hi everyone. i'm poppy harlow in today for gerri willis. this is "your bottom line" the show that saves you money. how about saving 500 bucks a month just like that? we'll show you how. plus how to best utilize social networking in your job search. and jeff lewis from bravo tv's flipping out from chaos to clarity in today's housing market. "your bottom line" starts right now. trying to keep up with the debate over health care reform is a job in and of itself. all the facts, the figures, the different plans being thrown around but our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here to break it all down for us

and most importantly tell us why it matters and what it really means for you. thanks for being here. appreciate it. >> of course, poppy. the big news this week about health care reform was whether or not the public option, which is basically government sponsored health care as an option has to be a part of health care reform. obama proposed it and then there were some questions as to whether or not he was backing away. here's what secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius had to say. >> here's the bottom line. absolutely nothing is changed. we continue to support the public option. that will help lower costs, give american consumers more choice, and keep private insurers honest. if people have other ideas about how to accomplish these goals we'll look at those too but the public option is a very good way to do this. >> so, poppy, what it sounds like she's saying is we like the public option here in the white house but it's not a deal

breaker. >> elizabeth, what exactly is a public option? there is so much debate about what it is and what it isn't. >> right. i think sometimes people don't really know so let's take a look at what a public option is. it's insurance that's paid for by the government. people would also pay premiums but mostly funded by the government. the government would also administer it and in many ways it's similar to medicare. i think people know what medicare is. that's for the elderly. this is sort of medicare for the rest of us. think of it in some ways like that. >> finally, what would it mean, elizabeth, for everyone? that's still the question. there are a lot of uninsured people out there, millions in fact. there are other people who aren't happy with their health insurance. what would it mean for the masses? >> what we did is we made up two people to try to answer that question, poppy, two people in very different situations. first, let's take a look at john. john has a bad back. he looks sad. he's clutching his back in pain. he can't get health insurance. this really happens. people with bad backs are often turned down by private insurers and john is self-employed so he's not getting it through his

employer. a public option would indeed help him because the public option can't say no to you because of a preexisting condition. but now let's take a look at suzy. suzy is employed by a big company. she's happy with her health insurance as you can see by the big smile. the public option is not really going to do anything for her. chances are her company can't even get it even if they wanted it because of the way the bills are written, big companies can't partake in this program so for susie the public option isn't going to mean much. >> that's a great explanation. it means different things for everyone. what else is getting a lot of attention this week is health care cooperateives. many people had never heard of them before. what are those? can you explain how a health care co-op would work? >> right. people haven't heard of them because there are only a few across the country. let's take a look at what the characteristics of a co-op are. first of all, it is not a private insurance company. it is a nonprofit organization. the patients elect a governing

board and there are tens of thousands of members. they don't have the need to turn a profit in the way big companies do. i called the two biggest co-ops in the country. there is one in seattle and one in minnesota. i said, there are 46 million uninsured people and co-ops are getting a lot of attention. will co-ops help the uninsured? both of them said no, not necessarily. we still charge premiums. we charge premiums that are about the average of what other insurance policies charge. and we also will sometimes deny people for preexisting conditions. so co-ops, some people would say, are really not the answer. because they provide competition they might lower the price of insurance in their geographical area but they're certainly not charity. >> thank you for setting the record straight. a lot of questions answered there. elizabeth cohen, thank you so much. appreciate it. from health care to housing, now time for the breakdown. did you know in some markets foreclosed homes, folks, are actually selling in a day.

and in other places in a matter of hours. foreclosures.com actually says some homes are in contracts believe it or not less than 90 minutes after they are listed. the big driver is of course the banks that own these homes. they're pricing them to move so they can get those homes off their books. actually banks have to pay property taxes and maintenance fees, the energy bills, whenever they seize a home in foreclosure. now we're seeing this happen especially in bubble markets where there ar lot of foreclosures like california and florida but the drop in home prices is not just for foreclosure. it's actually homes in general that are really being priced to move these days as i'm sure you've seen in your neighborhood. one real estate tracker says 25% of homes on the market today have experienced at least one price cut. but the deals can be even better with foreclosures. for more on that check out our continuing coverage only on cnn money.com. time's up. more than 6 million americans are living unfortunately on unemployment but many are facing

the harsh reality that their benefits are running out.

more than 650,000 americans will lose unemployment benefits next month and millions more will see benefits expire by the end of this year. we spent the day with two people experiencing this reality first hand. take a look. rachel gold and anthony don't have much in common. rachel is 28 and worked in recruiting after graduating from college. anthony is 46 and worked on wall street for 20 years but never went to college. the thing they do have in common? a $430 weekly check from the government. like 6 million other americans, it's life on unemployment after losing a job.

