With gas heading for $5 a gallon, parents who hoped to take their families on a road trip this summer may have thought it was out of the question. But travel experts say that with a little creative thinking and flexibility, belt-tightening consumers can still manage to get away — even at the last minute. The key is a willingness to adjust your schedule, the length of stay and perhaps even the destination.

Tap water is making a comeback. With a day's worth of bottled water — the recommended 64 ounces — costing hundreds to thousands of dollars a year depending on the brand, more people are opting to slurp water that comes straight from the sink. The lousy economy may be accomplishing what environmentalists have been trying to do for years — wean people off the disposable plastic bottles of water that were sold as stylish, portable, healthier and safer than water from the tap.

MIKE STONE/Special Contributor

Russell Windle (left) and Victor Kralisz of Dallas have been together for seven years. Each has named the other as the beneficiary of their retirement accounts to make sure the surviving partner is provided for.

Like others in their 60s and approaching retirement, same-sex couples are thinking about the next stage of life and what to do if their health fails. Because they don't enjoy the rights automatically granted to married couples, partners are turning to legal advisers to make sure they will have a say in each other's fate.

After Sandra Hanna graduated from college, she moved back to her parents' home so she could save some money. A year later, she moved out with a stash of $8,000 to help pay for her new life. But within several months, she had burned through the cash and was starting to pile on credit card debt.

Brides-to-be feeling the pinch of the current economic downturn might be willing to pare down their wine list, favors, even the guest list. Their gown, however, is often another story. Long before they even find a groom, many women have a mental picture of what they'll look like walking down the aisle — and they're not ready to downgrade their dream dress. Knowing that dozens, even hundreds of eyes will be on them isn't exactly incentive to go the bargain route, either.

The stress from deepening debt is becoming a major pain in the neck — and the back and the head and the stomach — for millions of Americans.

If you read the latest survey on how well teens are learning to manage their money, it's clear they still have a way to go. The results of the eighth annual poll on Teens and Personal Finance by Junior Achievement Worldwide found that many teens are already developing some bad financial habits.

The SEP, or Simplified Employee Pension plan, is an uncomplicated alternative to traditional pension plans. The SEP plan allows business owners, their employees, and the self-employed to accumulate assets for retirement, while reducing their tax bill. Whether you are the owner or employee of a business, a SEP plan can allow you to take an active part in your retirement savings.

When Mike Brady married his fiancée, Carol, his three sons and her three daughters united to become television’s famous Brady Bunch. If they were forward-thinking, they would have discussed how the blending of their two families would affect their finances — present and future.