Current Events in January 2013

How's that diet going? It's easy to get discouraged if you don't reach your goals when you think you should. So maybe it's time to readjust your goals.

“If we set lofty weight loss goals, like 10, 20 or 30-plus pounds, and we don’t make progress quickly enough, it’s too easy to get distracted and have our emotions convince us that the goal is not achievable,” said Lauren Whitt, director of University of Alabama Birmingham's (UAB) Employee Wellness.

Whitt and other fitness expects believe that breaking down goals into smaller, more manageable short-term targets, like losing one to two pounds per week, can lead to better chances of success.

“Once those first one or two pounds are lost, you can celebrate,” Whitt added. “Then the next mini-goal can become the focus.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also found benefit from gradual weight loss. It's especially helpful, the agency says, when it comes to maintaining your new weight.

The challenge

Here's what dieters are up against. To lose one pound you need to burn or reduce 3,500 calories. For most people, walking briskly for one hour will burn about 300 calories, less than 10 percent of that. CDC recommends reducing caloric intake by 500 to 1,000 calories per day.

Going on a crash diet – reducing consumption far below that amount – can yield near-instant results. But it often results in what is known as “yo-yo dieting.” Your weight goes down and comes right back up.

Don't mess with your metabolism

By restricting so many daily calories, you are resetting your body's metabolism. Once you start eating normally again, your body burns calories more slowly. Not a good thing.

There's an abundance of commercial weight loss programs available to consumers. Some appear to be more effective than others. Before selecting one, however, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests you discuss it with your doctor.

Based on your doctor's advice, the agency suggests choosing a diet that emphasizes healthy eating that reduces calories but does not forbid specific foods or food groups. Supplement that healthy eating plan with daily exercise of some kind. And again, start small, especially if you have not been very active lately.

What would such a plan yield in the way of results? According to NIH, between a half pound and two pounds per week.

How realistic are your goals?

Another important factor is having a realistic assessment of your current weight and measure your goals against that. You're here, but you want to be here – how realistic, or healthy, is that?

To start, you'll need to know your body mass index (BMI), a number calculated on your weight and height and a measure of how much fat your body is carrying. CDC has a handy online calculator to help you quickly establish your BMI. It will also give you a target weight to shoot for.

If you can't lose, stop gaining

It may be that before you can start losing weight, you need to stop gaining. Whitt says that can be a realistic and helpful goal if you are finding yourself struggling to lose weight.

“Look at the number you are now, and tell yourself you will stay right there,” Whitt said.

Whitt said a team of people supporting you, whether in a contest or in an individual weight-loss plan, is crucial.

“They are the ones who can pick you up and encourage you on a day when it feels overwhelming,” Whitt said. “These same people will also challenge you to continue to push forward, helping to propel you to greatness and encourage your efforts.”

It's also important not to focus on failure. Remember, there are going to be setbacks along the way. When you get right down to it, getting to and maintaining a healthy weight is not a destination but a journey. It's something you should try to do for the rest of your life.

For some reason, there’s something exciting about purchasing a product that’s associated with a celebrity.

It may be because we’re fans of a particular TV personality or movie star that makes buying one of their items seem more eventful than buying something that doesn’t have that same celebrity association.

Or maybe we somehow transfer our admiration for that particular celebrity to their products, and just assume their items will be high quality simply because their shows or movies are high quality.

Also, when we’re talking about celebrity-endorsed products, it’s important to establish the difference between a person like Tiger Woods, who may attach his brand to a newly released watch for example, and a person like the TV host and cook Rachel Ray, who uses her celebrity to pretty much only release products within her field of expertise.

In the Tiger Woods example, you know the successful golfer probably didn’t have anything to do with the actual design and quality of the watch, whereas Rachel Ray's expertise in the kitchen gives her products a certain amount of credibility. 

Both Martha Stewart and Paula Deen fall into this category of celebrities releasing a series of products that are associated with the areas of their professions that made them famous, but of the two moguls, who has fared better among ConsumerAffairs readers, in terms of their products being up to snuff and working like they’re supposed to?

A closer look

Before we answer that, a little look at both celebrities and the products they sell and, at least sometimes, stand behind.

Truly, it’s not really an equal playing field if you match Paula Deen up against Martha Stewart when it comes to the amount of products available, and the mere fact that Stewart is arguably the biggest celebrity name in the area of home and garden products.

Also, Stewart has pretty much been the go-to person for ideas on everything from home decorating to hosting events, so she amounts to pretty fierce competition.

Since Paula Deen burst onto the television scene in 2002, she’s also become a household name and her everybody’s aunt persona has almost become synonymous with Southern cooking itself -- at least on TV.

And although having a much later start than Martha Stewart, Deen has still managed to put together an impressive array of products.

On the website Pauladeenstore.com consumers can buy everything from pots and pans, cooking tools, dishes, tableware and a bunch of other items that many consumers have given a try.

But again, which celebrity product has done the best among our readers in terms of quality and people having the best overall customer experience?

Well, Paula Deen’s cookware received one and a half out of five stars, and upon reading the reviews, a good number of people have complained about her cookware either fading in color or even bleeding color, as happened to Cathy of Richboro, Pa.

“Red Paula Deen Cookware that was purchased from Walmart and as a gift to me is less than one year old and all bottoms are bleeding off on dish towels continually,” Cathy wrote in a ConsumerAffairs posting.

“The inside of the cookware has held up great but not the bottoms/outside of the cookware. I wish a replacement if this issue has been corrected; otherwise a full refund to purchase other cookware."

Apparently, only the bottom of Cathy’s cookware began to wear out quickly, and the inside still remained intact, but other readers weren’t as fortunate.

“My wife and I bought a set of Paula Deen’s pot and pan set a little over a year ago,” wrote Ken of Oak Harbor, Wash. “Within six months, the Teflon was peeling from the 10-inch skillet on the inside bottom. Now most of the pots and pans are peeling Teflon from various places."

"We still have the first set of pots and pans we bought after we were married. That was 43 years ago," he added. 

"Those pans still are not peeling any Teflon; they just look a little worse for wear on the outside of them, which is why we elected to buy a new set. We chose Paula Deen’s red set because we like the color scheme."

In fact, readers say, many of Deen’s cookware products had either arrived with missing parts, started to peel and chip and some readers even complained of pots and pans developing little holes in them quickly after purchase.

Notorious tables

And what about Ms. Stewart's products?

Her products ranked about the same as  Paula Deen with the average perhaps being pulled down by her infamous exploding glass-topped tables.0

“I bought the Mallorca II Martha Stewart set about two months ago from Home Depot and I woke up this morning to it being shattered all over the ground,” wrote Lydia of New Hampshire in her ConsumerAffairs posting.  

“There was nothing around it to cause it to break. I have had this for two months and when I went to Home Depot this morning, they told me the glass is not under warranty. My only option is to pretty much buy a new set. I am very angry and disappointed that this product has not been taken off the shelves.

