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Anytime Clark mentions Wal-Mart and the success the store has had, he gets angry letters and phone calls. There is a natural bias against anything big in our culture. So, what about something that starts small and gets bigger? When does big become too big? According to the citizens of San Francisco, a business gets too big when it reaches 12 stores or locations. The town has passed a law, making it a crime to open anymore than 12 stores. They call it “formula retail,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The purpose is to eliminate homogenization, according to the group behind the law. Clark thinks it’s definitely possible to be put off by seeing the same thing over and over. With strip malls and shopping centers, it’s easy these days. But what about the entrepreneurial spirit? Clark knows a man who started a California-style burrito joint in Atlanta several years ago. He had one restaurant that became a huge hit and it has blossomed into 14 more. People in Atlanta love the food and atmosphere of these restaurants, so the marketplace should decide – not the government.

Clark talked with great excitement last year about a new rule that would require mortgage lenders to quote you a guaranteed price on your loan. It’s basically been legal to bait and switch people during the lending process, so that when they get to the closing table all the costs go up. The Department of Housing and Urban Development would have overseen the law that Clark was so excited about - called RESPA or the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act. The law would allow the lender to charge you less than the estimated closing costs, but not more. Unfortunately, the administration caved and has canned the new rules. So, there will be no fixed-price rules. And the industry will continue to take advantage of consumers. A few companies have adopted the new rules anyway. One is ING Direct, a European lender that guarantees your rate and your closing costs. Another one is DiTech. But most American companies are still in the clear. Therefore, it’s even more important that you do your homework. One positive note is that we have great mortgage rates today. You can borrow money on 15-year loans at 4.85 percent with no closing costs. ARMS are also great ideas for people planning to be in a home between four and six years. If you’ll be there longer, a 15-year loan would be great to do. No closing costs loans are a smart way to go. You basically pay a little higher rate but you have no closing costs. Only those with exceptional credit histories are granted no closing cost loans, so your credit must be good. But get a good faith estimate in writing when doing a loan. And always ask to see your HUD statement the day before your closing. It’s your right.

If you are at or nearing retirement age, you will still get social security benefits. But if you were born after 1965, what are the chances you’ll receive social security? If you were born after that year, it’s going to be up to you save enough for retirement. You will receive some benefits, but not nearly enough to support yourself. How do we know? We are $72 trillion in debt. That is a huge number to grasp, and to close that gap, the government is going to eliminate social security benefits. It’s an issue politicians don’t want to talk about, but they will severely limit benefits in the years to come. Clark thinks we should have mandatory retirement savings accounts that force consumers to put away a percentage of their pay. There is no account number with your name on it in Washington, D.C. for social security benefits, so we have to start saving somehow. And people have to stop thinking the government will provide for us in our retirement.

On October 28, law “Check 21” will officially begin. Some retailers have jumped the gun a bit on Check 21, the law that will essentially eliminate hard copies of checks. When you use a check at Wal-Mart, for example, they will run your check through a machine and hand it back to you. At that point, the money is automatically deducted from your account. Other companies are destroying checks right after they’ve been run through the system. These are premature versions of what will happen in October. At that time, companies will make digital copies of checks that will show up in your bank statement. But the physical check will be destroyed at the power company, credit card company or wherever it ends up. The digital images are called “check substitutes,” and they are considered as acceptable replacements for the original canceled check. Check 21 is going to save billions of dollars, but it will also eliminate a lot of jobs. The idea of a grace period after writing a check will also be a thing of the past. When you pay with a check, it will be automatic. Hopefully, people will stop using checks as a result and start using electronic bill pay systems. With everything going digital anyway, it will be much easier.

There are 2,272,000 millionaires in the country, according to Merrill Lynch. That means liquid assets, including stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Real estate is not included. So, about one in every 130 Americans is now a millionaire. How do they do it? Sometimes people inherit it, others start their own business and become a huge success. But most of the millionaires out there are great savers who started putting away money very early on in life. You can see how long it will take you to earn $1 million at the Web site armchairmillionaire.com. There are more important things than earning millions of dollars. But if you want to achieve this goal you will have financial independence and your life will be much more enjoyable. Owning your home free and clear is also a huge factor in reaching millionaire status. You can do it if you create a plan and stick to it.

There are health care centers and surgical centers in existence that are performing procedures on people who are perfectly healthy. These centers are so desperate for money that they “rent” patients to have surgeries they don’t need so that the surgery centers can bill insurance companies for the money. In return, these patients are receiving money – usually a couple thousand dollars – or trips to vacation destinations. Insurance companies have paid out half a billion to these centers, which are practicing what’s being called “rent-a-patient programs.” On the other end of the spectrum, non-profit centers are treating patients like dirt because they don’t have insurance. We are in the early innings of figuring out how to fix out broken health care system, but this development is a clear sign that our system needs immediate help.