>> this is "on the money." your life, your future. >> we begin with the cost of college. most graduating high school seniors have picked the school they'll attend this fall. but paying for that education can be a tough lesson in and of itself. that's this week's cover story. the price of admission. the cost of higher education keeps getting higher. the average tuition alone at a private university exceeds $33,000 a year. and one year's tuition at a public college is nearly $10,000. and that's not even counting room and board which adds another $10,000 to $12,000 per year no matter what school you choose. tuition and fees have gone up faster than health care costs, new homes and overall inflation. >> college is a mandatory step if you really want to be a success. >> new york governor andrew cuomo this year launched a program providing free public school tuition for middle class families. just two other states, tennessee and oregon, have similar scholarship programs. according at a time college board, two-thirds of students get college aid or scholarship that's don't have to be repaid. the average grant is $8,500. but that covers just part of the cost. student loan debt is rising faster than credit card and auto loan debt, and it sticks with you for life even if you declare bankruptcy. along with the diploma, seven in ten college grads will start their job hunt carrying an average debt of $40,000. raise me is a startup that allows high school students to earn cash in college. an "a" in class can earn a micro-scholarship to be used at more than 225 colleges and universities. preston silverman is president and ceo of raise.me. great to see you today. >> hi, contessa. >> tell me with these micro scholarships and what kinds of activities are rewarded, how much do students earn? >> raise.me, students can earn micro scholarships toward college as early as ninth grade. for all the types of things that are ultimately going to help set them up for success with college and their career. it can be anything from getting good grades in their classes to taking on leadership roles in clubs or sports, leading community service projects or even taking a financial literacy course. as you mentioned, these micro-scholarships can be earned from over 225 different colleges and universities across the country today. and students are earning as much as $80 80,000 towards college on the platform. >> many of those are very selective, upper-echelon schools. why are they doing it? why are they involved? what is in it for the universities? >> raise me gives them opportunities to start engaging students earlier in high school so they can build a relationship with students as they go throughout college and let students know about them before they've solidified their decisions about whether or where to apply to college. the second is that they can incentivize the types of behaviors that they've seen set students up for success so that they'll be more likely to be admitted to their college or university. they'll be more likely to be successful once they get there. they'll need less remediation and more likely to graduate on time with less debt. the third reason is that many schools are looking to increase their diversity on campus, and we have a very diverse population of students that we're serving, and so raise.me gives them an opportunity to do that as well. >> is there something inherently wrong with paying for grades? >> that's a good question and it is something we looked deeply at as we were starting raise.me. and there's a great body of research that shows that performance-based aid, which is essentially what raise.me is, not only increases academic outcomes over time but it also doesn't do anything to diminish students' intrinsic motivation towards learning. that's what we've seen from the platform. >> the site is free for students. what happens if they decide not to go to college or they drop out? what happens to the money they accrued? >> yes, the site is completely free for students, and if they don't end up using the scholarships they've earned, it goes back into the pool for other students. >> and one last question. this is a for-profit venture for you. how do you make money? >> yes, when we started raise.me, we thought about it a lot. should it be for profit? should it an nonprofit? ultimately we're building technology and we want that to be scaleable and we want it to be sustainable over the long run so we've incorporated a for-profit corporation. and although it is completely free for students and for high schools that want to introduce the program to their students, we're charging the colleges and universities to facilitate their program. so we charge them an annual fee. and that keeps the program going. >> it's a fascinating concept. i wish you the best of luck. preston, thank you. >> thank you very much. very nice to be here. about 150,000 students graduate from nursing programs each year but it is not enough. there is a growing shortage of nurses. especially in rural areas. kate rodgers talked to a student in baltimore looking to advance her degree and her career. >> as a child, jasmine wanted to become an accountant. but a love of science took her down a different path, nursing. >> i find nursing is a great way of doing science while also helping people. >> she is advancing her career as a nurse practitioner at university of montana, hoping to be placed in a rural hospital like the one where she is currently training on the eastern shore of the state. >> i enjoy the patients there. a lot of them haven't sought care in a couple years because they don't know how important it is for their diet and nutrition to go see a doctor. >> maryland is expected to have a shortage of around 10,000 nurses in the years to come and the university is doing its part to bridge the gap. >> our enrollment is up. we feel a personal responsibility to make sure that maryland has enough registered nurses and professional nurses in order to meet the care needs of the residents of maryland. >> although she is still in school, she feels that same responsibility. >> at the end of the day, i go home, i might have had a hard day and not sat down, not eaten lunch. but i can look back on my way and say, i made a difference. >> salaries can vary widely if from the industry, $45,000 on the low end, up to $150,000 annually, depending on your degree and your location. but the job requires years of studying and lots of stamina in the work force. you can see these nursing students hard at work here in the simulation lab at the university of maryland school of nursing. back over to you. up next, we're on the money. a multimillion-dollar industry that is regulating itself. what's really in the food you're feeding your pets? and later, busting the