tear apart the euro currency. in washington, where the super committee was a super failure. and in our own bank accounts, where incomes are falling, and americans are dipping into their savings to pay the bills. yet everywhere, you're being cheerleaded to spend money, lots of money for the holidays. $704. the national retail federation projects that's how much you'll spend over the holidays, and consumers are more than halfway there. where is all of that money coming from, and have we learned nothing? rick newman is the chief business correspondent for u.s. news. rick, they're trying to tell us to party like it's 2005. the contradiction between what's happening in washington and in europe, and then what america is trying to do for the holidays is pretty stark. >> you know, you see these numbers about how much money people are spending for the holidays and it reminds you back when people suddenly had expensive cars in their driveway, boats, fancy vacations. you wonder, how are they affording this? and we seem to be back in that situation. real income after inflation has been flat for the last year, maybe even down a tiny bit. but spending is up. so where is that money coming from? >> so you are making less money. >> that's right. >> we know our savings rate is also going down a little bit. so that's telling us that to afford the holidays, people have to either spend money they don't have, or they have to spend what savings they do. >> they're saving less, and probably, we don't have the data yet, but people are probably going back to credit cards, they're probably borrowing more from banks and putting purchases on their credit cards to make themselves feel a little better for the holidays and spend a little bit more than they have in the last couple years. >> more than a few retail analysts in the last couple weeks tell me they expect to see credit card delinquencies kick up. we asked the money coach.com. it's interesting, because a bankrate.com poll found that 42% of americans intend to spend less this holiday season. yet we're told by the retail industry, record sales, record sales. so if people say they're going to spend more but they intend to spend less, what are people doing? >> i think people do get out there and spend more than they actually anticipated. it's a lot of data to show that there's a disconnect between what people say they're going to do and what they actually do. even when people say i intend to pay off my credit card balances, for instance, they typically don't pay them off. that's why we've got about 15 million people right now in 2011 who haven't paid off their holiday shopping bills from 2010. so, you know -- >> and they're expected to spend another $704 this year. >> exactly. adding to the credit card debt. >> another thing that could be going on here, holiday shopping patterns are changing. we know that now -- now people are shopping on thanksgiving evening, the discounts are deeper than ever. so definitely people are doing more online shopping. it is possible that people are shopping more earlier, which means we could see a drop-off later in the season. >> and they're also shopping for themselves. npd group said that of those purchases on thanksgiving and the day after thanksgiving, 44% were for themselves, not for gifts. so it's pent-up demand. >> fatigue. you hear this all of the time. we're sick of frugal living and we're going to live it up a little bit. >> here is a big mac row issue here, though. what led to the financial crisis that hurt all of us, right, was the fact that americans spent too much money and saved too little. that americans bought too many things with borrowed dollars that were imported. and that's what the entire world is telling us to do right now. have we learned nothing? >> that's a good question. some economists will tell you that the savings rate needs to be about 10%, at least. and it would be prudent to save more. savings rate right now has fallen back below 4%, people are not saving enough to prepare for retirement, to do the long-term planning. i mean, they might be sick of hearing it from scolds like us. >> the grinch -- >> i want to go out and buy some stuff. >> you're turning off your tv, i want a big tv, why is she telling me not to buy one. i'm saying if you have the money to buy a tv and you have a good deal, go for it. but you have to be smart about it, lynnette and know what you can afford. >> absolutely. and the shocking thing, so many people aren't being smart about their spending. because 70% of all americans aren't operating with a bemidji-walkbudget in general. one out of three are setting a budget for the holiday specifically, but the rest aren't. so that really isn't a prudent way to go about spending. and as you mentioned, people get out there and spend not just for family and friends, but for themselves, because they go, oh, i deserve it. look at how hard i've worked this year. or this is so cute. and those impulse purchases seduce them and then they start whipping out the credit cards. >> it all makes us unhappy. there was a consumer reports study i want to show you that was fascinating this week. it found like 35 million people actually dread the holidays. the flip side of that is that 275 million people love it. but look at this. this is what they dread. they dread waiting in it line in crowds. they dread putting on weight. they dread getting into debt. and they dread holiday shopping. these are all hallmarks of overconsumption. >> but spend money anyway. >> exactly. >> they spend more money to make them feel better. >> and say i'm just not doing it this year. >> the cycle continues. >> all right, lynnette and rick newman, thank you, guys. what age is appropriate to give a child an ipad for christmas? 