tonight, break out the fireworks, you're about to become free, free from debt. free from retirement fear and free from money worry. >> sylvia, what do you think? i'm going to give you financial independence. and, after all of the detroit drama, are you driven to buy american? edmonds is here with the best domestic pick to make the patriotic purchase that's right for you. plus, what's worse than a mountain of debt, coping with collectors calling you every day. how to settle up and save. it's all "on the money"

happy fourth of july. today is all about family and friends and fireworks soon and here at otm, it's about financial freedom. whatever is making you feel not free, if it's debt, if it's fears about retirement or an incredibly shrinking budget, i'm here to help. let's head south to georgia where christine is on the money line. happy fourth of july, christine. >> caller: how are you? >> how can we give you financial independence today? >> caller: well my husband and i were married about a year ago, we have a 5-month-old baby girl and two other children from my husband's previous marriage, 8, 9 and 10 and my husband was in the military in 1991 and he took out a student loan for $9,000 for an auto body loan. when he went into the military,

he in and out he was going to have this loan being paid off. due to a clerical error it was not paid off. now we're faced with a $32,000 student loan at 8.25%. in order for us to be able to save for the future and to get financial independence we want to get rid of the student loan. i'm hoping you can help us out. >> your original loan, let's recap. your original loan was $9,000 back in 1990, right. >> caller: yes, ma'am. >> now grown to $32,000, 8.25%. >> caller: yes, ma'am. >> let's bring in our credit my stroe, happy fourth of july. >> likewise. >> you talked to christine and you talked to her about how this all came about.

tell us -- give us insight how this happened. >> this is a great illustration of bad things happen to good people. the issue here when he went into the military, he had a choice, to either sign up for say, a gi bill track which would have paid for future tuition or a loan repayment track which would have paid for previous tuition. he thought he had signed up for the program that paid for previous tuition, but he had not. he accidentally signed up for the gi bill which only pays for future tuition. >> doesn't take care of the balance. >> right. >> over all of the years with the interest rate compounding and compounding, this has grown and tripled. so christine, let's try to get you out of this debt and free you from it and get you some independence. are you going to be going back to work? >> caller: i'd like to. but having a baby at home, unemployment rate is very high right now. >> also, too, the cost of child

care, you have to weigh whether it's worth while to pay for child care compared to the income you have coming in. we have to find more money. sometimes getting independence and getting free of things holding you down is all about getting creative about where the money is coming from. you really have to assess your budget here and see where you can find an extra -- john, even $100 a month would find -- >> i found it. >> happy fourth of july. fireworks and $100 a month. i found it in a couple of places. a, christine, you're paying more than the required amount on a mini van, correct? >> caller: yes. >> on the loan. absolutely. take that back to whatever the minimum requirement is and that frees up a few extra bucks. she's paying 18% on that mini van. that is absolutely insane. and look, i know where you live and i know the lenders in the area. i live in the same area she

lives in. look for some of the local credit unions and local banks that service that part of the city of atlanta. i'm certain you can find someone to refinance that loan for less than 18%, boom, there's your 100 bucks a month. >> in you can do that, you can get out of the debt quickly. you guys are within the 20-year range to retirement. let's head over to retirement. ray, hello and welcome on this fourth of july. >> christine, i know it's a struggle right now. if you listen to carmen and john, they know what they are talking about. some day you'll get out of debt, let's say three or four years from now. you'll still have 15 or 20 years before you retire. >> it looks like if you take what you were paying towards the debt, about two or three years out, plus what you are already putting in there, we're looking at about almost $10,000 a year.

