Current Events in May 2023

Millions of retired Americans depend on getting a Social Security payment each month to help make ends meet. But events in Washington could disrupt those payments.

It’s all because of something called the “debt ceiling,” which is the maximum amount of money the U.S. government is authorized by law to borrow. Each year Congress must vote to increase the amount to keep the government from defaulting.

This year, things are a little dicey. Since January Republicans have held a narrow majority in the House and have voted to increase the debt ceiling but only if Congress also votes to cut spending. Democrats still control the Senate and are insisting on a “clean” debt ceiling bill, promising to address spending in separate legislation.

So far, neither side has shown any willingness to budge and the deadline looms in early June. If there is no agreement the U.S. government would be in default and limited in what it can spend. Should that happen, seniors on Social Security could feel some pain.

“A default would hit the nation’s seniors especially hard, as the payment of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits would be jeopardized,” the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said in a statement. “This could be devastating for the 65 million older Americans on Social Security and the 63 million beneficiaries of Medicare.”

‘May not be made on time or in full’

The advocacy group has warned that without the legal authority to borrow beyond the current debt ceiling, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other payments “may not be made on time and in full.” The group says even a short delay in the payment of Social Security benefits would pose a burden for the millions of Americans who rely on their earned benefits to pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses, food, rent and utilities. 

What are the odds of a U.S. government default? Experts say it’s hard to gauge because it has never happened before.

In past government shutdowns, when lawmakers couldn't agree on a budget, there has been money available to pay entitlement benefits. A government default is uncharted territory.

Even if there is a default, Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James, believes it would be short-lived because of the political pressure it would unleash.

“If there is a scenario where seniors are not getting their Social Security checks, there would be a near immediate resolution of this fight,” Mills told CNBC.

Mills said the chances of Social Security checks not being sent are “exceptionally low.”

It may be time to take a new look at your credit report – especially if you are among half of the Americans who have any kind of medical debt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says that many consumers who've taken on some form of medical debt in the last year have protections they need to know about. 

The biggest subset of that pool is the 40+ million people who might have unpaid medical bills. For them, the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and others have stepped up to pass the No Surprises Act to help protect Americans from certain unexpected medical bills, such as those surprise medical bills from out-of-network providers for “emergency services.”

The second group of consumers who are getting some relief are those who’ve seen negative information pop up on their credit reports related to a medical expense. For them, the CFPB has laid down the law to debt collectors and consumer credit reporting companies that they can’t collect, furnish, or report any invalid medical debt.

In the wake of the pandemic, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion were tasked with removing all paid medical debts from consumer credit reports, those less than a year old, and all medical collections under $500. That last step went into effect on April 11, 2023, and with this change, the CFPB estimates that roughly half of those with medical debt on their reports will have it removed from their credit history in the upcoming months.

Those three companies have taken to this task expeditiously, too. When ConsumerAffairs checked on their collective progress, TransUnion claimed that nearly 70% of the total medical collection debt tradelines reported to the Nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies (NCRAs) have been removed from consumer credit files. 

Making sure your debt isn’t still being reported

To prove they’re doing what they were told, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are offering free online credit reports once a week through AnnualCreditReport.com. The CFPB says consumers with medical debt would be wise to order one from each and double-check if they’ve been removed like they’re supposed to be. 

The agency offered this advice to be sure:

• If you previously had a medical collection under $500, a paid medical collection, or a collection less than a year old on your credit report, check to make sure they no longer appear on your reports. Be aware, however, that this doesn’t include credit card collections, even if you used your credit card to pay for a medical expense under $500.

• Also, while you’re looking at your reports, check for any other information that might be inaccurate. Here’s a list of the typical inaccuracies on a credit report.

• If you find a medical collection under $500, a paid medical collection, a collection less than a year old, or errors on your report, you can dispute that information with the credit reporting company.

If you run into problems

Another olive branch the credit reporting companies are offering is an extension of the time it takes to dispute, negotiate, or pay for any outstanding bills before they can be reported. Consumers in those situations now have one year from the time they saw a doctor before they’re allowing medical debt to appear on their credit report. 

