anything you want to know about marijuana, you can head on over to the cannabis lifestyle convention in denver. runs through tomorrow. organizers call colorado the geographic center of the universe for cannabis industry. if you want to be known as that. it has a booming medical marijuana business. already has laws in the books to regulate and tax cannabis. and also a picture to show you here. several stranded deer stuck on an icy part of the mississippi river in illinois. they have now been rescued. volunteers on some skis got out there and herded these guys to the nearby shore. other volunteers carried them to safety. well,ly li will be back at top of the hour, but "your bottom line" starts now. 2011, time for a fresh start. how we can all be smarter when it comes to our houses, our jobs, our savings, and our debt in the new year. "your bottom line" starts right now.

a full 3/4 of americans say they'll make at least one financial-related resolution for 2011. that's according to a td ameritrade new year's resolution survey. that's good news. and even better news, if you can stick to those resolutions, we're here to help. jeff gardere is a clinical psychologist and contributor to healthguru.com. ryan mack is the president of optimum capital management and rick newman is back. rick, fed chairman ben bernanke recently said that it could take four or five years to get back to where things were in terms of the unemployment rate. i think 2011's going to be the year that people who are newly unemployed are going to have a slightly easier time finding a job. but people who have been unemployed for a very long time is going to be a tough year. what do you think? >> i think you're right about that. the statistics that economists look at are almost certainly going to get better in 2011. so for some people, it's going to feel like it's their job, career, home life is getting back to normal, if you will.

but we've got a huge number of people for whom life is not going to go back to normal. that's the long-term unemployed. the people who have been out of work for a long time. it's people who maybe are working in jobs that pay less or not really what they want to do. people who are in industries that are just shrinking. i mean, that's one thing that happened during the recession is that a lot of things just got accelerated. shrinking industries started to shrink a lot faster. and lots and lots of jobs are not coming back. >> i would totally agree with that. and from your perspectives, then, if you're one of those people, the 6 million unemployed, you know you might be still be getting a jobless check. how are you supposed to navigate what's going to be a recovery year for some people if you've been unemployed for six months or longer? >> you have to look at two things, your financial life and your skill set. and when you're looking at that skill set, ask yourself, what are these people getting hired have? and how do i get a little bit of that? and it could mean finding a new networking group, could mean making a course that could refresh your skills a little bit. something new to put on the

resume that you could talk about in a fresh way if you go out and have an interview. as far as your money is concerned. if you're not living on austerity already, it was time to start yesterday. >> and ryan, you talked about -- you've got to slash these bills. >> bottom line is if 2010 was the year of waiting on your ship to come, 2011 has to be the year of swimming out to your ship. i have to talk about my own cousin, my own family. had didn't graduate college, barely graduated high school. but was able to create opportunity. he couldn't find a job for a long time. by going from ohio, a state, moved up to detroit and took a program and focus hoped. because he found different training opportunity, found opportunity he learned how to create himself. now he's in a full six month's training program, probably going to be working in d.c. for the government, full-time, federal benefits and everything. these are the type of things we have to start learning ourselves to create our own opportunity. >> what ryan just said is really important. if you've been sitting in your hometown waiting for the next opportunity to open up -- >> in your home waiting for something -- >> it may not be there.

and it may require a drastic step like a move across the country or something else that actually puts you out there where the jobs happen to be. we were talking about the last batch of real estate numbers that came out. and there are some cities, san francisco and austin and portland that are actually looking pretty good because there are jobs there. so go to the job. >> and look, we get the mail, i hear from people who say it's not as easy as that. we know that, we know that. but what is it you do? what do you do well and you like to do? and figure out how to make money on it. that's something -- that's a really important piece of the pie. >> at a pragmatic lvl, i will also add, you want to know if you're in an industry that's growing or a company that's growing. it's very hard to get ahead when your company or industry is shrinking. that's when we get into the do more with lessism, pay cuts instead of pay increases. you can do this kind of research. you can look around and say is this a vibrant company that's going to bounce back? or a shrinking company? >> the stem industry. if you've got a kid who is

