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Last night on Shark Tank, America met Nicole Jones of Chicago. "I've been in love for a very long time," she purred. "In love with shoes!"

Thus was introduced Pillars of Slippers, a retail store with a service that throws shoe parties at ladies' homes. When her pink SUV arrives, the pink carpet unfurls, the champagne cork pops, and the fondue melts. "I throw the ladies into a shoe frenzy," exclaimed Jones, and everyone hopefully racks up big bills buying footwear.

Last night on another roller-coaster episode of Shark Tank, we met Michele Kapustka and Melisa Moroko, sisters behind SendABall, a Web-based company that sends inflated balls through the mail -- address it, stamp it, and send it, no box required -- instead of greeting cards. Between them, they have seven kids, and the families collaborate out of a garage.

In their taped introduction, they confessed they were doing so well, they couldn't keep up anymore. "We are slammed with orders. We need the Sharks and we need them now," said one of them. (Which one? We needed more time to distinguish them.) A problem like that -- too much guaranteed income -- is the sweet smell of chum to such finely tuned noses as our Sharks'.



They wanted $86,000 for 20% of their biz, and right away, they explained what they would do with the cash: They wanted to buy their own manufacture equipment so they wouldn't have to pay to outsource anymore. One of the sisters (the one whose name starts with M) said they would put their new equipment in "our little place in Chicago."

Great news for anyone who makes under $58,000. You'll be able to file your taxes for free, including free tax prep, thanks to a $4 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to United Way Worldwide, One Economy and the National Disability Institute. This is the second year for the free tax prep program, which allows Americans who meet the criteria to get free assistance at community locations and online at Myfreetaxes.com.

According to the Walmart Foundation, last year's program provided more than 650,000 people with tax prep, and helped them save over $950 Million in tax preparation fees, refunds and tax credits.

It's the hottest new theme park opening in a decade: Universal Orlando Resort's Islands of Adventure park is putting the finishing touches on its feverishly anticipated The Wizarding World of Harry Potter section. This Sunday, Feb. 7, the world gets a sneak peek at the new 20-acre attraction when a top secret commercial airs during the Saints-Colts Super Bowl battle. Among the surprises: Daniel Radcliffe himself appears as Harry Potter to promote the opening, which was designed with the full cooperation and approval of series author J.K. Rowling. Guess what, Potterheads? WalletPop.com has an exclusive first online look at the entire spot.

Friday night on ABC's Shark Tank, we were introduced to a product that could, as infomercial godfather Kevin Harrington put it, make "$100 million on TV." It was LipStix ReMix, an ingenious lipstick recycler.

Although the pitch ended in a fantastic six-figure deal, its inventor made a simple negotiating mistake that could end up costing her an untold fortune. Jason Cochran found out what it was in WalletPop's exclusive AfterShark interview. (Make sure you stay tuned for the end of the interview, when Quillin offers an exclusive two-for-one deal exclusively for WalletPop readers.)

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

Seventy-eight million American workers are not offered a retirement plan -- such as a 401(k) or pension plan -- at work. While having an employer sponsored plan is certainly a nice benefit, you have plenty of other options for saving for retirement. Today Ken and Daria walk you through your retirement plan options.

Dear Ken and Daria,

I have no retirement plan right now. The company I work for doesn't offer any kind of 401(k) or retirement plan. What are my options for a retirement plan and how do I get started? Thank you for your help!

-- Linda

For more retirement planning help, including how much you really need to save and retirement mistakes to avoid, visit Dolans.com.

Ken and Daria Dolan of Dolans.com, America's first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

Dear Ken and Daria,

I'm retired and 70 years old. Do I really need life insurance?

--Ed

Find out how much life insurance you really need with our simple worksheet at Dolans.com.

Last night on Shark Tank, Nate Berkopec, a 19-year-old New York University student originally from Minnesota, dared to take his six-month-old environmentally conscious clothing line, The Factionist, into the Tank.

"It's really easy to do your market research if you are the market," he proclaimed of his clothing's message and ethical manufacturing methods, and duly confident, he requested $30,000 for a 20% stake of his business. "It's not just an apparel brand," he enthused. "It's a movement."

But right after that, he ran his ship into the shoals that have scuppered many a vessel before his.

Check out my interview with Berkopec, and also make sure to check in with the big winners from last night's show, Erin Whalen and Tim Stansbury of Grease Monkey Wipes, who also granted us a behind-the-scenes follow-up video interview as part of our AfterShark series.

Miss last night's Shark Tank? Then you missed witnessing some everyday people make money fast by daring to take their dreams in front of a panel of multi-millionaires.

Decked out in banana yellow bike shirts, close friends Erin Whalen and Tim Stansbury appealed for $40,000 for 40% of their Grease Monkey Wipes. It sounded like a product you thought existed before: a disposable cleaning sheet that can tackle grease and other stains that baby wipes can't handle. During a very effective and simple demonstration, the aroma of the key ingredient, orange citrus oil, filled the Shark Tank, but that couldn't keep the whiff of greed away for long.

