I have a bit of a confession to make, and I'm already anticipating most of you gasping in horror at what I'm about to tell you -- but I'm going to spill the beans anyway.

I don't use nor stick to any sort of budget when it comes to my personal finances. I don't balance my checkbook and never have. I don't have a set amount put aside each month for "fun money," disposable income, etc. And while I do add to my savings account on a regular basis, I don't have a set percentage of my paycheck that has to go in there each and every single time.

I pay my bills on time, buy gas, groceries, and other necessary household items, and whatever is left over is great and I'll spend it as I see fit.

Meet the Wagasky’s, the Las Vegas family of four that lives debt-free on (wait for it) $14,000 a year. That’s just over a thousand bucks a month, folks. A scratch under $270 a week. I hate to say it, but I don’t think that even covers our grocery bill. But dad Jason and mom Danielle have found a way to make it work, and they say it makes them “happier” and “a better family.”

The frugal lifestyle began out of necessity in 2008 when Jason, a former Army sergeant, was stationed in Iraq. Danielle was left managing the home, two kids (Keigan and Libby), and the budget.

Hey, ready to disagree with somebody on something? Here's an idea that some people are bound to love and others are bound to hate: Food stamps ... for pets. Considering the (unfair) criticism human beings on food stamps get, I'm guessing the very thought of such assistance for animals won't go over well with certain people. (Those damn freeloading pets! Get a job, Whiskers!) But personally, I think it's a fabulous idea, one that has the potential to literally change lives for the better -- human, canine, feline, and so on.

And even the most conservative, anti-hand-out types won't be able to complain when they find out where the money is coming from. (Hint: NOT the government.)

First Hurricane Sandy victims had their homes destroyed by that ferocious storm -- and now they're being battered by insurance companies who are dragging their feet, finding loopholes, and doing anything they can to avoid pay-outs. Take this Staten Island couple, who was insured by Allstate. They evacuated their home before the storm, but a neighbor called to tell them that wind had knocked the roof off their house. Allstate, however, says the roof came off due to flooding -- and conveniently the couple didn't have flood insurance. (They had cancelled it earlier because their payments were far more than the few reimbursements they'd gotten in the past.)

The couple, Sheila and Dominic Traina, say they were massively ripped off by Allstate. But that didn't stop the company from using their home in a television commercial touting how they are "helping" Sandy victims.

You gotta love cable companies. And by "gotta love" I mean "gotta loathe with every fiber of your being." Prices constantly go up despite the fact that you can never, EVER find anything good to watch. Time Warner started charging you or making you buy the very same modem you've owned all of these years. And now Cablevision gets the award for most heartless Scroogey cable company of the year. Why? Cablevision is refusing to automatically grant refunds to those who lost their power during Hurricane Sandy -- like Time Warner at least did. No, instead, they want those who are without cable (and probably their homes as well) to CALL them and ask for a refund. So let's see what this would look like for the average Sandy victim.

Talk on the phone a lot, do you? Probably not as much as this French woman does, or so the phone company alleges. Solenne San Jose received a 12 quadrillion euro phone bill (or 15.5 quadrillion US dollars) and when she saw the amount, she knew, obviously, there had been some sort of mistake. I mean, when there are more zeros on your bill than there are words, you know you've got problems.

San Jose dialed up Bouygues Telecom expecting, you know, an apology and maybe a good laugh or something, but what she got, instead, was something not so much funny ha-ha, but more like funny living-nightmare.

Every single time I watched an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, I usually wound up in tears over the struggling family's story and felt guilty and horrible for all I take for granted in my life. And while the show always reminded me of just how lucky I am, it was also such a "feel-good" family program to tune in for, because seeing those families get the homes of their dreams did nothing short of warm my heart.

And that's why it's so sad to hear that the Llanes family of Bergenfield, New Jersey is being forced to sell the gorgeous home Extreme Makeover: Home Edition renovated for them in 2006 because they just can't afford the taxes anymore.

Back to school shopping season is officially over, which means the holidays are coming up on us fast. And you know what that means: you're going to need cash soon. But if you're broke right now, is there really any hope of saving enough money to make the holidays jolly?

Here's the short answer: yes. How about the long one? You can save money, if you really want to. It's more or less that simple, because really wanting to save some cash each month should be enough motivation to actually commit to a saving plan. And committing is actually more important than how you save, because there are a ton of good ways to keep the cash from flowing out of your account every month: