It's a hard-knock life for schools nationwide

Hard times are following kids back to school this year.

High gas prices and economic anxiety is impacting school districts nationwide. Students will be walking farther to catch the school bus, paying more for lunch and using old textbooks.

Last year's clothes will be worn on the first day of school. And field trips? Probably not.

This year, schools have to cut down on all fronts due to rising costs. The high gas prices are affecting transportation. School Buses are making less stops, and car-pooling will increase. Cafeteria food, heating and air conditioning costs are on the rise causing school districts frustration and extreme budgeting.

In rural Minnesota, one school district has decided to cease classes on Mondays. Classes Tuesday through Friday will be 10 minutes longer, saving a lot of fuel.

Candice Jaenisch, whose two sons and daughter will be making the switch, says: "You're cutting expenses that really don't affect school." Some may say having Mondays off will increase other costs such as daycare. Luckily, in this small town, most parents are farmers or work out of their homes. "I really don't know that there are that many people with set hours Monday through Friday," Jaenisch adds.

Parents are cutting back on spending for back to school items. For back-to-school clothes, Heidi McLean shopped at outlets and the Marshalls discount chain for her son and daughter, high school students in Eureka, Calif. Others are hitting secondhand stores, and some are foregoing shopping all together.

Click here to read the Boston Globe article.

Apple yanks 'I Am Rich' iPhone app

The iPhone has quickly become a status symbol in today’s society and even though the price has dropped considerably in the past year, they're hardly a product for the average consumer.

Perhaps to poke a little fun at the spending habits of iPhone owners, the Los Angeles Times reports that Armin Heinrich, a German software developer, developed an application called “I Am Rich.”

The application costs $1,000 for iPhone owners to download to their devices. Unlike other handy apps such the scientific calculator, the level, or any number of flashlights which can be purchased for about $.99, the “I Am Rich” application has no function.

It merely displays a picture of a ruby on the screen, and, if you show your friends, proves that in fact you are rich. The New York Times reports that eight people have purchased the app, but that several have demanded a refund.

Heinrich, the software developer, has no problem with that.

“It’s OK to return the money. I did not want to harm anybody with my app,” he tells the New York Times.

He simply thought it would be funny to create one that was so expensive because some people complain when they have to pay for any kind of app. The shoppers who asked Apple for their money back probably didn’t see things in the same light as Armin Heinrich.

“I regard it as art. I did not expect many people to buy it and did not expect all the fuss about it,” he says.

Click here for the latest.

CU Advocate's Deals of the Day

Staples: Texas Instruments TI-84 plus calculator $70

Walmart: Madden NFL '09 for $59.74

Amazon: Save 40% on grocery outlet items

Overstock.com: 10% off memory foam

Consumer United: New customers who subscribe to FiOS TV between now and Saturday, Oct. 4 will receive their choice of a year's free use of either a high-definition (HD) digital video recorder (DVR) or an HD Home Media DVR.

Save gas money in the morning?

Do you pump gas in the morning to save money? You may consider sleeping in.

According to a Consumer Reports article, you won't save money by pumping gas early in the morning. The advice is to pump gas in the early morning before the heat of the day causes the oil to increase in volume. The early morning gasoline will be denser, meaning you'll get more energy per gallon than later in the day. As gasoline goes from 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit, it increases in volume by 1%, while the energy content remains the same.

The facts are true, but the advice is not. Gasoline is stored underground where the temperature variation is little or none at all throughout the day. Craig Eerkes, former chairman of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America talks of an expansion of gas with a change in the day's temperature. Eerkes calls the change, "Just so, so minuscule as to be almost nonexistent." The first few gallons at the pump may be slightly warmer than the gallons to follow, due to the gas sitting in the pump dispenser which was warmed by the sun. Aside from that, the time of day will not make a difference in the weight of your wallet.

Judy Dugan, Research Director for the California advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, says, "If fuel is warm when it’s delivered to a station, it’ll still be warm when it’s sold a few hours later." So the real advice? Go to the pump whenever you would like. The gasoline temperature will not increase with the afternoon sun.

