There are 246 million cars owned in the United States, so chances are good you have one of them. But next to a house and an education, a car may well be the most money you ever spend on anything. And the costs don’t end after you leave the dealer’s lot. Want to keep your ride budget friendly? Here are a few things to avoid if you want your car to serve you well for years.

1. Don’t bother with maintenance. Skip a brake job here, ignore a “check engine” light there, and you’re risking serious mechanical problems down the road. A $30 oil change at least once a year could save you the trouble and expense of having to replace your whole engine. When it comes to car maintenance, an ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure.
2. Lease a new vehicle every 3 years. There is a very narrow set of circumstances under which leasing makes financial sense (namely, if you absolutely have to drive a new car all the time and you don’t put a lot of mileage on it). But otherwise it’s a bum deal. For example: A lease on a brand-new BMW 328i sedan runs $459 a month for 36 months, which totals $16,524 over the term agreement. But if you were to buy it new, at the end of three years the car would still be worth $27,600, according to the Kelley Blue Book. In other words, you’re spending more than $100 per month for the privilege of not owning your ride.
3. Trade in Old Faithful for a hybrid. Fueling up is just about the cheapest part of owning a car. Despite the touted gas-mileage benefits of driving a hybrid, you have to drive more than 200,000 miles before you recoup the extra cost of buying a Honda Civic Hybrid over the less expensive conventional model — and even more when gas is cheap. Instead of the Prius, it should be called the Premium.
4. Owe more on your car than it’s worth. A lot of people who carry massive car loans try to roll over their debt for their next car, but it’s a recipe for disaster. This could even be the newest iteration of the subprime mortgage crisis. A rule of thumb: Don’t take on a car loan that you can’t pay off in under five years (or three years, if you really want to be conservative).
5. Speed, run red lights, and otherwise draw police attention. Many states are hurting for tax dollars so much right now that they’ve increased traffic fines across the board. In California, not coming to a complete stop at a red light before turning right will now cost you $381. If you get caught once, you’ll never do that again.

When the siren calls and you are tempted to spend big on a purchase, consider that certain used goods can stretch your dollar much farther for the same value. What items should you always buy used? Read on.

1. Musical instruments. If your kid shows a sudden interest in taking up music, buying secondhand instruments is always a better deal. You can get gently used drums, violins, pianos, and more on Craigslist for a fraction of the cost of a new model. Wait until Junior shows a true talent in guitar before you splurge on a top-of-the-line Gibson.
2. Sports equipment. Do you have an aspiring Landon Donovan or Serena Williams on your hands? Tennis racquets, soccer balls, lacrosse sticks, and hockey gear can all be very expensive new, but they hold up well over time and make great used purchases. (However, there are exceptions, including swimsuits, baseball mitts, shoes, and other items that can absorb bacteria from the original user’s body.)
3. Books, CDs, and DVDs. More and more public libraries are expanding their digital media collections, meaning you can find newly released music and movies in the stacks. And some libraries have even begun offering free e-book downloads for your Kindle, Sony Reader, or iPad.
4. Jewelry. Everyone knows the mark-up on diamonds is outrageous, so why not let someone else take the bath? Just make sure you go through a reputable dealer (unless you really know your 4 C’s). And of course, if the thought of wearing an unlucky-in-love engagement ring doesn’t sit right with you or your beloved, you can always have the stone reset.
5. Home decor. You don’t really need a warranty on a couch or a dining room table. As long as it’s in good shape and goes with your decor, used furniture can help you decorate your home with great quality pieces at Ikea prices.

But what to do if curiosity has gotten the better of you? Or if you’re about to negotiate a starting salary or raise, how do you find out the going rate for your job? Several websites now purport to remove the veil of secrecy surrounding what Americans earn. (Of course, this being the internet, take what you read with a grain of salt, but these resources are your best bet for going into salary negotiations prepared.)

We’ve mentioned NetWorthIQ.com before (see here), a website where anonymous users disclose their income, age, assets, debts, and other financial specifics. However, the income bracket becomes broader as salary goes up, so there’s no telling whether the engineer from Virginia with a B.A. falls at the top or the bottom of the $100,000-$149,999 range. Therefore for top-paying jobs, it may be of limited use.

GlassDoor.com is another anonymous user-submitted salary resource. You first have to become a member (it’s free) and enter your own salary, company, and job title before you can search its database. But it gives an insider’s look at some of the country’s biggest employers in both the public and private sectors, from Hewlett-Packard to the U.S. Postal Service.

