>> hope everything is okay. you're dog a great job and so just having that kind of interaction is a social person was helpful. it's like i had my own virtual cheer leading squad. >> reporter: there's a book out on tmi. and the author asserts if we don't participate in a kind of peep culture, we'll disappear. you'll be a living boast he says you'll move amongst the rest of us, but if we can't access your profile, we won't notice or care about up carol cosstello, cnn he washington. >> a virtual cheerleading squad for that mom and maybe tmi for you. it's a make or break month for health care reform. you have questions and our experts have

the answers. across the country, blood is boiling as angry americans confront elected officials. but what is really behind the town hall flareups? ali velshi is traveling through the country's heartland, getting past the shouting to find out how the health care debate really affects americans. get ready. time to talk "your $$$$$." welcome, i'm christine romans. the future of your health care is at stake. ali velshi has been traveling on the cnn express across america talking to you about your health coverage and what you want to see in reform. ali, what are they telling you? >> reporter: and i'm here in kansas city, missouri, with the cnn express. i've been hearing a lot from people across the country. we've started in georgia, went through tennessee, kentucky, illinois, missouri, and now into kansas and then into iowa. we're finding out what people are feeling about health care. the debate, as we've seen, has been heated in town hall meetings all over the country. when we stopped in paducah, kentucky, i had a very civilized, very normal

conversation with some folks about their fears and hopes for health care reform, christine. have a listen to this. >> reporter: we are hearing different things from people wherever we're going but i haven't found too many people around here who are opposed to reforming health care. >> i'm for the idea but i don't think that congress and the president have done a good job of disseminating information. i'm just hearing a lot of talk. >> reporter: what about you? >> i think right now we have a lack of choice. i mean, health care is expensive. the average cost of the coverage i found more often than not are more expensive than the actual care. i would think any viable choice would be better than what we've got now. >> reporter: what do you think? >> my understanding, there is about 48 million people that's not covered. those people need to be covered. >> my husband and i are two of the 47 million-plus that don't have health care. and i'm not talking insurance, of course we don't have insurance, but i want health care. my husband has diabetes and he just had a bout with cancer.

what insurance company is going to cover us? there aren't any. if i get sick today? where do you think i'm going? i'm going to the emergency room. who is that costing. it's costing us, the tax payers. if they have to tax me more in order to get health care, tax me. tax me, tax me, tax me. i am willing to pay. >> let's talk about the 46 million, 47 million, whatever number you want to use, not insured in this country. what's your thought on that? >> i would really love to drive a hummer. they're cool cars. i can't afford one, so i don't drive one. i drive what i can afford. >> oh, my god. i can't believe you're saying that people don't deserve health care if they can't afford it. >> where did i say that? >> where did you say that? >> that's what i'm hearing. >> you said you can't buy a hummer because you can't afford it so you're saying if you can't afford the hummer you don't drive it, if you can't afford health care, you shouldn't get it? >> no, no, no. i'm saying you have the basic stuff. you get a catastrophic illness, you're in a car crash, an accident, something like that happens.

of course you get coverage for that. >> reporter: there's disagreement here which i didn't sense when i first got here. so it's a good debate, but this -- this appears to be a healthier debate than a lot of the town hall meeting than some of you have seen on tv, which is a shout fest right from the beginning and there doesn't seem to be a hearty discussion. why? >> it seems -- it just distracts from the issue, and it's really disturbing because this is a complex issue. if something is going to affect us for the next generation, so i mean, we really do ourselves a disservice when these town halls -- the one with claire mccaskill and the one in pennsylvania, it just -- it's a very complex issue. our health care is 16% of our gdp. it's way too high. we're higher than any industrialized country. yet, when we're trying to fix it, we tend to revert to this, i don't know, lack of intelligence.

