WalletPop

Walk past a newsstand these days and you'll see dozens of glossy magazines with the faces of the rich and famous staring back at you. Glamour, fame, fortune! But behind the fancy clothes and re-touched photos, celebrities are just people who, like us regular Joes, make serious mistakes. No, not bad plastic surgery or making the Worst Dressed list, we're talking about making serious money mistakes.

Here are nine that have made headlines recently...

Money Mistake #1: Not Signing a Pre-nuptial Agreement
If the rampant rumors are true, Madonna and Guy Ritchie may be the latest celebrities calling it quits--and the latest to potentially end up in a nasty fight over money since the Material Girl apparently didn't have a prenuptial agreement. This puts Madonna's estimated $600 million fortune at risk. Remember, earlier this year another British court ordered Sir Paul to pay ex-Heather Mills a whopping $48.7 million, so this could cost Madonna dearly.

You don't need to be filthy rich to need a pre-nup. If you bring assets to your partnership that you want to be sure you keep 100% of if things don't work out, it's essential you work out a pre-nuptial agreement before you are married.

Money Mistake #2: Not keeping your will up to date.
Actor Heath Ledger's tragic death was compounded by the fact that neither his girlfriend, Michelle Williams, nor their daughter, Matilda, was included in his will. That wasn't a slight...Ledger just hadn't updated his will since 2003, well before either was in his life.

We all get busy, and visiting a lawyer to update your will isn't at the top of anyone's "fun" list, but it's one of the most important things you can do to protect your loved ones should something unexpected happen to you. Be sure you update your will to address any major life event, such as marriage, divorce or the birth of a child or grand-child.

Money Mistake #3: Losing a home to foreclosure
You've probably seen former Tonight Show host Ed McMahon in the headlines lately. In a sad turn of events, McMahon, once famous for knocking on people's door to make their dreams come true, is now facing the nightmare of losing his home to foreclosure.

Records show McMahon is $664,000 behind in payments on his Beverly Hills mansion. How could this happen? Simple: McMahon got caught by the housing bust just like so many other Americans. He bought a big house and took out a home equity loan when banks were saying "yes" to almost any request. Meanwhile, the value of his house went down with a very weak real estate the market, and he got behind in his payments.

Other celebs to lose their homes this year include queen of soul Aretha Franklin and disgraced baseballer Jose Canseco, who simply abandoned his $2.8 million pad -- just walked away and let the bank take it. (See a gallery of recent celebrity foreclosures here)

Money Mistake #4: Going Bankrupt
We know, we know, cry us a river, right? It's hard to muster much sympathy for celebrities who made a fortune and squandered it all, but the list of celebs forced to declare bankruptcy is surprisingly long. The newest member to join this unfortunate club is rapper MC Hammer, who burned through $30 million with his penchant for fancy cars, homes and a huge entourage. Other bankrupt celebs include boxer Mike Tyson, figure skating darling Dorothy Hamill and Debbie Reynolds.

Keep reading to learn about the two superstars who are in danger of adding their name to the list...

See the full list

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's First Family of Personal Finance, answer your money questions every Friday.

Dear Ken and Daria,

Is the only way to get a new cell phone plan at a good price to extend my contract? Is there any other way to purchase a cell phone at a discounted price?

-Lauren

Cell phones, gas, food... our everyday expenses can really add up! Visit Dolans.com to save big bucks on common costs with Ken and Daria's money-savvy tips.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

What are the most important considerations when one is choosing a place to live? Obviously, recreation is a consideration, as is safety, but what else goes into the list? Does your ideal area have museums and libraries? Parks and bodies of water? How about diverse ethnic populations and a wide selection of restaurants?

While considerations like a country's level of happiness or its willingness to support slackers certainly have an impact upon its overall desirability, other factors definitely come into play. With this in mind, Mercer Consulting has developed an index that rates the safety and liveability of 215 cities across the world. According to them, the top-ranked city in the world is Zurich, followed by Vienna, Geneva, Vancouver, and Auckland, and the top five safest cities are Luxembourg, Bern, Geneva, Helsinki, and Zurich. The top-ranked city in the United States is Honolulu, which came in at number 28, while New York City came in at 49, behind San Francisco, Boston, Washington, Chicago, and Portland, Ore.

