It's all too easy to make fun of RadioShack. The home electronics chain endures with whole walls devoted to different kinds of wires, cables and connectors. A 2007 spoof , "Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business," from The Onion has its chief executive saying, "I wouldn't think that people still buy enough strobe lights and extension cords to support an entire nationwide chain, but I guess they must."

Well, I certainly do. I'll go there for an ethernet cable, a cheap phone, an AC adapter, even a quick birthday present for a child's party. If I need some kind of component to get my ancient VCR hooked up to my new TV, I know where to turn.

RadioShack is a bridge from old technology to the new. The stores are ubiquitous and remain an easy stop for picking up items that can solve all sorts of electronics problems faced by modern families -- a phone with three handsets, a box to convert your television to receive digital signals (that was a big recent driver of sales).

Everyone knows that Social Security is seriously in need of reform. But now that the retirement savings of so many Americans have been decimated by declines in the stock market, shoring up the program seems more important than ever.

Meantime, the options for what to do are dwindling. It's clear now that President Bush's main proposal for reform -- putting the money in the stock market -- would have been a recipe for disaster. Congress already raised the age you start getting Social Security to 67 for all people born after 1960, so raising it even further -- especially as increased unemployment forces more people into early retirement -- seems ludicrous. Both presidential candidates are against increasing the retirement age any further.

So what's left? McCain wants to set up a bipartisan commission to solve the problem -- perhaps by letting people create private accounts that they could invest in the stock market. Obama wants to raise the payroll tax for people who make more than $250,000.

I think those are both bad ideas. My preference is that politicians find a fair way to reduce benefits so we can afford payments to folks that really need them. It seems pretty obvious that Social Security should not go to the rich. So we can start by phasing out payments over a certain income level. The sooner we start, the easier it will be to fix the program.

Don't miss the rest of our series on Makeovers Needed!

Something must be done soon. As baby boomers retire, the amount collected will be less than needed to fund the program in just nine years and the so-called "trust fund" will be depleted by 2041, according to government figures (via AP).

I'm 42, so if I start collecting Social Security at age 67, that will be 25 years from now, or 2033. That puts me and my age group right at the sweet spot where we face real worry that our Social Security benefits could disappear just when we're starting to count on them.

Reducing benefits now would be painful, but I'd rather know I was going to get something from Social Security, however small, than wonder if I'd ever get anything at all.

Update on 10/25/08: A fellow WalletPop blogger, Lita Epstein, schooled me on some misconceptions I had in the last line of my post. As she explained, even though the trust fund will be depleted by 2041 if Social Security isn't changed, that doesn't mean benefits would stop being paid out. It just means they would be paid out of current payroll taxes and the amount collected could cover most (but not all) of projected payments due at that time. Lita wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Social Security and Medicare so she knows this topic well!

For a variety of reasons that have very little to do with an abiding interest in professional horse racing, I've been to the races quite a few times and in several different venues. My husband is from New York's North Country (that's about four hours drive north of "upstate" New York), and the historic Saratoga Race Course is on our route. We go sometimes. Also, we were put up in the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino when Mike was invited to the Delaware state book festival. And his prior day job held a summer outing for employees last year at the Belmont Park.

I've learned enough from these trips -- which have all included bringing my young children -- to proclaim with confidence that going to the races could be a fun, thrilling, even educational family outing. But first, the sport needs a radical makeover.

Foremost, gambling has to be taken off site. My husband tells me that without gambling there would be no professional horse racing, so I won't go that far (even though I think gambling is a vice that can be addictive and that is a regressive tax on the poorest people). But if people want to gamble, I think they can place their bets online or go to Vegas or to off-track gambling parlors. That would remove the aura of seedy desperation that some racing venues have.

Don't miss the rest of our series on Makeovers Needed!

The U.S. government passed a $700 billion economic bailout package in an effort to stabilize the flailing banking sector. So far, it hasn't worked as hoped and the financial crisis has deepened since the law was approved. That's the bad news.

The good news is that there is a lot more than help for just banks in the 451-page legislation. Lawmakers added hundreds of other "sweeteners" to make the bill more popular with the public. See if you can benefit from any of the following provisions:

More insurance for bank deposits: Now your bank deposits are protected up to $250,000 for each account. Formerly, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) backed your deposits up to $100,000. The increase is temporary, but is likely to be extended.

