Reducing unemployment and cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf may top Barack Obama's to-do list, but he hasn't forgotten about the importance of teaching his daughters about money. In an interview last week with ABC News, the president said he and Michelle have started teaching first daughters Sasha and Malia about savings and interest. He also suggested that the girls may soon be old enough to earn their own money through babysitting gigs.

Obama's intentions are certainly in the right place, and the girls would no doubt learn a lot from earning their own cash. But making that happen could be difficult. More

You can officially say goodbye to that $40 cup of coffee — that is, if your bank doesn't badger you into paying for it all over again.

Thanks to new Federal Reserve rules, you now can decide what happens when you pull out a debit card to pay for a purchase but don't have enough money in your checking account to cover it.

Previously, if you didn't have enough in your account to make a purchase, your bank would generally cover it anyway — at a price. More

Ever wonder where home prices would be today if the real estate market never overheated? Now you can get a clue, thanks to a new online tool from MacroMarkets, the company founded by housing economist Robert Shiller of the Case-Shiller home price index. More

When it comes to soaring college costs, much of the blame has been leveled at the colleges themselves — and their nonstop spending on everything from lavish student centers to generous salaries for administrators.

Certainly the schools deserve criticism for their extravagant outlays. But what's often overlooked is the role of the parents and students who are determined to pay lofty prices for brand-name schools, even if it means going deeply and dangerously into debt.

Want proof? Consider the recent efforts by New York University, which costs $54,000 a year, to warn families that they might be borrowing too much to send their child to the school. More

With 2010 halfway complete, we've spent all this week providing you with  tax planning tips to keep in mind for the six months ahead — the kind of advice CPAs across the country are considering for their own clients right now. These moves require some foresight and time, which is why it's important to start thinking about them now (vs. on December 31). But they're worth the effort in terms of savings and/or stress reduction.

We've discussed how to do an estimated tax analysis, which write-offs you should be thinking about, and how to make use of investment losses.

One thing we haven't yet talked about is the good ole' nest egg. More

You may not like thinking about taxes this far out from April 15, but you like saving money, don't you? To the tax planners go the spoils. So all this week we've been highlighting things you can do now to make the next tax day more bearable, if not enjoyable.

So far, we've covered how to estimate your tax bill for the year to see if you'll be square and how to sell investments strategically. Today's lesson is about maximizing your write-offs. Here are three forward-thinking ways to help bring down your bill:

>Bunch deductible expenses. As Beverly Hills CPA Rob Seltzer points out, More

Having hit the midpoint of 2010, we're doing a week-long spree of tax planning posts this week (check out the earlier one on figuring out if you'll be square with Uncle Sam). As any tax pro knows, a little foresight can go a long way toward making your next April 15 a little more pleasant.

Today's topic: Investing strategy.

If you sold an investment in '07, '08, or early '09 for less than you bought it for — as many people did — you may still have capital losses that you're carrying forward. If so, you also have a great opportunity to switch up your investments, rebalance your portfolio or simply liquidate into cash without incurring any taxes, says Rob Seltzer. You can apply losses to cancel out  gains, which gives you an out: "If you want take some money off the table, you have a painless way of doing it," he says.  So take a look at your portfolio to see if there's a need to change up or cash out.

But don't forget too that up to $3000 of losses can be applied to ordinary income per year, and that can be worth a lot in terms of tax savings. So there's no need to rush to use losses if you don't have to. Besides, "Any losses carried over will be very valuable in future years, as the tax rates go up," says Tustin, Calif. CPA Monica Rebella. That's because the long-term capital gains rate is slated to increase to 20% for everyone in the 28% bracket or higher next year vs. 15% now for the 25% bracket and up.

In fact, because of the expected tax increase, Rebella notes she's advising some retirement-age clients to liquidate more money than they ordinarily would this year, since it will be more costly for them in 2011. Now that's foresight.

Tune in tomorrow for info on availing yourself of the most deductions you can.

