welcome to "your bottom line," the show that saves you money. i'm poppy harlow in today for gerri willis. congress may be in recess, but the health care debate rages on. then, the credit card holders' bill of rights. find out what rules go into effect this thursday, plus how to rent anything from electronics to sporting equipment, to tools and appliances. we'll tell you when not to buy. "your bottom line" starts right now. well, august is make-or-break month for health care in america. town halls are causing public uproar, confusion running rampant. our chief business correspondent ali velshi touring the country on -- what else?

the cnn express. joining us now from the missouri state fair. talk about getting the pulse of america, ali, what are you hearing? >> reporter: yeah. this is a fantastic place to do that. we've been driving from atlanta to des moines, and we passed through georgia, kentucky, tennessee, illinois, missouri heading into kansas and iowa, and we're talking to people usually in places smaller than would normally get media coverage about health care. in the beginning of the week as the debate was really heating up on tv with the town hall meetings we were trying to get a quieter discussion going. there was plenty of disagreement where we went. we ended up in one interesting place in paducah, kentucky, northwestern kentucky just on the illinois border, and had a bit of a town hall meeting. one of the women was formerly a congressional candidate. she was a democratic candidate who ran in the last election and lost but had some very, very strong views on health care. here is a bit of a taste of what she told us. >> my husband and i are two of

the 47 million plus that don't have health care. i'm not talking insurance. of course we don't have insurance, but i want health care. my husband has diabetes and 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? that's costing us, the taxpayers. so if they have to tax me more in order to get health care? tax me. tax me, tax me. i am willing to pay. >> i have to tell you, poppy, you can see a larger version of the interview which is worth seeing on cnn money.com. there were people who really didn't agree with that at all. they were saying they'd like to fix health care but the last thing they want are more taxes. we can't afford more debt or taxes. so there is a heated debate going on in the country. i'd like to think the people we've been talking to through the course of this trip are having a heated debate, but it's civil, respectful, and we're trying to sort of get down to the nitty gritty of costs, of quality of health care, of access to health care, and of

choice. those are really the issues this week, poppy. >> ali, you're doing a great job. thank you for being out there. it's a tough proposition, raising taxes in the midst of a deep recession. thank you so much. one way to seriously slash health care spending, by investing in preventative medicine. andrew rubin is the host of health care connect on sirius xm doctor radio. you know a lot about this topic, and people like you are in demand right now because they want to know how can we fix health care in a way that is somewhat affordable? let's talk about the waste. what is the waste in the current health care system? >> it's interesting. you got to put this in context. so, president obama wants a bill that's not going to cost the taxpayers any more money. the only thing you can do is find where the waste is. now, waste can be found in lots of different places in the health care system, but i think some of the easy, some of the easy things to look at are

obesity. you know, $200 billion spent on taking care of obese people. smoking. i think the numbers are between, in a recent study, between $190 billion and over $500 billion in people who smoke. so, you know, we got to filter out all the noise on -- in the politics and actually get down to work and start tackling some of the areas where we can save some money in the health care system to cover more people. that's what this is about. exactly. and there are a number of proposals out there floating a round capitol hill right now. lawmakers in their home districts this month talking to constituents. but in the proposals you've seen so far, from the gop and from the democrats, what's included when we talk about prevention? >> well, first, before you can talk about the bills, president obama as part of the stimulus package had a billion dollars for preventative medicine wellness programs. now people can say, what is that going to do? it's a drop in the bucket. but making people healthy and taking better care of themselves is a great start. in the bill that's particularly in the senate bill there is $10 billion currently written into that for wellness and prevention programs.

so, you know, again, it's a drop in the bucket because if you're talking about $200 billion for obesity, it's going to cost more than $10 billion to make people healthy. that being said you'll save a lot of money if you can solve 25% of the obesity problem. you can save 25% of $200 billion. it's a lot of money. >> we're talking about costs that come both to the individuals, the families, households across america, and to businesses. health care costs and subsidizing health insurance for employees is a huge cost to businesses. what do you see that american businesses are doing or should be doing when it comes to both wellness programs and also disease management? >> a recent price waterhouse cooper study that just came out, they're putting a lot of money into wellness programs and preventative medicine programs. they're a little skeptical about whether it's going to work, but they are putting money into it so subsidizing gym memberships, smoking cessation programs, better eating, healthier food choices. they are putting money into that. in fact, ibm is a recent example of a company that over two or

three years invested about $80 million and saw $190 million return on investment in terms of lower health care expenditures. there is real money there. sometimes it's hard to quantify. >> finally, quickly, as an individual what can i do to cut my health care costs? does this come down to not getting too much insurance that i don't need? >> it's a complicated question. i want to say two things. first of all, what's in the current legislation is they're going to basically eliminate discounts for healthy people, and that i think is a little problematic, but we'll see how that shakes out. listen, it's always better to be healthy. you will always save money on health care if you take better care of yourself. fewer doctor visits, less medications, be healthy. >> go to the gym. don't smoke. eat healthy. appreciate it. andrew rubin. let's go forward. the credit card holders' bill of rights changes that will affect your wallet this week.

