Money Watch, a new column that runs every Saturday, features a financial planner from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors answering reader questions about saving, protecting and growing your money. To submit a question, e-mail USA TODAY personal finance reporter Christine Dugas at:cdugas@usatoday.com.

The Grey, directed by Joe Carnahan, is overperforming after scoring generally good reviews. Audiences gave the action-thriller a B- CinemaScore, with males making up 60 percent of the audience.

Tom Ortenbergs Open Road Films is handling The Grey, about a group of men stranded in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash (the cast also includes Frank Grillo and Dermot Mulroney). The $25 million pic was produced by Liddell Entertainment and Scott Free Productions.

PHOTOS: Man on a Ledge Screening Arrivals

Fueled by older women, Katherine Heigl starrer One for the Money opened No. 2 on Friday with a better than expected $4.1 million. If business holds, the Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment pic should gross $11 million to $12 million for the weekend.

One for the Money–based on the popular Stephanie Plum detective novels by author Janet Evanovich — likewise received a B- CinemaScore. Females made up 75 percent of the audience, while 80 percent of those going to see the film Friday were over the age of 25 (including 30 percent over the age of 50).

Lionsgate and Lakeshore are partners on the $42 million film, with much of the budget covered through foreign presales.

PHOTOS: Academy Awards 2012 Nominees

Lionsgate raised eyebrows among some of its rivals when pacting with Groupon to offer discounted tickets for One for the Money. Roughly 20 million Groupon members were offered the chance to buy one ticket for $6, and $12 for two tickets.

The weekends third new film, action-thriller Man on a Ledge, starring Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks, couldnt boast the same good news. The Summit Entertainment pic grossed $2.5 million on Friday for a projected $7.5 million weekend.

Man on a Ledge came in No. 5 behind holdovers Underworld: Awakening ($3.4 million) and Red Tails ($2.8 million). However, the pic scored the best CinemaScore of the three new films, a B+.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradin produced Man on a Ledge, about a hard-living police negotiator (Banks) who tries to talk down an ex-cop and fugitive (Worthington) who is standing on the ledge of a New York high-rise.

One twist — Lionsgate and Summit dated Man on a Ledge and One for the Money long before Lionsgate bought Summit (the marriage was consummated earlier this month). Normally, one company wouldnt date two films on the same weekend.

Summit also offered discounted tickets for Man on a Ledge via Living Social.

Projections show box office revenues up 10 percent over the same weekend last year.

Like the rest of America, I laughed until my ribs hurt at the antics of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as they brought the issue of corporate money in politics into the national spotlight. The Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC, which viewers can tell you is definitely NOT coordinating with Stephen Colberts presidential campaign, has shown the true hypocrisy of the Super PAC phenomenon that was set in motion by the Supreme Court ruling two years ago last week.

In case you arent yet aware, Super PACs are the barely regulated version of the traditional political action committees that existed before the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. Before the 2010 Supreme Court ruling there was more transparency of donor disclosure and limitations on the size of contributions: $5,000 maximum per election for PACs associated with businesses and unions and much less for individuals. Super PACs can raise unlimited donations from corporations, unions and individuals, and as of January 20, over 200 Super PACs have reported total expenditures of $33 million dollars in the 2012 cycle. Its not a coincidence that South Carolina primary winner Newt Gingrich has a Super PAC that is buying up as much advertising as it can. I hope voters in Florida are ready for the onslaught.

The rules governing the interactions between candidates and their Super PAC directors (for Romney, his lawyer; for Gingrich, his former aide) are truly laughable. When Messrs. Colbert and Stewart sit down to write satire of campaign finance law, they need not think too hard. Observing the two comedians cheek to cheek not coordinating where Colberts — er Stewarts — Super PAC targets its advertising, it becomes painfully clear that its not just satirical coordination between Super PACs and candidates that is occurring. Its not just Republican primary opponents who are taking advantage of Super PACs. President Obamas Super PAC Priorities USA has so far raised $5 million and is run by Sean Sweeney, a former aide to then White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel.

Others are getting in on the joke too. Click here if you want to generate your own generically patriotic and meaninglessly obscure Super PAC name! My favorite was Cure the Purple Mountain Majesty Coalition.

