Ford, Rivian and lots of RVs, heavy equipment and other entries in this week's derby

Auto Safety Recall Derby This Week

A roundup of newly posted safety recalls and compliance recalls. Click any NHTSA Recall ID to view the official notice.

From loyalty cards to parking lot cameras, supermarkets know more than you think

• Your purchases, habits, and lifestyle help build your marketing profile. Limit it by using a separate email and skip the loyalty card on small trips.

• Parking lot plate readers and in-store AI monitor movement and checkout behavior. Reduce your chances of being captured by parking farther away and avoid self-checkout.

• Prices and coupons may be personalized based on your history. Stay unpredictable by rotating stores, browse ads while logged out, and use privacy opt-outs.

You scan your loyalty card to save $2 on eggs and maybe a buck on a box of cereal.

Seems harmless, right? Not so much.

Todays modern grocery stores are no longer just places that sell food. They are also a data collecting company trying to understand how you shop. All in an effort to try and make more money based on your buying habits.

Heres whats really happening behind the scenes, along with some practical steps you can take to limit how much of your life ends up in a supermarket database.

Your loyalty card is a tracking tool first, discount card second

Loyalty programs are one of the biggest data collection engines in retail.

Keep in mind that every time you enter your phone number (or scan your loyalty card) the store tracks the following:

• Every item you buy
• How much you spend per trip
• How often you shop
• Time of day you usually visit
• Whether you buy store brands or name brands
• Dietary patterns like gluten-free, low-sodium, keto, or baby formula

Over time, that builds into a fairly detailed profile of yourself.

Those regular diaper purchases suggest a baby in the house. A shift from junk food to low-sugar products may signal a health change. Increased ready-made meals could mean a busier schedule or someone new in the home.

Stores then use this data to send targeted coupons and promotions.

That can be helpful. But it also means not everyone sees the same deals, and your shopping habits may be shared with marketing partners increasing the amount of junk emails and phone calls you receive.

How to dial this back

You dont have to ditch loyalty programs entirely, but you absolutely can limit how much they learn about you.

Try the following to make it happen:

• Use a separate email address just for shopping:This keeps your grocery and shopping data completely separate from your primary email address. It also keeps your primary email inbox a lot cleaner with less spam.
• Review your privacy settings:Many chains now have options to limit certain types of data sharing. Youll probably have to dig for them on their website but they do exist.
• Skip entering your loyalty number on small trips:You may lose a few sale prices, but you also create gaps in the profile they are building about you.
• Pay with cash:If youre making a purchase youd rather not have tied to your long-term profile, paying with bills instead of a card keeps it from being linked to your name.
• Think twice before saving your payment information inside grocery apps:When you link your payment it makes it even easier for your in-store and online behavior to be stitched together.

Cameras and license plate readers are part of the picture now

The next time youre at a major retailer, glance around at the exterior walls before you walk-in. You are likely being recorded before you even grab a cart.

Many large retailers use license plate reader systems in their parking lots. These are often used for security, theft prevention, and to trackrepeat offenders.

Inside the store, AI-powered cameras monitor checkout lanes, entrances, and high-theft areas.

Some of these new AI cameras can even generate something called a heat map which shows where humans around 98.6 F tend to hang out the longest. This helps them determine the aisles and displays that get the most attention so they can copy that success in other spots in the store.

What you can realistically do

While you cant opt-out of being viewed by public cameras, you can definitely reduce how often your vehicle gets captured by cameras.

The best way to do is this is to avoid the most camera-heavy areas, which is near store entrances and along the outside walls of the building.

This means parking out a bit farther and doing a little walking. The result will be fewer high-resolution plate readers pointed directly at your car.

Also, when in-store, consider using a regular checkout lane instead of self-checkout. The trend right now is for most of these AI cameras to focus on self-checkout to help prevent theft.

Personalized pricing and offers are already here

Grocery stores and other major retailers want your data so they can tailor prices and promotions directly to you. This obviously makes them more money.

This means not everyone gets the same digital coupons, and you might not see discounts on the stuff you buy frequently at full-price.

Other shoppers might see a big discount on certain items only after they stop buying it as frequently. This allows stores to test how price-sensitive you are based on your past behavior.

Its all kind of sneaky, and sometimes it can work in your favor. But it also means your past willingness to pay higher prices could affect the deals you see in the future.

So, try and stay less predictable

You can stay lees predictable by trying a couple of these tips:

• Browse weekly ads without logging into your account so you can see general promotions.
• Occasionally shop at a competing store to avoid becoming too locked into one retailers pricing model.
• Mixing up where you buy certain items makes it harder for any one grocery store to fully map your habits.

