I think it is safe to say that everyone knows smoking is an expensive habit. Besides the increased use of cost of health care for smokers the amount spent on cigarettes over a lifetime can be mind-numbing, especially with prices on the rise. Thankfully if you need to really see how much that nicotine addiction is costing you; you can use a free Windows tool called CostofSmoking to find out your current smoking tab.

While there are already more online calculators out there to help you figure out the cost of smoking, none of them offer the range of options that CostofSmoking does. This program takes increases in cost as well as future savings and inflation rates into calculating the cost of smoking. You can also set up multiple periods to account for any times in the past where you did quit, to get a more accurate total cost of smoking.

While we all have our vices and weaknesses when it comes to budgeting and saving, I don't see how anyone can be a smoker and still complain about not having enough money. Even though the estimation of my video game habits adds up to an awakening $10,000 over the course of 10 years, it still doesn't touch the out of pocket cost of $89,000 a smoker would spend on his addiction over a 20 year period, 10 years past and another 10 into the future. If you invested in a savings account over the same 20 year period you'd be looking at savings of at least $120,000 in money not spent on butts.

If this tool doesn't convince you that smoking is a fiscally irresponsible activity, then you must be pretty well off!

Mint.com is a personal finance site which provides the ability for you to link together all of the parts of your financial life. In order for the service to work you need to provide all of your banking passwords and account numbers to Mint so that it can work all of its behind the scenes magic. With a treasure trove of financial information like this sitting in one place, you'll want to be sure that your information is secure. Ryan Taylor of Money Millionaire Habits did just that and has provided a simple rundown of the security features utilized by Mint.com to protect your money.

First off, it is important to note that you don't make any transactions from inside Mint, which affords solace to some wary users. The most impressive piece of information about Mint.com's security is that the back end that runs Mint, called Yodlee, is also used by many of the top banks in the industry. All of these precautions should combine to give most users the same sense of security when using Mint.com to manage their personal finances as they have with their own bank.

Even though I am part of the younger generation which seems at time to jump on new technology, I have been hesitant to start using any of these third party online budgeting systems mainly due to security. Thankfully, it appears that my fears were unfounded and Mint.com appears to be using good policies and software to safeguard users' information and money. Stay tuned, in the near future I'll be looking into the security behind a Mint.com competitor, Wesabe.

The Daily Deal for Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008
Just in time for spring building and repair season, a great selection of popular DeWalt power tools is being offered at price reductions of 10% to 17% off Lowe's regular store prices. I had a look at the Lowe's website and I found that they're discounting more than just a few oddball items. For instance, one of DeWalt's most popular offerings, the 18 volt, 4 cordless tool combo is available for $499. An additional $4.99 may get the set shipped right to your door.

If you have some things to cut up or cut down, DeWalt's heavy duty, corded reciprocating saw might be just the ticket. It's priced at just $99.99 during this sale. A reciprocating saw is a tool of necessity around my house. I'd be lost without one. How about a new air compressor for airing up tires and for feeding air to your pneumatic tools? The popular DeWalt 4.5 gallon 200 psi air compressor is priced at just $349. This is a contractor quality compressor, and with 200 psi peak capacity, you should be able to run two pneumatic nail guns at the same time. Speaking of nail guns, Lowe's has three Dewalt models at reduced prices. The DeWalt round head framing nailer is just $239, their clipped head framing nailer is also $239 and their coil fed roofing nailer is just $228. These are good prices on great tools if you're in the market for some.

Be sure to check out the official Lowe's website to confirm product prices and availability in your area. Lowe's has a simple product locater on it's website which you can use to verify availability. I believe that Lowe's ships from regional locations to keep your shipping costs down, so not all models may be available in all locations.

Some deals only come around once or twice a year, but offer savings that justify the wait. This post is part of our series on such 'don't miss' sales.

Back when I was doing home remodeling and home repair projects for myself, I enjoyed the routine trips to Menard's home improvement centers to buy products and materials. Its weekly newspaper fliers were stuffed into Upper Midwest newspapers where its 235 stores are located. The stores nearly always had exactly what I needed.

Menards has become known for a promotion called the "Fit in a bag sale." It sends full-sized grocery bags out with a sales flier. Shoppers can take the bags to Menards and fill them with whatever they wish (subject to restrictions). All items in the bag are then discounted by a percentage (which varies from sale to sale, but last August's was 15%) off the normal price of the items in the bag.

I used this sale opportunity to beef up on my home DIY guy supplies. I'd pack that bag with things like duct tape, drywall screws, utility knife blades, lightbulbs, batteries, auto fuses, WD-40, Miracle Grow, and caulk. I'd also pick up things for specific ongoing projects. Perhaps I'd buy solder if I was approaching a copper plumbing task, or some ring shank nails to fix a fence.

Surprisingly, the Menards spokesman I spoke to declined to comment on the sales, or even acknowledge that they exist. Apparently, he didn't want to suggest that you should wait for an upcoming bag sale to buy your supplies. But I will. Who doesn't want to save 15%?

Watch your newspaper and circulars for news of upcoming 'fit in a bag' sales at Menards.