• ehealthinsurance.com - info on HSAs
• myfico.com - credit reports and scores online
• surgicaleyes.com - Lasik info
• lasikconsumerreport.com - info on lasik surgery

Clark has been getting an increasing number of calls about a job scam involving PayPal payments. When you’re looking for a job, you probably check out some of the online sites such as Monster.com. On that site, you will see postings for jobs involving making PayPal transactions. You do PayPal transactions for this company using your own PayPal account. You receive credit card payments from people, take 10 percent off the top for your services and then wire the money out of the country. But the scam is that the people you’re wiring the payments to and the people sending you the money are one in the same. They send you payments on stolen credit cards, pretending to be real customers who are buying products from a company overseas. You act as the intermediary. But when it becomes clear that the credit card was stolen, you are left holding the bag. There are several variations of this, but all of them are scams. Whenever someone comes to you asking for help transitioning money from one place to another, RUN! They are only trying to shift financial responsibility to you, and you will be held responsible.

The television is filled with shows about renovating your house these days. Contractors are at work everywhere, it seems. Americans became “homebodies” after September 11, 2001, and that has led to some of the home renovation frenzy. But it can be a real hassle. Sometimes you have to move out of your home while the construction happens, and – if you don’t move out – it’s a lot to live with while the work is being done. The prices can get out of control, as well, especially if you let the project get out of control. So, keep the project small and keep it on schedule. If a contractor says a job will be finished by a certain date, make sure it happens. And add language into the contract that says what the contractor will do for you if the project runs long. Also, ask for the last 10 jobs done by the contractor, along with the start and end date. And call the people on the reference list. Ask them if the work was done on time, how it was handled and what - if anything – went wrong. Also, don’t think you’re doing the improvements to increase the value of your home. Research has shown that this doesn’t work. So, do it for aesthetic value because you will like living there.

The price of gas is a topic you hear everywhere today. If you are one of the few people with a car that has a supercharger and needs premium gas, your wallet is hurting even more. Consumers are really taking it on the chin with gas prices, especially since we continue to buy cars with lower and lower fuel economy. Meanwhile, corporate America is booming. Corporations have used the past 25 years to become far more efficient in using energy. Corporate America gets far more output out of each dollar of energy than it ever has in history. And, aside from a few isolated industries, the surge in energy prices has had no real effect on corporate America. Airlines and American car companies are hurting. But for the most part, companies are doing just fine and are even raising prices. But there are more reasons to believe that higher fuel prices are in our future. So, this could be one of those times in history when we have to change how we spend money and live day to day.

Whether you’re in college, just out of college or you’ve got kids in college, listen up! The projected new rates for student loans are just in, and they’re phenomenal for loans done July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005. We recently had the lowest loan rates in history on the federal guaranteed student loan program, but they’re going even lower. The federal government has to set student loans on an index, and they are not very happy with it. It’s called the 91-day U.S. Treasury, and it allows us to get great rates on student loans. For students graduating this spring, locking in after July 1 but within six months of that date, the rate for the next 30 years will be 2.77 percent. If you’re outside of the grace period and you want to lock in, the rate will be about 3.77 percent. PLUS loans will be fixed at 4.7 percent. These are the lowest rates ever, so don’t miss out. If you’ve already consolidated and fixed your rates, you can’t do it again – unless you go back to school.

What is the difference in HDTV and digital TV? All HDTV’s are digital, but all digital TVs are not HDTV. It can get pretty confusing. This Christmas will probably be the first widespread purchasing of HDTVs. So far, about nine million people have bought HDTVs. But of those people, less than 2 million can watch them. Basically, the special programming that allows people to see shows in “high definition” is not available everywhere or on every TV. They can’t get the programming, so the television just sits there. It’s possible to hire a consultant to get it all installed for you. But that will cost you even more money. So, the bottom line is HDTV is just not ready for primetime. We are getting closer, but not yet. You’ll be rewarded with much cheaper televisions and much more programming if you are patient. Dish Network offers a simple solution. They have a high definition television and will set it all up for you for $1,000.

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In other news, McDonald’s is experimenting with kiosks that allow you to rent DVDs for $1 a day. Apparently, about 80 percent of all movies rented are among 30 titles. So, if you have those 30 movies, you have covered 80 percent of the target market. And McDonald’s is doing just that. So far, the kiosks are in Denver and Las Vegas and will soon move into other markets.

Is your workplace fun? Does your employer put an effort on making the workplace somewhere you would want to go. Clark read about a company called Kaleidoscope Imaging, which has “Bring Your Dog To Work Day,” and contests to see who can make the best chili. All of the desk and chairs are on rollers, too. That way, if you want to “meet” you someone, you just roll up to a desk. The owner of the company also puts an emphasis on just talking to potential hires during the job interview. There are none of the traditional questions because the CEO thinks people just say what he wants to hear. The idea is to create a culture in which everyone has the same purpose and goal. What kind of loyalty do you have to workers when you hide behind big mahogany doors on the top floor of the building? Culture matters so much in a company and the people who run it set that culture. So, when you go for an interview make sure you get the lay of the land, too. Don’t just answer questions. Ask some yourself. And, as a business owner, work on how you can earn loyalty from an employee. The most successful companies employ people who feel like they count.