After fewer deals in March and April, May brings a resurgence in saving opportunities. From May the Fourth to Memorial Day, there are many chances to shop for great deals from the beginning of the month to the end. Check out this guide to learn what to buy in May.
In the era of climate change, so much needs to be done, it makes your head spin. However, on Earth Day this year, I’d like to give a shout out to leaders and groups who have been working for decades make a difference for the earth. A recent example is PFAS, also known as forever chemicals. They’re used in a wide range of consumer products.
With Earth Day coming up, it’s a good time to learn about endangered species and what we can do about the decline in valuable animals and plants. A new group that’s doing important work is Wildlife Madagascar, a nonprofit conservation organization committed to conserving the land, forests, and wildlife species in Madagascar.
In my weekly newsletter, “Helpful Money Tips for You,” I included an item on how most fast food chains have raised prices by 60 percent on average over the last 10 years. Four who have raised prices even more are McDonald’s, Popeyes, Taco Bell, and Chipotle. A reader wrote back and said the fast food article I had linked to said nothing about wages.
It was startling to learn that the goal of the food industry was to make food available on every street corner in the U.S. for 24 hours a day. The reason? To increase profits because the way to make more money is to get people to eat more. Also, through the Obama years, the administration supported voluntary efforts rather than regulations.
Nestlé USA is recalling about 440,500 Starbucks-branded mugs included in 2023 holiday gift sets. If microwaved or filled with extremely hot liquid, the mugs can overheat or break, posing burn and laceration hazards. There have been 12 incidents of the mugs overheating or breaking resulting in 10 injuries.
A friend on Facebook tricked me with with a tale of a move across the country, a new line of work, and a rural lifestyle. I thought, wow, that’s an interesting thing to do. Then, it dawned on me, April fools. I don’t know how I feel about being tricked on social media. I usually write about a few of my favorite April Fools’ Day jokes on April 1.
Planning ahead, I decided to try to see what I could find that was new for an Easter lunch that with fit in my new, low-fat Dean Ornish meal plan. I found Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels, mashed potatoes, and green beans at Trader Joe’s. At Safeway at the end of a long shopping trip, I found some hot cross buns.
One of the most tragic things I learned in my journalism career is about a child whose esophagus was destroyed when they swallowed lye that was being used to make soap. So every year, I write about National Poison Prevention Week, which is the third full week in March. More than 2 million poisonings are reported each year to the nation’s poison control centers.
