GarrettPlanningNetwork.com - Hourly as-needed financial planning and advice
ZenniOptical.com - Get discount prescription eyeglasses online or call 1-800-211-2105 (Editor's note: This website was down at last check)

Clark loves news reports that affirm his deeply held beliefs about saving money. Right now he's gloating about the results of a Scottish study that found low-cost running shoes are just as good as more expensive ones. The only time Clark spends real money on shoes is for running. But somewhere inside he feels that inexpensive ones may harm his feet. So he picked up his current running shoes on clearance for $45, which is pretty expensive for him. He tries to get most of his other shoes for less than $15. He has a pair of loafers that cost $15, a pair of tennis shoes that he got for $12 and some dress shoes that he inherited from his father in 1989. Now the study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has found that inexpensive shoes provided better foot support for the sole, heel, forefoot and big toe than more expensive ones. This whole issue makes Clark thinks of the Steve and Barry's chain that features Stephon Marbury's NBA quality sneakers for under $15 and Sarah Jessica Parker's clothing line for $19 or less. In fact, Steve and Barry's is the only company really doing deep discounted merchandise in the sports field.

Clark's cheapness has set off a couple of recent firestorms. Syndicated financial writer Greg Karp recently wrote about Clark's use of a single 17-cent razor for a year. Last March, Clark graduated to his second razor. But spending 34 cents on blades for two years is pretty good, don't you think? Yet many people have expressed that they think this is cheapness without a purpose because his razors are so cheap to begin with. In a way, Clark agrees -- but he'd definitely be saving a lot over time if his blade of choice was an expensive one. Other people are upset with Clark over the Zenni Optical issue. For those of you who don't know, Zenni provides deeply discounted prescription eyeglasses starting at $8. Clark himself wears progressive lenses from Zenni that cost him $41. But some people wonder how they can be any good if they're so cheap. Clark's friend Jim Strickland, an investigative reporter for WSB-TV, recently did a story about eyeglasses where he compared Zennis and a number other more expensive brands. The Zennis had perfect prescriptions versus the glasses that were filled at well-known optometry chain stores. The message here is that buying cheap glasses does not automatically mean you'll get bad quality. Consumer Reports recently revealed the three best places to have your eyeglasses prescription filled: At an independent practice where the optometrist has his or her own dispensing operation; at a Costco location; and at the For Eyes Optical discount chain.

When Clark goes to Europe, he often gets dragged into museums to look at paintings. Much of the Renaissance art he sees depicts people who are slightly chunky because that was the sign of health and wealth at that point in history. It turns out that people from that era may have been on to something. Today our culture believes that being a stick figure is healthy and having some meat on your bones means that you're unhealthy. But the latest health findings from the Centers for Disease Control show that being slightly overweight when you're under 30 doesn't raise your risk of cancer and heart disease. In fact, it can even lessen your risk of death from some illnesses. The findings of the study were revealed in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Bear in mind that some scientists think these findings are faulty, so this not a green light for you to get a little chunky. Take any health advice with a grain of salt—or salt substitute because everyone's so sodium conscious these days!

Clark works with a sales representative who is very charitable with his money. After being solicited by someone trying to collect money for firefighters, the sales rep agreed over the phone to give $25 to the cause. But when the pledge card arrived in the mail, there was a message stating it was not a charity and contributions were not tax deductible. The rep was in a classic moral dilemma; he wanted to honor his commitment, but no longer felt comfortable about it. Clark told him not to give the $25 in this instance.

With the holidays approaching, we're susceptible to being taken advantage of through our generosity. So anytime a solicitor calls seeking funds, your standard answer should be, "I don't give money out over the phone. If you'd like, you can send me some literature on your organization so I can make an informed decision." If you say that to a scammer, you'll probably hear Mr. Buzz -- the dial-tone -- because they'll be on to the next caller. There's a grey area here with phony solicitors seeking money for fire departments, police departments and the military. Clark recently heard of one group raising money for soldiers. But it turned out only a third of 1 percent of the money was actually going to soldiers. That means 99.7 percent was being stolen from people like you with false promises. You also need to beware of union-collection activities. Any contributions you make are not deductible and do not go directly to the benefit of fire or police workers. They instead go to union-funding efforts in law enforcement and public safety fields. The bottom line is that you should have firsthand knowledge of any group you're considering funding. Many legitimate charities are inefficiently run, so only pennies may actually go to the intended recipient. Give your money instead to organizations you know you can trust and believe in. The best organizations for this are ones you're involved in yourself. Clark has compiled some tips to help you know exactly how your charitable donations are being used.