i'm carmen wong ulrich. tonight, i hear from you all the time and it is a challenge i love. carmen, save me money. well, you're doing a pretty good job of that already. socking away almost 7% of your money. the most since 1993. so tonight, though, i'm going to take you to the next level. from credit cards to cars, flights to 401(k)s and everything in between. putting more money back where it belongs. your pocket. it's all on "on the money." first up on our "save me money" roundup, costly credit cards. rates continue to go up. limits are going down and owning that piece of plastic is now

pricier than it has been in years. think about this. between march of '07 and february '08 one in four of us, me, too, saw our interest rates hiked. money out of our pocket. tough new laws on the way, lenders are on a bender. here with the top ways to cut those credit card costs, senor credit himself, john. going nuts. help us out. wei we want to save money. don't want $10 million in their pockets right. >> now what's the first most important thing to save money on credit card? >> they're going ballistic. make yourself bullet-proof against their outrageous fees. first, score. credit score, the number one way to pay less for your credit card. the way to save money on a credit card debt is to pay less for the money itself. in the world of credit scores, max out at 750-plus to translate that into a lower interest rate

on a credit card. could mean 7.9% versus something like 24% or 29.9%. >> a great example. if you owed $10,000 on a card and at the 7% level, you're going to pay a certain a interest versus -- more? >> versus an enormous amount. >> yes. >> you can run some of this. with talk about accounts, run sim laces. but in most cases 2 looks $100 to $200, 10% to 20% when your payment gets obscenely high and really, really unaffordable. number one way, get the credit score as high as you can. >> interest rates in the 20s and above. >> right. >> things have changed. it used to be 720 was enough. even 6 80. it's not going away? >> no way. there will be again a day come where you can get unsecured

credit cards with credit scores in the mid to low 600s. right now those day, history. you absolutely can't sit and stand pat with scores in the 680 to 700 range. you'll still get approved. you'll get something, but it's not going to be et best deal they have to offer, the best cards they have to offer and the best terms they have to offer. >> pay less, if you've got to borrow. number two here, surf. go surfing. >> you know, i'm not talking about internet. >> no, no, no. >> not talking surfing on the web. talking about taking advantage of the system. if you're getting balance transfer offers in the mail, that's commonly reared to as you surfing your balance, from one credit card to another. >> i've done t. people critical say, no, you're take og more credit. no. that's not what i'm suggesting. i'm suggest you you be more strategic where your money is sitting. it you have credit card debt you can't pay off at the end of the month at 10%, 20%, 30% and

getting offers from other issuers at 0% transfer, even if charging a small fee, it is absolutely in your best trefrts to take that expensive debt, roll it ober or surf it to a card where you have zero interest for a period of time. as with all things read the fine print nap 0% doesn't last forever. >> pay attention to the new card in that they don't raise rates as well. then you may have to surf again. the last one, here's a big money earner for the credit card business. fees. lots of them. >> i started writing them down. forget it. overdraft fee, atm fees, late payment fees. former transaction fees. i'll stop now because this isn't a telethon. look, the fee is a multibillion dollar revenue stream for credit card issuers that they're not going away, next to possible to avoid. what you have to do, my bank charges me $1 to go into the branch. to complete a transaction.

if i want to take a check in -- isn't that nuts? >> you need a new bank. kniss is something you could avoid and have to be careful about when things are due. >> absolutely. you can avoid a ton of these fees having a better understanding when, a, your credit card payment is due. the due date is not a suggestion. that is actual lay date by when they want their money. >> 8:00 a.m. that day. make sure it gets there before that. >> beat it by a week. don't trun to it edge. overlimit fees, that is absurd. the new law helps prevent that. you have to opt into allow you're an issuer, the ability to approve a transaction that take us over the limit. right now -- >> very old school and we like that. voice that, and getting into more trouble. thank you so much. quick recap. all about your score. surf a little and watch out for the fees. thank you for helping us save some money. before you take those savings in the bank, beware. because the place that stashes your cash can't help taking a