AMT Reform: Fewer taxpayers are going to get hit with the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax, a parallel tax code that was originally intended to make sure wealthy people paid their fair share of taxes, but which has increasingly slammed middle-income earners. Basically, unless you make more than $100,000 for single taxpayers or $175,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly, you shouldn't have to worry about the AMT due to the change.

Politicians, economists, columnists and bloggers have offered numerous stark predictions about how the current financial crisis and government bailout will affect average Americans. But the truth is that Wall Street's crisis, which kicked off September 15 with the fall of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG, is already affecting Main Street.

We list eight ways your finances are already being affected by the current financial meltdown:

Credit card limits reduced:
Even if you have a high credit score and a blemish-free payment history, your credit limit may have been cut. American Express recently cut the credit for 10% of its cardholders, but most banks have reduced credit limits for some customers since last summer. If you are making a big purchase or use your credit card for unplanned expenses, be sure to check your limit. There are big penalties for going over it.

Student loans harder to come by:
It's not just banks and mortgage lenders that are suffering. The student loan industry is in crisis. Private lenders are going under and some state agencies and large banks, including Bank of America and Wachovia, have stopped issuing student loans. Some schools are being more forgiving on payment schedules as students scramble to secure funding. Call the student aid office for help, but expect less favorable terms than prior years.

Money market mutual funds safer:
To stave off investor panic after one prominent money market fund "broke the buck," or posted a small decline in value, the government has promised it would cover any losses. Not all funds are covered in the new program, so check with your fund company if you are worried. With this added protection, money market funds are now just as safe as bank savings accounts.

More incentives to open bank accounts:
One result of the credit crisis is that banks are trying their darndest to attract more deposits. Chase is currently offering $125 (at least in New York City) to open an account with direct deposit. Citibank is beefing up its "Thank You" rewards program. Refer a friend, and Bank of America will give you both $25. Remember, low fees and high interest on savings are more important than one-time incentives when choosing a bank.

Easier to get a loan if you have good credit:
Don't forget, even in the current crisis, banks want to stay in business. So they are continuing to make loans to borrowers with with good credit records and plenty of assets. There are good deals on home equity lines of credit and businesses have found short-term loans easier to come by since the bailout talks began.

Harder to get a loan if you have weak credit:
If you have a tarnished credit history, don't expect to get a loan any time soon -- even if you're willing to pay high interest rates. Banks continue to tighten their lending standards as the credit crisis deepens. If you need to rebuild your credit score, a good way to start is by using a secured credit card (one where you have cash in a bank account to back up purchases).

More deals at stores in preparation for weak holiday spending:
With the economy slowing and family budgets tightening, retailers are anticipating a tough holiday sales season ahead. So they are layering on the deals early. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when the holiday shopping season kicks off, should provide a bonanza of deals. Consumer electronics will offer particularly good buys.

Investment returns are down:
The stock market has taken it on the chin in recent weeks. But sharp sell-offs on bad news have been followed by major relief rallies a day or two later. The worst thing you can do is panic and sell at the bottom. Instead, make sure your investments are diversified and use the upswings to sell some stocks if you realize now that you've taken on more risk than you can handle.

Everyone knows health insurance is important, right? It's obvious: If you don't have health insurance because you can't afford it, you know you are risking racking up serious long-term medical bills should you become ill.

But this series is about ways you can harm your financial future when you may not even realize it. For this series, the health insurance warning is really about choosing the wrong plan.

The truth is that every plan is different. Some plans allow you to choose your doctor, others don't. Some have great prescription drug coverage, others limit your options quite severely. If you get seriously ill, you may have to fight with your insurance company to get the treatment you want from the best doctor around. If you violate the provisions of your plan -- say by seeing a specialist that isn't in your HMO -- you may have to foot the bill.

I realized how important the details of your health insurance plan after I had two hospital stays in the same 12 months (but not the same calendar year). I had a C-section and then, eight months later, my gallbladder removed. My insurance covers only 90% of hospital stays up to a certain cap. That 10% in my case meant more than $2,000 of extra bills I hadn't expected.

Don't miss the rest of our series on 15 Ways to Ruin Your Financial Future!

