Current Events in March 2013

During the last decade's housing boom, a lot of Americans bought homes they shouldn't have. They either bought the the wrong house or ended up with the wrong mortgage. Many ended up losing their homes to foreclosure.

Could it have been avoided? Douglas Robinson, spokesman for NeighborWorks America, thinks so. NeighborWorks America is a Congressionally-chartered nonprofit that supports community development.

To make sure history doesn't repeat itself now that the housing market is recovering, the organization provides a free pre-purchase education program for people about to buy a home. The course has several components.

Beef up your credit

“First, and most important, is strengthening the homebuyer's credit,” Robinson said. “Having someone walk you through your credit profile, tell you how to strengthen it and get the best mortgage for you, is a big component of housing education and counseling.”

A second piece is understanding your own personal housing needs. You must ask is home ownership better than renting? There are a number of factors that will determine the answer and it's going to vary, depending on the individual.

A number of websites, for example, provide free calculators to weigh owning versus renting. Right now, with interest rates so low, home ownership may look appealing. Rent, after all, is going up all the time.

But there are a lot of costs associated with homeownership that you must consider. Property taxes, homeowner association dues and regular maintenance are examples. And here's one that might not have occurred to you: if you live in a metropolitan area, you might find you can rent a place close in, but to purchase a home, you must look in the far-out suburbs. Thus, commuting costs will rise significantly.

“You have to weigh what's right for you. Even if everyone else is buying a home, it might be bad for you,” Robinson said.

Getting the right mortgage

And then there are the ins and outs of mortgages. During the housing meltdown, many consumers found their adjustable rate mortgages doomed them to poverty or foreclosure, or both.

Robinson says getting educated before you buy a home will pay off, and he offers some data to back up that claim.

“We found that homebuyers, whether they've bought homes before or not, are one-third less likely to fall behind on their mortgage within the first two years if they have gone through our pre-purchase course.”

The research was conducted by Neil Mayer and Associates and Experian, and is based on approximately 75,000 mortgage loans originated in 2007, 2008 and 2009, when residential mortgage underwriting standards began to tighten. The study used econometric methods to measure whether and to what extent pre purchase services provided by the NeighborWorks network affect first mortgage loan performance.

Compelling evidence

“Policy makers and lenders should take note,” said Eric Belsky, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. “This study provides compelling evidence that pre-purchase counseling has a significant impact on reducing serious loan delinquencies within the first two years after a mortgage loan is originated.

The course is available through 190 of NeighborWorks America's 235 offices nationwide. It focuses the would-be buyer on information they need to make a sound decision. Robinson said it's the same exercise an investor should go through before buying stock on Wall Street.

“When you think about investing, a poor investor is one who does it on their own,” He said. “If you don't get some advice, or do some research, you could buy Apple at its high instead of right now.”

The course also helps buyers find the professional help they need as they start looking for a home.

“Picking the right real estate agent is important,” Robinson said. “You need someone who will be your advocate, helping you find the house you need, not the one they want to sell you.”

Down payment assistance

You can also find out about programs to help you buy a home. There is even a program to help you come up with a down payment and it's accessible to more people than you might think.

“A lot of middle-class people don't believe they can qualify for a down payment assistance program, yet demanding on where you live, you might,” Robinson said.

The program is based on the median income for an area. For example, in Loudoun County, Va., the median income is $103,000. If you earn $85,000 a year, you can qualify.

Interestingly, the NeighborWorks America research shows that even repeat homebuyers benefit from receiving housing counseling and education. According to the report, repeat homebuyers who received housing counseling also are about one-third less likely to fall 90 days or more behind in their mortgages than repeat homebuyers who didn’t receive housing counseling and education.

With the housing market in recovery, consumers who've been on the housing sidelines may now be looking to buy. Robinson says he hopes they educate themselves first.

“I think the thing that is lost today is a homebuyer sees record low interest rates and automatically assumes that they should buy a house,” he said. “But they might be buying the wrong house or the taxes are too high. Without the right information, it's easy to make a mistake.”

If you’re a sports fan, then you’ve probably heard of the high number of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears among pro athletes in the last year.

Among the most recent cases are Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo and  Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose. Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio also fell victim and Washington Redskin Robert Griffin III, or RG3 as he’s more popularly known, went down with a nasty tear in the late part of last year's season.

Timothy Hewett, PhD, who’s the director of research at Ohio State University’s sports medicine program is an expert on ACL injuries, and he says it’s not only pro athletes who suffer these tears, young sports players, especially on the high school level, are getting these injuries too.

“At the high school level it’s estimated between 120,000 and 350,000 ACLs occur in the U.S. every year or at least 50,000 a year. It’s a big problem,” said Dr. Hewett said in an interview with ConsumerAffairs.

“And girls at that level are significantly more susceptible than boys in the range of four- to six-fold, because they demonstrate these neuromuscular imbalances more often than boys do.”

Screening test

An indication of an athlete having a neuromuscular imbalance is when they favor one leg over the the other, after landing from a rebound in basketball, after coming down from spiking the volleyball or playing any sport that involves frequent jumping.

And to determine if one does have an imbalance, Hewett and his team have come up with screening methods that can tell an athlete if he or she has an increased risk of developing an ACL injury.

Two of the tests that Hewett mentioned entail jumping off a box about a foot off the ground, while lining your feet up with the width of your shoulders.

If you consistently land on the ground with the width of your legs decreased by half of the amount when you jumped, you’re in danger of getting an ACL tear, says Hewett.

Another test to determine if you’re at risk is by putting an “X” on the floor using tape.

