Wesabe.com - Learn simple budgeting techniques
FinancialEngines.com - Get help planning your retirement
MegaBus.com - Low cost bus service in select U.S. cities

Less than 60 percent of us heat our homes or get hot water from natural gas. Yet the price of natural gas still affects you whenever you turn on a light or your TV. That's because electric companies often use natural gas to fire up their plants. The cost of natural gas really skyrocketed about two years ago after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed the industry's infrastructure. The price tripled in a week and stayed exorbitant for a long time after that. Last year, the price settled down some. But this year, you're going to get really sweet deals on natural gas. There are new industry reports out that show the supply of natural gas sitting in pipelines is the largest it's been since 1994. So barring another natural (or manmade) disaster, the price this winter will be the best it's been for quite a long time.

On the topic of gasoline, why is it that we're paying less at the pump when the price per barrel is often way above $70?? Clark attributes this to the "crack spread," which has nothing to do with crack or cocaine. The crack spread refers to the shortage of space in refineries that process crude oil into gasoline. Previously there was limited storage in the refineries, so that drove the price of gas up. Now that the crack spread has lessened, we benefit at the pump.

Should you buy antibacterial soaps for your home? People routinely pay more for them, but are they really a benefit? The answer is no, according to a new report in The Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases. The report found that you won't get any more sanitary with antibacterial soap than you will with plain soap. There's even a stunner of a finding that suggests antibacterial soap can harm you by making you resistant to antibiotics. About two or three years ago, Clark championed early reports about people developing antibiotic resistance from antibacterial soap. He got a lot of pushback from his crew at that time. People don't seem to want to hear that antibacterial soap isn't as good for them as it's cracked up to be. They often wonder why hospital staffers always use antibacterial soaps and lotions. It turns out that the concentration they use in medical facilities is much higher than what's available at retail. So if you're wondering what soap Clark recommends, he thinks Ivory is great because of its affordable price. However, even he doesn't use this soap in his home. He admits to instead overpaying for Irish Spring!

People often contact Clark asking about good free budgeting tools online. Clark recently discovered one free site that he really likes called Wesabe.com. If you're curious about that name, it apparently derives from saber, the Spanish word for "to know." So the name is a Spanglish-ism that roughly translates to "we know." Wesabe.com offers you the opportunity to assess your finances and make sure you're on the right track. It's a community-based site, so that means you'll find users of the site helping each other. Clark wants people to know that there's no one right way to save for the future. Some people like the envelope system, while other use the pay-yourself-first method. Wesabe.com is just another tool in the toolbox that you might be able to put to work. Another site Clark likes is FinancialEngines.com, which can help you plan your retirement. It uses the Monte Carlo analysis method, and tries to prepare you to meet your financial goals even when factoring in the odds of a market crash.

Have you ever parked at a big event and lost your car? One of Clark's staffers recently told him that she was at a racetrack for a concert and couldn't find her car for a full hour after the event. She eventually located the vehicle when security drove her around to look for it. Similarly, the husband of Clark's executive producer once wandered around an airport parking deck for four hours when he couldn't recall where he parked following a weeklong trip. Imagine if you could avoid these kinds of scenarios in the future. GPS maker Garmin has developed a device that can help: a car finder. Clark recently read about it in The Kansas City Star. It will electronically mark where you leave your car and walk you back to the spot later. This is one device that Clark himself could really use; he fesses up to forgetting where he parks at the radio station about twice a week. And that's after working for only six hours! If you're in the market for a basic GPS, Clark thinks we'll be seeing Black Friday sales in the $99-$129 range. And in a few years, every car will probably come standard with a GPS -- just as mostly every car has a radio.