and it's really not doing anything. >> reporter: what's the -- is it people don't know what it is? is it they're not able to research it? is it as somebody told me earlier, that it's radio that's influencing this? is it the media coverage? >> we're afraid. >> reporter: we're afraid? >> we're all afraid that we're going to lose something. we're all afraid that my ability to keep my doctor, keep my insurance if i want to, i don't know that many people actually believe that that's going to be the case. >> reporter: but they said it. >> people have said -- >> me not being able to get coverage -- >> politicians going back on their promises? come on. >> reporter: do you think the administration is doing a good enough job and what else can they do to sell this. >> i am a fan of the administration but they are not doing a good enough job at win ing the battle on pr. honestly. i personally like the single payer plan better. but honestly, whatever they put out now, if it got passed and if every single american was guaranteed health care that would be good enough for me. >> reporter: now, that woman with the baby in her hands,

heather, was a congressional candidate. she had run for office in 2008 and lost. we're having those kinds of conversations across the country. on thursday night, for instance, i had a dinner in kansas city with people who lived in the city and they certainly weren't as supportive as that group in paducah, kentucky, was. these are the kind of discussions we're having across the country. we brought in andrew ruben to answer more questions, he's the host of sirius xm's "dr. radio." let's talk about some of the questions our panelists raised. will it guarantee coverage for people with preexisting conditions, like cancer or diabetes? conditions that currently make it very, very difficult for them to get coverage? andrew? >> that's an easy one. the whole reason we're having this conversation and the whole reason the country's going to these town hall meetings is because we have to cover these people. there are 50 million, whatever those, whatever you say the number is, million people don't have insurance and they have to

be able to get it. what kind of insurance they get, what levels, you heard even in that cohesive group some disagreements about what levels of insurance they should have. that's what congress is going to have to work out. one quick point, a lot of people who have insurance don't realize how vulnerable they can be if they actually get sick. so we talk always about the 50 million uninsured americans, we need to do something to shore up the health care system to make sure the people who have insurance today are protected when something goes wrong. >> that's a very good point. trying to get the details and the specifics of something that's not very specific, and there aren't a lot of details yet, leave it to "the daily show" to sum it up that democrats lost the early pr battle on health care reform. >> we don't get a surcharge there until you are over $500,000, so your first $100,000 -- >> you know, it's not about the details, it's about the big picture. >> people understand there is no bill right now to be for or against.

>> jon stewart's face, put it on the face of millions of americans to figure out if it's so important, why do have to do it quickly, but we don't know what's in it. is there a profound lack of trust about americans thinking washington will get this right. >> there's always a lack of trust with washington that didn't start with health care. it's a huge lack of trust. it's 16% of our economy. before this election, all we heard was medicare is going broe broke, how are we going to pay for medicare in the long term, the government didn't have a plan. now we have five bills out in congress coming out and it transforms the entire health care industry and there's no detail. i mean, there's snippets of detail and then you hear something and then something else comes out and -- we have not done a good job explaining what we're going to accomplish. >> reporter: that's an important point, just to know there's a lot going on out there. there are a bunch of different

proposals. there may be some reason why there's no detail. the questions i'm getting on the road really have to do with accessibility, choice, options of who your doctors are. but certainly the biggest one that i've faced on the road is how do we pay for all of this. again, a question from charles in missouri. listen to this. >> well, i would like to know that in an economy and system of rising deficits how can we afford to pay for this new health care reform that, while it would be nice, is going to add a big burden to the taxpayer. >> reporter: and the question i guess, is it possible? is it possible to provide health coverage for all or most americans without that just raising taxes on the wealthiest americans. andrew? >> on this one the good news is pretty simple. there are two ways to do it, either raise taxes, which congress and the president says we don't want to do that. and the second is to cut costs. the good news on the cost side is there are lots of areas where

we can cut cost in the system. and again, the devil is going to be in the details. it doesn't mean you cut service to cut cost. but i work in this business. there's plenty of room for cost cutting. >> all right. more information for you coming up. for comprehensive coverage of town halls and the health care debet, check out cnn.com/healthcare. senior citizens at town halls across the country, wow, they're mad. they're asking a lot of questions and concerned about what's going to happen to their medicare. how will it affect their coverage? ( siren blaring )

special interest groups are trying to block progress on health care reform, derailing the debate with myths and scare tactics. desperately trying to stop you from discovering that reform won't ration care. you and your doctor will always decide the best treatment for you. tell congress not to let myths get in the way of fixing what's broken with health care. learn the facts at healthactionnow.org. you all want to run your businesses more efficiently, so we've brought in a team of experts to help. one suggestion is to make your shipping more efficient with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. call or go online for a free supply and up to $160 in offers from authorized postage vendors. shipping's a hassle! weighing every box... actually, with flat rate boxes

