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For the past 2 years, Florida hasn't had any population growth. Moving companies report that as many people are moving out as they are moving in. Real estate prices are now down 20 percent from their peak, and The Washington Post reports that enrollment in public schools is down year after year. Many families are leaving because they're being priced out of the market, not to mention that the cost of insurance with all the hurricanes has been too much. Florida's popularity ultimately became its own hex. So that means this a great time to zig when others zag. Clark thinks there will be tremendous real estate opportunities throughout Florida in 2009.

If you hope to buy Sunshine State real estate, don't go by the last sale price on a given property. Instead, look back at what properties sold for in 2004 and use that as your baseline. Keep in mind that the ridiculous prices of 2005 and 2006 were speculative. Miami will present a lot of opportunities in the condo market, but beware of location. Many developers built condos in unsafe neighborhoods as desirable land got scarce. Know the market before you buy.

Clark has an obsession with not paying too much for sneakers. Perhaps you've heard him talk about the Steve and Barry's chains. S&B make very fashionable sneakers available for as little as $9. Recently Clark read an article in The Chicago Tribune about the latest Air Jordans. The iconic athletic shoe is now on its 23rd version and the asking price ranges from $185-$230! Sneakers are such a symbol of the power of marketing and advertising. With clever imaging and promotion, you can create a value that should not really exist. If you have a child who wants a pair of Air Jordans, Clark feels sorry for you! Actually, he encourages you to think about footwear from S&B instead. It is up to us as parents to teach good money values to our children.

Take a look at The Wall Street Journal and you'll see one dire headline after another. In the latest edition of Clarkonomics, Clark explained how one root of the problem is that money has been too easy to borrow. Between 2000-2006, our average household debt rose by 500 percent. That's unprecedented in our history. Banks kept making mortgage loans and didn't care if the loan was going to get paid. They were all too happy to package loans together and sell them off as supposedly safe investments. Meanwhile, conventional wisdom says that sub-prime mortgage holders get in trouble when their rates reset. Yet the reality is that most got in trouble even earlier. On the other side of the spectrum, you have upper middle-class people who took out option payment loans and bought expensive homes. These are people with good credit scores and histories. But the balance on option payment loans goes up over time. So the story of one man who contacted Clark when he was $400,000 upside down in his home is not unique.

In the past, when the economy started to tank, you flooded it with money. That's no longer an alternative. We're facing a time when we'll have to go cold turkey and clean the excess out of the economy. Millions will get hurt, and hundreds of thousands in the financial sector may lose their jobs. States and local governments will continue going in the red and have to decide whether to cut spending or raise taxes.

At some point, people will lose confidence in owning real estate. They'll have to double up, move in with family or become renters. We're not there yet. But after we get there, look for a time when the excess housing supply will be a real deal. If you have an opportunity to buy for pennies or dimes on the dollar, pounce on it and then be prepared to wait for recovery. The other bit of advice Clark has for tight economic times is perennial: Reduce your debt exposure!

Clark has been vicious in the past towards MySpace and Facebook for their roles in helping child predators find their prey online. Both social-networking sites historically felt the responsibility was not theirs. But now MySpace has agreed to work with the states to protect the safety and welfare of kids in cyberspace. Clark is thrilled; for them to score cash and not have any sense of responsibility was unconscionable. The ultimate responsibility, however, still lies with you as a parent. You've got to know what your minors are up to online. Clark actually advises you to have access to your kids' account and spy on them. If you think that's too extreme, Clark argues that children don't have rights until they're adults and pay their own bills. If they live in your house, they must abide by your rules. Clark was once monitoring his daughter's Facebook account and saw pictures of her underage friends having beer at a party. He used that as way to open up a discussion and learn about some parts of his daughter's life that he didn't previously know about. If you just put on the blinders, you may not like what you'll later learn about your kids.