January is a good month for shopping deals

Bed sheets are on the list, and Mike Wages, general manager of JC Penney at the Mall at Fairfield Commons, says he knows why.

“It’s the cold weather, people always like to be nice and cozy when it’s cold outside,” Wages said.

January is also the best time to buy ellipticals and treadmills.

“The weather in Ohio is pretty terrible for outdoor exercise, so we run the best prices of the year, the biggest promotions of the year, during the busiest month of the year,” says G&G Fitness manager Bryan Shutts.

Tax ID theft

Tax season has arrived, and along with it comes a renewed warning of identity theft.

Criminals can use your Social Security number to claim your tax refund, and the worst part is that you likely will not know you are a victim until you file your taxes with the IRS.

The IRS will pay the refund to the victim, but the process can take months.

I talked to victim Carissa Hostetler of Kettering last year. She said not getting her tax return was a hardship because she was counting on the funds to pay bills.

The FTC's Tax Identity Theft awareness week begins today with several online events to educate taxpayers and help victims.

Rent is too darn high

I’ve been a homeowner for several years, so I was taken aback by a new report showing just how much some people are paying for rent every month.

The median rent in the U.S. was $1,381 per month at the end of 2015, according to a Zillow analysis that looked at the top 50 metro areas.

Dayton residents paid a median price that was less than half of that — $715, according to CBRE.

Median rent is much higher in the major metro areas near Dayton. In Cincinnati it was $1,225, and Columbus came in above that at $1,271, according to Zillow.

Many financial experts say to have a healthy budget, you should be spending about 30 percent of your monthly income on housing.

Census data shows, however, that close to one in four renters spends at least half of their family income on housing and utilities.

Zillow data shows the highest median rent was in San Francisco — brace yourself for this — at $3,338 and it’s expected to jump nearly 6 percent this year to $3,536.

Some of the fastest-growing metros had double-digit annual rental appreciation at the end last year.

The good news — if you aren’t in San Francisco — is that rent prices are expected to flatten this year, increasing just over 1 percent, according to Zillow.

Rachel Murray is a WHIO-TV consumer reporter. You can watch her reports on News Center 7, follow her on Twitter @RMurrayWHIO, and like her fan page on Facebook.