By Amy Hoak
Monday, August 30, 2010
More homeowners turn to shorter loan terms
A growing number of homeowners are choosing to pay down their mortgages at a faster rate -- even if it means a substantial jump in their monthly payments.
From January through June, 26% of homeowners who refinanced chose a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to data from CoreLogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information. During all of 2009, 18.5% of borrowers who refinanced opted for a 15-year term. About 9.4% did so in 2007.
What's prompting the shift to shorter loans? Historically low interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages.
Homeowners are doing the math and realizing that rates have fallen enough so the increase in payment between a new 15-year mortgage and their current loan is no longer unbearable for their budgets, said Bob Walters, chief economist at online lender Quicken Loans.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.86% for the week ending Aug. 26, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates.
A Change in Thinking
The financial situation of the people capable of refinancing today is a factor in the shift, Walters said. These people typically are homeowners with the best credit and the most equity -- and, therefore, most suited for a shorter-term loan.
But there might be some psychology at work. "We're seeing a different view on debt than maybe we've seen in the past," he said. Today, homeowners are saying, "I really want to pay this off. I'm going to bite the bullet and take the payment and work toward paying this down."
Also, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is below 4% right now, and having a mortgage rate that starts with a "3" is attractive for people who can afford it, said Leif Thomsen, chief executive of Mortgage Master, a privately owned lender.
It also acts as somewhat of a forced savings account for homeowners, he said, given that the higher payments help pay down the principal at a quicker clip.
This is a huge shift in borrower thinking. "There was a drive a couple of years ago to take out the biggest mortgage that you could and use all of the money you would have otherwise had in the house and put it into stocks and bonds -- to think of your house and mortgage as part of your entire investment portfolio," said Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac.
"That worked for people who do investment finance for a living and are good at managing accounts," she said. "But for the average person, debt is a drag on their psyche as well as their overall budget."
Many Americans have reverted to the goal of paying off their house and getting rid of their mortgage, Cutts said.
Doing the Math
Refinancing into a shorter-term mortgage isn't a strategy for everyone, however.
Choosing a shorter term usually means you'll get a better rate -- and you'll pay much less interest over the life of the loan -- but a shorter timeframe ramps up monthly mortgage payments.
[See How to Overcome Refinancing Hurdles]
For example, with a 4.5% interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of $200,000, you would have a monthly payment of $1,015, including principal and interest, Cutts said. The monthly payment jumps to about $1,480 with a 4% interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate loan.
Of course, if the refinancing borrower's current 30-year loan has a higher rate, the difference between the monthly payments could be less. Still, you should count on some increase in monthly payments.
In general, Walters said, those who choose 15-year fixed-rate mortgages are older and have more equity and less debt than other folks. They also earn higher incomes and don't have some of the added expenses that younger homeowners typically do.
"People who are taking these loans are financially stable and can afford the payments, but at the same time are planning on staying in their home for an extended period of time," Thomsen said.
Walters said homeowners shouldn't take on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage unless they have substantial savings, including at least a year's worth of living expenses in liquid accounts.
Also, he recommends having a debt-to-income ratio below 35%. So if you have a gross salary of $5,700 per month, for instance, your monthly debt -- including any mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, homeowners-association dues as well as auto and student loans and credit-card debt -- would have to be a max of $1,995 to get a 35% ratio.
Make That Extra Payment
Borrowers who don't meet those standards, or are worried about future loss of income, might be better served taking a longer-term mortgage but making extra payments to the principal to pay off the loan faster, Walters said.
For instance, if you refinance a $200,000 mortgage into a 30-year loan with a 4.5% rate, and then apply $100 of the savings to the principal payment each month, you'd save $31,700 in interest over the life of the loan, Cutts said. And you would pay off the mortgage in 25 years, instead of 30, she said.
What's more, you would have the flexibility of not paying that $100 in months when money gets tight. "Maybe today you're feeling flush with money. Maybe you're worried in the future that income might change," Cutts said. With a 30-year mortgage, you have more flexibility. "Shortening to 15 years is a pretty big bump in payment."
Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Avoid These 5 Used Cars (Plus 5 to Buy)
by Jerry Edgerton
Saturday, August 28, 2010
provided by
Used car shopping used to be a scary maze of breakdown-prone models, but reliability has gained sharply. Auto manufacturing quality and dependability studies have shown steady gains this decade. But exceptions do exist and if you're in the market for a used car, you want to steer clear of them.
More from CBS MoneyWatch.com:
• 6 Big Myths about Gas Mileage
• Made in USA: Best American Cars
• 5 More Reasons to Hate BP
So CBS MoneyWatch.com has compiled a list of used cars to avoid in five categories, focusing on 2007 models-the year from the latest J.D. Power and Associates dependability study. Buying a three-year-old car also lets you shop after the bulk of depreciation has taken place.
To make our list of used-car rejects, a model had to score the minimum two out of five in the J.D. Power "circle ratings" for dependability–a below-average ranking. It also had to be ranked below average as a used car by Consumer Reports in its annual April car issue and online car rankings.
Here are our used cars to avoid, by category, plus better used car alternatives:
Small Used Car to Avoid: Volkswagen New Beetle
Sure, it's adorable, but the 2007 New Beetle is also trouble-prone. Owners who responded to the Consumer Reports reliability survey reported problems with the fuel and electrical systems, the suspension, brakes, power windows, and other power equipment. The convertible model sells on dealers' lots for $17,055, according to Kelley Blue Book at kbb.com.
Small Used Car Alternative: Ford Focus
It may not be as stylish as the Beetle, but it's a lot more reliable. In fact, the Focus got the J.D. Power award as most reliable compact car. Owners of the 2007 Focus who responded to Consumer Reports reported no major trouble spots. And it's much cheaper than the Beetle. The Kelley Blue Book dealer price is $10,905.
Mid-Size Used Car to Avoid: Chrysler Sebring
The 2007 Sebring sedan not only got just two circles from J.D. Power, Consumer Reports reported a laundry list of problems: engine cooling, minor transmission problems, the drive system, suspension, brakes and more. The low $12,365 dealer price isn't worth it.
Mid-Size Used Car Alternative: Buick LaCrosse
Winner of the J.D. Power dependability award in this category, the 2007 LaCrosse got an above-average used-car rating from Consumer Reports. It's a good value at a dealer price for the CX version at $14,430.
Small Used SUV to Avoid: Jeep Wrangler
King of the off-road, the 2007 Wrangler can climb over almost any obstacle except a reliability test. Owners of the two-door version responding to Consumer Reports reported major transmission problems and issues with the electrical system and brakes. And it's selling on dealer lots at a relatively expensive $19,850.
Small Used SUV Alternative: Honda CR-V
A lot less noticeable than a Wrangler, the Honda CR-V is a lot less trouble, too. It won the J.D. Power dependability award in this category and is rated by Consumer Reports as a well-above-average used car prospect. As a used-car buyer, you are on the wrong side of Honda models' strong ability to hold their value. But at a dealer price of $20,980, the four-wheel-drive version of the CR-V is still a decent value.
Mid-Size SUV to Avoid: GMC Acadia
The 2007 Acadia is a good example of the time-honored rule to avoid buying the first year of a model. It not only got a below-average two circles from J.D. Power, it received a much-worse-than-average used car rating from Consumer Reports. CR readers who owned the 2007 reported problems with the drive system, suspension, body integrity and power equipment. In addition, the all-wheel-drive version on dealers' lots is priced at an expensive $28,435, according to Kelly Blue Book.
Mid-Size SUV Alternative-Honda Pilot
One of a handful of mid-size SUVs to get four circles from J.D. Power, the Pilot is rated well-above-average by Consumer Reports. (Its corporate stablemate, the Accord Crosstour, actually won the J.D. Power award. But many reviewers find its modified-sedan style not big enough to provide true SUV cargo or passenger room.) The Pilot is selling for $23,395-some $5,000 less than the GMC Acadia.
Used Minivan to Avoid: Nissan Quest
Never a strong contender in this category, the Quest gets a below-average used car rating from Consumer Reports and two circles from Power. Owners of the 2007 reported problems with the fuel and climate system, brakes and body integrity. The Quest is selling at $17,395.
Used Minivan Alternative: Toyota Sienna
This van gets four J.D. Power circles and an above-average CR used car rating. Not part of the Toyota sudden-acceleration recall, the Sienna is selling at a dealers' price of $20,280 for the CE trim level.
___
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provided by
Used car shopping used to be a scary maze of breakdown-prone models, but reliability has gained sharply. Auto manufacturing quality and dependability studies have shown steady gains this decade. But exceptions do exist and if you're in the market for a used car, you want to steer clear of them.
More from CBS MoneyWatch.com:
• 6 Big Myths about Gas Mileage
• Made in USA: Best American Cars
• 5 More Reasons to Hate BP
So CBS MoneyWatch.com has compiled a list of used cars to avoid in five categories, focusing on 2007 models-the year from the latest J.D. Power and Associates dependability study. Buying a three-year-old car also lets you shop after the bulk of depreciation has taken place.
To make our list of used-car rejects, a model had to score the minimum two out of five in the J.D. Power "circle ratings" for dependability–a below-average ranking. It also had to be ranked below average as a used car by Consumer Reports in its annual April car issue and online car rankings.
Here are our used cars to avoid, by category, plus better used car alternatives:
Small Used Car to Avoid: Volkswagen New Beetle
Sure, it's adorable, but the 2007 New Beetle is also trouble-prone. Owners who responded to the Consumer Reports reliability survey reported problems with the fuel and electrical systems, the suspension, brakes, power windows, and other power equipment. The convertible model sells on dealers' lots for $17,055, according to Kelley Blue Book at kbb.com.
Small Used Car Alternative: Ford Focus
It may not be as stylish as the Beetle, but it's a lot more reliable. In fact, the Focus got the J.D. Power award as most reliable compact car. Owners of the 2007 Focus who responded to Consumer Reports reported no major trouble spots. And it's much cheaper than the Beetle. The Kelley Blue Book dealer price is $10,905.
Mid-Size Used Car to Avoid: Chrysler Sebring
Mid-Size Used Car Alternative: Buick LaCrosse
Winner of the J.D. Power dependability award in this category, the 2007 LaCrosse got an above-average used-car rating from Consumer Reports. It's a good value at a dealer price for the CX version at $14,430.
Small Used SUV to Avoid: Jeep Wrangler
Small Used SUV Alternative: Honda CR-V
A lot less noticeable than a Wrangler, the Honda CR-V is a lot less trouble, too. It won the J.D. Power dependability award in this category and is rated by Consumer Reports as a well-above-average used car prospect. As a used-car buyer, you are on the wrong side of Honda models' strong ability to hold their value. But at a dealer price of $20,980, the four-wheel-drive version of the CR-V is still a decent value.
Mid-Size SUV to Avoid: GMC Acadia
Mid-Size SUV Alternative-Honda Pilot
One of a handful of mid-size SUVs to get four circles from J.D. Power, the Pilot is rated well-above-average by Consumer Reports. (Its corporate stablemate, the Accord Crosstour, actually won the J.D. Power award. But many reviewers find its modified-sedan style not big enough to provide true SUV cargo or passenger room.) The Pilot is selling for $23,395-some $5,000 less than the GMC Acadia.
Used Minivan to Avoid: Nissan Quest
Never a strong contender in this category, the Quest gets a below-average used car rating from Consumer Reports and two circles from Power. Owners of the 2007 reported problems with the fuel and climate system, brakes and body integrity. The Quest is selling at $17,395.
Used Minivan Alternative: Toyota Sienna
___
Follow Yahoo! Finance on Twitter; become a fan on Facebook.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Tips for Choosing a Secure Password
Passwords are an essential component to your (online) daily life. We use them to check our online mail, bank accounts, purchase items, etc. But how secure are your passwords? Do you, like many, use the same easy-to-guess password everywhere you go?
Unless you arm yourself with the right passwords, you might as well have none at all. Here are some helpful tips to make sure you stay secure.
Choose Strong PasswordsWant to take a guess at the most popular passwords? According to the Imperva Application Defense Center, it’s the numbers “123456” or the word “password” itself. This means that any cybercriminal who’s looking to hack into your account will likely start there. Why send them an open invitation?Sure, everyone likes passwords that are easy to remember. But you wouldn’t leave your home open and unlocked simply because that’s easier to do than remembering to keep your keys with you. Strong passwords, just like strong locks, deter criminals. Use them.
Tip: Consider mixing a series of letters and numbers, both lower and uppercase. Special characters like asterisks can help as well if they’re permissible. The longer the series, the more secure your password will be. Try for at least eight characters minimum, if possible.
Use Different PasswordsA strong password won’t be very effective if you use the same one everywhere and someone gains access to it. Don’t think it can’t happen. Prying eyes are everywhere. Malware in the form of keystroke loggers can steal your current passwords without you realizing it.
Having a variety of strong passwords is an important key to remaining secure online. Should someone find or guess one of yours, it would be far better if it only unlocks one site rather than everything you have online. Tip: Variety is the spice of life! Choose different passwords for every site you visit.
Never use the same password for your separate bank or credit card accounts.
Never Reveal Your PasswordsYou know that email you just received from your “credit card company”—the one asking you to type in your password to check something? It’s completely bogus. The same applies to any other similar emails. No matter how convincing they may seem, ignore them.These are nothing more than phishing emails, and they’re one reason why you have a delete button. Feel free to use it.
Tip: Stay sharp. Don’t be duped into revealing a password. Any company that would really need this information already has it. And should you find yourself in a situation where you must legitimately reveal a password—such as taking your computer in for repair—make sure you change the password afterwards.Change Your Passwords Regularly After months of trying, you’ve finally memorized that nonsensical series of letters and numbers. Congrats! Now it’s time to change your passwords. Is this to make your life difficult? No. It’s to make stealing your private information more difficult.
Tip: Occasionally swapping out your strong passwords isn’t fun. But it’s much easier than trying to put your life back together after someone has stolen your identity. Make things as hard as you can for cybercriminals. They’ll seek out easier targets—not you.As we’ve discussed, choosing the right passwords can be essential for keeping your private life just that—private. To make the entire process easier, consider using Norton 360. Norton 360 stores your passwords automatically and securely—all while blocking any keystroke loggers or other spyware that could steal your information. You’ll stay safe without the headache of memorizing countless passwords.
Are E-Books Worth the Money?
by Brett Arends
Thursday, August 26, 2010
If you walk out of the cinema this week with a burning desire to read Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love," you can download it onto your Amazon Kindle electronic book reader — if you have one—for $12.99.
Then again you could just walk into your local Borders bookstore with a coupon and get the paperback for $10.
Barnes & Noble will charge you $12.99 to read the book on its e-book reader, the Nook. But it's only $9.36 (shipping may cost you extra) if you order the paperback at bn.com.
As a society, we have gadget-itis. No new machine that goes ping goes unsung. People stand in line for hours to purchase an iPhone barely distinguishable from the one already in their pockets. Amazon's newest Kindles sold out within days of going on sale. (Those who bought quickly will receive theirs this week.)
E-book readers are booming. Amazon (AMZN - News) says in the past few months sales of e-books have zoomed past sales of the paper ones. While e-books are still in an early stage—the Association of American Publishers says that so far this year they account for 8% of consumer books, compared to just 3% in 2009—the growth rate is dramatic. (This is one of the problems besetting Barnes & Noble, which has just announced a quarterly loss following a decline in sales of traditional books.)
Beyond all the hype, are e-book readers a good deal? Are they worth the money? If so, how can you get the maximum return on your investment?
Here are six money tips for pennywise book lovers.
1. Casual readers probably shouldn't bother.
The median American book-buyer purchases just seven books a year, according to an AP-Ipsos poll in 2007.
An e-book reader right now typically costs about $150 (more on this below). Even if you save a couple of bucks per book by downloading them onto your e-book reader, the payback isn't going to be much for the casual reader. If you saved $5 a book, you'd have to buy 30 just to earn back your initial investment. If you only saved $2 a book, you'd have to buy 75.
I don't want to sound negative. I happen to think e-book readers are great. But that's because I read books avidly. (I've been known to take 10 books on a beach holiday.) If you are in my camp, e-book readers let you carry a library in your pocket or bag. But if you're a casual reader, they probably don't make much economic sense yet. (On the other hand, once you buy an e-book reader you will probably buy and read more books.)
2. The books aren't as cheap as they should be.
E-books are far, far cheaper to produce, distribute and sell than paper ones. There is no paper, no printing, no trucking and no retail space.
