High cost of frozen berries recall

THE cost of the Nanna’s frozen berries hepatitis A disaster has been tallied, and it’s a big hit to Patties Foods’ bottom line.

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Apple recalls iPhone 6 Plus smartphones due to blurry photos

Apple is recalling a batch of iPhone 6 Plus smartphones that are taking blurry photos.

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College Un-Checklist: 10 Things Not to Bring to Campus

The average college dorm room is just 228 square feet — only half of which is yours. So think twice when you pack bulky items, and don’t waste precious space on stuff you don’t need. Photo: Elmira College

As the first days of school approach, many new college students are trying to figure out what to bring – and what not to bring – to college. Unfortunately, the list of supplies can grow long for students who have never stepped foot in a tiny dorm room, and sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Here’s an example: Michelle from FitNPoor.com reports that a friend of hers insisted on bringing a 70-inch flat screen TV into their tiny 12-by-19-foot cell. How’d that go exactly? Well, according to Michelle, the TV was “smashed in by drunken frat boys within three months.” Sounds about right.

But that’s not all. Grayson Bell from DebtRoundup.com recently shared how a friend’s commitment to staying fit made their dorm room almost uninhabitable. “I knew someone who brought a full-sized treadmill into a room that was only big enough for two beds and a desk,” said Grayson. And apparently, that treadmill made it nearly impossible for that friend to have friends over. “We never hung out in that person’s dorm room,” he said.

Jim Wang of Microblogger.com and WalletHacks.com, on the other hand, points to cars as the top item you should never bring to school. During his time at CMU, he says, a few of his friends who had cars could never find parking and rarely drove for that reason. And with plentiful public transportation nearby, a car wasn’t necessary anyway. “For some schools, a car is a must, but for many it’s more hassle than help,” says Wang.

10 Things You Really Don’t Need to Bring to College

Obviously, those are a few extreme examples of things students should never bring to a college dorm – at least without confirming there is a real need first. Here are 10 more items no one needs to bring to school — like, ever.

Appliances

Want to bring your own toaster oven, Ninja blender, and coffee maker to college? Chances are, you won’t need them. According to Eric Rosenberg of PersonalProfitability.com, he’s seen a lot of people bring expensive appliances into dorms that already supplied them.

“Some ended up just stashing them in their tiny closets for the year, wasting both money and precious dorm room space,” explains Eric. The lesson: Always look into what your room comes with before shopping.

Excessive Dorm Décor

Although it may be tempting to pack up your Taylor Swift collages and friend boards for college, you should probably think long and hard before you do. Furthermore, you definitely don’t need matching bedding so you coordinate with your roommate, says Kayla Sloan of Shoeaholicnomore.com.

“You don’t have to buy all new bedding and decor for only nine months of school, “says Kayla. “Chances are it won’t be used again after you move out of the dorm.”

Your Entire Wardrobe

Cathy Derus from FiscallyChic.com remembers when, during her first tour of her college dorm, one girl made a remark about the closet not even being big enough to hold her shoes. Since your dorm room will be small, you can only expect your shared side of the closet to be equally tiny.

To combat this issue, Derus suggests changing out wardrobes during trips home from school breaks. “Also, girls can rent formal dresses from Rent the Runway if they need something a little fancier,” says Derus. “It saves on space and the cost of buying a new dress!”

A Printer

Before you lug your giant printer up the stairs to your college dorm room, take a moment to think if that decision makes any sense at all. Although having your own private printing station might seem ideal, your school probably has a printing lab, right?

Plus, printers are big and bulky — having your own will likely take up too much space. So leave the printer at home, and instead, get used to footing it to the computer lab downstairs when you need to print out a paper.

Something to Organize Everything

If you love The Container Store and the organization section at Target, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, those type of purchases could be a huge waste of money depending on your dorm room and how it’s set up.

This is exactly what happened to Leah Ingram of SuddenlyFrugal.com after she helped her daughter pick out under-bed rolling storage units for school.

“It never occurred to us that her bed wouldn’t have legs nor would there be any room underneath,” admitted Leah. “Her dorm bed turned out to be more like a trundle bed with drawers where the extra bed would be.”