the average american carries more than $10,000 in credit card debt much of which is comprised of interest payments, penalties, and fees and the so-called credit card bill of rights was passed back in congress in may. first rules will go into effect on thursday. here is what you need to know with the cofounder and also president of bill of rights.com. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> let's get right to it. you found those with excellent credit status have the highest rate increase. why is that? >> typically the people with the best credit have the best rates in that they have the lowest rates, and what the credit card industry has been doing in order to reinvent themselves in the

face of the new legislation is increase the lowest rates they offer the consumers. and what that has meant is the people with the best credit are paying higher now for the credit. >> it seems counterintuitive actually, but at the same time you're dealing with banks facing the highest defaults they've seen in many years so they're protecting themselves in essence, right, and the consumer is going to suffer as a result? >> that is correct. i think in a way what the credit card act has done has made it very difficult for the credit card industry to make revenues the way they typically have made revenues through interest rates and fees and so on and so forth. it's much harder to change interest rates when the full law goes into effect in february and so a lot of credit card companies today are preparing for that new change -- >> right. >> -- by making some changes today. and making it possible for them to maybe move down in rates later after the full law goes into effect. >> obviously, this all goes into effect in february but folks need to know what happens this week.

on thursday some of the rules are taking effect. talk to us about those starting with the protection from arbitrary rate increases. >> that's correct. there are two clauses of the entire act that actually go into effect on thursday. the first is the protection from arbitrary rate increases which is a clause that requires that the credit card companies give consumers 45-day notice before any rates are changed. typically, it has been arbitrarily changed by the credit card company and you find out after the fact. and now you have to have a 45-day notice before any changes can be made. >> okay, what else is happening on thursday? >> the second big thing that's changing is the grace period adjustment. there used to be a minimum 14-day grace period for you to be able to pay your bill. >> right. >> now you have a 21-day grace period starting thursday to pay your bills. >> all right. finally, what do we have to look out for in february when this all takes effect?

>> there are a number of different aspects of the law. i think there are two very interesting things that would benefit consumers. the first is the fair allocation of balances. now, that's a very complicated rule, but what it effectively means is that if you had a zero percent balance transfer, you put $10,000 transferred to a card at zero percent and then spent a hundred dollars and that charge is earning interest or you're paying interest at 18%, and you pay down a hundred dollars, that hundred dollars would not apply to the hundred dollars with 18% interest. it would actually start paying off the zero percent balance today. and come february, when you pay the hundred dollars, it will pay off the 18% balance and continue to keep the zero percent balance. what that is is a significant savings in the overall interest payments that consumers will make over the long run. >> what about, quickly, the no universal default? that's a big issue. >> it is. and today if you default on a

card or have any kind of negative activity on a card at, say, credit card company a, your card with credit card company b can actually increase your rate to what is called a default rate which is typically about 30% or so. come february, that will no longer be possible. so, each card company can only act to reduce or increase rates to default rates when you actually default with them as opposed to other card companies. >> all right. very useful, helpful information. appreciate it. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. in july 7.5 million people held multiple jobs. that's according to the bureau of labor statistics. now, with employers cutting back on hours and wages, many are turning to a second job to make extra cash. so, what do you need to know before you start moon lighting? laura riley is a yahoo finance columnist and the author of "money and happiness" and has helpful tips. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> let's start off with the first things you need to know before you decide to take on extra work. >> the first thing is to think

about does it violate your employer's policy? >> right. >> you don't want to jeapordize the first job for the second job. secondly, what is the financial impact? will have you to pay to commute? will have you to pay for daycare? what's the tax implication? will it push you into a higher tax bracket and air not making as much as you thought? finally, are you going to have to pay for any equipment? there are some legitimate call centers where you can work at home and take calls but you have to have a designated land line for $25 or $30 a month so you have to work five or six hours just to pay for your equipment. >> also it can impact your quality of life of course. when you look for moonlighting positions are we talking about bartending or restaurant hostess or waitress? are there other opportunities? >> it really runs the gamut. for somebody younger, it can be a bar, restaurant, baby-sitting. for somebody older usually an extension of what they do on the job. so an i.t. person maybe helps people set up home computer equipment in their home. >> let's talk about when you take on that second job and you look at the time that you put

