People love their pets, but not necessarily the costs of caring for them. A recent survey found many people are getting priced out of owning a furry friend and can no longer afford them.

Bob Slusher struggles with the cost of feeding his four dogs.

"It's about $60 a week, and that's in wet food," he said. "It's kind of like raising a child. I mean, they don't need clothes or shoes, but the food and the vet bills (are expensive)."

In the latest consumer price index, the cost of purchasing animal and pet supplies and accessories was up a little more than 3% in the last year. Fortunately, food costs were up less than one percent compared to last year.

But that comes after three years of hefty increases.

Save on pet food

Noah Freed manages a pet store that specializes in food and accessories, the Delhi Pet Center. He has seen a dramatic rise in costs over the past four years. He says to keep food costs down, skip smaller bags at the grocery store, which are the easiest thing to purchase.

"Just because it's more convenient doesn't mean it's cheaper," he said.

Freed recommends buying the biggest bag you can carry and store. Pet supply stores typically stock 40-pound bags, which he says are the best deal.

"The best value is going to be your bigger bags," he said, "because you are going to get the most amount of food for the dollar."

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He's a proponent of local pet stores that often have rewards.

"Those have rewards programs where if you buy a certain number of bags, you get one free," he said.

The site LendingTree came up with some unpleasant findings in a recent survey. It found that:

12% of Americans have surrendered a pet in recent years because they could no longer afford it 37% of people have gone into debt over a pet

Save on medical costs

LendingTree's Matt Schulz says a pet hospital visit can break the band.

"Medical emergencies are the primary cause of it," he said.

He suggests setting money aside for a pet emergency fund.

"They can be an amazing thing and they can help our health and our well-being, and just our overall feeling, but they're expensive," Schulz said.

The other option is pet insurance, especially policies designed to cover high-expense emergency visits.

Save on boarding

And dont forget about the cost of caring for pets while youre away.

Since kennels can be expensive, Checkbook.org suggests hiring a pet sitter to save money, or bringing your pet on trips with you, especially since many hotels are now dog-friendly.

"For a lot of families, taking the pet along is more convenient," Checkbook's Kevin Brasler said. "It's less costly and also it doesn't, you know, might not traumatize the pet so much.

RELATED STORY | Hacked Facebook friends offering bogus Taylor Swift tickets

Slusher has one last tip: Know what you are getting into before you buy or adopt.

"I would not tell anybody to get a dog if you're not going to put money into it," he said.

That way you don't waste your money.

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It's not just strangers you have to be worried about on social media these days, it can be your good friends.

With Taylor Swift's worldwide Eras Tour back in the U.S. this fall, scammers are coming out of the woodwork offering fake tickets. One man learned you can't always trust ticket sellers you find online, even if you think they are "friends" you have known for years.

Surprise for stepdaughter goes bad

Jeremy Robinson wanted to surprise his stepdaughter with a pair of tickets to her Indianapolis concert this fall.

"I was looking for tickets for my wife and stepdaughter to Taylor Swift," Robinson said, "and I had a buddy whose page popped up and said they had tickets at face value."

RELATED STORY | Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for president

With resale sites showing tickets for $2,000 and up at Lucas Oil Stadium, it was an offer he couldn't refuse.

"He was asking $400 apiece for the tickets," he said, "face value."

Not wanting to lose the tickets, after a few messages back and forth, he transferred $800 through a money transfer service, to a bank account provided by the seller. Within minutes, his money was gone and so were the tickets he thought he would soon be receiving.

"Then," he said, "everything was blocked and the Facebook page was deleted and the post taken down."

His friend's Facebook post said only "this content is not available."

Not just concert tickets

But this scam goes beyond just concert tickets, with hackers, appearing to be your friend, pretending to sell game consoles, iPads, and more, all at very low prices.

So how does a hacker suddenly show up as a friend on Facebook?

Chris Drake with the company iconectiv says anyone's credentials can be exposed while using public wifi, for example.

"A sophisticated scammer can connect to you and steal your cookies," Drake said. "Now they have the cookie storage of your username and passwords to a lot of things including Facebook."

RELATED STORY | Trump shares AI images of a fake Taylor Swift endorsement

In some cases, your friend responded to a phishing email purporting to be from Facebook and inadvertently sent the scammer his Facebook login information.

