I remember when the gasoline price was 32 cents a gallon. Nowadays, that won't even pay for the effort to take the handle off the pump, bub. Truth be told, if the price gets any higher, you'll have to pay for the gas by leaving the car at the station. Now, the word on the street is that people are buying their next set of wheels based on what kind of mileage it gets.

When the pressure gets turned up, you need to do what it takes to keep from getting sunk by debt. I'm not talking about ditching a nice used car and buying a brand-spanking new boiler to save 5 bucks a week at the pump. That's stupid. I'm talking about looking at the storm that's coming and looking for ways to keep from getting soaked.

If you know the gasoline price might crunch you, then check out carpooling. If your food bill makes you want to upchuck, then start clipping coupons. Shocked when you open your electric bill? Then turn the thermostat down a couple of degrees. Making the sacrifices now will put the smile on your face later when you win ... and you'll win big, baby.

So there I am, jack. Running alongside 29,999 of my closest friends at the Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon this past Saturday in Nashville. Sure, you may not think of me as the type that keeps in shape, but I could show you a thing or two about pounding the pavement for a few miles.

Anyway, all around me I'm seeing the young and the old, the black and the white, the fat and the thin, the dudes and the dames. Different types all with the same theme ... effort. It's no picnic to run 26.2 miles, and even half that takes a full effort. But all these joes and jills were pushing it to the limit, wanting to make themselves better, see? It wasn't easy, but it didn't need to be. That's what made it worth it to finish.

It wasn't just the marathon, it was the months of marathon training leading up to it. It's not just getting out of debt, it's the way it changes you, and how you only have to do it once. Never give up, and always keep plugging away at your problem. Eventually, it goes down and you rise up. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Keep the faith.

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Sorry, just had to shake my head for a second. Check this out, and you'll see why.

The numbers say that about 50 million Red, White and Bluers don't have a credit history. So what does Fair Isaac, the creator of the FICO score, do when it hears that? It puts up a new scoring system to help people having a tough time getting credit ... to get credit. It's gets its information from your record at payday loan lenders, rent-to-own companies and places that blacklist you for writing bad checks. That's pleasant, ain't it?

They call it the FICO expansion score, which is credit talk for "there's still a little more blood we can suck out of this one." Here's a tip for the ones who are into the whole payday loan company deal, and who bounce checks like a basketball team ... THE CREDIT THING AIN'T WORKIN' FOR YOU! What will work is living on less than you make.

If you wanna sink yourself, then tie an anchor around your neck and hit the high seas. The longer you fool around with a FICO score, the more trouble you're gonna get into.

Don't tell me that you're going to do things differently this time. The fact that you're getting into this jazz is what's bad. Live on cash ... bottom line. And speaking of the bottom line, if you're using cash, it won't be red.

I wish I'd have been there, baby. Hearing one of the great minds of our time (the one and only Stephen Hawking) talk about life in outer space and on other planets at George Washington U yesterday. The whole gig was set up in honor of NASA's golden anniversary. It was funny to hear the Hawk talk about alien abduction and hi-tech weapons. I half expected Scotty to pop out and yell "Ahm gevin' 'er ahl ah got ... but ahm stehl losin' pouwer, Captain!"

Odds are there's life out there, Hawking says, but it's unintelligent. The lab boys always say that. I prefer "dumber than a bag of hammers". I don't know ... it's just got more punch to it, see?

Anyway, what am I saying? We don't need to go to other planets to find unintelligent life ... we got it stockpiled right here. You get the offers in the mail every day for credit cards. You pass by some nickel-and-dime payday loan company on your way to work. Any yahoo who thinks you need jazz like this to get ahead with the dough has a PhD in D-U-M-B.

If you owe cash to people, you can't save it or invest it. Last time I looked, people with money keep money instead of forking it over. Dig?

This one ain't just a legend of rock ... it could really happen. That 5.2 earthquake that said 'how do you do' to the Midwest last week could be pulling an encore, according to the lab boys.

