Consumer World

Week of December 25, 2023
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Consumer News Quickies

15 Year-End Financial Tasks To Do
South Korea to Require Shrinkflation Notice on Packages

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Top Stories

Consumer World Original

Mouse Print*-- Here We Shrink Again - Year-End 2023

mouse print Ho, ho, ho... We end the year with a special double-dose of downsized products demonstrating how shrinkflation continues to nibble away at our wallets. (Our next new Mouse Print* story will be published on January 1.) That is our Mouse Print* story this week.

Cheapest States to Live In

money Based on the cost of living index, USA Today says that Mississippi is the least expensive state to live in. Here are the rest of the top 10 cheapest states.

Final Week...
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MrConsumer For 28 years, Consumer World has served readers with the latest consumer news, money-saving tips, and independent investigations on topics like shrinkflation and digital coupons. It is your generosity that keeps this site and Mouse Print* available as free consumer resources. So MrConsumer turns to you and humbly asks for your support again this year. Your gift will be most appreciated.

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Return Policy Rules Get More Strict, Costly

return policy Consumer World is pleased to present our 20th annual survey of retailers' return policies. This year, more stores have added fees if you return unwanted purchases by mail. And several big chains have shortened the window during which you can take advantage of their extended holiday return period.


Consumer Alert

Is Your Home a Porch Pirate Magnet?

UPS now uses artificial intelligence to figure out if your home is a likely target for porch pirates. It is called a Delivery Defense score and if your home rates poorly, UPS may ask you to have your package delivered to a safer pickup location. You cannot look up your own home's Delivery Defense rating, however.


NOTE: We only feature free stories that are fully readable. If you are blocked, try a different browser and clear NYT cookies from it. Other newspapers may block you based on your repeated use of their site, or convert previously free stories to pay stories without notice.

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Bargain of the Week

TurboTax Deluxe with State - Lowest Price - Wed. Only

Wednesday, December 27 ONLY: Get TurboTax Deluxe with State AND a "free" $10 Amazon gift card for "only" $44.99 at Amazon -- the lowest price of the year. Beware: non-Prime members are erroneously being charged for shipping despite the order being over $35. Call customer service before completing your order.

Christmas Clearance

Next to Black Friday, this is MrConsumer's favorite sale of the year, particularly at Target and some drugstores. Target used to go up to 90% off on holiday goods first starting at 50% off (30% off for food). Last year, at least in my stores they never got to 90% off. They did 70% off for one day only - December 29th. Stores in an area seem to change discounts independently based on remaining merchandise. Walgreens will go up to 70% off after several weeks, as will Rite Aid (75% off). See if the store manager will give you exact dates. The CVS discount goes up too, but its saves some merchandise for Valentine's Day at full price.

Apply for a Target RedCard, and Get $50 off a $50 Purchase!

If you sign up for either a Target credit card, debit card, or reloadable (gift-like) card, you will get $50 off a $50+ purchase. For the credit/debit card, you'll get a coupon to use in-store or online for the $50-off bonus. For the reloadable RedCard you'll get a statement credit after you use the permanent card for a single $50+ purchase. The debit card is just like your ATM card, and the purchase amount comes out of your bank account. Remember, having a RedCard gets you an extra 5% off, free shipping, and 30 extra days for returns on most Target purchases. Read and follow the rules in the fine print. Offer ends December 30th.

Get a Cell Plan as Low as $5

MrConsumer has been a happy Tello customer for a few years now. They are a reseller using the T-Mobile network so you need a GSM-based phone. They just added more data to most people's plans without raising their already low prices.

My plan is $5 a month and now has 1 gig of data and unlimited texting. You can add monthly calling minutes in chunks to the plan under "Build Your Own Plan" for only a few dollars.

Alternatively, for low volume callers like me, you can buy 2000 minutes in their pay-as-you-go section (bottom of screen) for $20 that never expire. For every minute you talk a penny is deducted under that method.

If you want to splurge, you can customize your plan and get, for example, 2 gigs of data, and unlimited talk and texts for only $10 a month. Note: they do not add made-up junk fees onto their plan prices, but there may be a mandatory FCC fee on plans with monthly call allotments. If you sign up with this link (or use referral code P3F3SR3J ) you will get a $10 credit on your bill. They have great US-based customer service.

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See also: Hot Deals

Consumer Reports

What Brand of Butter is Best Tasting?

Consumer Reports taste testers tried a dozen brands of butter to see which one was most flavorful. Taking the number one slot: Finlandia. See how the others ranked.

More from Consumer Reports
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