Sheri of Columbia, Md., had a similar problem when she found also found her patio table shattered for seemingly no reason.

“On Friday, I was thinking about eating out on my deck for the holiday weekend and to my surprise, there was glass everywhere,” she wrote. “I had to go buy a shop vac and there are still shards in the slats and underneath. I called the manufacturer and they said the glass was not warrantied.”

As a matter of fact, many people in our review section, pretty much back to back, found that Martha Stewart’s glass tables somehow imploded for no particular reason -- on the first page of reviews alone, there were over 20 comments that all listed the same problem of  glass on the tables shattering.

Eternal problem

This is, by the way, a problem that goes back practically to the beginning of time. There have been lawsuits, demands of all sorts and even a reported bankruptcy by one of Martha's suppliers.

But Ms. Stewart herself has never deigned to comment, apologize or even acknowledge the problem. Nor, needless to say, has she fixed it.

And so, although many consumers said they still loved Martha Stewart and Paula Deen, it goes to show you, that even though we may love watching a particular celebrity on television, it certainly doesn’t mean that we’ll love their products just as much.

While you pretty much have to go to a dealer to buy a new car, you don't need to go back for repairs.

A recent online survey on auto repair showed that while consumers are generally satisfied with their dealership experience, they trust independent repair shops over dealerships for auto repairs by two to one.

Better prices and mechanic relationships are the keys for independent repair shop preference, with 80 percent of those surveyed by AutoMD.com say they felt they had been overcharged for a repair at a dealership, and over 90 percent believing they can save at least 10 percent by visiting an independent shop. Meanwhile, most who reported choosing the dealership service center instead of an independent repair shop did so because their vehicle was under warranty/recall.

More expensive

But is this notion that dealerships are more expensive just a perception? Not according to the majority of respondents who say they have actually comparison-shopped repair job quotes: a whopping 87 percent reported that independent shop quotes were more affordable than dealership quotes.

"It is no secret that consumers are holding onto their vehicles for record lengths of time, meaning more and more visits to the repair shop or dealer service center," said Brian Hafer, VP of Marketing for AutoMD.com. "We conducted this snapshot survey to provide a window into how today's car owners feel about their repair shop/dealership service center options, and found that price and relationships are making consumers push the independent trigger - unless their vehicle is under a dealership warranty. But, with so many aging cars now falling outside the warranty, this survey indicates that consumers are going to compare repair quotes -- and then go where they believe the price is right."

Survey Highlights

• Sixty-seven percent of respondents said that they trust an independent repair shop more than a dealership to repair their vehicle. When asked why they preferred the independent repair shop, the top two reasons were: 1) a relationship with their local mechanic (40 percent) and 2) better pricing (at nearly 30 percent).
• Over 80 percent of respondents reported they had felt overcharged at the dealership, with 59 percent claiming that the overcharge was at least $200 and nearly 20 percent claiming over $500. Plus 47 percent said paying a premium or paying for unnecessary repairs / service is the worst part of the dealership experience.
• Forty-seven percent of those who utilize dealership service centers said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their experience, with 23 percent feeling neutral. However, of those who were dissatisfied with their dealership experience (30 percent), the belief that they had been overcharged was the number one driver of dissatisfaction. And of the 33 percent who say they trust the dealership more than the independent shop for repairs, 60 percent cited the dealership mechanic's knowledge of and familiarity with their particular model as the reason for their preference.
• Of those who go to the dealership for repairs, the vast majority are only doing so because their vehicle is under warranty or recall: 83 percent report that they would not have chosen the dealership if their vehicle hadn't been under warranty/recall. The top reason? Repairs at the dealership are more expensive than at the independent repair shop (51 percent).
• Nearly two-thirds of respondents believe they can save over 20 percent on repairs by choosing an independent repair shop over a dealership, and 72 percent say a savings of just 10 percent would make them opt for the repair shop over the dealership.
• This is not just perception or speculation, it's an educated opinion. Consumers are looking for comparison quotes: 78 percent say they have compared repair job quotes between the dealership and independent repair shop. The results overwhelmingly show that independent repair shop quotes are more affordable (87 percent).
• Savings appears to be a key driver of consumers being proactive in getting repair quotes: 78 percent said that if they knew it would save them 10 percent or more, they would compare repair job price quotes.

If you flew anywhere last summer, you were probably paying more than you did the year before.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), average domestic air fares stood at $367 in the third quarter of 2012 -- up 1.8 percent from the average fare of $361 in the third quarter of 2011. Huntsville, Ala., had the highest average fare, $522, while Atlantic City, N.J., had the lowest, $133.

Not adjusted for inflation, the $367 third-quarter 2012 average fare is the fifth-highest average fare for any quarter since BTS began collecting air fare records in 1995. The highest was $385 in the second quarter of 2012. The previous third-quarter high was $361 in 2011. Third-quarter 2012 fares were $243 in 1995 dollars, down 18.1 percent from the average fare of $297 in 2000, the inflation-adjusted high for any third quarter.

Shrinking percentage

Passenger airlines collected 71.2 percent of their total revenue from passenger fares during the third quarter of 2012, down from 1990 when 87.6 percent of airline revenue was received from fares.

Unadjusted third-quarter fares increased 9.0 percent from the third quarter of 2000 to the third quarter of 2012. During those 12 years, inflation-adjusted fares declined 18.1 percent while there was an overall increase in consumer prices of 33.2 percent.

In the 17 years from 1995, unadjusted air fares rose 27.7 percent compared to a 15.5 percent decline in inflation-adjusted fares and a 51.0 percent increase in consumer prices.

Unadjusted third-quarter 2012 fares were up 19.6 percent from the recession low of $307 in 2009.

BTS reports average fares based on domestic itinerary fares, which consist of round-trip fares unless the customer does not purchase a return trip. In that case, the one-way fare is included. Fares are based on the total ticket value which consists of the price charged by the airlines plus any additional taxes and fees levied by an outside entity at the time of purchase.

Fares include only the price paid at the time of the ticket purchase and do not include other fees, such as baggage fees, paid at the airport or on board the aircraft. Averages do not include frequent-flyer or “zero fares” or abnormally high reported fares.  

Women will now be able to buy Oxytrol for Women, an overactive bladder medication, over the counter, but men will still need a prescription, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today.

Oxytrol for Women thus becomes the first over-the-counter treatment for overactive bladder in women ages 18 years and older.

Oxytrol for Women contains oxybutynin, a medicine that helps relax the bladder muscle. Oxybutynin belongs to a class of drugs known as anticholinergics. Oxytrol for Women is a patch that is applied to the skin every four days. The patch delivers 3.9 milligrams of oxybutynin per day.

