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[Assistant] Alright, we'll go to questions now. BG in Nebraska says, cell phone plan question. My cell phone provider offers a plan with unlimited talk, text, and smartphone data. What is the difference between data versus smartphone data?


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[Assistant] Marie in Wisconsin says a few weeks ago, Clark mentioned that the only way to beat ticket master junk fees was not to go.


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[Assistant] I've hated Ticketmaster with a fiery passion for decades. I used to attend concerts regularly, but stopped going to those sold through this company. There is a potential- Wait, wait, wait. Put in the adjective. A horrible company. Thank you. There is a potential workaround though. Some venues have a box office and will sell you tickets in person.


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[Assistant] Not online or via phone. I recently bought tickets at a local venue and was able to save 22 bucks in Ticketmaster junk fees. The ability to buy tickets is not available at every venue and may have limited hours but it's worth a look. Thanks for all you do.


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[Assistant] At the current moment, the vehicle does not have any issues and is in great shape considering the age and mileage. I wanted to know at this point, would you just recommend driving the vehicle until it dies or does it ever make sense to sell it while it's still worth some money and purchase another used vehicle with less miles? I work from home and my wife has a very short commute and we have another vehicle that is newer with low mileage.


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[Assistant] Just curious of your thoughts on this. My thought is it works right now. Why spend the money?


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[Assistant] But my wife is concerned with the high mileage, it may leave us stranded one day.


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[Assistant] Hannah in Georgia says my fiance is a big fan and through him I am as well. We're getting married in the spring and booking our honeymoon.


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[Assistant] Is it more cost effective to use the resort to package the flights or to book our flights and resorts days separately? For some additional information, we're doing an all-inclusive Caribbean honeymoon around the Memorial Day weekend.


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[Assistant] Dave in Indiana says, I love when you talk about the checkoff list you use for your monthly bills. I just wish you'd stress how important it can be to anyone, but even more importantly how easy it is to do.


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[Assistant] Whether on a spreadsheet or simply scribbled onto any little piece of paper, this easy task can save you from tons of confusion and headaches. This hack has saved me countless times.


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[Assistant] Alexis in Texas says, my wife just, and I just had a baby. Congratulations. And we are so happy that now we would like to expand and would like to adopt a child. I checked a couple of local agencies and the adoption fees are through the roof in the tens of thousands. I would like to know if you're aware of any agencies that may be more reasonable.


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[Assistant] I would also say if you work for, if you or your wife work for a big company or even a medium sized company, often they'll have adoption benefits where that, that you're not aware of where they'll pay a certain amount, maybe even all the adoption fees.


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[Assistant] I mean, do people use anything other than Google? Don't even mention Bing. What a joke. As a hardcore Google fan, I wouldn't suggest any search engine other than Google. I mean, for crying out loud, Clark, you even use a Chromebook. I'm teasing and it's all in fun, Brandon.


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[Assistant] Okay you really missed the mark when giving counsel to the girlfriend who just bought a house with her boyfriend. You spent an inordinate amount of time talking about mortgage life insurance. The unmarried couple has much bigger problems than considering a level term insurance product.


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[Assistant] Because they are not married, have they received guidance on the important issues? You could have asked her, do you have a cohabitation agreement that includes details about who owns what and who pays for what?


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[Assistant] What happened here? I cannot imagine many listeners will say Clark said on this response, respectfully the Ohio professor.


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[Assistant] I will forgive you for not pronouncing deteriorate and exercise correctly, but your little clarky segment is beyond annoying. At least I can tune out early without missing the meat of the show, Tom.


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[Assistant] Your advice on timeshares isn't stinky, but it is a bit antiquated. Each time the topic comes up, you spend a large chunk of the segment explaining how a traditional timeshare works and why the timeshare is a defective product. Clark, I'm 42 years old and the only time I remember someone I know buying a traditional timeshare


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[Assistant] In these vacation clubs, as you know, owners get points each year that can be spent at a wide variety of clubs across the country. Your advice of never, never, never, not ever buying into any timeshare is correct, but I worry that people listening to your show may not realize that this also applies to vacation clubs. And that's from Kevin.


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[Assistant] A listener mentioned they've maxed out their contributions to tax advantaged retirement accounts. They wanted to know if target date funds were appropriate in standard IRA accounts.


