Some 1 in 5 Americans treat their retirement account like a savings account to draw on at will. Certain 401(k) plans even offer a debit card option for you to borrow against your future. Not a good idea!

When you take a loan against your 401(k), you must pay back a pre-tax account with after-tax dollars. And then when you retire, the money is taxed again! So you're setting yourself up to be taxed twice on the same dollar.

But the big cost here is an opportunity one. If the money's not there, it has no chance to grow and multiply over the years.

Some people just accept they won't be able to ever retire. That's a choice and there's nothing wrong with it. But most people want to be able to retire at some point and have leisure time. Borrowing against your retirement plan is a sure way to sabotage your future.

Clark loves the Chilean approach to saving for retirement. The citizens of that country have personal mandatory accounts where 10% of their money is automatically taken each pay period and placed into a retirement account.

Remember, Social Security is really just an IOU from the government -- one that is unlikely to pan out for those in their 30s. Speaking of younger folks, when you change jobs, don't cash out your 401(k) and spend it. Roll it over to your new employer's plan!

Are you afraid to open your own mail for fear of seeing your 401(k) statement? Clark recently spoke to one man who referred to his plan as a 301(j) because it keeps going the wrong way!

The Financial Times of London reports that every mutual fund company is seeing people pull money out with all the market volatility. American Funds saw a 7% decline in assets during the last 90 days, while Vanguard has seen a 4% decline.

Why is this happening? People fear a loss twice as much as they enjoy a gain. It's part of being human. We're backwards creatures; when stocks roar along, people pour money into them. So we're always paying too much on the way up and getting too little on the way down.

No one can time the market. Rather, it's time in the market that matters. Clark has 3 rules of thumb to help you maximize your money over the years.


Avoid these 3 gotchas and you'll have more money over time. Just don't try to figure out when to sell and when to buy. Keep buying every month through your 401(k) or other retirement plan.

Time in is more important than timing. People are always asking Clark, "Is it time yet to get back in the market?" His standard reply is, "I never got out."

Many employers match what employees contribute to a 401(k) plan up to a certain limit. Well, Clark extended the same offer to his teen daughter about 4 years ago. He calls it "the daddy match" and he puts a dollar into her Roth account for every dollar of her pay she saves.

It's no secret that getting a teen to start saving early will help insure their financial security later in life. Clark loves pointing to a chart that shows a teen who starts saving at 15 and puts aside $2,000 for 7 years will have more than $1 million at 65. That's assuming a return on investment of about 8%, of course. Money has a strong ally in time. Most financial models show that your money doubles in value every 9 years.

Syndicated financial writer Umberto Cruz recently crunched the numbers and found that a 20 year old who puts $2,000 in a Roth for 10 years will have just under $500K at retirement time. And that's with never having to save again! If you wait until you're 30 and save at the same rate, you'll only have $370K at 65. So the message is clear: The earlier you start saving, the better off you'll be.

The same thinking applies to your car purchase. The Wall Street Journal reports that if you buy a Toyota Camry instead of a BMW and invest the money you saved, you'll have about $26K after 10 years. Do it all over again 10 years later and you'll have about $100K in 20 years. This is proof that an isolated decision today can make a huge difference down the road.

CLARKONOMICS: Have you heard about the new documentary I.O.U.S.A.? Don't expect this flick to be a Hollywood blockbuster or to sell millions of tickets. In fact, Clark jokes that it's a true sleeper hit -- emphasis on sleeper!

I.O.U.S.A. is the brainchild of Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson and other wealthy folks. As the title suggests, it focuses on how we as a nation have wracked up debts that we can't pay.

This film describes in nauseating detail how we as a country can't afford the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that we've promised our citizens. The math simply isn't going to work, especially as we live longer life-spans.

The takeaway for you is that you are the only who can provide for your retirement -- particularly if you're under 40. So you can either start saving money now, or face the fact that you may not get to retire. Not retiring is not the worst thing in the world; retirement itself is a relatively new concept in human history.

If you can save as little as a dime on every dollar you make, you'll put yourself in good stead for retirement. Do you have an employer match through your 401(k)? Make sure you're putting in at least enough to pick up the match.

Members of Generation X don't think they'll ever be able to stop working, according to a survey from the BetterInvesting organization. Most adults age 27-42 have saved minimally at best for their retirement. In fact, 40% have saved almost nothing at all! Here's the upside: Gen X is not in denial about the dwindling of Social Security. They know they should be saving for retirement -- they just haven't done it. Well, the first step to getting better is to admit that you're ill!

If you don't save, you'll probably have to continue working until you drop. That's so unlike the scenario that faced most baby boomers -- a generation that really lived it up in the golden years. But at the current rate, Gen X won't even have the option of retirement. It goes without saying that Clark wants Gen X to reduce debt and save along the way.

It all begins by buying only the things that you can afford on a day-to-day basis. That's means no 0% in-store financing. We're at a unique juncture in American history where we have the permission to borrow ourselves into oblivion. But that's a choice. And if you make it, you may have to work your whole lifetime and never stop.

CLARKONOMICS: Wachovia, Washington Mutual and National City -- 3 of the nation's top banks -- have all had to go looking for more cash, but hundreds of smaller banks around the country won't be able to find an angel to avoid failing. If you have less than $100K in a failing bank, none of what Clark is about to say matters to you; you'll be protected up to the full FDIC limit of $100K. But many business owners, people with inheritances and local governments have deposits that exceed that limit.

What can they do to avoid getting burned in the event of a bank collapse? CDARS.com extends FDIC protection up to $50 million by spreading your money among a number of participating banks. That way you never have more than $100K at any one financial institution.

On a related note, many people are upset that savings rates are in the toilet. But there are deals to be found if you search around. Many of the deals come from unusual sources. For example, CapitalOne.com is looking for a quick cash infusion on the cheap. So they're offering a simple savings account that pays 3.50% APY (accurate as of 07/31/08) if you have a minimum of $10K. Clark likes to check BankRate.com for CD rates. Do you have reservations about the financial health of any of these banks? You'll be fine as long as you stay below the FDIC limit.

Have you ever heard the expression, "There's no such thing as a free lunch"? Clark gets advertisements for free lunch investing seminars all the time. They're typically billed as educational workshops and promise you that nothing is being sold. They have names like "wealth preservation seminars" or "income security planning sessions" and are usually operated out of well-known restaurants or fancy ballrooms.

For years, Clark has told you that these things are rip-offs -- based on what he's heard anecdotally. Today, he has some hard numbers to back up his belief.

The North American Securities Administrators Association recently did a study that showed 50% of these seminars are guilty of false or exaggerated advertising; 25% of them actually push products that are completely unsuitable for you; and 13% are engaged in out-and-out fraud.

That could be the most expensive free meal you'll ever eat -- if money saved over a lifetime gets taken from you!

If you need help planning your investments or retirement, Clark advises you to pay for that advice by hiring a fee-only financial planner. Visit NAPFA.org to find one near you. Or you can also seek in-house financial planning from Vanguard, Fidelity or T. Rowe Price for a nominal fee.

