Basic math skills are critical to personal finance success. Improving your math skills will have a positive impact on your financial situation.

For anyone who ever asked their math teacher when they would ever need to use the information they were learning, here's the answer: when you want to be in control of your personal finances. Nearly all aspects of personal finance require the use of basic math. Understanding percentages, multiplication and addition are really all that is required in most cases.

Even if you are planning to use tools, like software or calculators, to do the actual math for you, knowing what operations need to be done is still necessary. A calculator isn't going to help you if you don't know which buttons to push. The tools can do the work for you, but are only as good as the person controlling them.

The most common situation in personal finance requiring basic math skills is when you are comparing two options. If you are trying to decide between two different methods of borrowing money, without being able to calculate comparable costs, you won't know which option is the most affordable. Transitioning the terms of multiple offers into relevant numbers is very similar to the word problems we once encountered in math class.

Without math skills, you will be more likely to be persuaded by marketing that makes a product or service seem like a good deal. Taking the time to crunch the numbers and calculate the true costs for yourself is the best way to ensure that you are always getting the best deal.

The popularity of catalogs seems to have declined as more and more people shop online. Even with diminishing usefulness, catalogs still do exist and may lead to overspending. Understanding why this occurs, and limiting your encounters with such experiences, may help you to spend less.

Catalogs help to blur the line between wants and needs. How often have you realized how much you “need” something only after you learn of its existence? Exposing yourself to new products by thumbing through catalogs adds incentive to buy things that you really don’t need. In a recent episode of “How I Met Your Mother,” character Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) laments that whenever he gets upset he shops from the Sky Mall catalog to fill the void. Having looked at the catalog on many flights, I can imagine how people would be tempted to purchase the wonderful-looking products advertised.

The Internet has revolutionized the banking industry with peer-to-peer lending and has transformed the shopping industry as well. One of the nice aspects of shopping online is that unlike a catalog or brick and mortar business, which can entice you with items, shopping on the Internet limits such exposure. Sure, sites like Amazon.com may suggest related products or products bought by other customers that may have similar interests to you, but they typically only show you a handful of extra products. Browsing a catalog, or walking through a mall, will place hundreds of products before your eyes.

Bridging the gap between the real and virtual world is Google catalogs. There, you can browse catalogs on your computer without the negative environmental impacts of using an actual catalog.

Browsing catalogs is a useful way to get a gift idea for someone who may be difficult to shop for. In these instances, finding a product in your price range that fits the recipient’s likes, and was beyond your realm of awareness, may be a great way to shop. When looking for yourself, however, browsing catalogs more likely just gets you to buy stuff that you could easily live without. Avoiding exposure to the products in the first place may be a useful way to cut back on your impulse spending.

The road trip is an annual rite of summer, but rising fuel costs may replace car rides with gas rations. Fortunately, there are still smart, effective ways of “getting your motor running” and “heading out on the highway” to your favorite destination.

Skyrocketing gas prices and a brooding economy don’t have to spell doom to KOA Across America. Wise travelers know how to avoid the pitfalls of price gouging and drive through the pain of economic duress to have a great trip this summer season. Follow this list of dos and don'ts to have a successful, sunny vacation.

Do carpool.

The best way to cut costs on gas prices is to split the cost among friends (ever wonder why there were three Magi?). There are a few different ways to do this. You could pool money at the start and dip into the reserve at every gas station. You could take turns paying at the pump at each stop. But whatever system you choose, do not fall for the “you buy gas, I’ll buy food” con job. Unless you plan on having steak at the gas station, this one will never work out in your favor.

In addition to saving money, you will also have a great time with people you love. Having a group of friends to travel with makes the experience that much better, especially if someone brings license plate bingo!

Do plan your breaks.

There is nothing worse than stopping at every town to grab a snack, use the bathroom, or take a picture. On top of the general annoyance and hassle of herky-jerky travel is the increased downside of an over-extended gas tank. It takes gasoline to idle and turn the engine off and on, so if you’re serious about saving on fuel, you’ll need to get serious about shortening your stops. Instead of pulling over whenever the mood (or bladder) hits you, try organizing your breaks to achieve optimal efficiency. When you gas up at the convenience store, everyone should hit the bathroom, stock up on snacks, and take pics all in the same place. Convenient, huh?

Do get gas in the city.

There are a couple of drawbacks to small towns: No Best Buys and high gas prices. Fill stations in Podunksville have little to no competition for the wallets of their auto patrons, meaning they can set the prices at whatever they choose and not lose any business. Local customers have to pay or turn Amish—a pricey proposition either way. A better alternative would be to pull over in big cities—or at least cities big enough to foster gas price competition. That way, instead of filling up on the first $4.00 pump you see, you can shop around and find your holy grail of $3.95 manna.

Do use cruise control.

