Spending Smart: Gas-sipping Tips to Fuel Money Savings

By Gregory Karp

RISMEDIA, March 30, 2011—(MCT) —Four-buck gasoline is a reality again for some American motorists. Only this time, unlike 2008, the price spike follows years of deep national recession and its aftermath—including rampant job loss and home foreclosures. That means many households’ battered budgets are less able to absorb higher gas prices, especially when the costs of such necessities as food and clothing are rising fast too.

Paying $4 per gallon would mean a household spends $4,800 on gasoline in a year, assuming the household owns two vehicles getting 25 miles to the gallon and traveling 15,000 miles. There’s a one-in-four chance that the average price of gas nationwide this summer will exceed $4 per gallon, according to a forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

For consumers, a long-term solution to higher gas prices is to drive less or drive a more fuel-efficient vehicle. But in the short term it matters more “how” you drive than “what” you drive.

Here are suggestions for saving money on gasoline, with help from the U.S. Department of Energy, Consumer Reports, the Alliance to Save Energy and Edmunds.com.

• Don’t spill the coffee: The biggest savings will come from avoiding aggressive driving. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.

- Not sure what less-aggressive driving is? Imagine a lidless cup of coffee in your car’s cup holder. Drive like you don’t want to spill it. That means gradual acceleration and gentle braking.

- Potential savings vary widely but are significant when you curb aggressive driving. At $4 per gallon, gas savings could range from 20 cents to $1.32 per gallon, based on Energy Department figures. That’s a savings of $240 to $1,584 per year for that two-car household described earlier.

• Speed kills: Consumer Reports found that slowing from 75 to 55 mph boosted gas mileage 33 percent in testing performed on a family sedan and a large SUV.

• American idle: Idling yields zero mpg. Don’t bother warming up your car or keeping it running while waiting for passengers. The rule of thumb is to turn off your car if you know you’ll be stopped for more than 30 seconds, Consumer Reports says. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas idling than those with small engines.

• Trunk junk: An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your gas mileage by up to 2 percent, or about 8 cents per gallon. Roof junk—carrying large items on the roof of the vehicle—creates drag that can cut gas mileage by 5 percent.

• Use cruise: Cruise control is steadier on the accelerator pedal than you are. You might try it on lower-speed suburban roads. Edmunds.com called it a “surprisingly effective way to save gas.”

• Find cheaper gas: Compare gasoline prices with online sources like GasBuddy.com, GasPriceWatch.com or http://gasprices.mapquest.com/. Of course, you don’t want to drive far out of your way to save a few pennies. Savings will be lost traveling to a distant service station.

- Billshrink.com will send you an email alerting you to the lowest-price gas on your commute. Gas price information also is available via smartphone apps, such as Gas Buddy and AAA’s TripTik Mobile.

• Use GPS: Computerized travel directions from GPS devices or smartphones can help find efficient routes, even among multiple destinations. That can save time, hassle and gas. If you don’t have a device, use a website such as http://www.mapquest.com/routeplanner.

- Plotting a route by hand works, too, using a folding map or road atlas. Several devices and websites also alert you to traffic jams—a gas-mileage killer.

• Seek discounts: Be on the lookout for promotions and sales that allow you to acquire gasoline station gift cards for free or at a discount. For example, you might be able to redeem credit card rewards points for a gas card. And Choice Hotels, which owns such properties as Comfort Inn and Clarion, is offering a $50 gas card when you book two stays before May 4.

• Make radical changes: Change your work hours to avoid rush-hour traffic, use carpools and ride-sharing programs, take public transportation, walk or bike to work, or work from home.

• Shop online: If you spend evenings or weekends running errands to various stores, consider ordering products online and let someone else pay for the gas. That’s doable if you can find free shipping online or lower product prices to compensate for shipping fees. Free shipping often comes in the form of a coupon code used at online checkout. Use a search engine with keywords “coupon code” and the retailer’s name.

• More math: Make gas mileage a criterion as you select your next vehicle. The difference between choosing a vehicle that gets 20 mpg and 30 mpg is huge. Assuming $4-per-gallon gas, you would save $1,000 a year per car. Over the typical five years of ownership, that’s $10,000 saved for a two-car family.

• Stay cool: Some advice on saving gas is dubious. Don’t sweat the argument over staying cool with air conditioning versus lowering the windows. Edmunds.com testing found neither made a huge difference to gas mileage.

