-$9.70: The Congressional Budget Office projected this week the Obama Administration policies could add a whopping $9.7 trillion to the national debt by 2020. The biggest contributor to that new debt? Forget reform for health care or student loans. Nope, it's middle-class tax cuts. Ouch, that hurts.

+$18: $9.7 trillion is a loan even Carlos Slim, the world's new richest man, can't cover. (He's only got $54 billion after all.)

-$5: An even more mind-boggling figure out this week: the median wealth for single black American women is $5, according to a new study. For white women, it's $42,600. We've got bigger issues than half-priced Barbies at Wal-Mart.

-$2: The Haiti and Chile earthquakes reminded some homeowners to check on their earthquake coverage. Surprise: premiums have gone up 200%. Where does that register on the Richter scale?

+$50: Two new futures markets may soon let investors wager on movies' future American box office earnings, allowing Hollywood moguls to hedge against big-budget flops. Hmm, risky business or insider trading? Paging Gordon Gekko.

-$85: One new delicacy my palate (and wallet) can do without? Whale meat.

-$1.80: March Madness kicks off Monday, so be prepared not to get a lot of work done. Like $1.8 billion worth of slacking off. Game on!

This week's total: -$35.50. Drat, and here I wanted to hire Kim Jong-Il's personal shopper to show me how the other half live. (The tyrannical dictator half, that is.)

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