For those who are unable to pay their medical bills, they may qualify for financial assistance programs, aka “charity care.”

If all else fails, the CFPB says it's got our collective backs. “We expect that the No Surprises Act, the recent actions by credit reporting companies, and the CFPB’s own actions and guidance will reduce the challenges many families face after they receive medical care,” the agency said.

“If you find invalid medical bills on your credit report or if you’re having issues disputing other medical bill errors with the credit reporting companies, submit a complaint to the CFPB.”

Cases of identity theft have soared in recent years, largely because the internet has provided a gateway to Americans’ personally identifiable information (PII). Whenever a financial system’s network is hacked, millions of consumers are vulnerable.

Recorded instances of identity theft have soared by 584% over the last 20 years, according to a ConsumerAffairs analysis of data collected by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In the last decade, Louisiana, Delaware and Pennsylvania saw the largest increase in identity theft reports per 100,000 people.

When it comes to where identity theft cases per capita occurred in 2022, they were primarily in southern states, with only three states outside of that region in the top 10. The top 10 states for identity theft last year, according to the FTC, were:

1. Georgia

2. Louisiana

3. Florida

4. Delaware

5. Nevada

6. Texas

7. Pennsylvania

8. Alabama

9. South Carolina

10. Mississippi

In Georgia last year there were 574 cases per 100,000 people. Louisiana, the second state on the list, had 534 per 100,000 residents, and Florida, third, had 524 per 100,000 people.

Most vulnerable metro areas

A closer look at the numbers shows Tuscaloosa, Ala., was the metro with the most identity theft victims per capita with1,123 per 100,000 residents. The Baton Rogue, La., metro was second with 974 cases per 100,000 people.

Even large metro areas had an above-average share of victims, putting them on the top 10 list. Those metros include Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, Orlando, and Houston.

ConsumerAffairs also discovered that millennials appeared to be the most vulnerable population last year. Of the 1,108,609 total identity theft reports in 2022, 30- to 39-year-olds made up 25.9% of victims in the U.S. 

It’s worth noting that identity theft can take many different forms. Some credit card identity theft, when a criminal uses a stolen credit card to make a purchase, can be quickly rectified if the lender is quickly alerted that the charge is fraudulent.

But other credit card-related identity theft is more serious if the criminal uses PII to open a new credit card account in your name. In 2022, credit cards played some type of role in the most common cases of identity theft.

Challenges to prevention

Preventing identity theft can present challenges. While consumers can take precautions to protect their PII by avoiding scams, sometimes it is out of their control, such as when their data is stolen in a network hack.

Because of that, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has found that consumers are increasingly mistrustful of corporate enterprises and government agencies. Its recent report found 61% of consumers are concerned about giving government agencies their Social Security number. 

“Identity crime victims are very concerned about their information being compromised in a data breach or misused by a government employee,” said Eva Velasquez, ITRC’s CEO. “All of these findings give us additional direction for how we can build confidence in the systems that prove people are who they claim to be and reduce the rate of identity fraud.”

Amazon is merging how consumers shop and play with the launch of Amazon Anywhere. 

The new technology will allow users to buy products – like sweatshirts, pillows, t-shirts, or other merchandise – directly from games they’re playing or apps they have open. 

“Whether you’re playing video games or using your favorite mobile app, Amazon is extending the fun within virtual worlds and interactive digital environments with a new immersive shopping experience called Amazon Anywhere,” wrote Steve Downer, vice president of consumer electronics at Amazon. “With Amazon Anywhere, you can now discover and buy physical products from Amazon stores without ever having to leave your game or app.” 

Expanding the Amazon shopping experience

Amazon announced that this new shopping feature will roll out with Peridot, an augmented reality game from the creators of Pokemon Go. The game is currently available for both Apple and Android users, and it involves caring for a virtual pet. 

With Amazon Anywhere, players will be able to purchase Peridot merchandise without having to pause their game. The first step is linking your Amazon account to the game, which will take with it all of your account’s saved payment options and delivery addresses.

