Dr Phil Talks to the Octuplet Mom

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US Census: As Baby Boomers Age, Fewer Families Have Children Under 18 at Home

With declining fertility rates and the aging of baby boomers, the percentage of families with their own child living at home decreased to 46 percent in 2008, from 52 percent in 1950, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The findings come from America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2008, a collection of 2008 Current Population Survey (CPS) statistics on family and nonfamily households, characteristics of single-parent families, living arrangements of children and data on married and unmarried couples. The CPS has been conducted annually since 1940.

“Decreases in the percentage of families with their own child under 18 at home reflect the aging of the population and changing fertility patterns,” said Rose Kreider, family demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau. “In 2008, not only were baby boomers old enough that most of their children were 18 and over, but they were having fewer kids than their parents, as well.”

In 1950, 52 percent of family households had their own child under 18. During the years when the baby boomers were young, this percentage increased, reaching 57 percent in the early 1960s. In 2008, however, when the baby boomers were about ages 44 to 62, and likely to be householders themselves, the percentage of families with a child had declined to 46 percent.

Figure 1 [PDF] and table FM-1 [Excel] show the percentage of family households with children under 18 from 1950 through 2008.

Among the factors that contributed to the decrease in the percentage of family households with children under 18:

• Increases in longevity — The average numbers of years of life remaining at age 30 increased about three years, comparing those age 30 in 1960 with baby boomers who turned 30 in 1980 (Table 11 [PDF], U.S. Life Tables, National Center for Health Statistics). As adults live longer, a larger proportion of married couple households will be those who are older and either childless, or whose adult children live elsewhere. In 1968, 29 percent of married men were age 55 and over, as were 22 percent of married women. In 2008, 38 percent of married men were 55 and over, as were 33 percent of married women.
• Increases in childlessness — The percentage of women age 40 to 44 who were childless increased from 10 percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2006. (Supplemental Table 1 [Excel], U.S. Census Bureau).

Other highlights from America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2008 include:

• The median age for men at first marriage was 27.4 years. For women, the median age at first marriage was 25.6.
• The percentage of family households with children under 18 in 2008 that had three or more of their own children present was 21 percent in both 1998 and 2008.
• The percentage of adults ages 45 to 49 who were married varied by race and ethnicity. For example, among women 45 to 49, 79 percent of Asians, 69 percent of white non-Hispanics, 62 percent of Hispanics and 43 percent of blacks were married.
• In 2008, 66.9 million opposite-sex couples lived together — 60.1 million were married, and 6.8 million were not.
• The United States had an estimated 5.5 million “stay-at-home” parents: 5.3 million mothers and 140,000 fathers.
• The percentage of children living with two parents varied by race and origin. Eighty-five percent of Asian children lived with two parents, as did 78 percent of white non-Hispanic children, 70 percent of Hispanic children and 38 percent of black children.
• About 9 percent of all children (6.6 million) lived in a household that included a grandparent. Twenty-three percent of children living with a grandparent had no parent present.
• In 2008, 6 percent of white non-Hispanic children lived in a household with a grandparent present, compared with 10 percent of Hispanic children, and 14 percent of both Asian and black children.

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How to Do the Ice Cube Mentos Prank

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

We all know what happens when Diet Coke and Mentos mix together - you get an eruption of soda. But by freezing the Mentos, you can delay the explosion and watch an unsuspecting victim's eyes widen as their drink suddenly overflows!

Steps

1. Add water to an ice cube tray about halfway in each cube hole. Place it in the freezer and chill the water so that it's almost freezing, but not solid yet.
   
2. Add a Mentos to each cube hole. If the water is not cold enough, the Mentos will dissolve and the trick won't work.
   
3. Place the ice cube tray back in the freezer until you get regular ice cubes. You'll see that the Mentos is solidified in the ice cube.
   
4. Pour a glass of Cola and drop some Mentos ice cubes into the glass.
   
5. Wait until the ice has melted. At this time, the real Mentos will be in contact with the soda and will make the soda overflow out of the cup.
   

Video

Warnings

• Be sure that you're in a place (i.e. outside or in a room with easy-to-clean floors) where you or your "victim" won't mind cleaning up a lot of spilled soda!
  

Things You'll Need

• Cola
  
• Freezing water
  
• Ice cube tray(s)
  
• Mentos candy
  
• Cup/glass
  
• Freezer
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Make a Diet Coke and Mentos Rocket
  
• How to Make Diet Coke Explode
  
• How to Make a Prank Call
  
• How to Create a Cool Desktop Prank
  

Sources and Citations

• VideoJug's How to Set Up the Mentos Ice Cubes Prank - Original source of information, shared with permission
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Do the Ice Cube Mentos Prank. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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Your Access to Free Credit Reports

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been sued or arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

Here are the details about your rights under the FCRA and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, which established the free annual credit report program. The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

To order, visit annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The form is on the back of this brochure; or you can print it from ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. The law allows you to order one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months.

Bankrate.com;7 ways to be credit-stupid

1.	Close credit card accounts
2.	Let credit cards collect dust
3.	Run up high balances
4.	Apply for new credit repeatedly
5.	Don't pay fines or noncredit-card bills
6.	Ignore mistakes on your report
7.	Make late payments or skip them

How to get a good credit score

• Overcome a thin credit file • Get around a Catch-22 • Go for retail or gas cards • Consider secured cards • Get a bank loan • Try 'piggybacking' • Use alternative scores

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Fish Pedicures Banned in Fla

It had been a trendy way to get a pedicure.

The use of tiny, live carp to clean feet has been banned by the the Florida Board of Cosmetology.

nbcaction news

This is said to be a popular means for a pedicure in Asia. It works by having a client stick their feet (or even hands or other body parts) in a bowl or pool, and the small fish chow down on soft decaying skin.

