In all the kerfuffle over the big $700 billion bail out, you may not have noticed that the House of Representatives passed a bill that may be more important to you and your pocket book. We’re talking about HR 5244, a bill of rights for people who use credit cards.

The bill, which now moves to the Senate, would block a lot of those pesky, sneaky things that credit card companies do to jack up your interest rate, or charge you late fees, or slip credit cards into the hands of your college-age children.

And to prove there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing, the Federal Reserve has also introduced a reform bill to deal with consumer rights. It may take a federal scholar to winkle out the differences between these bills, but it is reassuring that the banking industry is against the Federal Reserve bill, calling it, “an unprecedented regulatory intrusion into marketplace pricing and product offerings.” And the credit card industry is against the House and Senate bills.

Basically, if banks and credit card companies are against such moves, regular people should assume they are for them.

Meanwhile, you should protect yourself. As you read your credit card bills, beware of the following terms, listed by Credit Card Reform:

• Universal default The term means is that a credit card company may monitor your credit report and increase your interest rate if they think your credit score is declining, or you are making a big ticket purchase, like a car. This can happen even if you pay their credit card on time.

A legal separation and divorce are more similar than different. In fact, except for a few key points they are almost the same. The difference is in the legal standard one must meet to obtain a legal separation or divorce and the relief you get from either. Even then, the difference only has to do with whether or not the marriage continues.

All states have legal standards a couple has to meet in order to divorce. You have your no-fault states in which anyone can divorce, reason or no reason. Then you have New York State, which still requires grounds for divorce.

In the end, a divorce simply means that the state you live in recognizes that your marriage is broken and can’t be fixed.

A court can grant a legal separation if “irreconcilable differences between the parties have caused a temporary or unlimited breakdown of the marriage.” A legal separation suspends the marriage whereas a divorce ends the marriage.

The relief offered by a legal separation or a divorce is, again, quite similar and in some situations exactly the same. In cases of legal separation and divorce, most state courts can make provisions for:

1. Child Support

2. Child Custody

3. Visitation

4. Division of Marital Property

5. Spousal Support

6. The Marital Home

7. Health Insurance Benefits

Potato peels that look like Miley Cyrus, the world’s largest ball of twine, butter sculptures, or historic advertisements for Spam may not rate a room at the Louvre, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth seeing. Or laughing at.

For our weekly pursuit of fun, we asked Sandra Gurvis, author of "America’s Strangest Museums: A Traveler’s Guide to the Most Unusual and Eccentric Collections," to cite a few of her favorites for our FWW ladies.

Not only will these exhibits bring out the kid in you – you can take the kids too. Who knows? Your pint-sized Picasso may be inspired — and so will you.

The Museum of Bad Art , Massachusetts

“My kid could do that!” In this museum, it is true. The Museum Of Bad Art (MOBA) in Dedham, Massachusetts, south of Boston, boasts a collection of works by artists who go beyond the merely incompetent and soar into heights of banality, sloppiness, sentimentality, and pretentiousness.

MOBA presented its first show in March 1994, in someone’s basement. Since then, MOBA's collection and ambitions have grown exponentially. The collection is now housed in the basement of the Dedham Community Theater, next to the men’s room. Admission is free, and the art can be seen any time the movie theater is open. (Right now, “The Women” and “Nights in Rodanthe” are playing). Bonus: wine is sold at the refreshment stand. Best to consult the movie theater’s schedule for hours. The theater (and art museum) are at 580 High Street, Dedham, Massachusetts. New acquisitions can be seen at www.museumofbadart.org (or check out a charming example, right).

The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, Minnesota

Last week, I had my makeup done for the Skin Cancer Foundation Gala where I was a guest of honor and speaker.

Sitting robed and restless in a N.Y.C. salon two hours before the event, I worked on putting the final touches on my speech and my face in the hands of a staff makeup artist (difficult for a control freak like me but I needed rehearsal time ). She asked what look I wanted. “Bigger more dramatic eyes that would connect with the audience from the stage but not smudge if I got a little teary.”

When I finally looked up and into the mirror, my eyes were smoky and huge, highlighted with gold and fringed with individual fake lashes -- perfect for the over-the-top mood of a black tie party, but just not me. I did a quick fix in the ladies’ room, taking it down a notch with Q-tips and powder, pulled off the falsies, and had a great time.