Clark is very impressed with young people who open a 401(k) when they first start a job. Years ago, few people even knew what a 401(k) was!

But a new study from Fidelity reveals that just under half of all 20somethings and 30somethings cash out their 401(k) accounts when they change jobs.

That's like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

As regular listeners know, retirement savings need time to grow. That idea is well illustrated in Clark's retirement chart.

Know that the money you cash out of your 401(k) gets hit with penalties of about 40%. So Clark's special challenge to younger people is for them not to cash out. Instead, think about rolling your money over to your new employer's 401(k) plan.

RIP-OFF ALERT: If you've spent a lifetime working for one employer and built up a sizeable nest egg, you don't want to be targeted by a 401(k) predator.

401(k) predators are those stock brokers or insurance companies that promise great wealth if you move your 401(k) from your ex-employer over to them.

Business Week recently did an investigation into the lives of those who made the transfer. In most cases, their life savings were destroyed.

One stock broker got $320,000 from a retired factory worker and reduced it to $57,000. The broker did so by running the money through bad investments with giant commissions. The factory worker had to come out of retirement and work as a school janitor for $9/hour to avoid impoverishment.

This is an extreme example, but so many people like this are profiled in Business Week. Clark was recently speaking to a man who took his retirement savings to a broker he knew socially. The result? An 80 percent loss of his money.

There are many fine, reliable, honest and decent people in the brokerage industry. The problem is that brokers don't have "fiduciary duty" to you. That means they're not required to put your interests first. Instead, they're allowed to put you in high-commission investments that are generally "suitable" for you and get away with it.

The Business Week report also shows that those free lunch and dinner seminars where they push trashy annuities are terrible rip-offs.

If you need some investment advice, Clark prefers that you seek out a fee-only financial planner. They don't earn any commission from steering you to a certain product. You simply pay them for their advice.

There's been a disturbing spike in bankruptcy filings among senior citizens. The Consumer Bankruptcy Project finds that bankruptcies are up a whopping 433% among older seniors and 125% among younger seniors.

We live in an age where seniors still have mortgages as they enter retirement, or they have racked up massive credit card debt during the golden years.

This is obviously not the generation that grew up during the Great Depression -- otherwise they would know how dangerous debt can be and they'd steer clear of it.

When you're 20 or 30, you don't realize that one day you'll retire. Modern medicine has given us longer lives, but the flip side of that coin is that you've got to financially provide for those extra years.

No doubt you've heard this before but it bears repeating: The earlier you save, the easier it will be down the road.

Clark thinks of his daughter in college. When she spoke up in an economics class about a Roth account, she proved to be the only student with any knowledge of a Roth. Talk about a full nerd alert on campus!

In fact, she's been enjoying the "daddy match" on her Roth from the age of 15 when she got her first real job at a restaurant. Clark matches whatever she saves dollar for dollar.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a father who's obsessed with saving for the future. That's why it's important to hear this message and heed it. Check out Clark's retirement chart if you want to really see the power of saving early.

One final thought: Clark's friend, the syndicated financial columnist Michelle Singletary, recently wrote a column from the heart about how she's heard from retirees burdened with mortgage debt. The takeaway is do not buy more house than you can afford!

So often, Clark gives general "one size fits all" advice about your retirement savings. But FinancialEngines.com can be used to analyze your specific situation. This website takes a very granular look at your retirement plan. Using Monte Carlo simulation, it generates a worst case, best case and intermediate case scenario for your money down the road.

Meanwhile, FinancialEngines.com recently surveyed 1 million people to get a better idea of how we're planning for retirement. Unfortunately, 70% of us have our money fouled up in a 401(k) plan with too little or too much risk.

In addition, some 40% of us have huge money tied up in employer stock. Clark says that should be more like zero percent! But people trust the company they work for and take the path of least resistance when making investment decisions. The downside is there's great risk having all your eggs in one basket. If you think not investing in your company stock is disloyal, throw them 10% at the most and call it a day.

Diversification is the key. You have to spread your money out to lower your risk. A lot of people make the mistake of taking all their money and putting it into a stable fund or a guaranteed fund. Those options may sound like a sure thing, but they basically tread water.

Clark prefers that you have money in the Total Stock Market Index, where you own pieces of thousands of companies. Sure, it's not as "sexy" as putting it all into a single company and letting it ride. But investments should be about long-term security, not the dazzle factor.

Once upon a time, Americans worked for 1 employer for an entire lifetime. They also got a pension for their years of service. Back then, you didn't have to save for retirement or make any of the accompanying investment decisions.

Today, only government jobs and a small number of large companies still offer pensions. The rest of us are on our own. Unfortunately, the average worker is faced with an alphabet soup of retirement options -- everything from the 401(k); to the 403(b); to the SEP if you're self-employed. Just figuring out the terminology itself can exhaust, bore or intimidate you.

Once you get past weighing the merits of a 401(k) or a Roth IRA, for example, then you have to choose individual investments to actually put your money in. Most people don't have the first clue. That's why Clark compiled his investment guide to give you a starting point.

Clark is a big fan of targeted retirement funds, which offer a very hands-off approach to retirement planning. With these choices, you pick the year you expect to retire -- let's say 2040. Then you buy the 2040 portfolio and sit back. Over the next 30 years, the company you choose picks a mix of stocks and bonds to get the best returns with the lowest overall risk. As you get closer to 2040, your investments automatically become less risky.

Forbes now reports there are 289 different targeted retirement funds in the marketplace. So which company offers the best? That would be Vanguard. This financial house offers no load mutual funds; no hidden 12b-1 fees; and management costs that are about one-sixth the average of other companies. T. Rowe Price and Fidelity Investments are also good places for your targeted retirement funds. You can't go wrong with any of these 3 low cost houses.

If you're getting ready to retire, you don't want to outlive your money. That's why Clark often recommends an immediate payout or lifetime annuity from your insurance company. That allows you to get a check each month for the rest of your life. But if you die early, your heirs won't receive anything. That can be a problem.

Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard have all come out with their own solutions to this dilemma. Each has fewer management expenses than the insurance company options. Basically, they manage your funds and cut you a check each month, while also allowing you to pass money on to your heirs. But you're not protected against market decline, unlike an insurance company that guarantees you money for your whole life but stiffs your heirs.

Can't we just have the best of both worlds? A smart move might be to use 25% of your money for an immediate payout annuity and put the rest into one of these other plans. There is one difference among the Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard plans to note. With Schwab and Vanguard, the goal is to preserve the money you put in and allow you to live off the earnings. With Fidelity, you set your plan according to whatever year you expect to die. So don't plan on living longer than that!

Whatever you decide, don't overspend in the early years of your retirement or you'll have to go back to work. Consider it a new part-time job as you approach retirement to research, read and consult a fee-only planner to figure out the best plan.