Texas, Washington, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have also outlawed the practice. There's concern because there's no way to disinfect a pool of fish in between use


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Doing Federal Time in the US

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is responsible for the custody and care of more than 201,000 Federal offenders. Approximately 85 percent of these inmates are confined in Bureau-operated correctional facilities or detention centers. The remainder are confined through agreements with state and local governments or through contracts with privately-operated residential re-entry centers, detention centers, prisons, and juvenile facilities.

The Bureau's approximately 35,000 employees ensure the security of Federal prisons, provide inmates with needed programs and services, and model mainstream values.

Inmate Population
Total population: 201,456
Total sentenced population: 182,711
Inmates in BOP facilities: 165,442
Inmates in privately-managed secure facilities1: 22,680
Inmates in other contract facilities2: 13,334

1 Includes inmates housed in privately-managed secure facilities under contract with the BOP or with a state or local government that has an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the BOP.
2 Includes inmates housed in community corrections centers, home confinement, jail/short-term detention, contract juveniles, and long-term boarders.

Inmates By Security Level
Minimum: 16.8 %
Low: 38.2 %
Medium: 29.1 %
High: 11.3 %
Unclassified1: 4.4 %


Inmate Age
Average Inmate Age: 38

Citizenship
United States: 148,205 (73.6 %)
Mexico: 34,688 (17.2 %)
Colombia: 2,945 (1.5 %)
Cuba: 1,824 (0.9 %)
Dominican Republic: 2,933 (1.5 %)
Other/Unknown: 10,861 (5.3 %)

Inmates By Gender
Male: 188,187 (93.4 %)
Female: 13,269 (6.6 %)

Inmates By Race
White: 114,943 (57.1 %)
Black: 79,615 (39.5 %)
Native American: 3,496 (1.7 %)
Asian: 3,402 (1.7 %)

Offenses
Drug Offenses: 98,296 (52.5 %)
Weapons, Explosives, Arson: 28,253 (15.1 %)
Immigration: 19,824 (10.6 %)
Robbery: 8,868 (4.7 %)
Burglary, Larceny, Property Offenses: 6,703 (3.6 %)
Extortion, Fraud, Bribery: 9,124 (4.9 %)
Homicide, Aggravated Assault, and Kidnapping Offenses: 5,543 (3.0 %)
Miscellaneous: 2,046 (1.1 %)
Sex Offenses: 6,403 (3.4 %)
Banking and Insurance, Counterfeit, Embezzlement: 891 (0.5 %)
Courts or Corrections: 671 (0.4 %)
Continuing Criminal Enterprise: 554 (0.3 %)
National Security: 98 (0.1 %)

Bop.gov





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How to Go Green at Work

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Enjoying an eco-lifestyle means living greener in all areas of your life. You may be taking environmentally friendly steps at home, but are you also doing it at work?
People spend almost 90% of their lives indoors, and for those people who work inside that equates to about 40 or more hours at your desk, office or cubicle. So don’t you want your work space to be eco-friendly and energy efficient?

Steps

1. Conserve Your Computer's Energy. For many people with desk jobs the computer is absolutely necessary to get things done. It is estimated that people waste over $1 billion in electricity every year just in computer use! To help conserve energy for your computer you can:
   
   • Invest in an energy-saving computer, monitor and printer
     
   • Switch to energy-saving settings
     
   • Turn off your computer whenever you’re not using it
     
   • Set it to sleep mode when you are away for short periods of time
     
   
   
2. Reduce Your Paper Waste.. Do you really have to print out every email and handout? You can reduce paper waste by deciding to go paperless wherever possible. You can try to:
   
   • Keep copies of important emails, files, and more on your computer
     
   • Don’t get any extra catalogs or magazines mailed to your office
     
   • Get your check directly deposited
     
   • Send company updates through email instead of on paper
     
   • Review any documents online instead of printing them out
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Prioritize Your Paper Use. If you do use paper on a daily basis then you can make eco-friendly paper choices. Here are some things you can do:
   
   • Buy recycled and chlorine-free paper
     
   • Try paper made from organic products like bamboo, cotton or hemp
     
   • Print on both sides of the paper
     
   • Shred old paper to use as packing material
     
   • Save and reuse old boxes
     
   • Use old sheets of paper for scrap paper or note-taking
     
   
   
4. Recycle. There are many things in your office that you can recycle. If you don’t have a recycling station at work, start one on your own! You can get a few bins and post recycling guidelines above them. Some of them may include recycling:
   
   • Paper products like copy paper, envelopes, magazines, etc.
     
   • Cardboard boxes from shipped supplies
     
   • Soda cans and plastic bottles
     
   • Aluminum foil
     
   • Plastic bags
     
   • Ink cartridges
     
   
   
5. Reduce Your Printer Use. The printer is one of the most used office items. Every day it cranks out tons of important faxes, emails and other documents. Here are some ways you make your printer use greener:
   
   • Try not to print in color
     
   • Use a printer that does double-sided copying
     
   • Print in draft mode
     
   • Use old paper with extra space to print small documents
     
   • Recycle ink and toner cartridges
     
   
   
6. Maintain Healthy Air Flow. It’s already bad enough that you have to worry about air pollution every time you walk outside, but it’s also a big priority when you work inside. Here are some ways that you can maintain a healthy air flow in your office:
   
   • Use non-toxic cleaning products
     
   • Open your windows to increase air flow
     
   • Don’t smoke in or near the office
     
   • Never bring any type of aerosol can to work
     
   • Use an air purifier to get rid of contaminants
     
   
   
7. Travel With Care. The first part of your work day starts with you getting to work, and for many people that means driving. Cars emit tons of carbon dioxide gases into the air, contributing to global warming. Here are some things you can do for a green ride:
   
   • Join a ride share group
     
   • Take the train, bus or subway
     
   • Ride a bike or walk if you live close enough
     
   • Invest in a green car like a hybrid
     
   • Reduce your travel by working from home whenever possible
     
   
   
8. Green Your Desk...Literally. Get a plant and place it on or near your desk. Or, even better, buy plants for all of your neighbors. They will not only see this as a friendly gesture, but they’ll also have cleaner air to breathe! Plants absorb indoor air pollution and increase the flow of oxygen, so get a green accessory to compliment your desk!
   
