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COVER STORIES: FINANCIAL FREEDOM! BUILD A LIFE FREE OF MONEY WORRIES

ROAD TRIP TO RICHES, by Ryan D'Agostino, page 84

Turns out there are two-just two-keys to wealth. Ready to open the door?

Ever drive through a really wealthy neighborhood and wonder how those people got there? Sure, some inherited their way to the top, but once you put aside your initial envy you know that's not true of most of them. These people made it. Imagine if you could just park the car, walk up to a fabulous house, ring the bell and ask the owners for the secrets of financial success. Our man hit the streets in the nation's wealthiest zip codes to learn the secrets of financial success from those who've earned it.

HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE RICH?, by Josh Hyatt, page 93

What really drives success? Get over the notion that the rich have special powers, and look for what really drives their success. Chances are, you've got it in you too.

American business lore is filled with tales of dynamic visionaries taking insane risks in pursuit of a distant dream-and then striking it rich. But get past the Texas wildcatters, railroad barons and Steve Jobs, and the heroes of the American dream begin to look more life-size, like the regular (but wealthy) folks profiled in "Road Trip to Riches." They look more, in fact, like you. MONEY debunks all those myths about what you have to be like to get rich.

SHE'S A SAVER, HE'S A SPENDER , by Kate Ashford, page 39

It's a classic marital clash of styles. Ease the tension with these five steps toward a middle ground.

No doubt haggling over a car is stressful. But for Michael and Brittany Abbate, the most heated negotiations over their new wheels last year weren't with the dealer-they were with each other. Some 84% of husbands and wives say money is a source of tension in their relationship, according to a recent MONEY survey, and the most common reasons stem from clashes over money and saving. Contrary to stereotype, it's not just women doing the buying. In about a third of couples, the husband admits he's more likely to whip out the wallet. And when men are the spenders, they typically shell out more than wives do-about 40% more, according to a new ICR survey. If you and your spouse, like the Abbates, are among the many couples fighting over differing spending and saving styles, these tips should help you find a middle ground.

· Think Big Picture

· Give Each Other Financial Space

· Swap Roles

· Schedule Money Dates

· Get Help if You Need It

EARNING A DEGREE IN DEBT , by George Mannes, page 98

Two-thirds of students borrow to pay for college. One in 10 have loans of $35,000 or more. Do you have to go broke to get a B.A.? Not with these moves you don't.

Welcome to the new reality of paying for college-and the crushing debt that often accompanies it. With tuition rising more than twice as fast as inflation and grants shrinking as a share of the financial aid pie, more and more students feel forced to borrow ever larger amounts to pursue their college dreams. From 1993 to 2004, the median federal loan for new graduates jumped 63% to more than $16,000. Still, there are measures you can take to keep college debt from overwhelming family finances-both yours and your child's. MONEY shows you how to get a handle on it.

RETAIL JUSTICE, by Kate Ashford, Janet Paskin, Charles Passy and Wilson Rothman, page 119

There's only one law that counts on the sales floor: Know what you really want and don't pay any more for it than you have to.

The problem with being a shopper is that it's not designed to be a fair fight. You walk into a store with a general idea of what you want, and you expect to make your decision there on the spot. You may even expect the store's staff to help you decide. Here's the rub, though: That store, and the manufacturers of the products in that store, aren't necessarily on your side. While you've been busy with other things, they've been plotting. Scheming, even. This month, MONEY takes a look across six broad categories of consumer products-from Tech, Kitchenware and Cars to Home, Apparel, and Luxuries-and does the gumshoe work for you.

DO IT NOW: GET FINANCIALLY FIT FOR BACK TO SCHOOL , by Amanda Gengler, page 53

For parents of high school kids, the end of summer may bring a merciful end to tense discussions about weeknight curfews and the family car. But beware. Tussles over lunch money and school clothes are just beginning. So use back-to-school season to budget for school expenses, talk to your kids about money, and plan for the even bigger education costs ahead. MONEY shows you how in four simple steps.

