Updates Blog

I’m happy to announce that our first press release was officially released on 12:01 AM (Pacific Standard Time) on Wednesday, December 24,2008. You can access it by visiting:

    http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1787144.htm

I was pleased how PRWeb formatted it, with a very nice animated screenshot of our home page. I hope you will all share this with your friends so that everyone can be a part of this groundbreaking project. More importantly, we want everyone to have the opportunity to learn some incredibly valuable information. Think of it as our holiday gift to the world.

Every couple of weeks we pick five or more of the best articles from consumer-friendly sites around the web. Check out these articles if you’d like to increase your health, safety and financial freedom:

1. Ten Rules for Taking Back Your Life (WebMD.com): 

Some people believe “it’s all in your head.” And probably most of it really is! Here are Dr. Patricia Farrell’s rules for turning things around for yourself, rather than waiting for something or someone to do it for you.

2. 6 ideas for insuring your deposits (BankRate.com): 

Are you wealthy enough that you have more money deposited than is ensured by Federal Deposit Insurance? You can spread your money into accounts at several different banks, or take advantage of programs that let you pay a fee to insure that your money is safe.

3. Cancer-Proof Your Life (Prevention.com): 

Here are 30 tips that will help keep you out of the “Big C’s reach” — but contrary to this article’s title, there’s still no way to guarantee you’ll never get cancer. Still, Prevention Magazine has “combed through research, interrogated experts, and found cutting-edge strategies to help keep you safe.”

4. A dozen do’s and don’ts for online auctions (BankRate.com): 

Want to raise some extra cash selling your stuff on online auctions? Here’s a primer showing how to do it right.

5. Love the Vegetables You Hate (Prevention.com): 

If you’re not eating lots of vegetables, you’re really and truly sabotaging your health. The article suggests 15 ways to “make broccoli, cabbage, and parsnips as delicious as chocolate (well, almost).” If none of them works, do what I do: throw a couple bags of various vegetables in a blender once a week. A couple of times every day, mix a cup of it with a little diet root beer or other tasty drink — it tastes pretty good, and it takes only a few seconds to chug it down.

6. 4 ways to trim phone costs (BankRate.com): 

You can (1) Use toll-free services and calling cards for long-distance, (2) Switch to prepaid cell phones, (3) Eliminate pricey “extras”, or (4) Try Internet phone services.

7. 13 Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life (WebMD.com): 

This article lists 13 important ways to live a happier, healthier life. They will be effective in improving nearly anyone’s mental and emotional well-being.

8. 3 Safe Harbors for Cash (BankRate.com): 

One safe harbor to park your cash is in Certificates of Deposit, which are getting higher yields now. Savings Accounts are the best for liquidity and safety, while Money-Market Mutual Funds offer good liquidity and comparatively high yields.

9. How to Avoid Catching an Infectious Disease (Prevention.com): 

There are many common illnesses that you can avoid just by incorporating eleven healthy habits into your daily routine. For example, washing your hands can keep you from joining the 30% of Americans who already have the H. Pylori bacteria, which causes ulcers.

I haven’t been posting to the blog these past couple of days because my computer was hit by a VERY nasty virus. Somehow it Trojaned its way onto my system while I was scouting for backgrounds to make our sites look better.

Kaspersky AntiVirus is the highest rated antivirus program by most independent reviewers, such as ConsumerSearch.com. But even that was unable to restore my system to normal after the virus got into it. I had been using free Avira antivirus, but apparently that wasn’t effective enough.

The next thing to try is the “System Restore” function of Windows XP. It turns out that I’m able to roll back my PC’s system configuration to last Thursday using System Restore. So there are a couple of good lessons for PC users: Use a quality antivirus program like Kaspersky (30-day free trial, $40 per year after that), and/or if a virus hits, remember about System Restore.

And then next time you buy a computer, make it a MacIntosh if at all possible.

PRESS RELEASE — $5.7 TRILLION COST OF TWELVE WORST CONSUMER MISTAKES IS EXPOSED IN SHOCKING NEW REPORT

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) July 25, 2007 — What are the twelve most disastrous mistakes American consumers make?

One consumer advocate has researched and ranked them. Their total estimated cost amounts to a staggering $5.7 trillion per year. Astonishingly, that averages out to a yearly dollar drain of $19,000 for every man, woman and child.

The shocking facts are exposed in “The 12 Biggest Consumer Goofs,” a new Special Report from the Consumer Freedom Alliance. It ranks the most damaging mistakes being made by American consumers, based on the best available estimates from a variety of consumer organizations and governmental agencies.

“These mistakes account for a little over one half of America’s $11 trillion GNP, making these mistakes a virtual must-know for all Americans” commented CFA president David Snell. “Consumers can tremendously benefit in many areas, from crime prevention to career advancement.”

According to this report, money management mistakes account for approximately one trillion dollars of the total. Disastrous personal decisions including medical and safety mistakes cost consumers $2.2 trillion yearly. Crime is the biggest problem, including fraud and the failure of consumers to protect themselves adequately: Its yearly cost is a whopping $2.5 trillion. “Inevitably this type of study requires some approximations, but the overall conclusions are not in any serious doubt” said Snell.
 

Report details

Anyone can read the list of consumer mistakes at http://www.smartconsumertips.com/12online.htm  The descriptions of these “dirty dozen” mistakes include links to the those help sites judged best by the CFA, along with enlightening quotations from famous historical figures. Readers can visit HeroVote.com to read quotes from five famous historical personalities and vote for the most inspirational quote.

Other writers have suggested lists of the worst mistakes, but this is the first time that such a list has been substantiated by careful and quantitative research. Anyone can visit http://www.smartconsumertips.com/12proof.htm to view the supporting evidence. Press members wishing to learn more about the Consumer Freedom Alliance should visit http://www.smartconsumertips.com/12public.htm, where they may elect to receive notices of newsworthy consumer stories.

The 12 Biggest Consumer Goofs is released to the public domain and can be freely used or excerpted. The CFA encourages reporters, webmasters, bloggers and other members of the media to download free web content based on that report from http://www.smartconsumertips.com/12public.htm. Anyone who is interested in promoting the good of humanity is welcome to use it in any fashion they deem worthwhile.