Organic Food Straight Talk: To Buy or Not to Buy

Spring has arrived! Here’s our latest roundup of ideas and info to give you a great start to the new season.

You Should Know

• If you have federal student loans, the deadline to consolidate them for a shot at debt forgiveness is soon (April 30). The Dept. of Education may give you a retroactive credit toward loan forgiveness. Learn more.

• Gas prices are jumping. For the first time since late 2023, gas prices are higher on a year-over-year basis. AAA has a great map of gas prices across the USA.

• Tesla is the worst performing stock in the S&P 500 so far in 2024. It’s down -31% since January 1, 2024 and down -55% from it’s all-time high.

Organic Food Straight Talk: To Buy or Not to Buy

It’s getting a lot more expensive to eat organic. Grocery prices are up over 25% since January 2020, according to the USDA, and organic produce inflation has increased faster than conventional food inflation. Want those organic strawberries? You’ll pay 40-50% more than conventional strawberries.

If you’re looking to save money at the store, it makes sense to determine when buying organic is worth it.

First of all, what does organic mean? The rules for using the USDA Organic seal on food include no use of most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and no use of ionizing irradiation used for pest control. Also, food must be grown without genetically modified organisms.

There are two big questions about the effectiveness of eating organic foods:

• 1) Are organic foods more nutritious? The science is inconclusive. There are numerous studies that have found no significant differences in vitamins, minerals, or protein between organic and conventional foods.

• 2) Do organic foods have fewer pesticides? Yes. However, the consumption of pesticides through food is generally considered safe when levels remain below regulatory limits. It should be noted that some studies have raised concerns that chronic exposure to low levels of pesticides may have negative health effects.

If you belong to the better-safe-than-sorry camp, buying organic because of fewer pesticides is logical. What’s also logical is NOT buying organic when the risk of pesticides is low.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) just published a helpful guide called the "Dirty Dozen" which ranks the twelve fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residue. These are the top contenders for buying organic:

• Berries – blueberries, strawberries, grapes, bell & hot peppers (yes, grapes and peppers are berries!)

• Leafy greens – spinach, kale, collard and mustard greens (because these veggies have complex shapes, making it harder to remove pesticide residue during washing)

• Thin skins – apples, cherries, nectarines, peaches, and pears

• Green beans – this item is susceptible to pests, so pesticide use is more common

The EWG also publishes a list called the "Clean Fifteen" which details fruits and vegetables with the lowest levels of pesticide residue. With these items, you can save money by skipping organic:

• Tough skins – avocados, pineapples, kiwi fruit, grapefruit

• Melons – cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon

• Frozen veggies – sweet corn and sweet peas

• Miscellaneous – onions, asparagus, cabbage, papaya, eggplant, sweet potatoes (these are less susceptible to pests, so pesticide use is less common)

In general, conventional food that has thicker skin or natural barriers are fine to buy, even if you’re worried about pesticides. Of course, wash all produce thoroughly. That’s the best and cheapest way to reduce pesticide residue.

Make Some Extra Cash

• TopCashback bills itself as the top free-to-join cashback site. Members earn on average $450 cash back a year. Stores pay a commission to cash back sites when they deliver customers. TopCashback passes ALL of this commission back to you. TopCashback adds a 3-5% cash back bonus, if you choose a gift card payout instead of cash.

• ProWritersTime lets you make money by helping students write their papers. You can find a steady stream of orders from students who need freelance writers to craft a paper for a high school, college, graduate school (master’s or PhD) assignment. Top writers can earn $3,000-$2,000 per month, especially if they are proficient in certain fields, like philosophy, engineering, and law. To qualify, you have to pass a short essay test.

• If you are an industry expert, GLG connects you with companies who wish to have a phone call with you to gain insights about your industry. You set your hourly rates (up to hundreds of dollars per hour, if you are a true expert). Apply to join their network here.

• Brandclub is an app that pays you cash, not points, for being loyal to brands. You can earn cash back from buying your favorite brands or earn cash from doing brand surveys or making referrals. Brandclub pays out better than other rewards-for-shopping apps.

A Simple Credit Card Payment Trick to Boost Your Credit Score

There’s an easy way to increase your credit score while paying off the same amount of debt that you normally would: split your monthly credit card payment into two. We’ll explain…

Credit cards have two important dates: the statement closing date and the payment due date. They're not the same! The closing date is when your billing cycle ends and your credit utilization ratio (i.e., how much of your credit limit is being used up), gets reported to credit bureaus. The due date is the last day to pay your minimum balance before incurring interest charges.

