Consumer World Original

Mouse Print*-- Study: Consumer Attitudes About Shrinkflation

A new survey reveals how aware shoppers are about product shrinkage, what they do when they spot it, and whether they would just rather have manufacturers raise the item's price rather than shrink it. That story is in Mouse Print* this week.

Top 10 Tips to Bag a Black Friday Bargain

Check out our annual list of tips to help you snare the best deals during Black Friday sales.

30 Ways to Save on Prescriptions

Some prescriptions can be dirt cheap, but others can break the bank. This story shows you many ways to cut your prescription drug costs. For example, manufacturers often have programs offering discount cards or coupons that many people may not be aware of. A friend was able to get a $2,000 a month drug for nothing under one of these programs. Even better, the $2,000 value of each prescription helped lower his conventional (non-Medicare) medical insurance deductible and out-of-pocket maximum for the year. A warning for Medicare recipients who do not have drug coverage in their advantage or supplement plan: there is a one-percent per month penalty for that.

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Consumer Protection Faces Uncertain Future

Over the past few years, consumer agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have come up with various regulations and actions designed to protect consumers. These include bans on hidden junk fees and fake product reviews, requiring all inclusive pricing of airfares, requiring one-click cancellation of subscriptions, cracking down on annoying robocalls, requiring cable companies to clearly disclose all prices in advance, securing billions in refunds for victims of scams, and more. The worry is with a change in administrations, this new golden age of consumer protection may be dismantled.