Several major U.S. banks are beta-testing a new way to give you access to your mobile banking account, which could mark the beginning of the end for your password headaches, according to Toby Rush, CEO of EyeVerify, a Kansas City, Kan., technology firm.

Rush did not name the banks, citing confidentiality agreements. But he said testing was expected to continue through summer and consumers might see the technology on the market as early as this fall. Wireless carriers are also interested, Rush said.

EyeVerify calls its biometric identity authentication technology "eyeprints," and Consumer Reports Money Minute was there to see it demonstrated last week in San Francisco.

An estimated 50 million U.S. consumers now do their banking by smart phone. If you're one of them, you may still have lingering doubts about the security of checking your account balances, transferring funds, paying bills, and otherwise managing your most private financial affairs on a device that could easily fall into the wrong hands.

In fact, banking by cell phone is highly secure—for now. But with the number of people who use mobile banking expected to more than double by 2016, the number of criminals drawn to mobile banking fraud is also expected to rise, according to The Aite Group, a Boston-based financial services industry research firm.

Unfortunately, one of today's key defenses—password protection—is vulnerable to hacking. EyeVerify says its eyeprints, which scrutinize the vein patterns in the whites of your eyes, are a much more reliable method of confirming that you are the bank account holder that you say you are. EyeVerify's system produced a false accept rate of just 0.002 percent in 50,850 testing trials conducted for the company by the Biometric Standards, Performance & Assurance Lab at Purdue University. That's "actually better than fingerprints," says Rush.

However, until your mobile banking app sees the whites of your eyes, take these steps to boost your security:

• Create strong passwords
• Take smart security precautions in using your smart phone
• Lock down the phone
• Use our Internet security guide

Headed into the Memorial Day holiday, stocks, as measured by the Standard & Poor's 500 index, have returned more than 17 percent to investors in 2013. And consumer confidence is finally ticking upward as well. The Consumer Reports Index is sharply higher this month, and is now at a level not seen since 2008. Other confidence indexes show an increase as well, but far from the giddy levels of 1999 and 2000.

So what does our index—which measures consumer sentiment, employment, and financial stress of U.S. consumers—or other consumer confidence indexes, say about stocks going forward? Academics, never a group to shy away from a comparison, have regularly looked at the pair of data. What they usually found is that, if anything, consumer sentiment is a negative predictor of stock prices. One of the more cited research papers on the topic, by Meir Statman and Ken Fisher, concluded that when consumer sentiment is low, stock prices rise 6 and 12 months later. And when sentiment is high, stocks do poorly in the short-term (12 months is short term performance here at Consumer Reports).

This and other studies conclude that consumer confidence increases because stocks are up, not the other way around. This may be one of the ways that the wealth effect—the idea that consumers who own assets that are increasing in price will make them comfortable enough to spend more—is, finally, expressing itself. Some market observers, particularly in the past few years, have suggested that the wealth effect, if it hasn't disappeared altogether, may have shrunk over the past few years. The recent confidence data may in fact show that the wealth effect hasn't shrunk, but may simply be a bit late to the party. After the headache the consumers have had over the past 5 years, that isn't surprising.

Lots of websites sell eyeglasses these days. Many offer substantial discounts compared with the likes of eyewear chains (LensCrafters, Pearl Vision) and doctor offices and independent shops, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars off a complete pair of glasses.

You'll also find a much broader selection of frames online compared to what you'll find at discounters such as Walmart and Costco (which for years have earned high marks from Consumer Reports readers).

Online eyeglasses retailers such as Simply Eyeglasses also have a lot of useful information about how to choose frames and lenses.

There are drawbacks to buying online, however, especially if you're purchasing lenses and frames. You'll have to provide your prescription information, wait for the glasses to arrive, and then deal with any issues afterward, which can be a time-consuming hassle. Buying online also means you won't have the after-purchase attention you'd get from a professional in a walk-in store, say getting your new frames adjusted.

Also, Web eyeglasses retailers typically don't take vision insurance, so you'll have to pay up front and get reimbursed by your plan, if you're even allowed to use out-of-network providers.

Before buying online, consider how much in-person attention you want. Also vet the site--some of the lowest-cost sites we've seen have received an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. It's also wise to find out what a site's customers are saying by searching for the name of the site along with such terms as "review" and "complaints." And, of course, check out the site's return policy and warranty.

If you're concerned about getting your lenses filled online or have a complex prescription that includes bifocals or trifocals, an alternative is to buy only the frame online and have the prescription filled locally. You can do that at Walmart and Costco, though either will charge you a little more to add lenses to a frame you bought elsewhere.

If you're a homeowner, don't be bamboozled into paying big bucks for a copy of your property deed. Scammers have been sending solicitations from companies using official-sounding names, such as "Record Retrieval Department" and "National Deed Service," asking in some cases for more than $100 to provide homeowners with copies of their deed, attorneys general in several states have warned.

The solicitations falsely claim that government agencies advise homeowners that they should have an official or certified copy of their deed. Even if you need a copy of yours, it's usually available from your county or other property office at little or no cost.

In March, Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell announced that he had
reached a settlement with a California man, who he accused of collecting about $2,500 from 29 Vermont homeowners in connection with property-deed sales, in some case sending documents that appeared to be invoices. Sorrell said the solicitations falsely claimed that the company, using the name Record Retrieval Department, was located in Vermont. To settle allegations that he sent deceptive solicitations, the man agreed to provide refunds, pay a $7,500 civil penalt, and be permanently barred from doing business in the state.

