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Roughly one-third of people rent instead of own their homes. Sadly, only a small percentage of those renters have insurance. We hear about the downside to that fact all the time on the news. Fires and natural disasters destroy homes and leave people homeless all the time. The people who were living there have no recourse because they didn’t have insurance. Why don’t more people have renter’s insurance? Some think it’s too expensive, but it’s not. At about $10 or $15 a month, skipping two stops at Starbucks will pay for your monthly premium.

Is there a true free lunch for earning frequent flier miles? For example, for years people have asked Clark if they could pay for a car, a home or their rent with a credit card. They want to earn the miles on those huge purchases. People used to do that, but when the bill came they couldn’t pay it. American Express hasn’t given up on people, though. The company is now letting people pay their mortgages with a credit card. The deal involves two lenders – IndyMac and American Home Mortgage. If you pay an additional $400 in closing costs to American Express, you can pay each month with your rewards credit card. You can earn a ton of hotel and air rewards, and the company saves on processing fees. You’ll also make back the $400 in 6 to 12 months, yet the benefit continues for as long as you have the card. Just remember not to overpay on your mortgage. Make sure you can handle the payments. If it works well, others will probably start their own programs.

It’s a lot easier to conserve energy these days than many people realize. One way is through the Energy Star program, a joint program between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The idea is that everyone can save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Today, Clark talked with a representative from the program, who said there are things people can do year round to save energy. The first thing you can do is check out the Energy Star site, which has an interactive tool called "Energy Star Home." It takes people step-by-step througout the home, showing how people can save money in each room. Check it out here.

Property taxes are going up all around the country. On average, property taxes are up 13 percent even after accounting for inflation, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s as a result of the real estate bubble and it’s affecting how interested people are in buying homes these days. If politicians were doing their jobs correctly and rolling back taxes, property taxes wouldn’t go up very much at all. The public is livid over the increase and public outcries are happening all over the country. The more money that comes into local and state governments, the more they will spend. At the federal level, that’s what happens because they can just print money. But states are required constitutionally to balance the budget. Typically, whatever money comes in is spent. But we need to control spending at all levels. That goes for politicians too. Clark thinks what we need is a nationwide rollback in property tax rates. If we had tight controls on spending, residents wouldn’t be feeling this burden in states that have experienced real estate bubbles. If you live in a state with citizen-sponsored ballot items, that is how you do your part. In states where that is not an option, elect people who don’t just talk about controlling spending. They actually do it.