Most women know that a well-done, clean eye makeup enhances their looks and their communication skills. Check out the current makeup of news anchors and women in the political arena -- eye makeup, not lips, are the focal point of the face.

Neutral shades work for everyone, are hard to overdo, and convey confidence whether you’re wrangling a settlement in divorce court, nailing that final bid for a new condo, or attending your college reunion. Experimenting beyond your comfort zone keeps you looking modern and contemporary but it does not have to be complicated.

Rethink and refresh your basics with one or all of these eye makeup changes. They’re easy and get the balance of news and flattery just right.

1. Get a Neutral Shimmer Eyeshadow

Divorced women are already financially strapped and, with all the doomsday reporting lately, they may be financially scared too. However, it is not as bad as you think. In fact, in all recessions and depressions, there were many girls who managed to ride it out to their benefit.

And let’s face it, divorced women are resourceful. With that in mind, FWW asked Tyler Mathieson, CNBC’s managing editor for business news and all-around financial brainiac, to offer six reasons you can navigate this financial hiccup.

• Smart girls know that you should have money in the bank below the FDIC insurance limit of $100,000. or have money in several banks. The good news is that the limit will rise from $100,000 to $250,000 if the Senate bail out bill is passed. If you have just gotten a cash settlement on your divorce that exceeds $250,000, it would still be wise to split it between banks.

• If you have followed the basic tenet of smart investing, you have diversified among different asset classes – stocks, bonds, precious metals, T Bills, real estate. If so, you would have lost less in the stock market right now, since that is just one class of investments. And remember, it is never too late to get smart. You can diversify now too.

• If you have good credit, and depending on how much you are asking for, you should still be able to get a mortgage or a bank loan. Banks want to do business right now but will cater to clients with a good credit history. They may also add incentives for opening an account and making deposits.

• Your credit score is a composite of a lot of things – but the most important factor is whether you are late in paying bills. That will impact 35 percent of your score. So make sure you pay your bills on time.

As of 2002, only seven states had extended child support to age 21 or beyond. In most others, court-ordered support ends when a child is 18 or finishes high school. Not surprisingly, analysis at Cornell University of a study of 27,000 high school students in the 80s and 90s showed that children of divorce were 40 percent less likely to apply to a selective college, and half as likely to attend.

It’s not just the lack of financial support, it is also the physical and emotional disruption that stalls some kids in their academic careers. Some see their grades fall, and never get back on the academic track. Others drift away from school, sports, and authority figures.

So, especially if you are a single mom, in this season when prep classes begins for SAT and ACT tests, when you are planning to haul your high school junior around the country to visit four-year colleges, when the college applications are filing your child’s inbox, and application fees are waiting to be paid, stop.

Although most parents would have a hard time admitting it – I did – not every child belongs in college. And a lot of kids should not go to college straight out of high school.

Putting yourself in the poor house trying to earn or borrow enough to send him or her to college is not a sound investment in your own future.

The average cost of a four-year college education at a public university or college right now is $75,000, including tuition, books, fees, room and board, and travel to school, but not including spring break, the new laptop, and a cute winter jacket. At a private institution, it’s $152,000.

Think you have a few years ahead of you to save that up? If your child starts college in the fall of 2016, the average cost of a public college four-year education will be $116,000, and a private college education, $237,000.

That’s a whole lot of spaghetti dinners for the next eight years. And no nights out.

Two hundred years ago, John Chapman's calling became clear — to spread apple trees across the American frontier. The entire country has benefited from the man known as Johnny Appleseed, because those apple trees spread with the country all the way to the Washington State. What is more American than apple pie? What is a cuter celebrity name than Apple, Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter. And what is sweeter than hearing you are the apple of someone’s eye. The Big Apple, anyone?

Fall is apple-picking time, and September is National Apple Month. Whether it's a weekend trip or a first date, apple picking is as American as it gets. FWW asked Nancy E. Foster, president of the U.S. Apple Association, a national trade association, for her five favorite areas in the US for picking apples. Here they are, along with our picks for the best orchards in each.