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it it is make or break month for health care reform. ali is with us in kansas city, missouri. he has been driving all over this week on the cnn express, talking with people just like you to get america's pulse on health care reform. we're responding to your concerns, we're answering your questions. no outrage, no yelling, no screaming, just information. andrew rubin and the legislative director for aarp, david, i want to start with you first. what the president said this week about the aarp's position on health reform as it stands. >> another myth that we've been hearing about is this notion that somehow we're going to be cutting your medicare benefits. we are not. the aarp would not be endorsing

a bill if it was undermining medicare. okay? so i just want seniors to be clear about this. >> david, shortly after that, the record was set straight, saying you had not endorsed any particular plan. what will it take to get a blanket endorsement of health care reform, any of these plans from the aarp? what is it that you'd like? >> well, first let me just go back and say we do agree with what the president said, which is aarp would not support any plan that would undermine medicare or cut medicare benefits. so in that regard, we agree with what the president had to say. this is obviously a large bill. there are many pieces of it. we are looking for a bill that basically is good for our medicare population as well as our pre-medicare population. for our medicare population in particular, we're looking to make sure that there are no cuts in benefits, that people can retain access to their doctors, that we can do something to address the donor hole, the drug

benefits, that we can hold down costs in the medicare program, and make changes to remove waste in the medicare program. so some of those things are the key pieces we're looking at in this health reform bill for the medicare population. primarily among those are making sure we're not harming the medicare program. we were just listening to a discussion about prescriptions and medication. i was at the missouri state fair and spoke to christine who had a question about research into prescription drugs under these proposals. listen to this. >> my question is, as a science teacher, i know the importance of research in the development of new drugs and medications and with government involvement in health care, i just am curious about the incentives for private industry, pharmaceutical industries to continue to development of new drugs and medication. >> reporter: is there anything in the proposal that you've heard that would not be an

incentive to create new drugs? does christine have something to be worried about? >> it's not just drugs, it's technology. medical technology. there issing in in the bill right now. the president has said many times, the government's not trying to take over health care. they're just trying to reform health care and make sure people have access to it. there's no question that, you know, the drug -- the drug industry has a public relations problem, they make money but they also create incredible new drugs, most of them in this country. so we're going to have to tackle what gets -- how this is going to get solved in terms of this pr battle and making sure new drugs come to market. there's nothing in these bills that will stop that from happening. >> let's look at the public option. >> we need a public option. it's the only thing that's going to keep the cost of health care down. for those of you that do have insurance, the public option will give you a better premium, no deductibles, no co-pays. they will be in competition with a company that's not for profit and need to bring premium prices down. everyone will save.

>> what do you think, andrew? >> listen. everybody wants health care reform. so you have to understand that we're going to have health care reform and there's going to be government intervention in terms of making sure the -- whether it be a private or public plan, provides health insurance for everybody in this country. again, the details haven't really been worked out yet, so they can't figure out the costs and what's going to get covered. >> here's the problem with the details though, people are hearing we've got to do this quickly, this is a make or break month. but we don't really know all the details on some of the proposals yet. and i think that's what frustrates people because we want to know specifically, here's my situation, what does it mean to me. i don't see that flow chart anyway, what does it mean for me, is that part of the problem here? >> that is 100% of the problem and i love that you teed it up with this is a make or break month for health care. let me give you the secret, it's the first of many make or break

months in health care and we're going to have many more of them. what we know now is the health bills in congress are going to get people insurance. beyond that, what's it going to cost, what are the benefit levels going to be, that's still open for discussion and the senate financial committee is still working out these details. but we don't know yet and we will know soon. >> david from aarp, thank you so much, and andrew rubin, thank you so much. where do you want to be and how are you going to get there? lessons from chris gardner who went from homeless to wall street success.

