A long, hard look at high prices

It's a challenge to find anyone who's not pondering how to spend less, or at least not more, as the costs of eating and driving and even just keeping your home at a comfortable temperature go up. This isn't new to Consumer Reports; we've always focused on them.

Leading an organization with such a rich history of helping consumers prompts me to draw from the past as well as the present. So I checked out the early years of CR for advice on consumer spending in a tough economy.

Cold enough for you? Our report on "mechanical refrigerators" in 1936 noted that the latest gizmos—Adjusto-Shelf, Eject-O-Cube, and Touch-A-Bar—had nothing to do with the essential functions of a fridge. Nor did the then-high-tech look called "streamlining," which we said "has no functional value unless, as someone has suggested, one contemplates throwing the box out of the window."

Streamlining is hot again in pricey built-in refrigerators, and as you'll see in our refrigerator report, it's just as useless; interior space is being sacrificed for good looks.

Reliable enough for you? In 1940 we dissected the average phone bill, probably the first time consumers got that breakdown. Users shelled out an average $64 a year. A slice of that went to maintenance, partly for the handset, or "French phone," which Bell had introduced in 1927.

Great idea, poor execution. The European model had worked fine for 45 years, but Bell's mouthpiece collected so much moisture that some handsets went dead after a total of four hours of chat. Bell knew about the problem but pumped out the phone for six more years, then rolled out a new model and slapped the obsolescence costs onto consumers' bills. For present-day telecom woes, read about cell-phone spam. To cut your phone bill and other expenses, see Cut your spending by $500 per month.

Pricey enough for you? "While most homeowners are willing to suffer inconveniences and even hardships during a national emergency, " we wrote in 1941, "they may not be so complacent about large-scale profit-grabbing on the part of opportunistic companies. As in other industries, it seems to be happening in fuel." I imagine we could give a reporter a day off by reprising that article on cutting fuel bills.

Energy costs are even more worrisome now. That's why you'll find the Guide to Driving Green at ConsumerReports.org, including assessments of the most (and least) fuel-efficient cars and of tires and alternative fuels. We factor energy efficiency (and in some cases, water efficiency) into our appliance Ratings. And we measure the energy use of various types of TVs. Our Web site at www.GreenerChoices.org has more advice on being green.

In the end, it's not just how you can spend less but also how you can get the most value, no matter what times we're living in.