« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »
Who qualifies for a tax rebate? When will you get yours? Will the rebate affect needs-based benefit programs?
Get answers to these and any other questions you may have on the tax rebates at a virtual town hall meeting being tonight held by Congressman John Sarbanes. The IRS and AARP will also be on hand to answer questions.
The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. Call 1-866-447-5149 and, when prompted, enter the PIN number 12965.
The Federal Trade Commission claims that CTA, a major distributor of prepaid phone calls, misrepresents the number of calling minutes and charges hidden fees. The federal agency recently asked a U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey to halt these practices pending a trial.
The New Jersey-based company, which does business as Clifton Telecard Alliance, hasn't responded yet to requests for comment. We'll post their response as soon as we get it.
Regardless of the merits of the FTC's case, this is a reminder to make sure you understand the terms of phone cards, even if it is in the fine print.
In this case, the FTC says it bought 46 CTA cards in stores and none of them provided the calling minutes as advertised. For example, the FTC says, a card that promised 40 minutes calling time to El Salvador cut off at 27 minutes; and a 30 minute calling card to Egypt cut off around 10 minutes.
The cards sell in denominations of $2 to $20, typically to immigrants wanting an inexpensive way to call relatives in other countries, the FTC says. The cards are sold under various brand names and often sold at gas stations, grocery stores and newsstands.
The FTC also charged that CTA’s advertising featured the country names and call minutes in much larger type than the fees.
“The calling cards themselves carried approximately 27 lines of disclosures regarding fees and charges, which are nearly illegible because the disclosures are written in font sizes that range from two to four points,” the FTC says.
Besides asking the court to stop these practices, the FTC wants a monitor to oversee the company. Plus, it wants the company and its principal to forfeit their “ill-gotten” gains from the business.
Phone cards is a $4 billion annual industry. The FTC says CTA's revenue in the last quarter of last year topped $28 million.
Earlier today I talked about cutting off energy vampires --- appliances that suck energy in your home when plugged in but not in use.
You could also consider a charging station for your cell phone/MP3 player/GPS unit/digital camera, again, plugging them into a surge protector that you can switch off.
Here are directions to make one. Here's another version. Or use your imagination!
If you lack imagination but have a surplus of money, you could also buy one.I can't tell you how many readers I hear from who are shocked, dismayed, p.o.'d, disturbed to find out that the warranty they bought didn't cover their TV, computer, washer or what-have-you the way they thought it was supposed to.
Warranties are a tricky business. It plays on your fear that that product you just purchased could break down or have some problem somewhere down the road. To buy or not buy the warranty is something we should all be asking ourselves whenever the salesperson asks us about it (not just because it's usually pricey, but also because it could be completely useless to you in most cases).
Check out the very useful story on warranties by Megan and Allison that ran yesterday and then, every time you think to buy a warranty, keep in mind what Consumer Reports senior editor Tod Marks said, "For the vast majority of products, the extended warranty doesn't pay.
Herbert Johnson, Elmer Rudis and Fran Urban know the value of a penny.
All three remember working as young children to earn the copper-colored coins --- redeeming bottles for deposits or selling magazines --- that they would then get to spend on candy, pinball games or other treats.
Now they and other residents of Basilica Place, a seniors' residence run by Catholic Charities,
are collecting pennies to donate to the Fuel Fund of Maryland, which offers financial assistance to people struggling to pay their home heating and utility bills. So far they've got nearly 2,500, or nearly $250$25. Check out my story about their efforts here.
More families have requested help this year, as the price of gas and oil have skyrocketed and caused prices for everything to go up. So every little bit --- even in one-cent increments --- is appreciated, said Mary Ellen Vanni, the fuel fund's executive director.
These days the humble penny doesn't get much respect. But even if you don't have the patience to pick up pennies off the curb like Elmer Rudis, you can still send your spare change to the fund to help struggling Marylanders.
Sign up for the Penny Round-Up and let BG&E round up your bill to the next dollar, donating the remainder to the Fuel Fund. Here are two ways to do it:
1. Fill out the form here or
2. Call 1-800-685-0123 or 410-685-0123. Press "2" for "billing information", then "7" for "assistance for any other billing matter" to reach a live customer service representative who can register you for the program.
You could also drop your pennies off at Basilica Place --- the seniors there will certainly accept them!
To request assistance from the Fuel Fund, call 410.821.3022 for information about local agencies in your area.
(photo: Andre Chung/Baltimore Sun)
This morning as I was driving on Falls Road, a woman in a minivan was riding up on my back bumper close enough that I thought she was about to climb right into my passenger seat. Of course, when I looked at her more closely (gosh, I probably could have whispered in her ear she was so close), she was yapping away on her phone.
It almost made me fully support the measure trying to ban cell phone use while driving.
But then I rememberd that Jonathan Adkins from the Governor's Highway Safety Association e-mailed and said, "These bans are popular with the public, but have little impact on safety. If your readers need a resource as to which states ban cell phones while driving, our website is current."
When I mentioned banning texting, he responded by saying: "We don't support the ban on texting either. Very difficult to enforce. That said, it's common sense that drivers shouldn't be texting and driving."
Ah. But see? He makes such a good point. I think he's convinced me. We shouldn't have to legislate common sense, but we sure do try don't we? (cough cough... trans fats anyone?).
(photo by Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
In an earlier post about being frugal, I mentioned my father's refusal to fill his gas tank completely to avoid using up more gas to haul that fuel all over town.
Commenter aeb asked on that post about an opposite strategy --- keeping your tank full to avoid losing your gas to evaporation.
This Real Simple article on saving money also says evaporation is a problem, but because of hot weather, and so recommends parking out of the sun, a tip repeated in this interview on Marketplace.
Little did I know that the kind fellows on Car Talk had addressed these very same questions earlier this year!
An amazing coincidence. So what's the deal?
1. Yes, they confirmed that a full tank could weigh 40 or 50 pounds more than a half-full one, so it does use more gas to drive with a full tank. But if you have to constantly drive to the gas station, you'll end up driving away your savings.
2. Gas doesn't evaporate from modern cars because it's a closed system.
What other surprising ways have you heard to ease the pain at the pump? Post them below and I'll run them by some automotive experts next week.
College students want limits on credit card companies pitching plastic on campus.
That’s what most of the 1,500 students at 40 colleges — including the University of Maryland, College Park — said in a survey by U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Among the findings:
— More than two-thirds of students had one card or more. About one-third of these students said their parents paid their bills. Another third carried balances from month to month.
— Among all those surveyed, one-quarter paid a late fee at least once,15 percent paid an over-the-limit fee, and 6 percent said their card was canceled for not paying their bill.
— More than two-thirds of students opposed sharing student lists with card issuers. The lists contain dorm addresses, e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers.
— Three quarters of students stopped at tables on campus to consider card offers. Card issuers typically pitched cards while offering students T-shirts, blankets, sandwiches, pizza or iPod shuffle.
Card issuers target college students because consumers tend to be loyal to their first credit card. Plus, they know that parents will bail out a child who gets overwhelmed by debt.
So, when a card issuer offers you a "free" slice of pizza to sign up for a card, you can count on card companies are getting the better end of the deal.
Stories today and earlier this week about a security breach at The Dental Network, a CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield dental HMO, caused concern for some readers who are current or former plan members who worried their information might have been compromised.
The business accidentally posted names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of 75,000 members on its Web site for two weeks last month. Under state law that went into effect in January, companies are required to notify consumers if their data has been disclosed.
Some people who did NOT receive letters from The Dental Network have contacted me as well as the Identity Theft Program of the state attorney general's office asking if they, too, were affected.
No, said Hugh Williams, administrator of the identity theft program.
Because the law requires companies to notify everyone whose data was involved, not receiving a letter means your information was not at risk.
And receiving a breach notification letter does not mean you're necessarily a victim of identity theft, said Linda Foley, founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center. If your credit or debit card numbers were exposed, you should definitely cancel those accounts immediately and get new cards.
But if your Social Security number was affected, you should protect yourself against the possibility of someone opening fraudulent accounts with your info by monitoring your credit reports carefully and consider a security or credit freeze, said Jeannine Kenney of the Consumers Union, which has a campaign called Financial Privacy Now!.
Check out more information about them here, courtesy of Dan Thanh. And if you give the freeze a try, let us know!
Here's the contact info for the state's ID Theft Unit:
(410) 576-6491
fax: (410) 576-6566
idtheft@oag.state.md.us
200 St. Paul Place
16th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
http://www.oag.state.md.us./idtheft/
But don't take our word for it.
Check out some of her recent columns as well as her posts on the Consuming Interests blog.
The people who keep track of this kind of thing in the newsroom say this is the first time The Sun has won an individual writing award since the national business editors and writers' contest began 13 years ago. In 2006, The Sun won an award for team coverage of the General Motors plant closing.
"Cash rules everything around me," Method Man said in the chorus of the Wu-Tang Clan song "C.R.E.A.M". But one person argues that it should be "All About the Benjamins".
Consumer Reports found this editorial by David Gorman, author of Cashless Money, who says that the world would be better without the $50 and $100 dollar bills.
They're untraceable and anonymous, making them ideal for drug dealers, terrorists and other unsavory types to transport large sums, he says.
And people have argued for years --- including in this week's New Yorker --- that the penny and other coins are more trouble than it's worth. It's because the base metals to make them cost more than the value of the coins themselves, as this 60 Minutes video shows.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson agrees the penny is worth less than any other currency, reports the Associated Press (via Consumerist).But if the penny disappeared, would all prices be rounded up --- or down? Would you still get charged in cent-increments if you paid electronically, such as with a credit card?
All this debate comes on the heels of major changes to the $5 dollar bill. Major, because they're changing the color scheme!
Check it out at www.moneyfactory.gov (someone at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has a sense of humor) ... Purple joins green along with other changes to confound the hooligans who print up bogus cash.
Part of this push against currency comes because there are fewer and fewer places that accept only cash. Your plastic is good in taxis and the pizza guy will take it.
But actual currency is such a part of our culture that I'm not sure it will ever go away. What about the money dance at some weddings? The strip club? The Salvation Army bucket?
(photo: Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
Mark April 23rd on your calendar. That’s Tax Freedom Day, or the day when Americans have earned enough to pay all their federal, state and local taxes.
Freedom arrives three days earlier this year than last, according to the Tax Foundation which compiles the figures.
The Tax Foundation says we work longest to afford government taxes — 113 days. Of those, 74 go toward paying federal taxes. In comparison, we work 108 days to pay for food, clothing and housing combined.
Because the calculation takes state and local taxes into account, residents in some state reach Tax Freedom Day sooner than others.
Tax Freedom arrives latest, in order: Connecticut (May 8), New Jersey (May 7), New York (May 5), Washington, D.C., (May 3), California (April 30) Washington state (April 29), Massachusetts and Maryland (April 28), Minnesota (April 27) and Florida and Hawaii (April 26).
Alaska celebrates Tax Freedom Day the earliest: March 29.
And if you really want to feel the impact of taxes, consider this: In an 8-hour work day, you spend one hour and 37 minutes paying for federal taxes. State and local taxes account for 51 minutes. You work one hour and six minutes to pay for health and medical care and one hour and 19 minutes for housing and household items.
Food, clothing and recreation seem like a bargain. Food accounts for 46 minutes, recreation 28 minutes and clothing at 17 minutes.
The Tax Foundation is a nonprofit that has been tracking federal and state fiscal policies since the 1930s. The group figured that in 1900, Tax Freedom Day arrived Jan 22. The earliest Tax Freedom Days occurred in 1906, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1912 and 1913 when Americans worked 19 days to afford taxes.
The latest Tax Freedom Day was May 3, 2000 or 123 days. I guess that's progress. To read the full report, visit the Tax Foundation.
The issue has come before the General Assembly before and failed to pass. My colleague Tim reported yesterday that legislation to ban using a cell phone while driving once again ran into a bump in the road. Members of the House Environmental Matters Committee raised skepticism about the bill that already cleared the Senate last week.
If passed, the measure would outlaw talking on a hand-held cell phone or text-messaging while driving. It would still allow, however, hands-free devices and speakerphones. Also, if you are penalized $50 for a first-time offense, you can have that waived if you purchase hands-free gear.
