PlanetFeedback's ShopperCast

Sue You!

Well now that all the merriment and holiday-making is over, it's time to get back to real life.  And, unfortunately, for many couples and families, that means d-i-v-o-r-c-e.  People generally don't want to split with a spouse right before the holidays, so the marriage limps along through the end of December.  Statistically, a large percentage of couples of separate and/or file for divorce in January.  Our marriage did just that.

But who can afford a lawyer in this economy? 

Lawyers cost money.  Not only been there and done that, but it's also our livelihood.  Lawyers want retainers.  $1,000 right up front - and only if you're lucky.  Some attorney retainers are much higher than that.  And after that retainer is exhausted (as it invariably will) you will pay by the hour ~ sometimes up to $300 or $400 an hour.

Tough to pay this bill under the best of circumstances.  Add with holiday bills coming due and people worrying about whether they're going to  have a job in the New Year... yikes.

So more people are doing their divorces on they're own (and often at their own peril).  There are all sorts of legal pitfalls that await the unwary... especially if the other side is represented by counsel.  You could be waiving valuable rights that you don't even know you have. 

Our suggestion is a practical one.  If at all possible, ask about mediation. It's much cheaper and a mediator is a lawyer and can help the parties come to an amicable agreement on property division and child custody matters.  (Hint - amicable usual equals cheaper.)  Our other idea is to draft your documents yourself but, prior to filing, to hire an attorney (through referrals from friends or a referral agency) for a few hours to review them and to consult with to be sure you haven't overlooked anything major. 

Good luck.

--Contributed by Deb

A Green Christma$

So we got our newspaper the other day.... and it was filled with ads for post-holiday sales.  Already.  Whew.  Starting first thing on Friday morning. 

One guess this is to appeal to people who want to stock up on their holiday goodies for next year ~ if you're thinking about going with an artificial Christmas tree next year, maybe it's a good idea to get one after Christmas and stick in your attic.  It's going to be significantly cheaper now than it is next November.  Or maybe Santa didn't bring you your heart's desire, you can go out and grab it at a good price.

Retailers are reportedly very depressed with how this shopping season ended.  Tis the season for the savvy shopper.

Kohl's has an after Christmas clearance that's 60-70% off... supposedly.  We don't think this is 60-70% off what you'd pay TODAY for the same item.  But it's still going to get people in the door.  And if you got a Kohl's gift card from your honey this year, you can make your money go a lot farther by buying things at their after Christmas sale.  It's been so cold here in the East, we're marginally tempted to go buy a pair of fuzzy gloves.  Perhapas we'll order them online. 

What are we at ShopperCast East doing the day after Christmas?  As little as possible.  It's been a very busy season for us and we just now finished getting ready for THE BIG DAY tomorrow.  The tape has just been barely been stuck on our last gift.  And dinner is just ready to be started. 

Merry Christmas to all....!  We wish you all the blessings of the season.

--Contributed by Deb

A ShopperCast Public Service Announcement

It is only four days until Thanksgiving.  If you purchased a frozen turkey, take it out of the freezer right now.  Stop reading... we'll wait for you to continue while you take the bird out of the freezer.  Our turkey breast is out of the freezer and thawing so we can start the brining process tomorrow night.  (As an aside, brining makes the meat extremely moist.)

One of the safest way to defrost a turkey is in the 'fridge.  It takes about 24 hours of thawing time for every 4-5 pounds of bird.  Or you can thaw it in cold water.  But for the love of the deity of your choice, do NOT take the turkey out of the freezer and bang it onto the countertop or into the sink to thaw at room temperature for 3 or 4 days.  Unless you want a side trip to the emergency room to have your stomach pumped on Thanksgiving. 

And you don't want to be sticking a frozen turkey in the oven on Thursday morning.  Or even worse.... if you're deep frying a turkey, you really really REALLY don't want to be using a frozen (or even partially frozen) turkey.  Case in point:

If you need any turkey tips, check out this website.  Or just give us a call.  We're happy to help.  Bon appetit!

--Contributed by Deb 

Cutting Costs.... and Pills

So what are YOU doing to cut costs in your house?  Putting on a sweater instead of adjusting your thermostat?  Reinsulating your attic?  How about using coupons?  One of our personal favorite way to save money is to pay much more attention to grocery store advertisements.  Instead of just doing all our shopping at one store, we'll go to two or more stores if they have what we need at a cheaper price.  And we've been seeing it makes a huge difference in our shopping bill.

But what about the cost of medicines?  We have a couple of prescriptions we take on a daily basis ~ and with health insurance and a health savings account, we pay for our pills that way.  One costs about $80 a month, the other about $20. 

We thought we were stuck with those out of pocket costs until we got a personalized mailing from our insurance company, telling us about their new "Half Tablet" program.  In a nutshell, we would request our doctor to re-write our prescriptions for double the dosage and half the monthly quantity.  Then we'd use a pill splitter to cut the pills in half and take 1/2 pill once daily.  The insurance company will even provide a free pill cutter.  According to the mailing we received, it could cut our copayment costs in half this way.   

