Tag Archives: consumer panels

Memorial Day 2013

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Mem Day

Memorial Day soapbox time – bear with me.

I was all set to do one of those “(Holiday) by the Numbers” posts, where we talk about how much we will spend on travel and hot dogs and new lawn mowers this Memorial Day. But my Google search uncovered this instead: a website that accounts for EVERY serviceman killed in conflict since the Revolution. We (I) sometimes tend to forget that honoring these men and women is the entire point of the holiday, as opposed to having Monday off and drinking beer.

MindField Online wishes to thank service members past and present and their families, and to honor those we have lost. As Americans, we don’t always agree on the value of this or that conflict, but you can’t deny the courage of those who put themselves in harm’s way. So, please take some time to visit MemorialDayFoundation.org.

And have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!!

(photo: hellskitchennyc.blogspot.com)

Safe Online Shopping

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shoponlineIn the old days, let’s say 2003, online shopping was the Wild West. You didn’t know whom to trust. Today folks like Amazon.com have really reformed online shopping and made it uniform, safe and secure. But it’s still on us to educate ourselves and shop smart online.

Here’s my not-terribly horrifying online shopping horror story from the old days.

I ordered a laptop battery from a place I had never heard of, but who had a great price. The battery worked great for about two days, and then just died. Like, completely dead.

Knowing I had a two-week return window, I contacted the company’s help desk using the email address from my original order confirmation notice. It bounced back as undeliverable. Somehow, they contacted me anyway and I noticed it was a different email address.

As the return process dragged out, with me never actually getting instructions on how to return the battery, I noticed that EVERY time they contacted me, it was from a different address. Finally I told them, “The rotating email thing is cute, but I totally see that the purpose here is to drag this out beyond the 14 day return period. That’s probably the way you burn people and, if the BBB doesn’t know that already, they’re about to.” That (admittedly limp) threat was all it took to get action, and I got my refund.

I am sure if I had taken the time to read the vendor reviews, I could have figured this out without the headache. But I was blinded by the idea of saving 60 percent! So, again, the point is to educate yourself on the vendor, and some common sense rules of online shopping. Here is your reading list. You’re welcome.

Mother’s Day by the Numbers

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Pause while all the dudes say, “Wait? Is Mother’s Day coming up!?”

Yes, children of mothers, Mom’s Day approaches (2 days, gentlemen.) Whether we have planned well in advance, or begin scrambling right after reading this post, recognizing Mom is a wonderful tradition – and a big consumer event!

Take a look at these stats, courtesy of StatisticsBrain.com:

  • $671 million: Total amount of money spent on Mother’s Day Cards annually
  • $126.90: Total average amount of money the average person will spend on gifts of their mom on mother’s day
  • $1.9 billion: Total amount of money spent on flowers for their mothers on mother’s day
  • $14.6 billion: Total amount of money that will be spent for mothers on Mothers Day
  • 96%: Total amount of consumers that will take place in mother’s day in some form
  • 24%: Total percentage of all transactions on holidays that take place on Mother’s day
  • 69%: Total percent of all gifts bought on mothers day that are flowers
  • 13%: Total amount of flowers bought on mothers day BY mothers that are for themselves

Awww, that last one is a bit sad. Please don’t be that dope whose mom has to buy her own flowers! But seriously, what are you planning for Mom’s Day? We want to know!

Have a great weekend and a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!

(photo: hdwallpapersonly.com)

This Year’s Prom Theme? Going Broke (Again!)

prom-limoTime for an update on a story from last year. It seems that, despite a continuously brutal economy, one area we aren’t cutting back on is our kids’ high school prom.

Visa says American families who have teenagers will spend an average of $1,139 each on the prom, a five percent boost, or roughly $60 dollar increase compared to the average amount spent in 2012 of $1,078.  KARE 11 News

What are we spending?

  • Northeastern average: $1,528
  • Southern average: $1,203
  • Western average: $1,079
  • Midwestern average: $722

And it appears, once again, that the brokest among us spend the most.

Visa also says one troubling statistic is that parents surveyed who fell in the lowest income brackets (less than $50,000) plan to spend more than the national average, about $1,245. Parents who make over $50,000 a year plan to spend less than that, an average of $1,129.  KARE 11 News

It’s madness. I see two culprits: TV shows like “My Super Sweet 16”… and parents that can’t say “No.” One bright spot: kids appear to be paying about 40% of the bill, with mom and dad coughing up 60%

BTW, the article also explains ways to cut some of these outrageous costs, so check it out!   What are your thoughts?