retirement myth. we'll separate fact from fiction so you'll be financially fit to that i can that leap. now a look at how the stock market ended the week. here's a look at what's making news as we head into a new week "on the money." strong signs of a strong job market for the month of april. the economy created 211,000 new jobs last month, which was above expectations. and way better than march's 79,000. the unemployment rate fell to 4.4%, the lowest since may 2007. hiring was strong in leisure and hospitality and health care. average hourly earnings rose .3% and that sent stocks higher in early trading after a record-setting week for the nasdaq. the s&p 500 climbed early on friday as well though the dow lagged. stocks were higher at the close. the federal reserve's open market committee met this week and as expected it did nothing. leaving interest rates unchanged. the fed meets again next month and is widely expected to raise rates then. and for the first time ever, more than half of american households just have cell phone service and no land line. the government study found about 40% have both land lines and cell phones. no surprise, renters and younger adults are more likely to have just a cell phone. we love our pets. we would do anything for them including trying to buy the best food. but experts say behind those images of steak and chicken on the label are deceiving and potentially unsafe practices. in the $26 billion pet food industry. andrea day has a story of a woman fighting for decades to change the pet food industry. >> pet food isn't food. pet food is feed. >> that's right. the companies that make dog and cat food follow same regulations used for animal feed. susan has been fighting to change that for 25 years after her dog died from bone cancer. >> a tumor bombed up on her almost overnight. >> her vet linked it to a chemical preservative in her dog food. that preservative is still okayed by the fda and there's more. >> who would think that fda allows a dead animal that laid in the field for three days to be recycled into pet food? >> the fda permits meat from animals that died without being slaughtered. according to the pet food manufacturer's trade group, safety is the top priority. >> they don't use nonslaughtered meat. >> just this year, two brands of canned dog food were pulled after a dog died from ingesting a drug used to euthanize animals. evangers, the company behind the food, is now suing a supplier saying what they thought was beef was horse meat. they tell us, we will never purchase from this beef supplier ever again. we immediately initiated even more new testing methods and are testing every single beef product before being shipped." joe is a leading pet nutritionist at cornell university. >> it's left up to the consumer to know that it's safe. >> the fda does regulate pet food but lets a private organization set the standards for ingredients and labeling. aafco has zero regulatory authority and keeps its rules about feed and ingredients private unless you pay for a copy. and right now, there are few safeguards in place for things like the commonly used ingredient "meat meal." >> you have to call the company and say, is your meat meal coming from a renderer? or actually coming from a usda-certified facility? those are the things we don't really know. >> reporter: according to aafco, if meat comes from a renderer or leftover plant it's typically identified as "meal." the fda tells us there's no required testing of products by pet food manufacturers. so who's minding the store? according to the fda, manufacturers are responsible for taking appropriate steps to ensure the food they produce is safe for consumption and properly labeled. >> they can't really tell you exactly what they're doing, then you probably should be looking for another pet food company. >> to that end, his best advice is to call the company and ask point blank. what are you doing before and after production to make sure the ingredients are safe? where are they sourced from? what are you testing for? get those answers before you buy the food. for "on the money" i'm andrea day. >> this is changing my entire outlook on dog food. experts also recommend that you buy pet food labeled "human grade," which meets the same standards as the food that we eat. some consumers make their own pet food. but it's critical that you ask your vet, make sure it meets the nutritional guidelines, which can be complex for cats and dogs. companies also sell vitamins tailored to your pets' needs. up next, we or are "on the money." are you saving enough for retirement? we will shatter some money myth that's could throw a wrench into your savings plan. and later, cutting out the middle man, cutting prices and cutting stone. they all go together. this mothers day. if you want to stay on top of your health, one simple thing to do -- is take the pledge to go and get screened for the cancers that might affect you. so stand up to cancer and take the pledge at getscreenednow.org it only takes a minute to take care of yourself, and nothing rhymes with "org"... it's never too early to start planning your retirement. but there's lots of misinformation out there. ameriprise financial has come up with the top financial retirement admits and how to avoid them, most importantly. joining me now, katie coleman, a financial adviser. one of the things we've heard, a million dollars. you need a million dollars to retire. what's your take on that? >> my take is it's never just that easy. what you need to know, the most important number to achieve your retirement goal is making sure you know what your expenses are. your expenses and what you'll spend in retirement will drive how much you need to have available for you. >> a lot of times people will say, i'm going to need less money. that may not be true. >> no. actually what we find is in the early years of retirement, people actually spend more. because you have more time. when you have time, you spend money. >> are people relying too much on medicare? >> well, while medicare may be good for you for trips to the doctor or not only that, but for hospitalization, it won't cover long-term care needs. >> what i mean by, we refer to it as extended care needs. if you need nursing home facilities, assisted living, or home care. that won't be covered. by your medicare plan. >> the other part of that is social security. it's something that we have seen taken out of our paychecks for decades. >> forever, it feels like. >> and then we wonder, can i count on this? will it really be there? >> right. so while they made some adjustments to social security in the '80s which was trying to help the longevity of it, the long-term viability, what we have to focus on is while social security may be a piece of your retirement income, it won't cover all of your expenses. so when planning, you have to have other income sources available to you to supplement your needs. >> and i've heard my own parents say, i'll just keep working. is that a viable plan for post 65 to 85 years old? >> so when we are planning for retirement, the important thing to remember is a lot of early retirement. 