Shopping With the holiday shopping season coming up soon, consumers say they’ll spend an average $967.13 this year, according to the annual survey conducted for the National Retail Federation. That’s up 3.4 percent from the $935.58 consumers said they’d spend when surveyed last year. Holiday retail sales in November and... Read more →
Photo: Northwest It’s possible some of the most popular holiday gifts won’t be available as we get closer to Christmas. Every year, last-minute shoppers find empty shelves when hunting for the season's top toys and gadgets – and they either end up paying huge prices or buying less exciting alternatives.... Read more →
When I was at the co-op the other day, I saw some premade pie crust. One was graham cracker and the other was chocolate. In the early 1990s, I stopped baking cookies, pies, and other desserts as part of a plan to improve my health. I still make pie, usually... Read more →
For most of last winter, I wore the above gloves, even though I lost one of them from time to time. I often found the missing glove, which made me happy. However, I lost one toward the end of last winter and haven't been able to find it. Let me... Read more →
When I woke up the other morning, I was distressed to see that I’d left out the turkey burger and collards that I’d sautéed the night before. I put the pan on the back of the stove and left the lid on for some reason. I didn’t notice it before... Read more →
About 37.8 million Kidde fire extinguishers with plastic handles are being recalled in the United States with an additional 2.7 million being recalled in Canada. The fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency. In addition, the nozzle... Read more →
When you sign a contract to buy an expensive pet, make sure you’re buying it not leasing it. Since pets can be expensive – maybe a few thousand dollars – some pet stores offer financing plans. You sign an agreement to make payments toward ownership. However, you may unintentionally sign... Read more →
Lately, I’ve been using my crockpot more. It’s an easy way to make stew with lots of vegetables. I’ve especially enjoyed lamb stew, but I realized I was increasing my consumption of red meat. Now I’m using chicken. I could try turkey, too. I got an urge for dumplings, so... Read more →
A Southern California-based auto dealership group will pay $1.4 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated a 2014 order prohibiting it from misrepresenting how much consumers could pay to finance or lease a vehicle. The proposed court order resolving the FTC’s lawsuit against 12 businesses, operating as... Read more →
There are many important races up for grabs, issues, too, in some states. Candidates and issues campaigns have been working hard to get information before the voters. Check their websites or Vote411.org if you haven't made up your mind how to vote or if you haven't researched candidates and issues... Read more →