In April, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced that he had filed a lawsuit against a company in that state that he said was "using government-like mailings to offer copies of property deeds for exorbitant fees."

If you receive such a solicitation, don't respond. Instead, report it to your state attorney general or consumer protection office.

If you ever failed to pay a bill that was subsequently sent to a collection agency, it can still hurt you even if you pay it off. That's because any blemish can stay on your credit report for up to seven years.

So the press was abuzz lately over the fact that the new VantageScore 3.0 model released in March ignores paid collection items and thus boosts your credit score.

But there's one big problem: Most lenders don't actually use VantageScore. For example, only 1,300 of its client lenders use it, according to Experian, one of the big three credit bureaus. Instead, most use their own credit scoring systems, which can produce scores meaningfully different than the ones that consumers can buy.

So a more consumer-friendly VantageScore, which you can buy for $8, might make you feel good about your creditworthiness--at first. But if you apply for credit from a lender who uses a different scoring system that does penalize you for collection items, you could be charged a higher interest rate or turned down for the loan in the first place. Since the lender score is the only one that counts, why buy the VantageScore in the first place?

One solution was re-introduced in Congress in late April. As reported in Consumerist, the Medical Debt Relief Act, would require credit bureaus to remove medical-related collection items under $2,500 within 45 days of their being paid off. Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, supports the legislation, as they did an earlier version that was introduced in 2009 but failed to become law.

Until Congress acts, consumers can take self-help steps to improve their score. When negotiating to pay off any collection account, try to make your payment contingent on removal of the collection item from your report--and get that agreement in writing before you pay.

If your bad debt was sold to a collection agency, you must also deal with the original account, which is likely now also listed as "charged off" or "sold to collections." Ask the collection agency for the name and phone number of the person with the original creditor who has authority to remove the item.

Explain to the original creditor that you're working to repay your debts, and ask that the item be removed, advises Margaret Reiter, an attorney and author of Credit Repair (Nolo Press). In pleading your case, draw on any illnesses, accidents, job losses, divorce, or other hard luck that honestly contributed to your situation.

Look for more information about credit scores in the July issue of Consumer Reports.

It's one thing to blow the bank on a gourmet dinner at a Paris restaurant, quite another to pay more than you need to for it because of fees or a bad exchange rate. So it will come as good news to summer travelers abroad that the dollar buys more of the major currencies (the Euro, British Pound, and Japanese Yen) than it did at the beginning of 2013. What's more, you don't have to give back the gain in foreign transaction or conversion fees when you pay using a credit card.

Those fees currently average 2.24 percent across all cards, according to CardHub.com. Although the typical foreign transaction fee is still 3 percent, there are more credit cards that don't charge a fee than in prior years. And half of our recommended travel cards don't charge a transaction fee at all.

While it might make you feel secure to grab some foreign currency from your bank ahead of time or at the airport foreign exchange counter, the rate you'll receive will be even worse than a fee you might incur when paying by credit card—either because of a transaction fee, or because the exchange rate is simply terrible, or both. If you can wait, withdraw money at a bank ATM in the country you're visiting. Despite what you may have read about new chip-and-PIN technology of foreign debit cards, most ATMs abroad still accept the magnetic strip cards widely issued in the U.S. And depending on your bank or credit union, some or all of your ATM transactions will be free. Finally, the exchange rate you receive from an ATM outside your adopted Parisian bistro will almost certainly be more favorable.

Check our best travel credit cards and Airline Travel Buying Guide for more travel tips.

After you've racked up all those frequent-flyer miles, the last thing you want to do is lose them. But that's what will happen with most frequent-flyer plans when you don't use the miles within 12 to 36 months. One miles-saving option is to get a cobranded airline credit card with American Express, MasterCard, or Visa. With summer-travel season approaching, it's certainly worth considering.

For instance, whereas American Airlines frequent-flyer miles expire after 18 months, with the Citibank Platinum AAdvantage Visa card, every purchase you make resets the clock on your miles to 18 months. With the United MileagePlus Explorer Visa card, your United Airlines frequent-flyer miles will never expire while you're a card member, even if you don't make any purchases. (Delta is the one major airline whose frequent-flyer miles never expire.)

Keep in mind that travel cards carry an annual fee, though that charge is sometimes waived the first year. What's more, the up-front bonus miles you receive for signing up (as high as 50,000) and the purchases you make within the first few months will add to your pile of frequent-flyer miles. And the perks typically offered, such as free checked baggage for you and family members, could more than offset an annual fee.

Don't want to be tethered to a specific airline? Consider the American Express Premier Rewards Gold, Capital One Venture Rewards Visa, and Chase Sapphire Preferred cards. The frequent-flyer miles on those cards never expire, and you can use them to buy tickets on nearly any airline. Some of the rewards programs linked to those cards, including American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, also let you transfer miles you've earned to the frequent-flyer programs of individual airlines. Moving just a single mile can help you keep all of your miles in those airline programs active.

If you want to avoid an annual fee or don't want another credit card, check out the online store associated with your frequent-flyer program. These sites typically feature dozens of partner retailers, and buying something with miles might reset the frequent-flyer clock. Another option is the dining program that American Airlines and Southwest Airlines offer: You register any credit card, and whenever you go to a partner restaurant, bar, or club, you earn miles for every dollar spent.

When the Consumer Reports Index reported recently that Americans are feeling significantly better about their personal finances, I could definitely agree. My husband recently found a new job after an uncomfortable stretch of underemployment.