Overactive bladder is a condition in which the bladder squeezes too often or squeezes without warning. Symptoms include leaking urine (urinary incontinence), feeling the sudden and urgent need to urinate, and frequent urination. Overactive bladder affects an estimated 33 million Americans, the majority of whom are older women.

“Studies demonstrate that over-the-counter Oxytrol for Women is a safe and effective treatment for overactive bladder,” said Shaw Chen, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation IV in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Women should make sure to follow the Drug Facts label and consult their doctor if their condition does not improve.”

The FDA said Oxytrol for Women’s safety and effectiveness for over-the-counter use were established in more than 5,000 subjects participating in nine studies. Overall, results from these studies showed that consumers can understand the information on the label, properly select whether the product is right for them, and use the drug appropriately.

Side effects reported during clinical studies were mild and included skin irritation where the patch was applied, dry mouth and constipation. A leaflet with tips to help manage overactive bladder will be provided with the product.

Oxytrol for Women is marketed by Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J.

Specialized Bicycle Components of Morgan Hill, CA, is recalling about 12,200 bicycles and frame sets.

The steerer tube in the front fork can break, posing a fall hazard. Two incidents were reported, one involving a fall with facial injuries and lacerations requiring stitches.

The 2012 and 2013 model road bicycles and framesets come in various colors and have the brand name "Specialized" on the frame. The model name "Tarmac SL4," "Crux" or "Secteur" is also located on the frame. The recall includes all models of the 2012 Tarmac SL4, 2013 Tarmac SL4, 2013 Crux and 2013 Secteur Disc. The model year and style names are on the sales documents.

The bicycles and frames, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold at authorized Specialized dealers nationwide from July 2011 through January 2013 for between $990 to $11,000.

Consumers should immediately stop using the bicycles and take them to an authorized dealer for free inspection and -- if needed -- a free repair.

Consumers may contact Specialized Bicycle Components toll-free at (877) 808-8154 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.

Sales of new single-family houses ended the year on a sour note, falling 7.3 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000. At the same time, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development report sales for the month were up 8.8 percent on a year-over-year basis.

The best sales news of all, though, is that 367,000 new homes were sold last year -- 19.9 percent above the 306,000 sold during all of 2011.

Regional breakdown

The December decline was led by a 29.4 percent drop in the Northeast, a decline of 11.1 percent in the West and an 8.4 percent dip in the South. Only the Midwest showed a gain last month -- 21.3 percent.

Year-over-year, sales were up 20.0 percent in the Northeast and 15.6 percent in the South, while dipping 1.7 percent in the Midwest, and 1.2 percent in the West.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of December was 151,000, representing a supply of 4.9 months.

Home prices

The average sales price of a home last month was $304,000 up more that $41,000 from a year earlier. The median sales price -- meaning half were above and half were below -- was $248,900, a gain of more than $40,000 from December 2011.

Despite the December decline, the housing picture is brightening. Earlier in the week, the National Association of Realtors reported both sales and prices of existing homes were up last year.

There is probably a lot of information about you in cyberspace. If you have a Facebook account, or know people with a Facebook account, it's almost a certainty.

The issue leaped into the headlines in early December when Facebook made changes to its privacy settings. It was supposed to simplify things but one result was the removal of the option for users to hide themselves from the site's main search tool.

"Many people posted stuff on their timelines that they did not expect to be publicly searcheable," Mark Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said at the time.

Smile!

But it's not just your comments on Facebook, but photographs too. People post millions of pictures of family and friends, and if you happen to be in the picture – and even “tagged” with your name – your image is there for all to see and no one asks you for permission.

“I wish to make a complaint against Facebook not blocking a Facebook ID that's using my photo as the profile picture,” she wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. Facebook ID (name redacted) is a fake ID and it used my photo as the profile picture.

Then there's the recent example of a California woman whose Facebook pictures became the image of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend. Your likeness, it seems, is out of control. Just ask 17 women in Texas.

Revenge-porn

The women have joined a class-action lawsuit against a “revenge-porn” website, claiming ex-boyfriends published nude photographs of them on the site. The women are suing Texxxan.com, as well as Godaddy.com, a commercial website hosting service, and all subscribing members.

The women claim their former lovers, angry at being dumped, published the photographs in an attempt to humiliate them, in an act of revenge.

"I'm going after the revenge porn industry," attorney John Morgan told the Houston Chronicle. "Those sickos who post private information of women without their knowledge."

It may be an extreme example, but it highlights the difficulty consumers have in maintaining control over their image in the Internet age. But what about other kinds of private data?

Little or no control

Microsoft, citing a survey showing 45 percent of U.S. adults feel they have little or no control over the personal information companies gather about them while they are browsing the Web or using online services, is promoting new privacy features in Windows 8.

"As online activities have become a valuable part of daily life, privacy is incredibly important,” said Brendon Lynch, Microsoft's chief privacy officer.

Microsoft has produced a series of web videos that explains how consumers can use the new privacy tools in the operating system. 

Mobile threats

Privacy risks, of course, are not confined to your desktop PC but increasingly are found on your mobile devices. Trend Micro, a security software company, found an explosion in Android threats in 2012, with new Android malware outpacing PC malware by a ratio of 14 to three.

Social media platforms continued to grow as areas of concern with attackers targeting them more, users putting themselves at risk by oversharing on them, and their legitimate services being co-opted to support cybercriminal activities, the company said.

How does your mobile device become compromised? In many cases it's done by downloading an app that is actually a front for malware. You can provide some measure of protection by only downloading apps from reputable sources. An app promoted through an unsolicited text or email is probably compromised.

The future may be even more hazardous. For 2013 Trend Micro expects hackers to infiltrate legitimate cloud services, using a blog or social media site like Facebook to transmit commands. Every web site now is supposed to have a privacy policy. It might be a good idea to read them.

Netflix has suffered some bumps in recent times, both from investors and from consumers. Its 2011 decision to split off its DVD rental business from streaming, and charge $8 a month for both, didn't go over well with its customers.

So it was something of a surprise on Wall Street when the company reported a profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 after previously warning it would lose money.

Netflix's net income for the three-month period totaled $7.9 million, equaling 13 cents a share. The consensus on the Street was the company would lose 12 cents a share, making for a 25 cent earnings swing.

What happened? The company has quietly been building its streaming business, the area where it now faces the greatest competition. It finished the fourth quarter with just over 27 million streaming customers, two million more than three months earlier.

Unhappy customers

Netflix, however, still has unhappy customers, like Kate, of Glorieta, N.M.

“Once upon a time, I was lipstick kissing the Netflix envelopes to let them know how much I loved them,” she wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “Now, they are just another corporate nightmare that invites anger and frustration because they care more about their bottom line (which will backfire eventually) than about their loyal and faithful customers. We are treated with indifference and neglect. Honestly, I have come to hate this company and am on the verge of terminating my account with them after many years of faithful membership.”