>> i definitely didn't think i would be sitting here nine months later without unemployment. >> rachel lost her job in november. for anthony it's been more than a year. >> when i first was let go i figured maybe a month, two months, you know, and i didn't think it would last this long. >> but it has and each day brings more work to find work. >> this afternoon at 2:30 i have a recruiting meeting with somebody that i was networking with. >> but the responses are few and far between. so you've applied for more than 650 jobs. >> correct. >> how many interviews have you had out of that? >> maybe ten. >> reporter: anthony has applied for hundreds of jobs, too. if it were up to him, he'd extend unemployment benefits. >> i think they should just keep continuing it until the job picture gets better. >> reporter: unemployment benefits have already been extended but the labor department forecasts 4.4 million americans may lose their

benefits before finding jobs. for anthony, that will happen by the end of this year. rachel expects to lose her benefits in january. >> i would go out and get a waitressing job. i would have to. >> put like a deadline as to when i have to really seriously, you know, look for something. you know, whether it be a department store or something like that. >> reporter: so why don't rachel and anthony find temporary, low paying jobs now? here's why. the $1700 a month they receive through unemployment is more than they would make at most entry level jobs. >> these are people i've e-mailed. >> reporter: but for now, unemployment is their best bet. >> it's not that i don't want to work but it's kind of like, i could not survive, you know, like working at a store making minimum wage. i wouldn't be able to pay my rent. >> i'm anxious to get back to work, you know, i'm almost a year in the house and it could

drive somebody crazy. >> just because they're unemployed does not mean anthony and rachel aren't busy. rachel has started her own blog called kick forward.com where she sets goals for herself and tells people about free things they can do in new york if they've got time on their hands. on cnn money.com we have a weekly series called hired where we profile people who have been successful in their job hunt and we tell you how they did it. the writer of that series joins us now. jess, a lot of positive feedback on "hired." talk to us about it. what are some of the examples of folks you've talked to, real people getting real jobs in this tough economy? >> hi, poppy. i've talked to job seekers across the country that have found jobs by moving, switching careers, networking through facebook, even tweeting. roy is one example. he's a recent college grad and like a lot of people in his situation he was worried about finding a job. so he picked up some odd jobs to make ends meet and then he took his time crafting a resume and cover letter for each job

application. when he did get an interview he was hired on the spot. >> i know you profiled someone else who is a bit older, retirement age really. >> that's right. he had to come out of retirement like ao this economy so he had to get up to speed with computer skills. he used a lot of tools online and he networked with his air force buddies and one lead led to a job. >> jess, joining us now from d.c. is someone you profiled. it's juan valasquez. talk us about your experience. you used networking in a very effective way to find a good paying job. >> absolutely, poppy. i was working for a recruiting company right before this and i use ad lot of these sites, facebook, tweeter, and to my advantage. as soon as i knew i was going to be laid off, i went there, updated my status. it was definitely humbling to let everyone know i was back on the job market but, i mean, it's

a thousand points of contact i couldn't have done individually that i was able to do collectively. it really worked out. >> that's a great point. a thousand points of contact. good for you, juan. thanks so much for being here. we really appreciate it. of course whether it's online or in person networking is key to getting hired in this economy. to talk to us about that is liz lynch the founder of the center for networking excellence. thanks for being here. i appreciate it. >> great to be here. >> the first step is establishing connections with people you already know, getting back in touch. >> exactly. opportunities come from people. they don't fall out of the sky. the fastest opportunities are going to come from people who already know you. it makes sense to start there. >> when you use social networking whether facebook or my space or twitter or lincoln, a number of sites you can use, you say folks don't always take advantage of diving into the key features that are probably going to help them the most, right? >> exactly. here's one great example. lincoln has a feature called the

companies page where a job seeker can type in the name of any company they're interested in and not just the fortune 500. there are small companies there too link-in will tell them who works there, who knows someone who works there, who got promoted, who just got hired. candidates can talk to these people and get a sense of what opportunities might be there before they widely advertise. >> we spent some time with people who are unemployed and they're utilizing the social networks more and more. you can also join online groups that can be as useful, right? >> absolutely. link-in groups are the online equivalent of industry associations where you would go and meet people in person and network but you can do this now totally online. you can look through member profiles, participate in discussions, and even find job postings that other members post. >> what about blogging? because that, you know, it's surprising for me to hear that can really help you find work. but it can. >> it can. and the reason it is, because if you start a business blog where you share insights about news and trends in your industry,

that really shows the knowledge and passion you have for your work. it really doesn't come through on your resume or cover letter. plus, it shows employers that you have taken initiative to stay immersed in the industry rather than sitting on the couch. liz, thank you. really appreciate it. stick around for our next segment and we'll show you how to spend $500 less every month.