little bite out of what you got. banks made $18 billion from banking fees last year. more than 50% of their income. let's see if we can cut your contribution to that number down with the help of bankrate.com greg mcbride. greg, my friend, welcome to "save me money" here at "otm." echoing john, especially when it comes to your savings and checking account. all the accounts, those overdraft charges? >> the price of messing up, carmen, is higher than ever and continuing to increase. the first overdraft sets you back about $29. the second or third could be $33, $35. the good news is, fees, are avoidable. specifically request the link between your checking accounted and your savings account nap way if you overdraw the account they move your money from one account to the other. also, a lot of banks offer e-mail or text alerts that will alert you if your balance gets below a certain level. sign up for those and it's important to be diligent. we have to keep track of accounting for all transactions

especially the small debit card. with 24/7 account access, keep tabs on the available account balance. >> a good thing. i do this. i don't use debit cards. if you do, van alert that tells you when you're getting to a low balance. number two, greg, you say, monthly service charges. those are really going up and almost everybody is charging them. >> this can drain money oust account month after month after month. an interest checking account on average sets you back abouts 12ds a month. you got to keep a lot of money in there to upset that. non-interest accounts much lower, still about $2 a month. the solution here is look for free checking accounts. they're widely available at banks, both large and small, as well as credit unions. stay away from accounts that require a large minimum balance. the fact is, not only the fee, going up, so, too, are the minimum balance requirements. stay away from accounts that have. >> yeah, answers linking up your accounts can help a little bit pup got pay attention. and greg, you say, listen when i tell people to find money i tell

them, what about those atm fees? because those can really add up over the months. >> this is one that you make the withdrawal at another bank's atm. they're going to hit you up for $2. your own bank tacks on another $1.50. you're looking ats 3ds.50, $4 get your own money. completely avoidable. plan ahead where and when you make the withdrawals. make sure you're doing it on your own bank's turf or at the very least using an atm that belongs to an alliance where you won't get charged. >> those fees are going up and up. greg, seeing $.50 and more. $3.50 an more. be careful. thank you, mr. mcbride. talking about saving for retirement. what about saving on retirement? hidden investing costs can crack your nest egg wide open. a sea of just 1% can slash by 15% over 30 years. point, to grow your money. not blow it on fees, give it to somebody else. saving grace with susan garland

opinion susan, welcome. i mean, there are three things. there are many things to look out for in terms of investing your money, but in from, these are my three kind of -- they really get under my skin when it comes to investing fees. first up, lows. please explain. >> if yew buying a mutual fund from a broker, professor adviser, he or she charge as sales commission known as a load. loading up the fees on you. and this is actually charged by, this is a commission, and it's actually charged by, given from the mutual fund company to the broker. and this is money right out of your pocket. so let's say you want to invest $10,000 into a load mutual fund through a broker. you're not actually investing that $10,000. you're only -- there's a 5% load. pretty typical. you're only investing $9,500. say you wanted to invest over 20

years if you had invested that money you paid to broker over 20 years that's $1,600 off your pocket on a $10,000 investment. on $100,000, that's $60,000 that could have been yours instead of going to a, instead of going to broker. the good news is that there are low load funds where you don't pay that 5% or 6% low to a broker. you could buy them directly. go to, say, a brokerage firm, vanguard, buy it yourself, or you could go to a brokerage firm, charles schwab. you could pick many, many no-load funds and do it yourself. >> yeah. you want to look for no-load funds, where want to go. that 5% really, really adds up. i hate for anybody to pay that. number two, you say investing voecap you need to look at here. your expense ratio. >> whether you buy a low fund or no low fund, operating costs that the fund will charge you. and these, this is for operating

management and after the i and advertising. called an expense ratio. a percentage of the total fund assets that go to operating the fund. and these expense ratios range from anywhere from 0.1 of 1% to 3% or more. again, this is -- takes money right out of your pocket. it is very easy to find the expense ratio. go to the website of the fund. or you go to the fund prospectus and it will say expense ratio. 0.2%. you'll know if your fund is charging high or low, and you could compare the expense ratios. say all things are equal. the returns are the same. and one fund is charging a half percent. the other has an expense ratio of 1.5%. that's a 1% difference. that doesn't seem like a lot, 1%, but think of it this way. say want to invest $100,000 over ten years.

