Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

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Destroyed vehicles lie in the rubble outside the Plaza Towers Elementary school in Moore, Okla., on Tuesday.

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For many, it's impossible to view the heartbreaking stories coming out of Oklahoma and not feel an overwhelming urge to do something. But following your first impulse to help could just lead to more heartbreak, as many charitable givers often fall prey to scams in the wake of national tragedies.

Authorities are warning would-be donors to think carefully before they donate, and before they click.

"There is always a high probability for con-artists or 'travelers' to pop-up in the state following a storm, pushing quick-fix repair schemes and charity scams," Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a press release. He urged Oklahomans to stay alert.

Scam artists crawl out of the woodwork only hours after the first pictures of death and destruction emerge. Like clockwork, spam emails, fake Facebook pages, telemarketing phone calls — even full-fledged websites that accept credit cards — pop up, all claiming falsely that they are collecting money for victims. Virus writers also get into the act, sending around booby-trapped emails that appear to come from charities, but are designed to invade victims' computers.

Pruitt said people around the country should donate to "reputable" organizations such as the Salvation Army or Red Cross. "The first scam we typically see after devastation like this is charity fraud,” he said

Pruitt also said his department has already sent 30 investigators into the tornado-ravaged area to stop local scams, fraud and price gouging.

For a detailed list of ways to help Oklahoma victims, visit NBC News' How to Help page.

Attorneys general in several other states, from Washington to South Carolina, have also issued charity fraud warnings.

Even consumers who wouldn't normally fall for scams are at risk in the aftermath of major disasters because the overwhelming sadness of the events, and the urgency of the need, can override a giver's natural sense of skepticism. The same urgency force is at play whenever a scam artist insists that a supposedly great deal is only available for a short time.

Federal Trade Commission spokesman Frank Dorman said he didn't believe his agency had received any complaints about Oklahoma-related scams yet, but that's not unusual: victims wouldn't yet realize they'd been scammed, he said.

The agency does offer an extensive set of tips for evaluating charities.

Consumers should beware anyone who:

• Uses high-pressure tactics like trying to get you to donate immediately, without giving you time to think about it and do your research.
• Refusing to provide detailed information about its identity, mission, costs and how the donation will be used.
• Won't provide proof that a contribution is tax deductible.
• Uses a name that closely resembles that of a better-known, reputable organization.
• Thanks you for a pledge you don’t remember making.
• Asks for donations in cash or asks you to wire money.
• Offers to send a courier or overnight delivery service to collect the donation immediately.

Follow Bob Sullivan on Facebook or Twitter. 

Related content:

• National Guard: 'Words can't describe' the Okla. damage
• 'She was always happy': Families grieve tornado victim
• The latest on the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornado
• Tornado victim separated from spouse: 'The house totally disappeared'

This Ignite stroller from The First Years boasts many features found on more expensive models.

With LCD dashboards, smooth handling, and independent suspension, high-end strollers can sound like luxury cars. They can also be tough to fit in the back of a car, not to mention a public bus or train. After about six months or so with a full-featured travel system, many parents look to add a lightweight alternative to their arsenal of baby gear. Cue the umbrella stroller. Like its namesake, it has curved handles, collapses into a narrow column, and can be carried in one hand. What’s more, you can find well-reviewed models that cost no more than $60.

Here are the top picks from Cheapism.com:

• The First Years Ignite (starting at $60) is a hands-down favorite in this price range, with overwhelmingly positive reviews online. It earns plaudits for its agility and easy one-handed folding, as well as an abundance of features many buyers say they didn’t expect to find on a budget model. Those include a five-point harness, a big selling point for safety-conscious parents; an adjustable and removable sunshade; a reclining seat; and a large pouch on the handles for convenient storage, as well as a basket underneath. This model is on the hefty side for an umbrella stroller, at 14.25 pounds, but it holds children up to 50 pounds. (Where to buy)

RELATED: Double stroller reviews and recommendations

• The First Years Jet (starting at $39) is cheaper and more svelte than the Ignite -- it weighs 11.5 pounds -- yet it has the same 50-pound weight limit. It also comes with almost all the same features, save for swiveling front wheels that lock into place. Even without that feature, the stroller maneuvers easily, reviewers say, and provides a comfortable ride. (Where to buy)

RELATED: 8 Cheap Summer Family Vacations

• Babies R Us Umbrella Strollers (starting at $20) likewise come in two similar versions at different price points. An extra $10 buys a model that weighs just 6.5 pounds and sports a storage pouch and a larger, retractable canopy. Parents appreciate that both strollers are so light and compact. They have only three-point harnesses, but reviewers report that children seem very secure in the sturdy straps and comfortable overall. These strollers can transport children up to 35 pounds. (Where to buy)

RELATED: Recommended jogging strollers under $200

In general a five-point harness, which includes shoulder straps, is preferable to a three-point harness, with straps only around the waist and between the legs. Even umbrella strollers that recline, such as the models above from The First Years, don’t lay all the way flat, so they aren’t suitable for newborns. Mayo Clinic staff and other experts recommend waiting until babies are about six months old before putting them in one of these lightweight strollers.

If you can, try out an umbrella stroller before you buy it and make sure you can manage it easily. It should be comfortable for you as well as your child. Reviewers note, for instance, that the tall handles on The First Years strollers save them from having to bend over to push.

Related from Cheapism:
Umbrella strollers buying guide

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After plummeting in the wake of the financial crisis, spending on weddings is resuming/

Thinking of getting married? Get out your wallet.

The average cost of a wedding is as high as $28,400 by one estimate, and close to $26,000 by another. After plummeting in the wake of the financial crisis, spending on nuptials resumed its rise in 2010, and is once again approaching the record set before the financial crisis.

"In today's environment, the bride and groom are paying more of the cost. When the economy was different, that's why you saw it go down," said Shane McMurray, president and chief executive of theweddingreport.com. Now "they're willing to spend a little more."

The substantial spending on weddings comes as consumers are generally regaining confidence, so in that sense it is just part of a larger trend. But the increase has also been abetted by the companies that sell wedding accoutrements, from gowns to ring pillows, for the big day.

(Read more: These Four Companies LOVE Wedding Season)

Then there are the social media sites where couples planning weddings can find endless ideas for attire, entertainment, décor and more—with no price tags attached. The wedding boards at Pinterest, for example, drive significant traffic to purveyors of wedding-related goods.

(Read more: Will Pinterest Ruin Your Wedding?)

If you are determined to keep your wedding costs in check despite the various pressures to spend big, experts have a slew of suggestions.

For starters, size matters. "The number one thing you can do to keep your wedding costs down is to keep your guest list down," said Dena Davey, director of marketing for the Association of Bridal Consultants.

Spending per guest reached $204 in 2012, according to the wedding website theknot.com, which conducts an annual survey of wedding costs. So the potential savings from a smaller ceremony are clear.

Another way to save is to think outside the box when it comes to timing. Saturday evening weddings tend to be the most expensive, Davey said, since they usually involve a dinner reception and event spaces often charge more for that time. "Fridays and Sundays are really popular right now."

You may also be able to find bargains if you get married in the off season. June and December are the most popular months for weddings, so vendors may be more willing to negotiate if you are talking to them at other times of the year.

McMurray suggested taking a look at the elements of the wedding that don't have to be custom made or individualized as areas for savings.

"When it comes to the dress and other specific, custom things, there is not a lot of room for DIY," he said. "Invitations and favors—all of those components are very easily made with today's technology." The range of options for photography and music are also wider, he added.

Flowers offer additional opportunities for curbing costs. Something pretty is blooming any time of the year, and if you stick to seasonal blooms, you will save.

And remember, while there are plenty of blogs and websites that spur you to spend, there are also lots of sites that point to ways to save. Bridalbrokerage.com lets you buy up the fixings for weddings that got cancelled, and tradesy.com offers a range of almost-new wedding dresses. Projectwedding.com offers tips on how to resell things, like unused table linens.

(Read More: Budget Brides Save by Buying Canceled Weddings)

The biggest savings suggestion? Focus on what you're doing, n

ot the things you'll have around you. Perfect flowers or not perfect flowers, your wedding day is likely to be magical.

Americans think that a family of four would need to bring in a minimum of $58,000 a year, on average, just to get by in their community, a new Gallup survey finds.

That’s more than double the 2012 poverty threshold for a family of four, which was around $24,000 a year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The results are not far off from what Americans told Gallup when it asked a similar question in 2007, and experts say it’s consistent with long-term trends as well.

Mark Rank, a professor of social welfare at Washington University in St. Louis, said Americans have for decades reported that the minimum families need to get by is two to three times the actual poverty thresholds.

The thresholds themselves also have come under scrutiny from both the left and the right, with policymakers on both sides arguing they are a poor measure of how many people in this country are actually poor.

The Gallup survey of about 1,000 Americans, which was released last week, asked Americans to name the smallest amount of money a family of four would need to make each year to get by in their own community. The data was collected in mid-April.

Related: Are you having fewer kids, or none at all, because of the economy?

They found that people with higher incomes said a family of four would need a higher amount, on average, than those who have lower incomes. People who lived in the suburbs also named a higher amount, on average, than those who are living in cities or rural areas.

Rank said it makes sense that the amount of money you think is needed to cover basic expenses would vary depending on where you live. The cost of living in the rural Midwest is likely much lower than in the metropolitan East, for example.

He also noted that people’s expectations for how much money they need in order to cover what they consider basic needs tends to go up as they get wealthier.

“What they’re considering necessary is going to vary between somebody who’s earning $20,000 versus somebody who’s earning $200,000,” he said.

In addition, he noted, no matter how much money people make, they tend to think that they could use a little more to feel truly comfortable.

“They’ll always say, ‘If I just had a little bit more to get by on,’” he said.

The median – or midpoint – of household income for all households in the United States, regardless of size, was $50,054 in 2011, according to the latest government data available. The median – or midpoint – of the responses to the Gallup poll question about the family of four specifically also was $50,000.

Related: 'By the grace of God:' How workers survive on $7.25 per hour 

Your boss may have a pretty good idea of what kinds of e-mail you are sending or where you are going with that company truck – and in this modern age, many readers said they aren’t that surprised.

A Life Inc. post on how employers are able to more easily monitor their employees’ communications and behavior prompted some readers to share stories of having e-mail chains quashed or being questioned for bathroom breaks.

But many others said they were well aware of the practice. About four in 10 readers who took our survey said they are very careful about their workplace activities.

 “Anyone monitoring my phone calls, e-mails, etc. will have a pretty boring job most of the time. I'll just wait until they are bored and run in a zinger, just to wake (them) up,” one reader joked.

In fact, many readers said they expected – and understood -  that the boss might be watching.

“Remember work computers, servers, phones etc. belong to the company. They have every right to see what is going on with those things. I know I spend a lot of time at home doing work things. It's a two way street,” one reader wrote.

Still, many also said they should have the right to be told exactly what their employer was monitoring.

“Actually, I'm okay with employers reading employee e-mails and phone records. However, they need to confess that they do this and post it on their HR website along with all the other employee benefits they so graciously provide,” another reader commented.

Getting left at the altar is bad enough, but it’s even worse if you’re also stuck holding the bag filled with bills.

One website is helping would-be brides cut their losses if they’ve planned a wedding and then called it off.  Couples can lose thousands of dollars in deposits on reception halls, flowers, photographers and more.

“If you're a bride you can go ahead and log on and you'll be able to see if there are open wedding dates that have been called off or if there are vendors in your area that have open weddings that they would like to sell off at a discount,” said Lauren Byrne, founder of BridalBrokerage.com.

Angela Wakefield and her fiancé Chris Watkins used the site to save about $4,000 on their California wedding reception.
 
“We figured it was a no-brainer to get a pre-paid package and it was kind of all planned out, so it was easier and cost effective,” Wakefield said. “I think it was just really easy, it took the headache away from me.”

Wakefield found a canceled $12,000 package that was on sale through the brokerage for $7,900.

Wakefield ended up way ahead the game considering the average U.S. couple spent $25,656 for their wedding in 2012, according to research company Wedding Report, Inc.

“Since we're saving so much money, I can splurge on some other things,” Wakefield said.

The brokerage attracts deal seekers, along with “non-planners, and those on accelerated timelines, including active deployment and pregnancies,” according to the website. Most couples who buy canceled weddings are still able to choose their own food, colors, flowers and cake, depending on how close it is to the wedding date. In some cases, they incur extra fees for changes or upgrades to the originally purchased package.

“It's a win for everyone,” said Lauren Jennings, the general manager of Wedgewood Wedding & Banquet Center. “For the venue, we now have a wedding that we were hoping for on a particular date.  The old bride who canceled, she now gets a portion of her money back that she paid.  For the new bride, she gets an amazing deal for her wedding.”

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Getting that first credit card is a big step for your child; one that can have serious negative consequences for years to come.

Your high school graduate wants a credit card. Is that good or bad?

Experts say it all depends on the child and how he or she will use the card.

“If they look at the card as a ticket to more spending, you should be worried,” said Laura Levine, executive director of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. “If they know how credit cards work and are responsible, then it can be a good thing.”

Even though they don’t have a credit history yet, college-bound students may find offers that are comparable to what someone with excellent credit might get. The credit limit will be much lower, but the terms – including rewards – may be the same.

“This is because kids headed to college have a much higher earnings potential than those who are not,” explained Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of CardHub.com. “Banks know this and they want to build a relationship with them to get into their wallet as early as possible. “

CardHub.com just published its 2013 list of the Best Credit Cards for High School and College Graduates. None of the cards has an annual fee.

“A card without an annual fee allows the student to start building credit for free – and that is the number one priority,” Papadimitriou told me. “You build credit faster by using the card and paying in full each month, but you still build credit even if you throw it in a drawer or cut it in half. The card company will report to the credit bureaus that you are in good standing.”

Some other options
College kids are a prime target for credit card companies, so they will get offers as they prepare to head off to school.

The law says anyone under 21 who applies for a credit card must have a co-signer on the account or be able to show their ability to pay the bills. A part-time job could be enough to qualify.

“Parents need to remember that a lender may approve their kid for that credit card, even if they don't approve,” said Gerri Detweiler, personal finance expert at Credit.com.

Detweiler and other financial experts encourage parents not to become co-signers because of the potential risk: you put your credit on the line with no real control over how your child uses the card. Legally, you are liable for any debt they incur.

There is a better way.

John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com, advises parents to add their age-appropriate children as “authorized users” on the card. He calls it “a credit card with training wheels.”

“This allows your child to have a credit card with their name printed on the front of it, but as the primary cardholder you maintain all the control,” he explained. “You can essentially manage your kid’s use of the card, almost in real time, and kick them off the card if they start to abuse it.”

Of course, as the primary cardholder, you are still responsible for paying the bill.

Go this route and your child gets all the benefit of having their own credit card, but you don’t have the downsides of a cosigner.

“Your child is actually building a credit history by being an authorized user because the account is showing up on their credit reports,” Ulzheimer said.

We need to talk
Getting that first credit card is a big step for your child; one that can have serious negative consequences for years to come.

Credit scores, which are based on a person’s credit history, will determine their ability to get credit in the future and what price they will pay for it.

Someone with a low credit score may not be able to rent an apartment, get a car loan or open a wireless phone account. Credit reports are now used by employers to screen job applicants and some insurance companies to set rates (where allowed by law).

It’s important to have a conversation with your child about the consequences of not managing that card properly. They need to understand that bills are to be paid in full and on time each and every month.

“One late payment can literally drop your credit score 50 to 80 points or more,” Detweiler explained. “A lot of adults don’t realize that, much less kids who are just starting out. So you want to talk to your kids about how this impacts their credit and how important it is to pay those bills on time.”

Where things stand
A new study from Sallie Mae finds that more college students these days “exercise caution with credit cards” and that’s encouraging.  A third of student card holders have a zero balance, 42 percent have a balance of $500 or less and just 24 percent have a balance of more than $500.

The survey found the percentage of college kids with credit cards has declined during the last two years, from 42 percent in 2010 to 35 percent in 2012. Freshman are least likely to have a card in their name (21 percent) compared to 60 percent of seniors.