Red flags of a hacked account include:

Spelling errors in the post Hearing from someone unexpectedly, who you hadn't conversed with in a long time Strange posts on a friend's wall A sender asking you to move the conversation from Facebook to another platform

Facebook encourages all users to report fake or hacked accounts in the Facebook Help Center.

A simple solution, however, is to call your friend, or Facetime them, to verify their Facebook post was real.

When Jeremy Robinson finally reached his friend, he learned his friend's page had been hacked. He says several other people fell for the ploy, too.

"We weren't the first people that got scammed by fake Taylor Swift tickets," he said.

So if a friend offers you concert tickets or electronics, be sure to verify who you are buying from, so you don't waste your money.

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Have you ever been sitting in the kitchen, looking at your bank account, and wishing you could suddenly find some extra money to bolster it with? You may be able to by simply searching for unclaimed funds.

Unfortunately, many people either don't know how to check, or don't bother taking the time.

But one man says it is well worth it.

Musician decides to look up his name

Michael Horrigan is a guitar teacher who used to play in several bands.

He heard reports about unclaimed funds, so on a whim, he says, "We went to the missing money site, and we put the information in."

In a few seconds, Horrigan says, the site alerted him, "You have qualified! It's your money." He filled in his information to confirm he was the intended recipient and ended up with four checks totaling more than $600.

"$642, I think," he said. "It's a lot of money."

They were royalty checks for several TV appearances he did about 15 years ago.

"We were on Conan O'Brien," he said. "We did a song called 'Spit it Out.'"

Chances are you haven't performed on national TV like Horrigan, but there's a good chance you have unclaimed funds, too.

Why you may have unclaimed money

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators says one in seven people have unclaimed money from uncashed checks, overpayments or utility deposits.

Association President Carmen Pigler says the most common reason is a change of address.

"Businesses and financial institutions that we have relationships or bank accounts with lose track of us," she explained.

Other reasons for money ending up in unclaimed funds include:

Inactive accounts A company going out of business The death of a relative

Pigler recommends you check for unclaimed funds at least once a year using your state's official unclaimed property website, or MissingMoney.com.

"Missing Money aggregates all the unclaimed property websites from across the country," Pigler said.

Not everyone finds $600, or even $50, of course.

We found one claim from Apple, for instance, worth just 81 cents. That may not even be worth the time to apply for.

Still, Horrigan says it's worth checking out.

"If you have something, it could be your lucky day," he said.

And if you find something, like Horrigan, you won't be playing the blues.

That way you don't waste your money.

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We're at the point in the year where many of us are booking fall or winter flights. You can pay extra for a fullservice experience, or try to save money with a low-cost or budget carrier.

Indeed, low-cost airlines like Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest and Spirit help make travel affordable for millions. But a low ticket price isn't the only thing to consider when booking.

So we wanted to know the advantages and disadvantages of choosing a budget airline.

Low fares, but with downsides

College student Eric Anderson loves the last-minute low fares that discount airlines offer.

"Sometimes if you are in a rush to get somewhere, the price is great. You hop on a plane and go," he said.

RELATED STORY | What to buy in August, and what to wait for Labor Day to buy

But traveler Tayeed Beydoun is not a fan of the extra fees discounters have hit him with.

"The price is great," he said, "but you got to pay for all the extra baggage that you take with you."

Looking at price alone, Katy Nastro with the company Going said a budget airline is usually going to win. And now some low-cost airlines, like Spirit and Frontier, have eliminated some change or cancellation fees, making them more in line with Delta, United and American.

"Having that added flexibility, that's not going to add to your overall cost, is a really big win," she said.

Things to consider before booking

The obvious downside to a low-cost carrier is fewer perks like wifi, the ability to choose your own seat and free snack and beverage options.

You may also have to pay $50 or $60 for a carry-on bag.

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The big three airlines have an edge during widespread delays or cancellations when they have more flight options and backup planes available.

"You're going to find far more options on a bigger legacy carrier than you would if you had taken a budget carrier, which might have only a few flights per day or one flight per day," Nastro said.

Of course, there are exceptions, as we saw with Delta's response to a recent software outage.