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[ male announcer ] it has an hd webcam, killer audio, and lids that switch to start every semester fresh. but mostly it helps me try new moves on and off the court. ♪ [ male announcer ] powered by the 2nd gen intel core i5 processor: not just smart, visibly smart. for a limited time purchase select dell pc's and receive our holiday photo solution. our gift to you. so what did you really want as a kid? maybe a radio flyer wagon, a barbie dream house, atari game? that's so dated. what do kids today want most for the holiday? an ipad, according to research from nielsen. it's a big-ticket tech item that raises lots of questions about how much technology is appropriate for kids and at what age. and we asked you, what age is appropriate for a child to get an ipad at philly wattski tweeted, first ask, can i afford it then give it to them one year after they stop throwing things on the floor. that would be about 4 years old. and i am republican at 79 who apparently is a republican says when they're old enough to pay for it themselves with money they earned by working. okay, that's not about 4 years old. and ronald brandt also facebooked, my wife teaches 3-year-olds, and she uses them in class. i'm joined now by sal ckahn, founder of the kahn. sal, your business is about linking technology in the classroom. is there a limit to how much technology a child should be exposed to? >> yeah, there's a limit to how much of anything a child should be exposed to. even reading a book is a great thing. but if a child sits and reads a book for 12 hours a day and doesn't play with peers, it's an issue. and you have the same thing with technology. >> what do you think about the age for an ipad? somebody who wants to know what is an appropriate age for a child for christmas, assuming you don't put it on a credit card and can pay it off, those are our big rules, what is an appropriate age? >> it's important to make sure kids don't expect big-ticket items and really appreciate it. but we had a friend who got an ipad for their 2-year-old and we thought they were spoiling them and it was an inappropriate gift and a couple years ago i got an ipad and my 18-year-old took it over. overall, i think it's a pretty impressive thing for them. i think historically, an 18-month-old or 2-year-old couldn't take control over what they wanted to see or do. but things like ipads and tablet devices, they're able to manipulate them. and he's now almost 3 and he's installing apps. it's pretty neat. >> but i'll tell you, a little kid, even a 2 or 3-year-old can use their remote control on the tv, doesn't mean they should be sitting in front of it more. lz, all of the technological advancement, may be setting our kids up backwards. think about this. 8 years and younger, spending two-and-a-half hours in front of some kind of screen every day, 30 minutes reading a book. that's up a full hour in front of a screen from 2005. is that good? >> i feel it depends upon what exactly is the purpose of having that child in front of a screen. now, if the screen is a babysitter, then no, that isn't good. but if approximate you have a child in front of a television and they're watching child-friendly documentaries or learning different skill sets from applications, then i don't necessarily see a problem with that. i agree with the first guest. everything is about moderation. it's not good for adults to do things 12 hours a day consistently like that. so the real question is, why are these kids in front of the screen as opposed to the screen itself? >> it is everything in moderation, as sal said. peter, i want to bring you in. it's interesting. i was going through speech therapy, a little bit of speech therapy with one of my sons. and one of the therapists said children don't learn from a television and they don't learn from a cartoon. children learn by looking at your mouth and your eyes and looking at your face. and this is what is so important early on. and also, there's another study, somebody who found that those baby einstein dvds -- >> don't work. >> he said it's lapse, not apps. >> sal kahn would be the expert to tell us how kids learn, but when is the right age for somebody to get an ipad or tablet? i would say 60, because we need to worry about our senior citizens learning technology. but obviously we're talking about kids. no age is too young. as sal said, i'm in the same boat. i got an ipad, my kids took it over. you know what, the screens roll is one we have in our house. how long are you in front of screens? you know what you can do on these tablets now? you can play a guitar, you can read a book, you can watch a documentary. everything in moderation. when is it too early to learn an instrument, read, this is a new form of literacy that our young people are learning technology. but it's moderation. there's two things you cannot replace with technology, in my opinion. that is socialization and physical activity. you've got to make sure we have this physical contact that we see actual other kids, and that you exercise. >> and sal, that means parents have to be even more involved then. that means parents have to be involved at a whole new level to kind of an institutionalized technological state that none of us have. i mean, we didn't grow up with this. we grew up with a phone, with a cord and a dial. and so they're in a whole different realm. >> speak for yourself. i was the touch tone, first generation. >> you were not. really? >> no. >> what do you think, sal? >> no, absolutely. but this has always been an issue. 