So they should cost a lot less to buy, but the deal often isn't anywhere near as good as it should be. Amazon has tried to drive prices for best sellers down to $9.99, but the publishing industry has fought back. A lot of best sellers go for $12.99 instead. That may be cheaper than the hardbacks, but the gap should be wider.
As in the case of Elizabeth Gilbert's runaway success, you may sometimes find the traditional version cheaper. Looking for Stieg Larsson's "The Girl Who Played With Fire"? It's $7.99 on the Kindle. I bought it in Borders, with a coupon, for $5.68.
Books are cheaper in electronic format, but not all.
3. Savvy readers read the classics anyway.
Why? Because they're free. From Aesop to "Zarathustra." From "Hamlet" to "Huckleberry Finn." They won't cost you a penny. These books are outside of copyright. Just go to Gutenberg.org and download them. Thousands of them. And they're better than most of the stuff published more recently anyway.
4. Be aware of the potential costs of buying a Kindle.
Amazon sells the best-selling e-book reader. It's a great product, very easy to use—much easier, I've found, than the competition. But Amazon has given the device a cellular connection and a keyboard so you can access its online bookstore any time, any place, to buy a book. Good for them. Not so good for you. The results are predictable: You may end up making lots of impulse purchases. Don't be surprised if you spend hundreds of dollars on books in your first year. (Amazon now sells a Kindle that only has a Wi-Fi connection instead of cellular. This may save you money, as the connection will only work in a Wi-Fi hot spot. By the time you've found one, you may have decided you don't want the book.)
5. Be aware of the costs of the rivals.
The main ones are time and hassle. The many rivals to the Kindle generally use a software platform from Adobe, and it can be a pain. Even worse: Adobe provides only very basic help if things go wrong. In extremis, you may find yourself emailing India. I asked Adobe why this was. A spokesman explained that because Adobe Digital Editions was given away for free, the company only provides "a baseline level of support, which is web-based," he says. This includes "an active user forum"—in other words asking other customers how to solve your problems. Good luck with that.
If you can overcome that problem, rivals do offer benefits that may save you money. First, they let you shop around for e-books at different online bookstores, and many run promotions. Second, they will let you borrow some e-books online from your local library. Third, many of them come without any wireless connection whatsoever. That means fewer impulse purchases.
6. And if you're thinking of buying a book reader—wait!
At least, hold off for a month or two or maybe even a few weeks. Prices simply have to come down. They may do so fast.
Amazon's first Kindles went on sale three years ago for $399. Its latest versions, out this week, start at just $139. That's cheaper than rivals. They're going to have to respond.
There's an upgrade cycle going on as well. E Ink Corp., the company that makes most of the screens, has developed a newer version with somewhat sharper contrast. (Handy if you're reading fine print, but not so important for most books).
In a rational market, we should see big price cuts this fall, especially as the last of the old models go on sale. Of course, that's in a rational market. Let me know if you ever find one.
Write to Brett Arends at brett.arends@wsj.com
Thursday, August 26, 2010
(Getty Images)
If you walk out of the cinema this week with a burning desire to read Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love," you can download it onto your Amazon Kindle electronic book reader — if you have one—for $12.99.
Then again you could just walk into your local Borders bookstore with a coupon and get the paperback for $10.
Barnes & Noble will charge you $12.99 to read the book on its e-book reader, the Nook. But it's only $9.36 (shipping may cost you extra) if you order the paperback at bn.com.
As a society, we have gadget-itis. No new machine that goes ping goes unsung. People stand in line for hours to purchase an iPhone barely distinguishable from the one already in their pockets. Amazon's newest Kindles sold out within days of going on sale. (Those who bought quickly will receive theirs this week.)
E-book readers are booming. Amazon (AMZN - News) says in the past few months sales of e-books have zoomed past sales of the paper ones. While e-books are still in an early stage—the Association of American Publishers says that so far this year they account for 8% of consumer books, compared to just 3% in 2009—the growth rate is dramatic. (This is one of the problems besetting Barnes & Noble, which has just announced a quarterly loss following a decline in sales of traditional books.)
Beyond all the hype, are e-book readers a good deal? Are they worth the money? If so, how can you get the maximum return on your investment?
Here are six money tips for pennywise book lovers.
1. Casual readers probably shouldn't bother.
The median American book-buyer purchases just seven books a year, according to an AP-Ipsos poll in 2007.
An e-book reader right now typically costs about $150 (more on this below). Even if you save a couple of bucks per book by downloading them onto your e-book reader, the payback isn't going to be much for the casual reader. If you saved $5 a book, you'd have to buy 30 just to earn back your initial investment. If you only saved $2 a book, you'd have to buy 75.
I don't want to sound negative. I happen to think e-book readers are great. But that's because I read books avidly. (I've been known to take 10 books on a beach holiday.) If you are in my camp, e-book readers let you carry a library in your pocket or bag. But if you're a casual reader, they probably don't make much economic sense yet. (On the other hand, once you buy an e-book reader you will probably buy and read more books.)
2. The books aren't as cheap as they should be.
E-books are far, far cheaper to produce, distribute and sell than paper ones. There is no paper, no printing, no trucking and no retail space.
So they should cost a lot less to buy, but the deal often isn't anywhere near as good as it should be. Amazon has tried to drive prices for best sellers down to $9.99, but the publishing industry has fought back. A lot of best sellers go for $12.99 instead. That may be cheaper than the hardbacks, but the gap should be wider.
As in the case of Elizabeth Gilbert's runaway success, you may sometimes find the traditional version cheaper. Looking for Stieg Larsson's "The Girl Who Played With Fire"? It's $7.99 on the Kindle. I bought it in Borders, with a coupon, for $5.68.
Books are cheaper in electronic format, but not all.
3. Savvy readers read the classics anyway.
Why? Because they're free. From Aesop to "Zarathustra." From "Hamlet" to "Huckleberry Finn." They won't cost you a penny. These books are outside of copyright. Just go to Gutenberg.org and download them. Thousands of them. And they're better than most of the stuff published more recently anyway.
4. Be aware of the potential costs of buying a Kindle.
Amazon sells the best-selling e-book reader. It's a great product, very easy to use—much easier, I've found, than the competition. But Amazon has given the device a cellular connection and a keyboard so you can access its online bookstore any time, any place, to buy a book. Good for them. Not so good for you. The results are predictable: You may end up making lots of impulse purchases. Don't be surprised if you spend hundreds of dollars on books in your first year. (Amazon now sells a Kindle that only has a Wi-Fi connection instead of cellular. This may save you money, as the connection will only work in a Wi-Fi hot spot. By the time you've found one, you may have decided you don't want the book.)
5. Be aware of the costs of the rivals.
The main ones are time and hassle. The many rivals to the Kindle generally use a software platform from Adobe, and it can be a pain. Even worse: Adobe provides only very basic help if things go wrong. In extremis, you may find yourself emailing India. I asked Adobe why this was. A spokesman explained that because Adobe Digital Editions was given away for free, the company only provides "a baseline level of support, which is web-based," he says. This includes "an active user forum"—in other words asking other customers how to solve your problems. Good luck with that.
If you can overcome that problem, rivals do offer benefits that may save you money. First, they let you shop around for e-books at different online bookstores, and many run promotions. Second, they will let you borrow some e-books online from your local library. Third, many of them come without any wireless connection whatsoever. That means fewer impulse purchases.
6. And if you're thinking of buying a book reader—wait!
At least, hold off for a month or two or maybe even a few weeks. Prices simply have to come down. They may do so fast.
Amazon's first Kindles went on sale three years ago for $399. Its latest versions, out this week, start at just $139. That's cheaper than rivals. They're going to have to respond.
There's an upgrade cycle going on as well. E Ink Corp., the company that makes most of the screens, has developed a newer version with somewhat sharper contrast. (Handy if you're reading fine print, but not so important for most books).
In a rational market, we should see big price cuts this fall, especially as the last of the old models go on sale. Of course, that's in a rational market. Let me know if you ever find one.
Write to Brett Arends at brett.arends@wsj.com
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
7 Best Stress-Fighting Foods
By David Zinczenko
I send out a lot of info on my Twitter feed, from nutrition news to management tips. I get the most passionate reaction—and the most retweets—when I talk about stress. In fact, a friend of mine recently told me that stress was her biggest dietary villain. “I eat when I’m stressed,” she said.
To which I reacted, “Good!” You should eat when you’re stressed—it’s our bodies’ natural reaction to want to store calories to face whatever challenge is causing the stress in the first place. The key, however, is to eat what your body wants—the foods that actually counteract the effects of stress, and make you stronger (and leaner) when the tough times pass. So next time anxiety runs high, be sure to grab one of these seven stress-fighting foods.
(And while you're at it, be sure to follow my Twitter feed for hundreds of instant nutrition and health secrets like these.)
Papaya
Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a magic nutrient that could stop the flow of stress hormones—the very hormones that make your body superefficient at storing fat calories? Wouldn’t you want to gobble that food up like crazy, especially if it tasted great? Half a medium papaya carries nearly 75 percent more vitamin C than an orange, and provides potent protection against stress. Researchers at the University of Alabama found 200 milligrams of vitamin C—about as much as you’ll find in one large papaya—twice a day nearly stopped the flow of stress hormones in rats. It should work for you, too.
Other smart sources of vitamin C: Red bell peppers, broccoli, oranges
Bonus Tip: The closer an ingredient is to its original form, the healthier it is for you. Avoid the worst side of the nutritional spectrum by familiarizing yourself with this shocking list of The 15 Worst Food Creations of 2010.
Peppermint Tea
The mere scent of peppermint helps you focus and boosts performance, according to researchers. Another study discovered that peppermint tea makes drivers more alert and less anxious.
Other smart sources of peppermint: Peppermint candy and peppermint oil
Bonus Tip: Beware of disastrous drinks that only pretend to be healthy. Avoid 2,000-calorie shakes, 1,500-calorie smoothies, and other big offenders in this eye-popping list of The 20 Worst Drinks in America in 2010.
Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are loaded with stress-busting potential thanks to high levels of magnesium. Only about 30 percent of us meet our daily magnesium requirements, placing the rest of us at a higher risk for stress symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, tension, fatigue, insomnia, nervousness and high blood pressure. (Basically we’re frayed wires, and magnesium is the electrical tape that can pull us back together.) A quarter cup of pumpkin seeds gives you half your day’s magnesium requirements.
Other smart sources of magnesium: Spinach, Swiss chard, black beans, soybeans, salmon
Avocados
The healthy fats buried in the avocado’s flesh make it an ideal choice when you’re craving something rich and creamy. The reasons? Monounsaturated (healthy) fatty acids, and potassium--both of which help combat high blood pressure. Avocado fat is 66 percent monounsaturated, and gram-for-gram, the green fruit has about 35 percent more potassium than a banana. Whip up a fresh guacamole or slice a few slivers over toast and top with fresh ground pepper.
Other smart sources of potassium: Squash, papaya, spinach, bananas, lentils
Bonus Tip: Learn how to put these and other health-promoting foods to work in your daily diet to lose weight fast and look and feel better. Sign up for the free Cook This, Not That! newsletter. You’ll have quick and delicious recipes delivered right to you inbox.
Salmon
Not only does omega-3 fat protect against heart disease and cognitive decline, but according to a study from Diabetes & Metabolism, the wonder fat is also responsible for maintaining healthy levels of cortisol. And what’s the world’s best source of omega-3s? Salmon. But there’s another trick in salmon’s arsenal—a sleep-promoting amino acid called tryptophan. One salmon filet has as much tryptophan as you need in an entire day, and if there’s one remedy for stress, it’s a good night of blissful Zs.
Other smart sources of omega-3 fats: Flaxseeds, walnuts, sardines, halibut
Other smart sources of tryptophan: Chicken, tuna, beef, soybeans
Bonus Tip: The favorite trick of your friendly neighborhood restaurant? Substituting salt for flavor. Studies have linked high-salt foods to increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and even heart disease--and experts recommend getting no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium in your diet each day. Keep your salt intake in check by cooking with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients—and by dodging the salty disasters in this list of the 30 Saltiest Foods in America.
Almonds
The almond's first stress-buster is the aforementioned monounsaturated fats, but at risk of belaboring that point, let’s look at another almond-centered, mind-calming nutrient: vitamin E. In one study, Belgium researchers treated pigs with a variety of nutrients just before sticking them in a transportation simulator (basically a vibrating crate). After 2 hours of simulation, only those pigs treated with tryptophan and vitamin E had non-elevated levels of stress hormones. Almonds, thankfully, are loaded with vitamin E. To reach your day’s requirement from almonds alone, you need to eat about 40 to 50 nuts. Or you can mix them with other vitamin-E rich foods to save calories and add more dietary variety.
Other smart sources of vitamin E: Sunflower seeds, olives, spinach, papaya
Oatmeal
A biochemical effect of stress is a depleted stock of serotonin, the hormone that makes you feel cool, calm, and in control. One reliable strategy for boosting serotonin back to healthy levels is to increase your intake of carbohydrates. That said, scarfing down Ding Dongs and doughnuts isn’t a sustainable solution. Rather, to induce a steady flow of serotonin, aim to eat fiber-rich, whole-grain carbohydrates. The slower rate of digestion will keep seratonin production steady and prevent the blood sugar rollar-coaster that leads to mood swings and mindless eating.
Other sources of fiber-rich carbohydrates: Quinoa, barley, whole-wheat bread, Triscuits
I send out a lot of info on my Twitter feed, from nutrition news to management tips. I get the most passionate reaction—and the most retweets—when I talk about stress. In fact, a friend of mine recently told me that stress was her biggest dietary villain. “I eat when I’m stressed,” she said.
To which I reacted, “Good!” You should eat when you’re stressed—it’s our bodies’ natural reaction to want to store calories to face whatever challenge is causing the stress in the first place. The key, however, is to eat what your body wants—the foods that actually counteract the effects of stress, and make you stronger (and leaner) when the tough times pass. So next time anxiety runs high, be sure to grab one of these seven stress-fighting foods.
(And while you're at it, be sure to follow my Twitter feed for hundreds of instant nutrition and health secrets like these.)
Papaya
Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a magic nutrient that could stop the flow of stress hormones—the very hormones that make your body superefficient at storing fat calories? Wouldn’t you want to gobble that food up like crazy, especially if it tasted great? Half a medium papaya carries nearly 75 percent more vitamin C than an orange, and provides potent protection against stress. Researchers at the University of Alabama found 200 milligrams of vitamin C—about as much as you’ll find in one large papaya—twice a day nearly stopped the flow of stress hormones in rats. It should work for you, too.
Other smart sources of vitamin C: Red bell peppers, broccoli, oranges
Bonus Tip: The closer an ingredient is to its original form, the healthier it is for you. Avoid the worst side of the nutritional spectrum by familiarizing yourself with this shocking list of The 15 Worst Food Creations of 2010.
Peppermint Tea
The mere scent of peppermint helps you focus and boosts performance, according to researchers. Another study discovered that peppermint tea makes drivers more alert and less anxious.
Other smart sources of peppermint: Peppermint candy and peppermint oil
Bonus Tip: Beware of disastrous drinks that only pretend to be healthy. Avoid 2,000-calorie shakes, 1,500-calorie smoothies, and other big offenders in this eye-popping list of The 20 Worst Drinks in America in 2010.
Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are loaded with stress-busting potential thanks to high levels of magnesium. Only about 30 percent of us meet our daily magnesium requirements, placing the rest of us at a higher risk for stress symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, tension, fatigue, insomnia, nervousness and high blood pressure. (Basically we’re frayed wires, and magnesium is the electrical tape that can pull us back together.) A quarter cup of pumpkin seeds gives you half your day’s magnesium requirements.
Other smart sources of magnesium: Spinach, Swiss chard, black beans, soybeans, salmon
Avocados
The healthy fats buried in the avocado’s flesh make it an ideal choice when you’re craving something rich and creamy. The reasons? Monounsaturated (healthy) fatty acids, and potassium--both of which help combat high blood pressure. Avocado fat is 66 percent monounsaturated, and gram-for-gram, the green fruit has about 35 percent more potassium than a banana. Whip up a fresh guacamole or slice a few slivers over toast and top with fresh ground pepper.
