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Have you heard of disposable clothing? Lots of fashion-oriented teenagers and young women now buy clothes with the intention of wearing them only two or three times before throwing them away. It’s a “cheap chic” trend and it’s being led by three companies: H&M, Zara and Forever 21. All of them are making a huge profit, with Zara in the lead at 36 percent. These clothes are probably going to wear out pretty quickly, but they meeting the needs of hip young women in terms of cost and design. The traditional retail model in the States is over, and this is where it’s at.

A few years ago, Clark talked about the many tragic deaths that occur each year when someone driving an SUV runs over a child. That’s not driving down the street; it’s in the driveway of a home. Each year, 2,400 children are run over because someone backing up cannot see them. The high center of gravity on SUVs makes it very difficult to see that low on the ground. The good news is that there are now back-up cameras on some SUVs. But those who have older SUVs can by safety systems that sense when someone is behind the car. Some of them are very affordable, at about $40. Of course, another option is to back in to your driveway or garage instead of pulling in. That way, when you pull out, you are driving forward and can see kids or pets in your driveway. Although SUVs have been popularized as family style cars, they were never intended for that purpose. So you must be extra careful if you have one.

USA Today reports today that Americans have become a nation of ATM users instead of savers. Historically, people have paid down debt on their homes, not taken money out on their homes. But more and more people are treating their homes as piggy banks. People are taking out 800 percent more money on “cash out refinances” on their homes. And banks have been happy to allow you to tap most, if not all, the value of your home. People use the money to buy a car, go on a vacation or pay off debts. But within about 18 months, those debts are back up to the level they were before. So, those folks now owe more on their homes and the credit card bill is still looming. Clark wants you to pay off your home so you can own it. Many people think ownership means buying the home. But ownership actually means you don’t owe anymore on it. It’s time that we start looking at housing in a different way compared to the past five years. Home prices may not go up much this year, and, in many places, they may go down. Then, if your home value doesn’t go anywhere for a few years, you’ll be ok when it’s time to sell.

There are some serious problems going on in the brokerage world these days. Full commissioned stockbrokers get massive amounts of money to recommend specific mutual funds. That wouldn’t be a bad thing if these funds weren’t complete trash. Even worse, the Feds don’t require any kind of disclosure about these funds from brokerages. A lawsuit sprung up recently in California because of the lack of disclosure, but it was just dropped. So, if you go to a stockbroker for the purpose of opening an account and making money, Clark wants you to be warned. The brokerage may be working entirely for themselves. Now, you may feel uncomfortable buying your own funds, and you’d prefer someone to do it for you. That’s fine. But if you choose to hire a brokerage, you want one that is commission free. How do you find out? Your first step is to read the online courses at latimes.com. Start with Investing 101.