• hsh.com - amoritization schedules
• bankrate.com - amoritization schedules
• bigboxreuse.com - artist converts big boxes into other uses
• donateforacause.org - donate your timeshare
• telestial.com - using cell phones overseas

Clark has been traveling around the country on his 2005 book tour. He’s seen lots of “big box” stores in his journeys and he wanted to talk to Julia Christensen, a big box building remodeler, on the air. Today, he did. She’s been traveling the country to, trying to find alternative ideas for abandoned buildings left in towns. Her hometown has been through several Wal-Mart constructions and destructions, for example. The first one was torn down to make room for a courthouse, which was a great idea. But other stores sat vacant for years. She said the construction of these buildings is definitely not slowing down. But certain communities really work to reuse these buildings. One town for example built a “Spam Museum” out of an old K-Mart. Clark thinks it’s a terrific project, especially because Christensen has no ulterior motives.

Clark has encountered two extreme groups of people during Book Tour 2005. One group is desperate because the people in it are struggling from paycheck to paycheck. The government reports show that our saving habits have dropped to the lowest level in nearly 50 years. It’s referred to by economists as “negative net savings,” which sounds a lot nicer than the situation really is. If you feel out of control with your money, it’s time to do something about it. You must discipline yourself. The other group has been saving for years and is confused about what to do with the money. It truly happens one step at a time in either direction. So, if you’re in the group that owes money and never seems to know where it goes, you MUST stop trying to “keep up” with your neighbors and family members. Be true to yourself. Secondly, you must live a cash only allowance. No more credit cards or checks. You use only cash for walking around money, and it’s got to last you until the next paycheck. If you’re in the other group, it’s frankly a good problem to have.

What do you think about the airlines eliminating free snacks and meals on flights? Apparently, some people really want their pretzels. Northwest still provides free soft drinks, but it has decided to eliminate free pretzels on domestic flights. And, people are up in arms. The Detroit News has found “overwhelming opposition” to this move. Delta decided to start selling food on flights and found that it cost them more money. So, the company went back to offering snacks. Think about this concept. When you take a train, you don’t get free snacks. And, if you’ve ever flown a European airline, you get nothing for free. It’s fine with those travelers. They pay less for the flight as a result. So, Clark thinks it’s silly that people are upset over this. You’re paying for the transportation, not the free treats. Just bring your own food on board, or eat before you travel.

You’ve probably heard of flexible spending accounts or FSAs. Most of us have access to these benefits through work, but very few people take advantage of them. Basically, you are able to put money aside that is pre-taxed for medical expenses. Then, you draw against it throughout the year. But, if you don’t use it you lose it. So, a lot of people don’t enroll because they’re worried the money will go to waste. The good news is that Congress has extended the time you have to spend a prior year’s money. You have until March 15 to spend the money, which is great news. Congress is also considering doing away with the “use-it-or-lose-it” provision, which is even better. Just be sure for now that you plan out what you want to spend the money on. Then, you don’t have to worry about losing it.

Most people in the United States now have the opportunity to get a free copy of their credit report. Under a law passed by Congress, the mountain and Western states got free reports in the fall of 2004. Then, in winter, the Mid-Western states were added. Now, as of June 1, Southern states can access reports for free. That includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Oklahoma. There are three major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – and each one has a different report on you. You’re allowed one free report from each bureau every year. So, Clark recommends that you get a report from each one every four months. Mark it on your calendar and do it! The only legitimate site with information about this is annualcreditreport.com. Just be sure that you don’t sign up for any subscription services with the credit bureaus when you’re there. They will push this on you. So, the only states left on the list are Virginia, North Carolina, and those in the North East and New England.

Clark recently made a very non-economical decision that he’s not very proud of. He has a printer for his digital camera that is very easy to use. But the cost is almost 30 cents per picture. He’s now hearing about prints that cost only 12 cents per picture. You download your prints online and they are mailed to you immediately. Costco Wholesale and Wal-Mart are involved in a price war as we speak. But even those stores are not the cheapest. Snapfish now has the cheapest shots available today. The company was bought out by Hewlett Packard a few months ago because it wasn’t able to gain any market share. So, the company is offering 20 free prints to start and 12 cents a print after that. This will put pressure on the other digital companies, Kodak (25 cents a print) and Shutterfly (19 cents a shot). So, get your pictures for less!