CU Advocate's Back-To-School Deals

Apple: Back-to-school sale. Buy a Mac get 8a GB iPod touch or nano free

Dell Home: 20% to 30% off Inspiron notebook PCs

Adidas: 20% off back-to-school sale

Performance Bike: Back-to-school bonanza sale

Consumer United: New customers who subscribe to FiOS TV between now and Saturday, Oct. 4 will receive their choice of a year's free use of either a high-definition (HD) digital video recorder (DVR) or an HD Home Media DVR.

CU Advocate's Deals of the Day

Amazon.com: Save up to 45% on coffee and espresso machines

Dell: Save 20% or $250 off Inspiron Core desktop PCs

Netflix: $4.99 a month, no late fees, free trial

Sundance Teas: Free sample of Sundance Organic Life Tea

Consumer United: New customers who subscribe to FiOS TV between now and Saturday, Oct. 4 will receive their choice of a year's free use of either a high-definition (HD) digital video recorder (DVR) or an HD Home Media DVR.

Inside Consumer United :: Tavern On The Water

Consumer United advocates (L-to-R) Daniel Weaver, Ryan Clauson and Lana Petersson enjoy the breathtaking views of downtown Boston from the pier outside of Charlestown's Tavern on the Water.

Facebook dominates global online market

Facebook is the world's No. 1 social network--edging out MySpace, YouTube, Linkedin and Google's Orkut--according to figures released by comScore earlier this week.

The brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg, the San Francisco-based CEO who began Facebook in early 2004 as a Harvard-only SNS, has exploded as a global leader and platform for free expression.

The site has 132 million users with 63% outside North America. Facebook is translated into 20 different languages including French, Spanish and Mandarin and is extremely successful in terms of its ability translate content into so many languages. New members were up 153% in June when compared to the same month one year earlier.

While Facebook is a great way to reach out to old friends and connect overseas, there's an emerging backlash.

Most free Web sites offer a photo upload with an option to add a caption. End of story. Not on Facebook.

Here, users upload pictures, tag their name while adding their friend's name... even if their friend isn't a member of the online global network. People are learning that their personal information is ending up on Facebook without their approval or knowledge.

One may feel a "social connectedness" when networking on this site but some feel violated and confused. Facebook is encouraging users to share information that is, in essence, being used to send advertisements targeted to a specific demographic. This tactic is a serious red flag among many privacy advocates.

Click here for the lowdown. Also, go here to join Consumer United's Facebook group.

Consumer Woes :: Down the drain

Here's a rant from one of our members:

Why do technicians feel they can charge gobs of money for so little time? Recently, Maureen had her brother replace the innards of her toilet. Everything looked great and was working well.

A few days later Maureen noticed water leaking from the bottom of the toilet. Instead of bothering her brother again, she called a plumber located in Gardner, Mass. The plumber came, looked at the problem and tightened two screws under the toilet tank's bottom. The bill? $142.94.

Let's do the math. 5 minutes tightening the screws, 10 minutes writing out the ridiculous bill and a fuel surcharge of $15. When asked why the bill was so high, the plumber said he was charging a "diagnostic charge."

Maureen has emailed the company twice regarding the total rip off and has yet to hear from them.

Buy a Detroit home for a buck

You may think $1 won't get you very far but it just may buy you a house.

A home in Detroit was recently sold for $1 and it still took 19 days to find a buyer. In November 2006, the home sold for $65,000 and was the nicest house on the block. After the family moved due to a home foreclosure, the house was gutted by scrappers. These vandals took the lighting fixtures, copper plumbing, the furnace, and even the kitchen sink. Anything of value was gone.

At this point, the home was just a shell. The bank had to pay to find a buyer. $2,500 in sales commission, and another $1,000 bonus for closing the $1 sale. The bank will also have to pay $500 of the buyer's closing costs. "Dollar property sales are the financial hangover from the foreclosure crisis," said Anthony Viola of Realty Corp. of America in Cleveland. In the end it will cost the bank around $10,000 in order to sell the home for $1.

The buyer calls this purchase an investment. The buyer will have to pay $5,000 for a home demolition, and will owe $3,900 on 2009 property taxes unless the assessment is challenged. This shows how much trouble the real estate market is in, especially in one of America's poorest cities.