The Citizens United ruling creating Super PACs only exacerbated a trend that has been building for 3 decades. When I began my first term in Congress in the late 1970s the growth of outside money in politics had just begun in earnest. Each year until I left I observed more and more money spent on elections from a broader range of donors, especially corporations. And each year my colleagues and I had to spend more of our time fundraising and less of our time educating ourselves on issues, talking to constituents, and working together to find bipartisan solutions to our problems. The problem of too much money in politics isnt new, but it is worse than it has ever been. And, the impact of all the money on public policy is clear. This money is not being donated to advance a charitable agenda.

Super PACs only serve to enrich broadcasters and worse, relentlessly assault Americans with negativity and the ugly side of politics. Public confidence in government is at record lows and unlimited Super PAC expenditures on campaigns further erode Americans belief in the effectiveness of their democracy. We need to restore Americans belief that their government can work together to find solutions to overcome the obstacles confronting the nation. How can we restore public trust in government when a South Carolina voter watching a 30-minute span of television last week could see up to 13 mostly negative political ads?

But thanks in part to Stephen Colbert, Americans are finally getting sick of all the Super PAC funded negativity. According to a January 17 Pew Research Center poll 65 percent of a bipartisan group of voters aware of the Citizens United ruling believe that Super PACs have had a negative effect on campaigns. Not every politician is welcoming the enormous influx of money with open arms. Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown recently signed an informal agreement to keep Super PAC money out of their Senate race. While this is an important first step, I think its time for Congress to act and restore some sensibility to our frayed campaign finance regulations. At a minimum, in the age of the power of the internet its time for the citizenry to rise up, reject this political chicanery of Super PACS, and in the words of Peter Finch in the movie The Network, announce with their collective voices, Im mad as Hell, and Im not going to take this anymore!

Even though Super PACs can legally say nice things, I have yet to see a Super PAC advertisement proclaiming all the great presidential qualities of their favored candidates. Maybe thats an issue the candidates can raise with their Super PACs next time they arent coordinating. And if you still believe they arent coordinating, I have a great piece of beach front property to sell you in my home state of Kansas.

Soon after he began running for Congress in 2009, Michael G. Grimm, a Staten Island Republican, needed to convince party leaders in Washington that he could raise enough money to become a viable candidate. Seeking help, he turned to an unlikely source: followers of an Orthodox rabbi and mystic from Israel.

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Yossef Ben Yossef

Ofer Biton, a former aide to Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, is said to have helped raise money for Mr. Grimm’s 2010 House campaign.

Mr. Grimm, a former agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a Roman Catholic who regularly attends Sunday Mass, traveled around the New York region with one of the rabbi’s top aides, Ofer Biton, to raise campaign money from the rabbi’s followers. In all, the Grimm campaign collected more than $500,000 from the followers, according to numerous interviews and an analysis of Mr. Grimm’s campaign records.

That money — more than half of the total that Mr. Grimm raised from individuals — proved instrumental in his upset of the Democratic incumbent in November 2010. Since then, Mr. Grimm has established a profile as a rising Republican star.

But now, Mr. Biton, an Israeli citizen, is being investigated by the F.B.I. and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn over accusations that he embezzled millions of dollars from the rabbi’s congregation. And an examination by The New York Times has highlighted Mr. Biton’s unusual role in the Grimm campaign — as well as questionable donations that the rabbi’s followers said Mr. Grimm had accepted.

The examination of Mr. Grimm’s fund-raising was based on more than 15 interviews with followers and associates of the rabbi, Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, who divides his time between Israel and Manhattan, where he has a large congregation.

Mr. Grimm would not respond to questions about Mr. Biton and his campaign finances beyond issuing a general statement.

“Any suggestion that I was involved in any activities that may run afoul of the campaign finance laws is categorically false and belied by my life of public service protecting and enforcing the laws of this country,” Mr. Grimm said in the statement on Friday.

In interviews, followers of the rabbi spoke repeatedly about the close ties between Mr. Grimm and Mr. Biton.

“Grimm and Biton were together all the time during the campaign,” said one of the followers, Yossi Zaga, a real estate investor who donated $4,800, the legal limit, to Mr. Grimm at Mr. Biton’s urging. “They would drive around together to the homes and offices and ask for contributions.”