Having been to -- yawn -- Zurich and -- double yawn -- Geneva, as well as several of the other cities that are ranked far ahead of Honolulu, I began to wonder what, exactly, the folks at Mercer were smoking. Not that there's anything wrong with Oslo (24), Stockholm (20), or Copenhagen (11), but putting these cities ahead of every U.S. city seems a little odd. And Zurich! Don't even get me started on the famed "Valium of the Alps!"*

When I read the fine print, I began to understand. Mercer's focus is on how much "hardship pay" the average executive should have to get when he or she gets sent to work in a city. Their primary considerations are internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement, and relationships with other countries. In that context, it seems pretty clear why the United States is ranking comparatively low in the world and Switzerland is at the top of the heap. It also explains why Nairobi (212), Karachi (213), Kinshasa (214), and Baghdad (215) round out the bottom of the list. Hopefully, with a little more political stability and some improved relationships with other countries, the United States will be able to reclaim its rightful place, directly below Switzerland!


*Actually, nobody calls Zurich "The Valium of the Alps." But they should.

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. Having dragged his butt through some of the seedier parts of Amsterdam (13), he still has to wonder if the Mercer people are on crack.

In a comment made in response to my post lamenting New York City's insane grocery prices, one WalletPop reader explained how he cuts down on his grocery bills (edited for clarity):

I get my son to shop for me... It helps me avoid me from impulse buying. Thefirst thing I do is visit online grocery stores, prepare a grocery list & if I think the delivery fee doesn't make sense then I get Neil to pick up the stuff for me. I really think getting a person who doesn't like to grocery shop works because it doesn't put a hole in your pocket.

It makes perfect sense to me -- if you have a son who's willing to do your shopping for you at no charge. Most people know that making a grocery list and sticking to it is a good way to avoid overspending on impulse items. But I also wonder whether having someone else to your shopping is a good personal finance strategy: maybe if you and a friend swap lists and do each other's shopping, you'll both spend less? It seems a little complicated and most orders would probably get messed up in some way: "I wanted the light blue cheese dressing!" But if are looking to lose weight -- and can't help stocking up on unhealthy foods -- sending someone else to do your food shopping might be just the trick. It's sort of the idea behind programs like Nutrisystem.

I'm curious if anyone reading this has experimented with having someone else do their shopping, and what the results have been. Please leave a comment and I'll do a follow-up!

In our ongoing quest to provide you with more free toiletries than the gift bag at the Procter & Gamble annual meeting, here's your chance to get free Gillette shampoo and.or bodywash, courtesy of Sam's Club. It isn't immediately clear which you -- maybe you get both -- so you'll have to fill out the form and check your mail. Click
here and then click "Get Your Sample." Here's the PR on the products:

Dry Skin Hydrator and Body Wash
Get a deep-cleaning body wash with three times the hydrators versus the leading male body wash and helps defend against dry skin.

Gentle Clean Shampoo and Body Wash
Deep cleaning body wash leaves hair healthy looking and has 40% more cleansers versus the leading hair and body wash.

Gillette Clean + Condition 2-in-1 Shampoo
For hair that feels great in only one step.

Gillette Deep Cleaning Shampoo
Charged cleaning system removes dirt and oil for a clean that lasts all day.

As a fraud fighter in real life, I only wish it was this easy. Commit fraud... go to prison... others see the example that's been made of you... fraud goes down.

It's not nearly this easy. Fraud is a crime that doesn't result in as many prison sentences as violent crimes, because our society has decided that violent crimes should be the law enforcement priority. If you look at crimes in terms of how many people are impacted negatively, you'd probably see that the effects of fraud are far more wide-reaching than violent crime.

But fraud isn't as shocking as violent crimes, so fraud takes a back seat. Usually only the most egregious crimes are prosecuted, and prison terms aren't terribly long unless the fraud was huge. Victims of smaller frauds can be hurt just as badly, but they can't really rely on our criminal justice system to lock up the bad guys.

If you drive, then chances are that you, like almost everybody else, have been looking for little techniques to reduce your gas consumption. In their quest to save money, airlines have begun doing the same. While tricks like charging for the first checked bag and hiring extra carry-on inspectors have captured the public's interest, a less-obvious technique is also paying major dividends: Planes are flying slower.

Recently, two European airlines, EasyJet Plc (Europe's second-largest discount airline) and BMI, have asked their pilots to fly slower to reduce gas intake. In the case of easyJet, this has come in the form of a missive asking for a 2% reduction in flying speeds, while BMI has asked for a 3 mph drop.

It's worth noting that both of these airlines are discount carriers. EasyJet, in fact, seems to be following the pay-as-you-go, charge a fee for everything model that American Airlines has been flirting with. In this context, it's easy to understand how the company might be searching for ways to eke out every single penny.