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[Assistant] Because if their structure ETFs are more efficient from a tax perspective because they avoid taxable events by exchanging shares with in-kind transactions. Please bring awareness to this difference to your listeners. And that's from Chris.


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[Assistant] Clark suggested the possibility of getting a loan as a mortgage from a relative if they have the means under certain circumstances. Clark, you should never, never, not ever, sound familiar, recommend this. What you are omitting from this consideration is the relational aspects of the transaction.


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[Assistant] loses their job, has a family issue, etc. And the lending relative not only loses their money, but also potentially loses a good relationship with a family member. Brandon.


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[Assistant] But if you bought a car that requires it, you're probably a car guy that will expect a high level of performance for which you paid.


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[Assistant] Also, a category you forgot to mention was turbocharged cars, many of which aren't necessarily high-end cars, but still require higher octane fuel.


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[Assistant] I don't use password managers because if the master password is guessed through a breached password or security breach or social engineering, the hacker has the keys to almost every account you have. And that's from, also Roger also says that a minimum people must enable two factor authentication on all financial and brokerage accounts.


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[Assistant] I've got one more. Oh, I'm ready. I didn't, I passed over it, but oops, I did it again. This is a Chris Distinks, but in the lyrics, it says, but in the least way possible, not poison, not deaf leopard, not great, but great white performed once bit and twice shy. I'd done that once before. Oh yeah.


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[Assistant] So Great White, once bitten twice shy, keep up the great work, I thoroughly enjoy your show, even if you have an occasional miss, Mike.


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[Assistant] Yes. Wow. That was awesome. I'm shocked. See, you're not brain dead cultural. You just proved yourself.


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[Assistant] My son is on the autism spectrum. He works part time for Trader Joe's and loves his job. Because of his disability, he qualifies for an ABLE account. And this year, he's put about $10,000 in it. Money from work as well as gifts.


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[Assistant] So Ashton has put about $10,000 in this year. He does not currently receive social security, but we keep his assets low just in case for the future. Since he has income, it seems like he could open a Roth IRA.


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[Assistant] Or 3B. However, a Roth IRA is not an employer sponsored plan, so it would be fine to have both.


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[Assistant] This one's from Pamela in Georgia. What is a good alternative to Microsoft Office 365 for a work from home person needing a product like this for typing?


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[Assistant] Like if your score is high, that means it's good. You don't say. Let's talk to the adults also, not just the room temperature IQs. LOL. Frank.


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[Assistant] Clark, you stink more than a nitro-methane top fuel dragster.


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[Assistant] You know what that is? I don't know what that is. But it says, if you've never been to an NHRA drag race, burning nitro makes your eyes water and nose run. It's really bad.


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[Assistant] I don't understand your love affair with electric automobiles. My wife and I rented an electric Volvo SUV in Tampa. We spent 20 cents per mile and two and a half hours of our time to charge the vehicle at a rapid charging station.


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[Assistant] We could have rented a gas car that averaged as low as 25 mpg at a cost 13 cents per mile with a gas price at $3.30 a gallon in five minutes of our time.


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[Assistant] Time is money. The Volvo SUV is well built and the new experience was entertaining, but it just isn't for me. I believe natural gas is the better alternative for the future. Oh, you really don't stink. You're a positive man. Douglas.


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[Assistant] Clark, you were right on target recently when you advised the family to seek out an elder law attorney in relation to future Medicaid estate recovery related to long-term care for their elderly parents.


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[Assistant] And it was a dog's breakfast of a suggestion to mention that they, that they consider was doing a D transfer within five years of future care.


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[Assistant] You fail to state a crucial detail. If the elderly parents are already receiving benefits as a Medicaid, SSI, or SSDI, then such a deed transfer might be considered a gift to family and kick them off benefits.


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[Assistant] The five-year rule is not the only thing to consider and they must work with a quality elder law attorney before changing title.


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[Assistant] Also, your listeners may not be aware that people receiving benefits can get into trouble not only gifting to family, but also receiving gifts from others. These cannot easily be disclaimed as the government considers them potential resources they could have used. Andy from St. Louis.


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[Assistant] I looked it up, a dog's breakfast is like an unappealing, you have dog, unappealing mixture. A mess.


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[Assistant] Just wanted to bring to your attention rebooking policy on third party travel sites. While most airlines allow for rebooking of a fare with a credit for difference if fare, in fare if the airline fare decreased in price, this only works if you book directly with the airline.


