[phone ringing] hmmm. good stuff. we'll end it rigt. ♪ ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis, and welcome to a special edition of "the willis report." if you bought something this holiday season that you are rethinking or already know that somebody will want to return it to me how you do that? personal finance expert very gibbons joins me now.i here is what typically happens. a lot of markdowns. i am worried their return al policies will be tougher thaneto ev.ugher th >> this is when you have the ee extended policy.h, but they give you a longer time in

which to make their return.untie end of january to r amon, until the end of january. gerri: so if you didn't send it across the countryetur. >> they try to be a little morey generous, but you do have to beo help us to. >> guesstimate you try to be a little bit more generous. staples gives 15 extra days, target is 45 days, you may have a short window for the elecon returns the. gerri: at the end of t day when we are talking about the retailers who are most persnickety about tang things back. >> this is a 9 billion-dollar a year problem. this is when you go to a fancy store. you buy a dress, yo wear it to a fancy party. you return it with the stains or whatever the ccse may be. i ob it's a huge problem. one in six women actually admit.

65 percent of retailers have actually experienced consumers doing this. that is a big, big -- gerri: shoplifting is a big problem. a lot of issues in the retail sector which will macy think they're returning annan's should be difficult. one of the kinds of problems that i need to be aware of.th >> it's huge. it's of little bit confusing. you need to know if they're is b difference. the may also be different return policies for differentia- products. it is very confusing for consumers.or and itsumers and it's all in the fine print. gerri:absolutely. we he an app that can use for that. it's very helpful. [applause] >> and then it's going to let you kn via text message or alert, when that window is about close. particularly with electronics.

gerri: okay, great ideas. places that are easy to return to? >> yes, thiss a good list. anthropology, bloomingdale's, despite the fact that they do ve those annoying things on the dresses. so you can't do the war drubbing. gerri: and you can't hide it when you wear it. forget the dresses were second. i recently bought a pair of shoes and thehebroken way that it shoun've i took it back to the retailer, now recede. i have nothing. this was nordstrom's. i'm going to call them out. >> they are on the top list. they take things back any time,s no questions asked. gerri: that is what i was going to say, my experience with this specific item is that the ticket back. they went through their own electronic records. found something that looked like a purchase but were not sure and let me exchange it anyway. this is unusual.

>> l.l. bean, also very good. ry g anthropology. zambos is another.her th our e i useto be fabulous theyor have actually just sure and thet window.d e youave one year in which to aea make the return. they have a problem with people returning counterfeits. so it is a privilege and not ad right.rnis you have a few people who haveai abused the privilege. think you. great job, great information, appreciate your time. gerri: consumer reports is revealing which companies deserve a lump of coal and which deserve praise. here, taught marks, senior editor for consumer reports. is great to have you back. it is like that truth sayers'

list. you really lookt companies with an eye to how they treat consumers and what they have donn this year. let's get right down to it. amazon is not good this year. >> well, the policy that g them on the not the last, >> it is an interesting one. aery stern warning for customers who plan to make a return even if you have a

receipt, you need to present the photo id. they then retain the right to take the information and store it in their database to track future returns. and based upon future return and exchange patterns, some customers will actually be warned that they will not be eligible for a return for 90 days which is pretty harsh. gerri: trying to stop people from returning everything that they get. that is annoying. and then you haveo give them the information, which i don't like. walmart, they take a very tough route from all lot of people, but you have something positive. >> they do a l of things could. this year when they set up their layaway program, they entered a consumer friendly twist. it eliminated fee. last year they charge to a service fee of $5 come but they did away with it. we thought that was nice, but if

you have to cancel theer is at $10 fee which did not exist last year. for most peoplehe fact that they don't have to put money down to open the account was a nice thing. gerri: airlines, not your nice. >> yes, always usually taking it upon the chin, but southwest its profits because they offer flexibility if you need to switch fligh. you can modify your itinerary and simply pay the difference on the cost. the new verses the old. if you want to switch flights it can cost you hundreds of dollars gerri: united. >> of the interesting thing, for most of us we can understand that you get a little bitf a perk if you have special needs and wants to preboard. people with children under four. this time around they have done away with that.

if you're traveling with the child you will have to wait until it is yours alone. gerri: thank you. the good stuff. love that feature. much more to come, including a new warning for drivers this winter. you won't want to miss this. if you want to get in on the next big thing and make a lot of money, we will tell you how to become an angel investor. [ male announcer ] here's a question for you: where does the united states get most of its energy? is it africa? the middle east? canada? or the u.s.? the answer is... the u.s.