Shoppers will see a full range of sizes and colors, a selection of images for each of the products, and the Amazon Prime availability and estimated delivery date – similar to shopping on the traditional Amazon site or app. 

Once the selections are made, users simply tap “buy,” and the purchase is complete. At that point, you can go right back to playing your game, and your order details will be located in the Amazon app or on the Amazon website at any time. 

Some of the current merchandise offerings include phone accessories, throw pillows, sweatshirts, and t-shirts, all featuring artwork and characters from the Peridot game. 

“We’re creating a new landscape for shoppable entertainment and digital experiences while continuing to meet our customers where they are, with the products they love,” Downer said. “Most shopping in virtual worlds is currently limited to purchases of virtual currency and in-game digital items, with no easy path to purchase physical products. We want to change that.” 

Currently, Amazon Anywhere is sending out invitations to creators and developers of virtual worlds to link their apps and games to the shopping platform. Creators who are interested in being included can access more information here. 

With Mother’s Day close at hand, scammers have stepped up their schemes, using that holiday to steal consumers’ money and disappointing Mom in the process.

That, and a couple of other scams from the previous week continued to make strong showings in the ConsumerAffairs-Trend Micro Threat Alert for the week of May 5.

Mother’s Day Scam  

• From April 17 to May 8, the Trend Micro research team detected 542,307 Mother’s Day-related shopping scams globally and 181,542 Mother’s Day-related shopping scams in the U.S., which increased by 5.46% compared to last week. Most of these scams use shopping discounts to attract users to purchase on fake shopping websites.  

• The top 5 states being targeted are Oregon, Virginia, California, Washington, and Ohio 

• The majority of victims are from Oregon: 44.17%   

It’s not a surprise that there was a big increase in this scam last week since scammers are running out of time to cash in. The way they are going about it is to offer incredible “last minute” deals on shopping sites.

That should be a dead giveaway, especially if it is a site you’ve never heard of. “Too good to be true” deals seldom are. Last-minute Mother’s Day shoppers should stick to familiar sites and pass up unreasonably low-priced items. 

After Sunday, expect to see a lot of these same come-ons recycled for Father’s Day.

Travel Scam  

• From April 1st to May 1st, Trend Micro research team found 798 travel-related scam URLs, which increased 31% in comparison to last week. And Trend Micro research team did see a spike on May 2 and 4. Examples of notable brands are Airbnb and Booking.com.  

• The top 5 states being targeted are Oregon, Virginia, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Illinois 

Travel scams also made a significant appearance in the previous week’s Threat Alert as well. Memorial Day weekend is coming up and travelers are making airline reservations for later in the summer. 

Rental scams are playing an outsized role, with the bad guys pretending to be Airbnb and Booking.com, as well as other travel sites, often spreading through thousands of text messages.

“Trend Micro has been tracking more SMS scams targeting consumers in the past few months,” Jon Clay, vice president of Threat Intelligence at Trend Micro, told ConsumerAffairs. “In April this year, we identified over 800,000 SMS scams and Florida had over 32,000 targeting their citizens. Scammers are recognizing that SMS texts are an effective way to target victims with most scams using membership payment issues and politically focused topics being used to entice victims to interact.”

Amazon Phishing 

• Trend Micro research team detected scammers using security issues to inform users their account has been suspended and redirecting them to verify their account on a fake log-in website with victims’ personal information. 

• The top 5 states being targeted are North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, Arizona, and Texas  

Amazon may be scammers’ number one company to impersonate. It should be no surprise since millions of Americans have Amazon accounts. 

Lately, the scams have revolved around asking people to fill out a survey. People often agree, flattered that someone wants their opinion. Scammers sweeten the deal by offering free merchandise.

But there is no free merchandise and no one ever sees the survey results. Instead, the scammers collect a lot of personal information that can be sold on the dark web.

Walmart Survey Scam  

• Trend Micro’s research team identified scammers inviting customers to participate in a short survey to receive gift cards or free merchandise. Receivers are asked to fill in their PII in order to claim the ‘prize.’ 