>> you can take the $10,000. if you save that for 20 years and can earn 7.5% on it, you and your husband will have 465,000, twenty years from now. get out of debt and save for retirement. that will give you financial independence. >> christine, what do you think? >> that would be great. >> that would be great. listen, when you get back to work. here's your independence to do list. we have to throw more money at the debt. remember the debt is still a student loan, interest is tax deductible. after it is paid off, put the money into retirement. when you get back to work, double up on the roth. do you think you can do it? >> caller: we'll certainly try. >> we'll catch up with you. happy fourth. sara, in connecticut. happy fourth of july. how can we give you financial independence? >> caller: my boyfriend and i

have been together for five years. he purchased a condo about three years ago and nine months before today he was laid off and no job for six months. luckily, about three months ago he did get a fantastic job and he is doing well. but during that six-month period our debt piled out of control. we have a beautiful dog, her name is bella. after seven leg surgeries that cost over $10,000 in debt. and so now we are trying to find financial independence. we would like to get married some day -- >> sara, the pooch, so sweet. i can sympathize. about 12 years ago i did not have pet insurance and trust me, that amount of money was very expensive. i had to put my dog in the emergency room. $3500 bill on a credit card. i get this.

you're way ahead of the game. you have a lot of debt but been homeowners for a while. let's tackle that credit, that debt, okay? specifically the credit card debt. john, you had a look at sara's numbers. >> there is bad news but also good news. scores are actually okay and quite expected for somebody your age. sara, scores are 65 8 to 681, a little bit less than the average in the u.s. you've only had credit for a few years, that's partially the reason and the other reason is the credit card debt. large amount of credit card debt. i love dogs as much as the next person, i would have done the same thing. anyone who is critical of the decision, you know what, go pound sand. it is a member of the family, right. >> that's why you plop down the plastic. we got to get you out.

you guys want to move forward here. let's give you financial independence. first up, i want you to tackle the credit card with the highest interest rate first. throw as much as your money as you can towards that. if you're only paying the minimums, it's going to take you six years and eight months and you're going to pay over $5,000 in interest. here's another plan, just like with christine, you've got to find more money. put at least $200, if you can find $200 in your budget, you can be out in three years, seven months and save over $2,000 in interest. >> it sounds great. it's hard with two-part-time jobs this is the first time i've taken a summer off not taking classes. i do have opportunity to work as many hours as i can and try to save. >> here's the really good news. i come in with a calculator, you're 23 years old, you've got 40 years to save money. if you guys could simply put 10

grand a year away between the two of you for the next 40 years, if you earn 7.5% on the money, guess what, you'll have $2.4 million stashed away when you're old and gray. you're going to have plenty of financial independence. if you don't do it for you and your husband, please do it for the dog. >> caller: i know, right. i don't think she'll be alive in 42 years. >> the next one. >> find more money. instead of looking outward and looking here, next step look inward, go to your budget. pull together every receipt and tally it up and find out where to cut every month. that's where you'll find the money and give you financial independence. >> caller: no more iced coffee, i guess. >> there's a brand that says icy, not pricey, that's the one

to go with. >> thank you so much. sylvia in missouri, happy fourth of july to you. >> thank you. >> how can we give you financial independence? i like to be independent by retiring early. >> all right, that sounds like independence to me. how do you want to do that? >> caller: i've been with the same company for 27.5 years and i can retire at 55. i would like to do volunteer work and focus on quality of life in my remaining years. i could ask to be laid off and retire at the same time. so i would like to know whether i can do it. >> i'm going to go quickly to retirement. you've looked at sylvia's numbers, she's thinking of -- you've got a lot of net worth here. a lot of equity in a rental home and you were wondering if you should sell that and use equity to pay off your primary residence. what do you think?