I've been thinking in the last few days about all the ways we adjusted--and the lessons in frugality we learned--while he searched for a new position. Though we're heading back to normalcy, I expect we're going to continue some of those habits. They're wise steps to take in good times and bad. I'll share a few with you here.

• Know what you spend, then cut. I found Mint.com useful--though not perfect--for tracking spending and deciding where to cut. Where we whacked most: entertainment (good-bye Netflix, hello public library); restaurants (we learned to cook!); clothes (shop consignment); and travel (a weekend in Poughkeepsie actually was a lot of fun).

• Build an emergency fund. While my husband was still working full-tilt, we'd followed Consumer Reports' advice to save at least six months' living expenses in an online cash account. After his income plummeted, we still avoided tapping that fund for day-to-day expenses. But the emergency stash was handy for bills when, within a short time span, the following died: our two ancient cars, a dishwasher, a vacuum cleaner, a microwave oven, a beloved beagle, and a barely tolerable cat.

• Buy used cars. I replaced one dead car with a used Hyundai Sonata sedan based on a Consumer Reports recommendation, and saved a couple thousand dollars over buying new.

• Be creative in finding extra income. We boarded foreign students enrolled in a local English-language school. We not only earned a stipend, but got to know some lovely kids. We hope to visit them eventually in their home countries when our bank account revives.

• Grieve your property taxes. I feel guilty recommending this because loss of local taxes means the potential loss of jobs. But it was our right to do it and we felt we had no choice; taxes in our very high-tax town had more than doubled over about a decade. We went through the process on our own at little cost, and ended up saving about $2,000 a year.

• Adjust withholding. I gradually increased the allowances on my W-4 from 0 to 7 after using the IRS Withholding Calculator. That put several hundred dollars more in my paychecks every month, and our 2012 tax return confirms we didn't over-withhold. While a fat refund's nice, it means the government's keeping too much of your money for too long. (Now that my husband's employed, I've reduced my withholding to zero again.)

• Get a HELOC while you're employed. We regretted not doing this. We retired a home-equity line of credit when we refinanced our first mortgage in 2010 and didn't apply for a new HELOC. When our household income tanked, our bank wouldn't lend us more. Even if we didn't tap the HELOC, its presence would have helped us sleep better 'til the first new paycheck arrived.

I recently gave our house a top-to-bottom spring cleaning. My takeaway, besides sore muscles, was the realization that we have a lot of stuff we no longer use or want to clean. Among our collection are a dated Sony Trinitron TV and a tired iMac G3 computer, inherited collectibles that just aren't our style, unneeded furniture in the basement, clothing that no longer fits . . . you get the idea. We haven't yet figured out to do with all those things.

If you find yourself in a similar situation and want to try to make a few bucks--and are up for a bit of a challenge--holding a good old-fashioned garage sale (stoop sale, yard sale, or rummage sale) could be a worthwhile way to unclutter your home. Just follow these seven tips so your sale goes smoothly.

Find out whether you need a permit. A few weeks out, contact your municipal offices about the need for a permit. The fee is typically only a few dollars. Also ask about any restrictions on where you can post signs for your sale.

Get the word out. 
If you can post signs, make enough directional signs no bigger than 15x15 inches on hot-pink poster board. They should simply read "Sale" and include your address and an arrow pointing the way to your home. Check them in advance of the day of the garage sale to make sure they haven't blown away, been covered by someone, or damaged.

Go through your stuff. 
There's a good chance you've forgotten about a $20 bill you slipped into a jacket pocket or keepsakes in drawers. Make sure there isn't any vitally important information, say an active credit cards in a purse or private data on a hard drive.

If you think an object is valuable, do some research online or get it appraised. If you've ever watched PBS' "Antiques Roadshow," you know that that one person's junk can become another lucky person's loot. Don't let that happen to yourself.

Start the sale on Thursday or Friday. 
And kick things off early—say, 6 a.m. or 7 a.m.—to ensure that you'll get the going-to-work and driving-the-kids-to-school crowd. Continue the sale over the weekend. Be sure to follow any town ordinances on start and stop times, and be sensitive to your neighbors.

Don't put a price tag on merchandise. You'll probably make more money if you just ask customers what they're willing to pay.

Be friendly and welcoming. 
People are less likely to buy from you if you're ignoring them. Greet shoppers to your garage sale and be available to answer questions and negotiate. That means keeping your head out of your e-reader and avoiding yapping on the phone when people stop by to peruse your wares.

Think about security. Your house should be locked during the garage sale. Keep your money and a phone with you at all times. (Be sure that your till is stocked with plenty of small bills and change.) People with counterfeit bills sometimes turn up at garage sales, so try not to accept big bills. And don't bother chasing after someone who shoplifts.

Still can't make a sale? Donate your cast-offs and get a tax break. Read "When Did Charities Get So Picky?" for the lowdown on noncash charitable donations.)

Americans are feeling significantly better about their personal finances, according to the monthly Consumer Reports Index. Consumer sentiment rose 8.8 percent to 54.5, the highest level in more than five years. The broad-based increase crossed all income and education groups; the greatest gain was among consumers in households earning less than $50,000.

"It has been a real positive month for a lot of Americans," says Ed Farrell, director of consumer insight at the Consumer Reports National Research Center. "While the recession has had a long tail that continues to burden lower-income families disproportionately, improving sentiment among that group indicates that they are starting to feel better about the days ahead."