• The top 5 states being targeted are California, Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Washington 

Scammers are using the Amazon scam playbook to ensnare consumers with the Walmart survey scam. In fact, there is very little difference.

A report last month found that, in addition to Amazon, Walmart is the most imitated brand when it comes to separating consumers from their money. The report found that Walmart accounted for 16% of all scam attempts and climbed from 13th place in the fourth quarter of 2022, mostly due to an immense phishing campaign built around the come-on of a “supply chain collapse” that urged victims to click on a malicious survey link. 

ShareFile Email Phishing  

• Trend Micro research team detected scammers impersonating the victim’s acquaintance to ask receivers to open the encrypted attachment. The scammers ask victims to click the HTML attachment and the page will then show a fake login page of ShareFile with various ways of fast log-in, such as Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc. However, all these login services are fake pages that will steal all the personal information you fill in.  

• Trend Micro research team found 200 logs on May 4th. 

The sharefile email phishing scam rounds out the top five scams for the week of May 5 and is new to the list. It’s another impersonation scam and a dangerous one since the scammers are posing as someone the victim knows. They might be targeting you because they previously infected your acquaintance’s device and downloaded their contacts.

It’s another reminder that you should never click on a link in an email, even if you think it’s coming from a friend. Contact that friend directly first, to make sure the message is legit. It’s a sad fact that almost any message these days has to be viewed with some degree of skepticism.

“Scammers are mostly after personal information that can be used in future scams or sold to other criminals in the underground markets,” Clay said. “If you receive an SMS text from an unknown person and the interaction requests personal or financial information from you, it should be looked at as suspicious.”

What do fraudsters love more than anything else? One single source they can tap into and outwit millions and millions of people.

There are big tech companies, mobile phone companies, banks, and credit card companies, but who else has millions? Medicare's endless number of beneficiaries, that’s who – all 65 million of them. If you include everyone on Medicaid, CHIP, and marketplace plans, that number goes to 160 million potential victims.

Medicare scams have become a never-ending loop. They pop up during open enrollment, they get wrapped up in impersonation scams, they even go as far as offering DNA tests to try and get someone's Medicare credentials. And those credentials are a golden ticket to information that can be monetized in any number of ways. 

Medicare scams place cash-strapped beneficiaries in a worse financial bind because scams increase healthcare costs and taxes for everyone, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs. 

Protecting yourself

CMS’ top tip to every one of its members is to guard their Medicare number just like they would their Social Security and credit cards.

“You should only share your Medicare number with trusted healthcare providers,” the spokesperson said, adding that enrollees should become familiar with how Medicare uses someone's private information. "If you join a Medicare health or drug plan, the plan will let you know how it will use your personal information."

It's also important to remember that Medicare will never call anyone to sell them anything or visit anyone at their home. Medicare, or someone representing Medicare, will only call and ask for personal information in these two situations:

1. A Medicare health or drug plan may call you if you’re already a member of the plan. The agent who helped you join can also call you.

2. A customer service representative from 1-800-MEDICARE can call you if you’ve called and left a message or a representative said that someone would call you back.

If you sense that there’s something funny going on, CMS offers Medicare recipients a very detailed list of what phone numbers to call, online options, etc.

The agency also has state-by-state connections and for a local perspective and assistance, members may also want to contact the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP). It helps monitor reports of scams and potential fraud in every state and does local outreach and education to Medicare beneficiaries and their families/caretakers.

“Honey, Captain Kirk says we should buy this Medicare plan…”

There’s one other thing that Medicare enrollees should know. Beginning September 30, a new rule from Medicare prohibits ads about “Medicare Advantage” intended to mislead people.

So, if William Shatner, Joe Namath, or Jimmy Walker comes on TV pitching Medicare Advantage, they are going to have to clearly state the name of the insurance plan they’re advertising. 

Because marketers can be crafty, CMS warns consumers that if they see any pitch using the Medicare logo or card, the marketing company is probably trying to fool consumers into believing that a celebrity endorser represents the federal government. Use of those logos and cards will be disallowed starting on Sept. 30, as well.

