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There's new hope for those who are behind on their mortgages and either want to stay in their homes or do a short sale. As Clark told you months ago, a collective of the nation's largest lenders are pushing The Hope Now initiative.

The lenders' interests are purely monetary as they face a critical mass of some 2 million potential foreclosures. The reality is that lenders don't want you out on the street because it's expensive for them and they're notoriously bad property managers. Under the voluntary Hope Now program, participating lenders will help you to do a short sale or get a loan modification.

By the end of July, participating lenders will be required to confirm receipt of your request for either option within 5 business days. Then they'll have 6 weeks to accept or decline your request. This is a major change because it puts a timeline on the procedure for the first time.

The biggest beneficiary here will be your fellow neighbors. Their home values won't automatically plummet with your foreclosure, now that there are more options available to you. Keep in mind that home values decline about 1% for every foreclosure in a neighborhood.

The other beneficiary is the bank. They lose a minimum of about $70K on every foreclosure. That's why they're willing to do these workouts. For you as borrower, the benefits are obvious. But the big unknown is how it will all work for people who have 2 loans on a home.

One thing Clark doesn't want to see is a Congressional bailout for the mortgage lenders, which may be disguised as being in the best interest of homeowners.

Clark recently told you about Time Warner's experimental metering plan for Internet service in Texas. They'll be charging their Lone Star State customers per kilobyte. Now AT&T has announced that such a plan is nearly inevitable for them.

What's going on here?

These ISPs are in terror of people skipping cable or satellite and going straight to the Internet to watch video content. Think about it: Comcast, too, has already admitted degrading the Internet experience of its customers when they watch a competitor's video content. Are you beginning to see a trend here?

Clark's staffers Kim and Joel both watch TV on the Internet, especially via Hulu.com. It's just like on-demand TV without having to pay for anything.

The cable/phone monopolies are trying to choke their Internet customers. This is a byproduct of our nation's shortsighted policy, where only the monopolies control the Internet.

There is, however, a hope on the horizon. Stay tuned for a new wireless way to get on the Internet that will bypass the cable/phone monopolies.

Meanwhile, Kiplinger's has crunched the numbers and figured out that downloading a single movie under Time Warner's metered Internet plan will cost you $30. Imagine if you download 10 movies per month!

They want to eliminate your freedom to watch video with a Time Warner Internet connection. Don't stand for it; anytime an ISP tries to meter you, you need to take your business elsewhere!

There's been a disturbing spike in bankruptcy filings among senior citizens. The Consumer Bankruptcy Project finds that bankruptcies are up a whopping 433% among older seniors and 125% among younger seniors.

We live in an age where seniors still have mortgages as they enter retirement, or they have racked up massive credit card debt during the golden years.

This is obviously not the generation that grew up during the Great Depression -- otherwise they would know how dangerous debt can be and they'd steer clear of it.

When you're 20 or 30, you don't realize that one day you'll retire. Modern medicine has given us longer lives, but the flip side of that coin is that you've got to financially provide for those extra years.

No doubt you've heard this before but it bears repeating: The earlier you save, the easier it will be down the road.

Clark thinks of his daughter in college. When she spoke up in an economics class about a Roth account, she proved to be the only student with any knowledge of a Roth. Talk about a full nerd alert on campus!

In fact, she's been enjoying the "daddy match" on her Roth from the age of 15 when she got her first real job at a restaurant. Clark matches whatever she saves dollar for dollar.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a father who's obsessed with saving for the future. That's why it's important to hear this message and heed it. Check out Clark's retirement chart if you want to really see the power of saving early.

One final thought: Clark's friend, the syndicated financial columnist Michelle Singletary, recently wrote a column from the heart about how she's heard from retirees burdened with mortgage debt. The takeaway is do not buy more house than you can afford!

Clark's now been using Mint.com for several months and loves it. Here's how it works: You register all your accounts with them and they analyze your spending to tell you if you'll meet your financial goals.

After Clark's high praise for the free service, Christa finally checked out Mint and also loves it. She thinks it's even easier to use than Quicken or Microsoft Money.

In addition to tracking your spending, Mint will also send you simple reminders when your bills are due. One of Clark's credit card bills got lost in the mail, but Mint reminded him so he didn't have to get a late fee.

So the Internet just offers one more tool that can help you gain control over your spending. But don't overlook the old-fashioned envelope method or the notebook method of keeping track of your expenses.