This post comes from Elizabeth Shear of partner site Cheapism.com.

With the onset of spring comes the prospect of wearing a lot less clothing. And that, for many of us, means rigorous commitment to an exercise routine. But don't be deterred by thoughts of a pricey gym membership or in-home exercise equipment, because all you need is motivation.

We spoke with Kira Stokes, a personal trainer and founder of Stoked Method, and learned how to master fitness on your own. Her focal point is transforming both body and mind. Here is her approach to fitness on your own:

1. Start moving
That means picking up your pace and getting out of your comfort zone. If it normally takes seven minutes to walk around the block, says Stokes, aim for five. Run from one street sign to another and then walk to the next few.

2. Set goals
Setting and then reaching new goals will keep you motivated. Write down both short- and long-term goals, and make the former reachable. Doing 10 knee push-ups during TV commercials is a good short-term goal; losing 15 pounds is not. "If you're feeling frustrated by your inability to reach your goal, change your goal," Stokes says. Don't just give up.  

This post comes from Philip Moeller at U.S. News & World Report.

If misery really does love company, then America's aging baby boomers are due for a global group hug. Citizens in a 12-nation survey overwhelmingly reported they are not ready for retirement and expect retirement outcomes to be worse for future retirees than for those who have already retired. The survey was conducted earlier this year and polled about 12,000 people. It was sponsored by Aegon, a large global financial services firm, and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

"The situation has become more dire than just a year ago," Aegon said in its 2013 Retirement Readiness Survey. "People in general feel less prepared for retirement and do not adequately understand the steps they need to take."

The survey presented a retirement readiness index and said none of the dozen countries fared well.

German citizens are in the best shape for retirement, but Germany's national score was only in the upper range of the lowest-ranking category. And readiness was worse in 2013 for all countries compared with last year, due primarily to rising levels of uncertainty about the economy and investment performance.

On a scale of zero to 10, the average index rating for all 12 nations was 4.89 in 2013, down from 5.19 in 2012. Here are the individual index readings for each country:

 

It's almost summer again, which means family road trips …and these days, higher gas prices.

Granted, forecasters say this year's summer price hike isn't as high as in years' past. But with the national average hovering near $4 a gallon, gas can still take a sizable bite out of your travel budget.

But no need to stay home. We offer a handful of easy tips that can help keep your gasoline bill in check as you travel this summer. These include everything from keeping your tires inflated (increase your MPG by 3.3%) to using smart phone apps to find the cheapest gas nearby.

For example, did you know you can save money if you fill your tank before a certain day of the week? Watch this video to learn more, and hear other tips for saving money on gasoline this summer.

Happy trails, and be safe out there! 

If you own a computer, there's a good chance at some point you're going to run into a problem you can't fix on your own. And that's enough of an opportunity for phony tech support companies to inject themselves into your situation and try to take your money.

Just in case you don't have a problem, they've got that covered, too. Many of the scams revolve around phony websites that promise a scan of your computer, which is actually a trick to load viruses and malware so you actually do end up with a problem.

The Federal Trade Commission announced today two of six cases the agency filed after a crack-down against alleged tech support scammers ended with the defendants agreeing to give up "their ill-gotten gains" and to never run such a scheme again.

But the scams still abound.

 

This post comes from Chris Morris at MSN Money partner CNBC.com.

 

This post comes from Jason Steele at partner site Credit.com.

Mark Twain once said “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” But when it comes to credit card fees, there is actually a lot that credit card users can do to reduce or eliminate them. In fact, conscientious cardholders can avoid paying these fees altogether when they choose the right cards and use them wisely.

Here are the top five credit card fees, and how to avoid them.

1. Annual fee. It is true that many credit card issuers now charge an annual fee, but there are still plenty of free products available. And even when a card does have an annual fee, there are ways to avoid paying it.

2. Foreign transaction fees. Of all the credit card fees, this might be among the more controversial ones. Credit card issuers exchange currency at the interbank exchange rate, which is the best possible rate. And actually, they impose these charges on any transaction processed outside the U.S., even if it’s in U.S. dollars.

Nevertheless, most banks tack on a 3% foreign transaction fee to all of these charges. Thankfully there are now many cards without this fee, and several banks that never charge it. For example, Capital One, Discover, and the Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) have eliminated this fee on all of their products. All you need is just one of these cards to use in foreign countries, and you are good to go.

3. Late fees. In most cases, cardholders must take responsibility to make their payments on time in order to avoid this fee. Setting up automatic payments makes it impossible to forget a payment while paying electronically avoids the risk of having a check lost in the mail. In addition, there are a few cards that boast of no late payment fees. But be careful, it is important to know that interest continues to accrue, your late payment will be reported to credit bureaus and it could trigger a higher interest rate.

4. Cash advance fees. Most cards have a cash advance fee of 3% with a minimum of $5 or $10. And beyond cash advance fees, a higher APR will be charged on the cash withdrawal, and there is no grace period. To avoid paying this fee, never use a credit card for a cash advance. In fact, it is best to avoid this possibility by not creating a PIN code with your credit card.

5. Balance transfer fee. Most credit cards that feature 0% APR promotional financing on cash advances also have a 3% balance transfer fee. There are two ways to avoid this fee.

First, consider the Chase Slate, the only card from a major issuer that has a promotional balance transfer offer and no balance transfer fee. But most of these offers also feature interest-free financing on new purchases. If you absolutely must finance a purchases with a credit card, use a 0% offer on new purchases before you do, and not a balance transfer offer afterwards.

Credit card fees may always be with us, but we don’t have to pay them. By taking the right steps to avoid paying unnecessary fees, you can enjoy these powerful financial instruments for free.

More from Credit.com:

• The first thing to do before applying for a credit card    
• 5 things you should never put on a credit card    
• Can you really get your credit score for free?    

 

This post comes from MSN Money contributor Marilyn Lewis.

There's no middle ground when it comes to the matchbox-size apartments springing up in cities around the country. You love them or you hate them. They're tiny and cheap, and that's both the appeal and the problem.

 

Itty-bitty apartments with 150 to 300 square feet of total living space are a fast-growing trend in high-priced cities. A space 15 by 17 feet, for example, provides 255 square feet of living area. The biggest micros are 500 square feet. That's half the size of a two-car garage. High-priced custom homes often have closets vastly larger.

 

Demand for micro apartments is strong in cities such as Boston, New York, Montreal, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, where rents are rising fast. There, micro apartments constitute a new kind of affordable housing -- minus the government subsidies. (The photo shows a micro apartment unit in Boston.)

 

 

I've been a "Star Trek" fan since elementary school. While I don't dress in costume or attend conferences, I'm definitely a ST geek.

But I'm also a PF geek, which leads me to look for personal finance resonance just about everywhere. If I could turn out a piece like "8 personal finance lessons from 'Gotterdammerung'," you just know I'll find some pecuniary reverb in "Star Trek: Into Darkness."

One of the most important lessons comes from the filmmakers' audacity in rebooting a legend: