Wal-Mart's $4 prescription drug plan comes to Georgia

In a bit of good news for cash-strapped Georgians, Wal-Mart announced last week that it had expanded its $4 generic prescription drug program to 12 additional states, including Georgia.

Considering the company just started up the program in September, in one state, the $4 prescription plan is now being offered in 27 states for more than 140 different generic drugs.

From a retail point of view, it's pretty interesting that almost none of Wal-Mart's competitors have gotten on the bandwagon. Walgreens and CVS said they won't match the prices. Kmart said it is sticking with its prescription plan, which is $15 for a 3-month supply of certain generic drugs. Only Target has said it will cut prices to match Wal-Mart, as the program is rolled out nationwide.

I really thought it would be more like airline pricing – one airline cuts prices and everyone else matches those prices. We'll have to see what happens as the program goes nationwide.

A lot of consumers want to buy second and third homes

Last year nearly 40 percent of all homes sold were either second homes or rental properties, and the pace of second homes sold was nearly double what has been in years past.

Clearly people want to buy second homes. And what's increasingly clear is that lifestyle amenities are driving those second and third home purchase decisions.

In a new survey of Architectural Digest subscribers, three-quarters of those surveyed want to buy property on some body of water. Nearly half want to buy something on a golf course or near aquatic activities. A third want an in-home fitness center and a media room or home theatre, and 28 percent want property on or near ski slopes.

Surprisingly, just 5 percent of those surveyed want a pool in the backyard, which really surprised me. I thought everyone, including those Architectural Digest subscribers, envisioned a weekend retreat with a private swimming pool.

Maybe it's because all their other homes already have one.

American's Debt Rate Going Up, Savings Rate Going Down

If you want to know what's really going on with the economy, here are two numbers to watch: How much do we owe, and how much we save.

Unfortunately, on both counts, Americans are coming up a little short.

We're still piling on the debt, both in the total dollar figure and relative to our income. The good news is that while the average credit card balance is more than $12,000, for those who carry a balance, we're still keeping up with our monthly payments and still borrowing, according to Standard & Poors.

On the other hand, we're not saving anything. The household savings rate has been negative for five consecutive quarters.

Why aren't we saving anything? Just take a look at the rising cost of energy, higher costs at the pump and rising interest rates.

While most of us will manage to muddle through okay, foreclosures and late mortgage payments are rising.

Pace of Home Improvements Beginning To Lag

Although the real estate market definitely slowed in some areas, and average home prices have dropped, homeowners have continued to spend big bucks renovating and improving their homes.

But the pace of home improvements has started to lag a bit.

The amount of money homeowners are spending on home improvements and repairs grew only by 1.6 percent over the last quarter, according to the Remodeling Activity Indicator, a formula developed by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies,

Don't get me wrong – homeowners are still spending more than $160 billion, which is a whole lot of cash. But the remodeling industry isn't growing as fast as YouTube.

The good news for homeowners who do have cash to spend is that the slowdown is projected to continue over the next few quarters. That means quality contractors, painters, drywallers, and carpenters should have more time on their hands – and may even lower their prices.

Home Staging Helps Home Sellers Sell Faster

The latest figures show that nearly 4 million homes are listed for sale right now. If you want to sell your home, you've got to do something to help your property stand out from the crowd.

Home staging is the latest thing agents are pushing to help get the job done. Home staging means someone comes in, cleans out the whole house, moves around your furniture or even rents furniture in order to create a picture perfect environment for a future buyer.

Developers who build and furnish model homes "stage" them for buyers. It helps buyers understand what it would be like to live there – if you had a high priced designer taking care of all the details.

Does staging work? You'll pay anywhere from $1,800 on up to stage your home, plus the rental cost of furnishings. But according to a new Coldwell Banker survey, home buyers who staged their homes sold them faster and for more money than non-staged homes.