Check out the full article at Detroit News here.

CU Advocate's Deals of the Day

Gap: Save 25% or more off men's and women's jeans

MacConnection: $120 off and free Fusion on MacBooks

Amazon: Buy 3 books get the 4th free

WalMart: Free $30 gift card with 8GB iPod touch purchase

Consumer United: Sign up with our new home security service provider, Brinks, and get free installation on Brinks Home Security standard system. This is a $199 savings off their standard offer. Please say you're a Consumer United member and reference the promo code CCP# 28621. Click here to learn more.

Whole Foods sheds 'whole paycheck' label

Sales for generic brand groceries and other moderately priced goods are up as sales of just about everything else are trending downward.

That poses a problem for high-end retailers like Whole Foods who rely on customers willing to pay quite a bit more for the experience of shopping for their upscale goods at their stores.

Now that gourmet groceries are a luxury most shoppers are quickly cutting out of their budgets, Whole Foods must quickly reposition itself as a better value.

The New York Times reports stores are taking steps such as offering guided tours of good deals shoppers can find and displaying “weekly buys” fliers.

Andrew Wolf, an analyst for BB&T Capital Markets, tells the New York Times that Whole Foods was “a tale of two stores.” He says the grocery items in the middle of the store, dry goods such as cereal and pasta, are competitively priced.

The “outer items,” such as meat and produce, tend to be more expensive at Whole Foods, he said. That can be risky at a time when consumers are becoming increasingly price sensitive.

It’s becoming clear that this worsening economic environment is having an impact on consumers at all economic levels,” Mitchell P. Corwin, an analyst at Morningstar says. “The whole paycheck image can really hurt you.”

Whole Foods, however, does not want to risk losing a segment of its customer base to this image. Long an unconventional retailer, the company has decided to continue to pursue the value branding strategy. One part of the experience Whole Foods does not want to change is the high level of service customers have come to expect.

The next time you visit Whole Foods, ask a representative for a tour of the week’s best deals. You just might go home with a list of suggested recipes for tonight’s dinner.

Click here for the complete article.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

Tax-free weekend in Massachusetts

This year, a two-day summer sales tax holiday is in effect for Saturday, Aug. 16 to Sunday, Aug. 17 in Massachusetts.

The tax holiday will apply to items costing $2,500 or less. This is the fifth year in a row for the tax-exempt holiday. Supporters for the weekend are hoping it stimulates the economy a time of year that's normally slow.

Senate president Therese Murray tells the Associated Press: "“A sales-tax-free weekend will be welcomed more than ever in this tough economy, especially with the high prices of food and fuel. The relatively small sacrifice in state revenue is worthwhile when you consider the positive impact on consumer confidence and taxpayers’ wallets.”

The tax exemption doesn't apply to all sales of motor vehicles, motorboats, meals, telecommunications services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products and any single item whose price is over $2500.

Click here for more information.

CU Advocate's Deals of the Day

Payless: Back-to-school sale up to 40% off

Best Buy: Save up to $15 or more

Newegg.com: Sennheiser CX300S earbud headphones $30 shipped

Staples: Quickbooks 2008 Simple Start Edition $90 rebate

Consumer United: Sign up with our new home security service provider, Brinks, and get free installation on Brinks Home Security standard system. This is a $199 savings off their standard offer. Please say you're a Consumer United member and reference the promo code CCP# 28621. Click here to learn more.

Join Consumer United before fees kick in

We've experienced enormous growth in the past few months and, as of Sept. 1, 2008, Consumer United will start charging a $15 annual membership fee for those who sign up after Aug. 31, 2008.

However, members who join before Sept. 1, 2008 will NOT be charged the annual membership fee.

So, join our group here and your no-fee membership will be good as long as you remain within our viral-savings group.

Save on gas? Go naked

You jump in your car wearing socks, shoes, pants, a T-shirt and maybe even a sweater or a light jacket. What if you could save gas by eliminating all of these items?

