Wal-Mart Expanding its $4 prescriptions

If you were offered the choice between paying $4 for a prescription or paying more than $20, which would you choose?

Of course, you'd pay $4. Which is why Wal-Mart's latest attempt to break its cycle of bad news seems to be working.

Wal-Mart started offering certain generic drugs for a record-breaking price of $4 per prescription. The response has been so overwhelming, that the company announced it was going to expand the program to more than 1,200 stores in 14 states.

And the response from other pharmacies? Walgreens said it would absolutely not offer the same deal, even as its stock price fell 20 percent since the test started.

What Wal-Mart has to figure out is if folks who are buying the drugs are also buying other items on their way out the door. If they are, you can expect to see Wal-Mart to both increase the number of prescription drugs it currently offers in the program and rollout the $4 per prescription program across the U.S.

Buying a Diamond? Why Not Go to a Diamond Mine State Park and Find One For Free

Diamonds are a girl's best friend – and a nightmare for men with marriage on their mind.

Every girl thinks about the kind of diamond she wants. And every guy shakes his head, wondering why commitment starts with the letter "D."

Guys, here's a suggestion that should make both of you happy: If you don't want to pop for a ring, try going to a state park.

A couple of weeks ago, a Wisconsin man found a 5.47 carat flawless canary yellow diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Uncut, it might be worth more than $60,000.

The park is the world's only publicly-operated diamond mine where visitors are allowed to keep any gems they find. Apparently, gems are found every month. In September, a Texas couple found a 6.35 carat brown diamond.

Of course, you'll still have to take the diamond to be cut and polished, and then find a setting for it. But what a story you'll have to tell your grandchildren someday.

30-year mortgages are getting more popular

Although many economists figure the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates, homeowners are hedging their bets.

As their adjustable rate mortgages come up, more homeowners are refinancing into 15-year and 30-year mortgages, hoping to keep their payments steady for the foreseeable future.

In some cases, they're even saving money with their new fixed-rate loans.

Long-term interest rates have fallen again to near 39-year lows, and as I was writing this, the average rate for a 30-year mortgage was about 6.25 percent, with about a half point in fees.

For homeowners with pay-option ARMs, where the interest rate has skyrocketed on many of these loans, converting now to a fixed-rate mortgage is the smart move.

But it depends on what interest rate you're paying. My current loan is a 5/1 ARM with an interest rate of 4.1 percent. It's good through 2009 and I intend to keep it until the last month possible.

Need some cash? Online personal loans may be a cheaper choice than using credit cards.

What do you do if you need some cash but don't want to take an expensive cash advance from your credit card?

Several websites are now offering consumers a way to borrow money for student and home loans, as well as personal lines of credit.

As these online lending centers roll out, you can expect the prices to drop for various sorts of loans. For example, Citigroup's Citibank Direct currently offers the same interest rates you'd get by walking into one of their bricks and mortar branches. But the company plans to offer lower Internet-only rates later in the year.

E-Loan and ING Direct are planning to roll out Internet-only offers for personal lines-of-credit, with rates ranging from about 8 percent to 20 percent – less than you'd pay with a credit card.

So if you need some cash and don't want to tap your credit card, you might want to start your search online.

Places to borrow online:

www.bankofinternet.com/loancenter
www.citibank.com/lending
www.eloan.com
www.ingdirect.com
www.prosper.com

Work-at-home schemes are costly – to the victim

There's a lot to like about working at home – perhaps the best part is you don't have to deal with all the traffic during your commute.

The problem is, "work at home" schemes continue to pop up and con people out of cash.

Recently, Gwinnett police arrested an alleged scam artist who they say used a "work at home" scheme to swindle three women out of $15,000. In order to get access to their bank accounts, the con artists offered to direct deposit their checks.

The three women gave him deposit slips from their bank accounts. The con artist deposited counterfeit checks into their accounts, and then asked them to withdraw some cash to pay for supplies.

They each gave him $5,000, for a total of $15,000.

What's the lesson? If someone offers you the chance to make a mint by working at home, it's probably too good to be true.