9. Eat Healthier.Everyone looks forward to their lunch break. If you manage to save money by not going out to eat every day then you probably pack your lunch. You can follow these lunch tips to have healthier eating habits:
   
   • Pack your lunch in a reusable lunch bag or box
     
   • If you bring your lunch in a paper or plastic bag, recycle it
     
   • Use containers and silverware that can be washed and used again
     
   • Switch to organic food and drinks
     
   • Drink from the fountain instead of brining water bottles
     
   • Recycle your soda cans, bottles and aluminum foil
     
   • Use a washable napkin instead of paper towels
     
   • Walk to a lunch eatery if you forgot to pack it
     
   
   
10. Spread the Word. The best way to stay involved in the green scene at work is to get others involved. Share your practices and wisdom with your boss and coworkers. You can do this by:
    
    • Encouraging the office to join or start a recycling program
      
    • Purchasing company carbon credits
      
    • Buying eco-friendly office products
      
    • Setting up a carpool calendar
      
    • Getting everyone to pack their lunch and eat together
      
    
    

Related wikiHows

• How to Be Green
  
• How to Reduce Your Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  
• How to Save Energy in Four Easy Ways
  
• How to Become Involved in The Green Wave
  
• How to Create Urban Rainforests
  

Sources and Citations

• Green Student U, an eco-friendly blog website for college students, is the original source for this article, shared with permission.
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Go Green at Work. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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Girl turns in mom for smoking pot

In Nebraska, a 15-year-old girl could not handle her mother's alleged pot smoking.

She turned in her mom for what she says her mom was doing; smoking marijuana in front of her.

The 32-year-old mom was also cited on suspicion of child abusein addition to marijuana possession.
The girl told authorities where they could find the woman's drug paraphernalia and marijuana. One gram of pot was found.

The woman has two other children living in the home.




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Learn About Life Insurance

According to the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), if someone depends on you financially, the likelihood is that you need life insurance. Life insurance provides cash to your family after you die. The money your beneficiary receives (the death benefit) can be an important financial resource. It can help cover daily living expenses, pay the mortgage and other outstanding loans, fund tuition, and ensure that your family is not burdened with debt.

Having a life insurance policy could mean your spouse, children or other beneficiary would not have to sell assets to pay bills or taxes. Another advantage is that beneficiaries will not have to pay federal income taxes on the money they receive. Everyone's life insurance needs are different. A life insurance agent or financial advisor can help you determine what level of protection is right for you and your family based on your financial responsibilities and sources of income.

There are two basic types of life insurance:

• Permanent insurance provides lifelong protection as long as premiums are paid. It may build up cash value over time and the cash value grows tax deferred. With all permanent policies, the cash value is different from the face amount. Cash value is the amount available if you surrender (cancel) your policy before death. The face amount is the money that will be paid to your beneficiary if you die. Your beneficiary does not receive the cash value of your policy.
• Term insurance provides protection for a defined period of time-- from one to 10, 20, or even 30 years-- and pays benefits only if you die during that period. Term insurance is often used to cover financial obligations that will disappear over time, such as tuition or mortgage payments. Premiums for term insurance either can be fixed for the length of the term or can increase at a point specified in the policy. They also can be less expensive than for a cash value policy.

Make sure that you fully understand any policy you are considering and that you are comfortable with the company, agent, and product. Most states require insurers to provide a buyer's guide to explain life insurance terms, benefits, and costs. Ask your agent for a copy of the company's guide.

You may wish to visit the Consumer Action web site's life and disability insurance web page for more information.

Some states offer state-sponsored life insurance. Check with your state insurance regulator to find out what life insurance plans are offered in your state.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) also offers life insurance programs for veterans and servicemembers. Visit the VA's life insurance web site for more information.

You may also wish to view information about the following topics:

• Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program
• Insurance Regulations
• Complaints: Insurance Companies
• How Other Types of Insurance Work with Medicare
• Unclaimed Assets

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Girl Scouts Robbed of Cookie Money!

Say what you want about the boxes and the quantities getting smaller while the prices go up. It's all for a good cause.

In San Antonio, a man robbed the girl scouts of their cookie money. That's hundreds of dollars.

According to WOAI TV,


"We were finishing up our shift and we were packing up our cookies," explained the girls' troop leader.

That troop leader, who doesn't want to be identified, said a man then walked up to their table.

"I didn't even think he was looking at the money," said told News 4 WOAI. "I thought he was leaning over to look in the box, like 'What do you have in there?'"

She said then all of a sudden, the man snatched their bag of money and ran off. He got away with about $250. The troop leader chased him, but he got into a car with a woman and drove off.

"The one thing that I was screaming was to call the police, and I just kept yelling out the license plate number," the troop leader recalled.

News 4 WOAI tracked that license plate number to a home on the West Side. Our crew knocked on the door, but no one answered.

"I try to teach the girls that nothing's given, you have to earn it, said the troop leader. "And they earned that money."

The little girls had to learn a very grownup lesson, but intend to continue selling cookies to try to earn more money.

"Both little girls are scared," explained the troop leader. "And they've learned, firsthand, there are bad people out there."

