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More people seem to have colds, viruses and flus this season than in past years. Doctors’ offices and emergency centers are overwhelmed with people who are sick. And people wonder if there is anything they can do to prevent themselves from getting a cold or to reduce the length of a cold. Consumer Reports has researched this topic in its most recent issue. And it turns out that Echinacea can actually reduce the length of a cold. Women who are pregnant and children should not take Echinacea. It is also not recommended for people with certain allergies such as ragweed. What about Zinc? According to Consumer Reports, Zinc has no benefits when it comes to helping colds. The same is true for Vitamin C. “C” as it is often called has no benefits at all. In fact, it’s referred to as a mage myth. So, it’s obviously mind over matter when it comes to these remedies.

Owning a home is something many people aspire to in their lives. But before people reach that mark, many buy a condominium instead. It can be a stepping stone on the way to actually owning a home. In the past, buying a condo has been seen as a controversial thing. But, according to Investor’s Business Daily, condos are now booming in value. Why? Apparently, baby boomers are selling their large homes and buying up condos left and right, which has caused values to go up. For the last couple of years, the value of condos has gone up much more than the value of homes. Clark has had lots of experiences in the condo market, some good and some bad. But condos may turn out to be a better investment than a house – at least for the time being.

A number of statistics have come out in the past 24 hours about the amount of debt we consumers are taking on. Delinquencies on credit cards have hit an all time high, and consumers have been unable to make even the minimum payment each month. In addition, delinquencies for auto loans and home equity loans are up. And bankruptcies will reach 1.6 million families this year. That’s one in every 65 families filing for bankruptcy in just one year. It all ties back into the fact that we, the American people, have drowned ourselves in debt. Debt creates so much stress and weakness in our lives that it is all consuming. Over the last ten years, consumer debt has more than doubled. It’s up to $2 trillion now. So, on one hand we’ve taken on tons of debt. On the other hand, the average person is saving about two cents on each dollar of income. Positive and negative habits build over time and you’ve got to keep them under control. Maybe it’s not a big problem for you, but the average debt is $7,000 per household. And, if you pull out the 40 percent of people who pay their balances every month, it’s actually $12,000 on average. Many people have been able to play successful games moving credit card debt from one card to another, which lessens the pain. But the average interest rate is still 15 to 17 percent. And credit cards are able to charge that rate of interest because people play tricks on themselves thinking they can pay the charges plus interest with no problem. So, if you’re carrying large amounts of debt, take your credit cards and put them where you can’t use them. Clark used to recommend cutting up credit cards as a way to stop using them, but that turned out to be harder than people thought. So, now he suggests that you put the cards in a bag of water and put them in the freezer. That way they’re not gone completely, but it’s easier not to use them.

Clark has expressed a lot of angst regarding the decision to get rid of recess and physical education classes at school. He thinks P.E. not only clears kids heads for school, but it also starts them on a path of exercising very early on in life. Often, schools have team sports after school that kids can participate in. But not everyone does well in team sports, and often times, kids get their feelings hurt or they feel inadequate around the kids who excel. So, schools are now experimenting with new kinds of “sports” in which all kinds of kids can participate. These include rock climbing, skating, Frisbee, yoga and dancing. Dancing, you say? Yes, dancing is great exercise. And it’s great to see schools offering activities that cater to various strengths and interests.

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One activity kids are getting involved in that troubles Clark is low carb diets. As adults, it may be okay. But it’s not a good thing for a child’s development. A report from the Children’s National Medical Center discusses the harm children are doing to themselves with these diets. So, if you’re a parent, please talk to your kids if you think they’re jumping on the low carb craze.

If you are trying to decide which cell phone company to go with now that cell phone portability is here, Consumer Reports tells us that Verizon is the best company out there today. The magazine surveyed people in 12 of the most populated cities in the United States: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. In all 12 cities surveyed, Verizon was on top. And, with the exception of T-Mobile in Atlanta, the spread between Verizon and the next best provider was pretty distant. The survey asked people about service, dropped calls, static on the line and circuits full. In terms of price, the lowest cost provider is T-Mobile. For frequent users, it’s Sprint. And for families, T-Mobile again. You may have noticed that rate plans of $35 to $39 a month are advertised continually because they are the most popular. These are plans that include big buckets of minutes after 7 or 8pm and all day on the weekends. They are great for people who have a business phone during the week and who need a second phone after work and on the weekends.

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Now, as for cell phone portability, AT&T has been accused of doing a horrible job. Clark wanted to give AT&T a chance to respond to the recent news and he had a representative from AT&T on the air today. He asked users to bear with the company because it used a different software than other companies. But he said everyone is having problems with portability. He also said the company is responding more quickly to porting requests, but he asked that people give them three to five days. He wouldn't give an estimate on when consumers can expect a smooth 2.5 hour process, as promised. He simply said it would get better.

Clark has talked in the past three or four years about factors that are driving up auto insurance rates. One of the keys is that auto insurers decided they wanted to make money after years of not making any. Clark said last year that increases were probably over because insurance companies got what they wanted. But apparently organized crime is driving the price back up again. People are staging fake accidents and making all kinds of false claims for a little cash. Some doctors are even falsifying hospital reports that say someone is hurt when they are really not. So, the insurance company knows it’s a crime and can’t do anything about it. So, rates go up for everyone. If you know someone who has done something like this, you should call the state insurance commissioner. That person may think it’s not a big deal because they’re just ripping off a big insurance company. But that is simply not true. Consumers like you and me end up paying for it all. Also remember that you can lower your insurance premiums by shopping around on the Internet and elsewhere. And it’s a good idea to raise your deductible to the highest limit. You will see an immediate drop in premiums.

More people seem to have colds, viruses and flus this season than in past years. Doctors’ offices and emergency centers are overwhelmed with people who are sick. And people wonder if there is anything they can do to prevent themselves from getting a cold or to reduce the length of a cold. Consumer Reports has researched this topic in its most recent issue. And it turns out that Echinacea can actually reduce the length of a cold. Women who are pregnant and children should not take Echinacea. It is also not recommended for people with certain allergies such as ragweed. What about Zinc? According to Consumer Reports, Zinc has no benefits when it comes to helping colds. The same is true for Vitamin C. “C” as it is often called has no benefits at all. In fact, it’s referred to as a mage myth. So, it’s obviously mind over matter when it comes to these remedies.