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[Assistant] I recently used Capital One Travel, Hopper, to book a flight because their prediction model predicted that the prices won't decrease. However, when the flight decreased in price by about $200, I tried to rebook for lower fare. I was told by Capital One Travel, while I can change my travel plans without a fee,


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[Assistant] But if the new fare is lower, I won't be credited for the difference in fares. And that's from Payam.


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[Assistant] You stink like a college dorm room refrigerator in May.


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[Assistant] Speaking of college, you mentioned the other day that kids paying for their own tuition is something that would be extremely difficult today.


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[Assistant] This may be the case for some kids who don't know how to work a summer job and manage their money, but if kids can work hard, make wise choices about where to go to school, and take care of their money as you did when you paid for school, they can not only pay for their own tuition,


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[Assistant] But they will learn valuable skills that will serve them for their whole life.


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[Assistant] My wife and I have three kids who have all paid or are paying for their higher education and we wouldn't change a thing. We could have paid for it, but we chose to let them pay their own way, make their own choices, and realize their own successes through hard work.


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[Assistant] Perhaps if parents and government quit dumping so much money into college education, the nation's universities would be forced to lower their costs and increase their value. Kevin.


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[Assistant] On 1026, the Deacon Bob parody where he spoke in mocking tone on behalf of the Church of Wrath while you and your sidekick giggled was distasteful and amateurish. Allowing audience performances is a bad idea. Please stop. One.


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[Assistant] Thanks to Clark's advice of finding deals, book it fast, then decide why you want to go there. We've flown roundtrip to Paris for $269, Vancouver for $121, Honolulu for $274,


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[Assistant] Not really a stinker, but a bit on the smelly side. You advised against the pay in four plans whereby a consumer buys something and then promises to pay for it in four easy installments.


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[Assistant] How is this different than using a credit card? Both of them are by now pay later. The only difference I can see is that the pay in four makes it inherent that you pay it off quickly, whereas a credit card lets you string it out for a longer period of time and pay more interest. Trudy.


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[Assistant] We have a, uhm, subscriber on YouTube that called it by now pain later.


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[Assistant] But you gave some bad advice. You told your listeners not to bother applying for global entry and that several birthdays could pass before they might be approved for the program.


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[Assistant] Not true. I applied for global entry on 9-11-2023. I was conditionally approved the next day and able to schedule my interview for 10-24-2023.


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[Assistant] I live in Chicago, I live in the Chicago area and was able to get an interview at the Customs House in downtown Chicago and was approved for the program within an hour of completing my interview. That's 43 days from start to finish. Please don't discourage others from being part of this great program. Jill.


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[Assistant] Speaking of home buying, we have a question from Christina in Georgia. I bought my first home in 2018, but it has been waiting to move for quite a while. I wanted to be out of the city and closer to my parents, where I grew up.


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[Assistant] Looking at comps, I can profit about 200k.


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[Assistant] For my home, which I am thinking of using as a down payment so I do not touch my savings.


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[Assistant] I can afford the mortgage even with these high interest rates. The area I want to be in has great schools and tons to do. So I am thinking the area will only increase in value. I listened to your advice on the best time to buy a home while you said to wait for first time home buyers and it was okay if you own your home outright.


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[Assistant] I was wondering what your advice is for someone in the middle of those situations.


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[Assistant] I have seven years left of it and currently have about $100,000 of a payoff. This is the only debt I have left.


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[Assistant] I mentioned to my CPA in April that I was thinking of paying off my business loan early, but she was steering me away from that option for tax purposes.


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[Assistant] My question is would you advise me to pay off my business loan early and continue to rent or use my savings as a down payment for a house? Thanks, Clark. I enjoy your podcast and all the hard work you and your team do to put into the show.


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[Assistant] From Ellen in Ohio, I recently received a letter from a collection agency attempting to collect a debt of $2628.93 for a T-Mobile account I supposedly had in February-March 2022. As this is not my account or debt,


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[Assistant] I called the agency to dispute it and get more information.


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[Assistant] After verification, they told me I need to complete a fraud claim form online or by mail and file a police report and include a copy with my correspondence.


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[Assistant] The fraud claim form requires me to provide my full social security number, which has me concerned because isn't access to my social security number what got me into this in the first place?


