By Bruce Watson
Daily Finance

With the advent of another spring weekend, road trips are in the offing, and the price of gas is on its way up again. But if you've gotten tired of hearing about carpooling or the gas buddy, maybe you're ready for some advice that's a little more ... extreme.

For years, DailyFinance has been asking its readers for their best gas saving advice. And, while we've heard our share of the usual suggestions to ride a bike or take public transit, many readers have offered ideas that are a little more exciting. With that in mind, we've compiled some of the best out-of-the-box suggestions for cutting down on your gas expenses.

If you've got a great, weird idea that isn't on this list, put it in the comments section, or send it my way!

By Bruce Watson
Daily Finance

Spring officially started in late March, but with rainstorms and cold spells making weather unpredictable, it's been hard to get excited about spring cleaning. Now, though, warm weather seems to be settling in for good, and with yard-sale season just around the corner, it's the perfect time to clear out those cluttered closets and basements, organize those overflowing kitchen drawers and maybe even tackle the attic and basement. After all, you never know what you might find.

When it comes to spring cleaning, fighting the mess is only half the battle; the other half of the struggle lies in overcoming sentimental attachment to possessions that are outgrown, old, broken or otherwise no longer useful. With that in mind, here are some tips for taking control of your mess -- and your feelings about it -- and putting a few bucks back in your pocket while doing so.

By Rich Smith
The Motley Fool

Who knows a company -- any company -- better than the employees who work for it?

There's no need to answer. That's actually a rhetorical question, and the answer is "Nobody." So if you're wondering about a company's business prospects, and the prospects for its stock price, there's probably no better guide you could hope for than a bit of insight from the folks who spend most of their waking hours working for that company.

As luck would have it, those folks are more than happy to share that insight.

Over at online jobs and career community Glassdoor, they just published the results of a survey of employee sentiment at some of the world's most popular companies. This is information that could prove a gold mine for stock market investors looking to separate winning companies from the losers.

It's official: fashion forward shoppers in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) will get their first upscale outlet centre this summer. Toronto Premium Outlets will open on August 1, 2013, with a bevy of shops that are firsts in Canada for a number of designers and leading brands. The mall will bring together top brands offering a wide range of high quality merchandise at savings of 25% to 65% every day, including Ted Baker, J Crew, Brooks Brothers, Restoration Hardware, Cole Haan, and Kate Spade. Additional brands will be announced over the coming weeks. The centre will be anchored by a Hudson's Bay Outlet.

With easy access off Hwy 401 at Trafalgar Road, the centre is also close to Lester B Pearson International AIrport, downtown Toronto and key areas in Southern Ontario.

But it's not just shopper excited about the new outlets coming to the Halton Hills region of southern Ontario; there are also 800 full and part time jobs being created by the new mall. To fill these positions, a job fair will be held on Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Milton, Ontario at the sports centre. For complete details on the job fair as well as additional store announcements, head to the Toronto Premium Outlets website.

Click through the slideshow to get a sneak peek at shops opening at the Toronto Premium Outlet:

Odds are, there are documents that you know you should have, but that you haven't managed to get yet. Some of these are essential, and all of them will be necessary at some point in your life. Having them handy is bound to help you sleep better at night.

Check out our gallery to see how many of these 10 must-have documents are in your possession -- and which ones it's time for you to take action on.

SLIDESHOW: 10 Vital Documents Every Adult Needs

According to the Daily Mail, women spend a whopping five days a year literally standing in front of a mirror, getting ready for their closeups. Time is money, but what about the actual dollars and cents we spend in order to look good everyday?

A recent Canadian study by Leger Marketing indicates that women spend 600 dollars annually on daily facial cosmetic products and beauty treatments. Over one's lifetime that adds up to $24,000. And that doesn't include all the other costs of looking good - haircuts, manicures and waxing. So we estimated the lifetime price tag for putting ourselves together - plus all the little pleasures and conveniences we buy along the way - and it ain't pretty. Remember: these are services and things we don't need to buy; it's discretionary spending. Prepare to be shocked at how much it all costs and how doing without (or doing it yourself) can mean a whole lot more money you could be saving for your retirement.

SLIDESHOW: SHOCKING LIFETIME SPENDS

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By Dan Caplinger
The Motley Fool

Retirement savings took a huge hit during the financial crisis and market meltdown five years ago, with savers of all ages feeling the brunt of plunging markets. But members of Generation X -- those born between 1966 and 1975 -- suffered the worst declines in their net worth from the crisis and saw the least recovery in the years that followed.

As a result, Gen-Xers are in bad shape when it comes to retirement readiness, as a recent study from the Pew Charitable Trusts concluded. With only enough financial resources to replace half of their pre-retirement income, the key question for Gen-Xers on the whole isn't how financially secure their retirement will be, but rather whether they'll be able to retire at all.

By Matt Brownell
Daily Finance

Are you such a big fan of "The Vampire Diaries" that you write your own stories about the denizens of Mystic Falls? Well, Amazon (AMZN) wants to publish your work -- and it wants to see you get paid for it. The company announced Wednesday that, for the first time, authors will be able to make money on their fan fiction under a new venture it's calling Kindle Worlds.

Fan fiction describes that under-appreciated genre of writing in which amateur authors make use of an already-established fictional universe, often from a TV or book series. At heart, it has always been a way for devoted fans to explore and share "what if" questions about their favorite characters -- sometimes filling in background, other times going far outside the established canon: What does Hermione do on summer vacation? What if Buffy got turned into a vampire? What if Admiral Adama and President Roslyn met The Doctor from "Doctor Who"?

By Caroline Bennett
Daily Finance

Women in the workplace -– it's a hot topic in the business universe right now. For that, you can thank Sheryl Sandberg's girl-power-infused book "Lean In," or the ever-increasing number of female executives taking charge of major corporations, like Yahoo's (YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer or IBM's (IBM) Ginni Rometty.

Just recently, Warren Buffett weighed in on women in business in a column for "Fortune" magazine. In it, the beloved Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) chairman and 'Oracle of Omaha' detailed his faith in the power of women in business.

Behold the Woman Behind the Curtain

Buffett writes in his signature simple and eloquent way. But he didn't pull punches about the uneven playing field women have faced -- and still face -- as they make their way in the world. The deck is stacked against women starting at a very early age, Buffett says, going on to register his distaste for the "brainwashing" that many highly talented women are forced to experience: "The moment I emerged from my mother's womb," he writes, "my possibilities dwarfed those of my siblings, for I was a boy! ... at every turn my sisters would be told ... that success for them would be 'marrying well.' I was meanwhile hearing that the world's opportunities were there for me to seize."

Buffett equated the strange double standard being placed on women as a "fun-house mirror." He even saw its twisted side effects in the insecurities of his friend Katharine Graham, the powerful CEO of the Washington Post. Thankfully, however, he realizes this mirror is cracking, and that his daughter would "laugh and smash it" if one was put in front of her.

A key to equality could be found, Buffett says, if women realize men are equally insecurity-ridden, not unlike the Wizard of Oz. "Pull the curtain aside," he says, "and you'll often discover they are not supermen after all. (Just ask their wives!)"