so, april... yeah? you know, your charger is still using energy when it's plugged into the wall, right? yeah, but that's not my charger. i don't even have a cell phone. [ballad ringtone playing] uh-oh. um... [music stops] heh. announcer: millions of kids are using their energy wisely.

good morning. chris gardner. chris gardner. good to see you again. chris gardner. pleasure. i've been sitting out there for the past half hour trying to come up with a story that would explain my being here dressed like this. >> that's will smith in the movie "the pursuit of happiness" he's playing chris gardner. huz remarkable rise chronicled in that film based on a book. he has a new book out as well. this is a man who knows firsthand that you can indeed come back from the brink of financial ruin, ali. >> reporter: and chris gardner is the author of "start where

you are, life lessons in getting from where you are to where you want to be." chris, great to have you with us. america has watched your story and loved your story. but it was a story about you being down and out and being in a tough situation originally and then lifting yourself out of it. your new book is really meant to apply to more people. how does it apply to the situation we're in today with so many americans losing their job, losing hope, losing their homes. tell me how this helps people now. >> i think this could be a very, very good time to be asking ourselves some very big questions. big questions such as what's really important to me? what do i want to do the rest of my life? what is nonnegotiable. do my children know me? this is the chance to be asking ourselves some very, very big questions. and let me just add this. the theme of the film, the pursuit of happiness and the

book was never about rags to riches to me. it was about a man who was committed to giving his child something he never had, which is a father. and that's priceless. >> and that's something -- >> that's something we're all trying to give our families something, our country something, even as we're emerging hopefully emerging from this brutal recession. give me a sense of what you can do to get where you want to go today. and you say the hope thing is overrated. you don't sit home and wish that things are going to get better, you've got to do something. >> no. no. you've got to have a plan. i think the whole thing -- i mean, too many americans right now for too long have had to hope they don't lose their jobs, hope the bank doesn't take their house, hope that someone in washington, d.c., cares about them. this is the time to be having a plan. and your plan has got to be clear, concise. you've got to be committed.

and you've got to be consistent in your plan. you've got to have a plan, not hope. >> reporter: that's what i was just about to ask you that. if you don't have hope, what drives that plan? is it ambition? is it the ability to change yourself? i think i read that you had said we're too defined by the jobs we do and that you shouldn't -- if you're down and out or you're out of a job you shouldn't be defining yourself by your profession or what you do. tell me a little about that. >> well, too long, too many of us, especially men, allowed what we do to define who we are. well, guess what? you just got downsized, outsourced, laid off and fired. now who are you? so this, again, is a very good time for a lot of us to be asking ourselves very big questions. and it can also be a good time for a lot of us to begin forming a new vision of the american dream. a new vision that is more about appreciation and less about expectation.

for too long, a lot of us have been living in exile in a place called things. maybe it's time for us to come home. >> i would agree with you on that. i'm hearing a lot from retail analysts and people who chart consumer behavior that there's a focus on quality over quantity. that goes for what we buy, how we live our lives, the way we behave with our children. it's something we can really take away from this. you make a very good point, you told our staff the only person who is going to save your life lives in your house, not in the white house. i think that's a very important point here that there's this macro picture about the recession ending, but it could still feel like a recession for some folks out there. if you're less behind in the recovery, what do you do? >> first of all, is this recovery indeed underway? i'm not convinced. secondly, you've just got to be mindful of the fact that the

cavalry is not coming. again, the person that cares most about you and your family lives in your house, not the white house. it's your responsibility, but it's also your opportunity. so i think this could be a very, very exciting time for a lot of us, who are willing to take this time and say, just like this market, the housing market, the stock market, just like it came down, at some point it's going to go up. it's going to turn. the big question is, who are we going to turn out to be when it does turn? >> excellent. all right. the book is "start where you are." chris gardner, stick around. we're going to talk to you in a bit. but forget all the yelling and screaming, find out what's really behind all this town hall health care outrage.

so what do you think?