that's $10,000 out of your pocket you're paying for an expense ratio. now, of course, if the fund is fabulous, you do want to -- you may want to the pay the extra for an -- >> you get what you paid for -- >> not always. >> true. i'm with you, because you say this was, first the low, save 60 grand. another 10 grand in our poct pocket. you mentioned commission. that's economics on the actual fund, but you say you also have to watch out for how the person's working for you is getting paid. whether it's a fee or a commission, because that can really cost? >> exactly. if you -- many brokers and professionals, many investment managers, they will charge you for every trade you make. charge you $30 ors 40ds for every stock you buy or sell and many of them actually sell insurance and annuities. you don't really know if you're getting impartial, you know, advice. i mean, they may say they're working in your best interests, but they actually have a vested interest in making money for themselves.

so i would say the best way of trying to -- of finding a planner or finding an adviser who will work for, you know, basically in your interests, or you have a better chance of that, look for a fee-only planner. they will not charge you for every product that you buy, because they're not selling you anything. most of them will charge you by the hour. you'll go in there and you'll get a few hours of advice, and they'llful you, buy this one, buy that one, buy this annuity and this product, and they don't make any money on it. >> yeah. you can save and susan you can save so much money if you're not paying someone commission, and let's add up here. i'm sure between looking for no-load funds, lower expense ratios and not paying commissions, you probably saved us about $200 grand or so. thank you so much for joining us. >> you're welcome. questions about how to save money on your retirement or on your credit card, just want to get out of debt, call me, e-mail me at carmen@cnbc.com. don't go away. saving you more good money right

after the break. next, the "save me money" special continues. >> about four figures or so. >> from airlines to hotels, to car rentals we show you how to fight those pesky travel fees. and later -- costco, bj's, sam's club. we tell you if joining a warehouse club is worth your money. you could buy 300 bottles of water. or just one brita filter. ( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet.

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are you wondering if now is the time to buy or sell your home? call me or e-mail me at carmen@cnbc.com and you could be on the show. talk about a bad trip. a great vacation can replenish the soul, also empty your bank account. today i'm going to help you save along every step of the way, from flying to driving to sleeping in style and comfort. first up, those, those not so friendly skies these days. the world's airlines lost $3 billion in the first quarter of this year. so to make it up, they are pinching us, the passengers, fees have been the best way to boost profit. in 2008, airlines made more than $1 billion in those new baggage fees alone and made more than $2 billion in change and cancellation fees. serious bucks.

our pilot on tonight's "saving sojourn," senior editor with travelers.com. those numbers are huge and fees keep piling you. up say, first tip here, travel like a business traveler? >> and not check your bags through. you're right. a lot of money comes through checked bags. super, super, historic one-way fare, $29 each way, as low as, and most major airlines make it up with baggage fees. i say don't check bags through. sdnt mean bring a supersized suitcase on the airplane, won't work. pack accordingly. loyalty it be a big plus and save you a lot of money. for example, a medallion member on delta, two bags for free on each domestic flight. >> because those fees, for example, i think you said it was american $20 for the first bag. $30 for the second. payings 20ds one way, paying more for the bags than the

ticket. >> costs more in cases to get your bags from point a to b than your physical body. yeah, american made news a couple days ago. raised their first checked bag fee from $50 to $20, second froms 25ds to $30. $50 each way for checked bags, but all of the major airlines have done that. delta, continental, done that as well. you save the $5 if you check your bags through online. checking in for your flight and pay online, you avoid the $5 hike as opposed to once you get to the airport. >> fedex yourself. anyway, you say there's a new fee. all about, for example, i like the aisle, because i usually travel with my daughter and need to get out quickly. you say making that choice will cost you? >> indeed. us airways calls them choice seats. reserve a couple of strategically placed aisle or window seats towards the front of the plane and it will cost you an extra $5 ors 15ds per seat, if that's what you want. the united folks call it the united economy plus seating. extra six inches of leg room but it comes with a price.

