hi, everyone. welcome to "on the money." i'm becky quick. don't look now but summer almost over and if you haven't taken your vacation yet, you are not alone. and even the president takes time off. should your boss make you get away. oil fell yesterday and the energy source that is not solar or wind and it is in high demand. the sporting life. if your kids are into any sports at all, you know how expensive that could be. we have some tips to save you money. and finding the right stuff. how one woman couldn't find the equipment she needed for martial arts and turned it into a business opportunity. that is our kate rogers in the ring. check it out. "on the money" starts right now. >> this is "onhe t money," your money, your life, your future. now, becky quick.

we begin with your vacation. there are just two weeks of summer officiay llleft. and if you haven't taken vacation yet, join the club. only 25% of americans use all of their paid time off. but that could be a big mistake, both nfor you and your company. why? that is our cover story. your dedication to the office may actually be damaging your career. if you take ten or fewer vacation days, you are leslie like to receive a bonus or raise in the last three years. still millions of americans are taking less time off. the average number vofacation days taken has fall tone about 16. four days less than 209 days most people took off in the 1990s. 340% of workers fear returning ato mountain of work or no one else being able to do their job. the results, last year 600 million vacation days were left behind and unused and that could hurt the economy. using the days to get away would add $223 billion in spending and

1.6 million jobs. a few companies have started experimenting with their vacation policies. ked, which is best known for the ted talks, closes down for two week break to employees know they are not missing out. >> we go on break and we are not thinking about work or our in boxes and we come back at the same time and we're refreshed and rey to going again. >> believe it or not, some companies are going so fs tofoe. every note gives a $1,000 bonus for a week and employees at air bnb get an extra $2,000 to travel. joining us that talk about the value of vajation is katie dennis of project timeout that began out of the u.s. travel assoatciion and sarah green carmichael of the harvard business review is here and welcome to both of you. thank you for being here. and sarah, let's talk about why americans aren't taking all of the days they've been granted. >> it really comes from the same impulse that makes them a good

employee. a strong sense of responsibility, a sense of duty. a sense of ambition. these are all things that help us on the job. but i think for a lot of us, they could sort of push us too far and maybe even push us into burn-out and make it hard tore take the time off. >> katie, why is it important that employees take the vacation days they've been granted. >> i think americans work really hard but we need vacation the break so we could work smart. and i think the value of vacation goes so far beyond just the time off that you get individually, for companies you're going to get the best version of the person you hired. yo wuill get someone more engaged and more productive and creative and they will want to stay and those directly affect your bottom line. >> and katie, let's assume you work somewhere where maybe the boss is a little lessen lightened in their view -- less enlightened of what you are doing with your vacation time and maybe discourage these and do you have anyip ts to people that could take the days and not feel guilty about it. >> one of the first things,

don't assume you are in a workplace that is negative about it. we have a culture of silence around the workplace where two-thirds of employees hear very little if at all about vacation and we fill it with fear and anxiety and if we start a conversation people would be surprised to see that the managers we survey with positive about vacation and they know it is good for employees and the team. >> wait a second. that the good in theory. it is not good when you have things that need to get finished and goals that need to get accomplished and a work staff that is thin because we've run into where we've asked for vacation time off and been told we can't take it or made to feel guilty if you do actually take it. >> a ind think do you have to be responsible about your request. think about the timing. think about what is happening. and that is where planning could be really effective. if you block your calendar and you are very clear with people when you are going to be out, it makes things ten times easier.