thinking about going to college next year, science, technology, engineering, math. or what your skills are applying them to those industries because that's something that the economy is valuing right now. if you've got a job and you are in any industry, you could be in a lean industry, jean, how do you ask for a raise? how do you move up in 2011 if you are employed today? >> by demonstrating your value to the bottom line. you have to be able to go in and make a case that you made the company money or saved the company money. or that it would cost the company significantly more money to replace you. and a lot of people go into a negotiation over a salary with this attitude like, i need a raise. i'm due a raise. well, get over it because those cases don't work anymore. >> when they have the yearly review with their bosses. ask the bosses, what are three problems you have in this company today that you want somebody to help you fix? get to work a half hour before anybody else in your department and focus on what are you going to do to focus on creating value

and fixing those three problems in some form or another throughout your day? and that will actually tremendously give tangible benefits. >> all three of us are sitting here with jobs. how do we get joy out of our job in 2011. we know that your job satisfaction is at an all-time low. how do you be happy at work? >> well, one of the most important things is to be grateful for all of the other things that you have. and your job is able to provide for those things. you have to wake up and smell the coffee and say, where would i be without this job? believe it or not, you will start appreciating that job when you know what it's like to not have it or speak to your friends who are not working. a job is important. not just for the money, but for the psychological benefit of being productive. >> it's very true. but i tell people, if you're not happy, you just fake it. >> that's a great technique. and i talked about this with someone in the green room. smile though your heart is breaking. and believe it or not, the psychological benefit is that that smile will start going internal and you will start feeling better. so we agree on that. >> jeff, jean, ryan, rick.

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all right. your house. it's your biggest debt, your biggest asset, your biggest investment. 2010 was a year of mixed messages to say the very least. 2010 home prices, predicts a 5% to 10% decrease in home prices. oh, just breaks your heart if you're a homeowner right now. but maybe modest growth 2012, further out, what do you think? >> the decrease might also get your juices flowing if you're a buyer. but i think there's a good case to be made that 2011 will be a year we see a bottom in the housing market. no one's going to ring a bell when that happens. we're not going to know exactly, but we are pretty much through this rundown for the most part. we're getting very close. and i think it's time for people to just start thinking about buying a house for the normal reasons they buy a house, and not timing the market. interest rates are incredibly low. they're not going to stay there for very long and prices are

almost near the bottom. >> interest rates are unbelievably low. >> they have nowhere to go but up. but the other thing that's going to lead the charge back is jobs. when jobs come back to a particular community, the housing market is going to come back. if you look at population growth over the long-term, we actually don't have enough long-term supply to keep up with the population. eventually the tide will turn. >> eventually. but in the near term, it's -- a homeowner has been a painful experience, especially the people who took the money out of their house when it was way up there. we saw some zillo numbers that showed $9 trillion of wealth lost since the peak. that's incredible. how are you supposed to think about your house, jeff? >> well, what you need to do is hold on to it as much as possible. and i think all the experts will tell you, now is not the time to sell, now is the time to buy. if you can get the bank to give you a loan, but the bottom line is, i work with so many patients who are depressed, and they do not take advantage of mortgage restructures. their homes are going into foreclosure, they have that learn helplessness that we talk

about. and there are many programs that are out there. you can save your home. you have to get the right rep, you have to get the right program, but you can do it and get that mortgage restructure. it can happen for you. >> it's true. it's very difficult. i mean, we are -- we are just seeing a reluctance to lend a reluctance to restructure. i'm a hoper that this will come back in a big way. but i think more realistic is to say what can i do to lower my cost of living in this house? if you haven't grieved your property taxes and the value of your house has come down, by all means, call a lawyer who will do it on contingency and file those forms. >> do that today. >> i saved $6,000 a year. and if you haven't talked to -- my taxes are high. if you haven't talked to your insurance agent about the fact that your house is worth less, maybe you can pay less for that, as well. >> those hardships are making us much smarter consumers and getting back to basic values here. which, for instance, your home is an expense. yes, it will appreciate over time if you hold on to it over

time, but this idea that you're going to make a lot of money and this is going to be a great investment. people need to think about their home as a place as they live. and buy accordingly. and save money on the side. >> i think the bottom line is that the mortgage industry has been able to capitalize off of our irrational exuberance to try to get into a home right now. home prices have been going up exorbitantly for 5%, 10%, 20% two, three years at a time. that's not sustainable. we're going back to a sanity, going back to regularity. it seems somewhat normal and seems like we're going to sustain this for the long run. there's nothing wrong with saving 20% down on a home before you buy. >> we've got a lot more to get through. to lose weight in theory is simple, right? you eat less and exercise more. the same goes for your money. spend less than you earn and you will grow your wealth. but like a diet, it's not as easy as it sounds unless you stay with us. [ advisor 1 ] what do you see yourself doing one week,