Will it pass? It's hard to say since it's got plenty of support and opposition. Keep in mind that other legislation introduced this year that would have banned text-messaging or forbidden school bus drivers from using cell phones has died in committee.
Depending on which side you support, there have been a lot of studies on the subject. Check out this Insurance Information Institute fact sheet. Some say banning talking while driving is good. Some challenge the theory that hands-free cell use is safer. Some found that drivers were far less distracted by cell phones than by other common activities like reaching for items on the seat or glove compartment or even just talking to other passengers.
It's amazing how often you can find stats or a study to support anything you want.
On a personal level, I have to say I am occasionally guilty of talking on the phone while driving. I try not to do it, but for awhile there, when my Mama was recovering from her heart attack last year, I'd answer my cell every time any call from my brothers and sisters came in no matter what I was doing. Not a good idea, I know. Even now, I answer if it's a family call. But, I do try to make it short or I ask if I can call back when I get to where I am going.
Funny how it wasn't that long ago when most of us only had a home phone to rely on. If you weren't able to get to a land-line, the call had to wait. Do I miss those days? Not really. But do we really need to be in touch all the time? Probably not. How nuts does it make you when you've almost been hit or you're cut off by a bonehead -- be they young, old, male, female, black, white, yellow or purple -- who was too busy yakking on the phone instead of paying attention to the road?
(photo courtesy of stock.xchng)
I'm sure the readers of Consuming Interests are careful, shredding their important personal documents to prevent even the most methamphetamine-fueled identity thief from reconstructing your credit card receipts or other documents.
And they don't give out their social security numbers to any business that seems to think that's the only way to identify them.
But there are some places you can't avoid sharing your information, such as your bank or your employer.
That's why security breaches such as the one I wrote about in today's paper, and Jonathan Rockoff detailed yesterday, are so disturbing: you, the consumer, can't protect yourself against them.
In my story, The Dental Network, a CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield dental HMO, accidentally posted names, addresses, dates of birth and social security numbers of about its 75,000 patient members online for two weeks last month before they took it down. They notified those affected March 10.
Situations such as these are pretty rare, apparently. Rockoff's story, about a stolen National Institutes of Health computer that was loaded with sensitive information, represents the most common form of security breach, according to a 2006 study cited by the Identity Theft Resource Center.
Then I got a call this morning from a reader about more compromised information!
Don't have a ton of details yet, but apparently a Pittsburgh-based shareholder services company lost a box of data tapes with client information last month. I'll keep you posted.
Granted, no one has reported any harm --- yet! --- as a result of their data being compromised in the first two situations. And in an interview yesterday, Paul Stephens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse said that thieves who take computer equipment usually are after the value of the electronics, not the data stored within.
But Dan Thanh pointed out that it's shocking that these companies aren't encrypting our data to lower the odds that this information could be used for evil. State law passed last year only calls for businesses to report the loss to those affected as soon as they complete an investigation.
We've been talking a lot about managing our money and the slowing economy. For anyone who thinks you may need some help getting your finances back in order, here's good advice on how to find a credit counselor from writer Gregory Karp at our sister paper, The Morning Call, in Allentown, Pa.:
Determine whether you're a good candidate. Sometimes a credit-counseling agency doesn't do anything you couldn't do for yourself.
Evaluate all of your options before entering credit counseling, including developing a better spending and savings plan and negotiating with creditors yourself.
Enlisting a credit counselor will be noted on your credit report. It can do significant damage to your ability to borrow money at good interest rates, because creditors will see that notation.
But credit counseling doesn't directly affect your three-digit credit score. Many distressed people seeking counseling have badly dinged up their creditworthiness, so an additional bad mark is perhaps only incremental.
Beware the pitches. An agency that says it can eliminate your debt quickly and erase your bad credit history is not reputable.Follow the money. Know how a counselor is paid. Be dogged when asking about how the fee structure works. Read everything thoroughly before signing.
Learn about debt-management plans. A debt-management plan allows the counseling agency to work with creditors on your behalf. It often can obtain lower interest rates on some of your debts, negotiate more flexible repayment schedules and potentially have extra fees waived.
But know that the plans are how counseling agencies make most of their money. They are paid by creditors, such as banks issuing credit cards. That establishes a dicey relationship about whom the counselor works for, you or the creditor.
Observe the 20-minute rule. Your first counseling session should last at least an hour with a trained and certified counselor. If a counselor is pushing a debt-management plan within the first 20 minutes of learning your financial picture, you should be wary.
Know all the fees. Reasonable one-time and monthly fees are in the $25 to $75 range. If total fees are measured in hundreds or thousands of dollars, you're in the wrong ballpark. A counselor should be willing to waive all fees for cases of true hardship. If a counselor plans to keep your entire first debt-management-plan payment, keep looking for a counselor.
Check the affiliation. Although an agency is technically a nonprofit, that doesn't provide much of a clue about whether it is reputable. Affiliations with industry groups, such as the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (www.nfcc.org), raise your chances of dealing with a good counselor. Many foundation members go by the name Consumer Credit Counseling Service.
Another certifying group is the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (www.aiccca.org).
You also should check with the Better Business Bureau and your state attorney general's office and ask about consumer complaints. Be wary of cold calls from credit-counseling agencies.
Make sure the agency pays. A big problem with credit-counseling agencies is they sometimes don't pay your creditors on time, which can trigger late fees and damage your credit rating.
Trust yourself. If you feel a counselor is trying to confuse you, pressure you, make you feel uncomfortable or otherwise doesn't pass the "smell test," walk away.
(photo courtesy of stock.xchng)
A federal appeals court struck down a New York state law yesterday that requires airlines to give food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers stuck in delayed planes. The reason? The measure -- the first of its kind in the country giving passengers a bill of rights --stepped on the Fed's toes.
According to the AP story, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law interferes with federal law governing the price, route or service of an air carrier. The court also said that only the feds can pass such a law. The New York measure was challenged by the Air Transport Association of America, the industry trade group representing leading U.S. airlines. Allowing the law to stand, as ATA argued and the court agreed with, would allow each state to come up with a confusing "patchwork" of rules governing airlines.
I can understand the ruling since you don't want each state writing up different rules that airlines must follow. You need uniformity in regulations. This is probably an issue that needs to be revisited by the feds.
Check out the interesting proposal for a bill of rights on the travelinsider's Web site. Should you be allowed a refund if the airline cancels your flight and doesn't notify you? Are you owed anything if your flight is delayed? Or is all this a part of normal operating procedures and it might be unfair to penalize a company for being unable to control how Mother Nature will behave that day?
It definitely makes you think. Airlines are already hurting so some of these proposals could really affect a company's bottom line. But on the flip side of the coin, how would you feel if you were one of the passengers stuck for 10 hours on board one of the JetBlue Airways planes last year, especially if you were unfortunate enough to be sitting near the overflowing toilets? Blech.
(Photo by Jeff Carlick)
Dalbar, a financial services market research firm, recently ranked the Top 5 Web sites for consumers.
The No. 1 site — T. Rowe Price Associates.
Price has many helpful, fun and eye-opening calculators. It’s probably best known for its Retirement Income Calculator. The program takes into account thousands of simulations to give you an idea of your retirement success.
Plug in your age at retirement and how many years you expect to be retired. (In other words, how many years you expect to live.) Then you input your assets, your portfolio mix (how much in stocks, bonds and cash-like investments), how much income you hope your assets will generate, and how much assurance you want that you won’t outlive your money. You can go for 50 percent assurance to 99 percent assurance.
Say, you start retirement at 65 and plan to live another 30 years. You have $250,000 in assets and 80 percent of that is in stocks and 20 percent in bonds. You want a 90 percent chance that
you won’t outlive your money. In seconds, you’ll discover that it’s not possible.
You are better off, according to the calculator, of taking no more than $825 a month from retirement assets if you don’t want to run out.
Or, you can use the mutual fund comparison tool where you plug in up to three mutual funds and get a comparison chart on fees, performance and Morningstar ranking. Four-star ranked Fidelity Magellan, for instance, returned 18.83 percent last year for a fee of 0.54 percent of assets. In comparison, three-star Vanguard 500 index that produced a 5.39 percent return, but for a fee of 0.18 percent.
And have you ever wondered just how much can your money grow in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years through the power of compounding? Take a look at the Automatic Asset Builder calculator to find out what investing $100 a month at an 8 percent annual return gets you: $18,295 in 10 years; $58,902 in 20; $149,036 in 30; and $349,101 in 40.
There are loads more worth checking out.
Other winners in Dalbar’s survey: Wells Fargo was No. 2, Fidelity ranked 3rd, OppenheimerFunds came in 4th and USAA ranked No. 5.
Do you know when you are allowed to park on this street? Some Baltimore parking enforcement officers don't.
At least one Watchdog reader, Regina Minniss, has gotten two tickets while in fact legally parked on the 100 block of E. Hamburg Street in Federal Hill.
The area is one of eight communities that surround Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium where neighborhood associations have requested special rules to protect the rights of residents to park on their own streets, even on game days.
According to the Department of Transportation, which oversees parking enforcement, the rules posted in red are only in effect when there is an event at the stadiums.
Minniss parked her car at 8 p.m. on a Monday night in October, well after the end of the baseball season. But when she contested the ticket in court, the officer gave an incorrect explanation to the judge --- that during stadium events non-residents get towed, but on non-game days, the red portion remains in effect.
The judge accepted that (incorrect) interpretation but knocked down Minniss's fine to $10 because he, too, agreed the sign was confusing.
Now the incident has prompted changes at the Department of Transportation and the Parking Authority.
(Andre Chung/Baltimore Sun)
The department will retrain its parking enforcement officers, said spokeswoman Adrienne Barnes. The traffic and safety divisions, along with the Baltimore Parking Authority, are also working on clarifying the signs, she said.
"If we can't agree on how it's interpreted, obviously, how can the public?" said Frank Murphy of the transportation department's traffic planning unit.
Most Baltimore residents probably know there are special rules in effect. But these neighborhoods are destinations for tourists in town for games, restaurants, shopping and visiting who are less likely to be familiar with the protocol.
Readers, how would you change the signs to communicate to drivers --- whether they be longtime Charm City residents or tourists in town for some steamed crab --- about the perils of parking in Ridgely's Delight or Federal Hill on a game day?
Anyone out there wondering how we got into this mess? By mess, I mean the slowing economy, which might or might not be in recession. Officially, we're not in a recession, as the msnbc story says. But, and this is a big BUT, things are definitely not rosy.
I read a great story in the WPost yesterday about why we've got this mortgage mess on our hands. We're leverage addicts. Writer Michael S. Rosenwald sums it up quite well:
The simple answer, according to personal finance experts, is that we want more -- more money, more house, more car, just more, more, more. We often think we deserve more. Leverage gets us more. With historically low interest rates, leverage is the easiest and quickest tool to get more stuff.
The problem is that too much leverage has a downside that is easy to overlook. When everyone else is using leverage so successfully to get more, do we wonder what will happen if interest rates go up? Not so much.
Here's another excellent point from the story:
"When people borrow and spend money, it's really the reward centers of the brain that become activated," Zweig said. "When you borrow money, you are thinking not about the long-term consequences but the short-term result: You have more cash in your pocket. The pain you are going to experience down the road of having to pay -- that's in the future, it's remote, it's abstract."
Factor in all the hype you got from mortgage companies and real estate agents who probably told you that you could afford more house and here we are. I remember when I was buying my little house near Patterson Park, I began working with a real estate agent. Now remember, this was a little over four years ago. At the time, you could still find a house for under $100,000. He kept insisting that I could afford to pay for $150,000 house.
I said sure, I probably could with all the fancy adjustable rate mortgages and zero down offers out there, but looking ahead, I didn't want to buy more house than I needed and I didn't want to get strained financially when interest rates went up. In other words, I didn't want to be in a position where I had to decide between eating or paying my mortgage. When I insisted that I only wanted to look at houses below $100 grand, my agent became less than helpful since I was not one of the high-roller clients he was used to assisting.
Long story short, I ended up buying a fixer-upper house I found on my own that was being sold by the homeowner. The house needs work still, but my mortgage payments are fairly stable (if you don't include taxes etc.) and they're far less than what I was paying in rent.
