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When Consumer Reports tests new cars, their staff shop just like consumers. They stop into dealerships and buy cars without giving any indication they intend to test the cars for a major magazine. Rather than receiving specially tuned or improved vehicles, the magazine takes to its test center the same cars ordinary shoppers would buy. Testing ... Continue reading this article…
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This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer. It’s fairly straightforward to figure out the difference between a need and a want. Needs are basic: food, shelter, clothing, water, warmth. We can also add to that our emotional needs: love, friendship, and care. Wants seem easy to define. Wants are all the extras, the ... Continue reading this article…
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Although my income has increased over the past few years, my spending has increased as well. After living the better part of the decade watching just about every dollar leaving my bank account, saving as much as possible, and living within my means, I’ve recently begun allowing myself to spend more freely. I’m sure to spend ... Continue reading this article…
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Another day, another recall. Normally, automobile recalls are not much of a problem. A recall usually involves bringing your car to a dealership, subjecting yourself up to some sales pitches, getting your car fixed, and driving home. Toyota’s recent string of recalls is more complicated because some of the problems do not have solutions yet. If ... Continue reading this article…
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If my husband had a car to drive to work and had taken my son to school, I would have saved three hours of my day. Yes, three hours. We are a family of six with one car. This is the result of a decision we made a few months ago when our second car needed ... Continue reading this article…
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I hardly use cash anymore. Almost every financial transaction I make as I go about my business is accomplished electronically or with plastic. Since putting to rest my cash-only experiment a year ago, I’ve only used cash in a couple of circumstances: food delivery when I’m too exhausted to cook, getting my clothing laundered or ... Continue reading this article…
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This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer. Kelly is celebrating her one-year blog anniversary this week. Everyone loves a good deal, but finding time to comparison shop at various stores can be time consuming. As a parent of four kids I’m not keen on taking the kids to multiple stores just to ... Continue reading this article…
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Ten years from now, how do you want to look back on this decade? In terms of my finances, it would be hard to top the last ten years. This was the decade my net worth as I measure it for Consumerism Commentary soared from below zero to $300,000. Sure, that progress pales in comparison ... Continue reading this article…
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On today’s episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek speaks Peter Pham, the CEO of BillShrink. Peter offers several suggestions to guide the many consumers who accumulated more debt than they expected this holiday gift-giving season. Peter Pham from BillShrink was also our guest on the first episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast in April ... Continue reading this article…
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I almost participated in a boycott of Amazon.com. This was almost a decade ago when Amazon filed for a patent for its 1-Click ordering process. The patent was struck down in 2007 but I didn’t notice. In the face of Amazon’s low prices and, in my state, exemption from sales tax, my convictions didn’t stand ... Continue reading this article…
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This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer. With only one more day until Christmas you may still be in the market for a few last minute gifts. If you are like me, the idea of driving through traffic and elbowing through crowds to find gifts is not going to bring you any ... Continue reading this article…
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This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer. As consumers we often face situations that are both expensive and frustrating. These can be problems of our own doing, such as overdraft fees or closing of an inactive credit card, or problems that are caused by the company’s we are paying, like a credit ... Continue reading this article…
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The recession has inspired a focus on saving more money among Americans, even if this focus is likely temporary, giving way to excess spending once employment returns to a sustainable level and credit becomes readily available. But for a short time, frugality has permeated the country’s consciousness. It has popped up everywhere, including technological innovation. Yowza!! A ... Continue reading this article…
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It’s becoming increasingly rare, but once in a while it is possible to find interesting coins in your pocket change. Professional and amateur coin collectors tend to snap these up so the coins are taken out of circulation, and many of the most interesting coins are aging and damaged. I do not use cash on ... Continue reading this article…
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A reached another milestone earlier this week. My 2004 Honda Civic, which I purchased new in June 2004, passed 111,111 miles, after passing 100,000 in March. The car runs wonderfully still, as I expected it would years ago when I purchased it, and I don’t intend on selling it for a while, if at ... Continue reading this article…
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One thing I’ve always half-lamented, though lamented more in the past when my funds were a bit tighter, is the office holiday gift exchange. I’ve participated in everything from the Secret Santa to the grab bag to the system in which you can ruthlessly steal the gifts selected by your coworkers (up to three times). ... Continue reading this article…
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This post is part of the one day blog event “The Spectrum of Personal Finance.” In this event, comic book nerd Brian of My Next Buck, will discuss 8 different emotions (taken from the Green Lantern comic series) and relate them to personal finance. Here at Consumerism Commentary we will be looking at ... Continue reading this article…
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Many retailers — those who have survived the rough economy — have struggled this past year. Companies are looking forward to the holiday season because they know consumers are in a tough position, too. Here is how it works: the economy is recovering, but unemployment is the last piece of the economy to improve in ... Continue reading this article…
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Over the next couple of weeks, six finalists will be auditioning for the opening of “staff writer” at Consumerism Commentary. Each will be providing two guest articles to share with readers. After the six writers have shared their guest articles, readers will have an opportunity to provide feedback before we select the staff writer. This article ... Continue reading this article…
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The Credit CARD Act of 2009 instructed the Federal Reserve to enact new regulations for gift cards. I have a love/hate relationship with gift cards; they’re convenient gifts to give when you know the recipient is a fan of a certain store. Unfortunately, the past few years have seen restrictions added to gift cards which ... Continue reading this article…
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