With the skyrocketing cost of gasoline, we’re all feeling pinched at the pumps. I just had to fill up my old pickup truck that I use for hauling things, and for the first time ever it cost me over $100 for a fill-up! My old truck does have dual gas tanks, but I still had a case of major sticker shock.

Look Inside >> September 2008

Luckily for me, this month’s issue of Ladies Home Journal has a handy article with some sound money-saving advice around driving. Tips like making sure your tire pressure is correct are pretty well-known, expecially thanks to the high-profile emphasis that Barack Obama has recently placed on that one. But I learned some new tricks too, like web sites that I can use to check the current prices of stations in my area. If like me, you assumed that all gas stations charge essentially the same, you’ll be surprised to see the disparity in gas prices from stations sometimes just a mile away from each other. Following the article’s advice of checking the prices at a local station that was just a bit outside of town on a less-traveled road, I found a station that was charging .15 less per gallon than my usual stop. That’s several dollars per fill-up I’ll be saving from now on. If you’re feeling the crunch at the pump, you’ll want to check this money-saving article out.

This month Family Circle has a great little feature on how to lose some serious weight with a walking regimen. They spoke to popular exercise expert Stefan Aschan, the founder of strength123.com, about how to create a walking program that will be effective at helping shed some pounds. The resulting two-week exercise chart seems very practical and realistic.

Look Inside >> September 2008

Aschan’s program involves trying multiple styles of walking and requires finding some different types of terrain on some days, but it seems like it a good plan for building a productive exercise regimen based on walking. Aschan aims to change how you walk by getting you to use more muscles in your body and make you work a little harder than a normal walk around the neighborhood, and explains that by mixing up the demands on your body with this plan you will challenge your muscles in different ways and build a leaner physique. Click on through to read the article and get a preview of Family Circle at Coverleaf.com.

Mark Spitz has been in the news recently for having his long-standing Olympic gold medal record broken by Michael Phelps, but this month’s Heart Healthy Living has a very different story about Spitz. The master swimmer and until last week, Olympic record-holder, talks about living with heart disease and how he’s handled high cholesterol in “When Fit Isn’t Healthy Enough.”

Look Inside >> Fall 2008

It came as a big shock to Spitz that someone in as good shape as he was could have high cholesterol. At age 39 he was attempting to qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and at the beginning of his training regimen he tested high for cholesterol. After training seriously, losing 45 pounds, and reducing his body fat percentage to 2%, Spitz was surprised to find that his cholesterol had actually risen even higher! It was hard for him to accept that someone in as fit as shape as he was at that time could have heart disease, but he now understands that high cholesterol can attack anyone, regardless of their diet and exercise habits.

Spitz went on Lipitor which brought his cholesterol down into a safe range, and remains on the daily medicine to this day. He now urges people to stay on top of their cholesterol every chance he gets.

Kyle Busch was finally slowed down a bit on the NASCAR circuit this weekend, beaten by a jubilant Carl Edwards. Sporting News Today has all the details, including a great photo of Edwards doing a victory flip in front of his car.

Look Inside >> August 18, 2008

Edwards was able to hold off Busch on a restart with two laps remaining in the 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway, winning his fifth Cup victory this season. Edwards also won the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, earning 10 bonus points towards the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Busch clinched his place in the Chase with his runner-up finish and not surprisingly has earned the top seeding in the field for the Sept. 6 race in Richmond.

We’ve got some exciting news for all you iPhone users out there. We’re very proud to announce the launch of our new iPhone Interface & Portal. If you currently use either Apple’s iPhone or iTouch device you can now directly access beautiful digital editions of your favorite magazines in a format that looks and works great. No additional software or downloads are needed, just click on over to our iPhone Magazine Portal and you’ll be reading in style.

You probably didn’t need another reason to love your iPhone, but with the simple one-tap access to read any of your magazines, the ability to browse through all of the magazine thumbnails, and the seamless integration to our popular digital magazine features like “Table of Contents”, “Search”, and “Share (Send to a Friend)”, we think our iPhone Magazine portal will make your iPhone even more valuable.