The relaxing days of summer have inspired several readers to send in funny and insightful comments in response to recent columns.
One reader wrote an online comment about my column on the ins and outs of car shopping, extolling the virtues of driving older vehicles that are "performing and looking good."
"With all the new accoutrements in new vehicles, who can use them all?" this reader asked. "(People) have trouble using a radio or their cell phones and drive, let alone the other gadgets. Owners' manuals are left wrapped in cellophane for preservation."
I have seen plenty of cellophane-wrapped manuals in my day, usually in vehicles driven by men. After all, if we're not willing to ask for directions when we're lost, can you really expect us to read our vehicle's user manual?
(And although I haven't read about it in the manual, I still think the back-up camera in our new minivan is cool and a nice safety feature.)
Another reader shared some medical advice. I lamented, in a recent column, the cost of having a gash on my daughter's head stapled shut at a Texas hospital after a vacation pool accident.
"Next time just bust out the Super Glue," this reader said in an online comment. "It will do the trick, especially when a scar isn't really an issue."
I might just try that. I could buy a lifetime supply of Super Glue for less than those staples are going to cost me.
A reader named Michael shared his thoughts on gasoline prices after I complained about the wide variations I saw while driving through several states during my vacation.
"I filled up in Iowa for $2.49 a gallon this week," he wrote on June 23. "Prices are 15 cents a gallon higher on the northeast side of the city I live in. A 10-minute drive may save you $3 a fill-up. Go figure. We drove to western Nebraska last weekend. We paid $2.70 a gallon.
"My theory: Someone has a dartboard with prices on it. When boredom runs rampant, someone tosses darts and calls gas stations around the U.S. with the dart results. Nothing else seems to make better sense."
That makes as much sense as the standard "explanations" we read in stories about gas prices, Michael. But now that you've shared the truth, the oil companies are going to be coming for you!
Another reader, Shari, wrote to me about the importance of doing little things to improve morale in the workplace.
"Thanks for reminding me that those things are important," Shari wrote. "We all get so caught up in survival mode at times I think we forget. I am going to make more of an effort to do as you suggested. And isn't bacon awesome!!!!"
Yes, Shari, it is awesome. And thank you for making me hungry.
Finally, a reader named Tom shared many thoughts on last week's column about planning for a comfortable retirement. He has saved money all of his life and is now enjoying his retirement years. But of all the advice he sent me, one part stood out.
"We don't have any time-shares, no houseboat on Lake Powell, no condo in Hawaii, no winter home in St. George or Arizona, no cabin at Bear Lake or Jackson," Tom wrote. "I say this because around us live young families with boats in the driveway, and many of them might have one or more of the things above. What are they thinking? Well, I'll tell you what. They don't appear to do any thinking except to ride the good economy and live the good life, but in the last two years I see several foreclosures right in the neighborhood and a few who have lost everything. …
"The point is that retirement takes planning, putting money away in savings and investments, and living within one's means. Never spend money you don't have."
And that, good readers, is this week's bottom line.
Send personal finance comments or questions to gkratz@desnews.com or to the Deseret News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.