By jumping in all four sections of the “X,” kind of like hopscotch, you’ll be able to determine if you’re favoring one leg over the other, and if you are, you could be on your way to damaging your ACL.

Higher risk

Hewett says these screenings, which can be done by both doctors and by athletes  themselves at home, will accurately tell if one has a muscular imbalance and if they’re susceptible to injury.

“What we do know in our last 15 years of work is that certain people are at higher risk of tearing their ACL than others are," said Hewett. “And basically, what we’ve developed is a research paradigm and a parallel screening method where we look for specific neuromuscular imbalances that we know are predictive of injury risk and these four imbalances we call ligament dominance.”

“Like in Newton’s third law, he tells us if you hit the ground or if you hit anything that has an equal and opposite reactive force, [like when a basketball player lands on the court], the court hits them back with equal and opposite force, which is actually multiples of their body weight, because their body mass, their body segments have inertia, momentum," Hewitt said.

"So the floor is hitting them back with three, four, five, six times the body weight, depending on how they land, whether it’s with a flat foot, a straight knee or flex knee,” he said.

And Hewett says the screening can predict if a player is at risk of getting an ACL tear with about 80% specificity, and through training and conditioning, doctors can teach an athlete how to properly land, so they can decrease the chances of an injury  by about 62%.

Tested in Ohio

These screenings have been conducted in Hewett’s local school system and at Ohio State University for over 10 years, where students are tested and retrained before the season begins and then retested after it concludes, so Hewett and his team can gauge how effective their training protocols were.

Hewett, who in addition does ACL research and training for the NBA, says the kind of sports that cause ACL injuries the most are soccer, volleyball, football and basketball and once you tear your ACL, you’re about 25% more likely than the average person to tear it again.

And the first time you develop a tear some might opt for surgery right away, while others may opt for therapy, and according to Hewett, whether you’ll continue to play that sport will most likely determine which option is best for you.

It really comes down to a rule of thirds, he explains.

“About a third of people can function okay without an Anterior Cruciate Ligament, even going back to sports,” says Hewett.

“About a third can function without an Anterior Cruciate Ligament if they don’t go back to sports and they just [do] everyday activities of living and about a third can’t function at all, even in their activities of daily living, without an ACL -- so if you’re going back to sports about two-thirds of people need to have their ACL reconstructed.”

In addition, it will take an average of at least six months before a person with an ACL tear can return to sports and oftentimes athletes will take a whole year off, Hewett says.

Netflix is one of those ideas that has turned out to be so good that everyone else wishes they'd thought of it. Now, Verizon and Redbox are trying to take it one step further, with a new service that offers streaming movies and rental DVDs.

Oh wait, that's what Netflix does.

OK, let's try it again: Verizon and Redbox are offering a new service that offers streaming movies and DVDs you can rent from one of  those 35,000 Redbox vending machines.

But although it is starting out with a lot of vending machines and a lot of network capacity, the new venture -- called Redbox Instant by Verizon (catchy, eh?) -- is kind of short of movies. It only has 4,600 streaming titles, far fewer than Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus, the household names in the field.

But never mind that. The company says it's not trying to compete with Netflix, which offers not only movies but also thousands of TV shows old and new, and even a few Netflix-produced original series.

Redbox Instant will only offer movies. Old movies. New movies. Just, you know, movies. Many better titles are only available at the kiosks, which will take a little getting used to. 

It will cost you $8 a month -- which, coincidentally, is what Netflix charges -- to be part of this grand experiment. For that you can stream as many movies as often as you can stand it and also get credits good for four DVD rentals at one of those kiosks. Kick in another buck and you can upgrade to Blu-ray rentals.

Verizon and Coinstar -- Redbox' elegantly-named corporate parent -- are high on the idea anyway.

“When you consider the core elements the parties bring to this venture – our powerful brands; our national rental kiosk footprint; our anytime, anywhere network presence; and our mutual commitment to customer-focused innovation – it’s clear that Verizon and Redbox are a powerful entertainment team,” said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon consumer and mass business markets.

The companies have been working on this for the last year or so and they say it's finally ready for primetime at RedboxInstant.com.

When people think of macaroni and cheese, they may envision it being prepared by scratch; they get excited when they think of all the great ingredients like pasta, milk, butter, cream in some cases and, of course, cheese. 

And when it comes to cheese, what’s not to like, especially when it comes in mounds of melted loveliness that’s evenly distributed throughout each firm yet succulent morsel of pasta.

Others who think of mac and cheese may conjure up an image of a rectangular cardboard box that holds smaller pieces of pasta, and buried inside that pasta, is a big, white, hard-to-tear-open-envelope that contains the powdered cheese.

Although the box kind of macaroni and cheese isn’t your mother's or grandmother's, it’ll do sometimes, especially among finicky little kids that only like consuming bright and fun-to-eat-foods that come in colorful boxes.

And what macaroni and cheese box is more colorful than Kraft's, with its dark blue and bright gold design?

In fact, what other macaroni and cheese brand even comes close to being in the mind of consumers when folks want the cheesy and gooey yellow stuff?

Meal in a box

Kraft Mac and Cheese or Kraft Dinner as it's otherwise known, came to the U.S. in the late 1930s and pretty much since then, the idea of combining uncooked pasta and powdered cheese in one package became a staple for many.

Today, it's clearly a staple for the mom and dad who need a quick meal idea, the latchkey kid who is home by himself and is able to microwave one of the smaller Kraft bowls for a meal and the college kid who receives boxes of Kraft in care packages form their parents, to help tide them over until they can get to the dining hall.

