This year at Thanksgiving, I’m thinking about my mom and dad. They met on a wheat ranch during the Great Depression and had virtually nothing with which to start their married lives. When I was married in the 1960s, my former husband and I also had nothing. However, we did get college degrees. Read more →

It’s important for parents, grandparents, and child care providers to keep up on the latest about infant loungers. Just because a product, especially one for baby sleep, is being sold doesn’t mean it’s safe. Dock-A-Tot recently received a violation notice from the CPSC for importing an infant sleeper that didn’t meet the agency’s new rule. Read more →

If you’re going to shop for deals on Black Friday – the sales are now available earlier, stick around longer, and are increasingly moving online – be sure to keep comparing prices. Sometimes prices are marked way up then marked way down. During my journalism career, I’ve written articles on items likely to be on sale each month during the year. Read more →

If you read my newsletter (sign up here if you haven’t seen it yet), you know I advised consumers to start their Black Friday shopping for several weeks ago. My advice today is to keep comparison shopping and add some of the stores that WalletHub.com recommends as the best, and of course, leave those at the bottom of its list until last. Read more →

Buying a car is such a complicated process. I always appreciate information from Consumer Reports on the topic. Each year Consumer Reports issues a report on car reliability. It’s latest report showed hybrid vehicles and midsized or large sedans are among the most reliable, while electric vehicles and full-size pickup trucks are the two most problematic categories. Read more →

It’s great progress that 40 state attorneys general have reached a $391.5 million settlement with Google over its location tracking practices. The Big Four – Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook – have tremendous power over our personal information and more needs to be done to rein them in. Read more →

Among the biggest news from last week’s recalls is a portable generator that can amputate fingers. Generac and DR 6500 Watt and 8000 Watt portable generators have caused 37 injuries, 24 resulting in finger amputations and five in finger crushing, according to reports to Generac. Read more →

I just wanted to write and let you know today about what's going on with my newsletter. I scour personal finance websites every week to find the best tips for people to use in their personal finance lives. I've been getting a lot of positive feedback on it. Recently, J. Money of Budgets Sexy took a look at my newsletter. Read more →

It’s one of the biggest frauds unleashed on the American public: high gas prices despite falling oil prices. As consumers prepare to vote, it’s often the high gas prices that are on their minds. Recently, I wrote about price gouging: about one-third to half of the current inflation in the U.S. is being caused by corporations making excessive profits. Read more →

Big product recalls from last week included an exploding aerosol air freshener for linens, an exercise bicycle with loose pedals, canvas shoes with toxic chemicals, and a garment cleaner that can cause burns. I’m sharing details about the largest one, the garment steamer that has burned 32 people. Read more →