(photo: lipartyrides.com)

In Case of Emergency…

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emergencyI don’t know…it feels like today calls for a “public service” post instead of the usual consumer fun.

So, this was the week of the Boston Marathon attack and the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas. Still fresh in our memories are the shootings at the school and the movie theater and Hurricane Sandy.

If you happened to know anyone involved – and I have an acquaintance that had been tweeting about running his first Boston Marathon for weeks – you immediately wonder about his or her safety. And you keep wondering, because cellular service instantly crashes and the TV news is completely unreliable.

What’s the solution? It takes some forethought and preparation. We begin with some good news, and it is this:

That doesn’t mean your phone is useless. Text messages are a much better option than calls, because they take up less of a cell site’s resources and because if they can’t get through, they automatically keep trying. If you are connected to the Internet or can find nearby free Wi-Fi, email and Twitter are also quicker, more reliable options.  MoneyTalksNews.com

Now, let’s go worst-case scenario… what if something happens to your physical self, and you can’t communicate? Plan ahead, and remember this acronym: ICE. It stands for In Case of Emergency, and more and more first responders are learning it. Basically, you set up an emergency contact on your phone with the last name ICE, and the first name MOM or HUSBAND or WIFE. If a rescuer finds you unconscious, he will know what to do. Also, if you have a memo or reminder app, you might want to enter some medical history, or at least any medication allergies you may have. Of course, you will have to take off the password protection on your phone.

So, that’s it. Here is some extra reading that explains all of this in greater detail. Again, thoughts and prayers to our friends in Boston and Texas. And please stay safe!!

Cellphone Networks Fail in Emergencies: Here’s What to Do

Five Minute Lifesaver: ICE Your Cell Phone

4 Easy Ways to Get Free Wi-Fi

How to Set Up an ICE Contact

Tax Time 2013!

no-stress-tax-tips-600Standby for our annual, obligatory “Last Minute Tax Tips” post!

You might be thinking: How can it be tax time? There’s still snow on the ground! Well, you better hitch up the sleigh, because Uncle Sam waits for no man, snowman!

Anyway, the web is full of hundreds of articles on last minute tax advice, all of which I will share now and here are a few to ponder.

And FYI, in recent years, Tax Day has been postponed for the weekend, or due to some holiday. But this year, Tax Day goes Old School, i.e., April 15. Yay, tradition!

So, as a humble public service from your humble public servant (me) here are the links to everything you need to know. Have a good weekend!

Forbes     •     CBS News     •     Investopedia     •     US News Money

Fox News     •     TurboTax     •     Money Talks News

Wall Street Journal     •     Yahoo Finance     •     Detroit Free Press

State(s) of Happiness, 2013

The darker green ye see, the happier ye be! Arrr!
The darker green ye see, the happier ye be! Arrr!

Well, the 2012 results have just been released, anyway. Today, we revisit and update a topic from June of last year.

Who are the happiest Americans? And how would be know? Well, you interview a BUNCH of people all across the United States – DAILY, for a WHOLE YEAR – and you draw some conclusions!

Gallup rated each state on the following: life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, work environment, healthy behaviors and basic access to services and amenities.  Drum roll please…

Happiest States 2012 (with 2011 score)

10 Massachusetts (14)…09 Iowa (16) …08 New Hampshire (9)…

07 Nebraska (8)… 06 Montana (10)…05 Vermont (12)…

04 Utah (5)…03 Minnesota (3)…02 Colorado (6)… 01 Hawaii (1)

Dropping out of top 10 from last year:  Kansas, Alaska and North Dakota

Unhappiest States 2012 (with 2011 score)

41 Oklahoma (39) …42 Indiana (38) …43 Louisiana (36)…

44 Ohio (46) …45 Alabama (45)…46 Arkansas(44) …

47 Tennessee (41) …48 Mississippi (48)…49 Kentucky (49)…

50 West Virginia (50)

Climbing out of the bottom 10 (yay…?) Delaware, Missouri, Florida and Nevada

So that’s the rundown. What do you think? Are you in a “happy” state? An “unhappy” state? Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? Let us know! Check out the whole report, and have a great weekend!

JC Penney Turns Over an Old Leaf

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At JC Penney, it’s “so long, Everyday Low Prices” and “welcome back, Big Saturday Sale!”

We last visited this topic back in May 2012 (see The Return of the Saturday Sale.) By that time, it had been decided that JCP’s experiment with ditching sales in favor of their “Fair and Square,” i.e. Everyday Low Prices, wasn’t exactly working out.