“I've been a member since 2002 and have been very satisfied for most of that time, even choosing to remain patient and loyal during the whole Qwikster debacle,” Greg wrote in his ConsumerAffairs post. “But in recent months three changes I've noticed are really making it hard for me to remain a customer: 1) fewer and fewer streaming options, despite them gearing the website to make it more difficult to add DVDs 2 ) more "long wait" delays for many DVDs and 3) longer turn-around times to receive DVDs by mail.”

Streaming, not DVDs, powers the growth

Note that two and a half of Greg's three complaints are about the DVD side of Netflix's business. But in the most recent quarter, it was the streaming side that powered the growth.

Netflix credits the higher subscriber numbers in the last quarter to consumers buying new electronic devices, such as tablets and smart TVs. Uncommented upon is the shift in Netflix's streaming options and how consumers may have responded.

Nearly a year ago Starz Entertainment, the major supplier of movies to Netflix's streaming service, ended its contract and refused to renew. Oddly enough, Starz said it declined to do business with Netflix because it didn't think it was charging consumers enough for access to its content.

It was seen as a major blow to the company's ability to attract new subscribers and keep old ones. But Netflix has appeared to take lemons and turn them into lemonade, by offering multiple seasons of hundreds of television series. In so doing, it may have altered the way consumers watching streaming video.

Changing habits

In the past, a consumer might download a movie and that would be the evening's entertainment. But increasingly, consumers sit down and watch multiple episodes – sometimes an entire season – of a TV show in one sitting, staging their own “marathons.”

Netflix has given widespread exposure to programs that many people didn't watch when they were on network television or cable. Shows like Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Weeds, Louie, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia have expanded their audiences on Netflix. When the latest season of Portlandia was added to Netflix, it became an event – almost like the release of a new movie.

Even if you happen to be a regular viewer of How I Met Your Mother, but only picked it up in season four, you can watch the entire series, from the beginning and in order, on Netflix.

Worth watching

Finally, critics are point out that some of the best writing is on television, not movies. Series made specifically for cable, such as The Sopranos, Mad Men and Walking Dead have won critical acclaim, prompting actors who, in the past only considered movie roles, to take another look at the small screen. Actor Kevin Bacon, for example, has just launched a new drama series on Fox.

Netflix may have lost access to the most popular movies but the result is that it now appears to have an ample supply of content that a lot of consumers seem to value as much, or more. Is this development a happy accident or something cleverly engineered? Either way, Netflix appears to understand what it has working for it.

In it's promotion, it now gives its new content top billing, saying “Watch TV shows and movies...” not movies and TV shows.

What is it about trying to lower our salt intake that’s so difficult?

Most of us have heard the warnings about getting too much sodium, yet many of us still choose to pick up that salt shaker or order something from a restaurant that we know is just loaded with salt.

However, there’s a good portion of consumers that take heed of the medical warnings, and try their very best to incorporate meals that are healthier and try to use other flavors, like low-sodium options or natural ingredients to season their food.

And mostly, the sodium-conscious consumer does their best to avoid those store-bought items that are known to be plagued with salt -- like potato chips, frozen TV dinners or canned soups. By doing this, most would probably assume they’re being successful in their mission at cutting down the amount of salty foods they're bringing into their homes.

But what about those foods that aren’t typically thought of as high in  in sodium? Meaning, those foods that don’t taste salty often fall below the radar. 

Salty cereal

Like breakfast cereals for example — although many of them are lumped into the healthier category by many consumers, some of them can have tremendous amounts of salt that you usually can’t even taste.

Take Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, which contains 210 milligrams per serving. That can add up if you’re eating it daily, and some of us like to eat cereal as a snack, downing a couple a bowls per sitting, and many of us do this because we think it’s healthier than tearing through a bag of chips.

And you can’t forget about children’s cereals, which always get a bad rap for being too high in sugar, and rightfully so, but parents should be equally concerned with the high sodium levels in some brands like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, made by General Mills, which has about 220 milligrams of sodium -- and we all know how much  kids love to scarf that stuff down by the boatload.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least half of the U.S. population shouldn’t be consuming more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day, and that 50 percent of the population is made up of people who have a history of high blood pressure, those with kidney problems, African-Americans and diabetic patients.

The other half of the population shouldn’t exceed 2,300 milligrams a day, says the CDC.

The government agency also explained the kinds of foods that aren’t normally talked about in high sodium discussions can be even more dangerous since people eat them more, thinking they’re staying away from overly salty foods.

In the CDC’s list of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it shows just how commonly eaten foods, that aren’t usually considered salty can really truly add up.

3,000 milligrams

On the informational sheet, it shows that during the course of a day a bowl of cereal in the morning, a soup and sandwich for lunch and a quick slice of pizza with a salad can equate to over 3,000 milligrams of sodium for that one day, which is  twice the recommended amount for some.

And although one may say, “Well, I’m not surprised a soup, sandwich and a slice of pizza has so much sodium,” they may not remember or realize that much of the salt is in the salad dressing, the bread for the sandwich and that big bowl of cereal you had in the morning.

Also below the high sodium radar are many of the popular coffee drinks that consumers buy these days, say experts, so consumers should be mindful of how much sodium they’re consuming if they’re making a daily trek to Starbucks or Dunking Donuts for a caffeine fix, especially some of the blended coffee drinks that have a high amount of sodium.

Also, if you take a look at the sodium levels in many of today’s ready-made pancake mixes, you’ll find they contain massive amounts of salt.

For example, a box of Aunt Jemima Original Pancake Mix has a whopping 740 milligrams per serving size, which reaches well over half of the recommended sodium intake for the day, so if you’re eating pancakes first thing in the morning, then you have what’s considered a normal lunch and dinner, there is a very good chance that you’ll exceed the 1,500 or 2,300 milligram count that the CDC suggests.

And it’s certainly not just breakfast foods that are high in sodium and sometimes sneak past us.

Watch the dessert

If you think you’ve successfully stayed away from too much salt on a given day, and decide to reward yourself after dinner with some dessert like cookies or prepackaged sweets, you could be getting way more sodium that you thought you were getting.

Like Entenmanns Carrot Iced Cake, that has 210 milligrams of sodium per serving, which can really add up if you continuously indulge. The company considers a serving slice to be only 67 grams, which is pretty tiny. Also, who has such a small piece of cake and just one slice at that when trying to satisfy  a sweet fix?

A lot of muffins, donuts and candies are also high in sodium, and experts say consumers should consider these foods right along with those foods like potato chips or pretzels when trying to lower their sodium intake.

On average, Americans consume about 3,300 milligrams of sodium per day and it’s safe to say that much of this sodium is coming from sources we're not even thinking of, say experts.

Experts also say to keep reading nutrition labels on packages, cans, on restaurant menus and on restaurant menu boards, and don’t assume that just because foods don’t taste salty they aren’t just as high in sodium or even more so than those foods that we more commonly associate with being high in salt.

