Cost of living

  • Cutting College Costs

    By Vera Gibbons | Cost of living – Tue, Jun 4, 2013 9:31 AM EDT

    College costs may be skyrocketing, but there’s plenty of help available to minimize these costs. Students received more than $200 billion dollars in financial aid - and federal loans - last year. That’s more than double the amount ten years ago, according to the College Board.

    Tuition discounts are rising to record levels. In 2012, more than three-quarters of all students at four-year private colleges received an institutional grant or scholarship of some kind. These students got a discount of about 50% off the tuition list price, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

    See related calculator: What are the advantages of a 529 college savings plan?

    You don’t want to leave this “free money” on the table. Here’s how to get your share:

    First, is your son or daughter a vegetarian with a message to share? Or, maybe they dream of wearing a prom dress made of duct tape?! There could be a scholarship for them. According to Mark Kantrowitz, an expert

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  • Should You Buy or Rent Your Next Home?

    By Vera Gibbons | Cost of living – Tue, May 28, 2013 10:04 AM EDT

    Mortgage rates may still be near historic lows, but with home prices rising--up an average 10% over the past year--should you buy now, or are you better off renting?

    See related calculator: Should you rent or buy?

    While it depends on where you live and how long you plan to stick around, Zillow crunched the numbers (taking into consideration all possible costs associated with both buying and renting, as well as other factors) and found that in most major markets it still makes better financial sense to buy.

    “In roughly 60 percent of the metropolitan area we analyzed in our breakeven study, you can break even in less than three years,” says Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s senior economist.

    In some markets - like Detroit, Miami and Phoenix, you can make your money back in about two years. In others, like Duluth, Memphis, and Shreveport--less than two years!

    Take a city like Cleveland, which has a break-even point of about two and a half years. Trulia says you can spend an average of $500 a month

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  • Surprising Items in Your Credit Report

    By Vera Gibbons | Cost of living – Wed, May 22, 2013 3:42 AM EDT

    We all know how important credit scores are to our financial lives. The higher your credit score, the lower your interest rates on loans, credit cards and mortgages. Many landlords, and even a growing number of employers, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, are using credit information to screen applicants.

    So how’s your credit? Chances are, you don’t know. Only one in five consumers check their credit reports each year. Many are often surprised by what they see, says Janna Herron, an analyst with Bankrate.com. “You might find an old bill that you forgot to pay that has since gone to a collections agency and is now showing up on your report.” These old bills--even smaller, so-called “nuisance” items--such as overdue library fines, unpaid traffic violations, utility bills from past residences, or overlooked medical fees--can quickly become a big problem, lowering an otherwise clean credit score by as much as 100 points, according to credit expert, John Ulzheimer, of

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About Cost of Living

"Cost of Living" is a weekly program that breaks down the dollars and sense of everyday life. From managing the cost of college, to understanding the opportunities and challenges of today's housing market, host Vera Gibbons walks viewers through some of the most important financial decisions facing consumers today. With a thorough examination of critical economic and financial trends—and some helpful suggestions from our experts--"Cost of Living" helps viewers take control of their finances and get the most out of life.