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Clark’s wife, Lane, did a lot of her holiday shopping online last year and she loved it. Never having to deal with traffic, parking and tons of people was great for her. But she’s one of the few. About 93 percent of shopping is done in actual real stores to this day. People overwhelmingly treat shopping as something to go out and do. As a result, online merchants are doing anything they can to get people to shop on the Web. That’s whey some are launching Christmas sales on Nov. 4 and many are offering free shipping. The traditional kick-off day has been the Friday after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. But not this year. So, start looking for the deals after Nov. 4.

Clark has talked throughout the years about how great smoke detectors and fire alarms are. People are often concerned about burglars so they get an alarm system to ward off thieves. But it’s important to get one with a smoke or fire detector included. You're more likely to suffer fire damage than you are to have your home burlgarized. Along those same lines, you may want to reconsider whether your home is fully insured. If you’ve lived in your home for five years or longer, you’re probably grossly underinsured if there were a catastrophic loss. Insurers only cover people for the amount stated in the policy and they don’t repair to the level of “like condition” as they used to. Insurers stick to the face amount of the policy, so in a major loss you could be paying a ton out of pocket. You want to insure you’re getting what you deserve for your possessions. And the best way to do that is to make a recording. Once a year, video tape your possessions with a video camera and store it in a fire proof safe or other safe place outside the home. Mark the day on your calendar and do it the same day each year. You can buy or borrow a mini-cam these days and do a walking and talking commentary. Then, if your house burns down, you have it all on tape. And get a smoke detector with a 10-year battery. They're really affordable and it's okay if you forget to change the battery.

Our Bank of America meter is now up to more than $33 million. That is the amount of money BOA customers tell us they have removed from the bank, in the form of checking, savings, CDs, credit card and other types of accounts. Why would Clark tell people to do that? It has to do with the story of Matthew Shinnick, a California man who ended up in jail after unknowingly trying to cash a fraudulent check. Read the background here. Bank of America talked with Clark on the air soon after the challenge but has since declined to talk again about Matthew’s situation. Clark, on the other hand, has been interviewed by numerous newspapers and radio shows. Frankly, he’s ashamed that the company carries the name Bank of America. What do you think the company’s name should be? Tell us on our General Discussion message board.

WARNING!!!! The site “freecreditreport.com” is NOT the official place to get your free credit score. In fact, it's one of the many copy cat sites that claims to give you a free credit report but requires you to sign up for a costly membership first. The real site – and the only legitimate one that won’t try to sign you up for a membership – is annualcreditreport.com. To cancel your membership at “freecreditreport.com” call 1-877-481-6826. In addition, the only site that gives you your true credit score is myfico.com The score is not free. But it is important to buy it at least once a year.