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[Assistant] Thanks to you, I have credit freezes in place with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, but I don't know if these were in place at the time in question. As of this writing, the only thing I have done is mail back the bottom portion of the original letter, checking the box stating that I dispute the debt because it is not my debt.


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[Assistant] Before proceeding, I wanted to write to you because I desperately need your help with what to do from here. Thank you so much for the work you and your staff do for us Clarkies.


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[Assistant] It's great to have you here today on the Clark Howard Show. You know, our mission is to serve you with knowledge so you're empowered to make better financial decisions in your life.


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[Assistant] And I want to talk about something that is present all year long but is so much more an issue.


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[Assistant] During the Christmas shopping season, which this year is way well underway, been for like the last two weeks and, uh, the next five weeks are going to be


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[Assistant] The core weeks that you should be doing your Christmas shopping and there's something you gotta know to protect your wallet about how the games played and later


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[Assistant] There are a couple of trends that people are using, one that's clearly your friend, the other may or may not be.


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[Assistant] To try to deal with the high cost of housing and make it more affordable for you if you're trying to buy a home. I'm going to tell you what's going on and how to make it work to your advantage.


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[Assistant] So here's something that's taking advantage of you.


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[Assistant] And it's been the, the subject of so many fines against companies over the years, I can't even tell you. So when we get to


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[Assistant] A lot of the merchandise that is sold at pretty much any kind of store.


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[Assistant] Is what's called promotional merchandise. It's goods that are not normally sold.


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[Assistant] Uhm, priced at fake retail prices and the sale price that appears to be


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[Assistant] 50, 60, 70% off, it's all made up garbage.


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[Assistant] And I need to stop saying garbage so much. I've been saying that a lot as a word instead of using bad word. Anyway, it's all fake where they'll say


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[Assistant] And their sale flyer online, they're not physical flyers anymore, but sale ads online or the emails you get, or you're in the store and it'll say something is this percent off or that percent off. And it's all a mind game. Uh, and a lot of the discounters


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[Assistant] You can tell the seasonal merchandise that's brought in the promotional goods just for the Christmas selling season because they may even come off the truck.


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[Assistant] In a dis- in a uh, cardboard kind of display thing.


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[Assistant] And the merchandise is, uh, put out on the floor, usually with some kind of little forklifty thing. It's put in place where it's supposed to be.


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[Assistant] Maybe we know that's going on, but we want to feel like we're getting a deal and it says we're getting 50% off. So yeah, yeah, we'll throw those in our cart. I'm not familiar with stores that don't have shopping carts, but anyway.


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[Assistant] There are other stores in the world as well and they'll do the same kind of thing also with the specific promotional items for Christmas. So know that over these weeks, do not get sucked in.


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[Assistant] By the supposed discounts that the items you're saying represent and you have such a powerful tool.


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[Assistant] On your, in your possession, you have a smartphone and it can help you actually see.


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[Assistant] If something is truly a deal or not, if you're in a physical store, if you're shopping online, we've got these tools like honey that will help you see historical pricing trends. And if you this time of year try to use honey with an online seller,


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[Assistant] A promotional item that has no historical retail price.


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[Assistant] And all that matters is what they're selling it for versus what you might buy a similar item online or in a physical store otherwise. So please don't play the retailer's game of trying to convince you


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[Assistant] You're getting a sale when something could be a non-sale sale. Krista?


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[Assistant] People who use the packages at Costco travel.


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[Assistant] Almost without exception. I mean, there's always going to be somebody that doesn't go well or somebody that makes somebody unhappy. People seem to love.


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[Assistant] And the cost of a Disney trip is so expensive. And I think about the whiplash.


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[Assistant] Uh, me talking earlier this year about the prices going to record highs for admission tickets to uh, Disney World and Disneyland and the various parks. And then just a few weeks ago saying, oh,


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[Assistant] Disney realized they raised prices too much, now they're lowering prices and then just weeks later after they lowered them, they raised prices again. So it's a moving target and


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[Assistant] I think you're too early for June unless the Costco travel package.


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[Assistant] What the relative health of the economy is gonna be when you look nine months out.


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[Assistant] I think it would make sense to say eight months, nine months. I think it would make sense to wait a little longer and see if the economy stays strong.


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[Assistant] Uh, cause when the economy weakens, things that are completely discretionary, like going to Disney,


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[Assistant] The price is softened, particularly for all the features that go with it, other than


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[Assistant] The tickets to the parks themselves. Uhm, but again, if the Costco travel package


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[Assistant] Is fully refundable for the next several months. You don't have to lock until later. Go ahead and lock it in.