Sallie Mae reminds students to only charge what they can afford, pay the bill before it’s due to avoid accidental late fees and to remember that a credit card is a convenience, not a source of spending money.

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

The Great Recession hurt a lot of people and this loss of wealth will follow millions into retirement, according to a report released Thursday.

Early baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1955) may be “the last group on track to retire with enough savings to maintain their financial security through their golden years," the study finds. But the rest of us are in for a world of hurt -- especially Gen-Xers (born between 1966 and 1975).

The study by Pew Charitable Trusts, Retirement Security Across Generations: Are Americans Prepared for Their Golden Years? shows that early boomers lost 28 percent of their median net worth; late boomers (born between 1956 and 1965) lost 25 percent from 2007 to 2010. However, Gen-Xers lost nearly half (45 percent) of their wealth – about $33,000 on average – during that same time period. And they didn’t have that much savings to begin with.

“Gen-X is the first generation that’s unlikely to exceed the wealth of the group that came before it and face downward mobility in retirement,” said Erin Currier, director of Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. “They have lower financial net worth than previous groups had at this same age and they lost nearly half of their wealth in the recession.”

Financial planners generally recommend that you save enough to replace 70 to 100 percent of your pre-retirement income when you leave the workforce. Pew’s research shows the typical Gen-Xer will only be able to replace half of that income.

When it comes to retirement savings, late boomers (born between 1956 and 1965) are more like Gen-X than early boomers. They’re on track to replace only 60 percent of their pre-retirement income.

RELATED: Retirement age in US rises to 61 (from 57 in the 1990s

You may be surprised to learn that some people saw their wealth grow during the recession. Pew found that a sizable minority of households – 39 to 44 percent – had a positive change in wealth between 2007 and 2009.

“As an example, more than a third of households in this age group experienced gains in home equity during that two-year period,” Currier noted.

Gen-X: the most financially-challenged group
Gen-X wasn’t in very good shape before the recession hit. Their net worth was less than other age groups that came before them. They also had lowest rates of home ownership of all the groups studied.

The recession only made things worse. They experienced the largest percentage decline in median net worth, losing nearly half of their wealth.

Gen-X has significantly higher levels of debt than those in the other groups did at the same age. Pew found that the average Gen-Xer has already accumulated $80,000 in debt.

Key Findings

• Early boomers are financially prepared for retirement: Those born between 1946 and 1955 are approaching retirement in better financial shape than the age groups that came before them. This group benefited from both the dot-com boom and the housing bubble.Americans in their 50s and 60s have higher overall wealth, financial net worth, and home equity than Depression babies (born between 1926 and 1935) or war babies (born between 1936 and 1945) had at the same ages.
• Wealth accumulation and savings for Americans born after 1955 is mixed: Neither Gen-Xers (in their 30s and 40s) nor late boomers (in their late 40’s and 50’s) are on track to exceed the financial position of those immediately preceded them.
• Baby boomers and Gen-Xers have significantly lower asset-to-debt ratios than do older Americans: Depression and war babies spent the last two decades reducing their debt, while baby boomers and Gen-Xers have been accumulating it. In 2010, war babies had accumulated assets worth 27 times more than their debts. In contrast, assets for late boomers were only four times their debts. Gen-Xers’ assets were about double their debts.

Pew’s Erin Currier believes there is a clear takeaway message for America’s policymakers from this data.

“As they focus attention on America’s retirement security, particular consideration should be paid to helping  the youngest groups change course to make up for these losses in order to prevent downward mobility in the long-term,” she said.

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

The average U.S. retirement age has climbed to 61, up from 57 two decades ago, and it’s likely to age higher, according to Gallup's Economy and Personal Finance survey.

The average non-retired American now plans to retire at 66, up from 60 in 1995, according to the Gallup survey.

“Because most of the uptick came before the 2008 recession, this shift may reflect more than just a changing economy,” Gallup’s associate editor Alyssa Brown wrote in her report on the study. “It may also indicate changing norms about the value of work, the composition of the workforce, the decrease in jobs with mandatory retirement ages, and other factors.”

The trend to retire older started in the 1990s, said Richard Johnson, the director of Urban Institute’s Program on Retirement Policy.

“I think this trend is one of the most important changes we’ve seen in the labor force in the last quarter of a century,” Johnson said. “I think it’s a really positive development. A lot of people are working longer because they want to work longer. The incentives to work longer have increased.”

Until the 1990s, the retirement age for men had actually been trending younger as pension plans, Social Security benefits and personal savings accrued at a healthy rate, Johnson said.

“That trend stopped and then reversed in the early 1990s,” he said. The trend is similar but more complex for women, he said, because they were entering the workforce at greater numbers as well as working later than before.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also show that for workers 55 and over, the labor force participation rate, which includes both the employed and those who would like to be employed, changes its direction in the early 1990s. About 30 percent of those 55-and-older were working in the early 1990s. Since 2008, about 40 percent of the 55+ have remained in the work force.

In the early 1990s, about 11 percent of those 65 and older remained in the workforce. By contrast, this April, 19 percent remained at work, according to the most recent monthly calculations from the BLS. The pattern continues for those 75 and older. In the 1990s, 4 percent of the population over 75 remained in the workforce. Since December, it has been above 8 percent each month.

Those polled in the Gallup survey agreed they will be working later in life, a sentiment most strongly voiced by the oldest workers. More than half of the non-retirees in the 58 to 64 age bracket expect to retire after they turn 65, compared with 36 percent of non-retirees aged 50 to 57, 38 percent of people between 30 and 49, and just 26 percent of those younger than 30.

The Gallup poll is based on telephone interviews conducted from April 4 to 14 with a random U.S. sample of 2,017 adults. There is a sampling error rate of ±3 percentage points for the full group and a ±5 percentage point rate for the sample of the 636 retirees.

James Braund / Getty Images

Your boss may be watching what you do online.

The idea of a totalitarian government monitoring your every move is probably still the stuff of fiction, but that doesn't mean your boss doesn't have a pretty good idea of your workday habits.

Experts say an abundance of fast-developing new technology is making it cheaper and easier for employers to read your e-mails, check out what you’ve been looking at on the Internet, track where you go with a company car or cell phone and find out when and where you were at work.

“Your employer can find out anything and everything about your life,” said Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, which advocates for workers on issues including privacy.

Of course, employers have good reason to want to know whether employees are stealing corporate secrets, sending out sexually harassing e-mails or just goofing off on the job. But experts say many companies are still trying to figure out a balance between monitoring wrongdoing and just plain snooping.

“In the information economy we have incredible new ways to gather data, many of which are very novel, very new, and we’re not entirely clear on what the standards are or should be,” said Trevor Hughes, chief executive of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, a trade group whose membership includes big corporations such as Google, Microsoft and American Express.

Hughes said that’s been made even more complicated because the line between work and home increasingly is blurred. For example, many employees might use their personal smart phone to send a work-related e-mail at night, and then use their work computer to send a personal e-mail during the work day.

Employers generally have the right to monitor employee e-mails and other online activity that happens at work, or even on a company cell phone or corporate network, said Lothar Determann, a partner at Baker & McKenzie LLP in Palo Alto, Calif., and author of “Determann’s Field Guide to International Data Privacy Law Compliance.” But they can only do so if they make clear to their employees that workers should have no expectation of privacy.

U.S. laws generally give employers much broader rights to monitor employee activity than in European countries, Determann said. That is raising complications for companies that operate in several countries.

But even in the U.S., Determann said companies risk running into trouble if they overstep their bounds. For example, an employer could use a keystroke tracker to get your password to that personal e-mail account you checked at work, and then use that password to check your account later. But he would recommend against a client doing that because it could violate the rights of the e-mail operator.

Many companies also are grappling with the thorny issue of how much control they have over the work activity people do on their personal cell phone or other device.

“It’s an unsettled area right now,” said Robert Sprague, an associate professor at the University of Wyoming College of Business and an expert on privacy and technology.

Related: Having fewer kids, or none at all, because of the economy?