I have to admit, the agent did make me pause. I did start thinking maybe I should just spend more like he was saying... but looking back on it now, boy, am I ever glad I didn't listen to him or any of those other people who told me I could afford more house. I could be in deep financial doo-doo right now.
Where do you draw the line between frugal and cheapskate?
I pondered this when I (accidentally, I swear) read most of The Cheap Book: The Official Guide to Embracing Your Inner Cheapskate at a bookstore* the other day.
To me, it's a cost-benefit analysis. Frugal is the conservation of money, time and resources, whereas cheapskates compromise integrity/safety/logic to save a dime.
For example, as Dan Thanh pointed out yesterday, we have perfectly good water coming out of taps in this country and I have a travel mug, so why spend money on bottled water?
But I don't avoid social encounters that involve food or drink for fear of a restaurant markup and a tip at the end. Nor would I skip every other oil change, or unshop consumer goods.
There is no shame in saving yogurt or other containers to bring leftovers for lunch, but I refuse to reuse dental floss. I'll pay a premium for pre-washed, bagged salad greens because money spent on food that spoils before it's eaten is wasted money, and I'm more likely to eat fruit or vegetables that are conveniently packaged like baby carrots, grape tomatoes or bananas.
Sometimes these efforts verge on the impractical. My dad's not the kind of guy who will drive very far on fumes in search of a cheaper station, because he points out you end up using gas to conduct the hunt. But he also never fills up his gas tank completely because he's unwilling to use gas to carry a full tank around.
The cheaper options often turn out to be the greener choice, as well. I turn off the dishwasher before the drying cycle, because why pay for energy to perform a task that will happen on its own, as long as the laws of nature continue to function?
But seriously, washing and reusing resealable plastic bags, plastic wrap or aluminum foil? I'd rather avoid using these items and spend that time figuring out how to arrange all the yogurt containers in my cupboard so I don't perish under an avalanche of reusable cups when I open the door.
What about you, faithful readers ... what are you unwilling to do to avoid spending a buck? What's worth your time in pennies saved?
*I did buy books that day ... but from the clearance rack.
Did you hear the news? The Justice Department cleared the way today for Sirius Satellite Radio to buy out rival XM Satellite Radio for $5 billion.
The JD figures the deal will not likely hurt competition or consumers because the two companies compete not just with each other but also with other forms of radio and entertainment.
The two companies also said the merger will save hundreds of millions of dollars in operating costs, which will trickle down to ultimately benefit customers.
First of all, let me just say wow. When I wrote about satellite radio in November 2003, in my former life as the biz desk's tech reporter:
XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. of Washington signed up its 1 millionth customer last month. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. of New York, the other major player in this fledgling technology, has about 150,000 customers.
Who knew Sirius would buy XM? At that point, I figured it would be the other way around. And color me jaded, but if I had a dollar for every time a company said merging would save consumers money and instead, prices stayed exactly the same or went up higher, I'd be rich enough to afford all this technology.
As we all know, more competition is always better than less.
Furthermore, I tested XM's product when I wrote about them years ago and thought it was pretty cool, but found myself wondering why I would pay for it. Like my tap water post earlier, I don't see the point in paying for something that's already free and good.
Sure sure, satellite radio means you get to listen to music -- most of which is commercial-free. But, really, I get most of my music needs from 89.7 WTMD, Towson's awesome music station, and 103.1 WRNR in Annapolis. If I'm really lucky, the skies are blue and all the forces of good are with me, I can pick up WXPN from Pennsylvania.
Also, not to go on about my listening habits, but 88.5 WAMU's Big Broadcast host Ed Walker is terrific on Sunday nights when he anchors entire episodes of vintage shows like Jack Benny, Gunsmoke, Dragnet, Superman and Suspense. The five-minute mysteries are my favorite and there's something very old-school and relaxing about listening to vintage radio shows before the start of a hectic work week.
C'mon. Why pay for it when free radio is still pretty darn good?
Yesterday, I was at the grocery store picking up some food for a salad. Usually, I toss all manner of things into my cart like seltzer water (which I occasionally indulge in, instead of drinking soda), a bag of pretzels and some frozen food (for those late days when I don't have time to make a salad or cook something up because I'm writing all day).
This time, though, I found myself talking myself out of purchases. Don't buy that cheese, it's a buck more. Do you really need a loaf of bread that will go stale before you get a chance to eat it? Sure, you love blueberries, but at $4.99 for a small plastic container I can do without.
Don't get me wrong. It's not as if I'm depriving myself. But I am not as foot-loose and fancy free about buying groceries as I used to be... not when my electric bill, gas tank costs, and taxes have crept up higher and higher. I've never been one to eat out a lot, but I do find myself ordering Chinese food, pizza and the local take-out Mexican food place even less often now, too (although, my waistline does thank me for it).
I was just absent-mindedly thinking I could cut my pay-for-TV provider, too, since I don't find myself watching much of anything outside of the four or five basic channels I can get for free. Funny how your needs adjust to the economy without you even realizing it, huh? My colleagues Hanah and Jamie wrote a very interesting piece yesterday on how consumers are cutting back on spending these days, and how that's affecting small businesses.
If you didn't catch it, you should give it a read. If restaurants are spending more for their supplies, they'll eventually have to pass on those costs to us, the consumer. If prices go up, consumers will likely cut back even more. If consumers decide to cut back on going out or they're spending less when they're out, it hurts a restaurant's bottom line. It's an ugly cycle.
Anyone else feeling the pinch yet? Anyone hear of any other businesses closing down because their customers have cut back or it's getting too expensive to operate anymore? Please drop us a line and let us know.
Seriously, stuff is cheap these days.
If you don't believe me, check out Peter Y. Hong's article in the LA Times, where he points out that lower production costs have kept the price of consumer goods so low that they have not changed since the 1970s.
But while prices have remained the same or decreased, so have our wages, when adjusted for inflation, he says.
It doesn't help that our tastes have changed. Americans like their houses bigger these days, and so they cost more to build, furnish and heat. We spend more on gasoline because we drive more powerful cars, he says in a follow-up interview on Marketplace.
Sure, technology has improved --- and labor costs diminished, since more things are manufactured outside the United States --- so items like VCRs and washing machines cost less to produce. But the things we care about cost more.
Tuition and fees, health care, retirement ... all that seems less secure and guaranteed. Stuff, on the other hand, is pretty easy to come by.
Ponder that while watching Possessed, these videos about hoarders.
I have never been a fan of bottle water. It's not because I don't like water. I love water. I just don't love the idea of paying a buck and a quarter or almost two bucks for what I can get out of my sink.
It just seems wasteful. Also, every time I do find myself buying a bottle of water, I feel like some evil genius is giggling it up somewhere because he found a way to sell tap water to the masses and he's making a mint off of conning us.
The thing is, if you go to a nice restaurant and the server asks you if you want tap, bottled water or sparkling water and you answer, "tap," they look at you as if you just stepped in something brown and stinky. Sheesh. It's not like I asked you to dip my glass in the toilet.
Who knew that my cheapness would eventually be a good thing? Now there's a whole movement to drink tap water, college students are marching for World Water Day and restaurants are encouraging diners to sip on le tap to save money and the environment:
San Francisco, CA - Food & Water Watch kicked off its Take Back the Tap restaurant campaign in San Francisco today, joining forces with the city government to eliminate bottled water in city restaurants. The consumer advocacy group is working with cities across the nation to urge local restaurants and chefs to sign a pledge to switch to serving only municipal tap water, help educate customers about the benefits of tap over bottled water, and whenever possible, install a carbonation machine to make sparkling water from the tap.
"Bottled water is an expensive con job on consumers. Cities like San Francisco are leading the way in kicking the bottled water habit and in raising awareness that tap water is the healthiest and most cost-effective choice for consumers," stated Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “All Americans should have access to safe, affordable tap water. To make that a reality, we need Congress to create a dedicated source of funding for water infrastructure."
Food & Water Watch recently launched a new website at www.takebackthetap.org that provides restaurants and individuals with useful materials such as petitions, how-to guides, educational fliers, and other resources to aid restaurateurs and restaurant-goers in removing bottled water from local menus. The group’s Take Back the Tap report details why choosing tap water is better for consumers’ health, their pocketbooks, and the environment.
I figure the only time I didn't mind buying bottled water was when I went to visit Vietnam in 1995. Everywhere we went, they told us not to drink the water since it could make us sick. As much as I enjoyed visiting my birth country, it definitely made me more grateful for our fair city's water system when I got home.
Seriously, can anyone taste any difference at all between tap water and bottled water?
(AP Photo)
This photo shows penitents of the "Cofradia del Santo Cristo del Silencio'" brotherhood taking part earlier today in a Holy Week procession in the small village of Luque near Cordoba, southern Spain. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week.
A nice way to start the holiday weekend, I think.
Happy Easter everyone!
(AP Photo)
For some inexplicable reason when I think about what it must have been like living in the 50s, I conjure up images of big Studebakers (my dad had a massively old, white one that had a hole in the floor like Fred Flintstone's car), mom baking apple pie (my mom doesn't even know how to make apple pie), and milk deliveries (I don't know why since I don't even drink milk).
It's just some sweet nostalgia that's become fixated in my head.
So I was stoked to see Ace Reporter Megan Hartley's story today in The Sun about a Frederick farm making milk deliveries in the Baltimore area.
According to her story, South Mountain Creamery began the service in Baltimore late last month, and is the only dairy believed to be delivering milk to customers' doors in Maryland.
They're trying to stay small so I'm not sure how much more business they can handle in the Baltimore area, but boy, take a look at what they're offering for delivery... everything from yogurt and goat cheese to no-antibiotic-filled pork and Certified Humane chicken brought right to your door. And while I don't drink milk, I certainly would buy some of that, too. I"m a sucker for nostalgia.
For anyone out there who thinks store-bought milk is full of hormones and stuff, you should check these folks out. Their cows are fed pesticide-free grass and hay and no growth hormones.
(Sun Photographer Algerina Perna)
Less is more --- or maybe it just costs more.
Consumerist has a post about three examples of products sold in smaller quantities while the prices remained the same -- for example, 16.2 oz of Skippy Peanut Butter with the same price tag that an 18 oz. jar once carried. Or less square footage of Quilted Northern toilet paper or Brawny paper towels than you used to get --- again, for the same or higher price.
Readers wrote in with other examples, including yogurt cups shrinking from 8 ounces to 6 and smaller jars of spaghetti sauce. Formerly 16 oz canned goods now show up as 15 or less.
These types of examples have been fodder for the back page of Consumer Reports for years, but as a Consumerist reader points out, it complicates planning. Do I have to buy two 28.2 cans of diced tomatoes to satisfy a recipe calling for 32 ounces? Or pay more per ounce by buying a smaller can to make up the difference?
We know why manufacturers do it. The price of raw materials, and the cost to ship goods, has been skyrocketing. And people get upset --- and reconsider their purchases --- when they see prices getting higher. But selling less product for the same price of a larger size is disingenuous.
What can you do?
Remember, the largest package is not always the best deal! In the supermarket, check out the unit price tags to find out how much your body wash or mushrooms cost per ounce. If they are missing or unhelpful, don't be afraid to whip out your cell phone calculator to compare brands and sizes.
Don't be fooled! A company can change the potency of a product as well. Mouseprint spotted Act mouthwash that has half the active ingredient in a larger bottle, and has to be used twice a day. Smaller bottles have twice the active ingredients and only need to be used once a day.As a Consumerist reader suggested, you can keep a price notebook to note prices for your basic items at different stores. That way you can see at a glance whether the price of milk or bread or sugar is better when it's on sale. Unfortunately, these practices make it clear that you need to note the size/amount/count as well as the price for the package you buy.
Where are you feeling the pinch of product shrink? And what ideas do you have for making sure you get what you pay for?
Deservedly so, men and women serving in combat zones will be eligible for the tax rebate.
The IRS put out a notice today that military personnel serving in combat zones can include non-taxable combat pay on their 2007 or 2008 tax returns if it helps them qualify for the rebate.
Taxpayers need to have at least $3,000 in earned income or certain other benefits to get a refund that ranges from $300 to $1,200, plus $300 for each qualifying child.
