hi, everyone welcome to "on the money." i'm contessa brewer in for becky quick. the student loan crisis is a big financial bubble that could burst, but some companies are taking a novel approach to solve it. a lesson in community. how educators can live in a town or city where they teach even though the prices may be sky high ready, set, hire fast food companies taking a creative approach to hire tough-to-find employees. it's party time. and the strong dollar means vacation destinations once out of reach may now be affordable where to go and what to do "on the money" starts right now.

this is "on the money. your money, your life, your future we begin with paying for college after you graduate young workers earning their first paychecks have a dilemma should they pay off student loan debtor start saving for the future senior personal finance correspondent sharon epperson finds some companies are trying to help new hires do both. the big payback is this week's cover story. >> reporter: recent grad is building technology that could some day save heart transplant patients >> each day is a new challenge it's a very dynamic, complex setting, but it is very rewarding. >> reporter: the 24-year-old biomedical engineer had three job offers coming out of grad school he chose this one at abbott, a global health care company, not for the salary or medical benefits but because it was the only one with a program that could help him save for retirement while paying off his student loans.

>> it was the main lynchpin to why i accepted an offer. >> reporter: employees usually have to contribute part of their pay to their 401(k) plan in order to receive matching company funds. abbott's freedom to save program gets rid of that requirement as long as he uses 2% of his salary to pay off his student debt, abbott will make a 5% pretax contribution to his 401k even though he's not putting in a dime the money is fully vested in two years. abbott executive steve kusel said the program pays for itself. >> the cost to us is actually very minimal. there's actually a 5-1 payback

because our retained talent and avoiding of cost of turnover in this group >> reporter: nationwide, seven out of ten recent grads have taken out student loans graduating with an average debt of about $30,000 that's hurting their ability to save for retirement. research shows that college grads with student loans only save about half as much as those without loans by the time they're 30 some employers recognize how difficult this debt burden can be and they're trying to help. >> we're starting to see more and more employers offer this type of benefit because it carries a long-term monetary value for the employees. >> reporter: according to the society for human resource management, 8% of employers offer student loan assistance. the largest includes aetna, fidelity investments, and pricewaterhouse coopers. right now none except for abbott help for retirement savings. however, next year the insurance company travelers plans to roll out a similar program. >> it's a valuable benefit because people who are just beginning their careers don't have to make a tradeoff between paying off their debt and saving for their future. >> he's taking the $150 he would have put in his 401(k) and adding it to his monthly loan payment

that's translating to big savings. >> initially i had $60,000 in student loan debt. i will pay my loan four years faster, and i will save $7,000 in principle loan interest >> reporter: they're tying that into one perk. many companies that offer student loan help to those who pay off their loans. the employer's payment is taxable income you'll pay taxes on the company's tax contributions. it's not free money, and that' an important detail many need to consider. >> the retirement contributions that abbott offers its employees, are they taxed or tax-free >> they're tax-free. that's what makes this so unique that's why abbott decided to do the program this way the way that it's structured they are making pretax contributions to your 401(k) while you're paying off your student loans. that's unlike many companies that are helping people pay down

their student loans by helping them match that contribution and that money is then taxed. >> because it's compounding, it's so important to get that money in early when you're 24 rather than 34 after your student loans are paid off it makes a lot of sense. >> that's exactly right. you don't want to wait to start that retirement savings, and this way with the abbott program, you're starting early >> thank you so much for that. total student loan debt is a record $1.6 trillion what can be done to reduce that number beth achers is a senior fellow at the manhattan institute and co-author of "game of loans. beth, what a great title so timely. when you look at a program like abbott's, could similar programs make a huge difference in helping workers pay off college loans nationwide helping in this student debt crisis? >> i think what's happening here is that we have currently 7 million unfilled jobs in the u.s. economy, and the employer are looking for creative solutions to help recruit and retain workers and what they are sensitive to is the fact that young people

