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The question of why people spend money in ways that don't make sense is one that's addressed by behavioral economics. This field of study used to be discredited in serious academic circles, but now it's gaining validity. A recent University of Virginia study attempted to explain why parents who were struggling with modest incomes would buy the latest video games, clothes and shoes for their kids -- even when they couldn't meet their other financial commitments. Researchers think it can all be explained by "the search for dignity." That's what happens when parents feel it is more important for their children to fit in and not feel different than it is to make wise choices that will help avert financial Armageddon.

Is it right to blame modern culture for creating situations where "the search for dignity" emotion kicks in? When Clark went to high school in the late '60s/early '70s, there was no Disney Channel or Nickelodeon to create a want in kids for certain products. But today once something is "cool," people instantly know about it. Take the popular film High School Musical for example. Disney sold more than a billion dollars of ancillaries -- High School Musical CDs, books and more -- after the flick's success. Clark's wife recently emceed a teen talent contest and all the kids performed songs from the movie. Modern culture has raised the level of expectation among children; it's like "keeping up with Joneses" has no lower age limit anymore. But Clark thinks there's value in telling a child that you can't afford something right now if that's the case. As he says, there's nothing in the Constitution about upgrading your child's Game Boy Advance to a Nintendo DS!

Clark gets his hair cut at place where he pays between $10 and $13 dollars. His executive producer, Christa, now saves triple digits (pet visit!) by going to an Aveda Institute and getting her hair cut by stylists in training. On the other end of the spectrum, The Dallas Morning News reports that there's a new trend among men to go to expensive salons that are geared specifically to guys. Knock Outs is one chain that's in 11 states and has 123 locations that feature female stylists in shorts and tight T-shirts. Guys also get a free beer during each appointment. There's another chain called Sport Clips that's in 32 states and has 400 locations. This one uses a locker-room theme with stylists in tennis shoes and sweat pants -- sorry guys, no women in tight clothes. Yet another chain offers an annual membership where you can get unlimited cuts for $525/year. Not exactly a cheap option compared to Clark's clip shop!

Our favorite penny-pincher spent some time today broadcasting from the studios of Baltimore affiliate WVIE AM 1370, where he's in town for the Maryland State Fair. Clark is really excited because he's never been to a state fair before. His only knowledge of them comes second-hand from movies and TV shows. Clark's executive producer, Christa, is also new to the whole state fair experience. While she did attend local celebrations growing up in upstate New York, they were nothing like a bona fide state fair. Following his time in Maryland, Clark and Christa will be traveling via Amtrak to New York to appear on The Rachael Ray Show. Christa is excited to do some Big Apple shopping at H&M and Zara while they're in town. Clark, meanwhile, thinks it will be interesting to see how these usually inexpensive European retailers price their clothes. After all, the euro is clobbering the dollar in the marketplace. Happy shopping, Christa!

HD radio is suffering from an image problem -- a lack of image, to be exact. This technology is beloved by Clark, yet few people know about it or seem to care. The idea behind HD radio is simple: Radio has traditionally been broadcast as an analog signal, but today there are digital signals that make the HD experience available. However, the radio receiver you needed to pick up the HD signals previously cost thousands of dollars. But today you can get a receiver for your car for around $100. HD radio does two things for listeners: it dramatically improves the sound quality of a broadcast and it gives you more stations.

Clark recently had an HD radio installed in his wife's van. When you tune to a particular frequency, the radio first delivers the analog signal while it takes a few seconds to seek the digital one. Watch out when it kicks over to HD. Clark compares the difference in sound quality to listening to a standard car stereo versus listening to live music in a concert hall. The cool thing about the whole HD radio trend is that each station has been given three digital signals for every regular one they had. So a music station, for example, now has the opportunity to play two additional formats that weren't previously available -- in addition to its regular music format. So how much does this wonderful technology cost? Absolutely nothing, unlike satellite radio which offers a ton of channels if you pay the subscription fee. Now Clark wants to put an HD radio in his own Scion xB. He'll probably have the only Scion in the nation with HD radio. While satellite radio has spent a ton of money striking deals with the automakers, HD radio has nobody out there to advocate for it and get it built into cars. So it's a great technology that is going no place. We'll see if it catches on or goes the way of Betamax.