Other smart sources of potassium: Squash, papaya, spinach, bananas, lentils
Bonus Tip: Learn how to put these and other health-promoting foods to work in your daily diet to lose weight fast and look and feel better. Sign up for the free Cook This, Not That! newsletter. You’ll have quick and delicious recipes delivered right to you inbox.
Salmon
Not only does omega-3 fat protect against heart disease and cognitive decline, but according to a study from Diabetes & Metabolism, the wonder fat is also responsible for maintaining healthy levels of cortisol. And what’s the world’s best source of omega-3s? Salmon. But there’s another trick in salmon’s arsenal—a sleep-promoting amino acid called tryptophan. One salmon filet has as much tryptophan as you need in an entire day, and if there’s one remedy for stress, it’s a good night of blissful Zs.
Other smart sources of omega-3 fats: Flaxseeds, walnuts, sardines, halibut
Other smart sources of tryptophan: Chicken, tuna, beef, soybeans
Bonus Tip: The favorite trick of your friendly neighborhood restaurant? Substituting salt for flavor. Studies have linked high-salt foods to increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and even heart disease--and experts recommend getting no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium in your diet each day. Keep your salt intake in check by cooking with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients—and by dodging the salty disasters in this list of the 30 Saltiest Foods in America.
Almonds
The almond's first stress-buster is the aforementioned monounsaturated fats, but at risk of belaboring that point, let’s look at another almond-centered, mind-calming nutrient: vitamin E. In one study, Belgium researchers treated pigs with a variety of nutrients just before sticking them in a transportation simulator (basically a vibrating crate). After 2 hours of simulation, only those pigs treated with tryptophan and vitamin E had non-elevated levels of stress hormones. Almonds, thankfully, are loaded with vitamin E. To reach your day’s requirement from almonds alone, you need to eat about 40 to 50 nuts. Or you can mix them with other vitamin-E rich foods to save calories and add more dietary variety.
Other smart sources of vitamin E: Sunflower seeds, olives, spinach, papaya
Oatmeal
A biochemical effect of stress is a depleted stock of serotonin, the hormone that makes you feel cool, calm, and in control. One reliable strategy for boosting serotonin back to healthy levels is to increase your intake of carbohydrates. That said, scarfing down Ding Dongs and doughnuts isn’t a sustainable solution. Rather, to induce a steady flow of serotonin, aim to eat fiber-rich, whole-grain carbohydrates. The slower rate of digestion will keep seratonin production steady and prevent the blood sugar rollar-coaster that leads to mood swings and mindless eating.
Other sources of fiber-rich carbohydrates: Quinoa, barley, whole-wheat bread, Triscuits
Monday, August 23, 2010
8 Things You Didn't Know About Toothpaste
By Jordan Shakeshaft, Woman's Day
Fri, Aug 20, 2010
Faced with dozens of different products promising to make your teeth fresher, whiter and cavity-free, it’s no wonder you wander aimlessly down the toothpaste aisle. To help you pick wisely, we turned to the pros for the scoop on what ingredients to look for, whether gel or paste formulas are right for you and just how much you need to squeeze onto your brush. It’s never too late to get your pearly whites in tip-top shape, so read on to find out how!
1. It’s all about the fluoride.
With a host of ingredients in toothpaste, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s essential. But no matter what your individual needs are (i.e., tartar control, whitening, breath-freshening and so on), dental hygienists agree that fluoride is a must. According to the Academy of General Dentistry, brushing with fluoride toothpaste twice daily can reduce tooth decay by as much as 40 percent. “Even in areas where there is water fluoridation, the added fluoride in toothpaste has been shown to be very beneficial,” says Caryn Loftis-Solie, RDH, president of the American Dental Hygiene Association (ADHA).
2. Look for the seal of approval.
While it’s tempting to save some cash with a generic brand of toothpaste, you may actually be getting an ineffective—and potentially harmful—product. “You should always look for the ADA Seal when choosing a toothpaste,” says Clifford Whall, PhD, director of the American Dental Association (ADA) Seal of Acceptance Program. “Only those products have the scientific data to back up their claims and have been proven to meet our criteria for safety and effectiveness.” With 50-plus approved toothpastes on shelves, it’s easy to find a tube that’s right for you and your budget.
3. Whitening toothpastes work—at least to a certain degree.
Countless products promise a whiter smile, but do they really deliver? “Whitening toothpastes—like all toothpastes—contain mild abrasives to help remove surface stains on your teeth,” says Dr. Whall. “The shape of the particles used in whitening products, though, is modified to clean those stains away better, so you’ll see a noticeable difference in how your teeth look.” However, according to Dr. Whall, these products don’t contain bleach, making it impossible for them to brighten your smile as dramatically as professional whitening treatments.
4. Less is more.
Despite what you see on commercials, a brush full of toothpaste won’t clean your pearly whites any better than half that amount, according to E. Jane Crocker, RHD, president of the Massachusetts Dental Hygienists’ Association. “All you need is a pea-size amount of toothpaste—yes, I mean the little green vegetable!” Not only will that get the job done effectively (by cleaning and removing plaque, stains and food debris), you’ll also extend the life of your tube.
5. How you brush is more important than what you brush with.
You can buy the best toothpaste and toothbrush on the market, but if you aren’t brushing correctly you won’t see results. “To do it properly, you need to position the brush at a 45 degree angle so that you get some of the bristles in between the tooth and the gums,” says Dr. Whall. “Move the brush in small circles in those areas, and then continue on to the rest of the teeth. This process should take about one to two minutes to complete.” View the ADA’s step-by-step guide to brushing and flossing here.
6. Organic toothpastes can be just as effective as regular.
If you’re willing to spend a little more to go green, natural and organic toothpastes can be a good eco-friendly alternative to commercial brands—provided they contain fluoride. “Natural and organic toothpastes that include fluoride in their ingredients are as effective as regular toothpastes with fluoride,” says Crocker. You’ll also be avoiding artificial preservatives, sweeteners and dyes.
7. What’s inside your toothpaste might surprise you.
You may not recognize the names listed on the side of the tube, but ingredients like seaweed and detergent can be found in many fluoride toothpastes. According to the ADA, common thickening agents include seaweed colloids, mineral colloids and natural gums. And for that quintessential foaming action, most products rely on detergents such as sodium lauryl sulfate—also found in many shampoos and body washes—that are deemed 100 percent safe and effective by the ADA.
8. Pastes or gels—they all do the trick.
You may have heard that one works better than the other but, according to the experts, they all clean teeth equally well. “Other than flavor, texture and how it makes a person feel, there aren’t any major differences among the various forms,” says Crocker. “I think it comes down to personal preference, which might come through trial and error. I encourage my patients to use whichever product encourages them to brush.”
Fri, Aug 20, 2010
Faced with dozens of different products promising to make your teeth fresher, whiter and cavity-free, it’s no wonder you wander aimlessly down the toothpaste aisle. To help you pick wisely, we turned to the pros for the scoop on what ingredients to look for, whether gel or paste formulas are right for you and just how much you need to squeeze onto your brush. It’s never too late to get your pearly whites in tip-top shape, so read on to find out how!
1. It’s all about the fluoride.
With a host of ingredients in toothpaste, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s essential. But no matter what your individual needs are (i.e., tartar control, whitening, breath-freshening and so on), dental hygienists agree that fluoride is a must. According to the Academy of General Dentistry, brushing with fluoride toothpaste twice daily can reduce tooth decay by as much as 40 percent. “Even in areas where there is water fluoridation, the added fluoride in toothpaste has been shown to be very beneficial,” says Caryn Loftis-Solie, RDH, president of the American Dental Hygiene Association (ADHA).
2. Look for the seal of approval.
While it’s tempting to save some cash with a generic brand of toothpaste, you may actually be getting an ineffective—and potentially harmful—product. “You should always look for the ADA Seal when choosing a toothpaste,” says Clifford Whall, PhD, director of the American Dental Association (ADA) Seal of Acceptance Program. “Only those products have the scientific data to back up their claims and have been proven to meet our criteria for safety and effectiveness.” With 50-plus approved toothpastes on shelves, it’s easy to find a tube that’s right for you and your budget.
3. Whitening toothpastes work—at least to a certain degree.
Countless products promise a whiter smile, but do they really deliver? “Whitening toothpastes—like all toothpastes—contain mild abrasives to help remove surface stains on your teeth,” says Dr. Whall. “The shape of the particles used in whitening products, though, is modified to clean those stains away better, so you’ll see a noticeable difference in how your teeth look.” However, according to Dr. Whall, these products don’t contain bleach, making it impossible for them to brighten your smile as dramatically as professional whitening treatments.
4. Less is more.
Despite what you see on commercials, a brush full of toothpaste won’t clean your pearly whites any better than half that amount, according to E. Jane Crocker, RHD, president of the Massachusetts Dental Hygienists’ Association. “All you need is a pea-size amount of toothpaste—yes, I mean the little green vegetable!” Not only will that get the job done effectively (by cleaning and removing plaque, stains and food debris), you’ll also extend the life of your tube.
5. How you brush is more important than what you brush with.
You can buy the best toothpaste and toothbrush on the market, but if you aren’t brushing correctly you won’t see results. “To do it properly, you need to position the brush at a 45 degree angle so that you get some of the bristles in between the tooth and the gums,” says Dr. Whall. “Move the brush in small circles in those areas, and then continue on to the rest of the teeth. This process should take about one to two minutes to complete.” View the ADA’s step-by-step guide to brushing and flossing here.
6. Organic toothpastes can be just as effective as regular.
If you’re willing to spend a little more to go green, natural and organic toothpastes can be a good eco-friendly alternative to commercial brands—provided they contain fluoride. “Natural and organic toothpastes that include fluoride in their ingredients are as effective as regular toothpastes with fluoride,” says Crocker. You’ll also be avoiding artificial preservatives, sweeteners and dyes.
7. What’s inside your toothpaste might surprise you.
You may not recognize the names listed on the side of the tube, but ingredients like seaweed and detergent can be found in many fluoride toothpastes. According to the ADA, common thickening agents include seaweed colloids, mineral colloids and natural gums. And for that quintessential foaming action, most products rely on detergents such as sodium lauryl sulfate—also found in many shampoos and body washes—that are deemed 100 percent safe and effective by the ADA.
8. Pastes or gels—they all do the trick.
You may have heard that one works better than the other but, according to the experts, they all clean teeth equally well. “Other than flavor, texture and how it makes a person feel, there aren’t any major differences among the various forms,” says Crocker. “I think it comes down to personal preference, which might come through trial and error. I encourage my patients to use whichever product encourages them to brush.”
Motorist's Dream: Gas at 6 Cents a Gallon
by Stacy Johnson
Friday, August 20, 2010
Provided by MoneyTalksNews
___________________________________________________________________________
Gassing up isn't cheap: According to AAA, we're now paying a nationwide average of $2.73 for a gallon of regular. That's about 25 cents a gallon more than last year. But it's certainly better than the year before, when prices shot up to over $4/gallon.
But if the cost of gas bothers you, be happy you don't live in Asmara, Eritrea. This African nation boasts the highest gas prices in the world — nearly $10/gallon. On the other hand, you could be living in Venezuela, where prices are as low as 6 cents.
Here's a list of the places with the highest and lowest gas prices in the world, courtesy of the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS).
The World's Highest Gas Prices:
1. Asmara, Eritrea — $9.59/gallon
2. Oslo, Norway — $7.41/gallon
3. Copenhagen, Denmark — $6.89/gallon
4. Hong Kong — $6.87/gallon
5. Monaco, Monte Carlo — $6.82/gallon
The World's Lowest Gas Prices:
1. Caracas, Venezuela — 6 cents/gallon
2. Tehran, Iran — 32 cents/gallon
3. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — 45 cents/gallon
4. Kuwait, City, Kuwait — 85 cents/gallon
5. Cairo, Egypt — $1.17/gallon
So here we have a homogeneous product — pretty much the same in Caracas as it is in Asmara — ranging in price from 6 cents to nearly $10 a gallon. Why the big range? Looking at the list will offer the first hint: Most of the countries on the low-price list have lots of oil.
But another reason gas prices vary so widely is what the government does with gasoline. They control the price and/or consumption by loading on taxes, or in the case of Venezuela, subsidizing the price.
While the wild world of fossil fuel pricing is interesting, what gas costs in Asmara, Tehran and Oslo is ultimately only of interest to those who gas up there. What we're interested in is paying less for gas in our own neighborhoods. How do we find the cheapest gas?
Use Your Smart Phone
If you have a smart phone, go to where you can download apps (such as the Apple App Store or the Android Market) and do a search for "gas prices." You'll discover several free apps that will help you find prices at nearby stations. Note, however, that most of these apps are self-reporting — they depend on other app users to send in prices. That leads to two potential problems: First, gas prices may be out of date or inaccurate. Second, there's nothing that prevents the station owner from gaming the system by putting in a false low price to attract customers.
There are apps that don't depend on user-supported prices. AAA's TripTik iPhone App, for example, uses prices reported by the Oil Price Information Service and are derived from credit card transactions at more than 100,000 stations around the country, updated daily. The problem with this reporting method? Price can change more often than daily, and while 100,000 is a lot of stations to survey, it's not all of them.
Use your computer
There are several websites that will help you find the cheapest gas in your area. A few examples, all of which allow you to search by zip code:
• Gasbuddy
• MSN gas prices
• Gas Price Watch
• Mapquest Gas Prices
• FuelMeUp
Like the smart-phone apps, most of these sites feature user-reported prices or Oil Price Information Service-reported prices, so the same caveats apply.
In doing research for this story, I talked to Fred Rozell, director of retail pricing for the Oil Price Information Service. He says that if the economy remains sluggish and provided there are no supply disruptions, we could see pump prices drop by as much as 50 cents a gallon after hurricane season.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Provided by MoneyTalksNews
___________________________________________________________________________
Gassing up isn't cheap: According to AAA, we're now paying a nationwide average of $2.73 for a gallon of regular. That's about 25 cents a gallon more than last year. But it's certainly better than the year before, when prices shot up to over $4/gallon.
But if the cost of gas bothers you, be happy you don't live in Asmara, Eritrea. This African nation boasts the highest gas prices in the world — nearly $10/gallon. On the other hand, you could be living in Venezuela, where prices are as low as 6 cents.
Here's a list of the places with the highest and lowest gas prices in the world, courtesy of the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS).
The World's Highest Gas Prices:
1. Asmara, Eritrea — $9.59/gallon
2. Oslo, Norway — $7.41/gallon
3. Copenhagen, Denmark — $6.89/gallon
4. Hong Kong — $6.87/gallon
5. Monaco, Monte Carlo — $6.82/gallon
The World's Lowest Gas Prices:
1. Caracas, Venezuela — 6 cents/gallon
2. Tehran, Iran — 32 cents/gallon
3. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — 45 cents/gallon
4. Kuwait, City, Kuwait — 85 cents/gallon
5. Cairo, Egypt — $1.17/gallon
So here we have a homogeneous product — pretty much the same in Caracas as it is in Asmara — ranging in price from 6 cents to nearly $10 a gallon. Why the big range? Looking at the list will offer the first hint: Most of the countries on the low-price list have lots of oil.
But another reason gas prices vary so widely is what the government does with gasoline. They control the price and/or consumption by loading on taxes, or in the case of Venezuela, subsidizing the price.
While the wild world of fossil fuel pricing is interesting, what gas costs in Asmara, Tehran and Oslo is ultimately only of interest to those who gas up there. What we're interested in is paying less for gas in our own neighborhoods. How do we find the cheapest gas?
Use Your Smart Phone
If you have a smart phone, go to where you can download apps (such as the Apple App Store or the Android Market) and do a search for "gas prices." You'll discover several free apps that will help you find prices at nearby stations. Note, however, that most of these apps are self-reporting — they depend on other app users to send in prices. That leads to two potential problems: First, gas prices may be out of date or inaccurate. Second, there's nothing that prevents the station owner from gaming the system by putting in a false low price to attract customers.
There are apps that don't depend on user-supported prices. AAA's TripTik iPhone App, for example, uses prices reported by the Oil Price Information Service and are derived from credit card transactions at more than 100,000 stations around the country, updated daily. The problem with this reporting method? Price can change more often than daily, and while 100,000 is a lot of stations to survey, it's not all of them.
Use your computer
There are several websites that will help you find the cheapest gas in your area. A few examples, all of which allow you to search by zip code:
• Gasbuddy
• MSN gas prices
• Gas Price Watch
• Mapquest Gas Prices
• FuelMeUp
Like the smart-phone apps, most of these sites feature user-reported prices or Oil Price Information Service-reported prices, so the same caveats apply.
