Savings 101 : Five Ways To Save Today

Business Week quizzed financial advisors for tips on how to reduce expenses while boosting savings. Here's a continuation of the savings tips:

6. Re-evaluate Your Phone Plan
Maybe you are not using all of your minutes on your cell phone plan. Chop down your service plan to save a lot of money. If you have a land line and a cell phone, maybe only one is necessary.

7. Cut Your Lawn
If you have a yard, start cutting your own lawn instead of hiring someone to do so. Use a push mower for a great work out, or listen to your iPod and ride along.

8. Consolidate Your Driving
Plan out your errands into one trip. You will save gas, and time. You can also walk, bike, or rollerblade nearby.

9. Track Your Expenses
Keep an eye on all of your cash so you know where, and how much you are spending. This will help you take control of your finances.

10. You May Have Too Much Insurance
Raise your deductibles for auto and home insurance, and check your life policy if you don't have any dependents.

Click here for savings tip No. 1-5.

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Consumer Woes: Traumatic AirTran experience

A pair of newlyweds are verbally threatened and harassed at Boston's Logan Airport. And what does AirTran offer in compensation? A $25 travel voucher.

Returning from their honeymoon, a couple checks in three bags before boarding an AirTran flight. Since one bag is oversized, the worker informs the duo that there's a $29 charge. The newlyweds, who had a legitimate gripe, mentions that there was no charge for the bag when they initially flew into Boston.

Annoyed by the question, the AirTran work calls over her supervisor.

The supervisor arrives and says, "If you don't watch it, I'll charge you for that first leg, too." The couple protests and asks for the supervisor's name. The manager will only give out her first name and walks away.

At this point, the worker tucks her badge into her sweater and calls out "Next!" The newlyweds don't budge, and again, they ask for the supervisor's name. The worker refuses to give out her name and yells profanities at the couple, screaming at them to get out of her face. Based on reports, there are numerous witnesses and small children in the line.

AirTran initially denied the couple's claims. However, as reports began to surface, AirTran offered a $25 travel voucher as compensation.

Read more here.

Low interest mortgage deal from Consumer United

As a Consumer United member, you are eligible for a discounted 15- and 30-year regular fixed-rate mortgage. Nothing complicated or exotic, just a straight-forward mortgage where the payments don't change. Our closing cost rates are 25-40% cheaper when you factor in Consumer United's $500-$1000 closing cost discount. Click here to learn more.

Better deals together? Absolutely. Consumer United is a savings-driven, grassroots group that's spearheading a network of ordinary consumers, folks like you, who have joined together to identify the best service providers, negotiate better deals and simplify their lives.

Home sales figures are on the rise

Housing slump gotten you down? Sales are on the rise.

Sales were slacking because Americans believed prices could drop even further. As more homes are entering the market, Americans are able to see the prices drop.

Home sales are finally increasing because of the recent housing slump. This could be due to falling home prices, causing buyers to enter the market. Sales are at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5 million units, the fastest rate in five months.

Sales of previously owned homes increased 3.1% last month. This is a surprise to economists, who expected an increase of 1.2%. The median price for a previously owned home fell in July to 212,400 from $215,100 in June. Sales of Co-op apartments, and condos rose 3.4% in July as the avg. price decreased 2.7% from a year ago.

Read more here.

Farmers' Almanic predicts chilly winter

Put on your snow suits, mittens, socks and hats.

The Farmers' Almanac predicts a colder than average winter this year. Predictions in 2008 are prepared for two years prior, using a secret formula based on sunspots, the position of the planets and the tidal action of the moon.

New Englanders are worried about the high cost associated with this year's winter. "This is going to be catastrophic for millions of people," says Peter Geiger, the almanac's editor. The below average temperatures are bound to cause severe problems, due to the high price of heating fuel.

The National Weather Service believes it will be a warmer than normal winter however the Farmer's Almanac was correct in 2008, when it predicted the Northeast to be hit with a long, cold and snowy winter. The 192 year old Farmer's Almanac publication holds a 80% to 85% accuracy rate for forecasts.

Read more here.

Savings 101: Five Ways To Save Today

Business Week quizzed financial advisors for tips on how to reduce expenses while boosting savings. Here's our take on the savings tips:

1. Cut Utility Bills
Turn off air conditioning, lower the thermostat when possible, turn off lights and buy efficient light bulbs.

2. Cut Back on Eating Out
Bring a bagged lunch to school or work. Eating out rarely costs less than eating at home.

3. Cancel your Gym Membership
The benefits of a gym membership are only worthwhile if you go often. Run outside instead, walk in the park, or play an outdoor sport with a friend.

4. Force Yourself to Save
Trick yourself into saving more. Setup automatic deposits every month from checking to savings and investment accounts. Over time, increase your automatic savings rate.

5. Take an Off-Season Vacation
Luxury Vacation condos can cost dramatically less during the off season. Go camping, stay with friends or visit a low cost location.

Check back tomorrow. We'll roll out five new savings tips each day for the remainder of the week.

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Consumer Woes: Exploding iPod

Are you afraid of your iPod exploding? Buyer's beware.

Dale had his iPod plugged in to charge, using the USB cable that came with his iPod and attaching it to his PC. After around 10 minutes, the iPod began to produce a sizzling sound. He looked at his iPod, just in time to see an explosion of sparks and spewing smoke and immediately disconnected the device.

In most alleged "exploding" iPod cases this is the end of the story. Not in Dale's case. The iPod continued to smoke and spark while exuding a sooty substance. This went on for several minutes, causing a small fire on his table. He extinguished the fire before any harm could be done to his laptop. Eventually, the iPod calmed, although it was extremely hot for many minutes following.

