[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Remember, you're not getting your food hot. I love if we're not eating somewhere for me to be the delivery person. And I go and I get the food and I bring it back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You get it much quicker. You make sure your order is right before you leave. And it's much better. And Krista, we had something.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At dinner last night, I have not seen. What? Okay. So they have this thing, you know, a lot of restaurants are still, uh, not always staffed well for waitstaff.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So they had this, uh, this QR code on the table that you could pay your bill at the table.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I'm adding on the tip and stuff and then it comes to the total and then in small type at the bottom. What was there?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There was a charge for paying at the table using the QR code, which I then bailed out of. And I did it the old fashioned way, had it handing my card to the server.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Who was right there with one of the, uh, little portable European kind of machines.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The restaurant thing is weird. Oh, you know, as I was talking earlier about, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How there's much more discounting going on with groceries. Same thing is happening with restaurants. Much more promotional activity because the price run up has hurt restaurant foot traffic.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so restaurants are doing more discounting. They're doing day of the week discounting a lot. They're doing, uh, time of day discounting. And guess where there's a new wave of discounting going on at sit down restaurants.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And restaurants still do some of that, but now people, because so many people are, who might've commuted to and from work and they were eating dinner later or eating earlier, cause they're, maybe it's a day they're working from home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So restaurants are now finding that, that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like eight o'clock at night that used to be like a peak peak time for fancy restaurants and mid-price restaurants that traffic softer then some of it's moved to earlier.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And now it's not at all out of the question. You might find discounts eating later.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] People going to dinner at six or seven.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So discounting tends to happen earlier than that or even later than that now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And day of the week specials, I'm seeing much more where early in the week.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Restaurants are offering better deals, especially on like Mondays and Tuesdays where foot traffic is lower.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Four restaurants are both mid-price and higher end.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So basically everybody has blinders on now in the travel industry. They, uh, have put COVID on ignore.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you don't see any COVID precautions taking place. They don't do anything for you if you have COVID.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What all the airlines pivoted to during COVID and has remained in place.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is if you're on any ticket other than a basic economy, you don't lose any of your money. You stay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With whatever value you had is a equivalent of gift certificate towards future travel.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The problem is if you're already at a destination and you get COVID or something else.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you don't feel well enough to travel or you don't want to make your fellow travelers sick. And so you delay your return a day or two that value of the ticket that you're holding.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] May not buy you your way home because you may have bought the ticket early. Now you're having at the last minute to buy a return flight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But that's kind of like the compromise eons have done, because prior to COVID,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The three full-fare airlines, American, United and Delta, charged, uh, incredibly expensive change fees.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And those were eliminated, they have not come back except for the, the, uh, lame basic economy. And so,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's what the airlines will offer you. I know I travel all the time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I hear a lot of people coughing on airplanes and during the height of COVID, if somebody coughed, people looked over at them like they had the plague.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you know there are people flying around you that are sick with COVID or something else. And that's just a fact. The insurance products offered, you're right, they're not good value.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I would accept the fact that most of the time you're not going to get sick and occasionally.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It is going to cause a bump in your wallet, but cheaper than buying, uh, some kind of, uh, trip insurance every flight you take.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So Mike, uhm, I've got some questions for you that are not answered in the way you posted your question.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know if you bought the TV direct from the manufacturer, which would be unusual


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a situation like this comes from the retailer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cause they're actually more powerful than the manufacturers today. You've been dealing with the manufacturer of the TV and you've not mentioned any retailer involvement.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe you did somehow buy direct from the manufacturer. Again, a very unusual process. But if you did buy through a retailer,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's who I want you to contact and try to get help. When an electronics item is dead on arrival.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It should not be a warranty claim. It should be a direct replacement like you've been trying to get for this TV that 500 bucks just wasted.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now, you've done the Better Business Bureau complaint. You've not said if anything has been resolved through that. With legitimate companies, I find the Better Business Bureau process is usually very helpful.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With companies that are shady or crooks, it's not helpful at all. So,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If that's played out and that didn't do anything for you, try the retailer if there was one. You could do the, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Small claims court that would almost certainly get you results with the manufacturer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And one other thing I've mentioned occasionally is


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Using what are called executive level contacts because right now you're dealing with probably a contract call center and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It would be worth it to see if there is one listed for this manufacturer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And take a stab at sending an email to that individual.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And see if it does anything to solve this for you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So trust arrangements are complicated things that have to be managed and trusts are usually done because of, uh, either having


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Complicated financial situation, owning your own business would be an example, having a blended family, having contentious family members.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There could be other circumstances a lawyer who specializes in wills of states and trusts would recommend, but I'm, I want you to know, Mike, that trusts are not a panacea and they're marketed a lot as if they are, but you're onto something with the CPA.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you establish a relationship with the CPA, uh, let's say one who does tax and they do your tax returns for you and things like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It is something that does happen at CPA firms and it depends on the firm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But they may have employees that help manage people's stuff for an hourly fee in the event that's needed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It would certainly be great to talk with that CPA and find out from him or her if this is a service they could offer in the event


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That you're no longer able to handle your own financial affairs because the normal alternative is a bank trust department. I don't like them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Good purposes in life, this is not one that they're good at. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so I actually said, banks have a purpose. There you go. Right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was somewhat positive, right? Clark this day down. Yes, yes. So, uh, with that having been said, it is time for today's Clarky.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was really great. And since he's your fan, why don't you respond?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And now that we're a week out from, uh, from Halloween.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Any Halloween costumes that are left in inventory or on the shelves are so crazy cheap. I saw that Sam's Club.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is running a clearance on Halloween costumes that are left over for adults and kids? Why were they cheap?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so I know it's 51 weeks till the next Halloween, but you can go ahead and inventory in your own home that deep discount costume.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How did you know that by heart? You weren't looking at any notes? I was looking. Oh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I thought you weren't looking at anything. Well, thank you so much for joining us today on this podcast. And remember that we are here for what purpose? To help you save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Great to have you here on the Clark Howard Show, where our mission is to serve you with knowledge that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Speaking of great decisions, have you made one of the best you could make subscribing to our free newsletters at Clark.com slash newsletters. By the way, if you find that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm really not telling you the truth. You don't like our newsletters. You don't enjoy them. We make it as easy to unsubscribe as it was to subscribe.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Don't you hate that when you subscribe to something and you can't figure out how to stop it. We don't play that game in today's episode. Speaking of games, we're going to talk about ones that aren't funny at all. Phone scams that are absolutely proliferating, even now using AI to trick you. And also the big pharmacy chains that I pick on all the time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are closing locations all over the place.


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[Assistant] And this is being talked about as if it's a bad thing.


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[Assistant] I'm going to give you my perspective because if it gets you to change your habits, it could be a really good thing. So there's a big, big, big rise in con artists using your phone as a way to reach you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The number of spam calls people were getting had actually gone down.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A lot because of things called stir and shaken or shaken and stir whatever a join initiative at the feds and the major phone companies to require validation of the number you were getting a call from.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well now criminals are figuring out how to get around that and the number of spam calls going up. Now the average person apparently gets


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] About three to four spam calls a week. So you're thinking that's not horrible, but I want to tell you some of the patterns. Very common is you'll get a call from your own area code or an area code in area. And the spammers, the scammers are calling you when you ignore that call three times.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And by the third time behavior being like it is, we're like, uh-oh, maybe something's wrong. Maybe there's a family emergency. Maybe somebody's been hurt. And so you answer and that's when you're getting the con artist talking to you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My wife the other day got one of these three call cycles and answered and it was just a solicitation. And Christa of our crew got one the other day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, it's just so frustrating and so know that this is going on so much that when you get that repeat call.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Don't trust that it is an actual, legitimate, urgent or emergency situation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If it really is something that's ultra important, they're going to leave a voicemail and you can listen. Now scammers are pre-texting big time.


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[Assistant] And it's all involved with pretending to be law enforcement, a financial institution, something like that. And you're going to say, well, I've known that for a long time, but it's become the thing because it's worked. It's worked for the crooks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And whatever the pretext is, it's all about trying to get you to either cough up key personal or financial information or to get you to give money to whoever the crook is or con artist. The law enforcement angle, they're going to do all kinds of weird things for a while. It was about you going.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To buy gift cards at retail stores and that still plays out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But now the hottest is getting you to pay with crypto. Untraceable.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And no way to reclaim it whatsoever.


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[Assistant] And if a criminal is, well, you don't realize they're a criminal. Somebody's saying, well, you're in trouble for blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, whatever story they tell you and you must deal with it right now. And this is what we're telling you to do. And this is what you must do. And then you, you like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hook in mouth like with a fish, you get reeled in and you go do it and you send the criminal crypto, your money is gone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You may not even understand what they're having you do. The net effect is real money of yours disappears into an untraceable


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I want to tell you something else that's going to be very hot.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This Christmas season, there's a new warning from the postal service.


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[Assistant] But it could just as easily be UPS, FedEx, Amazon, whoever. Criminals are sending texts saying there's a problem with your delivery and it will appear to be from one of the package delivery services. Click here and what you're doing when you click most often is you're downloading a virus.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or you could be, um, having something saying, so we're charging you blah, blah, blah for this package, but it's missing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you were talking to pretexters, phonies, not really with the postal service, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, Walmart, whatever. Don't fall for it. But the biggest thing


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[Assistant] Is I cannot emphasize this enough. You're a long time listener. You're like, okay, I know what he's going to say. He says it all the time.


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[Assistant] But this is a gateway into your life you want to short circuit. Do not click in links and emails or texts that you receive that pretend to be


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And could be, but let's treat everyone as pretend.


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[Assistant] From your bank, credit union, credit card company, any business you do business with, do not click on live links.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Live links are a direct gateway into nothing but trouble for you.


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[Assistant] If there really is something, your bank or credit union or credit card company or any company you do business with, if they're legitimately trying to reach you, you will know if you go sign into their website or go to their app on your phone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And if they're trying to reach you, if there's an issue, if there's a problem, you will know once you've signed in.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Never, ever, not ever call a phone number that is communicated in an email or text. Because with the ability of criminals to fake it, when you call, they will use language exactly like the real site. They will mimic exactly their call system.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Usually, uh, it's one of the simplest uses of AI. I want you to be on your guard because the criminals adapt and they figure out how to con and I don't want you to be taken.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So Lewis, there are legitimate, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Survey jobs, secret shopper jobs. We have discovered that they pay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] An effective, extremely low rate per hour. You could make more money.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Doing almost anything other than these


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[Assistant] Survey things, the secret shopper kind of things.


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[Assistant] A secret shopper is also an area that's had a lot of scams.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where they get you to pay them money upfront and you're not actually.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, getting a real opportunity, they're just stealing your money, pretending.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You have an opportunity to be a secret shopper. The worst of these secret shopper things are where you end up being helping.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Thieves steal items from online sellers and then law enforcement comes to arrest you as being a participant.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a theft ring because they're sending the stolen, the packages stolen with stolen credit cards to your address and then you're supposedly doing reviews of the service.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then you're supposed to send them off and you're sending the stuff to the crooks. I mean, it's, it's bad news bears. We do have a guide though at Clark.com on side hustles.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And there's also the website done by Kathy Kristoff called Side Hustle, spelled a really unusual way, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But side hustle is an actual website you can go to and find legitimate opportunities to make money on the side. None of them are going to make you big money.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But there are some that you'll make a decent hourly rate, not a huge hourly rate for doing things on the side.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The wifi is very expensive. The good news is thanks to crazy Elon Musk, more and more ships have extremely fast, reliable internet from Starlink, but expect to spend somewhere


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, north of $15 a day for good, hopefully decent internet on the ship. Now internet on ships used to be expensive and very, very poor. Now the internet's expensive and getting better. Um, there is not a useful alternative


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know of at this point, I mean there was once a time when people were actually taking sat phones on cruise ships.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the data on sat phones is not very fast, but it was, it could be cheaper and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was as pokey slow as it was on the ships, but not anymore. That really doesn't work.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So Mark, that was a very curious thing because most insurers have cordoned off Florida in separate insurance entities.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have gone up quite a bit around the country, but varies a lot company to company.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And if you do shop around, you'll find out either even with this increase, the insurance you have through the union is still a decent rate or you may find


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That there's a much cheaper choice in the market. There is no magic though, specifically looking for a local or regional homeowners and auto insurer in, uh, the tri-state area.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Instead you're going to find that just shopping the market will be the best thing for you to do and make sure you're shopping for identical coverages for both your home and your auto and the time you spend may save you many, many hundreds of dollars a year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Say it will, I can say it may and often does coming up ahead. There's real turmoil in the pharmacy business.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the turmoil going on is being written about and spoken about as being a real negative for consumers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's actually potentially a real positive for you. I'm going to explain. The number of pharmacies around the country is declining and the big chains, Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are falling all over themselves, closing locations, right aides and bankruptcy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're closing, I think somewhere like a fourth to a third of all their locations. CVS.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Over a number of years is closing well over a thousand locations.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Walgreens is closing somewhere like, uh, 350, 400 locations and there's a massive change in the pharmacy business because I want you to understand how these big three ultra retail chains operate. They wore you in because your pharmacy plan says you're supposed to fill your meds at one of the three of them. And then while you're there,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They hope you buy their obscenely overpriced merchandise elsewhere in the store. I remember on TV, I did this thing where we went and shopped for over the counter meds at Dollar Tree.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then went to a, I forgot if it was CVS or Walgreens, and bought the equivalent over the counter meds, store brand each case, and it was just funny because the name brand pharmacy


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was typically seven times the cost for the items as they were a dollar tree. I mean come on. Uhm, and so,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] These pharmacies live their lives based on convenience, but the way you can buy stuff today,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Has destroyed that convenient advantage for Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid. So if you've noticed, you go into these stores.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And a lot of them are looking really tired, really run down. Cause they can't even afford now to keep them looking fresh and nice and all that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because the volume of sales is going down, down, down.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There, there are going to be less locations of these giant overpriced chains, but the marketplace adapts and that's why the, uhm, this chokehold over the prescription drug business and all the rest that these way overpriced chains have had is really lessening because now you have


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So many more choices to get your prescriptions. Mail order and prescriptions is vastly more efficient


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And much cheaper except for medicine you need same day because you are ill or your child's ill. Mail order will save you


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Enormous sums. You've got Walmart that's become a big player in prescription drugs and charges a tiny fraction.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Of what you pay at CVS Walgreens or Rite Aid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then Costco, I've talked about how their pricing method day in and day out makes Costco


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Much cheaper for prescriptions than really anybody else. Sam's Club for its premium members has free prescriptions you can get.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Many supermarkets, although they become a smaller factor in prescription drugs, they're a choice. Mark Cubans, Cost Plus Drugs, another opportunity for you to buy inexpensive meds. And so much of the time,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Using these alternative sources for meds is cheaper than using the prescription plan you have through work that often will channel you


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I'm not even mentioning the stuff that came up recently with the walkouts because the pharmacists and pharmacy techs are worried that they're being worked to death and that they're going to make more mistakes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it is actually a marketplace good when the market says this model no longer works.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are other ways to do things because if you think about how much you pay for the front of the house stuff and CVS Walgreens and Rite Aid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean basically, do you really want to subsidize their stockholders by paying many times the market price for stuff you buy inside those stores? I hope not.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's why he doesn't want to do something that might create an incentive that his son would move out sooner. But I think that that teaching responsible habits and your idea of charging the rent and then later


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, gifting this back to your son is wonderful. You're allowed to give.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] $17,000 to anyone. Don't even have to be a family member. Each of you each year, you could certainly charge your son rent for a number of years. And then when it comes time to buy a home, you could then say, Hey, you know all that money you paid at rent? Here it is for a down payment on your home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I think that is good all the way around creating basically.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Forced saving habit in your son. I like it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So congratulations to you on being in a really rough place financially. And now you're 10 years out and you've built a rock solid financial record.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With nearly an 800, you know, anything above 760, pretty much you're golden credit wise. Some people would say 780. You're in golden territory.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If there's anything still hanging out from 10 years ago, the item has aged out because with a chapter


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, chapter 7 bankruptcy, things stay on your credit for a max of 10 years. Anything that's still there,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Got to go. Now if there's any judgments that exist prior to your bankruptcy filing,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It gets more gray with those, but if these are just items listed on the report, you challenge them due to aging. You, with the credit bureau,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You challenge them electronically at their website by getting a free copy of your report.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then challenging those items being there and you say due to aging and you explain the circumstance and then the credit bureau is on notice as is whoever the, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Collector or credit granter, if they're in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, they don't want to be in violation of that. Make sure you say that in there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And those items should properly be removed. If anybody puts you on ignore on the 10 year rule, file a complaint with consumerfinance.gov against the credit bureau and whoever it is that's putting the false information out, then they have to answer to the feds on that. And usually within about a month, the items that are improperly listed will be removed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you can help yourself, Ken, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, association boards, homeowners, and condos.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have pretty much unlimited powers, judge, jury and executioner. There is no separation of powers or anything like that in a condo association.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, the board, you've appealed to them. They don't care. They've ignored you. Homeowner gets fired up. They run for the board.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Your campaign can't just be about the dumpsters. It's got to be about why a positive campaign, why you think you can help make the community better. And then once you're on the board.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You do something about this thing. First thing that the board should have offered.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is the Saturday thing is quality of life issue for you and the other townhouse.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, this is an interim solution that will help with the noise. Get a good white noise machine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The good ones cost about $40 to $50 and I can tell you as a city dweller,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It has totally changed the quality of my life having a good white noise machine and I use a brand called Electrofan but there are many good ones out there and you'll find that you may sleep better through the night and it'll help with


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Whatever racket there often is with people dumping garbage in the middle of the night, you hear that clang and all that, uh, for the, for the light pollution.


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[Assistant] I would consider in your bedroom putting in a blackout of some kind.


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[Assistant] It will block that light. If you block the noise, block the light.


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[Assistant] That should improve your quality of life and quality of sleep. But if a board has taken an action that is harmed you.


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[Assistant] Your best defense going forward is an offense.


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[Assistant] Getting elected to that board and any other neighbors adjacent to the dumpsters that are upset by a decline in quality of life.


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[Assistant] See if you can get other people who were fired up about this to also run for the board. When a board is tone deaf, what you need is you need a change in that board. And that's really disturbing when your home, your castle is something that is no longer fun. So adapt as best you can. And now it's time for today's Clarkie.


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[Assistant] That's inspirational. I mean, you were a death story. You didn't just take the death sentence. You went and found.


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[Assistant] An alternate medical facility that did not write you off and you were a good patient advocate.


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[Assistant] You got the care you needed. You got the transplants that have been life saving for you. And I can tell by your positive energy that that helped you overcome. You know, a lot of times with medicine, if we just are resigned to whatever we're told and we just accept our fatal diagnosis, that's


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[Assistant] Exactly. It doesn't mean you will necessarily survive advocating


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[Assistant] And getting second, if necessary, third, fourth opinions.


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[Assistant] But it's the best chance you got. You made it work. That positive attitude worked for you.


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[Assistant] This is fantastic. And I know this is something that people for religious reasons may or may not be interested in or may not be allowed to do by your religious beliefs, but I'm, uh, signed up as an organ donor when I pass away.


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[Assistant] Whatever organs of mine would still be useful to somebody else. I so badly want to donate them, donate the gift of life and sight, even though I'm a four eyes and having my factory second organs may or may not work for you.


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[Assistant] But hopefully they will and hopefully they'll make you more thrifty.


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[Assistant] Than you were before you received my organs, but I make light of that, but I'm a big believer for those who don't have religious objections to sign up as an organ donor because you never know whose life it is you'll save. And in Brian's case, he's here talking to us because of the generosity of an organ donor and


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[Assistant] Great medical professionals who made it happen. Thank you for sharing that. And this is the moment where I tell you


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[Assistant] Save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. But instead, I want to go back to Brian's theme. Kindness. Kindness. Being kind to each other. Being supportive of each other.


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[Assistant] One stranger to another, one friend to another, one relative to another. Life is so much better when we show kindness than when we don't. And people really appreciate, as you mentioned, the kindness of the nurses. It makes life so much better all the way around. Have a great day.


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[Assistant] It's great to have you here on the Clark Howard Show. Our mission is to serve you with knowledge so you are empowered.


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[Assistant] To make better financial decisions in your life.


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[Assistant] I'm going back to basics today with something that is a constant question and complaint we're getting right now.


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[Assistant] About auto insurance and the massive premium increases. So what do you actually need to have with your auto insurance and later? Tough topic.


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[Assistant] We're aging or we have a relative who's aging, a parent who's aging and


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[Assistant] What they're really thinking, what they need, and what do they need from you they're not asking for right now.


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[Assistant] So the auto insurance market is in turmoil right now. People are seeing gigantic increases in their auto insurance premiums. And in many states,


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[Assistant] The odds that you're going to get hit by somebody who's not carrying insurance, it's gone way up because the premiums have gotten so high.


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[Assistant] A lot of people who prior had auto insurance aren't carrying it anymore.


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[Assistant] What do you do about this? I mean, obviously,


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[Assistant] We've talked about how people are shopping more than they did before. A lot of people just renew with the same company year after year after year after year. And so when you do that,


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[Assistant] You're competing with yourself. I mean, you have no idea if what you're being quoted is okay or not. Well, the very large increases.


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[Assistant] The auto insurers, and believe it or not, they're not being robber barons.


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[Assistant] It'd be so convenient and nice if we could say that they were being bad guys and ripping us off.


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[Assistant] But do you know that most auto insurers are running the equivalent of charities right now? They are taking in a certain amount of money and paying out significantly more in claims. And for some of the insurers, it's


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[Assistant] Unreal how much more they're paying out in claims than they're taking out in dollars. And so the insurers are like, what are we going to do? And so they have been pushing the rates up.


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[Assistant] Some states more than others, some, you know, insurance is regulated by the state and some states allow an insurer to charge what's called at market and others they have to go through this rate setting process and all that. So,


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[Assistant] It delays the ultimate higher prices, but the deal is prices are headed higher, but not the same with every insurer because different insurers calculate risk differently.


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[Assistant] Run more efficient operations than others and things like that. So what you're quoted for what you get could be very different depending on who you're with.


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[Assistant] But going without or buying minimums can be very, very risky. So let's talk about what you gotta have.


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[Assistant] You need to have liability, particularly if you have any assets.


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[Assistant] Because if you don't have good liability coverages,


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[Assistant] And an accident is an oops, it's your fault?


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[Assistant] You can get wiped out and I've shared stories from time to time of wealthy individuals who got cheap.


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[Assistant] Bought state minimums and ended up bankrupt.


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[Assistant] Because they didn't have sufficient coverage for a judgment that would come later. So you having liability coverage is really key.


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[Assistant] And although the terms will vary from state to state.