To get a rebate, those in combat zones or their spouses need to file a 2007 income tax return by Oct. 15, the IRS says. Or, they can claim the rebate on next year’s tax return.
Are you one of those who normally wouldn’t have to file a 2007 return because you income isn’t taxable? If so, you can file a Form 1040A to get the rebate. You can find the amount of excluded combat pay in Box 12, Code Q of your W-2, the IRS says.
Being in a combat zone, you have more time to file a return. The deadline is 180 days after leaving the combat zone. But if your spouse has power of attorney, he or she can file a 2007 income tax return on your behalf so you get the rebate this year.
Remember when we told you that Circuit City was extending its return policy on HD DVD players?
Now Best Buy has stepped up to the plate with an offer of its own. The company is giving people who bought HD DVD players at its stores before Feb. 23 a $50 gift card.
"Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs,” said Brian J. Dunn, president and chief operating officer for Best Buy, in a news release.
The retailer will mail cards out to people who are members of the Best Buy Reward Zone program, customers who purchased extended warranties or who bought their players online. They should arrive by May 1, according to the release.
But if you aren't part of those categories but still have a receipt or proof of purchase from your credit card, you can still call (888) BEST BUY to get your card.
This allows you to keep the player --- which still works to play standard DVDs, and even enhances them to a higher-resolution format --- but get some money for something else, according to the press release.
Starting Friday, customers will also be able to trade in their players for gift cards at Best Buy’s Online Trade-In Center --- no matter where you bought it.
Come April 1, sellers of homes in Mongtomery County will be required to provide potential buyers with an estimate of what the actual property tax bill will be in the first full year after the home is purchased.
The County Council approved the measure in December to help eliminate the shock that many county home buyers encountered in recent years when they learned that they would have to pay significantly higher property taxes than did the seller due to swiftly rising residential property values. The bill passed unanimously.
Although the State of Maryland re-assesses residential properties every three years, the taxable assessment on a specific property is capped at a 10 percent maximum increase per year, unless the home changes ownership.
Philip L. Rossetti, 59, pled guilty in Baltimore City Circuit Court this week for illegally falsifying a lead certificate to the Maryland Department of the Environment. Judge Timothy J. Doory gave him a six month suspended sentence, a fine of $5,000 of which $4,000 was suspended, two years probation and ordered Rosetti to perform 100 hours of community service, according to the AG's Office.
Rosetti, an accredited lead inspector, apparently falsified a Lead Paint Risk Reduction Certificate for a property at 4016 Penhurst Ave. in Baltimore after an inspection on Dec. 9, 2006. The false certificate was discovered by MDE's Lead Accreditation and Oversight Division when one of the documents Rosetti submitted contained a "Supervisor's Statement Work" from an abatement contractor whose accreditation had expired.
An investigation found that the contractor's signature had been photocopied from a pre-signed, but otherwise blank, Statement of Work form.
A joint inspection of the property conducted by MDE and the AG's Environmental Crimes Unit revealed numerous discrepancies between lead risk reduction conditions reported by Rossetti and those observed by the joint inspectors.
Rosetti wasn't the only one nabbed.
Ameridel Investment Corp. T/A Delta Property Management, located at 205 E. 28th Street in Baltimore, was also convicted in the Baltimore City Circuit Court this week with illegally submitting a flase lead certificate to the MDE.
Doory imposed a fine of $30,000 of which $20,000 was suspended, five years probation, and ordered the company to cooperate with the MDE's Lead Program. In addition, Ameridel must pay the costs of bringing all properties owned or managed by the company or Gedeon Thomadis into full compliance with lead paint risk reduction requirements.
I say both got off easy.
You understand you have to file a tax return this year to get the economic stimulus rebate --- even if you don't usually file.
You know that this year's tax rebate won't decrease your 2008 refund.
You've heard when your check will arrive in the mail --- or be directly deposited into your bank account.
But, my friends, do you know how much this whole $168 billion economic stimulus package will cost taxpayers to process?
Nearly $42 million, according to this Associated Press story:
At a cost of nearly $42 million, the IRS wants you to know: Your check is almost in the mail.The Internal Revenue Service is spending the money on letters to alert taxpayers to expect rebate checks as part of the economic stimulus plan.
The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, at a cost $41.8 million, IRS spokesman John Lipold confirmed.
That works out to about 32 cents to print, process and mail each letter. It doesn't include the tab for another round of mailings planned for those who didn't file tax returns last year but may still qualify for a rebate.
Democrats accused the Bush administration of wasting time and postage.
"There are countless better uses for $42 million than a self-congratulatory mailer that gives the president a pat on the back for an idea that wasn't even his," Sen. Charles Schumer said Friday, arguing the IRS could more effectively spend the money to catch tax cheats.
Remember when we told you compact fluorescent lights won't kill you? We're still sticking to that story, BUT ace weatherman and science writer extraordinaire Frank Roylance had a really good story today about the hazards behind these popular energy-saving bulbs.
While it's still true that CFLs contain an average of 5 milligrams of mercry -- Frank says, that's about a speck that would barely cover the tip of a pen -- disposal of the bulbs can be hazardous if they break. And if enough people, we're talking the millions who have converted to CFLs from the old incandescents, just toss them in the trash then that's a whole lot of hazardous mercury in our landfills... which could eventually seep into the earth.
When you put it that way, it does make you think twice about CFLs. Yes, they're still great energy savers. But seriously, you have to be careful with CFLs when you're getting rid of them. As Frank's story says, the country needs to come up with better disposal methods for CFLs.
Here's how to do your part to protect yourself and the environment:
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends taking precautions when cleaning up compact fluorescent bulbs because they contain small amounts of mercury - much less than a standard thermometer:
• Send people and pets out of the room. Open windows and air the room out for 15 minutes. Shut off forced-air heating and air-conditioning systems.
• Scoop up glass fragments and powder with a stiff paper or cardboard and seal them in a glass jar or plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape to pick up any remaining debris. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or wet wipes, and place them in the jar or bag.
• If vacuuming is necessary, remove the bag after you're done, or wipe the canister and dispose of everything in the plastic bag with the other debris.
• Immediately place the debris bag or jar outside, and dispose of them as required by your state or local government - at a recycling center if necessary.
• The next few times you vacuum, open the windows and shut off the forced-air systems before you start, and for 15 minutes after you're through.
Anyone catch "The Secret History of Credit Cards" on Maryland Public Television last night?
It's all about how credit card use took off in the U.S.
If you haven't seen it, you should check it out. Really fascinating stuff about fees, interest rates and why credit card companies moved to certain states. If you missed it, here are some really interesting points from the piece, written by Robin Stein, that you should know:
Even if you make your credit card payments on time, the credit card bank can raise your interest rate automatically if you're late on payments elsewhere -- such as on another credit card or on a phone, car, or house payment -- or simply because the bank feels you have taken on too much debt.
This practice is called the "universal default" clause and increasingly is becoming a standard clause in credit card agreements. According to credit card executives, the logic behind universal default is that the bank is not being unreasonable in raising rates when it has reason to believe that the risk of being repaid by the customer has increased. [Note: Credit card banks can now easily track your everyday financial activities and monitor your credit score.]
Your credit score -- known as a FICO score -- has become a vital statistic for many Americans and can be widely shared. It is used to determine how much you can borrow, how much you pay for life insurance, if you can rent a home, and, as already noted, it can be a factor in determining the interest rate you pay on a credit card.
Most Americans don't know what their credit score is, nor how it's computed and with whom it's shared. Your credit score is usually determined by five factors, with the most important being the amount you currently owe and your payment history on large debts.
There is no limit on the amount a credit card company can charge a cardholder for being even an hour late with a payment.
In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court in Smiley vs. Citibank lifted the existing restrictions on late penalty fees. Back then, fees ran to $5 or $10, and usually did not exceed $15. After the Court's decision, fees soared, reaching upwards of $30. Since then, the amount of revenue the companies generate from fees (including late charges, over-the-limit fees, and charges for returned checks) has doubled. Duncan MacDonald, one of the lawyers who worked on the Smiley case, predicts penalty fees could rise to $50 in another year.
It's important to read the fine print on your credit card agreement.
Not many people do, however. Even credit card executives and consumer advocates admitted to FRONTLINE that the last time they read their own contracts was years ago and the credit card agreement is difficult to understand. Tucked into the fine print that people so often ignore is a clause that allows the company to change your interest rate (APR) at any time, for any reason, as long as they give you 15 days' notice. (So, Read the Fine Print.)Many Americans are inattentive about their credit card accounts.
Approximately 35 million Americans pay only the required minimum -- as low as 2 percent -- of their balance each month. Sticking to that rate, it could take years to clear their debt and they'll end up paying far more than the cost of the items or services they bought.
However, many of these 35 million cardholders could pay more than the minimum, and could possibly even pay off in full their balance some months. But they don't -- even though the interest rate they are paying on their credit card balance is considerably higher than what they pay on other things and compared to what they're getting in interest income from their savings account. Is this "financial illiteracy," or just human beings' "irrational behavior?"
[Update - Nov. 2005: Federal regulators at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, spurred on by watchdog groups, are requiring banks that issue credit cards to increase minimum payments in accordance with guidelines laid out in Feb. 2003. Banks are being required to increase minimum monthly payments to cover all fees and interest incurred during the month as well as covering at least 1 percent of the principal on the loan. Some banks have raised minimum payments by as much as 2 or 3%, effectively doubling the common minimum payment of 2%.]
There is no federal limit on the interest rate a credit card company can charge.
If you've ever looked at the return address on your statement, you may notice your credit card issuer is located in a state such as South Dakota or Delaware. That's because these are the states that have either weak or no "usury laws" meaning there is no cap on the interest rate that is charged. The federal government once had national usury laws that set a cap on the amount of interest that could be charged on a loan. But after the Great Depression, it repealed them and some states put no new usury laws in place. That's why Citibank, the issuer of Mastercard, moved to South Dakota, which has no cap on interest rates. (For more on the South Dakota story and how the credit card industry took off in the 1980s, read The Ascendancy of the Credit Card Industry.)Significant credit card debt can put you at a markedly higher risk of bankruptcy.
Going bankrupt usually isn't the result of spending sprees. It's more commonly triggered by job loss, medical problems, or a divorce. Those hit by any of these misfortunes often turn to credit cards to stay afloat. But if they have trouble finding new sources of income or an illness keeps them off the job, they often cannot pay off their debt quickly, especially if their interest rate is high. "They get their feet tangled up in those high interest rates," says bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren, "and they just get sunk."
[Update: On October 17, 2005 a new federal bankruptcy law went into effect making it much more difficult to erase credit card debt by filing for bankruptcy.]You can get help.
Several trustworthy organizations exist that can advise people whose debt has spiraled out of control, or those who feel they've been treated unfairly by their credit card companies.
(photo courtesy of stock.xchng)
Just when you think the general public couldn't get anymore crazed about shedding pounds, dieting has spread to the animal kingdom. No No, bears aren't doing laps in the woods and hippos aren't on the all-grapefruit plan.
According to this AP story, zoo staffers in Chicago, Toledo and St. Louis are trying various diets, including Weight Watchers-like feeding programs, to keep their animals trim and fit. Yup. That means sugar free Jell-O for the polar bears. Granola bars for gorillas. Alfalfa biscuits for the giraffes. mmmMmmmm.
The point of this story is that like humans, animals in zoos enjoy tasty, fat-filled foods. Like humans, animals in zoos are fairly sedentary. Like humans, they need a little help watching their weight. (But... er... unlike humans, zoo animals can't decide for themselves what they should and shouldn't eat. Yea. I'm talking to you ban trans-fats lawmakers out there.)
Cute story.
But seriously, who is gonna try to pinch an inch on a lion?!
The Internal Revenue Service has published two helpful items for people curious about their tax rebates: an online calculator to figure out how much you're going to get, and a schedule for when you should expect your check in the mail, or the direct deposit into your bank account, if you chose that option for your tax return.
You did fill out your tax return, right? Remember, the sooner you turn it in, the sooner you'll get your rebate check.
For more info about the tax rebates, check out Eileen Ambrose's posts on the topic, as well as frequently asked questions at the IRS website.
