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Over the past four years, Clark has gotten tons of calls from people who have been duped by one of many third world country dictatorship scams. When people call who have lost money, it’s nearly impossible to get money back. Clark would much rather people call before they decide to help some corrupt government official who supposedly needs your help. At least he can try to stop them from throwing away their bank accounts. But many still go ahead and get involved out of greed. One man has written a book on these scams, which have come to be known as “Nigerian e-mail scams.” The book details his contact with these people over several months, after he received one of these e-mails. Tom Davis was supposed to wire 14,000 pounds of sterling to several different locations in Amsterdam. Then he would fly over and a security officer would take him around to the various locations to retrieve the money, which would be used for “administrative purposes.” For doing so, he would receive a cut of the $65 million purse that a former government official wanted to smuggle out of the country. Instead of just deleting the e-mail, he decided to see how far he could take these crooks. During the conversation he was able to discern that they were somewhere in Europe or Africa. He couldn’t find out much more than that, other than the fact that these outfits exist all over the globe. Once these people get your money, there is no way to get it back. So, don’t believe any of these bogus e-mails. Anyone who promises you free money, is selling you a lump of goal.

Clark has been on the air since the 80s, and for years he had to warn hopeful authors about all of the self-publishing scams out there. Up until 1998, one in particular, known as the “Vanity Press” industry, would charge people outrageous sums to publish a book for them. It wasn’t unusual for someone to pay $8,000 to $12,000 to these phony publishing houses. Luckily, about five years ago, legitimate organizations, including some bookstore chains, got involved in the self-publishing business. Now, it’s possible to hire a publisher for $500 and have your book published. Occasionally, these self-published authors end up with a huge hit. It’s very hard for someone who hasn’t been published before to get published by a traditional publishing house. So, these houses are real alternatives, and the prices are reasonable. Two of the main ones are exlibris.com and iuniverse.com. But be realistic. Publishing a book yourself probably won’t make you millions.

It’s phenomenal how cheap computers are right now. Computers are now less expensive than televisions. If you just want to surf the Web, you can find one for $200 to $350. And laptops start at $600. One of the reasons computers are so cheap is because of the price war between Hewlett Packard and Dell. They want the market share so badly that it seems as if they don’t care what they charge anymore. Digital camera prints are also getting much cheaper at about 30 cents a print. You just bring your disk or memory card and insert it into the printing machine. Out pops a pretty good picture, and you can choose the size you want.

People are spending more on their garages these days than they are on the living quarters of their homes, according to Forbes magazine. Clark has a relative who bought a house with a 14-car garage. He didn’t have 14 cars, but that’s what it had in it. On each end of the house there were three garage doors that allowed you to pull through and park a total of 14 cars. Clark called it the “Taj Garage.” But it turns out that Clark’s relative was ahead of his time. People are paying for air-conditioned or temperature controlled garages, windowless garages that protect their cars from sun damage and garages with elaborate sound systems. Do we worship our cars that much? Where are our priorities?

If you’re a regular listener to the show, you know how important education is to Clark. He’s been a strong supporter of advanced degrees, including online degrees. But in the midst of it all, phony colleges have been popping up like bad weeds. There are hundreds of officials who used our tax dollars to purchase phony degrees that got them a higher salary. As a result, we the taxpayers got burned twice. One of the employees of the Homeland Security Department claimed she had a degree from Hamilton University in Wyoming, which doesn’t exist. It’s not just happening in the government. People in corporate America have bought phony degrees. You’ll get e-mails about it, and many people take advantage of it. If you’re an employer, check out your potential hires thoroughly. And, if you’re thinking of buying one of these degrees, you may want to think again. More and more companies are going after workers with phony degrees. You could lose your pride as well as your job.

Clark is the author of six books, but he often recommends that people check out the books from the library or to buy them used. His publisher doesn’t like when he does it. But even more upsetting for the publishing industry is the increase in used book sales. People are buying more and more used books. In fact, more than half of all used book sales are happening online now. Most online book sellers have “used” marketplaces where you can get nearly any book slightly worn for a lot less. There is just no reason to pay retail for books.

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In other retail news, flower shops are taking it on the chin these days. Florists just can’t compete with warehouse clubs, street vendors and supermarkets that charge a lot less. It’s not the death of florists. People will still buy wedding flowers from a flower shop. The service and attention to details will still be important. But the shops will have to adapt and lower prices if they are going to survive.