Follow the More Money blog on Twitter at http://twitter.com/moremoneyblog.

Believe it or not, 2010 is already half over. And while you're seeking relief indoors from the triple-digit July misery outside — it's currently a brain-melting 102°F here in New York — you might make use of this respite to think about your taxes.

Yeah, yeah. That's not the summer fun you'd planned. We get it. But as Hunt Valley, Md. financial planner and CPA Drew Tignanelli puts it,"The best time to do tax planning is in the year you're planning for." And with six months left in 2010, there's plenty of time for you to make strategic moves that can help reduce your tax bill next April.

All this week, we'll be posting advice from Tignanelli and other tax experts on what you can at this midpoint to save later on. (Sorry, procrastinators, most of these moves require time that you won't have on December 31.)

First things first: You'll want to make sure your tax situation hasn't changed in such a way that will have you owing significantly more or less to Uncle Sam next year, says Tignanelli. Better to know now so that you can either pay up over time or reclaim the bucks you're lending to the IRS interest free.  He suggests doing an estimated tax analysis if you meet any of the following criteria... More

While a summer abroad can be a great way for college-age kids to learn crucial lessons about self-reliance, responsibility and foreign cultures, let's face it: Often those lessons cost a lot more than you'd want them to. Yes, the dollar is up more than 10% in value against the euro since last summer. But it's still a threat to a student's (and his whole family's) finances to be on a different continent without a parent's financial guidance.

That being said, I have a few tips learned from my own recent summer in France for keeping costs low while still having a fun and fulfilling time. More

It's official: The fee you hate more than all the others in your life is the one for checking your luggage when you take an airplane trip.

Following up on a story in the July issue of MONEY about 15 irritating fees — and how to avoid them — the More Money blog spent the past two weeks asking readers to pick what they thought were the most frustrating surcharges out of all the fees levied by banks, airlines and other companies they do business with. In five initial heats and two semifinal matches, blog visitors voted for their least-favorites among 15 outrageous fees, narrowing down the field to two finalists: Fees charged by credit-card companies to cardholders who don't charge enough, and charges imposed by airlines on passengers who want to check any baggage.

Well, by the time that the championship-round voting closed Tuesday, 21,719 readers had cast their votes. More

Vanguard announced last week that it is dramatically expanding its lineup of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by adding 20 new entries. The newcomers will include an ETF version of its $19 $91 billion Vanguard 500 Index fund (VFINX) — the very first index fund for individual investors — which has been long delayed due to a licensing dispute with Standard & Poor's. With that issue evidently resolved, this ETF will charge just 0.06% — the lowest cost for an S&P 500 ETF. The new funds, which raise Vanguard's total ETF offerings to 66, are expected to launch in the fall.

The new ETFs put intense pressure on Vanguard's rivals, which have been aggressively cutting fund fees to gain market share. More

Well, here we are, folks. It's time for the frustrating-fee finals. The summation of our surcharge smackdown.

Following up on a story in the July issue of MONEY about 15 irritating fees — and how to avoid them — the More Money blog has asked readers to pick what they think are the most frustrating surcharges out of all the fees levied by banks, airlines and other companies that people do business with. Over the past two weeks, through five initial heats and two semifinal matches, visitors to the blog have voted for their least-favorites, narrowing down the field of 15 outrageous fees to the two finalists going head-to-head today.

Now it's time to vote for one of these two championship contenders:

• Being charged for not charging: A few credit-card issuers are levying fees on customers for not spending enough. Citibank, for example, charges certain cardholders $60 if they don't charge at least $2,400 within a year.  (For more about this fee, click here. Also note that the Federal Reserve Board last week issued a rule banning these fees, effective August 22.)

• Handing over big bucks to check baggage: Most airlines are charging between $15 and $45 for your first checked bag on domestic flights, and at least $25 for your second. It can cost even more if you don't prepay online. (For more about this fee, and how to fight it, click here.)