In doing research for this story, I talked to Fred Rozell, director of retail pricing for the Oil Price Information Service. He says that if the economy remains sluggish and provided there are no supply disruptions, we could see pump prices drop by as much as 50 cents a gallon after hurricane season.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
25 Hot Careers That Didn't Exist 10 Years Ago
By JoVon Sotak,
What did you want to be when you grew up? Astronaut? Movie star? Superhero? Whatever made your list, green marketer probably wasn't on it--but that job may be on the lists of today's youngsters.
Here's a list of emerging careers that you (and your inner child) can get excited about. You couldn't have daydreamed about any of these jobs when you were a child--because they didn't exist then. In fact, they're so new that, although they're starting to be recognized, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't yet have data on them. If you've been looking for a new dream job or haven't decided what you want to be when you "grow up," these are 25 new options.
Business
A specialized business degree can help you obtain the skills you need to work in one of these professions.
1. Business continuity specialists plan and implement recovery solutions to keep businesses functioning during disasters and emergency situations.
2. Electronic commerce specialists analyze online buyers' preferences and handle online sales strategies, including marketing, advertising, and website design.
3. Social media managers/strategists use social technologies like Facebook to reach out to customers, and they build social networks within companies.
4. Virtual concierges provide professional concierge services--for business or personal needs--with the convenience of being just an email away.
5. User experience analysts collect data on website usage and provide insight about users' experiences by using psychological, computer-science, and industrial-design knowledge to test theories and draw conclusions.
Source: Yahoo news
What did you want to be when you grew up? Astronaut? Movie star? Superhero? Whatever made your list, green marketer probably wasn't on it--but that job may be on the lists of today's youngsters.
Here's a list of emerging careers that you (and your inner child) can get excited about. You couldn't have daydreamed about any of these jobs when you were a child--because they didn't exist then. In fact, they're so new that, although they're starting to be recognized, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't yet have data on them. If you've been looking for a new dream job or haven't decided what you want to be when you "grow up," these are 25 new options.
Business
A specialized business degree can help you obtain the skills you need to work in one of these professions.
1. Business continuity specialists plan and implement recovery solutions to keep businesses functioning during disasters and emergency situations.
2. Electronic commerce specialists analyze online buyers' preferences and handle online sales strategies, including marketing, advertising, and website design.
3. Social media managers/strategists use social technologies like Facebook to reach out to customers, and they build social networks within companies.
4. Virtual concierges provide professional concierge services--for business or personal needs--with the convenience of being just an email away.
5. User experience analysts collect data on website usage and provide insight about users' experiences by using psychological, computer-science, and industrial-design knowledge to test theories and draw conclusions.
Source: Yahoo news
Friday, August 20, 2010
Massive egg recall: How to check your carton for recalled eggs
(Photo: FDA)
The egg brands affected by the recall include: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms, and Kemps.
Eggs are packed in 6- 12- or 18-egg cartons with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413, and 1946
Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1946 223.
Consumers should not eat the eggs and should return recalled eggs to the store where they were purchased for a full refund.
Bacterial contamination on modern industrial-scale chicken farms (factories, really) is a growing problem. Cramped conditions are breeding grounds for disease. Widespread use of antibiotics is creating drug-resistant strains of bacteria.
One antidote to the problem is to choose locally sourced eggs from farms that allow their chickens to run free. Though be aware that the label "free range" doesn't mean what you might think.
Salmonella poisoning symptoms
Within 6-to-72 hours of eating an egg, you may experience lower abdominal cramps, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), vomiting, fever, chills, malaise, nausea or headache. Symptoms may persist for as long as a week. While most people recover without treatment, some patients require hospitalization.
Among the 21,244 cases of foodborne illness reported from tainted food-related outbreaks in the United States in 2007 (the last year for which data is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), salmonella was the No. 2 cause of illness, causing 27% of foodborne illness outbreaks, including 55% of multi-state outbreaks, and 81 illnesses attributed to salmonella in eggs; five deaths resulted from salmonella-contaminated food. The two biggest foodborne illness outbreaks that year were caused by salmonella, in hummus and frozen pot pies.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
15 Things You Shouldn't Be Paying For
By Phil Taylor
Thursday, August 19, 2010
So much money and energy is wasted on things we could get for free. If you're into new, shiny things and collecting stuff, this is not for you. But if you want less clutter in your life and want to keep more of your money, then check out these 15 things you shouldn't be paying for.
Basic Computer Software -- Thinking of purchasing a new computer? Think twice before you fork over the funds for a bunch of extra software. There are some great alternatives to the name brand software programs. The most notable is OpenOffice, the open-source alternative to those other guys. It's completely free and files can be exported in compatible formats.
Your Credit Report -- You don't have to pay for your credit report. You could sign up for one of the free credit monitoring services online to get a quick look at your credit report. You just have to remember to cancel the service before the end of the free trial. Or you could do one better and visit www.annualcreditreport.com, the only truly free place to see all three of your credit reports for free once a year.
Cell Phone -- The service plan may be expensive, but the phone itself doesn't have to cost a thing. Most major carriers will give you a free phone, even a free smart phone, with a two-year contract.
Books -- There's a cool place in your town that's renting out books for free: the library. Remember that place? Stop by and put your favorite book on reserve. And if you don't feel like getting out, visit www.paperbackswap.com and find your books there (small shipping fees apply).
Water -- Besides the monthly utility bill, there's no reason to shell out $1 for every bottle of water you drink. Bottled water is so last decade anyway. We're over it, and into tap, filters, and reusable water bottles. It's cheaper for you and better for the environment.
Credit Card -- With as many credit cards as there are available on the market today, it's easy to avoid a credit card with an annual fee. Unless you're dead set on a particular perk that a fee card brings, skip the annual fee card and pocket that money yourself.
Debt Reduction Help -- Speaking of credit cards, if you're in over your head with credit card help, there are many free sources you can turn to for help with your debt. No one is going to be able to magically wipe away your debts, but there is help out there that will set you up on a debt reduction plan you can handle. Start with a visit to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Basic Tax Preparation -- If your tax situation isn't that complicated, then you should probably be preparing your own tax return using one of the many free online services. It's now common for e-filing to be free as well with many services. You won't even need a stamp.
The News -- Leave it to a blogger to try and kill off traditional print. I'm not anti-newspaper. I just don't find them practical anymore. Skip the daily .50 cents and get your news online. And for you dedicated coupon clippers, you can get most of your Sunday coupons online now too.
Budgeting Tools -- There are many budgeting tools (both online and desktop) that offer up the service for free. Don't ask me how they do this, but who cares. If you're looking to reign in some of your spending, the good news is you can do it for free.
Pets -- This is a controversial one, I know. But there are likely many pets down at your local animal shelter that could use just as much love as the pure-bred types. There may be a small fee due to the shelter for shots and basic care, but you'll have your pet home without paying a mini-fortune.
Shipping -- If you like to buy online, you probably use coupons to get a percentage off of your purchase. Take your skills to the next level and look for coupons or promotion codes that offer free shipping. If in doubt, visit a site like www.freeshipping.org.
Checking Account -- Isn't it nice when a bank takes your money, lends it out to earn money, and then has the audacity to charge you for the service? What a joke. Checking should be free. If yours isn't free then move to one of the many banks that offers a checking account for free. And the same can be said for ATM fees, teller fees, and checks.
DVD Rentals -- Did you know that you can rent DVDs from RedBox locations for $1 a night? And better yet, if you use one of the coupon codes from www.insideredbox.com you can avoid the $1 charge. Free DVD rentals! Most libraries now have free DVD rental as well.
Exercise -- Skip the expensive gym memberships. Visit your local park for a walk or run. Do basic push-up and sit-up programs in your living room. Rent a workout DVD from the library. There are many free workout programs you can download online as well.
Can you think of any other things you should be getting for free? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
So much money and energy is wasted on things we could get for free. If you're into new, shiny things and collecting stuff, this is not for you. But if you want less clutter in your life and want to keep more of your money, then check out these 15 things you shouldn't be paying for.
Basic Computer Software -- Thinking of purchasing a new computer? Think twice before you fork over the funds for a bunch of extra software. There are some great alternatives to the name brand software programs. The most notable is OpenOffice, the open-source alternative to those other guys. It's completely free and files can be exported in compatible formats.
Your Credit Report -- You don't have to pay for your credit report. You could sign up for one of the free credit monitoring services online to get a quick look at your credit report. You just have to remember to cancel the service before the end of the free trial. Or you could do one better and visit www.annualcreditreport.com, the only truly free place to see all three of your credit reports for free once a year.
Cell Phone -- The service plan may be expensive, but the phone itself doesn't have to cost a thing. Most major carriers will give you a free phone, even a free smart phone, with a two-year contract.
Books -- There's a cool place in your town that's renting out books for free: the library. Remember that place? Stop by and put your favorite book on reserve. And if you don't feel like getting out, visit www.paperbackswap.com and find your books there (small shipping fees apply).
Water -- Besides the monthly utility bill, there's no reason to shell out $1 for every bottle of water you drink. Bottled water is so last decade anyway. We're over it, and into tap, filters, and reusable water bottles. It's cheaper for you and better for the environment.
Credit Card -- With as many credit cards as there are available on the market today, it's easy to avoid a credit card with an annual fee. Unless you're dead set on a particular perk that a fee card brings, skip the annual fee card and pocket that money yourself.
Debt Reduction Help -- Speaking of credit cards, if you're in over your head with credit card help, there are many free sources you can turn to for help with your debt. No one is going to be able to magically wipe away your debts, but there is help out there that will set you up on a debt reduction plan you can handle. Start with a visit to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Basic Tax Preparation -- If your tax situation isn't that complicated, then you should probably be preparing your own tax return using one of the many free online services. It's now common for e-filing to be free as well with many services. You won't even need a stamp.
The News -- Leave it to a blogger to try and kill off traditional print. I'm not anti-newspaper. I just don't find them practical anymore. Skip the daily .50 cents and get your news online. And for you dedicated coupon clippers, you can get most of your Sunday coupons online now too.
Budgeting Tools -- There are many budgeting tools (both online and desktop) that offer up the service for free. Don't ask me how they do this, but who cares. If you're looking to reign in some of your spending, the good news is you can do it for free.
Pets -- This is a controversial one, I know. But there are likely many pets down at your local animal shelter that could use just as much love as the pure-bred types. There may be a small fee due to the shelter for shots and basic care, but you'll have your pet home without paying a mini-fortune.
Shipping -- If you like to buy online, you probably use coupons to get a percentage off of your purchase. Take your skills to the next level and look for coupons or promotion codes that offer free shipping. If in doubt, visit a site like www.freeshipping.org.
Checking Account -- Isn't it nice when a bank takes your money, lends it out to earn money, and then has the audacity to charge you for the service? What a joke. Checking should be free. If yours isn't free then move to one of the many banks that offers a checking account for free. And the same can be said for ATM fees, teller fees, and checks.
DVD Rentals -- Did you know that you can rent DVDs from RedBox locations for $1 a night? And better yet, if you use one of the coupon codes from www.insideredbox.com you can avoid the $1 charge. Free DVD rentals! Most libraries now have free DVD rental as well.
Exercise -- Skip the expensive gym memberships. Visit your local park for a walk or run. Do basic push-up and sit-up programs in your living room. Rent a workout DVD from the library. There are many free workout programs you can download online as well.
Can you think of any other things you should be getting for free? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Don't opt in! Ignore your bank's plea to stay in its overdraft program
Under new Federal Reserve rules that become effective this Sunday, August 15, debit card purchases or ATM transactions that would exceed a current customer’s balance will not be processed unless he or she has agreed in advance to overdraft protection. If you’re currently enrolled in one of these programs you’ll automatically be opted-out; if you wish to continue you must re-enroll and provide your signature.
Previously, banks automatically signed up consumers for the service and then charged them hefty fees whenever it covered an overdraft. Those fees add up to billions in profits, so as the date looms you’re likely to see a lot of hype from your bank promising you peace of mind by enrolling in its program. Before you do, remember that there are often much cheaper ways to cover transactions that exceed your balance.
Unfortunately, the new rules don’t prevent banks from imposing overdraft fees to cover checks or debits for reoccurring bill payments. They also don’t prohibit banks from processing transactions in a way that maximizes fees charged to customers that do opt-in. That was the focus of a California case involving Wells Fargo. A federal judge ordered it to pay California customers $203 million in restitution on Tuesday to settle claims that it had manipulated transactions to maximize overdraft fees. Instead of processing transactions in the order in which they were received, Wells Fargo put through the largest first, resulting in multiple charges instead of just one. The 90-page opinion called the practice unfair and deceptive, and ordered the bank to stop the practice by this November 30. Wells Fargo said it will appeal.
Now Consumers Union is working to ensure that such practices are banned and these overdraft programs are affordable for those who do Opt-In. Legislation in Congress will go farther to protect consumers then the Federal Reserve's Rule, in the following ways:
• Prohibit banks from manipulating the clearing of transactions to maximize fees.
• Limit the number of overdraft fees financial institutions can charge to six per year.
• Require fees to be reasonable and proportional to the cost to the financial institution.
• Clarify that banks must clearly disclose the cost of overdraft fees as required under the Truth in Lending Act.
—Mandy Walker
Previously, banks automatically signed up consumers for the service and then charged them hefty fees whenever it covered an overdraft. Those fees add up to billions in profits, so as the date looms you’re likely to see a lot of hype from your bank promising you peace of mind by enrolling in its program. Before you do, remember that there are often much cheaper ways to cover transactions that exceed your balance.
Unfortunately, the new rules don’t prevent banks from imposing overdraft fees to cover checks or debits for reoccurring bill payments. They also don’t prohibit banks from processing transactions in a way that maximizes fees charged to customers that do opt-in. That was the focus of a California case involving Wells Fargo. A federal judge ordered it to pay California customers $203 million in restitution on Tuesday to settle claims that it had manipulated transactions to maximize overdraft fees. Instead of processing transactions in the order in which they were received, Wells Fargo put through the largest first, resulting in multiple charges instead of just one. The 90-page opinion called the practice unfair and deceptive, and ordered the bank to stop the practice by this November 30. Wells Fargo said it will appeal.
Now Consumers Union is working to ensure that such practices are banned and these overdraft programs are affordable for those who do Opt-In. Legislation in Congress will go farther to protect consumers then the Federal Reserve's Rule, in the following ways:
• Prohibit banks from manipulating the clearing of transactions to maximize fees.
• Limit the number of overdraft fees financial institutions can charge to six per year.
• Require fees to be reasonable and proportional to the cost to the financial institution.
• Clarify that banks must clearly disclose the cost of overdraft fees as required under the Truth in Lending Act.
—Mandy Walker
5 ways to avoid cell-phone 'bill shock'
Today's multitalented cell phones can easily seduce you into texting, talking, or downloading more than you planned. The result can be hundreds of dollars in unexpected penalty fees.
Some 30 million Americans have experienced cellular bill shock, a surprise spike not related to a change in the service plan. The projection is based on a Federal Communications Commission survey of 3,005 adults conducted last spring. More than a third of that group got burned for at least $50 a month. We think the usual overage charges might be higher still. Based on consumer billing data we've seen from Validas, a company that provides wireless bill analysis and optimization services, we estimate the median overage charge to be about $85.
Overage fines often come from using more voice minutes than the monthly plan allows, at a cost of 25 to 45 cents per minute—at least four times the regular per-minute plan rate. But big texting charges are also a potential problem. Among ConsumerReports.org subscribers surveyed by the Consumer Reports National Research Center last year, about 12 percent of texters who didn't have an unlimited texting plan were surprised by higher-than-expected messaging charges.
An emerging threat is exceeding limits for downloading data to your smart phone when you access the Internet, send e-mail with or without attachments, post photos to Facebook, or engage in other high-bandwidth activities. The industry usually charges one monthly fee for unlimited data. However, in June AT&T began selling monthly data service for its popular iPhone and other smart phones in rations of 200MB for $15 and 2GB for $25.
AT&T's new pricing might save most customers money at current rates. And at least one other carrier, Verizon, says it might eventually follow suit. That makes it all the more important now to track your data usage, especially since new apps constantly encourage higher consumption.