i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. welcome back to "your $$$$$." time for the ticker, where every week we take you beyond and behind the headlines. ali velshi is in kansas city

missouri, or missouri, as some of us say in the midwest. chris gardner joins us from chicago. his life was played by will smith in "the pursuit of happyness." he's got a new book out, he wants you to go to amazon immediately, "start from where you are," and author of the book "closing time." what about this outrage at the town hall debates? is it manufactured stuff by the right? is it really people who are moderates and are concerned because they don't see enough details? is it people just sick and tired of the last year and a half and don't trust the government? what is it? >> nothing spontaneous happens in the united states, everything is manufactured in part. it's television, they're giving grassley or different congressmen a hard time, that's manufactured. yes. but it's a mistake to think the rage and confusion and anger that people are feeling is

manufactured. those people at those town hall meetings are just showing off or been sent there by certain people. but behind them in every small town in america and every big city in america there are people really concerned about the bill. and that is not manufactured. it's going to be a mistake for the democrats to act like this is a swift boat sign, that this is going to get shot down because people saw town hall meetings. the town hall meetings are this manufactured hysteria. but the anger and confusion about the health care thing, that's authentic. >> chris gardner, are the proponents of reform, are they underestimating i guess public mistrust of this whole process? >> i think one of my best friends dr. robert ellis who happens to be one of the top young heart surgeons in the world told me 25 years ago the answer to the health care issues in america, americans want the best doctor, they want them when they want them and they want them for free. in other words, they want the same things all these

politicians are getting. that's all people want. they want the same thing the politicians get. >> if it's good enough for my elected officials, that's the way it should be for me too. including their paycheck. >> if it's good enough for a senator, i'll take that too. >> ali, what are folks telling you? you're seeing much more civility when you sit down and talk to people. go ahead. >> reporter: i think joe is right. i think when people know they are being covered and everybody is clapping them on, i think they overreact a bit. but that does not mean it's illegitimate. i have been hearing the same thing all across america, just the disagreements are there, they're a little -- you know, a little more respectful, but it's real. people are concerned about the cost of health care, they're concerned about quality of health care, they're concerned about accessibility. they want options, they want to choose their doctors, get the services they want when they

want them. there are really real concerns but maybe the discussion needs to take a turn and be had in a different fashion. >> i want to talk about the banks, it was a matter of months that the american taxpayers bailed out the banks and now that they're showing stability, it's a fee frenzy. they're collecting overdraft fees, a report out found 10% of customers pay up 90% of all these fees. the knee jerk reaction is to get angry at companies and their fees but are we short changing personal responsibility on the bank fees issue -- they're charging a lost money, but if you're overdrawn, i mean, you're overdrawn. >> you and i have talked about this type of thing, we do have to have personal responsibility around managing our bank balances and knowing what's going on. we've been getting a lot of complaints in the last few months about these overdraft fees. they do seem egregious. i think what they do, it seems

to put you in more overdraft. if you can't handle an overdraft, make sure you don't have one. if you write a check against an account you don't have money in it, you will get charged a feet. we do have to manage our bank account. >> everyone wants to hate the banks, we took our money, we took our money, later we're told they were told they had to take the money. citi basically a ward of the state at this point. >> did anybody ever tell the banks they had to be personally responsible for anything? >> i mean ordinary people who borrow too much money, they have to pay all these enormous fees. the guys who work for citigroup, country wide financial, they didn't have to be personally responsible. so now the banks, in and out banks that have literally pushed the country into almost a depression now it's like, you have to be personally responsible. there's adult supervision here. >> really good point, it's a really good point, joe, but it still doesn't excuse any of us, the banks, corporate america or individuals from our own personal responsibility. >> i want to be in their business.

i want to be in their business. they're making more money than organized crime. because they get the money from the government, they get it to you, they lend it to you, you borrow too much money and now pay these fees and they don't have to do anything. >> i see chris gardner laughing over there in chicago, chris. >> i'm just laughing because, you know what? i have been blessed to get to the point where -- when i write a check now the bank bounces. >> oh! that's where we all want to be. right? another couple stories, raise the possibility of maybe a brain drain, a rising number of graduates to -- heading to china to take advantage of its surging economy and lower cost of living. while u.s. green card applications are way down. employer-sponsored applications for work-base green cards have been cut in half. chris gardner, is the american dream over? do we have to look overseas to

find the american dream? >> well, you know what's interesting? if you'll talk to head hunters or some of the search parties, they will tell you that this trend began maybe a year ago, 18 months ago, more and more americans are looking around the globe for opportunities to pursue their careers. and it only makes sense, as globalization has done what is done. it's the first talent and opportunities around the world. and i said it some time ago, i saw this coming. i saw the day where you would see america sneaking across the border to mexico to find a job. now, i said it in jest at the time, but the reality is, it's happening. and it makes sense to me. >> you want to go to china and make $80 a week and have the worst pollution in the world and drive crumby cars and have the tanks come into the tiananmen square, be my guest.