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gerri: frigid weather has been blasting most of the country already. if you have n winterize juror car, how do you do that? here with a need to know the advice. do i need to do? new car, what d check the cooling system? ooling? >> cooling system that wasif it was checked six months ago is

probably fine. but i would certainly have it checked. depending on what you purchase, you probably have lifetime coin. but otherwise,t's highly likely that it needs to be checked and possibly replaced. you can find atechnician can do it for you at a reasonable price. >> synthetic oil, it absolutely the wisest hoice. gerri: there's a lot of fluids. going out to start the car in the morning, 6 inches of snow on the ground and the car is not starting. >> that is a big headache that you will have. and so the last few times, now is the time for you to get your battery replaced and here's a

tip to save a little bit of money. by the battery and you can get it replaced for free. gerri: a lot of it is really complicated these days because there's all of these electronic components. one thing that is critica is the windshield wipers. they always ge broken and messed up and you he to be careful about that. >>hat's right, 80% of your driving decisions are based on your driving dcisions. you don't see all the moving components. the best ways you can get,and the auto parts store will do this for free. the white eadlights look a little bright, tse are truly the best headlights. gerri: i hate that

and you lso say invest in winter tires. >> it makes sense to invest in a good set of winter tires. i'm not talking about the cheap tires because you get actly what you pay for. you're getting $65 worth of snow tir and i omisey, i'min buffalo today and it is snowng like crazy and my daughter is driving me from college and she has snow tires on her car and she ss that it's aazing. if you're going to be driving in snow, get winter tires. the. gerri: you are the perfect person, i think. gm has just put a woman of the head of the company and what you make of that?

>> i hink that she's an exceent choice and she as worked in the full global lineup. i have to say that the timing is interesting the fact that this a positive thing, she is a perfect choice and she will make some positive changes for gm. she is youn nd enthusiastic and has great ideas so i'm looking forward to it. >> we are all going to be watching and it will be interesting to see and she does look really young. thank you for coming on, it's always good to have you on the show. the. gerri: are you keeping your car in thearage and traveling by air? if so, pony up and for some cities uiq did pretty deep.

and number four is minneapolis. and travel related taxes more than $18 per day here. and 19 bucks a day and travel taxes and the city to travel in ♪

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♪ gerri: have you come across the next big idea? if so, an angel investing mightt be a great option. some of the biggest in history has spotted great companies in the making like facebook, up interest, and they got into then ground level and made it tennanf no.o how do you do that?in joining me now, chesty at thengl angel resources institute.u for thank you for joining.to i think everyone in the worldyoi wants to do this, but they do tb not know the risks. the what does it take? >> well, the first rule -- and keep in mind,ou need to be an accredited investor. havingnough wealth to where

you can afford to lose some of it. gerri: let me repeat that. afford to lose some because this is risky sff. i read that amongst small-business start-ups, one in five fail every year. in the angel business how many businesses fail? >> in the research that i have done, about half of the investments that it mde in a losing money. when you do wn obviously you can win very large. is a matter of staying in the me in investing in multiple companieso that adds up. gerri:prinkle money around. at least to the question where the sprinkel? what sectors should you been? >> the trend that has been going is definitely a round groupin up with anggl investor groupin different areas. this sector's tend to be different by the city that you are and. in some cities one industry will be there as the sector that is where they are and in others it will different. companies that you would invest in in san francisco might be

different if you're in seattle. gerri: i want to show a list of some of these active in two groups because the are over e country. central taxes angel network amid sert angs in arizona, university of maryland. it is all about the businesses th exist on the ground. if you are in a big medical device development area, that is what they're doing. we found that it tak five years for a company to make a profit. venture firms wait about that amount of time. seven for an ipo. there is a long lead time. u need t be willing to sit on monday for a while. >> he can't put your money in and take it out. you get pot orou go public. if you a new to angel investing it is important to keep in mind that the companies that the workout, that typically happens faster than when it does work out. it is important to brace