· Negotiate the Budget

· Teach Money Management

· Check on Your College Plans

· Tour Schools for Less

THE UNLIKELIEST BUBBLE , by Penelope Wang, page 65

Value investors scoff at the madness of the crowd when it chases the next Google. But what happens when the crowd is mad for value?

Value investors relish their role as the market's skeptics. No high-flying glamour stocks for them. They seek out unloved companies at bargain prices, sit tight and wait for the crowd to come to its senses. But what happens when, like today, value investing works so well that everybody becomes a convert-when investors turn exuberant about, of all things, being sensible? You start to get some eerie reminders of the bubbly days when everyone "knew" that the future belonged to high-growth tech stocks. If you remember how that ended, you might be a little concerned about the parallels. If you haven't rebalanced in a few years, your value stake has likely grown much larger than you intended. Scale back and look for more promising investments. Here are three guidelines.

· Don't tilt heavily toward value unless you have a lot of fortitude

· Consider a fundamental index as a value play, not as an index

· Start shopping for today's bargains

CHOP YOUR BILLS THIS FALL , by Carolyn Bigda, page 23

Maybe you blew a little dough this summer. Fine. But with inflation climbing-it recently clocked in at 4.3%-it's time again to get smart. For fall, a few clever bill-cutting tips:

· Get Free Money At the Office

· Save Junk Mail

· Outsmart Your Grocer

MONEY QUIZ: HOW TO SCRUB YOUR CREDIT SCORE , by David Futrelle, page 44

You know a higher credit score can mean big savings. But do you know what really affects your number-and how to improve it? Take our test and find out. MONEY asks 5 questions that will help put you on the path to a better credit score.

YOUR SECOND HOME HERE , by Sarah Max, page 55

Is now the time to buy your own slice of vacation paradise? With the real estate bubble losing air, is this your big chance-or the single worst time to buy?

Summer's winding down, and you've still got vacation on the brain: the quiet of the country, the crisp mountain air, the lull of the ocean. In the hope of holding on to those images a bit longer, you may have begun toying with the idea of a second home. You're not the only one. On the other hand, you know from your primary home's market that real estate is not the no-brainer investment it once was. And so you wonder: Are you letting your heart run away from your head? Should you even be considering a vacation home? Probably not, unless you can accept that you're no longer going to get rich quick by buying a second home.

AN RX FOR DRUG-PRICE SPIKES , by Cybele Weisser, page 25

Medicare drug prices are soaring. Don't take it lying down.

If you or someone in your family is eligible for the new Medicare drug plan, chances are you spent hours trying to find the plan that offered the most coverage with the least out-of-pocket cost for your prescriptions. Unfortunately, it appears that your plan may cost you more than you thought. Prices for brand-name prescription drugs are rising faster than ever. A recent AARP survey found that wholesale prices for the 200 most common brand-name drugs rose 3.9% in the first three months of this year, the largest quarterly increase since the study began six years ago and three times the rate of the consumer price index. While the experts argue, it's up to you to prevent your budget from going into sticker shock. MONEY shows you how.

· Don't Automatically Re-Up

· Watch the Doughnut Hole

· Go Generic

RETIREMENT DEALS YOU CAN DO WITHOUT , by Walter Updegrave, page 106

Chances are, one of these days an adviser or a broker is going to urge you to buy a retirement investment that sounds too good to be true. If the word annuity comes up, be wary of the deal.

Every year thousands of people are steered into high-cost annuities, often without knowing exactly what they're buying. What draws people in are sales pitches that portray annuities as the ideal solution to every fear. But annuities are hardly a simple solution to these all-too-common concerns. Simple, in fact, is the last word that springs to mind. Sooner or later, you'll hear a pitch, most likely one of the three deal breakers featured by MONEY. Sure, sometimes the case for an annuity holds water. But more often than not, the deal is an offer you should refuse.

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