The new rules also require insurance agents and brokers who market Medicare Advantage plans to explain the coverage they’re offering and show evidence that the benefits of a plan are really available in the state or county where a consumer lives.

One last provision that will make consumers happy is that a broker can’t keep calling a person to try and sell them a plan until 12 months after they first asked for information or expressed interest in a plan.

The cost of living was significantly higher in April than it was in March. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% last month after gaining only 0.1% in the previous month.

Consumers paid more for shelter, gasoline, and used cars and trucks. Those increases more than offset the declines in some other sectors.

Areas where consumers paid more

• Used cars - up 4.4%

• Energy - 0.6%

• Medical care commodities - up 0.4%

• Shelter - up 0.4%

• Restaurants - up 0.4%

• Gasoline - up 0.3%

• Apparel - up 0.3%

Areas where consumers paid less

• Natural gas - down 4.9%

• Fuel oil - down 4.5%

• Electricity - down 1.7%

• New cars - down 0.2%

• Transportation - down 0.2%

• Groceries - down 0.2%

With the winter heating season pretty much over, consumers saw big drops in natural gas and heating oil prices. Food costs, one of the heavier burdens for consumers over the last few months, continued to moderate.

The food index was unchanged in April, with higher menu prices at restaurants but lower prices at the supermarket. When it was averaged out, food costs were flat last month.

Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes decreased over the month. The index for fruits and vegetables fell 0.5% while the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs declined 0.3%.

The dairy and related products index decreased by 0.7% percent in April as the milk index fell 2.0%, the largest decline in that index since February 2015.

Over the last 12 months, the nation’s inflation rate is 4.9%. That’s down from June’s peak of 9% and closer to the Federal Reserve’s goal of 2%.

The “Great Resignation” is apparently over. Businesses and governments hired 253,000 people last month.

Scammers are trying to take advantage of that trend. They’re targeting jobseekers with something known as the resume-formatting scam.

Instead of casting a wide net, they specifically target people who are or may be looking for a job. They find someone on LinkedIn, read their profile, and contact them, pretending to be an employment agency or a headhunter.

The scammer tells the target that their profile and experience perfectly match a position they are trying to fill and asks for a resume. But when they receive the resume, the scammer says it needs to be in a different format to work with their tracking system.

The target is then directed to a website where there are instructions to rewrite the resume. The updated resume includes a lot of personal information that seems outside the norm. An of course, the target is required to pay a fee with a credit card.

Applicants soon learn that there is no job and they are the victim of a scam designed to steal some money and personal information. The scam is effective because the victim may actually be looking for a job and the requirement to “reformat” the resume might not seem suspicious, although the requirement to pay for the service should raise a red flag.

How to avoid this scam

The best way to avoid this scheme is to do a little research on your own. If the scammer won’t tell you the name of the company or what the position is, that should be a turn-off. If they do name a company, go to the company’s website and check for job openings. If the job actually exists, contact the company’s human resources department directly.

Be careful about the personal information you provide. At the beginning of the hiring process, there is no need to provide a Social Security number or bank account information, for example. That comes after you have received an offer.

Also, never pay to apply for a job. That is a huge red flag and even an excuse like needing to reformat your resume should be seen for what it is – a scam.

Warmer weather will soon be upon us, and that means more time outdoors -- and at the pool.

Regarding the latter, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) notes that thousands of people, many of them children, require hospital emergency room treatment each year for injuries associated with swimming pools.

Along those lines, CPSC reports that three separate manufacturers have issued recalls for pool drain covers.

Vijayli-US is recalling about 116 drain covers, Liusin is recalling about 40 covers, and Pickloud-US is recalling about 100.

All of the recalled products fail to conform to the entrapment protection standards of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGBA), posing an entrapment hazard to swimmers and bathers.

No injuries involving any of the drain covers have been reported.

All three of the drain covers were sold exclusively on amazon.com from 2020 to 2023 for between $30 and $50.

What to do

For the Vijayli-US covers, consumers should immediately stop using pools with the recalled pool drain covers, remove the drain cover from the pool and contact the firm at vijayli2233@outlook.com for instructions on how to return the drain cover for a full refund.