Your grocery data does not always stay at the grocery store

Retailers often share or sell customer data to third parties. This can include marketing firms, ad networks, and data brokers.

The selling of your data is typically labeled as anonymous, which means things like your name, address, and other personal information does not transfer with your data.

But these systems are so evolved that they can combine datasets from multiple sources to re-identify you (and your household), with surprising accuracy. In laymans terms, some very powerful computers can piece back together your profile using data from multiple stores and companies.

This means your grocery purchases, combined with online browsing data and location history, can reveal things like your income level, health interests, and even the size of your family.

Your rights and opt-outs

In 20 states, you have the right to request a copy of the data companies hold about you. You can even go one step further and ask that certain data not be sold.

Also, when shopping online, look for privacy or Do Not Sell My Personal Information links that are typically buried in the footer of a retailers homepage.

Once you find these links, click on it and submit your request. It does take a little time to do, but it can greatly reduce how widely your information circulates.

Experts say some methods are more successful than others

• Savings challenges are everywhere online, but not all of them work the same wayor for everyone.

• Experts say the best challenges are the ones that fit your lifestyle and help turn saving into a habit, not a short-term stunt.

• Starting small and staying consistent can add up to hundredsor even thousandsof dollars by the end of the year.

If your New Years resolution includes saving more money, youre not alone.

From no-spend months to viral envelope systems and creative cash-stuffing challenges, TikTok and Instagram are overflowing with tips that promise to make saving feel easier, faster, and even fun.

But do these savings challenges actually work in real life, or are they just another trend that looks good on your feed? And more importantly how do you know which ones are worth your time if youre trying to build lasting financial habits not just chase a short-term win?

To find out, experts at GIGACalculator analyzed the most popular savings challenges gaining traction online. Personal finance expert Lisa Stanley, co-founder of the green money site Good With Money and creator of the sustainable money app Zero, weighed in on which trends can genuinely help consumers save and which ones may fall short once the novelty wears off.

The trends

Heres a look at six of the most popular savings challenges going around the internet:

1. 100-Envelope Challenge/cash stuffing: Label envelopes 1-100, then select a random envelope at a given frequency (e.g., twice a week) to start cash stuffing. For example, every two weeks, youll pick a random envelope and place the corresponding cash amount inside (the envelope labeled 20 will lead to a $20 deposit, and so on).

2. 52-Week Challenge: The 52-week challenge, designed to run through the whole year, is a classic and widely used savings method. It starts by saving $1 in week one, then increasing your savings by $1 each week. By week 52, you'll have saved a total of $1,700.

3. 365-Day 2 Challenge: In this challenge, you start with saving just $0.02 on day one, and add another two cents each day. By day 365, you'll have saved $1,335.

4. No Spend Challenge: This trend is one of the most variable and consumers can adjust it to fit their needs and goals. To participate, you cut out all non-essential spending for a set period of time. The amount saved varies depending on your usual spending habits.

5. Giving Up a Vice Challenge: This challenge asks you to identify one vice you can live without and deposit the money you would have spent straight into savings. For example, a $5 coffee five times a week equals $25 weekly, totalling $1,300 saved annually.

6. 20-Week Saving Challenge: This is ideal for a short-term savings goal. You save $3 in week one, then increase your savings by $3 each week. By week 20, you'll have accumulated $780.

Get started

Stanley said that her best piece of advice for consumers to start their savings journey is to just get started.

For those thinking about saving, the best thing to do is dont think, just do, she said. Pick even just one of those savings challenges and stick with it consistency is key! If you can make saving a habit, youll soon find you dont even realize youre doing it, and you can look forward to a good pot of money put aside come the end of the year.

"The biggest challenge about saving is not to think about it. By starting small, as many of these challenges suggest, saving will become as habitual as the daily coffee. And, at the end of the year, youll have a lot more to show for it!

The retailer is betting big on delivery and Whole Foods

• Amazon is shutting down all of its physical Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh grocery stores.

• The company is shifting its focus to online grocery delivery and expanding Whole Foods Market.

• Some former Fresh/Go locations will become Whole Foods stores and new formats.

Theres a major change coming to Amazons grocery world.

Amazon has announced that it will close all of its brick-and-mortar Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores as part of a strategic shift toward online grocery delivery and expanding its Whole Foods Market business.

This isnt just a few stores all locations under both Amazon Go (the cashier-free convenience shops) and Amazon Fresh (the grocery stores) will close. Some stores are already shutting their doors, and most others are slated to be fully closed by early February, with certain California locations staying open a bit longer for legal reasons.

