Funding your child's college education can seem like a daunting task, but if you start early you can build up substantial savings with relative ease. The power of compound interest only works when you give it plenty of time to work. Even if your son or daughter is approaching their first year of college, it isn't too late. There are many tax benefits available for college savings, so even if you can't take advantage of 10 years of growth, you might be able to save money on taxes. Find out how much money you can save for your child's education by looking at the following examples.

More information on saving for college:

• What is a 529 Plan?
• Understanding Financial Aid
• Top 5 College Saving Mistakes

Combining finances can be very helpful for a new couple, but it can also be very stressful. Money is one of the top issues that create arguments in a relationship. Everyone has different priorities and values pertaining to money, so it is easy to see why money can be a hot button issue when couples don't see eye to eye.

Plan Ahead

The good news is that you can alleviate most of the problems with some planning. This means taking the time to talk about financial issues before getting married if possible. While you may currently maintain separate accounts, realize that it is important to think about what you're going to do in terms of bank accounts, saving money, paying off debt, and getting insurance before you're overwhelmed with all of these important decisions after you've tied the knot.

Communication is Important

While planning out your financial road map is important, maintaining an open and honest line of communication with your spouse is vital. One of the most damaging things you can do in a marriage is to hide and lie about money issues. Eventually, the truth will surface, and it will create an incredibly stressful and possibly harmful situation. If you are bringing debt into the relationship, be open about it. If you place importance on saving for retirement above all else, let that be known. The more open you are regarding your values and money situation, the less likely a problem will arise out of nowhere.

Additional reading:

• Marriage and Money - Planning Your New Financial Life Together
• How to Have an Affordable Wedding
• Joint or Separate Checking Accounts

For over a year now interest rates as a whole have generally been falling. Of course you may have some instances where rates are increasing, for the most part when it comes to savings accounts, CDs, and even mortgage rates, they are down sharply compared to a few years ago.

Good for Debt, Bad for Savings

Lower interest rates are good for borrowing money since it means you will be paying less in interest. The bad news is that the Fed rate cuts don't directly translate into lower rates for consumers. These cuts can take many months before the effects are felt on your bottom line, but you can begin shopping for lower rates now. Once you can begin to benefit from the lower rates, you'll have more money in your pocket as less is being spent on interest payments.

While lower interest rates saves you money when borrowing, the opposite is true when you are saving money at the bank. As interest rates fall, the rate of return on your checking, savings and CD accounts will likely follow suit. If you enjoyed the comfortable savings rates during most of 2007, you're probably not very excited as many rates have now dropped below the rate of inflation. If you can, make sure you're getting the best rate possible and explore other banks to ensure you're getting as much interest on your savings as possible.

• How to Plan for Lower Interest Rates
• What Are Interest Rates?
• The Federal Reserve and Interest Rates

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive has to do with retirement. In particular, people are wondering how much money they need to retire. I wish there was a simple answer, but it isn't an easy question. There are a lot of media outlets out there that will throw around a lot of numbers and say you need at least a million dollars in the bank, or have to save at least 15% of your income for retirement. While these may apply to some people, the problem is that everyone's specific retirement situation is unique and it's impossible to have this magic number that works for everyone.

So, how can you determine how much money you need for retirement? The younger you are, the harder it is to calculate because so much can change in terms of your situation and with things like taxes and economic conditions over the next thirty or so years. In situations like this, you should know that you'll probably need close to as much income in retirement as you need now (adjusted for inflation of course). As you get older and retirement gets closer, you really need to sit down and start to project your expenses. You should have a rough idea of whether or not you'll be receiving a pension, what your Social Security check will be, and realistically start thinking about life expectancy and your retirement goals.

Learn more about how you can project how much money you'll need to retire.

Life insurance is an important aspect of almost every financial plan, but how can you make sense of all the different policies available? Everyone seems to have their own opinion, and unfortunately there are also a lot of insurance salesmen who may be more inclined to earn a commission than to put you in the best type of policy. So, it's up to you to understand how each type of policy works so that you can decide what's best for you.

Here's a quick overview of the four most common life insurance policies with advantages and disadvantages of each. If you're informed when shopping for insurance you can be sure to get the best policy for your needs and budget.