• Inflate tires: The U.S. Energy Department says underinflated tires can increase fuel consumption more than 3 percent. However, a test by Edmunds.com couldn’t find much effect on gas mileage, although properly inflated tires are important for safety and to reduce tire wear. Find the proper inflation level on the driver’s side door jamb or in the owner’s manual, not the maximum pressure embossed on the tire sidewall. Similar is the usual advice to replace air filters to save gas. On modern cars, replacing a filter will improve acceleration performance but not gas mileage.

• Gas additives: Advertisements for gasoline additives that supposedly deliver better mileage are exaggerations or outright lies, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has tested more than 100 of them. Consumer Reports’ tests of some gas-saving products that promise better fuel economy showed none worked, including Fuel Doctor and Fuel Genie. “Simply put: Don’t waste your money,” Consumer Reports says. Some “gas-saving” products may damage a car’s engine or cause substantial increases in exhaust emissions, according to the EPA.

Gregory Karp, the author of “Living Rich by Spending Smart,” writes for the Chicago Tribune.

WHY NOW MAY BE THE BEST TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE

By Steve Beede

As any observer of the real estate market knows, property pricing remains in the dumps with most sales being either short sales or foreclosures and REO's. While the economy in general appears to be recovering, real estate has been lagging behind. 2011 is projected to see increasing foreclosures as lenders clean-out their backlog of defaulted loans. Meanwhile, we're just starting into dealing with upside down commercial properties. For this reason, many economists project we won't really turn the corner on real estate recovery until 2014 at the earliest. So why might this be the best time to buy?


1. Properties are Undervalued - As reported in DSNews.com, based on the latest Case-Shiller home price index, a study by Capital Economics shows that in the fourth quarter of 2010, housing was 21 percent undervalued when compared with disposable income per capital. Looking at data included in the index published by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the firm found that housing in Q4 was 15 percent undervalued as measured against individuals' disposable income. Capital Economics says its results illustrate "housing is exceptionally undervalued," and the gap is getting bigger. In its third quarter 2010 report, the research firm pegged the Case-Shiller index readings as 19 percent undervalued and the FHFA index as 14 percent below what would constitute a balanced housing value in relation to income. This downward pressure on prices will continue as the foreclosures clear out, opening the gap even further.

2. Financing Remains Very Affordable - On top of low prices, mortgage rates have fallen back a bit in recent weeks, leaving them even further below the 20-year average of 7 percent. Last week marked the third consecutive week that rates have continued to decline. A national survey conducted by Freddie Mac shows that the average 30-year fixed-rate has dropped to 4.87 percent, while the 15-year fixed-rate has slipped to 4.15 percent. When you wrap declining home prices and historically low mortgage rates together, Capital Economics says, "The incredibly favorable affordability and valuation environment is the housing market's one big positive."

3. Government Financial Support May be Ending - As my readers know, the future of FNMA and Freddie Mac is in jeopardy. These Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE's) were originally created to provide a funding source for socially desireable but higher risk loans. When started, GSE's provided funds for 30% of all loans. Today, that number is 90% and steps are being taken in Congress to get government out of the lending business or at least scale it back. Last week, Freddie Mac published a Memo that starting June 1st, they will no longer purchase loans with loan-to-value ratios of less than 5%. As these GSE's retract from the marketplace, interest rates and down-payment requirements are likely to rise making home ownership less achievable.

4. Buy to Own or Invest, not to Flip - While there will always be opportunities for the knowledgeable and dilligent to make money flipping properties, declining prices and increasing loan costs will shrink the profit margins available as flippers find it harder to re-sell. In contrast, those who buy for their home or for rental investment will benefit from 1) locking in the profit margin between current prices and actual value; and 2) potentially higher rental values as the ranks of renters swell with people who cannot obtain a loan to buy their own home.

All of the above factors indicate that right now may be the ideal time to buy real estate, not for quick profit but for the long-term stability and financial growth that real estate has historically provided as a part of your overall financial plans.

Rocklin Market Trends

Roseville Market Trends

 

 

 

8 Areas to Pay Attention to When Updating Your Kitchen

RISMEDIA, March 5, 2011—(MCT)—What’s cooking in kitchens? Simpler styling, hidden appliances and a bit of color to make life interesting, to name just a few things. If you’re getting ready to update your kitchen, you may want to pay attention to the following trends that are popular in kitchen showrooms right now.

Clean lines
Fancy is fading. Kitchens are moving away from ornate looks such as Tuscan and French country in favor of more transitional design, a trend Betty Nairn of Cabinet-S-Top in Granger Township, Ohio, calls “simplistic luxury.”

The move toward clean lines and less ornamentation is due at least in part to homeowners thinking ahead, said Debra Shababy of Studio 76 Kitchens and Baths in Twinsburg, Ohio. Many are looking toward selling their homes as the economy improves, and they want their kitchens to appeal to a broad range of buyers.