News 4 WOAI learned the man accused of taking the money was inside the Walgreens store prior to the theft. Police are now reviewing surveillance video from inside the store.


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NY Post chimp cartoon causes an uproar

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Patent Versus Trademark Versus Copyright

Got a really good idea that you want to protect?

Patent

A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments may be available.

The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the USPTO.

There are three types of patents:

1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof;

2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and

3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.

What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?

A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms “trademark” and “mark” are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.

Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the USPTO. The registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks is described on a separate page entitled “Basic Facts about Trademarks” (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/).

What Is a Copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly.

The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html



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Postage to increase again

The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service have approved new prices for mailing services, including a 2-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail stamp to 44 cents. Prices for mailing services are reviewed annually and adjusted each May. The new prices will go into effect Monday, May 11.

Customers can continue to mail letters at today’s prices by purchasing the Forever Stamp before May 11. Forever Stamps were developed to help consumers ease the transition during price changes. Forever Stamps do not have a denomination and will be honored whenever they are used with no need for additional postage for a one-ounce letter mailing. On May 11 the price of the Forever Stamp will be 44 cents.

The new prices are available at usps.com/prices.

Rising operational costs make the price adjustments necessary; the increase tracks the 2008 rate of inflation. “The Postal Service is not immune to rising costs which are affecting homes and businesses across America today,” said Postmaster General John Potter. “Even with the increases, the Postal Service continues to offer some of the lowest postage prices in the world.”

For the average household, the First-Class Mail stamp price change will represent an additional $3 over the course of the year. When compared to annual increases in other household expenses, such as groceries, healthcare and utilities, the Postal Service continues to be an economical choice for shipping and mailing during tough economic times. For First-Class Mail, there will be no changes in the current additional ounce price, which remains at 17 cents.

The Postal Service has taken bold steps in recent years to adapt products and services to meet changing economic realities and the ways businesses operate and consumers live today. In Post Offices across the country and through usps.com, the Postal Service offers businesses and consumers easier access, quicker transactions, greater convenience and on-time delivery. The Postal Service set record on-time delivery scores for the delivery of First-Class Mail in 2008 and was voted by consumers as the most trusted government agency for the fifth consecutive year.

# # #

The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service have approved new prices for mailing services, including a 2-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail stamp to 44 cents. Prices for mailing services are reviewed annually and adjusted each May. The new prices will go into effect Monday, May 11.

Customers can continue to mail letters at today’s prices by purchasing the Forever Stamp before May 11. Forever Stamps were developed to help consumers ease the transition during price changes. Forever Stamps do not have a denomination and will be honored whenever they are used with no need for additional postage for a one-ounce letter mailing. On May 11 the price of the Forever Stamp will be 44 cents.

The new prices are available at usps.com/prices.

Rising operational costs make the price adjustments necessary; the increase tracks the 2008 rate of inflation. “The Postal Service is not immune to rising costs which are affecting homes and businesses across America today,” said Postmaster General John Potter. “Even with the increases, the Postal Service continues to offer some of the lowest postage prices in the world.”

For the average household, the First-Class Mail stamp price change will represent an additional $3 over the course of the year. When compared to annual increases in other household expenses, such as groceries, healthcare and utilities, the Postal Service continues to be an economical choice for shipping and mailing during tough economic times. For First-Class Mail, there will be no changes in the current additional ounce price, which remains at 17 cents.

“Whether you’re a consumer or run a business, the Postal Service continues to offer a good deal during a time when we’re all looking for ways to save,” said Stephen M. Kearney, senior vice president for customer relations. “Our range of shipping and mailing options and low prices make the Postal Service the smart and easy choice.”

The Postal Service has taken bold steps in recent years to adapt products and services to meet changing economic realities and the ways businesses operate and consumers live today. In Post Offices across the country and through usps.com, the Postal Service offers businesses and consumers easier access, quicker transactions, greater convenience and on-time delivery. The Postal Service set record on-time delivery scores for the delivery of First-Class Mail in 2008 and was voted by consumers as the most trusted government agency for the fifth consecutive year.

# # #


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The New Lincoln Penny

The bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln will be honored in 2009 on four new pennies depicting the life of the nation's 16th president. Authorized by Public Law 109-145 (.PDF document), the four new designs celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth as well as the 100th anniversary of the production of the Lincoln cent (penny):

• First design - "Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky"
• Second design - "Formative Years in Indiana"
• Third design - "Professional Life in Illinois"
• Fourth design - "Presidency in D.C."

The new designs will be issued in approximately three-month intervals throughout the year. The first redesigned penny will be put into circulation on February 12, 2009. These designs represent the first change in the Lincoln cent in half a century. The last time the penny underwent a significant change was in 1959, when the replaced Brenner's Wheat Cent with Frank Gasparro's depiction of the Lincoln Memorial for the sesquicentennial (period of 150 years) of Lincoln's birth.

2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Program

2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Obverse

Obverse: Bears the likeness of President Lincoln
Engraver: Victor D. Brenner

Uncirculated
Reverse: [Hi-Res Image : 406 KB]

Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky Reverse

Designer: Richard Masters
Sculptor: Jim Licaretz
Description: This reverse features a log cabin that represents Lincoln’s humble beginnings in Kentucky.

Uncirculated
Reverse: [Hi-Res Image : 2.06 MB]

Formative Years in Indiana Reverse

Designer: Charles Vickers
Sculptor: Charles Vickers
Description: This reverse depicts a young Lincoln educating himself while working as a rail splitter in Indiana.

Uncirculated
Reverse: [Hi-Res Image : 1.23 MB]

Professional Life in Illinois Reverse

Designer: Joel Iskowitz
Sculptor: Don Everhart
Description: This reverse depicts the young professional Abraham Lincoln in front of the State Capitol in Illinois.