yourself. gerri: not for the faint of heart. gerri: three big sectors. and i keep seeing the new companies coming to market that is so much -- they get talked about some much. a lot of business on the web. fire was going to do this i am not sure that is aware would go. i know that the nasdaq was on fire, but i would love to do something fundamental. is there something in natural gas, opportunities in businesses that are little bit more mundane? >> absolutely. you were in north dakota and southakota right now, there are a whole bunch of tngs in one gas and really depend upon the regn you aren't. even with them as you can buy groups and companies tha are sort of in lin with your interest and expertise to be the trick is definitely just reachi together, working with people to find things in that specific sector. you know, one of the things people forget is the reason those companies like facebook and the ones you see an immediate are reported, is

because there are noteworthy, unusual. lots of companies in stors that people do quite well on. gerri: of theseompanies that people will be publicly advertising? the new rus coming up from t sec. >> that's a good question. there's a lotf uncertainty. more of a cwd funding fashion. i think most of these things in and near term will still be done more private than just advertised on line as a public investment. but over time it remains to be seen and that changes. gerri: thank you for coming on. i hope you'll c gerri: thank you. coming up, why braiding your marriage may help you get that true sense of your relationship. you won't want to mess that.

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gerri: are you looki to put our hon thearke gerri: are you looking to put your home on the market? in the new year? we have some great ideas for you. you can state your own home to maximizer authors. have you do that? the host of today's homeowners incorporated. danny come is so great to help you. >> it starts with decluttering. a lemonade as much as you can in your home so that you can so that potential buyer that there

is as much their and you want the potential homeowner to believe that it could be their home. it's hard to do that with someone else's pictures hanging in the living room. gerri: i guess i have to get rid of my bowling trophy. >> exactly. [laughter] gerri: pictures of the family, things that are personalized. to the people coming in, they can't really see what's going on and you have to take out more than what you'd expect. i thank him at the end of the day, really make a bare-bones so people can get a sense of the space and make it look big. and you may even want to downsize frniture. take a few piees of furniture, de- clutter, make everything looks smaller so the house looks bigger? >> exactly. not just box it p or putting it in the garage or attic, but talked a friend or relative to let you store at their hose. don't you have all aspects of the garage, attic, every bit of th homeand they have a great

idea but the home looks like. >> they're going to drive by before commit going in with a real estate agent and looking inside the home. so make sure it's very welcoming. cut back the to shrubs, the mailbox is a simple thing. and i've seen mustard colored

doors and those bright bold reds nd some people really like them and some people don't. i believe in a very neutral safe color that complements the rest of the colors on the house. so we don't want a to get too far over on the color spectrum the one i have read that yellow is the color that attracts buyers. it's warm to make the people a good mood? is that true? >> we did a curb appeal show and we painted a house that looked just like mustard. and everybody loved it. we have so many e-mails and complements. especially if you like hot dogs. gerri: i never thought of that. [laughter] arethere any red flags?

>> things that can easily be disguised, that is where the erosion of confidence can be a real problem for a potential buyer. he won its the things that you smell, they smell musty, people think okay, there's a problem here. >> absolutely. that is truly the most important words when you are selling your home. clean it up. and if you have pets, you may not realize that there are some smells bear. so you want to do everything you can to neutralize the odors and clean it up and everywhere you possibly can, clean the windows inside and outside. the laundry room, yes them you come you have to clean now. everything you possibly can clean will make that potential buyers say that people have taken care of this house and that's a good thing. gerri: how would you rate your

marriage? marriage researchers believe scoring specific areas of the relationship like team and intimacy with your partner could strengthen the marriage. but how can you do this without hurting anyone's feelings? joining me now is our doctrine hotspur and i read every word that was in "the wall street journal" today in this article. but can you really boil your marriage down one number? >> well, it's not about boiling down the marriage. because know, you really can't. the idea is boiling down the different topics to one specific member. physical intimacy, sexual intimacy, emotional intimacy from all of the aspects you can rate. gerri: here's what happens. my husband and i say let's read our marriage and he's like,

what? are you crazy? [laughter] [laughter] >> okay, number one, you want to say something really positive about your husband. gerri: you are a great cook. honey, you are a great cook. >> your great cook, i appreciate you come i love you. number two, say something positive about the relationship. like i really love us. i value a bus. and then step number three, which is talking about how we can help this marriage and now n take ownership to make us a better marriage. so that is intimacy for an example. intimacy can b their and i love us so much i know that things can improve and i know that i can take action and make steps to make a been proven let's work on it together. those are thethree steps instead of saying oh, make these improvements now. that is you pointing your