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a record number of americans say saving money is their top concern. and according to td ameritrade's new year's resolution survey, a majority of americans planned to either have more fun or have relax and reduce stress. hmm, i know a great way to relax and reduce stress. save more money and pay off your debt. i asked people on facebook and

twitter what they were going to do. all of them said their goal for next year is to save more money. this is the beginning point of your financial recovery for 2011. saving. >> we have an energy bill, light bills, but we never have a myself bill. i think for 2011, you need to create a myself bill that you need to pay first before you pay any other bill. >> how much? how much should you pay to yourself? >> at least 10%. at least 10%. >> we're not there. this country is like 5% or 6%. >> which is a big improvement. >> you don't have to start at 10%, start at 5% and gradually try to grow up in increments. and then treat your myself bill like any other credit card bill. if you miss it, it's a late fee. >> i'm going to say start at 1% because with new year's resolutions, it's getting into the habit. >> make it attainable. >> yeah, make it attainable, reasonable, realistic, and the reward is that you're doing it, you're setting up that habit. you're seeing money in that dedicated savings account. it has to be a dedicated savings account that you don't touch. and as you get in that habit now, you're empowering yourself

to go to the 5%, to the 10% if you can. >> let technology and your employer help you. we have over the past couple of years seen a lot of employers since 2006 roll out automatic enrollment, automatic escalation into your 401(k). your 401(k) counts. if you're 45 and you haven't started, you better shoot for 15% because 10% is not going to be enough. but do whatever you can to automate it so you only have to pull the switch once and it just happens. >> absolutely. >> we've gotten the message on this but we're struggling with self-discipline over it. the savings rate has gone up a little bit, debt ratios have come down. they've plateaued. and i think one of the biggest risks in 2011 is people are saying, oh, things are getting better, i'm out of the woods. but there are a lot of things that still can go wrong. and if you need to talk yourself into saving more money, think that we could have another financial panic, which could spread from europe. we could have a debt crisis in the united states. i mean, tell yourself all the things that could happen. we could have unemployment get worse rather than better. and you need a big savings

account to get through this. >> here's a number i want to tell you about. $190 a month. there's a wells fargo survey that showed that baby boomers have saved so little, that's what they'll have to live on in retirement. if you're in your 50s and 60s going into 2011, what should your plan for retirement? and ryan, i want you to weigh in on this after. >> well, you need to figure out what it's going to cost you to retire. which means going to a website like choosetosave.org and running the calculations. less than half of people in this country have ever run numbers like this. which is astonishing -- >> most people guess. >> they think oh, i'll be okay. i'll only live till 75 because that's my father did, well you're going to live to 100. >> because we are going to live and they're going to die. >> we all work out. >> but the best part is, i can't agree more with that. making sure you find out your magic number. people say i want to work until i become financially

independent. what does that mean? how much can you afford to save before you don't have to work again another day and live off of your savings? good calculators another one. >> i want to go back to the self-discipline point you made, rick. so true. already, look, we have just gone through the height of the consumer season for americans. you know, and the retailers want you to spend your money. and the banks are already sending -- they can identify people with credit scores that are just starting to get better. we want you to spend more money, here's a zero interest loan to take out more money. i mean, americans -- americans can be tempted very easily and fall off the wagon very easily. >> and the way i think of this is that debt makes everything harder. harder. it constrains your flexibility to make a career decision. if you need to move, too much debt makes it hard or impossible to move. we have seen millions of mer americans that are stuck. they have too much debt. should i buy that toaster or

appliance or car because my car is three years old and i want a new one, ask yourselves, are you willing to take the risk in two or three years you could be stuff. >> we have to pay off the live we've been living before we can start to save for the life we want to have. rick, thank you so much. you're all going to stay. what's a show about new year's resolutions if you don't talk about the gym? getting in shape can mean a smaller waist and a fatter wallet. i'll tell you how. ♪ [ ted ] for years, i was just a brewer. until one of the guys brought in some fresh bread that he'd made from our pale ale. and from that first bite, i knew my business would never be the same. [ male announcer ] when businesses see an opportunity to grow, the hartford is there. protecting their property and helping them plan their employees' retirement.

