Retro Medicine: Doctors Making House Calls (for a Price)

CHERI ELLISON-CARROLL did not know where to turn when a red rash raced up her leg late one night while she was on a business trip in Phoenix last spring. Scheduled to give a keynote speech early the next morning, she didn’t want to sit in the emergency room all night. So she picked up the phone and had a doctor sent to her hotel room. READ MORE

Basking on the Beach, or Maybe the Operating Table

SO you have a bad hip that needs surgery, but you don’t have health insurance. What to do? Go on vacation.\
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Don't Want to Leave the Hotel? Buy the Room

IMAGINE loving a hotel room so much that you buy it, mortgage and all.
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Playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey Just Won't Do

Years ago, birthdays were simple, with a handful of children playing in the backyard while mom lit the candles on the cake. Today, birthday parties are bigger and more elaborate than ever, with the guest list spanning entire preschool classes and price tags that can reach $1,000 or more.
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At the Dentist's Office, X-Rays, Root Canals & Pampering

AT her dental appointments, Deann Romanick sips green tea and takes in the scent of lavender and the sounds of New Age music. She gets a free paraffin hand wax treatment, blankets, a warm neck pad and video eyeglasses in which she can watch "Seinfeld" episodes while the dentist works on her teeth.
The pampering eased her through a root canal and a tooth replacement, and now, with her fear of dental work gone, she has moved on to more elective procedures. Ms. Romanick, 34, a graduate student from Germantown, Md., spent $399 for teeth whitening and next plans to straighten her teeth with removable plastic braces, which can cost up to $3,500. READ MORE

Another Way to Bring Out That Inner Rapunzel

TRACY DARNEY has a commercial pilot's license, an M.B.A. and a trim figure. But she never had long thick hair. So she has paid $6,800 to get it.
On four different occasions, Ms. Darney has gone to a salon and sat for six hours for the application of human-hair extensions. Her stylist uses a tool that looks like a giant pair of tweezers and applies a protein-based adhesive to the hair near her scalp, giving her 12 inches of natural-looking hair that flows down her back. The extensions last two to six months and cost $1,700 a sitting.
Many other American women also want long thick hair and are willing to pay thousands of dollars for extensions, spurring growth in one more business centered on beauty.
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Taking a Vacation With Harry, Captain Jack or Frodo

LOVE the movie? The chances are that there is a vacation for you in it.
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The Latest in Hotel Pools: 3 Acres, With Slides, Indoors

IMAGINE walking around in a bathing suit in 80-degree temperatures, with water all around you. Now imagine the dead of winter just yards away. READ MORE

What We (and Our Parents) Did at Summer Camp

WHEN many children travel to summer camp this year, they will be taking along more than swimsuits and hiking boots. Many will have their parents in tow, too. READ MORE

A Place to Park Your R.V. (Golf Privileges Included)

FORGET the fancy retirement condo in Florida. Mo and Lin Moser traded their Denver home for a $1 million recreational vehicle and four places to park it — spots worth $80,000 to $500,000 each — at several high-end R.V. parks around the country. READ MORE

If You're Checking In, Check the Extra Fees First

STACI MATTSON, 21, thought she had grabbed a good deal on a rental car for a three-day trip to Hartford last May. But when she arrived at the Hertz counter to pick up her vehicle, the bill surprised her: it included an extra $81 fee because she was under the age of 25. 
Plenty of travelers tell similar stories about booking rental cars and hotels at one price and ultimately paying far more because of unexpected fees and taxes. Those charges have flourished as Internet travel discounts have led to thinner profit margins at hotels and car rental businesses, and as more local governments assess taxes on tourists to finance big-ticket projects. READ MORE

A Nice Stiff Breeze, and a Nice Little Power Bill

GUS SANSONE has not had to pay an electricity bill in five years, thanks to the 35-mile-an-hour wind gusts that whip past his house on the high desert of San Bernardino County, Calif. READ MORE

Old McDonald Had a Produce-Buying Co-op

BUYING vegetables has become somewhat of an event for Joan Morykin. Every Monday evening, she rounds up her family and drives 10 minutes to the 14 Acre Farm in Summit Hill, Pa., where they pick up a box of fresh vegetables and join dozens of other families for a weekly potluck. READ MORE

DNA Kits Aim to Link You to the Here and Then

Several years ago, the Internet helped to encourage a greater American fascination with genealogy. Now DNA testing has added a new twist that has people like Ms. Bopp paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars to look at genetic information in order to uncover details about their heritage.
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C'mon, Get Happy, but the Calm Will Take Some Cash

People working longer hours and carrying larger workloads are a big force driving a lucrative new market centered on relaxation. Time-pressed Americans increasingly want to buy their serenity off the shelf, and countless companies line up to sell it to them in the form of personal consultants, specialized video games, vitamins, yoga, massage, biofeedback, self-help books and hypnotism training. In 2003, Americans spent $36 billion on relaxation products, according to the Natural Marketing Institute, a consulting and research firm in Harleysville, Pa. READ MORE

A New Competitive Sport: Grooming the Child Athlete

As the nation's love of sports grows, more children are focusing on one sport at an early age — sometimes as young as 4 — and practicing it year-round. To keep up, parents spend thousands of dollars for team memberships, personal training and even private sports schools in the hope of turning their children into high-caliber athletes or landing college scholarships for them.

Often, though, the investments may do nothing more than help children make the team. READ MORE

Fair Prices for Farmers: Simple Idea, Complex Reality

TIM TERMAN always looks for the black and white certified Fair Trade logo when he buys bags of coffee from the Mountain People's Co-op in Morgantown, W. Va. He pays nearly twice as much — up to $10 a pound — as he would for conventional coffee, hoping the extra dollars go to struggling farmers.
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Here's the Hook: Gifts for Online Bill Payers

PSST. Interested in 10 free music downloads online? Or how about a Target gift card or a discount on your cable television bill?
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