HearUsNow.org - An effective place to post cell phone gripes
Telestial.com - Pre-paid SIM cards for overseas travel
RangeRoamer.com - Pre-paid SIM cards for overseas travel
NAPFA.org - Referrals for fee-only financial planners
GarrettPlanningNetwork.com - Referrals for fee-only financial planners
BiddingForTravel.com - Promotes informed bidding on Priceline.com

Several automakers announced new plans for alternative energy cars at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. Honda unveiled its Clarity, a hydrogen powered fuel-cell vehicle. The Clarity will emit zero pollution. A 3-year lease would run you about $600/month, so it's not exactly cheap. Honda will be marketing its vehicle in Southern California, where there are several dozen hydrogen-filling stations. Chevrolet/GM has plans to put around 100 of its hydrogen vehicles on the road in SoCal under the Equinox nameplate. Meanwhile, Ford is working to launch its plug-in hybrids. Those kinds of cars usually run on electricity for the first 40 miles before they kick over to a gas-powered engine. Clark salutes the entrepreneurial spirit of these automakers who are experimenting with new kinds of cars. Some of you may remember when Clark previously spoke about a car company called Tesla that's building a $100,000 electric sports car. Their goal is to use proceeds from initial sales to fund further research into developing alt-fuel vehicles that will be much more affordable for everybody. This is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that will help us move away from the environmental and national security dangers that go along with gas engines.

Some of our recent callers have alerted us to cell-phone horror stories when traveling overseas. They've been burned for charges ranging from $5/minute on a cruise to an $8,500 bill for a variety of international calls. A slightly cheaper option is to enroll in your carrier's own international calling plan. If you choose to go this route, make sure you get an e-mail confirmation of your enrollment before you travel. A better and cheaper option still is to buy a prepaid SIM chip online. You might want to use Telestial.com, which is good for when you're doing a single-country trip. Check out RangeRoamer.com if you're going to be traveling to multiple nations. What if you're taking an action adventure trip in uncharted terrority? Try buying or renting a satellite phone, which will still cost less per minute than the usual charges from your carrier. Another tip for travelers: Get an unlocked world phone. T-Mobile will unlock your existing handset after 90 days, while AT&T requires you to complete your contract before they unlock you. You can also try going on eBay and buying an already unlocked world phone on the cheap.

Clark was recently heartened that the U.S. House voted to enact truth-in-lending laws in the mortgage business. This was a bipartisan effort to avoid a federal bailout of those who are in foreclosure. But now some banks are fighting to get a veto from Pres. Bush or stop this bill in the Senate. Certain unethical lenders are opposed to fiduciary responsibility, which means that the broker would have to do what's in your best interest -- not what will put huge kickbacks into his or her pocket. Banks are also opposed to letting people income qualify based on the maximum monthly payment amount. They'd rather qualify you on the teaser rate. But we have a real problem when 1 in 5 homeowners are delinquent on their loans.

Prospective homeowners need more information to make educated choices. 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. No surprise that the mortage industry also opposes this kind of disclosure! But Clark is also disappointed that Bush is opposed to such disclosures. Clark wants to see legislation that bans brokers from putting you into bad loans for kickbacks; adopts a clear language form like the one from the AEI; ban lenders from putting people into loans based on teaser payments alone; and eliminates all pre-payment penalties.

The fallout from the mortgage market can affect you even if you don't have a mortgage! Some 30 percent of people own their homes free and clear. Many of them are also investors who are now suffering because some major money-market funds have been diluted by getting into the subprime market. There's currently about $3.7 trillion floating around in money-market funds. GE has been in the news lately for allegedly breaking the buck by dropping the value of their enhanced cash fund to 96 cents. This may not affect anyone you know because this particular GE fund is usually held by major financial players, not everyday individuals. But most brokerage houses have similar money-market fund options. Clark's advice is to get out if you are in a fund that breaks the buck. How do you know if you're at risk? Check your monthly statements and make sure the value is listed at $1 a share. If not, it might be time to jump ship to an insured money-market account (usually at a slightly lower interest rate) or go into a government money-market fund.