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[Assistant] Having uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your auto insurance, that's something you really need because the number of people


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[Assistant] Without insurance and the number of people buying at state minimums is going up.


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[Assistant] Meaning that even in an accident, it's not your fault. You could have significant cost exposure because they're underinsured or uninsured. Now, I just said things you have to have.


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[Assistant] But then there's a question, should you be ensuring your vehicle


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[Assistant] Or car or truck or whatever you want to call it for the value of the vehicle for collision.


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[Assistant] If the vehicle that you have or car is really old, then probably not.


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[Assistant] Because the value that the insurer will pay you for your car could be so low that the premiums are not worth it. The traditional formula.


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[Assistant] Is when the premiums for collision exceed 10%.


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[Assistant] Of the remaining value of the vehicle, which you can look up online pretty easily at a, at a wide ballpark estimate.


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[Assistant] Then you're best off being your own insurance company for the car if it ends up being totaled and it's your fault or you get hit by an uninsured person. And that will cut some cost out for you. Uh, in that case as well, comprehensive, if you have an older car,


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[Assistant] You may not want comprehensive either, which pays for things that happen that are, uh,


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[Assistant] None, not actually in an accident. Tree falls on your car. Who knows what. So.


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[Assistant] What I want you to do if you can is raise the deductible on your auto insurance. If you are carrying collision comprehensive, have it higher.


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[Assistant] Because that will have a direct impact on premiums. And the insurer can quote you or if you use an agent, the difference.


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[Assistant] And what your premiums would be on a monthly, six month or annual basis. If you raise the deductible, just make sure if you have a loan on your car, it's never higher than what's required by your lender.


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[Assistant] They may say you can't have a deductible higher than a thousand or you can't have it. That would usually be what it is.


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[Assistant] I can't imagine one having it. It can't be higher than 500.


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[Assistant] There will be a break point where it will be definitely to your advantage to have that higher deductible because you don't want to make small claims anyway.


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[Assistant] And once you figure out what the coverages are you should have, that's when you can really do some good work shopping with various insurers to see where your coverage is going to be. Uh, good news following an accident.


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[Assistant] The long, long waits people were having getting repairs. Those have really shrunk a lot.


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[Assistant] Not to normal, but closer to normal.


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[Assistant] Back to more like they were before nineteen, not like they've been the last few years, when it could take months and months and months.


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[Assistant] To get body work done to your car after an accident. Krista?


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[Assistant] Walmart and American Express always had a, this was a joint venture for them. I guess the joint venture period ended.


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[Assistant] And Walmart no longer does the deal with Bluebird where you can reload one for free.


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[Assistant] At a Walmart, they now have a new deal with Family Dollar. Don't know if there's a Family Dollar store near you.


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[Assistant] You can reload for free at Family Dollar on a Bluebird card. You also buy direct deposit from your checking account, can load onto this card for your daughter and that will be free.


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[Assistant] As an alternative, if Bluebird becomes too hard to use to avoid fees, you could


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[Assistant] Use what I call a piece of trash, fake Visa or fake MasterCard. Set up an account with a debit card.


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[Assistant] For your daughter, where you do your banking or credit union stuff, wherever you do that stuff.


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[Assistant] And you can move money over from your account.


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[Assistant] For free and with a debit card you can set a daily spending limit just like you're able to do with Bluebird. You're able to limit what your special needs daughter could spend.


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[Assistant] That she'd go to an ATM and pull money out. So that would be.


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[Assistant] So that would be another way for you to do it.


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[Assistant] The Bluebird cards work very well for people in so many different situations. And I'm sorry, the relationship between Walmart and...


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[Assistant] And American Express seems to have deteriorated for some reason.


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[Assistant] Hostels can vary in quality. She will be traveling around with other students.


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[Assistant] And they will pal around together and they will make mistakes or make good decisions together. It's part of what happens when people do study abroad. And in a lot of European cities, there are areas that students congregate


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[Assistant] And depending on the city, they can be a little sketch or be okay. Uh, the students who go to Switzerland or southern Germany very heavily use their URLs to go to Italy. They love running down to Italy. It's more affordable.


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[Assistant] For student getaways, there's so much fun there and a lot of, lot of, uhm, fellow students.


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[Assistant] In the big Italian cities and smaller ones as well and


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[Assistant] I think she'll be, she'll do better than you think, but if you're nervous, you can help her. I remember from my oldest daughter who did study abroad in Germany and then did all kinds of trips. She did a lot of flights on


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[Assistant] Ryan Eyre, she can tell funny stories. Rebecca can tell funny stories about being on Ryan Eyre. But anyway.


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[Assistant] So, uh, biggest airline in Europe now. Anyway, uh, I would help her.


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[Assistant] With suggestions, cause I travel so much, I knew, you know,


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[Assistant] Stay out this part of town, go this part of town. In some cities, I would help her by helping her and her friends book.


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[Assistant] Places to stay and that's because I have this unusual advantage that


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[Assistant] I travel so much and I knew what to do. It's harder for you David if it's not your thing normally.


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[Assistant] I think it's more conversation with your daughter. You know, you gotta be careful. Some of these cities will have a rough part of town just like you might have anywhere in the United States.


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[Assistant] And have that conversation that you traveled the way that David's daughter


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[Assistant] But you, you talk about some of the greatest experiences of your life.


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[Assistant] And David, that's the thing is that the students all kind of do this as a rugby scrum. And so the worry about danger is not


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[Assistant] About our kids, but the chances of danger, very remote, the likeliest thing that happens to college students as they travel around.


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[Assistant] Is they get their wallet stolen or the passport stolen or something like that. Having a really good money belt that you wear under your clothing. Very, very valuable.


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[Assistant] Late at night when people have consumed too much alcohol.


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[Assistant] You don't want to close credit card accounts unless, let's say a card had no annual fee and you're getting rid of it because they now have an annual fee. In that case, you always want to replace it with another card that doesn't have an annual fee. I call it, uh, you know, hopscotch your credit because you want to make sure that you always have a good amount of available credit. In this case, Dennis set up something


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[Assistant] Instead as a small auto pay on it, that there's charge activity on it every single month and you just got to pay that every month.


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[Assistant] So that you keep that card active and keep that credit available to you is closing a card.


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[Assistant] Doesn't really matter so much in that aging thing people talk about, what really matters.


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[Assistant] Is the ratio how much of your available credit you're using and so that's why you don't want to give up that $7,000 of available credit and we have a briefing


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[Assistant] at Clark.com because we've been hearing from more people who have old cards that out of nowhere


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[Assistant] We have a simple guide how to make sure you keep your cards active that you're no longer using so that they help you in your overall credit standing, credit mix and credit score. And coming up ahead, there's conversations we as adult children are uncomfortable having with our aging parents, grandparents, whatever it is. We need to have those conversations. We're going to talk about that.


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[Assistant] So I was looking at my monthly statements from last month from Vanguard.


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[Assistant] And yes, I still get paper statements on financial accounts. I think that's a good idea.


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[Assistant] I'm being paranoid that it was because of my age. But anyway, it was a thing in there. Uh, have you assigned a trusted person for your account? And they have this thing at Vanguard because it's, uh, it's a record that's


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[Assistant] That's playing a bad hit over and over and over again. Gosh, that's an old analogy talking about a record. Anyway, bad tape. No, nobody uses tape anymore. Anyway, where someone starts losing their capabilities to some degree.


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[Assistant] And I'm a bank, I'm a financial house, I'm a brokerage.


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[Assistant] And I don't know what am I going to do? Who am I going to talk to? Am I going to tell the courts? I mean, call the police. What am I going to do? And so.


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[Assistant] What more and more financial houses are doing is proactively they're sending out these things. Appoint a trusted representative.