Well, that's all just dandy, but recently a couple of food bloggers created a Change.org petition and so far they have gathered 200,000 signatures in an effort to get Kraft to remove Yellow #5 and Yellow #6 food dye from its mac and cheese. The chemicals are what give the beloved dish its golden-colored pop.

So far, Kraft has removed these additives in certain European countries, but has failed to do the same here in the States, which has left food bloggers Lisa Leake and Vani Hari angry and ready to take on the mega-company.

Leake says it only took a little over a week to get the 220,000 signatures, which suggests that a lot of people have questions about why the food dyes were removed in other markets but not here in the United States.

“We have been surprised by the response,” said Leake in a published interview. “They don’t have to reformulate and re-invent the wheel. They just have to use the same formula that they do in the U.K.”

Hari says their petition isn’t just about getting Yellow #5 and 6 removed; it’s more about alerting consumers about what’s in one of their favorite food products.

“We wanted to educate the American consumer and let them know what is in their food,” she said. “We just picked an iconic food product to really get that message across.”

More grumbling

It’s not just Leake, Hari and the people who signed those petitions who are  frustrated with Kraft. Tabitha, one of our readers from California, says she got ill when she ate one of the company’s hot dogs.

“A few weeks ago, I purchased a box of Kraft Weiners for myself and my two kids,” Tabitha wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review. 

“I’m a single mother who barely gets by as it is; however, after I fed myself as well as my kids the product that I bought from Kraft, we all three were sick within that hour. I had to miss work, kids had to miss school, so I lost out on pay, and the mental condition I’m in didn’t help whatsoever.”

Nathan, another Californian, said he was misled by one of Kraft’s dessert products, since the wording on the package suggested that he could get a healthy dose of calcium, which turned out not to be true.

“I bought several packages of Jell-O brand instant pudding,” wrote Nathan in his posting. “I was enticed by the large word ‘Calci-Yum’ in the upper left corner. Beneath it said, ‘A good source of calcium as prepared.’”

“Foolishly, I assumed this meant that the actual pudding had calcium in it, but after I got home I realized that there literally is no calcium in this pudding mix and what they are actually advertising is the calcium that is found in milk.”

“That is extremely misleading and in addition I wasn’t even planning on making it with milk. Why should this product flaunt the trademarked term ‘Calci-YUM,' yet not even have any calcium in it? I think this is deliberate trickery,” Nathan wrote.

The way Kraft is able to get away with such confusing advertising is by not actually using the word "calcium." Many times a company simply changes the spelling of a word — as Kelloggs did with Froot Loops. No fruit in the loops? Well, who said there was?

Perfectly legal

It should be noted that food dyes Yellow #5 and #6, along with many other additives, are perfectly legal. Many are a necessary trade-off for the convenience of buying a meal in a box instead of making it from scratch, a point Kraft was quick to make.  

“The safety and quality of our products is our highest priority and we take consumer concerns very seriously,” said a company spokesperson. “We carefully follow the laws and regulations in the countries where our products are sold, so in the U.S. we only use colors that are approved and deemed safe for food use by the FDA.”

Can a popular Canadian named Joe Fresh save a tired old American named J. C. Penney? We'll soon know. The troubled retail chain is opening Joe Fresh apparel shops inside 681 of its U.S. stores today, hoping to draw in new, younger customers to replace the ones it's driven away with its attempt to revamp itself.

"We want to become famous for irresistible style at incredible value every day," said Ron Johnson, Penney's embattled chief executive officer and former Apple retail wunderkind. "By introducing these exciting brands at truly affordable prices, we are making it easier for customers to look and live better every day."

Joe Fresh, as close as we can figure, is sort of the Gap of the North.  It's billed as Canada's favorite apparel brand, claiming to offer "classic style with a twist."

Beginning today, Joe Fresh's spring collection of "modern basics for women" will be presented in 750- to 2,500-square-foot shops in nearly 700 jcp stores. All of the apparel and accessories will also be available on jcp.com for under $70, the retailer said.

"Significant milestone"

"Building Joe Fresh shops inside jcp is a significant milestone because it makes us truly national, and now customers can buy Joe Fresh products online exclusively at jcp.com," said Joe Mimran, creative director of Joe Fresh. "The ability to broaden our reach reinforces the Joe Fresh brand promise, which is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves fresh style at fresh prices."

Having a bunch of "shops" inside the jcp stores is one of the key elements in Johnson's plan to reimagine the aging retail chain. 

The hope, obviously, is that Joe Fresh will bring a fresh start to jcp. It certainly needs something. Even skeptics were shocked earlier this month when the company reported fourth quarter earnings that were a disaster even by recent J.C. Penney standards. The retailer reported a quarterly loss of $552 million, amounting to $2.51 a share.

Company revenue declined more than 28%. Same-store sales plunged 32%, worse than the previously worst 26.1% in the third quarter. Online sales dropped a stunning 34.4%.

Besides plummeting sales, jcp has been enmeshed in a bruising court battle with Macy's and Martha Stewart, the sort of dispute that winds up makes all parties look bad.

Fresh enough?

Will Joe Fresh be enough to turn things around? Maybe, but if it's not, the result could be a lot worse than another bad earnings report. 

"If it doesn’t work, I think it’s going to get really ugly,” said one analyst quoted by Bloomberg Businessweek, echoing a sentiment that's become commonplace on Wall Street. 

Consumers aren't wild about the changes either. Angela of Carolina Shores, N.C., said she went to the Penney's in Myrtle Beach a few days ago and found it even emptier than the last time she was there.