Are you afraid to open your own mail for fear of seeing your 401(k) statement? Clark recently spoke to one man who referred to his plan as a 301(j) because it keeps going the wrong way!

The Financial Times of London reports that every mutual fund company is seeing people pull money out with all the market volatility. American Funds saw a 7% decline in assets during the last 90 days, while Vanguard has seen a 4% decline.

Why is this happening? People fear a loss twice as much as they enjoy a gain. It's part of being human. We're backwards creatures; when stocks roar along, people pour money into them. So we're always paying too much on the way up and getting too little on the way down.

No one can time the market. Rather, it's time in the market that matters. Clark has 3 rules of thumb to help you maximize your money over the years. First, avoid paying commission fees. Buy only no-load funds. Second, beware of 12b-1 fees. These are phony charges that won't be disclosed unless you read through the prospectus. They are a made-up fee designed to take money out of your pocket. Finally, make sure your management fees don't exceed 1% or more. Avoid those 3 gotchas and you'll have more money over time.

Just don't try to figure out when to sell and when to buy. Keep buying every month through your 401(k) or other retirement plan. Time in is more important than timing. People are always asking Clark, "Is it time yet to get back in the market?" His standard reply is, "I never got out."

Many employers match what employees contribute to a 401(k) plan up to a certain limit. Well, Clark extended the same offer to his teen daughter about 4 years ago. He calls it "the daddy match" and he puts a dollar into her Roth account for every dollar of her pay she saves.

It's no secret that getting a teen to start saving early will help insure their financial security later in life. Clark loves pointing to a chart that shows a teen who starts saving at 15 and puts aside $2,000 for 7 years will have more than $1 million at 65. That's assuming a return on investment of about 8%, of course. Money has a strong ally in time. Most financial models show that your money doubles in value every 9 years.

Syndicated financial writer Umberto Cruz recently crunched the numbers and found that a 20 year old who puts $2,000 in a Roth for 10 years will have just under $500K at retirement time. And that's with never having to save again! If you wait until you're 30 and save at the same rate, you'll only have $370K at 65. So the message is clear: The earlier you start saving, the better off you'll be.

The same thinking applies to your car purchase. The Wall Street Journal reports that if you buy a Toyota Camry instead of a BMW and invest the money you saved, you'll have about $26K after 10 years. Do it all over again 10 years later and you'll have about $100K in 20 years. This is proof that an isolated decision today can make a huge difference down the road.

The 3 remaining presidential candidates are all afraid to talk about Social Security and Medicare going broke. It's cute for people running for office to talk about how they'll make government efficient and lower taxes. But unless you address head on what's eating up the federal budget, you're not being serious about what you're doing to help the country.

People who are under age 35 shouldn't be faulted if they have more faith in the Tooth Fairy than Social Security supplementing their retirement. But the bigger issue is Medicare, which is now projected to end up in the red by 2019. Social Security, meanwhile, is expected to go in the red around 2041. Why should young people care about something that will happen 33 years from now? Simply put, the feds are going to tax you and employer very heavily to pay for older folk's Social Security and Medicare. If you're younger, you're getting ripped off completely because the money you're paying in won't be available to you.

Younger people have got to save for retirement because they won't have a check coming from Uncle Sam every month during their golden years. Somebody needs the courage to face up to American citizens and tell them what they don't want to hear -- that we don't have money to do all this. Clark feels younger people should be allowed to opt out of Social Security and opt in to a mandatory retirement savings withdrawal. What we can't do is allow people to opt out of Social Security and not save for the future.

Why is it so hard for McCain, Clinton and Obama to own up to the facts as they are and get a plan together? Politicians only tell us only what we want to hear. Maybe most Americans aren't willing to hear the real story. What do you think?

Members of Generation X don't think they'll ever be able to stop working, according to a survey from the BetterInvesting organization. Most adults age 27-42 have saved minimally at best for their retirement. In fact, 40% have saved almost nothing at all! Here's the upside: Gen X is not in denial about the dwindling of Social Security. They know they should be saving for retirement -- they just haven't done it. Well, the first step to getting better is to admit that you're ill!

If you don't save, you'll probably have to continue working until you drop. That's so unlike the scenario that faced most baby boomers -- a generation that really lived it up in the golden years. But at the current rate, Gen X won't even have the option of retirement. It goes without saying that Clark wants Gen X to reduce debt and save along the way.

It all begins by buying only the things that you can afford on a day-to-day basis. That's means no 0% in-store financing. We're at a unique juncture in American history where we have the permission to indebt ourselves into oblivion. But that's a choice. And if you make it, you may have to work your whole lifetime and never stop.

If you're a younger person, you know there are very few pensions out there and Social Security won't be around to sustain you during the golden years. Yet a new report from the Investment Company Institute reveals that only a little more than 1 in 10 people will open an IRA in 2008. If you're under age 40, there's no way you'll be able to retire unless you start saving now.

The problem is that people don't understand some of the basics about retirement planning. The AARP reports that just about half of Americans have no idea what an IRA is. Does it stand for the Irish Republican Army? No, it's an individual retirement arrangement in IRSpeak -- also known colloquially as an individual retirement account. There are so many kinds of IRAs that it's easy to get confused.

Here's what you need to know: The average person is eligible for a Roth IRA -- unless you're bringing in more than $100K individually or $150K as a family. You can open an IRA and pop in as much as $5K this year. That money will grow tax-free and it will be spent tax-free in retirement. Do you want to work forever? Probably not, so you've got to prepare financially to live long into your retirement.

Don't use a bank to open an IRA. Banks are strictly for short-term parking of your money. In the long run, you want to be in mutual funds. That's where you essentially pool money with other investors and put it into stocks and bonds. Clark's 2 year old son Grant has a Roth that was opened after he received a handsome check after being featured in a commercial. Clark put the money into a target retirement fund 2050, which means the investments will automatically adjust from risky investments to less risky ones as 2050 approaches and Grant gets ready to retire at age 44 -- lucky boy! For more on retirement planning, check out Clark's investment guide.

Saving just $5 a day everyday can have an enormous impact on your financial future, syndicated Los Angeles Times columnist Kathy Kristof writes in a recent article. When it comes to this topic, everybody loves picking on Starbucks! But people also blow a Lincoln a day on buying breakfast or lunch on the go. For those who do come up with the extra $5 everyday, here's how it can grow with interest over the years: After 10 years, you'll have $29K; after 20 years, it will be $105K; and after 40 years, a whopping $800K!

Some of us are so careful with our money that we couldn't come up with an extra $5 a day. However, most of us could. Clark challenges listeners to write down everything they spend money on while walking around during the next 2 weeks. This will help you see where you can trim your budget.

In addition to frivolous purchases, our inability to delay gratification conspires against our future financial security. Money magazine reports that when people were offered $20 today vs. more money about 6 months in the future, the people overwhelmingly took the $20. In fact, people had to be offered money with an average interest rate growth of 4,800% to get them to delay gratification! The only way to overcome our innate bias towards immediate gratification is to set up automatic withdrawals before the money gets to you -- like with a 401(k), for example.