After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, we've made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores, Amazon staff wrote in a statement.

Customers can continue to shop Amazon Fresh online in available areas for fast and convenient delivery.

Whats behind the move?

Amazon says that while its physical grocery experiments offered useful lessons, those shops didnt deliver the kind of unique experience or economic sustainability the company was hoping for on a large scale.

Instead, Amazon wants to double down on whats working online grocery delivery (now available in thousands of U.S. cities with same-day options) and Whole Foods Market, which has seen strong growth since Amazon bought it in 2017.

As part of this strategy, Amazon plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods locations over the next few years and expand Whole Foods Market Daily Shop a smaller, convenience-focused version of Whole Foods with ready-to-eat meals, coffee, and essentials.

What this means for you

Heres what customers should keep in mind as Amazons grocery landscape changes:

• Your grocery delivery options are growing. Even though the physical stores are closing, Amazon Fresh will still operate online where available, and same-day delivery of fresh produce and household items is expanding.

• Whole Foods is becoming the face of Amazons grocery ecosystem. Youre likely to see more Whole Foods stores in your area including new, smaller formats that offer convenience without the Fresh or Go branding.

• Some old stores may return with a new look. Rather than disappear entirely, a number of former Amazon Fresh and Go locations will become Whole Foods outlets or other new retail concepts Amazon is exploring.

And the gap is bigger than many people realize

• New analysis finds homeowners with mortgages pay about 37% more per month roughly $550 extra, or $6,500 a year.

• In cities like San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, owning can cost $1,100$1,500+ more per month than renting.

• Treat the savings as a mock mortgage by auto-saving or investing the difference to build wealth and prep for buying later.

According to a recent LendingTree study, Americans with a mortgage pay 36.9% more per month than renters on average.

Median rent nationwide is $1,487, compared to $2,035 in median monthly homeownership costs. Thats a difference of $548 every month, or $6,576 more per year to own.

Top cities with the biggest rent vs buy gaps

Here are the metro areas where owning is especially expensive compared to renting:

• San Francisco, CA: Rent ~$2,435 Owning $4,000+ $1,565/month more
• Bridgeport, CT: Rent ~$1,895 Owning ~$3,322 $1,427/month more
• New York, NY: Rent ~$1,851 Owning ~$3,260 $1,409/month more
• San Jose, CA: Rent ~$2,827 Owning $4,000+ $1,173/month more
• Los Angeles, CA: Rent ~$2,114 Owning ~$3,255 $1,141/month more

Areas with the smallest gap, but still in rentings favor

• Phoenix, AZ: Rent ~$1,819 Owning ~$2,003 $184/month more
• Orlando, FL: Rent ~$1,487 Owning ~$1,744 $257/month more
• Columbia, SC: Rent ~$1,200 Owning ~$1,471 $271/month more

These arent tiny numbers even in the closest markets, owning still costs more every month.

If youre renting right now, play offense

Consider being intentional with your monthly rent savings by investing it.

For example, if owning would cost you $2,000/month, but your rent is $1,500, dont let that $500 disappear every month.

Instead, automatically move the difference into one of these:

• A high-yield savings account (future down payment)
• A home repair fund (so future costs dont shock you)
• Or investments if your timeline is longer

This not only helps you build wealth but will quickly let you know if you can financially handle a mortgage payment (if owning a home is your goal).

Why home ownership still matters

Even though all the numbers point to renting being cheaper, owning a home still offers benefits that go way beyond a lower monthly payment.

Stability and the American Dream

For many people, owning a home represents putting down roots and having control over your space.

You don't need a landlord's permissionto do smallrenovations orchanges, and can truly make the home your own. That sense of permanence and security is a big reason homeownership remains a long-term goal for many families.

Pride of ownership

There can be a real emotional payoff to owning a home. Homeowners often feel more connected to their neighborhoods and more invested in maintaining their property.

For some, that pride and independence are worth the higher upfront costs.

Equity builds long-term wealth

Unlike rent, mortgage payments help you build equity.

Over time, that equity can become a powerful financial tool. You can use it to help fund any major renovations, cover emergencies, or even pay for major life expenses if necessary.

Retirement security

Owning a home outright by the time you retirecan significantly reduce your living expenses.

Without a monthly rent or mortgage payment, retirees often have more financial breathing room. Some also use home equity later in life by downsizing or borrowing against it.

Timing is everything

Homeownership usually makes the most financial sense if you plan on staying put for several years.

Buying and selling too quickly can wipe out gains due to closing costs and fees. But long-term owners typically come out ahead.