Glenn Beck, a so-called "recovering alcoholic rodeo clown" and conservative national radio talk show host may have the most ingenious, yet simplistic, gas-saving solution out there.

Go naked.

"If people really loved America, they would strip down, leave their clothes at home and drive around buck naked," he jokes in his commentary on CNNPolitics.com.

The columnist continues, "That would decrease the weight of our cars, which would increase our gas mileage so dramatically that we probably wouldn't have to drill for any new oil!"

Check out his "Drive naked, save America" commentary here.

Independent gas stations go extra mile

As Americans try hard to cut down on the number of miles they log and more and more families are leaving their SUVs at home, gas station owners are forced to compete for every gallon they sell.

Some have tied to capitalize on the old-fashioned advantage of having the best service in town. Route 102 Gas in Londonderry, NH, an independent gas station, washes windows and checks the oil of their customers, all without charge.

Owners can decide what level of service they provide to the customers, but they often have little control of the price of their gas.

"Customers can complain all they want, but there's not much they can do," says Ralph Stowell, owner of a LukOil station, to the Eagle Tribune.

Just a few cents can be the deciding factor, the Eagle Tribune discovered after conducting an informal survey last week. In North Andover, Mass, the Gulf and Mobil stations posted prices four cents apart.

After nearly an hour, not a single car had stopped at Gulf, the station with the more expensive gas. "It's not like years ago," said William Burke to the Eagle Tribune. He has owned the Mobil station for more than thirty years. "It's a price-driven market."

Occasionally, though, customers are willing to pay the extra few cents to continue buying from their favorite stations.

Jay Pelletier of Chester, NH, arrived to fill up his motorcycle. He told the Eagle Tribune he has a "loyalty to Shell and its convenience to the highway."

That loyalty is a value that gas station owners are hoping to capitalize on. They can’t always lower prices so they have to find other ways to keep drivers coming back.

Click here for more information.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

CU Advocate's Deals of the Day

Eddie Bauer: Save up to 70% off clothing

Lucky Brand Jeans: $25 off $100 purchase with student ID at any Lucky store

Staples: Save up to 50% on select tech, furniture, and supplies

Dell: Save 30% off M1130 widescreen notebook PCs

Consumer United: Sign up with our new home security service provider, Brinks, and get free installation on Brinks Home Security standard system. This is a $199 savings off their standard offer. Please say you're a Consumer United member and reference the promo code CCP# 28621. Click here to learn more.

Corporate giants go solar for savings

The biggest store chains in the U.S. are now seeing solar panels as a huge way to save energy and money.

According to The New York Times article, Stores such as Wal Mart, Kohls, Safeway and Wholefoods Market have installed solar panels on their roofs to generate electricity.

At this point, around 10 percent of each chain has solar coverage, but a large increase can be expected. There is a race in place, to beat the Dec. 31 deadline to gain tax advantages for these projects. Although coal is less expensive, companies believe they can save money by economies of scale.

Cutting back on coal and going solar will save these companies a lot of money and help the environment by using renewable resources.

"It's very clear that green energy is now front and center in the minds of the business sector," says Daniel M. Kammen, an energy expert at the University of California, Berkeley. "Not only will you see panels on the roofs of your local stores, but I suspect very soon retailers will have stickers in their windows saying, "This is a green energy store."

Most companies buy their own solar power systems up front, which may cost between $4 and $6 million dollars for a large store. Agreements can be made as well, where the utility company pays the up-front costs and gives stores a break on the high solar power bills.

Corporations are also looking to other forms of renewable energy, such as wind turbines, sky lights and white roofs that help to save money on cooling. Bernard Sosnick, an analyst with Gilford Securities believes, “It’s not as over the horizon as it might seem."

Click here for the complete article.

CU Advocate's Deals of the Day

Apple Store: Buy a Mac, get a free 8GB iPod Touch or nano

REI: Save 20% off any one item

Amazon: $10 instant savings on Izze Sparkling Juice

Sony Style: Save up to $300 on VAIO Campus value packs

Dish Network: HBO and STARZ free for the first three months. $50 credit on first bill. Platinum HD free for the first three months. Twelve months of Cinemax for 1 cent.