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It seems a bit frivolous to blog about anything but the roiling financial industry. Despite the surge in the stock market today, there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Maybe we should acknowledge it out loud: There’s nothing we consumers can do about commercial banks, investment banks and insurance companies going out of business or selling themselves for firesale prices.

Dramatic shifts in your investments at this point is a bad idea. Could you imagine if you sold stocks on Wednesday, only to see them rocket today? If you’re well diversified and your investments all had a purpose during good times, they will be fine. I say that about investment sectors, such as large company stocks, international investments and bonds. It’s a different story if you own individual company stocks, which I don’t advocate anyway. But they are more volatile and require individual decisions.

Moves you should make are in You Inc., meaning your own household. Control what you can control. Now is a good time to look at your money coming in and especially your money going out. This is a time to be more conservative. That means spending less, saving more and getting rid of debt. In short, get rid of as much risk as you reasonably can.

Just because the stock market soared today on news of a massive government bailout, that doesn’t mean we’re out of trouble.

Control what you can control to put yourself in a position to weather the storm. Here’s more, “Finding High Ground in the Storm.”

If you make a mistake with your credit card account – by paying late or charging more than the limit – a small bank or credit union will be more forgiving, according to an analysis by Justin McHenry of IndexCreditCards.com.

Perhaps this is no surprise. Big banks are rarely the right choice for consumers for banking, saving or borrowing. And they’re definitely not a place to do investing. But most people use big banks for credit cards. If you occasionally incur penalties, it might be worthwhile to get a different card from a smaller institution.

Here is a sampling of fees…

…AT LARGE CARD ISSUERS

        American Express — $38 late fee, $35 over-the-limit fee (on revolving credit cards only)

        Bank of America — $39 late fee, $39 over-the-limit fee

        Capital One — $39 late fee, $39 over-the-limit fee (some cards offer lower credit-limit fees)

        Chase — $39 late fee, $39 over-the-limit fee

        Citi — $39 late fee, $39 over-the-limit fee

        Discover — $39 late fee, $39 over-the-limit fee

        GE Money — $39 late fee, $35 over-the-limit fee

        HSBC — $39 late fee, $39 over-the-limit fee

        National City — $39 late fee, $39 over-the-limit fee

        U.S. Bank — $39 late fee, $39 over-the-limit fee

        Wells Fargo — $39 late fee, $35 over-the-limit fee

…AT SMALLER COMMUNITY BANKS

        First Command Bank (Texas) — $0 late fee, $0 over-the-limit fee

        City National Bank (Taylor, Texas) — $0 late fee, $0 over-the-limit fee

        First Federal (Charleston, South Carolina) — $6.20 late fee, $10 over-the-limit fee

        Central Bank (Kentucky) — $5 late fee, no information on over-the-limit charges

        First Financial Bank (Indiana) — $17 late fee, $20 over-the-limit fee

        Armed Forces Bank — $20 late fee, $20 over-the-limit fee

        United Bank (Wisconsin) — $20 late fee, $20 over-the-limit fee

        5 Star Bank — $20 late fee, $20 over-the-limit fee

        Union State Bank (New York) — $20 late fee, $25 over-the-limit fee 

…AT CREDIT UNIONS

        Christian Community Credit Union (California) — $10 late fee, $10 over-the-limit fee

        Charter Oak Federal Credit Union (Connecticut) — $15 late fee, $15 over-the-limit fee

        Black Hills Federal Credit Union (South Dakota) — $15 late fee, $18 over-the-limit fee

Says McHenry: “Big banks are more aggressive with their offers, and often use promotional rates or unique reward programs to draw you in, but the fine print shows they’re not always offering the best financial deals. While this study highlights credit card fee differences, interest rates are also often lower at smaller banks. And, with large credit card companies tightening credit standards recently, this is definitely a good time for consumers to give their local lenders another look.”

I’m a fan of the Department of Energy’s “Energy Star” program, but I’ve long been suspicious of the Energy Star labeling program. It allows appliance-makers to slap a label on their packaging to suggest it’s environmentally friendly.

