Personal Finance

Tuesday, November 21, 2006
A sampling of products designed to reduce household energy consumption.

KILL-A-WATT

What: Measures the energy consumption of any device plugged into it, as well as voltage, amperage and energy use over time.

By MIKE MEYERS
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Fretting over utility bills? A growing number of companies are looking to transform your worries into their profits.

From magnetic lids that cover vents to seal off drafts, to meters that can measure how much electricity a given appliance is pulling out of the wall, homeowners can turn to a number of tools, many of them at a price less than the cost of a restaurant dinner, to fight rising energy bills.

Experts caution, though, that not every device that promises energy savings actually delivers.

"It's still 'buyer beware,'" said Jimmy Sparks, residential energy program manager at Neighborhood Energy Connection, a nonprofit organization that aims to reduce energy waste.

Thursday, November 02, 2006
2007 VOLVO C70

TYPE: Front-drive, four-passenger, two-door hardtop convertible.

PRICE: $38,710 base, $40,400 as tested.

WHERE BUILT: Gothenburg, Sweden.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006
2007 VOLVO C70

TYPE: Front-drive, four-passenger, two-door hardtop convertible.

PRICE: $38,710 base, $40,400 as tested.

WHERE BUILT: Gothenburg, Sweden.

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By RICHARD WILLIAMSON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Looking at the Volvo C70 with the roof up, you might never guess that it's a convertible.

Retractable hardtops have come a very long way since Mercedes-Benz made the concept work in the SLK roadster of 1996.

By DON TAYLOR
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
A different type of mortgage, called a "mortgage accelerator" loan, has migrated to the United States. It uses home equity borrowing and the borrower's paycheck to shorten the time until a mortgage is paid off, saving tens of thousands in interest expense.

Not to be confused with a biweekly mortgage loan that shortens a mortgage by paying an extra mortgage payment once a year, the mortgage accelerator loan program is based on an approach common in Australia and the United Kingdom, where borrowers deposit their paychecks into an account that, every month, applies every unspent dime against the mortgage loan balance.

By KARA McGUIRE
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
When mortgage rates were at historic lows a few years ago, Victoria Bolton and her husband refinanced their home in St. Paul, Minn., taking out cash to pay off $70,000 in credit card bills.

Her husband's woodworking business never brought in as much as expected, but they spent as though his next big job were around the corner.

By KATHLEEN PENDER
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
After growing by $1,000 a year since 2003, the maximum employee contribution to 401(k) plans will rise next year by only $500, to $15,500.

The so-called catch-up contribution, for workers 50 or older, will remain at $5,000 in 2007, the same as this year.

By TERESA F. LINDEMAN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Shipping giant FedEx Corp. expects customers checking on packages will make almost 6 million tracking requests daily on its Web site in December, a new record.

It won't be the only company setting records this holiday season as the online world continues to become part of the normal shopping experience, forcing Web-enabled retailers and their support systems to handle larger crowds.

Jupiter Research is projecting online holiday sales this year will reach $32 billion, up 18 percent from last year.

By JAMES DERK
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Reader mail fills the spot this week as Microsoft gets ready to release Windows Vista while consumers get ready to flock to the stores for holiday shopping.

Q.