Three of the rabbi’s followers said in separate interviews that Mr. Grimm or Mr. Biton told them that the campaign would find a way to accept donations that were over the legal limit, were given in cash or were given by foreigners without green cards.

Congressional campaigns are not allowed to accept cash donations of more than $100. Foreigners without green cards are barred by law from giving to political campaigns. They are also not allowed to solicit contributions for campaigns.

One follower of the rabbi said in an interview that Mr. Grimm pressed him for $20,000. The follower said Mr. Grimm instructed him to meet him “near the F.B.I. building,” in Lower Manhattan, in summer 2010 to give the money. The follower said he handed over $5,000 in cash in an envelope to Mr. Grimm in Mr. Grimm’s car.

Within a week, the follower said, he gave Mr. Grimm a $5,000 check from a friend. Mr. Grimm then repeatedly called the follower and demanded another $10,000, the follower said.

“Every day, he used to call me, over and over,” the follower said.

The follower said he ignored the calls and did not give again.

A second follower recalled that Mr. Grimm came to his office in Manhattan to solicit a legal contribution. As he was handing over the check, the second follower said, Mr. Grimm confided in him that there were ways of working around the campaign rules.

“Grimm wanted you to supply the money, and if someone wants to give and cannot give, you have to find a friend to give it through,” the second follower recalled. “Let’s say someone is not legal to give because he’s not American. Grimm wants this guy, Joe A, to give the money to Joe B so Joe B can make the contribution to the campaign.”

A third follower said he picked up, at Mr. Biton’s behest, $25,000 for Mr. Grimm’s campaign from a single Israeli.

“I give the checks to Ofer, and he gives them to Michael,” the third follower said.

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Alain Delaquérière and Griff Palmer contributed reporting.

Winning our Future, the Newt Gingrich-allied super PAC, is set to release another anti-Mitt Romney short documentary, this time focused on Bain Capitals involvement with a company guilty of Medicare fraud.

The video will be much shorter than the groups previous effort — a nearly 30-minute long video titled King of Bain, which focused broadly on Romneys private equity days. This one will be seven to eight minutes in length, according to Winning our Futures executive, former Gingrich press secretary Rick Tyler.

And it will focus strictly on Damon Corporation, Tyler added.

Damon Corp. was a Massachusetts-based medical testing company that pleaded guilty to defrauding the government to the tune of $25 million. Bain purchased controlling interest in the company in 1989 and Romney personally sat on the board of directors. By the time Damon Corp. paid a $119 million fine (in 1993), Bain had sold the company to Corning Inc.

Tyler would not reveal his methods for shooting the film. But he did say that there were designs to turn it into 30-second or minute-long commercials to air either in Florida or other primary states. On Thursday afternoon, Winning our Future released a trailer for the film (see above), a rapid-fire clip reminiscent of a feature-film trailer.

In a statement to the The Huffington Posts Jon Ward, Romney spokesperson Gail Gitcho noted that the last Winning our Future documentary ended up being a flop, buried by accusations that it misquoted its subjects and misled on its material.

Well, we know that the last Gingrich group film went down as a spectacular failure, Gitcho said. If they want to keep attacking free enterprise, thats fine. We will have that debate.

That said, Damon Corp. presents a more acute political problem for Romney than his private equity career at large. Already, the union AFSCME is up with ads in Florida going after the former Massachusetts governor for his service on the companys board. The spot fails to note that a federal investigation into the matter never implicated Romney. But the fact that Romney did make $473,000 during his time with Damon Corp. underscores the charge that he profited on top of a Medicare-fraud mess.

I see Stephen Hesters bonus is still dominating the news agenda. I wrote on the politics of it yesterday, but today Ive had another thought. What Ive found myself wondering is this: who on earth needs that much money anyway? Mr Hesters pay is called an incentive, but at some level of pay, it must stop being an incentive and start being a disincentive. At some point, you must start accumulating wealth so quickly that you want to stop working and start spending.

