If you act now, you might be able to save $30 a month on your cell phone bill. Or maybe not.

Verizon and AT&T have announced new cheaper “all you can talk” or “all you can talk and text” plans for both individuals and families. In some cases, the new plans could lower users’ monthly fees from $100 to $70 a month. Text adds another $20, which hasn’t changed.

But if you’re a data user, you might end up paying more. Verizon will start charging $9.95 a month for 25 MB of data use on Internet-enabled phones when customers buy new phones or sign new contracts. Unlimited data is still $29.99. Current customers with those phones can keep the pay-as-you go $1.99 per MB charge. AT&T will also require $20 data or texting plans with some phones.

For better or for worse, the recession has changed how people shop, at least for now. We’d like to think most of it is for the better, as customers have focused on finding value and living within their means.

Shopping is changing, too.

As retailers prepare themselves for the post-recession era, they are changing the shopping experience in significant ways, USA Today reports.

This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.

When you were in school, chances are you knew what you needed on each test to get an A, B, or C (or avoid an F). At work, you have project deadlines to meet and performance criteria to fulfill. When it comes to your finances, there isn’t a convenient, single number you can use to track your progress.

In school, there was your GPA. In personal finance, you can’t just look at your account balances because they don’t give you the whole picture.

That’s where measuring and tracking your net worth can come in handy. Every month I record a snapshot of our family’s net worth in a simple Excel spreadsheet.

This Deal of the Day comes from Kelli B. Grant at partner site SmartMoney.

Patients have dodged a proposed tax on liposuction, Botox injections and other elective medical procedures, but cosmetic surgery is still no bargain.

Despite a 12% decline in cosmetic procedures during 2008 (the latest figures available), Americans still spent $11.8 billion on cosmetic surgery, according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Congress sought to capitalize on that interest with a 5% tax -- aptly nicknamed the “Botax” -- but cut it from health reform bills late last year after intense lobbying pressure from doctors and drug makers. Lawmakers estimated the Botax would have pulled in $5.8 billion over 10 years.

• Bing: What does Botox do?

The tax would have put extra burden on consumers, considering most procedures are entirely out-of-pocket already. “It is a consumer purchase funded out of the household budget,” says Tom Seery, the founder of RealSelf.com, a review and price site for cosmetic procedures. “Rarely if ever does insurance pay for that.”

While no surgery is trivial -- and all carry risks -- many consumers will elect to go under the knife this year. If you're set on Botox injections, a facelift or tummy tuck, here are five ways you can cut costs.

If you're a woman, this post is my Valentine's Day gift to you: Forward it to your beau with a note like "Came across this article; thought you'd be interested."

If you’re a guy faced with jewelry shopping this Valentine's Day, I feel your pain. Jewelry shopping is bad on so many levels: First, you might end up at someplace like a mall. Then you'll be expected to spend a lot for what looks so little (hey, I could have bought a used motorcycle with that!) And finally, you're going to feel about as comfortable as you do when you go to Victoria's Secret (might as well while you're at the mall). 

• Bing: What do women really want?

But if your valentine likes jewelry, there are obvious rewards that go along with giving it (see Victoria's Secret comment.)

So let's see if we can make the process a little less painful by arming you with a few quick tips to make it less stressful and  less expensive. 

Are you looking for a job? Maybe you’re in the wrong city.

The online job search engine Juju.com has released its January index of the best and worst cities in which to look for a job. The Job Search Difficulty Index was calculated by dividing the number of unemployed workers in each metro area, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by the number of jobs in Juju's index of online jobs, compiled from thousands of employer career portals, recruiter Web sites and job boards.

This guest post comes from “vh” at Funny about Money.

As Americans lose patience with the overweening greed on display at certain gargantuan banking institutions, a lot of people are talking about moving their money out of megabanks into small community banks or credit unions. I moved my money to a credit union years ago -- and thereon hangs a tale.

• Video: Cramer explains White House-Wall Street feud

From the moment I graduated from college, I did business with banks. I’d never heard of credit unions, and when I did get wind of their existence, I didn’t understand what they were. I imagined they had something to do with labor unions.