Hudson Valley, New York

Only an hour or two north of Manhattan, Empire and Red Delicious varieties beg to be picked. There are dozens and dozens of orchards, most open for pick-your-own on weekends through October. Favorite spots include the Wilkins Fruit Farm in Yorktown Heights, Westchester County; Fraleigh's Rose Hill Farm, which has been on these same rolling hills, and in the same family for 200 years, in Red Hook, Dutchess County (845) 758 4215; and the Mead Orchards, also in Dutchess County, in Tivoli. Late in the season, try the firm, juicy, sweet Macouns, an apple developed right in New York State.

Apple Hill, California

Do you need a break from marital conflict, but you’re not ready to take the next step for divorce? If so, legal separation will give you the break you need, and protection while you take time away to figure out your next step.

During a legal separation, a couple will negotiate a temporary agreement and file it with the courts. This means that during the time you are living apart such issues as child custody, spousal support, visitation and the division of marital assets and debts are legally protected.

Be aware though that whatever you agree to during a legal separation may set a precedence that will carry over should you and your husband eventually decide to divorce. You should be as concerned with your long-term needs when negotiating a legal separation agreement as you would be if you were negotiating a divorce settlement agreement.

Below are a few advantages of a legal separation or why a woman may choose a legal separation over a divorce.

• A legal separation will protect you financially because any assets or debts acquired during a legal separation may be considered separate property. This is especially important in states where couples are required to live apart of a period before filing for divorce.

• There are social security benefits available to a wife who has been married 10 years or more. If you have been a stay-at-home mom, and haven’t paid into much social security, remaining married until you meet that 10 year requirement should be a consideration when deciding whether to continue in your marriage.

Girls just want to have fun. And what better way than to go to a weekend festival that’s either free or less money than a Cosmo or CVS lipstick.

Full of interesting people and passions, these festivals can be bizarre, silly, humorous, and an adventure — and they’re certainly more fun than watching “Seinfeld” reruns at home.

Grab a girlfriend or go solo. Plus, helloooo — unless you go out, you won’t meet anyone. With your good time on our minds, we asked author Chris Epting, who has spent a lifetime documenting this information, to share the best festivals for October:

Alabama

The National Shrimp Festival, held
 October 9-12 in Gulf Shores, Alabama 
is one of the nation’s premier outdoor festivals, featuring more than 300 fine art, arts and crafts, and retail marketplace vendors… plus lots and lots of shrimp!

California

Do you love avocadoes? Believe it or not, you don't even have to like them to enjoy the annual Avacado Festival. This three-day extravaganza brings together three stages of musical acts and entertainment, a kids’ petting zoo, vendor booths, contests galore (such as the Largest Avocado or Best Dressed Avocado), and food, food, food. Amazingly, this event is free and one of the biggest festivals in the U.S., boasting the largest vat of guacamole you’ll ever see. October 3, 4, & 5, 2008.

Maine

Hey, I know it’s not quite October, but the Farmers Almanac predicts a wet, cold winter, and I like to be prepared.

Every woman I talk to is questioning whether a new winter coat is even on her to-buy list now. This is partly due to fashion’s emphasis on layering, which happens to add warmth in addition to style, our communal dislike of big, bulky (read fattening ) puffers, and daily reports on global warming plus a tanking economy.

Frugality is “in” whether you have a corner office, worker-bee cubicle, or a desk and computer stashed in your bedroom. Funny how quickly coat designers learned from last year’s forced markdowns and clogged sales stock to rethink the entire category.

This year’s trenchcoats, those sexy-but-sensible staples (they also never go out of style) are hitting store racks in droves. What started out as a military item has shaped up to be a fashion icon — and nearly every brand is counting on its appeal to revive coat purchases.

Let’s be realistic: For truly hideous weather — treks through snow and storm — those down coats in the backs of our closets are always welcome, but trenches have an offhand glamour that’s irresistible. Trench legends like Audrey and Katharine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich are part of the allure, but every front-row chic-ette from Carla Bruni to Catherine Deneuve have been spotted recently in one. They work easily over trousers and pencil skirts, sheath dresses with heels, or jeans with boots — and every brand and designer has a trench in their lineup this season.

Get the double-breasted, notch collar style, and knot the belt bathrobe-style at the waist for definition, even if it has a buckle! The evolution of style has made some changes, a more fitted silhouette, a higher armhole, and leaner shoulder (even those that have epaulettes).