The idea of asking employees or job candidates for access to personal social media accounts such as Facebook also has caused widespread outcry, and lawmakers in several states have moved to ban such practices.

Employees may be generally aware that their employer could monitor their activities, but Maltby said many people assume that with all that data flying around their individual correspondence won’t be tracked. In reality, he said, people are nosy and anyone from the IT guy to your boss may be tempted to peruse your activities.

To maintain privacy, he recommends sending any personal e-mails or other correspondence from a personal cell phone or device that isn’t connected to your corporate network.

Others say that it’s generally fine to send a few innocuous personal e-mails at work, or check a personal website now and again. But that rant about the CEO that you’re tempted to send your co-worker? Probably not a good idea.

 “If you don’t want your boss to read it, then don’t send the e-mail,” Determann said.

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Physicians were among the most physically fit, a Gallup survey found.

Does this job make me look fat?

If you are a bus driver, the answer is probably yes. The news is also bad for manufacturing and production workers, as well as installation or repair workers, according to a survey for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

Transportation workers have a 36-percent obesity rate, the highest rate among 14 occupation groups measured by Gallup based on interviews with more than 139,000 American workers from Jan. 2 to Sept. 10, 2012. For manufacturing and production workers, 30 percent are obese, followed by 28 percent of installation or repair workers and 26 percent of office workers.

On the lighter end of the scale, 14 percent of physicians were obese, followed by 20 percent of business owners and 21 percent of teachers.

The study found several factors for worker obesity, including exercising fewer than three days a week, not eating healthy, limited access to a safe place to exercise, a history of depression and skipping annual dentist visits.

The bad news for transit workers is no surprise to Ed Watt, who drove a bus in Brooklyn and Manhattan for 20 years and now serves as the Director of Health and Safety for the Transport Workers Union of America AFL-CIO. It’s a job that leads to higher rates of medical issues for a number of conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic obstructive lung disease, according to information from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

“First the sedentary nature of the work, sitting much of the day with the inability to move around, even for bathroom breaks,” Watt said via email. “The second is the mobile nature of the job leaves poor food choices. So fast food rules.“

“The other factor is that these jobs are highly stressful,” he said. “The stress of the jobs results from high demand and low control over the work. Traffic, people and schedule are all big items that are beyond your control as a driver. As a result of the stress, many are inclined to mal-adaptive coping mechanism."

The good news, Watt said, is that part of his job is working to make it easier for the transportation workers to lose the top spot on the Gallup list.

Production workers, the game is on.

Share Your Stories: Have you cut back on medical expenses?

Gene J. Puskar / AP

It is possible to use a prepaid credit card safely.

It's like cash, only better. Or so say the marketers.

Prepaid debit cards are usable wherever credit cards work, protect your privacy, and are - of course - compact. Not surprisingly, use of the cards has been soaring: Mercator Advisory Group estimates that consumers loaded $77 billion on these cards in 2012, and expects an increase to $168 billion by 2015.

But there is a downside to prepaid cards: All that privacy and ease of use comes with heightened risks. If you lose a card, you stand to lose whatever money is loaded onto it. Even if your card is stolen, you have fewer protections under the law than you would with a credit card. And as a recent $45 million cyber heist showed, prepaid cards in the wrong hands can be a menace.

For thieves or money launderers, prepaid cards "are much easier to turn into cash than credit or debit cards," said Avivah Litan, a security analyst at Gartner. "I just really don't like them. I'd just rather have the cash."

There are also hefty fees associated with prepaid cards. Banks charge varying amounts for issuing the cards, reloading them with additional funds, and even checking balances.

Still, for plenty of people, prepaid cards offer advantages that aren't available elsewhere. Parents give prepaid cards to their teenaged children as a way to keep tabs on how much they are spending. Prepaid cards are also handy for travel and gifts. And for people without bank accounts, or spotty credit records, they're extremely useful.

“I don't see a risk for consumers who want to use prepaid debit cards as long as you follow normal security procedures. It's a great tool for the honest consumer," said Joe Petro, a managing director at Promontory Financial Group and formerly a senior member of Citigroup's security and investigations operations. He can point to numerous instances where prepaid cards were used to commit financial crimes, he added, but "the nefarious use of it is something that I'm not sure affects the daily activity of a consumer. That's not what the thieves are after."

If you want to keep a loaded prepaid debit card, experts have several suggestions for how to make it safe, and financially sensible.

-- Pick a PIN. Use a PIN on the card, and keep that PIN secure. It shouldn't be written down elsewhere in your wallet, or worse, scribbled on the back of the card. And when you are entering the number, position yourself so others can't see or photograph it.

"I think consumers are very secure if they keep their PINs secure and keep the cards secure," said Litan, adding, "Try not to use a PIN that you use everywhere else."

-- Read the fine print. Shop around for reasonable fees, says the Consumer Financial Protection Board's Office of Consumer Education and Engagement. Issuers of these cards charge varied fees for everything from reloading the card to balance inquiries and using out-of-network ATMs.

-- Know the rules. To minimize the hassle and financial hit if your card is lost or stolen, "find out the rules for replacing your card," the CFPB office said. "Write down the card number, security code and customer service number and keep it in a safe place."

-- Be return-ready. Since some stores require that funds be added back to a prepaid card if you return an item, be sure to hold onto your prepaid card until you are certain that you will not be returning anything you bought with it.

-- Keep a lid on it. Don't load your card with more money than you would be comfortable losing.

Don't be afraid to use a prepaid card, if that's your choice. Just be careful out there.

Kelley Holland is a reporter for CNBC.

Credit scores are critically important. They determine your ability to obtain credit and how much you will pay for it. 

A bad score could prevent you from getting a credit card or renting an apartment. It can increase the cost of services, such as cell phone, electric and cable.

And yet, a lot of people don’t know much about credit scores.

A new survey done by the Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore Solutions finds that:

• Two-fifths do not know credit card issuers and mortgage lenders use credit scores to decide about granting credit and pricing.
  Two-fifths incorrectly believe personal characteristics such as age and marital status are used in calculating credit scores.
•  Between one-quarter and one-third do not know when lenders are required to inform them of the credit score used in their lending decision – after they apply for a mortgage, when they are turned down for a loan and when they don’t receive the best price or terms.
•  More than one quarter do not know the key ways to raise or maintain their scores – keeping credit card balances low and not applying for several cards at the same time.
•  More than one-third incorrectly believe credit repair agencies are always or usually helpful in correcting credit report errors and improving scores. They are not.

How can you raise your credit score?
To improve your credit score, do things that show lenders you are trustworthy and a low risk. That includes:

• Pay your bills on time every month.
• Keep a low balance on your credit and charge cards.
• Pay down debt rather than just move it around.
•  Don’t open new credit accounts rapidly.

You should check each of your three credit reports for errors at least once a year. It’s free. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com.

To help you learn more about credit scores, the Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore Solutions have updated their interactive  quiz Credit Score Quiz (English) or Credit Score Quiz (Spanish).

During a TODAY Money web chat on Wednesday, John Ulzheimer, president of consumer information at SmartCredit.com explained the ins and outs of credit reports and answered readers questions. You can read the full chat:

Many of the nation’s top retailers tout low-price guarantees: Someone else is advertising a lower price? No need to go to the other store -- we’ll match it. In practice, though, a price-match guarantee is no guarantee a store will match a competitor’s price. A new report by Cheapism.com compares the price-matching policies at more than half a dozen retailers and looks at how they’re applied in-store. It finds that even the most permissive retailers use careful wording and litanies of exclusions to deny customer requests. Shoppers unfamiliar with the fine print face frustration and stand to waste valuable time.

Here are some of the most common reasons a retailer may refuse to match a competitor’s price.