Finally, Salary.com is the granddaddy of income research, including specifics about bonuses and benefits. You can narrow down your search by industry, job title, zip code, your education level, and size of the company. You can even order a custom report called “You Vs. Market” for a more detailed analysis of where you fall on the salary bell curve. The only drawback is the site’s popularity, which means you will be bombarded with advertisements for continuing education and job listings, but navigate beyond that and Salary.com can be a pretty candid look at the pay stubs of others.

Making retirement saving a priority is the recognition that it’s easier to go without now (when you’re young and able-bodied) than at the end of your life when your options are fewer. Unfortunately, recent surveys suggest that 57 percent of Americans feel they are behind on their retirement savings. But it’s never too late to turn that ship around.

1. Learn to delay gratification. Almost any budget has room to trim expenses. Are you paying for a convenient but unnecessary data plan on your smartphone? Getting your money’s worth from your gym membership? Spending a lot on books and music downloads instead of borrowing from the library? All of that adds up to a lot of money spent in the long run — you have to decide whether it’s all worth it.
2. Start small but start early. The younger you are when you open your first retirement account, the better off you’ll be. If you start your retirement fund when you’re 25, your contributions have a full 40 years to grow. If you put $100 into your account every week, with a modest 6 percent return in the stock market you’ll end up with about $867,000 at retirement. Not bad, considering you’ll only have deposited $208,000 of your earnings.
3. Don’t count on a pension. Just because you’re a member of a public employee union doesn’t mean you don’t have to save for retirement. Data published by Barron’s show that eight states have enough money to cover only two-thirds of their pension liabilities, and thirteen more are only 80 percent funded. That means millions of Americans will not receive what their unions have promised them. Even non-unionized companies have bankrupted their pension plans in the unstable economy. Take responsibility for your own future and open an IRA right away.
4. Increase saving by 1 percent. It isn’t such a big increase that your monthly budget will be significantly affected, but over time the magic of compound interest will make your savings grow noticeably faster.
5. Play catch up. Even if you’re no spring chicken, you still have time to grow a decent nest egg. Experts suggest a baseline savings rate of 6 percent of your gross salary — and build from there as soon as you are able. And once you’re over age 50, the IRS raises your 401(k) and IRA contribution limits, so you can save even more tax-free.

The benefits of using the site are many (and not just for financial Peeping Toms). For starters, the anonymity takes away the taboo of talking about money, leading to a vibrant tips section. Got questions? The community has answers. You can instantly compare your net worth to others with similar education levels or salaries, and also by state, industry, or age range. (Though take this with a grain of salt: You’re stacking yourself against a self-selective group of people who are really into personal finance, so it’s not the same as comparing your numbers to the nation at large.)

Contrary to what you might assume, the website is not just full of financial whizzes whose stocks are going gangbusters; there are plenty of users who are very much in the red and are using the site to climb out of debt. And on the other end of the spectrum, it’s easy enough to find a cadre of candid self-made millionaires who are willing to share how they got to where they are today.

Some people have been updating their profiles for years. I only just started this week, but I can already see myself becoming a regular. (And if nothing else, it’s an educational way to kill a Friday afternoon.)

If you’re a parent yourself, there are a lot of ways you can put your kids on the path to financial success while they’re still young. Here’s a sampling of ideas:

• Put their allowance on plastic. Teaching them early about how debit and credit cards work will serve them well as adults when it’s their own money they’re spending. Obopay has a product perfect for this.
• Prioritize retirement over college. You can take out a loan for college, but you can’t take out one for retirement. Even if you want to give your child the world by paying for his or her education, make sure you max out your retirement plan before you start making contributions to Junior’s college fund. By getting an early start on retirement saving, you can free up more money down the road for education expenses.
• Live by example. This is the most important one: A University of Arizona study last year found that kids learn their spending habits from mom and dad — not from books or school. Use that influence wisely.

By now you know why a ship-shape credit score is in your best financial interests: It helps you qualify for the lowest interest rates on mortgages and other loans, saves you from having to put down a deposit on utilities, and it may even help you get a job.

What you may not know is how to add points to your FICO score, so here are a few tips to help you get the awesome perks that accompany great credit.