How to protect yourself
Ask for a break
Request an exception or discount. Carriers say they work to resolve overage problems on a case-by-case basis. One Consumer Reports staffer knocked $175, or 68 percent, off his $255 overage bill and saved an additional $23 in taxes, fees, and surcharges.
Monitor your usage
Depending on the phone and carrier, you can keep track by checking settings, tapping the usage-information codes on your cell phone, or registering with your carrier for online access to your cell-phone account. Try to check your balance at the middle of and three-quarters through each billing cycle, especially in months with unusual use.
Sign up for an overage alert
A few carriers offer them (see Overage charges). For smart phones you can get the free Cell Minute Tracker app from Pageonce, a California software company. It alerts you when you're nearing the limits of your voice, message, and data allotments and lets you know when you go over them.
Adjust your plan as needed
If you're bumping up against your limit for voice calls, switch to a higher-minute plan. To find a contract plan that better fits your needs, analyze your current use and the available deals. The website BillShrink searches scores of plans from the four largest carriers free, and Validas searches six service providers for $5; neither searches prepaid carriers.
Monitor and adjust your messaging and data services, too, if they're metered. Users of iPhones tend to consume more data per month than BlackBerry and other smart-phone users. If you're with AT&T, the 200MB-per-month package should meet your needs, but heed the alerts. You can add a second 200MB bundle if necessary, or move up to the 2GB plan.
Ask customer service to assure you that a plan change won't create a new overage charge. That can happen if the old and new plans' minutes are prorated when a switch is made.
Consider prepaid
Available from the major carriers and from prepaid specialists such as Virgin Mobile, prepaid, pay-as-you-go plans have no overage charges. Instead, you buy more minutes at the regular rate when your account balance runs low or runs out. Or consider a monthly plan with unlimited minutes from a prepaid carrier, which can cost less than such plans from contract carriers.
Some 30 million Americans have experienced cellular bill shock, a surprise spike not related to a change in the service plan. The projection is based on a Federal Communications Commission survey of 3,005 adults conducted last spring. More than a third of that group got burned for at least $50 a month. We think the usual overage charges might be higher still. Based on consumer billing data we've seen from Validas, a company that provides wireless bill analysis and optimization services, we estimate the median overage charge to be about $85.
Overage fines often come from using more voice minutes than the monthly plan allows, at a cost of 25 to 45 cents per minute—at least four times the regular per-minute plan rate. But big texting charges are also a potential problem. Among ConsumerReports.org subscribers surveyed by the Consumer Reports National Research Center last year, about 12 percent of texters who didn't have an unlimited texting plan were surprised by higher-than-expected messaging charges.
An emerging threat is exceeding limits for downloading data to your smart phone when you access the Internet, send e-mail with or without attachments, post photos to Facebook, or engage in other high-bandwidth activities. The industry usually charges one monthly fee for unlimited data. However, in June AT&T began selling monthly data service for its popular iPhone and other smart phones in rations of 200MB for $15 and 2GB for $25.
AT&T's new pricing might save most customers money at current rates. And at least one other carrier, Verizon, says it might eventually follow suit. That makes it all the more important now to track your data usage, especially since new apps constantly encourage higher consumption.
How to protect yourself
Ask for a break
Request an exception or discount. Carriers say they work to resolve overage problems on a case-by-case basis. One Consumer Reports staffer knocked $175, or 68 percent, off his $255 overage bill and saved an additional $23 in taxes, fees, and surcharges.
Monitor your usage
Depending on the phone and carrier, you can keep track by checking settings, tapping the usage-information codes on your cell phone, or registering with your carrier for online access to your cell-phone account. Try to check your balance at the middle of and three-quarters through each billing cycle, especially in months with unusual use.
Sign up for an overage alert
A few carriers offer them (see Overage charges). For smart phones you can get the free Cell Minute Tracker app from Pageonce, a California software company. It alerts you when you're nearing the limits of your voice, message, and data allotments and lets you know when you go over them.
Adjust your plan as needed
If you're bumping up against your limit for voice calls, switch to a higher-minute plan. To find a contract plan that better fits your needs, analyze your current use and the available deals. The website BillShrink searches scores of plans from the four largest carriers free, and Validas searches six service providers for $5; neither searches prepaid carriers.
Monitor and adjust your messaging and data services, too, if they're metered. Users of iPhones tend to consume more data per month than BlackBerry and other smart-phone users. If you're with AT&T, the 200MB-per-month package should meet your needs, but heed the alerts. You can add a second 200MB bundle if necessary, or move up to the 2GB plan.
Ask customer service to assure you that a plan change won't create a new overage charge. That can happen if the old and new plans' minutes are prorated when a switch is made.
Consider prepaid
Available from the major carriers and from prepaid specialists such as Virgin Mobile, prepaid, pay-as-you-go plans have no overage charges. Instead, you buy more minutes at the regular rate when your account balance runs low or runs out. Or consider a monthly plan with unlimited minutes from a prepaid carrier, which can cost less than such plans from contract carriers.
Financial Products That Are a Waste of Money
Saturday, August 14, 2010
You can save big bucks by skipping unnecessary financial products and services.
There are many things that people buy, sometimes repeatedly, that are a waste of money or just a bad value. Often, you don't need them at all or you can opt for less-costly or free alternatives. Take a pass on these financial products and save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Skip it: Collision on older vehicles
Save: $300 a year, based on national averages in 2007
If you have an accident, collision coverage reimburses you only up to the value of your car, no matter how severe the damage. So at some point, the cost of the coverage might approach or exceed the maximum the policy would pay on a claim. You might consider dropping collision once its cost equals 10 percent of the car's book value.
Do this instead
Self-insure by putting away a fixed amount each month to cover unexpected losses. Decide whether you should keep comprehensive coverage. Typically less costly than collision, it reimburses you for theft and nonaccident damage, for example, if a rock cracks your windshield or a falling tree limb dents your hood. But like collision, it won't pay more than the vehicle's worth, so weigh the cost.
Skip it: Load mutual funds
Save: About $200 to $300 on an initial investment of $5,000
Load funds siphon off 4 to 6 percent of your investment for sales commissions. No-load funds generally perform as well or even better.
Do this instead
Skip the load and put your entire investment to work for you. Compare funds by type and rating at www.morningstar.com.
Skip it: Extended warranties
Save: $30 to a few thousand dollars
Some products, such as cars, have become more reliable, and others, including electronics, aren't likely to break down during the extended service contract period. Service plans often cost more than you'll recover, and many have fine-print terms that can limit or disqualify your claim.
Do this instead
Buy reliable brands and models, and follow the manufacturer's usage and maintenance recommendations. If possible, make purchases with a credit card that extends the warranty. And if a product fails after the warranty has expired, try negotiating with the retailer and manufacturer for compensation.
Skip it: Fee-based checking
Save: $36 to $600, plus any per-check fees each month
There are many no-fee checking accounts that don't require you to maintain a minimum monthly balance. Some even pay interest, such as FNBO Direct (www.fnbodirect.com), which pays 1.25 percent.
Do this instead
Check local and national banks and credit unions for the best deals. If you regularly use your debit card for purchases and can set up direct deposit or automatic billing, consider a high-yield checking account. To find one, go to www.checkingfinder.com or www.kasasa.com.
Skip it: Credit-card insurance
Save: 18 cents to $1.35 for every $100 of your balance each month
Also known as payment protection and credit safeguard, this coverage promises to make your minimum payments for a certain period or erase your entire credit-card debt in case of unemployment, injury, disability, or death.
Do this instead
Check for coverage you already have in other policies, such as life and disability. Or set up a fund to cover your bills if you lose your income.
Skip it: Cancer insurance
Save: $200 to $3,000
Like any disease-specific coverage (including those for strokes or heart attacks), cancer insurance might duplicate or even negate coverage you already have under your basic health insurance. Some cancer policies exclude certain types of cancer, or they might not pay at all unless you're hospitalized. And they're certainly no substitute for comprehensive medical coverage.
Do this instead
Check to see what your health policy covers. If you're on Medicare and want more coverage, consider buying a Medicare supplemental policy. Medicaid recipients don't need additional coverage.
Skip it: Identity-theft protection
Save: $120 to $240 a year
These services might do less than they claim. In May, Lifelock, a leading vendor, agreed to pay $12 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission and 35 state attorneys general that "the protection it actually provided left enough holes that you could drive a truck through it," said Jon Leibowitz, the FTC's chairman.
Do this instead
Take steps to protect your identity. For example, you can place a security freeze on your credit reports at all three major credit-reporting bureaus (Experian, Equifax (NYSE: EFX - News), and TransUnion). That will deny access to your credit report to prospective creditors and prevent a scammer from setting up an account in your name.
Skip it: Cell-phone insurance
Save: $48 to $96 a year
Between the cost of the coverage and the deductible, typically $25 to $100 or more, this insurance might not save you anything if you need to replace your phone because there might be fine-print exemptions. And if the policy does replace your phone, you might get a different or refurbished model.
Do this instead
Check your home and auto insurance policies to determine if your phone is (or can be) covered. When you get a new phone, don't chuck your old one if it still works. If the new one is lost, stolen, or breaks down, you might be able to use the old one for the duration of your contract. Another option is to buy a less-costly "unlocked" replacement.
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on Yahoo!
You can save big bucks by skipping unnecessary financial products and services.
There are many things that people buy, sometimes repeatedly, that are a waste of money or just a bad value. Often, you don't need them at all or you can opt for less-costly or free alternatives. Take a pass on these financial products and save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Skip it: Collision on older vehicles
Save: $300 a year, based on national averages in 2007
If you have an accident, collision coverage reimburses you only up to the value of your car, no matter how severe the damage. So at some point, the cost of the coverage might approach or exceed the maximum the policy would pay on a claim. You might consider dropping collision once its cost equals 10 percent of the car's book value.
Do this instead
Self-insure by putting away a fixed amount each month to cover unexpected losses. Decide whether you should keep comprehensive coverage. Typically less costly than collision, it reimburses you for theft and nonaccident damage, for example, if a rock cracks your windshield or a falling tree limb dents your hood. But like collision, it won't pay more than the vehicle's worth, so weigh the cost.
Skip it: Load mutual funds
Save: About $200 to $300 on an initial investment of $5,000
Load funds siphon off 4 to 6 percent of your investment for sales commissions. No-load funds generally perform as well or even better.
Do this instead
Skip the load and put your entire investment to work for you. Compare funds by type and rating at www.morningstar.com.
Skip it: Extended warranties
Save: $30 to a few thousand dollars
Some products, such as cars, have become more reliable, and others, including electronics, aren't likely to break down during the extended service contract period. Service plans often cost more than you'll recover, and many have fine-print terms that can limit or disqualify your claim.
Do this instead
Buy reliable brands and models, and follow the manufacturer's usage and maintenance recommendations. If possible, make purchases with a credit card that extends the warranty. And if a product fails after the warranty has expired, try negotiating with the retailer and manufacturer for compensation.
Skip it: Fee-based checking
Save: $36 to $600, plus any per-check fees each month
There are many no-fee checking accounts that don't require you to maintain a minimum monthly balance. Some even pay interest, such as FNBO Direct (www.fnbodirect.com), which pays 1.25 percent.
Do this instead
Check local and national banks and credit unions for the best deals. If you regularly use your debit card for purchases and can set up direct deposit or automatic billing, consider a high-yield checking account. To find one, go to www.checkingfinder.com or www.kasasa.com.
Skip it: Credit-card insurance
Save: 18 cents to $1.35 for every $100 of your balance each month
Also known as payment protection and credit safeguard, this coverage promises to make your minimum payments for a certain period or erase your entire credit-card debt in case of unemployment, injury, disability, or death.
Do this instead
Check for coverage you already have in other policies, such as life and disability. Or set up a fund to cover your bills if you lose your income.
Skip it: Cancer insurance
Save: $200 to $3,000
Like any disease-specific coverage (including those for strokes or heart attacks), cancer insurance might duplicate or even negate coverage you already have under your basic health insurance. Some cancer policies exclude certain types of cancer, or they might not pay at all unless you're hospitalized. And they're certainly no substitute for comprehensive medical coverage.
Do this instead
Check to see what your health policy covers. If you're on Medicare and want more coverage, consider buying a Medicare supplemental policy. Medicaid recipients don't need additional coverage.
Skip it: Identity-theft protection
Save: $120 to $240 a year
These services might do less than they claim. In May, Lifelock, a leading vendor, agreed to pay $12 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission and 35 state attorneys general that "the protection it actually provided left enough holes that you could drive a truck through it," said Jon Leibowitz, the FTC's chairman.
Do this instead
Take steps to protect your identity. For example, you can place a security freeze on your credit reports at all three major credit-reporting bureaus (Experian, Equifax (NYSE: EFX - News), and TransUnion). That will deny access to your credit report to prospective creditors and prevent a scammer from setting up an account in your name.
Skip it: Cell-phone insurance
Save: $48 to $96 a year
Between the cost of the coverage and the deductible, typically $25 to $100 or more, this insurance might not save you anything if you need to replace your phone because there might be fine-print exemptions. And if the policy does replace your phone, you might get a different or refurbished model.
Do this instead
Check your home and auto insurance policies to determine if your phone is (or can be) covered. When you get a new phone, don't chuck your old one if it still works. If the new one is lost, stolen, or breaks down, you might be able to use the old one for the duration of your contract. Another option is to buy a less-costly "unlocked" replacement.
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on Yahoo!
How to Save on School Supplies
By Laura Rowley
Thursday, August 12, 2010
I've always been frugal, but as life became more complicated (three kids, full-time job, house in the 'burbs) I found myself less inclined to chase small savings. Or at least I'm more apt to balance the savings with the opportunity cost. Self-righteous purchaser of used cars? Of course. Consumer of slightly-more-expensive bagged salad? Guilty.
Back-to-school has always been one of those gray categories where I wondered if a little extra effort would yield significant savings. So I canvassed the retail competition. Conclusion: It pays to shop around.
Families surveyed by The National Retail Federation expect to spend an average of $96 per child on school supplies, and more than $600 when clothing, shoes and electronics are included. Asked how the economy will affect their plans, 43 percent say they will spend less overall. Nearly 30 percent will make do with last year's school items, and 39 percent say they'll do more comparison shopping with circulars and newspapers.
I spent the good part of a recent weekend perusing online circulars and visiting different retail channels in Connecticut for a Good Morning American segment, comparing the cost of 20 items typically found on a school supply list.
To compare apples to apples in terms of quality, I priced major brand names: Crayola crayons, markers and colored pencils; Five Star notebooks, Avery Binders; Pilot G2 gel pens; Oxford folders; Texas Instruments TI-30 calculator. For more generic items such as rulers, protractors, index cards and loose leaf paper, I focused on lowest price. Finally, I chose plain solid colors on everything -- no patterns or designs.
The Findings
The results were pretty dramatic: The same 20 items on my list cost $27.20 at an independent discount/"dollar" store, and three times as much -- $83.44 -- at the drug store CVS. Big-box stores Target and Wal-Mart came in at $31.64 and $36.70, respectively, and Staples charged $66.72.
Both the independent and chain dollar stores (Family Dollar, Dollar General and Dollar Tree) have grown aggressively in the last decade, adding thousands of stores nationwide between 2001 and mid-2009, according to a study by The Nielsen Company. Nielsen found households earning $100,000 or above spent 18 percent more in the dollar channel in the second half of 2008 compared to the year-earlier period. That was a bigger gain than big-box discounters or warehouse clubs.
"There's no question that the dollar stores are getting more and more shoppers every day," says Britt Beemer, CEO of America's Research Group. "When they added more food products to the stores, they really established value with consumers. They sell bread for $1 a loaf, and at the grocery store it's $1.89 or $2.59. The dollar stores make a stronger value proposition as they added grocery, because people know the value of things they buy most often. Because they attract so many shoppers every week, manufacturers can no longer ignore the channel."
At the store I visited, Xpect Deep Discount, school supplies were grouped near the registers in several long rectangular displays, requiring a simple lap around each to find what I needed. But the selection was fairly narrow and two of the items on the list were already sold out.
"For school supplies, go to dollar stores first and then wait as far until the end of the season as you can, because obviously what they can't sell they will mark down more," says Beemer. The other advantage to dollar stores: If your child wants notebooks and folders with colorful patterns and designs, you'll find the best prices on those items here.
Compare and Contrast
The big-box stores are fairly competitive with each other -- Target beat Wal-Mart by just $5. Target was the more convenient to shop, with back-to-school needs situated in a central showcase. The cashier helpfully suggested I check the store Web site for coupons before I shop next time, and visit a site called Mypoints.com to earn free gift cards. (For other ways to find back-to-school coupons online, check out this story.)