50% of people are forced to retire early because of disability or illness. you need to plan for a normal retirement age and then it will be an added benefit if you can work later on. >> when you're planning for housing and what percentage of retirement savings that takes up? >> your housing costs will account for 35%, actually about 37% of your expenses. when we're seeing is later in life, more retirees are moving and they may not have planned on that in their early retirement years. what's happening is it is becoming unaffordable or they can no longer maintain or upkeep the property. >> thank you so much. for raising these important issues. >> you're welcome. up next, "on the money," a look at the news for the week ahead. and mother's day next weekend. if you're thinking about flowers for mom, lots of time. and a new way to order them. direct from the flower farm. thanks for loading, sweetie. ...oh, burnt-on gravy? ...gotta rinse that. nope. no way. nada. really? dish issues? throw it all in. new cascade platinum powers through... even burnt-on gravy. nice. cascade. here are the stories that may have an impact on your money this week. tuesday the national federation of independent businesses releases its monthly survey. it measures the economic optimism of small business owners. in 1914, woodrow wilson declared the very first mothers day. wednesday, back in 1869, the final nail known as the golden spike was driven into the rails, completing america's first transcontinental railroad. a busy friday we'll get the retail sales numbers for april. a gauge of inflation with the release of the consumer price index. plus the consumer sentiment data measuring economic expectations. most people are sentimental about their moms and mother's day is next weekend, may 14. i'm sure you knew that. $2.6 billion will be spent on flowers according to the national retail federation. some new players are disrupting the traditional delivery services. john havas is founder and ceo of the bouqs company, as in bouquet. thank you for joining us, great to see you. tell me how your service works. >> so the traditional supply chain is very long and convoluted. there are about six layers between a farmer and a consumer. we deploy technology at farms around the world and let you shop directly from that farmer. >> so your flowers are coming directly from the people growing the flowers? >> that's right. they could be in ecuador, colombia, chile, peru, or around the country. >> how in the world did you manage to get the logistics in place to get flowers from ecuador to a home in rural pennsylvania? >> yeah. so my co-founder grew up on a rose farm in exwith a dor. rose farm in ecuador. his name is juan pablo. his family has been multi-generational flower suppliers. he built the supply chain to solve problems for the farmers. farmers really have a tough gig in the floral. >> slim profit margins. cash flow is tough to come by. the supply chain, getting paid, costs and labor. he hacked it to better his own family's business. and i said that's amazing. let's deploy that technology to help farmers all over the world. >> what's the advantage for the consumers? >> well, number one, transparency. where it came from. in our industry, it is important to know where they came from the same way you might shop organic in a store. you want to shop a farm that is sustainably grown and that treats their labor really respectfully. unfortunately, because flowers don't have a stamp on them, you don't know that. so by going straight to the farm we can guarantee it ethically sourced. it's also going to be cheaper. we tend to be 10% to 20% cheaper than the average. then it's much fresher. in a traditional supply chain it might be two weeks old, for us it's four or five days. >> so it might last longer than the kitchen table. what about these arrangements? if they're coming from the flower farm, are you more likely to get flowers from the region? >> that's right. you're pretty much going to shop by region. you can go on our website. choose, i want to shop the volcanos in ecuador, or the hills of colombia, or american grown. >> what about pricing? sometimes there are hidden fees. how does your pricing work? >> it's one of the reasons i wanted to start the company. it's pretty notorious in floral that the price you see is not the price you pay. it will say $19.99 and then when you get to check out it's $70. so we do all very transparent pricing. we do free delivery for anybody who signs up on the site. if it's 40 bucks, it's 40 bucks. >> and then so many people are going online. but there's our local florist at the corner store. would you open a brick and mortar floral shop? >> we work with 30034ists across the country. one thing farm direct doesn't do is really fast. so for our clients that need it today, like you really screwed up or forgot. that allows us to have on demand and to help some local businesses as well. i don't know if we'll open our own shops but we want to work the best in the world. >> the flowers are beautiful. thank you for sharing them with us. >> absolutely, thanks for having me. >> good luck in your new venture. that's the show for today. i'm contessa brewer. becky quick will be back next week. we'll have a conversation with warren buffett on the biggest mistakes he sees for people saving for retirement. each week, keep it here. we joor on the money." i hope you have a great one. see you next weekend. ♪ i love you, basement guest bathroom. your privacy makes you my number 1 place... ...to go number 2. i love you, but sometimes you stink. ♪ new febreze air effects with odorclear technology cleans... ...away odors like never before. because the things you love the most can stink. and try febreze small spaces to clean away odors for up... ...to 30 days. breathe happy with new febreze. it's raining at the nasdaq market site, the guys are off behind me. here's what's coming up on the show. get back in there at once and sell, sell! >> that's what sober investors are doing. but there's something in the charts that suggests the bottom is in. we'll explain. plus, french elections are this weekend. and oddsmakers give le pen a 16% chance of winning. >> so you're telling me there's a chance. >> not really. but if you're worried, we'll tell you how to buy disaster insurance for your portfolio. remember the force wil

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