alina cho and i will be back at the top of the hour with more live news. for now, handing it over to poppy harlow and "your bottom line ". good morning, everyone. i'm poppy harlow. this is the show that saves you money. how to i vid paying taxes legally and easy ways to save $500 a month. plus the true cost of unorganized paper oshg. how to clean house and save money. "your bottom line" starts right now. of course, top of mind across the country, historic health care reform. the most dramatic changes since

medicare and medicaid signed into law by the president this week. it's been a long road filled with compromises, challenges and, of course, your questions about how the bill will affect you. now, before the house approved the bill last weekend we asked in a cnn. research poll how respondents thought their families would be affected by the bill. take a look here at the results. just 19%. 19%. said they'd be better off. 47% worse off and 33% said they think they'll stay about the same. you've been sending your questions, through ireport.com. one of the concerns we're hearing over and over again. >> i'm not really sure how this health care reform affects me. >> great question. john is not alone in that question. take a look at all the faces there. they're just some of the folks joining in this dialogue online. this morning we break it down,

get you answers to the questions. andrew from the medical center and our very own jim acosta. thanks for being here, guys. jim, address this. what are the changes people really care about that are going to affect them this year? >> democrats really like that question, poppy. in the next two to three months aspects thf this bill they think the public will really like. children with pre-existing conditions. insurance companies no longer able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. a high-risk insurance pool set up for people who can't get insurance because of pre-existing conditions. another thing that will happen with the next two, three months, people who are young draults, maybe graduating from college, not yet 26 years old, may not be able to get health insurance, they will are able to stay on their parents' insurance policy until they turn 26. that's something that a lot of middle class families like and democrats want to get that message out with those changes coming. >> and, of course, down the road coming years later.

let's address the issue, andrew, of pre-existing conditions. significant diseases, life threatening diseases, hiv, cancer, diabetes. will these qualify as pre-existing conditions? >> most don't know insurance companies get it decide what are preexisting conditions. however, in that list they would most insurance would -- >> insurance companies still have a say? >> absolutely. pregnancy. pre-existing condition for most insurance companies. >> and throughout this entire process i've talked to a number of families. one young man. the young boy that was sitting next to president obama had he signed the legislation. i talked to him. his mother died because she lost her job, health insurance because of pre-existing condition could not longer get coverage. countless other families who went through similar situations. how does this affect me? it may not. and may not save money in the long run. democrats are saying, propose of this legislation are saying, it will save lives. what they're saying now.

>> let's get to an e-mail from harris. jim, i'll let you get this one. harris asks, my daughter graduates from college this may. received notice from insurance carrier shwill be dropped june 1st. what's the effective date of the new extending coverage for children up to 2 year 6 years o >> the next two to three months. folks wondering, what about my kid who just got out of his masters program? 24 years old. there may be where they won't be covered a period of 15, 20, 30 days, once that piece of legislation takes affect, they should be okay. should be -- this going to be a big task. legislation, all of this bureaucracy will have to go into effect in short order. >> a great point. peggy asked this, her e-mail from delaware. if this is going to help us get cheap insurance, why do we have

to wait for a year? talking about things that kick in in 2014. >> to be clear about this, first of all, i think this health care reform affects everybody. it offers a layer of protection that doesn't exist right now. though you don't see a change right now for you, everyone will have change. it's going to take a long time for insurance carriers to accept all these new customers and operate under the new laws. that's why it takes time. cheaper insurance, i don't think it's going to be cheaper. >> really? >> no. in the short term insurance companies have the ability to control premium. state regulations involved there, certainly they have the right, as costs continue to go up, have the right to raise premiums. what i think it's going to do in the long term, control spiraling increase in costs in this country, then stabilizing premiums. i don't think this country should expect a huge reduction in premiums. >> it's important to note also, we have an i-report i want to play for everyone out there. this comes from michael ingram

talking about the penalty for people that don't have insurance when this all kicks in. take a listen to this one. >> i can't afford a health care package that i don't want. but i'm going to be forced to take. since i can't afford that i'm going to be fined $750 or so. what's going to happen when i can't pay that fine? am i going to jail noor? >> that's a good question. >> very good question. you know, that's what opponents of health care reform have been saying through all of this. that the mandate, the individual mandate that that gentleman talk about is unconstitutional. you have several attorney general, somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen around the country now who are going to challenge this in court. you know, this is a difficult question, but that's why the white house, that's why democrats in congress say, this is why we want to wait until 2014. because these sorts of issues need to be worked out. they're confident that those lawsuits are not going to pan out, and that in the end, there is going to be assistance for people who can't pay for this.