"I did see 1 or 2 people cutting through to get to the parking lot but not shopping. I did find a blouse [but] lo and behold, there were no cashiers," Angela said in a ConsumerAffairs review. "I then stopped an associate and asked 'Where do I pay for this?' She took out an iPhone and asked for my credit card.

"I stood there with my mouth open. I proceeded to say 'Are you kidding, what is this all about?' She told me it was a new process now at Penney's. ... By the way, I completed my shopping at Dillard's. They are more people friendly!"

Diane of Menomonee Falls, Wis., blames the company's directors.

"You allowed this one CEO high-tech idiot to destroy what took a century to build. I am (was) a loyal JC Penney customer. I am 54 and ex-New Yorker who spent zillion hours shopping in my life while always hunting for a good sale, a good sale, which is something you took away! Why did you allow this to happen? Why did you stop the fun sales?" Diane asked.

"You allowed this non-retail person to end fashionable and affordable lines for ladies (who are not 15 and a size 0). Those people don't shop in JC Penney's anyway. You lost the middle age shoppers like me. You never had many of the 20 something's; the 30's don't like what you did either. So who do you have shopping besides your employees? No one," she said. "Get rid of Mr. High Tech. Let him turn Best Buy around and hire a few of your 50-something female employees who know what we like before it's too late. I won't be back until he's gone!"

Like Diane, Charlotte of Kingsport, Tenn., is a longtime customer who has scratched Penney out of her playbook.

"I have tried to keep an open mind about the changes being made at JCP, but I have reached the point that I am completely unable to see any improvements that have been made. All of the changes seem to be detrimental," she said. I received a $10 coupon last week, so I thought I would give it one more try. I was shocked since my last visit in early January. The store was so empty it looked like it was going out of business. Many of the customer service centers (cash registers) had been closed. I didn't find anything that I wanted to buy even with $10 off. All of the brands that I loved are gone. Ordering on the website is a joke. It's hard to find anything in stock. If the coupon had been for $100, I still would not have been able to use it. I can't believe the damage that has been done to this company and cannot imagine how it will ever recover."

See more consumer reviews of jcp

Breast cancer patients who eat high-fat dairy products increase their chance of dying from the disease years later, a new study finds.

Previous studies have shown that higher lifetime exposure to estrogen is a  pathway to breast cancer. Estrogen levels are believed to be elevated in dairy products consumed in the Western world, because most of its milk comes from pregnant cows. Estrogenic hormones reside primarily in fat, so levels are higher in high-fat than in low-fat dairy products.

The researchers studied a cohort of women who were diagnosed with early-stage, invasive breast cancer between 1997 and 2000, primarily Northern California and Utah.

Those consuming larger amounts of high-fat dairy (one serving or more per day) had “higher breast cancer mortality as well as higher all-cause mortality and higher non-breast cancer mortality,” Kroenke wrote.

In general, the women studied reported that they consumed low-fat milk and butter most often, and they consumed relatively limited amounts of low-fat dairy desserts, low-fat cheese and high-fat yogurt. Overall, low-fat dairy intake was greater than high-fat dairy.

Switch to low-fat 

The study found an association between high-fat dairy and breast cancer mortality, but no association with low-fat dairy products and breast cancer outcomes.

Gas prices have been stubbornly high this year and that's driving an increase in the Consumer Price Index, which rose 0.7% last month, the biggest increase since June 2009, according to the Labor Department.

The gasoline index alone was up 9.1%, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the overall increase.

The national average retail price of regular gas hit a four-month high of $3.784 a gallon toward the end of February, according to Energy Information Administration data, up almost 15% from the start of the year.

But prices have eased a bit since then, settling back to $3.70 earlier this week, according to AAA. That figure is 12 cents more than one month ago, but it is five cents less expensive than one week ago and ten cents less than the average price one year ago.

The national average dropped nine cents to begin March, which is counter to the trend that motorists may remember from the same stretch in recent years, AAA said. The price increased by 17 cents and six cents during the same periods in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Not just gas

It's not just energy that's more expensive. Food prices were up 0.1% in February. Vegetables, fresh fruits, meats and eggs all cost more.

New cars, clothes and airline fares were all down a little but that was offset by increases in food, shelter and healthcare. 

Although consumers haven't cut back their spending yet, many economists worry that they will, since most wage-earners saw their paychecks shrink in January, as a temporary reduction in payroll taxes expired.

Boeing thinks it has the 787 battery problem licked.

The aircraft maker has unveiled what it calls a “comprehensive set of improvements that will add several layers of additional safety features to the lithium-ion batteries on 787 commercial jetliners are in production.” Boeing says they could be ready for initial installation within the next few weeks.

In addition, new enclosures for 787 batteries also are being built and will be installed in airplanes in the weeks ahead.

The fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners operating in the U.S. was grounded in January pending the outcome of an investigation of the problems with the batteries.

These improvements, the company says, will allow operators to resume commercial flights with their 787s as soon as testing is complete and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other international regulators grant their final approval.

"We are following all of the necessary protocols to get our new design fully approved and properly installed so that we can help our customers start flying as soon as possible,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. “We're simultaneously moving out on an effort to resume deliveries but completing our certification work and getting the delivered fleet flying again is our first priority."

The improvements include enhanced production and operating processes, improved battery design features and a new battery enclosure.

Enhanced production and operating processes processes

The first layer of improvements is taking place during the manufacture of the batteries in Japan. Boeing teamed with Thales, the provider of the integrated power conversion system, and battery maker GS Yuasa to develop and institute enhanced production standards and tests to further reduce any possibility for variation in the production of the individual cells as well as the overall battery.