a year ago we had a guy named brad kfrp aarsh on the sh. and he said go to china and get a job and i literally saw smoke and steam coming out of your ears and now look what's happening. >> jpmorgan said the man who is bearish on the future of america is a fool. and that's what i believe. you want to go to china and leave the greatest economy the world has ever known, be my guest. i'll pay your air fare. >> i don't think it's a matter -- >> i believe this country, we are -- we elect people to make this a nice place to live, to raise your family, to have opportunities of all different stripes. if you have to go to a developing nation to do that, oh, my gosh. >> i'm going to france. i'm going to france, i'm not going to china. >> listen quick. >> i get a meal in france. i can get a decent pair of shoes in france. >> chris gardner, i will send you a postcard from our fact-finding mission in shanghai.

>> four out of five say the recession is over. or ending in the next two months? >> really? >> i guess in their pinstriped suits they can figure out that the recession is over or almost over? what do you think, is it over, chris? >> do me a favor. i'll be giving the keynote address at wayne state university in detroit next week. give me the names of those economists so i can tell 1,000 people in detroit that the recession is over. >> the same economists who were hesitant to tell us we were in a recession while the dow was down to 7500 telling us we're in a recession, now they tell us, we think we're coming out of a recession. i knew that six months ago when the stock market was down to 6700. you want to know if we're in a recession? look at the dow jones industrial average, which by the way they don't have in china. >> real quickly, is the recession over or not, the same economists saying the recession

is over, have been wrong more than ever in the last three years. which makes me nervous. >> last thing, when it's you and your family, it ain't over. >> all right. chris gardner, "start where you are," thank you so much. and author of "closing time." thank you. up next, how do you feel about the recession? we'll continue to take a look at this. is it feeling like it's over for you? over to main street and this is what you said. well with us, it's the same flat rate. same flat rate. boston. boise? same flat rate. alabama. alaska? with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service.

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is the recession over? you'll find out in a moment, but first, a look at the latest report on the top-paid ceos of 2008. topping the list, steven swarthman of the black stone group. he was the highest earning ceo last year raking in $702 million. very little of that is his actual salary. his salary, $175,000. but the company he founded went public, he got huge stock awards, and that's most of that compensation there. just for fun, we thought we'd put all this money in perspective for you with the roman's numeral. there it is.

that's the number of rolls royce phantoms you could buy. for the rest of us, here's an idea of how long it will take you to make $702 million. just above $50,000 a year would take you 14,040 years to reach that, even if you make $250,000 a year, you need 2,808 years to reach that kind of money. you know, seven of the top ten highest ceos were oil company executives, ali. so that answers the question of recession and recovery for the highest paid. but what about the rest of us? ali velshi is on main street, literally, traveling on the cnn express and talking to folks in america's heartland. hi, ali. >> reporter: hey, christine. we really put that question to people. i'll tell you, the response i got when i said, you know, these noted economists are saying it's over, the feds say it's bottoming out, people have become sophisticated about it

and understand it may not feel like it. that it may feel like it later down the road. people understand until jobs come back, until we start making back some of the ground we've lost, we're not going to really feel like it. but people did emphasize that they didn't feel things had changed enough for them to change their habits. things were about frugality. missouri state fair. christine, and the fair director there was saying they're emphasizing the rural lifestyle. which is sort of code for frugality. they had seminars, little sessions on how to pickle your own stuff, how to grow your own vegetables, how to save money at the shopping center. those were the kinds of things they're emphasizing. people are still about frugality. i don't know if that's out of necessity or because they can't get enough credit, but most people aren't convinced the recession is over. people want to protect themselves and take care of their families.