there are big subsidies coming into play. medicaid expanded. that gentleman may want to find out if he's a little for medicaid. can't afford to pay the pent, probably qualifies for medicaid. >> important point. >> whether you like the mandate or not, that's not what we're talking about, the entire reform is built upon everyone having insurance. it collapses without it. >> and e-mail from david in california talking about cobra. what happens to people currently on cobra with the passage of the new health care bill? >> sadly, wait four years for reforms to kick in. a pre-existing condition, able to go to state high-risk pools and get coverage. in the absence, apply with the ip insurance markets as they do today. >> and still going to have a say in all this. we want 0 watch how it plays out. thanks so much. so many more answers to your questions on health care reform plus a wealth of information on

living well, diet, fitness, it's all available online anytime at cnn.com/health. questions answered there. and center stage sunday, the house voted to make washington the top shop for cheap student loans. while boofrting funding for need-based scholar 147s. direct government to students expanded. fees to banks acting as the middle man eliminated saving the government a lot of money, and some of that money saved used to increase pell grants up to $5,900 by 2017. and we've got a lot more ahead this morning. five steps to saving $500, plus by unorganized paperwork is costing you big time and what you can do about it. up next it is tax time. how do avoid paying taxes. that's right. without breaking the law. that's coming up.

face the reality, folks. just 19 days until your taxes

are due, and just this week turbo tax came out with a list of top ten procrastinating tax cities. houston tops the list this year up from the number two slot last year. followed by chicago, new york, austin and san francisco. rounding out the top ten, seattle, san diego, los angeles, dallas and las vegas. so don't procrastinate, folks and don't miss out on the chance to avoid paying taxing, legally, of course. cnn legal correspondent allan chernoff here to explain. people with kids should listen up. >> absolutely. uncle sam wants your money. but you can actually put your kids to work to avoid your taxes. what do i mean by putting them to work? i mean shifting investment income over to your children. we're talking about capital gain, dividends, interest. even income from reality property. for a child, $950 of that

income, it's called unearned income. it's tax-free. some beautiful thing. you got another kid. do the same thing. shift that investment to come over another $950. together, you've got $1,900 over there tax-free, if you've got two kids. not too bad. poppy? >> not bad at all, but what if you want to transfer over more than $1,900 per child? can you do that and get away with it, allan? >> that's where you can get into some trouble. right? got thes 950 here. you can bring in another $950 taxed at 10%. if you go beyond that, go beyond $1,900 per child, the country, the irs, is going to hit you with what's known as the kiddie tax. you'll be lit with a tax of your marginal tax rate. it you're in the 33% bracket that income will be hit way tax of 33%.

uncle sam is still watching. knowing you're doing this. don't do too much. >> stay away from the kiddie tax. for the most overlooked deduction to the latest scams and avoiding an audit, we made a promise to be your one-stop shop for all things taxes and as we get closer to that april 15th deadline, we want to answer your questions. send an email to us at "your bottom line," cnn.com. we'll do our best to get you an answer. we gave you five simple steps to saving $500, would you take them? of course you would. and this stuff is something anyone can do. so grab a pen, grab some paper. important tips you don't want to miss coming right up. with 100% of the daily value of 11 essential vitamins and minerals, juicy raisins and crunchy whole grain flakes. guess it's all about what kind of crunch you like. how are you getting 100%? as having to decide to go for it? at the hartford, we help businesses of all kinds...

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how about saving $500 right now? our next guest says a few simple steps could add zeros to your bank account. gail from credit counseling

joins us from dallas. thanks for being here. appreciate it. >> thank you. happy to be here. >> we all want to save money especially right now. you say there's something can you do to your taxes and it's going to save you hundreds. what are you talking about? >> this is absolutely my favorite topic this time of year. none of us enjoy paying taxes. why in the world would we want to add insult to injury and give uncle sam an interest-free loan? that's what you've done if you get an income tax refund. and the shame of it is that so many people who struggle to make ends meet every single month jump up for joy getting a once a year income tax refund when they actually could have over $200 each and every month in their pocket. >> huge savings, and all you have to do is go on to the irs website, right, and make the changes for your deduction? >> exactly. it's so easy. we don't want to end up owes uncle sam either. go to irs.gov, type in the

search box, the words withholding allowances pulling up a simple work sheet. fill that out. it will tell you how many withholding allowances you should indicate on your w4 then go into your person and have it adjusted. more in your pocket every month. >> what about $5, $10, that's a good way to save. what can you cut that money from? >> we've discovered cutting back rather than cutting out is more effective. particularly long term. $10, you can shave that off your grocery budget, clothing bchs. gives, miscellaneous items, never feel it. never miss it. $10 in 10 categories, $100 a month savings. >> what about bad habits? maybe not quit cold turkey. if they pair back, they can see it. >> absolutely. you know your bad habits and what you need to stop financially and personally. things like playing the lottery,

scratchoffs, ronline gambling, smoking. any of those bad habits. cut back or cut out significant savings. >> what about cutting things we all pay for every month but just don't use them all the time? the gym. that's a good example, right? >> oh, the gym's a great example this time of year, because everyone was well intentioned and signed up for the gym membership in january. check your automatic drafts. where you're going to see, a gym membership, maybe a movie sub sdlapgs you never order a movie but it's being drafted each month. magazine subscription, newspapers, watch things like that. >> and credit card reform, which is helps folks on some of the fees on credit cards and debit cards, but you still have to watch out for the fees. right? >> absolutely. even though the card act took care of some of that and kept it one overlimit fee per month, that still could be $30. what about the atms because

they're convenient, not associated with your bank. all of that adds up. simple savings of $50 a month. >> i will walk extra blocks to my atm for savings. saving us about $500 if we make these changes. gail, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. you know know how to slash spending. time to learn how to raise extra cash with gold. we'll make sure that you're not getting ripped off. that's coming up next.