So now that it’s decided which two teams will go head to head in this year’s Super Bowl, many people are starting to organize their parties, get their meal ideas together and lock down their overall plans for the biggest television event of the year.

And besides making sure good food and company will be available, most people will also make sure their large-screen TVs and surround-sound speakers are working at full function, because the person who normally hosts a Super Bowl party is usually the one who has the biggest television with the best sound system.

But in 2013, flat-screen televisions aren’t the only devices that will be used this Super Bowl Sunday, as some people will also use their smartphones, either to watch the game, keep track of the statistics or help them follow the game if they're unable to watch it.

And since several companies have released apps that do all of these things, more and more people will have their electronic devices in hand or on their lap for all four quarters of this year’s Super Bowl.

The NFL Pro 2013 app for Androids doesn’t help you keep track of the game, it actually provides a diversion if you choose not to watch it fully, as each user can download the application to their smartphone and play a simulated game with any NFL team, including the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens if you want to create your own Super bowl outcome.

Extra diversion

The app is ideal for those who can’t simply watch the game and feel they have to be doing something while it’s going on, so if some of the guests at your party aren’t huge football fans and won’t watch every single down, the NFL Pro 2013 app may be just for them.

Another app that can serve as an added activity during your Super bowl party is the American Football NFL Trivia Quiz, that has 250 multiple choice questions for those guests that are hardcore football fans and claim to know all there is about the sport.

Users can play individually or against each other, and the app has several game modes like, “Guess the Questions”, “Quiz Master”, “Race Against Time” and “Battleships.”

The app also comes with some pretty cool graphics and sound effects, and through a Blue Tooth connection, two players can play at once, which will hopefully calm some of those competitive juices, which seem to be at an all-time high during each year of the Super bowl.

The questions that are included in the game are made up of past Super bowl trivia, team history questions, player statistics and other aspects of the game that may or may not be difficult for the football fan. And with 250 questions that cover all areas of the sport, the app should be able to be enjoyed by both the football fanatic and casual fan alike.

ESPN Radio

And if for some reason you aren’t able to get in front of a TV for the big game, because maybe you’re traveling, you may want to check out the ESPN radio app that can be downloaded for free in the iTunes store.

On the app, users can access ESPN radio, podcasts and live play by play commentary.

You can also create your own playlist of your favorite ESPN shows and access all of them directly on your device, as the app will still remain useful for football fans after the Super bowl is done and the victor is decided.

The app also gives you access to 35 ESPN radio stations from around the U.S., and allows you to manipulate the live commentary by having the ability to rewind and pause the game up to an hour of the audio being broadcasted.

Also for this year’s Super Bowl, Verizon just released what it calls the Super Bowl XLVI Guide app, that’s designed for those folks who were actually fortunate enough to secure a ticket to the big game this year.

The app will mainly let the people know who are visiting New Orleans for the Super bowl where the best restaurants are, where to find the coolest gatherings and the best places to go for Super Bowl weekend.

The app also comes equipped with 3D maps of New Orleans to help with navigation, and it also has a map that allows fans to be better directed through the Superdome where the pigskin battle is being fought this year.

You can also use the app to help with parking your car in New Orleans during Super Bowl weekend, since the city will be jampacked and people will need all the help they can get to secure a parking space, and then find their car when all of the madness is over.

So this Super Bowl, there are many other things you can do at your party besides just watching the game, and with these new apps you can add a nice level of variety to your gathering to appease both the serious football fan and the person who’s just showing up for the party itself.

Consumers who paid up to $3.150 in hopes of selling their timeshares may take a little comfort in knowing that some of those responsible have been ordered to pay more than $6 million.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued National Solutions LLC and several individuals, accusing them of bilking consumers who were hoping to sell their timeshares. 

In July 2011, the FTC charged Leandro Velazquez, Edgar Gonzalez, Samuel Velazquez, Joel Velazquez, and others with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule by misrepresenting that they had buyers willing to pay a specific price for consumers’ timeshare properties, that they would refund their upfront fee when the property was sold, and that the FTC would review and approve the proposed sales. 

According to the FTC, the defendants charged consumers up to $3,150 as an “earnest money deposit” to commit them to the sale or for sale-related expenses, and promised to refund the money when the sale closed. 

Customers often were not contacted again, their properties were never sold, and their refund demands were ignored or denied.  Contrary to the defendants’ alleged assertions, the FTC does not review or approve timeshare sales.

Remember the old Virginia Slims cigarettes slogan, “you've come a long way, baby?” A special article published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), puts what was intended as something positive into a very negative light.

According to the NEJM article, female smokers have a much greater risk of death from lung cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) in recent years than did female smokers 20 or 40 years ago, reflecting changes in smoking behavior.

In fact, the increase in risk of death from lung cancer and COLD in female smokers has been large enough to completely offset improvements in longevity from medical advances that have reduced death rates in the rest of the population over the last 50 years.

Smoking like a man

Women smokers today smoke more like men than women in previous generations, beginning earlier in adolescence and until recently smoking more cigarettes per day (consumption peaked among female smokers in the 1980s).

To find out if these changing patterns have caused women's risk to converge with those in men, researchers, researchers led by Michael J. Thun, MD, recently retired as vice president emeritus of the American Cancer Society (ACS), measured fifty-year trends in mortality related to smoking across three time periods (1959-65, 1982-88 and 2000-2010), by comparing five large contemporary studies with two historical ACS cohorts.

In total the study included more than 2.2 million adults 55 years and older.

The rising risk

For women who smoked in the 1960s, the risk of dying from lung cancer was 2.7 times higher than that of never-smokers. In the contemporary cohorts (2000-2010) the risk was 25.7 times higher than that of never-smokers.

The risk of dying from COLD among female smokers was 4.0 times higher than that of never-smokers in the 1960s; in the contemporary cohort, this risk increased to 22.5 times higher than never-smokers. About half of the increase in risk of both conditions occurred during the last 20 years.

In male smokers, lung cancer risk plateaued at the high level observed in the 1980s, while the risk of death from COLD continues to increase for reasons that are unclear. Men and women smokers in the contemporary cohorts had nearly identically higher relative risks (compared to never smokers) for lung cancer, chronic obstructive lung disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and other heart disease. This finding strongly confirms the observed prediction that "If women smoke like men, they will die like men."

Quitting by 40

The research also confirmed that quitting smoking at any age dramatically lowers mortality from all major diseases caused by smoking, and that quitting smoking is far more effective than reducing the number of cigarettes smoked. The study found smokers who quit by age 40 avoided nearly all of the excess smoking-related mortality from lung cancer and COPD.

