we

On the surface, networking and making friends look pretty similar. You're meeting new people, finding common interests, and hoping that the relationship will continue. But the truth is, they're different-and it's important to distinguish between the two. As former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recently put it, "women are really good at making friends and not good at networking." Networking is about building rapport, having substantive conversations, and finding commonalities with other professionals in a limited amount of time. Yes, it's an opportunity to connect with others-but it's more about advancing your professional goals than it is about getting people to like you or boosting your social scene. If you're trying to make friends at every networking event you attend, you may be doing yourself a disservice. Here's a look at some common networking scenarios that can veer toward friend territory, and how to make sure you're approaching them the right way.

The Situation: As

By Kirsten Chang, CNBC.com

With today's jobs market in a dismal state, no buzz word has given more hope to the youthful unemployed than the word "entrepreneurship."

More and more, young men and women are striking gold - armed with a strong innovative spirit, a razor-sharp focus and an ability to hold their own in the marketplace. From coaches, automobiles and limos to T-shirts, street fashion - and, yes, the inevitable social networking tools so embraced by the 21st century, industries across the globe are seeing their very own Mark Zuckerbergs-in-the-making.

Read ahead to see these budding young entrepreneurs who have already made it big - even in the face of today's daunting market!

Catherine and David CookCatherine and David Cook
Started business when they were 15 and 16
Business: Social media

When Catherine Cook moved to her new high school in New Jersey, she and her brother Dave saw a need for "social discovery" and better tools to meet new people. With the help of a $250,000 investment from their