Even with improving consumer sentiment and declining financial difficulties--which dropped to 41.7 from 42.3--Americans are still pulling back on spending.

"With the roller-coaster ride that has defined the consumer's experience of the recovery, hesitancy to spend may be a rational outcome. It's likely to take several months of improving prospects and a strengthening job outlook before consumers fully engage," Farrell says. (Employment dipped to 50.3 from 50.8, with the overall number of Americans starting a new job falling slightly.)

The Consumer Reports Index, a monthly telephone poll of a nationally representative sample of Americans, is conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. It comprises five measures: Employment, Retail, Sentiment, Stress, and the Trouble Tracker. A total of 1,008 interviews were completed from April 25-28. The margin of error is +/-3.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Last month: Retail spending declines, but Americans plan to spend more in April

This spring's floods in the Midwest, against the backdrop of Hurricane Sandy's six-month anniversary, underline why a purchasing a national flood insurance policy can be so crucial regardless of where you live.

A lot of homeowners apparently don't realize they need flood insurance. Consumer Reports' recent survey of Hurricane Sandy victims shows that 30 percent of homeowners affected by Sandy needed flood insurance and didn't have it. Another survey, by the financial data publisher Bankrate.com showed that only about half of Americans even know whether their home is in a high-, moderate- or low-risk flood area.

The NFIP has been redrawing flood maps in recent years, and some homes formerly considered moderate-risk may now be high risk. The bank holding your mortgage likely would tell you of such a change because it's in the bank's interest to protect your home. But if you've satisfied your mortgage, you might not find out.

Keep in mind, too, that living outside a high-risk area doesn't make you immune to damaging floods. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, a division of FEMA, more than 20 percent of flood claims each year come from homes located in areas that aren't considered high-risk.

You can check out your area's flood map here to determine your property's flood risk. And Check Consumer Reports advice on buying flood insurance, as well as our Ratings of homeowners insurance and auto insurance.

I was surprised to learn while editing a recent beauty article for our sister publication, ShopSmart, that the label "cruelty-free" on cosmetics doesn't necessarily guarantee that the product wasn't tested on animals. The same goes for "no animal testing" (how's that for incongruous?). While the terms sound good, it turns out that neither of them is legally defined nor backed by any certifying organization.

So how can you find products that really are kind to animals? One way is to look for is the Leaping Bunny logo (shown in photo). It indicates that the company that makes the product has agreed to adhere to standards of compassion developed by a coalition of eight animal-protection groups. Those include not conducting or commissioning animal tests and also making sure the ingredients they buy from suppliers weren't animal-tested.

In addition to beauty and personal-care products, you can also find the Leaping Bunny assurance on certain household cleaners, plus some baby and pet-care products.

You can download a full list of companies that participate in the program, or request a handy pocket-sized version, on the Leaping Bunny website.

And you can read more about animal-welfare labels on personal-care and household products—including others you might be able to trust, like Certified Vegan—from our eco-label experts. With resources like this, it's easy to be beautiful and kind.

Recently we asked debt-management experts for their best tips on handling debt. Several are certified credit counselors in agencies connected with the nonprofit National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), a group that offers free or low-cost help. Our tips will help you pare down what you owe.

Tip 1: After budgeting, negotiate
Tip 2: Consolidate your obligations
Tip 3: Prioritize payments
Tip 4: Use a credit counselor
Tip 5: Consider the last resort

Tip 1: After budgeting, negotiate

A first step for clients of InCharge Debt Solutions in Orlando, Fla., is an analysis of income, expenses, and assets, says Mike Leon, manager of credit-counseling operations. He then helps them prepare a scaled-back spending plan.

Leon will also contact a client's credit-card company to request a lower interest rate. He says he's often able to negotiate reductions for clients in the single digits. Recently he had an interest rate on a $4,900 balance cut to 7 percent from 16 percent, and another balance of $2,550 was cut to 6 percent from 24 percent.

But you can do that yourself. "You'd be surprised at how many people don't call their creditors before things get to a point where they're falling behind," says Bruce McClary, a spokesman for ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions in Seattle. You'll get more cooperation if you're still current with payments.

Tip 2: Consolidate your obligations

Folding multiple credit-card and loan bills into one loan with one monthly payment can help you manage what you owe. There are two types of debt consolidation worth considering:

Combine student loans. The average college graduate with a bachelor's degree in 2011 holds $27,000 in debt among 8 to 12 student loans, says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FastWeb.com and FinAid.org, college-finance resource hubs. Borrowers can make their lives much easier by seeking a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan. The federal student-aid website has details.

In consolidation, a weighted average of all the student's loan interest rates determines a new rate and monthly payment, which can't exceed 8.25 percent. Students typically are offered several repayment options. The minimum monthly payment on a consolidation loan may in fact be lower than the combined payments for a borrower's federal loans.

Parents who have borrowed for their children's college education can consolidate their Direct PLUS loans--fixed-rate education loans borrowed from the federal government--but they can't group them with their children's loans.

The system can help identify those who are eligible for new debt-forgiveness and income-based repayment plans. Loans that originated from private lenders can't be consolidated under this program. Read "Student Loan Borrowers Shouldn't Get a Degree in Debt" for more information on paying for college.

Transfer debt to a lower-rate card. Some credit cards offer a zero-percent teaser interest rate on balance transfers for a limited time. You'll typically pay a transfer fee of 3 to 4 percent of the balance. If you don't pay off the entire balance by the time the teaser rate expires--usually 12 to 18 months--you'll owe at a much higher rate, generally between 12 and 22 percent. (Read about the best travel credit cards.)