We headed next to Staples, located in the same mall as Wal-Mart. Office supply stores have been trying to capture more of the back-to-school market in recent years. But my shopping test found the prices are higher and the package sizes tend to be larger than standard -- so you pay more and get a lot of "free" extras you don't need. For instance, all the other stores offered four-packs of Pilot gel pens and single servings of Wite-Out. Staples only offered pens in a five-pack and Wite-Out in a two-pack.
Meanwhile, the Staples circular featured Avery Binders as "buy two get one free." But at $15.98 for two, they still cost $5.33 each -- the second-most expensive price for binders after the drug store. Some office supply stores feature back-to-school "penny specials" to get you in the door. If you see one, buy the loss leader and bail out.
As for drug stores: Forget it. My list of 20 items cost $83.44 at CVS. Drug stores "have always been much higher priced than retail store chains," says Beemer. "One reason they are able to do that is they have a lot of shoppers in urban areas who have to rely on public transportation" and can't access a big-box store as easily. Drug stores will occasionally offer special items to get shoppers in the door, but with a basket price more than three times the price of our most affordable store, don't take the bait.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
I've always been frugal, but as life became more complicated (three kids, full-time job, house in the 'burbs) I found myself less inclined to chase small savings. Or at least I'm more apt to balance the savings with the opportunity cost. Self-righteous purchaser of used cars? Of course. Consumer of slightly-more-expensive bagged salad? Guilty.
Back-to-school has always been one of those gray categories where I wondered if a little extra effort would yield significant savings. So I canvassed the retail competition. Conclusion: It pays to shop around.
Families surveyed by The National Retail Federation expect to spend an average of $96 per child on school supplies, and more than $600 when clothing, shoes and electronics are included. Asked how the economy will affect their plans, 43 percent say they will spend less overall. Nearly 30 percent will make do with last year's school items, and 39 percent say they'll do more comparison shopping with circulars and newspapers.
I spent the good part of a recent weekend perusing online circulars and visiting different retail channels in Connecticut for a Good Morning American segment, comparing the cost of 20 items typically found on a school supply list.
To compare apples to apples in terms of quality, I priced major brand names: Crayola crayons, markers and colored pencils; Five Star notebooks, Avery Binders; Pilot G2 gel pens; Oxford folders; Texas Instruments TI-30 calculator. For more generic items such as rulers, protractors, index cards and loose leaf paper, I focused on lowest price. Finally, I chose plain solid colors on everything -- no patterns or designs.
The Findings
The results were pretty dramatic: The same 20 items on my list cost $27.20 at an independent discount/"dollar" store, and three times as much -- $83.44 -- at the drug store CVS. Big-box stores Target and Wal-Mart came in at $31.64 and $36.70, respectively, and Staples charged $66.72.
Both the independent and chain dollar stores (Family Dollar, Dollar General and Dollar Tree) have grown aggressively in the last decade, adding thousands of stores nationwide between 2001 and mid-2009, according to a study by The Nielsen Company. Nielsen found households earning $100,000 or above spent 18 percent more in the dollar channel in the second half of 2008 compared to the year-earlier period. That was a bigger gain than big-box discounters or warehouse clubs.
"There's no question that the dollar stores are getting more and more shoppers every day," says Britt Beemer, CEO of America's Research Group. "When they added more food products to the stores, they really established value with consumers. They sell bread for $1 a loaf, and at the grocery store it's $1.89 or $2.59. The dollar stores make a stronger value proposition as they added grocery, because people know the value of things they buy most often. Because they attract so many shoppers every week, manufacturers can no longer ignore the channel."
At the store I visited, Xpect Deep Discount, school supplies were grouped near the registers in several long rectangular displays, requiring a simple lap around each to find what I needed. But the selection was fairly narrow and two of the items on the list were already sold out.
"For school supplies, go to dollar stores first and then wait as far until the end of the season as you can, because obviously what they can't sell they will mark down more," says Beemer. The other advantage to dollar stores: If your child wants notebooks and folders with colorful patterns and designs, you'll find the best prices on those items here.
Compare and Contrast
The big-box stores are fairly competitive with each other -- Target beat Wal-Mart by just $5. Target was the more convenient to shop, with back-to-school needs situated in a central showcase. The cashier helpfully suggested I check the store Web site for coupons before I shop next time, and visit a site called Mypoints.com to earn free gift cards. (For other ways to find back-to-school coupons online, check out this story.)
We headed next to Staples, located in the same mall as Wal-Mart. Office supply stores have been trying to capture more of the back-to-school market in recent years. But my shopping test found the prices are higher and the package sizes tend to be larger than standard -- so you pay more and get a lot of "free" extras you don't need. For instance, all the other stores offered four-packs of Pilot gel pens and single servings of Wite-Out. Staples only offered pens in a five-pack and Wite-Out in a two-pack.
Meanwhile, the Staples circular featured Avery Binders as "buy two get one free." But at $15.98 for two, they still cost $5.33 each -- the second-most expensive price for binders after the drug store. Some office supply stores feature back-to-school "penny specials" to get you in the door. If you see one, buy the loss leader and bail out.
As for drug stores: Forget it. My list of 20 items cost $83.44 at CVS. Drug stores "have always been much higher priced than retail store chains," says Beemer. "One reason they are able to do that is they have a lot of shoppers in urban areas who have to rely on public transportation" and can't access a big-box store as easily. Drug stores will occasionally offer special items to get shoppers in the door, but with a basket price more than three times the price of our most affordable store, don't take the bait.
What the Double-Dip Recession Will Look Like
by Douglas A. McIntyre
Monday, August 16, 2010
"Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the economy has yet to hit bottom, a sharply higher percentage than the 53% who felt that way in January," according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll.
A growing and vocal minority of economists believes that there will be a double-dip recession primarily because of the intransigence of high unemployment and the rapidly faltering housing market. The notion of a "jobless recovery" has been around since the recessions of the 1950s and 1960s. It is a concept built on a relatively simple idea: employment lags during a recession but it is always part of a recovery cycle. Production rises as businesses see the end of a downturn and anticipate improving sales. They are reluctant to hire new workers until the recovery is confirmed, but once it has been, hiring picks up.
The 2008-2009 recession was — if it is indeed over — different from any other because of its depth and causes. The first trigger was the drop in housing prices, which robbed many people of their primary access to capital. As that access disappeared, so did the availability of credit. Consumer buying power evaporated and business cut inventory and production. Joblessness rose. Finally, consumer confidence plunged.
The last downturn was so great that in some months more than 500,000 people lost jobs. The unemployment rolls are now more than 8 million, and perhaps more gravely, over 1.4 million people have been out of work for over 99 weeks — which means they are no longer eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits. This segment of the population has already begun to add to the number of indigent Americans and will continue to do so unless they can find homes with friends and family.
The second dip of the recession that ended in 2009, according to economists and the federal government, is likely to begin within the next two quarters if certain conditions are met.
Unemployment claims are running well above expectations, and recently hit a six-month high. The four-week average of initial claims rose 14,250 to 473,500 this week. The last peak, in February, was during a period when GDP was in the very early stages of recovery. There is nearly no jobs creation in the private sector. Real estate prices continue to drop, particularly in the hardest hit regions such as California, Nevada, Florida and Michigan.
The federal, state and local governments are in no position to lend assistance to businesses, most of which lack access to capital. Similarly, banks are not prepared to lend to small businesses, especially those with modest balance sheets and relatively low sales. This presents a problem for employment since companies with less than one hundred workers have traditionally been the largest creators of jobs.
This is what a double-dip recession would look like:
1. Housing
The cost of homes in the areas where prices have already dropped by 50% or more will continue to fall. These regions typically have the highest unemployment rates, the local governments are hard pressed to offer basic services, and potential buyers are aware that home prices could drop further. Real estate values in these areas could drop another 20%. In the rest of the country, protracted unemployment and the unwillingness of banks to lend would make otherwise attractive all-time low mortgage rates unappealing.
[See Housing's Future: 10 Million More Renters]
2. Unemployment
Unemployment would move back above 10% quickly. In the 1982 recession, the jobless rate was over 10% for 20 consecutive months and reached 10.8% for two months. During this period, the manufacturing base had not been destroyed. The economy is now arguably worse than it was in 1982. Many Americans who worked in manufacturing before the recession cannot be retrained, and the factories where they worked will not be reopened. Many companies have recently adopted the policy that they will keep as much of their work-force temporary for as long as possible. This keeps the cost of benefits low and allows firms to fire people quickly and without severance. A hiring strike by American businesses would contribute to putting 200,000 to 300,000 people out of work per month. At the peak of the recession that just ended, there were nearly six job seekers for every open job, according to the Labor Department. The job market could return to that point.
3. Consumer Spending
One of the primary reasons that consumer buying activity did not grind to a halt at the beginning of the last recession was that people still had access to a huge reservoir of home equity loans, most of which were taken out at the peak of the real estate market in 2005 and 2006. The New York Times recently reported that "lenders wrote off as uncollectible $11.1 billion in home equity loans and $19.9 billion in home equity lines of credit in 2009, more than they wrote off on primary mortgages, government data shows. So far this year, the trend is the same." Retail activity was helped somewhat by the capital available on these lines of credit, so store closings were probably deferred to the latter part of 2008. With more than 11 million mortgages underwater, 24% of the national total, and several million more within a few percentage points of being negative, the consumer will have no cushion as the economy deteriorates over the next six months.
4. Consumer Confidence
Consumer confidence, the critical gauge of the activity that represents two-thirds of U.S. GDP, will plummet again. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index would certainly move back toward the all-time low it hit in February 2009 when it reached 25. Currently, the measure in most months is closer to 60.
[See 21 Things You Should Never Buy New]
5. Auto Industry
Auto sales, one of the primary barometers of consumer economic activity and manufacturing output, would probably drop back to recession levels. People concerned about employment will defer car purchases. Annual car sales in the U.S. were over 16 million in 2005 but dropped to just above 10 million in 2009. The car companies hope that domestic sales will rise to 11.5 million this year. In a double-dip recession, at least 1 million of those annual sales would be lost.
6. Trade
The nominal balance of trade would almost certainly drop, probably to a deficit of $25 billion a month, as the U.S. takes in fewer imports due to low demand for consumer goods and business inventory. Exports would also drop because an economic crisis in the U.S. would spread quickly worldwide. This is because of the tremendous size of the U.S. GDP in relation to that of any other country. The drop in imports would be a signal that business activity had slowed in China, the rest of Asia and Europe. Demand for consumer and business goods would drop in most regions, forcing a nearly universal cut in jobs outside the U.S.
7. Budget
The budget deficit would grow beyond the $1.5 trillion it should reach this year. Treasury receipts fell to $2.1 trillion in the federal fiscal year 2009 and are down to $1.7 trillion so far in the 2010 period. If history is any guide, receipts in a second recession could drop by as much as $200 trillion a year as tax receipts from both business and individuals falter. The demand on the federal government to render aid to the unemployed could add $50 billion to annual government outlays. Unemployment insurance will cost Washington $44 billion this year. As states run out of money to cover benefits, more of the burden could fall to the federal government.
8. National Debt
The rise in the deficit and a rapid increase in the American national debt would cause concern among the capital markets investors who purchase U.S. Treasuries. The inability of the Treasury to rein in spending will cause borrowing to increase. This in turn could bring the government's debt rating down, in turn causing U.S. borrowing costs to rise. Increasing costs will then raise the annual expenditure to run the government by increasing debt service.
9. Stock Market
If the performance of the equity markets in 2008 and early 2009 is any indication, the S&P 500 would drop from its current level of about 1,100 to a low of 676, which it hit in March 2009. This would take trillions of dollars off business balance sheets and from consumer retirement and brokerage accounts. Businesses would become less likely to invest in new plants, equipment and services. For individuals, many would see a large part of their retirement disappear. That would cause a huge drop in consumer spending as people attempt to preserve cash, perpetuating further drops in the stock market.
10. Banking
The effect on most of the financial services industry would be catastrophic, particularly at the regional and community bank level where a number of home and commercial real estate loans are held. The FDIC would be forced to borrow money from the Treasury to cover bank closings. The number of failed banks could reach the level of the savings and loan crisis during which over 700 banks and mortgage lenders were shuttered.
11. Interest Rates
As the great majority of economists have pointed out, the Fed has already dropped interest rates to zero. This means the central bank is out of ammunition.
Monday, August 16, 2010
"Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the economy has yet to hit bottom, a sharply higher percentage than the 53% who felt that way in January," according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll.
A growing and vocal minority of economists believes that there will be a double-dip recession primarily because of the intransigence of high unemployment and the rapidly faltering housing market. The notion of a "jobless recovery" has been around since the recessions of the 1950s and 1960s. It is a concept built on a relatively simple idea: employment lags during a recession but it is always part of a recovery cycle. Production rises as businesses see the end of a downturn and anticipate improving sales. They are reluctant to hire new workers until the recovery is confirmed, but once it has been, hiring picks up.
The 2008-2009 recession was — if it is indeed over — different from any other because of its depth and causes. The first trigger was the drop in housing prices, which robbed many people of their primary access to capital. As that access disappeared, so did the availability of credit. Consumer buying power evaporated and business cut inventory and production. Joblessness rose. Finally, consumer confidence plunged.
The last downturn was so great that in some months more than 500,000 people lost jobs. The unemployment rolls are now more than 8 million, and perhaps more gravely, over 1.4 million people have been out of work for over 99 weeks — which means they are no longer eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits. This segment of the population has already begun to add to the number of indigent Americans and will continue to do so unless they can find homes with friends and family.
The second dip of the recession that ended in 2009, according to economists and the federal government, is likely to begin within the next two quarters if certain conditions are met.
Unemployment claims are running well above expectations, and recently hit a six-month high. The four-week average of initial claims rose 14,250 to 473,500 this week. The last peak, in February, was during a period when GDP was in the very early stages of recovery. There is nearly no jobs creation in the private sector. Real estate prices continue to drop, particularly in the hardest hit regions such as California, Nevada, Florida and Michigan.
The federal, state and local governments are in no position to lend assistance to businesses, most of which lack access to capital. Similarly, banks are not prepared to lend to small businesses, especially those with modest balance sheets and relatively low sales. This presents a problem for employment since companies with less than one hundred workers have traditionally been the largest creators of jobs.
This is what a double-dip recession would look like:
1. Housing
The cost of homes in the areas where prices have already dropped by 50% or more will continue to fall. These regions typically have the highest unemployment rates, the local governments are hard pressed to offer basic services, and potential buyers are aware that home prices could drop further. Real estate values in these areas could drop another 20%. In the rest of the country, protracted unemployment and the unwillingness of banks to lend would make otherwise attractive all-time low mortgage rates unappealing.
[See Housing's Future: 10 Million More Renters]
2. Unemployment
Unemployment would move back above 10% quickly. In the 1982 recession, the jobless rate was over 10% for 20 consecutive months and reached 10.8% for two months. During this period, the manufacturing base had not been destroyed. The economy is now arguably worse than it was in 1982. Many Americans who worked in manufacturing before the recession cannot be retrained, and the factories where they worked will not be reopened. Many companies have recently adopted the policy that they will keep as much of their work-force temporary for as long as possible. This keeps the cost of benefits low and allows firms to fire people quickly and without severance. A hiring strike by American businesses would contribute to putting 200,000 to 300,000 people out of work per month. At the peak of the recession that just ended, there were nearly six job seekers for every open job, according to the Labor Department. The job market could return to that point.
3. Consumer Spending
One of the primary reasons that consumer buying activity did not grind to a halt at the beginning of the last recession was that people still had access to a huge reservoir of home equity loans, most of which were taken out at the peak of the real estate market in 2005 and 2006. The New York Times recently reported that "lenders wrote off as uncollectible $11.1 billion in home equity loans and $19.9 billion in home equity lines of credit in 2009, more than they wrote off on primary mortgages, government data shows. So far this year, the trend is the same." Retail activity was helped somewhat by the capital available on these lines of credit, so store closings were probably deferred to the latter part of 2008. With more than 11 million mortgages underwater, 24% of the national total, and several million more within a few percentage points of being negative, the consumer will have no cushion as the economy deteriorates over the next six months.
