(NAPSA)—There’s good news for parents concerned about the rising costs of a college education. A little bit of preparation before your high school student even begins to fill out an application can help save quite a bit of money over the long haul. Here are some tips: • Begin saving for college as soon as possible. That’s because the sooner you start saving, the more time your money will have to grow in whatever kind of college fund you choose to use. Plus, it’s less expensive to save the money your child needs for college than to borrow it. Some favor using a tax-advantaged savings plan known as a 529 plan. This kind of plan is designed to encourage saving for future college costs. Legally known as “qualified tuition plans,” these are sponsored by states, state agencies or educational institutions. To learn more, visit www.sec.gov. • Encourage your child to take advanced placement (AP) classes and exams or get college credit by taking a College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam. Experts say this can be one way to get college credit without having to pay the tuition. Plus, it can help your young scholar get a better sense of what kind of effort is demanded at the college level. Your teen’s high school counselor should also have information on these programs. • Look for ways to supplement your child’s college fund that don’t have to be repaid, such as scholarships and grants. For example, Mercedes-Benz offers scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are the first generation in their families to attend college. Dieting Gets Personal (NAPSA)—Whether you’re looking to shed pounds or lose inches, the first step is to find a diet that fits. “People tend to choose diets based on what has worked for their friends, often without taking into account what will work for them,” says Dr. Howard Rankin, Ph.D. “The key is to think about your personal tastes, diet needs and schedule, and then choose a diet accordingly.” It may be possible to reduce the cost of college by finding scholarships and grants that match your child’s unique interests, experience or talents. Mercedes-Benz USA grants DRIVE YOUR FUTURE scholarships to high school seniors across the country who demonstrate financial need and exceptional achievement. It may also be possible to reduce the cost of college by finding scholarships and grants that match your child’s unique interests, experience or talents. • Once alternate funding options are exhausted, you may consider an education loan to cover the remaining education expenses. The Federal Stafford Loan is the most common type of student loan for undergraduate and graduate borrowers. A Federal PLUS loan can also help to bridge the financial aid gap. PLUS Loans are considered by some to be the lowest-cost way for parents to finance their child’s education, allowing them to borrow as they need. This includes money for tuition, room, board, books, supplies—even travel. Students interested in the DRIVE YOUR FUTURE Scholarship Program may visit www.mbusa. com/drivefuture to learn more. A new Web site helps you choose the diet that’s right for you. A new Web site might help. Called DietTelevision.com, it features a DietFinder tool that lets people rate dieting priorities, such as the importance of great-tasting food or affordability when dieting. Users rate the food groups based on taste, and the top five suggested weight-loss programs are automatically generated. Rather than promoting a single solution, the site helps people pick from more than 50, as they search expert recommendations and user reviews. Plus, the site encourages recommendations, ratings, rants and raves from real people who have lived on the diets—meaning users can weigh real-life experiences with experts’ objective opinions. New Signs Point To Better Bottom Line (NAPSA)—Most customers make up their mind about a place before they even shop around. That’s why first impressions—and the signage used to create them— are so important. It’s also why a number of retailers, as well as small- and midsize businesses, now create their own signs in-house by using ondemand color signage printing. This solution lets companies improve their signage by continually updating it to match changes in inventory and customer needs. Plus, when compared to outsourced sign production, ondemand color signage printing eliminates waste, dramatically decreases lead time and can reduce signage costs by up to 75 percent, according to trade industry reports. It’s a fact well known to Sam Ash Music Stores, the secondlargest musical instrument retailer in the U.S. The company uses an on-demand color signage printing solution from OKI Printing Solutions to let each of its stores create and print its own signs, price tags and flyers. “We constantly bring in new products and have frequent promotions at our stores, which means we must be able to create and distribute merchandising signs quickly,” says David Ash, the company’s COO. “By bringing sign-printing capability in-store, we are now able to turn around sign production quickly for lastminute sales and new products, and avoid the costs, delays and unreliability of shipping.” Ann Priede, an analyst who covers the digital printing industry for market research firm Lyra Research, expects more retailers to follow Sam Ash’s lead and expand their use of store-level In-store, on-demand color sign printing can cut costs and increase efficiency. printing in the future. “It’s much easier and ultimately less expensive to do that right here, inhouse,” she says. Sam Ash Music Stores uses the