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September 2009
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December 2008 ArchivesThis week you'll find deals on music, local businesses and more. Enjoy! $5 Album downloads Local Business Savings Big Retail Savings Free Cab Rides Travel Deals Nothing causes more problems for homeowners than water issues. It turns out if you've had leaky pipes or pipes that have burst you may be eligible to get some money back. About 7 million homes have polybutylene pipes; hundreds of thousands have reported leaks. So there is a $1 billion dollar class action. Not sure what you have in your home? Check under your sink for pipes that are gray in color. They would have been installed between 1978 and 1999. The pipe has been sold under various names, including Qest, Bow, Safeguard and Flex-temp. You've got to show proof you've had problems by January 31, 2009. You'll need to show photos, plumbing repair receipts, work orders or the actual failed part. These same pipes could be in your yard service lines. Signs you may have a problem include a wet front yard or a sump pump that continuously runs. To learn more about the class action visit this website or call 1-800-490-6997. Most of the pipes that have experienced problems have metal inserts. If you have pipes with plastic inserts you may still be eligible for money. You can learn more about that here. Here are some great tips for homeowners to help you check to make sure you don't have any leaks. Electronics are always big items for the holidays. Lucky for me, my husband is not only a terrific guy, he's also tech savvy. So anytime I get a new gadget, he gets it working then shows me what to do. I admit, I'm pretty spoiled by that. If you don't have someone like that in your home and can't stand the thought of waiting in line either at the store or on the phone, you may want to check out some of these websites. PCWorld is one of the best places to go. There are lots of discussion forums that offer troubleshooting help. Answerbag.com is sort of a catch all place to ask questions about anything. However, you will find an electronics and a computer section. Secure Experts exchange.com is a fee based site, but they offer a free trial. This site guarantees you'll get an answer to your technical question in an hour. You can ask experts questions for free at Fixya.com. Zolved is another good bet. This next site is one of my favorites name-wise. If you've got a Blackberry, try searching for help on Crackberry.com. If you're a visual person try ehow.com. You'll find some pretty funny videos on here, but you'll also find step by step tips on lots of things including how to upgrade your computer memory. There's also an entire section on electronics. Got a site you recommend? Add it to the comment section below. Most people would expect charitable giving to go down with the economy. In fact during the five most recent recessions charitable giving declined about 1.3 percent. It is why making the most of the money you give is more important than ever. So here are some places to make sure the organizations you support are doing the most with your money. A good rule of thumb is any charity that spends at least 65 percent on its programs is considered a wise investment. You want 35 percent or less to be spent on fundraising and administrative costs. Check out charities at Guidestar.org or Give.org. You'll want to check out the charities 501c3 forms. Those highlight how charities allocate their money. Not sure if a charity qualifies for the tax exemption? You can check here. Charity Navigator is another terrific resource. It even lists the highest and lowest rated charities in particular categories. Each year Forbes magazine takes a look at the biggest charities. They examine their commitment to their cause, their fundraising efficiency and dependency on donors--meaning how badly they need your money in order to break even. It also lists the most efficient large charities. Products with a Cause The truth is we all want to feel good when we shop especially at a time when so many of us are looking to save. However you want to make sure you know how much of the money you are spending on a product is really going to help the charity. Some companies give a set amount. Once that amount is reached your contribution may not matter. And some companies raise the prices on their products in order to reach their goal. For example in October, Aveda sold a limited edition hand lotion that cost $2 more. You did get an ounce more lotion and Aveda donated $4 to the Susan G. Komen for Cure Foundation. It's important to pay attention to those things. Other companies like Newman's Own and MAC makeup pay for the production costs to produce their products then donate the rest of the money to charity. Other ways to Give • Don't Almost Give" is a neat site that helps you find ways to donate and volunteer for some of your favorite organizations. • USA Today also recently put together an article about companies that give. This week you can score some deals on food, a vacation and music. Remember if you ever have any deal suggestions send me an b>e-mail. Restaurant Deals Free Music Downloads Vacation Deals • Ski.com is running lots of ski package specials. • Carnival also has deals starting as low as $299 a person. • Southwest Airlines is also having an end of the year blow out sale. You've got until December 29th to book the deal and you must book at least 14 days in advance. This afternoon the retail industry asked for a bailout of sorts from the federal government. Okay, they didn't ask for money specifically, they asked for three national tax-free shopping holidays for 2009. In a letter the National Retail Federation wrote to President-elect Barack Obama: "The situation is critical. In October, consumer confidence was at its lowest level in the 41 years records have been kept." "We urge you to act