"The steep increase in risk among female smokers has continued for decades after the serious health risks from smoking were well established, and despite the fact that women predominantly smoked cigarette brands marketed as lower in 'tar' and nicotine," said Dr. Thun. "So not only did the use of cigarette brands marketed as 'Light' and 'Mild' fail to prevent a large increase in risk in women, it also may have exacerbated the increase in deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease in male smokers, since the diluted smoke from these cigarettes is inhaled more deeply into the lungs of smokers to maintain the accustomed absorption of nicotine."

Never-smokers

Another study appearing in the same issue of the NEJM looks at longevity among current, former, and never smokers in the nationally representative National Health Interview survey. That study, led by Dr. Prabhat Jha at St. Michael's Hospital at the University of Toronto, found that persistent lifetime smokers lose an average of about 10 years of life compared to never smokers. Smokers who die prematurely lose about 20 years of life.

"The findings from these studies have profound implications for many developing countries where cigarette smoking has become entrenched more recently than in the United States, said Dr. Thun. "Together they show that the epidemic of disease and death caused by cigarette smoking increases progressively over many decades, peaking fifty or more years after the widespread uptake of smoking in adolescence. The good news is the benefits of smoking cessation occur much more quickly and are substantial at any age."

More signs that the economic recovery appears to be gaining strength -- or at least not losing steam.

The Conference Board reports its Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose 0.5 percent in December following no change in November -- and a 0.3 percent increase in October.

"The U.S. LEI rose sharply in December, led by a large improvement in initial claims for unemployment insurance and positive contributions from the interest rate spread and the Leading Credit Index,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board. “The increase in the LEI brought its six-month growth rate well above zero, with roughly two-thirds of the components advancing in the last six months. However, consumer expectations and manufacturers' new orders remain weak."

Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein says the latest data suggest that a pickup in domestic growth is now more likely, compared with a few months ago. “Housing, which has long been a drag, has turned into a positive for growth, and will help improve consumer balance sheets and strengthen consumption,” he notes, while cautioning, “for growth to gain more traction we also need to see better performance on new orders and an acceleration in capital spending."

Jobless claims

From the Labor Department, meanwhile, comes word that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 in the week ending January 19 -- to 330,000.

The 4-week moving average, considered a more accurate gauge of jobless benefit claims because it is less volatile, was 351,750 -- a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week.

A figure below 400,000 is considered by many economists to be a sign that the labor market is strengthening.

Over the last few years, there has been extensive talk about the obesity problem here in the United States, particularly childhood obesity, and there’s also been a good amount of dialogue on what children should do to live more healthfully.

It’s been widely reported that childhood obesity is linked to a host of serious illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, so a large part of the national dialogue has also been about what kids and parents should do to eat better and get more exercise.

But what should parents do when eating right and exercising aren't  enough, and the obesity problem goes from something that can be self-managed to something that’s out of control?

Although a recent study found a majority of parents oppose bariatric weight-loss surgery -- also called gastric bypass -- for their obese  teens, a group of researchers say the procedure can be a big help to young patients.

Researchers found that weight-loss surgery improved blood flow among 60 percent of teens who underwent the procedure, and also decreased their heart size, which in many cases had become enlarged because of obesity.

These results were determined after a research team from Nationwide Children’s Hospital conducted cardiac MRI tests on teen patients, both before and after they underwent weight loss surgery, a procedure that's not typically done on teens today.

Teen lost 100 pounds

To find out just how weight loss surgery may impact the life of a teenager, we spoke to 21-year old Kelley Allen, from New Concord, Ohio, who had bariatric surgery when she was 17 years of age.

After losing 100 pounds since the surgery, she says the changes in her life have been pretty tremendous.

“Things have changed for me in many ways since surgery, not just physically but mentally," she said in an interview with ConsumerAffairs.

“I had zero confidence in myself before surgery. But after I had the surgery and saw the results and realized how much better I physically felt, I knew that I had a second chance at life and I was excited about it.”

Kelley also says that when it came time to decide whether to get the surgery, the decision wasn’t very difficult due to the heavy amount of research she did beforehand.

“It was not a tough decision for me at all, because I made an informed decision,” she said. “I did the research about the surgery and I felt that it was what I needed to do. The decision to go ahead with the surgery was one that I made on my own. I knew that my parents supported me and they had given me their opinions but they wanted me to solely make the final decision.”

The research team points to the fact that one out of five kids suffers from obesity in the United States, which is three times the rate of just a generation ago, and although new health initiatives have been established to help lower the childhood obesity rate, the number of kids suffering from obesity just isn’t decreasing fast enough.

Kelley says one of the good things about the weight-loss surgery, at least in her case, was a fast recovery time.

“Recovery for me personally was not difficult,” she says. “I was back to school in two weeks for half days and four weeks after surgery I was going for full days. I felt that a lot of the recovery was because I had the determination.”

A family affair

Some parents may still be worried about their teenagers getting such an invasive procedure so early in life, but Dr. Marc Michalsky, who was involved in the study and also one of the physicians who performed the bariatric surgery on Kelley, said both parents and teenager really need to be involved in the decision-making process, and the procedure should not be one that kids make alone.

“One of the most important factors that parents of potential bariatric patients should consider is the fact that the process of surgical weight reduction for adolescents is a family affair,” said Dr. Michalsky in an  interview with ConsumerAffairs.

“Parents have a huge role in helping their child achieve optimal weight reduction since, in most instances; they are primarily responsible for overseeing the patient’s nutritional intake and associated behaviors.”

Dr. Michalsky also says that until now, there haven’t been many studies on the relationship between cardiovascular disease and childhood obesity.

“While there have been reports of indirect measures of cardiovascular risk in the severely obese adolescent population, including studies demonstrating the presence of several biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (i.e. elevated serum insulin level, cholesterol and triglycerides), only a few studies have shown direct evidence of cardiac structural and functional abnormalities in this population.”

And because there haven’t been many of these studies conducted on teen obesity, weight-loss surgery and how it affects the heart, many parents may not associate teen obesity with organ damage, and also may not realize what an impact weight-loss surgery can have.

Cardiovascular abnormalities

“We were initially quite surprised to learn that a certain proportion of patients appear to have cardiovascular abnormalities identified using cardiac MRI," Dr. Michalsky said. “However, it is important to realize that the results presented in the current study are quite preliminary and require additional large-scale investigation before more reliable conclusions can be drawn.”

“I believe that the important take-home message is that obesity affects many important organ systems which support the need for effective intervention designed to improve and extend the life of their child.”

Dr. Michalsky also says bariatric surgery should never be performed on teens solely for cosmetic reasons; each teen who qualifies is suffering physical damage, not just an image problem.

“Many of the adolescent patients that present for surgical weight reduction are dealing with many obesity-related co-morbid illnesses that were previously only thought to affect the adult population,” he said. “Examples include, Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, insulin resistance, liver disease, cardiovascular disease, etc.”

As far as whether teens and parents should move forward with weight-loss surgery, Kelley says it all starts with research, and doing your homework on the procedure is what should actually shape your decision.

