Family Money

With less than one week until winter is officially over, Americans are celebrating the end of the season with an extra "spring" in their steps. What's got them feeling so happy? Two words: fatter wallets, thanks to warmer temperatures and lower heating costs.

Today show financial editor Jean Chatzky -- author of DailyFinance's "Family Money" column -- has a new book titled Money Rules: The Simple Path to Lifelong Security. On Wednesday, she spoke with Matt Lauer, explaining the easy principles she recommends.

The evolution of the idea was probably inevitable. Once people got comfortable using sites like Kickstarter to crowd fund creative projects, someone was going to launch a pooled-money platform for funding the social activities of groups of friends. That site is Crowdtilt.

Every day, Americans throw out more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers. But we're passing up a tidy sum -- plus some potential tax deductions -- by dumping them in the trash or leaving them to gather dust.

As my wedding day approaches, I am beginning to understand that marriage is not just a union of love; it's also a joint venture that includes the combining of financial assets. Cue the discussion of ... The Shared Bank Account.

Like all behaviors, your buying habits reflect your background, experiences and psychological makeup. But those things don't have to control your financial future. Here are some emotional states that drive people to make poor purchasing decisions, and some advice on how to keep those emotions from sending you to the poorhouse.

Far too many customers aren't paying their phone bills on time, if you ask the phone companies. Three of the top four submitters to third-party collection agencies are major telephone carriers. And the reasons why should come as no surprise.