Four new or revised tests have been added to screen cell production, which now includes 10 distinct tests. Each cell will go through more rigorous testing in the month following its manufacture including a 14-day test during which readings of discharge rates are being taken every hour. This new procedure started in early February and the first cells through the process are already complete. There are more than a dozen production acceptance tests that must be completed for each battery.

New battery design features

Changes inside the battery will help to reduce the chances of a battery fault developing and help to further isolate any fault that does occur so that it won't cause issues with other parts of the battery.

To better insulate each of the cells in the battery from one another and from the battery box, two kinds of insulation will be added. An electrical insulator is being wrapped around each battery cell to electrically isolate cells from each other and from the battery case, even in the event of a failure. Electrical and thermal insulation installed above, below and between the cells will help keep the heat of the cells from affecting each other.

New battery enclosure

The battery case will sit in a new enclosure made of stainless steel. This enclosure will isolate the battery from the rest of the equipment in the electronic equipment bays. It also will ensure there can be no fire inside the enclosure, thus adding another layer of protection to the battery system. The enclosure features a direct vent to carry battery vapors outside the airplane.

New titanium fixtures are being installed in the electronics equipment bays to ensure the housing is properly supported.

There's a lot of money lying around out there. And some of it may have your name on it

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says refunds totaling just over $917 million may be waiting for an estimated 984,400 taxpayers who did not file a federal income tax return for 2009. But -- there's a catch: To collect the money, you have to file a return for 2009 with the IRS no later than Monday, April 15, 2013.

The IRS says that half the potential refunds for 2009 are more than $500.

Didn't file?

Some people may not have filed because they had too little income to require filing a tax return even though they had taxes withheld from their wages or made quarterly estimated payments. In cases where a return was not filed, the law provides most taxpayers with a three-year window of opportunity for claiming a refund. If no return is filed to claim a refund within three years, Uncle Sam keeps the money.

For 2009 returns, the window closes on April 15, 2013. The law requires that the return be properly addressed, mailed and postmarked by that date. There is no penalty for filing a late return qualifying for a refund.

The IRS reminds taxpayers seeking a 2009 refund that their checks may be held if they have not filed tax returns for 2010 and 2011. In addition, the refund will be applied to any amounts still owed to the IRS or their state tax agency, and may be used to offset unpaid child support or past due federal debts such as student loans.

More than a refund at stake

By failing to file a return, people stand to lose more than refund of taxes withheld or paid during 2009. In addition, many low-and-moderate income workers may not have claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For 2009, the credit is worth as much as $5,657. The EITC helps individuals and families whose incomes are below certain thresholds. The thresholds for 2009 were:

• $43,279 ($48,279 if married filing jointly) for those with three or more qualifying children,
• $40,295 ($45,295 if married filing jointly) for people with two qualifying children,
• $35,463 ($40,463 if married filing jointly) for those with one qualifying child, and
• $13,440 ($18,440 if married filing jointly) for people without qualifying children.

Current and prior year tax forms and instructions are available here or by calling toll-free 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). Taxpayers who are missing Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for 2009, 2010 or 2011 should request copies from their employer, bank or other payer.

If these efforts are unsuccessful, taxpayers can get a free transcript showing information from these year-end documents by filing Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, with the IRS or by calling 800-829-1040.

If you happen to be of a certain age and played sports while you were growing up, then you’ve probably noticed a slight change in the way coaches and leagues are doing things these days.

Many of us who played baseball, basketball, football, soccer or whatever learned early on how it felt to lose a competition and understood how to hold it together while the other team piled on top of each other in victory.

In fact, learning how to lose or coping with the fact that you weren't the best player was a necessary skill to have for sheer survival purposes among your peers, because shedding any tears or moping around after a loss could really get you teased mercilessly, which of course makes any defeat just that much worse.

However, now there’s a different way that sports leagues operate and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when that shift started to occur.

Nowadays it seems that most kids playing sports will receive a trophy, medal or ribbon for playing, regardless if their team won, lost or happened to tie—which some believe is a good thing, because it removes some of the competitiveness of sports and puts more focus on the fun, while others believe that constantly rewarding kids doesn’t teach them how to cope with loss or disappointment.

OK for awhile

Craig Sigl, who’s an expert on sports training for both the youth and adults at the Seattle-based company Mental Toughness, says the basic concept of giving kids rewards is a good one for the youngest of athletes, but after that, it doesn’t have much use.   

Additionally, Sigl says giving younger children a trophy or prize reinforces the core lessons that every person needs to have, not only as they continue in sports, but as they continue throughout life too.

“The idea behind this concept should be that very young kids learn at an early age that to join a program, commit to it and stick with it is a very good thing,” said Sigl in an interview with ConsumerAffairs.

“We are teaching them through sports participation, to go out into the world and participate. [To] do things. Be part of something.”

“We’re also teaching them to “follow through and don’t quit even though sometimes it’s not always exciting like a video game. People on the team depend on you [to have] discipline, to show up to every practice and game,” he said.

And without a medal, ribbon or trophy, these lessons are harder to drive home with younger kids, says Sigl, as children tend to learn through tangibles and will probably be reminded of their commitment every time they see their reward.

Not for older kids

But it’s important that parents don’t use this everyone-gets-a-prize approach for too long, because it won’t provide the exact same message to older kids, who have probably already grasped these lessons.

“The trophy or ribbon is a significant recognition of these attributes if the kid goes the whole season," says Sigl, "So I agree with the concept for kids in tee-ball and pee-wee sports. First, second grade, maybe third at the oldest. Generally not for kids who are older than that.”