100 years ago, parents had to keep track of what their kids were reading. our parents had to keep track of what they were watching. and we have to keep track of what our kids run into on youtube or what apps they're downloading or constructive things on a computer or less constructive things. >> yeah, it's just like when they used to hide the buggy whip so you couldn't take the horses and wagon out, right, lz? >> absolutely. you know, and i actually use -- my son has had an iphone since he was 8. and my initial reasons for doing that, because i wanted him to be able to get ahold of me whenever he could. but as he started downloading educational ass apps, i tell you, i was made i made that purchase. he is able to use google maps and is now comfortable in cities and places he has never been in and i attribute that to him using an iphone at a young age. so i'm pro technology. i think it's about the content and intent and not the technology itself. >> thanks, guys. stick around. forget chinese, spanish or frerve french. if you want to thrive in a changing job market, you have to be fluent in an entirely new language. next. what's this? 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[ electronic beeping ] [ male announcer ] still getting dandruff? neutrogena® t/gel shampoo defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®. behind every website, every app, every computer program, we use code. it's a universal language, and if you want to have an edge in today's jobs market, it's a language you can't afford not to speak. that's where code-academy comes in, it's a start-up company that offers to teach people basic programming skills through interactive lessons. money.com's laurie segall caught up with one of its founders. >> coding is going to be the literacy of the 21st century. the same way there are architects and construction workers, you'll need a lot of construction workers who are sort of making software real as opposed to designing the software. so i think you know, you'll need a lot more of those in the future as everything moves towards software and the web and mobile. >> and writing code isn't just for the zuckerbergs of the world, let's bring our panel back in. lz, is the new, i don't know, new chinese? in the '80s, everyone wanted their kids to learn japanese and they didn't need that in the end. and then they said chinese. maybe now it's code. >> absolutely not. i'm actually offended by that very question. and i tell you why. you know, we're getting so close to the point at which college is becoming a job-creating factory and we're forgetting about the liberal arts aspect and the purpose is also to be an educated person. when i think of languages such as french and italian and spanish, i'm thinking of languages that also incorporate cuisine and history and people. an opportunity to become more global, if you will. when i think of code, i think of technical school, which is fantastic, if your purpose is to get a job. but it doesn't really help you with the other aspects of what i think is important of having a liberal arts education. >> i tell you, i think code is something that should be more interwoven in the reb public education system, and maybe it should be like reading, writing, arithmetic and code. pete, you say your brother owns you, owns you, because he's the one who coded your website. >> that's right. he could put my head on anybody's body and i couldn't change it. he could hold me hostage. >> and he did that just now. >> yes, go to my website. i disagree with lz being so vehemently offended. again, moderation. again, this is the new language, and it's like math. everybody speaks the same math. we all speak the same different -- there's lots of different codes. in canada, electronic arts, the video game video game company took out an ad on a billboard, we're hiring. they wrote it in code so only programmers would be able to understand it. the people, the kids that we call nerds in front of computers that are learning code at a young age now, they are going to be those who inherit the planet that we will all be working for. i don't think anytime is too early to start -- >> somebody told me nerd is the four letter acronym for bill heir. >> yes. >> sad, some something that employers are now looking for on resumes? >> yeah. and it's well beyond just a narrow technical skill. when you think of someone coding or programming or software engineering, i think of a tremendously creative skill and a analytical skill. someone who capable of writing a piece of software, starting from a blank slate, that's