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[Assistant] And then later if prices have dropped, no problem. You just rebook or book somewhere else and


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[Assistant] Into something that's inflexible, if it is, I wouldn't do that.


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[Assistant] Sal, uhm, I'm nothing but bad news for you here.


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[Assistant] There's an old rule in travel they call, you ate the evidence, which is the most cold, callous thing.


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[Assistant] But if you choose to use the service, uh, an example that's common is in a restaurant. This is where eat the evidence came from.


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[Assistant] Is that if you eat a meal and then later say that was horrible and complain to the manager, manager is going to look in your plates empty. On the other hand, if you don't eat the food, then typically the manager is going to say, okay, you're not paying for that with these third party tour bookings that often people are booking through trip advisor.


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[Assistant] I don't know if TripAdvisor is where you found your way to this, uh, tour in, uh, Tahiti, but it's often where we hear they came from. You end up with all these different tours under things to do.


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[Assistant] And they're taking a cut and then whoever they preferred you to is taking a cut and


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[Assistant] You are a prisoner basically to the booking unless it explicitly has the right for you to cancel for a refund. Uhm, this is way too late for you. Uhm, oh, on the credit card thing.


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[Assistant] The credit card company is not going to help you usually outside the United States and especially because your dispute is about the quality of the service, not that, not that they didn't deliver the service. So it's almost impossible, very unlikely, very, very unlikely.


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[Assistant] that a credit card dispute would work in this case the only good thing in your story


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[Assistant] And usually at the port or wherever it is that these excursions leave, I always face the risk that they're sold out. But more often what happens is I get no show spaces at a fraction of the cost of what it is. Looking through a third party on a day where the weather's really lousy. I'm not going to try to go on the trip, but I'm really sorry. All this happened to you.


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[Assistant] Okay, so we're having so many questions about stuff involving the videos and pictures of homes, either mandatory from homeowners, insurers, or in your case, an optional thing that supposedly will only have the effect of lowering your rates. The homeowners insurance industry is suffering from an extreme increase in the number of claims and the cost of those claims.


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[Assistant] And so the industry is playing much tougher with homeowners or even somebody who let's say is renewing an existing policy. We've had several people who've contacted us because they've been told


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[Assistant] And what the insurers are doing in those cases, they're not asking you, they're using drones to fly over your home, uh, do imaging.


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[Assistant] Yeah, a variety of things. And so the insurers are doing everything they can.


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[Assistant] To reduce the number of claims and again the cost of them and putting the burden on you.


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[Assistant] This is a reverse way to do it. They're saying, Hey, show us what your home looks like if you want to, and we might save you some money.


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[Assistant] That will be your choice, but the other where the insurer without telling you till after they've decided, Oh, we don't like you. We don't like this. We don't like that. We don't like the other fix it or else. Uh, you've been approached with a much more gentle.


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[Assistant] And has some things that look a little not so great.


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[Assistant] I would not take them up on this voluntary offer since you don't have to do it anyway. Uhm, coming up ahead, speaking of homes.


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[Assistant] We're gonna talk about a couple of things people are doing.


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[Assistant] In a brutal home market for new home buyers to try to make the home work for them in today's rough conditions trying to buy one.


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[Assistant] I'm going to tell you the pluses and minuses of what people are up to.


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[Assistant] If you're trying to buy a home right now and it's a first home, I don't remember conditions nationally ever being as difficult with what happened over about a six year period where home prices in much of the country accelerated at such a rapid rate. And then those home prices kind of stalled out.


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[Assistant] But then mortgage rates that had been in the ones, twos and threes are now heavily in the sixes and sevens. So you think of the one, two punch.


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[Assistant] Wow, not only do I face a much higher price of a home,


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[Assistant] But I also am paying much more for the money to buy that home because the carry cost and interest.


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[Assistant] Is so much, much, much higher than it was. So housing affordability has never been so rough.


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[Assistant] To try to stretch the dollar to make it work if you don't want to wait.


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[Assistant] And I think waiting is a viable alternative.


