Earlier this month I took a look at Bank of America's saving plan, called Keep the Change, which didn't live up to the hype, due mostly to the abysmally low interest rate that your saved change earned.

One of the commentators shared why they thought Bank of America's plan was worthwhile, including the fact that they thought the match made up for the low interest rate as well as the program being an easy way to save. This comment got me thinking that there had to be a middle ground that provided a good upfront match as well as the potential for growth over time that comes from a good APY.

While watching the news this morning I found out that Wachovia stepped up to the plate with Way2Save, its own automatic savings plan, which seems to meet my criteria for a good savings program.

The Social Security administration rolled out a new version of its online benefits calculator today. The new version of the benefits calculator requires less input from the user by making use of the Social Security database to determine past wages. The new incarnation also enables users to factor in higher future earnings when calculating benefits, making for a more realistic outcome. The new "Retirement Estimator" is available right now on the Social Security website.

I was excited to learn that the SSA has taken at least half of the guesswork out of the benefit calculator by accessing the past data they have on you; unfortunately you're still left to determine what you will make for the rest of your working years.

Even if you have to make an educated guess in order to complete the process, the benefit calculator is still way more useful than the bleak annual mailing I've gotten for several years now, informing me of my current benefits, which suggest that I will be lucky to collect 78 cents on the dollar in my retirement.

Whether 'tis nobler in the minds of your parents and friends to rent; than to suffer the slings and arrows of home ownership, I have a few calculators that will help you make the decision based on your unique situation. Owning a home is an idea which is drilled into us from the moment we become financially aware of the cost to live someplace. Many people consider renting to be throwing away money which you could be using to build equity. In reality the true cost benefit of owning a home relies on many factors including home price, rental increase, home value appreciation and length of ownership.

With average gas prices peaking over $4, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you can save money by carpooling. Even though the savings associated with carpooling is clear to me and my carpool partner some people may not realize exactly how much you can save by carpooling.

Thankfully RideSearch.com provides a great calculator to figure out just how much it costs you to schlep to and from work each month. The calculator even takes the maintenance costs of your vehicle into the final cost calculation. The calculator is only one tool they provide, the main draw is that you can use RideSearch.com to find other people to carpool with.

The service helps connect you with carpoolers in the area and takes into account a myriad of preferences for sorting and finding carpool partners. For example you can set your preferences to indicate you only want to share rides with females who don't smoke, have working air conditioning and will alternate days of driving. Of course the more restrictions you start adding in to the mix the fewer applicants will be remaining.