But what about learning how to lose the right way, isn’t that important?

And since losing can be difficult sometimes, wouldn’t it be best to learn coping skills sooner than later? I mean, wouldn’t it be harder for an older kid to learn how to deal with disappointment if he or she never had to experience it when they were younger?

There are some people who believe that kids always getting a reward could potentially lower their motivation for participating in an activity, because their desire to join something could be replaced by an expectation of eventually being rewarded.

Nursery school study

Some who believe this rationale point to a study led in the early 1970s by researchers David Greene, Robert Nisbett and Mark Lepper.

In the study, researchers gathered three groups of nursery school-aged children and provided each of them with a felt-tipped pen to draw with, which is a pretty big deal in a world when teachers want you to use only pencils with erasers in order to correct mistakes and make less of a mess.

The first group of kids were told they would receive a “Good Player” ribbon for joining the drawing activity beforehand. The second group wasn’t told they’d be getting a ribbon when they were done and the third group—the control group—wasn’t promised a reward at all and wasn’t given one.

After each group was finished, researchers watched the children as they played freely to determine how interested they were in drawing with the felt-tipped pens, and the first group who was told about the ribbons beforehand, played far less with the pens than any other group.

However the children who were either told about the reward after the drawing or didn’t get a reward at all seemed to be just as interested in using the pens as before and maintained the same level of interest.

Parental guidance

Sigl feels being rewarded just for participation could be a good thing, but it has to be coupled with a detailed explanation by parents.

“Just giving out trophies without explaining what they are for invites all kinds of problems and doesn’t do much to protect kids' self-esteem,” he said.

“Without parental guidance and coaching of proper perspective of winning, losing and participation, children will make up their own mental stories about themselves, during these formative years that can affect them the rest of their lives. Generally speaking, kids should be rewarded and praised most for effort and not performance.”

Learning how to lose properly is key too, says Sigl, and parents should point their kids to other sports stories for examples of coming back after a loss, which of course teaches resiliency.

“Coaches and parents need to teach kids that there is huge value to be gained in losing just as much as winning,” he says. “Stories of great athletes losing big and then coming back even better are great ways to teach this.”

And what if a child continuously doesn’t perform well?

Sigl says that parents should always include their kid in the conversation about whether they want to keep playing or not.

“Praise effort [is key] and continually checking in to see if the child wants to keep playing next season,” he advises.

“There are many powerful lessons to be learned from being a supporting teammate as long as the child is having fun. A parent guiding the child and teaching good perspectives about performance will raise a child who is resilient and who learns to enjoy himself in the present moment regardless of performance.”

“In the adult world, we don’t play recreational sports to be the best in the world. We play to have fun, get exercise, enjoy completion and camaraderie; all excellent reasons to play sports in childhood and for the rest of their lives.”

Teaching disappointment

Another way for parents to teach disappointment, especially if a child likes a particular sport, tries hard, but doesn’t get selected for a team, is to make sure the child never gets the impression that your interest or love hinges on their accomplishments—and this same approach can be used in or out of the sports world when children face disappointment.

“First and foremost, it’s a parent’s imperative to make sure a child never gets the idea that their love and acceptance are conditional on any type of performance,” says Sigl. “Even the best of sports parents often subtly communicate this message with disapproving body language that will trump mere words.”

“In this event, a parent should first allow the child to express the feelings of disappointment and acknowledge them without judgment and without giving advice. After the emotions subside, a parent can ask the child what they would like to do next and offer support as long as it is within the family’s values.”

Maybe it's simply a fact of modern life -- not only are people increasingly overweight and obese, so are their pets.

In its annual survey for 2012, the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) found the number of overweight cats in the U.S. has reached an all-time high. Veterinarians rated 52.5% of dogs and 58.3% of cats overweight or obese. Just as with humans, it's a major health problem.

"Pet obesity remains the leading health threat to our nation's pets," said APOP's founder and lead veterinarian for the survey Dr. Ernie Ward. "We continue to see an escalation in the number of overweight cats and an explosion in the number of type 2 diabetes cases."

Alarming trend

Insurance companies that write health policies for pets are also alarmed.

“Diabetes, heart and lung diseases, bone and joint diseases, skin conditions and different types of cancer are more common in overweight animals, as is a shorter life expectancy,” VPI Pet Insurance, part of Nationwide, said in a recent statement.

In 2009, the company said its policyholders filed more than $17 million in claims for conditions and disease caused by excessive weight. The company suggests pet owners are adding to the problem by over-feeding their animals or feeding them the wrong types of food.

While many people consider their pet part of the family, you should resist the urge to feed them like a family member. A single biscuit from the table can contain over 100 calories – and that's in addition to their regular food. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reports dog owners spend more than $300 a year on food and treats while cat owners spend more than $200.

Terrible toll

"The soaring rate of feline and canine obesity is taking a terrible toll on our animals' health,” said New York veterinarian Dr. Mark Peterson. “There is a vast population of overweight cats and dogs facing an epidemic of diabetes. The best preventive measure a pet owner can make is to keep their dog or cat at a healthy weight. Diabetes is far easier to prevent than treat, especially when twice daily insulin injections are needed."

Could there be some kind of weird link between the soaring rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes in humans and the same two conditions in animals? Ward thinks there is and it stems from not understanding how many calories we -- and our pets -- consume each day.

