In the past decade, the Internet has enabled millions of people to work from home, yours truly included. Despite the comfort and flexibility of the home office, home-workers nationwide are getting restless. So what's the next step?

"Coworking" is the concept of working solo alongside like-minded independents. This phenomenon has spread to nearly 40 cities across the U.S., where restless at-home workers can collaborate face-to-face. Granted, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of working at home, but "coworking" generally entails that you meet as a group in a comfortable environment, like someone's house or a coffee shop, and you share food, company and ideas to stimulate productivity and balance out the alone time and "cabin fever" that comes with working at home.

The reason most people work out of their homes is not because they crave isolation, but because they desire freedom. Most home-workers do, in fact, wish to be socially interactive with others like themselves, but without the constraints that come with being at the same place everyday for 8 hours.

Home-workers like programmer Javan Makhmali said he was "missing the work atmosphere to get me in the zone--to get work done" at his home office in Portland, Oregon. So he and a few friends created a coworking cooperative appropriately called Less Distracted. The group has its own space where, in exchange for a $100 deposit and $150 per month for utilities, tenants get 24/7 use of DSL Internet, Wi-Fi, a kitchenette and a hang-out area with couches for meetings and relaxing.

Groups like this are forming left and right, some made up of people who work for the same company, some made up of people who work for different companies or single-person businesses. It's certainly a great option for those of us who need to get out of our bubbles from time to time. It doesn't replace the corporate mentality of the traditional office atmosphere (thankfully), but it fills a need to bring a balance between independence and teamwork.

Gas prices continue to climb, in case you didn't know.

Over the past two weeks, the national average price for regular gasoline rose 16 cents. On Friday, the average price of regular gas was $3.47 a gallon, while mid-grade was $3.59 and premium was $3.70. Regular gasoline is up 60 cents a gallon from one year ago.

These stats are based on a nationwide survey of 7,000 gas stations released on Sunday. Of the cities surveyed, a station in Newark, NJ had the cheapest price at $3.21 per gallon. San Francisco had the most expensive, at $3.88 a gallon. 

If you're in the market for a new car, it's very likely that the sky-high gas prices are pushing the fuel economy factor front and center in your list of criteria. A great tool for determining fuel economy for the mass-marketed cars and trucks sold in the U.S. is at www.fueleconomy.gov. This site is operated by the Department of Energy and the EPA and gives you the city and highway fuel economy numbers for any vehicle you click on.

The details page for each vehicle also gives you the estimated annual fuel costs, enabling you to make direct comparisons from vehicle to vehicle. For instance, the two-mpg difference between a Chevy Tahoe and a Ford Expedition might not seem like much, but the $435 difference in annual fuel costs certainly does. By contrast, the four-mpg difference between the Toyota Corolla compact car and the Toyota Camry mid-size car saves $269 a year in gas.

Try not to assume that the only car that really factors in fuel economy is one with hybrid technology. When doing your vehicle comparison, you may find a slightly smaller, less expensive vehicle that can save on fuel without the additional cost of hybrid technology. Also, given the short supply of hybrid vehicles on the market, it's much easier to negotiate a good price on a non-hybrid vehicle. What you save on the vehicle itself could balance out the overall costs with fuel included.

That's right. You asked for it...you got it! Yes, we're well aware that there are more important things to be writing about in a money blog--like gas prices, unemployment, the recession, etc.--but you can read about that stuff on those OTHER blogs. For now, we just want to bring you some comic relief. And maybe even educate you if you're one of the eggheads who puts crap like THIS on your resume:

1.  Thank you for your consideration. Hope to hear from you shorty!
2.  It’s best for employers that I not work with people.
3.  If this resume doesn’t blow your hat off, then please return it in the enclosed envelope.
4.  Married, eight children. Prefer frequent travel.
5.  Experience: Watered, groomed, and fed the family dog for years.
6.  Please disregard the attached resume-it is terribly out of date.
7.  Never been fired, although it could happen anytime now.
8.  Previous rank: Senior instigator.
9.  Personal: Five children. Dog: Jasper. Cat: Morris. Gerbil: Binky.
10.  Please explain any breaks in your employment career: 15 minute coffee break while working at a home improvement store.
11.  My ability to learn quickly is a key essential.
12.  Reason for leaving last job: Pushed aside so the vice president’s girlfriend could steal my job.
13.  Enclosed you will find my resume for your viewing and review purposes.
14.  Seek challenges that test my mind and body, since the two are usually inseparable.
15.  Enabling to multi-task with different projects in an amount of time.
16.  Special interests: I like any projects that are fun.
17.  While in military, was instrumental in creation of a treat detection system.
18.  I have happily been a “kept man” for the past 10 years.
19.  Hire me and you won’t regret it - I am funny, cute, smart and creative…really.
20.  I have recently sold my home and I now live in a large RV so I will be able to relocate quickly.

