i'm natasha curry. here's some of the stories we're following for you today -- authorities in nashville have learned a little more about the death of former nfl quarterback steve mcnair. they say he was apparently dating the woman he was found dead with. their bodies were discovered saturday morning. mcnair was shot four times. the woman was shot once. while his death is being classified as a homicide, police haven't yet determined whether the woman was killed or committed suicide. disney world's monorail is closed after a deadly accident. one train crashed into the back of another around 2:00 this morning. a 21-year-old driver was killed and five park guests were treated for injuries. more than 1 million fans who registered for free tickets to michael jackson's memorial service are finding out today

whether they were picked in a random drawing. more than 1.5 million requests were made for just a few tickets available to tuesday's service in los angeles. "your bottom line" with gerri willis starts right now. hello, i'm gerri willis, and this is a special fourth of july edition of "your bottom line," the show that saves you money from yard sales to ebay to good, old classified ads. how to clear out the clutter and build up house reserves. saving on entertaining. finding the best food, wine and beer. and for a little weekend project, how to prepare and protect your home from extreme weather from floods to droughts. "your bottom line" starts right now. we begin with the state of your job, and the news is not good. the unemployment rate in this country now stands at 9.5%. that's the worst rate in 26 years. 467,000 jobs were lost in june.

earlier i spoke with labor secretary hilda solis, who said quite frankly, they're not happy with these numbers. >> but i do think that there are some small glimmers of hope that we are seeing some stabilization, and i would just tell the public that we remain optimistic and we keep their focus fully in front of us and the plan here is to continue to move forward with our recovery program. we want to keep positive and we want to be behind those working class people out there that know that america will come through this recession. >> all right. turning now from your job to your house, a mixed bag of news this week. home prices took another dive, falling 18% from last year. but only dropping .6% from march to april. those numbers with the latest s&p index which looks at home prices across the country. are these home numbers a sign of a rebounding housing market? if you're looking to buy, when should you 0 lock in the best

mortgage rates? greg mcbride is with bank.com and donna rosatto is a writer with "money" magazine. great to have you here. i want to start with greg. this has got to be the best time in 20 years to buy a new house. i mean, if you have a good credit score, if you have the money to put down, isn't this a fantastic time to really go out there and start looking? >> you hit the nail on the head, ger gerri. this is a tremendous time for home buyers. affordability is in your corner like we haven't seen in a long, long time. not only because home prices have come down so much but also because mortgage rates remain very low. they stabilize have the big run-up late may, early june. if the perspective home buyer has the good credit and perhaps most importantly, money for a down payment, yes, this is tremendous opportunity. >> you say the best credit score is 704 will get you the best deal. donna, i want to turn to you, you talk about sellers. this is a tough time for sellers, obviously. i was looking at some of the numbers market by market. phoenix, prices are down 50%.

what do you do if you're in the market now to sell? >> right. this is really a buyer's market, so if you're a seller, you're in a tough spot. there are a bunch of things you can do. if you want to sell your home, you have to price it aggressively. how do you determine the price? look at what's actually sold, comparable home that's have sold in your neighborhood, what has sold and price your home 10% to 15% below that. you're not going to be able to compete with short sales or foreclosures, but you're going to be able to attract people who want a home that you can close a deal on more quickly. >> you know, 50% of byers out there are first-time buyers. they send to be younger. how do you appeal to those people? what are the tricks you want to know if you're trying to sell? >> that's right. the average age of the first-time buyer is 30 years old. where are 3the 30-year-olds? the young folks are online. you want to make shire yure youa strong online presence. so use social media like facebook, twitter. can use simple things, use a

wide-angle lens when you're taking pictures -- >> why is that? >> it will make the rooms look bigger. >> that sounds -- >> it's not cheating but makes things look bigger. >> let's talk about some tweaks, some changes in the president's refinance program this week. this is critical for people out there trying to sell. the president changed the qualifying loan limit to 125% of the loan's value or the home's value, that is. this is an improvement. is it enough of an improvement to really help people out there who have seen the value of their home dive? >> it is an improvement, and it will help people, particularly in the hardest-hit market like florida, california, arizona, nevada. however, i would have liked to see it go even further than that. i think 150% loan to value would have been something that would help prevent more foreclosures in those hardest-hit markets because it would facilitate more people to refinance out of adjustable rate loans and lock in these low fixed rates. >> greg, i want to mention to our viewers here, if you're having trouble making your payments, having a hard time

with the loan, the website for the government's program is makinghomes affordable.gov. it's easy bto understand. thank you both for helping us out. in many parts of the country, summer means severe weather. we will show you how to protect your home from extremes. plus, how you can turn your clutter into cash this weekend.