Here's the schedule:
Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns
Received and Processed by April 15
| Direct Deposit Payments | |
| If the last two digits of your Social Security number are: | Your economic stimulus payment deposit should be sent to your bank account by: |
| 00 – 20 | May 2 |
| 21 – 75 | May 9 |
| 76 – 99 | May 16 |
| Paper Check | |
| If the last two digits of your Social Security number are: | Your check should be in the mail by: |
| 00 – 09 | May 16 |
| 10 – 18 | May 23 |
| 19 – 25 | May 30 |
| 26 – 38 | June 6 |
| 39 – 51 | June 13 |
| 52 – 63 | June 20 |
| 64 – 75 | June 27 |
| 76 – 87 | July 4 |
| 88 – 99 | July 11 |
Ever wonder how Google manages to make lots and lots of money while not charging for searches?
It's all part of an economic philosophy that started more than 100 years ago with the marketing of disposable razor blades, according to this article on the economics of free in Wired magazine.
King Gillette got people to try his new product by giving away samples of razors to everyone --- new bank customers, for example. How did he make his fortune? By selling the blades themselves.
But these days, writer Curt Anderson says companies make money by giving away even more of their products. DVRs, cell phones, even directory assistance and air travel can all be yours for the low low price of nothing -- if you listen to some advertising, sign up for a two-year contract for digital cable or pay a fee to check a bag. Premium versions of software bankroll basic versions offered for free.
Others argue that price tags don't reflect true costs.
In The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard argues that the incredibly low price of a radio at a big box retailer doesn't include cost of environmental damage in the country where it was made. The documentary is long, but you could skip to the chapter on consumption to hear her take on both planned and perceived obsolescence.
Every year, the IRS puts out its list of the top dozen tax scams to avoid. Here’s this year’s:
1. Phishing — This is when you get an e-mail that looks like it comes from the IRS, a bank or investment company but in reality it’s from con artists trying to get you to divulge account information. Consumers have forwarded 33,000 scam e-mails to the IRS, representing more than 1,500 different gimmicks. The truth: the IRS won’t contact you by e-mail about your taxes.
2. Scams Related to the Economic Stimulus Payment — Ignore e-mails purporting to be from the IRS that claim you must divulge personal information to get the tax rebate. To get the rebate, you only have to file a tax return.
3. Frivolous Arguments — Ignore people advising you to make false claims to avoid paying taxes. It’s not true, for example, that you can object to paying taxes on religious grounds.
4. Fuel Tax Credit Scams — Farmers may be eligible for a fuel tax credit, other individuals may not. Falsely claiming the credit can lead to a $5,000 penalty.
5. Hiding Income Offshore — This includes using offshore bank and brokerage accounts or using offshore debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers, foreign trusts, employee leasing schemes, private annuities or life insurance plans.
6. Abusive Retirement Plans — The IRS says it’s looking at investors trying to get around the contribution limits to Roth IRAs. One way is to move highly appreciated assets into the Roth at cost value, even though the fair market value exceeds that amount you can put into the IRA.
7. Zero Wages — Lying about your wages so you owe less in taxes is a no-no.
8. False Claims for Refund and Requests for Abatement — Some people are asking for an abatement of previously assessed tax using Form 843. Many who do this haven’t filed a tax return before.Should you wait until after July to consolidate old student loans?
Yes, according to student loan guru Mark Kantrowitz.
Variable rates on Stafford loans made before July 2006 appear to be headed down and borrowers will be better off waiting until July this summer before consolidating loans and locking in a rate.
Interest rates on student loans made as of July 2006 are now fixed. Older loans still carry a variable rate that adjusts each year.
But given the recent direction of rates, Kantrowitz predicts: “Rates will be dropping by about 3.5%, the biggest drop in the history of the student loan program.”
Under the student loan formula, here are the rates Kantrowitz predicts for those consolidating:
Stafford Loans consolidated while in school or the grace period: 3.25%
Stafford Loans consolidated while in repayment: 3.75%
PLUS Loans: 4.625%
If you jumped the gun and consolidated before July, these are the rates Kantrowitz says you’d likely receive:
Stafford Loans in-school rate: 6.62% - 6.625%
Stafford Loan in repayment: 7.22% - 7.25% PLUS Loans: 8.02% - 8.125%
The rates after July will be low, but not the lowest ever That occurred in 2004-2005, Kantrowitz says.
How many of you out there have a tiny compartment in your jewelry box that's holding old-out-of-style gold jewelry you no longer wear or broken gold bracelets or stray earrings that have been missing its partner since forever? Any of you men out there who used to sport a gold chain that you no longer wear?
Now might be the time to sell your precious metals since gold prices are soaring above $1,000 an ounce these days.
Check out this AP story about people selling their gold. Before gold prices started soaring, consumers were lucky if they could get half of what they paid for their jewelry since most buyers only gave you what they expected to get for scrap metal. These days, you might encounter a different story. But with the gold boon, you need to watch out for nefarious individuals, of course. So do your part and research gold prices on-line and familiarize yourself with selling tips before you part with your gold.
Here's some interesting advice from a former gold wholesaler:
For the most part, your gold jewelry is literally "worth its weight in gold". Unless your jewelry is a well known designer brand, expect to be paid only for the value of the gold content. The buyer’s motive is simply to melt the jewelry, refine the gold by removing the impurities and recycle the metal back to 24 karat or pure gold. The profit made by the buyer is the difference between the amount you were paid and the market value of the newly refined gold at the time it is sold to international banks and precious metals dealers.
Also, check out this NJDiamonds Web site, which also offers some useful tips about the gold rush. For those who might be invited to a gold party, do make sure the person buying your goods is reputable and has a scale that is licensed. Here's a smidge from the site:
You need to ask yourself are they buying by penny weight or gram weight, and do you as the consumer understand the difference between the two. How do they get you well the person who is hosting the party is told the more people that come to sell the more you will get in commission, in turn they tell the people that they are inviting the more people who come that more gold the more gold the more weight more weight higher buying prices. Round and round it goes, if they have played with the scale your item could be taken for less gram weight then what it is worth.
Do you have the Midas touch? Anyone selling their gold out there? Anyone hosting gold parties or invited to any gold parties? Do let us know.
(Photo courtesy of stock.xchng)
This is what I did yesterday. Great parade. Great weather. Great people. Great FUN. Hope everyone has a good one!
(Photo by me)
You never call! And marketers, that's the way we like it.
Last month, Congress approved a law extending the federal Do Not Call Registry, so you can still protect your home number from calls from telemarketers. if you have signed up in the past, that registration does not need to be renewed.
Now, a group called ForestEthics has started an online petition calling for a national Do Not Mail Registry to eliminate unwanted circulars, advertisements, coupons, credit card applications and other junk mail from landing in our mailboxes. They've also put together an online tool to get yourself off the lists of the largest mailers, as well as other ways to stop companies that send unsolicited mail.
The effort, supported by celebrities like Adrian Grenier, Darryl Hannah, Alicia Silverstone, Jackson Browne, Aaron Douglas, Ed Begley, Jr. and Paul Hawken, is motivated primarily by awareness of the amount of paper wasted each year on junk mail. But there's a strong consumer protection message as well.
Barring unsolicited credit card applications --- or the cards themselves --- from being sent your way limits the chance that they might be filched from your mailbox or even your trash from some unscrupulous person.
So, stop invasions of your privacy, protect your identity and save a tree --- or many trees, because the group estimates that more than 100 million trees become junk mail annually --- all at the same time.
Eeesh. It looks like I won't be buying a Blu-ray player anytime soon.
I was hoping that once the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray war ended and one of the high-def formats emerged victorious, we would hopefully see prices go down soon. I was a little surprised to see that price went up instead... and so quickly after HD-DVD called it quits.
According to this InformationWeek story, four weeks after Toshiba said it would no longer produce HD-DVD devices, prices for Blu-ray players went up by $20 to $50 last month. Some of the increase was due to the introduction of expensive players with features that went above the norm, according to Darren Davis, VP of product marketing for PriceGrabber.com, a comparison shopping Web site.
As a consumer, I was having a hard time justifying $467 for a Blu-ray player (the average price in January of the top 10 players, according to PriceGrabber). Now, I figure a Blu-ray player is a mere fantasy for me at $604 (which is the average price for them in February). Most of us aren't early adopters and most of us are dealing with rising expenses for basic necessities so the fact that these high-def players are so expensive will likely price most of us right out of getting one anytime soon.
You can find a Blu-ray player for less, but there still hovering around several hundred dollars. I'm waiting for those suckers to drop below $200. I don't know how long that will take, but I am willing to wait it out.
It's a shame because I saw one in my local video store the other day and it was beeeeautiful. The picture quality was amazing. Just not six-hundred-and-four-dollars-amazing. At least, not for me. Anyone out there willing to pay that much for a Blu-ray player? Anyone pay more? Anyone want to gloat about how they already have one?!
(AP Photo)
Imagine using a presumably sterile Band-Aid to cover up a cut that instead infects you with flesh-eating germs.
That's kind of like what happened to the new owners of some digital picture frames this Christmas, according to this San Francisco Chronicle article. They tore the wrapping off their gifts, plugged them into their computers and loaded their systems with viruses that stole passwords and tried to disable antivirus software.
The Associated Press reports that TomToms, video iPods and other consumer electronics have also come pre-loaded with malware.
It's not necessarily part of an organized scheme to gather your personal information, according to the AP story. More likely a worker at one of the Chinese factories plugged a tainted device of their own into a computer used to test one of these new products, and the viruses spread.
However, the story describes this as another symptom of poor security and low standards --- just like lead in children's toys or contaminants in toothpaste --- stemming from the undying quest for lower prices.
So what's a consumer to do?
Security experts recommend keeping your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date --- the only way to fend off new attacks. The Chronicle article says some people advise turning off Autorun on Windows machines, although some of the viruses restore it.
You should also back up your information on a regular basis, just in case a virus ever does break through these barriers.
I came across this story while I was surfing the Web earlier. The NYT said last month:
For decades, wheat was a commodity no American needed to think much about, except the farmers who grew it. The grain was usually plentiful and prices were low.
All of a sudden, those assumptions have been turned upside down. With demand soaring abroad and droughts crimping supply, the world’s wheat stockpiles have fallen to their lowest level in 30 years, and stocks in the United States have dropped to levels unseen since 1948.
Scary, right? Then I remembered reading this story from the New Scientist last year about a wheat infection that could have far-reaching ramifications. Here are the first three graphs:
"This thing has immense potential for social and human destruction." Startling words - but spoken by the father of the Green Revolution, Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug, they are not easily dismissed.
An infection is coming, and almost no one has heard about it. This infection isn't going to give you flu, or TB. In fact, it isn't interested in you at all. It is after the wheat plants that feed more people than any other single food source on the planet. And because of cutbacks in international research, we aren't prepared. The famines that were banished by the advent of disease-resistant crops in the Green Revolution of the 1960s could return, Borlaug told New Scientist.
The disease is Ug99, a virulent strain of black stem rust fungus (Puccinia graminis), discovered in Uganda in 1999. Since the Green Revolution, farmers everywhere have grown wheat varieties that resist stem rust, but Ug99 has evolved to take advantage of those varieties, and almost no wheat crops anywhere are resistant to it.
The fungus spread slowly across east Africa, but in January, spores blew across to Yemen, and north into Sudan. Scientists who have tracked similar airborne spores in this part of the world say it will now blow into Egypt, Turkey and the Middle East, and on to India -- lands where a billion people depend on wheat.
What do they both these articles mean together? My spidey senses are tingling, people. There's trouble coming and it'll hit you right where it hurts most, your wallet.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued three toy recalls this week for problems that sound awfully familiar.
Children could ingest or aspirate magnets from the 7,000 Battat Magnabild Magnetic Building Toys or Sets sold between 2005 and this year. To get a prepaid mailer to return the product, contact Battat Inc. at (800) 247-6144 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or visit the firm’s Web site at www.battatco.com.
Small kids could also choke on the toy cherries of the company's 22,000 Play Wonder Toy Sundae Sets, sold exclusively at Target from 2006 to last year. You can return the toy to Target stores for a full refund.
