Money, a Taboo Topic

How much do you make? How much do you spend? How much do you owe? Are those questions too personal? One book challenges the idea that money should be made and spent but never discussed.

If you couldn't join me for the chat today, read the transcript. My guests Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell chatted with me about their book Money Changes Everything (Broadway Books, $14.95). The book is a collection of essays in which people lay their financial "business" on the table. It offers humor, compelling testimonies, and life lessons.

My discussion starts at Noon ET. Read the column about that book All Too Personal Finances (Apr. 6).

A Rise But No Shine for Produce Shoppers

I paid $2.50 for eggs that last year only cost me $1.95. Are the eggs different? No, it's the economy. Are you doing your grocery shopping differently because of rising prices? If so, tell us about it. How are the higher prices affecting you? Are you cutting back? What are you still splurging on? How do you justify the extras? We're looking for creative tactics and cost-effective strategies.

For example, have you finally joined discount stores like Costco and Sam's Club? Both chains recently announced they were limiting sales of rice because of a lack of supply. Are you shopping at more or fewer stores? Have you joined a CSA(Community Supported Agriculture) project or planted a garden? What are your tricks to eat and pay rent?

Please send us your grocery store survival stories. You can email me at colorofmoney@washpost.com or my colleague Jane Black in the Food section at blackj@washpost.com. Put "Making Ends Meet" in the subject line.

Food journalist Kim O'Donnell writes that between February 2007 and February 2008 the Consumer Price Index for all food increased by 4.6 percent. O'Donnell also reports that the price increases are even higher for specific food items: cereal is up by 6.6 percent, milk is up by 16.8 percent and eggs are 25 percent more expensive than one year ago. Check out O'Donnell's blog, A Mighty Appetite (Apr. 22).

Don't have a plan to defray food costs? Bonnie S. Benwick has ideas on how to cut costs without cutting the flavor. Read Cheap Eats at Home. Sweet. (Apr. 23). Local chef Peter Smith also shows how you can feed a family of four on $11.22.

And, check out Belt-Tightening, Web Style (Apr. 23). Allrecipes.com offers recipes for low-cost ingredients.

Surviving the Economic Slowdown

Although we're not in an official recession yet, I thought I'd create a new section of tips, guidelines and articles to help you through these tough times. I would like to start by hearing from you. How are you faring? Have you cut back on family outings? Have you sold your SUV? Write to me at colorofmoney@washpost.com. Put "Surviving the Economy" in the subject line.

The Expense of an Automobile

Consumers are struggling to pay their car loans, says Post Staff Writer Ylan Q. Mui. Delinquencies are now plaguing a variety of economic classes for a number of reasons. Some homeowners are choosing to pay their ballooning mortgage payments instead of their car notes. Read more of Mui's report about this trend in Running on Empty (Apr. 20).

You'll also find tips if:

* You know you're going to miss a payment.

* You have already missed one payment (or more).

* You are now in default or facing repossession of your car. (And it's not hiding the car at your cousin Peaches' house.)

The worst thing to do is ignore your creditors. Check out my column Cars Worth Less Than the Loans (Apr. 29) and Ignoring the Calls Won't Make Debt Go Away (Mar. 23).

The Fight: For a Deposit or For a Decent Home

You and a builder draw up a contract for a new home. You both sign it. Later, you find out you won't be able to afford the mortgage. So, you cancel the contract. Cancellations now account for one-third of sales writes Real Estate columnist Elizabeth Razzi.

If a buyer's current home is still on the market or if more cash is needed to close the deal, walking away seems like a good option, right? Wrong. Some buyers are unknowingly signing a promissory note that entitles builders to up to 20 percent of the contract price. For example, a house that's $500,000 requires a $50,000 deposit, or 10 percent. Somewhere buried in the contract a buyer could be liable for another $50,000.

To combat your losses, Razzi says never sign a contract in the sales office. Take it home. Read it and have a lawyer read it. Get the details in If You Walk Away, Expect to Pay (Apr. 20).

Also, read about the Arons who signed a $1.2 million contract for a house in Bethesda. This price is common in this area. But, what do you get for a million dollars these days? See A Million Here, A Million There (Apr. 19) by Dina ElBoghdady and Mary Ellen Slayter.

A Penny Saved...Equals Retirement Dollars

Kiplinger's Mary Beth Franklin gets advice from David Loeper about retirement plan fees. People need to make sure their retirement savings aren't being eaten up by account fees. Loeper, an investment professional, says there a few ways to check your fees. He talks about those ways in A Roadmap to Your Fees (Apr. 20).

Something is better than nothing. Financial Futures columnist Martha M. Hamilton discusses the retirement options of women who are now facing retirement. These trailblazers fall into the gap between lifelong pension benefits and retirement savings plans, which means they may not have much money saved for retirement. Some weren't offered retirement plans until they were in their 40's. Read Women Pathfinders of the '70s, Falling in a Pension Gap (Apr. 20). Hamilton writes about these older women grappling with longer lifespans and the absence of years of compound growth.

Check out Hamilton's tips Saving Early and as Much as Possible (Apr. 20) and her Financial Futures Web chat (Apr. 22) for more.

Tips for Saving and Going Green

In honor of Earth Day, PC World's Emru Townsend gives eco-friendly and cost-effective tips for your computing life. Here are a few:

1. Shrink text and print front and back to save paper.

2. Save ink by printing in draft mode.

3. Set monitor and hard drive to power down when unused.

4. Use a power strip. Plug in your monitor, modem, printer, fax machine, etc. They use up energy even when they're off. But turning off the strip when you're not using these devices cuts down on phantom power drains.

Get more from 5 Habits for Greener Computing (Apr. 22). Also, I solicited green tips for last year's penny pinching entries. Take a look at the winners here.

Steven Mufson writes about the cost of making our world greener in Is This Green Enough? (Apr. 20). Check out his webchat: Outlook: Fighting Warming Takes Cold Cash (Apr. 21).

For more news and information about living a green life, visit washingtonpost.com's new Green section at washingtonpost.com/green.

You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested.

Charity Brown contributed to this e-letter.