Don't be one of these idiots, or do--and see who is dumb enough to hire you! This stuff is, unfortunately, not made up. People actually put these things on their resumes:

1.  Enclosed is a ruff draft of my resume.
2.  I am a quick leaner, dependable and motivated.
3.  Here are my qualifications for you to overlook.
4.  I am very detail-oreinted.
5.  I graduated in the top 66% of my class.
6.  I saw your ad on the information highway, and I came to a screeching halt.
7.  My focus and intensity are at inordinately high levels, and my ability to complete projects on time is unspeakable.
8.  Exposure to German for two years, but many words are inappropriate for business.
9.  I am a rabid typist.
10.  Special skills: Thyping.
11.  Objective: To have my skills and ethics challenged on a regular basis.
12.  I worked as a Corporate Lesion.
13.  Excellent memory; strong math aptitude; excellent memory; effective management skills; and very good at math.
14.  Education: Graduated from predatory school with honors.
15.  I have a bachelorette degree in computers.
16.  My personal goal: To hand-build a classic cottage from the ground up using my father-in-law.
17.  Vocational plans: Sea World.
18.  Referees available upon request.
19.  Strengths: Impersonal skills.
20.  My ruthlessness terrorized the competition and can sometimes offend.

In a recent poll conducted by the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation, 1,019 adult Americans were asked whether they think government spending on the war in Iraq is partially responsible for the poor economy. Here are the results:

71% think that spending on the war has contributed to what many Americans believe to be a recession. (Hey, isn't war supposed to boost the economy?)
66% of respondents oppose the war.
61% think that the next president should should remove the troops within a few months of taking office.
36% said that the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over.

The question of a symbiotic relationship between the war and the economy links the two dominant political issues in the election. Economists have projected the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression; meanwhile, we're already into deficit borrowing, no thanks to Bush's tax cut and the cost of the war.

Bush, however, has disputed notions that the war is responsible for the economy, stating "I think actually the spending in the war might help with jobs ... because we're buying equipment and people are working," he said. "I think this economy is down because we built too many houses and the economy's adjusting."

Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and Linda J. Bilmes, a former chief financial officer at the Commerce Department wrote an editorial in the Washington Post recently, indicating that the war will end up costing the U.S. government $3 trillion.

"Others will have to work out the geopolitics, but the economics here are clear," the pair wrote. "Ending the war, or at least moving rapidly to wind it down, would yield major economic dividends."

What are the country's most admired companies and why? We have the list for you right here. This top 20 was put together by Fortune and its survey partners at Hay Group. More than 3,700 people from dozens of industries were asked to select the companies they admired most. This particular list reflects strong records of leadership, innovation and financial strength.

1. Apple - It's simple. Apple products work, especially if you buy more than one.
2. Berkshire Hathaway - This insurance giant has thrived off turning today's problems into tomorrow's profits.
3. GE - Even with its "stuck stock," GE is still America's top shareholder wealth creator.
4. Google - Everyone sees Google as the caretaker of the Web. I guess altruism still gets you high marks in this country. (Do no evil!)
5. Toyota - Taking 2nd place in car and truck sales (surpassing Ford), Toyota continues to add capacity while investing in hybrid technology.
6. Starbucks - Though it has dropped in the list due to over-expansion and weak sales, Starbucks remains a powerful brand and a sought-after employer.
7. FedEx - Environmental efforts in the face of rising fuel costs have strengthened this brand. FedEx also had its busiest day ever in December, handling 11.4 million packages.
8. Proctor & Gamble - Innovation, internationalization, and strategic focus keeps this company's momentum going.
9. Johnson & Johnson - Whatever your ailment, J&J has the remedy. From branded pharmaceuticals to medical devices, J&J has the ability to broaden or narrow their market focus with ease.
10. Goldman Sachs - Pulling in top rank in securities on Wall Street, Goldman is respected because its profits are more than a matter of luck.

Most people would like to see themselves as financially secure, with a solid future ahead of them.  Yet so many people incur debt or fail to plan adequately for the future and end up stressing over their finances well into retirement.  In order to avoid this becoming your reality, start making your plans now so that when the time comes for you to retire, you can sit back and relax, or start that extended trip to Europe that you've always wanted to take. 

Here are five ways in which you can set yourself up for a better financial future:

1.  Set goals for yourself.  If you don't know where you are going, how will you ever get there?  Write your goals down and formulate a plan to achieve them.