Leah’s advice: Scope out your dorm room before you start buying anything that is meant to save space.

An Ironing Board

Seems like a good idea. You want your clothes to look good, right? Unfortunately, you may have trouble finding the right spot for your iron and ironing board in the average dorm room, which is only 228 square feet.

Plus, how many college students actually end up ironing their clothes anyway? That’s a good question, and one Kate Horrell, Military Finance Coach, admits was relevant when she was in college. According to Kate, most college students mostly stick to jeans, shirts, and sweatshirts. “Unless you have an ironing habit now, you probably won’t pick one up in college,” she says.

Fancy Dishes and Cutlery

You might envision eating a lot of meals in your room when you head off to college, but that doesn’t mean you need full-on china and cutlery. You’ll probably eat the majority of your dorm-room meals on your bed, after all.

Instead of splurging for a dish set, invest in some disposables or easy-to-rinse plastic plates, silverware, and cups. You don’t want to spend a bunch of time doing dishes, nor will you have many places available to wash them anyway.

Sports Gear

Thinking you’re going to play a quick game of tennis and flag football with your friends at college and actually doing it are two entirely different things. And in a college dorm room, the last thing you need is a bunch of sports gear taking up precious space.

If you’re sporty, try borrowing stuff from dorm neighbors who weren’t wise enough to follow this advice. Or consider borrowing from your school’s athletic department.

Bulky Luggage

Since you’ll be returning home for college breaks, you’ll need luggage to transport your clothing, books, and other belongings. But here’s what you don’t need – bulky, oversized luggage that doesn’t bend or fold for storage.

Instead, opt for duffel bags or suitcases that fold down when not in use. You’ll save a ton of room that way, and still be able to bring your stuff home every few months.

Duplicate Items

But, what’s the worst thing you can bring to college? According to Linsey Knerl from Wisebread.com, it’s “anything your roommate is bringing already.”

As Knerl notes, modern technology has made coordinating who is bringing what much easier than it was say, 20 years ago. “Before we could meet our roommates online via Facebook or chat, it was more than a bit awkward to both show up with fridges or a TV,” says Knerl. “I don’t know what the modern day equivalent would be for that, but you definitely don’t need to be the dorm with 2 Xboxes.”

And that goes for all the other “big” stuff too.

What is the most wasteful thing you brought to college? Are you or someone you know guilty of any of these?

Related Articles:

• What to Bring to College: The Smart (and Frugal) College Checklist
• Should Your Parents Have a Say In Your College Major?
• 13 Great Part-Time Jobs for College Students

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Cut Your Water Bill by $250 a Year Without Changing Your Daily Routine

Saving water is a powerful way to reduce your utility costs. Why? You actually pay for it multiple times.

Think about it. Cold water costs you twice: when you bring it into your house, and when you send it down the drain. Hot water costs you at least one more time: when you heat it (and reheat it, with a standard water heater) with fuel.

While Google will give you about 300 million results for “how to save water,” most of them require you to change your behavior. If you can stay focused on a few of these strategies, like not running the faucet while brushing your teeth, you can save a significant amount of money — but it can be tough to stick to them.

Instead, or in addition, here’s how to lower your water bill without changing your behavior or routines. Yes, you’ll need to do a bit of work up front, but then you’ll never need to think about it again — and you’ll save money on every gallon of water you use.

Get a Smaller Water Meter

You probably aren’t an expert in the size of pipe your house needs, the diameter of your water main or the ideal meter for your use. That’s OK. Your water company should be.

The combination of these factors is generally referred to as your “service.” The size of your service, controlled by your meter, governs your water’s pressure and speed.

And these days, it also governs how much you pay. American Water, which operates in 47 states, charges different prices for different meter sizes in many of their jurisdictions, like California and New Jersey. Many other water utilities do the same, such as Las Vegas Valley Water District.

To decide what size meter to give you, a water engineer carefully measured your house, logged every apparatus, extrapolated your consumption and custom-designed a meter just big enough to supply your water. If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

No, you got whatever was on the truck that day, whatever the company had in the store room and whatever the employees thought would cause the least customer complaints — which tends to be a larger meter.

