All of a sudden, hotel rates aren’t as cheap as they used to be. Last month, rates increased 7% in the largest year-on-year jump ever recorded.
Smart Spending
Stick Shift Extinction? The Battle to Save the Manual Transmission
Manual-transmission cars cost less than automatics. They also tend to get better gas mileage, and they’re more fun to drive. Even so, cars with manual transmissions now account for less than 10% of vehicles sold, and considering …
Many Big Retailers Don’t Respond to Customer Questions on Facebook
Record-High Gas Prices Hit the Midwest, Hawaii—With More Areas to Follow
5 Mainstream, Cost-Effective Alternatives to Alternative-Energy Cars
Soaring gas prices should be equating to free marketing for energy-efficient plug-in vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt. The higher prices are at the pump, after all, the more a driver stands to save by using a car …
Where’s the Beef? Expect Less Meat, Higher Prices at Steakhouses
For steak lovers, this is like a knife to the heart: Thanks to soaring meat costs, it’s growing common for steakhouses to raise menu prices at the same time they’re decreasing portion sizes. In some cases, even appetizers are …
Exploding Ice Cream Scoops and Dangerous Dishwashers: A Year of Consumer Safety Complaints
After an unsure start and a threat to its very existence, the government-run database that documents consumers’ safety issues with everything from dishwashers to tricycles survived its first year and is beginning to mature into …
Coupons for Snobs? Expansion of ‘Groupon Reserve’ Continues
Apparently, affluent foodies like getting deals as much as the next person. Groupon’s “Reserve” daily deal program, which focuses on fancy tasting menus and other luxury offerings, is spreading to its fourth U.S. city, Los Angeles. When considered alongside similarly high-end offers from Gilt City and LivingSocial Gourmet, the rise of …
The Art of Making Leftovers Edible
How much food is bought and brought into your home, only to wind up in the trash rather than your belly? One estimate says that about 25% of food purchased by Americans is wasted, adding up to $100 billion annually. Another …
When New Cars Are Cheaper Than Used Cars
Sometimes, thanks to a combination of soaring used car values and special dealership and automaker incentives, the stars align and a fluky thing happens: Buying a new car is cheaper than a used version of the same model. It’s …
Hope You Didn’t Buy a 3D TV Last Year
Last year, prices on 3D TVs plummeted by 33%. But anyone who bought one in 2011 thinking they’d scored the deal of a lifetime should probably stop reading now: One prominent bargain-tracking website says 3D TVs have already …
The Meatless (and Less Meat) Revolution
This year, the average American will eat 165.5 lbs. of beef and poultry. That may sound like a lot, but it’s actually a 12% decline compared to 2007, when an annual intake of 189 lbs. of meat per person was standard. This week, …