carmen wong ulrich, always great to have you here.hank you so much. >>> there is a startling new report in "the journal science" that claims the polar ice sheets are melting at record rates. up to five times faster than in the '90s. look at this video. it's fascinating. time lapse video from greenland. the report says that country and antarctica are losing 344 billion metric tons of ice a year equal to the weight of more than a million empire state buildings. scientists say these findings are important because the melting is causing sea levels to rise, and that makes coastal storms, say superstorm sandy, worse because of the massive flooding that's caused. [ male announcer ] this december, remember -- what starts with adding a friend... ♪ ♪ ...could end with adding a close friend. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection. with his wife, danielle, almost every weekend. derrell hasn't been able to visit his mom back east in a long time. [ shirley

carmen wong. >> erin ka moan.r a second visit to nerdland, anita hill, professor of social policy law and women's studies at bran dies university and author of reimagining requality. >> great to have you here. professor hill, i'll start with you. we recognize the fiscal cliff may not happen in precisely these ways. but it looks like women are particularly vulnerable with the cuts that could occur. >> the economic vulnerability of women is something we talk about. these really do present stark, stark realities to consider, we started because in around 2008 what kind of cuts are being made in the budget. so now we're revisiting in as we look at the future of what's going to happen in the next few weeks. what i'm a prayed of is if we don't do something even more extreme cuts to think like two things. child care for example. or housing assistance. will put women in further jeopardy. we really are already as your numbers indicate, at a critical juncture for being devastated. >> i feel like rebecca, when we look at the

with me, greg olson and carmen wong ulrich. of different finances, what is best way to get ahead with my mortgage and to ensure that i am maximum midsing the value of my home? >> what is best way? >> a great question because it's what she should not be focused on now. mortgage is cheap money. something you need to pay on time every time. as a single parent one in six single parents declare bankruptcy. protect yourself for than anyone who is in a couple with emergency fund, retirement savings those take priority over prepaying mortgages. best thing you're doing is paying on time. >> don't be in a rush to pay off the mortgage. look to pay other things off. >> exactly. hopefully she went with 30-year mortgage that's the only time that inflation is working for you. inflation works against your investments long term but when you have a 30-year north debt inflation works for you. make monthly payments on time. she has a low interest rate environment in mortgage so it's not an opportunity to refinance but if there's an opportunity she

with me, greg olson and carmen wong ulrich. is for you. >> as a single parent who manage a lot of different finances, what is the best way to get ahead with my mortgage and to ensure i am maximizing the value of my home? >> what is the best way? >> this is a great question. that's what she should not be focused on right now. your mortgage is cheap money. this is just something you need to pay on time every time. as a single parent, i'll tell you, one in six single parents declare bankruptcy. you need to protect yourself more than anyone who is in a couple, with emergency fund, retirement savings those take priority over prepaying that mortgage. the best thing you're doing is paying it on time. >> pay the minimum, don't be in a rush to pay off your mortgage. pay other things off. >> exactly. hopefully she went with a 30-year mortgage because that's the only time that inflation is actually working for you. inflation works against your investments long-term, but with a 30-year mortgage and debt, inflation works for you. make the mo

with me this hour, greg olson and carmen wong ulrich. m going to afford a minimum wage job with the student loan advise to pay for and i just graduated from college. >> i feel for her. >> wow, wow, wow. it's a stuff situation. here's the thing we've got to know what type of loans does she have. if she's got private loans she's in a big pickle. low flexibility, but call them right away. if your proact everybody you can try to work with them before you get into trouble. if she's got federal loans, there's the income based repayment program and she's got look into that. it's a part of your discretionary income that goes to pay it every month. as her income goes up her bill will go up. that's good. it's never too unmanageable. >> suggestions? >> mom has that bedroom. >> exactly. >> there is that. >> it's lard because you want to go to school, take out loans and figure out how to pay them back in a mark that's hard to find a job that can pay you a decent wage. >> go for federal all the time. >> good advice. if you have an issue you want exer.

with me this hour are greg olson and carmen wong ulrich. en, this question is for you. >> i have a 4-year-old and 6-month-old. i'm wondering what long-term and short-term investments i should make for college funds. >> we can all relate to this. how do we start saving early? >> yes, we can. save early and key here is where are you saving? what are you putting it in? you want the tax advantages, he's got two kids, so if one kid doesn't use it all for education, the other one can use it as well. grandparents, other family members, the holidays are coming, put the money in there. where is that going? when you shop for 529, go to saving for college.com for free and shop around. you want to have lots of different assets you can choose because you're going to have to make changes as your children get closer to school. you want to be much more conservative when they're in high school, but right now his kids are young enough he can take a little bit of risk. >> any other funds or other way to save for college besides the 529? >> 529 is the best way.

with me this hour are greg olson and carmen wong ulrich. r question. >> i was just wondering how i'm going to avord a minimum wage job with all the student loans i have to pay for and i just graduated from college. >> i feel for her. >> wow, wow, wow. it is a tough situation. we got to know what type of loans does she have. if she's got private loans, unfortunately she's in a real big pickle because here's the thing, low flexibility, but call them right away. if you're pro active about this, you can try to work with them before you get into trouble. if she's got federal loans, though, there is the income-based repayment program. she's got to look into that. basically it is only a part of your discretionary income that goes to pay it every month. so as her income goes up, her bill will go up. that's good because it will never too unmanageable. >> any suggestions? >> mom, how's my bedroom doing. >> exactly. >> it is hard because you want to go to school, you have to take out the loans and figure out how to pay them back in a market where it is

with me greg olson and carmen wong ul rig. carmen? wonder wag long term and short-term investments to make for college funds. >> how do we start saving early. >> you have to save early. key is where are you saving? what are you putting it? you want the tax advantages of a 529. he's got two kids. if one kid doesn't use it all up for education the other one can use it. grandparents, family members, holidays are coming, put money in there. also where that is going? when you shop for 529 go to savingforcollege.com for free and shop around. don't look at fees. you want to be fee sensitive but also want to have lots of different assets to choose because you have to make changes as your children get closer to school. you want to be more conservative when they're in high school but right now, his kids are young enough he can take a bit of risk. >> any other way to save for college besides 529? >> absolutely the best way. be systemic with savings. 529 is your best bet. >> don't have a lag of time you're not contributing. >> yes, the dollar cos