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[Assistant] Uh, but a lot of times buying a home is not just about money. It's about a sense of permanence, uh, building, uh, establishing yourself in an area, in a community that you may not feel


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[Assistant] And a rental apartment, rental home, a rental townhouse, something like that. I mean, just from dollars and cents, this is slam dunk, a time to rent and not buy. But even with that, there are people who still want to buy and because people in homes aren't selling in normal numbers, because


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[Assistant] They don't want to give up a one, two or three percent mortgage.


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[Assistant] It means that a lot of people are buying new construction.


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[Assistant] Which has a higher cost per square foot typically than buying a used home. I mean it is, it is rough, rough, rough. And all I'm doing is stating the frustrations. So people are looking for ways to make it work. And one of them is what kind of money you get. And so there's a sliver of the market.


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[Assistant] Where people are able, and I addressed this probably seven, eight months ago, there are people out there with mortgages that you can assume. Usually government issued loans.


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[Assistant] But things that might be a veteran's loan or might be a FHA loan.


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[Assistant] Where you may be able to assume it without the rate going up. You'll have to qualify but you may be able to assume it. And that has been a great way for people to turn the clock back


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[Assistant] Then another thing is doing the adjustable rate mortgages, getting a lot of solicitations I'm seeing from the two credit unions I'm a member of.


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[Assistant] Pitching various forms of adjustable rates.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With the rate set for typically five years and then a reset after that. So that will definitely save you money right now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, like 1, uh, 1.3 to 1.5%, which will mean a significant difference in the payment, but it also means you're in a 60 month time bomb. I expect rates to go down.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're not going back to one, two or three percent, but I expect rates to go down and that you will be rewarded for taking that leap of faith. Odds are very strong.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That you could do the five year arm fixed rate for five years and be able to refinance those five years into a permanent rate that would be meaningfully lower possible. Um, if you have family members, parents, something like that, that have the means the IRS permits them to


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Lend you the money for your mortgage and be your mortgage company.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the IRS sets out what interest rate you have to be charged. And if you have family who's a mind to do that, the interest rate that they have to charge you is substantially lower.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If the IRS requires its reset, I think every 90 days, then what you would have to pay


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Going a traditional route for a mortgage. So all that's about the money. But there's something else that I've, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've been, uh, truthfully I've been obsessed with for like 10 years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's having, actually it's been longer than that in my life. I love the whole idea.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] of people being able to afford a house by when they buy the house also having with it rental income from that house.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And now in places that permit it, more and more new construction builders are building where you can have like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] An apartment over a garage or more expensive an accessory dwelling unit where it's a little separate, uh, let's call it a cottage that you can rent out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's allowing people in places where zoning permits, and then there's a lot of people doing it illegally. Let's call it what it is. A lot of people are going against, uh, local zoning and they're doing a, um, illegal rental, but it gives you the income that allows you to afford that home and in a home


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Taking space like a basement that has a separate entrance, or if there's a place that you could have an office or a little apartment over a garage, the square footage is already there and it's so cheap to do it. And it can have a big impact on the ability for you to afford the house. And I know there are people who hate this stuff. I think we need to love it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the reason I have been so on this for so long is I think that this is a very affordable solution that really helps everybody to have


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Something where you live in a house and you're also essentially a landlord at your own house, but with separation and privacy for the tenant and for you, Krista.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so the Montana plan isn't up to speed by my standards, but there's no need for you to do the Montana plan. Montana, as I recall, didn't even have a state income tax. So there's, I don't think there would be any meaningful state benefit to doing Montana's plan. Anyway, I would go into one of my top rated plans.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Whether it's the Utah plan or, or something like that, it's ultra low cost.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And do the 529 absolutely for your


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] High school freshman, is that right? Yep. The senior.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe some benefit if you were to put money in there for your high school senior.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That they would use as a junior or senior in college, you know, several years down the road, then you'd get some appreciation there, uh, for the, uh, student already in college. I think it's too late for them, but I think it would be applicable, especially for the ninth grader.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And also to an extent for the 12th grader. But just don't do the Montana plant.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, you know, you're in a situation, Solomon, that so many people are in who were in a position you had to buy a used car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Back in particularly 21 when it was just.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've seen how expensive you use vehicles were and into really the first half of 22, the prices have moderated. So now you're sitting there with something that has a lot, a lot of miles on it worth a lot less than the market value. Now you're upside down in it and you're like boxed in. So


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right now the goal is once you get out your loan document for the loan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I need for you to look at the page to see how interest is calculated. If the interest is calculated as simple interest,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Every additional dollar you can throw at that loan every month will have an exact dollar for dollar plus benefit because you won't owe that dollar


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The loan was done by a dishonest dealer. It will have a calculation that will not be simple interest.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And front loads the interest, even if you prepay on the loan, that's a really tough circumstance to be in. I'm hoping that it's a simple interest loan. And then the way you get out of this, you keep driving it till the wheels fall off and throw every additional penny every month you can towards it to reduce the balance and the interest.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is so terrible. But obviously Mary Ellen, your son did the exact right thing. He was willing to walk.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When they started playing games known as the grind with him, when he already had made a deal.