The latest market developments have left a lot of question marks. People who have money invested are worried; people with 401(k) investments want to know if they should do a U-turn; and people with no money invested at all want to know if any of this should mean something to them.

If you're under the age of 50, the fact that stocks are really stinking it up actually benefits you. You can buy more stock with the same amount of money you put in every paycheck via your 401(k) or IRA. You may want to invest a part of your money internationally. The truth is that there will be stronger economic growth overseas than here in the United States in the coming years. That's going to be especially true of developing countries throughout Asia; to a lesser degree in former Communist Europe; and possibly in South America and Africa. We here in the United States have 4% of the world's population, yet more than a third of the wealth. So we'll continue to be a very rich country. It is important to be an owner in capitalism. You can be an owner through mutual funds and index funds available via your 401(k) or IRA. Right now, things may be tough for you and your retirement/investment strategy. But over time, ownership is a sure way to create wealth for you and your family.

Are you in it for today? No, you're in for the long haul. Take a look at Clark's investment guide for pointers. The simplest approach to investing may be a targeted retirement fund. Clark also likes Fidelity's 4-in-1 fund. The key is to spread your money out and continue to contribute to your retirement savings through the tough times. When it comes time to read your 401(k) quarterly statement, you may want to get some generic antacid -- you sure won't be able to afford the name-brand stuff!

The majority of people don't have a penny invested, though. So should any of this matter to them? Well, we as a country and individuals have been borrowing money we don't have. That means the economy is slowing down. President Bush hopes we're not in a recession, but really we're in a consumer recession. We're all in this together and we'll all get out together. There may be some pain, even if you didn't have a penny invested. But there's also great opportunity for the 30% of us who are in good financial stead at this time. The other 70% of us will have to tighten our belts, which is something politicians don't want you to do -- at least not before the November elections. On the other side of the ledger, you have active traders who got burned in hedge funds. Clark's advice is to stay away from doing trades with leverage, which is a fancy term for borrowed money. All you want to lose is what you put in, not 100 times what you put in. So only put in what you can afford to lose and still sleep at night. Be safe and smart, and don't play it too cute.

Clark often promises to help you avoid getting ripped off. But what happens when you rip yourself off? Clark is very upset about a report he read on TheStreet.com talking about employers offering 401(k) debit cards! Employers don't like the paperwork hassle of employees taking loans against their 401(k), but this type of debit card offers a way around the paperwork. 401(k) debit cards have been around for about 5 years and they're gaining in popularity. Clark wants you to know that they're a horrible idea. People are being told it's such a great deal to borrow from yourself -- because you pay yourself back instead of a bank. But this is a fallacy. Here's why: Money in a 401(k) is pre-tax dollars, while you have to use after-tax dollars to pay yourself back. So you might pay $1.50 in real money to pay back $1 to your 401(k).

But wait, it gets worse. If you lose your job, the money is due back in the plan right away. If you can't pay back the loan, you trigger a huge tax burden and penalty because the borrowed money is treated as a premature distribution from your 401(k). You'll incur around 40 percent tax and penalty. So say you borrowed $10K from your 401(k). You will now owe the IRS around $4K you may not have because of your job loss. There are some desperate situations where borrowing against your 401(k) may work, but Clark says you must exhaust all other possibilities first. The feds should have never approved this 401(k) debit card. Clark believes 401(k) contributions should be mandatory and withdrawals should be banned.

Note: Clark is broadcasting remotely for his Christmas Kids 2007 initiative. You can donate online.

While Clark's helping you play Santa for needy children, a new report suggests that we aren't playing Santa to ourselves and our own retirement needs. People left to their own devices don't save. Or they may begin a 401(k) and then spend the money when they switch jobs. If you are younger than 45, Social Security won't be able to help you in a meaningful way. Meanwhile, there are very few pension plans around anymore. So you are your only line of defense! Many employers now have mandatory enrollment in their 401(k) plans, but the amount they deduct may be so small that it won't help in the long run. Clark's executive producer Christa began saving a mere 2 percent of her salary when she was 22. Then at one point when she changed jobs and got a higher salary, she made the leap to saving a whopping 15 percent! Her advice is to start saving now, don't wait for tomorrow. One of the most disturbing findings of the new study shows that people in their 20s have a real problem saving. That's scary considering that your 20s should be one of the easiest times to save. Most people don't yet have a family or other heavy financial obligations at that point. The sad reality is that if you don't save for retirement, you'll have to work until you die or you're physically unable to work anymore.

If you're retired or over 50, you probably have nothing to worry about when it comes to Social Security. But people who are under 35 are more likely to believe in the dodo than Social Security. The math simply doesn't work out; there are not enough people to pay into the system to make it sustainable. Yet very few politicians are willing to say this to the American public. Fred Thompson is one who has. Thompson is proposing that Social Security be indexed to prices instead of wages. Right now, Social Security increases in lockstep with the average wage of the average worker. So this begs the question: Is the purpose of Social Security to keep people from starving or to give them a certain level of comfort in retirement? The truth is that we can only do the former. So why not offer young people mandatory private accounts instead of Social Security? Thompson thinks this should be voluntary. But Clark believes young people will voluntarily choose not to save if given the option. Then they'll still have to lean on the government in their golden years. Even though Thompson is running a lousy campaign, Clark salutes him for being one of the only candidates with the courage to tell the ugly truth about Social Security.

Speaking of campaigning, Clark was recently upset when The Washington Post reported that video production companies are shooting canned ads for the 2008 race. Template ads are already being used by law firms and some retailers. Each firm gets exclusivity in its own territory for the ads. But this latest report really shows that things have sunk to a new low. Politicians are taking advantage of you and your good nature by running fill-in-the-blank ads.

Do you want a free pass to financial trouble? Try being among the more than 50 percent of Americans who does not have a will! In a surprising twist, Forbes recently revealed that 1 in 3 wealthy Americans doesn't have a will either. What's going on, people? Clark wants to guilt everyone into having a will. Did you know that if you have minor children and don't have a will, the state can take your kids away at the time of your death and decide who gets them? They could go to a stranger or a relative who can't get their life together. Likewise, the state can decide who gets your money if you die and don't have a will. It could go to a family member you don't like, while your spouse may only get 10 cents on the dollar.

If you made a will years ago, you may need to dust it off and update it. You can do this yourself if your financial situation isn't too complicated. You can also go to a site like LegalZoom.com or try the highly respected WillMaker software. But you should go to a specialist if you have substantial money to protect. Retirement savings really need close attention. The beneficiary designation on your 401(k) or IRA accounts will trump whatever you have in your will. So check those designations carefully! One final note: California may be the exception to the rule that living trusts are not useful and should be avoided. That's because the Golden State has a very corrupt probate system. Some lawyers have even been able to arrange guaranteed revenue for themselves as a percentage out of someone's estate. If you own real estate in California and live elsewhere, you may want to hold it in a trust to avoid these corrupt probate courts.

