Tips on Auto Insurance

•Raise your deductible. If you have a $200 deductible on your policy, raising it to $500 could reduce the cost of collision and comprehensive coverage by up to 30%. Raising your deductible to $1,000 could lower your premium by 40% or more.

•Take advantage of discounts. Many insurers provide a discount teenage drivers with a B average or higher in school,

•Consult your insurance agent before you buy a car . Premiums vary significantly from one type of car or truck to another . Insurers review several factors, including repair costs, the likelihood the vehicle will be stolen and the model's safety record.

•You can check out different vehicles' ratings at the website for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, www.iihs.org.


•If you're considering switching insurers, start looking for a new policy well before your current policy comes up for renewal. Many insurers provide an "early shopping" discount.

•Don't even think about driving without insurance. Driving while uninsured will cost you a lot more in the long run.

•Shop around. You can shop for quotes at websites such as www.insurance.com, www.insure.com or www.esurance.com, or by working with an independent insurance agent.

•For more information, go to the consumer website for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, www.insureuonline.org.

Toyota raising prices on some models in US this month

Toyota Motor Corp.is the world's second-biggest automaker by annual vehicle sales.
They have just announced that they are raising its prices on some U.S. models later this month amid increased worries about its profit growth in the American market.

The price increases will start in the middle of May, include a hike of $200 on the 2008 Yaris sedan, boosting the cost of the base model to $12,425, with higher prices for models with extra features. The 2009 Camry will go up $200, to $18,920 for a model without any extras .

The base hybrid Camry, introduced as a 2007 model in late 2006, will cost $300 more, at $25,650, Toyota said.

Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota is enjoying sales growth while American automakers are struggling. Soaring gas prices have increased demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars that Japanese automakers are reputed for.

Stamps Increasing by One Cent to 42¢ on May 12

Forever Stamp Will Still Get Your Letter Delivered

WASHINGTON, DC — The price for a one-ounce First-Class stamp will increase from 41 to 42 cents on May 12.

Prices for other mailing services, such as Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services (including single-piece Parcel Post), and Special Services will also change (see chart below). The average increase by class of mail is at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

“The Postal Service developed the Forever Stamp for consumers to ease the transition during price changes,” said Postmaster General John Potter. “We encourage Americans to buy Forever Stamps now for 41 cents, because like the name suggests, they are good forever.” The price goes up to 42 cents on May 12.

The Postal Service has sold 5 billion Forever Stamps since the launch last April and plans to have an additional 5 billion in stock to meet the expected demand before the May price change.

Selected Prices & Services	Current	New (Effective May 12)
First-Class Mail Letter (1 oz.)	41¢	42¢
First-Class Mail Letter (2 oz.)	58¢	59¢
Postcard	26¢	27¢
Large Envelope (2 oz.)	97¢	$1.00
Money Orders (up to $500)	$1.05	$1.05
Certified Mail	$2.65	$2.70
First-Class Mail International Letter (1 oz. to Canada and Mexico)	69¢	72¢
First-Class Mail International Letter (1 oz. to other countries)	90¢	94¢

Consistent with a new law*, prices for mailing services will be adjusted annually each May. The Postal Service plans to provide 90 days’ notice before the price changes each year.

New prices for shipping services, including Express Mail and Priority Mail, will be announced in March. Prices for all postal products and services are available at usps.com/prices.

*The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act

steps to end "unfair and deceptive" credit card industry practices

The Federal Reserve and other regulators have initiated steps to end "unfair and deceptive" credit card industry practices assailing consumers who are already struggling to cope in a bad economy.

The proposed rules would be the biggest clampdown on the industry in decades, aiming at protecting people from credit card companies that arbitrarily raise interest rates or don't give borrowers adequate time to pay their bills.

The proposals would also restrict such lender practices as allocating all payments to balances with lower interest rates when a borrower has balances with different rates. The Fed board voted Friday to approve the recommendations.



The proposed new rules would prohibit:

_Placing unfair time constraints on payments. A payment could not be deemed late unless the borrower is given a reasonable period of time, such as 21 days, to pay;

_Unfairly allocating payments among balances with different interest rates, with lenders crediting payments to balances with lower rates so they can continue to charge interest for balances at higher rates;

_Retroactively raising interest rates on pre-existing balances;

_Placing too-high fees for exceeding the credit limit solely because of a hold placed on the account;

_Unfairly computing balances in a computing tactic known as double-cycle billing;

_Unfairly adding security deposits and fees for issuing credit or making credit available;

_Making deceptive offers of credit.

The agencies said the proposed rules also would require federal credit unions to give consumers a chance to opt out of an overdraft protection program. And they would prohibit those institutions from charging a fee for an overdraft caused by a hold placed on consumer's funds when a person uses a debit card.


The Consumer Federation of America estimates that credit card debt held by consumers is about $850 billion, some four times what it was in 1990. The group says the average debt for those 58 percent of card-holding households that do not pay their balance in full every month is about $17,000.

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Recession Diet Just One Way to Tighten Belt

Recession Diet Just One Way to Tighten Belt

NYTimes.com


Stung by rising gasoline and food prices, Americans are finding creative ways to cut costs on routine items like groceries and clothing, forcing retailers, restaurants and manufacturers to decode the tastes of a suddenly thrifty public.
Spending data and interviews around the country show that middle- and working-class consumers are starting to switch from name brands to cheaper alternatives, to eat in instead of dining out and to fly at unusual hours to shave dollars off airfares.

Though seemingly small, the daily trade-offs they are making — more pasta and less red meat, more video rentals and fewer movie tickets — amount to an important shift in consumer behavior.


Behind the belt-tightening — and brand-swapping — is the collision of several economic forces that are pinching people’s budgets or, at least, leaving them in little mood to splurge.

The price of household necessities has surged, with milk topping $4 a gallon in many stores and regular gasoline closing in on $3.60 a gallon nationwide.

Home prices are sliding, wages are stagnant, job losses are growing and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, a broad measure of stock performance, is down 6 percent in the last year. So consumers are going on a recession diet.



In March, Americans spent less on women’s clothing (down 4.9 percent), furniture (3.1 percent), luxury goods (1.3 percent) and airline tickets (1.1 percent) compared with a year ago, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse, a service of the credit card company that measures spending on 300 million of its cards and estimates purchases with other cards, cash and checks.

Wal-Mart Stores reports stronger-than-usual sales of peanut butter and spaghetti, while restaurants like Domino’s Pizza and Ruby Tuesday have suffered a falloff in orders, suggesting that many Americans are sticking to low-cost home-cooked meals.

Over the last year, purchases of brand name cookies and crackers have fallen, according to Information Resources, which tracks retail sales.


To drum up business, Domino’s is offering a new deal: three 10-inch pizzas for $4 each. “We are not recession-proof,” said the chain’s president, J. Patrick Doyle.

But chains that emphasize low prices, like TJ Maxx and Wal-Mart, are thriving. And cut-rate supermarkets, like Save-A-Lot, are swamped.

“People are not not spending, but they are changing how they spend,” said one analyst at the NPD Group.

And they are often willing to sacrifice convenience or swallow their pride.