Maintaining a steady speed can be as difficult as finding a Top 40 station in the middle of nowhere, so instead of riding your car ragged, slip on the cruise control and travel in style. The constant speed changes can wear out your gas cache faster than you think. Gunning it around a minivan and slowing down while you throw things at road signs can have a big impact on your gas mileage. Leave it on cruise control and you can save money and ride comfortably. You’ll still be able to pass the minivan and you were never going to hit that No Jake Brakes sign anyway.

Do get your car serviced.

Especially before road trips, it is important to go in for a tune-up and make sure, say, that your carburetor won’t give out in the Mojave Desert. Also, having a car as fit as a fiddle will help gas mileage immensely, since all parts will be in working order and everything will be working efficiently. Change the oil, dump in fluids, and inflate the tires. You’ll be glad you did

Don’t hyper-mile.

Yes, practicing hyper-miling (the art of wringing every last drop from your gas tank) can save you money. Also yes, hyper-miling can put you in the hospital. To be a successful hyper-miler you have to take some risks—like drafting behind semis or cutting the engine on freeway dips. Never mind the fact that most of these practices are illegal. They’re just not safe. If you value life over Chevron, then keep your hands at 10-and-2 and stick to the driver’s manual.

Do not speed.

Excessively. Keep in mind that the faster you go, the more gas you expend. Once you hit 40 miles per hour, your gas efficiency takes a turn for the worse. Depending on what you drive, you might consider slipping into overdrive or a higher gear to lower your engine’s revolutions per minute. Others might just choose to define “speed limit” the way the state police intend.

Do not enjoy the scenery.

At least, don’t enjoy the scenery so much that you feel the need to stop and take pictures. This item relates to the “Do Plan Breaks” mention; there’s no point wasting gas and ruining your momentum just to take family photos at a rock that looks like a loaf of bread. Scenic overlooks are obviously the work of Big Oil. Buy a postcard instead.

Do not turn on the air conditioning.

This last item is where things get testy. “No A/C?” you might ask. “Then what’s the point of being in a car? We might as well hitchhike!” As such, this item can be debated. What can’t be argued is that A/C makes your engine work harder and hard-working engines drink gas like it’s chocolate milk. If you can stand the heat, turn down the A/C, or plan your driving at night. But don’t compromise by rolling down the windows. It might cool you off but it will also build wind resistance. What a drag.

A related topic to my post on Rental Center Pricing is the rent to own services offered by rental centers. While you may feel better renting to own compared to just renting, the price you pay will still be extremely high.

Rent to own is a service that allows you to purchase an item by making a series of regular monthly payments. Until you’ve paid the full amount, the item can be returned. So you are basically renting the item until you’ve made a certain number of payments, at which time you finally own it.

Rent to own services let people buy things without needing the full amount, or even a down payment in some cases, up front. For that convenience, the costs can be quite high. The State of Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions reports that using rent to own commonly costs twice as much and sometimes even four times as much as purchasing the product outright. They give an example of a $200 television that costs $700 through rent to own.

The best alternative to rent to own is simply not making a purchase you cannot cover with your existing savings. Next would be to save up the money first before making the purchase. In the television example from above, saving the proposed rental rate for 24 weeks would enable you to buy the television you would be renting at that rate for 78 weeks.

For purchases that must be made and can’t wait for the money to be saved ahead of time, getting a loan from a social lending site is a great option. A peer-to-peer loan can get you the money you need at a much lower cost than using rent to own or a high-interest credit card.

In the past, I've written about the negative aspects of using gift cards. Electronic gift certificates have some advantages over physical gift cards, but some merchants limit their effectiveness and inspire you to spend more.

Physical gift cards are often sold in fixed denominations. As more stores carry gift cards for other merchants, it makes sense that they would carry standard denominations such as $10, $25, and $50. In my grocery store alone, you can purchase about 50 different gift cards. When shopping directly with the merchant that offers a service, you would expect to be able to specify nearly any amount. I could, for example, walk into my nearest Target and get a gift card in any amount that I choose. They just swipe the card, enter the amount, and ask for payment.

You would expect electronic gift certificates to have similar flexibility. I have started to notice that many service providers limit the denominations of the electronic gift certificates. As if that weren't frustrating enough, they often set the denominations to be different from the cost of services they provide. As an example, the digital photo printing service Shutterfly has prepaid plans that cost $15, $35, and $60. Yet their gift certificates come in $10, $25, $50, $75, and $100 denominations. Sure, you could purchase multiple certificates to get to some of the service amounts, but to cover the service with one certificate means that you would have to buy more than you really wanted. The advantage of buying one certificate is that it makes a more presentable gift. I've noticed similar practices with XM Satellite Radio and I'm sure that it exists with many other merchants.

In the electronic age, there is no reason to limit the denominations of gift certificates to discrete amounts. Consumers are forced to overspend when the only amounts offered are different from the cost of the desired service. If the extra amount goes unused, it's truly a waste of money. That is like forgetting that the store borrowed money from you. Pay careful attention to the amount you spend on gift certificates to ensure that they can be used effectively for the services you intend.