Personal finance expert Dan Solin explains more in this post about the different types of insurance and why it is important to pay attention to the fine print -- not just the co-pay and the monthly premium -- when choosing a plan.

When you're young and virile, health insurance can seem unimportant. Choose unwisely, though, and you can spend a lifetime paying for your mistake. Too little, and a neck injury can leave you broke for life. And don't forget the risk of buying too much -- that can sap money that could be invested, compounding for decades.

It's easy to feel panicked with titans of the financial world like Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG either failing, selling out, or getting taken over by the government this week. The financial world is truly in crisis, but that doesn't necessarily mean your money is now at risk.

Take a deep breath and read on as we take you through 12 personal finance topics and explain what the mayhem on Wall Street means for you:

For your stocks: No doubt about it, the market is going to be swinging wildly for the next few months. Predicting the direction of stocks is all but impossible, but it seems likely the major indexes will be down from here at year-end. That doesn't mean you should sell. But if you will need some of that money in the next year or two, use upswings as an opportunity to gradually exit your riskiest positions.

For your mutual funds: Many mutual funds have been heavily weighted in financials (especially value funds, which buy stocks that seem cheap), so you may be feeling the pain now. But you can bet your fund managers are working feverishly to recover. If you sell now, you miss out on a chance at a rebound. Still, in times like these, index funds prove their mettle. At least you don't have to worry about doing worse than the market.

The Jonas Brothers are no doubt a teen singing sensation. The three young men, ages 15 to 20, boast sold out concerts, chart-topping records and throngs of adoring fans.

They get heaps of credit for playing their own instruments and writing their songs (isn't that what most professional musicians do?). But unlike most professional musicians, they are noted for wearing purity rings and promising to remain chaste.

They make gobs of money -- estimated at $12 million in 2007 by Portfolio.com -- and will soon have their own show on Disney's cable channel.

But are they overrated? Of course they are. I heard a radio announcer compare them recently to the Beatles. Now, that's overrated.

Don't miss the rest of our series on Overrated people, places and things!

Their songs are catchy, but forgettable pop tunes. Camp Rock, their debut movie was terrible. The acting of the overly made-up Joe was wooden. The other brothers appeared only briefly and their acting was even worse. I'm predicting the brothers' upcoming Disney program will be unwatchable.

Even though summer isn't over yet, for those of you who travel over Thanksgiving, it is already time to start thinking about booking your flights.

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest flying times of the year and this year there are going to be a lot fewer flights available. In an effort to save on costs and in hopes of being able to raise prices, airlines are cutting back on the number of flights they offer. American airlines is shrinking its flight capacity in its main US markets by up to 12% in the Fall and United by up to 16.5%. (Southwest just announced it would cut 200 flights, or about 6%, but not till January, 2009).

Travelers in certain markets will find the cuts much more severe than those percentages imply. If you are used to taking a direct flight, from, let's say, Albany to Chicago on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, you will have half the amount of flights to choose from -- four this year, down from eight last year, according to a report from USA Today. From Boston to Chicago there are three fewer flights, from San Diego there are two fewer flights, and from Pittsburgh there are six fewer direct flights on that route that day.

I haven't done thorough scientific research on this topic. But one thing I've concluded this summer -- albeit, a self-serving conclusion given that I am not a big fan of cooking -- is that going out to eat with kids can often be just as cheap as eating in.

Let's consider a sample meal at, say, Red Lobster. I went there for lunch recently with my three kids.

First let me mention that they serve these delicious cheddar cheese biscuits that are "free" with most meals and quite filling. My girls scarfed them right up and the waiter was kind enough to bring more. Their appetite was then ruined, of course, for the $5 kids' meals they ordered. That meant plenty of leftovers.

My fish entree was just $7.75 and came with those incredible biscuits, a salad and a side dish. My one-year old shared my meal with me and we still had lots of leftovers. Hence, dinner at home with Dad was taken care of with the addition of a few supplemental noodles. Our total bill plus tip for lunch came to about $25 and amounted to nine meals, or about $2.70 a meal.

Of course, a home cooked meal is often much healthier and can be more relaxing and intimate. So I want to be clear to everyone getting ready to write a nasty comment -- I don't recommend you do this every day.

But if you have cut meals with the kids at casual dining establishments from your budget as a way to save money -- and many people have -- you can make a case that a meal out now and then is actually a pretty good deal.