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[Assistant] And then tried to charge him an extra $2,750.


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[Assistant] Just to see if he'd roll over and let them cheat him out of those $2750. What did he do? He was like, no, I'm not doing it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The power you have is your two feet.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he used it and what did they do? They removed all of those charges. Your son.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Has learned a really important lesson about the power that he has before.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A transaction is completed after the fact there would have been nothing he could have done about it. I am so proud of him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That he stood up to a dealership bully and didn't allow them to cheat him out of $2,750 that he probably did not have. So he won because in the game of chicken who blinked first. So good for him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As for the whole idea of deal or prep charges.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They are just a pack. A pack is a made up charge that means nothing, just a way to cheat a customer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are a small number of dealers in the United States that do not charge dealer prep fees.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, who don't want to treat people that way. Unfortunately, they are few and far between.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So what I always do if I'm shopping for a vehicle or car, a truck, whatever, I shop online and I require


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the communications back and forth with the internet department of the dealership that they state all costs, including any additional fees required to purchase. So I have it in writing what those costs are going to be when I go to take delivery.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's not enough to negotiate the price. You need to know everything. What other charges, what other fees are there? What is the total itemized cost of buying a vehicle?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And if they charge some kind of nuisance $499 dealer fee prep fee. Well, if I've shopped around.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And including that, it's the best price overall than


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I still buy it even though they have that junk feed there because it was the best total price including everything for that vehicle. But the important thing is to know all of that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I want to tell you how much I appreciate you being with us today. Remember, team Clark is here to help you Monday through Friday, six hours each weekday in the consumer action center, answering your questions for free one on one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If there's something you need advice on, information, guidance,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To learn how it works and how to get that advice. And now it's time for the Clarkie of the day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Thank you, Deacon. Have a great day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You reek of a porta potty at a construction site. Gross. You are not correct about why automobile key fobs need more protection. You said that the criminal pair intercepts and quote, writes the code to a bank, to a blank key fob.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If true, criminals could steal the code at a traffic light or any other time you're using it in your car, then steal it later.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In fact, one of them relays the signal with an amplifier from your key fob to the other criminal using the fake key fob held near your car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Once your car starts, the key fob only displays an error, but unfortunately does not kill the engine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That makes this technique handy in parking lots and even if your car sits in your driveway.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's in this parked mode where the $10 Faraday sleeve adds the additional protection.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It makes no sense to place the key fob in the protective sleeve while you're driving your car. Jim.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So he's just saying, wait, let's see. Makes no sense to place the key fob in the protection sleeve while you're driving your car. So just when you're parking, when you're parked.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm with Clark on the 2% cash back credit card, so the Fidelity card is our go-to card.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But with regard to his distaste of airline cards, we suck it up and pay the $250 annual fee.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For the Delta AmEx Platinum card, as we get a free companion ticket every year, ignoring the $80 tax and fees.


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[Assistant] I feel like this is more, this more than covers the $250. Am I missing something?


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[Assistant] And don't worry, everyone stinks once in a while, Sherry.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, useful, but also the 15% off of using points.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But the platinum delta card does not get you into the lounges.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And supposedly I think you get upgraded quicker depending on your status than someone of the same status if you have that card. Okay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, Clark you stink more than a still soggy half-dried seaweed on the beach. A caller asked about going on a cruise solo and did not want to pay double since they were going alone. Yes, some cruise lines have extremely small inside single cabins for the solo traveler.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have sailed on 40 cruises over the years, many of those by myself. Not every cruise line charges double when you sail solo or in cruise lingo they add a 100% single supplemental.


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[Assistant] Most cruise lines will have some cruises with the single supplemental being less than 100%.


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[Assistant] I have paid as little as 15% extra for a lovely balcony room.