>> i looked at the numbers, sylvia, if you use the rental property after you sell it to pay off the home, your debt free totally and have $600,000 stashed away for retirement. according to all of the data, we know you can take 4% distribution on that $600,000 grand. your pension is $40,000 a year. you've got social security to look forward to in eight or ten years and you only need 50 or 60,000 bucks to live. you're already at financial independence. i want to you take 20% of that $600,000 leave it in cash. 20% in bonds and 20% in nontradeable dividend paying real estate and 40% of the money in stocks. here's what will happen. if you spend the first three accounts, the bonds and cash and real estate, that will last you 20 years, $24,000 a year inflation adjusted and leave the stock market money alone for the

next 20 years. if you had $240,000 in stocks and live comfortable for the next 20 years, 20 years later if the stocks did 7.5%, you have $1 million in the bank 20 years from now and live on $2,000 a month inflation adjusted income plus the pension plus the social security, that to me is financial independence. >> sylvia, what do you think? >> caller: whoo hoo. >> it's my understanding that your rental home, you owe $45,000 on it, is that accurate. >> caller: that's right. >> and the value is $430,000, correct. >> caller: correct. >> my math tells me you have $385,000 of equity in the home. can i make a suggestion. my suggestion to you is to move into that house. >> i like that. another reason why i like that. right now it is a buyer's market, not a seller's market. if you can hold onto the property for a little longer,

you could have more equity in it. go to where the smaller mortgage is, is that an option? >> it is an option. >> there's another good one. thank you, sylvia. keep us posted and thank you ray. we'll see you again in just a moment. john will be back with us next week to help me show you the way out of credit card debt. call me or e-mail me at carmen at cnbc.com. if you have a stash of cash, from $100, to $100,000. make sure you call or e-mail with the question and you could be on the show. next -- >> susan, i have great news for you. >> ray and the calculator are back showing the unemployed viewer a brighter future. >> thinking of buying american this fourth of july. we have the best american car picks that will save you the most. from our friends at edmonds. she wants to make up.

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in tonight's money watch, we've seen glimmers of hope in the economy, however, we found out this week the unemployment rate jumped again in june. if you're out of work and need to keep the money coming in and you need help managing the money you do have while you're unemployed, we're here to help. let's head to michigan where season is on the money line. susan, you are job hunting in michigan, quite a fete these days. >> reporter: my alimony and employment will be running out next april. i have had a little bit of advance notice on my situation, but have been caught up in the unemployment and the lack of work here as well. i've been looking and applying and networking and working with

charities and doing everything i possibly can to get employment in my areas and related areas in and out of my comfort zone so to speak, and i have not had any luck. is michigan the best place for my industry. >> basically your alimony and income will stop because you worked in a business with your husband, right? >> caller: correct. >> you're going to say you need a car, soon? >> caller: correct. >> that's nonnegotiable, that one. >> caller: that's nonnegotiable. >> you have six to seven months of an emergency fund saved up. >> i do. >> about even in terms of mortga mortgage? >> caller: correct. >> let's tackle that first. we have brought in jeff taylor, the founder of monster.com, jeff, welcome and happy fourth of july. >> how are you? >> you took a look at susan's resume. what does she need to do to

spruce it up? does she need to move. >> she's gone through a divorce. she's kind of pulling back a little bit when i think she should be doing the opposite. i didn't feel the strength of her job position. she was an owner in this company, she was the buyer, i had a great conversation with her. she needs to pound her chest and say, i did everything in the business. don't shy away from the fact you were just divorced. you need to go out and get the job. the second thing i want to show, she's in a situation where she should be using sneaker net, not just the internet to find a job. go door to door in the retail operation she would like to work in. these companies need her. she has to get in front of them. my last thing is she should start her own business. she's the perfect candidate. she's 51. been doing yoga, got her act together and got her salary and alimony. no one has this kind of plan,

perfect time to start your own business. >> you've seen her finances and resume. what do you think she needs to do to start her own business. it's a huge risk, especially in that area. >> she ran a multimillion dollar business out of a retail operation with 8,000 square feet. very few them that know how to do this. she should do a much smaller boutique, she knows the people. she went out to the shows. i could tell she's the classic cnbc needs a boost of confidence and she's going to go get it done. >> susan, what do you think about that? you are absolutely lovely. incredibly smart and so much experience, what do you think about staying put and taking the big risk. >> caller: it's very interesting you should say that and wonderful. i did a business plan within the last eight months and i have sought out a location to open up

