Reports by Consumers

Just remember, beauty is only skin deep. When buying a car, take it to your mechanic to have him check it out and make sure there are no problems with the car.

Witness the DIY Solar Water Heater, assemble for less than five bucks. Put together by the Sietch Group (and damn, that's a cool name) from parts they found at the dump or being discarded. It might be a cool project for a water heater you could take camping or maybe sailing.

One of the keys to negotiation is understanding the language. Most car dealers use the trade difference method and this is very confusing to some customers. For instance, the salesperson will say "We will trade for $7000 difference, plus payoff, plus TTF-Tax, Title, Fees".

I’ve already taken a hit this way. When my older Tivo unit was killed by a lightning strike a few weeks ago, it significantly reduced my ability to pursue my television hobby. (Imagine a music lover whose iPod was just destroyed, and they can’t afford to replace it.) Granted, I still have my newer Tivo unit, but the whole point of having more than one was to be able to record shows that conflict with each other.

Consumer Reports magazine has reported that pregnant women should not eat canned tuna. It seems that the FDA had said that pregnant women can eat up to 12oz per week. So what should pregnant women do?

I just noticed that my new apartment doesn’t have a dishwasher. I’m not even sure if I remember how to wash dishes by hand. Luckily I don’t use too many dishes and certainly don’t dirty them enough to suffer a whole lot when washing them by hand. But still!

Check the tread by turning a penny with Lincoln head down and placing upright inside tread. The head should be covered to some degree. If you can see the entire head of Lincoln, it is time for new tires.

THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN, meaning that auto manufactures have discovered that 50% of the decision makers of auto purchasing are women. Manufactures have even implemented programs to train dealerships in how to work with women so they are at ease when walking in a showroom floor.

Oh me, I said the L word! Why is everyone so scared of a lease. Ask anyone who has money and they will tell you to lease anything that depreciates (ie Car) and buy those things that appreciate (ie house). The reason behind this makes sense. If you ever pay a car off before you are through paying for it, you will most likely owe more than it is worth and if you do keep it long term and pay it off, what do you have? An old car that is worth very little!

The first eco-hostels in the UK opened last year, after a retrofit that saw one gain the usual core eco-attributes of photovoltaic roof panels, rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing, plus a wool insulation. But it also picked up a green roof, compost toilet and organic paint. Such changes to the hostel have enabled it to reduce water use by 30% and CO2 emissions by 40%.

Will be interesting to see how the market for weather derivatives develops. The range of applications for these products is endless. Thanks, John, for this site on these financial products.

Its been a few years since structured financial products have been on the rise. Structured notes protect the capital that is invested for a number of years, caps the maximum interest each year. A good alternative to bonds, since canadian bonds have not been doing so well due to higher interest rates. Structures notes enable the investor to expose his portfolio to the stockmarket without too much risk.

Cars depreciate at an alarming rate! There are a few things that you can do to minimize the hit you take at trade in time. Be sure to keep all service records and make sure that the oil is changed at regular intrevals, preferably every 3000 miles. Keep the car clean, inside and out. When you go to trade the car, give it a good detail inside and out to give it the appearance of a car well taken care of. If you take care of your car, chances are you will sell it to an individual rather than trade it.