SAVE $1000 THIS YEAR

3 Steps That Will Save You $1000 This Year

Do you have a secret money stash? You need and deserve one — so start now.



I'm pretty sure you have $3 in your wallet — or a jeans pocket, or your glove compartment, or balled up between the couch cushions. Here's what I want you to do with it: Get rid of will-I-wind-up-a-bag-lady anxiety forever. Many women I speak to say they're terrified of not having enough money put aside to take care of themselves when they're old. And they have reason to be worried: Twice as many women as men are poor in old age, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and females have 40 percent less saved in retirement accounts than male officemates. Plus, women in the United States live an average of five years longer than men. You're nowhere near old age, but it's time to save some money for you and you alone. With my plan, you won't even miss it.

STEP 1 : Starting January 1, put aside $3 a day (weekends too!) for the entire year. You can slip three bucks into an envelope every night, schedule a weekly automatic transfer of $21 to a savings account, or move one big chunk all at once. But don't stop there — save $5 a day or more if you can, and definitely continue contributing to a 401(k) plan at work if you have one.

STEP 2 : Fast-forward a year. What do you do with the $1,095 you've saved? Invest in the stock market through mutual funds by opening a Roth individual retirement account, or IRA, that allows your money to grow tax-free. I prefer Vanguard's STAR Fund or Schwab's Total Stock Market Index Fund: You can start with $1,000, and both charge low fees. The market will fluctuate, but many experts agree that these funds could give you a higher return rate than a bank savings account over a 20-year period.

STEP 3 : Don't touch! If you're 35 and follow this plan until you hit 70, you'll have $129,342, if you earned an average six-percent annual return. It's not a fortune, but it'll give you a priceless sense of security about your future.

OPHIUCHUS, THE NEW ZODIAC SIGN

What's your sign? That easy-to-answer pickup line might be a little confusing, since astronomers now say the dates used to delineate zodiac signs need to be adjusted by about a month.

The signs of the zodiac were created by the ancient Babylonians, who believed that whatever constellation the sun was "in" when you were born helped shape who you are. But a "wobble" in the Earth's rotation means that the sun's placement in, say, late December is no longer where it was when the Babylonians created the system.

"When [astrologers] say that the sun is in Pisces, it's really not in Pisces," Parke Kunkle of the Minnesota Planetarium Society told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Even more shocking: Kunkle and his colleagues say there should be a 13th sign, Ophiuchus. That's the constellation the sun is in from Nov. 29 to Dec. 17. Apparently, the Babylonians skipped Ophiuchus because they wanted there to be only 12 signs.

Astronomers have been saying for years that the zodiac signs in wide use don't really reflect the heavens above. But the new announcement has shocked some people who closely identify with their astrological signs -- even if they don't always believe what newspaper horoscopes say.

ARE AMERICANS LIVING ON A RESERVATION ??

Does this American Indian have a point ?

LIBERAL SMEAR MACHINE BACKFIRES

Everyone is trying to guess who this mass murderer is. They are blaming it on the Conservative Tea Partiers.

GRANDPARENTS NOT MUCH NEEDED ANYMORE

Adored or barely tolerated, grandparents were once just a fact of life. You saw them regularly or not, depending on where they lived and how well your parents got on with them, and if you were lucky they were warm repositories of wisdom and unconditional love, and if you were unlucky they were grumpy, distant and boring.

But in recent years a powerful seniors' lobby has won grandparents rights so that now grandparents can go to the Family Court and insist it is in a child's best interest to have regular contact with them, even against the wishes of a parent or parents.

Divorce has created an army of broken-hearted grandparents, estranged from grandchildren for reasons that are not always clear to them. Many grandparents suffer terribly as a result of being sent into exile, often by a daughter-in-law.

But just as there are selfish parents who put their own interests before their children's, so too are there selfish grandparents, emboldened by a sense of entitlement and determined to exercise their rights.

4700 EGG FARMS SHUT DOWN IN GERMANY

.BERLIN: Regional authorities in Germany have ordered the closure of 4709 farms because of a dioxin scare, the Agriculture Ministry says.

The BBC reported that officials said the dioxin levels did not pose a risk to humans and the closures were only a precaution.

However, dioxin, a byproduct of burning rubbish and industrial activities, can cause miscarriages, cancer and other health problems in humans.

Most of the farms involved were pig properties in Lower Saxony, in the country's north-west, the ministry said.

Until the farms had been checked and found clear of contamination, they would not be allowed to make any deliveries.

It was in Lower Saxony that 2500 out of the 3000 tonnes of contaminated fatty acids at the centre of the alert were delivered in November and December, where they were used as animal fodder.

The firm Harles und Jentzsch, in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, is alleged to have supplied up to 3000 tonnes of contaminated fatty acids, meant only for industrial use, to about 25 animal feed makers.

A BILLION DOLLAR WASTE. DESTRUCTION OF 100 DOLLAR BILLS

It was a waste to not oversee the production of these bills. Now they will have to be destroyed.

FBI HAS ALERT FOR BARBIE VIDEO GIRL DOLL

The FBI thinks this camera will be used by child molesters .

FEMALE VETS ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO SUICIDE

This is a sad tale. Women vets not only have to deal with sexual harassment from military personnel but also with outside contractors.

GERMAN HACKERS STEAL POP SONGS

.Two German hackers gained access to the computers of more than 50 pop stars, including Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga in an attempt to steal unreleased songs and issue blackmail threats over intimate photographs, prosecutors allege.

German police say the pair used simple invasive programs called trojans, which can break into private computer networks.

But they are alleged to have hacked into the computers of a string of stars and downloaded hundreds of documents including music and credit card details.

Their haul reportedly included a compromising picture of the American singer Kesha.

Prosecutors said the pair had tried to blackmail the singer but no money changed hands.

They believe the pair's main goal was unreleased musical material.