Gift cards stink, as anyone who has heard Clark during past holiday seasons can attest.

His rationale has long been why would anyone want to take real U.S. money and turn it into fake money only good at a certain retailer or restaurant? And what happens if that restaurant or retailer goes bust? Consumers have been burned too often when there's no one around to make good on unredeemed gift cards.

The only kind of gift cards the penny-pincher likes are those where you get more than you pay for. For example, you might pay $100 for a gift card at a restaurant and get a $120 food credit in return. But even then, you want to be sure to use that gift card as soon as possible.

Now the Federal Reserve has issued new rules on gift cards that aim to make them less stinky for consumers. The rules curtail fees that consumers can get hit with for card inactivity, and they also extend a gift card's shelf life to five years. After five years, any unused funds would go to the issuing retailer or restaurant.

Clark's one gripe about the new rules is their date of effect -- August 2010. Why not make the rules go live in the next 60 days or so to benefit consumers during the holiday season?!