“My first suggestion would be to research the surgery, so when they do make a decision it is an informed one. I feel that it is so important to understand what goes on with the surgery, because it is such a big change,” she said.

Also, “Stay positive. People do not always agree with the decision that you may make, but if you are happy and excited, then that is what matters.”

In the realm of music, there are many injustices that an artist will sometimes face. 

Like signing a record contract that has terms which only benefit the label  or obtaining a record deal but getting shelved and not having the chance to ever release an album.

But probably one of the biggest injustices for the wannabe professional musician is being extremely good at their craft, but never being discovered or never having the chance to get their music properly exposed -- because let’s face it, being able to post your music on say SoundCloud or Bandcamp is great, but there’s still a certain amount of randomness in terms of getting people to really pay attention.

The other problem with many music posting sites, is the fact that it’s still hard for artists to get their songs heard by labels, managers or just people in the music industry who can possibly put some dollars behind your songs to get them marketed and heard.

Well, a new site has emerged that sets out to do what the Bandcamps of the Internet world aren’t able to do, by allowing artists to post music so songs can possibly be heard by record executives.

Direct connection

Creators of the site says it has direct connections to A&R reps, who seek out and sign talent, and if your music is played a lot on the site, your song is immediately reviewed by a label and you could possible get signed to a contract.

The site we’re talking about is Chartburst.com, and it gives artists of many different genres of music the opportunity to build a fan base, and also lets record companies know if that fan base ever swells to a significant size.

The way it works is that artists choose what musical chart they want to post a song in, whether it’s Dance music, Folk, Rock, Country, Pop, Hip-Hop, World, Acoustic or Indie.

From there you simply upload your track of choice, in hopes that it will be played enough to be number one through five on that particular chart.

If your song does in fact reach the top 5, it will automatically be sent to record label A&R reps, who the company says work with the site and monitor the charts to see who’s currently buzzing among music fans.

Chartburst also says the A&Rs who work with the site are currently looking for acts, and even if they choose not to sign you to a deal, they’ll provide feedback on what to tweak, so you could possibly make that final leap from an independent artist to a signed one.

On the homepage of the site, are the company logos of Columbia, Sony, Warner and Interscope, which suggests  these are the record labels that Chartburst works with. Users will also be connected to artist management companies and other people in the industry like major producers, says the company.

$5 a month

To use the site, it’ll cost you $5 a month, which seems like a good buy, assuming Chartburst works the way the company says it does.

And the fact that you can post songs to a specific chart of music, instead of having to compete with all artist from all genres, it allows your music to better stand out and reach the fans and industry people who really know and appreciate your particular genre of music.

For those artists who have posted their music on YouTube, and feel their video is just one of an infinite amount, they’re right -- so using a site like Chartburst may increase your chances of getting some notoriety, says the company, since it singles out your songs from other musical categories, where it could potentially get lost and ignored by the fans who don’t like your genre.

Resets the chart

The site says it resets each chart every two weeks, so every user has a chance to make the top five. If your music is on the top five for two weeks, it will be removed and given the opportunity to make it back there again, but the company says you can still be contacted by an A&R rep within two weeks of your song initially charting, which is really cool if it actually happens that way.

The Chartburst site and its marketing angle heavily focus on people getting a record deal or at least getting feedback from a label and being mentored.

Although that could certainly be true, anyone that’s had serious musical pursuits knows that getting a record deal has a lot to do with inside connections, and who you know as opposed to the level of one’s sheer talent.

Also, labels rarely want to take a risk these days and sign an artist who doesn’t already have a large buzz, so the idea that you’ll be signed because your song is on the Chartburst site for a couple of weeks seems to be a long shot to say the least.

And as far as the artist mentoring part, those days simply don’t exist anymore.

Back in the day, I would say as recently as 15 years ago, a label may take a liking to an artist, help develop him or her and then slowly introduce that artist to the masses, but not anymore.

Artists getting signed just for the sake of their good music these days is an outdated concept, for the mere fact industry politics and money seem to be more important these days, and each record exec already has a list of 20 people they could potentially sign already.

Still need to promote

Another negative of the site, is the fact that artists still have to promote their music in order for it to chart, which is the whole idea of using the website, as just promoting yourself to your personal friends on Facebook and Twitter may not be enough for you to get that coveted one through five spot.

Also, what the site fails to mention is that A&R reps aren’t on the big hunt for artists as many people think they are, since there's always a talented musician with an underground buzz somewhere, so it's not that hard for them. 

Additionally, a large portion of their job is to shape the projects from the artists that are already on the label's roster, which takes up a huge part of an A&Rs time.

But don’t get me wrong, Chartburst sounds like a great idea, and for $5 a month, it’s not that much of a risk to give it a shot, but be sure you’re willing to wear both your marketing hat as well as your musician hat, and also prepare yourself for not getting noticed at all by a record company exec at all.

Because being discovered out of the clear blue by a label is a longer shot than one that's heaved from half-court.

A J.D. Power and Associates survey finds car-buying consumers more frustrated than ever with factory-installed navigation systems, and many consumers are turning to their smartphones for directions.

On average, satisfaction with factory-installed systems is 681 (on a 1,000-point scale), a decrease of 13 points from 2011. Satisfaction declined in all factors measured, most notably in ease of use (637), down 25 points year over year.

J.D. Power said the reason for the decline may that the systems are becoming more difficult to use, or because more alternatives now exist, although many consumers say the systems simply don't work.

"The navigation system does not work. It never knows where it is!" said Gina or Torrance, Calif., in a ConsumerAffairs review of her 2013 Ford Escape. 

"Purchased a 2007 TL, brand new in Virginia. The military moved me to Alaska where the navigation system does not function because there is no disc that covers Alaska," said Ron of Chugiak, Alaska in a review of his Acura TL. "The car does not know where it is and as a result, many functions that I paid for do not function."

The J.D. Power study, now in its 14th year, identifies six factors that contribute to overall satisfaction with factory-installed navigation systems. In order of importance, they are ease of use; routing; navigation display screen; speed of system; voice directions; and voice activation. The study also measures quality by examining problems per 100 (PP100) vehicles, in which a lower score reflects higher quality.

Corey of Gaithersburg, Md., has repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to have the navigation system in her 2006 Acura fixed.

"I have the same problem with the vehicle with the navigation system as I had when I first purchased the vehicle. It, again, is the voice commands. This is only an intermittent thing so the dealer is unable to find the problem and there has been no resolution," she said.

Complex menu systems

Although many new-vehicle owners indicate that their factory-installed navigation system is better than their previous system, they are also frustrated with the complexity of menu systems, voice control commands, and inputting destinations.

Moreover, as smartphones become more sophisticated in their capabilities, more owners prefer to use them for navigation instead of the system installed in their vehicle.