Uncirculated
Reverse: [Hi-Res Image : 1.36 MB]

Presidency in DC Reverse

Designer: Susan Gamble
Sculptor: Joseph Menna
Description: This reverse features the half finished United States Capitol dome.

Uncirculated
Reverse: [Hi-Res Image : 1.75 MB]

Presidents Day

Presidents' Day is observed the third Monday of February to honor the legacy of all past presidents of the United States. Before 1971, February 12 and February 22 were observed as federal public holidays to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22). In 1971, President Richard Nixon proclaimed one single federal public holiday, the Presidents' Day.

THE PRESIDENTS

Since George Washington's election in 1789, 43 men have served as President of the United States. They have led in times of peace and war, hardship and plenty, and served in tenures as short as one month and as long as 12 years. Learn more about America's Presidents.

1. George Washington	2. John Adams	3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison	5. James Monroe	6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson	8. Martin Van Buren	9. William Henry Harrison
10. John Tyler	11. James Knox Polk	12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore	14. Franklin Pierce	15. James Buchanan
16. Abraham Lincoln	17. Andrew Johnson	18. Ulysses S. Grant
19. Rutherford B. Hayes	20. James Garfield	21. Chester Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland	23. Benjamin Harrison	24. Grover Cleveland
25. William McKinley	26. Theodore Roosevelt	27. William Howard Taft
28. Woodrow Wilson	29. Warren Harding	30. Calvin Coolidge
31. Herbert Hoover	32. Franklin D. Roosevelt	33. Harry S Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower	35. John F. Kennedy	36. Lyndon Johnson
37. Richard Nixon	38. Gerald Ford	39. James Carter
40. Ronald Reagan	41. George H. W. Bush	42. William J. Clinton
43. George W. Bush	44. Barack H. Obama

whitehouse.gov


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Cat On Top Of A Pole

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Great Careers for 2009

According to the 2009 Robert Half International Salary Guide, careers in business, IT, and law are among the fields expected to yield top careers in the coming year. Learn more about which careers are expected to see the most growth, the highest starting salaries, and the best opportunities.

CIOs were asked which technical skill sets are in the greatest demand in their IT departments. Their response? Administration, support, and management skills are golden. The top responses, according to Robert Half International: are generally considered ample training for administrators. Desktop support professionals in smaller companies may only hold a two-year associate's degree in the field.

The top creative jobs for 2009, according to The Creative Group:

• Graphic designer: $36,000-$49,250
• Desktop publisher: $35,500-$45,000
• Motion graphics specialist: $56,000-$87,500

Remember, those are just starting salaries. While no career training program can guarantee a particular salary, the portfolio-building training you receive while working towards a degree in graphic design, desktop publishing, or animation can help prepare you to enter the field with confidence.

Here are a few special skills in demand in 2009, according to a survey by Office Team:

• Technical aptitude: Including Microsoft Office as well as accounting, payroll, and human resources applications
• Multilingual ability: Communicating with culturally diverse consumer groups is the biggest drive behind bilingual and multilingual hiring
• Continuing education: Hiring managers like to see employees continue their education by securing Certified Professional Secretary (CPS), Microsoft Business Certification, and other training.
  

With specialized training in the form of an associate's degree, you may land a job as a paralegal, legal secretary, legal receptionist, or office clerk. Check out some of the salaries that may be available to graduates with the two-year degree:

• Case Clerk (zero to two years' experience): $32,000-$41,000
• Junior Paralegal (two to three years' experience): $40,500-$49,200
• Legal Receptionist: $26,750-$38,000
• Office Clerk: $27,000-$37,250
  

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FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly...

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Which TV stations will end analog service by February 17?

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says stations nationwide can begin broadcasting only digital television (DTV) on February 17, 2009. On June 12, 2009, analog signals will cease to exist as all stations must broadcast only DTV at that time. The DTV Delay Act, a law passed by Congress, pushed the date of the DTV transition back from February 17 to June 12.

The FCC issued a Public Notice (.PDF document) to provide a list of stations that plan to make the switch before the required June 12 deadline. You may wish to view a list of all TV stations (in bold) ending analog service on or before February 17 (.PDF document). The FCC denied permission for 123 of these stations to make the switch to digital on February 17 in order to ensure that citizens who are not prepared for the switch will not lose access to public safety information and local news. These stations are able to appeal the FCC's decision if they can certify that other measures will be taken to provide citizens with news and public safety alerts, or that other extraordinary circumstances will occur. You may wish to view a list of the stations that were denied permission to transition on February 17 (.PDF document).

TV stations in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Hawaii are serving as test markets and have already switched solely to digital broadcasting.

How This Will Affect You
You WILL be affected if you currently watch TV on an analog TV that does not have a built-in digital tuner and your TV is not connected to cable, satellite or some other pay TV service. You can search to see if your TV has a built in digital tuner. To avoid losing service, you will need to buy a digital-to-analog converter box, buy a TV with a built-in digital tuner or subscribe to a pay TV service like cable or satellite.

You WILL NOT be affected if you own a television with a digital tuner or subscribe to a pay TV service.

Converter Box Coupons
You can buy a digital-to-analog converter box from various retailers. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program to help consumers with the cost of buying converter boxes. The program has reached its funding limit, and there are no coupons available at this time. You can still apply for a coupon. You will be placed on a waiting list and will receive a coupon if money becomes available.

If you would like to be on the waiting list, you may apply for coupons online or call 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009). English-speaking TTY users may call 1-877-530-2364, and Spanish-speaking TTY users may call 1-866-495-1161.

Installing Your Converter Box
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) provides a Quick Start Guide to installing a converter box, with instructions in English (.PDF document) and instructions in Spanish (.PDF document). Or, you can watch an instructional video.