If you don't think you can pay the balance within the introductory period, opt for a card with a low fixed rate. One with a relatively low rate for the life of the balance transfer--4.99 percent--is the PenFed Promise Visa Card from Pentagon Federal Credit Union. People who are not federal employees or connected to the military or qualifying organizations can join PenFed for a nominal amount.

Tip 3: Prioritize payments

If you can't pay all your debts each month, Deanne Loonin, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center in Boston and author of the center's "Guide to Surviving Debt," recommends focusing on keeping current on secured debt--obligations like auto loans and mortgages that are backed by property. Give high priority to debts related to necessities such as utilities and debts you can't discharge, including student loans and unpaid federal taxes.

Have a plan for dealing with unsecured credit-card debt. If you made only the minimum 2 percent payment on a $2,000 balance accruing interest at 18 percent, it would take you 24 years to pay it off. Increasing payments to 5 percent would cut your repayment period to six and a half years. Boost it to 10 percent, and you'd be free in about three and a half years.

When the Consumer Reports Money Lab analyzed different ways of prioritizing credit-card payments, we found that paying off the card with the highest interest rate first resulted in the lowest amount of interest paid. But if that balance is large, you won't feel the liberating results as fast. With the "snowball approach," you budget a total monthly amount to pay your credit-card bills. You pay the minimum on the larger balances, and work on paying off the smallest balance first. You may end up paying more in interest, but you'll get a psychological lift from erasing each card's debt. And having open accounts with a zero balance might help your credit score.

Tip 4: Use a credit counselor

Sometimes doing it yourself is just too hard.

With a debt-management plan (DMP), a counselor can negotiate with most creditors to lower rates and eliminate late fees and other penalties. Then the agency will act as a consolidator, collecting one monthly payment from the debtor and disbursing funds to creditors. Nonprofit agencies that are members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling charge a one-time DMP setup fee of about $30. Most also require DMP maintenance fees averaging $20 a month. Before you work with an agency, research it with a local Better Business Bureau.

Avoid for-profit debt-settlement companies, which claim they will settle all your debt for a fee without counseling or a DMP. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says those arrangements usually can't get you better terms than what you could negotiate yourself.

Tip 5: Consider the last resort

Personal bankruptcy--under Chapters 7 and 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code--can seem like the financial version of a nuclear option, but experts say it can be a useful tool for some people. "You have the same right as General Motors to discharge your unsecured debt," says Georgette Miller, an attorney in Lawnside, N.J., with additional offices in Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania.

In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, credit-card balances can revert to zero. You can keep your home and car. You'll still owe on first mortgages, auto loans, and usually student debt. Student-debt interest continues to accrue during the bankruptcy period, but those creditors can't pursue you for payment. You can stretch out or catch up on other debt for up to five years. After that, your student loans revert to your original loan terms or to new negotiated terms.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy requires you to liquidate assets to pay your debts, but it also discharges your liability for certain debt (student loans are an exception). You're eligible for Chapter 7 when your income is below a certain dollar threshold. Federal and state bankruptcy laws offer exemptions to protect you from having to sell some assets. Florida exempts primary residences; Nevada exempts primary-home equity of up to $550,000 per couple. Federal law exempts equity in a vehicle worth up to $3,675, among other exemptions. Social Security, pension benefits, and retirement-account assets are exempt as well.

Over the last 30 years, the 401(k) plan has replaced the company pension as the primary method of financing a retirement in the U.S. In theory, 401(k) plans should have been a sufficient replacement for traditional, defined benefit pensions. In practice—and this has been especially apparent over the last decade—most retirement plans based on 401(k)s aren't up to the task.

"The Retirement Gamble," the latest news documentary from the PBS public affairs program "Frontline," focuses on the many inadequacies of our current retirement system, and the 401(k) savings plan is Exhibit A. The documentary is scheduled to appear on public television stations this week.

With the first generation of employees approaching a retirement financed exclusively with a 401(k) or other similar defined contribution plan, the 401(k)'s deficiencies have been exposed. In "The Retirement Gamble," we meet millennials with less than $10,000 in retirement savings, and baby boomers with less than $100,000, sums not nearly enough to support 30 years of retirement living. Even a retiree with $500,000 in assets appears less than comfortable with that balance.

The primary culprits are fees and lack of financial education. Depending on the size of your employer (generally, but not always, larger firms will have lower fees), the fees for a mutual fund manager of the funds within your 401(k) plus the opaque fees a plan provider charges to manage the 401(k) plan can often exceed 2 percent annually. Over a 30 year career, fees that high can compound to tens of thousands of dollars.

There have been some advances in response to this drag on savings for retirement. Since 2007, 401(k) plans have been required to offer a Qualified Default Investment Alternative, or QDIA, which often takes the form of a target date fund. These can take much of the guesswork out of asset allocation, but target date funds can still have expense ratios approaching those of expensive actively managed funds. And since last year, employers have been required to itemize for employees the costs of their 401(k) plans and certain administrative costs.

Q: Once again, in a recent issue of Consumer Reports, cell-phone service Ratings for AT&T were at the bottom. Why is that so? I've used AT&T for 15 years and have never had a problem with dropped calls or voice quality. —C.K., Coldwater, Miss.

A: Our annual survey of cellular-service satisfaction, now in its 11th year, is based on the experiences of tens of thousands of CR subscribers in major cities.