The suspicion came when I found out the Department of Energy doesn’t actually test products for energy efficiency. Get this: the government relies on manufacturers to test their own products to determine whether it should get an Energy Star label. And there’s no independent verification. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house.

Then Consumer Reports magazine in its October issue took the Energy Star program to task for out-of-date tests it requires manufacturers to perform. The biggest beef was with some refrigerators. I won’t go over all the details. This CR news release has all the pertinent links.

All this is important because Energy Star appliances can be more expensive. But consumers buy them anyway, figuring they’ll make back the difference in energy savings. Turns out, that might or might not be true.

In general, the Energy Star program is a good one, with admirable intentions and a lot of great information at its Web site. It’s just the labeling program that seems a bit lax. At this point, I would trust Consumer Reports findings about energy use before an Energy Star label.

It’s a bit off topic for me, but so much of spending your money smarter means spending time online. And the tool for doing that is your Web browser.

Today, Google unveiled its new browser, called Chrome. I’ve played around with it a little since it became available for download this afternoon. I find it quite good, intuitive and noticeably faster than other browsers. However, my current browser, Firefox 3, is also quite fast and has a ton of useful add-ons. I don’t know if I’m ready to switch to the Google browser. If you haven’t dumped Microsoft’s Internet Explorer yet, it might be time. (Although, to be fair, Microsoft has come out with an early version of Internet Explorer 8 that is getting positive reviews.)

Google Chrome is free. You can try it by downloading here. I’d recommend trying out Firefox 3 as well. Download here.

If you’re in the market for a new car, stop fixating on gas prices and buy a lightly used car. You’ll save literally thousands of dollars.

That’s the advice of a new study by Consumer Reports.

“Late-model used cars are in the sweet spot of auto deals,” CR says. On average, consumers save 32 percent in the first five years by buying a three-year-old car. With a one or two-year-old car, they can save 19 and 27 percent, respectively.

EXAMPLES

• Buying a 2005 Toyota Camry with a V6 engine could save consumers $13,000 over five years compared with buying a new 2008 version. At $4 per gallon, drivers could pay for all their gas and still be $2,500 ahead.
• Driving a 2005 Ford Focus can save more than $8,000 over the first five years, compared with buying the new Focus.
• With values for used SUVs plummeting, drivers could save $25,500 over five years by buying a three-year-old Chevrolet Tahoe instead of a new one.
  

“A reliable late-model used car can be one of the best values out there when buying a car,” Rik Paul, CR automotive editor said in a new release. “Savvy shoppers can also get a more upscale model with more features for the same owner cost as a less expensive new car.”

NOT SOMEONE ELSE’S PROBLEMS

                     Many people shy away from buying a used car because they’re afraid of buying someone else’s problems. Yet CR’s reliability data show that cars, overall, are much more reliable than they used to be. Rust and exhaust-system problems, once common in older cars, are no longer of major concern. And reliable late-model vehicles usually have few problems overall.

HOWEVER…

CR found says that because some popular models, such as the Mini Cooper and Toyota Prius, don’t depreciate much, buying a used version of those models results in modest savings.

The full report is available in the October issue of Consumer Reports and online now at www.ConsumerReports.org.

Farecast.com is the Web site, bought this year by Microsoft, that uses historical trends to try to predict airfares. That helps consumers answer the nagging question, “Should I book now or wait until fares drop?”

Farecast says in a news release this week that airfares for the holidays are up more than 30 percent over last year, which could mean spending an extra $100 or more.

It offers these tips:

• Be flexible with your travel dates. If you have flexibility, you will be rewarded with big savings. Returning on Monday or Tuesday vs. Sunday might save you more than $90 per ticket.
• Watch October for holiday price drops. Most previous late-December itineraries saw price drops in the first two weeks of October. Farecast data suggest there are 50% more price drops during the holidays than other times of the year, so alerts are critical to catch elusive deals.
• If you’re traveling from a big market, you should wait. Major markets are much more likely to see price drops this fall, and you should closely monitor for lower fares before purchasing. If you’re flying out of smaller/regional airports, you should buy as soon as you find a fare you’re comfortable with.
• You will pay more this year. Unless you find the deal of the season, you will pay more for holiday flights than in years past. You should accept this and not hold out for a lower fare. It likely won’t come, and the cost will just continue to rise.