Vijayli is contacting all purchasers directly.

Consumers may contact the firm by email at vijayli2233@outlook.com or online at https://www.amazon.com/sp?ie=UTF8&seller=A1JRUV5LNLJLG1&asin=B07SS1L5PN&ref_=dp_merchant_link&isAmazonFulfilled=1

For the Liusin drain covers, consumers should immediately stop using pools with the recalled pool drain covers, remove the drain cover from the pool and contact the firm at liuliusingus@163.com for instructions on how to return the drain cover for a full refund.

Consumers may contact the firm by email at liuliusingus@163.com or online at the Liusin-US page on Amazon.com and https://www.amazon.com/sp?ie=UTF8&isAmazonFulfilled=1&marketplaceSeller=1&orderID=111-7892181-1912255&seller=A1TKW763O7K0KI.

For the Pickloud drain covers, consumers should immediately stop using pools with the recalled pool drain covers, remove the drain cover from the pool and contact the firm at Jdbvxaa@hotmail.com for instructions on how to return the drain cover for a full refund.

Consumers may contact the firm by email at Jdbvxaa@hotmail.com or the Pickloud-US page on Amazon.com.

Pool safety tips

The best way to enjoy your time at the pool is to make sure you do it safely. To ensure that, the CPSC offers the following advice:

• Use non-slip materials on the deck surrounding your pool and on the diving boards and ladders.
• Have the electrical systems installed by licensed electricians and in accordance with recognized standards for safety.
• Fence in your pool area to prevent access to unsupervised children.
• Place a safety float line where the bottom slope begins to deepen (approximately the five-foot level) ,
• Keep all electrical appliances, such as radios, away from the pool because of the potential shock hazard which they present.
• And last, but not least, learn to swim well!

When an airline is responsible for stranding passengers at an airport, what should it do for those customers? Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg says it's pretty clear -- passengers deserve compensation and reimbursement for meals, hotels, and rebooking. 

This week, Buttigieg’s DOT announced plans to launch a new rulemaking aimed directly at bringing that wish all the way home.

The DOT has been after this for two years, trying to reverse the trend of negative airline passenger experience and it’s got a lot to show for its efforts. The 10 largest airlines now guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline and nine guarantee hotel accommodations as part of the Department’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard at the new FlightRights.gov. Also on the new dashboard are updated commitments airlines have made to allowing families to sit together for free.

The arm twisting that still remains

Buttigieg wants these changes to be mandatory. However, he's got some work to do because no airline has committed to offering everything the DOT wants, at least not yet. 

The closest to perfect is Alaska Airlines which checks seven of the eight commitment boxes for “controllable cancellations” and JetBlue which checks six of the eight. 

Dragging their feet on what the DOT wants are Frontier, which has agreed to only two of eight things the DOT is asking for, and Allegiant which has agreed to only four commitments.

The one glaring holdout that no airline has said yes to is “cash compensation when a cancelation results in passengers waiting for three hours or more from the scheduled departure time.”

Given how that commitment could become a backbreaker, the DOT’s new proposal allows for vouchers/credit, frequent flier miles, as well as cash when a cancelation or delay results in passengers waiting for three hours or more for scheduled departure time.

“When an airline causes a flight cancelation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said. “This rule would, for the first time in U.S. history, propose to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses such as meals, hotels, and rebooking in cases where the airline has caused a cancelation or significant delay.” 

Travelers speak out on what airlines to avoid

If anyone hasn’t booked their summer travel, yet, and the DOT’s new dashboard gives them pause on a certain airline, there’s also a new survey from TheVacationer where Americans had a chance to voice their own opinion on which airlines they avoid flying on at all costs, too. Drum roll, please…

1. Spirit Airlines — 21.06%

2. Allegiant Air — 16.36%

3. American Airlines — 14.40%

4. Frontier Airlines — 14.30%

5. Delta Air Lines — 12.63%

6. JetBlue — 12.63%

7. Alaska Airlines — 10.68%

8. Southwest Airlines — 10.28%

9. United Airlines — 7.64%

10. Hawaiian Airlines — 5.48%

“This means more than one out of every five people you come across will not fly on Spirit under any circumstances,” TheVacationer’s Eric Jones said. “Based on the recent census, the 21.06% that said this equates to more than 54 million people. Having had a few bad experiences with Spirit myself, I can see why Spirit won the contest of airline Americans are most likely to avoid at all costs.”