Your experience might be different because of when, where, and how you use your phone. High satisfaction like yours, of course, is tallied in our assessment. But when we combined the experiences of a broad mix of users from major carriers coast to coast—63,000 of them in our 2012 survey—we found a significantly lower level of overall satisfaction with AT&T.

Keep up with the latest news about cell phones and wireless services. And check out T-Mobile announces unlimited-data plans, but don't assume they're a better deal.

With three people confirmed dead and more than 170 wounded in Monday's Boston Marathon bombings, there likely will be a big need for donations to help victims. Sadly, such tragedies often bring out con artists who use bogus websites, telemarketing, e-mail, and other types of soliciting to trick people into giving. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance has already reported seeing what it terms one "poorly-conceived charity scam" related to the Boston bombings.

And even well-intended fund-raising appeals might not use the money effectively or end up helping those most in need. That's why we advise giving to established charities, such as the American Red Cross.

Before donating to even a well-known group, find out whether it's in a position to help in the current emergency and, if so, what aid it plans to provide. Also see whether the charity has been evaluated by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, and Charity Watch. For local groups that aren't evaluated by a national charity watchdog, it may be safer to give through a fund-raising federation, such as the United Way.

For more information on disaster-related charity appeals and how to evaluate them, read our story in the May issue of the Consumer Reports Money Adviser.

Even if you waited till the last minute to file your taxes, if you're entitled to a refund you can still purchase savings bonds that earn more than a savings account at your bank or credit union. Even better, those bonds automatically keep up with inflation.

I Bonds combine a fixed rate and an inflation rate. Don't worry about the fixed rate—that's been set at zero percent since 2009. The inflation rate though, currently yields 1.76 percent, and is adjusted every six months.

Fill out Form 8888 to purchase I Bonds.

If you prefer the old-fashioned paper savings bonds, a tax refund is currently the only way to obtain them, up to $5,000 per social security number, per year. Any other purchases of I Bonds, such as through payroll deduction, require a TreasuryDirect account, and records will be kept electronically.

Tax-related identity theft can turn your life upside down and take years to resolve. I know, because it happened to me in 2007, after someone submitted an electronic tax return—days before I filed—containing personal information about me and my family, and a bogus return address. The mess took piles of paperwork, a tax advocate, and more than two years to resolve. To this day I still have nightmares that it could happen again.

Fortunately, consumers are more aware of the problem, and the IRS has made strides to educate the public, help victims, and prevent a reoccurrence. Here's some advice to flag potential problems:

I.D. protection tips
Protecting sensitive information in the first place and following up quickly to minimize the damage are paramount. Healthy skepticism can go a long way. For instance:

Ignore e-mails and social media purportedly from the IRS. The IRS doesn't contact taxpayers by e-mail, text message, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media. Nor does it send e-mails stating that you're being audited or getting a refund. That's a "phishing" scam, which you should report at phishing@irs.gov.

Confirm the authenticity of letters from the IRS. Check the agency's official contact page.

Check the URL of "IRS" tax information pages. The agency's website begins with www.irs.gov. Others are fakes.

If you are a victim
For fiscal year 2012, the IRS tripled the number of criminal investigations vs. 2011 of tax-related ID theft cases, which resulted in nearly 500 indictments. Still, hundreds of thousands of people have been victimized. To help those taxpayers, the agency is:

Expanding unique "PIN" program. In documented cases of I.D. theft, the IRS now assigns victims a unique personal identification number, which must be included on return. This has given me the biggest peace of mind since my tax nightmare. The IRS has issued PINs to more than 770,000 taxpayers, double the number of recipients in 2011. That means faster processing and a speedier refund.

Speeding up victim case resolution. Because resolving I.D. theft cases can take up to six month, the IRS has assigned more employees to sort through the details and streamline the process.

Lending an ear. The IRS now has a dedicated section on its website devoted to the problem. In addition, it has implemented a special phone number for victims. The IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit is available at 1-800-908-4490.

Also see our January 2013 report on the right way to prevent identity theft.

Consumers' outlook continues to take a toll on retail spending, according to the Consumer Reports Index, a monthly overall measure of Americans' personal financial health. The index's past-30 day retail measure fell to 9.6 from 9.9 the month before, continuing a decline that started in January.

The next-30-day retail measure, however, saw an uptick in planned spending for major appliances, small appliances, and major yard and garden equipment as consumers prepare for summer. In addition, among larger retail categories, interest in future home buying underwent a meaningful rise from 1.4 percent to 2.4 percent.

The monthly Index comprises five measures: Employment, Retail, Sentiment, Stress, and the Trouble Tracker.

• The employment measure rose to 50.8 from 49.9, and the proportion of Americans starting a new job outpaced those losing a job, albeit by a narrow margin.

• Consumer sentiment was unchanged from last month at 50.1. Sentiment has hovered between 51.2 and 48.9 since November 2012.

• The level of stress consumers felt was also unchanged at 56.5.

• Financial troubles, which had declined for three straight months, rose to 42.3 from 38.8.

"At best, consumers feel the economy is treading water. They are still holding back on spending, largely due to the uncertainty they feel," says Ed Farrell, director of consumer insight at the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

The Consumer Reports Index, a monthly telephone poll of a nationally representative sample of Americans, is conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. A total of 1,007 interviews were completed between April 4-7. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Last month: Americans' sentiment improved as financial difficulties declined

Spring signals the return of warmer weather, blooming flowers and trees, baseball, and more. And for many of you, it's also when your state or federal tax refund will arrive.

