• vanguard.com - SEP info
• tmobile.com - info on "T-Mobile At Home"

Parents are completely out of touch with what their teens are doing these days, according to a study done by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Parents overwhelmingly think there are no drugs or alcohol at parties their kids attend. The truth is that half of teens from ages 13 to 19 have been at parties with alcohol or drugs. Also, girls are abusing alcohol and drugs at a higher rate than boys. No matter how you run your household, you have to be aware that peer influences are stronger than you are. You cannot get lost in this, but you must be realistic and consider that your kids may be involved. It may help save their lives.

Clark is shocked by how much money kids – especially boys – spend on sneakers. Kevin coaches basketball and says some of the kids he teaches spend more than $250 on a pair of shoes with their favorite athlete’s name on them. Well, one athlete thought young people could use that money for much more meaningful things. Stephon Marbury, an NBA player, has designed a tennis shoe with his name that lists for $14.98. He wanted to show kids how little it actually costs to make the shoes. So, he created the “Starbury” sneaker. Check it out and be just as cool.

Clark has had an unpleasant history with pre-paid vacations and he wants to tell you about it. The idea is that instead of buying a vacation to a particular destination, you pay a fee upfront in the hopes that you’ll take vacations around the world. It’s considered to be the next advancement because it allows you to travel wherever without trading in. But Clark is extremely leery of these organizations, especially now that they’ve morphed into something worse with costs up to $80,000. The industry decided that it was more likely to sell to wealthy people than to middle- or low-income families, so it increased the price and targeted the rich. Well, now one of these businesses has gone bust. There was no money left to run the vacation operation itself, and the company had to file for bankruptcy. You may have friends who think it’s the greatest thing ever. But you really don’t own anything. Stay away from these offers.