Every time my husband and I decide to buy something, he responds with one phase: “We need to check Consumer Reports.”

Every time. Even for products that are relatively inexpensive.

Recently, we decided to replace our 20-year-old microwave. I wondered how hard it could be to get a decent, reasonably priced microwave. But oh no, my husband wanted to check Consumer Reports first. Thank goodness the magazine reviewed microwave ovens in its February 2006 issue, which we still had around the house.

And thank goodness I listened to my husband. He was right about consulting the magazine. There were a lot of features and price ranges to consider.

If you are ever going to buy something, you need to get a subscription to Consumer Reports (or keep up with its advice on Wednesdays here in the Journal-World). But if you don’t have a magazine subscription, here’s the next best thing: the publication’s buying guide. In it you get a full year’s worth of advice and ratings on everything from automobiles to cell phones to flat-panel televisions to toilets to pressure washers to, of course, microwaves.

To that end, for the Color of Money Book Club May selection I’ve chosen the “Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2006” by the editors of Consumer Reports magazine. The guide is a bargain at $9.99 and I love its paperback, compact size. It’s perfect to take along on your trips to the store with its more than 950 brand-name ratings. There’s a great section on how to protect your identity in stores and online.

Are you wondering if you should get that extended warranty?

“Once offered primarily on costly appliances and of course automobiles, extended warranties and similar insurance products have now trickled down to just about everything on the shelves,” the editors of the 2006 guide write.

The guide has a useful chart with a rundown on the odds of needing a repair on various products and thus the likelihood you’ll need to get a warranty on that product.

The odds of needing a repair on a camcorder: 8 percent. A washing machine: 22 percent.

Throughout the book are short “Shop smart” and “Tech” tips. For example, looking for a dryer? The tip: “Dryers with a moisture sensor tend to recognize when laundry is dry more quickly than machines that use a traditional thermostat.”

Let me say this one thing about the guide and Consumer Reports magazine: I know you can get both at your local public library and I certainly would encourage you to make a visit there if you’re strapped for cash. However, if you can afford a magazine subscription or the guide, buy both. I feel compelled to say this because Consumer Reports survives on selling its magazine, guide and online information and services.

Consumer Reports buys all the products it tests and does not accept free samples or advertising. It also doesn’t allow companies to use its information or ratings to promote products.

Consumer Reports and the editors are on our side and it’s important to financially support this unbiased, independent source of consumer product and service information.

If you are interested in discussing this month’s book selection, join me online at 1 p.m. May 25 at www.washingtonpost.com. Lisa Lee Freeman, deputy editor at Consumer Reports, will be my guest and will be available to take your questions.

– Michelle Singletary is a columnist for The Washington Post.