Valuable handbook offers latest tips for consumers

 

Today I receive a great treat. A copy of the “2009 Consumer Action Handbook” arrived in the mail.

This 169-page handbook, published annually by the Federal Citizen Information Center, provides the latest information that you need to be a savvy baby boomer consumer.

You’ll find information to help you manage and stretch your money such as preventing identify theft and filing consumer complaints.

Topics of special interest to baby boomers include:

Buyer beware

• Before you buy

• Identifying and stopping fraud

Banking

• ATM/Debit cards

• Prepaid cards

• Unsolicited checks and credit offers

Cars

• Leasing a car

• Repairs

Credit

• Credit reports and scores

• Dealing with debt

Employment

• Employment agencies

• Work-at-home companies

Food and Nutrition

• Healthy food choices

• Food safety

Health care

• Choosing a doctor

• Prescription drugs

Housing

• Avoiding foreclosure

• Home improvement and repairs

Internet

• Prevent online fraud

• Spam

Investing

• Online trading

• Financial brokers and advisors

Phones

• Slamming and cramming

• Cell phones

Privacy protection and identity theft

• Reporting identity theft

• Online privacy

Travel

• Resolving air travel problems

• Passports

Wills and Funerals

Information is included on how and where to file consumer complaints. You’ll also find public resources and contact information as well as a consumer assistance directory with contact information for corporate offices, consumer organizations, trade groups, and government agencies.

Get your copy of the handbook today to help you increase your consumer power. You can order it online.

Or a searchable version of the handbook is available at www.ConsumerAction.gov and in Spanish at www.Consumidor.gov.