Tame your pet costs

Americans spent more than $48 billion on pet products and services last year, according to the American Pet Products Association. Consumer Reports says you can provide the care your pet needs while curbing some of your expenses, too.

Don't pay a premium for "premium" pet food. Food is the biggest cost of owning a cat or dog, according for $20 billion in annual sales in the U.S. But you don’t have to spring for “premium” pet foods. Any food that’s marked “complete and balanced,” “total nutrition,” or “100 percent nutritious” should meet the minimum standards for nutrition set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, meaning it’s adequate for most healthy pets.Don't automatically get pet medicines from the vet. Vets’ markups on medications start at 100 percent and often hit 160 percent, according to the American Animal Hospital Association’s latest Veterinary Fee Reference. However, if your pet is taking a medication that’s also prescribed to humans, you might be able to fill the prescription inexpensively. Walgreen’s allows customers to enroll their pets as family members in its Prescription Savings Club, while Giant/Eagle, Target, and Kroger have discount programs that are open to pets.Take simple steps now to prevent costly problems. Brushing your cat’s or dog’s teeth or giving them dental chews can help prevent tooth plaque, which leads to periodontal disease in pets. Spaying female pets can reduce the risk of mammary tumors, while neutering male pets can reduce aggression and prevent some diseases. Finally, don’t over-feed your pets: Obesity can lead to arthritis and diabetes for them and huge prescription bills for you.

For more on how to care for your pets while curbing some expenses, check out the full story, Tame your pet costs.

—Evan MacDonald

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Large Canadian retailer expands its paint recycling program

RONA, a large chain of Canadian home centers, has expanded its paint recycling program to include British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta as well as Ontario and Quebec provinces, according to the Home Channel News. But if that seems a tad too far to drive, there are safe ways to properly dispose of extra paint on this side of the border.

In this country, retailers haven’t yet gotten into the paint recycling business but some states have proposed legislation that's been supported by the American Coatings Association. The industry group believes that rules are needed for paint-collection programs to succeed, not just voluntary efforts by companies or communities.

The best way to avoid the issue, of course, is to not have any leftover paint to begin with. Remember a gallon of paint covers about 400 square feet for smooth walls and ceilings, a bit less for rougher surfaces. One coat coverage and superb stain resistance helped put Home Depot’s Behr Premium Plus interior paints, $31 to $38 per gallon, at the top of our paint Ratings. But others did nearly as well for less money.

If you do end up with leftover paint, here’s how to get rid of it. You can find information specific to where you live at Earth911.com.

Donate it for reuse. Some organizations will accept paint that’s in good condition, meaning it can be easily stirred to a smooth consistency and is uncontaminated. The paint should also be in an intact, labeled container.

Recycle it. Some communities offer recycling programs for old paint and empty paint cans. Water-based, or latex, paint can be recycled into new paint or it can even be used to create nonpaint products such as cement. Oil-based, or alkyd, paint is usually used for fuel blending—meaning it’s burned to create energy at a power plant. To find out whether paint recycling is an option in your area, contact your municipal recycling or household-hazardous-waste center.

Dispose of it. If you can’t donate or recycle your paint, find out how to properly dispose of it in your area. Each municipality has different requirements, depending on whether the paint is oil- or water-based. Oil-based paint is always considered hazardous and should be disposed of at a household-hazardous-waste collection facility. Water-based paint is treated as hazardous in only a few states—including California, Washington and Minnesota—and is still generally accepted at hazardous-waste facilities.

—Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman

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Five dirt-cheap kitchen upgrades that pay

The fed's big retreat from the mortgage market is the latest argument for smaller-but-smarter home upgrades, especially in the kitchen. As of this October, the biggest home loans that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and federal agencies will guarantee drops from more than $700,000 to as low as $271,050, according to The Wall Street Journal. That’s likely to give an added boost to lower-priced homes—and another reason to spend wisely when it comes to remodeling your kitchen.

The good news: Consumer Reports’ latest tests yields a tantalizing menu of value-priced kitchen upgrades that cost as little as $1,000. Besides paying off now in improved looks and convenience, these smaller upgrades are likelier to pay bigger dividends later as home prices rebound. Here’s the list:

Add fresh paint. If cabinets are structurally sound but shabby, spruce them up with a coat of paint. Paying a pro costs as little as $50 per door, less if you tackle the prepping and painting yourself. One pick from our tests is the self-priming Behr Premium Plus Ultra Satin Enamel, $33 per gallon at Home Depot. Check out our buying advice for paints.

Improve convenience. For about $200 or less, you can improve cabinet storage with pull-out shelves and retractable trash bins.

Update the countertops. Designers’ views are mixed between granite and quartz (about $40 to $100 per square foot), which mimics granite and other stone. Quartz topped our gauntlet of tests, and it never needs sealing. Want to spend less? Laminate costs just $10 to $40 per square foot and resisted stains and impact even better (but be careful about cuts). Want more guidance? See our countertop buying advice.

Beautify the backsplash. Durable ceramic-tile starts at about $10 per square foot installed. And even high-maintenance materials like glass are smart options, since they don't get the wear and tear of a countertop. Whatever you use for the backsplash, caulking between the backsplash and countertop is a must.

