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Three of the four major wireless companies are out with new plans for those who want the latest smartphone sooner. The plans, with names like Verizon Edge and AT&T Next, essentially let you rent a phone for six months or a year and then trade it in for a new one — but there's a catch.

"You're paying essentially twice," says Avi Greengart, who is research director for consumer devices at Current Analysis and does some consulting for the industry.

T-Mobile started this craze with its Jump plan that tacks on a monthly fee for the privilege of upgrading early. But T-Mobile, the underdog, charges less for service. That's not the case with Verizon and AT&T.

"You're also subscribing to a rate plan that historically had a subsidy built in," Greengart says.

A big-name smartphone like the Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy costs about $650. Most of us never pay that much upfront. Instead, we plop down $200 for the phone and sign a two-year contract. Baked into our monthly fees is about $20 a month that, over the life of the contract, recoups the full cost of the phone.

But in the new Verizon and AT&T plans, you're paying that $20, and you're paying the full cost of the phone in monthly installments. That's why in many cases, the carrier comes out ahead.

"It certainly looks like AT&T has developed its plan in such a way that it doesn't lose any money," Greengart says.

All Tech Considered

How Hackers Tapped Into My Cellphone For Less Than $300

Evan Mallett is hovering over some plants in a Victorian-era greenhouse in Portsmouth, N.H.

Mallett, a chef at the Black Trumpet Bistro, is collecting medicinal herbs, which he infuses in alcohol to make his own bitters, a bittersweet alcoholic concentrate used to flavor cocktails.

Mallett says he often forages in the woods for ingredients like wild chamomile, dock and burdock root for his bitters, too.

The "homemade bitters" trend is relatively new.

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Joe Kelso and John Winter probably waited too long. The couple has been together for a dozen years but only got serious recently about buying a house in San Francisco.

They saved enough to be able to afford anything under $500,000, but houses at such prices are now few and far between.

This spring, the median home price in San Francisco topped $1 million, up by a third from last year.

There are still houses listed for under $400,000, but that's just to get the bidding going. Those types of properties will sell for more than $500,000, while still requiring maybe $100,000 worth of work.

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