and planning could remove the most fear by saying i'm going to be out and make sure everything is covered and instill that confidence in your company. >> sarah, i will admit i'm one of the people who overbooks my vacation and i feel like when i'm coming back to work and it is a relief, a vacation from my vacation. would tips would you give to people to make sure you are taking a vacation that is worth it and rejuvenate you. >> one of the people come back feeling stressed out is plan in advance and that is good for the company and for you. second, make sure that when you are researching the destination you are going to, you have a lot of local information. hire a travel agent or get local information and some other way and make sure that could boost your enjoyment of vacation and reduce the likelihood that something will go wrong that will cause you stress. and finally, go far away. and in the survey, they found that people, whenhe ty asked people the most rewarding vacation experience you had it

was actually -- i think over 80% of people mentioned going out of the country. so if you do those three things, theres ia greater likelihood you will come back feeling refreshed and ready to go back to work. >> katie, do you agree with that, going somewhere where your iphone and your blackberry didn't work. >> the idea of unplugging is all of the rage right now. but for some people it stresses them out more to have complete disconnect. so make sure you set boundaries for yourself. that is the most important thing. if you are going to check e-mails, say from 8:00 to 9:00 i'll check e-mail and then available to my family and friends and whoever i'm with the rest of the time. eth boundaries will let you enjoy your time more and it will be an expectation for the people you are with of when you are available to them. >> sound advice but i have a feeling a lot of americans will have a tougher time taking this advice and following up on it but thank you for your time. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. now here is a look at what is making news as we head into a new week "on the money."

shoppers were more cautious with spending last month. retail sales were surprisingly flat in july. below the expected rise of four ten bths of a percent and the commerce department said americans spent let on food, electronics and clothing but auto sales and online shopping were higher. part of the reason consumers may have been spending less is the consumer price index dropped and that is a sign of deflation, dropping by four tenths of a percent and that is the first decline for march. it is a strong week for stocks. the all three indexes posted record closing highs on thursday. the last time the dow and the nasdaq and the s&p reached new peaks and same day, almost 17 years ago, december 31 of 1999. the stocks closed mixed on friday. and the chefs at burger king have been busy. they are introducing what it is called a whopper-ritto. let me say that again. a whopper-ritto.

it is a mix of a burrito and the wopper. it will be out for a limited time and sell for $2.99. walmart is counting to accelerate the obligation with amazon. we introduced you to the ceo a year ago and when the online shopping site launched. this time iat s down with the ceo of both companies and asked why they are teaming up. >> we are syrianus mr. e-commerce and as we've been watching jet.com grow we've paid attention to their ability to scale so quickly, i think walmart has got an incredible set of assets. it just gives us scale almost overnight because there they are doing hundreds of billion dollars of dollars of revenue and with incredible purchasing power and the 4600 store network is a really powerful asset for any company to leverage.

>> we talked before about the fact we needed fulfillment centers and an operating system but we have even higher expectations and higher standards about what we ultimately want to achieve and the jet brand adds to the walmart portfolio. >> mark will focus on the united states for walmart and jet and help us innovate in ways that we wouldn't have alone and faster. and bewe're going to take the ideas and put them all over the world. >> have a lot of ideas, but they have to do with e-commerce with walmart. >> my thanks to doug mcmillan and mark laurie. up next, we're "on the money." betting on batteries. how a rare element may help fuel the future. and later, going for gold. and going broke. the huge price parents are willing to pay for their kids to chase olympic dreams. right now as we head to a break, take a look at how the stock market ended the week.

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welcome back, everybody. despite the fact that a gallon of gas sells for just about $2 and in some places even less, there is a race to develop a new energy source. it is mineral in high demand and used for batteries and electric and hybrid vehicles. phil lebeau takes us to a lithium mine where the power surge is generating jobs and benefits. >> that is not a mirage. thare lithium extraction ponds outside of silver peak, nevada and it eventually leaves behind lithium. a primary component in the batteries used for cell phones and electric vehicles. >> we've been driving demand up for a long time with electronics and portable electronics but now it is the electric vehicles and they demand more lithium. >> reporter:ure engy mi is ng to tap the supply of lithium in water

tables deep below the nevada desert but unlike the current process of waiting for months for the water to evaporate to build behind lithium, they want to build a processing plat to produce it within hours after it comes out of the ground. >> it is important because the mineral is in demand but also because this desert is just four hours from reno, nevada, where tesla is building a plant that will be a huge supplier of lithium-ion batteries. it is called the giga factory. a massive facility where the sustainable energy company tesla is shipping powers by lithium-ion battery packs. >> and it has a superexponential rate. >> and they expect to start building lithium battery packs for the new vehicles, including