About 5,000 X Force Commander Toy Airplanes and Super Famous Toy Cars and Motorcycles by S.U. Wholesale Inc. sold at Dollar Stores between 2006 and last year exceeded federal lead paint standards. Take them back to the store for a refund, or contact contact S.U. Wholesale toll-free at (877) 580-8883 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. (Pacific time) Monday through Friday for more information.
How many of you out there reach for your copy of Consumer Reports, or at least check them out on the Web, before you purchase anything? As a consumer columnist, I value them personally and professionally.
When I write a column, they are one of the sources I tap on subjects ranging from finance to consumer scams. Personally, I've used them in my research to figure out which car, computer or any other product I want to buy for myself. They're always one of the many sources I check for all my research. Between the Web's many offerings of consumer advocacy sites, the Attorney General's Office, the Better Business Bureau and CR, we consumers have a lot of help available at our fingertips.
It's not an easy job that CR does. I don't do reviews here because it takes too much time, money and expertise. Read this Wired story to find out how CR tells you which condom, car or ice cream to buy. Pretty cool, fascinating stuff.
So Southwest grounded 41 planes after admitting that it missed required inspections of some planes for structural cracks. Southwest puts three employees on leave. As a result of the missed inspections and safety violations, the Federal Aviation Adminstration fines the Houston company a $10.2 million civil penalty for continuing to fly nearly 50 planes after the airline admits to this very serious infraction. And now, Southwest says it will appeal the decision.
I understand they don't want to pay such a huge fine, but am I missing something here? The airline flew a lot of planes they shouldn't have, yes? They put a lot of flyers in possible danger, yes? They've owned up to the violation, yes? So shouldn't they suck it up and pay the fine?
This is not to say that I'm placing all the blame on Southwest. The FAA needs to be spanked hard, too, for not listening to inspectors who warned them about the safety checks three years ago. I also give CEO Gary Kelly for moving on this quickly when he discovered that there was a probe into the issue.
I figure Southwest should consider themselves lucky. Isn't a $10.2 million fine better to deal with than planes dropping out of the sky with hundreds of passengers on board each?
Way to instill confidence there, Southwest.
(Sun Photographer Chiaki Kawajiri)
Here's some feedback I got from that column I wrote about merchants requesting ID for credit card use. In case you didn't catch it, merchants are violating credit card company rules when they ask to see your ID when you pay with a credit card. According to their merchant agreements, they're supposed to accept your credit card, no questions asked, unless the card is not signed or if they have reason to believe the signature is fishy. They may also ask for your ID if you're making a down payment on your purchase, if they need to deliver the item to you or if you're buying something that needs ID (like alcohol or cigarettes).
Those may be the rules, but it certainly doesn't sit well with some merchants and consumers I heard from yesterday.
Tom Mahoney, founder and director of Merchant911, a group made up of over 3,600 merchants united to protect themselves said:
My problem with the Association's ID policy is that it, like numerous others, is archaic at best. Remember that many of the policies were developed before the advent of the Internet and all the problems that go with it. Some policies have changed, others have not. It's not unheard of for on-line merchants to experience chargebacks on the grounds that they did not get a signature at the time of the sale.
That is archaic.
I can find no justification to the "no ID" policy. I would agree that in the case of the brick and mortar stores, it offers no protection for the merchant. He doesn't need it; he's protected. It certainly does offer protection for a cardholder unless the person presenting the card is the true cardholder. Yes, the bank will cover the cardholder's loss in a fraudulent credit transaction, but isn't it better to prevent the fraud than try to fix it?
I would submit that part of the reason that credit card fraud has reached the level that it has is that the payment industries' policies have made it so easy.
John Johnston said:
As a former retail executive for 22years with (Kmart, Hechingers, Circuit City & Staples) it's true that ID's are not required. But can serve a good purpose to practice for consumers who are looking for an extra layer of protection against fraud.
90% of the court cases I have attended in the Baltimore/DC/Northern VA area's always show angry consumers who are outraged no one asked for ID when fraud thief's go out & buy 3 big screen TV's with their credit card.
I've seen both sides of the coin & it's definitely not the worst thing in the world of todays sly & cunning fraud experts, to show ID. Of course by all means your not required & retailers can't refuse you. But believe me & a lot of circuit court judges in the tri-state area, "the fraud thief's know credit card rules as well & time spent in court proving your innocent as a consumer is agrivating and extremely more painful than showing a clerk your ID"
Consumer John Andrews said:
In your column on March 11,2008, Jon Smith of Baltimore questioned why businesses ask for identification before accepting a credit card for payment. Why ON EARTH would someone object to that?
Stolen or lost credit cards could not be used if additional ID was required. While he seems concerned that the businesses are "just protecting their own behind", he fails to realize the far greater benefit that verifying the legitimate user of a credit card has for everyone concerned.
In the past I have encouraged merchants to ask for additional ID by thanking them when they did and telling them that I wished more of them would do the same.
This is no huge inconvenience. When you make a cash withdrawal at bank, you know to present your driver's license along with the withdrawal slip and the transaction is seamless. The same procedure could easily be applied to a credit card purchase.
Mr. Smith should be glad someone is looking out for the security of his credit card even if he is apparently not concerned.
I did get one response from a consumer who supports the rule, but he didn't want to be named. The gist of his support, though, was his concern about identity theft... He felt that by handing over his driver's license, it would provide the business with more information than they need and open him up to someone copying down his personal data to use for nefarious deeds. He makes a good point.
In the column, I didn't say how I felt about the rule. Personally, I like it when merchants ask me for my ID. I figure it's a minor inconvenience to whip out my driver's license (which, for once, actually has a decent picture of me instead of the confused-bleary-eyed mug shot it usually looks like) so the sales clerk can check it against my credit card. To guard against anyone making a copy of my driver's license or copying it down, I don't let my cards out of my sight. Swipe it here right in front of me, thanks.
For me, that simple step makes me feel like they're taking a tiny, but significant precaution at the point of sale -- protecting me and the business from fraud. It's not foolproof, of course. But it's a start. In fact, I always thank the salesperson for asking.
Dan Thanh's column debunking the myth that merchants can ask for identification when you use a credit card drew e-mails from retailers and consumers alike.
Both preferred the minor inconvenience of asking for or showing their driver's license at the point of sale to the major hassle of dealing with fraud after the fact.
It might have stopped whoever stole my credit card number last fall and went on a shopping rampage, spending thousands at Wal-Mart, PetSmart and Red Lobster in Hartford, Conn. That person was swiping a card that had been pressed with my number, and I assume it must have been signed.
But the agreements the merchants hold with the credit card companies don't allow store clerks to ask for ID (unless you're buying something that requires additional verification, like alcohol). And after all, there's no failsafe way to verify identity during an online purchase.
So what can you do?
Some companies print photographs of the cardholders on their cards -- although that didn't stop the Apple store minions. Or, you could sign both your name and "check ID" in the signature space, in the hopes that someone actually follows that advice.
But I can't help but wonder --- if someone is walking around with a bogus credit card in his or her pocket, perhaps they will get a fake ID, too.
Consumerist compiled information for the major credit card companies to report merchants that ask for IDs or, in some cases, if they charge a fee or set a minimum price for accepting the credit card. But, as Dan Thanh states in her Q&A, the blog emphasizes that merchants can refuse a card if it is unsigned.
The OAG's Consumer Protection Division is calling on all Maryland consumers who purchased, but did not receive, goods and services owed to them from Pennsylvania-based company, LA Weight Loss Centers, Inc. and Pure Weight Loss, Inc. Don't ask me why they're based in PA, but their name says "LA." I don't know, maybe companies from LA sound more chic or purportedly know more about losing weight?!
In any case, the OAG is investigating the closing of 18 facilities owned and operated as LA Weight Loss and Pure Weight Loss. In December 2007, the business told consumers that its facilities would close on January 4. As a result, the OAG's CPD is asking you to fill out and return a claim form if you are owed refunds for goods and services not provided to you prior to the closing of the Maryland facilities.
Consumers may download the claim form from the Attorney General’s website at www.oag.state.md.us/Healthclub/LAWL.htm. Consumers may return their completed claim forms either by faxing the forms to (410) 576-6566 or mailing them to:
Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
Attn: Barbara Jefferson
Consumers without internet access may call the Pure Weight Loss Telephone Line at (410) 230-1711 to have a form mailed to their homes.
... according to Consumer Reports.
Bloggers there say that the Kansas-based Sprint Nextel's offer of unlimited text/picture/video messaging, mobile Internet and push-to-talk service for $99.99 per month is the best deal, compared to unlimited plans now offered by Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
Those companies charge more for plans that also include unlimited messaging and Internet access. Sprint also offers a discount of $5 for each additional line --- $5 off the first, $10 off the second and so on.
A number of Consuming Interests readers have said that switching to Sprint wasn't worth it ...
... because they've experienced poor customer service in the past. Responses to Consumer Reports' annual survey back up this anecdotal observation. But according to this BusinessWeek story, Sprint has now made customer service a top priority.
For what it's worth, Consumer reports reiterated its earlier position that most wireless users don't need an unlimited plan to meet their cellular needs --- that existing options already offer unlimited messaging and Internet access as well as minutes.
But, as Dan Thanh already pointed out, competition is a good thing. Many people already have cell phones now, so it's in companies' best interest to retain current subscribers. Hopefully retention will inspire companies to keep cutting prices.
I often sit here daydreaming about winning the lottery. I wonder if I'd quit my job? I wonder if I'd buy a fancy new car or a villa in Europe somewhere? When I'm not in la-la land, I actually temper my dreams with reality and figure I'd just invest my winnings wisely so my family and i could retire in comfort.
These days, it's hard not to think about reality. What with the mortgage crisis, soaring energy prices and increasingly expensive food prices, we keep talking about saving for the future and being financially literate enough so that you manage your money wisely.
In that discussion about saving, Reader Don and I discovered that we are both worriers. We worry about whether we're saving enough for retirement. We worry about whether there will be any Social Security benefits left for us when we retire. We worry about whether we'll ever be able to retire. Don's banking on winning the lottery to lift him out of his worries. Me? I don't even play so i know I'll never win. That means I better have a plan B.
When I asked Don if he's got a plan B, he said: I haven't, and that's the scary part, my 401K has $655 in it, and that'll last me a week of retirement. We are truly the spend now, worry later generation and i am a prime example. I'm starting to think lottery tickets so any advice would be much welcomed!
Now thanks to Reader Don, I'm worried about Don, too! Not one to sit idly by without throwing a drowning man a life jacket, I immediately asked Financial Sage Eileen for the top three things she would recommend to Don. We don't know much of anything about Don except that he's 40 and hasn't saved much, but according to Eileen, it's never too late. Even if Don was just pulling our leg, Eileen's advice is good for everyone.
Eileen says:
First, we need to know his debt situation, his income and where is it going? If he doesn't know, he has got to track his spending.
Once he knows where his money goes, he needs to see if there are things he can cut corners. It may be he has to forgo cable, which can free up maybe $100 a month. It could be eating out. Maybe instead of eating out twice a week, he only does it once. or whatever.
Once he figures out where he can cut some corners, he needs to start saving. Since he has a 401(k), that's where he should start saving. His employer might even match his contributions, which is even better. Plus, having money come out directly from your paycheck before you pay taxes on it is not only easy, but has some friendly tax consequences.
You asked for three, but here's no. 4. If he says he can't cut corners at all, he needs to think about getting a part-time job that would allow him to increase his savings.
Don and everyone else out there, I hope this helps! I've tried this (cut cable and stopped eating out) to save money and it really, really works! I promise!
Doing your own tax returns? Don’t overlook deductions.
Here are 10 of the most overlooked deduction as cited by Ernst & Young Tax Guide 2008:
1. Accounting fees for tax preparation services
2. Appreciation on property donated to a charity
3. Costs associated with looking for a new job in your present occupation, including fees for resume preparation and employment of outplacement agencies
4. Fees paid for childbirth preparation classes if instruction relates to obstetrical care
5. Mortgage prepayment penalties and late fees
6. Real estate taxes associated with the purchase or sale of property
7. Health Insurance premiums, if self-employed
8. Alcoholism and drug abuse treatment
9. Depreciation of home computers
10. Improvements to your home
As always with deductions, they might only apply to those within certain income limits or other qualifications. Make sure you read the rules before claiming the deduction.