Jones added that despite these numbers, nearly half of American adults do not avoid flying on any airline. And the reasons they give are because cost and flight dates and times are the most important factors.

“With continued inflation, there should be no surprise that nearly one-third of all American adults said the cost of the flight is most important to them regardless of the airline,” Jones added.

With food price inflation up 8.4% over a year ago, two of the largest budget-priced grocery store chains are doubling down on taking care of food shoppers tired of high prices for things like beverages, cereal, and eggs.

Aldi has announced that it’s adding 120 more stores before the end of 2023, moving it past the 2,400 mark, making it only 300 shy of Kroger’s footprint and about 200 more than the number of Albertsons locations.

The company has the wind at its back, too. Aldi made fast friends with 9.4 million new shoppers last year and experienced double-digit growth with impressive in-roads with suburbanites and baby boomers.

Another budget-focused grocery chain making news is Save A Lot. A new plan to guide customers toward deeper savings is being rolled out at the company's locations across 604 cities.

"Shop the Dot" is a three-pronged program designed to highlight regular price drops and other discounts. Customers will be able to see where the best deals are in each store by looking for the whimsical "Lot Dot" that's part of the chain's logo. Save A Lot's Lot Dot prices are valid anywhere from 30 to 90 days, compared to traditional grocery store ads. 

Clear growth for budget-focused grocery stores

ConsumerAffairs contacted Placer.ai, a location analytics firm whose research tracks store traffic among other metrics, to find out if its researchers are noticing any changes in traffic between regular-priced retailers and budget stores.

“There is a clear growth trend for Aldi and Lidl, a testament both to the appetite for the unique offering they provide, the strategic nature of their expansions and the opportunity presented by the wider economic situation,” Ethan Chernofsky, senior vice president of marketing at Placer.ai, said.

Private-label brands continue to capture more grocery dollars

Some of that migration – particularly to Aldi and WalMart – is coming from private-label brands. About 90% of all the items Aldi sells are its own brands and account for 77.5% of the company’s sales. When it comes to household penetration, Walmart leads everyone with four of the top five private-label brands. 

But, it’s not an Aldi- or WalMart-only thing. Consumers continue to favor private labels over premium, name-brand versions. In Q1 2023, there were double-digit sales increases and greater market share in both dollars and units on store brands. Store brands continue to far outperform national brands in sales, too. Across all U.S. grocery channels, store brand dollar volume is up nearly twice over national brands. 

What are the best private-label bets for consumers? Going by the most recent sales figures Circana tracks for Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), 15 saw increased store brand dollar sales during the first quarter.

Double-digit gainers were Beverages (up 17.1%), Bakery (+16.8%), General Food (+16%), Refrigerated (+15.5%), Floral (+13.1%), Deli Prepared (+12.4%) and Health Care (+10%). The only two private-label categories that slipped a bit were Tobacco (off 11.8%) and Meat (down 1.6%).

With the price of new and used vehicles and the cost of financing, it pays to purchase a car or truck that you can drive for years, putting as many miles on it as possible.

Each year iSeeCars.com analyzes the vehicles with the best chance of having a long lifespan, such as making it to 250,000 miles. In this year’s study, the average vehicle has less than a 12% chance of hitting that milestone. But 23 cars and trucks have a 20% or better chance.

Not surprisingly, a lot of those vehicles are pickup trucks, built to withstand construction usage. Toyota is also well-represented on this year’s list.