my own store and i really do know exactly what kind of merchandise i would like to put in it. i've not been able to find a good business partner to compliment me in the other aspects. this is what i've had in my heart and soul for a long time. i think it sounds like the right thing. >> start small. >> jeff, i didn't get a chance to talk to susan withholding information, thank you very much. you're not in a bad spot financially, you're in a better place than a lot of folks, you have income coming in for nine months. let's bring in our buddy ray, retirement. here's the thing, susan is within say, less than 15 years or so to retirement. you've seen her finances, is this something she should consider? what should she look out for in terms of future plans. >> first off, susan, you've got to hang onto the loss.

unless you can rent it out for more money than you're spending right now, then you've got to find a place to live, probably better off keeping the lost. your emergency money, go out and buy a beater and use your emergency fund -- use the emergency fund why? here's why. you've got $16,000 in a roth ira. you can use the roth as an emergency fund if in fact you have a emergency. that gives you money available to not only help you with the business but buy a beater. now, you've got $176,000 in other retirement vehicles. once you get up and running, if you can afford to put $5,000 a year away and if add to that $176,000 and i'm assuming spend the money in the roth with the business. 176,000, retire 15 years later and put $5,000 a with a in payments, i've got great news, you'll have over $600,000. >> ray, we love when your

calculator gets it right. >> that's amazing. >> caller: that's my kind of calculator. can you send me one? >> there you go. >> thank you so much, susan, keep us posted. good luck. and we're on to brian in indiana. you're up. what's on your mind. >> caller: hi. carmen. i worked for a company consumer electronics base for last 15 years or so. five years they started shifting work outside of the u.s. and finally the last fall they made a decision to actually cut my entire business upt so kind of left me out. i've done all of the normal things, accelerating my networking activities, posted resumes, on and on. it was no great result. my question and my concern is that in general my industry is going to continue to shift towards asia.

how can i repossession my skill set, maybe a transition to a new industry, one of the new growth oriented industries in medical, something like that? >> it's a good question because that is where the growth is at. jeff, you have good solid actionable tips for him. >> there are a couple of things right away. your education -- you have an mb and and masters in engineering and undergrad at engineering. it's at the end of the resume. bring that stuff right to the front. you want someone to know your career experience, they want to see your smart and out front. i suggest you not look at relocation but reinvention. i think you should go back to school. it looks like you have a safety net and plan. i would love to see you back in school during the day and take a couple of classes, you have the experience of higher education,

maybe a couple summer classes. this will give you key words around power and medical areas you were interested in to help you focus in and show that extra effort you're doing to try to get in a new industry. >> even though brian has the great degrees, to make that shift, you say he still needs education to make the shift where the money is? >> i'm concerned. i can hear it in his voice. he and i had a great conversation. the summary on his resume feel like his job search. it goes on and on and wasn't focused. if i had to execute your ankle and say you have a big safety net, you have to go out and reinvent yourself. 46 years old, a lot of career left in him. i see tangible ways in his area with the stimulus package and some of his experience are going to meet in the middle here. but he's got to through out gumgs and reinvent himself.

>> in terms of green power, go on that side of the stimulus package. brian, what do you think? >> caller: you know, i love the word, and certainly love going to school and taking classes. certainly something that sounds good to me. >> i'm so glad. thank you so much. please keep us posted. thank you for joining us. if you made it this far through the recession and still have your job, it's a good thing. how do you make sure to hold onto it. jeff will hold us in tonight's web extra. also, the untimely death of michael jackson brought up questions about what happens to your children and debt and assets when you pass away. next week we're answering your questions about family money. if you have questions about wills or trusts or estates. you can be on the show. much more right after this. next -- >> i have a simple question for this caller. why do you have whole life insurance?