the new model three which will have a price starting around $35,000 and according to tesla could generate huge sales. >> i believe we are on track to meet the half million in 2018. >> reporter: more than 90% of the cars and trucks in the world are still powered by gasoline and that is unlikely to change any time soon. but as sales of electric cars like the tesla model s., chevy volt or nissan leaf continue to grow, so will demand for lithium. a relatively unknown mineral found in deserts that could be the key to how we drive in the future. >> lithium may be relatively unknown to most people except for those with electric or hybrid vehicles but make no mistake,s in in demand. in fact, becky, spot prices for lithium in the last year are up 20%. that speaks to the race for this new murineral that are the key widespread adoption of electronic overwhelms in the

future. >> questions is how green are the green cars and people are buying them becaeus they want to be more environmentally conscious but what kind of impact does it have on the environment or is there a big one? >> well, one of the bigger ones is the impact for the wildlife in the area. because you have these big extracti ponds and so -- and any birds or other wide life that are going into the ponds, as the water evaporates, obviously the level of lithium is higher and other chemicals could have an impact on the wildlife in the area so it is worth watching but at this point we're just starting to see that development of lithium pick up and that will be one of the key focuses in the future. >> bill, thank you. i learned something new today. >> good. up next, we are "on the money." paying to play. how parents are choosing kids sports over their own retiremen t. and later, kicking into high gea

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tomorrow and today at business.ny.gov. the rio games are in full swing and everyone has a little bit of olympic fever right now. especially the 44 million kids who are playing organized sports. this may have their own gold medal hopes. of course the big dreams come with an equally big price tag. and while footing the bill for trainers and club and equipment and parents are side lining their own financial goals. sharon epperson joins us with more. this has me worried. how much are parents spending to get their kids into competitive sports. >> spending a lot of money. twhird thell spend between $100 and $500 a month per child on competitive sports. >> what if you have four kids. >> exactly. >> so parents are putting up this money. it is a significant chunk of change. obviously it is impacting the budget. how often does it actually pay

off in the end where the kids get some sort of a scholarship or something like that. >> what is really interesting is how many parents are prioritizing kids sports over really important football goains having an emergency fund. 60% of parents with kids in sports have no emergency fund. that is a lot of folks. and many of them have sidelined rye tiermt savings and -- retirement and college savings for kids so they are putting hopes and dreams in their kids hopes and dreams of getting an athletic scholarship and the reality is less than 25% actually get an athletic scholarship to college. >> and that is important to note. put that in context. less than 25% see this pay off in a monetary way. i could understand as a parent that is an impossible decision, how do you say no to anything your kids want but do you have any tips for people to you have how to figure out how to balance and you are not short changing anybody's future, including your

own. >> prioritize your sports. many kids play multiple sports so narrow it down and that could help narrowing the player field and literally could help. and when you are looking to buy the equipment for your child, think about gently used or the older kids in the neighborhood that may have some equipment that you may be able to use. that is one way to cut costs. the other thing to consider is volunteering yourself, whether you could coach or maybe you don't have the skills to do that but maybe there is other way you could help the team. and the other thing to consider is when you are looking at what type of lessons to get, get group lessons over private. whether it is a sports activity -- >> we won't lose four or five kids. >> you may be able to get a discount that way. and think about the things that you buy for the sports related that are not the equipment, the supplies, the snacks and the gatorade and the water bottles and that stuff and see if you could buy it in bulk and pool your money with other parents and get it at the beginning of the year and make sure you have enough supplies. >> go to costco first.