A little more labor-intensive than merely picking up our prescription at the pharmacy, but it looks like we could save $500 per year by implementing this small change. 

Only certain medications are eligible for this program, and we'd have to think that they would only allow such a program for pills in which the active ingredient is equally distrbuted through both side of the pill. 

We're certainly thinking about it.  Saving $500 a year isn't exactly chump change.

--Contributed by Deb

It's That Time Of Year Again

Back-to-school shopping can set even the most budget-conscious family back a pretty penny.  Here are four basic guidelines for saving money as you stock up on back-to-school clothes and school supplies:

1.  Coupons.  When coupons are combined with in-store sales, the savings can be more than worth the time it takes to clip the coupons!  One local shopper featured on a news story on back-to-school shopping brought $13.14 worth of merchandise to the register.  She had $13 worth of coupons.  With tax, her total came to 94 cents.

2.  Hit every major store.  Hit Walgreen's, Target, Walmart, Kmart, OfficeMax/Office Depot, and buy ONLY the good sale items, referred to as "loss leaders."  The store's intention is to lure you in for 10 cent notebooks, and while you're there, you'll get the $30 backpack, the $5 pen and pencil box, etc., in an attempt to save time and gas.  But if you plan your route, you can make a circular route and hit every store, buying only the good deals and leaving the higher-priced items behind.

3.  Shop second hand.  Why buy new clothes for kids when they'll outgrow them in the next six to 12 months?  You can buy second-hand, quality, name-brand clothing for less than the cost of new clothing at the discount stores such as Target and Walmart.  If the clothing has worn and washed well to this point, it's likely to hold up well for your child in the coming months.

4.  Shop ahead in sizes.  Buy additional clothing in the next size, so as your child grows in the school year, you're prepared with clothing you bought at August and September prices.  One mom bought four outfits (four shirts, four pairs of pants) for her son, all for $20.

There's no need for back-to-school shopping to break your budget.  Many more tips can be found all over the internet.

~Contributed by Angela~

The Economy's Upside: Forced Creativity

We thought we'd heard it all, but now this:  Renting plastic wedding cakes?

It seems that these tough economic times have pushed some engaged couples to scale back elaborate wedding plans and to get creative when it comes to throwing a wedding reception.  Instead of spending enormous amounts of money on a fancy wedding cake, you can rent a plastic cake (online) that has a small real cake on top, and then serve cheaper sheet cake to guests, or have a pastry bar.

Couples aren't necessarily changing the type of wedding and reception, but simply find less-expensive ways to have the wedding and reception they want.  This can mean having family members put their talents to work (table centerpieces, floral arrangements, decorating the reception location) or asking them to contribute to the food (potluck weddings are back!).  The guideline is that you're supposed to ask only people close to you to contribute in this manner (in lieu of a gift)--people who would be happy to contribute to the day, but not every guest should be asked to participate that way.

Other cost-saving measures have included allowing bridesmaids to wear dresses they already own (the identical-dress-thing is a relatively new phenomenon) and having the groomsmen wear their own suits rather than rent tuxes, and even cutting back on the size of the wedding party.  Reception music can come from an ipod instead of a DJ, craigslist has become a source for finding used wedding gowns, and perhaps the most common practice is for couples to design and print their own wedding invitations at home.

One bride, who works in theatre, referred to her wedding as a "play" when speaking with potential vendors and got lower prices offered to her as a result.

One of the most common cost-saving measures has been to rely on guests' digital camera photos, rather than hire an expensive wedding photographer or photojournalist.  (We won't go into how that's hurting professional photographers!)

Our conclusion:  We hope these practices remain even after the economy bounces back, because they add a more personal touch to weddings and put the focus on what's most important about that one day:  The coming together of friends and family to witness two loved ones getting married.

~Contributed by Angela~

One Idea On How To Get Through This Economy

Who among us isn't hurting in this economy?  Gas prices have affected already-rising prices on everything from food to furniture.  Meanwhile, salaries haven't gone up accordingly--and they can't, as businesses struggle to deal with their own rising costs while delaying passing those costs on to customers.

About a year ago, we read an interesting statistic:  The average American family spends more on dining out each year than they save for their children's college education.  Restaurants now are feeling the pinch as families cut back on dining out.  But with all that dining out and relying on convenience food, cooking was becoming a lost art in this country.  Convenience foods and readily available prepared foods mean a person can go through life without ever learning how to cook.

We think this is where grocery stores can bring in shoppers:  Similar to the food samples given out at grocery stores, stores could offer abbreviated cooking demonstrations -- a manned display (so shoppers can ask questions) that visually tells a busy shopper the steps involved in the dish, aimed at the beginning cook.  Samples of that dish could be set out for shoppers to try.  The dishes would be affordable, allow for flexibility, and can be made in advance in a big batch for families (such as lasagna, meatloaf, stuffed chicken or turkey breasts, enchiladas).  In coolers near the demonstration, there could be pre-bagged ingredients for the recipe being displayed so all shoppers have to do is grab the bag and they have everything -- meat, canned goods, seasonings, recipe card.  The products could be flagged on the shelves in the store to aid those who want to buy things individually.

