I first learned about this from a consumer radio show, but I thought it was important enough to investigate further. I think everyone's heard about credit card interest rates jumping because of a late payment on a different card or bill--or credit limits being lowered without warning. This is a scary new situation to look out for.

If you have a credit card, you have probably already agreed to binding arbitration with your credit card company without even knowing it. Somewhere in a bill stuffer or in the tiny fine print of your credit card agreement, there is a clause that takes away your day in court should you have a dispute with your bank or get behind in your monthly payments.

Here's why this is a problem--the arbitrators work for the credit card company and rule in their favor as often as 99.8% of the time. That's the figure in California (one state where this information is public). The credit card company can even tack on large attorney's fees and charge you, and they almost always win.

What's even worse is that often these cases are then turned over to the courts, and the arbitration award becomes a judgement. A judgement can mean wage garnishment, a lien on your house, and ruined credit.

I hope you'll check out this recent article from Business Week.

If this makes you angry, please take a moment to call or mail the Minnesota Attorney Generals office where the largest arbitration company is headquartered (the National Arbitration Forum). It's my understanding the State of Minnesota is investigating them and their procedures. The attorney general's office is taking complaints, so if you have been victim of "arbitration" or would like to email a complaint about the process, please contact:

LORI SWANSON
Attorney General
State Capital, Suite 102
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, JR. Blvd
St Paul, Minnesota 55155
Voice: (651) 296-3353 Toll-free: (800) 657-3787

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How many of you are trying to spend less money and could use more time in your day? I bet just about everyone who's reading this!

What if I could offer you your own personal meal planner who would provide recipes and a corresponding grocery list sorted by category to make shopping easier? I'll even throw in a couple of freebies.

And, you could have all of this to use for a full month for one penny with no obligation and no strings attached? Well, you can!

This offer is from a work-at-home mom who wants you to try her meal plans and see if they are right for you.

Click to check out her site, and try a full month of her service for one penny with no further obligation ever. If you find it IS saving you time and money on your grocery bills (and keeping you away from fast food), you can continue with her service.

The average family saves $60 a week by cooking at home.

Start planning your meals and stop:

• overspending on eating out
• ordering unhealthy pizzas or making trips to the drive-thru because you don't have anything planned for dinner
• running to the grocery store three times a week or more.

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Hurry--for 48 hours only, the Oprah show's website is offering a free download of a great holiday CD. You can even download the CD cover if you want to burn a copy, print out a nice label, and put it in a case. Of course, these songs can be kept on your computer or loaded onto your MP3 player too.

Here's the link and a list of songs. Artists include Aretha Franklin, Faith Hill, Harry Connick Jr., and Il Divo.

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081118_tows_holiday/2

Holiday Hits 2008

Faith Hill, "Joy to the World" from the album Joy to the World www.amazon.com © 2008 Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Tony Bennett, "I'll be Home for Christmas" from the album A Swingin' Christmaswww.tonybennett.net © 2008 Sony Music Entertainment

Il Divo, "O Holy Night" from the album The Christmas Collection www.Ildivo.com © 2005 Simco Limited exclusively licensed to Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited

Josh Groban, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" from the album Noel www.joshgroban.com © 2007 Reprise Records

Brian McKnight, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" from the album I'll Be Home for Christmas www.bmcknight.com © 2008 Razor & Tie Direct, LLC

Amy Grant, "O Come All Ye Faithful" from the album The Christms Collection www.amygrant.com © 2008 Amy Grant Productions

Harry Connick Jr., "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" from the album What a Night! A Christmas Album www.hconnickjr.com © 2008 Sony Music Entertainment

Aretha Franklin, "Silent Night" from the album This Christmas www.borders.com © 2008 DMI Records

I found this freebie at http://twitter.com/MoneySavingGuid Click there for more good ideas.

You can follow MomsWhoSave on twitter too for extra deal updates in addition to those on the website. Our twitter link is: http://twitter.com/MomsWhoSave You don't have to join to see all the offers posted there.

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Thanks to those of you who entered the pearl necklace giveaway. A winner's been chosen, and she's been notified.

Now, for those of you who are a little more practical, here's something you're going to love! I was recently sent the SmartShopper. What's a SmartShopper, you're asking?

It's a little electronic gadget that sticks to your fridge, and whenever you think of an errand you need to run or something you need at the store, you tell the SmartShopper. It saves the information for you until you're ready to head out, then it prints your grocery list--even sorting it by category (produce, freezer section, etc.). You can mark the items you have a coupon for too. Your errands are at the top of list. Now that is really "smart!"

If you're a coupon user, you'll like being able to mark your coupon items so easily, and for large shopping trips, it's nice to be able to add items to your list at any time, but then have the SmartShopper group them together by section for you later. It makes for a much more efficient shopping trip once you're in the grocery store.

The SmartShopper prints using thermal paper that doesn't need ink and runs on regular AA batteries.

The price is $79.99, and shipping is free through the end of December. As a bonus, MomsWhoSave visitors can take $5 off with discount code SA89469. To order visit http://getsmartshopper.com/ Order by December 18th for Christmas delivery if using free ground shipping.

If you'd like to see the SmartShopper in action, check it out here:



I have one to give away, so if you need to get organized, and would like to win a SmartShopper, here's what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment letting me know why you want to win a SmartShopper.
For additional entries...
2. Twitter users can tweet this giveaway using this wording "RT @MomsWhoSave is giving away a SmartShopper at http://momswhosave.blogspot.com" and then let me know you tweeted in a separate comment below.
3. Have a website or blog? Add the MomsWhoSave.com button to your sidebar. (it's over to your right) Let me know in a separate comment, so I can go check it out.

This giveaway ends Friday night, December 19th at 10 p.m. EST and one winner will be chosen at random from all entries received. (Sorry, this one's open to U.S. residents only.)

Good luck!

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You can now follow MomsWhoSave.com on twitter. You don't have to have your own account, but you can visit us here to see even more deals than we have on the website. There are updates at least a few times each day--almost 2,500 offers so far!

This is where we'll list computer and electronics offers, short-term deals, travel sales, and printable coupons, along with our regular offers. We'll also offer deals that we just don't have room for on the website.

We have also redesigned MomsWhoSave and will show our best deals on the homepage every day. For more offers, visit our twitter updates. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for even more deals delivered to your inbox. You can subscribe from our MomsWhoSave homepage or click here.

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