• billmelater.com - Pay for goods down the road
• hsh.com - get mortgage calculators
• give.org - check out charities before giving
• hud.gov - info on 1st time home buying

Clark wants you to know about “Bill Me Later.” It’s a service offered at some e-commerce sites and Clark loves it. If there is a “Bill Me Later” button at checkout, you can click it and you’re not billed for 90 days. You don’t have to enter your credit card and there are no interest charges. You basically enter your birthdate and the last four digits of your Social Security number. If your credit checks out, you are given the credit. You get a “Bill Me Later” a few months later. So what’s the advantage? You’re keeping your credit card numbers to yourself. Plus, you’re busting up the questionable credit card fees that banks charge merchants. So, if you own a business, you can fight back with “Bill Me Later” which charges about half the fees that Visa and MasterCard do.

Children seem to have trouble remembering to turn off lights at home. Consumers waste a ton of money leaving lights on every year. That’s why motion-sensored lights are becoming popular in homes these days. The same is true with faucets. You wouldn’t want the motion-sensored lights in your bedroom of course. But it is a great way to save money in other ways.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Aviation Administration is going to improve airline safety by increasing the retirement age of pilots to 65. Until now, it’s been 60 years old. And that was strictly a union mandate. The unions wanted to make sure new pilots were moving into the system by making sure older pilots were retiring. But now, our experienced pilots will be sticking around a little longer. It’s not a huge leap in age, but it’s something. Clark also thinks pilots should be required to take mental and physical competency exams once they hit 60. That will ensure our safety even more.

This year, more than any other, returning gifts is going to be harder than ever. Retailers have a terrible time with internal theft and they’re losing a ton of money. Stores are losing so much money that they are changing their return policies. These days, almost no stores allow you to return an item without a receipt these days. That means some kind of proof of purchase. So, whenever you give someone a gift, you should give a gift receipt just in case. It may seem a bit tacky. But that person could be stuck with someone they already have or may be unable to switch the size of an item if you don’t include the receipt. How is it all happening? Thieves will print up a fake bar code for an item and pay just pennies for it. Then, they’ll either sell the item on eBay or return the item for the full price. So, when you see brand new stuff on eBay, you may be purchasing an item that was basically stolen from another retailer. So, never forget your regular receipt or your gift receipt.