another occasion where loyalty really pays off and can save you money. if you are a united, for example, premiere member, access to those economy-plus seats. first dibs on them and don't have to pay for them. >> loyalty matters. weren't i love but it's coming out here. the interchange fees. this is a big one. >> right. this is, again, united made news a couple days ago, because they decided to take this interchange fee, the credit card companies charging for retail transactions and want to pass them on to two dozen-plus travel agents. brick and mortar travel agents, a couple otas like expedia, obvious lis travel agents aren't big fans ever this. united is alone in this now. does not expected to become an industry-wide trend. if it did, you can imagine saving billions in the airline industry. >> yeah. >> but it's struggling, ruffling feathers with travel agents. >> 2%, 3%, that's a lot. thank you. remember, bring your own pill pope back for tonight's "web

extra." the wacky way airlines are struggling to save money but it will cost you. check it out. cnbc.com. and you're ready to hit the road. the average cost of a weekly compact rental, get this. book to the airport. up. % ovpercent 37% over last year. dollar despair. here to help, our friend michelle higgin, practical traveler for the "new york times." michelle, this is tremendous. a change of the rental costs from a year ago. it's outrageous. >> right. we're seeing all of these discounts for hotels and airfares like we just talked about. what's happening with car rentals is they can actually shrink their fleet, unlike a hotel which has those block of rooms to sell. what's happening is they're driving demand by shrinking fleets and able to jack up the rates. >> with auto sales and everything down and gas, i mean, i understand that. these rates are huge. help us save money here. you say just like greg says,

fees are the way they're making money? >> not unlike the airlines, car renteral companies have fees consumers have to be careful about pshgs whether taxes, additional fees at the airport, or just the insurance they offer as well. different ways to save. right now especially you want to look for the counterintuitive approach, might be bigger, isn't necessarily more expensive, because there's high demand for fuel-efficient cars. >> the bigger cars? go bigger now, may not cost you? >> upgrading may actually be cheaper for you. for example, on expedia recently i was looking at labor day weekend deals. they had an suv, five passenger suv, for about $78. in the back seat that space will mean the difference. >> you need the space. a lot of difference in your sanity. talk about airports, get away from the airport. i've done this myself and this translates into tons of savings. you can take a train or something someplace else?

>> exactly. because the airport, they have extra taxes and fees often that are tacked on to the bill. so if you get off the airport, you can save up to 30% in some cases. another search i was looking at, labor day weekend in seattle, $210 at the airport. went downtown, $110, for three days. >> not going to cost you $100 in cash to get downtown. that's save, serious savings there. also you say here, the discount, just like shopping and anything else, want discount codes? >> great sites for that. fatwallet.com. couponwinner.com. also do a google search. the airlines, income works have some partnerships with rental car companies often have really good savings. delta recently is offering 40%, up to 40% off budget, if you book with a discount code that they're offering on their site. >> excellent. thank you so much, my friend. >> thank you for joining us. on to the hotel. we've got the car, the flight. to your hotel. you want a place to rest your weary head but you don't want to wake up having wasted money on

more fees could you have avoided. it's estimated that hotel fees and surchargeless cost $1.65 billion. another b word, this year. here to tell us how to save some of the billions is amy farley, senior editor with "travel & leisure." welcome amy. you say wan of these fees can you avoid, really, is resort fees? >> the resort fee is something we're seeing at a lot of properties. not urban hotels. properties with lots of facilities they need to maintain, golf courses and tennis courses, pools, things like that. they'll charge you up to $12 to $26 a day, sometimes more than that. sort of blanket fee for services and amenities. including maintenance of their facilities, it will include access to the pool or the tennis courts. sometimes it's even a fee for delivering your newspaper to your door. you know, this is a blanket charge ta goes out to all customers but it's something that's negotiable. the key difference between hotels, airlines and maybe car rentals. with hotels you have a good

