Consumption Rules

Paul English has an awesome website called gethuman.com, which is described as the following:

…a consumer movement created to change the face of customer service. This free website is powered by over one million consumers, and the site is run by volunteers who demand high quality customer service. Our site has information for many types of companies including credit cards, finance companies (banks and mortgages), insurance companies, cell phone providers, and many others.

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Here is a clip of John Stewart on Crossfire, with Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala, accusing them of ‘partisan hackery’ and pleading with them to stop. I don’t post this link to promote John Stewart by any means, but he brings up a good point. The two-party political system has served an important purpose throughout history, keeping one party in check by the other, but it seems it now serves more just to polarize the political views of politicians and media personalities.

I find it hard to believe that many democrats believe exclusively in what the DNC supports, or that many republicans support everything on the RNC’s agenda. But yet any time there is a political discussion, it seems that we can’t avoid the situation where the representative democrat takes the extreme view of the democrats and the representative republican takes the extreme republican view. Some might consider this cheap entertainment, but I, along with John Stewart, consider it a waste of time.

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Receiving several credit card offers in the mail every week is definitely annoying, but it can also expose you to potential identity theft. There is an easy way to opt out of receiving these offers by simply going to the official opt-out website, www.optoutprescreen.com, or by calling them directly at 1-888-5-optout (1-888-567-8688).

Through this website, you may request to: (more…)

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Here is a very short list of websites out there that offer deals on electronics and outdoor gear:

Feel free to submit any websites that you know of…

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If you are interested in cutting back on gas expenses, there is a great website out there to help you, called fueleconomy.gov. One of the best features is a map showing the location of all the cheapest gas prices in your area [here], but it also includes tips on how to drive more fuel-efficiently and how to maintain your car to keep it running as efficiently as possible.

If you are in the market to buy a car that guzzles less gas they offer tools to compare the mpg of different makes and models, and a calculator to help you estimate your annual gas expense, as well as the amount of gas you’ll spend over the life of the car. If you’re really interested, you can download and print their fuel economy guide.

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I remember hearing about Congress mulling over legislation to help protect consumers, especially as it relates to identity theft. Later I heard that we could access our credit reports for free starting last year, but then I didn’t hear much about what came of it.
Apparantly that legislation was the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 [summary], or [full text], [Statement from the White House].

One of the major provisions of FACTA was to allow all consumers access to a free copy of their credit report every year from each of the major credit bureaus. The official website is www.annualcreditreport.com. Everyone should take a minute, go to that link, and access a copy of your credit report.

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Regarding Pyramid Schemes, the SEC’s website has the following to say:

…despite their claims to have legitimate products or services to sell, these fraudsters simply use money coming in from new recruits to pay off early stage investors. But eventually the pyramid will collapse. At some point the schemes get too big, the promoter cannot raise enough money from new investors to pay earlier investors, and many people lose their money.

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If you’ve ever purchased something that offered a mail-in rebate, then you probably share in my frustration over the process. Several stores, including OfficeMax, Staples, and Best Buy, use mail-in rebates extensively in their sales promotions, although Slashdot reported on an article that reported Best Buy is trying to phase out some of their rebate programs by 2007.

Wikipedia offers the following reasons why mail-in rebate programs are so attractive to retailers: (more…)

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I read that Ford and GM are ready to begin production of flexible fuel vehicles (FFV). These can operate on a max of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. I debated renewable energy in high school and researched the ethanol question extensively. The following are the benefits of FFVs:

Pros:

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President Bush was in Milwaukie, Wisconsin today speaking about his Advanced Energy Initiative. One of the primary tenets of this