a few months ago we hit the streets to sell our gold and saw how easy it is to get scammed. what about mailing in your gold? some say it is a golden opportunity. others caution, it's anything but a quick financial fix. take a look. >> i could get cash for this gold. >> their ads are pervasive but some cash for gold customers say they're getting a raw deal. >> they slap you in the face with an absurd amount. >> a golden opportunity to be fleeced. >> there are just a lot of people selling their gold right now and there are some people that say they're getting ripped off. there's actually a class action lawsuit against cash for gold right now and they invited us down to their headquarters here in florida so we came and we cannot show you the outside of

the building for security reasons but we wanted to come in and see exactly what is going on. >> i'll make sure everything here is what i received. >> the gold is tested. >> we simply just scratch lightly. >> appraised. >> we add it up. >> an offer is made and customers have 12 days to decide whether to accept it. >> we'll get about 1800 degrees. >> if they do, their gold is melted down. >> we melt constantly. >> but "consumer reports" finds mail-in companies including cash for gold sometimes pay out as little as 11% of the gold's value. i think some concerns are whether they're valid or not that maybe more gold is getting processed here that someone sent in than they're getting paid for. >> i know exactly what comes in is weighed up. a value is assigned to it right from the computer. my people don't make more money off it. >> cash for gold says it pays 20% to 80% of the gold's value but that's not what frank

poindexter claims he got. >> about a week and a half i think after i sent the package off to them with the gold in t. i received a check. >> how much was the check for? >> i was astounded. it was for 15 cents. >> 15 cents. >> 15 cents. >> 15 cents. for what he says was more than a dozen pieces of gold appraised at roughly 200 bucks. but cash for gold's internal documentation says just this single gold earring was in frank's packet. >> are you saying he lied to you? >> i'm just telling you facts. >> in the end, cash for gold settled with frank for $150. you know, frank poindexter is not alone. he is joining that lawsuit against cash for gold which alleges among other things that the company sometimes melts down the gold before the 12-day return period has ended and sometimes blames the post office for losing items in the mail. >> the class action is meritless.

there are three main complainants on the class action suit -- three. >> after numerous complaints about several companies, new york democrat anthony weiner introduced the gold act, pushing for more stringent regulation of the industry on a national scale. >> basically when you put that gold in that envelope, you're sending it off to the wild west. >> now, if that gold act becomes law, it would require consumers accept the offer before their gold is melted down and if they don't do that, then companies would get fined. it would also mandate that companies ensuinsure any jewelr they return to customers for the same value the customer insured it when they mailed it in. right now in florida where we were there are stricter regulations as part of a new law that took effect in october. it requires that all mail-in gold companies photograph every item they receive and log it into a national law enforcement data base. cash for gold i should say says it worked with florida to create that legislation. as for you and how you can make sure you get the most for your

gold, take a look at these tips. first of all, shop around. take your gold to more than one place to be appraised before you sell it. and know the value of your gold. 14 carat, 18 carat, 24 carat gold, they all vary widely in value. folks, you got to do your research on these companies before you mail in your gold. you can check with your attorney general's office or the better business bureau. one of our fantastic cnn money producers put together a pretty cool piece that shows you step by step just what happens to your gold when you mail it in. yep, the whole smelting process. to check it out, head to cnn money.com. but up next, don't drown yourself in paper. in today's free for all we will help you cut down on all of that clutter so it doesn't cost you big time. ♪ ...and gets his power back. vicks dayquil. powerful daytime cold and flu symptom relief. ♪ - hello! - ha! why don't you try a home cooked meal... with yummy hamburger helper?

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there are a lot of good reasons to have a plan for keeping track of important papers. clearing the clutter might be one of them but how about a worry-free tax season and maximized deductions? sounds good. according to a report from "consumer reports", one-quarter of americans said they have lost critical paperwork and that resulted in lost money due to bad organization for about 16% of them. what can do you? first of all, keep your bank records, credit card bills, and investment statements for just a year or less. they're usually online. also for tax returns, paperwork on household furnishings, loan documents and of course savings bonds you should keep those for at least seven years. the things you should never, ever throw away? pension plan documents, estate planning documents, and, of course, your life insurance policies. it is, folks, a good idea to keep all of your paperwork filed in a fire and water proof container in your home or better yet in a