Like Christmas in September

It's a little early for Holiday gift giving, but you wouldn't know it from the ads in the Labor Day weekend papers.

There are tremendous deals available today only from several major retailers.

For example, if you've been thinking about buying a new computer for yourself or your child, Office Depot has a computer, monitor and printer package available for $99, including the rebate. It's also selling a laptop for less than $500 that burns DVDs.

CompUSA has a brand new computer available for less than $200, monitor sold separately.

If you're looking for something a little bigger, heavier and with four wheels, various dealers are offering zero percent financing and rebates, and free extras in order to clear last year's models from their lots in anticipation of the 2007 models due to arrive this month.

All of these deals make me wonder what's coming down the pike for Christmas. Stay tuned for the Day After Thanksgiving Sales coming to a store near you.

Foreign Lottery Scams

I've just been informed that I've won 1 million pounds, or just about $2 million dollars in a lottery I've never entered.

You've heard that foreign lottery scam story before, but this email I received has a new twist that could catch a few unsuspecting consumers.

The million pound lottery purports to be sponsored by Coca Cola and British American Tobacco Worldwide. If that commercial marriage weren't strange enough, the letter acknowledges that I never entered this contest, but that my email address had been randomly selected, and then assigned to a winning ticket number.

Most of us are smart enough to know that if you don't enter a contest, it's difficult to win it. Random selection? That's a big red flag.

The letter goes on to tell me that I've got to contact the winner's department and provide all sorts of information in order to get that million pound check. I think I'll just hit the delete button instead.

Hybrid Cars

If driving a hybrid car can save you $500 per year on gas, how much would a fleet of hybrid cars save?

That's what the Des Moines, Iowa police department is going to find out. They've started a new pilot program in which they've bought eight new Honda Accord hybrid cars. According to a news report, the cars will cost the department about $220,000, or about $27,000 apiece.

Currently, the Des Moines police department spends about $700,000 a year to gas up their 380 vehicles, or about $1,850 per year per vehicle. The P.D. is hoping to save at least as much as an average consumer would save on gas – or more.

Saving $500 per year on gas per vehicle is a savings of $4,000 per year for the 8 cars. If all 380 vehicles were hybrids, the savings on gas could rise to nearly $200,000 per year.

That kind of cash could put a couple of extra officers on the street, or simply help to keep a city's budget in line.

What's Your Disaster Plan?

We're only in the beginning of this year's hurricane season, and given the last few years, it's worthwhile to develop a disaster plan that works.

First, develop a communication plan for your family. Where will you meet? How will you reach each other if cell phone towers fail? Is there a way for everyone to get in touch with each other?

Next, think about an evacuation plan. Whether it's a hurricane, fire or flood, figure out how you're going to get out and find safer, higher ground.

Whether you're staying or going, have a survival kit packed and ready to go, with enough food and water for a few days. Pack it with tins of tuna fish and salmon, crackers, water bottles, nuts and dried fruit. Be sure to include some basic medical supplies as well.

Finally, be sure everyone knows how to shut off all of your utilities and mechanical systems, including the gas, water, and hot water heater.

Taking Longer to Pay Off Your Debts Isn't Always the Best Solution

If you just pay the interest you owe on a debt, how long will it take to pay off the loan?

Never. Unfortunately, some consumers don't get this basic premise.

Don't get me wrong – there IS a place for interest-only loans, and even the quirky and complicated pay-option adjustable rate mortgages.

What's scares me is that more consumers are not only taking on more debt, but are taking longer to pay it off.

Car loans used to be 3 and 4 years in length. Now, consumers will often choose car loans that last 5 to 7 years – far longer than the average person will keep a car.

School loans are typically 10 years, but more graduates are consolidating or refinancing their loans into 30-year amortization schedules.

And if you only pay the minimum amount due each month, you'll spend the next 15 to 30 years paying of your credit card debt.

We're all living longer, but trust me -- you don't want to spend your golden years struggling to pay debts incurred when you were in your 30s.