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[Assistant] And it's really Frank on the one from Vanguard. Basically, if we're concerned about you, who can we talk to?


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[Assistant] Concerned about you. Yeah. Anyway, they're making it, uh, something that.


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[Assistant] That instead of them trying to figure out what to do, they call the person you appoint and they say, Hey, you know, uh, checked on mom lately, you know, whatever, because they're starting to get concerned about, uh, judgment decisions, whatever. And.


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[Assistant] It happens at different points in life, different ages.


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[Assistant] This is the kind of thing parents hate talking to their kids.


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[Assistant] About their accounts, their money and all that. Parents are like,


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[Assistant] If you have an account with Vanguard or you have an account wherever and they have a thing where you can appoint a trusted person, doesn't have to be a family member because sometimes we don't trust our family.


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[Assistant] And you could point that person and that's who they're going to contact if they start getting worried about transactions you're doing, uh, money you're withdrawing, money you want to wire, whatever, having that person there is really valuable. Also,


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[Assistant] You as an adult child need to have with the parent, you need to make sure they have a durable power of attorney for healthcare.


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[Assistant] Or whatever the state equivalent is in the state they live in, where they appoint a message and a messenger. Now this is the things that I want, like for me, I have, I have done these documents.


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[Assistant] And in my case, I want no extraordinary means to keep me alive if I've got no prospect for.


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[Assistant] You know, a normal life moving forward. You know, you, you select what things you want, what you don't want.


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[Assistant] Uh, the DNR, you know, I'm a do not resuscitate person. If I'm like hopeless, I don't want to be resuscitated, but this is the thing everybody has to make their own decisions about, but don't keep them in your head. Get them on paper. Have that and have the person you want.


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[Assistant] To be the person carrying out your wishes, that's your representative.


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[Assistant] These are, again, state statutory normally. There'll be a standard state form.


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[Assistant] In most states for this durable power of attorney for healthcare. And you have another question. Do you want to have a regular durable power of attorney


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[Assistant] For financial matters. And that gets really sensitive, in many cases more sensitive than the healthcare one.


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[Assistant] Because then you're having to decide who it is you're gonna let be your legal representative


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[Assistant] And handling finance if you start to slip. Sometimes you're not going to know you are. So these are


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[Assistant] Things that, what do we do as adult kids? We talk about it to our siblings maybe, or to our spouse or significant other or whatever.


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[Assistant] But do we talk about it with the person we need to talk about it with? Our parent? No, we don't.


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[Assistant] Because we're uncomfortable doing it. Get past that and have the conversation. It's so important to protect them, to protect their assets, to have these conversations. And then, let's get into more uncomfortable territory. Need to have the conversation. And by the way, you should do this with your significant other, boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse. What do you want to have happen


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[Assistant] Cause we don't decide when that's gonna happen.


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[Assistant] The clock sometimes catches up with us younger, older, or in between.


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[Assistant] And you don't want to leave those grieving behind having to figure this out. So you want to have these conversations.


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[Assistant] Because I know people avoid them like the plague, but what if the plague comes along and then they got to make a decision. Don't put that burden on them. Have your wishes carried out mine. I want my body donated to science and whatever they don't want. Well, then it's disposed of cremated and many times you can enter into an arrangement with a


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[Assistant] Uh, university based medical center, you don't even have the cost of disposal cause they got your body and then they're the ones who have to dispose of it. I don't want to cost anybody anything.


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[Assistant] At the time I die and whatever I have that's useful to somebody else.


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[Assistant] They want one of my vital organs. It's yours.


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[Assistant] You can have it because that's my wishes. And I know other people may cringe at that. Other people may want to be.


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[Assistant] Buried in the ground, you may want some kind of fancy casket, or you may want to be buried in one of those, what do you call those things, above ground? Were they, is that called?


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[Assistant] Uhm, whatever it is you want, don't make your loved ones try to guess. Let them know. The more you do this, the more it's a favor to you and the more it's a favor to them. So my assignment for you, if you have avoided having these conversations, uh, don't try to have them all at once.


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[Assistant] And don't just wait for when it feels like it's the right time. It will never be the right time to have that conversation. You just do it.


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[Assistant] So Isaac, you bought crypto feeling like it was going to be a part of the future. There are those, even though we never hear from them anymore. We used to hear crypto, crypto, crypto, crypto all the time. Uhm, having digital


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[Assistant] Currencies. It's gonna be part of the future in some way, shape, form or fashion. We don't know how it's gonna work for real.


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[Assistant] Over time, because we're in the early pioneering stages still.


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[Assistant] And if you've got three, what was 500 is now 300.


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[Assistant] And it could go to zero or it could go up from here.


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[Assistant] I doubt that it's in any way changing your overall investment profile, your overall financial security. You bought it originally because it was something you believed in. I think you can ride it either way.


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[Assistant] And I don't see a problem with you continuing to hold it. Do I buy crypto? No way, not ever. It's not my thing. And crypto is not


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[Assistant] With crypto like you would with US dollar or whatever currency of wherever you are.


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[Assistant] So that's why crypto was a story rather than a real thing to this point. But who knows how it will be forward.


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[Assistant] And if the $300 is not material in your life, I guess you could ride it.


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[Assistant] Crypto is not real money. Okay, so all of you are gonna send in the Clark Stinks. Please do so.


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[Assistant] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. The class action said that the maximum amount per claimant would be 200.


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[Assistant] Cause a lot of class actions will say an amount, uh, estimated to be of and then it'll end up being a lot smaller. Could be that the judge did not accept the original tentative agreement and then the, the agreement was modified.


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[Assistant] Oh yeaah, I don't know why you didn't say it, because with these world cruises, you're typically talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars, uh, to more than a million.


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[Assistant] Based on the cabin category you go into for around the world cruise, also depending on how long around the world.


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[Assistant] That's quite a retirement gift, quarter million. I wonder how long this round the world cruise is, but anyway, um,


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[Assistant] You're, you are an advanced planner because you're looking five years out. I'm so impressed and that, you know, this is something you want to do. So,


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[Assistant] I don't know if you regularly go on cruises, Eric, you do one week cruises, uh, five day cruises.


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[Assistant] Whatever. I would say if you are someone who goes on shorter cruises,


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[Assistant] And if you've never been on one, I want you to go on a shorter cruise before you commit to doing this, just to make sure that cruising is something you'd really enjoy.


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[Assistant] There are many cruise only agents here in Colorado. They're going to be a ton in Denver, smaller number of Colorado Springs, not as maybe Boulder will have some, um,


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[Assistant] A cruise only agent or cruise specialist, this is what he or she does. That's the kind of person you're gonna want.


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[Assistant] Helping you with this. So with the cruises you take the next, uh, five years before you would go on this one, I want you to


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[Assistant] Test drive some various cruise specialists. Find the person who really listens to you, who seems to understand you, who seems very knowledgeable about cruises. And then that's who you would use to book this cruise. I don't want you


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[Assistant] To just pick someone, I want you to have an opportunity to test them over these next several years and definitely if you've not test cruises.


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[Assistant] I want you to pay by if they'll permit you and you have the credit limit, I want you to pay by credit card.


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[Assistant] As far as the trip insurance, you're going to have


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[Assistant] So depending on how long the cruise is, that's very significant because you could buy for this specific cruise or you may want to buy an annual trip insurance policy.


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[Assistant] Make sure that whatever you buy, when you buy it in three years, that it includes supplier default. Uh, the cruise industry is one that has a lot of companies that have been around a long time that had been very successful and then one day they're just gone.


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[Assistant] So you always want to have supplier default as part of any trip.


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[Assistant] Insurance policy you buy with tours or with cruises. Very significant. You buy the trip insurance at the time you pay


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[Assistant] The initial cost of the trip, so any pre-existings you may have are covered.