2.  Start your retirement savings early and then don't touch them.  Ideally, you would set up a 401K by the time you are in your early 30's and then never touch it again (meaning no cashing out or taking out loans against it).

3.  Try to avoid a 30-year mortgage.  Consider a shorter mortgage (such as a 15-year plan) which help you pay less over-all and get back on the path to saving up for retirement much sooner.

4.  Don't hand over control of your money.  You should know what's happening with your money on a day-to-day basis.  This means that if your spouse or a broker handles your finances, you need to be involved in this process.

5.  Control spending leaks and stop unnecessary debt from occurring.  So many people let their money escape from them without paying attention to how it's happening- nipping a small spending issue in the bud is much easier than dealing with large amounts of debt or substantial accumulated loss.

We here at Money Monkey loooooooove Suze Orman, CNBC talk show host, author and internationally acclaimed anti-debt guru. Sure, she's a little obnoxious, but damn does she know what she's talking about when it comes to personal finance. When in need of council with regards to your money, we recommend (in addition, of course, to visiting Money Monkey) that you watch Suze's show, read her books, or check out her website. You can catch her show at 9 PM and midnight on Saturday nights on CNBC. Clearly, those of us here at the Monkey have nothing better to do on Saturday nights...

Ladies, I implore you to read Women & Money, at the heart of which lies Suze's detailed "Save Yourself Plan." The plan is actually a five-month program that helps you create a healthy relationship with your money, make the most out of the money you have, and gain the freedom and knowledge to make solid financial choices. The plan isn't just about money, it's about women having a clear sense of who they are and what they deserve. Once you make the decision to "save yourself," you simply follow the plan which culminates in you ultimately opening up a SaveYourself account at TD AMERITRADE, in which you will be awarded $100, plus peace of mind in knowing that you're well on your way to financial freedom. Here's the kicker: you only have until 3/31/08 to open your account, so get a move on!

The Net Worth of Our Presidential Hopefuls

The criteria for becoming a presidential candidate are pretty easy to meet, but one unwritten criterion remains: it REALLY helps to be rich first. Why? To execute a full time campaign, a candidate needs to take 1-2 years off from work--not easy for a person on an average salary. Secondly, a candidate can put as much of their own money into their campaign as they want unless they opt for public financing, in which case the limit is $50,000.

Here are the net assets of the 7 front runners, most of whom came into their money recently. Keep in mind that the FEC allows candidates to report their assets in broad ranges, but here are the mean values.

Mitt Romney: $202 million
John Edwards: $54.7 million
Rudy Giuliani: $52.2 million
John McCain: $40.4 million
Hillary Clinton: $34.9 million
Fred Thompson: $8.1 million
Barack Obama: $1.3 million

Where the Money Came From

Mitt Romney: Let's just say that Big Love's got his hands in all the right pots on Wall Street--the Boston version of Wall Street, that is.

John Edwards: Earned many of his millions suing doctors; really though, he was a medical malpractice and personal injury lawyer before he joined Fortress Investment Group as a part-time consultant. Creme de la creme, ya'll!

Rudy Giuliani: Publishing, consulting, and speech-making jack-of-all-trades, riding the 9/11 train all the way to the upper west side.

John McCain: Married an heiress. But wouldn't exactly be dirt po' by his lonesome with his senator's salary, Navy pension, and lucrative publishing pursuits.

Hillary Clinton: Though Hill takes $165,200 a year as senator, Bill is breadwinner-in-chief in this relationship, bringin' home the bacon on his presidential pension, book royalties, and public speaking fees.

Fred Thompson: Well, the short stint on "Law and Order" helped, but most of his 8 mil came from other acting tidbits in which Thompson played presidents and CIA directors. Oh yeah,  and he worked as a senator, lawyer and lobbyist. Likely the best paid public servant...ahem...in American history.

Barack Obama: Post- Harvard Law life failed to rake in the big bucks, but this political pauper earned $60,000 as an Illinois state senator, plus another $32,000 as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.

This week's info source (cause we sure as hell couldn't come up with this stuff ourselves): CNNMoney.com.

This week Google finally released the new numbers for its little green meter called PageRank (or PR). Google PR is supposed to help determine the authority of any page on the internet.

In their most recent update they tech monkeys over at Google have made it harder to get a good PR. Many a bad monkey have been paying for links in order to get a high PR. Now its not so easy with Google target and discounting paid links.

No really. Check out Allan Greenspan's book The Age Of Turbulence. It will rock your socks off. Amazingly the dork of dorks comes off as a complete bad ass that will have your heart and mind racing as you learn about the past 80 years of our unpredictable economy.

Seriously, check it out.