4. Consumer Confidence
Consumer confidence, the critical gauge of the activity that represents two-thirds of U.S. GDP, will plummet again. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index would certainly move back toward the all-time low it hit in February 2009 when it reached 25. Currently, the measure in most months is closer to 60.
[See 21 Things You Should Never Buy New]
5. Auto Industry
Auto sales, one of the primary barometers of consumer economic activity and manufacturing output, would probably drop back to recession levels. People concerned about employment will defer car purchases. Annual car sales in the U.S. were over 16 million in 2005 but dropped to just above 10 million in 2009. The car companies hope that domestic sales will rise to 11.5 million this year. In a double-dip recession, at least 1 million of those annual sales would be lost.
6. Trade
The nominal balance of trade would almost certainly drop, probably to a deficit of $25 billion a month, as the U.S. takes in fewer imports due to low demand for consumer goods and business inventory. Exports would also drop because an economic crisis in the U.S. would spread quickly worldwide. This is because of the tremendous size of the U.S. GDP in relation to that of any other country. The drop in imports would be a signal that business activity had slowed in China, the rest of Asia and Europe. Demand for consumer and business goods would drop in most regions, forcing a nearly universal cut in jobs outside the U.S.
7. Budget
The budget deficit would grow beyond the $1.5 trillion it should reach this year. Treasury receipts fell to $2.1 trillion in the federal fiscal year 2009 and are down to $1.7 trillion so far in the 2010 period. If history is any guide, receipts in a second recession could drop by as much as $200 trillion a year as tax receipts from both business and individuals falter. The demand on the federal government to render aid to the unemployed could add $50 billion to annual government outlays. Unemployment insurance will cost Washington $44 billion this year. As states run out of money to cover benefits, more of the burden could fall to the federal government.
8. National Debt
The rise in the deficit and a rapid increase in the American national debt would cause concern among the capital markets investors who purchase U.S. Treasuries. The inability of the Treasury to rein in spending will cause borrowing to increase. This in turn could bring the government's debt rating down, in turn causing U.S. borrowing costs to rise. Increasing costs will then raise the annual expenditure to run the government by increasing debt service.
9. Stock Market
If the performance of the equity markets in 2008 and early 2009 is any indication, the S&P 500 would drop from its current level of about 1,100 to a low of 676, which it hit in March 2009. This would take trillions of dollars off business balance sheets and from consumer retirement and brokerage accounts. Businesses would become less likely to invest in new plants, equipment and services. For individuals, many would see a large part of their retirement disappear. That would cause a huge drop in consumer spending as people attempt to preserve cash, perpetuating further drops in the stock market.
10. Banking
The effect on most of the financial services industry would be catastrophic, particularly at the regional and community bank level where a number of home and commercial real estate loans are held. The FDIC would be forced to borrow money from the Treasury to cover bank closings. The number of failed banks could reach the level of the savings and loan crisis during which over 700 banks and mortgage lenders were shuttered.
11. Interest Rates
As the great majority of economists have pointed out, the Fed has already dropped interest rates to zero. This means the central bank is out of ammunition.
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Best Way to Pay Off Debt
By Consumerism Commentary
Posted: July 28, 2010
If I learned anything from Star Trek, it's that humans, a community of which I consider myself a member, do not always make decisions based on logic. If we followed the mathematic principles of addition and subtraction, fewer of us would find ourselves in unmanageable debt. Aside for unexpected major expenses, many people buried by credit cards and loans are in this position due to the emotional and psychological aspects of spending money, not necessarily a momentary lapse in mathematical reason.
I understand when financial gurus appeal to these emotions in order to help people get out of debt. They are, after all, marketers with a product to sell, just like those who convince consumers to spend money. The most powerful marketed solution for getting out of debt may be the "Debt Snowball" method, promoted by the religion-focused financial writer, Dave Ramsey.
What isn't made clear to his followers is that the Debt Snowball is not efficient. With a few modifications, you can pay your debt off faster and less expensively. The same system with one minor adjustment could reduce interest payments considerably.
To adhere to the Debt Snowball, the system suggests you order your debts from smallest balance to largest balance. Each month, pay the minimum due to each of your creditors, but add excess funds to the debt at the top of the list. That will accelerate the pay-off of the top debt. Once this one has been eliminated, your second debt becomes the target and the process continues.
This method ensures you see the success of paying off your first debt quickly, in theory motivating you to continue following the system. This emotional approach, however, appeals to the same aspects of a personality that could allow consumers to fall back into debt through excessive spending.
[Also see U.S. News's list of The 100 Best Mutual Funds for the Long Term, and use our Mutual Fund Score to find the best investments for you.]
Consider revising the Debt Snowball to order your debts from the highest interest rate to the lowest, considering tax benefits. Getting rid of high-interest credit cards before low-interest high-balance loans or a tax-advantaged mortgage will cost less money in the long run. The sizes of the balances are irrelevant. This method will also allow you to be completely debt-free in less time than the plan Debt Snowball if you stick with the program, motivating yourself to continue throughout. You can create quick wins by setting and celebrating debt repayment milestones, such as a "$1,000 paid off" target or a "$10,000 paid off” target.
While this is mathematically the best solution, it may not be perfect for you. A $10,000 car loan from the bank and a $10,000 loan from your parents may not be created equal. You may be more motivated to eliminate a personal loan before accelerating other debts in order to ensure your relationship survives the arrangement, even if your parents aren't charging interest. For situations like these, it may be more worthwhile to set up your list of debts to be repaid in order of importance to you, with interest rates as a starting point.
The Debt Snowball method has many adherent followers. Unfortunately, this does a disservice to individuals who are in debt and need to start making financial decisions with an eye towards logic rather than emotion. If paying off debt by focusing on the smallest balance first is the only way you'll complete the system, it's better than not doing anything. Rather than blindly following a system, take some time to determine what is best for you and your family.
Luke Landes writes for Consumerism Commentary, where he encourages discussions about money and consumer issues. Consumerism Commentary regularly tracks and reviews the best online savings accounts and other financial products.
Posted: July 28, 2010
If I learned anything from Star Trek, it's that humans, a community of which I consider myself a member, do not always make decisions based on logic. If we followed the mathematic principles of addition and subtraction, fewer of us would find ourselves in unmanageable debt. Aside for unexpected major expenses, many people buried by credit cards and loans are in this position due to the emotional and psychological aspects of spending money, not necessarily a momentary lapse in mathematical reason.
I understand when financial gurus appeal to these emotions in order to help people get out of debt. They are, after all, marketers with a product to sell, just like those who convince consumers to spend money. The most powerful marketed solution for getting out of debt may be the "Debt Snowball" method, promoted by the religion-focused financial writer, Dave Ramsey.
What isn't made clear to his followers is that the Debt Snowball is not efficient. With a few modifications, you can pay your debt off faster and less expensively. The same system with one minor adjustment could reduce interest payments considerably.
To adhere to the Debt Snowball, the system suggests you order your debts from smallest balance to largest balance. Each month, pay the minimum due to each of your creditors, but add excess funds to the debt at the top of the list. That will accelerate the pay-off of the top debt. Once this one has been eliminated, your second debt becomes the target and the process continues.
This method ensures you see the success of paying off your first debt quickly, in theory motivating you to continue following the system. This emotional approach, however, appeals to the same aspects of a personality that could allow consumers to fall back into debt through excessive spending.
[Also see U.S. News's list of The 100 Best Mutual Funds for the Long Term, and use our Mutual Fund Score to find the best investments for you.]
Consider revising the Debt Snowball to order your debts from the highest interest rate to the lowest, considering tax benefits. Getting rid of high-interest credit cards before low-interest high-balance loans or a tax-advantaged mortgage will cost less money in the long run. The sizes of the balances are irrelevant. This method will also allow you to be completely debt-free in less time than the plan Debt Snowball if you stick with the program, motivating yourself to continue throughout. You can create quick wins by setting and celebrating debt repayment milestones, such as a "$1,000 paid off" target or a "$10,000 paid off” target.
While this is mathematically the best solution, it may not be perfect for you. A $10,000 car loan from the bank and a $10,000 loan from your parents may not be created equal. You may be more motivated to eliminate a personal loan before accelerating other debts in order to ensure your relationship survives the arrangement, even if your parents aren't charging interest. For situations like these, it may be more worthwhile to set up your list of debts to be repaid in order of importance to you, with interest rates as a starting point.
The Debt Snowball method has many adherent followers. Unfortunately, this does a disservice to individuals who are in debt and need to start making financial decisions with an eye towards logic rather than emotion. If paying off debt by focusing on the smallest balance first is the only way you'll complete the system, it's better than not doing anything. Rather than blindly following a system, take some time to determine what is best for you and your family.
Luke Landes writes for Consumerism Commentary, where he encourages discussions about money and consumer issues. Consumerism Commentary regularly tracks and reviews the best online savings accounts and other financial products.
The Myth of Good Debt
Think your low-interest mortgage is good debt? Think again.
There is some comfort in believing that being in the position of owing money to someone or some company can in some circumstances be "good." Suze Orman, arguably the world's most popular personal finance author and guru, explains the supposed difference between "good debt" and "bad debt." Mortgages and student loans are examples of good debt, while car loans and credit cards are bad. Some debt, like high-interest loans and credit card debt, are certainly worse than others, but rationalizing owing money to others by calling it "good" is a stretch.
[Visit the US News Personal Finance site for more insight and money management tips.]
When the public is willing to consider any particular type of debt good, the lending industry is the only winner in the long run. For the benefit of our own personal finances, we'll prosper more by considering all debt bad and striving to eliminate that debt even if we feel it is good.
Don't fall into the trap of prolonging your state of debt while holding the idea that these forms of owing money are somehow good. Here's why "good debt" isn't all that great.
1. Mortgages. A mortgage on a house is a classic example of a type of debt personal finance experts and real estate agents want the world to be at peace with. There is something to be said for mortgages: the reality is that only a small percentage of Americans would be able to afford to purchase a house without access to a loan. The lending industry and the government have historically made it as easy as possible to own a home. We're not escaping home ownership debt any time soon.
The deeper reality is that the value of real estate increases at or a little higher than the rate of inflation over the long term, but is much more unpredictable over the short term -- the length of home ownership most people experience. Some consider mortgages to be good debt because it allows a home owner to be highly leveraged, in a good position for appreciation, but it is risky.
In addition, the tax advantages to paying mortgage interest are frequently overstated. While most taxpayers see an increased refund thanks to the mortgage interest deduction, the benefit can't compete with not paying interest at all. We're stuck with mortgages for now, but there's no solid reason for keeping them around longer than necessary, as one might do with anything called "good."
2. Student loans. Student loans are an investment in the future; a bachelor's degree in hand will significantly increase a person's lifetime income compared with just a high school diploma. Again, the lending industry encourages taking on unnecessary debt, and colleges and universities are complicit.
It is unnecessary to borrow money to finance a college education. In his forthcoming book, Debt Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents, author Zac Bissonnette explains how student loans can be more devastating to an individual's financial condition than a mortgage. Did you know that bankruptcy can eliminate your credit card debt and your mortgage but your student loan will not be forgiven? Even the government will garnish your social security wages if you default on your student loans.
Bissonnette also shows how there is no good reason to borrow money for an expensive private college or Ivy League university when the quality of education you can receive and your earning potential is matched or bested by an inexpensive, local state college. Reconsider the assumption that you pay a higher price for quality.
[Also see U.S. News's list of The 100 Best Mutual Funds for the Long Term, and use our Mutual Fund Score to find the best investments for you.]
3. Start-up costs. Whether starting a business requiring an up-front purchase of inventory or have just graduated college and need to buy appropriate attire for a career, some personal finance experts advise the cash-strapped newbie to anticipate tomorrow's income and pay for your expenses with a credit card or take out a loan today. This, like borrowing money to invest in something without a guaranteed return, is risky.
While it is often true that success requires taking some risks, consider your options for dealing with the worst-case scenario. Unemployment is still at a high level, and many of last year's graduates are still out of work with credit card balances increasing. Most new businesses fail.
Even borrowing money to finance assets expected to appreciate like a house, a person's income potential through education, and a career or business carries risks and in some cases can be fully avoided with smart preparation. You may hear some personal finance experts call these types of debt "good," but they are far from beneficial. At best, they are like other debt but might help improve your financial condition or quality of life at some point. At worst, however, even this debt can devastate your future if not watched, cared for, and eliminated.
Luke Landes writes for Consumerism Commentary, where he encourages discussions about money and consumer issues. Consumerism Commentary regularly tracks and reviews the best online savings accounts and other financial products.
There is some comfort in believing that being in the position of owing money to someone or some company can in some circumstances be "good." Suze Orman, arguably the world's most popular personal finance author and guru, explains the supposed difference between "good debt" and "bad debt." Mortgages and student loans are examples of good debt, while car loans and credit cards are bad. Some debt, like high-interest loans and credit card debt, are certainly worse than others, but rationalizing owing money to others by calling it "good" is a stretch.
[Visit the US News Personal Finance site for more insight and money management tips.]
When the public is willing to consider any particular type of debt good, the lending industry is the only winner in the long run. For the benefit of our own personal finances, we'll prosper more by considering all debt bad and striving to eliminate that debt even if we feel it is good.
Don't fall into the trap of prolonging your state of debt while holding the idea that these forms of owing money are somehow good. Here's why "good debt" isn't all that great.
1. Mortgages. A mortgage on a house is a classic example of a type of debt personal finance experts and real estate agents want the world to be at peace with. There is something to be said for mortgages: the reality is that only a small percentage of Americans would be able to afford to purchase a house without access to a loan. The lending industry and the government have historically made it as easy as possible to own a home. We're not escaping home ownership debt any time soon.
The deeper reality is that the value of real estate increases at or a little higher than the rate of inflation over the long term, but is much more unpredictable over the short term -- the length of home ownership most people experience. Some consider mortgages to be good debt because it allows a home owner to be highly leveraged, in a good position for appreciation, but it is risky.
In addition, the tax advantages to paying mortgage interest are frequently overstated. While most taxpayers see an increased refund thanks to the mortgage interest deduction, the benefit can't compete with not paying interest at all. We're stuck with mortgages for now, but there's no solid reason for keeping them around longer than necessary, as one might do with anything called "good."
2. Student loans. Student loans are an investment in the future; a bachelor's degree in hand will significantly increase a person's lifetime income compared with just a high school diploma. Again, the lending industry encourages taking on unnecessary debt, and colleges and universities are complicit.
It is unnecessary to borrow money to finance a college education. In his forthcoming book, Debt Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents, author Zac Bissonnette explains how student loans can be more devastating to an individual's financial condition than a mortgage. Did you know that bankruptcy can eliminate your credit card debt and your mortgage but your student loan will not be forgiven? Even the government will garnish your social security wages if you default on your student loans.
Bissonnette also shows how there is no good reason to borrow money for an expensive private college or Ivy League university when the quality of education you can receive and your earning potential is matched or bested by an inexpensive, local state college. Reconsider the assumption that you pay a higher price for quality.
[Also see U.S. News's list of The 100 Best Mutual Funds for the Long Term, and use our Mutual Fund Score to find the best investments for you.]
3. Start-up costs. Whether starting a business requiring an up-front purchase of inventory or have just graduated college and need to buy appropriate attire for a career, some personal finance experts advise the cash-strapped newbie to anticipate tomorrow's income and pay for your expenses with a credit card or take out a loan today. This, like borrowing money to invest in something without a guaranteed return, is risky.
While it is often true that success requires taking some risks, consider your options for dealing with the worst-case scenario. Unemployment is still at a high level, and many of last year's graduates are still out of work with credit card balances increasing. Most new businesses fail.
Even borrowing money to finance assets expected to appreciate like a house, a person's income potential through education, and a career or business carries risks and in some cases can be fully avoided with smart preparation. You may hear some personal finance experts call these types of debt "good," but they are far from beneficial. At best, they are like other debt but might help improve your financial condition or quality of life at some point. At worst, however, even this debt can devastate your future if not watched, cared for, and eliminated.
Luke Landes writes for Consumerism Commentary, where he encourages discussions about money and consumer issues. Consumerism Commentary regularly tracks and reviews the best online savings accounts and other financial products.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
You’re being watched.
By Kathy Kristof | Aug 9, 2010 |
Every time you open a web browser, someone — maybe hundreds and people and corporations — start silently tracking your every move. The tracking is so detailed that the web site you are viewing is likely to know your age; your income; your address, as well as the types of things you like to do and buy — just from your computer’s IP address, according to a series of shocking investigative reports in the Wall Street Journal. Worse, the site you just left is likely to keep tracking you as you continue to browse the web.