• The competitor isn’t local. Best Buy, for instance, confines its policy to stores that fall within a 25-mile radius. Other retailers use vague phrases such as “reasonable distance” and “same market area,” which are open to employee interpretation. Cheapism’s report on price-match policies cites an account from one shopper who says Target wouldn’t match a store a mile away because it was in a different ZIP code.
  RELATED: Store return policies comparison
   
• The competitor is an online retailer. Many companies extend their price-matching policies only to brick-and-mortar stores and, in some cases, the websites of local competitors. But until recently none included online-only competitors in their price-match guarantees. That’s why Target and Best Buy turned heads in recent months when they announced they would match prices offered by select online retailers, including Amazon, regardless whether there was a corresponding store in the same market. As Cheapism explains, however, online price matching comes with its own fine print. A bottle of contact solution was going for almost $4 less on Amazon, but Target wouldn’t match the price because it was listed by a third-party seller on the Amazon Marketplace, not by Amazon.com.
• The competitor is a warehouse club. Retailers including JC Penney and Target won’t match prices that require a club card, so forget about pointing to a lower price at Sam’s Club or Costco. Best Buy does match warehouse-club pricing, as long as the store is local, and Sears requires that customers show a valid membership card for the club store before matching a lower price.
  RELATED: Walmart vs. Target vs. Kmart
  
• You didn’t bring in a print ad. Most retailers don’t simply promise to match competitors’ prices; they promise to match competitors’ advertised prices. Not only that, many require a print ad as proof of the lower price -- a photo, photocopy, or mobile version may not cut it. At Walmart, the official policy states that you don’t have to have an ad with you (an employee may call to verify the price), but customers have found that cashiers often say they need to see an ad in order to match a price.

• The items are not identical. The lower-priced product at the other store must be the same brand, model, style, color, size, weight, quantity -- identical in every way. It also can’t be a used, refurbished, damaged, open-box, or display item. This often comes into play with appliances and electronics. A product at Home Depot might have a different model number than the same product at Lowe’s, making it ineligible for price matching. Non-branded items such as fresh produce also may not qualify, although Walmart promises to match food prices if they’re listed in the same unit of measure (e.g., per ounce).
  RELATED: Tire reviews and recommendations
   
• The lower-priced item is … advertised as limited-time, limited-supply, or limited-quantity or part of a clearance, closeout, liquidation, or going-out-of-business sale.

You get the idea. Retailers are happy to use ad-match policies to burnish their reputations for low prices, but they’re far from eager to honor those guarantees. Still, there’s some variation in the policies and how they’re applied in practice. Cheapism has identified some of the best price-match guarantees and a couple that may not be worth the effort. If you choose a relatively lenient retailer and go in with knowledge of the rules, you could save yourself time and money.

toysrus.com

Price match guarantees aren't so simple and include a list of caveats, as seen here in the Toys R Us price-match guarantee guidelines.

More from Cheapism:
Comparing stores that price match

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As medical advances extend the average lifespan, projected health care saving requirements likely will have to rise accordingly.

Planning for retirement usually means budgeting for food, travel and other expenses. Don’t forget to include $220,000 for health care costs. 

That’s how much the average 65-year-old couple will spend on medical expenses through their retirement, according to the latest estimates from Fidelity Investments.

If you’ve set your sights on retiring earlier, plan on squirreling away an even bigger savings pile. The average couple hoping to retire at 55 will spend $744,800 on out-of-pocket health costs if they both live to age 85, according to a separate study released Wednesday by the Society of Actuaries.

That’s if you’re relatively healthy later in life. Those averages don’t include the cost of treating chronic diseases like cancer or heart disease.

“People with those conditions spend about twice what the aver age population does,” said Dale Yamamoto, the author to the Society of Actuaries study. “So you need to take these numbers and double them.”

Those numbers also don’t include the cost of long-term care like a stay in a nursing home, which isn’t typically covered by Medicare.

The latest estimates for the average health care tab is likely to come as something of a sobering surprise to most people planning for – or in - retirement. In a separate survey, Fidelity found that nearly half of people aged 55 to 64 planning for retirement figured they would need just $50,000 to pay for health care costs.

Estimating those costs is the thorniest wild card in any retirement plan, largely because longevity and illnesses are so difficult to predict. Those variables are further complicated for Americans by the ongoing reform of medical insurance coverage in the U.S., both through the Affordable Care Act and proposed changed to Medicare.

“It’s more difficult today to try and give people meaningful guidance because the individual insurance market is going to change dramatically,” said Sunit Patel, senior vice president of Fidelity's benefits consulting group. “But we still expect the (retirement health cost) number to be significant.”

Uncertainty over the cost of insurance coverage is further complicated by the potential rise in the cost of health care itself. Fidelity’s projection for how much would-be retirees need to save has fallen 12 percent from its high of $250,000 in 2010.

That drop largely reflects a sharp drop last year in Medicare spending, which rose just 0.4 percent per enrollee last year, and just 1.9 percent between 2010 and 2012. That’s well below the seven percent average annual increases between 1985 and 2009.

Overall, U.S. healthcare spending has been rising just 3.9 a year since 2009. That year, healthcare spending jumped 6.6 percent.

Part of the slowdown is the result of a weaker economy, according to economists. Spending increases have also slowed as many of the most common brand name drugs are now available in cheaper generic versions. The Affordable Care Act is slowing the rate of payment increases to hospitals, physicians and health plans. It remains to be seen whether those trends will continue.

Regardless of the changes in coverage and costs, the ultimate unknown is how long you’re going to live. As medical advances extend the average lifespan, projected health care saving requirements likely will have to rise accordingly.

The Society of Actuaries study, for example, found that a couple that expects to live until age 90 would need an average of $441,200 to meet out-of-pocket healthcare costs –  more than double the cost of living to age 80.

Reuters contributed to this report.

You know that old newspaper adage: "If it bleeds, it leads?"

The same is true of personal finance news: The headlines love to bleat about all of our (collective) bad money habits: "Workers Saving Too Little to Retire!" "Mortgages Underwater!" "Student Debt Crisis Looming!"

It's enough to make you want to crawl in your piggy bank and hide.

But, luckily, in addition to people cutting their expenses by $1,000 a month or paying off $15,000 of debt, there are a lot of good money trends going down. In fact, we've identified five new ways people all around us are saving: On their cell phones, their grocery bills, even their 700 (and counting!) cable channels.

Have you adopted these habits yet? We guarantee you'll be happier if you do.

We're getting rid of stupid cable channels
From 2001 to 2011, the average cable TV subscriber’s monthly bill has nearly tripled, from $48 to $128 per month. But we all know we're really only watching our favorite five channels, anyway—why should we pay for more?

The available solutions to this dilemma could save you $50 to $120 a month, depending on what you're willing to sacrifice.

The first option is a cable plan that gives you only channels you want. While larger cable providers, such as Time Warner, Verizon and Cablevision are still in the early stages of considering offering this kind of package, a company called Aereo has already put it into practice. Aereo created a remote antenna that provides service to channels such as CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC and more, for a maximum of only $80 a year. (For the record, despite cable protestations, two judges so far have ruled that the service is legal.)

Or, you could cut out cable altogether. Five million households now operate without cable services and are considered "Zero TV" households. That's only 5 percent of the U.S. population, but it's double the number that had in 2007. Their abstinence doesn't mean they're missing "Breaking Bad"—they're tuning in via Internet or cell phones, using sites such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon.

RELATED: Trim Your Bills With Free Cut Your Costs Bootcamp

We're over new cars
The number of new cars purchased by Americans ages 18-34 dropped 30 percent in the last five years. In fact, we're purchasing about four fewer cars in our lifetimes than we have in the past: While it had been an industry standard to buy a new car every four to five years, the average car on the road today is 11 years old.

Americans have steadily been driving less in this same time period, beginning before the recession, due to an aging population (older people drive less), the rise of ride- or car-sharing services like Zipcar or Zimride and the increase in Internet connectivity, so people can work and socialize without stepping foot—or gas pedal—outside.

Owning a car has only gotten more expensive in the past few years. A study by AAA found that this year, people who have a basic sedan—like a Toyota Camry or a Ford Fusion—can expect to pay $9,122 for its upkeep, which is up 2 percent from last year. While not everyone has access to the easy fixes that are public transportation or carpooling, there's a simple money-saving takeaway: Hold on to that car!

RELATED: Why I Would Never Buy a New Car

We're seeing through cell phone plans
Did you know that U.S. families spend an average of $139 a month on cell phones? That's $1,668 a year, and a creep up from the $127 per month we were spending in 2009.

