Open a savings account at a bank. You can be any age to do this, I opened my first savings when I was 10. Whenever you get money as a gift or for work, deposit 50% into your savings account. Many savings accounts only allow you to take out a maximum of XX dollars out per month, which can control your spending.

As for making money, it depends on how old you are. You can try the old standards, babysitting, housesittingand/or petsitting for neighbors when they go on vacation. You might also be able to get a waitressing job or a retail job (discounts!)

Create a budget for yourself and keep to it. Decide how much you will allow yourself to spend for lunches with friends, clothes, movies/concerts, if you have to pay for your own haircuts, manicures, etc, include those as well.
The most important thing is to keep within your budget!

Good luck!

End your relationship with the married man.

First of all, think about the man's wife. Even if he thinks she is horrible, or whatever, she's still a human being and you are a party to hurting her and ruining her life.

Second, if he is the type of person to cheat on his wife, what would stop him from cheating on you? Maybe he has another girlfriend besides you? Love means nothing to someone like him. If he had any respect for you or cared for you at all, he would have ended his marriage before getting involved with you.

Third, think about what you are doing to your boyfriend. You are cheating on him as well. That's a horrible thing to do to someone that may not deserve it.

It's not too late. You can stop hurting all these people. I would actually suggest you break up both relationships and be on your own for a while. Think about what your life is all about. Think about what you can turn around to do right in your life.

Don't be sarcastic, that will make you look bad and hard to work with. Even if your boss doesn't see/hear you saing something, somebody may "tell" on you.

Take her aside, in private, and ask her to please not yell from her office. Say something like, "I would really appreciate it if you would send me and email, call me, or just come to my desk instead of yelling from your office. It is difficult for me to concentrate on my phone conversation if I am inturrupted." Also, especially if the situation does not resolve, speak to whoever the Human Resource manager is. They should be able to speak with the rude person as an authority figure to encourage your co-worker to treat you with a little bit more respect.

My best friend in college was Jewish and this is what I did. I would get her a "holiday" gift (just like you said) and wrapped it in either holiday neutral colors (you can find cute holiday gift bags at borders that are lime green or hot pink) or blue and silvers (the colors commonly associated with Hanukkah. I would deliver her gift some time between her holiday (which is different every year) and mine. This year Hanukka began on December 7th, according to the holiday site I give you below, it starts on December 25th next year.

Here's more information:
http://www.holidays.net/chanukah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

Different colleges will likely have different requirements for application submisions. Make a checklist for each application and keep everything in separate piles/folders/whatever.

Absolutely use the envelopes they provide you. If you use your own you might write the wrong address. Also, take the applications to the post office and have them weigh it and buy the postage then. You don't want to have your application returned to you because you didn't put enough postage on it! When I applied to colleges I also spent the extra money to have delivery confirmation...that way I had proof that it arrieved on-time.

Good luck.

My fiance has a bit of school debt and only a little bit of credit card debt (which will be paid off by him before our wedding in July). If he's showing signs of a responsible money handler, great! Keep on him, let him know that you notice that he's really trying and that you support him (psychologically).

Given his past and present, when you guys get married (or even now), I would create a savings account in your name and squirrel a secret stash for emergencies... Don't spend this money for any reason you might think is a good one (not for fixing cars or buying a new suit for a new job, or even medical bills). This is for a true emergency.

Other than spending your money wisely, that's the best thing that you can do. Every little bit counts so even when you think it doesn't, IT DOES. Use your bonus card at the grocery store and deliberately look for savings only on things you buy anyway (don't buy it just because it's on sale). Target and H&M have really cute clothes that are so much cheaper than anywhere else, same for TJMaxx, Ross, and Marshalls. Avoid paying full price for anything!!! Get Dial-Up or DSL instead of Cable internet access. Don't eat out to lunch, instead make your own lunches or buy frozen ones when they're on sale.

These are all things that I do and that I will undoubtedly continue to do for the rest of my life. Millionaires stay millionaires because they scrimp and save, it's true!

It depends. How much do you like this guy? Have you talked to him about it? That's a huge step that my female friends forget to take. He may be totally happy in the relationship without marriage while you're wringing your hands waiting for him to pop the question (that he doesn't even know he's supposed to pop). Let him know that you want to marry HIM and be with HIM.

I know people who have dated for 6-10 year sbefore getting engaged OR married because they just weren't ready to take that final step.

My fiance and I really knew each other for maybe 16 months before we got engaged this past April. We had talked about it and we were both ready (he's 30 and I'm 24). We aren't getting married until next July (so that's 15 months after being engaged.

Find new friends.

Seriously. Sure you can tell them why, it's probably a good idea to do so. One day they'll realize that their "real" friends left them and hopefully that will be enough to make them change, but don't expect it to happen for a while.

My ex-boyfriend/fiancee was into drugs and so were his friends, I wasn't. After years of talking to him, hoping he'd quit, him promising to quit...I quit him. I broke everything off with him and haven't talked to him in two years. From what I hear from my friends is that he cleaned up his act, quit using drugs, got a better job, etc. I couln't be happier for him, but sometimes that's the price you have to pay.

