Big changes for Netflix customers, savings bond buyers

Netflix is raising its prices up to 60 percent for subscribers who want to rent DVDs by mail and watch videos on the internet.

Netflix is separating mail-order DVD rental from watching streaming videos on the internet. It is now charging $8.00 for each, which means subscribers who want both will have to pay a total of $16 a month.

Netflix had been bundling both options in a single package, available for as low as $10 per month.

New subscribers will have to pay the new prices immediately. The changes take effect on September 1st for current Netflix customers.

If you like buying U.S. Savings Bonds in person at your bank or credit union better do it by the end of the year.

Starting December 31st, you'll no longer have that option.

Instead, you will have to buy them online through TreasuryDirect, a web-based program offered by Treasury's Bureau of Public Debt.

The electronic transaction will cost you at least $25, but the agency's commissioner says the shift to electronic-only will save the government $70 million over the next five years.

The change will not affect outstanding paper Savings Bonds, and one way you can still get paper Savings Bonds after January 1st is to buy them with your tax refund.

Philadelphia ranks number seven on the list of top 10 most expensive U.S. cities to park a car.

Number one is New York, with a median daily parking rate of $41.

Honolulu is number two at $38, and Boston is three at $34.

The median parking rate in Philadelphia is $26.

To find the cheapest parking, try BestParking.com. It is free and compares rates of garages and lots. It has a smart phone app so you can search on the go, and offers exclusive deals.

And this may be some comfort, 15 cities overseas are more expensive to park in than in the States, including Hong Kong, Zurich and London, which tops the list with an average monthly rate of $1,000.59.