It's not so much the calling and texting that's the problem: When we have data, we use it, and when we use too much, we pay. It costs $10-$30 per megabyte of data past our allowance. But now, we're starting to see through those confusing cell phone bills, and spending less on your phone has become downright trendy.

There are the tried-and-true tricks for reducing data usage, like disabling push notifications, using Wi-Fi instead of 3G and consolidating phone lines into a family plan (although that isn't the right fit for everyone). 

Then there's the really cool stuff: At SaveLoveGive.com, a free site started by a former Verizon employee, you plug in your phone number and the service analyzes where you're overspending. It's saved more than one user $1,000 a year, and the company estimates that 80 percent of us overspend on our cell phone bills by an average of $200 each year. How much could you save?

We're saving on food
Have you been spending less at restaurants? Most Americans are, according to a 2012 poll by Harris Interactive, which found that 71 percent of respondents choose to save money by cooking more rather than going out. A full 57 percent say they now consider dining out a luxury.

And how much can firing up the stove save you? The average restaurant meal costs about $12.28, while a home-cooked one will set you back $5.93—well under half the price of eating out. Taking into account that the average family dines out 4 to 5 times per week, that's about $2,554 per person in a year spent on eating out—in addition to grocery bills. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American family of four spends $610-$1,203 per month on grocery bills, the higher end of which maxes out to $14,436 per year.

It's not hard to see the cost savings of eating in—and there are ways to save even when you eat at home. Read about how one woman saved her family $600 a month on groceries, how another regularly reduced her bill by 50-70 percent, or take our free checklist: I Want to Cut My Grocery Bill.

RELATED: 8 Cheap and Easy Lunches You'll Look Forward To

We're saving more for retirement
An April survey from Fidelity Investments found that 42 percent of us have increased our contributions to our retirement accounts.

And that is reason to celebrate, considering that most Americans aren't socking away nearly enough. How can you get in on this savings trend? First, if you're not saving for retirement at all, our flow chart will show you what type of account(s) you need. If you are, but need to up the ante, try increasing your contributions by 2 percent every six months. Since your retirement savings are invested, and the interest compounds, a little increase now can lead to a big payoff later.

Need proof? Let's say you start saving $5,000 a year at age 30. With a 6 percent rate of return, you'll have $636,340.59 to retire at the age of 67. If you increased and sustained your contributions by 2 percent only once, after the first six months, you would have $649,067.41 at retirement—almost $13,000 more for a $100 increase early on.

RELATED: The Secret of Retirement Savings: You Can't Make Up for Lost Time

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The top cities where people were going online to hire a divorce lawyer were Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago.

As the real estate and employment markets improve, Americans are no longer stuck in houses they've outgrown or jobs they can't stand — and that's not the only baggage they're unloading.

The recovery seems to have sparked an increase in divorces. 

“There’s been an uptick in divorces in general going on over the last several months,” said Alton L. Abramowitz, a New York City divorce lawyer and president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. 

Why? Abramowitz attributed the recovery of the economy, particularly the stock market’s robust run. “People become more secure that they’ll be able to take care of themselves,” he said. “With that security comes the belief that we can have two households and support two households.” 

“Increased mobility — both personal and career —  acts as a pressure valve for backlogged marital discontent,” Richard Komaiko, co-founder of AttorneyFee.com, a site that lets users compare lawyers and how much they charge, said via e-mail. 

More disposable income does more than just provide people with confidence and mobility — it means they can pay for legal representation. 

“Marriages are always going downhill ... but it is expensive to file for divorce,” said Kelly Chang Rickert, a divorce lawyer in Los Angeles. “Now they can afford a good divorce lawyer.” 

After the recession took its toll on Nevada’s labor and housing markets, “People simply couldn’t afford it,” said Gary Silverman, a divorce lawyer in Reno. “They didn’t have enough money to pay lawyers, there was nothing to divide and there was no way to support children and former spouses.” 

Silverman said “pent-up demand” is behind the 25 to 50 percent increase he’s seen in business over the past year. 

Related: Are you having fewer kids, or none at all, because of finances?

Although Census data shows only a tiny rise in the number of people who identified as separated or divorced in between 2008 and 2012, data from legal websites indicates that recent months could mark the leading edge of a trend. 

Avvo.com, a site where people can search for legal advice and representation, saw an 80 percent increase in divorce-related questions asked by users from 2012 to 2013. In the first quarter of this year, divorce searches accounted for nearly 10 percent of traffic on Avvo. During the same time period last year, only 1 percent of searches were about divorce. 

Komaiko reported similar findings when he took monthly housing stats and net job creation and compared them to the number of divorce consultations his site facilitated in April. 

“There’s a remarkable correlation between the housing curve and the divorce curve,” he said. “Job creation also varies positively with divorce. However, the housing market appears to be a more reliable predictor.” 

People seem to want out of their marriages all over the country. On Avvo’s new legal marketplace platform, company spokeswoman Kari Day said the top cities where people were going online to hire a divorce lawyer were Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago. 

“Most divorces come down to money,” Silverman said. “When they feel there are enough resources, they don’t have to live with somebody they don’t want to.”

Have you decided to have fewer kids - or no kids at all - because of your personal financial situation or the economy in general?

If so, we want to hear from you for an upcoming story.

Please send us an e-mail telling us a little bit about yourself, including how old you are, your current family situation, what you do for a living and how your finances affected your decision about kids.

Don’t forget to include contact information so we can get in touch.

The "gender gap" in retirement savings may be explained, in part, by differing financial goals.

While the top financial priority for men is to "maintain lifestyle in retirement," for women, the number one goal is to "not become a financial burden to loved ones," according to a 2012-2013 study by Prudential. But putting family first can be a setback to accumulating savings. 

Like many women looking toward retirement, entrepreneur Lorin Palmer says figuring out how to juggle family and personal finances has been an important lesson for her to learn over the years. Palmer, a 56-year-old funeral home owner in Sumter, South Carolina, finds making final arrangements for other families is instructive, underscoring the importance of ramping up planning for her own financial future. 

VIDEO: Sharon Epperson reports on the obstacles many women face, and how it is never too late to ramp up savings to meet retirement goals

"I have learned that in this business just as families preplan, they come in and they make funeral arrangements and they pay for them in advance. Likewise that same principle applies with retirement planning," Palmer says.  

Palmer - the third generation in her family to own this funeral business - believes careful planning is critical not only for her own nest egg, but her son's financial future as well. 

But like many women, she says staying on track hasn't been easy. 

"I've been through a divorce. I've raised a son as a single parent. I have educated my son," she says. All of these milestones have taken a toll on her savings. Many more women face similar challenges. 

A recent study by the State Farm Center for Women and Financial Services at the American College found that about 64 percent of all women say that their family's needs are really impeding their ability to save for retirement and only 42 percent of women say they save a certain amount each month. 

Since women generally make less money than men, how much money they'll be able to save is affected by those factors as well. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Labor Department, white women earn about 81 cents for every dollar white men earn. Black women earn 67 percent of what white men earn and Latino women earn only 60 percent. 

Women also spend 12 years out of the workforce on average to care for their families, according to the American College study, further impacting their retirement savings. Caregiving for children and parents, possible layoffs, disability are all factors that can derail women's savings. 

"We have to take a look at the things that could happen that would prevent the retirement date that you want, health issues, divorce, losing a family member," says financial advisor Deborah Breedlove with Ameriprise Financial. However, considering these issues early and how they could impact finances can encourage some women to start to save more. Breedlove says using 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth accounts and diversifying investments within those portfolios can help many clients reach their intended goals. 

Palmer says she wishes she had saved more for retirement, but she realizes it's not too late. She believes she now has an effective plan in place. She is putting herself first, so she can leave a legacy for her son and her family.

Sharon Epperson is CNBC's personal finance correspondent.  

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Yoga pant makers are increasingly making pants for women who wear larger sizes.

Yoga is a weapon in the war on obesity, but it's also a fast-growing, $10 billion business. As its popularity expands in tandem with our collective waistline, analysts say there's a potentially lucrative market for clothing companies to outfit curvier bodies. 