coming out of college as you mentioned in the piece, 70% of them have student debt we know that they're scared about that student debt, s they're having to come up with a solution, which is to bake student loan benefits into their compensation package i think it's going to be really effective for them the question about whether or not this is going to help in a macro perspective affecting the student loan crisis that we have in the country more broadly, unfortunately i'm a bit more skeptical. the people who are really struggling to pay back their loans often have small balances, they didn't complete degrees, and they're probably not like the ones at abbott that have pretty generous compensation packages to begin with but is it solving the really dire need that we have for helping the people who are struggle the the most? probably not >> you're looking at a scenario where student loan debt is bigger than credit card debt, bigger than car loan debt. if that doesn't fix the problem, what will? >> well, you know, i think we've got to shore up the existing safety nets that we have in

place for student borrowers in this country we're talking about a lot, especially in the lead-up to the 2020 elections, about different plans for forgiving student loan debt what a lot of people don't know is that we have in place plans that allow borrowers to make reduced payments on their federal student loans that are in accordance with how much they're earning at that time and if they make payments for a long time but still haven't paid back their debt, they'll ultimately have it forgiven that's current policy. that's something that's often misunderstood in the current debate, but those are programs that don't work that well. so in order to make it work well and make sure we don't have people who are really struggling and facing undue hardship because of this federal program, we want to make those programs more transparent, make sure more people know about them, and just make them work better for people. >> a few universities offering income share agreements. basically you pay for college after you graduate with future job earnings does that work as an approach?

>> we're seeing that colleges are using income share agreements as a replacement for private student loans and for plus student loans those are loans that are actually pretty risky for students and the parents who take them on for their students because if the student doesn't get a return on their degree, they still have to make payments on those they don't have those protections that i just talked about. so income share agreements are a way of making sure that people only pay in accordance with the value that they got out of their degree so that's a really good thing. the market for it is pretty limited right now because the federal student loans program is actually very generous so it's just filling in this little gap at the moment, but i think the potential is really there. it shifts the way that we think about college, and it puts the colleges on the hook to pay. >> think critically about the programs they're offering because that is a really big one. is what you're offering useful to people moving forward in the meantime, if you've got

$30,000 in loans, which the average college graduate has, what about those who don't graduate they have the debt, but they don't have the degree and they don't have a job, but they definitely still have the payments. >> yeah, exactly so we talk a lot about the people who have really large student loan balances and we think that those are the people who are in trouble, but for the most part people with large student loan balances have gone to school for a long time, maybe they've graduated, maybe they've gone graduate school because of that, they have access to very high earnings that really justifies the fact that they've borrowed so much. it's people that have borrowed a little and not completed, an they don't have access to higher earnings to help them pay back that debt. those are the people who really need help. >> it's really an important issue for our nation to grapple with and try to come up with some solutions thank you so much, beth. appreciate your time today. >> absolutely. thanks for having me. up next, we're "on the money. saving 20% for a downpayment on a house may seem impossible especially in expensive cities like san francisco

now a company is helping teachers own homes in the cities where they work. and later, companies posting hiring parties who's going, who's getting new jobs, and now a look at how the stockmarket ended the week

buying a home is not only stressful, it's becoming increasingly difficult in some parts of the country for example, in san francisco the median price for a single family house is $1.65 million.

landed is a new company on a mission to help teachers live in the city where they teach. joining us now is landed co-founder alex watkins. great to have you. explain to me how it works. >> so landed, we're on a mission to help people stick in their communities where they work. and especially the essential professionals, teachers, firefighters, we want to live in a place where these people can live where they work, and so landed helps with down payment support. folks have a really hard time saving for a down payment for a new home while also paying for rent for all the other costs of living >> so how do you help them come up with a down payment and also make money >> our whole goal is to make something that's fair to both parties that are involved. folks who are buying a home and the investors who make this