Good luck with your friends.

I guess it depends on what you're shopping for. But I'm assuming it's clothes. Try overstock.com, zappos.com, amazon.com, ebay.com, budgetfashionista.com.

Good luck!

Your level of flatulence has a lot to do with what you've eaten. Meats and dairy products are the biggest "offenders." If you think it's the lactose (dairy) that may be causing your problem, eat them in smaller portions and with other foods.

Aside from traditional over the counter medications (Gas-x, Maalox, Beano, etc), charcoal tablets (don't eat charcoal, you have to buy them in pill form from a store) absorb the gasses.

Check online for various recipes and see which ones sound do-able. You can start here:

http://www.tofu.com/recipes.html

And check out AllRecipes.com by doing a search for "tofu."

Fried tofu is super yummy (to me at least). I recently had a dish at a Thai restaurant where the fried tofu had a sweet taste to it. It was delicious! Just search around and, above all, experiment! What may taste good to one person could be totally gross to another. Don't give up after your first or second try...you may have to try different things until you find somthing you like.

EDIT: I don't know what kind of tofu is best for cooking, but for thin, broth based soups and raw dishes, make sure to get SILKY tofu. It's very smooth.

It's completely normal and natural, especially for kids going through puberty because you're growing and gaining weight quickly. It's actually the tissue underneath your skin that is growing so quickly...even though your skin has a little bit of stretch to it, your body is growing so quickly that the skin cannot accomodate and so stretch marks appear!

You can try to use suntan lotion to try to mask the lines. If you are in your teens (which I am only assuming) there is a good chance that these marks will fade as you get older. However, when you get older (say 18+) you may consider seeing a dermatologist who may be able to treat you for your stretch marks.

She shouldn't be embarassed to talk to her mom about something so minor as this!

Since it's just around the holidays, you can have a holiday themed birthday party. Get sparkling apple cider and serve them in champagne glasses (if your parent's won't let you use theirs, you can get nice plastic ones from a party supply store). Make/Buy some fancy invitations and ask your guests to dress up (guys in collared shirts and ties, girls in nice dresses). You might even be able to find a red aisle runner to have a "red carpet" entrance (if not you might be able to find cheap red fabric (about $1.50 or so) at Wal-Mart instead.

I'm big on theme parties as you might be able to tell. Check out http://www.partydirectory.com/guide/ptytheme.htm for more ideas.

It is possibly for a 13 year old to be in real love, but anything is possible, doesn't mean that it is likely to happen. In fact, you may not realize that it is "true" love for some time after you are with that person. 13 year olds often do not have the maturity or experience to know what true love really is. It is ot very oftent hat you find a married couple that has been together since their early teens.

But don't let any of that prevent you from enjoying a romantic relationship with someone. Life is to be lived, don't be pressured by trying to find your true love because it'll come eventually.

Your mom has opened a door for you. Walk through it. Don't be scared. She wants you to feel comfortable talking to her about these kinds of things, otherwise she wouldn't have come to you about this and suggested that you think about BC. Your mom sounds like a smart lady and a good mother, I'd take advantage of it. Don't be afraid!

Other than the standby (drinking milk)? I'm not for certain that there is a way for you to make yourself taller. Then again, you are only 14 and you still might have a few more years of growing in you. My cousin (a guy also) was 5'4" until he was 16 and then he started growinig again. He's about 6' now.

Physically, make sure you're standing up straight.

Fashion wise, don't wear shoes that have too thin of a sole. Don't wear clothes that are too big for you (it will make you look smaller). Now that it's getting colder, make sure your jacket isn't too big or baggy, it shouldn't fall lower than your butt. Avoid clothes with a patterns or designs, but vertical stripes are okay. V-necks will also extend your torso and make you look a little bit taller.

Consider seeing a doctor. Your aches may be remnant growing pains, or it could be an indicator of another medical problem. My growing pains were terribly, much like you described...but when they kept on into my late teens I went to a doctor and found out that I had a condition of the patella and fibula in my knees that caused great pain. I did a little physical therapy, but it didnt help much. As I got older, the pain is less and less frequent.

Try using a heating pad, electric blanket or hot water bottle in the meantime, that always soothed the pain! And make sure the pain killer that you're taking doesn't contain caffeine since that will keep you from sleeping.

Copy this link for more information: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/default.mspx

The full version of the Home Edition (which is probably all you need) is $199. But, if you are a licenced user (you have a valid copy already installed) of Windows 98, Win98SE, or WinME, you only need the upgrade which is $99

Are you a Mexican? Or are you an American citizen of Mexican decent? If you're an American citizen, remind them. Tell them that you are an American. It doesn't change the fact that your hair and skin might be different, it doesn't change where your family is from. What your "friends" are saying is wrong. You should be proud of your Hispanic heritage. Please do not let your inconsiderate and immature classmates ruin something you should take pride in.

Please talk to her and let her know that you care about her and that you are worried about her. Then, tell your parents, her parent, a school couselor, a trusted teacher. Tell some adult so that something can be done to help your neighbor. She might be angry with you for it, but if it saves her life it should be worth it to you (and her). Please do talk to someone that can help her, and soon.

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