what you need to know and more in the dollar dilemmas. later, i told her how to settle $30,000 of debt for much less. let's look at your total savings, drum roll pleas i'm petejacoen, and i've lost 31 poun onutrisystem. marino influenced me

and he really push me to get on nutrisystem. trtrucing the all-new nuisystem for men, flexible n programs personalized to meeeeyour goals. get on the program, eaproperly, you'reoing to lose weight. it's actually easi than you think it might be. thatat was reay good. thanks. i had esome results and i've ke it off for three years. foa a lited time, get an extra threeee wksks of meals free. t thas right, you can geget an extra 21 breaeaasastsks lunches, free. dinners, desserts, a andnanack that's 105 meals freree. that's what guys l lik "tl l 'do this,' i do it, i l losweight." you'll se ndreds over otheweweig-loss programs. order w and get an extra reree eks of fantastic mealsls atat'sight, 105 meals ababsotely free. caca o or ick now.

it is s meme for my favorit segment here on otm. it's dollar dilemmaime w wrere you u an me getclclos and y ask questions and i give youou answers. doug, , wh's'souour dollar d? >>alalr: i saved $40,000 in mutual fdsdsoo pay rr my ki'' collllee education.n. i have $13,000 in creditcaca debt. i i dot know if i ihould tatake the e neney d pay o t the c cret cardebebr sitonon the moy to e for the lllleg education. i iave a cple of questions. do you have a e ergrgen fund? >aller: not a good one,e, no >> here's the philosophy, behind that.. doug, i wantnt tsesee u take care o of yoururse first, becau that's what't's reallygoing to help your kikids they need you to be healthyhy a have money too notetet into mee de. you need too protect t the mone you've got right now. shore the ererncy fund.

what is the tetere rate on the crit carar debt? >> calleler:hrhree creditt c ca 3.9, 112% and9%.%. >> you goto payoff thecredit cacardebeb and bldld the emergency fund. i owow y saved fororcollege for the rlrls. rere'she thing. they can borrowow they c c borrowtt better rates than you can. i would tatakearar of ouoursf. do atat take ceeof yourself.. shore yourseselfup. it might takake you onlyy a yeao o. thenen y can contributut more t hehe them o with the college costs s whee ty takeutut loans dd hopefully get scholarsrshi andd grants. what do you u hink. >> c calr:r: that sounds awesesm >> i ga you a fe ticket.. take care and thank you f for cacallg.g. jacqueline i in mamarynd. >> caller:r: iavavbeen trying to refinance mymy h he since jjuauy theroroem is mortgagage company wants to o chgege aroun 500 toefefince the first

mortgagege a t the willnonot refifinae e my second, wchchs ababou $19,000. the home i is currerelyly vued approxoximelel1 60. mymy home is is 4500 t toomuch that a reasononab rateo refinance? d d my secondququeson is,, is ththeranany wayi can g g both mortgagass rolled into one? because the rateses a veryy hig. >> here's the hing, here's w they are charging g uu so much. from the n numrsrs y gave me, you don't have enougug uity. th are chahaining you more beususe u're more risky and thefees they areharging y you aree probably pmpmi, tir mortgae insurance bececause you u don'ta enououghequity in a hom only $16,000 of equity, that't' not 20% of the home's value, right. >> caller: that's s correct. >> that's s where thmoney comes from. jacqueline, , also, you ca apprch other lenderers b beside yourur currentne who may be abl to wrap upbboth. apapproach t second lender, th

seco mortgage a as well. see what they can givee you. shop around aa little bit to se whatat deal cayou get. you wawanto wrap the tw up and lock in a reallyow fixed rate. shopop arod a little bi the prprice tag is say littlee gh. >> ththank you so much. josh, , what's yr dollar d? >> have ana and wholole life insunce policy. are there any other investments that i i shoul consnsider? >> jojosh, you got to tell me ough, you're 24 years old.d. whwhy do youave whole life insuranc >> my parents really didn' givee me greatadvice as to whihich rod go wn. >> thas what you got. i i would say you don't haveve t of money in tre. cash thahat baby out. yodon't need that. it's notot an investment tool. this is life insuranance for wh u get marrrried and you havave dependents or yoyou have someboy who depepends oyour income itit could be a sisibling or

