Ah, March Madness. It’s the time of the year when the men in my life go missing until early April, returning often with a broken heart and always with an empty wallet.

If you’ve just woken up from a several-decade coma, March Madness is the end of the college basketball season in the United States, culminating in the infamous nationwide NCAA Tournament. But it’s not so much the basketball that puts the “madness” in the month of March; it’s the betting.

In March, millions of people in offices, schools and even churches across the country—some who have never watched an entire basketball game in their life—will attempt to predict the outcome of the entire NCAA tournament and wager hard-earned money with coworkers and friends for the chance to win a pool of cash (and, of course, bragging rights for a year).

But wait, a personal finance Website telling you to gamble? Say it isn’t so! [...]

Last week, I wrote about how dating can get costly as you grow into your twenties and I offered some tips for learning how to avoid spending a lot on dating.

This week, I’m back with a list of a few inexpensive date ideas to help with your frugal dating journey. An inexpensive dating life is possible; it just takes a little creativity to plan dates that are fun and inexpensive but don’t feel cheap. The inexpensive dates may take more time to plan, but your wallet (and hopefully your date) will appreciate it in the end.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, hopefully these ideas will help you put a fresh and frugal spin on your next date: [...]

It’s an age-old conundrum: How do can you make a good impression on a date and not spend a lot?

Still in college? Then a night out at “Quarter Draw Thursdays” might be all it takes. The rest of us don’t have it so easy. There’s no way around it, a typical post-college “dinner and drinks” date can really set you back. If you’re smart, however, you can have great dates for fewer dollars. Here’s how:

Go Easy on First Dates

Your desire to make a great first impression on a first dates can tempt you to pull out all the stops. Think twice. If this date’s a flop, you never know just how many first dates you’ll be going on, and following your urge to splurge could get expensive pretty fast.

First of all, don’t pay if you don’t have to! Post 1959, there may be as many arguments for how to divide the check on a first date as there are romantic restaurants to choose amongst.

The rule of thumb (or one we like, anyway) is that the asker foots the bill.

That means you can wait around for somebody to ask you out or go looking for other ways to save. (Which would be wise, because first dates don’t have to break the bank). For example, you could forgo the tired dinner and a movie routine for a home-cooked meal (though this works best if you’re already friendly with your date; not so much for Match.com first meetings).

Or, meet for lunch instead. At many restaurants the tab will cost half as much as dinner (plus the date will be quicker so you can make a fast break if things get awkward).

Lastly, don’t be afraid to bust out a coupon, even on the first date. Call me a financial freak, but I’d have gone gaga had a guy used a coupon on a first date! (Put it this way: If you’re the kind that likes coupons but your date is horrified that you would use a coupon on a date, how far is that really going to go?) [...]

At gyms across America, it’s hard to get a treadmill in January. That’s good news for gym owners; within the next month throngs of new gym-goers will pony up initiation fees, sign year-long membership contracts and—in general—pay too much.

But not you. If you’ve resolved to join a gym in 2010, you don’t have to go broke to get fit.

Most gyms do offer incentive plans right around the New Year, but don’t stop there. Try these tips to negotiate your way to an even deeper gym discount: [...]

If you shop online, you’re already accustomed to getting the hottest fashions and gadgets at the best price—without finding parking at the mall and waiting in lines—delivered right to your door. But these days there are so many Internet retailers clamoring for your business with crazy-sounding sales and discounts, how can you really know you’re getting the best deal when you shop online?

A few weeks back, I hastily bought a coat online when I came across a site having a one-day sale. The subtotal was $100 less than the retail price, but tax and shipping ate up about $25 of that discount. Even worse, when the coat arrived, it didn’t fit. Then, when I exchanged the coat at a store, I received a small refund for the sales tax I paid; the Website charged me more sales tax than I would’ve paid by shopping at a store in my state!

Although I still saved money on the coat with this online sale, the experience taught me there are plenty of little things to watch out for when shopping online. Overlook just one of these things and a deal could turn out to be less fabulous than it looks. [...]

Even economists have a hard time understanding why cell phone companies charge what they do and, perhaps more importantly, why we pay it…all the while enduring spotty reception, abysmal customer service, and two-year service contracts.

Although the specifics of cell-phone pricing are intriguing and may remain a bit mysterious, the answer to the “why we pay” question really comes down to two points:

• We’re suckers for the latest and greatest gadgets (especially phones, which we can show off to all our friends), and we’ll pay anything to get them.
• We’re risk averse. We’re so afraid of going over our talk-time allowances one month and getting hit with a $200 cell phone bill that many of us are willing to pay $100 every month for unlimited talk time even if we only use, on average, 500 minutes.

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I am going to venture a guess that one of the leading reasons many of us twentysomethings wind up buried in debt is because we spend above our means not because we have to, but to look good, fit in, and feel richer than we are.

Are you an “image spender?”

I’m not saying you have to be a superficial diva or high-rolling meterosexual. But from time to time, do you indulge, splurge, and overspend on clothes, jewelry, watches and other accessories; apartments, furniture and even pets; dinner and drinks and lattes; cars, vacations, and a whole lot else?

And do you do it to look good? [...]

You don’t have to be at a yard sale to do a littler haggling. Did you know you can actually negotiate prices at retail stores? Use this thrifty trick to save on your next purchase—no matter where you make it! [...]

The guy with the $50,000 luxury car. The couple with the $3,000 a month loft apartment. The girl who spends $200 a week on locally-grown food. The guy who spends $200 a month on gym memberships and fitness classes. The guy with four motorcycles. Do you know them? These are extreme examples, but most of us have one or two spending weaknesses. Even if we’re otherwise smart with our money—even if we know better—we splurge in a few areas. As long as you limit your splurges and as long as you are sure of the value of those splurges to you personally, your spending weakness is probably a good thing. [...]

Getting married? The engagement ring and wedding rings you select for your fiancée and yourself will be symbols of your love and commitment for the rest of your life. Of course, the diamond industry knows this and does a brilliant job coercing us to spend a small fortune on engagement rings. Although quality engagement rings and wedding bands (like all fine jewelery) comes at a cost, there is no reason you should pay what the mainstream jewelry industry asks you to pay for these rings. It is very possible to save money on an engagement ring. [...]