"The causes of pet and childhood obesity are largely the same: too many high-calorie foods and snacks combined with too little physical activity,” Ward said. “Parents need to encourage children to put down their video games and pick up the dog leash to go for a walk. Instead of snacking on sugary treats, share crunchy vegetables with your dog. Eat more whole foods instead of highly processed fast food.”

Oblivious

How can you tell if your pet is overweight? It sounds like a silly question but many people simply don't recognize excess pounds on themselves or their pets.

Veterinary nutritionist and internal medicine specialist at the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Joe Bartges cites a survey in which approximately 45 percent of cat and dog owners assessed their pet as having a normal body weight when the veterinarian assessed the pet to be overweight. Ward calls it “the fat gap.”

"The disconnect between reality and what a pet parent thinks is obese makes having a conversation with their veterinarian more challenging,” Ward said. “Many pet owners are shocked when their veterinarian informs them their pet needs to lose weight. They just don't see it."

And of course, some breeds tend to pack on excess pounds more than others. Veterinarians classified 58.9 percent of Labrador retrievers and 62.7 percent of golden retrievers surveyed as overweight or obese. It may be that these breeds were once exclusively kept outdoors, where they got lots of exercise. If they are house-bound and overfed, their metabolism may be such that they quickly put on weight.

Obesity clinic

In perhaps a sign of the times, the nation's first obesity clinic for pets opened at Tufts University last year. The clinic focuses on weight-loss programs for pets, especially hard-to-treat obesity-related conditions and training other veterinary professionals on how to identity, prevent and treat obesity-related diseases.

The best way to keep your pet's weight under control is regular check-ups at the vet. Also, take a good honest look at your pet. You should be able to feel its ribs without pressing.

You should see a noticeable “waist” on your pet, between the back of the ribs and the hips, when viewing your pet from above. When looking from the side, your pet’s belly should go up from the bottom of the ribcage to inside the thighs.

If your pet fails these tests, it's time to put him or her on a diet and increase exercise.

Bravo! is voluntarily recalling its 2 lb tubes of Bravo! Raw Food Diet Chicken Blend for Dogs and Cats, product code: 21-102, batch ID code 6 14 12, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The recall involves 2 lb. Bravo! Chicken Blend frozen raw diet tubes (chubs) made on June 14, 2012 only; no other products or sizes are involved. The recalled product should not be sold or fed to pets.

This batch tested negative by a third party independent laboratory prior to release for distribution to consumers, however routine testing by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture of product collected from a single retail location tested positive for presence of salmonella. While the testing discrepancy is unclear, Bravo said that it was issuing the recall "in an abundance of caution."

The company has received no reports of illness in either people or animals associated with this product.

The recalled product is distributed nationwide to distributors, retail stores, internet retailers and directly to consumers, and can be identified by the batch ID code 6 14 12 located on the white hang tag attached to the bottom of the plastic film tube.

Pet owners should return unopened frozen tubes of food to the store where purchased for a full refund. Pet owners should dispose of opened tubes of product in a safe manner (example, a securely covered trash receptacle) and return the washed plastic batch ID tag to the store where purchased for a full refund.

Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Green tea and coffee may help lower your risk of having a stroke, especially when both are a regular part of your diet, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. In fact, the more you drink, the better off you may be.

"This is the first large-scale study to examine the combined effects of both green tea and coffee on stroke risks," said Yoshihiro Kokubo, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.H.A., F.A.C.C., F.E.S.C., lead author of the study at Japan's National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center. "You may make a small but positive lifestyle change to help lower the risk of stroke by adding daily green tea to your diet."

Bottoms up

Researchers asked 83,269 Japanese adults about their green tea and coffee drinking habits, following them for an average 13 years. They found that the more green tea or coffee people drink, the lower their stroke risks.

People who drank at least one cup of coffee daily had about a 20 percent lower risk of stroke compared with those who rarely drank it.

People who drank two to three cups of green tea daily had a 14 percent lower risk of stroke and those who had at least four cups had a 20 percent lower risk than those who rarely drank it.

People who drank at least one cup of coffee or two cups of green tea daily had a 32 percent lower risk of intracerebral hemorrhage, versus those who rarely drank either beverage. (Intracerebral hemorrhage happens when a blood vessel bursts and bleeds inside the brain. About 13 percent of strokes are hemorrhagic.)

Participants in the study were 45 to 74 years old, almost evenly divided in gender, and were free from cancer and cardiovascular disease.

During the 13-years of follow-up, researchers reviewed participants' hospital medical records and death certificates, collecting data about heart disease, strokes and causes of death. They adjusted their findings to account for age, sex and lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol, weight, diet and exercise.

Green tea drinkers in the study were more likely to exercise than non-drinkers.

Breaking new ground

Previous limited research has shown green tea's link to lower death risks from heart disease, but has only touched on its association with lower stroke risks. Other studies have shown inconsistent connections between coffee and stroke risks.

Initial study results showed that drinking more than two cups of coffee daily was linked to increasing coronary heart disease rates in age- and sex-adjusted analysis. But researchers didn't find the association after factoring in the effects of cigarette smoking -- underscoring smoking's negative health impact on heart and stroke health.

A typical cup of coffee or tea in Japan was approximately six ounces. "However, our self-reported data may be reasonably accurate, because nationwide annual health screenings produced similar results, and our validation study showed relatively high validity." Kokubo said. "The regular action of drinking tea, coffee, largely benefits cardiovascular health because it partly keeps blood clots from forming."

Tea and coffee are the most popular drinks in the world after water, suggesting that these results may apply in America and other countries.

Questions remain

It's unclear how green tea affects stroke risks. A compound group known as catechins may provide some protection. Catechins have an antioxidant anti-inflammatory effect, increasing plasma antioxidant capacity and anti-thrombogenic effects.