anybody. it's notot an invement tool for you,u, espececially so young josh,, at yo income level, you defifinitely quali for this, get a rothirara, as. a rothh is the best thing you cn possiblyake advantage of rightt now because you're putting awaw money you'llll never get taxed again. it'sfter tax m money. it comomes out of your paheck, meaning afterhe tes are taken out and grows tax free. you c can put up $5,000 yeyear that and thatt will be supe charged cash. >> that's wherere your money should go. >>o you have a dollar d you can'crack? ask me. come on, i'll swer you. go tofacebook. otm at cnbcbc.com and i'll be there. ne, we ve the bebest patrioticc purchas from our friends at edmunds.s. if you hav smn t save, a great

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despite the mess in motor city, more drivers are looking to buy american. >> reporter: at joyce ford in

chicago business is looking up. a new attitude with customers. seeing ford as a better product but coming in and looking at it. >> reporter: that optimism is backed by the late report on new car quality. 80,000 buyers reported 10% fewer problems with big three models while ford and brands and lexus and porsche had the fewest problems and toyota and honda had fewer difficults, ford and chevy and mercury closed the gap with better than average quality. ed is proof detroit can win back customers. the last five cars have been german. last week traded in a bmw for a new chevy malibu. >> it does stack up with any of the ones i have driven in the past. i think the gm is getting it

right now. >> reporter: for on the money, i'm phil lebeau. i want to buy an american car, i want to do that right now, but they are not sure how to go about it and which car to go. for a lot of them it's converting from foreign. let's head to north carolina where taj is on the line. you're looking to buy american but you have two choices in mind. >> caller: i'm in the market for a cross over vehicle looking at foreign and american cars i narrowed my choice down to american, the buick enclave or chevy transverse. both currently have great incentives and quality is remarkable. however, i'm a little hesitant to purchase at this time because this is the end of the 2009 season, the 2010s are coming out and i'm not sure about paying new prices for 2009. what should i do. >> these cut inventory for the next year out.

a lot of cars on the lot now to drive to you the right decision, we've brought in brian moody road test editor from edmunds.com. we've got the buick enclave, chevy traverse. in terms of cross over they have a lot of appeal. between the two what do you think? >> i would go with the buick enclave. in this particular case they are similar, going to be about the same cost to own over a long period of time and the buick is a little nicer. >> there's a little more luxurious inside. i've been in those. >> a few extra features. >> you get a little more thrill, luxury for your ride. taj, what do you think? was your only concern about what's in best in feel and drive? >> caller: i agree with you the buick is more luxurious, more the price factor at this current point in time.

>> brian, is this something should taj wait or should he buy now with these prices or should he wait to buy next year's cycle. >> right now people are eager to sell you a car and do almost whatever it takes to get you in the door. the two specific vehicles, they are not going to change much, the next year's model will look like this year's model. i say buy now. >> while we have you and chatting cars, get more into out of you guys. in terms of domestic buys, what else were edmunds' picks. we have the true cost of owning, repairs and maintenance, value and driving. what about compacts? >> for the compact we say the chevy aveo. over a five-year period only about $28,000 that's roughly 38

cents per mile. very competitive, not a lot of features, good gas mileage, one for that category. >> what about mid size or mid size picks? >> for mid size i would go with the chevy again, chevy malibu is very nice inside and outside. depending on the equipment, about a $21,000 car, say $35,000 to own it over a five-year period. very competitive, less than a toyota camry for the same period. >> what about the suv pick. >> we'll go with the ford escape on this one, although there is a hybrid version. that car is more expensive to purchase, over a long period of time more expensive. but in this case, the ford escape is about $20,000 car, 47 cents per mile to buy that car. it can also mean less insurance, that's why the ford escape.