After hooking up a converter box to your TV set, or installing a new digital television, you will need to scan (also known as "auto-tune") for new channels to ensure you receive all of the digital stations broadcasting in your area.

If you have a VCR, the input to the VCR must be connected to the output of the DTV converter box. You must set the tuner in the DTV converter box to the channel you want to record prior to the start of each recording period programmed in the VCR.

Antennas and DTV
For information on how to test your antenna to make sure it will receive the digital signals being broadcast in your area and for help with reception problems, please visit the FCC's Antennas and DTV web page or the Choosing an Antenna page from the National Association of Broadcasters. If you are still having problems with reception, the NTIA also recommends that you call your local broadcast station. You may look in the phone book or use an Internet search engine to locate contact information for broadcast stations.

For More Information
You may wish to view answers to frequently asked questions about DTV, or visit the following web pages for more information:

• DTVAnswers.com
• DTVTransition.org
• What is Digital Television?
• Spanish Version of DTV.gov
• Moving from Analog to Digital TV
• Digital Television: What Every Consumer Should Know (.PDF document)

You may also contact the FCC by e-mail at DTVinfo@fcc.gov or by phone at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322). TTY users may call 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322).

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Get a Great Deal on a Car

by Center for the Study of Services

The Center for the Study of Services, an independent nonprofit consumer group, operates a service used by many thousands of customers each year to get great prices on new cars. See the “Money-Saving Help” list on the back of this pamphlet for more information. You can use the same general approach and get a very good price on your own. What follows is advice that comes out of the experience of this service.

To get a good price, you need simply set up a competitive bidding process. You have to be careful, thorough, and persistent, but you don’t have to know all the intricacies of the car business.

It’s best to conduct the bidding process by phone. If you try to do it in person, you’ll waste many hours and you’ll have difficulty persuading salespersons that you’re really serious about leaving and getting other dealers’ prices.

Get each dealer to bid an amount above or below the “factory invoice price.” The factory invoice price is the same for all dealers. So if one dealer bids $500 above invoice and a second bids $500 below invoice, you’ll know the second is $1,000 lower priced than the first. The “Money-Saving Help” list on the back of this pamphlet tells you how you can get information on factory invoice prices.

But you don’t really have to have the invoice price information in advance; just explain to each dealer that you will expect to be shown the actual factory invoice for any car you consider buying. Get bids from at least five dealers. Talk only to a sales manager or fleet manager. Here’s the basic approach:

“I’m in the market for a (make/model/style) and I’ve made a list of dealers to call—including one that’s out of the local area. I’ve done some homework, and I know the approximate invoice cost of the car. What I’m doing now is calling each dealer on my list to find out what each wants as a markup or markdown from factory invoice cost. I would expect to be able to take my pick of any car on your lot of the make, model, and style I’m looking for at the markup or markdown you quote. So that everyone is on a level playing field, I’m calling each dealer only once, and I’m not saying what any other dealer is bidding. I assume you will let me see a copy of the invoice for any car I pick out to buy.

“Before we talk about your markup or markdown from invoice, tell me are there any charges that you will expect me to pay for advertising, document preparation, or other services even though they are not listed on the factory invoice? Also, are there any dealer add-ons, like rustproofing, pinstripes, or wheel locks, that I’ll be required to pay for?”

You may want some options that aren’t factory options. For example, some manufacturers don’t offer a radio or air conditioning as a factory- installed option on some basic styles. If you are interested in such dealer installed options on these cars, you’ll need to find out each dealer’s charge to provide them. Then ask:

“Is there a factory-to-customer rebate in effect on this car? Please don’t take any customer rebate into account in your bid; I assume I’ll get the rebate separately as a further discount. “Okay, I think that’s all I needed to go over. Now, would you like to give me a commitment as to exactly how much markup or markdown you’ll accept above or below all these costs we’ve just discussed?…

“What if I don’t see the car I want on your lot but I still want to buy my car from you? Will you exchange cars with another dealer in order to get me the car I want? Will you still honor the bid you just gave me if you have to get the car from another dealer? If not, how will you figure the additional charge for this dealer exchange? What if I want to factory-order a car? How will that affect your price commitment?”

You can go through this process with each dealership. Don’t be intimidated. If you don’t understand something or if answers seem fuzzy, ask again. You will almost certainly save hundreds of dollars—many buyers will save thousands of dollars—by following this process.

What if the dealers won’t give me a price?

There are many excellent dealers that will respect your businesslike approach and respond in kind. But some dealers may not be so helpful. You may get responses like—

“I’ll beat any price you get. Call other dealers and then call me back.”

“What do you think is a fair markup? You tell me.”

“We don’t quote prices over the phone. Just come in and I’ll give you the best deal in town.”

Let these dealers know: if they don’t bid, they have no chance for your business. Be businesslike and persistent. If a dealer won’t give you a serious bid, go on to the next dealer.

What does “factory invoice price” really mean? Aren’t there hidden kickbacks?

The “factory invoice price” is theoretically what the dealer paid the manufacturer for the car. The dealer will actually have a printed invoice that shows this price figure. It is less than the “manufacturer’s suggested retail price” (MSRP), which is the “list price” shown on the window sticker of the car and is the price for which the manufacturer theoretically thinks the car should be sold to you.

Actually, almost all cars are sold below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, and some cars are sold to customers below the factory invoice price.

How is it possible for a dealer to sell a car below the factory invoice price? It is possible because the factory invoice usually doesn’t reflect the true cost to the dealer: dealers often get “holdbacks,” end-of-year carryover allowances, factory-to-dealer incentive payments, and other allowances that reduce the cost below what the factory invoice shows. Although the factory invoice price is not the dealer’s true cost, it is a useful figure because for identical cars it is the same for all dealers. That’s why you can use it as a reference point for dealers’ bids.