Did you know that half of all American families haven't saved for retirement? Of those who have, 25 percent have stockpiled living expenses for one year of retirement. The problem is that we have not adjusted to the changes in retirement savings since Social Security is weakening and employer-provided pensions are going away. The average Social Security benefit is $11,000/year. Very few people can live on that alone. So the bulk of retirement savings has got to come from you. Over the last year, employers gained the right to automatically enroll you in a 401(k) plan and even step up your contributions every year. Laura Tyson, the former chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers, recently wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial that someone forced by their employer into a 401(k) plan will save an additional $200,000 to spend in retirement. Meanwhile, 75 million adults work for companies with no retirement plan at all. Of those millions, only one in 10 saves for retirement. But Clark thinks we need to move away from depending on the government to provide for our retirement. Congress is planning to make small employers establish an IRA auto-deduction policy for their employees. That way the employees of small businesses will automatically be saving for retirement. The bottom line is that we need to be more self-reliant. Clark believes that having the discipline to save for retirement builds the character of our country.

People sometimes balk when they learn that Clark is a member of AARP. But he's not interested in their political lobbying efforts; rather he's just a member for the discounts. AARP actually consists of two branches under the same name. There's the non-profit organization for seniors, and then there's a second for-profit branch that sells insurance, investments and much more. The Los Angeles Times' syndicated personal finance writer Kathy Kristof recently did an analysis of AARP's for-profit financial products and found that they are not necessarily the best deals. The assumption is that you must be getting a great deal if you're a member and you're being solicited. But that isn't always the case. Clark has long felt that Congress should outlaw the practice of non-profits setting up for-profit subsidiaries and selling products or services in an effort to cash in on a legacy name. Please note that Clark is not saying AARP is ripping you off with their financial products. Instead he just wants to people to know that the deals they're being offered may not be the best ones out there.

How much of your retirement money should you put into your employer's stock? Not one single cent, according to Clark. Clark recalls when he first learned that companies were pushing their workers to put their 401(k) money in employer stock or only offering the company match when employees invested in their stock. It was back in the 1990s and he was speaking about retirement savings at a tech company. When he started talking about employer stock, there was a murmur that ran through the crowd. It turned out almost all 600 employees put a big chunk into their company stock. When the dot.com era went bust, those workers lost 90 percent of retirement savings. More recently you had the same thing happen during the Enron and WorldCom scandals.

The latest news in this arena now comes from Countrywide Home Loans. The nation's largest independent mortgage lender is facing a lawsuit because it required employees to receive their match in company stock. Countrywide also allegedly pushed employees to put their own money in company stock. As the mortgage mammoth's profitability has declined, its employees' retirement stashes are now in danger. Why the SEC hasn't outlawed company stock from retirement options is beyond Clark. He advises people who have been contributing to company stock to stop, and instead put their money in a targeted retirement portfolio option. This will adjust your risk based on the years you have left until retirement. Half of your money should be in a total stock market plan, so you don't have all of your eggs in one basket. You may also want to check out some overseas mutual funds since the capitalist market is expanding abroad rapidly. Clark wants you to spread your retirement investments among hundreds of companies instead of gambling on just one -- the one where you get a paycheck.

People often contact Clark asking about good free budgeting tools online. Clark recently discovered one free site that he really likes called Wesabe.com. If you're curious about that name, it apparently derives from saber, the Spanish word for "to know." So the name is a Spanglish-ism that roughly translates to "we know." Wesabe.com offers you the opportunity to assess your finances and make sure you're on the right track. It's a community-based site, so that means you'll find users of the site helping each other. Clark wants people to know that there's no one right way to save for the future. Some people like the envelope system, while other use the pay-yourself-first method. Wesabe.com is just another tool in the toolbox that you might be able to put to work. Another site Clark likes is FinancialEngines.com, which can help you plan your retirement. It uses the Monte Carlo analysis method, and tries to prepare you to meet your financial goals even when factoring in the odds of a market crash.

The stock market has been very unstable the last several weeks with huge gains one day and huge losses the next. The volatility has caused a lot of fear in investors. There was a recent study that found people who pay too much attention to the market make poor investment decisions. That's probably because the financial press and outlets like CNBC tend to hype stock news and get people worried. But if you're still years away from retirement, just diversify your investments to spread out the risk and don't worry about every little bump in the market. After all, even investors who rode out the Great Depression eventually got some nice returns. Clark doesn't plan to adjust his investing strategy just because of stock market volatility. He thinks CDs and 401(k) options are relatively safe choices. If, on the other hand, you need your money in the next few months or years, you have to make investments that are very safe. Clark's Investing Guide provides info on some great options.

Clark has often talked about how free meal seminars offered by annuity salespeople are to be avoided at all costs -- unless you want to get indigestion in your wallet for the rest of your life. An annuity is basically an insurance contract. The money you put in is not taxed until you spend it. Salespeople love to sell them because they get giant commissions. In fact, the commission is so large that it's hard for even a decent person to avoid the temptation of selling this garbage. Now The Wall Street Journal reports that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Allianz. This German-based company has been selling equity index annuities to older people via seminars, infomercials and free-dinner events.

Equity index annuities promise a portion of the gain of the stock market, while assuring holders against losses. They offer the allure of getting money without risk. But Clark thinks they're a piece of trash because all insurance companies cheat you on the gain -- only giving you a tiny portion of the actual gain in return for their guarantee of safety against market loss. Worse still, you usually have to stay in for 15 or more years to get the benefit. So salespeople target senior citizens, who may not live long enough to qualify for the guarantee. And if you are lucky enough to get wise to how bad equity index annuities can be, you may lose between 10 and 15 percent in penalty fees for surrender if you try to get out. Regulators across the country are calling this an instance of fraud. As Clark says, the "just say no" rule applies here to these free meal seminars.

More than 70 million Americans have no option for saving for retirement at work, according to The Los Angeles Times. And what happens when we don't have options? We don't do anything about it. One reason is inertia. People just can't get motivated to do things on their own -- so they get stuck. But another reason is because all of the plans can be quite confusing. Clark calls it "Alphabet Soup." The good news is that you can now set up an automatic draft program to fund a Roth IRA. TIAA-CREF and Vanguard have great plans. So, set it up and then you can forget all about it. Just make sure it becomes automatic for you.

Salaries change much more these days than they used to. Think about how yours may have fluctuated. It's three times more likely you'll have up to a 50% swing in income year-to-year than it was a generation ago. Also, the debt rate per person is way up from last generation. This doesn’t correlate. We have more financial volatility, but less of a safety net than ever before. Clark wants you to think about how this could affect you. Do you buy furniture or electronics on instant credit, cars with long term loans, or houses with no money down? Clark wants you to ask yourself: if your paycheck stopped tomorrow, what's your back up plan? How long could you handle your bills and obligations? One hour? One day? A month? A year? If the answer is "not that long", Clark says dial back on your debt, and dial up on your savings.

