It’s important to reduce the amount of pesticides in food that you and your children are exposed to. One way to do that is to be aware of the amount of pesticides that may be on the fruits and vegetables you buy. Thirty years after warnings of the dangers to children from pesticides, 75 percent of U.S. non-organic produce still contain potentially toxic chemicals, Read more →

Movies continue to be one of the most popular past times in the United States. Joseph Campbell called them the great American dream machine. However, in my opinion, movies fall short because they focus so much on violence. For many years, I’ve written about how violence in the media is harmful to children. Read more →

Buying a new car is among one the most challenging purchases a consumer needs to make. Every year, Consumer Reports, a research, testing, and advocacy organization, conducts a battery of tests on the vehicles it evaluates, including braking, handling, comfort, convenience, safety, and fuel economy. Read more →

The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” because 37 percent of women don’t use the internet and 259 million fewer woman have access to the internet than men. If women aren’t able to access the Internet, they’re unable to develop digital skills, which diminishes their opportunities to pursue STEM careers. Read more →

Things are busy, here in my corner of the USA. I’m behind in reporting on what’s happening for National Consumer Protection Week. A lot of my time has been taken up since the first of the year taking part in the Dean Ornish heart health program. It ends Wednesday. I’ll be reporting on its many benefits soon. Read more →

I’m approaching the 200th issue of my newsletter Helpful Money Tips for You. This week’s newsletter tips are especially valuable, so I’m posting a copy of the newsletter below. You can sign up for my newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/makeyourmoneywork. It’s free, so get it now and tell your friends about it, too. Read more →

In 2022, Americans paid more than $120 billion in interest and fees on credit cards. With interest rates going up, that amount is continuing to increase. For consumers to get the best offers on credit cards to keep their costs down, their repayment records need to be reported to credit bureaus. Read more →

Since my daughter lives in California, I’ve been fortunate to go wine tasting several times. Sonoma County is my favorite county for wine tasting. My daughter Lisa had been wine tasting in Napa County. She said it was expensive, so we tried Sonoma County instead. It was a big hit. Read more →

Presidents’ Day sort of sneaked up on me this year. At times in the past, I’ve written about Presidents’ Day as a time to appreciate our democracy and celebrate the many freedoms we have as a result. As thoughts of democracy come to mind, the war in Ukraine looms large. Read more →

Until this week, I hadn’t heard about a potential safety problem with electric bicycles or “e-bikes.” An article in The Washington Post, “A Child’s Death Prompts Questions About Brake Safety on E-bikes,” caught my attention. A lawsuit has been filed against Rad Power Bikes by the parents of a 12-year-old girl who was killed in an e-bike accident. Read more →