How do rebates and incentives work?

If a car manufacturer offers a factory-to-customer rebate, you will be able to get this rebate directly from the manufacturer, or you can have the dealer apply the rebate to your purchase price, further reducing the price of the car.

In contrast, a factory-to-dealer incentive payment, sometimes referred to as a “dealer rebate,” is money the factory gives the dealer for each car sold. The dealer can use the money for advertising, employee bonuses, extra profit, or many other purposes—or the dealer can pass this money along to you as a price reduction. One of the purposes of the bidding process is to use competition to prod dealers to give this incentive money—which sometimes is $500, $1,000, $2,000, or even more—to you as a price reduction. The “Money-Saving Help” list on the back of this pamphlet tells you how to get information on rebates and incentives.

What is a good price?

There’s no one answer to this question. The right price depends on supply and demand at the moment for the specific car you want. Some consumer-advice articles and books give guidelines like the following: “Shoot for $150 to $300 over invoice for a mid-size car in good supply.” Ignore such advice. The only way to know what you should pay is to get dealers to bid.

Do I have to know more about prices and costs to get a good deal?

The more you know about factory-to-dealer incentive payments, “holdbacks,” and other allowances the dealer will receive, the better off you’ll be. It is also helpful to know what the current market for cars is—the best prices cars like yours have recently been selling for. That gives you a “target” price to shoot for.

But without devoting your entire life to car buying, you can’t hope to know about all the available allowances and current selling prices. You have to count on competition—and the fact that no dealer knows how much the next dealer will give away—to drive down the price to a satisfactory level.

What if a dealer won’t live up to its bid?

This could be a problem for individual buyers, but it doesn’t have to be if you do the bidding properly. Be very businesslike in getting your bids. Deal only with a sales manager or fleet manager. Review the details of the bid by phone with the dealer. If you have access to a fax machine, have the low bidder fax a confirmation. If a dealer tries to renege or make changes, take your business to the next lowest bidder.

Do I need to know the exact options I want?

You are better off not to limit dealers’ bids to a specific set of options or a specific color. Get the dealership to make its markup or markdown commitment applicable to any car of your make, model, and style. This approach allows dealers to bid even if they don’t have a car with a specific option that you might have requested but that might not be of great importance to you.

Once you have your bids, you can call the low bidder to check what specific options and colors are available on cars that are on its lot or that it can get for you.

Shouldn’t I consider which dealer offers the best repair service?

Your new car warranty will require you to use a dealer for covered repairs. For this warranty service, you’ll naturally want to use a dealer that is conveniently located and that does high-quality repair work.

But you don’t have to have warranty repairs done at the dealership that sells you the car. Your manufacturer will reimburse any of its franchised dealers for your repair work.

So you can buy your car at the dealership that gives you the best price, then have repairs made at a different dealership if the other dealership is more convenient and does better work. A dealer with a good repair shop is likely to give you good service even if you didn’t buy there. Dealers make money on repairs and won’t want to lose your repair business.

How should I deal with financing, trade-in, and other extras?

You don’t want to lose the benefit of a good price on a new car by paying too much for financing, for an extended service contract, and for rustproofing, paint sealant, and other add-ons. You also don’t want to get too little for your used car trade-in, if you have one. Before you go to a dealer to buy a car, you must know the true market value of all these extras. To avoid confusion, don’t discuss any of these matters with a dealer until you have settled on the price of your new car.

Financing

Check the annual percentage rate (APR) currently being offered by banks and savings and loans in the area. If you are a member of a credit union, check its rate.

Car manufacturers often offer special financing plans as an alternative to customer cash rebates. Whether the financing plan is a better deal than the cash rebate depends on the size of the rebate, the manufacturer offered plan’s APR, the APRs available from other lenders, the amount you’ll be borrowing, and how long a period you’ll be borrowing for. On a 48-month loan, each percentage point you cut your APR is the equivalent of a car price discount of about $20.50 per $1,000 of loan.

To illustrate, assume you could get a $13,000, 48-month loan from a bank at a 10 percent APR, and that the special manufacturer-offered plan’s rate is 5.9 percent. The savings from using the factory plan would be estimated as follows: (10 minus 5.9) times 13 times $20.50 = $1,093.

Extended service contracts

Extended service contracts often yield substantial profits for the dealers that sell them and the extended service contract companies that back them. Many new cars are very reliable, so there are few service claims. Also, many cars now carry long manufacturer warranties, so many service problems are covered by the warranty, leaving little to be covered by the extended service contract.

If you decide, despite these facts, that you want to purchase one of these service contracts, check carefully exactly what is covered. Almost all contracts exclude from coverage maintenance and wear items, ranging from brake pads to exhaust system components to air filters. And many contracts exclude—or fail to include—electrical devices like power windows and radios, interior trim, gauges, and even air-conditioning systems. Some contracts cover the cost of towing and a rental car but others do not. And most contracts require you to pay a “deductible” amount for each repair—in some cases, as much as $100—before the service contract company pays anything.

Be sure to check whether you can get repairs done at the selling dealer only, at any dealer of your make of car, at any new car dealer, or at your choice of new car dealer or independent repair shop. Since many consumers are more satisfied with repairs at independent shops than with dealer repairs, it’s good to have the option of using an independent shop.

Also, check how the shop will be paid. Under some contracts, the shop simply bills the contract company; under others, you must pay the shop, then seek reimbursement from the contract company. Even if a service contract company says shops can bill it directly, check with repair shops you might use to be sure they will in fact bill the contract company; many shops have decided not to put up with the hassle of collecting from service contract companies.