By doing this, the store potentially encourages the purchase of a wider variety of items, thus allowing for less waste due to expiration of foods (people would be making homemade entrees rather than falling back on the frozen foods and other simple items).  The store also potentially has larger sales:  $20 in ingredients instead of $10 for two frozen pizzas.  Shoppers benefit because cooking generally means a lower per-serving cost.  (We can think of other wonderful benefits to cooking at home but those are more personal.)

It's the businesses and consumers who get creative who will best survive in tough financial times.

~Contributed by Angela (who is now very hungry)~

Flying The Friendly Skies?

We love Christopher Elliott.  For those of you who don't know who he is, he's a travel columnist with MSNBC and provides great advice, ideas and help for road-weary travelers. 

Today's column is how to get around the new airline fees.  The first tip, about bringing an empty water bottle to fill up at a water fountain after you get through security to avoid paying for water on the airplane is a great one.  And who knew that it might actually be cheaper to travel with your child rather than send him grandma and grandpa's house as an unaccompanied minor?

He also has written columns on how to avoid paying those pesky luggage charges.

The best ones, however, often appear in his blog.  One in particular has caught our eye as it reminds us of complaints we often see on PlanetFeedback.  Wendy Watkins accidently boarded the wrong flight in Oakland and caught a trip from Oakland, CA to New York City instead of Long Beach, CA due to a combination of circumstance and bad luck.  Oh... and a botched flight annoucement.  That's not just a minor diversion or a delay on the tarmac ~ that's huge.  For the geographically-challenged, that isn't even the same coast!  JetBlue put her back on a west-bound plane the following day but she thinks she's owed some compensation from the airline.

Mr. Elliott sees both sides of the issue, probably because the airline apparently failed to make a gate announcement as to where the outbound flight was headed and because the gate agents overlooked the fact that Ms. Watkins was boarding the wrong flight too.  And because Mr. Elliott has enough experience to see both sides of the issue.

Most of the comments appear to be of a different vein from Mr. Elliott's measured thoughts, however.  One commenter admonishes Wendy to "put down that Agatha Christie and pay attention next time".  Or worse:  "This is exactly what is wrong with people these days; she probably didn’t read the fine print when signed her mortgage and is now going through foreclosure or spilled coffee on herself at McDonald’s and is suing them as well. Where’s Dr. Kevorkian when you need him?"

Is it just us or have consumers become increasing less tolerant of their fellow consumer? Is it the internet era that allows people to heap scorn on others in a more anonymous fashion than we otherwise would face to face?  A visit from Dr. Kevorkian?  Because she went to gate 9A instead of gate 9?  Puh-lease.  Wethinks this commenter needs a valium... or perhaps some anger management. 

And wethinks folks need to realize that people on the internet are indeed PEOPLE and they should be treated with the decency that would be afforded to them in a face-to-face setting.  Internet Etiquette 101 ~ be nice.  Or if you can't be nice, at least don't say anything nasty.  Hmm... that sounds like someting Mom used to tell us.

Or perhaps these folks just need to read Mr. Elliott's article on how to keep smiling when travelling.

--Contributed by Deb

The Hassles of Flying: Is It Too Late To Improve?

It seems that complaints about the airlines and air travel are abundant these days, and there's no avoiding the topic's coverage cross all forms of media.  The July 2008 issue of Reader's Digest has a collection of articles by pilots and others in the air travel industry describing what's wrong with flying that you don't already know, and possible solutions.

The article is full of:

• tidbits of information (fuel used to comprise 15% of the price of a ticket, it now is 40% of the ticket price)
• more bad news (we're facing an air traffic controllers shortage)
• outrageous lack of care for the American public (while the flight crew must go through the same security measures as the rest of us, the same is not true for baggage loaders, cleaners, caterers, and refuelers, who "receive only occasional random screening")
• possible solutions (check the "delay statistic" of your desired flight--airlines are required to provide a rating for each flight to indicate its arrival record; 1 is bad, 9 is best--and choose another flight)
• sanity-saving diversions (airports are offering such amenities as wine bars, classical piano music, massage therapy, and even an impressive art collection)

Check out the article for pages of helpful, interesting information. 

Grocery Shopping Tips

In these times of rocketing fuel prices and rocketing grocery costs, we all know that every little bit counts.  So it's instructive, from time to time, to go back and review best practices for getting the most out of your consumer dollar.  Thankfully, there are sites like The Frugal Shopper to help guide us.

Just in time for the upcoming holiday weekend, check out these grocery shopping tips.

-Contributed by Greg aka "Mr. Helpful"