The first step in personal financial planning is controlling your day-to-day financial affairs so that you can do the things that bring you satisfaction and help you reach your goals. This is achieved by planning and following a budget. Controlling spending, saving money, and investing for the future are all important aspects of financial planning, but those things mean nothing if you don't have specific goals that you're trying to reach. In order to gauge your financial success, you need to have goals so that you can measure your success. The second step in personal financial planning is choosing and following a course toward long-term financial goals.

The four steps to setting financial goals:

• Identify and write down your goals.
• Break goals down into short-term and long-term goals.
• Educate yourself.
• Evaluate your progress.

It's official and summer is finally here. In some locations this means finally breaking out of the grips of Old Man Winter, and for others, it signals long and hot summer days. It doesn't matter what your summer is like, but there are many ways you can take advantage of the warmer weather to save some money.

In some cases, it is as simple as spending more time outside or knowing when you keep your windows open. In others, it comes down to planning your activities and making sure air conditioner is operating as it should. Whatever your situation is, take the time now, before it gets too warm to prepare for the season so that you can keep a few more dollars in your pocket this summer.

Summer is here, and with the warm weather brings increased cooling costs. While there are a number of different ways you can save money during the summer months, the air conditioner tends to be the biggest energy hog. Any appliance that uses electricity to alter temperature is generally inefficient by nature. This includes heaters, hot water heaters, refrigerators, and so on. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to help maximize your air conditioning efficiency.

• Perform regular maintenance on your air conditioning unit. Replace the filter monthly during the cooling season and have a professional service your system at the beginning of each cooling season.
• If you have a central air unit, make sure the condenser is located in a shady spot and has room to dispose of the heated air it removes from your house. Don't crowd it with shrubs or anything else.
• Install a programmable thermostat so you can vary the temperature according to when you're home. Set it for a lower temperature when you're home. If you'll be gone for more than a few hours, it makes sense to set the air conditioning at a higher temperature while you're gone.
• Close drapes or shades on the sunny side of your house. The sun has intense warming effects, and when it is allowed to enter a window without the heat being able to escape, it will act like a greenhouse. Keep as much direct sunlight out as possible to keep your home a few degrees cooler.
• Seal up air leaks in your house. Just like how the cold air can find its way into your house in the winter, the hot air does the same thing during the summer. Caulk or seal places where utilities come into your home (plumbing, electricity, dryer vents, etc.). Fill gaps around chimneys and weatherstrip around drafty windows and doors.
• Utilize fans as much as possible. If the temperature is just slightly uncomfortable, consider using an oscillating fan, or ceiling fan if you have one. Just a slight breeze or circulation caused by fans can make it feel a few degrees cooler.
• Turn off the lights when not in use. If you have standard incandescent bulbs, they generate a good deal of heat. Having lights on when not necessary just increased the temperature in the house. Consider switching to CFL bulbs, which run cool, and also consume less electricity.

These are just a few of many different ways you can cut down on your cooling costs this summer. If you have some other ideas that work for you, feel free to share your tips by leaving a comment.

Have you filed an extension and still trying to get the money together needed to pay your taxes? Owing money to the IRS is never fun, but in today's economy it can be an even bigger financial problem. So, what do you do if you can't afford to pay your taxes?

First of all, don't waste another day. If you owe taxes, accept that fact and find out how much money you need to come up with. Even if you don't have the money, you still need to file your return on time if you want to avoid further penalties. Unfortunately, you also still owe the balance come April 15th, but you do have some options available. Find out the best course of action to take when you can't afford to pay your taxes.

What three letters spell bad news for your tax situation? AMT. The Alternative Minimum Tax was created back in 1969 as a means for making sure that even the wealthiest individuals paid their fair share in taxes. Fairness is good, but there's a problem with the AMT. Over the years it has started to snag even more people, even those who aren't terribly wealthy.

As it stands now, even with a modest income you could find yourself in a situation where you owe the AMT. Trust me, qualifying for this tax isn't something to be proud of! Wondering if you might get hit with the AMT? Here's some information to help you calculate the AMT for your own situation. Think of it this way -- if you catch it now you have ten months to prepare for it. That's a far better alternative than getting hit with a surprise next April.