... if you bought it there within the last three months, that is.
Rumors circulated last week on technology and consumer blogs that Circuit City would offer store credit for the price of HD DVD players purchased there within 90 days.
The leading maker of HD DVD players, Toshiba, announced last month that they ceded the fight high-definition DVD fight to Blu-Ray, a format pushed by Sony, Panasonic and other manufacturers.
Circuit City spokeswoman Jackie Foreman said ...
that the store did not make a public announcement about extended returns for HD DVD players, "but we have instructed our stores to take care of our customers."
"The recent format resolution for the next generation of video disc is an important and singular development in the marketplace ... and we feel our response in this one case is appropriate, generous and customer-focused," she wrote in an e-mail.
Foreman added that there's still a market for the discontinued players, for folks who want an inexpensive option for better quality DVD viewing.
"At the same time, we note that while some people may want to return these players, many consumers are still purchasing HD DVD players because they are attractively priced at clearance, and they are high quality devices and play not only HD DVDs but also up-convert standard DVDs with improved playback quality."
Did everyone catch Excellent Eileen's column yesterday on financial literacy? If you didn't, as they say in Monopoly, do not pass go. Do not collect $200 because you wouldn't know what to do with it anyway.
Now, some who know me well, will say I'm talking out of the side of my mouth because I'm just about as bad at math as you can get. My sisters tease me all the time because it takes me a minute or five to compute how much to tip the waiter from the bill.
Waddaya expect here? I'm a writer, not a mathematician!
But look, that's no longer a valid excuse. Eileen says that people stumped by even basic financial concepts face serious consequences because the decisions you make at this stage can determine whether you can retire comfortably or run out of money late in life.
To prepare for National Financial Literacy Month in April, take this test that ran in Eileen's column:
1. If the chance of getting a disease is 10 percent, how many people out of 1,000 would be expected to get the disease?
2. If five people all have the winning number in the lottery and the prize is $2 million, how much will each get?
3. You have $200 in a savings account that earns 10 percent in interest each year. How much would you have in the account after two years?
The answers:
1. 100; 2. $400,000; 3. $242.
My sisters will never believe me, but I got all three right! How about you out there? How did you do with the test? 'Fess up, my friends!
Here's a no-brainer. If you went into a hospital to get your appendix removed and they amputated your left leg instead, would you have to pay for that horrible mistake? Or, if you went in for surgery and found out the doctor left a doo-hickey inside of you, again, do you think you'd have to pay for that botched-up service?
Turns out, the answer is yes. You most certainly have to pay for it! Sounds preposterous, but it's true. But it's a ridiculous practice that may not go on for much longer since Medicare announced that starting in October, it won't pay for certain types of hospital mistakes anymore. That move was soon followed by other major insurers.
According to the story, the movement to get hospitals to clean up their acts has been building since 2005. That was when HealthPartners of Minnesota said it would not pay for hospital errors. Since then, Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare, Minnesota and Massachusetts and large insurers like Aetna, Blue Cross and Blue Shield have followed suit to make hospitals absorb the cost of making mistakes.
Some insurers won't pay for surgical objects left in a patient during surgery, patient falls, catheter-caused urinary-tract infections and pressure sores, the most common preventable medical error.
Here's what Medicare won't pay for:
An object mistakenly left in a patient during surgery.
A preventable air embolism.
Complications from being given incompatible blood.
Catheter-associated urinary-tract infections.
Pressure ulcers (bedsores).
A vascular catheter-associated infection.
A surgery-site infection after coronary-artery-bypass graft surgery.
Patient falls.
I know hospitals and health care professionals are under a lot of pressure and stress, but really, there's no excuse for amputating the wrong leg, a story I've read about all too often it seems.
Confusion and misinformation about the tax rebates continues. The IRS once again is trying to set things straight. It issued a list of myths, and the facts debunking them.
Not only is there confusion, but plenty of anger, too. I’ve gotten some testy e-mails on the rebates. And on Monday morning was greeted with two angry phone messages from a screaming man demanding that I answer his tax questions. He hasn’t returned my calls. My editor also ended up cutting a reader’s call short after the man started swearing at him about the tax rebates.
Calm down, folks.
The rebate is an advance on a one-time tax credit for 2008. To get the money into consumers’ hands ASAP — and boost the economy — the rebate is being distributed this year based on information on 2007 tax returns.
One of the big myths that the IRS is battling is that the rebate will be subject to income tax on next year’s return. It won’t.
No matter how many times I write that, I hear from readers who insist it will be. If the tax rebate is reported on next year’s return, it must be taxable, they insist. Or they say: The IRS wouldn’t ask you to keep a letter about the rebate if it wasn’t going to tax it later.
IRS spokesman Eric Smith says the IRS doesn’t know yet if or how the rebate will be reported on next year’s forms. But keeping the letter will remind you of the size of the rebate you got. If it turns out it’s too little — after all this is based on 2007 returns — you can file for the rest of the credit on the 2008 tax return.
The IRS also maintains that this year’s rebate won’t reduce next year’s refund. What the IRS means is that the rebate won’t reduce any refund you otherwise would get next year, says tax
expert Mark Luscombe.
Say, every year your refund is $1,000. The fact that you get a $300 rebate this year won’t reduce next year’s refund to $700.
Then again, if the IRS didn’t send you a check this year and you deserved one, you still can claim it next year. That would give you a $1,300 refund.
But are you worse off by getting the rebate now? No. It’s better to get the money in hand sooner than later. Given inflation, a $300 rebate this year is worth more than a $300 rebate next year.
Plus, if the IRS mistakenly sends you a bigger rebate than you deserve this year, you don’t have to repay it.
Next time, it might be easier if the Treasury Department just throws money out of a plane or car.
But to further clarify the rules, here’s the IRS list of myths and fact:
Myth: I have to report the payment I receive this year as income, and pay tax on it.
Fact: The payments are not taxable, and will not have a negative effect on your 2008 tax return, filed in 2009.
Myth: Economic stimulus payments will reduce my refund when I file my 2008 taxes.
Fact: The payments will not reduce your refund next year. In fact, if your stimulus payment is less than the maximum amount (up to $600 for individuals or $1,200 for married couples filing jointly, plus up to $300 for each qualifying child) it is possible to receive an additional credit amount, up to the maximum, on your 2008 tax return. If your advance payment is more than the credit calculated on your 2008 tax return, you will not have to repay the difference.
Myth: The payments are automatic for everyone. I can do nothing and just wait to receive my payment.
Fact: You must file a federal tax return to receive a stimulus payment. The vast majority of taxpayers need do nothing more than file their taxes as usual to receive their payment. However, millions of people who normally don’t file a tax return who received at least $3,000 of Social Security, Railroad Retirement, certain Veterans benefits, or a small amount of earned income will need to file a simple Form 1040A to receive a minimum payment of $300 for individuals, or $600 for married couples.
Myth: Filing taxes is too much of a hassle. I can’t do them myself, and I can’t afford to pay a pro.
Fact: People who normally are not required to file can use a special, simple version of a Form 1040A to qualify for a stimulus payment. Only a few lines of the form need to be filled out. If you need help, take advantage of free tax preparation sites throughout the state for low-income and elderly taxpayers. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) are IRS-sponsored programs providing free help to low-income taxpayers and seniors in your community.
Myth: Everybody is eligible for a stimulus payment.
Fact: People with incomes above the phase-out ($75,000 for individuals; $150,000 for married couples filing jointly), individuals not otherwise required to file a 2007 tax return with less than $3,000 in qualifying income, nonresident aliens, persons who do not have a valid Social Security number, individuals who can be claimed as dependents on someone else’s return, and individuals who file Form 1040NR, Form 1040PR or Form 1040SS are not eligible for the stimulus payments.
Myth: I’ve heard that there is a schedule saying payments won’t be mailed until July or later. I need my money now.
Fact: The Treasury will begin sending stimulus payments starting in early May, continuing through the late spring and summer. The IRS will soon release the official 2008 stimulus payment direct deposit and mail-out schedule. The fastest way to get a stimulus payment – or any refund for that matter – is to e-file your taxes and elect to have the money directly deposited into your checking or savings account.
The IRS says its Free File program can now accept tax returns for those who normally aren’t required to file one.
This makes it easy for computer-savvy nonfilers who need to submit a return just to get the tax rebate.
Free File is a partnership between the IRS and tax preparation companies to prepare filers' returns for free. The IRS says it has worked with a few companies so they can handle returns for those only filing to get the tax rebate.
Usually, you don’t have to file a return if your income is too low. But to get the $300 to $1,200 rebates, you need to file a 2007 return.
If that’s you, you can access Free File by going to www.irs.gov. Look for the three companies listed on the Free File – Economic Stimulus Payment page.
Digital TV is coming. Are you prepared? (If not, check out our earlier posts for help.) Better yet, are broadcasters and the technology behind it prepared?!
Read my esteemed colleague and tech guru Whiz's terrific column today. If you aren't nervous about the conversion before you read it, I'm betting you will be after you're done.
No worries, though. Whiz wouldn't leave you hanging. He offers tips to find out if your signal is acceptable, how to buy a digital converter box and then how to test it when you get it home.
If you've already gone through this ordeal and want to share it with the rest of us, do let us know whether you agree with Whiz or if you think the technology works brilliantly for you.
You can spot them everywhere --- people strolling down streets and boarding public transportation with white headphones trailing from their ears, enjoying tunes or a podcast. Is it any wonder that criminals see iPods too?
That's the hypothesis of Washington-based think tank the Urban Institute, which has issued a report attributing a spike in robberies in 2005 and 2006 to the music players, which became ubiquitous right around the same time.
The researchers surmise that iPods are "criminogenic," or have a number of "crime-causing" characteristics that make them attractive to thieves.
They're valuable status symbols, so they could be stolen for use as well as resale. They don't require passwords, subscriptions or contracts and don't come with any anti-theft protections. And the earbuds themselves reduce the user's awareness of their surroundings, assisting a would-be Fagin achieve his goal.
It's happened before, they say:
"Past crime waves are thought to have occurred in a similar way—triggered by the introduction of a new high-status and expensive product. For instance, in the 1980s and 1990s, the proliferation of such valuable products as expensive basketball shoes or North Face jackets may have led to new crimes.
However, in past instances where the supply of crime creating products increased, the consumer population purchasing these goods—and the would-be offenders coveting those products—made up a relatively small part of the U.S. population. By contrast, iPods are everywhere, and, unlike a jacket or a sneaker, one size fits all."
Then again, Fagin was a pickpocket, not a robber ... this Chicago Sun-Times article points out that larcenies, such as theft from a backpack, actually went down during this period. So, maybe this hypothesis requires a little more testing.
Still, it makes sense to take precautions so you --- and your stuff --- stays out of the police blotter. As former crime reporter Dan Thanh recommends, don't use earbuds when you need to remain alert, like when walking around at night. Don't flash expensive items like electronics and jewelry. And stay in well-lit areas as well. Don't make yourself an easy target!
My story about a Web site for landlords to post reviews about problem renters online discussed the difficulties property managers face when checking out potential tenants -- and advice for renters who fear they've been blackballed.
Remember when we first alerted you to donotrentto.com? It's a situation rife with thorny issues, especially when you're potentially smearing people's reputations.
But what source can landlords rely upon? Even court records about rentals should be taken with a grain of salt, said John Nethercut, executive director of the Public Justice Center.
"Public records are of course a better source of information than Web sites that may pick and choose which information to display. However, there are particular problems with the eviction records at the Baltimore City District Court," he said.
More than 130,000 eviction cases are filed annually in the city. But Baltimore's rent court is not computerized.
In a small percentage of those cases, landlords take their tenants to small claims court to try to get their back rent. If the renter pays up, the landlord is supposed to file documents to reflect that.
"Our review of the paper files often shows missing or incomplete records," Nethercut said in an e-mail. "Particularly troubling is the absence of 'satisfactions of judgment,' which landlords should file when, as frequently happens, the tenant pays off the judgment and the eviction is canceled. If satisfactions of judgment are not filed or cannot be found, credit reporting agencies are not reporting accurate information."Officials in the clerks' office at Baltimore District Court said they are awaiting results from a pilot computerization project in Prince George's County before they can move forward with digitizing their records.