finger. they just become defensive be one okay, no finger-pointing. d so the benefit of his, the payoff is what? you are putting yourself at risk. your emotional and putting yourself out there. can you really make progress at the end of the day on the issues you have? >> that's a great question. and yes come you absolutely can. you're exposing yourself. you're vulnerable to your spouse. the answer is yes. by exposing your vulnerability, by specifically stating what your number is to rate this, you offer yourself up for clarity and nflict solution resolution. by truly recognizing whathe problem is. we cannot take action on our

problems until we acknowledge what they are. gerri: okay, that's interesting and it's very fascinating. people want to talk about these issues and that's one way to do it. thank you for coming on. >> it is my pleasure. any time. gerri: with the super bowl around the corner, new way to buy tickets for sporting events. and taking its cue from the market. ♪ ♪ ♪ (announcer) scottrade knows our clients trade and invest their own way. with scottrade's smart text, i can quickly understand my charts, and spend more time trading. their quick trade bar lets my account follow me online so i can react in real-time. plus, my local scottrade office is there to help. because they know i don't trade like everybody.

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gerri: attending the super bowl is something you may dream of and the hefty price can be a deterrent, especially if your favorite team doesn't make it in. and there is a company that allows you to purchase an option. and here are the details.

the ceo of forward market media. please tell us how this works. >> it's great to be in the big apple, home of the super bowl. it works like a reservation system. most fans have a favorite team and that will favor them coming to the big apple. gerri: in the stock market we call it an option. you put money down for the opportunity and all you really care about it is my team getting into the super bowl. so you don't pay the whole price of the ticket if your team doesn't get in. >> many people say that there is an anecdote to the market. gerri: how cheaper they? >> 20 bucks. gerri: you could've locked in a ticket to the super bowl.

>> how much higher to those tickets go? >> anywhere from three to five times. >> mezzanine club level seats. $1250. is this pointing out something off to you guys are able to take advantage of. the costs are going to be through the roof. >> the market support lodging and you might want to take in a broadway play. and you need other services and so all of those things are forward markets where the individual fan can build their own personalized package to be

on the nfl is not happy with you. they don't like the way this is going. they say that the ticket should come from them or ticket master. so why do they have a beef with you? >> i don't want to be cavalier, but i'm tickled that that is the case. we're transformative and we are game changers on behalf of the fans. gerri: you use a third-party intermediary as well? >> yes, we are a technology company. and we do not make markets. we enable markets. and so those assets are held in many hands. and they crudities different parties and different ways. and so they're not as populating the hotel rooms. 250 parking spots. and it's to deliver value to the

fans and engage real brands that surround that. >> whines about not going to happen this time? >> all of the goods that are in the market are owned and controlled by the original. >> and there is no shortsighted. there are only so many of these deliverable assets. and at that point, the marketplace drives a completely transparent santa fe and marketplace. gerri: rick, you will have to come back and talk about it. people are interested to see how th works out. thank you for coming on. and still to come, good news for people saving for retirement. good news.

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♪ ♪ gerri: a little-known provision of obamacare. it was really a pretty decent consumer protection. hospitals have to reveal charges for their services. everything from selling a ew

stitches to an appendectomy. if you look online, you'll be lucky to find much of anything about hospital prices that make sense. join me now is a doctor with the newer cardiac diagnostic center. so these hospitals are required to devote information. i went online and i couldn't understand a thing that i saw. if you can get through the website, good luck to you. i sure could not. >> you know, it has to be transparent. before you could be admitted and have no clue what the cost is. i think it's a good move from obamacare that we are now starting to push hospitals in particular to be very transpare and open about pricing. >> you can't find the numbers and that is the problem. let's talk about why that might be important, particularly in the world of obamacare and you want to be known what you want charged because you could save

money. >> absolutely. with obamacare, a lot of the new plans have high deductibles and before the insurance, you may have to pay that initially upfront. and you may have a third of the price of what they are charging at the hospital. it's important to ask questions. gerri: why are these hospitals so reluctant to give out this information? >> there is a good reason. they don't want to know what they are doing. and they are just trying to take what they can get. >> they are gouging customers? -p>> absolutely. if you ask for these procedures, you can see the privat practice in the hospital. it is two to three times as expensive and they claim that