Click the screenshot above for video advice about saving money on food, insurance and telecommunications – what I call being financially FIT. My contribution was recorded outside the WPVI studios in Philadelphia. I was at the studio doing a satellite interview for an ABC affiliate in Virginia Beach, Va., promoting my book, “Living Rich by Spending Smart.” The consumer reporter in Philadelphia, Nydia Han, overheard my satellite interview and wanted to do one of her own. She was able to cram a lot of advice into a short segment.

It’s great that the Consumer Product Safety Commission issues recalls for dangerous products. The problem is, many consumers of those products never find out about it. And, as consumers, who among us has the time to research every product to make sure there’s no recall?

That’s the beauty of automatic alerts. It so happens the CPSC offers automatic alerts via e-mail. Here’s how to sign up:

1. Go to the CPSC email alerts page (https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx).
2. Enter your e-mail address.
3. Click the button for “All recalls only (list name: recalls)”
4. Click the “Subscribe” button.

You can look up recalls at www.recalls.gov

The most recent recall headlines include:

• Coffee Makers Recalled by Sears Due to Fire and Burn Hazards
• Stroller Activity Bars Recalled by International Playthings Due to Choking Hazard
• IMS Recalls Car Chargers Used With Halogen Spotlights Sold at Sears and K-Mart Due to Fire and Burn Hazards

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or visit CPSC’s web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html.

Clark Howard, the Atlanta-based consumer advocate and host of the Clark Howard Show, has forgotten more about travel bargains than most people would know in a lifetime.

On his radio show, he recently gave this advice: When booking a hotel room to attend a meeting or convention, don’t tell the customer representative that you’re attending an event.

Turns out, you’ll get a *worse* rate most of the time than the average consumer. Convention organizers usually tell you to mention that you’re booking a room to attend an event, presumably to get group-discount rate. But the truth is, at least sometimes, the organization pushes the higher room rates in exchange for freebies and discounts organizers get, such as a break on the price of meeting and conference rooms.

“The reality is, hotels rip people off who are attending a meeting or convention with hugely expensive rates they pretend are a discount,” Howard said on his show.

Most of the time, you’ll be better off using the usual tactics to get a price break on a room, such as using Hotwire.com and Priceline.com, Howard said. Information at BiddingForTravel.com can help you better bid on rooms with Priceline.com. Of course, you might get a better rate staying at a nearby hotel, rather than the hotel hosting the conference.

If your company is paying for your accommodations, maybe you don’t care. But when the money’s coming from your household budget or your small-business budget, lower rates can matter a lot.

Price-comparison Web sites, sometimes called shop-bots, are a great tool for the savvy consumers. At places like Google Product Search, MySimon and PriceGrabber, you can instantly compare prices for a wide host of products.

A new Web site, launched this week by my friend Edgar Dworsky of ConsumerWorld.org, is called Deal Alerter. It goes one step further than the shop-bots. Here’s a description from a news release:

Bargain hunters no longer have to repeatedly check and recheck prices for the same item, such as a particular flat panel TV, GPS, or digital camera. Deal Alerter does it for them automatically. It then emails an alert to the shopper when the item they want to buy drops to the price they want to pay. Here is how it works:

1. The shopper picks an item and checks its current price range.
    
   
2. If prices seem too high, he or she can set a lower target
   price.
   
3. The site automatically rechecks store prices daily, and then
   sends the shopper an email alert if prices drop to or below their
   target price.

When you try it out, you’ll see Deal Alerter is built using the PriceGrabber shop-bot. For some reason, my eye had trouble finding the link “Set Price Alert.” But it’s there. It’s just above the “User Reviews” with the red stars. You’ll have to register an e-mail address with PriceGrabber to use Deal Alerter.