By Linsey B. Knerl

A recent class action lawsuit filed against Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM) looks to compensate customers who allegedly didn’t receive entitled dividends payments. But it doesn’t end there. Accusations of using unethical sales and marketing tactics have the company facing legal trouble in California Courts.

By Gene Ayres

Just when you thought you could finally sleep again comes news that all those nightmares and sleepless nights and tossing and turning and hours of insomnia weren't because of the election or visions of Todd Palin in the Oval Office.

Nope. There may be an actual physiological chemical cause behind your sleep impairment. And it isn't good news for most of us. Remember way back when a couple of geezers fell asleep smoking cigarettes in bed and burned the house down? You'd think they should have known better. Or even, maybe, they might just have been, at least a teeny little bit, at fault. Especially given that they tended to be alcoholics with a tendency towards passing out. But no, not in our litigious society. Instead, an action committee went to work and got some laws passed to protect our chain smoking loved ones from singeing themselves.

By A. Simpleton

Like retailers, I have started looking past Thanksgiving and am already awaiting the big Kahuna of the holiday season. Christmas. It’s quickly approaching and I am desperately trying to prepare my pocketbook for the devastation the holiday holds. If only Santa stuffed stockings with cash.

Last week, I commented on the grossly increased price tags on popular wish list items and ways to accommodate gift giving in large families. I thought that this week I would offer up a few suggestions of where to find and buy gifts that won’t deplete the Christmas bonus. Well, at least not too much.

By Colleen Rothe

Over the next few weeks my family will really go into overdrive with preparations for winter. The last of the firewood will get chopped, the leaves will be raked and mulched for compost, the last of the vegetable garden will be harvested, and the summer patio furniture will get stored away.

But we’ll be adding a few more things to our “Winter’s Coming” to do list. My furnace has only been on 10 days in the new billing cycle for my local energy company, and my bill has already jumped $100 dollars. The home heating cost battle begins! So it’s necessary to save money wherever possible.

By Linsey B. Knerl

Product recalls are all the rage, with many of them becoming downright scary for consumers. But what happens if you stumble across an unsafe product that hasn’t been recalled yet? How do you seek action?

There are several steps you can take in handling the matter. While they can be done in any order, it is recommended that you do the following:

Now that we have a mandate from and for the new administration to find alternative fuels, build a green economy, and free us from the grip of Big Oil, creating a pollution-free car shouldn’t be far off. But too often we have seen great ideas, innovative patents, and alternative products developed, announced, and then somehow banished to oblivion. Detroit is to blame for a lot of this (case in point, the Tucker automobile). If not all of it. So with today's news that U.S. car makers are hurting, there's a definite sang freud to all this. Or as my Chinese friends would say, huo gai. Serves them right. L.A. used to have a good mass transit system of street cars that was bought up by a consortium of General Motors, Firestone Rubber and Sinclair Oil back in the 1930s, and shut down in order to force people to use cars to get around (on tires, using gas, of course). We have seen carburetors that get 100 miles per gallon patented, bought by Detroit, and buried. We have seen electric cars come and go for decades. I watched a cross country race back in 1981 of solar powered cars using no other energy source. Where did those go? And a company called Sun Motors was around for a while in the 90s making solar cars in Florida, which made perfect sense. They too disappeared. Dick Cheney's handiwork?

By A. Simpleton

Ah, the holiday season. Family, friends, and big meals. Songs, lights, and decorations. It is truly the “most wonderful time of the year.” Unfortunately, it is also the most expensive time of the year. With the food prices the way they are, I am starting to think the only way I’ll afford a turkey is if I shoot it myself. But that still doesn’t put the rest of the meal on the table. The more pressing expenses, however, seem to be the ever-growing Christmas lists.

By Colleen Rothe

The Halloween stuff is hardly out of the way and Santa and red and green dot everything the retailers have to offer. Oh! Don’t forget to get your eggnog latte too!

Ugh. Bah humbug! Let them eat cake! Go ahead…grumble. Get it all out of your system. Now it’s time to face the calendar and make a plan.

The Holidays are approaching – whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanza, Christmas or Yule – Americans, whatever their proclivities, are waxing grateful this year on Nov. 27. If you’re like me and tasked with hosting the family feast, there’s some easy tips to making sure you save some money and ease the stress of the holiday, at least in that regard. None of these tips will make Cousin Eddie Johnson, along with his Hamburger-Helper-loving family, decide not to park their motor home outside your house; but these tips might just allow you the energy to deal with wayward relatives because you’re not stressing about the monetary cost of your Thanksgiving Day meal.

By Linsey B. Knerl

Healthcare isn’t cheap, and for those of us who require prescription eyeglasses, contacts, and medications, getting by can be nearly impossible. I won’t tell you that skipping your regular appointment is a good idea. In fact, seeing a qualified physician before trouble starts is the best way to take control of your healthcare costs. But when you leave your appointment, your obligation to pay extra ends.