>> luxury pick. this one is xre handsome. >> cadillac is definitely hit tons of home runs lately. cts is just one. $36,000 over five years spending about $56,000 but i'll tell you in terms of rewarding drive. the cts is worth much more than that. cool looking and cool inside and super fun when you get behind the wheel. >> it has a lot of fans out there. >> it does. really handsome car, fast drive. a lot of horse power in there. i bump into folks who want to buy american and most always mention that car. >> i would go with the pontiac g also 8 another good car. >> e-mail me. up next, do you owe money that's in collections? well, i got the how-to onsetling those debts that could save you big, big bucks right after this.

when it comes to getting rid of debt, it's all about efficiency. go at your credit card debt with a system. first, stop charging. concentrate on wiping out the debt with the highest interest rate first while paying minimums on other accounts. tackle the next card on the list, then the next and the next. and remember, when you're done, put the former debt t dollars to savings. >> this llars and cts movememe broug to you by ing. [soft guitarusic] ♪

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so many of you know i have a monthly column in "glamour magazine." one of biggest worries, collections. >> i ulz knew i wasn't good at managing my money. >> her name is kim, little miss fortune, a blogger for glamour.com blogging her journey out of debt. >> got a free t-shirt and water bottle with my credit card. my best friend and i moved to new york in 2000. every week we would buy a new wardrobe and shopping and

dancing. i bought a lot of shoes and clothing. you know little things for our apartment. but they add up. >> all matly her debt ballooned to $34,000 with interest and fees, it was time to get her finances in order. >> i ignore today for a long time and now i can't continue to do it. >> that's when i became her money mentor. >> let's look at your money. if you add the collections up together on what they are looking, 50 %, $10,000 plus. this is costing you too much. >> and kim is back with us right now. welcome, kim. happy fourth of july. >> thank you. >> we need some financial independence and that's what we've been trying to give you. i advised you because you had a bunch of items in collections. and i advised you to settle, call them up and settle. tell us about it. >> it was tough. they definitely try to strong-arm you.

i keep reminding yourself, you have this money, they want it, don't give it to them until you like the terms. >> let's look at where you are, nice little before and after in terms of how much you owed originally on the collections. the original debts we see on the left. 1300, 12,000, you managed to settle, this is where you finally agreed for a lot less, the first one you saved 70% off sale price, 54% -- and the last one saved you 64%. on that last debt. let's look at your total savings, drum roll please. you saved $14,204 on your own. that's a lot of money. and i know what you did. she bought -- tell us what you bought -- >> a $400 purse, but it was on sale. >> this is one we're going to talk to kim next week about that purse. your emergency fund, how is it

looking? >> $61 in the bank. >> we'll work on that as well. congratulations, you got out of a lot of debt. here are key points to take away from kim's situation, you got to know if you're in collections, you have the right to settle. that collection agencies do buy this debt for ten cents or lesson the dollar. call at the end of the month, they have quote at as to fill and be patient and polite, they get yelled at all day long. we'll see you again. don't forget out little miss fortune blog at glamour.com and my "save me money" column. if you're like most americans, you're saving up a storm these days like kim will. where will you put the money? i have a pick for you right after this. [soft guitar music] ♪

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around at bankrate.com o interest.com foror a mon market account for hihigh fees and earnings. i log in eve day and i want to hear frorom you, joioin our offl nbook face b book fanpapage. here's a lookk at suze andhat she has coming u next. weave a special independence d daymilitary ededition othe suze man show cocoming p. evevery ngle question is comi from people oror famils in thee mitary. i sasalute all of you but this show r really that you can't afford to ss. back to you, my dear. >>hank you, suze. next week we'e're tting you out of credit carard dt and swering your questioion about family money, wills, trust and estate. calle or eail me anddou cocould be o the show chk out tonight's w web extra.a. if youou're luckcky eugh to hav held on to y your job thrgh this

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