Truth be told, you're better off not getting a tax refund. That money going back to you means that the government took too much from your paycheck and that you need to adjust your withholding.

Still, since a tax refund is commonly seen as a windfall, we offer our suggestions for what to do with a refund. The average federal refund was about $3,000 last year; our refund recommendations range from free to pricey.

Cars

Upgrade your tires. New tires can make a measurable improvement in your car's performance and safety. When looking for new tires, focus on tires that do well in our tests for braking, handling, and resistance to hydroplaning.

Find a GPS navigator. You can get many of the same functions that the infotainment systems in new cars have buy picking up a portable GPS navigator. Basic units priced at $125 from Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom provide helpful turn-by-turn directions. For a bit more, you get free traffic information. At the high end, you'll find devices that add features such as a trip computer, Bluetooth capability, an MP3 player, and an FM transmitter

Electronics

Start streaming. The brand-new Roku 3 streaming media player ($100) features an enhanced user interface for finding content to watch, a motion-sensing remote with a built-in headphone jack, and a fast, powerful processor. Roku's earlier models had a lot to offer, including a wide selection of services and apps.

Take a bite of a new Apple. The 27-inch Apple iMac ($2,050) delivers excellent overall performance. Among other noteworthy features are a really thin stunning display, the latest Intel Core i5 processor, and a generous terabyte of storage. The built-in speakers are only so-so, so invest in a pair of headphones and/or external speakers. Check our buying guide and Ratings for computers.

Snap away. The Canon EOS Rebel T4i ($850) belongs in every camera maven's gear bag. This digital SLR has an excellent image stabilizer, quick startup time, a touch-screen swiveling LCD, and it can fire off five shots a second. It's also smaller and lighter than some hgher-priced SLRs. And, most important, it takes very good photos! Check our buying guide and Ratings for cameras.

Home & appliances

Paint your interior. Use Clark+Kensington finishes, high-scoring paints that cost only $32 a gallon. Create the right mood with top-rated LEDs, especially now that they're coming down in price and some are about $15.

Update your landscape. Pruning an overgrown landscape with a selective removal of plants can make a yard feel more organized, and clear the way for new plantings. Perennials tend to be less expensive than annuals and fill the yard with seasonal color and blooms. Read more about reducing the size of your lawn—and your yard work.

Get a new refrigerator. If you love seltzer and your current fridge is on the fritz, you might consider putting your tax refund toward the Samsung RF31FMESBSR French-door refrigerator, which has a built-in SodaStream sparkling-water-dispenser. Check our refrigerator buying guide and Ratings.

Personal finance

Contribute to an IRA. You'll get a tax break in addition to tax-deferred investment growth. Contributions made before April 15 can count toward either tax-year 2012 or 2013. (If you didn't account for the contribution in your 2012 return, you'll have to file an amended return.)

If you're not eligible for a traditional IRA, you might qualify for an after-tax Roth IRA. There's no deduction, but the money grows tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free after age 591/2.

Help fund your kid's Roth IRA. If you get a W-2 you can contribute up to $5,000, but no more than your child earns, per year. An expert working with Consumer Reports Money Adviser found that $5,000 invested in a Roth every year between ages 22 and 29, and compounding at an average 8 percent through age 66, would grow to $1 million, with no additional investments. (If you have kids, find out how to balance essential spending and saving for your family.)

Health

Go for a ride. For about $1,000 you'll get a good cycle-cross, which combines the knobby tires of an off-road bike with the turned-down handlebars of a road bike. Want something different? Consider the EllitiGo 3C ($1,800). You pedal while standing up, using the same elliptical motion of the indoor exercisers. And don't forget to invest in a good helmet. Our top-rated Specialized Echelon costs $60.

Cook more healthfully. Restock your kitchen with new cookware. Our top-rated nonstick set, Swiss Diamond, costs about $500. You'll also want some high-quality knives for prep work. A high-scoring set of J.A. Henckels costs about $300; a very good Ginsu Chikara set runs less than $100,

Babies & Kids

Buy baby and yourself a new stroller. If you run or walk for exercise, consider the Schwinn Free Runner ($220), which earned a very good score for running and excellent marks for maneuverability. This model is safe, thanks to its top-notch one-touch braking and five-point harness. Other strollers to consider are the Micralite Toro ($525) and, if you have two kids to push around, the Bumbleride Indie Twin ($690). Check our strollers buying guide and Ratings for more details.

Many infomercial products aren't worth more than the time you spend watching the frantic pitches. But three that we've tested combine good performance and real value: Lint Lizard, Ninja Master Prep Professional blender, and Ooma.

Lint Lizard
The Lint Lizard is almost like a magic wand. Attach the $10 device to your vacuum and suck lint out of the crevices in your dryer. Our reaching hands got 8 grams of lint and a vacuum sucked up 4 grams, but the Lint Lizard reaped 15 grams. In another dryer, a vacuum got just 0.3 grams of lint while the Lint Lizard produced 52 grams. With an average of 6,100 dryer fires a year, it's a good idea to be diligent about removing lint from your machine.

Ninja Master Prep Professional blender
The Ninja Master Prep Professional blender can do a number of chores well, including chopping, blending, and grating, earning the $60 combination food chopper and processor the top score among the models we tested. This bargain buy's design differs from other blenders—the motor is on top in a separate housing.

Ooma VoIP
Ooma is a standout among VoIP phone services (video). It's reliable with very good voice quality, and gives you free domestic calls and dirt-cheap international rates. Setup is easy.
The device costs $200 (Amazon.com and Costco price), which breaks down to less than $6 a month when amortized over a three-year period.