Contemporary design is gaining interest, too—even in the Midwest, a region long tied to the traditional. Barbara Dillick of Kitchen Design Group in Bath Township, Ohio, figures people have become more comfortable with the spare, sleek look because they’ve been exposed to it through magazines, TV shows and upscale hotels.

Built-in dining
Eat-in kitchens are still in demand, but where we do that eating has changed. The bar-style counter is still popular, but it’s giving way in many new kitchens to an extension of the counter that looks more like a table.

Sometimes the extension is counter height; sometime it’s higher or lower. What sets it apart from bar seating is that it’s designed so the diners sit around the edge and face one another, rather than sitting in a line.

The idea of trading a table for a counter extension makes some homeowners nervous initially, Kitchen Design Group’s Deanna Carleton said. But the setup has advantages: It saves space, the extension can do double duty as an extra buffet surface and the deep base that holds the countertop provides a good amount of storage.

Safety, sustainability
More than ever, consumers are paying attention to the materials that go into their kitchens, Shababy said.

She said many respond positively when she suggests cabinet finishes with low levels of volatile organic compounds, vapors that contribute to indoor air pollution. They also like cabinets that are joined with dowels instead of glues containing formaldehyde.

Safety features are popular, such as lockouts that prevent stove burners from being turned on accidentally and mechanisms that keep drawers and cabinet doors from slamming on little fingers, Shababy said.

And people are leaning toward energy-saving features such as LED lights, as well as natural products such as wood floors and stone countertops. Granite is still the top choice for countertops, especially since common types have become affordable for most people, the designers agreed. But quartz—stone chips mixed with binders and colorants—is coming on strong, they said.

Lighting
Kitchen lighting isn’t just a matter of function anymore. It’s also an expression of personality, Carleton said.

Hand-blown glass shades on pendant lights, contemporary drum shades and elegant chandeliers are all ways homeowners can infuse their style into a kitchen without making a big commitment. After all, it’s easier and cheaper to change lighting fixtures than it is cabinets or countertops.

Layers of light continue to be common in kitchen design—for example, a ceiling fixture combined with under-counter task lighting and ambient lights behind a glass-front door. But gimmicky lighting schemes such as lighted toe kicks aren’t so popular, Dillick said.

LEDs are finding their way into the kitchen, mainly in under-counter lighting but also in recessed ceiling lights. They’re available in both cool and warm lights to fit different decors and preferences.

Nairn has also seen a big preference for natural lighting via windows, skylights or reflective light tubes.

Refrigerator options
The depth of the typical refrigerator poses a design challenge, particularly in smaller kitchens. Manufacturers have responded with shallower appliances and drawer models, which are often used in combination in the same room.

Counter-depth refrigerators are easier to fit into a kitchen because they don’t jut out into the room. But even though they’re often taller, they typically have less storage space, Nairn said. Some designers are dealing with space shortage by incorporating drawer refrigerators or freezers into the cabinets to hold additional food. Shababy said this kind of arrangement makes sense only when the drawer holds foods that are used mostly in a particular part of the kitchen—for example, a drawer for vegetables next to the sink where they’re cleaned and prepared.

Bars
Bars are coming out of the great room and into the kitchen. Dillick said many of her company’s clients are requesting bar areas in the kitchen where they can store everything in one convenient spot. Often, they’re taking out kitchen desks to free the space.

Bar cabinets that look like pantries are popular as well. Often they’re outfitted with a wine or beverage refrigerator; storage space for glassware, knives and a cutting board; and sometimes a sink.

Color
Most homeowners still tend toward the safe and neutral in their kitchen’s more permanent items—cupboards, countertops and flooring. But that doesn’t mean kitchens can’t be colorful.

Walls are sporting bold hues such as persimmon or pomegranate, Dillick said. Accessories and appliances bring spots of color, such as a range with colored knobs and a cobalt oven interior that “people fall in love with,” she said. It’s also popular to work a colorful painted cabinet or two in among white or natural wood cabinets to add a bit of interest.

Dillick has also seen the comeback of window seats, which provide the opportunity to add color in the form of fabric. Upholstered seats, pillows and window valances all add a bit of color and softness, which are often lacking in a room filled mostly with hard surfaces.

Individualism
All of the kitchen designers were hesitant to talk in terms of trends, because they believe a kitchen’s design should suit the individual. Kitchens are places where we spend a lot of time, so it’s more important to have what you like, not what’s popular, they said. “Really, it’s up to you,” Shababy said. “It’s whatever makes you happy being in your kitchen.”

(c) 2011, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.