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Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

AI is changing shopping. Will consumers buy in?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Carolyn Bennett remembers flipping through a yellow telephone book in the 1980s to find carpet stores and workers who refinished wood to help renovate her home.

Today, the 67-year-old uses a chatbot to help her shop. Bennett has turned to ChatGPT, which she refers to as "Chat," to find vendors for a kitchen renovation project, compare heat ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: How to Liquify Crystallized Honey and the Best Way to Store It

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

It's discouraging when you reach for the honey, only to discover it is no longer a smooth liquid, but all grainy -- like sugar. You may have even tossed it into the trash assuming that it had gone bad and was no longer edible. Truth be told, it is still perfectly delicious and nutritious. It's easy to turn crystallized honey back into its liquid...Read more

Dreamstime/TNS/TNS

NYC's Rent Guidelines Board, in unusual move, lowers proposed increases as mayoral election heats up

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

New York City's Rent Guidelines Board lowered the range of potential rent increases for some 2 million New Yorkers in an unusual redo vote on Tuesday — a move that comes as the issue of freezing rents has taken center stage in the contentious mayoral race.

The board reduced the proposed range of increases for rent-stabilized tenants with two-...Read more

Richie Lomba/Dreamstime/TNS

IRS Direct File will be cancelled if Republican tax bill becomes law

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The $3.8 trillion Republican tax bill that just passed the House includes a provision to kill off the popular IRS Direct File program, which lets people file their federal income tax returns for free online.

The bill still needs to pass the Senate to become law, but if the bill is enacted as currently written, the Direct File program is slated...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: How to Save Money and Get Financially Confident

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

For a good deal of my life, I lived under a dark cloud of fear that I would end up financially destitute -- a bag lady. Studies reveal that I'm not the only one. Most of us have felt that way, not because we're broke but because we lack confidence. That makes us timid, worried and financially insecure.

Look, we don't have to accept financial ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: How to Break the Plastic Wrap Habit in Your Kitchen (and What to Use Instead)

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Let's talk about plastic wrap. That clingy, crinkly roll we all keep in the drawer -- the one that never tears straight and sticks to everything except the bowl you're trying to cover. It's convenient until you stop and ask: Is this really the best we can do?

Spoiler: It's not. And honestly, it's time to break the habit.

THE TROUBLE WITH ...Read more

Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Louis Vuitton bets big on Rodeo Drive with new Frank Gehry-designed store

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

LOS ANGELES — Louis Vuitton is gearing up to go over the top again in Beverly Hills.

With plans for an ultra-opulent hotel on Rodeo Drive stymied by voters two years ago, the Paris fashion house's owners are back with a proposal for a theatrical flagship store designed by architect Frank Gehry that would anchor the north end of the famous ...Read more

Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Tariffs, high building costs, stingy lending make for curious revival of split-levels

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

With six kids, a housekeeper named Alice and Tiger the dog, the fictitious “Brady Bunch” of the 1970s sitcom filmed in a real-life mid-century California house, a perfectly groovy set for all the shenanigans that made the show so popular.

More than 50 years later, that split-level trend is resurfacing, but it’s not because of a newfound ...Read more

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images North America/TNS

Meta promised $1 billion for affordable housing. Then it quietly walked away

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

In 2019, Meta unveiled an ambitious pledge to spend $1 billion to help ease California’s affordable housing crisis that critics say the company, with its thousands of highly paid employees, played a role in exacerbating.

Yet not even halfway through its 10-year commitment, Facebook’s parent company has largely abandoned its work on the ...Read more

Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS

US existing-home sales decline, marking worst April since 2009

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

U.S. sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly dropped in April to the slowest pace in seven months, restrained by ongoing affordability constraints and highlighting a lackluster start to the key spring selling season.

Contract closings decreased 0.5% to an annualized rate of 4 million, according to National Association of Realtors data ...Read more

Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group/TNS

New report reveals at least a quarter of all office space still vacant in downtown San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SAN JOSE, California — Sky-high downtown office vacancy rates continue to haunt San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco as at least one-fourth of those spaces remain empty in all three urban cores, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm Colliers.

The Colliers report provided to this news organization covers the latest ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Airbnb to crack down on 'unauthorized and disruptive' parties on summer bookings

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Parties at vacation rentals sometimes raise the ire of neighbors when holiday revelry gets out of hand.

Airbnb announced this week it is rolling out “anti-party technology” across the U.S. this summer. The system will be in effect for two upcoming holiday weekends: Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

The goal of the system, which is being...Read more

Real estate Q&A: How can we stop our neighbor's constantly barking dogs?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: Our next-door neighbor lets her three dogs live in the fenced-in backyard, and they bark constantly, even late into the night. They are good neighbors, other than that, so we have tried to be patient, but we need a good night’s sleep. What can we do about this? —Graciela

A: Pet owners bear legal responsibility for their pets’ behavior,...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: At-Home Adventures

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Are you feeling jittery about taking a family vacation this summer? You're not alone. Whether it's your family's safety abroad, the high cost of gasoline or a thin bank account that has you unsettled, this might be a great time to consider a dramatic alternative: a stay-at-home vacation!

You can become tourists in your own town by uncovering ...Read more

Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

Trump considers taking Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae public

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he was “giving very serious consideration” to taking the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae public after more than a decade of being under government oversight.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the time would seem to be right,” ...Read more

Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

Trump floats a public offering for Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he was giving “very serious consideration to bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public” after more than a decade of being under government oversight.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the time would seem to be right,” Trump ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: The Heartbreak and Effects of Filing for Bankruptcy

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Dear Mary: Please give me some pointers on bouncing back from bankruptcy. Will this have any effect on future employment opportunities? -- Emmaline

Dear Emmaline: Pay your bills on time; never be late. Do not run up big balances. Do not apply for a lot of credit. Never use more than 30% of your credit limits. Never allow a credit card balance ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Saving by Choice, Not by Chance

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

A question that I answered in a previous column brought a small avalanche of mail, mostly from readers who were aghast that I would suggest they save such a significant portion of their paychecks for retirement. It was money they insisted they could not afford to save.

I can only imagine that for a person who saves nothing, suggesting they ...Read more

Everyday Cheapskate: Best Nontoxic, Organic, Safe and Cheap Weed Control for Yard and Garden

Consumer / Everyday Cheapskate /

Weeds.

Those freeloaders of the garden world. No matter how lovingly you tend your tomatoes or fluff your mulch, those green invaders always show up like uninvited houseguests who overstay their welcome -- and bring their cousins.

If you've found yourself muttering on your knees while yanking weeds or reading weed killer labels that sound like...Read more

Real estate Q&A: What happens to our mother's house after she died without a will?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: Our mother recently passed away in Florida. I live in another state, so the last year before she died, my brother moved in with her to be able to help. The house was owned for decades by both our parents, and our father passed away some time ago. My sister and I want to sell the house, but our brother wants to keep living there. We get along ...Read more

 

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