Need to get there today? If you can't risk a delay, you may want to pay extra for a legacy airline.

But if the price is most important, traveler Shannon Mesmith recommends discount airlines.

"Everything's pretty high," Mesmith said, "so if you can get a discounted budget airline trip, do it!"

That way you don't waste your money.

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"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

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Labor Day is a great time to kick back and enjoy the last long weekend of the summer. But this Labor Day weekend may be your last opportunity to score deals on a number of big-ticket items for the rest of the year.

Rich Brandenberg and Tracy McCloud were browsing the sales at Lowe's, hoping they said to find "some patio stuff, something for outside."

Lowe's manager Andrew Clark says they picked a great weekend for deals, and not just for outdoor gear.

"Washers and dryers, ranges, refrigerators, dishwashers, most of the appliances have great promotions on Labor Day," he said.

Consumer Reports breaks down the sales

Samantha Gordon of Consumer Reports says overall, September is a low-key month for shopping. But this first weekend, you will find some great markdowns.

"You will see some discounts on large appliances and mattresses especially," she said. "As well as end-of-season things from summer, things like grills and outdoor furniture."

Gordon says you won't see such drastic markdowns on appliances and mattresses again until Presidents' Day in February of next year.

"You will see some sales for the holidays, but really those large appliance sales tend to be focused around those big holiday weekend sales," she said.

But for other major categories, from electronics to clothing, Gordon suggests holding off until Black Friday in November, or Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days happening in October.

"These sales rival the Prime Day sale they have in the summertime and they really kick off the holiday shopping season," Gordon said.

How to find the full list of great deals

For all the deals tracked by consumer reports, visit CR.org/deals. There you can find all the Labor Day deals you can snag right now including grills, washing machines and vacuums.

In particular, CR shows markdowns on Weber Grills and Beautyrest mattresses, just to name a few.

Brandenberg and McCloud are ready to shop.

"Something to close out, end of season, that type of thing," they said

So consider taking a break from the backyard and shopping the Labor Day sales, so you don't waste your money.

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"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

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You don't need to scroll far to see the term "Summerween" on your social media feeds. From parties to decorations, Halloween is creeping in fast.

So should you stock up on all these treats now, or are you being tricked into spending too early?

We went to Lowe's to find out. Their stores are already stocked with giant Halloween displays, like 12-foot-tall animatronic lawn ghouls that growl, laugh, and spew smoke. These are not the basic inflatables we had 10 years ago.

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Shopper Carol Cox is ready to buy, taking pictures on her phone to send to her family.

"This is all new to me, which is why I am taking videos of it, It is great," she said.

So should you wait for sales?

Lowe's manager Andrew Clark said if you're into these lawn displays, including the super popular Kraken, don't wait to shop as they will sell out quickly.

"Buy them now," he said. "Make sure you purchase them when you can get them."

RELATED STORY | Need tech help? How to find it, and avoid getting scammed

It's not just Lowe's. Costco put out fall decor in July. YouTube content creator Jade the Libra says she's all about shopping early for the latest Halloween trends.

"If you wanna see all the good stuff, you gotta get in early," she said, "and I'm talking June."

And the hottest trend this year?

"I'm seeing pastels everywhere," she said. "Everyone's calling it 'Pastel-oween' or 'Pinkaween,' because that's what we're seeing a lot of this year already."

Lawn inflatables can cost $200 or more, and most items are at or near full price now.

For most of the big retail chains, the savings come closer to Halloween. So what can you do?

Jade said if you see something you like from off-price retailers like TJ Maxx or Burlington, buy it before it vanishes. For Halloween on a budget, she recommends trying thrifting.

"You can find great things that are even just a year old, a couple years old," she said. "People are just trying to declutter, get through their things and then you can find some really cool vintage pieces too."

So don't wait.

"We call it 'Summerween,'" Clark said of his huge store display at Lowe's.

So get your Halloween decor before it's gone, so you don't waste your money.

____________________________

"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

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Today's college students may be tech-savvy, but a surprising number of students report scams to the Better Business Bureau after learning their lesson a little too late.

From scholarships to new credit cards, college students headed back to campus have a lot of reasons to hand out their information. That's why it's so important they know the difference between a real offer and a scam.