quickly on legislation to help stimulate consumer spending as one of the first priorities of your new administration." So here's the proposal: The NRF says those tax-free shopping days would save the average family $175 and help millions of retail workers keep their jobs. What do you think? Would you be more likely to shop on those tax-free days? Do you think the government should make this part of its economic stimulus plan? Add your comments below. I hope you are all enjoying time with family this holiday. If you've got family coming into town or maybe you're heading out of town for the holidays, let's hope you pack your patience. The weather across the country has made travel a bit challenging this week. So I thought I'd try to help. There are several really great websites that can help you keep track of flight delays and even security checkpoint times at airports across the country. The Federal Aviation Administration has an entire map of the country that is updated every 15 seconds that shows you which airports are experiencing delays. Fly Stats also has a section devoted to flight delays. Here you can plug in the airport you're flying into and even see the security wait times. Not every airport is connected to the security wait time section. However, one of the best features is the section on ground delays. It lets you link directly to flights that are flying in or out of your airport so that you can see how long they are being delayed, even the reason for the delays. Here's to safe and happy travels! My brother-in-law collects snow globes. They are one of my favorite holiday decorations and it's why I was surprised to see today's recall of 7,000 jumbo snow globes that were sold at Hallmark. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission these snow globes act as a magnifying glass when exposed to sunlight. Twice these decorations have ignited nearby combustible materials. So Hallmark is recalling them. If you have one of these you should obviously keep it away from the sun or you can return it to a Hallmark store for a full refund. I checked and this is the first of its kind recall for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Most of us like knowing we're making a good investment with our money. Picking the right school is part of that. Smart Money just ranked schools based on their value and how much money you can expect to make once you graduate. Texas schools did really well and the rankings overall may give parents more reason to look at public schools. Both Texas A&M and the University of Texas were in the top five of public schools nationally. The study looked at tuition costs versus what students can expect to make once they graduate. It found students at Texas A&M can expect to get an average 315% return on their investment. Students who graduate from the University of Texas get an average of 305% return on their investment. There's something important for all parents to keep in mind. Part of why UT ranked so high is that according to the study, "82% of freshman who applied for need based aid received some kind of financial package." If you've got a child who is getting close to entering school here are some terrific resources to help you find financial aid and scholarships. FinAid.org is a terrific resource that can help you determine how much college will cost as well as places to get financial help. There's an entire section on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including a section that helps estimate how much your child may qualify for in financial aid. You'll also find some great tips on how to maximize your aid eligibility. For more financial aid information check out FAFSA4caster. The U.S. Department of Education is another good place to get information. It provides $83 billion this year to students across the country. You'll find a bunch of resources here for finding financial aid. At College Board your child can register for the SAT, or check their SAT scores. This site also helps you determine whether your child is taking the right classes to get into the school of their choice. There is another section on how to find scholarships. This site offers some nice insight into the expenses and how to save. There's a helpful section that outlines how much you should be saving based on your child's age. Here are some good resources on 529 plans: Got tips you'd like to share? Add your comments below. I'm happy to say I finished my holiday shopping. I'm sad for the 20.5% of people the National Retail Federation says have yet to start. You're probably not surprised they also say the biggest procrastinators are men (24.2%). I'm here to help guys. Lots of online retailers are upping the ante this weekend to help you get those gifts to their destinations on time. So no excuses. • Blue Nile.com is a jewelry site and is offering free Fed Ex delivery with lots of different orders through December 23rd. You can order gift certificates online up until December 24th and have them e-mailed to that special person in your life. • Zappos.com is offering free shipping as long as you order by 1pm on December 23rd. • Gap.com, Banana Republic.com, even Old Navy.com are offering free shipping if you spend more than $100 and use your store credit card before Sunday. • Wal-Mart is having some incredible online specials. Remember you can often get these gifts delivered to a store for pickup and avoid having to wait or pay extra for shipping. • K-Mart.com is offering free shipping on jewelry and clothing as long as you buy it by Saturday, December 20th. Remember you can always find the free shipping promotional codes and the deadlines to meet them at free shipping.org. Ever stop to listen to the music when you go out to eat? You might after you hear what a recent study found. According to the study, "when restaurants play classical music, diners are influenced to indulge more, specifically by buying fancy coffees, pricey