Clark did an interview with a newspaper recently about how much people are spending and why it’s gotten so out of control. He mentioned the fact that credit is available everywhere and stores are much more accessible these days. Shops are open much longer hours, and we’ve gotten used to shop whenever we want. In addition, two-thirds of all purchases we make are unplanned, according to recent studies. So, we say we have no discretionary income, but we’re still spending money. There is an urgency to buy things because we like to feel instantly gratified. Shopping online has even become nearly instantaneous. Most items offered online, especially those geared toward women, are usually one link away from being purchased. So, it’s extremely easy to click and buy. Instead, think about how much change you can bring about in your life just by learning to control your spending. In a recent poll, Clark asked people what they planned to spend their money on this holiday season. About 18 percent of people said they would spend the most money on clothes, followed by electronics. One in nine people said they were not spending money on anything, which jibes with a major trend. That trend needs to grow year round in our lives.

Clark just returned from a trip to Dayton, Ohio, where he met a female listener who was clearly very wealthy. She could buy any clothes she wanted, but she told Clark she buys used clothes. The key to her success has been to live below her means. In every book you read, the first tip is to spend less than you make. Think through the things in your life you think you MUST DO. Do you really have to do them? We want to impress others for some reason, so we spend money on things we don’t really need. But why not be reverse chic. Impress people with how good you are with your money instead of what your latest material possession is.

You may have heard of the grocery store Aldi, which is unlike any other grocery store you have visited. As most grocery stores are getting bigger and bigger with cell phone stores, flower shops and banks, Aldi is staying with the same look and MO. The company doesn’t take credit cards and only rents shopping carts. The employees don’t answer the phone at the store and there are usually only about four staffers on duty at a time. The stores are pretty bland and there are far fewer items in the stores. So, what is the up side? The quality of food is top notch, as are the prices. About 90 percent of Germans now shop at Aldi stores. That’s more than Wal-Mart can claim. So, they’re doing something right. It's part of a new trend of stores where people prefer to shop. They're called deep discounters or hard discounters, and you're going to see more of them as people choose price over image.

You’ve probably driven down a highway in suburbia and seen a warehouse club shut down or abandoned along the road. These “gray fields,” as architects call them, are ugly in appearance and they invite criminals. As a result, there has been a huge backlash and a movement is under way in San Francisco to outlaw big box retailers all together. The proposal is to ban any store bigger than 90,000 square feet. To give you some frame of reference, the largest supermarkets are about 50,000 square feet. A warehouse club will typically be 110,000 to 150,000 square feet in size. And the Super Targets and Super Wal-Marts are typically about $205,000 square feet. So, it would eliminate all of the “big box” stores. Clark thinks that we can come to some compromises on this. One way is to set up strict requirements that a retailer must follow when it leaves a space. Come up with rules about what the “big boxes” should be expected to pay in terms of impact fees and other “stranded costs.” Establish rules that deal with big boxes ahead of time. If we put rules in place, many of the things that make people hate these establishments will disappear. For example, in Florida, some big box retailers must abide by strict landscaping rules. And, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the resort community has set up strict requirements about how a building will look. It will cost some time and money, but there is a bridge across this gap. We just need to do it right in the beginning and everyone can benefit.

Across America, big box retailers are expanding their retail space and are booming even in urban areas. In Stamford, Connecticut, for example, there will be a Target, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club - all in an area of downtown that will encompass just four acres. Shopping at discount warehouses is spreading from the suburbs into the core of cities. And, as a result, traditional mall traffic continues to drop from the radar screen. Clark has no idea what it’s like to go to a fancy store, and it seems like America is following in his footsteps. On the other hand, when you buy from these big discount chains, you assume that they treat their employees well and run a fair ship. But Wal-Mart, the world’s largest company, was recently the subject of a New York Times investigation. The paper looked into a practice at Wal-Mart known as a “lock-in.” During these lock-ins, employees are not allowed to leave the store and opening the door is a firing offense. According to the Times, employees working during lock-ins have gone into labor, had heart attacks and have suffered serious injury and could not get out. One person even died because employees refused to open the door because they were afraid of being fired. The stories are just horrendous. And, as a result of this investigation, Wal-Mart has changed its procedure. Now, one employee will have a key during lock-ins in case someone is in trouble or gets injured. Wal-Mart hires 50,000 new workers a month. So if these allegations are true, the company needs to do more than change its procedure. People often criticize Clark for being a “mouthpiece” for Wal-Mart. And it’s true that the company has done some tremendous things for our country. But Clark doesn’t want to sweep the negative news under the rug. He wants you to know everything. And he invites Wal-Mart to come on the air and discuss the findings.

More and more retailers are “target marketing” to their loyal and high-profit customers. This first became popular with grocery stores, drug stores and it has now seeped into the retail industry. Even discount retailers are issuing loyalty cards for customers. How do they do it? Well, they develop “profitability index scores” on their customers using certain software. So, if you show a good profitability index score, or if you have not shopped at the store in a while but you were a good customer, you are sent a card with a certain code and a huge discount. One producer on Clark’s staff, for example, got a card for 50 percent off just to come into the store. It’s called data mining, and it can be a little creepy because these people know what you buy and when you buy it. So, is it a good idea to sign up for these programs? If privacy is a big deal, probably not. But if you don’t care about that and you get some great offers in the mail, use them!