Hot Topics: Save (and Spend) Like Warren Buffett

If you need money to fund a business, don't overlook saving your pennies. If you did, you'd be following in the footsteps of Warren Buffett, the famously thrifty "Oracle of Omaha" who turned a dresser drawer into a bassinet for one of his kids and drove a Volkswagen until his wife forced him to upgrade, according to a new biography, Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist. Forbes columnist Deborah Jacobs uses the Buffett book as inspiration for dozens of simple tips for frugal living. Among them: Buy food in bulk and freeze it, bring your own coffee and lunch to work, only buy clothes when they're on sale, and always pay cash. Find more tips in this SecondAct post, Cheap Chic: Frugal Living Tips for 2012.

'Nextnik' Series Debuts on YouTube: The six-part dramedy about a middle-management refugee faced with reinventing himself at midlife had its online debut this week. Mike Kravinsky created the semi-autobiographical web series after taking a buyout from ABC News, where he'd worked as a video editor and technical director for 29 years, contributor Pat Kiger explains in this SecondAct post.

The Film School of Hard Knocks: Steve Boman enrolled in film school as a second act, but things didn't go exactly as scripted, according this Minnesota Public Radio report. The journalist-turned-organ-transplant courier was accepted into the University of Southern California's prestigious film program but dropped out after a semester due to stress. Two years later, Boman re-entered the program but had a stroke -- at 42 -- just as classes were to begin. He recovered, and within the same year saw a student project turn into a short-lived CBS prime-time series. Boman recounts all of it in a new book, Film School.

New Ways to Bankroll Your Business: The economy may be improving, but when it comes to financing, small businesses still need to get creative, according to this Entrepreneur.com story. One of the new wrinkles is contracting with companies such as SDCooper, Benetrends and Guidant Financial to help you tap into your retirement savings for startup funds. With Guidant's help, Linda Jamerson and her husband, Ken McDonald, set up a retirement plan through which they bought a Chicago aluminum metal cases maker in April 2010. The company's sales grew 60 percent last year, and the couple has hired a part-time and two full-time employees. Find more innovative ways to bankroll your dream gig in this SecondAct post.

Coming Around Again: An angry Carly Simon took to her website this week to tell fans not to read an upcoming unauthorized biography, More Room In A Broken Heart, The True Adventures of Carly Simon. Among other things, the book, written by rock biographer and onetime childhood friend Stephen Davis, claims that Mick Jagger is the mystery man subject of the 40-year-old Simon hit, "You're So Vain." The singer, however, says the book is filled with inaccuracies -- unlike Girls Like Us, a 2009 bio of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Simon, which she endorses. Publisher's Weekly previews the book here, while veteran celebrity reporter and ShowBiz411 editor Roger Friedman offers his critical take here.

Last Word: "A winner is made of effort, motivation, perseverance and the courage to always push ONWARD." -- swimmer Diana Nyad