I'm not playing Chicken Little, baby. I'm not saying the sky is falling, but the ground could be rising. No matter where you are, an emergency could be right around the corner. It's a good idea to have an emergency fund handy, but there's a bigger lesson to be learned here.

You never know when The Big Check-Out is gonna hit. Could be an earthquake, car wreck, or Tommy gun as you're walking North Clark Street in Chicago. That's why it's good to get your ducks in a row. I did. I took this 30-Day Challenge and got everything set straight. It covers everything from the will (get it updated) to the bills (debt free), in case you get killed. It's pure gold, jack. Get it done, 'cuz it'll rock your world.

Take a good look at the blog title, baby. 'Cause that's what's going on with this new law that is being pitched to the government stiffsuits. Rep. Carolyn Maloney pulled the curtain up on her new pitch, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights. It's your typical pile of you-know-what, prettied up to look like Congress is doing something besides sitting on their thumbs.

The single biggest laugh I got from the article was from Sen. Carl Levin from the Motor City State. The newsboys quoted him as saying "If this is going to be resolved, it has to be resolved here in Congress." Heh. Heh. Heh.

The joes and jills who say stuff like that probably fix themselves a big bowl of stupid for breakfast. Let's say they pass some law that says you can't charge more than 10%. What keeps me from charging up 8 grand worth of stuff and then not paying? ME, THAT'S WHO!

If you're out of debt, the credit card companies can jack their rates up so high that Capone would be asking for mercy. When you don't have credit card debt, you don't have payments. You don't dish out more dough in interest charges. You have cash to save, give and spend. Do you dig?

It's something straight out of a corny movie. The NASA boys have done their homework, and the odds were set ... the asteroid Apophis has a 1 in 45,000 of getting in a fender bender with Earth. Everyone buys it, because these boys and girls know their stuff, see?

But, wait! From out of nowhere, a 13-year-old German kid steps forward and shows the lab boys where they went wrong. The odds are only 450 to 1. And you know what? He's right. Only thing I can guess is that they forgot to carry the 2 or something.

Imagine that ... the little guy is smarter than the big boys. Reminds me of my 5-year-old niece. She already knows to live on less than you make, which puts her about 3 notches above those money morons on TV who tell you to finance your way out of your debt mess. Just goes to show that you can learn a lot from a little one.

Keep it simple, baby. Any joe or jill who tells you to get fancy-pants with your dough probably doesn't have any of their own. They just wanna tell someone what to do so they can look smarter than they are. Don't fall for it. Live on less, save more, and come out ahead so you don't fall on your behind.

Make sure it's a blessing, baby ... not a curse. That's what Dave Ramsey would say when you buy a house. Wait until you're out of debt and have 3-6 months of expenses stashed away in an emergency fund. But the way the newsboys report about the housing market, you'd think it was more about the curse than the blessing.

The AP wire ran a doom-and-gloom story (surprised?) about the housing market today. Check out these Chicken Little numbers ... 25% of the people polled think their home is gonna lose value over the next 2 years. Even more, 1 in 7 think they won't be able to make their house payments on time between now and October. About 60% of the joes and jills out there who are wanting to buy some digs are gonna wait until the housing market shapes up before they go for it.

Being able to afford a house ain't up to the market, jack ... it's up to you. Sure, the market goes up and down, but even if someone offers you a $300,000 house for half that, you got no business buying if you can't afford a 150k house. Deals ain't deals if they break you like a dry twig.

When it's time to hang your hat somewhere, do it right. I'll make this short and sweet. Out of debt. Full emergency fund. 20% down, minimum. Payments no more than 25% of your take home. 15 year. Fixed. Capiche?

Looks like the score is Murphy: 1,094 and American Airlines: 0. Nearly 1,100 AA metal wingers were grounded like a 10-year-old kid who breaks a window with a baseball yesterday. These permanent flight delays came courtesy of American wanting to inspect their aircrafts in order to comply with the FAA. Now, don't get me wrong. I believe in safety. If the plane's gonna flutter, it better not stutter. But really ... a flock of geese on leave from the Army couldn't lay this many eggs.