Not all infomercial products are worth your money or your time and should have you changing the channel:

• The Rhythm Rocker says you can get sexy abs and lose 7 pounds in 7 days, but you can probably skip this $99 device and just dance instead.
  
• The Slap Chop promises to chop and mince all kinds of foods in seconds. It chopped unevenly, and harder foods needed about 20 slaps and tended to get trapped in the blades.
  
• Jay Glazer's Perfect Punch (video) makes some knockout claims, but we weren't so impressed.

Related: Consumer Reports and "20/20" team up to look at infomercial products

Q: My husband and I are ready to start investing in a 529 college savings plan for our child. Do you recommend that we go with the one offered by the state where we live, New York, or choose the best performer from another state?—A.D., Eastchester, N.Y.

A: One benefit of the New York plan is that residents get a deduction on their state income tax of up to $5,000 for a single taxpayer or $10,000 for a couple filing jointly. You won't get the deduction if you put the money in another state's plan, though all 529 plans allow your money to grow tax deferred, and withdrawals are not subject to federal income taxes as long as they're used for qualified higher-education expenses.

If you don't care about the state tax deduction, you can compare all of the state plans at www.savingforcollege.com or search for "529 plans" at morningstar.com.

Regardless of the plan you choose, consider contributing regularly by payroll deduction or by automatic withdrawals from your checking account. Check our guide to saving for college for more information.

• Tax-wise ways to save for college
• College, retirement, or emergencies—which should you save for first?
• Parents' guide to taxes

The recently expanded Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Complaint Database lets you submit and view gripes about bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and more, but its use is limited.

More than 90,000 searchable complaints are in the Consumer Complaint Database, a number that grows daily. Each entry shows the type of complaint, how the company responded, and whether the consumer is disputing the answer, and other information. A search for "Wells Fargo" in the "bank account or service" category returned more than 15,600 complaints, sortable by subproduct, such as "checking account" or "conventional fixed mortgage," as well as by ZIP code and date received.

One big drawback to the Consumer Complaint Database is that you can't read the complaints themselves. And issue summaries are very brief and typically not extremely useful. For example, one of the Wells Fargo checking-account complaints simply listed the issue as "Account opening, closing, or management." Another said the issue was "Problems caused by my funds being low." Clicking on the complaints didn't provide further details. A CFPB blog post provides suggestions for how you might use the database.

You'll likely get more useful information by checking company reports at the Better Business Bureau or by doing a general Web search with the name of a company, product, or service and such words as "complaints" or "reviews."

Related: Become your own consumer watchdog

The federal government has secret shoppers like Consumer Reports has, and they're not afraid to use them. Last year, investigators with the Government Accountability Office contacted the 30 largest 401(k) service providers to see how easy it would be to move 401(k) savings from one plan to another, as when one joins a new company. What they encountered, in a report the GAO released this week, was inefficiency, and occasional misinformation.

The inefficiency often begins with your employers. A new employer may want to be certain that your 401(k) plan is one that qualifies, but your old employer may not be so prompt in confirming the information. It is up to the participant--you--to make sure your old employer completes the paperwork. And when the GAO's investigator contacted the 401(k) plan providers for guidance, he was often steered toward a rollover IRA, despite knowing nothing about his particular financial circumstance.

For those who still want a rollover from one 401(k) plan to another, the GAO found that plan providers often preferred to send the check to the plan participant instead of sending the funds electronically to the new plan. That puts the burden on you to see the check gets to its destination, which in the interim isn't earning interest or otherwise increasing in value.

With all these impediments, it's no surprise that savers opt for the path of least resistance and instead move their savings into a rollover IRA plan, one often administered--shock--by the same firm that administered the 401(k) plan. According to one plan sponsor the GAO contacted, only 10 to 15 percent of participants ultimately move savings from their old 401(k) plan to their new employer's plan.

A rollover IRA isn't necessarily a bad alternative for your retirement savings, but it may not be the best choice for everyone. For all the complaints we have about 401(k) plans, they are at least required to offer participants suitable all-in-one retirement portfolios like target date funds. Money in a rollover IRA can be more broadly invested, but that's not necessarily ideal if you're not prepared to research the stocks, funds, and asset allocation for your particular situation. And you need to be aware if there are any fees associated with opening and maintaining a rollover IRA account.

If you believe you former employer may have a better 401(k) plan, there's nothing stopping you from leaving your savings there, as long as assets exceed $5,000 and you are less than 62 years old. However, some plans will discourage this by charging former employees additional fees to stay in the plan. And although you may want to move your old 401(k) savings to the plan of your new employer, not all 401(k) plans accept rollovers.

Q: I need information or reviews about trustworthy debt consolidators. Can you point me in the right direction? —J.L., via e-mail

A: Your best bet is a nonprofit credit counseling
agency that's approved by the federal government. A good way to find one is by going to the Justice Department website and clicking on Credit Counseling & Debtor Education for a list of approved agencies by state. You're smart to seek advice. Unscrupulous debt consolidators have been preying on people trying to recover from the economic downturn.

We've outlined some of the problems with the debt-collection industry. For more help on managing your debt, check out these helpful tips from our money experts.

• Before taking on more debt, head off these major home repairs
• How to balance essential spending and saving for your family
• How to get the best car loan
• 7 money stumbles to avoid
• The truth behind Freedom Debt Relief