Students report questionable scholarship offers

As colleges bring out "welcome" signs, and students unpack their belongings, they have a lot to process. Hannah Kohlhorst says one of the trickiest parts of starting school was navigating financial aid.

"When I was looking at scholarships," she said, "I'd go to a lot of different websites, and some of them would look sketchy."

Kaya Wilson says she struggled to find legitimate offers.

"It just says you could win a thousand dollars, or a $5,000 scholarship if you sign up with certain links," Wilson said,

As the semester begins, the Better Business Bureau warns that students are the target of a number of financial scams, including:

Fake scholarships; these are typically looking for personal information like names, addresses, and Social Security numbers Bogus apartment listings; scammers will often copy photos of legitimate ads, and repost them on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist Fake credit card offers that look for Social Security numbers Online shopping scams, offering discount clothing and handbags that never arrive

"Don't go to websites you just see come out of the blue that you've never heard of," said Chris Drake with the digital protection company iconectiv, "that have that best deal on the latest in-vogue jeans or tote."

How to protect yourself

Melanie McGovern with the Better Business Bureau warns students not to casually fill out forms without knowing exactly what they're signing up for. Be careful, she says, of "just filling out a form to get a free t-shirt."

Drake says that sensitive information often includes phone numbers.

 "That's because that's your prevalent form of digital identity," Drake said, "and we have to start protecting that like it matters because it does."

The Better Business Bureau recommends that you:

Have important documents sent to your permanent home, not a dorm Update your computer with anti-virus software Guard your passwords, and never use the same password on multiple sites Beware of unsolicited offers about scholarships or financial aid, whether via emails, texts, or social media ads

That way you don't run into trouble, and you don't waste your money.

______________________________

"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

Follow John:

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Finally, there is good news for hopeful homebuyers. The Federal Reserve is expected to begin lowering interest rates in September, which means mortgage lenders will lower rates as well.

But mortgage rates are already trending down, and are expected to continue dropping through the rest of this year. It presents a dilemma for buyers, however, having to decide whether to wait for those lower rates, which could mean losing the home of your dreams.

Shawna Green is not waiting. In fact, she is bursting with pride having just purchased her first home with her fiance after a year of looking.

"I love it," she exclaimed.

But she almost didn't get to move into a three-bedroom home, because 8% mortgage rates last fall were too high for their budget.

"When it was that high," she said, "we were like, oh yeah, this isn't a good time to buy a house."

But with rates now down to their lowest level in a year, buyers like Green are now making their dream happen.

"We actually got under seven (percent)," she said. "And it was important for us."

Realtor Michelle Sloan of RE/MAX Time is starting to see buyers finally coming off the sidelines after a year of waiting.

"A lot of buyers were sick and tired of looking at what their payments would be on the houses that they want, and they actually got out of the market," she said.

So do you jump in now, or continue to wait for lower rates? Holden Lewis of NerdWallet does not suggest trying to time the market for the lowest rate possible.

"What that boils down to is," he said, "if you're shopping for a house and you find a suitable house and you can afford it at today's interest rates, you should just probably buy it."

He says lower rates are never guaranteed, so focus on what you can control, such as improving your credit score and saving up for a bigger down payment. Plus, Lewis says, lower rates later this year will mean more competition.

"There's going to be more offers, there's going be more bidding wars and so prices might go up," he said.

With lower rates, meantime, NerdWallet is expecting an incoming wave of homeowners with 7% and 8% mortgages wanting to refinance and lower their monthly payments.

"Let's say you borrowed $300,000 a year ago at 7.5%. If you refinance now and cut that to 6.5%, you're going save $200 a month," he said.

Just be sure to factor in closing costs, which can cost another $2,000 upfront. Sloan says don't wait; if you buy now and rates drop next year below 6%, you could then easily refinance.

Green is already making plans to refinance next spring.

"Yes, we are definitely looking to refinance when the rates drop even more," she said.

And that way you don't waste your money.

_______________________________

"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

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Every week seems to bring a new round of auto recalls. There have been so many lately, that it's getting to the point where many drivers are tuning out.

SUV owner Kristin Steuber wasn't sure if her vehicle had any unfixed recalls.

"This one? I don't know," she said, while filling it up with gas.

Cash Strickland wasn't sure about his car either, saying he has never checked it for a recall.