negotiating sense this year, because they're looking for loyal customers. >> amy, too, here, and, really i cannot stand than we get charged for internet and wi-fi. especially in the nicest hotels. how can you avoid that? >> that is the key. it's always the nicest hotels that charge you for the in-room internecessary access. sometimes the moderately priced hotels give it to you for free. wait to avoid it, actually look for other places in the hotel that may have internet access. sometimes a luxury hotel will charge you in the room but will have free internet access in their lobby or in their business center. another thing i've seen at a hotel is that they charge you in-room for wireless internet access, but free for dsl. if you're willing to go to dsl, can you get that for free. >> miscellaneous. we all know about the minibar. we know the little bottle costs $5, but also other charges that get tagged on to this. >> absolutely. that's the shocker. you can get charged up to $1.50 for a minibar restocking fee.

so if your bag of chips was $9 and you accepted the fact were you pay that for these chips you will also get charged maybe $1.50 to replace the chip. be careful. even if you open the minibar, sometimes that's sets off an automatic alerm or alert and housekeeping will charge you $1.50 for just going to check out what happened in the minibar. again, this is something you need to be aware of. the hotel there definitely -- reimburse you if you didn't take anything. speak to them when you get your bill. the key, get your bill in advance so you're not rushed walking out the door and sign off on all the charges. give yourself time to review it carefully. >> doing that, time to review it, the point of reviewing it is not to see if there's anything in error, you say negotiate nap can save you a lot of money? >> absolutely. the resort charges, they are the blanket charges and sometimes they'll include things like valet parking. that may not be something you actually used at hotel.

maybe you self-parked, maybe you didn't even use a car. a moment to take it to the hotel and see if they'll be flexible on the resort charge. also miscellaneous fees. talk to them. i was at a hotel the other day and they had a walking map of the area around the hotel, sort of an exercise map. i took the map with me when i went out to dinner as an area map and ended up getting charged $8 for that map. >> so, stop! run back with you. what? does it have gps ton or something? >> the most expensive paper map there was. i took it to the hotel and they were gracious about it and refund immediate. as i said, hotels really want loyal customers this year. they don't want to you walk away with a bad naft your mouth. take to them and discuss it. >> talk them down in price. thank you, amy for joining us. we got from airlines, and rental cars and hotels, we got you covered. saved you about four figures or so. our savings extravaganza continues, right after this.

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you need help getting out of credit card debt, call me at 877-753-cnbc or e-mail me at carmen@cnbc.com, and you could be on the show. welcome back to our special "save me money" edition of "otm." we love our cars and these days love saving money even more. whether you're buying a new or used car or truck, how can you make sure that you get the most bang for your buck behind the wheel? here to steer us into saving, brian moody, senior features editor with edmonds.com. my friend, here's the thing pup say, you guys are web based but this is where the answer is to save. head online? >> go a place like edmonds.com. there are other sites, too, and you can find the price you should pay for the car. find the incentives all kinds ever good information and here's the thing you're going to love.

it's usually free. at edmonds it's all free. a bonus there. >> you can go to -- even the dealers themselves they have their own website and can you go to your local dealer website and see what they're offering, and you say particularly look out for their incentives? >> right. because every car has incentives. most cars have incentives but sometimes they're different based and region. your dealer might be giving a larger discount than the manufacturer gives to the rest of the country. there's many examples. for example, a dodge journey is like a family-sized crossover. you can get up to $4,000 back on that when you combine all the incentives like a military discount, cash back. that might be even higher if that car is selling slow in your area of country. go jon line, to that dealership website sand check before you go to dealership. >> also, too, you say, why not, do a bunch of stuff before you hit the sales floor. another one. get preapproved for financing? >> absolutely. get preapproved. you can always go to the