Since starting at RBS in 2008, Mr Hester has been paid something like £4.8 million in basic pay, before we even consider his bonuses. Surely he has something better to do with all that money than carrying on working as a banker? He could write a novel, travel across the world in opulent style, go heliskiing every day for an entire ski season (these are only my immediate ideas). He could live out the wildest dreams of the 99 per cent of the worlds population who have to work simply to have somewhere to sleep and something to eat. Instead, he chooses to go to an office in London and work in a difficult job for long hours every day. What a colossal bore he must be.

It is an irony of our society that wealth seems to flow most efficiently to people who have no idea how to use it; the sorts of people who are most likely to make an awful lot of money are also least likely to care about it. Ultimately, people like Stephen Hester dont work for money, but for status. As Donald Trump wrote in his memoirs, money was never a big motivation for me, except as a good way to keep score. Perhaps what we need is a better way of scoring.

By WSJ Staff

Katherine Heigl, romantic comedy queen, is shifting gears. In the coming movie One for the Money, she plays Stephanie Plum, the heroine of Janet Evanovichs best-selling mystery series. Does Heigl have another gear? Watch the trailer and leave your comments. (Note to Hollywood: Enough with the sassy hookers already.)

ATLANTA — It would be the elephant in the room, if East Lake Golf Club had walls and a roof.

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Tami Chappell/Reuters

Adam Scott, who is No. 19 in the FedEx Cup points standings, leads the Tour Championship at eight under par after two rounds.

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Adding a layer of incentive or pressure at the Tour Championship, depending on a golfer’s mind-set, are bonuses based on accumulated success over the season. The maximum windfall is $10 million, and while all 30 players began the week technically eligible for the amount, five were dizzyingly close to claiming it.

If any of these five wins the tournament, regardless of how others finish, he will depart Sunday wealthier by $11.44 million, including the first prize for the actual competition.

Money talks, is the root of all evil, doesn’t grow on trees and can’t buy you love or happiness. No player would dare admit that it also causes shots to veer off-target. But two of those five players are buried on the leader board after two rounds.

Justin Rose, who entered third in the FedEx Cup points standings, staggered to a five-over 75 Friday and skied to plus-four for the week, tied with two others in last place.

One shot better, but worse than all but five contestants after a 73, was Dustin Johnson, who was No. 2 in the standings. He and Rose registered two of the afternoon’s four highest scores.

Rose, who won the BMW Championship last week, suggested on the eve of the Tour Championship that he did not fully digest the magnitude of the reward until recently.

“I saw the number, and I was, like, ‘Whoa, that’s a big check,’ ” Rose said. “What makes the FedEx Cup a huge challenge is to deal with the pressure of the $10 million and keep your game in shape.”

On Friday, Rose’s game was bent so far out of shape that he said the 75 did not even reflect how poorly he played.

“A rough start out of the blocks, just a rough day,” said Rose, consoling himself with the reminder that lesser bonus amounts will be distributed to the Cup’s also-rans.

Rose rejected the notion that awareness of the bounty clouded his course judgment or wore on him.

So did Johnson, who said, “I’m not playing well enough to be thinking about” the bonus. “This is just like any other tournament.”

Johnson had said collecting the bonus would mean “a big party for my friends.” Instead, they may have to settle for a smaller one.

Faring somewhat better Friday among the five main Cup contenders were Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson, who each shot a 70. Still, neither could break par, as most of the field did.

“It’s hard not to block it out completely,” Simpson acknowledged after his round, but he said he did not regard the bonus as an impediment. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Besides, he added, small fortunes are at stake at every significant PGA Tour stop. “This is just a little more pressure than the normal week,” he said.

Of the players within closest proximity to the $10 million, only Luke Donald scored as if he were oblivious — or extra motivated. A 68 on Friday put him at six under, two strokes off the lead.

Before the tournament, Donald dismissed any possibility of distraction, saying he already had two homes and was not materialistic.

“The money is really the last thing I’m thinking about,” he said early this week, an approach that could serve him well as he pursues the tournament leaders Adam Scott (eight under) and K. J. Choi (seven under).

Noting the tournament’s dual purpose, Geoff Ogilvy said, “Part of the appeal is that carrot dangling at the end, whether we need the money or not.” Most of the players seemed little burdened by any ambient noise from the bonuses.

Two-thirds have bettered par over the two days, thanks in part to a course turned forgiving Friday by early morning rains. Also, the lack of the usual mid-tournament cut eased some tension.

