CellTradeUSA.com - Get out of your cell phone contract

Think stealing music on the Internet is a thing of the past? Think again. In a way, stolen music is actually more consumer friendly than legitimately purchased downloads. That's because the major record labels have long been proponents of digital-rights management or DRM. In essence, they make it difficult for you to do what you want with legitimately downloaded music. DRM ensures that you can not use music you've purchased online across platforms -- on multiple MP3 players or computers, for example. But the irony is that if you stole that same music online, you could do whatever you want with it. Supporting DRM has been a stupid move on the part of the labels, according to Clark. But now Universal Music Group and EMI -- two labels that control about half the music out there -- are bucking the trend. They're teaming up with Wal-Mart to offer DRM-free tracks for 94 cents a pop. Universal artists include 50 Cent, Bon Jovi and the Counting Crows, among others. EMI's catalog encompasses music from the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Coldplay and more. So you can buy the music and put it on whatever MP3 player or computer you want.

As an aside, Clark shared a great anecdote about how he first became aware of rapper 50 Cent. About four years ago, Clark was staying at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle during a book tour. Parking at the hotel was too expensive for Clark's taste, so he found some free parking about a mile away. While he was walking back to the hotel, he passed an arena where 50 Cent was performing that night. He saw a lot of scalpers on the street shouting, "50 Cent tickets." Clark couldn't understand why they were selling tickets for 50 cents! When he got back to the hotel, it turns out the rapper was staying there. Clark crossed paths with Fiddy's posse, and he drew blank stares when he asked them, "Who is 50 Cent?"

Do you remember when gas stations used to offer cheaper prices if you paid cash? Cash discounts at the pump are starting to make a comeback. This might seem like an odd thing, especially considering that people overwhelmingly fuel up using their credit cards nowadays. But the gas stations take a big hit on the credit card processing fees for every charge at the pump. These fees can be anywhere from several cents per gallon to a dime per gallon. So some stations now offer cash-paying customers anywhere from a nickel to 15 cents off per gallon to encourage cash transactions. The Los Angeles Times reports that cash discounts on the West Coast are spreading like wildfire. But this trend also raises a dilemma for stations. If people don't pre-pay via credit card, there's always the risk that they'll fill up and drive off without paying at all. Meanwhile, if you have to pay cash upfront, the stations may have to hire more staff or worry about losing business because of long lines at the pump. There's a balance that has to be struck. QuikTrip is trying to strike that balance by offering a pre-paid cash card. You have to register your personal info at the gas station -- to discourage you from driving off -- and then you're issued a card that lets you fuel up.

Few industries have higher dissatisfaction rates than the cell phone industry. That's probably because Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile continue stubbornly to force people into lousy two-year contracts. When you sign up, you get a phone for a very little or free that comes with a two-year agreement, usually printed in mice type. The contract is like a handcuff that forces you to stick with the carrier whether they're doing a good job or not. Fortunately a lot of the growth in the cell phone field has been with under-the-radar players like MetroPCS, Cricket, Boost Mobile (a division of Sprint) and others. Many of these companies offer unlimited calling with no contract. Verizon is staring to wise up slightly and now pro-rates its fees for cancelling a contract. But AT&T still claims that contracts subsidize the cost of free phones. So how do they explain the fact that the iPhone, which retails for between $500-$600, has a two-year contract? There's no logic here.

AT&T recently lost a lawsuit in a federal court of appeals that will now pave the way for a number of class-action lawsuits. The company had hoped to prevent customers from going the class-action route by forcing them into kangaroo court arbitration. But the courts ruled this practice is illegal. Now one of the class-action suits coming down the pike alleges AT&T continued forcing customers into contracts even when its network couldn't handle the number of subscribers and the company's call reliability dropped. Keep in mind that you can try getting out of your contract by trading it away if you're not the class-action type. CellTradeUSA.com is one company that charges a fee of about $20 to transfer your contract to someone else. And remember that when you get some mice type in the mail saying the service fees are changing, that is your opportunity to exit from your contract without paying a cancellation fee.

Spain used to be known as the country of insomniacs. The Spaniards have long had their own unique schedule. Dinner doesn't usually start until 10 p.m., and people may not go to bed until 3 a.m. Then they'll get up at 7 in the morning and historically took midday siestas for several hours. But as Spain got more Europeanized, businesses began to stay open all day. People, however, still went to bed late, hence the insomniac part. We Americans are right on the Spaniards' heels in terms of sleep deprivation. With longer commutes and more responsibilities, our sleep has become increasingly scarce. Clark's YMCA now opens at 5:30 in the morning and people are lined up because it's the only time during their day that they can exercise.

This whole trend has led people to look for the magic answer to better sleep in better (and more expensive) mattresses. There's a huge market for premium mattresses -- those that cost $2,500 or more. Smart Money magazine reports that one in four mattresses bought is now a premium one, and the market has doubled over the last five years. There's not a lot of scientific evidence to suggest these beds will get you better sleep. So Clark suggests some other low-tech ways to get your rest. Try turning the TV off at an earlier time and not sitting on the Internet past 9 p.m. You might even try removing TVs and computers from your bedroom entirely. Just a thought before you go plunking $2,500 down on a premium mattress. Meanwhile, be sure to vote in Clark's polls and tell us what you think about this issue.