>> people are telling me everything is about the experience now, it's about every time you spend money or do something that has to do with money, you say to yourself, is this going to make my family better? is this a smart decision to make? and that's a real new change in consumer psyche. i spent time with nine ceos from different companies, most of them mid-size companies. three of those nine ceos are hiring. the rest of them are not. when i asked them, is the recession over, a majority of economists surveyed by the wall street journal say the recession is over. the best they could say is the economy is an anchor dragging along the bottom and it's very difficult to say, yes, the recession is over, when have you to turn around and fire 15 people the next day. but it's still a difficult situation, it's still a lot of shifting sands in their opinion, about what's happening with health care reform, what's happening with legislation and regulation and rules that will affect the way of doing business. so i think we have on main street and also people running small and mid-size companies who

are still feeling an awful lot of uncertainty, ali. >> reporter: yeah. and i think that's exactly right. i do think that things have changed in the last six or nine months, but we don't have the same panic and people have adapted. if that anchor is dragging around the bottom for a while, i can get used to it and adapt. >> we'll call it a resevry until we know it's a recovery. do you wish you had an extra $500 in your pocket each month? that would be good, right? put you on the path to being a little more financially safe. we'll tell you how to turn that wish into reality, next.

free money. if you know where to look. without sacrificing your style, you can start paying less for clothe, cell phones and cable. in some cases you might have to. this might be a necessity to figure out how to save this money, the cover of this week's "money" magazine, says it all, how to spend $500 less every month. because you want to or because

you have to? senior writer donna risotto is here to explain. i would like another 500 bucks in my pocket. >> we all want to save more money these days, right? >> it wasn't fashionable to talk >> a few years ago, it wasn't fashionable to talk about denying yourself some things so you could grow your money. you grew your money by borrowing money and trying to grow your wealth. that's over. >> that's true. it is over. it never really made sense. if you think about the one thing you have control over is how much you save. if you can save some money, you're always going to be better off. you can't count on your home value increasing necessarily, but you can control how much you save. >> ways you can save, the first one, auto insurance. if you drive a car, and you have auto insurance, you must save money this way. >> quick way to do it. couple things you can do. one easy way. everyone has a deductible. raise it from $250 to $500. you will save 7%. raise from $500 to $1,000 you will save 14% on your insurance. quick way to do it.

another way to do it, if your car is older you may not need collision insurance. good rule of thumb. if your car is worth less than ten times what you would pay for collision insurance on an annual basis, you probably don't need it and you can drop it. >> dig for discounts. shop around. pay as you drive. what does that mean? >> some insurance companies will offer special discounts. progressive, if you allow them to install a device in your car that tracks your driving habits and how many miles you drive, you can save 30% on your insurance. a little big brothery, you can save a lot. >> they know if you are like gunning, do they know if you are going real fast from the stoplight. >> they monitor everything. >> maybe that's not a good idea. timing your buys right. there is an old saying on wall street that you buy felt hats in -- i can't remember. straw hats in february and winter coats in july. >> good advice. >> when something is out of season. >> off season for almost everything. one great example, linens, if you want to buy linens, buy them in january, say 40%.

the reason is, it's calculated, there is a big winter white sale. and stores want to have people come in after the holiday season. they put it up to 40% off on sheets, towels, bedding. >> we have done this segment about haggling. some people prefer to call it negotiation, sounds more polite and more classy than haggling. you can haggle over high rates. you can negotiate for services in what kind of areas? >> in a lot of areas, we look to think of it a well-placed threat. but you know, more of a buyer's market today. for example with a credit card. if you don't like the rate that you have, call, ask if you can get, you know, a better rate. this is going to work a whole lot better if you have a decent credit score, 750 or higher. keep asking, you know for a better rate. it also works well with other utilities. for example, with your cell phone, ask to have your activation fee waived. if you can, $40 off. if you are an existing customer, threaten to move to another carrier. you can get 10%, 20% off.