wines, and luxurious desserts". The researchers took over a restaurant in England and then controlled the music for 18 nights. They alternated between silence, pop tunes and classical music. The study found, "When classical music was played, patrons spent on average $40 per person compared to the $35 they spent when there was no music." That's not a huge difference, but it was people consistently spent more over the entire 18 day period. Other studies have found similar trends. For example one study found that dimming the lights makes people eat more. Places like Target and even some grocery stores play no music at all. That too is a conscious decision. Marketers say silence gives shoppers less of a time reference so they forget how long their shopping. Time is crucial. Stores want to keep you shopping for at least 11 and a half minutes, because research has shown if you're in the store that long, you're more likely to make a purchase. All of this science has transformed over the years so that now stores ask for your opinion. You'll see survey requests on many of your receipts. Target actually heard that shoppers didn't like the curbs outside the stores because they were difficult to navigate with shopping carts. As a result Target stores have no curbs outside the store leading to the parking lot. What do you think? Does music make you spend more or eat more? Add your comments below. This holiday season brings with it extra joy because there are some terrific travel deals. Cruise lines are offering up big on board credits and resorts are slashing prices. Here are some of the deals I found tonight. Home Away features vacation condos and homes. I found this condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico renting for $99 a night through May 2009. Vacation Roost has some terrific deals if you like to ski. Below you'll find some of my favorite travel saving websites that could help you plan your next vacation. Remember if you have any secrets you'd like to share, drop me an e-mail. Travel Tricks There's also a great section here that lists the best fares of the day. It's great to check here. A few summers ago there was roundtrip airfare from New York to London for less than $200. • Start Searching Saturday morning. Some airlines drop fares if they have trouble filling seats and because many airlines won't match prices over the weekend. • Other Times Flight Prices Tend to Change • Search outside the City • The Rule of 7's • Keep Checking If you don't have time to check--sign up for a free e-mail alert at yapta.com This site will scan travel sites for you. There are some really cool features on this site, including a play by play of the airfare prices for the flight you've booked. When it drops the site will send you an e-mail. Then all you have to do is call the airline and pocket the savings. Farecast.com offers an airfare predictor. It looks at historical data and helps you decide whether you should buy now or later. • Score better seats for cheap Last Minute Deals There are a couple of things to keep in mind with these sites. You want to be sure you know where you are staying. Some sites do a better job of giving you hotel names. The other caution is that some consumers say they have been double billed when booking through these sites. One traveler says they were charged by the hotel and by the website for their room and then had to fight for a refund. Here is a look at the information I've collected from various travel experts over the past several years during our Best Times stories. The cheapest time of day to travel: The most expensive days to travel: Other sites worth checking out This week's deals of the week will help you find free shipping at hundreds of online sites, save even more money than last week's restaurant deals did and get a subscription to some of the most popular magazines for just $5. Enjoy! Remember if you ever have any deals you'd like me to share, send me an e-mail. Free Shipping Remember Amazon.com's Free Super Saving Shipping on toys also ends today. Restaurant savings Magazine Subscriptions Hearst is having a $5 magazine holiday sale. That means you can get all kinds of magazines including 6 issues of Cosmo, 6 issues of O, Oprah's magazine or twelve issues of one of my favorites, Smart Money Magazine, for just $5. This year more than any other people are looking to save money. Retailers know this and have boosted their sales like never before. Yet as a consumer you may not realize in some cases retailers hands are tied when it comes to dropping prices. They must abide by MAP or the "minimum advertised price" rules. That means a retailer agrees not to advertise a product for a price lower than the price a manufacturer sets. It explains why you always see iPods selling for the same price no matter the retailer. According to some trade sites manufacturers pay to monitor pricing. The manufacturers say it prevents deep discounters from hurting the brands. What do you think? Would you like to see stores have some flexibility in pricing? Add your comments below. I was amazed the other day when I was shopping and saw how much stores were marking down toys. It turns out maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. This year President Bush signed the Consumer Product Safety Act into law. Eventually it will mean all but trace amounts of lead will be allowed in toys. However most of the requirements don't take effect until next year. Check toys that were recently tested It is interesting to read some of the letters written and posted on the Toy Industry Association's website. Manufacturers are concerned about the cost of conducting the tests that will now be required and so according to several consumer experts and at least one toy store owner I spoke with many of those manufacturers are lowering the price of the toys they have in inventory in hopes of selling it off before the new rules take effect February 