1. Homeopathic Flu Remedies
The pitch: Fight back against the aches, chills and other misery-inducing symptoms of the flu with herbs or vitamin supplements.
The truth: We'll let the CDC handle this one. From the agency's website: "There is no scientific evidence that any herbal, homeopathic or other folk remedies have any benefit against influenza."
The exception: Chicken soup, especially if it's homemade. No, it won't cure anything, but if it makes you feel a little less crummy, slurp away.
2. Credit-Card Payment Insurance
The pitch: Pay a monthly fee — often tied to the amount of your outstanding balance — and the credit card company will make payments for you if you lose your job, become sick or disabled.
The truth: This "protection" can cost a few hundred bucks a year, and there are often so many restrictions and caveats on coverage that you won't see a dime. Even if your claim is accepted, the insurance only pays the monthly minimum for a period of months. If you have an outstanding balance, you're better off putting that money toward paying down the principal. Capital One even settled a class-action lawsuit over its insurance plan.
The exception: Wait, there is no exception here.
3. Dirt-Cheap Paper Towels
The pitch: Shave a buck or two off your grocery bill by tossing bargain-basement paper towels into your cart.
The truth: In a 2009 Consumer Reports review, none of the cheapest towels scored high marks for durability or absorption, which means you'll just end up using more of them. Savings — gone.
The exception: If you're using them for a kids' art project or to pack fragile items.
4. Bottled Water
The pitch: Quench your thirst with water from a pristine spring, exotic island or other place that looks nice on the label.
The truth: Where to start? First of all, you're probably paying more than a dollar per gallon for the stuff. Many brands' dirty little secret is that they use plain old tap water and treat it with minerals or chemicals. The Natural Resources Defense Council even found that some brands contain contaminants. In 2005, 2 million tons of plastic from the bottles themselves wound up in landfills — even though the bottles are recyclable.
The exception: If you're on vacation in a country where the tap water can't be trusted.
5. Premium Gasoline
The pitch: Higher octane will improve your car's performance and make it run better.
The truth: Car and Driver magazine conducted an extensive study and found that for all but the most high-performance cars, putting high-test into your tank burns nothing but cash. According to the American Automobile Association, there's about a 25-cent difference per gallon, or about $4.50 per fill-up if you have an 18-gallon gas tank.
The exception: If you own a Ferrari. (And if you do, what are you doing reading this? Go help the economy by buying something!)
6. Super-High SPF Sunscreen
The pitch: If SPF 30 is good, SPF 100 must be three times better.
The truth: According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, "SPF 15 blocks approximately 93 percent of all incoming UVB rays. SPF 30 blocks 97 percent; and SPF 50 blocks 98 percent." Think that's confusing? You're not alone. Consumers are so befuddled by the (often meaningless) claims sunscreen makers use that the FDA is issuing a whole new set of rules to try to clear things up. What's more, SPF only measures one kind of harmful ultraviolet ray, and all sunscreens need to be reapplied every couple of hours.
The exception: You're very fair-skinned or have a history of skin cancer.
7. Auto Service Warranties
The pitch: You get a call or a postcard, or hear an ad telling you that you can sign up for service coverage and avoid being stuck with huge car repair bills.
The truth: So many complaints have been logged about these companies that the Better Business Bureau of St. Louis (where many of these companies are based) conducted an investigation. Consumers spent an average of $2,146 on their "service" contracts but were stuck with a collective $2.7 million in repair bills that should have been covered. A whopping 92 percent of consumers called the companies' sales tactics misleading or improper.
From the BBB's report:
The Missouri attorney general's office says some providers' contracts are of "minimal value because the service contract actually contains numerous exclusions, limitations and conditions, and providers deny claims for the cost of repairs without a reasonable investigation."
The exception: No exception this time.
8. 100-Calorie Packs of Snack Foods
The pitch: Built-in portion control takes the guesswork and the temptation out of snack time.
The truth: You can get an ordinary box or bag of your favorite 4 p.m. nosh and small sandwich bags and make your own. Compare: You can get a 4-ounce box of 100-calorie snack cakes for about $4. Or, you could buy a roughly 10.5-ounce box for about the same price and divide it up yourself.
The exception: Binge eaters, listen up. If you literally can't stop yourself from eating the whole box or bag, pricey snacks are still cheaper than the health problems caused by overeating.
9. Lottery Tickets
The pitch: Win big! Never work again! Make your neighbors jealous!
The truth: According to the website of the Powerball lottery, a player's odds of winning the big kahuna are one in 195,249,054. By contrast, the odds of dying from an meteorite striking the earth is one in 700,000. In other words, you're more likely to be killed by a meteor than you are to hit the power-mega-whatever jackpot.
The exception: If you're these guys.
10. Unlimited Cell Phone Minutes
The pitch: Sign up for an all-you-can-yak plan and never worry about paying over-limit charges again.
The truth: We're paying almost $20 a month more for our cell plans today than we did five years ago, but we're not talking that much more. The average family only uses 735 minutes of talk time a month, which is pretty close to a typical family plan threshold of 700 minutes. Even if you live with a bunch of motormouths, you might be better off asking if your carrier lets you pay for extra minutes on an a la carte basis (many do) rather than signing up for a more expensive unlimited plan.
The exception: If you've tallied up your usage over a period of months and find that you do gab more each month than other plans cover.
11. Brand New College Textbooks
The pitch: Your professor passes out the syllabus at the beginning of the semester with a list of "required" reading materials.
The truth: You might not need all those books, and there are cheaper ways to get them. First, check with the professor; some texts are optional. Hit up the library, which may have hard copies or electronic versions you can borrow for free. Finally, you can probably rent an e-book version for the semester for less than the purchase price of the book. Finally, comb the Internet and the campus bookstore for used copies. Not only will you save, but you'll get to make a few bucks at the end of the semester by selling them back.
The exception: If you've searched for alternative copies or versions and come up empty-handed. (Or if your professor wrote the book.)
12. Extended Warranties
The pitch: You're purchasing a new appliance or piece of electronic equipment, and the person ringing you up suggests that for a nominal price, you tack on an extended warranty that supplements or goes beyond what the manufacturer offers.
The truth: Some of these warranties duplicate coverage you already have from the manufacturer. You might be locked into using a particular service provider, or face inconveniences like having to ship the item somewhere at your expense or be without it for weeks while repairs are completed. The warranty might not cover wear and tear or damage caused by drops or spills. Also, check the terms of the credit card you're using to buy the item; some extend this kind of coverage for free.
The exception: Based on a recent suggestion by Consumer Reports, computers — especially laptops and especially if you're a student or frequent traveler and lug your machine around a lot — can break down after the standard warranty expires.
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