Some chemicals in coffee include chlorogenic acid, thus cutting stroke risks by lowering the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Further research could clarify how the interaction between coffee and green tea might help further lower stroke risks, Kokubo said.

What is everybody talking about? Lately it seems that nearly every car, truck and monster SUV is being driven by someone who has a phone plastered to their ear.

What can all these people be saying that is so important?

Well, we don't know but whatever it is, they spend a lot of time doing it. A new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that most U.S. drivers say they talk on their cell phones and smartphones while driving, even though it isn't very smart. And a third of them also admit to texting while driving.

The study analyzed data from the U.S. and Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Researchers found that 69 percent of U.S. drivers talked on their cell phone while driving within the 30 days before they were surveyed compared to 21 percent of drivers from the United Kingdom. The study also found that 31 percent of drivers in the United States reported that they had read or sent text messages or emails while driving, compared  to 15 percent of drivers in Spain.

“The cell phone can be a fatal distraction for those who use it while they drive,” said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden.  “Driving and dialing or texting don’t mix.  If you are driving, pull over to a safe place and stop before you use your cell phone.”

No gender difference

CDC researchers also looked specifically at U.S. drivers and found that in the 30 days before they were surveyed:

• There were no significant differences between men and women in terms of cell phone use or reading or sending text or e-mail messages while driving.
• A higher percentage of 25-44 year-old men and women reported talking on a cell phone while driving than those ages 55–64, and;
• A higher percentage of 18-34 year-old men and women reported reading or sending text or e-mail messages while driving than those ages 45-64.

“Everyone, of every age and generation, has the ability to make a decision to drive distraction-free,” said Linda C. Degutis, Dr.P.H., M.S.N., director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. “It’s especially risky for young, inexperienced drivers—who are already extremely vulnerable to crashes—to be distracted when they are behind the wheel. Answering a call or reading a text is never worth a loss of life.”

Many strategies have been applied to try to reduce distracted driving in the United States and other countries. These include law enforcement efforts, communication campaigns, vehicle and cell phone technologic advances, legislation, and safe driver education. Some strategies have been aimed specifically at high risk drivers such as teens and new drivers.

As of February 2013, 33 states and the District of Columbia have laws in place restricting at least some teens or new drivers from using cell phones while driving.

As student loan delinquencies rise, there are growing fears that borrowers will be treated unfairly by lenders and their servicers. Seeking to get a handle on the situation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants to extend federal oversight to some so-called "nonbank" student loans.

“The student loan market has grown rapidly in the last decade, and servicers are now facing the stress of an increasing number of delinquent borrowers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Our rule would bring new oversight to the student loan market and help ensure that tens of millions of borrowers are not treated unfairly by their servicers.”

The Bureau already oversees student loan servicing at larger banks. Thew proposed new rule would expand that supervision to certain nonbanks, requiring them to comply with federal consumer financial laws.

The Bureau would ensure that banks and nonbanks are following the same rules in the student loan servicing market. The vast majority of student loan servicing is conducted by nonbank servicers.

Under the rule, any nonbank student loan servicer that handles more than 1 million borrower accounts would be subject to CFPB supervisory authority. With that threshold, the Bureau estimates that it would have authority to supervise the seven largest student loan servicers.

Combined, those seven service the loans of 49 million borrower accounts, representing most of the activity in the student loan servicing market.

The CFPB said it will continue to coordinate closely with the U.S. Department of Education, which conducts reviews of companies handling loans in accordance with the federal student aid program.

"Director Cordray and the CFPB team have always been great partners with us, and we have worked together on a number of projects to protect consumers and better support students," said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "We look forward to working with them on their efforts to ensure that loan servicers are protecting student loan borrowers."

Freddie Mac says stronger signs of jobs growth and consumer spending pushed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) to its highest reading since the week of August 23, 2012.

According to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year FRM rose 11 basis points in the the week ending March 14 -- to 3.63% with an average 0.8 point. Last year at this time, it 30-year FRM averaged 3.92%.

The 15-year FRM averaged 2.79% with an average 0.8 point. Last week it averaged 2.76% and a year ago it was 3.16%.

The average for the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.61% with an average 0.6 point, compared last week when it averaged 2.63%. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.83%.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.64% with an average 0.4 point, little-changed from last week's average of 2.63 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.79 percent.

"Fixed mortgage rates rose this week on stronger signs of jobs growth and consumer spending,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. “The economy added 236,000 new workers in February which helped push down the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent. This helped offset the effects of the payroll tax holiday expiration and led to a 1.1 percent increase in retail sales, which was well above the market consensus forecast."

Bankrate

The weekly national survey conducted by Bankrate.com shows fixed mortgage rates jumped to a 7-month high following a report of robust job growth and encouraging economic data on business investment and retail sales.

The benchmark 30-year FRM jumping to 3.85% from 3.73% with an average of 0.35 discount and origination points. That's the highest rate since it was 3.91% on Aug. 22, 2012.

The last time mortgage rates were above 5% was Apr. 2011. At the time, the average 30-year FRM was 5.07%, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,082.22. With the average rate currently at 3.85%, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $937.62 -- a difference of $145 per month.

The average 15-year FRM climbed to 3.03% from 2.96% (avg. points: 0.35), as did the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage -- jumping to 4.18%. Adjustable rate mortgages were mixed, with the 3-year ARM slipping to 3.00%, the 5-year ARM rising to 2.82% and the 7-year ARM inching up to 2.99%.