Dale called the Apple hotline and the tech told him he would immediately be granted a new iPod at his local store, regardless of how old Dale's iPod was. When he went in to the local Apple store, no one would replace the iPod. The GM said there was NO WAY the iPod could be replaced, because it was not under warranty and there was no way Apple could ever really know what happened.

It turns out Dale's iPod will be replaced, and the GM at Apple apologizes for Apple and the tech, and for how the situation was handled. Read the full article here.

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Boston's inflation rate trumps other metro areas

Inflation is impacting Americans across the country, but the Boston area has been hit especially hard by rising prices. The Associated Press reports that consumer prices increased over six percent last year, the biggest jump of all metropolitan areas.

Overall, inflation rose about 5.5 percent last year. The country has not experienced that kind of year-to-year jump since 1991. One of the major underlying causes for the increase is the price of fuel.

As the price of crude oil spent weeks setting records, those price increases translated into higher prices for gas, food and other goods.

These effects have been compounded in the Boston area because of the region’s distance from the country’s main production centers of food and fuel. A significant amount of the nation’s oil comes from the South and the Midwest, and the Midwest and California are the major agricultural centers.

The more it costs to transport these items and the further they have to go, the more consumers must pay. In addition, many homes in the Boston area are dependant on oil to heat their homes, so an increase in the price of fuel causes home heating bills to rise as well.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

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Chronicle re-airs feature on Consumer United

The segment featuring Consumer United will air again on Chronicle this Wednesday, August 20 at 7:30 p.m. The local WCVB-TV (ABC Channel 5) news piece is called "Cutting Back."

Chronicle interviews Consumer United founder, Justin Dangel, where he discusses the power of consumers banding together to negotiate better deals.

"The core of most people's expenses are their bills and it's very hard for people to find savings there," Dangel tells Chronicle. "We use the size of this group to negotiate and to pool buying power. And it turns out that companies are excited to work with a large group of consumers and give them a better deal."

Dangel, who says he's saved his members over $300,000 on insurance and utilities, says the economy's careening costs drive people like Missy Lioz to search for bargains.

"You go to the supermarket and you look at your utility bills and everything is going up and it's frightening. I get bargains on everything and it never occurred to me that you could negotiate on utilities," Lioz adds. "It feels like finally someone is doing something about what seems like an out-of-control system."

Bussed students may have to walk to school

Parents and officials around the country are waiting until September to see how the current generation of suburban chauffeured students will respond to walking to school.

Hundreds of school districts from Massachusetts to California have been forced to make big-budget cuts this year, and compounded with the high price of fuel, bus routes were some of the first expenses to been crossed off the list.

Cities and towns have responded by increasing the distances from which students are expected to walk. In many places, it’s 1 to 1.5 miles for elementary school students and 2 miles for high school students.

Encouraging more kids to walk has more benefits than just saving money for the school districts. There will be less pollution from the diesel fuel used by school buses, kids will get more exercise and become more oriented in their communities.

The new effort does have some detractors, however. Mary Day, a mother from Shirley, Mass. expressed her concern to CNN. "I remember being a kid," Day says. "Are you going to walk a half-mile down the street to cross in the appropriate way when you see a clear way right there?"

She worries that her sons will come into contact with traffic and train tracks on their way home from school each day. Like many working parents, she can drive them to school inn the morning, but cannot pick them up in the afternoon.

Julie Hatchel, a spokeswoman for a California school district, explains the reasoning behind the unpopular cuts. "Our goal was to keep those cuts as far away from the classroom as possible," she adds.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

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Retail sales drop on a national level

For the first time in five months, retail sales have dropped.

The Commerce Dept. reports Wednesday that retail sales fell .1 percent in July. This is the first drop in retail sales since a .5 percent drop in February. With gas prices at an all time high in July, shoppers say "no" to anything that's not an essential.

The $92 billion in stimulus checks seem to be just a memory. The fragile economy may slow down even more in the second half of the year. On a good note, the all time high gas prices have been falling, hopefully helping consumer spending in the coming months. Economists are still concerned, wondering if gas prices alone will be enough to change the current consumer spending habits.

Susan Taylor-Demming of Naperville, Ill. says, "Play dates instead of water park adventure." Taylor-Demming says her budget this year has meant that she drove to New Jersey with her two daughters instead of taking a flight for a summer vacation.

Tony Fratto, presidential spokesman at the White House, believes that July sales reflect a decline in auto sales caused by high gas prices. Excluding autos, retail sales would actually have increased .4%.

Read the full article at the Washington Post.

Gas prices and electric bike sales climb

You are environmentally friendly, and you are about to go out with your friends. You're not about to sweat it up on your bicycle.

Alternative? Grab your electric bike.

The Associated Press shows that with the rising cost of gas, and more people wanting to go green, people are looking towards electric bikes as a step in the right direction.

Electric bikes act as a two wheeler with a battery powered assist, combining old-fashioned pedaling with a battery powered motor. You don't need a license or registration, so long as you don't ride more than 20mph. Most models can ride for at least 20 miles before they need to be recharged.

Gluskin-Townley Group does market research for the national bike dealers association, and estimates 10,000 electric bikes were sold in the U.S. in 2007, up from 6,000 in 2006. "The electric bikes are the next big thing," says Frank Jamerson, a former GM corp exec turned electric vehicle guru.

Boston gas prices better than U.S. average

Sick of gas prices in Boston? We may be better off than the entire nation.

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, Boston drivers paid 8 cents less per gallon of gasoline compared to July's national average.

Boston drivers paid around $4.06 per gallon of gas in July, compared to the U.S. average of $4.14 per gallon.

Although Boston drivers are paying less this does not exclude the fact that Boston gas prices rose $1.07, or 35.8% in July 2007, and were up 8.2% over May 2008.

Read more at bizjournals.com

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