Here's our follow-up interview with the branding whizzes, who snagged $40,000 for what was essentially a new kind of Wet-Nap:

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

Parents and students looking for pay for college face an incredibly challenge. Tight credit, rising tuition costs, investing losses on college savings... Today, Ken and Daria help a WalletPop reader find the best ways to pay for college, and offer up a stiff warning to all parents and students alike about going deep into debt to pay for college.

Dear Ken and Daria,

I have one child in college and another starting in the fall. I am unemployed and have to find need-based and deferred college loans. Any pointers?

-- Francine

To learn more about the best ways to pay for college, visit Dolans.com.

Shark Tank is back! And right away, as the desperate, money-seeking entrepreneurs step in front of the self-made billionaires, we've already seen our share of controversial characters.

Dorene Humason wanted to get her salad dressing mix onto supermarket shelves, and she needed $50,000 for just a 10% stake. So far, this food buyer and salesperson with 27 years' experience had managed to get into 1,300 stores, which translated to only $41,000 owing to the fact she had to pull her original label design. "My original packaging was offensive," she explained (Daymond John: "It had [Kevin O'Leary's] face on it?"). Because she went for a package that was "very interesting," she had accidentally put a picture of a Japanese prostitute on her Chinese seasoning.

That wasn't the only mistake Humason made. Although she won the Sharks' money in the end (read how she did it, below), now she thinks their business advice was wrong. Where they wanted her to focus on one aspect of her business, she wants to diversify, and now, several months after she made her pitch in the Tank, the deal is in jeopardy. Watch Jason Cochran's video interview of her, in which she's frank about the differences of opinion that threaten to ruin everything she won on Shark Tank.

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

In a recent survey, more than 50% of Baby Boomers believe they haven't saved enough for retirement. The good news is it's never too late! Today The Dolans help a WalletPop reader figure out how to get her retirement planning on track.

Dear Ken and Daria,

I am 49 years old, married and have nothing saved for retirement. I am scared that we are going to be in bad financial shape in 10 years. How are we ever going to be able to retire?

-- Paula

For more retirement planning help, get a free copy of The Dolans' new Special Report "Rescue Your Retirement: 10 Simple Steps to Get Back on Track."

Barbara Corcoran is a born salesperson. The self-made millionaire became a household name selling real estate, perhaps the biggest-ticket thing a person can buy. But now, instead of being the one doing the hustling, would-be businesspeople come begging to her week after week on ABC's tense venture capitalism pitchfest, Shark Tank.

While he was visiting Corcoran to get the dish on the upcoming season of the popular ABC show (click here for that video), WalletPop's Jason Cochran got the dish on her rival Sharks who try to horn in on her deals. Maybe she's a little sore from being back-stabbed too many times, because she has a choice anecdote about the time Kevin O'Leary asked her to dinner -- and then stiffed her with the check. "That guy's got billions. I've got millions. Is that fair? No."



Jason also asked her what makes for a successful salesperson. If you want to succeed, do you have to be a born salesperson? Do you have to do months of expensive market research and have every I dotted and every T crossed? Or does it take something else? Corcoran lays it out there: You don't have to be buttoned-up to make money. But you do need something else.

Take her advice and next season, you could be standing in front of her on Shark Tank.

Tonight, Jan. 8, the much-loved venture capital competition show Shark Tank returns to the ABC lineup. We've been chronicling the tense Mark Burnett production, in which everyday people try to convince a panel of five real-world moguls to invest money in their ideas, through our in-depth AfterShark series (www.walletpop.com/after-shark-tank).

Since Shark Tank is back helping people make money fast, so is AfterShark. WalletPop's Jason Cochran was invited to Barbara Corcoran's offices in Manhattan to find out what's been happening with her big investments from the last batch of episodes. Corcoran tells which product landed a big deal at CVS, who's selling on Whole Food shelves, and who got enough money to mass produce thanks to Shark Tank bucks.

She also hints, with a trace of venom, at some nasty backstabbing between the Sharks in the episodes to come -- could it be that she's about to get sliced out of some juicy deals?



Jason also got some extra advice from Corcoran about what makes for a successful entrepreneur. Click here for Part Two of our video interview with the Lipstick Shark, in which she dishes about the other Sharks and their sneaky methods.

This Sunday on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, 2008 American Idol winner and multi-platinum seller David Cook pitches in to help a family build a new house for their sick daughter. Cook uses Skype to call in to WalletPop's Jason Cochran and give the behind-the-scenes story of his stint as a volunteer handyman. He also talks real estate. No, really!

Before he was yanked from obscurity by the Fox TV show, Cook was on the edge of financial disaster. He was shacking up with a friend from Tulsa, in debt, and working hand-to-mouth as a painter. Sometimes, he had to make the hard choice that so many Americans have to make these days: Do I pay the rent this month or eat?

Cook recounts those days with Jason, and he reminisces a little about the first big purchase he made when he knew he had more of a financial cushion. Here's a hint: "I'm a bit of a wino," Cook says.