In a country where roughly two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, medical experts and a growing community of health bloggers are suggesting that the answer might lie on a yoga mat. The number of yoga practitioners, which skews more than 80 percent female, jumped 29 percent in the past four years, according to a Yoga Journal study. It's become so mainstream that the White House even added yoga classes to its annual Easter egg roll last month. 

“There’s a huge target market” for plus-size activewear, said Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar. “It’s significant and it shouldn’t really be ignored because it’s getting bigger as a percentage of the total population.” 

Yoga Journal found that spending on classes, clothes and other items grew from $5.7 billion in 2008 to $10.3 billion last year. Research company IBISWorld estimates that consumers will spend $332 million on fitness apparel sold in specialty plus-size women’s clothing stores this year — which doesn't include purchases of plus-size clothes at brands that also sell standard sizes, like Gap Inc.'s Athleta brand. 

Analysts say it’s short-sighted for clothing companies to accept the stereotype that overweight people aren’t interested in fitness or exercise. A 2010 Gallup poll found that 53 percent of overweight people and 41 percent of obese people say these exercise three or more days per week. 

“I think there is something that can be found there... for people who want to be healthier,” Katz said. 

Despite the number of overweight people in the United States, though, plus-sized clothing in general has been what Alison Jatlow Levy, a retail strategist at consulting firm Kurt Salmon, calls an “underserved” market. When it comes to stretchy tank tops and yoga pants, that’s even more the case, she said. “Historically, that’s not where activewear has focused,” she said. 

It’s a chicken-or-egg conundrum for both brands and customers. Manufacturers don’t want to make a big bet on an unproven market, especially because are production challenges and higher costs that come with making larger sizes. 

But overweight women do want to be active — they just don’t have anything to wear, according to Deborah Christel, an assistant professor of design and merchandising at West Virginia University who wrote her doctoral dissertation on the women’s plus-size athletic clothing market. 

"There’s no clothing available for their figure they feel comfortable in,” she said. “I think plus size women aren’t engaging in exercise or going to the yoga studio because they don’t have the right clothes.” 

Athleta was a 10-year-old company when it was bought by Gap Inc. in 2008. At first an online-only outlet, Gap began opening Athleta brick-and-mortar stores two years ago — often within close proximity to stores of its top competitor, Lululemon Athletica. Although a small part of Gap’s empire, its size belies its potential impact on customer loyalty and sales, analysts say. 

Selling yoga wear in larger sizes can generate repeat business, if larger customers subsequently lose weight, as well as customer loyalty that might cross over to its growing stable of other brands. On its investor conference call in February, CEO Glenn Murphy indicated that Athleta was a gateway brand. “We're bringing new customers into the Gap Inc. portfolio and family of brands with Athleta,” he said. 

The Athleta brand includes yoga clothing in sizes up to 20. By contrast, Lululemon’s sizes top out at 12. 

“I think Lululemon needs to be concerned about Athleta,” said Jahnia Sandford, an analyst at Kantar Retail. “Activewear and yogawear is definitely an area for growth,” she said. Offering larger sizes show that a brand is “catering to that shopper’s specific needs and making it known you have these specific styles available to her."

Lululemon already faced a heightened threat from Athleta because of a manufacturing defect that affected 17 percent of its black bottoms. The pants, which cost roughly $100, were too sheer when customers put them on. 

“The lack of Lulu's core product in its stores and online could drive some customers to try competing brands,” CLSA analyst Barbara Wyckoff warned in a recent research note.

“Recent quality blunders and poor performance of new capsule collections have affected the company’s earnings results and hurt LULU’s brand equity,” she said. 

Although Athleta is considered Lululemon’s biggest competitor, there are a growing number of other brands where consumers can buy larger yoga gear. Gap’s Old Navy brand, for instance, sells moisture-wicking tank tops and stretchy yoga pants up through size 30. Nordstrom’s Zella brand offers some styles through size 24. Specialty plus-size stores Lane Bryant and Avenue also cater to the downward-dog crowd, along with boutique brands bolstered by word-of-mouth endorsements in the blogosphere. 

“I think it’s happening and it’s a trend but it will happen slowly and it’s still new,” Levy said.

Let’s be honest: Interest rates on savings and money market accounts are a joke right now. You’d be hard-pressed to find a financial institution offering even a one percent APY. That doesn't come close to keeping up with inflation. 

Internet banks continue to pay higher rates than traditional banks, according to a new report from MoneyRates.com. The yields at online banks are nothing to write home about, but they’re significantly better than what most brick-and-mortar banks offer.

“Not only are online bank rates on average about six times the level of traditional bank rates, but those two sets of rates are going in different directions,” said Richard Barrington, a senior financial analyst at MoneyRates. “Over the past six months, online bank rates have been rising while traditional bank rates have continued to fall.”

Here are the rates paid in the first quarter of 2013, according to the MoneyRates survey:

Average Savings Account (annual APY)
Traditional banks: 0.015 percent
Online banks: 0.630 percent

The best rates were at Ally Bank, American Express, Sallie Mae Bank, Discover Bank and GE Capital Retail Bank.

Average Money Market Account (annual APY)
Traditional banks: 0.154 percent
Online banks: 0.661 percent

The best rates were at Sallie Mae Bank, Ally Bank, GE Capital Retail Bank, EverBank and Nationwide Bank.

(Read the complete list of America’s Best Rates.)

Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, points out that if you’re not comparing what you earn on your traditional savings account with what you could make at an online bank, you could be leaving money on the table.

“Yes, returns are low everywhere, but so is inflation right now,” McBride said. “Squeezing out every little bit of return on your savings gives you the best shot at preserving the buying power of that savings."

Other advantages to online banks
A bank doesn’t need tellers and branches to deliver good customer service. Another new MoneyRate survey finds customers who bank online are slightly more satisfied with the service they receive than those who do not.

The satisfaction rate was 86 percent for online customers and 83.7 percent those who use a brick-and-mortar bank.

“We found that customers don’t seem to miss their bank tellers that much,” Barrington told me.

That’s because online banking is more accepted these days, Barrington explained. People feel comfortable using ATMs, computers and smart phones to interact with their bank. At the same time, banks have closed branches to cut costs. So, they’re not as conveniently located as they once were.

One more benefit: Surveys show online banks tend to have fewer fees and lower fees. That’s a big plus for many people in search of a new bank.

Is online banking for you?
Look at your own banking habits. If you visit your local bank a lot and like the personal interactions you have there, then you may want to stay put.

If you haven’t set foot inside a branch in ages because you do all of your banking online or through ATMs, you may want to look into online banking to boost your return, lower your fees or both.

The decision between a traditional bank and an online bank doesn't have to be all or nothing.

“You can still have your checking account at the local bank, but have your savings account at an online bank to get a better return,” explained Bankrate’s McBride. “Then link the accounts to easily move money back and forth with a couple clicks of a mouse.”

More Information:

NextAdvisor.com: Savings Account Calculator

Bankrate.com:  Highest Yield Money Market and Savings Accounts

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.  

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Women having babies in the United States are more educated than ever, a trend that has accelerated during the recession.

The recession has been bad for a lot of people, but one sector is benefiting: babies.

Women having babies in the United States are more educated than ever, a trend that has accelerated during the recession, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

In the three years after the recession started in 2007, there was a 17 percent decline in births among women who did not have a high school diploma. By 2011, only 14 percent of new moms lacked a high school diploma, according to the report released Friday.

As of 2011, 66 percent of mothers with infant children had at least some college education, compared with 18 percent in 1960.

“We have a short-term-trend that is an exaggeration of a long-term trend,” said Gretchen Livingston, a senior researcher at Pew and the lead author of the report.

That’s good news for the babies, the Pew report notes, because of other research that has made a strong link between maternal education levels and healthy birth weights, delivering at term, improved cognitive skills and higher academic achievement. 

“It is difficult to determine whether maternal education is causing some of these outcomes, or if it is serving as a proxy for some other causal factor (for example, economic well-being). What is irrefutable, though, is that on average the more education a woman has, the better off her children will be,” the report states.