Finally, be sure the service contract company is financially sound. Many of these companies have gone out of business in recent years, rendering their contracts worthless. You are probably safest with a service contract backed by an auto manufacturer, by a large insurance company, or by a long-established independent warranty company.

A key point: if you want an extended service contract, you don’t have to buy it where you buy your car or where you plan to have it serviced. For example, you can buy your car from one Ford dealer, buy a Ford-backed service contract from another Ford dealer, and have your car serviced under the contract by still another Ford dealer. There have been cases where one dealer was selling a contract for under $500 while another was selling the exact same contract for more than $1,000.

Before you go to a dealer to purchase a car, check other dealers for the prices and coverage of their service contracts. Then you’ll be able to use these alternative vendors either to negotiate a good service contract price from your dealer or to supply you a contract if your dealer won’t meet the competition.

Other add-ons

If a dealer has already applied rustproofing, paint sealant, or fabric protection, you will have to pay for these treatments, but they often are overpriced. When dealers have outside vendors come to the dealership to apply these treatments on cars, the total cost to the dealer is usually less than $50 per car. If a dealer tries to charge you more than that, you can regard the cost simply as an extra markup. It’s better to buy from a dealer that applies these treatments to cars only after a customer requests them.

With regard to rustproofing, there are special problems. Many manufacturers recommend against dealer-installed rustproofing. Most say such rustproofing is unnecessary, and some are concerned that it will block weepholes and actually contribute to rust. Burglar alarm systems, wheel locks, and other add-ons may be worthwhile, but find out what other dealers and independent shops will charge for these items, if you want them, before you go to the dealer where you plan to buy. You can use the other firms’ prices as a negotiating standard or you can simply buy the add-ons from the other firms.

Your trade-in

You can lose the benefit of a good deal on your new car if you don’t get a good price on the old car you are getting rid of. The “Money-Saving Help” list on the back of this pamphlet lists sources where you can check the approximate value of your used car. But the best way to get a solid estimate of your used car’s value is to take it to several new car or used car dealers to see what they will pay you for it. Simply tell each dealer that you plan to sell your car and that you are getting offers from at least 5 dealers. You can expect the dealer where you buy your new car to pay you roughly the same amount for your used car as these other dealers would pay. If not, you might as well sell your car to one of the other dealers.

Think of trading-in as really a sale of your used car at wholesale. If you’ve gotten a rockbottom price on your new car, the dealer won’t be able to pay you more than the true wholesale value for your used car. A dealer who offers a fat trade-in allowance must be making it up on the new car price.

Remember, you can sell your used car on your own to another consumer. By checking classified ads, you can get an idea how much your car might sell for. That will probably be more than a car dealer will give you for it, but selling the car on your own is more trouble than selling it to a dealer or trading it in. You have to advertise the car and you may have to deal with a number of potential buyers.

Is there a right time of the year to buy a new car?

There’s no sure way to predict. Guessing the car market is no easier than guessing the stock market. Prices simply respond to supply and demand. When there is excess supply, dealers drop their prices and manufacturers throw in incentive programs to get the market moving.

Should I shop on the Web?

There is much valuable information on car features, prices, and other matters on the Web. There are also highly advertised websites that will offer to sell you a car. In most cases, such sites will refer you to dealers that have paid the sites for the referrals. The prices that are offered may or may not be competitive. The only way to be sure you are getting a good price is to get prices from a number of dealers. You have to make them compete.

Should I shop outside my local area?

For most cars, it is sufficient just to reach out as far as necessary to include at least 5 dealers in the bidding process, but it won’t hurt to include one that’s a little farther away.

After a new year’s models come out, does it make sense to buy one of the previous year’s models?

If you plan to keep the car only for a couple of years, you’ll probably be better off with the new year’s model. You’ll pay more now for the new model, but two or three years down the line it will have a substantially higher resale value than the previous year’s model. In contrast, if you plan to keep the car 8 or 10 years, the previous year’s model may be a better bet. You’ll pay a lower price now for the older model and a decade from now the difference in resale value between the two years’ models will be small.

The best decision, of course, depends on how much less you can pay for the previous year’s model than for the new year’s model and on whether the new year’s model has new features that are important to you.

Money-Saving Help Choosing the car Most public libraries and major bookstores have extensive information to help you select the type of car that will fit your needs. Three good sources of comparative information on cars, each of which is published annually, are The Car Book by Jack Gillis, Consumer Reports magazine’s April issue, and the December issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine. Getting a firm price commitment The Center for the Study of Services offers the CarBargains and LeaseWise services (800-475-7283), which will get at least five dealers in your local area to bid to sell or lease a new car of the make, model, and style you want, using the methods described in this pamphlet. You get a price commitment sheet for each dealer. There is a fee for this service. You can also reach the Center for the Study of Services online at www.checkbook.org. Many credit unions, local American Automobile Association (AAA) chapters, membership warehouse stores, and employee associations have lists of dealers who have agreed to sell cars at a fixed markup from invoice. You can contact local organizations to see what programs are available. The dealers that participate in these programs may or may not pay to be listed, depending on the specific program’s arrangements. Getting general car price information Most libraries and bookstores, and many banks and credit unions, have books published by Pace Publications, St. Martin’s Press, and others showing list prices and invoice prices for new cars, and showing resale value estimates for used cars. Automotive News, available in some public libraries, gives information on rebate and incentive programs. For a fee, you can order printouts of new and used car pricing information to be delivered by mail or fax from Consumer Reports (800-933-5555). A number of Web sites have extensive free information on car prices and other matters. These include www.edmunds.com, www.autos.msn.com, www.carprice.com, and www.kbb.com.

This publication was developed by the Center for the Study of Services and is offered in cooperation with the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA.
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