whole thing sustainable. on the one hand landed is a real estate agency and we basically help home buyers buy homes and the real estate agent pays us a referral fee on the other side, the investment that helps pay for the downpayment is a step up fund when somebody pays into the fund in the future the money goes to more teachers. >> if there's a house that this teacher is going to buy for $500,000, they would come up with 10%, 50,000, landed would give them another 50,000, another 10%? >> yeah. >> at what point do you make back that initial investment >> it's an option to appreciate the home it's not a loan. landed is not a debt anywhere between your 1 and 30 home buyer decides to buy out landed, at that point, they can share in part of the appreciation or depreciation so if the home loses value, landed will share in some of that loss. >> if the home appreciates by $100,000. >> yes. >> then landed walks away with the initial $50,000 investment plus $25,000 which is 25% of the profit >> right, right. and if the home went down in

value -- no one wants that to happen, but they had to move because something happens, they'll go back to where they came from, they sell the home, and landed will share 25% of the loss >> why are you focused on teachers >> i mean, essential professionals are people who run our cities they -- my mom was a 4th grade school teacher, dad was a social worker i grew up in a house with a lot of love and a lot of support. the reality is they're having to move professions or cities because it's getting way too expensive. >> are there areas of the country where you currently operate and areas where you don't? >> we are operating in a lot of the most expensive markets in the state. san francisco, l.a., seattle, denver these are places that a true lily city came out in 2008 talking about the least affordable city for teachers. >> is there any reason why this model couldn't be applied to everyone >> we're a small company we're proving this out next year we're going to launch in the east coast. having conversations with folks

in boston and d.c., so we're getting there. >> it seems to me like there's a bit of a risk. if you have to wait 30 years to realize a return on your investment, that's a long time to wait, and you're no reinvesting your money. >> we have great investment partners so far that have that kind of time horizon and look at that for length of time. for us as a company because we're a real estate brokerage and we're able to be paid by real estate agents, we can help our buyers buy a home, and we're able to keep our lights on today. it is a combination of the long term and the short term. >> alex, thank you so much for planning this. >> thank you so much. >> such an unusual new approach. up next, we're "on the money. forget the formal job interview. the new way companies are looking to find and hire workers. no balloons, but they seem to be having a party. later, the destinations where your dollar will go far and why cruising may offer the best deal yet. (client's voice) remember that degree you got in taxation?

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i can troubleshoot. i can schedule a time for them to call me back, it's great! you have our number programmed in? ya i don't even know your phone anymore... excuse me?! what? i don't know your phone number. aw well. he doesn't know our phone number! you have our fax number, obviously... today's xfinity service. simple. easy. awesome. i'll pass. with the tight labor market, fast food chains are hungry for new workers who are increasingly difficult to find, so that means they have to get creative in their recruiting strategies as our kate rogers discovered. >> reporter: this isn't your typical job interview. it's a party a hiring party, that is. taco bell hosted 600 of them recently to attract new workers in the face of the historic labor crunch. >> it is very tight today and we wanted to do something different to help us stand out among competition because it is extremely competitive for great

talent. >> reporter: it's working. the company has seen 40% increase in applications from a year ago from people like tiffany thornton. >> a situation like this allows for people to actually be able to come together, show themselves, their personalities, their strengths, attributes, attitudes, and possibly get a job. >> reporter: brands are thinking outside of the box to attract workers. mcdonald's recently announce a partnership with the aarp to fill 250,000 jobs. shake shack is testing out a four-day workweek with managers to give flexibility. it's also about retention. chipotle says more than 80% of its general managers are home grown, and last year it promoted over 13,000 employees. benefits included bonuses and tuition reimbursement. starbucks offers full tuition as far as college tuition and paid leave and stock options for eligible workers

