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Have you seen the new square-shaped packages for fresh milk at Sam's Club, Costco and elsewhere? The new packaging is more compatible with automated equipment, which means far less handling and quicker transportation. The benefit to consumers is fresher milk at cheaper prices.

But The New York Times reports that many shoppers dislike the packaging because it has caused many spills in kitchens across America. Some retailers are offering milk-pouring classes to reverse the consumer bias.

Clark is not the world's most coordinated guy, but even he can pour the new milk cartons without spilling. His 8 year old, however, is a different story. Likewise, Christa doesn't have any problem with spills when she pours milk for her young children. She also feels like she can buy less milk because it lasts longer.

Meanwhile, ice cream maker Blue Bell has a new ad campaign that stresses how they're not reducing the size of their packaging. Many other competitors are shrinking the size yet keeping the same pricing -- so you're getting less for your money.

Some of the largest banks in our nation made aggressive marketing moves to get people locked into what Clark calls "the dumbest mortgage products ever." We're talking about option payment loans, also called negative amortization loans or Pick-a-Payment loans.

Thankfully, Washington Mutual and Wachovia are both moving away from these loans. Clark recalls negative amortization loans were popular in the mid-1980s and led to a wave of bank collapses and foreclosures during that decade.

With a negative amortization loan, your balance actually goes up over time. That's because you're given the option to pay whatever you want. The unpaid balance each month simply gets added on to the tail end of the loan. When home values drop, you're suddenly quite upside down in your home.

Clark recalls the first time he took a call about a negative amortization loan in 2000 or 2001. A woman called up to ask about an offer she received for a 30-year mortgage at 1 and seventh-eighths percent. But that's only what the monthly payments were based on; her loan balance would continue going up month after month. Ultimately, this is poison for your pocketbook.

There's a simple rule of thumb Clark tells people to follow when shopping for a mortgage: See what you qualify for when it comes to a traditional 30-year fixed rate loan. Then back off and go house shopping at only 90% of what you'd be approved for. So if you qualify for a $200K mortgage, don't look at houses above $180K. This will give you some financial wiggle room over the years.

People have mistakenly thought that stretching to buy a home creates wealth. But it's like more like a rubber-band -- stretch it too far and it will break.

Mortgage disclosure statements are so complex that even the educated don't know what they're signing. The American Enterprise Institute has drawn up a mortgage cheat sheet (and definition of terms) that you can use as a plain-English disclosure when getting a loan. (Editor's note: The first link is a pdf file.)

RIP-OFF ALERT: If you've spent a lifetime working for one employer and built up a sizeable nest egg, you don't want to be targeted by a 401(k) predator.

401(k) predators are those stock brokers or insurance companies that promise great wealth if you move your 401(k) from your ex-employer over to them.

Business Week recently did an investigation into the lives of those who made the transfer. In most cases, their life savings were destroyed.

One stock broker got $320,000 from a retired factory worker and reduced it to $57,000. The broker did so by running the money through bad investments with giant commissions. The factory worker had to come out of retirement and work as a school janitor for $9/hour to avoid impoverishment.

This is an extreme example, but so many people like this are profiled in Business Week. Clark was recently speaking to a man who took his retirement savings to a broker he knew socially. The result? An 80 percent loss of his money.

There are many fine, reliable, honest and decent people in the brokerage industry. The problem is that brokers don't have "fiduciary duty" to you. That means they're not required to put your interests first. Instead, they're allowed to put you in high-commission investments that are generally "suitable" for you and get away with it.

The Business Week report also shows that those free lunch and dinner seminars where they push trashy annuities are terrible rip-offs.

If you need some investment advice, Clark prefers that you seek out a fee-only financial planner. They don't earn any commission from steering you to a certain product. You simply pay them for their advice.

What do you do when a collection agency is ruining your life? Today Clark heard from a caller who had a medical procedure and then moved. A collection agency had been sending bills to the old address for the portion that was unpaid by insurance. Finally, they started making harassing phone calls.

The caller genuinely was ready to settle the debt, but the agency was unwilling to send him any paperwork to verify the amount that was owed.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a collector must send a 5-day letter stating what the debt is, why it's owed and how much they believe you owe. The recipient then has 30 days to respond by either contesting it in writing or making payment arrangements.

There's a lot of intimidation in this industry because most people don't know their rights and responsibilities.

Is a collection agency allowed to repeatedly berate you over the phone? No, it's your right to instruct them in writing not to call you again if they're abusive. The sole exception here is if the collector works for a bank that's trying to collect on its own accounts. They can't be made to stop calling.

You may want to use an answering machine to record your phone calls with collectors. Many states require that you disclose that you're recording. Most collectors who sense they're dealing with somebody who knows their rights will not push it. They're just after money, not a court battle.

Here's another tip: Never give them your checking account number if you want to pay. You may verbally agree on partial payment to settle a debt, and they'll turn around and take extra from your account. Get it in writing first. If you really suspect their honesty, pay by money order or use a separate checking account to settle up.

One final note: Under the statute of limitations, you have a right not to pay old debt once it exceeds a certain time limit. What that limit is varies by both state and the type of debt.

However, if you get hit with a lawsuit over an old debt, you must show up at court and declare the debt past the statute of limitations -- or you'll be hit with a default judgment. Then you'll owe money that legally you had no right to be sued over.

Of course, if you owe, the best action is to always to make partial or complete payment as soon as possible.