Money. Purpose. Joy.

Haggling has long been an assumed part of the home- and car-buying experience. But in a down economy more and more retailers, including Best Buy and Home Depot, are going along when people ask for a better price. And not just on big-ticket items. One clothing store shopper profiled in a New York Times article asked for a better price on an already discounted pair of pants and was given another one-third off.

Matt's View

One of the biggest hurdles to haggling is fear--either the fear of rejection or the fear that making the request will seem tacky. But haggling is becoming a more common part of our economy with the popularity of eBay and Priceline. So give it a try. You'll be amazed at what can happen if you simply ask, "Can you do any better on this price?"

If you recently negotiated a better price on something, please drop me a line and let me know the details.

Financial services company ING is heavily promoting a new interactive web site designed to help you figure out "your number" - that is, how much money you'll need to have saved by the time you retire. I took it for a test ride, and while it gets high marks for user friendliness, it doesn't help you figure out how much to save each month to get to your number, nor does it explain the assumptions behind its calculations.

Matt's View

My favorite retirement (or as I prefer, "later years") calculator is still myPlan Snapshot from Fidelity (scroll down the page to "myPlan Snapshot"). By answering just five questions you can come up your number and how much you'll need to save each month to get there. Plus, you can easily adjust your inputs and then move on to a more detailed estimate if interested.

Research shows that those who take the time to calculate their long-term savings needs save more than those who don't. So, take a few minutes to run your numbers with Fidelity's calculator.

Upromise, the first of several programs that enable you to earn money for a 529 college savings plan while you shop, is offering a $10 bonus if you sign up and make a purchase before the end of April. Okay, $10 isn't much when you consider how much college is likely to cost by the time baby heads off to Boston. But every little bit helps.

Matt's View

Neither of Upromise's main competitors, Baby Mint and Little Grad , is currently offering an incentive for joining. However, they each offer their own unique benefits. For example, whereas Upromise requires members to open an Upromise-adminstered 529 plan, Little Grad will automatically deposit rebates into a 529 plan of your choice.

One of the more innovative rebate programs for those wanting to save somewhere other than a 529 plan is Bond Rewards . The program, which claims higher percentage rebates than the college savings rebate programs, pays out in the form of U.S. savings bonds.

For all who really believe that time is money, now there's a bank for you--a time bank. As described in an article on Mainstreet.com, the concept works like this: you spend an hour doing something for another member of the time bank. That hour then gets "deposited" as a time dollar, which can be spent on having someone do something for you. One blogger recently wrote about enjoying a night at the symphony courtesy of a local time bank after stuffing envelopes for the symphony for four hours. The performance was two hours long, so four hours of service netted her two tickets. You can build your account by driving someone to a medical appointment, giving a free music lesson, helping someone with a home repair project, and more. When you're in need of something, you make a request at the bank or check a list of available services.

Matt's View

Time banks now operate in 22 countries and 65 locations in the U.S. To see if there's one in your community or to find out about starting one, go here .