The bottom line? Check your credit report regularly --- Marylanders can get two free copies every year, after all. If you owed a debt but paid it off, make sure the report reflects that.
But boy, reading this story makes me realize that some people really do belong on a donotrentto list. (Ed note: Yea. That's one guy you can definitely cross off the rent-to list! -- DD)
Everyone's got an opinion about tipping. The Washington Post talked to servers last week who want to add mandatory service charges to restaurant checks. The Wall Street Journal chronicled the history of tipping, from its waning period in the early 20th century to now, when even take-out receipts include a line for gratuity.
The WSJ piece ends with a thought that has crossed my mind before: why aren't waitstaff paid a minimum wage? I don't understand the difference between adding an additional service charge to the check and raising the price of a meal to include the cost of service.
It sounds as if my bill is going to go up about 20 percent regardless --- either I pay a broken-out fee specifically for the service, or restaurants pay their servers to serve, and they pass that cost on to me by raising the price of the food.
Generous diners would still be free to put more money down To Insure Prompt Service, which is what I thought tips were all about --- to reward people for doing their job well, not to pay them simply for doing their job.
By now, you've probably read or heard about the fact that we Americans in 2005 and 2006 have been spending more than we earn. For the first time since the Great Depression, Americans saved at a rate of negative 1 percent in 2006.
In those high-flying days of the housing boom, we were living way beyond our means. Whether we were buying houses we couldn't afford or stuffing those houses with home theater systems and pricey SUVs, some of us spent like the money was never going to run out.
Now with energy prices rising higher and higher, food prices growing, the mortgage crisis going strong and lenders tightening up the ability to borrow money, I can't help but wonder if that abysmal rate of savings is still true. I scoured the Web last night in vain for more current stats, but didn't find any. Quality points go to anyone who can find more current savings figures for me.
I did find this interesting story in the NYT about how unlike consumers, companies have been socking away
money for rainy days down the road. The typical American company, in fact, has saved enough cash on hand to completely pay off all its debt.
That's pretty amazing, don't you think? 'm a worrier (I've told you that before), so I try to keep a small sum of money in the bank for emergencies. It's JIC money. You know, just-in-case the furnace blows, some other issue in my old house goes kerblooey or my car needs unexpected work. Outside of what I put into my 401K, it's the only stash I've got, which makes me a little nervous in these uncertain times.
Should we wise up like these companies and start socking away more of our earnings, too? How many of you out there started curbing your spending in an attempt to save more? Or am I worrying too much?!
(Photo from istockphotography.com)
We told you this already, but I figured it's worth a reminder that it's National Consumer Protection Week. If you haven't already started, do yourself a favor by vowing to be more vigilant about researching businesses you choose to do business with, reading contracts you sign with a thorough eye and managing your finances more carefully.
Failure to do so, of course, can land you in hot water. Take it from someone who knows: The Maryland Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division (CPD), which was able to acquire more than $4 million for consumer reimbursements and received 15,661 complaints last year. They've helped a whole lot of people who have encountered problems with businesses!
Here are the top five consumer complaints filed last year with the AG's Office:
Landlord/Property Management - 629 complaints (3.8%) were filed on landlords and property managers. Tenant issues varied from landlords failing to return security deposits to not providing a habitable place to live. Add to those gripes, lack of maintenance and excessive damages deducted from deposits, too.
Auto Repair - 628 complaints (3.8%) concerned consumer experiences on auto repair. The most common were unsatisfactory workmanship, misdiagnosis of services needed and cars that were damaged or not returned while being held for service. Other top issues were failure to honor express warranty and billed for goods/services not requested or received. (I just want to point out that those young mechanics in that photo haven't done anything wrong. They're just a visual prop!)
General Merchandise - 572 complaints (3.5%) from Marylanders were on general merchandise issues. Failure to deliver any goods or provide any services was the top complaint in this category. Billed for goods/services not requested or received came in second and other complaints varied from failure to honor refund requests to price gouging.
Used Auto Dealer - 516 consumers (3.1%) filed complaints on their experiences while buying a used car. Defective/damaged goods, failure to honor implied warranty of merchantability, misrepresentation of material fact and omission of material facts were all major concerns.
Collection Agencies - 474 Marylanders (2.9%) complained about collection agency practices. Consumers often complained of collection agencies attempting to collect debt not owed and inaccurate information reported to credit reporting agencies.
Anyone experiencing similar problems or who need help with a complaint should contact the AG. To read up on how to avoid some of these problems, check out the tips available on the AG's Web site.
Maryland consumers can file complaints through the CPD at (410) 528-8662 or toll-free in Maryland at 1-888-743-0023. You may also file your complaints online at www.oag.state.md.us/consumer/complaint.htm.
(Sun Photographer Lloyd Fox)
Don't miss science reporter and weather blogger Frank Roylance's story about smoke detectors today.
Last year 23 people died in Baltimore due to fire --- more than any year since 2001. It's not clear whether there were working smoke detectors in many of these homes.
While fire officials emphasize that while any detector is better than none, some say ionizing alarms, the most common --- and cheapest --- variety of smoke detectors, are less likely to trigger during certain types of smoldering fires. Plus, they are more likely to sound due to cooking smoke, and as a result people often disable them ... so they're not functioning when fires actually occur.
"Every night before I fall asleep I say a prayer for the two or three people I know are going to die that night because they have the wrong smoke detector," said Deputy Chief Joseph M. Fleming of the Boston Fire Department.
Fleming is an outspoken advocate for alarms that use an alternative "photoelectric" technology to sense smoke. Photoelectrics cost slightly more, he said, but they're quicker to sense smoldering fires and less prone to nuisance alarms. Although ionization alarms are faster at detecting flaming fires, he said, the advantage is a small one.
A dual alarm might be your best option, according to the Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports.
They recommend purchasing dual-sensor alarms and interconnecting them so an alarm in one part of your house will prompt others to sound elsewhere as well.
And remember, if your alarms aren't hard-wired, check the batteries frequently --- when you change your clocks for daylight savings time might be a good reminder.
The IRS tells people to file a 2007 tax return, and the agency will let you know the size of your rebate.
Can’t wait? Of course, you can’t. But you don’t have to.
Some online calculators are up and running to figure your rebate based on your income, filing status and a few other numbers. Try calculators at Consumerism Commentary, Kiplingers or Your Money Page.
Rebates range from $300 to $600 for singles and $600 to $1,200 for married joint filers. Parents with children under age 17 can receive an extra $300 per child.
Rebates begin to disappear once adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for married couples.
Calculators, for instance, show that a couple with $156,000 in income and a $10,000 tax liability will receive a $900 rebate. If their income was $173,000 instead, their rebate would be $50.
A married couple with two kids and adjusted gross income of $80,000 will receive $1,800. Or, a single person with $4,500 in Social Security benefits will get a $300 rebate.
Once you get started, it’s hard to stop plugging in all sorts of scenarios.
OK. I had a whole diatribe written for you about one more reason why you should hate gift cards, but my butterfingers clicked the wrong button and lost the entire (and rather lengthy) post (filled with links). ARghH!
Here's the gist of what I was going to say: The Sharper Image, that seller of electronic can-you-believe-they-make-something-to-do-that-people-will-think-of-everything doodads filed for bankruptcy protection last month. While they come up with a reorganization plan and try to pay off debt to a long line of creditors, the company will suspend gift card redemption.
Here's what the Sharper Image had to say on its Web site:
The company intends to continue to conduct business as usual while it devotes renewed efforts to resolve its operational and liquidity problems and develops a reorganization plan.
However, The Sharper Image is suspending the acceptance of Gift Cards, Reward Cards, Gift Certificates or Merchandise Certificates as a form of payment.
We appreciate your understanding that according to Bankruptcy law, store employees, managers and the Company do not have the authority to override this directive.
The Company is urgently working with the Bankruptcy Court to quickly come to a solution for this issue. Please check back with us in mid-March for further updates.
To receive updates, including status of the Company's Card and Certificate programs:
Visit a store
Visit our website www.sharperimage.com
Call customer service at: 1:800-344-5555
Visit www.kccllc.net/sharperimage for all public filings related to the case.
So, if you're holding a Sharper Image gift card. You're S.O.L., at least for now. You have one of two options. You can wait in that long line of creditors to see if the company works out a plan to redeem those cards or turns itself around financially. Or, you can take your card to Brookstone, a rival, which announced that it would give Sharper Image gift cardholders a 25 percent discount on purchases. Brookstone won't cover the face value of the card, but it will offer you that discount. Not a bad deal.
Me? I loved flipping through the Sharper Image catalog. Being a Star Wars fan, though, I still saw no need for the $129.95 R2D2 Interactive Astromech Droid or the $119.95 Official Darth Vader FX Lightsaber Replica... but I was definitely thinking hard about those FresherLonger Miracle Food Storage containers (what?! I hate it when my food spoils faster than I can eat it!).
Problem is, I always wondered if everything they sold worked the way it was advertised so I never bought anything from them (for fear of the product not living up to expectations since it cost too much money to just try it out for fun). I only ever bought something once when my nephews really, really, really wanted a robot dog and a hand-held fan in the store.
Anyway, this is just another reason why gift cards stink. Even a major retailer can go belly up and leave you hanging with practically useless plastic. Anyone out there stuck with these cards? Better yet, anyone else think that the bankruptcy fiing was due since who buys this stuff anyway?!
Remember that De Beers class action suit I told you about in January? Diamond buyers have until May 19 to file a claim and get some money back.
Here's that site again for those who missed it last time to read up on whether you qualify and how to file your claim. (sorry that took so long reader kristina, i've been away and didn't get a chance to look that up for you until last night.) p>
https://diamondsclassaction.com/Consumer.htm
Do check it out. You may be owed some money back.
You know what I just realized about all the Christmas presents I received just this past year? I didn't get a single gift card.
It didn't even occur to me to think about it until I read this interesting report from WSL Strategic Retail’s How America Shops®...Everyday Pulse on gift card popularity passing its peak.
I used to pick them up for my nieces and nephews because it was so easy, but then it just started feeling impersonal. Instead of being able to point to a well-worn, beloved stack of Dr. Seuss books I got them, I'd sit there wondering what they bought with the cards I gave them. It made me feel like a very neglectful aunt so I stopped being lazy and started looking for real presents again.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who fell out of love with gift cards. According to WSL, the percent of holiday shoppers who gave gift cards has dropped significantly year on year from the 60 percent in 2003 level to 44 percent in 2007.
Here are WSL's top five reasons:
They’re the easiest cut to make when you have less money to spend. With the cost of living going up as energy prices soar, food prices keep going up and lenders making it harder for consumers to borrow, the gift card as stocking stuffer or extra gift was easy to cut. WSL says 58 percent of those making over $100,000 bought gift cards for holiday 2007 compared to 34 percent of those making less than $50,000.
Gift card fatigue is creeping in. Even as 58 percent of adults said they loved gift cards, 41 percent of them said they'd rather have cash. In the same vein, 74 percent said they always use the gift cards they receive, but 39 percent said they still have tom gift cards hanging around in their wallet or purse for months after receiving them.
You still need to supplement purchases with cash when using gift cards. Getting a $25 gift card to a clothing store is practically useless since most things you'll want to buy will cost more than that. WSL said that 60 percent of adults and teens report that they spend more than the value of the gift card.
Buying presents and shipping them on-line has gotten easier and cheaper. A few years ago, gift cards filled a need for last minute, easily purchased gifts. Last year, WSL said confidence in on-line sites is much higher and free shipping made it easier to find and send a gift instead of a gift card.
Customizing is the upcoming trend in gift giving. The ability to personalize everything from Nikes to stamps and M&Ms to purses made givers feel like they were being much more thoughtful instead of giving impersonal gift cards.
I will admit when I wasn't quite sure what to buy for one particular person, I resorted to a Barnes & Noble card, but only because I knew she loved reading and has every book under the sun so it was best to leave the choice up to her. So I don't rule the gift card out.
But I do give gift giving more thought nowadays. How's about it? Do you still love the gift cards or do you find yourself avoiding them more, too? Do you think gift cards are passe?
(Illustration courtesy stock xchng)