some franchisees are working on training to keep those on board. the dunkin' donuts locations built a facility dedicated to training and putting an orientation program into place. >> when you look at turnover within the industry traditionally, it's well over 100% we were not satisfied with that as an organization and tried to take a very broad, strategic look at what things we could do to improve our training, improve our workplace culture, and those are the things i think now that we're seeing with a lowe turnover percentage that are really having an effect for us. >> reporter: the group says it's been a success after turnover fell dramatically last year and in this labor market hanging on to workers, contessa, is good for business. >> the burning question i have is do they serve alcohol at a hiring party >> so they're testing some locations that have cantinas atta co-bell they did not serve alcohol in the morning when we were there the morning party, different

kind of party, coffee, breakfast tacos, et cetera. >> kate, thank you so much appreciate that. up next, "on the money," are you thinking of a trip the destinations where you can really stretch your dollar if you're looking for a great deal.

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and should travelers now avoid the dominican republic joining us is pauline fromer, the editorial director of fromers. it's great to talk to you. the headlines coming out of the dominican republic are scary i was there with my family in 2018 we had a great time. we stayed at the hard rock which is at the epicenter of these reports. what's your advice about dominican republic right now >> i have a personal interest in this subject because my teenage daughter is in the dominican republic right now she left on sunday, and we had to make a decision weather or not it was safe. i looked at the numbers. 6.5 million people traveled to the d.r. in the last year. these are very scary reports, but it's such a fraction of the number of people that go there. >> you mean for fatalities we're talking about. >> for fatalities. i felt okay about her going there. >> earlier this month we saw the trump administration banning all cruises from going to cuba again, something my mom got to

cuba she said, i need go while i still can. now that's out. >> yes. >> do people who have booked a cuba trip, are they just out of luck >> well, they're getting their money back for the most part the cruise lines were left with 800,000 people who had reservations to cuba in the coming months. they are having to change those itineraries, so we are seeing things like norwegian cruise lines is offering $60 a day or less to the bahamas including open bar i've never seen open bar before on a cruise ship. >> what about the fact that the dollar right now is so strong against, say, the peso where mexican destinations are often top of mind for families >> yes absolutely it's 19 pesos to the dollar. five years ago it was closer to 13, so that's a significant uptick in the value you get. if you're looking at a resort destination, i always look at an air hotel package. the hotelliers can hide how much

they're willing to discount if you buy it bundled they don't want to publicize it, but they'll give you a deal. >> what about canada >> canada is amazing i remember when the canadian looney was at par with the dollar now it's $1.30 that's a 30% discount. and for a nature vacation, all of the national parks there are free >> you're also suggesting vietnam and argentina as options if you're looking at the value of the dollar against their local currency >> well, argentina, the peso there is tanking it was at 8 five years ago, and now it's 40. the discounts are incredible i was in vietnam you get a decent dinner for $2 a white tablecloth plate for 15. fascinating sightseeing. the loveliest, friendliest people i highly recommend vietnam. >> theme parks are often really great options for summertime a lot of families go

you say you might not get a great last-minute discount the way you used to. they are trying to train consumers to get their tickets in advance if you want to go in august, now is the time to be paying your entry fee. last-minute discounts are almost completely out for theme parks >> interesting pauline, thank you so much for the advice and for the interesting perspective. that's the show for today. i'm contessa brewer. thank you so much for joining us becky will be back next week next week, amazon knows what you buy but they may also know what you look like. facial recognition and your privacy. each week keep it right here we are "on the money." i hope you have a great one. we'll see you next weekend

hi, there. live from the nasdaq market side on this expiration friday. the guys are getting ready behind me. in the meantime, here is what is coming up on the show. >> special delivery. >> hey >> fedex is getting ready to deliver earnings next week, but the chart master says there's trouble lurking in the transports he will tell us why he's pressing sell. plus -- >> we have a lift-off. >> yeah, that's what stocks did this week. if you think the record rally is going to rage on, dan nathan will tell you how you can profit from the party and later -- >> big bank, small bank, i like to make money. >> us too.