A regular eye exam, for example, may cost between $50 and $200 dollars. Did you know that you can take your prescription and measurements with you and have anyone fill your glasses or contacts order? Assuming you don’t have special needs for eyewear, you can save big bucks by having contacts ordered from one of several online wholesalers. Savings can range from 10-50% over retail (and more if you stock up). Eyeglasses can also be purchased online for considerable savings. Don’t have your prescription info? Most retailers will get it directly from your doctor and process your order in 2-3 days.

By Gene Ayres

What a surprise. It turns out the most important election in any of our lifetimes (does that sound hyperbolic?) is going to come down to a consumer issue.

Yes, it's all up to us consumers. And here's why: this entire global house of cards that has just collapsed, was based on luring, misleading, hyping, and ultimately betraying us consumers into spending beyond our means, which these days, is approximately zilch.

We were told that housing prices can only go up forever and ever (strangely, unlike, say, wages and incomes). Hence all those great adjustable rates for those nifty 1200 sq ft $500K bungalows.

By Colleen Rothe

The trees’ leaves are bursting with fall color and we’re awash in brisk morning weather. For those of us at higher elevations or latitudes, it’s time (if not a bit late) to prep for winter.

As a frugal consumer (or at least I try to be), I try really hard to not turn on my furnace until Oct. 15, at the earliest I was able to do that this year. Now if I can turn it off by March 15, I’ll be even happier. It saves on my electricity bill.

By Linsey B. Knerl

Food prices are rising. Food consumption isn’t. People still need to eat, and whether they cut coupons, buy more on sale, or switch to Ramen, grocery stores will never go out of business. Here are just a few of the ways Americans are using their noodle to get more for their very hard-earned dollar.

Freezing – I do it all the time. A quality brand of frozen veggies goes on sale, and I’m hooked. Anything less than $1 a bag (even in the new, “right-sized” bags) are a steal, so I buy the maximum allowed by my store. With six kids to feed, fresh veggies at lunch and dinner can really add up. I buy 30 bags at a time and stash them in my upright freezer in my garage. The same goes for hamburger on sale or any other great buy that can be stored on ice for up to 6 months. The savings is phenomenal, and apparently I’m not the only one with this mindset. (Consumer Reports notes that despite appliance sales going south, freezer purchases are on the rise.)

By Lee Spiro

Modern society’s increased awareness to all things green has led to a plethora of supplements, regimens and natural health treatments. Yoga studios and acupuncture clinics are as commonplace as an organic section at the grocery store. But not all of these alternative methods are created equal, as inexperienced hacks and placebo snake oils saturate the market.

I have sought out an experienced practitioner of acupuncture and Chinese medicine and located one in Kirkland, WA who has treated dozens of professional athletes including members of the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle Seahawks. He works mostly by referral, but you don’t need a doctor’s recommendation to see him.

By Gene Ayres

A reader commented, in regards to last week's Dispatch article, that I must be very paranoid to be so worried about the contents of bottled water, let alone the bottles themselves. Of course, my initial response was, like the old 60s saying, “just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me.”

But in fairness, no, I don't think anyone is out to get me or you with their bottled water, other than get your money that you might better spend elsewhere. So, yes, maybe I did sound a bit paranoid last week. After all, we're talking about bottled water here, not nuclear weapons or terrorist plots. We bloggers do at times tend towards hyperbolic statements, I admit. This may be because there is so much hyperbole coming out of the rest of the media these days, and political discourse (e.g. the way attending a community organizing meeting with one reformed former Sixties radical equates to “palling around with terrorists.”) And “mainstream” journalists, by contrast, have been cowed into total unwillingness to write or say anything that might offend the loud and powerful, thus reduced to such spineless reporting as “according to some Democrats, Republicans have been exaggerating their claims that Mr. Obama has been associating with Al Quaida terrorists,” and so on.

By Colleen Rothe

The economy is in crisis, but that doesn’t mean that the candy for Halloween is growing moldy on the shelves of retailers across America. Nor does it mean that every merry mask, goth make-up packet, or cute costume is left forlorn on the market’s hangers, either.

In fact, a bit of escape in the form of Halloween celebrations seems to have actually increased. This year, candy sales are expected to top $2.26 billion, according to the National Confectioners Association. That's up from $2.2 billion last year. The additional billions are not from the financial bail out plan – but one does wonder. Again, those billions are just for candy. In total, consumers are expected to spend a record $5.07 billion on costumes, cards, candy and decorations, up from $4.96 billion a year ago, according to the National Retail Federation. The average person plans to spend $64.82 this year on Halloween merchandise – about $5 more than last year and $20 more than five years ago.

Seriously, last year around my town, there was scant a Halloween decoration to be found. This year, it seems even the Halloween Grinches are getting in the spirit. Old sheet ghosts dance from many fall-colored trees, skeleton cutouts, hay-stuffed scarecrows, and orange lights adorn front entrances all over the community. If I start hearing the utterances of zombies at night, I’m going to stop drinking the water. But, tricks aside, the spooky holiday spirit has not been dashed by layoffs, high food prices, and Wall Street jitters. It seems to have heightened the need for fun fright.