The caveat to that element is that on the extreme end, older women tend to have higher health risks during late pregnancies, Livingston said. And while overall, women are having fewer babies since the recession started, the exception is women in their 40s, whose biological clocks leave fewer options to delay a pregnancy until the economy rebounds. Since 2008, birth rates are up 9 percent for women ages 40 to 44, according to the study.

“This short-term trend may be due to the fact that younger, less educated women have been particularly hard hit by the recession, and thus have delayed childbearing, the report states. “Or, it may be the case that younger women know that they have the time to ‘make-up’ childbearing when their prospects improve in the future, while the typical 40-year-old does not have that opportunity.”

The study also points out that the percentage of higher-educated mothers can be linked to the fact that the share of women with at least some college education has more than doubled since 1960 and has again stepped up since the recession started.

In recent years, the share of women ages 15 to 44 with less than a high school diploma declined by 5 percent and the share with only a high school diploma but no further education declined by 4 percent. During that time, the percentage of women of child-bearing age with a college degree increased by 6 percent while the women with at least some college education increased by 3 percent.

Almost everyone has a boss, and that person usually has the power to make your job a joy or a misery.

A story this week looking at how bosses can help – or hurt – their employees’ careers left many readers talking about how their bosses had done them wrong.

More than half of the nearly 6,000 readers who took our vote said their boss had hurt their career.

One common complaint: The boss who is just looking for a ‘yes’ man (or woman).

“If you disagree with mine at all, then you can forget going anywhere else. No bonuses, raises or promotions. All they want to hear is Yes,” one reader wrote.

Others complained that their bosses had undermined their success, or actively worked to get them fired or demoted.

“I had a boss that hid promotion opportunities from me, because I was so good at the job I was doing,” one reader wrote.

Many readers did praise their bosses for being strong, supportive leaders. But even those readers lamented that they had had bad bosses in the past.

“Currrent boss is a great person and has helped me get to where I want to be. Remember, no one is looking out for you but you,” one reader wrote.

Still, some readers noted that there are plenty of bad employees, too.

“How many of the respondents are incompetent or just plain poor employees but blame their boss? … While many do have bad bosses, there is also a lot of ‘it's not my fault’ going around. I fear it will only get worse with the way kids are raised today,” one reader wrote.

Ilyce Glink

It’s a seller’s market in many parts of the country right now. That’s a big change from the past six or seven years. With buyers competing for the same property, home prices are going up. It’s a good thing mortgage interest rates are at historic lows.

“If you want to get the home of your dreams, you need to be really serious,” advises real estate expert Ilyce Glink, author of the book Buy, Close, Move In. “You've got to get pre-approved, not pre-qualified for your purchase. You have to know what you want and how much you feel comfortable spending (it may be less than what the bank suggests). If you know what you want and how much you want to spend, and you've spent a lot of time in your neighborhood of choice, when the right property comes up, you can pounce.”

During a TODAY Money web chat on Wednesday, Glink, shared some great advice.

TODAY: What do you say to all of the people who still find themselves underwater? Will they ever get back to the plus side again and have some equity in their home?

Ilyce Glink: We're seeing tens of thousands of Americans get back to positive equity every month, as home prices rise. In some places, like Georgia, about 40 percent of all homeowners are underwater. But the national average is now 20 to 23 percent.

Those who bought in 2005 to 2007 might not go positive for the next 10 years, if they were in the hardest hit areas, but most other people will or they will do short sales and have the debt be forgiven.

We will get most of America right-side up again and probably by 2015.

TODAY: What’s the biggest mistake buyers make?

Ilyce Glink: Buyers often make the mistake of buying in the wrong location. The think they can live somewhere, but don't really take the time to thoroughly investigate the neighborhood. They don't walk by the school or visit local stores or dining establishments.

They might check out the school district for the age their kids are today, but not the schools they'd go into 5 years from now.

And, speaking of the future, buyers often forget that they're supposed to live in this house for 5 to 10 years – they think they'll flip it in 24 months and triple their money. NOT!

TODAY: And what’s the biggest mistake sellers make?

Ilyce Glink: Most folks think that their home is worth much more than it is – even if it is in great shape. It can really get in the way of selling your home.

When I tell people that homes values are rolled back to where they were in 2003, a full 10 years ago, they don't fully comprehend what that means. But think back. Your home was probably worth 20% less than it is today – or even less.

Read the rest of the Q & A below:

Crushing student debt is not only killing dreams, it’s hurting the broader economy.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is warning of the “potential domino effects” to the economy of high student debt.  A just-released report from the consumer watchdog highlights the ways this debt can deplete savings, limit spending, and shape choices about a graduate’s career path and where to live.

“College can open up many opportunities, and we do not want that college degree to become more of a burden than a blessing for those saddled with unmanageable debt in a tough employment market,” said CFPB director Richard Cordray in a statement. “So we are concerned that unmanageable student loan debt may be harmful to recovering consumer markets and may be dragging down borrowers’ lives.”

The average amount of student loan debt for the Class of 2011 was $26,600, a 5 percent increase from approximately $25,350 in 2010, according to The Project on Student Debt.

In February, the consumer bureau asked for suggestions on ways to encourage affordable repayment options for those with existing student loans.  It received more than 28,000 comments from borrowers, lenders, businesses and government officials.

An analysis of these comments found several major areas of concern.

• Housing: Student debt may reduce home ownership by limiting the borrower’s ability to qualify for a mortgage or even save for a down payment. This is troubling because first-time home ownership stimulates the economy and makes it possible for existing homeowners to “move-up” to another house.
• Small Business Development: Outstanding student loans can limit a graduate’s ability to save enough capital to start a small business or access small business loans.
•  Retirement Savings: Student loan payments can divert cash from retirement savings. The CFPB cites recent research that shows only half the workers under age 30 have enrolled in their employer’s 401(k) plan and barely 40 percent contribute enough to receive a full employer match. Graduates may need to rely on their parents, who are nearing retirement age, to help pay their debt.

Rohit Chopra, the CFPB’s student loan ombudsman, told NBC News the comments show student loan debt is having a negative effect on how millions of people live their lives.

“Many borrowers expected their college education to be a vehicle to a better life,” Chopra said. “College graduates do earn more money than those who do not have a college degree, but for those with heavy levels of student loan debt it might mean a more difficult time buying a car, simply to get to work. If their credit is hurt, it might mean they won’t pass employment verification checks to get that job in the first place.”

Hopefully, things will get better as the economy recovers and graduates are able to get better-paying jobs that let them pay off debt. But right now, Chopra said, “many borrowers, particular those with private student loans, are struggling.”

So what can be done about this?
The report outlines a number of options suggested in the public comments. Some are market-based solutions; others would require a public policy change. Here are a few of the possibilities:

•  Create refinance options for those who pay on time: Borrowers who graduate, find a job and make their payments on time will typically pay back their loan in full. And yet, they may not be able to refinance their high-rate private student loans with a lower rate that reflects their lower risk to the lender. With some type of “refi relief” these borrowers could potentially save thousands of dollars.

• Help for those in distress: There aren’t many options for borrowers who are trapped in private loans and unable to make the payments. Last year, the CFPB reported that lenders and loan servicers are often unwilling to negotiate affordable terms. The proposed “road to recovery” program would be a negotiable, transparent, step-by-step process where the lender lowers monthly payments to match a reasonable debt-to-income ratio. 

• A fresh start for those who default:  What if lenders worked with these borrowers to design a payment plan that would let them get out of default and repair their credit?  This “clean slate” payment option could have a ripple effect; making it possible for borrowers who default to get a good job and get back on their feet.

At a public hearing in Miami Wednesday night, CFPB director Cordray said the future of this country is linked to the growing burden of student loan debt

“What is at stake is whether some of our most motivated and ambitious citizens – who have the talent to make something of themselves, and lack only the means – will be able to rise and form part of the future leadership of this nation,” Cordray said in prepared remarks. “If instead their hopes and dreams are diverted, discouraged, and defeated by the crushing burdens of a debt that ruins their prospects, we all will be poorer as a result. So this problem should be sounding an alarm bell for all Americans.”

You can read the complete report  or get a factsheet on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website.

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.