who wouldn't like to have extra cash in their wallet these days? our next guest is here to tell us how you can spend up to $500 less each month. donna rose ato is a senior writ with "money." let's start with phone bills. when you have kids and they're texting left and right you can really save. how can you do that? >> well, the average, brace yourself, sends an average of 1700 texts per month. you want to get on to unlimited text tog save a bundle. >> do you even need a home phone? >> only 20% of homes right now are cell phone only. you can get rid of them unless you live in a very rural area. it makes sense. you can save $30 a month doing that. >> maybe add mom and dad to your plan? >> yes, your mom and dad have a

cell phone for an emergency, they're probably paying $30 a month. put them on your plan and only costs you $10 a month. >> how about trips to the grocery store? you see all of those delicious things you don't need. what's the trick to shopping in a savvy way? >> go once a week. about 2/3 of our spending while shopping is impulse buying. you go once a week, you're less likely to do that. >> when you're grocery shopping, you talk about produce and how you can buy produce, fresh fruit and vegetables but in a smart way that saves you money. >> that's right. it's summer right now u blue berries are great. you'll pay 20% to 50% more if you buy fruit out of season so stick with in-season stuff. >> and your energy bills. my air conditioning bill is through the roof and i live in a tiny apartment. for people that live in big homes this is a big issue. how do you cut down on that energy bill? >> a lot of appliances are energy vampires. they suck all the energy out. a really simple thing to do is put all of your appliances, your dvd, your computer, onto one power strip and then at night even when they're plugged in and

still drawing energy, turn them off at night. even in the sleep mode they take energy. >> a great idea. put them all in one and turn it off at once. >> when luyou look at shopping everyone likes to buy a treat now and then but what is your advice for shopaholics? >> there are some simple things. when you go to the grocery store get a basket instead of a carriage. if you're popping into the convenience store don't use a basket. just carry things in your handly. never go shopping when you're depressed because buying will make you feel better. bring a list. stick to it and if you have cash you'll spend less. >> also avoid taking walks around shopping malls. maybe take a walk around the lake instead. >> there are healthier things you could do. you know? like you said, treat yourself sometimes, too. if you never indulge you're probably going to get upset and so every once in a while you can treat yourself to something, too. you don't have to. there are a lot of things you can do to save money and not make yourself feel depressed.

>> great tips. thank you so much. one of denver's newest coffee shops is preaching a business model not taught to mbas and hoping to change their community in the process. there is no test just a recommendation from the store owners to pay it forward. our affiliate kusa has the story. >> reporter: it can be hard to get noticed on denver's most colorful road. >> anything to try and draw people's attention really. >> reporter: why a tag team effort -- >> some days the crowd is tougher than others. >> reporter: is needed to convince customers to take a detour from their day. >> it's hard for her not to be graceful. you should play tennis with her sometimes. she looks like the girl from the price is right. >> reporter: detours is one of denver's newest coffee houses, counting on a business model that's not taught to mbas. >> it doesn't cost anything. it's free. for everyone. any kind of coffee.

>> amy is one of 13 owners who all agreed once they made a profit off of their sandwiches they'd cut the ultimate deal on their coffee. >> call it karma. call it the golden rule. call it whatever you want to believe. we just believe it comes back around and we're willing to take the risk to give you something for free. >> i just like the impact on my financial situation. >> reporter: there is no catch to customers, only a simple request. >> you take the money you're going to spend on coffee usually and do something nice for somebody else. >> now that i add it up it's like a couple hundred dollars a year. >> we all want to do these great things. >> reporter: if a free cup of coffee can lead to that -- >> hopefully you walk out the door and one of these sticks with you and you kind of go above and beyond, you know, what you normally do for somebody else. >> how's it going? >> it's more memorable than a guy on stilts. >> got your burger. >> a guy with a pig mask or a woman holding a fake burger on the corner. >> the world isn a place with

good people. 2008, beginning of 2009, wow. it's been really tough. >> how he's dealing with the down market. i'll clean the pool if you clean the windows.

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