LeverageCard.com - Manage your gift cards online
MovingScam.com - Avoid crooked movers
Moving.org - The American Moving and Storage Association CurrentCodes.com - Coupon codes for online retailers
MissingMoney.com - Free national search for missing money

Did you know that more than $1 in $4 spent on gift cards goes unredeemed? That's money that just slips through our fingers. It also explains why businesses push gift cards so much. The Safeway supermarket chain has a subsidiary business that sells gift card displays to drug stores and even to Safeway's archrival Kroger. These displays offer one-stop shopping with gift cards from hundreds of different retailers. This is a highly profitable business all around. For every sale, the point-of-purchase retailer gets a cut, Safeway gets a cut and the point-of-redemption business gets a cut too. Some businesses are making more profit on gift cards than anything else they do.

Clark generally hates gift cards, but he will buy the ones where you pay a set amount and get a card that has added value. You sacrifice the flexibility of your dollar, but you get more than you paid for. These kinds of "bonus" gift cards were pioneered by restaurants, and have since been picked up on by spas and some theme parks. Clark's family has a 1 gallon plastic baggie for all the gift cards they've received from people. They always make sure to check the bag before they go out to dinner or to a store. Now there's even a website called LeverageCard.com that allows you to manage your gift cards online. In summary, Clark still thinks gift cards stink. His advice is to just give cash instead. Need a little help doing so this season? Clark has come up with a cash-only gift card for your gifting pleasure!

Beware if you're in a credit crunch and you get a credit card offer in the mail from First Premier Bank. This locust lender will offer you a card with a $250 credit limit, but it also comes with a $95 program fee, a $29 set-up fee, an $84 dollar/year participation fee and an annual fee of $48. By the time you pay all the initial fees, you barely have any of your original credit line still available. Lenders like First Premier and CompuCredit have been in the news lately for this practice, yet there are also many online opportunities enticing those with damaged credit. If you're contemplating getting one of these cards, stop it immediately. There are alternatives called stored-value cards that have just a fraction of the fees. Stored-value cards are popular in Europe, but not widely known in the United States. Here's how they work: You pay a fee, usually around $5, to open an account. Then you get a Visa or MasterCard that holds your stored value. So you don't have a credit card per se, but you've got a card that you can electronically load cash onto and use as a payment system. Stored-value cards can help you make online purchases, for example. Be sure to read all the terms and conditions because additional fees usually apply. You can find stored-value cards at discount stores, but don't purchase them at convenience stores. The fees you'll face there will defeat the purpose.

Don't attempt to adjust your radio if you hear some ambient noise this hour. That's just Clark broadcasting on location as part of Christmas Kids 2007! Interested in helping out a needy child this holiday season? Clark will be personally accepting donations at stores throughout the Atlanta area until Dec. 15. If you're not able to make it out, why not donate online? By working with the Salvation Army, your gifts can be distributed to children right in your own state or area!

Switching gears for a moment, Clark wants to discuss President Bush's announcement about a voluntary plan for people in mortgage meltdown to receive assistance from their lender. Those who took out blow-up mortgages like 2/28 loans in the last few years and have been current on their payments are most likely to benefit. 2/28 loans are typically offered to first-time homebuyers or people with damaged credit. The homebuyers were conned into 2-year loans at a decent rate that becomes outrageous after 24 months. Sometimes the blow-up rate will put the annual payments near or equal to the homeowners' annual income.

Under Bush's plan, lenders can voluntarily freeze the interest rate for 5 years if it's a homeowner's primary residence and they've made timely payments for the first 2 years. This will not help speculative buyers who got into 2/28 loans. Ironically, there are protections under bankruptcy law for spec buyers that don't apply to owner-occupied property. Clark thinks it's reasonable that there shouldn't be any coercion on lenders to freeze the rate. If the government were to try to impose its will, it would have a negative effect on the confidence of investors making loans. After all, why should an investor take on the risk if the government will just come in and decide how much money they'll be able to earn back? Some lenders would be wise to freeze the interest rate; it's a much cheaper option than having to pay to foreclose on tons of properties. Nobody wins in those situations.

Auto loan delinquencies are skyrocketing; they're reportedly the highest they've been since 1991. That's a sure sign of economic slowdown. Whenever people have been squeezed in the past they'd do a home equity line of credit. But now those equity lines are tapped. That's why it's very important to stay current on your car loan. The interest rates are generally good, but the penalties for default can be huge. And let's not even speak of repo. Having your car repossessed is doubly harmful. Not only do you have to find other ways to get to work, but most states have what's known as "deficiency." This is what happens when the lender sells the repo car at auction and gets below wholesale value. They're then legally allowed to bill you for the deficient amount. If you can't pay it, they can sue you and get a judgment against you. So if you're having trouble making your car payments, get in touch with your lender and try to arrange a forbearance to avoid repo. Under the terms of forbearance, the payments you can't make now will likely be tacked on to the end of the loan. One final word about prioritizing your debts: If you're really pinched, don't pay that credit card! Pay your mortgage, food and medical expenses and your car loan first. Put the credit card collectors on ignore until you're able to begin paying them again.