dealership and get better deal. if you say, take that. get pre-approved from your bank, you know what your rate will be, what it will court and the dealership won't be able to push that into the price of the car so you don't really know how much you're paying. you're set and go down there. >> one of the things folks don't realize. even though they offer 0% you may not get it and they may raise the price of the car to compensate. >> right. if you go to your bank, they're not going to do that. they want you as a customer. been that long time. it's a known thing. locked in. go there. if you get a better rate, great. take it. at least the have the known thing. >> and go with the check in your hand. >> for sure. >> you say do not reveal if you've got a trade-in until you've got the price nailed down. explain. >> exactly. even if you're just trading a car in to sell it, they're going to try to fudge the price of cart you're buying to make up for the money they might lose in paying you for your car, but they might want to pad the profit a little bit. so don't mention it until the deal is done. then swoop in and say, i want to

trade in. $4,500 of the price of the car. it's easy. >> you say be flexible on options. okay? >> yeah. don't be picky about the color or the wheels or the sunroof. pick what they have on the lot, if you want a white car, all they have is yellow with a sunroof. take it. a better deal than if you insist on the color and kwmt you really want tht excellent. thanks, brian for joining us. in these tough money times, many of us are actually in no shape to spend on ap new set of wheels. as of 2008, keeping our cars at least six months longer than we ever have. if you're hanging on to what you've got, how do you save when you have to go to the shop? for repairs or maintenance? lauren fix joins us and gives us the edge. the car coach. lauren, listen, you say you've got to know what the service is, the going rate for the services, right? >> absolutely. you'll get quote and thing all over the place. the converter needs repaired.

go on repairpal.com, put in year, make and model and find out what the cost is the in your area. might be cheaper in a slightly different zip code. you mind watt to drive 50 miles and save. do your homework online and shop around. you don't have to go to the one shop. >> sometimes you say when something goes wrong with your car, this might be something wrong with that actual model and make. you've got to make a phone call first? >> first rule of thumb, when something goes wrong i call, only call, the service department of that manufacturer. say are there technical service bullets known at tsbs or recalls if there are, you can actually have the prepare done for free. why pay for it with an independe independent? check it out. >> this is what you fear. that you go and you're going to get sold up. they're going to say, you need this done and you need that done. so how do you know what you really need to get done? >> well, as a spokesperson for

the car care council, we've told people, basic thing. it it's no your owner's manual, get it done. saves up to $1200 a year. the guy tried to tell me i'm getting my eng's flushed or need this extra thing? not in the owner's manual and basic maintenance, don't do it. something that needs to be dub because it's broken, you can always ask for a second quote, just like a doctor. don't rush into that surgery. make sure you get quotes. >> and got have a second opinion. also, too, you say here depends who is doing the work. if you get the right quality professional, that's going to save you a lot of money? >> right. look for the afe, that gear that you're see, blue and white. i'm an afe certified technician as well and that is a nonprofit group that actually trains tech knisss and they are tested like you wouldn't want someone top just do your surgery, you wouldn't want to have a cert -- these are certified technicians with years of training. it if you see an logo on that person's sleeve you've got the right tech. >> thaupg, lauren.

and lauren fix's guide to loving your car. up next a very special savings edition of dollar dilemma where i got tips for you on everything from saving when you go out to the movies to when you watch movies at home. stay tuned. next $1500 your pocket. you don't want to miss or special "save me money" edition of dollar dilemmas. from warehouse club to lawyers to prescription drugs. we help you decide, is it worth it? i'm carmen wong ulrich with your money dollars and cents. knowing your credit score and managing it well has never been so important. it reflects your credit history and helps lenders and employers predict how much of a risk you are. scour your credit report for mistakes of outstanding debt. clean up errors by contacting both the lend are and credit reporting agency. you're entitled to pull your credit report free once a year at annualread itreport boyne