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every year it's the same sight. the gym gets packed with folks you've never seen before. actually, i'm the one you have never seen before at the beginning of the year. you're determined this is the year to whip yourself into shape while your physical health is most important, your financial well-being isn't far behind. there's interesting similarities, more than you would think. peter moore is co-author of the lien belly prediction. people have good intentions and fall off the wagon, don't they? you have easy ways for people to set the bar and save money and get in good health right away. >> when you think about it, you save money in the short term by making good xhoiss but you save money long term on your health bills, and we know that's a huge parts of how much americans spend. >> we were talking about your retirement savings. people don't have enough saved, part is health care costs. what are the ways -- it seems

low maintenance. drink water? >> it's the simplest thing to do to lose weight in a year. most of us take in about 450 calories a day drinking sweetened beverages. you swap water for those sweetened beverages and you're minus 500 calories a day. >> it says 182,500 calories a year. oh, my gosh. a village could survive on those calories. >> if you drink ice water instead of soda you lose about 26 pounds in a year. for a person of a certain weight, but that's pretty significant. >> that is significant. another one, play team sports. gym fees, equipment -- you can play team sports and save money on hitting the gym? >> exactly. you hit on it perfectly. that stair stepper you're going to buy and put in the basement, it doesn't love you back but your teammates count on you. if you sign up for a walk-a-thon and train for six months. >> how many people out there

have a stair stepper or treadmill in your basement that has your laundry drying on it? i know you do. that's a big waste of money. >> you wouldn't throw laundry on top of your teammates. that's another reason to have teammat teammates. >> also active vacations. when you go on vacation get moving. >> a lot of people think a luxury vacation is the goal here. what you pay is a lot of money to be sedentary and to be fed lots of food. an active vacation like the one i recently took with my family to the grand canyon, if you hiked for four hours in the morning you burn 2500 calories that. can make a major dent in any weight problem you have. plan the vacation now, take it mid-year and get in shape for it until july. >> hiking for four hours and four hours of marguerite teas poolside. home-cooked meals save on groceries and added bonus with your families. >> it's better for you.

>> you save a third of a cost of what you spend in a restaurant and a third of the calories by cooking it at home. the time is about a wash, but if you can save, why wouldn't you do it? >> get a dog? >> you're going to buy the hd-tv. 49% of the time overweight spend their leisure time watching television, 29% is for lean people. if we can replace some of that tv time with exercise time, do that. the dog is the perfect excuse. the dog will not let you not go for a walk. >> that's very good. you say lean and not skinny. you say, gene, you made a great point. that going on a diet and being into your finances and a remake of your finances. your head has to be in. >> you have to, first of all, be ready. if you're not ready you're going to be one of those people who gives up by mid-january or early february. but more interesting we have this whole new body of research

that shows that if can make one change, then the other change will follow. for the sake of your willpower, you only have a limited amount of, you should focus on one xhal leng at a time. it's why you shouldn't try tont shop when you're also trying to not have a cocktail. you can't do both at once. you have limited reserves. pick your goal, focus on it, accomplish it, and then move on. >> you want to make goals that are attainable. >> that's right. you want to take incremental steps. you need to be reasonable in realistic in what you're doing. reward yourself, and i'll say whether it comes to the gym, we spend a lot of money there and it's great. a lot of people don't stay as you said, so instead of going every day, maybe two or three times a week. i call it the prison workout. that means sit-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, what's it takes, you can do that in your home. get yourself in shape. as you start getting in shape with your prison workout, that

means a free workout, then you can get to the gym and you'll stay there because you'll be in better shape. >> just stay out of prison. >> it originated in prison. >> i know. you have to make goals attainable and take control of your financial future. whether it's a diet or whether it's your finances, it's the same kind of principle. >> i hate the word diet. it's about a healthy eating plan. >> every plan we make whether or not we're successful is determined before you start, and that determines your own mentality. what a man thinks in his heart he is. it all is determined. are you able to do it? it starts in yurd mind. we can do that for 2011 and making sure we have that attitude i'm going to go. if you don't feel like going, go. three days a week for 30 minutes a day. >> if you don't use that gym membership, get it out of your budget and run around the block. >> just