Cast your ballot below for the fee you find more outrageous, and help us crown The Most-Hated Fee of All. You can add your comments as well.

Follow the More Money blog on Twitter at http://twitter.com/moremoneyblog.

Hate getting nickel-and-dimed by fees? You've come to the right place.

Following up on a story in the July issue of MONEY about 15 irritating fees — and how to avoid them — the More Money blog has embarked on a quest to find the most frustrating surcharge out of all the fees levied by banks, airlines and other companies you do business with. Last week, visitors to the blog voted for their least-favorites, narrowing down the field of 15 outrageous fees to five semifinalists and one wild card; this week, we're asking you to vote again and select The Most-Hated Fee of All.

So cast your ballot now for what you think is the most frustrating fee among the three in Semifinal  Round 2. And be sure to come back tomorrow for the championship match.

Today's contestants:

• Coughing up to chat with a human being: It's not just for computer tech support; other businesses who want you to interact via computer or touch-tone phone may charge you extra to talk to a live agent — $5 to order a pay-per-view movie, for example, or $15 to make a credit-card payment. (For more about this fee, and how to fight it, click here.)

• Being charged for not charging: A few credit-card issuers are levying fees on customers for not spending enough. Citibank, for example, charges certain cardholders $60 if they don't charge at least $2,400 within a year.  (For more about this fee, click here. Also note that the Federal Reserve Board last week issued a rule banning these fees, effective August 22.)

• Paying to cover overdrafts from your savings: Many banks charge $10 to $20 every time they transfer your money from your savings account to cover a checking-account overdraft. (For more about this fee, and how to fight it, click here.)

Now that you know today's contenders, it's time to vote for your least-favorite fee! Please add your comments as well.

Follow the More Money blog on Twitter (and be notified of more hated-fee news) at http://twitter.com/moremoneyblog.

When it comes to getting nickel-and-dimed, there are minor irritations and there are major league champions. Welcome to the big leagues.

Following up on a story in the July issue of MONEY about 15 irritating fees — and how to avoid them — we here at the More Money blog have embarked on a quest to find the most frustrating fee out of all the fees charged by banks, airlines or other companies you do business with. Last week, visitors to the blog voted for their least-favorites and narrowed down the field of 15 outrageous fees to five semifinalists and one wild card; this week, we're asking you to vote again and select The Most-Hated Fee of All.

So cast your ballot now for what you think is the most frustrating fee among the three in Semifinal  Round 1. And be sure to come back later in the week for the second round of the semifinals and the championship match.

Today's contestants:

• Giving your cash away at the ATM: The cost of using an automated teller machine that doesn't belong to your bank keeps rising. For each withdrawal, fees to your home bank and the cash-dispensing institution will total an average of $3.54. (For more about this fee, and how to fight it, click here.)

• Handing over big bucks to check baggage: Most airlines are charging between $15 and $45 for your first checked bag on domestic flights, and at least $25 for your second. It can cost even more if you don't prepay online. (For more about this fee, and how to fight it, click here.)

• Paying for a checking account: The average monthly cost of interest-bearing checking accounts — not that they're paying much interest these days — rose to $12.55 in 2009, up from $11.97 in 2008. Minimum balances that exempt you from the fee have risen, too. (For more about this fee, and how to fight it, click here.)

Now you know today's contenders, it's time to vote for your least-favorite fee! Please add your comments as well.

Follow the More Money blog on Twitter (and be notified of more hated-fee voting) at http://twitter.com/moremoneyblog.

At this stage of the summer, many city dwellers are starting to head out to warm-weather weekend retreats — and realizing that the interiors need serious attention. But who wants to spend a bundle redoing a summer house, especially if the place is just a simple cottage?

If you'd rather save your money for more important things — yet refuse to live amid water-stained throw rugs, ratty upholstery, and shorted-out lamps — check out these three websites (and one app). They'll help you zero in on stylish furnishings that are cheap, but don't look it. More