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able to retire? call me at 877-753-cnbc, or e-mail me and you could be on the show. tonight we continue to save big on everythingeneder the sun. well, almost everything. it is time for a special savings edition of "dollar dilemmas." mary in illinois you got me a

phone dilemma? >> caller: my question is in regards to home phone service. the companies out there today are offering vop, ip -- or voip and triple plate options that sound good up front, but after taxes and miscellaneous charges it turns out to be pretty expensive. >> yeah. >> caller: what are your thoughts about the pros and cons of possibly dropping phone service altogether and strictly using a cell phone? >> mary, i have been trempted myself. your home phone costses $35 to $50 a month. how much do you use? here's the thing. i'm a little catastrophic. say you have a blackout. what are you going to do? say you lose your cell phone. what are you going to do? if it's an emergency. mary, if people depend on you, if you've got kids i really think it's worthwhile to keep that home phone. bet the most bare bones policy you can get. $30 a mopthat's what you can stick with. if it's just you, i think it's okay to go with just a cell phone. make sure you feel okay about

it. it's not worth the extra expense. thank you so much, mary. and arlen in california, what's your savings cents for me? >> caller: looking to find more savings for movie tickets, rentals, concerts and sporting events. where should i be looking? >> aren't they really, really pricey? i cannot believe how much it's costing. here's the thing. movies, got hints. i'm sure you know this. really do it. stay way from the concession stand. just stay away. now, buying of you for local offers and specials. right? the big things like vandangle and moviefone with an f, they have specials. sign up for them. most places, a local movie house. sign up at their website for special offers. they'll give you a heads up on that. also there are movie camps. cinema clubs. sign up there. whether you have a lowes or regales, they have special offe offers.

and local offer, concerts, game tickets, here's one for you. make sure it's legal in your state, but we have found the best tickets and prices, craigslist.com. all right? also, promo codes at stubhub.com. get all that, arounold? >> caller: got it. >> stubhub.com. the last one. >> caller: i got t. saved you money. vita, what's your dollar need? >> caller: dilemma, i need to buy a patio door and house windows. i was wondering if you could help me out how to figary good deal? >> a lot of it is regional. regional vendors with sales and incense sieves. key is watch out. you're to borrow money, right? >> caller: yes. >> use the lowest rate card terms, and savings on that. the biggest deal, federal tax

credit. i loved you asked this question. serious bucks here. up to 30% of the cost that you pay for the actual materials. the windows and doors. and this credit goes up to $1500. >> caller: okay. >> you want to make sure you look for the energy star logo, and go to energystar.gov/taxcredit, to see what you need in terms ever windows and doors, that they meet that criteria. that'ses 15ds 00 in your pocket you're not paying taxes. a pretty good savings. happy shopping. you go something to tell me, join me on our facebook page. i'll be there and see you there. this is humiliating. stand still so we can get an accurate reading.

okay...um...eighteen pounds and a smidge. a smidge? y'know, there's really no need to weigh packages under 70 pounds. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool. you know this scale is off by a good 7, 8 pounds. maybe five. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. just because they're inside you doesn't mean they're protected. oh, ladies. let's say you have osteoporosis. i do. you could be losing bone strength. can i get it back? (announcer) ask your doctor how to help treat osteoporosis with once-a-month actonel. actonel is clinically proven to help reverse bone loss and can help increase bone strength to help prevent fractures. so you can get back some of what you lost. do not take actonel if you have low blood calcium, severe kidney disease, or cannot sit or stand for 30 minutes. follow all dosing instructions. stop taking actonel and tell your doctor if you experience difficult or painful swallowing,

