Savvy Consumer:Consumers often tell me that they feel powerless against big corporations. It's hard to know which companies have a reputation for treating customers well and which ones are doing things that respect the environment, for instance.

In March, Krystal Lester was desperate. The Knightdale single mother needed transportation to get back and forth to work or she might lose her job.

You probably know that Apple last weekend released a new iPhone with fancy features. Some people like the phones, some don't.

Few of us move often enough to become proficient at it.

My key chain and my wallet are bursting with cards for frequent flier programs and retailers' loyalty clubs.

If rising gas and food prices and job uncertainty have you wishing that you had stashed some cash away for a rainy day -- it's not too late.

Despite countless warnings that nothing in life is free, many of us continue to fall for the promise of something for nothing. With money tight in many households, offers of free laptops, iPods, gift cards and even medication sound even more alluring. But the reality is far from the promise.

If you are a baby boomer or the child of one, it's just a matter of time before you will have to contact the Social Security Administration. Brace yourself.

Let me just put it out there: Air travel this summer is going to be downright miserable.