Have you ever hosted a yard sale with dismal sales? You made a dollar per hour for your efforts. No fun.

Last weekend, I hosted a garage sale with my brother, my ex-wife, and my girlfriend. It was a raging success. We cleared out tons of stuff, and we netted over $2500 in the process.

I've hosted many yard sales over the years (and shopped at dozens more) and have developed some strong opinions about what works best. I've heard people complain that garage sales aren't worth the time. But they can be quite profitable if you do a few simple things.

You've heard how awesome Roth IRAs are and how starting one now can mean big bucks when you're older. You've even done some research so you have a vague idea of how a Roth IRA works. Now what? How do you actually open a Roth IRA for yourself?

The good news is that it's surprisingly easy to set up a retirement account and begin investing in your future. Here's what to do...

1. Where to Open a Roth IRA

One of the reasons people fret about opening a Roth IRA is because there are so many financial institutions offering IRA products. It's important to search for a company that suits your needs, but how do you evaluate each company's strengths and weaknesses?

IRAs are tax-advantaged accounts that can hold your retirement investments. It's easy to get intimidated by IRAs.

Here is an example of a common email we receive on the subject of IRAs:

During the 1990s, I used credit cards to fund my every whim. I bought books and games and computers and gadgets. Now, ten years later, I'm still carrying a lot of that debt in the form of a home equity loan (into which I rolled all my credit cards several years ago). I also still have a lot of the crap I bought.

I have a plan for getting rid of the debt by next spring, but until recently I had no intention of getting rid of the things I had bought with the money. Instead, I let them take up space in the garage, in the workshop, in the basement. Physical reminders of my foolish purchases were all around me. The clutter was as much a mental burden as the debt!

Then a reader recommended Clutter's Last Stand: It's Time to De-Junk Your Life. Author Don Aslett is a cleaning zealot — reading this book opened my eyes. In a chapter called "The Economy of Clutter", Aslett lists the costs of clutter: Continue reading...

Save Money With Your Vehicle

Purchase a fuel-efficient car

The best way to save money on gas is to drive a fuel-efficient car. It's probably impractical to replace your current car for something that costs less to run, but if you're in the market for a new vehicle, keep fuel economy in mind. Consumer Reports has several lists of fuel-efficient vehicles:

• A list of the most fuel-efficient cars they've tested (CR loves the Toyota Prius)
• A list of fuel-efficient SUVs
• A list of cars that combine fuel efficiency and performance

This calculator from fueleconomy.gov allows you to compare the cost difference between two vehicles based on their MPG.

Keep your vehicle well maintained

A car in poor running condition will use more gas than one that has been tuned up. According to this checklist at Advance Auto Parts, a dirty air filter can reduce gas mileage up to 20%. They also note that spark plugs in poor condition can reduce gas mileage up to 12%. Continue reading...

An anonymous poster at AskMetafilter wonders should parents finance grad school?

Should parents help their children pay for grad school if they can afford it? My parents are divorced, but both are in households considered in the top 1% of the US in terms of income and net worth. After limited financial assistance from them during undergrad, I am getting no help at all for grad school. Am I out of line to expect that I should?

The discussion at AskMetafilter features some outstanding comments, most of which note that "no, you shouldn't expect your parents to help". But what do the financial experts say?

Your credit score is like a pet monster under the bed. Feed it and care for it, and it will do your bidding. But if you neglect it, it will turn against you. But beware! Taking good care of it can bring you dangerously close to its sharp teeth.

Your credit score determines the types of credit you can obtain, and how much you will be charged in interest. Last year I described the anatomy of a credit score, explaining that it's a single number derived from various pieces of information contained in your credit report.

CNNMoney has a presentation that describes six situations that can to turn your credit score from a friendly monster into a raging beast. If you want to keep the beast happy, avoid:

"It makes me feel so greedy and selfish to see these people struggling, almost losing it all, over a $100 debt, and I go out and spend $100 on yarn." — Kris, while watching The Farmer's Wife last weekend

Since starting Get Rich Slowly, I've been searching for movies and television shows that highlight the financial struggles of real Americans, shows about personal finance "in the wild". The first one that I can recommend without reservation is The Farmer's Wife, a PBS Frontline documentary from 1998.

The film follows a couple from rural Nebraska for three years (1995-1997) as they struggle to save their farm from bankruptcy. Darrel Buschkoetter was raised a farmer; he never wanted to be anything else. Juanita grew up in town, but when she married Darrel, she became a farmer's wife. The Buschkoetters have three young daughters. They want more children, but they can barely afford the ones they have. Continue reading...

Reader robblat asked about rain barrels: Are they useful? How much do they cost? Where do you get one? My wife just installed a rain barrel last year, so I asked her to explain how they work.

For my birthday last year, I asked my parents for a rain barrel. After doing some research online, I went to our local nursery and paid $100 for a complete barrel set up. While it will mean a small savings on our future water bills, the upfront cost is really too high to justify it from a purely financial standpoint. Instead, I wanted to collect rainwater for several other reasons.

Collecting a Renewable Resource For Our Own Use

Rainwater belongs to everyone, right? But for the most part, we are dependent on a vast infrastructure to collect, purify and deliver this most basic of life's requirements to our doors (er, faucets). I like the idea of harnessing a bit of that rain before it makes it through the whole human system. My plants don't need chlorinated water, anyway! Plus, anecdotal evidence on gardening websites suggests that plants do better with lukewarm rainwater than cold tap water.

The discussion yesterday about how to earn money when you've lost your job got me thinking about ways to earn extra income outside regular employment. None of these are quick fixes, but they're ways to generate cash in your spare time.

Get a Second Job

A second job can be an excellent way to earn extra money if you have the time and energy. Why have a second job?