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GREEN BEER?
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Green beer is no longer reserved for St. Patrick's Day and food-color concoctions gone awry. Learn more here. |
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RESTAURANT.COM
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| Score $25 gift cards to restaurants around the country until Sunday, Sept. 13 for only $1 using Consumer United's special promo code NINETY here. |
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Greetings!
Welcome to our bi-weekly newsletter. Wanna save $1,500 on your energy bills? Many savings can be accumulated from simple upgrades and some with no cost. Learn more here. Now, let's get started. |
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Penny Pinching Is The Post-Recession Norm
 Will pre-recession consumer spending ever return? The answer seems to be "no." Researchers
suggest that frugality is the new norm. Even after the recession is
over, consumers will be pinching their pennies for awhile. The research firm AlixPartners conducted a study and reports Americans will
spend at about 86 percent of their pre-recession level once a new
normal is in place. This means consumers will turn into their own handymen, continue to
bring a bagged lunch to work and re-set their priorities in order to
keep the family budget on track. Read more here. |
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How To Maintain A Top-Notch Credit Score
 Bad credit can hurt your chances of getting a decent mortgage or car
loan, so we've decided to lay down the basics on getting and
maintaining a top-notch credit score. What is an
ideal credit score? A good credit score is 750, that's 100 points
higher than last year's positive credit score. If your credit score
isn't this high, it's time to follow these four basic rules. And stick
to them! You credit score will only grow. Click here for more information. |
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Top 10 List Of Consumer Complaints
 What has Americans really fuming? According to the annual
non-scientific poll conducted by the National Association of Attorneys
General (NAAG), credit cards and predatory lending/mortgages topped the
national top 10 list of consumer complaints. "With the recession
and increased foreclosure rates, consumers need to be on high alert,"
says Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett, who co-chairs the NAAG
Consumer Protection Committee. Click here for the lowdown.
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DVD Kiosks Have Movie Studios Seeing Red
 Move over Netflix. Redbox, an Illinois-based company that rents movies
for $1 a day via kiosks in stores like Wal-Mart and fast-food
restaurants, is under fire from movie studios claiming that the vending
company is cannibalizing DVD sales and is devaluing the overall
packaged product. Three film studios--20th Century Fox, Warner
Brothers and Universal--are lobbying against the growing kiosk giant
refusing to sell DVDs to them until 28 days after their initial release
date. Redbox is fighting back against the month-long blackout period,
suing the trio on antitrust grounds. Learn more here. | |
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Reduced Demand Lowers Electricity Prices
 As the demand for electricity drops, so does the cost of consumers'
energy bills. Energy consumption fell 1.6 percent in 2008, and 2.7
percent this year. The last time energy consumption fell two years in a
row? 1949. How has this happened? Americans are
having a tough time finding jobs, so they keep their pockets full and
spend less. Because of the ripple effect, retailers report declining sales. Read more here.
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