When I first moved into my home, I had a 1-inch meter. I didn’t care. Then the utility convinced the governing agency they should be allowed to charge “water criminals,” like myself, more money because we used larger meters than other customers.

It worked! I got a quarterly bill $60 higher than I ever had before. Being university trained in utility pricing, I read their price tariffs and regulatory filing to find out why. Answer: The meter charge.

I called to complain and asked to have the meter replaced with a smaller one. To my surprise, the representative tried everything you can imagine to convince me to keep my existing meter. These were my favorite reasons:

• “But sir, you could have a pool someday and if you want it to fill faster, you need a larger service.”
• “If you run a sprinkler system and have other things running, your pressure could be low.”
• “Your shower pressure won’t be as hard.”  
• “Filing a water bottle will take longer.”

Why would they want someone they just complained about to keep an oversized service?

• Bigger meter = higher flow = more water = more money for the company
• Replace meter = cost of person replacing meter and less money for the company

Think overdraft fees. Banks complain about overdrafts, but thrive on the fees. Cops hate criminals, but don’t have jobs without them. Get the idea?

Why You Should Reduce Your Service ASAP

Even if your rates aren’t structured this way today, they could change. And when they do, you’ll be stuck paying the higher bill until you reduce the size of your service — it will only affect future bills.

Having a smaller service means you’ll pay less in meter charges (as high as $20 per month in Iowa and $15 in New Jersey), you’ll use less water per minute on every faucet and you’ll pay less in sewer bills.

If your company charges for the swap, complain. In addition to sharing your frustrations with the company, let your state’s governing utility boards know by searching Google for “[state] utility board.”

Could your water pressure decrease with a lower flow rate? Maybe, though sometimes the pressure increases even with less flow, like putting your finger at the end of a hose. But after a week, you’ll be totally used to it — and glad you’ve got an extra $200 a year in your pocket.

Test Your Toilet

“If it’s brown, flush it down; if it’s yellow, let it mellow” is a popular strategy, though opinions vary on its effectiveness as a money-saving tactic. I have young kids who put things in the toilet, dogs that drink toilet water and a nose that smells urine, so I’m not on board with this one.

If you’re flush (pun intended) with cash, you could choose to buy a dual flush toilet. Or you can simply adjust your toilet to help you save money.

Put your toilet to the test: Food coloring in the top of the basin should not leak to the bowl without a flush. If it does, you probably need a new fill valve. They’re cheap and easy to change.

While you’re there, adjust the float to use less water. The lower the float ball is in a full tank, the less water it uses.

Depending on your toilet, you can adjust the screw at the top of the fill tube, screw in the float ball or change the clip lock setting. Set it as low as possible and work backwards until you can flush all waste with the smallest amount of water.

Since the EPA estimates bad toilets and settings cost consumers $110 a year from unnecessary water use, it’s worth taking a few minutes on these tweaks.

Ask for Freebies and Rebates

Need to replace a fixture, buy a new utility-related product or reduce your water use even further? See if you can get a deal at the same time.

Start by checking this list of rebates from the Environmental Protection Agency to see what products they recommend and what programs might be available in your area.

Next, gather phone numbers for your water, fuel and sewer companies. Call them and ask about any conservation or rebate programs on the list, or if they have any that aren’t listed.

Ask whether the fuel company provides free audits that include water-heating products. These packages usually include low-flow faucet aerators, shower heads, water-heater blankets and pipe insulation.

If you’re already in great shape and can’t get additional savings from this post, bookmark it for the next time you move so you can start off on the right foot.

Your Turn: What other non-behavior-dependent ways do you save money on water costs?

Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!

Cade Simmons works in energy efficiency oversight and has a Master’s degree in Economics specializing in public utility regulation from New Mexico State University.

The post Cut Your Water Bill by $250 a Year Without Changing Your Daily Routine appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Ultimate guide to online shopping

THE internet is home to brilliant bargains on everything, if you know where to look. Brush up your knowledge of the best places to buy online with our essential guide.

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