RELATED STORY | Drivers forced to wait months for automotive recall repairs

"No sir, not yet," he told us.

But you should check, especially since it takes just a few minutes to see if your car is on the recall list.

In just the past month alone, the following recalls have been issued:

Hyundai sounded the alarm that some air bags can deploy unintentionally Hyundai and Nissan also warned of unexpected loss of drive power BMW alerted drivers to rear cargo rails that may detach

Just as alarming, though, is the likelihood that many of these recalls won't get fixed. Mechanic Matt Overbeck says notices often get lost or sent to old addresses.

"You move, the car gets sold, you purchase a car, we don't know where the car went," he said. "So sometimes those notices just go unnoticed."

Even if it comes to your current address, Overbeck says some owners toss the notices, assuming they are junk mail letters or offers for extended warranties.

Over 50 million unrepaired issues

Patrick Olsen of CARFAX says more than 50 million vehicles had unfixed or open recalls last year.

"But we checked on July 1st of this year and we are up to 57.7 million vehicles," he said.

According to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, older vehicles are less likely to get repaired. The recall "completion rate" is 83% for new cars, but it drops to around 29% for vehicles 10 years or older.

RELATED STORY | Home inspection warning: The biggest thing many buyers miss

"Every recall is important to get fixed, and it could be as minor as there is the wrong informational sticker in your car up to things as this car could catch fire," Olsen said

There's an easy way to check for unresolved recalls.

Enter your license plate number or VIN on either of these two websites:

Carfax.com/recall NHTSA.gov/recalls

"You enter that in there," Overbeck explained, "and it will tell you if there is an open recall on your vehicle."

In July, U.S. auto safety regulators inched closer to a forced recall of 50 million airbag inflators. So look for more to soon be on the way.

Ddon't ignore notices that come by mail, and that way you stay safe and you don't waste your money.

_________________________

"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

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When you buy a home, it's standard to have a home inspection. It allows buyers to get a heads-up about potential problems down the road, as well as poor construction or dangerous wiring. But many new buyers skip one area during that inspection, which could turn into a major repair costing thousands of dollars.

One family is now facing a financial nightmare as a result, just weeks after moving into their new home.

Flooding problems

Luke Rhynalds is a disabled veteran who just moved into his first home, only to be welcomed by a flood a few days after taking possession of the property.

"We went into the basement and it was flooded with six inches of water in it," he said.

He showed photos of the flood on his phone, saying, "That's all water, you can see it's reflecting the whole way around."

Worse, a plumber they called had some very bad news for Rhynalds and his wife.

The outflow pipe to the city sewer had collapsed

Rhynalds paid $9,000 to replace part of it under the floor, but says an even bigger bill is coming.

"There is another 25-foot piece of pipe that runs underneath my driveway," he explained, "that is going to cost about $30,000 to replace all of it."

Rhynalds said they had a home inspection, but it turns out that standard inspections do not include sewer pipes.

"I thought that would be included in the inspection, but apparently not," he said.

Their inspector, while thorough, never saw that the sewer line was in the process of collapsing.

The importance of a sewer inspection

There is a simple solution for other home buyers.

Kellen King, a sewer line inspector with Apollo Home Services, said the inspection is done with a camera and a cable.

"This is the sewer camera, this one has about 200 feet of cable on it," he said, uncoiling a giant reel.

For around $400, he says, plumbing companies like his will inspect your drain line, all the way down to the street.

"What you're looking for is roots or cracks in the piping, offset joints, or 'bellying,'" he said.

Under this particular house, King found trouble brewing.

"Look where that lip is," he said, pointing to an iPad with a live video feed. "That is where it is starting to separate."

King says every home buyer should have a sewer inspection, to avoid a potential $10,000 or higher repair.

"I've seen multiple times where a customer moved in," he said, "and two or three months later, their basement is flooded with sewage, and they had no idea."

Rhynalds is now checking to see if any veterans groups may be able to help him because underground water lines are not covered by basic homeowners insurance policies.

"People need to know to get every type of inspection, every type," he said.

Rhynalds wishes he had known.

"I went from having a nest egg of savings to having nothing now, and that's not even all of it," he said.

So get that sewer line inspection, so you don't waste your money.