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RIP-OFF ALERT: The Federal Reserve sets the interest rates it controls at 2%. Prime rate for good borrowers is around 5%. Contrast that with the stories of desperate people who take out loans on the web with interest rates as high as 2,000%. Clark doesn't know anyone who gets up in the morning and actually wants to get ripped off with a loan at 2,000%!

The penny-pinching guru recalls the original Rocky movie, where the famed title character worked for the mob beating up people who couldn't pay their loans. But even the mob in that era didn't charge 2,000%. Yet today, with a click of the mouse, you can borrow yourself into oblivion.

According to a report in The Chicago Tribune, one surprising category of borrowers tends to fall prey to these outrageous online loans. That's people who earn about $35-65K/year. These folks will usually look for loans if they're short on money for the bills.

Clark believes online predatory lenders are sociopaths. They know the difference between right and wrong, yet they don't care about the harm they're causing to families. So put this in the back of your mind if you ever reach that point of desperation.

Business Week, meanwhile, reports that business owners are getting loans with interest rates of more than 50%. While that may not sound excessive by comparison, it's extremely high for business owners.

Retail and restaurants are often targeted for these kinds of loans. The modus operandi of the lenders is that they make an advance against future credit card receivables, which are then redirected to be deposited to them, not to the business owner. It's like mortgaging your future.

Remember Doug Flutie's famous 1984 Hail Mary pass? Well, these business loans are kind of like that. But even though that pass connected, it's not the kind of chance you want to take with the future of your business.

The furniture business has been hurt greatly by the housing slump. As a result, great opportunity exists at going out of business (GOB) sales and also among some high-end furniture retailers.

But there is a hazard here. GOB sales are often run by third party operators that come in and the pay the owner for inventory. The GOB operator then brings in a wide assortment of junk furniture for the sale. So you have to know a retailer's typical inventory before you buy anything thinking it's a deal.

Be sure to pay with a real credit card if you plan on taking delivery later. Do not use cash and do not use a fake piece of trash Visa or MasterCard debit card. With a credit card, you have 60 days from the transaction to enter a dispute if you never get your furniture.

In related news, summer is moving season -- beware of scam movers! The moving industry has been a haven for mob-backed businesses that may hold your possessions hostage and demand a ransom!

Be safe and find a legitimately certified mover at Moving.org. Also, be sure to get a "binding estimate," which means that you won't be hit with more fees down the road. It's not enough if your contract just says "estimate;" it must say "binding estimate."

Because of outdated laws, your possessions will only be insured at a rate of 60 cents per pound. So you should think about buying replacement value coverage in the event your belongings become lost, stolen or broken.

Planning on renting a truck and making a move yourself? There are huge price differences throughout the month. If possible, don't rent at the end or beginning of a month and avoid the weekends.

RIP-OFF ALERT: AT&T has just settled (and T-Mobile is facing) a lawsuit over 3rd party aggregator charges. These are the stray charges on your bill for Internet services, ringtones or what have you. Your carrier gets a split of money from the crooks that post these bogus charges on your statement, a practice now being called "off decking."

The sad thing is that most people don't even notice the charges. That's because their bills are automatically charged to a credit card or auto-debited from a checking account. It's as if you give the crooks permission by not checking your bill.

The simple solution is to get a copy of your statement and vet it carefully every month. Clark goes through his bill page-by-page and calls his carrier if something doesn't make sense.

The carriers feel they're caught in the middle; they don't initiate the charges, they only act as billing agents. But Clark has trouble with this rationale because they're getting money from off decking.

On a related note, do you have teens added to your cell plan? Tell them not to respond to any texting offers for free ringtones, games, etc. These offers are all hazard and no opportunity.

You've probably heard anecdotally that the cars we're buying have changed. GM, Ford and Chrysler are wounded ducks right now because so much of their business is in larger vehicles. New data shows that sales of the Big 3 have dipped below that of the smaller Asian cars for the first time ever.

The No. 1 selling vehicle is now the Honda Civic -- not the Ford F-Series pickup truck as it's been for years. In fact, sales of big SUVs are down to just 4% of the entire market.

People stuck in a new gas guzzler are always torn between keeping it and dumping it. Typically, you're better off keeping it and budgeting for the high gas prices. The reality is that fuel is still a small amount of the total ownership cost of a vehicle.

But if, for example, you have a 4-year old SUV, you may want to think about dumping it for a used fuel-efficient car. Depreciation will threaten your wallet more than the actual fuel costs.

Clark recently saw an analysis that found driving an SUV for 15K miles/year over a period of 5 years will cost you $100K. That factors in purchase price, maintenance and fuel.

The July issue of Consumer Reports has a cover story about gas-saving cars. There's a new top dog out there and it's the Hyundai Elantra SE. The No. 2 car is the Honda Civic EX (manual). Other top choices include the Toyota Prius, Mazda 3 and the Subaru Impreza. In the class of extra-small cars, the Honda Fit and Nissan Versa both got kudos.