In the days when people would spend an entire lifetime working for one employer, they were frequently given gold watches at their retirement parties. While that tradition may now seem old fashioned, there's one thing that's becoming even more antiquated: pensions. The Los Angeles Times now reports that two-thirds of those employers who still offer pensions are eliminating them for new hires or planning to do so in the next few months. It's getting to the point where pensions will be a forgotten concept for future generations of workers.

The reality is that you need to think in terms of how you are going to pay for your own retirement. You can not rely on somebody else; that kind of support is increasingly not there. Clark recalls the donnybrook that took place in the Supreme Court when IBM battled to change its pension plan. The computer maker won and cheated out longtime employees who were counting on pension funds for their retirement. The moral here is that if you're relying on a company to provide for you or your family in the golden years, it's time to reassess your plans for the future.

Clark says he needs to get better about talking in "shorthand" -- using specific industry terms without fully explaining them for the average listener. He sometimes forgets that most people just aren't as familiar with these words. This is especially true on the topic of investing. One example is the term "asset allocation"-- less than one in five people knows that it means to "diversify" your funds, or, not put all your eggs into one basket. Clark wants to define these things more clearly for listeners in the future. "Bonds" are another topic not fully understood. Here's how they work: A company or organization needs money and issues some bonds. People buy the bonds, get the interest promised, and ideally, hold onto them for the life of the term in order to get the purchase price back at the end. But let's say you have a bond that promises 5% interest, and now interest rates are at 6%. The issuing company would have to discount the initial price of the bond to get people to buy them. On the other hand, if a bond is paying higher interest than the current interest rate, it's worth more, and will therefore cost more to buy. So, as interest rates go up, the value of bonds go down, and vice versa. Another misunderstood topic is Roth IRAs, which are investments that allow you to save money tax-free. But if all these terms bore and confuse you, read Clark's online investment guide. He lists what he feels are the best companies and services that can help make retirement investing much, much easier for you.

It’s not unusual for people to have more than 25% of their 401K in company stock. This is a potential disaster in waiting. Often, our employer will encourage or push us to put our money in company stock. In Clark’s opinion, you should never have a single penny in company stock, because the risk is too great. Retailers and manufacturers come and go. For example, did you know that K-Mart used to be the largest retailer in the U.S., and ultimately ended up insolvent? General Motors used to be seen as invincible, and now some financial analysts predict they could end up bankrupt. So, it’s great to be optimistic about where you work, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

One of the best gifts you can give yourself is financial independence. So, how do you get that? You spend less than you make. A study done by Hewitt Associates shows that saving $1 at age 25 becomes $8 at retirement age. At age 35, it becomes almost $5. And, at 45, it’s worth $3. That’s why it’s so important to start saving as early as possible. If you’re in your 40s and you haven’t saved a dime, you may be feeling like a heel right about now. But you can still make a decent amount. Just get it started! And, if you have kids, get them started in a plan once you’ve started one for yourself. Clark has a “Daddy Match” for his kids, which gives them more of an incentive to save.

Only a sliver of the population was into money and investing when Clark went on the air in the ‘80s. But today, people are really into investing and learning more about how to save for retirement. Part of the reason is because people no longer work for one company their entire life. People move around and so does their money. Over time, the cost of investments is what matters. Vanguard, for example, has the lowest costs and fees of any investment company, according to Smart Money magazine. And that will make a huge difference in the amount of money you end up with. The run-of-the-mill mutual fund will have a management fee of 1.5 percent of your money. Vanguard has about 1/10 of that fee, and Fidelity has fees that are 1/15 the cost of regular fees. You may think you’ll get an inferior product if you’re paying lower fees, but that is simply not true. Stick with the best companies – Vanguard, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price.

Congress has cut a deal on a new tax bill that is almost certainly going to be signed into law. It’s mostly just a Band Aid on the current tax code, but it affects people who may be eaten up by the Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT was developed in the Viet Nam War to target rich people, but it hasn’t morphed with inflation. So, what was a rich back then is now a decent living, and people are getting caught up in this tax. The new legislation gives people a break on that tax until about 2010. In addition, the law will allow people to convert money from a regular IRA into a Roth account. Many taxpayers can’t do that right now because of all the income rules and limits. Converting now will save you money on tax rates. Plus all the money you’ll earn from now until you retire will grow tax free. So, as soon as the law is on the books, Clark will tell you how to proceed.

A study by Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation or HSBC showed that two-thirds of people all over the world believe they are responsible (or their family members are responsible) for providing their own retirement. At the same time, 30 percent of people believe the government should provide it. Only five percent think an employer should be responsible. That is a clear indication that people know their employer will have little to do with funding retirement. The other part of the poll is somewhat controversial. It is about how to help people save. The No.1 answer to the question, “What can the government do to meet this goal?” was to make people save. Chile started this system about a generation ago. It was a private retirement plan that required people to contribute money every month and it worked. It’s just human nature not to save. So we need to be forced to do it, in Clark’s opinion. Others see it as more government involvement and they disagree. But the truth is that people are going to live longer and we are going to need more money to live. According to the New York Times, people under 35 understand this concept. They know the government will not provide for them. Now, they just need to start saving!

Clark is a big believer in “lifestyle funds” or “lifecycle funds”. These are investments for people who are either bored with or intimidated by investments but would like to have someone look after their investments. Vanguard, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price all offer these kinds of investments. You basically pick a target year when you’re planning to retire. You choose that fund and start investing right away. The companies have a targeted portfolio every five years from today. The mixes of stocks and bonds continually changes through the years based on your age and, therefore, the amount of risk you need. This is a great alternative if you can’t decide what to do with your money. About half of all households have not gotten started with retirement savings, in part because they can’t decide what to invest in. If you intend to save for retirement after you do something else, you’ll never get it done. So, do this now. Check out the list of funds on Clark’s invsting page. Vanguard is the lowest in cost, but all three companies are great.

Clark wants to warn you about this decision. Hear what he has to say about how to save for retirement wisely. Click here to listen.

A research report from the Investment Company Institute shows how well Americans are doing at saving. It seems most of us believe that the future will take care of itself. But that’s simply not true. Only 17 percent of Americans have a Roth IRA, the smartest investment tool out there. As an individual, you can put up to $4,000 into a Roth. If you’re 50 or over, you can put up to $5,000. So, if you’re married to someone over 50, that’s $10,000 a year socked away. The money you put into Roths is invested tax free, which mean you spend it tax free. You are not eligible for a Roth if you make $95,000 or more and as a couple if you both make $150,000 or more. For help, check out Clark’s Investment Guide.