>> exactly. >> sharon, thank you very much. >> sure. up next, "on the money," a look at the news for the week ahead. and our very own kate rogers enters the ring,g out a new start-up with knock-out potential. we'll be right back. >> search from over 4 million cars and use your desktop and tablet or smartphone. it is fast and friendly with no ads or distractions. find classic and new cars all on listing.cars.com. >> 200 million watching history being made and 2 million making their own. five seconds gained and a nomination won. when it counts, the biggest moments count on comcast business. with $5,000 of nbc coverage for the day. over 900 miles of fiber laid for the democratic national convention and 40 pit stalls monitored at once for nascar and transferred for the big game at levi stadium. we know what it takes to connect

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and spent eleven months in a pow vcamp.m what donald trump said about our members of the military being captured is a disgrace. he's a war hero because he was captured. i like people that weren't captured. when you fly over enemy territory, the odds might be against you being able to come home. donald trump doesn't understand the weight of sending americans into harm's way. he's unfit to be president. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. for more on the show and on

our desk, go to the website at opm at cnbc.com and on twitter at "on the money." and here are stories iacmpting your money. this week we'll hear from walmart, dow and cisco. monday will mark the anniversary of woodstock. 400,000 people headed to upstate new yor fkor the famous three-day festival that we've all heard so much about. lots of fond memories. on tuesday we get a reed on inflation with the conmesur price index for july. and check out an amusement park this tuesday. some of them are going to be offering discounts to celebrate national roller coaster day. then on wednesday, the federales rerve will release minutes from the last meeting. if you are involved in any kind of a sport, you know how important it is to have the right equipment. one woman discovered that no one was making the right stuff for her sport. kickboxing and martial arts for women, so they took matter news her own hands. kate rogers joins us with more. >> hey, becky.

that is right. and gear that fits properly is an even bigger challenge for women playing a sport long dominated by men but nguyen lee is out to change that. take a look. >> 27-year-old lynn lee got her big idea teaching kickboxing noticing an all too common problem against female ghfiters, they're gear didn't fit properly. >> the women of my community and my students that i was training with, heard the same complaints or frustrations and questions which isre do find good women's gear that actually fits. and for me, the more i heard it, the more i realized that i, too, was wearing stuff that didn't mit me. i was weinarg men's stuff and i just made accommodations to my training based on how they fit. which wasn't well. >> based in portland, oregon, lee was inspired by nike, adidas and columbia sportswear and she decided to make gear for

fighters who participate in boxing, kickboxing and krav maga that mark a contrast from the neon shiny options seen on the market place today which meant no bubble gum pink gloves or aspndex. >> these women deserve their -- thi their athleticism deserved respect and the way to get to that is saying you deserve a product just as good as me. ns >> she took that message nationwide in 2015 first on kick starter and now on the web and in a handful of local gyms and so far they have raised over $500,000 in product and they retail from $50 to $120. >> and we wanted to design what the modern day female rocky would look like and that was the inspiration behind our sportswear line. >> and despite the fiercely competitive nature of the athletics industry, the community has rallied around her and the brand message. >> there is also a strong community of fostering local artisans and local businesses.

>> we saw that a lot in my recent trip to portland. the small businesses there, especial thon athletics were supported in the city thanks to the active and healthy lifestyle. it is a great fit. >> wt hais different about the female fit. how did they get the gloves to fit. >> they did all of these focus groups with everyone from people who are actually doing this seriously and competing, rather, to moms that are just trying to get fit. and people who are doing it just for fun. and they did all of the focus groups to basically have a glove that fits tightly around a smaller hand. >> and space in between for blisters and things like that. >> and more padded here. it is bigger than the notice i would normally well. they felt big when i put them on but when i was sparring thwi her and she was going easily on my, it fit way better. >> do you pack a punch. >> i wouldn't hit you hard. i want to come back on the show. >> thank you, thank you. >> that is the show for today. i'm becky quick. thank you for joining us. next week, the best apps to save

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so in the future, we will all have a more beautiful world. ♪ today. the heat wave turns deadly and we're facing more heat today. here is a live look where the mercury and humidity going back into the uncomfortable zone. we had so more storms last night. and in rio, an emotional finale to the history-making career of michael phelps. hear what he had to say. nbc 10 news starts now. good morning, everyone. welcome to nbc 10 today. i'm ted greenberg. thank you for being with us. it is 5:30, and we are in for