summer's in full swing, and it's bringing some extreme weather with it. how do you protect your home when there's too much rain or not nearly enough? danny lipford is an home improvement expert and host of "today's homeowner." danny, great to see you. >> great to see you. >> this is a nightmare up here in new york. i've got to tell you, 23 of 30 days in june we had rain.

it's been crazy. i'm growing gills up here, and i'm really worried -- i'm worried about my house, danny. i'm worried i'm going to get rain inside the house. it's happened to me before. let's talk about areas of vulnerability, starting with the roof. how do i make sure my roof isn't leaking? >> certainly, you need to main tin it on a regular basis, and i know that's not real easy on some roofs but making sure all of the straw and leaves are off the roof. and also taking a close look at the roof, whether you get on the roof or a good idea, use a pair of bic binoculars and walk around the house and zoom on anything that looks out of place. >> what about the inspection of a chimney? >> a chimney is really important. any type of crack, any type of flashing that may have come loose a little bit, just anything that you see that just doesn't look like it used to look, then that needs to be addressed. in many cases, all it takes is just a tube of roofing cement and a caulking gun just to seal up any of those cracks you may

see. >> obviously, you want to look in your attic, for sure, for any kind of signs of water damage. but what about the basement? that's a nightmare for so many people. >> it is. and i will tell you, so many times when you have a lot of rain like you guys have had there, water will find its way in that basement no matter what. but usually the problem is the downspouts that you have that work in conjunction with your gutters are not moving the water away from the foundation enough, so having -- having an extension to allow that water to move way from the foundation a little bit better is a really good idea. also, a lot of people build these wonderful flower beds around their house but they end up causing the water to dam or pool against the foundation, and that's not good in any situation. >> danny, you're going to make me move my flower beds. okay. you also say watch out for eroded areas of the lean. let's go to the flip side of this. if you don't have water, there's a drought on, let's say? what do you need to do to the lawn? my instinct is just to water,

water, that lawn. >> a sufficient water is what you have to do. if you have sprinklers that throw that water up in the air, you're going to lose a lot of that water from evaporation. instead, the much better, more effective way is drip irrigation or using a soaker hose that you can bury in and around the plants, and that way it's putting the water right where it needs to go, right on the roots. you don't lose so much from evaporation. also mulliching your flower bed thoroughly, very important to rain taken that moisture where it needs to be. >> what about native plants? i always hear want to grow native plants when you live in desert climates, because that's what's meant to grow there in the first place. >> right, choosing plants native to your area, they will gro better than any other plant. checking with your local extension service or horticulturist in your area will allow you to select the plants that will flourish the moment. particularly in the dry, arid areas, you have to pick the

right plants. >> have to pick the right plants. danny lifford, thank you very much. so great to see you good. >> always fun. hope to see you in new york soon, gerri. >> come on up. thanks, bye-bye. now your house is safe from the elements, let's turn to what's inside of it, junk and lots of it. how can you turn some of of those unwanted items into cold, hard cash. mandy, great to see you. >> you too. >> let's get down to it. this is a great weekend for a tag say. >> yes. >> you say you really want to sell small things. clothing, small items. why is that, and tell me the best way to go about doing the tag sale. >> yeah, you want to sell items that are portable. you want to sell clothing, like you said, some electronics, small appliances. otherwise if you're selling on big pieces of furniture and counting on somebody showing up to your yard with a big enough vehicle to roll away grandma's chiffa robe, you will probably not find too many takers.

and you have to haul everything out if it's a weekend hard sale, haul it back in. if it doesn't sell, haul it back in and haul it back out. price everything. put up signs so people know about it. put an ad in the paper and you may need a permit, depending on where you live. >> mandy, it seems the smart thing to do would be to go to ebay and other online sites and sell everything. millions of the customers would see what you have to sell. why isn't that the easiest thing to do? >> that -- you can sell some things online at ebay or amazon. again, you want things that are portable because you're going to have to pack it up and ship it. you don't want to throw out your back. small items here can go as well and you'll get a much larger audience. you will earn a little less than you will at yard sales. basically, you pocket pretty and everything you sell at a yard sale. because ebay and amazon take a commission if items do sell. >> so i have to write the descriptions, i have to take the photogra photographs. there's legwork. >> post it online. except ebay does have stores,