What are the chances that your teenager or young child will have any meaningful social security benefit? Little to none. The math simply doesn’t work when you consider the number of people who will be working versus the number of retirees. Clark thinks Democrats will have to fix our problems with social security, but something needs to be done. Our neighbors across the pond are actually going through the same thing and their idea is one we should consider. The Labor party in Britain has proposed that the country increase the eligibility age, increase the benefit and require mandatory personal accounts. Clark is a proponent of having a mandatory personal account requirement and no social security at all for people below a certain age. It’s a bit radical but we need something. In Britain, people would have to put a minimum of 4 percent of your pay into a personal account, and your employer would match it. You can put up to 16 percent. But the reality is that people don’t save unless they’re made to. Otherwise, people wait for the government to take care of them. And that is not going to be possible in the future. You have to consider your own future now. Yet, overwhelming, people who earn less than about $45,000 a year don’t save any meaningful retirement. That needs to change.

One in four people who participate in their 401k plans don’t put enough to get the company match. Usually you have to put in 6 percent to get a company match, but it’s free money! If you do nothing else, you should enroll in your 2006 plan. Most employers don’t offer pensions anymore, so the responsibility is on us to save money for retirement. And, if you can, increase the amount you’re putting away by 1 percent every time you get a raise. And make sure you’re not putting any of the money into company stock.

A new study published in the Boston Globe shows that more than half of baby boomers are going to have to work past retirement age. By their own admission, these people don’t have enough money saved to be able to retire. Not to mention the fact that many people think they have more than they really do. About 30 percent of people have saved enough to last them about two years after retirement. And one in seven people have no money saved at all. About the same number have enough to live comfortably. So, it’s a big bell curve. Those born in the 40s, may not be able to get out of this working cycle. But if you were born in the 60s, you still have time to reverse this trend.

Have you heard of a “social contract?” It’s an agreement that used to exist at companies where workers spent their entire career at one company and got a pension when they retired. Somewhere along the line, companies decided they weren’t going to honor those agreements. As a result, taxpayers end up paying for pension benefits of companies that shirked their responsibilities. And that is causing problems at companies where bankruptcy is a possibility. The airline and auto industry are two that are on the line, for example. And some companies may not make it, meaning the pension goes away. It’s a time when the only entity you can trust with your retirement is you! Many people think of their pension as the cake they get at retirement. Clark wants you to think of it as the icing on the cake. Every dollar you save on your own is a dollar you have to live on when you retire, and that is a guarantee. No one can take that away from you. If you’re under age 50, social security is not going to do it for you. So, if you’re not in a 401k, a SEP or a SIMPLE, get in one today!

Almost 19 million people are running micro-businesses in the U.S. today. That means one person is running either a full-time or part-time business, and Clark is so excited about that number. The flip side to this is that one in three of these micro-business owners have nothing saved for retirement. About a quarter have minimal savings, meaning it would not last them more than a year. Those who have saved enough for retirement is a measly 7 percent! Entrepreneurs fuel our economy, and they need to stay solvent and take care of themselves. There are special tax breaks for entrepreneurs, too. So you must consider the future while you’re working on your dream business.

There has been a lot of disturbing news about pension plans these days. People who thought they would have a nice pension in retirement are being told otherwise. And if a company files bankruptcy, there is no requirement to pay employee pensions. It just happened at GM, where many retirees lost everything. The company is much smaller than it used to be, in part because GM doesn’t sell nearly as many cars as it used to. Yet, there were tons of former employees who had retired and expected their pensions. GM’s current employees are supposed to be taking care of those retirees, but there just isn’t as much money or business coming in. The same thing has happened at Sears, which used to be the No. 1 retailer in the country. Due to dwindling sales, Sears has eliminated all kinds of benefits for retirees. So, the odds of companies helping to pay for your retirement are next to nothing. People graduating today are in a different boat. Many don’t even know what a pension is because they just don’t exist anymore. It’s another reminder that you must plan for your own retirement.

During the month of May, the average American saved half of one penny on every dollar made. It was one penny of each dollar. Now, it’s even less than that. Saving less than a cent on what you make means you will have less of a choice about your future. And what happens in your life may end up completely different than what you had hoped for. Many people are going to have to work until they are too sick to do so or until they die. Is that how you want your life to end? Have you heard of the “Saver’s Credit?” This is a plan that allows people to put money into a retirement account and the government matches up to half of it. There are 54 million people eligible for it. But, according to the Washington Post, only 5 percent of people have taken advantage of it. That’s free money from the government, and it’s only available for another two years! In addition, two out of three people are not contributing to a 401k plan. Clark thinks saving for retirement should not be optional; it should be mandatory. But that’s not how things work right now. So, it’s up to you to do something about it.

When people leave a job, what percentage of people with 401ks cash out their accounts instead of rolling them over into an IRA? Would you believe just under 90 percent? When you do that, you get eaten up in taxes. The average tax burden is just under 40 percent because of penalties assessed for early withdrawal. So, if your former company sends you a check for $4,000 and you spend it, you’ll have to pay $1,600 in taxes. So the $4K just became $2,400. All you have to do is tell your ex-employer where you want the money to go and they handle everything. Once you cross the $1,000 market, you can’t be cashed out or mess it up. It’s automatic. So, should you leave money in the former plan or transfer it to another company? If you’re working for a big company, usually it’s okay to leave the money in that plan. If you work for a small company, you’re better off moving the money into an IRA. But don’t ever accept a check offered to you. And, if you have a 401k plan at a small business, keep your eyes and ears open. Watch how quickly your paycheck money is going into your account while you’re working there. If your account doesn’t go up when you get a deposit slip, it’s time to think about moving on and moving your money. That means the company is withholding 401k money to stay afloat. Think about stopping your contributions, something Clark doesn’t recommend often. And get the money into an IRA immediately.

If you have a 401k or 403b plan at work, you were probably blown away by the amount of money you “lost” over the past 90 days. So, what do you do? The reality is that with these investments, you will lose money at times. Clark knows you get tired of hearing that, but consider why you’re putting money in these accounts. It’s not money you’re planning to use tomorrow. If you’re goal is to use that money 10 years down the road or more, a stock market drop is really a non-event and may even be a positive thing for you. How can that be, you may say? Well, if you buy shares of stocks every paycheck as happens with 401k plans, you’re buying more shares when the market goes down. So, when it’s time to retire, you will have more to collect on. It’s never a bad idea to keep investing as long as you stick with it and continue to diversify!

Hewitt Associates, Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania worked together on a study recently to figure out why people don’t invest in their 401k plans at work. Hundreds of thousands of people who have access to 401k plans at their companies don’t invest. And that includes companies that match money at least some of the money put in. Clark doesn’t understand why people would choose not to put money into these accounts, especially when the company is giving them free money. The reasons people don’t invest are vast and numerous. They include the following: 1) they are paying down debt first, 2) they plan not to stay with the company very long, 3) they are simply procrastinating, 3) they are confused by the process, and 4) fear of government corruption and corporate scandals. Yes there have been rotten apples in the barrel, but in general 401k plans are very safe. And it doesn’t matter if you’re not planning to stay in a job long. You can take the money with you when you leave! You can guarantee your retirement will be paid for if you just put some money away. The younger you start, the better. And remember that the amount of 401k money you want in company stock is ZERO!