“Vehicle lifespans continue to grow, with more than 20 cars now having a 20 percent or better chance of lasting at least a quarter million miles,” said iSeeCars.com Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “For most of the automobile’s history, 100,000 miles was considered the maximum usable lifespan. Over the past 30 years, we’ve watched an increasing number of cars reach 200,000-plus miles, and for our tenth Longest-Lasting Cars Study we’ve expanded our analysis to predict which vehicles have the greatest likelihood of reaching 250,000 miles or more.”

Trucks and Toyotas make up over half the spots on the list. SUVs are also well represented, with eight models making the cut. Three sedans and one minivan also have a 20% or better chance of reaching a quarter million miles or more.

The list

Here’s this year’s list, ranked in order:

1. Ford F-350 Super Duty

2. Toyota Land Cruiser

3. Toyota Tundra

4. Toyota Sequoia

5. Ford F-250 Super Duty

6. Honda Pilot

7. Toyota Tacoma

8. GMC Sierra 2500 HD

9. Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD

10. Toyota 4Runner

11. Toyota Avalon

12. Chevrolet Silverado 1500

13. Acura MDX

14. Honda Element

15. Honda CR-V

16. Honda Accord

17. Chevrolet Avalanche

18. Ram 2500

19. Ram 3500

20. Toyota Sienna

21. Subaru Outback

22. GMC Yukon XL

23. Toyota Camry

Your best bet is a truck

“It’s not surprising to see so many trucks, including heavy-duty trucks, on this list,” said Brauer. “Trucks like the Ford F-Series Super Duty are work vehicles, often purchased by businesses to serve as a key resource driving a company’s success. We’ve also seen models like the Toyota Land Cruiser and Sequoia consistently displaying a long potential lifespan when looking at the market data.”

In fact, the average truck has a nearly 26% chance of making it to a quarter million miles or more. Nine models check that box.

Most of the above-average trucks are heavy-duty models, but the Toyota Tundra, Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, and Chevrolet Avalanche also have a better-than-average chance of reaching 250,000 miles.

There are only a few days left to plan to celebrate the special mother – or grandmother, aunt, cousin, friend, etc. – in your life for Mother’s Day. 

With many consumers conscious of how much they’re spending amid consistently rising prices, Kroger grocery stores are making celebrations more affordable this Mother’s Day. Shoppers can plan a Mother’s Day brunch for less than $2 per serving at Kroger. 

“Mother’s Day is a special time to show gratitude,” said Stuart Aitken, senior vice president, chief merchant, and marketing officer at Kroger. “This holiday, celebrate the moms in your life with a brunch that is affordable, easy, and delicious. We are here to make this Mother’s Day one to remember with Locked in Low prices on items you need to celebrate Mom.” 

Three courses and drinks on sale

Kroger has mapped out a three-course brunch for consumers to purchase and prepare this Mother’s Day, including a main course, side dishes, and dessert. The special holiday deals also extend to include drinks and extras, like flowers and gift cards. 

Kroger’s pre-planned menu is as follows: 

• Mimosas: Kroger orange juice ($3.49) and Ogio prosecco ($11.99)

• La Terra Fina Classic Lorraine Quiche: $10.99

• Fresh Atlantic Salmon Filet: $18.73

• Private Selection All Butter Croissants: $4.49

• Private Selection breakfast sausage: $3.49

• Fresh watermelon: $6.99

• Kroger Sweet Kale Chopped Salad Kit BIG Deal: $3.67

• Private Selection cheesecake with blueberries: $19.99

For those who want to customize their menu, get inspiration for different recipes, or browse different options for serving-ware, baked goods, florals, and more for Mother’s Day, Kroger has an online Mother’s Day hub. 

Getting gifts 

In addition to the meal, Kroger shoppers can also secure Mother’s Day gifts and decor. The grocery chain offers Bloom Haus bouquets ranging in price from $7 to $35 depending on the arrangement. 

Kroger also has a wide selection of gift cards for all of the mothers and mother-figures in your life. Everything from Bath & Body Works and Ulta to DoorDash and Kohl’s is available at Kroger stores. All Mother’s Day gift card purchases made through May 16 come with four times the fuel points when shoppers secure a digital Kroger coupon.