• floodsmart.gov - flood insurance info

Clark has gotten a lot of feedback – good and bad - regarding his purchase of a scooter to get around town. He’s much more conscious on this scooter and is always looking out for zoned-out drivers or those talking on the phone. Now, he’s convinced his wife to get one. Lane just got a Korean scooter that gets 125 miles to the gallon. It’s not as fast off the mark, but you can’t beat the fuel economy. Now, all he has to do is convince Christa, Joni and Deb to get one and the whole staff will be on scooters. Kimberly and Kellie already have one. Our one male producer, Kevin, can’t feasibly ride a scooter because he lives so far away. But it’s possible for everyone else to get one and save.

Clark talked recently about how getting tow service from your insurance company can boost your rates if you use the service. The report got people up in arms and he has some follow up news for you. The story first came out in Consumer Reports, a magazine Clark highly respects. It said that AllState, State Farm and Geico all either raise your rates or report you to other deciding bodies. Clark wanted to contact the biggest insurer - State Farm – to see what they had to say. And, it is true. If you’re a State Farm, All State, Geico or Nationwide customer, discontinue the towing rider from your coverage. If you need the towing coverage, get it from Costco or BJ’s instead. Read State Farm's response

If you have children in high school or college, they may have profiles on one of the following: Facebook, Myspace, Friendster or Xanga. These virtual communities are all the go with 20-somethings and sometimes older people prowling for innocent youngsters, as we’ve learned. The teens and young adults who post on these sites talk openly about topics one might write in a diary. But on the sites it seems okay to post virtually. The pictures people post are very telling as well, with some risk takers committing illegal acts in the photos. Employers are now using these sites as a way to find out more about potential hires. NYU surveyed recruiters and every company they talked to is now doing this. People aren’t getting hired as a result of what they’re posting on these sites. So be aware. Companies see this as a red flag because they don’t want free spirits who might cause trouble for them with wild behavior.

If you’re renovating your home, you may have noticed that the cost has gone up a whole lot. That’s because building materials are so much more expensive. The price of copper pipe & tubing is up 71 percent; drywall is up 24 percent; asphalt singles – 20 percent; concrete – 12 percent. The only items that have gone down in price are lumber and plywood. The L.A. Times reports that people are changing the materials they use because they find out the price and they’re shocked. The good news is that the boom of home improvements is slowing down. It just takes a while for the drop in material prices to catch up. Next year may be the year of change. If you want to do an addition to your home in 2007, contractors will be hungrier for work and will offer you better prices. In addition, builder stock prices are under assault and building activity is likely going to slow, as well. That, too, will affect what has been a shortage in building supplies. With more supplies in the market, prices are likely to go down.

Clark is broadcasting from northeast Florida today and is watching as Tropical Storm Alberto passes through. He has a new respect for the power of storms after watching it flip over items on his property. That brings him to a point he wants to make for people in hurricane territory. Looking back at Katrina, an overwhelming number of people had no flood insurance. If you are in an area with some risk, flood insurance is a great idea. For good or bad, it’s subsidized by your fellow taxpayers. So, you want to have it. You never want to use it. But it’s a good idea to have it. Having coverage makes it a little less frustrating when you have to reconstruct your home. Learn more about the program at floodsmart.gov. Also remember that we’re in a cycle of high storm activity that will continue for about the next 15 years. These cycles wax and wane, but we’re in one now.

Online banks have taken a lot of market share in the past year and a half because of their simple savings accounts. ING Direct was the first big bank, Emigrant Direct was next, and HSBC is the third in the trio. With no branches or overhead, they can pay a lot higher rates than normal banks. However, giant monster mega banks still win out in the checking world because it’s so convenient with all those branches. And here comes technology to narrow this gap. Community Banking Systems (CBS) is coming out with a solution called “ePosit,” which allows members to deposit checks from their homes. Members simply scan their checks and then send the e-mail of the check for deposit. It eliminates the need to go to a bank branch to deposit checks, as so many people do at the monster mega banks. Clark doesn’t know how soon it will be available, but it’s in the works. And he’ll be one of the first in line.