RJ and Makay

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Americans who live to be 100 years old will spend $3.5 million in their lifetimes, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.  More than $1.5 million will be spent by age 50, another $1.4 million by age 81, and $630,000 more for those fortunate enough to be centenarians.  Even though many older people plan to cut back on expenses in retirement, the high cost of retirement often comes as a shock to retirees, the BLS said.

In an odd trend that has persisted for several years now, consumers have been keeping up with their credit card payments even when they're behind on their mortgage, says credit reporting firm TransUnion.

Among consumers with a mortgage and at least one credit card in the fourth quarter of 2010, 7% were 30 or more days late on the mortgage but current on their credit card, TransUnion reports. That rate was about 4% in the first quarter of 2008, when the trend first appeared nationally.

Home prices in most major U.S. cities have fallen to their lowest levels since the housing bubble burst, shows the latest reading of the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index. The 20-city index fell 1% from November to December, and Washington was the only city in the index to see its home prices rise during that period.

The overall decline in the index was the sixth in as many months and the eighth in the past 11 months. Furthermore, in December, housing prices in 11 of the cities in the index hit their lowest point since the housing bust of 2006 and 2007. Those cities were Atlanta, Charlotte, NC, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Portland, OR, Seattle, and Tampa, FL.