On this side of the Atlantic, several airlines, including Southwest, United, JetBlue, and Northwest have been experimenting with the technique, and have found that it can save hundreds of dollars per flight. Southwest, in fact, expects to save $42 million this year by flying just a little bit slower. While this extends the length of each flight, the difference is negligible, generally lasting only a few minutes.

Now if they could only find a way to transfer that savings back into free checked baggage!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He recently opened his own airline. Although they have yet to fly a single plane, they've already cut costs by firing ten pilots and eliminating most of their flights!

If you're a recent grad looking to go into a traditionally lucrative career in something like finance, good luck: the big banks are struggling, cutting down on hiring, and laying off seasoned veterans: so you'll be competing for jobs with people who have a ton of experience.

But if you're a new graduate, you have some worldly options the seasoned veterans don't. According to The Wall Street Journal, (subscription required), Teach For America saw its applications rise 36% over last year's level. The Peace Corps also is expecting a 16% rise in volunteers at the close of its fiscal year in Oct.

Hard to say if this is a new and refreshing altruistic trend of the young generation, or simply a good way to get some do-gooder experience to pad the law school resume.

Either way, when the job market turns around, as it always does, your resume will give you a competitive advantage, demonstrating creativity and a genuine desire to change the world. Some programs have strong connections with top companies, and you may have an easier time going to work for Google after you work for slave wages with Teach For America for a few years.

Make the world better, improve your resume -- at a time like this, that's something worth considering. Then you can go get rich.

Cell phone contracts often lock up the user tighter than Alcatraz, and the cost to escape is just as costly, with the lowest termination fees still coming in over $150.

Thankfully if you want to get out of your current cell phone plan without paying out the nose, you can sell your cell phone contract via Cellswapper.com. The service connects you with people who want to pick up a short term contract on the cheap, allowing you to sign up for a new iPhone or a plan that better fits your calling habits.

The cost to sell your contract begins at $18.95 for the basic sale package, where your phone will be listed until the contract is purchased. Once you have made a sale, you simply have to ring up your current provider and initiate a transfer process, which typically takes 2-3 days. If you are switching to another provider you can even keep your phone number. You can also get 25% of your selling fee refunded if you purchase your next phone contract from Cellswapper.com.

I'm always impressed with the businesses that pop up to deal with the shortcomings of the current marketplace. I still wish you could purchase an affordable phone without making a commitment that lasts longer than many marriages these days. Of course if you're selling your current contract to purchase a new iPhone, make sure you check out the new iPhone pricing plans!

The U.S. Mint has unveiled a prototype of the first U.S. coin to feature readable Braille characters, the 2003 Alabama state quarter also featured Braille, but in small print.

This silver dollar coin will debut in 2009 and features Louis Braille, who invented Braille, on the head side of the coin. This silver dollar is celebrating Louise's 200th birthday. Despite a recent ruling that the U.S. has failed to adequately differentiate paper money for the blind, coins have a better track record with varying weights, shapes and other distinguishing features.

The new coin will come complete with a $10 charge, which will be directed to groups which benefit the blind. One of these programs is aimed at increasing the literacy rate in Braille of blind children and teenagers.

I like money, particularly bills. I like their weight, their smell, the pretty colors that they have, and the cool pieces of colored lint that the manufacturers put in the paper.

What I don't like, however, are the pictures. Not to insult Messrs. Washington, Lincoln, Grant, and Franklin, but these guys were revered for their intelligence, statesmanlike qualities, and dedication to the country, not their looks. I give partial passes to Jefferson, Hamilton, and Jackson, as they at least had good hair, but even they would be hard pressed to get a spot on a regional nightly news show, much less the coveted national anchor spot. And don't even get me started on McKinley, Cleveland, Madison, Wilson, and Salmon P. Chase; let's just say that I'm glad that they're stuck on the really large denominations.

Every so often, I've though about what America's currency would look like if the country had been established by attractive people. Luckily, thanks to Freaking News, I need wonder no longer. The site, which regularly features photoshop contests and strange news, has identified a recent trend in the United Kingdom: apparently, people with money, images of celebrities, and way too much time on their hands have begun combining the monetary portraits and the paparazzi pictures. In the process, they have created art that ranges somewhere between the monstrous, the amusing, and the deeply inspiring.

Excited by the potential of this process, Freaking News has conducted Photoshop money contests of its own. Check them out; the results are sure to give you a smile...particularly if you've ever wondered how Brad Pitt would look on a $50!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. If, for some reason, he ever ends up on currency, he hopes that the designers will use common sense and hire a stand-in. Perhaps Bruce Willis?

