Here's a reminder from NCN that you need to keep a close eye on your medical bills. He was being charged "out-of-network" prices even thought they were in network. After 30 minutes of sorting out the problem, he ended up saving $208.34. Not bad at all.

I have to say that medical bills are among the hardest to understand of almost any we receive. In fact, they may even be more difficult to sort through than taxes. That's why I turn them all over to my wife and let her handle them. ;-)

Anyway, NCN's post made me think of the various tips I've given to those looking to save money on medical bills/costs. Here's a quick review for those of you interested:

• How to Get an Incorrect Medical Bill Corrected

• Another Way to Get an Incorrect Medical Bill Corrected

• A Third Way to Get an Incorrect Medical Bill Corrected

• CPT Codes Can Save You Money on Medical Bills

Don't have time to post on all these, but thought they were worth sharing:

• Whatever you do, don't buy Sears -- Seems like Sears' lack of customer service is coming back to bite them. (If you don't know what I mean, check out why I hate Sears.)

• Nightmare on the Charles -- Not even a Harvard MBA guarantees a job these days.

• 25 Great Gifts for $25 or Less -- Some decent suggestions for those of you stuck with no ideas.

Here's a good piece on how you can winterize your home, car, and small gas-engine machines -- something that will both save you money and extend the life of your belongings. Here are a few of the tips I found especially interesting:

• Wallhangings. A quilt or decorative rug will insulate interior walls, keep your room cozier, and allow you to turn down the thermostat a few degrees in the winter without a noticeable difference.

• Cheap firewood. If you live near a national forest, you may be entitled to several cords of firewood for a small fee. Check with your regional office of the U.S. Forest Service. Warning: It is illegal to pick up firewood in a government-owned forest without a permit, so don’t skip that part.

• Fuel. Unless you live in the tropics, put a bottle of fuel de-icer in your tank once a month to help keep moisture from freezing in the fuel line. You can discourage moisture from forming in the gas tank in the winter if you keep your fuel tank full.

• Car locks. Dab a little petroleum jelly on your keys and move them in and out of the locks to keep them working smoothly during the winter months. Petroleum jelly doesn’t freeze.

My thoughts:

1. I never really thought about how wall hangings can help insulate a home, but it makes sense now that she brings it up.

2. We don't live near a national forest and don't have a wood-burning fireplace, but if you do this seems like a GREAT way to save money.

3. I use de-icer in my gas during the winter, but wonder if it's really necessary. Anyone have thoughts on this?

4. Another interesting idea. That said, does anyone use keys/locks on a car anymore? I always control my locks electronically.

Dr. Pepper is giving away a free soda (or "pop" if you prefer) to everyone this Sunday! The summary:

A voucher for the free drink will be made available on drpepper.com for 24 hours this Sunday at 12.01am. Those who print the coupon will have until February 28, 2009 to redeem it.

Details here.

Check this out:

As the economy worsens, a growing number of small businesses are suspending their 401(k) match, and, in some instances, closing the retirement plans altogether.

While only about 15% to 20% of small businesses offer a 401(k) plan, many added them in recent years to attract and retain workers and to help business owners save for retirement. But the economic downturn and higher health-insurance costs are forcing companies to cut back on retirement benefits.

"It's a cash-flow issue," says Patrick M. Shelton, a partner at Benefit Plans Plus LLC, a third-party administrator of retirement plans in St. Louis. "The companies don't have money to meet payroll and medical insurance, so they're cutting back on 401(k) plans."

Yikes! Anyone out there have this going on with their company?

I work for a small company and our business is booming now, so we're full-speed ahead on everything -- and our 401k isn't changing a bit.

For those of you that do have a change, you may need to consider other job opportunities. Not that you should quit right away (especially in this economy), but if the company is that bad off from a cash flow perspective, it could be on the brink of going under. It wouldn't hurt to keep your options open.

As part of our on-going conversation about a potentail bailout for the big three automakers, US News offers six myths about these companies. Their list:

• They don't build small cars.
• They don't build any desirable cars.
• The same guys asking for handouts are the ones who caused the problems.
• The CEOs should fly coach.
• It's all the unions' fault.
• They've done nothing to help themselves.

Interesting read.

Here's another example of the fact that where you live can have a HUGE impact on your net worth:

In some places of the country, a $200k per year income isn't enough. In others, you can thrive on a teacher's salary.

;-)

I'm getting a lot of email lately from people who are going through tough financial times. They usually ask me for ideas on how to make money and/or save money, so I thought I'd do a post on the topic for everyone's benefit.

If you're coming to Free Money Finance and want some tips on how to make more/some extra money, here are a couple links for you:

• Pre-2008 money making ideas

• 2008 money making ideas

And here are some tips (several hundred) on how to save money:

• Pre-2007 money saving ideas

• 2007 money saving ideas

• 2008 money saving ideas

Each of these links leads to a "category" here at FMF and contains a series of posts on either how to make or save money. If you want to see all the ideas (in reverse chronological order), simply scroll down and read as you go. It's that easy.

Obviously, not every idea is for everyone. But with almost 270 posts on how to make money and over 950 posts on how to save money, surely everyone can find at least a few ideas that they can use to improve their finances.

If you want to see the 10 most expensive homes in the world, you can check them out here. And it looks like those that are for sale will be hit by the same financial realities the rest of us are facing.

In one week we'll officially kick off the Christmas selling season as a ba-zillion American consumers pack stores the day after Thanksgiving. My boss and his family have an annual tradition where they get up early and hit all of the 4 a.m., 5 a.m., etc. sales with the masses. They're done by mid-morning or so, then have breakfast out and go home.

Personally, I don't want to be anywhere near a store on November 28. Wild horses couldn't drag me to one. In fact, I volunteer to work that day because 1.) no one else wants to, 2.) there's no one in the office and I can get a ton of work done, 3.) I don't have to travel and don't have family around on that day.

What about you? Do you get up early to shop on Black Friday? Why or why not?