In fact, business is down 20%, a loss of $160 million. Of course, JCPenney’s CEO says, no, this is still the right idea. You just haven’t caught on yet. It’s YOUR fault, dummies! (I may have added that last bit.) …Me, MindFieldLive 5/18/12

Apparently, JCP boss Ron Johnson was determined not to panic, so he “let it ride” until they had lost a cool billion dollars.

Now, it’s Back to the Future, and JCPenney has thrown in the towel. That is, they are taking that towel and boosting its price by up to EIGHTY PERCENT…then immediately putting it on sale and slapping a “30% OFF” sticker on it!

A pair of Nike swimming trunks priced at $25, for example, has been raised to $45, according to data reviewed by The Post. A bikini top under the retailer’s Arizona label was hiked to $24 from $15, while an Arizona men’s polo shirt is now $14, up from $9, the data show. New York Post

So, it’s back to the way things once’ta was. The question is, will the customers return? I recall a lot of EMOTION surrounding the death of the Saturday sale… are you happy now? Will you go back to JCP or have you moved on? Let us know, and have a great weekend!

Lose Weight Get Paid!

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scarebux

Or, just the opposite! Sometimes we need a little incentive to change our habits. In this instance, it’s cold hard cash!

Researchers followed 100 Mayo Clinic employees over the course of a year as they took educational classes on how to eat healthy and lose weight. They were broken up into several groups – some of which got financial incentives to shed the pounds and others that just got the classes.  CNN.com

What they found is that the people getting cash incentives lost around 9 pounds on average in the course of the year, vs. the info-only folks who lost 2.

Programs like this are not exactly new. “About 86% of large employers are already offering some kind of financial incentives to help employees reach their health goals,”  (CNN again.)

Here employees who lost received $20. BUT, if they gained, they owed $20. This is effective for two reasons. Reward is nice, but reward and penalty together are even more effective. Second, these types of programs can get really expensive. Losers helped pay the winners in this case, and helped keep the cost of the program lower for the company.

So, what are your thoughts? Have you done this at your  company? Did it work? Read the original piece, and let us know!

Don’t Buy These Foods?

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Wow, Google Image Search...that's the best you got?
Wow, Google Image Search…that’s the best you got?

I love lists like these because people take them so personally. “You’re wrong, stupid and ugly!”, etc.  Nevertheless, an article has been published citing the 27 Foods You Should Never Buy Again.

Looking down the list, these no-no foods seem to fall in a few categories:

  • Luxury items, where quality is high, but so is the price, and you could make them yourself for much less.
  • Healthy items, where price can be high, and where a negative element is often replaced by a different negative element with less bad press.
  • Convenience items that you can almost always make yourself for less, and are packed with preservatives.

So, let’s take a look at some highlights…

  • “Blueberry” items: Fad foods, yay! All it takes is for someone to say “Blueberries are BURSTING with anti-oxidants” and, suddenly, blueberries are in everything. Problem is, it’s usually just blueberry flavor with none of the supposed benefits!
  • Reduced fat peanut butter: A recurring theme: they take out a vital ingredient and claim you won’t notice the difference. Here, what they take out is fat. What they add so you won’t notice the difference is sugar.
  • Tomato-based pasta sauces: My favorite on the list. I abandoned the name brand jars of spaghetti sauce long ago in favor of Walmart’s “Italian style (basil, oregano & garlic) diced tomatoes” in the can.
  • Energy drinks: Just stick to coffee. If you nod off in the afternoon and Robert Goulet sneaks into your office and messes with your stuff, well, that’s entertaining, at least.
  • Gluten-free baked goods: Unless you are diagnosed with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, you are participating in another food fad. You are paying higher prices, eating ingredients that are bad in different ways, and getting no benefit.
  • Foods made of WOOD: You’ll have to read this for yourself. Keyword: cellulose.
  • ‘Gourmet’ frozen vegetables: Frozen peas? Cheapest thing you can buy. Frozen peas with 11 herbs and spices and a rich creamy saffron butter sauce? Not so much!
  • Premium frozen fruit bars: Come on! Ice tray, fruit juice, Saran wrap, and tooth picks. DONE!
  • Spice mixes: Dudes fall into this trap most often with grilling or barbecue “rubs.” Wise up, dudes!
  • Trail mix: Been making our own for years using raisins, peanuts and coconut shavings. Wouldn’t call it healthy, but it’s cheap!
  • ‘Snack’ or ‘lunch’ packs: Don’t forget to pack your lunch…full of salt and preservatives!!

And there are 16 more on the list, so check it out, give us your opinion, and have a great weekend!