We're working too hard.

That's the conclusion that is coming from some quarters. For instance, ABC News recently had a little conflict with a union, the Writers Guild, East, when the company said that three new writers wouldn't be compensated for checking their office-issued BlackBerries after working hours. It was eventually decided that writers and producers would be paid for using BlackBerries after hours but only under certain circumstances. What those circumstances are, I'm not sure.

As Lowell Peterson, executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East, told Reuters, "Our folks are professionals. They're not going to start putting in overtime slips for 2.1 minutes. Our concern is we don't want this to grow into a major work commitment that people don't get paid for."

A really great way for really rich people to become 50% less rich is to get divorced. It looks like Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez may be going down that path. The New York Daily News (so take it for what it's worth) reported earlier that, less than 3 months after the birth of the couple's second daughter, the pair have split. The Associated Press has also picked up the story.

And rumors has it that Cynthia Rodriguez is now of on a romantic getaway with Lenny Kravitz but, in a statement, he says that's not the case: "Cynthia is a friend and is here with the godfather of her baby, who is also Alex's trainer, his wife and their baby girl. She came here to escape from everything happening in New York City. I opened my home to her as a friend and I find it extremely hurtful that I am now being referred to as an adulterer."

A divorce could have a potentially devastating impact on Rodriguez's finances. He signed a 10-year, $252 million deal at the end of the 2000 season, and then opted out to sign a 10-year $275 million contract after the 2007 season. No details about any pre-nup are available, but Rodriguez wouldn't be the first baseball player to see his wealth decimated by divorce. The self-proclaimed "Godfather of Steroids", Jose Canseco, recently lost his home to foreclosure, and blamed two $8 million divorces for his woes.

Incidentally, Canseco hates A-Rod because he thinks he tried to get with his wife. The beat goes on.

Leona Helmsley's reputation for her dealing with her fellow man is, let's just say, not the best. She spent time in the pen for tax evasion and, in an incident recounted by famed attorney Alan Dershowitz, treated a waiter rather rudely: he brought her tea and a tiny bit dripped onto the saucer, and Ms. Helmsley pick up the cup, smashed it on the floor, and demanded that he get down on his knees and beg for his job.

But the Associated Press is reporting that she has left $8 billion -- the bulk of her fortune -- to be used to help care for dogs. Her trustees will decide the specifics of how the money is spent.

Her less than kind reputation aside, her gift is many, many times the total annual giving for dogs in the entire world -- $8 billion will change the world for dogs. If you're a lover of dogs, you have to consider Ms. Helmsley a hero.

When I started driving, my first car was a huge, mid-eighties station wagon. Although it contained a lot of steel (which my parents liked) and could carry a lot of my friends (which I liked), the behemoth also sucked down a lot of gas, which was sometimes hard to cover on the money that I made from my after school job. To combat the fuel drain, I quickly picked up a few tricks, like drafting and coasting.

Drafting was all well and good, but it tended to terrify the other drivers. My preferred money-saving method was coasting. Rather than use a lot of gas to speed up and then use my brake to slow down, I tried, as often as possible, to get gravity to do my work. In Northern Virginia, where I lived, this became pretty interesting, as there were a lot of small hills. However, by carefully calibrating my acceleration, I was able to use the natural topography to save fuel. My favorite route was through the middle of town, where two major highways met. There was a wide valley in the area and, if I could time the lights properly, I was able to go about a mile or so without hitting the gas. Of course, there were times when my refusal to hit the brakes was sorely tested, and I still have bad dreams about some of my close calls. On the other hand, I did eke out between 20 and 30 mpg in Northern Virginia city driving, which is damn near miraculous.

Recently, as the cost of gas has soared, my old tricks have really come back into fashion. Whereas I used to refer to my little gas-saving tricks as "driving like a stupid, cheap teenager," current practitioners prefer the snappier-sounding "hypermiling." Personally, I think hypermiling sounds like the way you drive when you've got a full bladder and the next rest stop is ten exits away, but I guess it conveys the supercool exxxtreme notion of intensely saving gas. At any rate, in addition to "drafting," which involves driving insanely close to the person in front of you, and "coasting," which involves never hitting the gas, hypermilers also superinflate their tires to reduce road resistance and some even turn off their engines while coasting, a process that they call "pulse and glide." By following these methods, they often eke out astounding mpgs from their cars, sometimes exceeding the actual sticker values that car lots advertise!