I think putting half your payroll pumpers on the ground would qualify for, what we in the buck biz call, an emergency. You never know when it's gonna hit. But you can be ready. After deep-sixing that consumer debt of yours, stock up some serious cash in your emergency fund.

You do that, and life can throw everything but the kitchen sink at you. You won't even flinch, because you'll be prepared. You can relax, big-time. Capiche?

Ever heard the deal about shopping when your belly's rumbling will make you spend more dough? You know, the whole "I'm hungry and I'm buying stuff that you'll never eat because it looks good on the shelf" routine. It can cost you some serious dough.

Well, we got ourselves a new report from the lab boys, baby. Seems that when sad or depressed people go shopping, they'll spend more and bust their budget like a hammer on a cheap watch. Me, personally ... I can see that happening. Lots of times, joes and jills will spend to feel better. That doesn't make it right, it just makes it so, see?

If that's you, then tune in and listen up. Spending to feel better only lasts for a few hours. If you've got bigger issues going on that are bringing you down, then don't be afraid to get some help. If you ain't emotionally clicking on all 8, then don't face it alone.

It's like trying to fix something that's broke with a wrench that's even more broke. And speaking of broke, that's how you'll end up if you spend too much green when you've got the blues.

When I was growing up in south Chi-town, getting to watch TV meant a whole different thing, baby. No remotes, satellites or flat panels. Just one of those little black-and-white numbers where you had to stick a coat hanger into the top to get a good reception. When it was time to watch the tube, we watched. When it was time to eat, or do homework, or do the chores, we flicked off the set and got down to business.

So, guess what? I ain't shocked to see that the newsboys are reporting that kids who watch TV in their bedrooms don't eat as well, or get out as much, or burn it up in the classroom too good.

I'm not turning into a TV terrorist or a NaziBC, bub. Kids can flick on the set every so often. I'm saying kids who spend ALL their time texting their vote to American Idol and not eating right or getting out will fall behind, big-time. Besides, if ABC and FOX spend more time with the kid than you do, don't be surprised if they don't want to talk to you when times are tough.

So have dinner together. Fix something healthy. Get your kids to pop open a book. They'll thank you later.

Ladies and germs, this one comes straight from our "random thoughts that have nothing to do with each other but we stuck 'em in because it's a slow news day" department. The poll people say that joes and jills who are sporting sneakers (buying 3 pairs a year) are more likely to be the leadership types.

OK, I got some for you. According to a poll by yours truly, people who drink milk are 55% more likely to have sisters. One in 10 people who surf will pay too much for car insurance. If the family goes to Tulsa for Christmas, then the youngest kid is a shoe-in to buy WrestleMania tickets.

Good ... now that that's out of my system, let's run some real numbers. Numbers that mean something. Ten times out of 10, having a budget and spending less than you make means you'll have some dough left over. Throw $500 a month into a Roth IRA for 35 years and you'll pocket a cool $3.2 million. Be a giver, and The Big Guy smiles. Do you dig?

And I thought I was intense. I should probably make a trip to Red Country sometime if they think like this, bub. I was checking the newswire ... looks like about 30 over-the-top joes and jills are huddled up in a Russian bunker and doing the doomsday world's-coming-to-an-end routine.

The kicker? They are saying that credit cards are the tools of Satan. That's right ... ole Hornhead himself. I guess it makes sense. If you've ever had collectors for MasterCard and Visa hounding you, you know all about the Devil's routine.

Sure, it may be a little wacky to think that credit cards come straight from Mr. Underground ... but it ain't too far gone. Just like Dave Ramsey says, you play with serpents, and you get bit. Plastic means trouble, so the sooner you stay away from it and its fees, lying collectors and sky-high interest rates, the sooner you start to win with the dough. I never heard of someone paying with cash at 18%. With the green, the deal's done.