Fix up your flooring. Tile or wood may impress realtors, but some top-rated vinyl and laminate floors also look sharp, resist wear significantly better, and cost far less when the work is done. Examples from our latest tests include the vinyl-tile Congoleum DuraCeramic Sierra Slate SI-74 Golden Greig, $5 per square foot, and the laminate Armstrong Coastal Living L3051 White Wash Walnut, $3.50 per square foot. We also found a CR Best Buy among laminates for just $1 per square foot. Our buying advice for flooring helps you weigh your options.

Feeling more ambitious? Check out these videos for kitchen improvements you can do for a total of $5,000, $15,000, or even $50,000.

—Ed Perratore

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Spotify: U.S.A., here we come!

Now that the company's pockets are flush with cash and it has tied up major-label music licenses, Spotify is readying its U.S. launch, which will likely happen this month.

No specific details have been announced, but for the first time Spotify has confirmed on its website that the service will soon be available in the U.S. The company is also allowing U.S. music fans to register for an invite to the service when Spotify goes live. On its website, the company dangled this carrot in front of prospective users: "Millions of tracks ready to play instantly, on your computer and your phone. Any track, any time, anywhere. And its free."

As we've previously reported, Spotify has been edging closer to a U.S. launch for several months, as it inked deals with most of the major U.S. music labels. There's still been no firm word of a deal with Warner Music, the lone major-label holdout. Although Spotify says on its website that the service is free, the labels have traditionally looked more favorably at subscription-based services, which provide a more guaranteed revenue stream.

In Europe, where the service is wildly popular, Spotify recently began imposing limits on the amount of music accessible to users of the free ad-based service, hoping to push more users to its paid subscription service, which offers unlimited music without any ads. The company is reportedly looking to charge about $10 a month for its paid subscription service here in the U.S.

Spotify also recently raised about $100 million in funding, which will presumably in part be used to fuel its U.S. launch.

We're waiting to see the official details of how Spotify will work in the U.S., and whether the service will be integrated within Facebook, as rumored. So stay tuned for more details as they emerge.

—James K. Willcox

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Warranties void on cars burning E15, say automakers

In one of the last steps toward selling gasoline with higher concentrations of ethanol, the EPA finalized a label that will identify gas pumps dispensing E15 ethanol, a fuel containing 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline. (Read: "Move over E85, here comes E15.")

The new orange label displays "E15" in large type and states that the fuel is for use only in 2001 or newer model-year vehicles or flex-fuel vehicles, and that it is illegal to use it in other vehicles or in power equipment such as lawnmowers.

In response to the release of the labels, nine automakers—including Chrysler, General Motors, and Toyota—wasted no time writing letters to Congress criticizing the proposal and noting that they will not honor warranties for older cars running on E15. The automakers say they are concerned about the effects of E15 on engines, fuel pumps, and other fuel-system components in cars that were not designed for it. (Learn more about ethanol: "The great ethanol debate.")

In January, the EPA approved the use of E15 in all cars from the 2001 model year on. The only cars that would be warranted for use of the new fuel are flex-fuel vehicles, which are designed to use concentrations of ethanol up to 85 percent (E85).

Since many of the older cars approved to use E15, however, are out of warranty by now anyway, the main disagreement among automakers and legislators centers on the use of E15 in newer cars still under warranty. However, consumers are concerned whether 2001-and-later cars out of warranty may encounter higher repair costs using E15. Most regular gasoline sold in the United States, especially in the summer, is already blended with up to 10-percent ethanol (called E10), which automakers do allow under warranty coverage.

"I don't know that owners would have a good experience" using E15 in older cars, says Wade Newton, a spokesman for Auto Alliance, a lobbying group for automakers in Washington, D.C.

Even with the EPA approval and the new labels, other hurdles remain for gas station operators to begin pumping E15. Because stations will need to continue to provide regular fuel for older cars and power equipment, they would need to install a new underground storage tank and pump to offer E15—a significant expense.

The common objections to E15 point out how long and difficult the road will be to wean the U.S. economy from imported oil. As a liquid fuel that has been produced for centuries, ethanol should require the fewest changes from traditional petroleum among combustible alternatives.

Ethanol has promise as a renewable, locally sourced fuel. And it doesn't have to be derived from food stock. In fact, companies are working on commercializing ethanol made from sources other than corn in the United States. (In Brazil, Sweden, and South Africa, most ethanol is made from other sources.) But laws, standards, technology, and the legacy automotive fleet would all have to change to accommodate more ethanol in our national fuel portfolio. Even moving to gasoline or biodiesel made from algae or soy beans is likely to run into similar constraints. Clearly, the shift away from a gasoline-dependent national fleet will take time, commitment, and investment.

See our guides to alternative fuels and fuel economy.

—Eric Evarts

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Selling it: It's alive!

Just think what this stuff could do for crabgrass.

Submissions: SellingIt@cro.consumer.org or Selling It, Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Ave., Yonkers, NY 10703

—Consumer Reports

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Daily electronics deals: Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS digital camera

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

TigerDirect: 20" Acer S201HL Widescreen LED Backlit Monitor for $99.99Canon.com: Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS for $229.99 with Free ShippingTanga.com: Logitech Harmony 650 Advanced Universal Remote Control $44.99

Entertainment

Amazon Rango [Blu-ray] $14.99Buy.com: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) $53.99, free shipBestBuy.com: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Limited Edition (Xbox 360) $29.99 + $1 ship

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

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