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[Assistant] And uh, I am very impressed because I don't even know what I'm doing five hours from now. And you're talking about five years from now. It's incredible.


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[Assistant] And I want to thank you so much for listening today and Clarkies.


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[Assistant] Something you feel like is an important message for your fellow listener or viewer.


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[Assistant] And you want to share it and you leave the message and then we may well play it on a future episode. So what do we do for our YouTube


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[Assistant] Well, you crawl before you walk, you walk before you run, you run before you marathon. Never did a marathon. Did six half marathons. Never had the guts to do a full.


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[Assistant] Okay, so I gotta tell, I know we're done, but I gotta tell this story. So we were doing, uh, back when I did a TV show at HLN, we used to do,


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[Assistant] Operation Clarksmart, which were broadcasts that we did on television.


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[Assistant] Where I would go to a military post, military base, air force base, naval base, and I'd meet with the troops.


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[Assistant] And talk to him about money because, uh, historically.


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[Assistant] Military personnel, particularly enlisted personnel are not very good with money. So we're doing one.


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[Assistant] At what used to be called Fort Benning, I don't know what it's called now, but it's where Army Ranger School is. So Krista comes up with the bright idea.


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[Assistant] Uh, with the public affairs office there for she and I to go to army ranger PT training the morning of our broadcast. I was 54.


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[Assistant] You know, you're a woman, so you don't have to disclose what your age was then, but anyway.


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[Assistant] Those 18, 19, 20 year old rangers. Yes, you are. You're still an exaggerator. I am not. It was crazy how good you were at it. And I'm over there huffing and puffing and I'm not blowing down any house. I'm not which, which.


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[Assistant] Little Red Riding Hood. I was not blowing anything down.


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[Assistant] And then I'm with the base general who's doing the PT run with me.


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[Assistant] And I'm not sure because I was three times their age. I'm not sure then that even if I was their age, I would have been tough enough to do army ranger training.


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[Assistant] So there you go though, I mean, you did the police officer firefighter thing. You throw out the Marine card after we were talking about Army Rangers.


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[Assistant] So that was what I did at Fort Benning with you. And then when I was at Fort Hood in Texas,


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[Assistant] What did they have me do there? Do you remember that? No. That was when that's where they train the army dogs.


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[Assistant] These are the biggest, toughest dogs you've ever seen.


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[Assistant] They got me, they got me in this, this, uh, thing that's for trainers.


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[Assistant] And they send me out there, and then the dogs come and attack you.


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[Assistant] Yeah, but I still got bruised from it. And then they said, you know, this is so funny. We just had.


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[Assistant] Bluebird now charges a $3.74 fee for loading the card.


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[Assistant] Can you recommend another card without a fee? And that fee was added when you reload at Walmart?


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[Assistant] If you want to laugh too, look at Ryan Air's social media.


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[Assistant] They're hilarious. They post memes about themselves.


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[Assistant] Um, except I had an amazing break with my aunt and uncle who were living outside Geneva, Switzerland. So that was, I had a real bed. That was amazing.


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[Assistant] Uhm, but I did this, but we didn't have the internet available to us back then. So I would read, I would encourage her to read tons of reviews on if they're using hostels or staying at a small hotel or Airbnb.


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[Assistant] Because, you know, I would only stay in places that I'm sure the students, the other people have been at hostels and young people will talk about the safety of the area. And David.


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[Assistant] And not over-imbibing. Not that your daughter would, but...


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[Assistant] That was when people got in trouble. My daughter's abroad trip recently.


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[Assistant] She had some stories about people getting, uhm, on her trip who got pretty drunk and got robbed and things like that, so.


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[Assistant] Dennis in Oklahoma says I've just paid off a credit card and it has a $7,000 limit on it. My question is, should I close that card or leave it open to improve my credit score?


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[Assistant] Alright, we'll go to some questions now. This one's from Isaac in Washington. I wanted your opinion on my crypto holdings. I invested $500 in 2020 mainly in Bitcoin and Ethereum just enough that I wouldn't mind losing all of it.


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[Assistant] I thought of it as a long term investment, but now I'm not so sure. It did well for a while, but the current balance is around $300.


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[Assistant] My question is, should I cut my losses in sell or persevere and chalk it up to diversification?


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[Assistant] Regarding class action lawsuits, you've mentioned the biggest checks that people have received for being a claimant of one of these suits.


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[Assistant] Well, I may break that record. About five or six years ago, I happened upon a class action suit


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[Assistant] Against blue buffalo pet food online. I had not heard of this previously and I don't believe it had been well publicized.


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[Assistant] That is what I feed my dogs because I thought it was a very good quality brand. I was so mad because the lawsuit said that they lied about their ingredients. It said you had to send in your receipts to claim up to a maximum of $200. At that time I could retrieve my receipts and I spent a few hours requesting these and putting them together to send in. I took the time because of the principle of the matter.


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[Assistant] Says, I was shocked. No explanation. I guess not many customers applied to be members of the class action.


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[Assistant] Uhm, so Janet says that's probably the total cost that she submitted of the food she fed her dog.


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[Assistant] Alright, Eric in Colorado says I will be retiring in 2027. My wife and I plan to do a world cruise, probably with Viking Ocean Cruises in 2028.


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[Assistant] The tickets usually become available two years in advance and the suites sell out within hours. Who should we use to book the cruise? How should we pay?


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[Assistant] What kind of trip insurance should we consider? Is there anything else we should be thinking of? And I put the estimated cost there for you.


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[Assistant] So a Clarkie means like you're calling in to tell us something, why you listen or just say something. You don't have a question. You just wanted to say something.


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[Assistant] That's the three, that's the red, little red riding hood.


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[Assistant] I feel like those guys are way tougher than I ever can be. My cousin.


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[Assistant] Uh, was a career Marine, Michael, and he was so impressive, like I can't even believe the tales of what they go through, basic training and just...


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[Assistant] How dedicated you have to be to be a member of any segment of the military.


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[Assistant] I said any member of the military. I agree. I grew up right near West Point. My first job was there. I can't imagine what, you know, it's, it's really amazing people who volunteer, voluntarily dedicate themselves that way and join the military.


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[Assistant] Laura in Florida wrote in with this, I have an obligation for $100,000 in tuition for my child. They charge 3% per-


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[Assistant] I had an idea and I wanted to know if you think it would be a good one. I have excellent credit and so what if I apply for a 0% intro APR credit card, charge the monthly tuition to this card, and leave my cash in a 5% plus high yield savings account.


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[Assistant] This way I can make the spread of 2% and then pay off the credit card when the intro period ends. My husband and I would earmark this money for tuition and would never use it for anything but that.


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[Assistant] There is no risk that we would spend the money on anything else and we would plan to pay off the credit card balance as soon as the intro period ends. Would you advise this? And if so, which credit card


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[Assistant] As we could then earn rewards when paying off the balance. Thank you for all you do.


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[Assistant] Well, in the meantime though, if you're paying the tuition over time, you can keep it in that account and pay it as you go, right?


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[Assistant] Edward in Georgia says I'm thinking about switching the traditional big brick and mortar bank to an online bank. At first I was planning to keep my big bank checking account, but I realized there's a fee to keep it open without direct deposit.


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[Assistant] My biggest concern with the online checking account is the non-traditional ATM access, but I know there are ATMs around me I can use without any fees.


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[Assistant] What is your advice on if I should stick with my big bank or switch to the online checking account? Right now they're running a promotion if you sign up and have qualifying direct deposit.


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[Assistant] They will give you $350. I don't know if that is still in effect by the way.


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[Assistant] And we also on Clark.com, if you want to see what free checking accounts are available, we have an article, it's Clark.com slash free checking.