1. Always pay your bills on time. Payment history is the most important part of your credit score. Even one late payment can ding your score. If you have not been making payments on time, now is a good time to start. Get and stay current on your credit-card and utility bills.
2. Reduce your credit utilization ratio. Outstanding debt is the second-most important factor in calculating your credit score. You can figure out what your ratio is by dividing your outstanding balances by the amount of available credit you have; ideally, it should be under 20 percent. Lenders see high credit utilization as a red flag, and spending up to the credit limits on your plastic kills your score. To improve your score, don’t max out any of your cards and pay down the balances quickly.
3. Keep your oldest accounts open. The age of your credit history is another key component of your credit score; ideally, you want the average age of all your accounts to be at least 8 years. If you open too many new accounts in a short period of time, your score will drop. Likewise, closing an older account with a high credit limit could temporarily knock 50 points off your score. If you think you’ll be applying for a loan in the next year, be judicious about opening new accounts.
4. Maintain a good mix of credit. Showing responsibility for car notes, installment loans, and a mortgage in addition to revolving credit shows potential lenders that other banks have deemed you creditworthy. Some types of credit, like payday loans, are not factored into your credit score. This is a less important metric in your overall score, but consider it a reference for future loans.
5. Don’t sweat it if your score is over 750. While it might be personally satisfying to shoot for the moon and go for a perfect 850, once you’re in the “excellent” credit range you’re already qualifying for the best rates. At this stage, you can sit back and enjoy the rewards.

But if you’re saddled with a huge car payment, struggling to pay your rent or mortgage, or throwing money away on high-interest debt, then those savings don’t seem to matter as much to your bottom line.

In other words, if you can’t make ends meet month after month, clipping coupons isn’t going to be enough to bridge that gap.

The solution? Find ways to slash your biggest expenses first — before cutting back on smaller budgetary line items. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Maximize your tax deductions throughout the year to avoid scrambling to remember them all when it’s time to file your annual return. Keep files on all your charitable donations, deductible interest on student loans, medical care, and other qualifying expenses.
• Aim to spend no more than 30 percent of your income on housing, whether that’s rent or mortgage (and don’t forget to factor in property tax and insurance). If you can spend less on housing and still live in a safe area, do it.
• A rule of thumb: If you have to take out a car loan you can’t pay back in under three years, you can’t afford your ride.
• Most savings accounts right now are paying around 1 percent APR in interest. If you have credit card balances or student loans to pay off, you’re likely paying more than 1 percent on that debt, so your emergency fund is actually costing you money in the long run. Make a dent in it today.

Forget fine-tuning — overhaul your budget to see the biggest savings.

But in case you haven’t, don’t worry, we won’t tell. There’s still time to get them done, and there’s no shortage of resources around the web to help you make it happen.

First of all, if your income for 2009 was less than $49,000, you are elderly, or serving in the armed forces, you qualify for free help from the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. To find the location nearest you, visit IRS.gov, or call 1-800-906-9887.

If you’re going to do your taxes yourself, it’s probably worth using a computer program to help make sure you don’t forget any important deductions or tax credits. For example, thanks to last year’s stimulus bill, if you were unemployed in 2009 you can deduct the first $2,400 in benefits you received. Intuit’s perennial best-seller, TurboTax Online Deluxe, is $50, but it could easily pay for itself by preventing any mishaps or mistakes. Other good options include H&R Block’s “At Home” program (also $50), and the no-frills Tax Act Deluxe, which is only $10.

If it turns out you owe more money than you can afford to pay right now, it’s important that you file on-time anyway. The penalty for not filing is far worse than for filing without paying.

Last but not least, don’t forget to file a state tax return in addition to your federal 1040. It’s a common mistake, and can mean missing out on a hefty refund (or, worse, getting nailed with nasty penalties down the line).

There are hundreds of reasons that smart people put off creating an emergency fund: confidence that a job is secure, being in good health, maybe just feeling lucky. But can you guarantee that none of the following situations will ever apply to you? Probably not, so listen up and decide whether it’s worth the risk to go without.

1. Car trouble. If you backed into a fire hydrant or your timing belt snapped tomorrow, would you have the cash ready to fix your ride? Even if you lease a car (rarely a good idea to begin with), if you are over your allotted mileage when you trade your car in, you’ll need to pony up to cover the difference.
2. House maintenance. Summer is coming, and what you don’t want is to come up short when the central air dies in the middle of July. Even if you rent, having money to spare will help when it’s time to rent that U-Haul and move to another place. (At least, it’s a rare landlord who will return a deposit before the very end of the agreed-upon term.)
3. Job loss. The economy may be showing signs of recovery, but the job market is still shaky. Having a few months’ worth of expenses in the bank protects you from borrowing heavily on high-interest credit cards if you should lose your main (or only) source of income.
4. Medical care. Let’s say you have the good fortune to be in excellent health and have a health-insurance plan: You still need money on hand when medical issues arise. Ambulance rides aren’t always reimbursable, for example. And if you or your partner were to have a healthy baby while covered by a health plan, you could still get hit with out-of-pocket hospital delivery bills of more than $3,000. No insurance? Plan to pay at least triple that.
5. Peace of mind. Having a fat piggybank does wonders for letting you sleep at night. You can rest assured you’re prepared for whatever life might throw at you.

Convinced yet? Here are some ideas on how to get your fund started.