I became a vegetarian almost 20 years ago, and when I did Diet For a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé was one of those bibles you kept by your side. It wasn't just inspiring, but a practical guide to leading a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.Decades later Moore's daughter, author and activist Anna Lappé, carries on this tradition of activism that is both inspiring and dedicated to helping people make a difference via personal action. I'm thrilled to be conducting an exclusive podcast interview with Anna next week as part of our ongoing Earth Day is Every Day coverage this month. Our interview with Anna will coincide with a launch of an entirely new project that I'm also going to ask her about, and I'm also going to ask Anna about these three main goals in her work:

Living on a fixed income can present challenges especially for elders. The opportunities to earn additional income can be limited or non-existent. Opportunities to increase nest eggs through investments diminish. And during times when inflation grows faster than cost-of-living increases, if any, the challenges can be even greater.

So may people treat retirement like it is some sort of nirvana. I know for so many years all I heard from the people around me (mainly in the corporate cube) was them yearning for and dreaming about retirement. And these weren't only people who were a few years away from it. No. People who were "only 10 years away" or "only 15 years away" and they would pine and weep and wish away the years so they could get to retirement. I never understood that. Not when I entered the full time workforce at the age of 21 and not now.

Can I just say I heart eBay? As someone who does not like traditional shopping --that would be shopping in malls, discount malls, department stores and boutiques, I am an enthusaistic eBay shopper and a very occasional eBay seller. I just checked my profile and I have been a member since February 9, 1999.

Recap: as part of the Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Wallet series,  I'm talking about recycling and thrifty ways to feed our art/craft habits.  This weekend, let's examine Thrift Stores and Salvage Shops as our art/craft supply stores. Thrift Stores: Wool Sweaters:

What is credit and how does it work? We often forget the very basics behind credit as we go about our lives buying things (often on credit) and making payments on the monthly bills. Of course most recently the housing fallout and matters of subprime loans have only made the waters muddier but at least opened up the conversation around credit and how it really works.

If you're planning on being enrolled in college this coming academic year, chances are good you already have your financial aid offers in line. If you find yourself taking on more debt than makes you comfortable, one obvious alternative to working yet even more hours is to apply for scholarships and grants. I say "obvious" because it's clear scholarships and grants are a better deal than working during school or taking on more debt. What's considerably less obvious is how to secure scholarships. Herein I offer ten ways to improve your chances of securing scholarships and grants--whether you're already in college or whether you're just starting to think about applying. Some of these tips are a bit U.S.-centric since that's my arena of experience and expertise, but many of the tips apply no matter where you live.

I have 2 pair of jeans that fit me. That's all.  Two pair I bought on sale at Ross because my old jeans could not be worn in public anymore without a threat of embarrassing me. When I bought these jeans, I did not spend a lot of time, thought, or cash making the decision beyond the "they fit in the waist and hips" check. 

Once upon a time, about six years ago, I ran over to the bank to deposit a check and I took the three little kids with me so their mom could take a nap. On the way home, I told them that I had to work for a few hours and if they behaved we'd pack a picnic and eat dinner at the "flaming castle park". They thought the flaming castle park idea was great but the picnic dinner thing, not so much. They wanted to go to McDonalds and get Happy Meals to take to the park. My response was "sorry dudes, gotta wait 'til payday for that".

On the day I started my first job on July 7, 1973 ,I knew that I would be eligible for a salary review on July 7, 1974. I counted the days. I lived for the time when I would see a major increase in my $3.25 an hour pay. May I just say that after five years as a reporter, I walked out of WWBT TV making $5.00 an hour.

How much credit-card debt do you think the average college student has racked up? On how many credit cards? And how likely is this student to be behind on his or her credit card payments?

Each month we are faced with a lifelong dilemma. What should we do with the money we earn? While a wild spending spree might feel great in the moment we all know that if we want to achieve our financial goals we need to do something more with it. Yet, with limited funds it is hardto know whether we should pay down debt, save, invest, or some combination. How do you choose?