C7350 Color Signage Printer from OKI Printing Solutions, which is compatible with Web-printing software from AccessVia. Store employees are able to select from several pieces of corporatedesigned signage on the company’s intranet and print signs, price tags and flyers instantly when they need it. OKI Printing Solutions also offers the C9600 Color Signage Solution, which provides even broader color signage capabilities for printing on a variety of media. “The signs we are currently printing have a professional look that makes our stores ‘pop,’ ” says Ash. “And our managers have embraced the sign system for its usability and speed.” For more information, visit www.okiprintingsolutions.com/us. Don’t Let A Greeting Card Do The Talking For You (NAPSA)—With approximately 1 billion valentine cards sent each year, Valentine’s Day is the traditional date when couples are prompted to express their affection for each other, usually through a romantic greeting card. Unfortunately, a recent national survey conducted by Harris Interactive found that, for most couples, the conversation stops there. The Pill Lo Talk survey found that couples reported difficulty in discussing relationship expectations (52 percent) and feelings (51 percent), the very topics both men and women want to talk about more often with their partners. Instead, couples are finding a safe haven in work (86 percent) and finances (81 percent), the topics they reported discussing most frequently. Even more surprising is the fact that birth control and family planning fall last on a couple’s conversation agenda. To help reignite mutually beneficial and rewarding relationships, Ortho Women’s Health & Urology has partnered with nationally recognized life coach Lauren Howard to launch Pill Lo Talk, an educational program that helps couples to bridge the gap between the topics they want to discuss more often and those they actually are discussing on a regular basis. “No matter whom you’re talking with—your husband, your best friend or your doctor—conversations about important topics can be difficult,” says Ms. Howard. “Unlike concrete subjects such as who’s picking up the dry cleaning, people tend to invest their hearts into more emotional topics like *** The belly rules the mind. —Spanish Proverb *** *** When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste. —Laiko Bahrs *** Of all topics, women and men surveyed are more likely to discuss work than family. relationship expectations, feelings and family planning.” The Pill Lo Talk program aims to provide women with the tips and tools to help them venture outside of their conversation safe zones so that they can achieve deeper talks with their partners, family and friends. The program features a series of free, online guides that are customized to women in different life stages. “The guides are fun, user-friendly resources that give women simple but effective steps to initiating and setting the stage for the conversations that they really want to be having,” explains Ms. Howard. The Pill Lo Talk Guides are available at www.ThePill.com. Why is deeper communication so important? The Pill Lo Talk survey found that women who share frequent, meaningful conversations with their partners have significantly greater satisfaction in their relationships than those who don’t talk as frequently. *** The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese. —G.K. Chesterton *** *** Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before breakfast, eat your breakfast first. —Josh Billings *** *** I can resist everything except temptation. —Oscar Wilde *** 5 (NAPSA)—Spring flowers can add color and comfort to most any celebration. Visit the California Cut Flower Commission at www.ccfc.org for decorating ideas. *** A serving of Special K Chocolatey Delight cereal is 120 calories, compared to 344 calories in average evening snacks, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Learn more by searching for “Special K” at www.Yahoo.com. *** For information on clean diesel cars, pickups and SUVs that can save fuel and money, log on to www.dieselforum.org. *** All it takes is a little time and the right equipment to make cracks in plaster or drywall disappear. To obtain a free step-by-step repair guide, contact United States Gypsum Company at (800) USG-4YOU or visit www.usg.com. *** Cold weather can pull natural moisture from your locks, creating frizzy, flyaway hair and split ends. The experts at Sally Beauty Supply recommend a moisturizing shampoo to restore some of that lost moisture. *** In the last few years, multiple spas and shopping areas have launched in several of Wisconsin’s most popular travel destinations. For free travel information and travel-planning guides, visit travelwisconsin.com or call the Wisconsin Department of Tourism’s toll-free number (800) 432-TRIP/8747. *** How much do you know about the legal body that interprets the laws that govern the way you live? You’ll find out when T h i r t e e n / W N E T N e w Yo r k ’s “The Supreme Court,” a fourpart series on the highest court in the land, premieres on PBS, January 31. *** Doubletree Hotels, with help from the World Wildlife Fund, is taking elementary school students on an educational adventure to help them save wildlife. To learn more, visit the Teaching Kids to CARE Web site at www.doubletree.com/teachingkid stocare. *** According to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), sustainable design is bigger than ever and building owners are looking to utilize outdoor spaces even more. You can learn more at www.asla.org.