they can't release the information and that is a bunch of you know what. they can release the information that they don't want to. gerri: here is an example of a big markup. severe blood disorder case, a lot of work to be done at the university hospital. $2.8 million, the cost of the hospital is 918,000. that is pretty steep. >> yes, that is steep and a complicated situation. if you'e looking at severe serious illnesses, it should be controlled, but it's not always enough. it's a big markup. if someone says they are charging $50 or $40 for tylenol, they ask questions and there are people that can advocate you to do that. gerri: you are saying this is that were a real example. they actually do charge an incredible markup even on aspirin. and showing you some price comparisons of what is going on here. the range of prices that are in

the market place for this kind of work. 500 or you could pay $2200. and you can pay $1100 or you can pay $4400. and a nuclear stress test, 2100 or $8500 and we ha a lot of numbers from you. i was shocked. shocked at the range of prices. in aren't the costs the same? >> but we just mentioned, you get that done and it's a 30 minute test. we charged less than that. there are no justifications for that and people have to have questions. >> why are they doing a? >> is very simple. and "the wall street journal" there was an article that shows someone went to their doctor in reno and you basically have a 400-dollar echocardiogram tema

came back and there's a 1400-dollar charge. so what is going on his private practice cardiology is going down. hospitals are buying the practices and building multiples than a private doctor can do. making a lot of money and paying the doctor. gerri: thank you, obamacare. it's what sent a lot of these people into the hospitals. great to see you an interesting stuff. next come a new study could help ease workers minds. the study and the author after the study and the author after the break coming up next. just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked himp. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle ur toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights.

my ambulance talks with smoke alarms and pilots and adiums. but, of course, 's a good listener too. [ female announcer ] today cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everything works like never before. [ male announcer ] they are a glowing example of what it means to the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the merces-benz

you've always wished for, now for an exptional price. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease e 2014 e350 for $579 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. the energy in one gallon of gas is also enough to keep your smartphone running for how long? 30 days? 300 days? 3,000 days? the answer is... 3,000 days. because of gasoline's high energy density, your car doesn't have to carry as much fuel compared to other energy sources. take the energy quiz. energy lives here.

it's not the "limit the cash i earnvery month" card. it's not the "i only ea decent rewards at the gas station" card. it's the no-games, no-signing up, everyday-rewarding, kung-fu-fighting, silver-lightning-in-a-bottle, bringing-home-the-bacon cash back card. this is the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on eve purchase, everywhere, every single day. so ask yourself, what's in your wallet? gerri: americans are worried that they won't have enough saved for retirement. you could actually be saving too

much. the head of research is here to explain. it's tricky to have you here. so here's what you're talking about. >> 's work is a? >> i would s that thatgreat sta. gerri: let's talk aboutwhy it would be lower.

because you may not need that much money to think of a individual that lived in california and they were saving 20% of their pay in a move to a state like texas. when you retire, we wa its more obtuse to them. >> retirement is going to cost so many folks over a million dollars. so i think it's going to be worth it to figure out what it

costs. and they are overestimating the cost by at least 20%. gerri: that's very interesting. i may have found a hole in your logic. in so many 401k administrators. >> is really important when you make this assumption of the feeds. it cost 1% to invest, don't assume that it's 9%.

and retirees play different types of inflation. >> twenty-year estimate on inflation. and here are some of the e-mails that we have covered recently. no delays to obamacare, they are delaying things in the shutdown was all for nothing. and betty from minnesota says that i do not trust charities to spend my money wisely. and jim says that it sounded like a good deal when you're talking about her, but alas are helpful government has stepped in and stop them.

>> have a great night. don't forget to ddr the show if you can't catchtcap. take your cyanide and gunite. if you wake up we will see you tomorrow. ♪ john: it is the season of giving. so where should you give? should you give this man money? what about this man? >> thankou. john: actually, that's me. don't give money to beggars like me. governments must spend more. >> medicare, medicaid, social security. john: this government really helps the poor. >> everybody in cleveland. >> by any measurement this is not working. john: i am glad more people figure that out. >> commerce, entrepreneurial capitalism takes more people out of poverty. john: even some in the mainstream media.