the type of skill you'll want in probably every high order job out there. >> i would argue personally as a french major that code could be alongside those other liberal arts majors. lz. >> that's an important part. it's about interest level. you can also go and learn everything from combustible engines and i think it's important not to equate being educated with being job ready. because i think they're two different things. >> but if you want to promote that engine you just made, you'll need to know how to promote code to put it on the website. >> but if you want to talk to people to sell the engine, you have to be able to talk in english. >> we can go back and forth. >> let's take it outside, guys. you want to give gifts, but you want your money so count and you might not have a lot of money to spend. the etiquette of gift giving when the money is tight, that's next. 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[ electronic beeping ] [ male announcer ] still getting dandruff? neutrogena® t/gel shampoo defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®. what kind of gift to you give your kids' teacher inspect how do you tell your aunt, hey, i love those sweaters every year, but this year i could use a gift card. here is sara, xb edtory of real life magazine. classrooms are having a tough time. what do you give a teacher? and do you try to find that class mom or dad who is organizing the group gift? >> that i think is happening a lot these days. they're organizing a group gift or a group donation of cash. i think a lot of times now, if you can donate this much money for the teacher for the holidays, that would be great. if that's the case, i would go ahead with that. some schools don't have that policy or won't let you do that. maybe you want to give something thoughtful, but small. it can be a modest gift, a gift card. it's free. >> a lot of times people don't use gift cards. but if you're a teacher, maybe you're much more likely to use it because you know they're coming in the front door. what, $10? $15? >> $20 is plenty, $25. >> $20 or $25. yeah. something where you can actually buy something. these days, $10 won't get you very much nowadays. >> should you be the class parent that pulls in -- >> you're you aggregating your pottery barn gift cards into one, it's a nice idea. >> if you're going to a holiday party, let's talk about the etiquette of that, sarah. you say no flowers. they're more work for the host and when it comes to coworkers, it can be awkward. >> right. so when you go to a holiday party at a friend's house or whatever, you don't want to bring flowers, they'll have to put them in water and run around. you also maybe don't want to do the bottle of wine. split the difference. go with a potted plant. it's nice and will brighten her day the next day, but she can set it down. and a pot would be really pretty and a nice way to brighten her day. >> that's a really good idea. something everyone wants more of is cash, of course. asking for cash is a little difficult, a little tricky. and giving cash can be tricky, too. there are some people in that family that find that incredibly gosh i think would be the word. >> gosh. however, cash is a great gift. i would love cash. it's just the way you present it. it's all about the packaging. take your checkbook and take a stack of blank holiday gift cards, wherever you go for the holidays. if you indeed forget to buy a gift for someone, it's all about the nice noed note you enclose the check with. something like i want to give you this money to do something you really want to do. it's all about the nice personal note. >> can you regift gift cards that someone gave you last year that are still in your purse? >> i don't see why not. a lot of gift cards go unspent. how many millions and billions of dollars -- >> a quarter of them are never spent. when you give a gift card, you're for sure giving a gift to the retailer and almost always people have to spend more than the value of the card to get something. so you're asking them to spend their own money. >> absolutely. regifting is okay when you know the person you're giving the gift to will actually use it let's talk about the baby-sitter, doorman, mailman, how much tipping do you have to give? times are tough for you and for that person, also. >> different mail carriers have different policies. the u.s. postal service allows a gift up to $20. >> it saps says apt.super. i'm thinking when i didn't live on the east coast, i would never know what that meant. >> the super is about $20 to $100. if they've cleared a clogged drain for you, do $100. you want him to be on your side. with the mail carrier, fedex, a gift or monetary value. u.p.s. doesn't have a policy. >> let me ask you about the baby-sitter. a cash or gift equivalent of one on to night's day. if your kids are in day care, are you expected to give a gift? >> i don't think so. but i think a nice gesture is good. even something from the kids, a nice holiday card made by the kids, something to show your appreciation. >> let's keep the conversation going online. what are your gift giving rules or holiday budget tips or really important trick toes stay out of debt? find us on facebook or twitter. i want to read some of these comments last week. follow me on twitter and give