In the 2012 study, 47% of vehicle owners indicate they use a downloaded application on their smartphone for navigation in their vehicle, compared with 37% in 2011. In addition, 46% of owners indicate they "definitely would not" or "probably would not" repurchase a factory-installed navigation system if their smartphone navigation could be displayed on a central screen in their vehicle.

"Manufacturers of navigation systems face a serious challenge as smartphone navigation usage continues to rise and gains preference among vehicle owners," said Mike VanNieuwkuyk, executive director of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates. "Free apps, up-to-date maps, and a familiar interface allow for quicker routing and improved interaction, including better voice recognition. Manufacturers have a window of opportunity to either improve upon the current navigation system platforms or focus on new ways to integrate smartphones."

Not just navigation

Sometimes it's not just the navigation system that goes awry, as Alisa of Mesa, Ariz., said in a review of her Lexus IS 350.

"I have a 2006 IS 350 whose computer touch screen navigation system has stopped working. This is obviously a major inconvenience as it is not just the navigation that doesn't work, it is also the air conditioning controls, the heating controls, the radio controls, the CD/MP3 player, the computer settings and the rear view camera!" she said.

"All of the radio presets were erased without any way to reset them. There is no way to adjust the fan settings for the a/c or heater, I can no longer adjust the bass/treble/fade, the backup camera only works 10% of the time and of course, the navigation system is completely non-functional.

"As the car is only 5 years old and supposedly, a precision, luxury vehicle, one would not expect such major malfunctions affecting multiple systems. Unfortunately, for some reason, they designed all of these systems to be dependent on the navigation computer," Lisa said.

Where can you park some cash these days and get any kind of return? If your money is sitting in a bank account or CD, you know the return is a pittance.

Just how low? RateWatch, a banking data and analytics service owned by The Street, Inc. reports the interest rate on a six-month CD decreased 0.01 percent over the previous week based on data collected from over 90,000 financial institution locations.

According to the report, the rate on a six-month CD dropped from 0.17 percent to 0.16 percent. A consumer with $10,000 in the typical CD could expect to earn $80 over the six-month term, or $13.33 a month.

Fed driving down rates

The low rate of return is nothing new, of course. It's simply a product of Federal Reserve policy, which is aimed at stimulating the economy by keeping interest rates low. The Fed has pretty much maintained this policy since late 2008.

Rates aren't going up anytime soon, either. The Fed said in December said that it expected this target range to remain "appropriate at least as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6 1/2 percent," and as long as inflation projections remain within 0.5% of the central bank's long-term goal of 2%.

For the consumer who has managed to accumulate a little cash, the question remains where to put the money so that it at least outpaces inflation. Michelle Perry Higgins, a principal at the California financial advice firm Maloon, Powers, Pitre & Higgins, says the question has been a frequent topic of conversation around her office the last couple of weeks.

Tempting to chase yield

“I know it is tempting to move money around in search of yield, as many investors are frustrated with the rates on their CDs and savings accounts,” Higgins said. “However, I tell my clients that if there is a chance you might need those funds within the next 7 years, it’s probably best to stay put.”

Despite an anemic economy and signs of fiscal dysfunction in Washington, stocks are at a five year high. In addition to growth in value, many solid, blue chip names are paying yields of three to five percent. While that looks tempting, consumers need to remember that investments in any kind of asset carries a down-side risk. Higgins says stocks are typically a longer-term investment strategy.

“For a more mid-range approach, I might advise a client to consider bond funds, with the understanding they still carry a risk of losing principal value,” she said. “The reason a client might want to stay away from the stock market is that if the funds are for emergency reserves, college funds for today or a down payment on a home in the next few years, the money really should stay liquid and guaranteed in cash.”

Risk-reward

Markets can go up and markets can go down. It's a risk-reward assessment that every consumer needs to discuss their their financial adviser. Money in a CD, earning almost nothing, at least carries no risk, other than missing a gain if other available investment vehicles take off. A five percent correction in a stock or fund, however, could hand you a significant loss.

The risk to the consumer might be great or small. CNBC stock guru Jim Cramer, host of the stock-picking show “Mad Money,” admonishes viewers to only trade with money they are willing to lose, not the money in their 401(k). Few financial advisers would disagree.

“Consumers should always identify what their money will be used for and, so they can understand the level of risk they can afford to take with those funds,” Higgins said.

Month after month, the news from the housing market has been better than expected. Sales are up and so are prices.

But does an improving housing market tell us anything about the overall economy? Economist Joel Naroff, of Naroff Economic Advisors, in Holland, Pa., thinks it might.

When housing starts showed a surprising 12 percent gain in December, Naroff saw signs it was helping to improve the labor market. New claims for unemployment benefits dropped in the aftermath.

Housing traditionally has helped an economy rebound from a recession. But that didn't happen this last time. The housing market was so damaged that the normal lift housing produced just didn't happen. But maybe that's changing.

Points to stronger consumer spending

“Housing is one of the indicators that are pointing to stronger consumer spending,” Naroff said. “I use it as a consumer number not just a construction report as households have to be willing to take on the debt and they do so only if they are confident. Housing sales rose sharply during the second half of the year and that is consistent with solid 3%-3.5% annualized increase in retail sales and strongly rising vehicle sales, it is clear that the consumer is making a comeback and leading the economy forward.”

Here's more evidence. A massive economic slowdown that most had been predicting for the last quarter of 2012 didn't materialize. Retail sales in that period were better than expected. At the same time, residential construction picked up. A coincidence? Probably not.

Here's another housing stat that could have deep meaning for the economy. A report by CoreLogic showed that approximately 100,000 more borrowers reached a state of positive equity during the third quarter of 2012, adding to the more than 1.3 million borrowers that moved into positive equity through the second quarter of 2012.

That means fewer “underwater” borrowers, who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. Theoretically, that means they are closer to being able to refinance their mortgages to today's near historic low rates. By doing so they can lower their monthly payments, freeing more money to spend on other things and thus, stimulating the economy.

Moving in the right direction

Together, negative equity and near-negative equity mortgages accounted for 26.8 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage in the third quarter of 2012, down from 27 percent at the end of the second quarter in 2012. Nationally, negative equity decreased from $689 billion at the end of the second quarter in 2012 to $658 billion at the end of the third quarter, a decrease of $31 billion.

This decrease was driven in large part by an improvement in house price levels. This dollar amount represents the total value of all homes currently underwater nationally.

"Through the third quarter, the number of underwater borrowers declined significantly," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "The substantive gain in house prices made in 2012, partly due to tight inventory caused by negative equity's lock-out effect, has paradoxically alleviated some of the pain."

Even in spite of the end-of-year fiscal cliff drama, the economy – and the housing market – appear to have held up well. Naroff sees that continuing into 2013, putting the economy on a track for marked improvement.

“Business spending, hiring and confidence will all jump,” Naroff predicted. “That sets us up for a better spring and a potentially strong second half of this year, even in the face of tax increases and spending cuts.”