RSMCA.org - Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association of Georgia
CardWeb.com - Credit card information resource
CardTrak.com - Credit card information resource
Hulu.com - Network TV shows and films available via your high-speed Internet connection
IRS.gov - Taxpayer advocate service or call 1-877-777-4778
NAEA.org - The National Association of Enrolled Agents or call 202-822-NAEA (6232)

Have you been "smished" yet? Smishing is when a criminal goes phishing for your personal info via text message. This year, Americans will face an estimated 1.5 billion spam text messages. Those who use eBay, do online banking or access a brokerage account online are at the greatest risk of getting smished. So watch out for those urgent text messages seeking your personal banking info. The Washington Post reports even sophisticated people are falling for these ploys.

Text messaging is a big growth area for cons and legitimate advertisers alike. The cell carriers aren't interested in slowing down the traffic. After all, they're making money on every text you receive, unless you're on an unlimited texting plan. Meanwhile, there's a new level of security coming to your online brokerage account. Soon, you'll be able to use your mouse to put in a password on a soft screen -- instead of typing it on your keyboard. This will help minimize keylogger infiltration, where every keystroke can be remotely sent to a hacker.

For years, it's been an article of faith that high-school seniors have had a hard time getting into their first choice when it comes to college. But that may be coming to an end because of demographics; the echo baby boom is just about over and schools are looking at prospects of a greatly diminished student body over the next generation. Going forward, it will be far more favorable for your children and grandchildren to get into the schools they want -- instead of having to settle on a safety choice. For many years, public colleges were more affordable than private ones. But that's set to change too. When Clark was visiting potential schools with his daughter, they checked out the campus of one private school that offered a steal of a deal on tuition. Clark wishes his daughter wanted to go to that school, but alas, she had a different campus in mind.

We're currently experiencing a revolution in the way we watch TV and movies. Clark was recently watching the Disney channel with his 2-year-old son Grant. When the segment ended, Grant wanted to continue watching more of the same programming. Clark explained the show was over, but Grant didn't get it. And you know what? Grant is right: TV and film content should be available on demand wherever you are. What Clark's talking about is way beyond TiVo -- it's more along the lines of Hulu.com, which has now made it past the beta testing stage. A couple of Clark Howard Show staffers tried that service and really liked it.

Clark recalls back in the late '80s when he came to a staff meeting and started talking about his replay TV. He immediately drew blank stares. Now Christa, who laughed at him back then, is a TiVo addict. In fact, Christa's daughter recently wanted her mom to pause a TV out at a restaurant; she had no idea that Christa couldn't do it like she would at home. Soon kids may have handheld IAAs (Internet application appliances) and be able to watch whatever they want when and where they want it. The idea of watching TV on a schedule published by a network is over. The next home revolution will involve taking programming from the Internet and popping it on your home TV screen. Future generations of flat screen TVs will likely be able to do this.

There is a real market demand for cheap, reliable and safe city-to-city bus transportation. If you're thinking of a Greyhound terminal in a seedy part of town, boy, have things changed. Greyhound has launched a new line called Bolt Bus with 8 daily trips between Washington, D.C. and New York. Online fares start at $1 and on board amenities include free wifi. The push for cheap fares among big cities really started with bus lines running in the Washington D.C./New York/Boston corridor that were geared toward ethnic Chinese customers. There's also a European player in the game called Megabus with service in the Midwest states of Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee; and out West in Nevada and California. Any of these options offer great alternatives to flight delays and high gas prices the next time you have to move around.