10th. The story I did in May 2004 started this entire government investigation into lead in toys. As a parent here are the things to keep in mind: Here are some more resources to help you make smart decisions about the toys you buy for your children: What are you noticing at stores? Add your comments below. I grew up in a coupon clipping family. My parents always had a little coupon book they take with them to the grocery store. It's a habit that stuck with me. That probably explains why I look for savings when I shop online too. So I thought I would pass along some of my favorite online savings sites. I don't buy anything without first checking these two sites: Here are a few of my other bookmarked favorites: Got any money saving secrets? I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an e-mail or add your comments below. For those of you who are new to my blog, each Wednesday I post deals of the week. These are items I've come across that I think are worth checking out. This week you'll see that I've got deals to help you eat out for less, pamper yourself and even treat your kids to a fun day at the museum. Enjoy and remember if you ever have any deals you think I should mention send me an e-mail. Through tomorrow, December 11th you can save 70 percent off any gift certificates you buy on Restaurant.com. Simply type in the word ONLINE in the promotional code box as you make your purchase. If you are not familiar with this site this is a great way to save money eating out. There are dozens of restaurants and you get $25 gift certificates for $10, but with these promotional codes that same gift certificate will cost you just $3. Keep in mind you often have to spend at least $35 at the restaurant to use those $25 gift certificates, which means you get a $35 dinner for $13. Some restaurants also will not let you use the gift certificates toward drinks or during happy hours. The Crossings spa is offering a buy a gift certificate get one for yourself deal. The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau is a great place to check for discounts to some of the most popular destinations. For example, there's this buy one get one free coupon to the Austin Children's Museum. Target is also offering free shipping on lots of products you buy online, including toys. You've got to order by Saturday, December 13th. During most holidays the boys in my family are all talking about the newest iPod or video game machine they're hoping to get. There aren't many new gadgets to be found this season, but TVs and digital cameras continue to be top sellers. So if you've got something like that on your shopping list I've got some great places for you to check out to make sure you're getting the best deal. Zing Sale helps track items will tell you which stores are offering the best deals and it will even track sales for you then send out an e-mail alert when the item you want goes on sale. Newegg provides a similar benefit and will even offer up suggestions to those shoppers struggling to find something to buy. The daily deals section offers up the best deals on tvs and digital cameras. You may also want to check out Tiger Direct. This site has a separate section for closeout deals. Got a suggestion? Add your thoughts in the comment section below. Most of us are tightening the purse strings this holiday season. So if you're finding it tough to give to your favorite charities you may want to shop using these sites. iGive.com offers items from more than 700 name brand stores. You select your state and even search through hundreds of charities to decide which you'd like to support. Then just shop away. Goodshop.com is powered by GoodSearch.com. You'll find more than 500 stores. You choose the cause then click on the retailer of your choice and shop like you normally would. Retailers determine how much they donate to charity. If you don't find the charity of your choice on the site you can add it. One word of caution charities that I've checked don't tend to make a ton of money through the GoodSearch.com site. For example, the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation has made a little more than $115 from the shopping links this year, about $1100 from people searching on GoodSearch.com. You may also want to search the charity of your choice to see what they offer. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure has its own shop online. They even offer inspiring holiday cards. Some of these cards give as much as 59 percent to help with breast cancer research. One of my favorites here is the Better Homes and Gardens limited edition pink cookbook which sells for $19.99 and includes recipes from some of the Food Network stars. Greatergood.com links you to several websites that sell items to support various charitable groups. The site says it donates between 5 and 30 percent to the charity. If you like to shop on eBay you may want to check out the site's section where sellers agree to give a portion or all of the proceeds to charity. You can also learn how to donate a portion of what you selling something on eBay here. I grew up in a family of five kids. My parents were the masters of making money stretch. It is really what has made me the shopper I am today and it is the sole reason for this blog. You will find all kinds of helpful consumer information and money saving tips. The first of which will begin Monday, December 8th, my first day at KVUE. Each Wednesday I will post deals of the week. This has become a reader favorite and it's a great place to get the scoop on where to find the best deals locally, nationally and on the web. So check back often and feel free to send me an e-mail if you have a question or a topic or a deal you'd like to see me mention. |
Terri Gruca anchors KVUE's 6 and 10pm newscasts. She brings you the latest consumer news and tells you where to find the best deals.
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