>> i have personally haggled for car rental and hotel and worked very, very well. in fact, the other person on the hotel line said nobody had been paying the listed price for some time. people have been haggling. also, we had a guest on who said you can haggle for plastic surgery. if you have money left and want to feel good about yourself, apparently it's cheaper to get plastic surgery done. who knew? >> never hurts to ask. >> never hurts to ask. donna, great piece. a great issue. thank you so much. up next, we'll talk about preventative health care or lack thereof, specifically about but my co-host's diet on the cnn express. not very many fruit and vegetables that were not fried. far from balanced. he's been having a good time on the road. s hoping it was nothing. grandma! what a nice surprise! mom, it's sunday. that's when i knew i couldn't wait. mom's doctor said these were signs of alzheimer's, a type of dementia, and that prescription aricept could help.

he said it's the only treatment proven effective... for all stages of alzheimer's. studies showed aricept slows the progression... of alzheimer's symptoms. it improves cognition... and slows the decline of overall function. aricept is well tolerated but not for everyone. people at risk for stomach ulcers... or who take certain other medicines... should tell their doctors... because serious stomach problems... such as bleeding may get worse. some people may experience fainting. some people may have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bruising, or not sleep well. some people may have muscle cramps... or loss of appetite or may feel tired. in studies, these were usually mild and temporary. mom. talk to your doctor about aricept. don't wait. alzheimer's isn't waiting.

all right. my friend, ali, was on the road all this week on the cnn express, talking to americans about their concerns, their problems, from the state of the economy to health care. let's take a look at ali's journey. good morning, folks. well, after driving through georgia, tennessee, kentucky and illinois, we crossed into missouri. now, the discussion has been about health care all week. but there has been interest in this idea that some prominent economists have said this recession is over. >> you can't get some of these stories unless you go to them. >> when they say this recession is over, do you feel that? >> i don't feel like it is over at all. >> no, my personal recession is not over. >> let's talk about 46, 50, whatever million number of people not insured. what is your thought?

>> it is a mess. >> not hearing a lot of meat and potatoes. >> i can't believe you are saying people don't deserve health care if they can't afford it. >> we are all afraid we are going to lose something. >> health care is a problem and something needs to be done. just a lot of confusion about what this thing really is. >> it's written in a confusing manner. >> this is a very complex issue. our health care is 16% of our gdp. >> how are we going to do it? >> people are not informed. >> you hear all these rumors. >> i think they're pushing too much change on us at once. >> there is some concern it is moving faster than people can digest the information. >> i know that there is something that has to be done. i think to rush through this is the wrong thing. >> we're hitting places that don't expect cnn to be there. they don't expect any kind of big media to be there. they might feel ignored. >> we're in a farming community. it's pretty bad. ♪ >> i can't get enough of this. i can't get enough of actually being out there and talking to

people and meeting people. it is such a great feeling. and they talk to us and tell us their stories, sometimes because we have a camera there. sometimes, we are just standing there. we get great stories from people because we go to them. >> this makes the electric car feasible. >> it is not about people setting up to tell their story. it's about us showing up and asking them to tell their stories. >> you live in this town. you see the businesses people who live here. what is your thought on that? >> what it is going to do is equip me to go back now and really start to work on the questions that people have been asking me, the questions that they haven't had answered. i'm going to go out there and i'm going to work on those stories and i'm going to come back to these towns and say, did i answer those questions? did i help you understand the issue that is so important to you that you asked about one day? >> ali, knowing what the

questions are so important to know what kind of information to give people about this incredibly important debate. what are people telling you about where we go from here, ali? >> well, people are -- there is hope out there. no question about it. people are managing to live their own lives. they want their home values to come back. they want their retirement investment to come back. they understand that is going to be a long time before that happens. they're hunkered down for it. i think people are changing their lifestyles and becoming more frugal. but they are survivors, christine. we don't meet with despair when we go through these towns. we meet with people who have been hit hard by the recession. but they are working hard to get back on their feet. >> all right, ali, incredible piece. great road trip. look forward to more great stuff from you this weekend at the iowa state fair, my home state. also, congratulations to our executive producer, michael cane and his wife, jen, for welcoming their very first child. there he is, aiden jarrett cane, 6 pound, 15 ounces. he was 19 inches long. best of health, congratulations to all of you. fantastic stuff.