How do I know if I'm saving enough money?

If zero degrees is the ideal temperature for a freezer, what is the ideal temperature for the refrigerator?
Donald D., Niagara Falls, N.Y.

This one doesn’t come up much in our kitchen, but then we probably don’t take cold temperatures as seriously as you do up there in Niagara Falls. (And if we lived there, we’d likely have the same healthy respect for deep cold.)

To answer your question, we decided to find someone else that takes cold seriously, and we ended up on the General Electric Web site — where they know a thing or two about refrigerators. (GE, by way of full disclosure, owns NBC — Microsoft’s joint venture partner in MSNBC.com)

It turns out that measuring a refrigerator’s inside temperature is not as easy as it sounds. Because “the frequency of door opening plays a large role in maintaining proper refrigerator temperatures,” you need to stick the thermometer in a liquid that’s been sitting overnight, according to the folks at GE. That means you’ll have to find a bulb or candy thermometer that can withstand sub-freezing temperatures.

After the fridge has been sitting closed overnight, stick the thermometer in the cold liquid, and give it three minutes. For sub-freezing temperatures, GE suggests sticking the thermometer in some ice cream or between two frozen food packages, again for three minutes. (But we’d suggest you don’t do this with a thermometer containing mercury: it might crack and spill the mercury.)

GE’s recommendations: For a “no frost” model, the fresh food section should be somewhere between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Your freezer section should be between 0 and 8 degrees F. (Manual defrost and compact models will run about 5 to 7 degrees warmer because these models don’t have internal fans, so it takes longer to cool off after you open the door.) For dedicated freezers, expect to get a reading of -5 to 0 degrees F.

Now go have a nice warm cup of coffee.

DIGGING OUT OF DEBT
Help I'm stuck in debt! I don't receive letters from the collection agencies anymore. I don't know who to pay off. I need to clear my credit report. Is this possible? I'm afraid I'm going to get scammed if I ask for help through a debt agency. How should I go about getting financial help?
Misty S., Monticello, Fla.

Your instincts are dead on: most “debt counselors” just roll up your existing debts, pay them off with one big loan, and then charge you more interest on that big loan than you were paying before. One common way to do this is to stretch out the big loan, so your monthly payments go down. It looks like you’re “saving” money — but because that refinanced loan is takes much longer to pay off, you’ll shell out much more interest in total over the life of the loan.

The one agency that we would suggest is the National Federation of Credit Counselors. Here’s a link that will help you find an office in your area.

You may have to pay a small fee to meet with a counselor. They then may be able to negotiate a longer payment period to lower your monthly payments. This group is funded by the financial services industry, which apparently figures it’s better to collect part of a debt than none of it.

But credit problems have gotten a lot tougher to resolve since the bankruptcy laws were changed in October. It’s now much harder to file for bankruptcy, and you’re on the hook for more money if you do.

 

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