dropoff stores around the country. so if you don't want to do all that, you can drop it off there and will you get even less. instead of a 10% commission, they will take 30% to 40% commission but they will do all of the work. >> we have to talk about free ways of doing things, which i'm a huge fan of. krakz liscraigslist would be a e way. what about classified ads? when should i be willing to pay to actually sell some of my junk? >> you can take out classified ads on places for free like places like craigslist, keg, put places in local areas like local boxes online. that's a great idea for big items that people can actually come to your house and pick up. and it's free on those sites. try that first. write the description, post it, see if you get a nibble. if you don't, you can go the old school route and put an ad in your local paper or if it's a major city paper, it will cost you a little more. maybe not too much $75 to $150 in a big city.

>> mandy, thank you so much for your help today. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. the fourth of july weekend means barbecues, picnics and, of course, lots of food. how to stretch your dollar at the grocery store. plus, finding the perfect wine to go with your holiday menu.

we've all been there. you make a list, head to the grocery store and later come out wondering how you spent so much money and only have a few bags to show for it. our next guest is here to tell you ways to save on that grocery bill and get the most for your money. holly granger is a dietitian and food ranger at myrecipes.com. holly, i'm glad you're here. there are lots of tricks to the trade here we want to tell people about. >> there are. >> i want to start with unit pricing. this is something we all seem to pay attention to. you look at the price per ounce and you make your calls on the basis of that. you try to get the best deal possible, and you say, has not always the key to getting a great deal. >> there are some exceptions, you're right. that is a great way to cost compare like items but for things like meat and poultry, it's the exception. you want to look at the cost per serving. because when you're looking at the unit price per ounce or per pound, you might be looking at some of the inedible portions like chicken bones or things you don't want to worry about. >> chicken gizzards. >> you don't like that.

look at the cost per serving. that's the best way to save money. >> let's talk a little bit some other ways to save. we talked about going to the warehouse club, which i love to go to, and i tend to just like load up on things and i buy something ten for $10, multiple times for one price. you said that can be a problem? >> it can be a problem, especially if you buy items like that that are perishable because you'll end up throwing away much of what you don't need. so watch out, even if the price is right, don't overbuy. and unless it's something that you can share with someone else, then you want to be careful. because a lot of times that 10 for $10 might mean 1 for $1. it's the same thing. so watch out. and another thing, sometimes the items marked on sale are not always the lower option. make sure to cost compare. >> let's talk a little bit, too, how you make those comparisons. shopping leisurely, you said, can cost you money. now, you got this idea that you plan it all out, what you're going to buy by the route you're

going to take in the store. >> that's right. at myrecipes.com, we like to tell you make a list and base it on your grocery store. so pair like items together. pair all of your vegetables together, pair your meatsing to. f but one thing to note, every minute you spare in the grocery bill past 50 minutes, you spend an extra $1 on your grocery bill. get in, buy what you need and get out. >> i want to get this in because it's important. you say one stop shopping beware if you're getting your cleaning items as well as your food, you're probably spending too much. >> the health food items at the grocery store are often marked up 20% to 30% more. go to the grocery store to buy your groceriegroceries. watch out for other items. >> great ideas. appreciate your help today. thank you, holley. >> great to be here. thank you. great advice. there's another way you can save money and get fresh, local produce and it's not at your supermarket. it's called community-supported agriculture. here's a local farmer to find

out how it works. zachary and jason lubinski love their veggies. but why are they picking up their vegetables from a garage? they are part of a growing number of consumers joining csas, community-supported agriculture programs. their vegetables come from here, golden earth worm organic farm. consumers pick up their share east week. >> we get money at the beginning of the season when we need it. so you pay in advance and you reap the bounty.

i'm having a little salad. >> reporter: ed mcdougal's garage has been part of csa for six years. he says 100 people pick up their veggies every week. >> a lot of people bring their children. i think it's nice for kids early on to learn something about healthy eating. >> reporter: csa members say they like knowing exactly where their food is grown and getting to know the farmer who produces it. and they love the appreciate quality. >> fresh vegetables, local and you can't get any fresher than this. they were picked this morning or yesterday. >> so they taste better? >> yes, definitely taste better. >> now that you're getting the best deal on groceries for your holiday weekend, what about stocking the bar?

gary is here to help you pair wines with your menu and budget.