Convenience is a mighty appealing selling point, but of course, it almost always costs more. Find out how much more. Is it a little or a lot? And will you be stronger and richer for taking the inconvenient route? All things to investigate under this auspicious trine of Mars and Jupiter. Fortune favors those who do the math.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Before you worry, argue, decide on an approach or anything else, take a step back. Lighten up, and ask yourself, "What's the very least I can do?" Because that might be just the light touch that's enough to fix the problem.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your friends have opinions. Colleagues are happy to share what they know. The experts will certainly weigh in if you ask them to (or, more likely, pay them to). But no outside opinion is the absolute answer. That will come from you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The sense of safety you establish around you can be felt by others, and it's an attractive environment. So you can expect that people will come into your realm, get comfortable there and settle in to stay a while.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Everyone wants to believe in the miracle cure, but if it were as good as the advertisement, everyone would already know about it, and many of the world's problems would be solved. Save your money.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). People pick up what you're putting down, buy what you're selling, take what you're giving, laugh at your jokes and generally say yes to you. Why? They like you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). When you have something good, you want to share it. The other thing you need to do is protect it. You can share and protect at the same time once you decide this is what you need to do.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Having excellent organizational systems will make you so much more productive than people who don't have such structures in place. Start asking questions like "How can I do the menial things faster, cheaper or simpler?"

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Let no one rush you along. It works out great when you relax and move at your own usual pace, if not considerably slower than that. Time will be your ally, mentor and financial advisor.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Doing the right thing can bring unexpected consequences just like doing the wrong thing can. The difference is you can manage the consequences of doing the right thing with your head held high.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). At the end of this day, everyone recalls the parts that were joyful, scary, angry or epic. Use this. Strike an emotional chord to create a desired impact and influence.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Some of what you encounter is quite amazing. There are always a few different ways to look at it. Once you land on a way that works for you, hold steady to this point of view.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Though no one is trying to stand in the way of your happiness as they fulfill their own agenda, they'll unwittingly create an obstacle in your path to it. You'll need to go around that and keep moving.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (May 9). Your involvement in a project increases, and the next three months show you happily under the influence of the "IKEA effect," placing a high value on and deriving great satisfaction from the things you partially created. As far as relationships go, you'll make someone's life beautiful, karma that comes full circle. Sagittarius and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 20, 4, 44, 7 and 1.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTION: "I'm a Sagittarius, and I am getting married next month to a Leo. I dated my Leo fiance for three years before we decided to get married, and I have always gotten along with his family. However, now things are getting weird. I'm actually pretty mad. His dad has gotten all entwined in our rehearsal dinner plans. It's not at all what I imagined. He's paying for the dinner, but I hate the venue he chose and would rather pay for it myself than go through with this disappointing choice. It's really tainting my whole wedding experience. I mean, shouldn't this be what we want?"

Congrats on your impending nuptials! Two fire signs together will have one adventure after another together. This wedding thing can be looked at as an adventure, too. When you let go of the small stuff (and your problem with the venue most definitely falls into this category), your wedding, and your life, will take on an easy, breezy feel. Sagittarians are luckier when they ride the adventure and appreciate other people's choices. This is one night of your life, and it's really about families coming together. Get into the spirit of that, and let the rest go.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: After a lifetime of touring, it's fitting that the legendary piano man Billy Joel would be the artist to set the record of playing the highest number of consecutive shows at Madison Square Garden. Joel, a father with two young daughters at home, was born when the sun was in Taurus (tenacity and golden voices) and both Saturn and Pluto were in Leo (children and show business).

Write Holiday Mathis at [email protected].