You get what you pay for!

Do you want the most bang for your bucks? Kiplinger Magazine has published a slide show featuring the ten cities in the US where you can do just that. Number one is Omaha, Nebraska, which has

the lowest cost of living in the country of all cities with median incomes above the national level.

Famously frugal billionaire Warren Buffet lives there

in the 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom home he purchased for $31,500 in 1958 (despite the fact that he's now worth an estimated $53.5 billion). Omaha's median home value is just $144,800 (versus $186,200 for the nation), and the average apartment rent is $740 a month.

Utah has two in the top ten: Ogden at number two, and Salt Lake City at number seven.

Des Moines, Iowa is number three. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is number ten. That doesn't surprise me, since I grew up in Sioux City. After my parents died, my sisters sold their nice home for way less than $100,000, while I was paying way more than that for my smaller home in Colorado.

Ohio also has two on the list of top ten: Columbus at number five, and Cincinnati at number seven. I think my kids would like Columbus better, because they have a state fair there.

Raleigh, North Carolina at number six, Austin, Texas, at number eight, and St. Louis at number nine, round out the top ten.

Caution: there may be a reason these places are such bargains! Don't you usually get what you pay for?