Over at partner blog Wise Bread, writer W.C. Porter has proposed the "Boring Challenge." Porter suggests changing a habit for one week to see how much money you can save. Making the replacement habit "boring" makes it simple, he says.

In his case it was taking a lunch instead of eating at a restaurant -- "boring" because it was the same lunch every day. And it was simple, so simple that Porter kept going. After three years, he'd saved $2,000.

The Boring Challenge kind of describes my life, although I don't think of it as particularly boring. I'd call it the "Who Cares? It Works!" Challenge. 

Last month my colleague Karen Datko linked to a post from personal finance blogger "Broke Grad Student." The short essay, "6 reasons why I hate cash," seemed at least partly tongue in cheek, especially since a couple of days later he followed up with reasons to love money. Yet the underlying sentiment -- plastic rules, cash stinks -- seemed genuine.

Broke Grad Student wrote his piece after making an ATM run to buy food at his workplace cafe. "Having to make the trip to get the cash (annoyed) me," he wrote. Good grief -- hasn't this man ever thought about getting cash back with a purchase from the supermarket or drugstore? Or, for that matter, about packing his own lunch? 

The blogger further groused that cash is "easy to lose." Just about everybody misplaces moola, he claimed, and afterward "you can't call an 800 number and have them cancel your $20 bills."

Yeah, and if you lose your credit or debit card and don't have any cash on you, good luck with that cab ride.

I have 29 cans of tuna, thanks to a really good sale at Albertsons. Last week's ad had a coupon for Chicken of the Sea tuna at three cans for 99 cents, limit six. 

The fine print said "one coupon per transaction," not "one coupon per customer." Some of my neighbors toss the grocery ads unread into the lobby recycle bin, so I wound up with a handful of coupons.

Guess which destination walk I chose a bunch of times in the past week? And guess what I had for lunch on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday?

This post comes from Abby Freedman, a freelance writer and daughter of Smart Spending blogger Donna Freedman.

As an aspiring accountant, I am just odd enough to find income taxes fascinating. 

Still, I understand there are saner individuals out there who prefer to duck and cover until this season is over.

• Bing: Find free tax help
  

Generally, they cope by forking over $100 to $200 to have simple returns completed -- and not necessarily by a CPA -- at a "tax-in-the-box" establishment.

Or they plunk down (much less) money for tax-preparation software to guide them to their refunds. Better, but still not ideal.

When I wrote "Surviving (and thriving) on $12,000 a year" in January, I promised to check in at the end of 2007 to let readers know how I was doing.

I could never have imagined how that article would change my life. It led to additional assignments for MSN Money, and eventually to hosting this blog, for which I earn a part-time salary.

My life changed. My lifestyle didn't.

Who's up for a $15 cup of coffee, a $35 movie ticket, an $81 burger and a $480 cocktail?

Oh, and I'm not buying.

I'd be awfully surprised if you were buying, either. Those who read this blog are not likely to want to spend $81 on a sandwich. 

• Bing: How to cook the perfect hamburger
  

Not that this is just any old burger. It's a 14-ounce Japanese Kobe beef patty formed around a quarter-pound seared Kobe medallion, according to an article at wcbstv.com. No plebeian Heinz or Hunt's for this sammich; it comes with house-made sake onion catsup and a miso and ginger aioli.

And if that doesn't fill you up? It also comes with a side order of Tater Tots. Honest.

Last summer I found a cast-iron skillet in the "free" box at a yard sale. It was slightly rusty, but a little steel wool took care of that. I'd wanted an iron skillet and had been keeping my eye out for an affordable one. What's more affordable than free? 

Never having cooked in cast iron before, I'm really enjoying this pan. It's as useful as I'd hoped it would be. Having a new kitchen tool makes me happy.

Betsy Teutsch, who writes the Money Changes Things blog, had the same kind of skillet epiphany, except hers was a Teflon pan from the supermarket.

Not all gift cards are welcomed by their recipients. Maybe you got a Nordstrom card although you're a thrift-store kind of gal. Maybe Uncle Fred gave you a Wal-Mart card, not knowing you're one of those folks who has problems with that merchandising giant's policies. Or maybe you, like MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston, simply don't like gift cards. 

Remember that the giver meant well, and go ahead and write your thank-you note. After that, you're free to dispose of that gift card in any of the following ways. 

• Bing: Be wary of gift card scams
  

(How to write a thank-you note for something you're planning to ditch? Try this: "Many thanks for your generous gift. It was so kind of you to think of me. The gift card will come in very handy."

And it will come in handy, though not necessarily in the way the giver might have envisioned.)