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.

By Linsey B. Knerl

You’ve probably heard about the massive crib recall from manufacturer Delta. One known case of an infant death has been reported and at least one other instance of an entrapment has occurred. The recall involves the drop-down sides of several models of cribs produce between 1995 and 2007 and sold in stores like Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Target for anywhere between $33-$100. While there is no evidence that these cribs are still being sold at retailers, the chances are good that your current crib may be affected.

This recall (affecting over 60,000 cribs) is not the first in the past year. Several other death-related recalls have been announced from the CPSC government website. Particular brands affected by recalls include:

By Gene Ayres

Anyone remember that old DuPont TV ad? “Without chemicals, life itself could not exist.” Of course the ad neglected to point out it was referring to chemicals like carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in their natural forms, or those combinations that ultimately form DNA and cells.

Stretching the truth so far it more resembles used bubble gum on your shoe, is nothing new. But what should be more than a little alarming is that, in the intervening decades, the chemical industry, their lobbies, and political water-carriers (make that chemical-carriers) are more active, and powerful, than ever.

By Linsey B. Knerl

I’m one of the lucky ones. I don’t have food allergies. Unfortunately, this is not the case with over 12 million Americans (or one out of every 25 people). With something so urgently altering the way 4% of the population dines, it’s even more important to watch what we eat.

Knowing what’s in your food is becoming more difficult, even with the legalities requiring a comprehensive ingredient list on most packaged foods. According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), food labels may not be enough:

By Colleen Rothe

The clock radios in our bedroom at home, although set for separate times, both wake us to a local radio morning show.

The topic almost every morning this month has been about turning October into “Cashtober” by only purchasing things with cash – at the grocery store, the barber, lunch, your doctor’s visit co-pay – wherever you would normally use a debit (or worse credit) card.

By Gene Ayres

Back when Osama Bin Laden (note to the ignorant: he is actually unrelated to Barack Obama) knocked down the twin towers on 9/11 and our President told us to go shopping, presumably he meant, “We are all consumers.”

Now things look a little dicier. Now no one is explaining to us, least of all our president for the next three months, or for that matter the month after that, what money we should use to go shopping with. Too bad we can't all be AIG. No doubt the rest of us could use a $450,000 holiday break too.

By Linsey B. Knerl

What do insurance brokerage companies Zurich, Marsh, and Gallagher all have in common? They have all been accused of violating antitrust laws to get more of your money. The result? A huge payout to consumers in the form of millions of dollars in settlement payments.

What did they do wrong? According to the testimony of the classes, plenty. Marsh in particular is accused of:

By Gene Ayres

I want to make a small correction: two weeks ago I wrote that we could rest easy now that “the billionaires have been bailed out.” Oops. I hadn't counted on the House of Representatives open, albeit temporary, rebellion taking place. Now that they are back in the fold like proper sheep, and the money is being counted out as we speak, we can finally rest easy. Right?

But last week while most of us were being asked to fork over our last $700 billion or so, something else was happening that was really of historic significance, and almost nobody noticed. Maybe that was because history was happening so fast right and left; everywhere we looked there was no time to notice. What I'm talking about is the closing of Yankee Stadium in New York. This should have become the Museum of Baseball. Instead it is headed for the scrap heap. Babe Ruth is truly turning over in his grave.

By Colleen Rothe

Despite the economic crunch, my husband brought home a new piece of exercise equipment last week. He obviously took to heart my “hanging tough” suggestion about how we need to take care of ourselves during these lean money times.

Since his little surprise purchase, we’ve exercised every day since. That alone makes it well worth the $90 investment. Additionally, it can easily be stored away with minimal effort. It’s been great.

By Linsey B. Knerl

It used to be that only the backwards or the backwoods kept warm with a traditional woodstove. Having been born both rural and poor, we were one of those families. It’s not surprising, however, to see that history tends to repeat itself, and the current huge increase in the cost of heating fuels has driven an increasing demand for a more simple life – at least in heating terms.