into it. you're saying put a time limit on yourself and set some goals. it's fine to take an extra job if you need the cash, but set some goals and put a limit on that, right? >> absolutely. whether your goal is to pay down a credit card or get an emergency fund or change careers, say, you know, what is the goal for this amount of time i'm going to be spending on this and i'm going to do it for three months or four months or five months so you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. it really takes a personal toll working two jobs. >> it does and you have to think what time do i have for my family and myself. you read about people working two ten-hour shifts, working seven days a week. you have to think about that as well. finally, if you take a second job or if you look at it and you say, listen, this isn't really for me but i'm not happy in the current position, i'm not making enough, what career shift can you make without moon lighting? >> i think it's important to sit down and look at what it is you really want to do. who can help you. could you spend that time on education or training or credentials you can get that will boost your salary in your current job?

>> great point. thank you so much. up next, home projects you can do now to slash your energy bill.

you have shut the lights off, unplugged electronics, even

take short showers, but your energy bill is still through the roof. you are not alone. you should know that. according to energystar.gov, a single-family home averages about $2,200 on their annual energy bill. our next guest has projects you can do yourself right now to cut your energy bill. amy matthews is a licensed contractor and host of diy network's "sweat equity." she is also from minnesota which naturally makes her a wonderful person from the land of 10,000 lakes. thank you for being here. when you want to save on your energy bill you got to cut the energy bill waste and you do that using, are you kidding, a candle? >> this is an easy way to see where the leakage is in your windows or doors. you can have a blower test which is somebody coming in. you spend at least $200 on the test. they suck the air out of the house. high pressure air comes in and you can see the leaks. but you can find those yourself by holding a tissue up to a window, seeing if it billows or lighting a candle and holding it to areas where you think there

might be infiltration of, air and if the candle bends you know you need to seal the window. >> makes sense and do it yourself and on a budget. >> exactly. >> let's talk about your windows, because weatherizing your windows is an easy, affordable way to save energy. how do do you that? >> it is. first you can get new windows. use tens of thousands of dollars of your budget doing that. but you get a great return. but a cheap way to do it is to buy products like these. the window insulation kits. there are all different brands that do this. what you do is you'll put a plastic, probably seen this, some people end up keeping it all year. >> we have those on our windows in minnesota. >> we do. and essentially you kind of shrink wrap the windows. and also a foam that can go on. this goes on inside any areas, you know, if it's a wood window it will expand and contract. in the summer time it is going to be tighter but in the winter you're going to have leakage and this seals everything up. also for the door where you get a lot of draft underneath the door this is perfect.

most of these products were packed like this, $10, or $20 so for your whole house $150. seal it up and save a ton. >> the older your home the more you'll need to do. and focus on the bathroom because your shower can be act bathroom because your shower can be really wasteful, right? >> yeah. some of the old showerheads, four to seven gallons. now the regulations is 2.75. they've gotten better. the low-flow ones like this are 1.75 gallons per minute. you're going to reduce 30% more on your cost per water savings. >> what about the toilet? >> the toilets are important. the old ones were 7 gallons per flush. a family of four, you're talking 16,000 glons a year that you can save by getting a better toilet and they also have dual flush toilet. if you have liquid, there's one

flush. >> look at the beautiful faucets. >> if your faucet was made before '92, it's going to use five to seven gallons a minute. you save 720 gallons. if you updated this more recently, put this aerate attorney tip. it go right here. it costs $10 and that's going to reduce the water flow to one to three gallons a minute, which is great. >> these are lights for under the cabinet. >> i show them great ways to improve them. you're making your kitchen more functional by adding under-cabinet lighting. doing something like this is going to save you money in the long run. i recommend changing out all the lights and you're going to save hundreds of dollars a year on, that thousands of dollars over the life of the lights. >> these are great things you can do yourself. you can save a lot of money. and you can prove to yourself, hey, i can do that too, right? >> 20 to 50% of your total

energy cost in savings just by doing these things. >> not to mention good. you're being green. amy matthews. thank you so much. i appreciate it. why renting instead of buying might save you money in the long run.