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[Assistant] But I've basically sworn off air travel due to the heavy environmental cost of traveling by jet. Is there a reasonably safe, comfortable, and economical way to get to Germany, or at least to the UK, by sea? How long would it take to make such a journey? I don't mind a voyage that lasts a few days, as I would welcome the uninterrupted time to work on my German language skills.


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[Assistant] And try to spend a day in Reykjavik. It's such a cool place. I love it there.


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[Assistant] Well, you could, but you know, at least one day, it's a neat place to explore. It depends on the time of year or two.


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[Assistant] James in Texas says is a proud owner of a new Tesla Model Y. I was surprised by a couple of offers from Tesla after I made my purchase.


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[Assistant] And for an extra $25 a month there is unlimited charging.


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[Assistant] 10pm to 6am. I'd like to hear your thoughts about these two offers.


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[Assistant] William M. Wisconsin says, I'm thinking of installing solar panels in my house through the Wisconsin Energy Program. Is a net metering program where the panels installed produce enough energy to match the electric, electricity used. I would then pay a solar charge equal to the money saved. Is this a good way to go?


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[Assistant] Joan in Indiana says we just put in a level two charger for our new hybrid car. My husband wants me to turn the power off at the breaker box when done charging. I'm not sure this is good for the charger. What do you think?


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[Assistant] No, you love the Clarkies. I wanted it to be, I wanted it to be the Clark Squad, but it's Clarkies. Everyone says that now when they're writing.


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[Assistant] Hi Clark, my name is Ron, and I just have to tell you that, uh,


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[Assistant] My mother used to always listen to you and she used to always tell me, you should listen to Clark Howard. And I was just saying, uh, and today I regret not listening to you when I was younger. So now I listen to your podcast every day.


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[Assistant] Okay, Peter Maryland has a question. What is your opinion on non-qualified deferred compensation plans?


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[Assistant] This plan offers the option to tax defer up to 80% of my salary and bonuses to be paid at a later date either as a lump sum or distributed over several years.


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[Assistant] Since a good portion of my salary would likely fall into the 24% marginal tax bracket, this seems like a good way to reduce my current tax bill by deferring payments until after I retire.


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[Assistant] Thomas in California says my wife and I picked up the Venture X card on the travel benefits and Clark's advice.


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[Assistant] Question, does Clark use the Capital One Venture X portal for all bookings, even if a third party booker is cheaper? It sounds like the travel benefits offered by the card are only if booked through the portal.


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[Assistant] No low rent hotels that I can find. Our trip from San Francisco to Cancun was $100 cheaper through a third party booker.


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[Assistant] Laurie in Arizona says, I love my Tesla too. How does the Costco Visa 4% reward for EV charging work? What is eligible and why don't I get the credit for charging at Tesla Superchargers?


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[Assistant] Is this your nephew? I think I know which one. Okay. No. Okay.


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[Assistant] Alright, we'll go to questions. This is from Larry in Maryland. I know you advise listeners that target index funds are great for long-term investing. In researching these, it seems each has a significant investment in foreign stocks that have underperformed US stocks for long periods of time. Are you concerned about this?


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[Assistant] Michael in Florida says, your show is about saving and now I want to ask about spending. I've been saving for 40 years. I'm 64, no children, I have a state pension, a 401k, a part time job, and social security.


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[Assistant] The only bill I have is a $150,000 mortgage. My question is this. I don't want to leave this all behind when I'm gone for somebody else to enjoy.


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[Assistant] When is a good time to start drawing on the 401k and social security and enjoy all my hard work throughout my years of saving?


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[Assistant] Cause this is this two hats thing that's been coming up a lot lately and now the government's finally, they're cracking down on these people. Yeah, not very much. They're wearing a fiduciary hat and then through a separate entity, they're selling life insurance.


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[Assistant] This is from Andrea in Connecticut. I'm a single female looking to sell a used vehicle through a private sale, which makes me uncomfortable.


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[Assistant] I know to meet in a public place, but how do I handle the money transaction to ensure I won't get ripped off?


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[Assistant] Yes, absolutely. It's crazy. Uhm, I saw it a lot recently when we moved our daughter back into college, uhm, just trying to get items and having to have all the things unlocked everywhere. So, it's a problem.


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[Assistant] Can I just make that razor blade last a little longer?


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[Assistant] Via this, but I'm concerned about two factor authentication. What if for some reason I need to get an SMS text sent by my primary to my primary cell phone number? If I keep my visible SIM turned on, do you think an SMS text will still reach me since visible is using Verizon's hardware?


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[Assistant] This one's from Stan in New Jersey. I have an identity theft protection question. Other than the commercial ID theft providers, I have offers for free identity theft from my Discover card and another offer from AAA since I'm a member. Are these free ones as reliable?


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[Assistant] And Stan in Arizona says, is there any wiggle room on purchase price when you want to buy a car off of a lease?


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[Assistant] This, the money must be put in a blocked account until they are 18. Do you have any suggestions on how to maximize their returns?


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[Assistant] Maybe, I mean we're talking about 18, but maybe they would keep it, maybe the total stock market index would be fine if they, they're not withdrawing money.


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[Assistant] Jennifer in Georgia says I was recently promoted in sales. I have a company car that can be used for personal purposes. I'm a single parent and I want to get out of debt quicker to buy a home. I was thinking about selling my personal car to do that. What are your thoughts?


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[Assistant] And this one's a really tough one. This one's from Jay in Utah.


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[Assistant] Jay says, hi Clark, I'm a long time listener since 1993.


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[Assistant] I have recently been diagnosed with an incurable disease, ALS Lou Gehrig's disease. I'm in my 50s, married with two kids. I will likely be in a wheelchair within the next six months and will thereafter need constant care.


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[Assistant] Aside from a will, living trust, healthcare directive, and financial power of attorney, what else should I do to get my affairs in order?


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[Assistant] It's my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard show where our mission is to serve you with information advice that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life.


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[Assistant] Well, it's Friday the 13th. Be careful out there. And today I got to hear how scarily bad I've been in our weekly Clark stink segment, which for me makes Friday the 13th a lucky day.


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[Assistant] Your birthday, my sister's birthday. It's a big day that Halloween.


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[Assistant] Okay, should I be a Costco employee, a Southwest airplane?


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[Assistant] Should I be a vanguard? How would you be a vanguard person? Fidelity or Schwab?


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[Assistant] Later, we're going to talk about something that, uh, people are having the surprise


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[Assistant] Of their lives is when they think they're going to get this money or that money, the other money, and it goes to somebody else because somebody didn't do the right paperwork. We're going to talk about that. How a little simple decision made long ago.


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[Assistant] But right now it is time to find out how I stink big time.


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[Assistant] David, gosh, I, I've fallen down on my job. I did not know that the Japan rail pass went through a massive price increase. And that's particularly distressing since I'm going to Japan next spring.


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[Assistant] And I'll also have to pay the very high price, but it's amazing how it went from being.


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[Assistant] Tokyo was by far and away the world's most expensive city at one time. And now Tokyo is still a costly city, but nothing like it was in Japan is a bargain destination, dare I say.


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[Assistant] Chad, thank you for that. I have no memory.


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[Assistant] Of any complaints we've had about Auto Slash before yours right now, but it is duly noted and


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[Assistant] Gosh, I'm really sorry that they left you apparently high and dry.


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[Assistant] Dan, thank you. I mean, you were the other side of that with somebody offering you, uh, cash. In an instant, accident.


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[Assistant] Where you were hit, who knows you could have, uh,


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[Assistant] Unanticipated injuries from it, whatever. You don't just say, okay, we're not going to call the police. We're not going to involve insurance. In the case of somebody hitting a parked car with small damage.


