The lab boys are always coming up with some crazy new "research". Case in point, ladies and germs ... scientists now think they can find out how selfish or giving you are. The behavior is called altruism. Some science boys did an experiment and found out that when you know you're giving, you react differently than if you make money for yourself. Wild stuff, if you ask me.

Just remember, before you go taking Altruism 101, let me clue everybody in. I can tell you the best way to find out how giving you are. Give. You don't need to be hooked up to some fancy gizmo to find out if you like dishing out the feelgoods. Of course, the sooner you pay off debt, the more dough you can donate. In fact, when you learn how to make a budget, you should take 10 percent off the top so you can give it away. Spreading the wealth like that; it's the stuff that dreams are made of, baby. You hear about giving all the time on The Dave Ramsey Show.