To improve your credit score, make a payment just before your statement closing date. Try to pay enough to keep your credit utilization ratio around 10% of your credit limit. For example, with a $5,000 credit limit, aim for an outstanding balance of $500 a few days before your statement closes. Credit utilization constitutes 30% of your FICO credit score calculation, so reporting a lower credit utilization rate is a positive signal that’s sent to credit bureaus.

Remember, you still need to pay your entire statement balance by the due date to avoid interest charges. Consistent on-time payments are most crucial for your credit score.

The effectiveness of this credit card payment trick varies. People with lower credit limits might see a bigger impact compared to those with higher limits.

Praise These Brands for Their Lifetime Guarantees

It feels like we live in a world where products seem designed to fail just after their warranty expires. Fortunately, there is one concept that prevents us from being completely cynical consumers – the lifetime guarantee.

A product lifetime guarantee (or lifetime warranty) is a promise made by a seller to repair or replace a product if it fails to perform as intended for the duration of its usable life. In general, a lifetime guarantee covers defects in materials and workmanship for as long as the original purchaser owns the product. Always read the fine print of a lifetime warranty. It typically won't cover neglect, abuse, or normal wear and tear.

Many people don’t realize that there are several popular products that come with a lifetime guarantee. Here’s a list of notable brands/products that offer a lifetime warranty:

• JanSport – the company offers unlimited repairs anytime you need them. If your backpack can’t be fixed, JanSport will simply replace it.

• Patagonia – the company’s "Ironclad Guarantee" program covers all of their products, including repair, replacement, and refund options if you're not satisfied with a product, or if it doesn't perform as expected.

• Craftman – many of the company’s tools, including wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, and sockets, are eligible for replacement over the lifetime of the product. Simply return the product that has failed to perform for any reason to a retail partner. No proof of purchase is required.

• Vermont Teddy Bear – your teddy will get free repairs, and if your bear’s injuries are too extreme, you’ll get a free replacement.

• Eddie Bauer – offers an unconditional lifetime guarantee on all of its products.

• Tupperware – offers a limited lifetime warranty against chipping, cracking, breaking, or warping of its products.

• Cutco – offers a “forever guarantee” that extends to knives given as gifts or hand-me-downs. And you even get free sharpenings.

• L.L. Bean – if you are not 100% satisfied with any of their products, you may return it within one year of purchase for a full refund. After one year, you can return items that are defective.

Check Out These Hot Deals & Discounts

• Nike is offering a Spring Sale with up to 50% off when you use the code SPRING upon checkout.

• The North Face is offering a 20% discount to customers who complete their one-hour online course, "Allyship in the Outdoors: A digital course about racial inclusion.”

• Buy a $20 Dave & Buster’s Arcade Card for $12.99.

• Hot BOGO deal from Samsung – order a 2024 TV, and get a free Samsung 65" TV

Whether Republican or Democrat, There’s an Investment Fund for You

Our politics are bitterly divided so it was only a matter of time before our investment options reflected our political affiliations. With the growing popularity of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Wall St. is offering a broad spectrum of political investment options, from ETFs for the most woke progressives to ETFs for the MAGA movement. Here are some options:

For Republicans

• Point Bridge America First ETF (MAGA) – invests in ~150 companies from the S&P 500 Index whose employees and political action committees are highly supportive of Republican candidates.

• American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF) – holds large-cap American companies but boycotts as many companies hostile to conservative values as possible.

For Democrats

• ESG investing. This is a type of investing that holds companies with corporate policies that advance responsible environmental, social, and governance goals. Two popular large-cap focused ETFs are Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV) and iShares ESG Screened S&P 500 ETF (XVV).

• Democratic Large Cap Core ETF (DEMZ) – holds companies that are in the S&P 500 index, but only the ones that spend at least 75% of political contributions on Democrats.

Most importantly, what’s the performance of these funds? The track record for these funds isn’t long, but over the past three years, the ESG funds have underperformed the benchmark S&P 500 and the other funds have beat the S&P 500.

Investing according to your pollical beliefs certainly presents risks, such as limiting diversification. However, the satisfaction you get when you deny “the other side” access to your money may be priceless.