The Journal series comes hard on the heels of an MSNBC story about a hacker, who picked up information on 100 million Facebook accounts and posted it online. The hacker bragged that his move prevents these individuals from ever securing their personal data, regardless of their privacy settings, which can now be downloaded and sorted or stored.
Why is everyone watching you? It’s all about advertising. The more a web site can find out about you, the more valuable that information is to advertisers who want to sell you everything from music to vacations. The notion is that by tracking your every move, advertisers will be able to send you a coupon for donuts just as the aroma begins to waft your direction as you walk by the store, vastly increasing the chance that you’ll succumb. The more they know about you, the more they can try to control your actions, from where you go on vacation to what you buy when you’re there.
So, even if Dictionary.com has nothing to sell you, they can make big money by selling information about you. Google’s CEO recently said that we all can kiss anonymity goodbye.
What do you do if you don’t want to be watched? Can you hide from the privacy pirates? The answer is a qualified “yes.” But first you should figure out if you ever want to go incognito; if you want to hide all the time or just sometimes.
Rebecca Jeschke, who works for the Electronic Frontier Association, says her foundation has published an exhaustive treatise on how you can go off the grid and thwart those who are trying to track you. The site also has a demonstration project that allows you to secure your communication with a handful of sites. But she admits that she appreciates Amazon.com’s product suggestions that she wouldn’t get if she always searched surreptitiously denying the site the ability to place cookies on her computer.
But as the Journal series explains things may have gone so far that you’d be wise to consider securing your privacy at least part of the time.
“There are no rules for privacy sharing right now,” said Justin Brookman, senior fellow with the Center for Democracy and Technology. “If a web site can share your information with one partner, apparently they can share with 1,000.”
How can you hide? Here are seven tips.
Set your settings: If you want to do a web search without being tracked, you can set your search for “private” or “incognito” browsing. With Internet Explorer or Firefox, you can do that by going into “tools” and setting the preference to “private.” With Chrome, hit: Control, Shift N. A page will come up saying “You have gone incognito” and explain what that means. The catch: This privacy setting must be turned on every time you want a private search.
Plug-in privacy: A free product called Abine automatically turns on privacy settings every time you search, but it does not work with all web browsers, including Google’s Chrome.
Disconnect: If you have a late-model cell phone, it’s also tracking you with a GPS device. If you don’t want to leave a trail of where you are now and everywhere you’ve been, turn it off when it’s not in use.
Check your profile: If you search the web, you’re likely to already have a profile on Google that says what products you’re interested in — pets, crafts, etc. To check it, go to Google.com/ads/preferences. If you don’t want to have the advertisements you see on every site to be affected by these preferences, opt out. Google has a nice little video explaining how.
Don’t enter: Want to win a trip to Hawaii? A free dinner at your favorite restaurant? An iPad? When you toss your business card into the bowl or fill out a form, the information you provide is likely to be collected and resold, said Chris Jay Hoofnagle, a privacy expert and lecturer at Berkeley Law School.
Skip registration: If you bought a new refrigerator, computer or camera, the manufacturer is likely to ask you to register the device. Their pitch is that registration will allow them to provide a warranty (as promised), giving you the assurance that if the product breaks in the first year or two, you can have it replaced. In reality, that registration is likely to go directly to a marketing firm rather than the manufacturer. You don’t need to register and provide this private information to be covered under the warranty. But save your receipt.
Opt out: You can take yourself off of direct marketing lists, which get you reams of credit offers and advertisements, by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. This service will ask for private information, such as your Social Security number and you must provide it to opt out. However, you’ll know that the service is legitimate by calling from your home phone. That will allow the site to tell you who you are and where you live before you tell it anything else (which is, admittedly, a little scary too).
Finally, you should understand that you are likely to be your own worst enemy when it comes to keeping information private, said Chris Jay Hoofnagle, a privacy expert and lecturer at Berkeley Law School.
“We are constantly reacting to the impulse to get the free thing,” whether that’s web site content or a free dinner or vacation sweepstakes, he said. “You need to be skeptical of things that are free because the price is personal information.”
Every time you open a web browser, someone — maybe hundreds and people and corporations — start silently tracking your every move. The tracking is so detailed that the web site you are viewing is likely to know your age; your income; your address, as well as the types of things you like to do and buy — just from your computer’s IP address, according to a series of shocking investigative reports in the Wall Street Journal. Worse, the site you just left is likely to keep tracking you as you continue to browse the web.
The Journal series comes hard on the heels of an MSNBC story about a hacker, who picked up information on 100 million Facebook accounts and posted it online. The hacker bragged that his move prevents these individuals from ever securing their personal data, regardless of their privacy settings, which can now be downloaded and sorted or stored.
Why is everyone watching you? It’s all about advertising. The more a web site can find out about you, the more valuable that information is to advertisers who want to sell you everything from music to vacations. The notion is that by tracking your every move, advertisers will be able to send you a coupon for donuts just as the aroma begins to waft your direction as you walk by the store, vastly increasing the chance that you’ll succumb. The more they know about you, the more they can try to control your actions, from where you go on vacation to what you buy when you’re there.
So, even if Dictionary.com has nothing to sell you, they can make big money by selling information about you. Google’s CEO recently said that we all can kiss anonymity goodbye.
What do you do if you don’t want to be watched? Can you hide from the privacy pirates? The answer is a qualified “yes.” But first you should figure out if you ever want to go incognito; if you want to hide all the time or just sometimes.
Rebecca Jeschke, who works for the Electronic Frontier Association, says her foundation has published an exhaustive treatise on how you can go off the grid and thwart those who are trying to track you. The site also has a demonstration project that allows you to secure your communication with a handful of sites. But she admits that she appreciates Amazon.com’s product suggestions that she wouldn’t get if she always searched surreptitiously denying the site the ability to place cookies on her computer.
But as the Journal series explains things may have gone so far that you’d be wise to consider securing your privacy at least part of the time.
“There are no rules for privacy sharing right now,” said Justin Brookman, senior fellow with the Center for Democracy and Technology. “If a web site can share your information with one partner, apparently they can share with 1,000.”
How can you hide? Here are seven tips.
Set your settings: If you want to do a web search without being tracked, you can set your search for “private” or “incognito” browsing. With Internet Explorer or Firefox, you can do that by going into “tools” and setting the preference to “private.” With Chrome, hit: Control, Shift N. A page will come up saying “You have gone incognito” and explain what that means. The catch: This privacy setting must be turned on every time you want a private search.
Plug-in privacy: A free product called Abine automatically turns on privacy settings every time you search, but it does not work with all web browsers, including Google’s Chrome.
Disconnect: If you have a late-model cell phone, it’s also tracking you with a GPS device. If you don’t want to leave a trail of where you are now and everywhere you’ve been, turn it off when it’s not in use.
Check your profile: If you search the web, you’re likely to already have a profile on Google that says what products you’re interested in — pets, crafts, etc. To check it, go to Google.com/ads/preferences. If you don’t want to have the advertisements you see on every site to be affected by these preferences, opt out. Google has a nice little video explaining how.
Don’t enter: Want to win a trip to Hawaii? A free dinner at your favorite restaurant? An iPad? When you toss your business card into the bowl or fill out a form, the information you provide is likely to be collected and resold, said Chris Jay Hoofnagle, a privacy expert and lecturer at Berkeley Law School.
Skip registration: If you bought a new refrigerator, computer or camera, the manufacturer is likely to ask you to register the device. Their pitch is that registration will allow them to provide a warranty (as promised), giving you the assurance that if the product breaks in the first year or two, you can have it replaced. In reality, that registration is likely to go directly to a marketing firm rather than the manufacturer. You don’t need to register and provide this private information to be covered under the warranty. But save your receipt.
Opt out: You can take yourself off of direct marketing lists, which get you reams of credit offers and advertisements, by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. This service will ask for private information, such as your Social Security number and you must provide it to opt out. However, you’ll know that the service is legitimate by calling from your home phone. That will allow the site to tell you who you are and where you live before you tell it anything else (which is, admittedly, a little scary too).
Finally, you should understand that you are likely to be your own worst enemy when it comes to keeping information private, said Chris Jay Hoofnagle, a privacy expert and lecturer at Berkeley Law School.
“We are constantly reacting to the impulse to get the free thing,” whether that’s web site content or a free dinner or vacation sweepstakes, he said. “You need to be skeptical of things that are free because the price is personal information.”
Monday, August 9, 2010
10 Tips to Help You Save $1,000 By Christmas
By Stacy Johnson
Saturday, August 7, 2010
If you're like many people, at the beginning of every year you resolve to get your finances in better shape by paying off debt and adding to your savings. But like many resolutions, the reality often doesn't meet the goal.
All is not lost. There are still five full months left in the year -- time for a quick review of simple ways to save. The goal? To set aside at least an extra thousand dollars by Christmas, without sacrificing your quality of life. Going on a "dollar-diet" is no way to get the job done -- painless savings are the only kind you should attempt because they're the only kind that work.
Simple Savings
1. Lower your cell phone bill. Potential savings: $100. If you're not using minutes you're paying for, switch to a cheaper plan. That could save you $20 a month, or $100 by Christmas.
2. Lose your land line. Potential savings: $140. If you find that your land line is gathering dust, lose it. And even if you want to keep your land line, if you have a broadband internet connection, get your phone service through it rather the phone company. A service like Magic Jack will give you unlimited calling for $2/month rather than the $30 you might be paying for traditional phone service providers.
3. Staycation instead of vacation. Potential savings: $1,000+. The savings from staying home vs. traveling for vacation are obvious. The trick is to maintain your quality of life while you do it. No working allowed. Turn off the computer and the phone. Relax, have fun, and take day trips exploring your local area.
4. Raise your insurance deductibles. Potential savings: $250. Raising your car and home insurance deductibles could have zero impact on your quality of life, but it could have a big impact on your savings. Decide what you can afford to pay out of pocket, spend a few minutes on the phone and see what you can save. Another way to save: shop your insurance and see if you can get a better deal.
5. Drop the gym. Potential savings: $150. Unless you're training for competition, a gym can be expensive overkill. You can buy cheap weights at yard sales or places like Play It Again Sports. Better yet, find them free at sites like craigslist or Freecycle. You can buy cheap workout videos and exercise in front of the TV, or get both exercise and fresh air by walking, jogging or biking in your neighborhood.
6. Drop premium cable channels -- or drop cable altogether. Potential savings: $50 - $600. One of the most popular stories we've done this year was "You Don't Have to Pay for Cable," a step-by-step guide to bypassing your cable company while still watching your favorite shows. Even if you decide against that, however, consider dropping premium channels. They're expensive and often filled with lousy fare anyway.
7. Sell Stuff. Potential earnings: $400+. If you're like most people, you've got clothes you don't wear, CDs you don't listen to, books you don't read, DVDs you don't watch, furniture you don't sit in -- you get the picture. Take it to a consignment shop or a swap meet; sell it online at eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY - News) or craigslist; have a yard sale. If nothing else, donate it and create a tax deduction. But don't mess up your quality of life by stressing out and trying to do everything at once. Pick one thing (or room) every month from now until the holidays, clear out the clutter and make some money!
8. Save on Food. Potential savings: $300+. The web is full of tips to save on food. Some will be obvious (use a list), but some might surprise you. For example, did you know that you might find groceries at 50% off at a salvage grocery store?
9. Haggle. Potential savings: $500+. According to this survey by Consumer Reports, negotiating a lower price is not only possible, it's likely. What can you negotiate? Pretty much everything. You can call your credit card company and ask for a better interest rate. You can ask for a lower price from your doctor. You can negotiate a lower price on your cable bill. The fact is, you can negotiate a lower price on anything from home electronics to hotel rooms.
10. Carry only cash: Potential savings: $250+. Try an experiment between now and the holidays. Carry only cash -- no plastic. This simple idea can easily result in major savings. The reasons are simple: If you carry only the cash you need to buy what you went out for, you'll avoid impulse buys. Plus, it's psychologically more difficult to spend actual money than "plastic" money.
Combine those ideas and you'll have at least an extra $1,000 by the time the holidays roll around. And if you need more ideas to make it work, the web is overflowing with hundreds, if not thousands, more.
The key is to carve out a little time, check out some resources, decide what you're willing to try, and get on with it. But remember to avoid anything that might make your life less enjoyable. The key to making it is making it easy on yourself. So if you want an extra grand by the time the holidays roll around, start today!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
If you're like many people, at the beginning of every year you resolve to get your finances in better shape by paying off debt and adding to your savings. But like many resolutions, the reality often doesn't meet the goal.
All is not lost. There are still five full months left in the year -- time for a quick review of simple ways to save. The goal? To set aside at least an extra thousand dollars by Christmas, without sacrificing your quality of life. Going on a "dollar-diet" is no way to get the job done -- painless savings are the only kind you should attempt because they're the only kind that work.
Simple Savings
1. Lower your cell phone bill. Potential savings: $100. If you're not using minutes you're paying for, switch to a cheaper plan. That could save you $20 a month, or $100 by Christmas.
2. Lose your land line. Potential savings: $140. If you find that your land line is gathering dust, lose it. And even if you want to keep your land line, if you have a broadband internet connection, get your phone service through it rather the phone company. A service like Magic Jack will give you unlimited calling for $2/month rather than the $30 you might be paying for traditional phone service providers.
3. Staycation instead of vacation. Potential savings: $1,000+. The savings from staying home vs. traveling for vacation are obvious. The trick is to maintain your quality of life while you do it. No working allowed. Turn off the computer and the phone. Relax, have fun, and take day trips exploring your local area.
4. Raise your insurance deductibles. Potential savings: $250. Raising your car and home insurance deductibles could have zero impact on your quality of life, but it could have a big impact on your savings. Decide what you can afford to pay out of pocket, spend a few minutes on the phone and see what you can save. Another way to save: shop your insurance and see if you can get a better deal.
5. Drop the gym. Potential savings: $150. Unless you're training for competition, a gym can be expensive overkill. You can buy cheap weights at yard sales or places like Play It Again Sports. Better yet, find them free at sites like craigslist or Freecycle. You can buy cheap workout videos and exercise in front of the TV, or get both exercise and fresh air by walking, jogging or biking in your neighborhood.
6. Drop premium cable channels -- or drop cable altogether. Potential savings: $50 - $600. One of the most popular stories we've done this year was "You Don't Have to Pay for Cable," a step-by-step guide to bypassing your cable company while still watching your favorite shows. Even if you decide against that, however, consider dropping premium channels. They're expensive and often filled with lousy fare anyway.
7. Sell Stuff. Potential earnings: $400+. If you're like most people, you've got clothes you don't wear, CDs you don't listen to, books you don't read, DVDs you don't watch, furniture you don't sit in -- you get the picture. Take it to a consignment shop or a swap meet; sell it online at eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY - News) or craigslist; have a yard sale. If nothing else, donate it and create a tax deduction. But don't mess up your quality of life by stressing out and trying to do everything at once. Pick one thing (or room) every month from now until the holidays, clear out the clutter and make some money!
8. Save on Food. Potential savings: $300+. The web is full of tips to save on food. Some will be obvious (use a list), but some might surprise you. For example, did you know that you might find groceries at 50% off at a salvage grocery store?
9. Haggle. Potential savings: $500+. According to this survey by Consumer Reports, negotiating a lower price is not only possible, it's likely. What can you negotiate? Pretty much everything. You can call your credit card company and ask for a better interest rate. You can ask for a lower price from your doctor. You can negotiate a lower price on your cable bill. The fact is, you can negotiate a lower price on anything from home electronics to hotel rooms.
10. Carry only cash: Potential savings: $250+. Try an experiment between now and the holidays. Carry only cash -- no plastic. This simple idea can easily result in major savings. The reasons are simple: If you carry only the cash you need to buy what you went out for, you'll avoid impulse buys. Plus, it's psychologically more difficult to spend actual money than "plastic" money.
Combine those ideas and you'll have at least an extra $1,000 by the time the holidays roll around. And if you need more ideas to make it work, the web is overflowing with hundreds, if not thousands, more.
The key is to carve out a little time, check out some resources, decide what you're willing to try, and get on with it. But remember to avoid anything that might make your life less enjoyable. The key to making it is making it easy on yourself. So if you want an extra grand by the time the holidays roll around, start today!
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