Clark works overtime, encouraging people to save money for their retirements. The problem is that some people don’t hear the message until they are about age 40. They shouldn’t feel guilty about this. Saving at any age is good. But people need to start saving much earlier if they are going to have any money at retirement. The good news is that more companies are getting involved in helping employees saving money. And it doesn’t take that much money to open these accounts. One great place to start is a Roth IRA. A Roth allows you to put after-tax money into the account, and, when you reach retirement age, the money can be taken out tax-free. Obviously, the younger you start, the richer you will be. Check it out here. TIAA-CREF allows you to open an account with no fee. You just have to put in $50 a month. T. Rowe Price has a similar account known as “Smart Choice.” It will cost you a $50 per month investment and a $10 annual management fee. Check out other funds to start with here. Fidelity has also started a new program called the “Simple Start IRA,” which has no fees at all. You just have to put $200 a month in the account. So, there are all kinds of options out there. They key is to save now because, if you are under age 35 or 40, there is no way you will get social security benefits when you hit retirement age.

Do you have a 401k at work? Are you participating in it? New statistics show that one in four people who have access to a 401k plan are not putting any money in their 401k plans. That means that three-quarters of people are investing in their retirement plans, which may sound like a good thing. But really it’s not. That’s because only a tiny percent of people in that one-quarter are putting in up to the company match. Now, most of the people who aren’t putting in anything are younger. This is not good news because these people don’t have many responsibilities when they’re in their 20s. They don’t realize that they’ll need that money later and may face serious financial problems if they don’t. Some companies are taking this problem into their own hands and are putting employees into 401k plans automatically. Clark likes this idea because sometimes we need help being disciplined. So, if you’re not investing in a 401k and your company isn’t doing it for you, please start now. If you can, put in at least up to the company match, which is usually 6 percent. Once you've done that, open a Roth IRA. Doing both of those things will help you tremendously. Then, if you still have money left to invest, go back and put more in your 401k plan at work. If you can do the maximum - 15 percent - you will be in the best shape yet. It’s imperative that you save when you’re young, so you don’t end up in the "poor house" when you’re older. Social security will not be around when many of us hit retirement, so you have to plan for yourself.

Research is out from two sources today, confirming that most people have stayed in their 401k plans despite the downturn in the economy. The Investment Company Institute found that most people who participate in their 401k plans at work stayed involved steadily with a good division between stocks and bonds. According to financial writer Kathy Kristoff, people in their 30s have about half of their money in stocks. Investors in their 60s have about one-third of their money in stocks. Clark would like 30-year-olds to have 60 to 75 percent in stock choices, and older folks bump up their percentage to 50 percent. But as long as people are investing, that is what matters. If you are not putting much money in your 401k plan, please start. Put at least a dime on every dollar into a 401k. If you’re saving some, Clark wants you to save more. If you’re under 50, you want two-thirds to three-quarters of your money in stock. The other study was from Merrill Lynch and it surveyed what kind of return people think they should make on their returns. Turns out, the average is 22 percent, which is just not realistic. Be careful with your expectations. Another option is a Roth IRA. Keeping money in a Roth IRA is very smart because it’s 100 percent yours.

Are you in good shape for your financial future? An alarmingly new statistic states that less than half of workers under age 35 aren’t saving anything for their future. One key to having a wealth in the future is to utilize the 401K plan at your job. Most employers offer 50 cents for every dollar you save and some even match dollar for dollar. This is free money, so take it! Money put in to a 401K plan grows tax sheltered, which is a great way to save for the future. Many workers in their 20’s and 30’s fail to think far into the future. But if you begin saving under this plan while you are young, you’ll have a boatload by the time you reach 40. Nobody wants to have to work a 5-day week at the age of 64, so cut out those daily indulgences and put that extra $5 a week in a 401K plan.

We may have seen our parents or grandparents not save much money for retirement because they worked for the same company all their lives and were expecting a large pension when they retired. They also relied on social security and thought of that as a guarantee. Today, things have changed quite a bit. We don’t work for one company all of our lives, most companies have done away with pensions, and social security has become a joke. But according to the AARP, more than 40 percent of workers are saving nothing for retirement right now. One-third of people have NEVER saved a thing. What’s equally trouble is that half of the people who are saving have put away less than $25,000. How long with $25,000 last? Not very long, which means you’ll have to keep working. Clark wants you to have choices in your retirement. Yet, most of us have no idea how much we’re going to need in retirement. The simplest way to figure it out is to spend a nickel of whatever money you have in the first year of retirement. The next year, you spend another five percent. So, if you have $100,000 in savings, you can only spend $5,000. You’re basically pacing yourself. Trust Clark on this one. Saving money for your own future should be your No. 1 priority. You will have to pay for your future, so you must save.

Clark talks continually about trying to get people to pay themselves first. That is the most important piece of advice he can give in terms of saving for retirement. Yet, a huge number of people don’t participate in their 401k plans these days. Employers have become very stingy with pay raises, so employees get annoyed and figure they are not appreciated. Then, these employees don’t take advantage of the free 401k match that employers provide. So, they’re shooting themselves in the foot twice. And because of a recent IRS decision, employers can now automatically enroll employees in 401k plans. They can even increase your contribution whenever they want. You may think that is a bit controlling and invasive, but Clark thinks it’s a great idea. Of course, there is a selfish side to all of this. If people at the lower end of the totem poll are not participating in the 401k plans, it means that the higher paid employees are not making as much on their returns. So, the companies automatically enroll workers, and often times it’s without their knowledge.

Clark is stunned by news that 25 percent of all money people have in 401k plans is in company stock. That means one in eight of us have all of our money in company stock. This is not a good idea! Clark thought people had stopped doing this after all of the talk about Enron and other companies ripping employees off. But according to the New York Times, an employee of Corning had $500,000 in Corning stock. The stock went into a free fall, and his retirement is now worth $4,000. Putting all of your eggs in one basket is not good. The most you should have ever is 10 percent, but nothing is the amount Clark would really like you to have. Do not rely on your company stock. Companies go through good times and bad, but ultimately they cease to exist. That’s the way things work. So, putting all of your money in company stock is like betting at the casino.

Every 12th year, there are 53 paydays in a year instead of 52. So, if you get paid weekly or every other week, you are likely to be affected. A lot of employers take too much out of your check for health care, payroll deductions and the like. And, according to the Boston Globe, if the amounts don’t adjust downward, you may have too much money going to your employer. If you’re paid twice a month or once a month, you’re not affected. And hourly workers are not affected. But 80 percent of people are paid weekly or every other week. And if that is you, employers may be underpaying you. Employers may not be aware that they’re doing it. So, it’s up to you to investigate. Take your benefit sheet and divide the amounts on the form by 53. Then look at your pay stub and see if that is what’s being taken out. The possible benefit is that you’re throwing extra money into your retirement account. The U.S. Department of Labor has taken overtime away from us and has changed categories of employment so that it’s impossible for people who are overworked to earn overtime. So, you’ve got to be your own best advocate.