Bubba Watson was the low man on Friday, shooting a 64 on a layout that he could take or leave — preferably, leave.

“I was amazed I was playing well,” Watson said. “The truth is, it’s not my favorite course. It doesn’t suit my game.”

For much of the year, Scott has drawn less attention than his caddie, Steve Williams, whose hostile split with Tiger Woods lifted his celebrity status. That balance could change as soon as Sunday.

Based on track record, Scott is in an ideal closing position. He has shared or held the lead at the mid-point on 10 occasions; six times, he has won.

Asked if he had figured out which results would secure him the bonus if he won the tournament, Scott, who began at No. 19 in Cup standings, said he knew only that Simpson must finish well back in the pack.

“I don’t know anything past that,” he said. “I just figured if I win this week, I’ll be happy no matter what.”

On the surface, Fridays announcement that the NBA has postponed training camps and cancelled 43 pre-season games was an ominous sign for those hoping for a swift end to the lockout.

On the other hand, scrapping the scheduled Oct. 3 start to camps and games through Oct. 15 just might get the chains moving on this thing.

It had better, because if not, it could be a long time until we see NBA basketball again.

Commissioner David Stern said on Wednesday that the owners and players have three weeks to come to a deal to start the season on time.

Though they remain at odds on several issues, Fridays step back just might move talks forward again in the near future.

Why? Simple. Money talks. In labour wars that dont end up in an annihilated season, usually serious progress is not made until players start missing cheques.

That wont happen until after training camps and some exhibition games take place and while the owners wont lament the absence of pre-season games because they dont make much or any profit off of it, the players will definitely miss their money when it doesnt arrive on time. The first cheques come at the beginning of November.

While few expect any of the remaining pre-season games to be played there has to be enough time for a proper free-agency period before camps can open increased motivation on the part of the players certainly cant hurt. As well, reports indicate the owners have come down a bit on their demands of how to split basketball-related income (BRI).

Will it be enough? Probably not. The players apparently still didnt like the new BRI proposal and, more importantly, the owners are asking for a massively revamped system, complete with a hard salary cap, something the NBPA is strongly opposed to. The owners believe a hard cap will control their costs and bring NFL-like competitive balance, increasing the value of every franchise, not just the perennial contenders. Since 1980, only nine franchises have won the NBA championship.

The players arent interested in taking what they believe will be massive cuts in salaries.

Boston superstar Ray Allen told the Boston Globe this week that he is OK with a lost season if it means not agreeing to a bad deal and NBPA vice-president Matt Bonner has called the NHLs CBA, which brought in a hard cap following a lost season, the worst in sports.

Nobody wants to miss a year, Allen said.

But Im prepared to do what the team needs me to do, what my players association, players union team, what they need me to do, because we want to make sure we get the right deal for us.

That said, Allen has not forfeited any of his $10-million US salary yet. Will the 36-year-old be as willing to risk perhaps the last major payday of his career a couple of months from now? (He is in the final year of his deal).

Allens former Seattle teammate Rashard Lewis, owner of perhaps the most inflated contract in the sport, also said he would give up his $22-million contract to ensure a positive result.

Im willing to sacrifice my salary to get a fair deal, Lewis told the Washington Post.

Lewis believes the players shouldnt pay for the sins of owners and general managers who hand out head-scratching mega-deals every summer.

Talk to the owner. He gave me the deal, Lewis said.

When it comes to contracts, the players arent sitting there negotiating that contract. Im sitting at home and my agent calls me, saying: lsquo;I got a max on the table. Im not going to sit there and say, lsquo;Naw, thats too much. Go out there and negotiate $20 or $30 (million) less … I understand the owners dont want to overpay players, but youve got to do better negotiating. Try your best to save money.

And thats just what they are doing at the moment.

The NBA cancelled what was left of the 1998 pre-season on Oct. 5 of that year and the first two weeks of the regular season on Oct. 13.

A deal resulting in a 50-game season was not signed until Jan. 20, 1999.

We should get a good indication in the next few weeks if progress will be made faster this time around.

Money fund assets fall to $2.621 trillion

Total US money-market mutual-fund assets fell $11.82 billion to $2.621 trillion for the week that ended Wednesday, the Investment Company…

By The Associated Press