I was thinking recently what would make a good gift with all the winter storms coming through. I think that a gas light would make a perfect gift to keep your loved ones well lit when the power goes out. And don't forget the gas light bulbs also know as gas light mantles. And if you don't mind I'm going to tick one quick plug in for gas grill parts for your gas grills.

I'm currently building an internet market department for a company in Atlanta, GA and we just had our first interviews. There are often a lot of things that you need to know about the person you're hiring that you can't just ask. Instead, you have to test.

The building's location gave me my first opportunity to test the potential employees. When setting up the interviews I did not give the the exact location of the building, which is supposedly not easy to find (I had no problem given no help). This test would give me two pieces on info.

• Can they figure out what the location of the building is without any help?
• If not, how long does it take them to call and ask for help?

Question two is far more important than question one. If I hire someone I don't want them to waste valuable hours searching for an answer that someone else already has.

Interview One
Question One: No
Question Two: Prior to interview start.
Arrived: 10 Minutes Early

Interview Two
Question One: No
Question Two: 45 minutes after scheduled start time.
Arrived: 1 hour late

I hired one of them that day. You can guess which one it was.

So why would a corporation elect to be taxed under sub chapter S? The answer is simple; to avoid paying double taxes.

Instead of being taxed on net profit, the sub chapter S status allows the company to pass earnings on to shareholders who pay a single tax on their income.

Its a good question to ask:  Why do stock prices rise? And the answer is a complicated one.

In short, stock prices rise because there are more people trying to buy than trying to sell. In contrast, less buyers means a drop in price. So now maybe you have a better question: Why do more people want to buy or sell a stock? And that is a complicated answer as well. It depends upon global perception of a company's outlook and what's expected in the future.

You may find yourself with your own Website someday and that website may have a shopping cart on it to sell your products. There are many good content management systems (CMS) that include shopping cart solutions. X-Cart is NOT one of those. It falls into the category of "You Just Picked a CMS that will cause you endless frustration" categories.

The system is not very flexible and has made a lot of serious coding mistakes. In one section I've even found some tags that were left unclosed. Its checkout solutions are very limiting and discourage the user from actually making it thought the checkout process (I think the current rate is that only one third of the users make it through).

So all in all the X-Cart can go suck my left monkey nut. It's not even worth flinging your poo at.

The most recent Money Monkey speculation is on Neah Power Systems, Inc. (Public, OTC:NPWS), currently at 34 cents per share (Friday close). They just released their first shareholders conference call on Thursday, September 4th, 2007. The company is looking at a potential 10/100 bagger as they have been awarded 8 patents and have 11 pending.

Their approach to fuel cells seems to be a unique one (again protected by their patents) and they have already had some discussions with the US Military.

I was sitting around running numbers, like ya do, when I realized what a smart idea a blog is as a web investment. Especially if you have businesses on the web. A blog site can easily generate its hosting costs through Google AdSense. To be exact, if you set up the blog yourself (such as wordpress) your hosting costs will be around $50 a year (if it's more you're getting ripped off). I'll just go ahead and suggest 1&1. All you need to make to cover your costs on this blog is about 15 cents per day to cover your hosting costs. That's not very much. Depending upon the subject you write upon that should be around 1 click a day.

This strategy would be especially good for search engine marketing and optimization firms, but it would also be beneficial for companies that already own web businesses. Once you get a few articles up and have a few links pointing into the site, you should be able to generate enough in AdSense revenue that your website goes from being a liability to an asset, and increasing (if only slightly) your net worth or the net worth of your business.

The SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) world got a spotlight today in the main stream money world with its article on Forbes. The source for the article was Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz (a nice guy in person).

The article highlights Google's crackdown on link sites; sites making money off of links but without providing any quality content. This crackdown may take a while and will surely open the door for slightly more legit linking strategies such as PayPerPost and Lead Search Solutions.

Tech Monkey is a blog dedicated to the era of “how do you make this darned thing work?” Written by a team which is half computer-savvy and half technologically challenged, there is something for everyone on Tech Monkey. No matter whether you want to read about the basic compounds of the universe or how to program a cell phone, the humor and easy-to-read writing style of Tech Monkey will keep you checking for updates.

Monkey News is a website created to bring you the lighter side of current affairs. Monkey News is not a parody site, but rather an educational by-product of generic, dry news sites. We take the meat of what’s happening and deliver it in a sweeter form; bringing out the comedy in the sometimes gruesome events of mankind. Monkey News is the silver lining of the news.

Marketing Monkey is a blog specializing in providing marketing know-how in a form easy to digest. Using humor and metaphor, the contributors to Marketing Monkey are committed to offering useful marketing advice. Marketing Monkey is written for the public ears that don’t know anything about marketing, but want to learn.