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 →

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 →

After a loved one dies, going  to a funeral home to make arrangements for a burial or cremation is difficult. Fortunately, in the 1980s I wrote an article on how to pick out funeral goods and services. I learned a lot. I did a survey after funeral directors in the area told me consumers weren’t having problems. Read more →

It’s Halloween, time to get the treats ready, and maybe a costume for you and the kids, too. I got a kick out of reading an article from my blog coach, J. Money at Budgets Are Sexy, on some good – and frugal costumes. Among them is static cling, wear normal clothes and safety pin socks and lint to it. Read more →

Are you planning to dress up for Halloween this year? Have a party? Hand out candy? When I worked in an office and had co-workers, I dressed up often for Halloween. See the photo to the left. I was “Miss Orondo,” Orondo being the rural center where I grew up in Central Washington. Read more →

I can’t urge people strongly enough to vote Nov. 8. You can still register to vote in most states. However, registration closes Oct. 11 in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. So much is at stake in the mid-term elections this year. Read more →

In 2013, I attended the opening of a Trader Joe’s store in Olympia, Washington. My friends, who traveled to Lakewood to shop at a store there, and other friends were buzzing about it. I was surprised that the store was small, and the vegetables were all shrink wrapped. And, only about a quarter of the fruits and vegetables were organic. Read more →

My daughters are runners, and when they come and visit, they run through a cemetery that’s about 10 blocks from where I live. Recently, they’ve been after me to pick out my grave. Mona even stopped by the office and brought me a map of the different sections of the cemetery. Read more →

On Facebook this week, a woman in a financial group told about how she almost paid $2,500 to a scammer on Zelle. It was the government imposter scam. A guy told her she owed $2,500 because she’d missed a court date. The calls went on for about an hour. A friend on another line kept telling her not to send the money. Read more →