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[Assistant] I understand what you're saying about it potentially being against the policy.


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[Assistant] But the insurer would actually be happier if somebody just gave somebody some cash in that case, no harm, no foul, and went about their business, I would think.


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[Assistant] But I'm glad you were not hurt in that accident just to your wallet.


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[Assistant] Tony, thank you. And, um, as I've mentioned before, I update the list for my wife every 90 days at the end of every quarter. I give her any changes with our finances or accounts or anything like that. And it's really important because somebody will be grieving losing you.


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[Assistant] And in addition, having to figure out where accounts are and all that, that's a lot to deal with.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I'm getting more and more of those. Are you two where you get the, the choices and the brave browser we never talk about enough is how good it is for protecting


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[Assistant] Your privacy, your information and these smaller browsers out there like DuckDuckGo has its version of a browser too.


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[Assistant] People really don't seem to know they're there, or if they do, they don't get around to using them, and overwhelmingly people are with Chrome.


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[Assistant] And these other browsers provide so much more privacy to you than what you're used to and


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[Assistant] I know that people kind of have given up on the privacy thing. Don't.


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[Assistant] Vince, thank you. If you are working with a vendor like a small business person who wants to be paid only by check, then


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[Assistant] Uh, if they're coming to your residence or to your business to deliver services,


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[Assistant] Hand them the payment. Hand them the check. Do not mail it. The big problem that's happening with checks overwhelmingly is that they are truly not being lost in the mail. They're being stolen in the mail.


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[Assistant] Donald, thank you and I, I appreciate you writing it. I don't know why you thought we wouldn't read that.


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[Assistant] Is I have no problem with people using credit cards to use them as a payment system.


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[Assistant] Uh, Dave Ramsey comes at this from such a different perspective because he, as he talks about all through the years, he personally went bankrupt.


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[Assistant] And so he's really into tough love for people who've lived a debt-based lifestyle.


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[Assistant] Are part of how he gets people to get control in their lives. And his audience very much is geared towards people who've had debt troubles. Our audience is not.


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[Assistant] And there are people in our audience who do have difficulties with depth, but that's not...


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[Assistant] Our audience principally, our audience is principally people who are trying to figure out how to handle their assets, smartest ways to handle money, and in their case, there's


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[Assistant] Nothing wrong in a lot right with using credit cards that have rewards as a way to use them as a payment system.


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[Assistant] But it only works if you are someone who pays your balances in full each and every month. And I appreciate your post.


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[Assistant] Bradley, thank you. Okay, so where did that come from? People used to complain that I would refer to cars, cars, cars, and most people drive


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[Assistant] SUVs, crossovers or pickup trucks. So I just did not adopted it as a new word. Uh, they're cars. You're right. Or automobiles or whatever, but vehicle became


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[Assistant] Kind of like the default that I use so that I wouldn't offend people who don't like cars. And there are a lot of people now who don't like passenger cars. They like these various other types of vehicles. I drive a crossover. I drive a Tesla Model Y that is on a car platform.


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[Assistant] It was originally used for the Model 3 and it's just a car that sits up higher, has kind of like a bubble roof, looks like half an egg. And, uh, it is a crossover utility vehicle and it is a car.


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[Assistant] So thank you, and Bradley, I apologize for working your last nerve, calling cars something else. And, uh,


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[Assistant] Sally and, uh, and Lightning McQueen really were attracted to each other in that movie.


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[Assistant] Sean, thank you. I also heard this from a pharmacist after that aired saying the same thing that I was giving antiquated advice saying, looking for a picture of the med that you just look up the,


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[Assistant] The code on it and you'll know that it's what you're supposed to be taking.


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[Assistant] And that you were not accidentally given the wrong med. For those of you who missed that episode,


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[Assistant] There are five million prescriptions just in California alone in the last year where people were given the wrong script and with potential life threatening


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[Assistant] Uh, there was just a strike by pharmacists in Kansas City, Missouri about this because they feel they are being so overworked and over quoted


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[Assistant] That people's lives, their customers lives are being


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[Assistant] Put in danger. So know that this is an issue, particularly with CVS and Walgreens with the high production quotas.


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[Assistant] And that's why it's important from those two and really just as a general practice to make sure the meds you have are what the doctor wanted you to have. So I appreciate that very much.


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[Assistant] Between the Bills and the Dolphins recently was one of the most fun football games I have ever seen.


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[Assistant] And those two teams are the most entertaining teams out of all 32 in the NFL. I'm sorry. I upset everybody in every other place. Those two teams are just exciting to watch. Um, as for bringing in, it depends on the stadium.


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[Assistant] If you're allowed to bring in outside food and beverage, but yes, what an enormous money saving that is, and I appreciate you giving that advice and


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[Assistant] Want you to know that if you hear something from me, you feel is incomplete.


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[Assistant] I'm, uh, out of my mind, whatever. Please go to Clark.com slash Clark Stinks and post a way to the benefit of me doing a better job at what I do and providing better, more complete or correct information to your fellow listener or viewer. Coming up ahead, speaking of information for you.


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[Assistant] Or hand it off to your loved ones is something people mess up on all the time. We're going to talk about what you're supposed to do straight ahead.


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[Assistant] There are situations that occur all the time.


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[Assistant] That end up where someone passes away.


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[Assistant] And what that individual intended with their assets,


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[Assistant] It's cause we have busy lives and we forget things or we don't remember we did this, that or the other in the first place. And then sometimes it's just way out there. So,


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[Assistant] I want to share a story of something that happened to my late mom long, long, long ago.


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[Assistant] Did a codicil to his will, which is a, uh, addition and then the modification of his will. And in there, he said that, uh, my mom, if he pre deceased her, my mom would be able to live in his place for as long as she lived. So my stepdad tragically died of a heart attack and


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[Assistant] And then we're having a family reception later. And that's when, uh, one of, uh,


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[Assistant] Relatives asked, when was mom moving out? And asked my oldest brother.


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[Assistant] When was, when was mom moving out? And he said, Oh no, she's staying here. Um, you know, our stepdad put this codicil that she could stay the rest of her life. Well, for tax reasons, the property had gone into a trust, which meant that the will no longer mattered at all because the trust predetermined where


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[Assistant] The value, the ownership of that property was going to go bam. We had to move our grieving mom into an extended stay hotel till we could find a place for her to live. It was not just our mom. One day I got a knock at the door at our home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And a neighbor who I didn't know well with three doors down was crying. Her husband had just died and she found out from her stepkids that she was being evicted and it was a similar kind of thing. There was a trust for the home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In, uh, in her now deceased husband's will, it said that she would inherit the house, but it meant nothing because the house was no longer a legal asset of him. It was in the trust.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And those are extreme cases, but it's weird that the same thing happened to my mom happened to this neighbor.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was just terrible. I mean, for a widow to already be grieving and then have no place to live too. I mean, my goodness.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, my mom ended up fine, everything was great. Don't worry about...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, but not everybody has a family there that can rally around and support. And then where are you?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And those are extreme examples, but happened because so many things people do for legal or tax reasons that the overall implications they don't know. Common example at work. So we all have a 401k.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or they'll have, independent of work, they'll have an IRA, or they'll have...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A bank account or investment account or whatever, and you're given an option of naming a beneficiary. So they name a beneficiary. Well then life happens.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And maybe you're no longer with that person. Maybe you're now with somebody else.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe it's a divorce and then a remarriage or whatever it is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so you do a will and you name that you want your, this asset to go to this person, this asset to go to that person, all that. Guess what? It means nothing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Pretty much anywhere in the country, if there was a designated beneficiary that is superior


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In almost all cases to what's in the will. Let me tell you, we've had that question from people where the ex got the money from the investment account or the bank account or the whatever because