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when it comes to saving money, sometimes you need to spend a little more to get what your wallet really needs in the long run. so when you shell out a little extra up front in the hope of saving money down the road? would you be better off spending less and pocketing the savings now? here to guide us to the pick is robert long, managing editor of kiplinger. when it comes to worth it or not

worth it, this one always comes out on top. warehouse club? >> yes, yes. this is one of ten products or scenarios we looked at in our "is it worth it" quiz. a popular future. warehouse clubs are a fairly easy one. up front cost about a $40 or $50 annual membership fee. for that you get terrific prices on bulk purchases of household items, big markdowns on clothes, electronics, travel and more, and what you're finding with warehouse clubs is a margin of 11% to 14% versus 25% to 30% in a supermarket. what you really have to watch out for, of course, is buying so much that food in particular goes to waste before you can use it. bottom line here, yes, warehouse clubs can save you money, they should save you money, bought good deal is only a good deal if you actually use the product. >> exactly. especially with electronics. gets you your money back. brand name versus generic

prescriptions. i always buy generic when it comes to over the countor. any danger does it make sense? >> most people are trying to buy generics, look even on the fda's website, a study there says the average form mu lehr cost is about $6 a preferred brand name drug, $29. non-preferred brand named drugs $45 or more. most of us are aware, walmart, target, other retailers are engaging in price wars down as low as $4 for generic drugs. it's not so much an up front cost with brand named drugs as it is a premium. and, again, i don't want to get too much in the safety, but the active ingredients in brand named drugs and generic drugs are equivalent. the fda is assuring their quality is and effectiveness of those generic drugs. really what you're paying for with a brand name drug is the brand name. >> is a label, like everything

else. >> and all the advertising that goes into that. in the end, generic should save you money. check with your doctor, as always. >> after all it is a chemical compound. you hope it's all safe if fda says so. hiring a lawyer. we've heard a lot in the news about estates, wills and a lot of folks hopefully are making sure people in their life are being taken care of. a lot of places to go to get this done more cheaply and not about writing your will on a napkin. is it worth hiring the lawyer? to draw up your will? even though it can be a real substantial cost up front? >> the upward cost may not be as substantial as you think. for a fairly simple estate you may pay a ballpark fee, a flat fee of about $300. that's if you have a fairly typical set of assets, and fairly limited number of heirs. if it's a complex estate, if you're talking about a multiple children, across multiple marriages or perhaps you've got rental properties or businesses

you're leaving behind a smart lawyer will charge you an hourly rate. maybe $200 an hour or so for the longer project, but, still, we're not talking about that significant a cost compared with the thousands of dollars that your heir, going to spend perhaps trying to fight this in probate court. >> that is definitely worth the cost of doing it. excellent. thank you so much, robert, for joining us. stay pun tuned. up next, i'll tell you about my favorite money saving website. see you soon. tuned. up next, i'll tell you about my favorite money saving website. see you soon.

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this is hour has been an saving money, and anyone who knows me knows that i'm all about saving money when i have to spend money. and why not? it's easier now more than ever. so i'm going to give you a peek at how i spend my money. now, he are my favorite websites for saving when i'm spending. number one, first up, pricegrabber.com. now, here is a price comparison site. right? so if you have household items, you have shipping costs that are listed. now, note the ratings of the

vendors because oftentimes us can see a really, really low cost, but if the vendor doesn't have five or four stars, stay away. pay extra here. always use a credit card, too, so you're protected. number two, favorite site of mine, ebay.com. i've been a member forever because you can't beat the ability to fill your walls or buy disney dvds, slightly used or the newest tags, nwt, or designer fun color for a lot, lot less. watch out for shipping costs and also pay with a credit card. number three, this is one of my favorite sites and i love to sprend the woed on this, it's a place that has people who are making crafts or things at home, for gifts. holiday gifts, stationary, etsy.com. support local artists and artisans and get amazingly low prices for things like designer soap. great, great gifts, unique and an excellent value. now that you've take an peek how i manage my money and spending,

how can i help with yours? questions about saving money online or in general, call or e-mail me. or sign up on the fan page. there every day and lope to see you there. for even more tips how to save, check out my monthly column, "save me money" in "glamour" magazine on newsstands right now. next on suze, the biggest mistakes you make with emergency funds. can't afford to miss this one. and ahead the scoop on crazy ways, and they are crazy, airlines are looking to save money as you've never thought possible. check it out, and if you miss add show, or just want to catch a segment again, download full episodes at itunes. even if you download, want to see you next time "on the money."