Clark has a serious obsession with cost. That passion comes through in his emphasis on low-cost investments. The lowest-cost provider in the United States is Vanguard. Fidelity and T. Rowe Price are right behind Vanguard.

Syndicated financial writer Scott Burns has done an analysis and found that if you don't go the low-cost route, you'll have 40% less money at retirement. The commissions you'll pay are like a cancer eating at your retirement security.

When you buy a mutual fund, you pay a management fee every year. Vanguard, for example, charges only 1/8 what other expensive facilitators do. When it comes to variable annuities, Vanguard charges one-thirteenth less than others.

Some people think they can't go the low-cost route because it means they'll have to pick their own investments -- something they don't understand. But investing is not brain surgery. You just have to know the basics.

Pay yourself first so you have money to invest. And go for a Roth IRA! Your money will grow tax-free and it will be spent tax free. The Roth, however, is just a house and you've got to decide how to furnish it. That's where Clark's investing guide comes in handy. It contains his favorite picks for ultra low cost mutual funds, among other things.

Vanguard founder John Bogle is a fan of the targeted retirement funds. With these funds, you put your money in the year closest to when you expect to retire. It's a "set it and forget it" kind of thing. Vanguard, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price all offer this kind of investment.

One last thought: Beware of "employees" inside banks trying to sell you variable annuities when you go to renew your CDs -- unless you want to pay humongous commissions, face massive expenses and have immense tax problems.

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.

There is a day to honor just about everything in America, and today is one of those days. Clark wouldn’t normally name each day, except for the fact that today happens to be “Teach Your Child to Save Day.” It’s very hard to teach kids about money and the importance of investing and saving when they are so young. The challenge is much tougher these days because money isn’t really present; it’s all about plastic and credit cards. Kids start to think plastic pays for everything. They are not going to learn about money unless you teach them. Clark is a big proponent of the “Three Jar” system, whereby parents set up jars with red, yellow and green lids. Green is money that’s available for spending; yellow is money being saved for something important and meaningful; the red is for charitable giving. The idea of the red jar is that it’s from the heart. It has worked well in households across the country. And, try to keep plastic out of the hands of kids. Banks are targeting “tweens” as the next big group to influence credit card buying. So, as parents, you need to learn to say, “No.”

Kids have a tough time understanding money. Some don’t even know that money is real, in fact. Clark remembers going to the candy store and buying candy bars when he was a kid. A candy bar cost 5 cents, and back then it was a lot. Today, he gives his daughter $1 for helping him and she doesn’t think it’s very much. So, how can kids learn the value of money? One way is to open a mutual fund for your child and let him or her watch it grow. You teach your child ownership and responsibility.