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[Assistant] Meaning if the cruise was $1,000 per person, I paid $1,150 instead of $2,000.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] These cruises tend to be in off-season months and may not be completely full.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One of the major cruise retailers can search for these cruises.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With the lower single supplemental. I so appreciate you and your staff


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What you do is help us save money and avoid getting ripped off, John.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So again, that's vacations, the number two go.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When a woman asked about her dental office needing her driver's license, you didn't really have an answer. This is likely due to regulations in many states requiring a photo ID for any prescription of a narcotic.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dentists often prescribe narcotics like codeine for dental pain.


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[Assistant] Or after a painful procedure and the office probably wants it on file in case she needs one. I'm a nurse.


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[Assistant] And we cannot prescribe narcotics to anyone without a valid photo ID.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Clark's views on the thrift savings plan smell a little bit old and musty. Ever since the transition to the new record keepers last year,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The TSP has been a giant headache. The customer service representatives are not knowledgeable or helpful with even the simplest problems.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's even a class action lawsuit because the delays have caused participants financial harm.


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[Assistant] To add insult to injury, the TSP also increased the expense ratios on the funds. The TSP is no longer the shining example it once was, Matthew.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Something smells a little ripe on this one. After hearing you gush about annualcreditreport.com, I rushed over to the site hoping to get some insight on my scores. Well, little did I know and little did you mention that your credit report does not include a score.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know you've experienced with financial lingo, but some of your listeners may not know the difference.


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[Assistant] Between something like a credit report and a score, I think we'd all appreciate a little clarification next time, Isaac.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we have all, we have tons of information about freezing your credit, getting your credit score, getting your credit report on Clark.com. Um, we've definitely covered that thoroughly.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hate the aftertaste odor that keeps on lasting. Must be a cheap deodorant knockoff, but really, I get-


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[Assistant] I get why you bash payment checks, but there are specific reasons why I need to keep using them, so please help me find better ways to be safe rather than the only alternative being to never use them again.


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[Assistant] Why didn't you suggest high security checks? Are they safe and are they worth the extra expense? I appreciate your show. Thank you, David.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This time around, Clark doesn't stink. The odious offender this time is Google. Krista mentioned Google podcasts as an Android option.


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[Assistant] Like a lot of great Google products, Google is killing the app in favor of their lame YouTube music app. I've been using Podverse on Android. The app is also available on iOS and the web.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It supports podcasting 2.0 and this is open source.


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[Assistant] A lot of podcasters are dropping ads because one feature of podcasting 2.0 allows listeners to boost in support instead.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Park stinks because he mentioned that his watch was stolen at security in the airport, but he didn't tell us how this happened or how we can learn from his mistake so that we can protect ourselves. Lisa.


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[Assistant] Clark, you stink worse than my sweaty running gear getting left in the washing machine during vacation and discovered once we returned. That's pretty gross.


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[Assistant] So my wife and I finally got an executive membership with the 4% rewards. However, you brag about their prices and deals. We compared the store pricing of every single item we normally get at Sam's to the same product at Costco. Every single item except two.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One, Cascade Dishpods, but only because they had a $5 manufacturer rebate deducted. And two, Generic Claritin D.


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[Assistant] Why such love when Sam seems to win the savings war in almost everything? And P-PS, we do like their top tier gas a bit better, though not necessarily, it's not necessarily cheaper. That's from John.


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[Assistant] It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's casual. It's kind of, you know, you're such a snob, but I am casual. Yes. No, you are. It's perfect. You're, we're also wearing cargo shorts, which people can't really see. That's the Clark.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have my own Roth 401k with my company and a rollover 401k with my husband's financial advisor and I put the financial advisor company there for you.


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[Assistant] I would like to diversify a bit and put my husband's 401k with Vanguard or Fidelity. I have accounts with both.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Based index fund where they automatically reinvest my growth. Since I turned 50, I'm also going to start contributing the extra max to my existing Roth 401k, which is with Vanguard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mike in California says in 2024, I'm going to realize a long time dream of mine and start a full remodel on my one story three bedroom two bath house. I'm a huge Costco fan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I see that on the Costco website you can receive vendor quotes for cabinets, countertops, flooring, etc. What are your thoughts on using these third party vendors affiliated with Costco?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ryan in North Carolina says, hello Clark, my family was on vacation and got gas at a gas pump and we got scammed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We know about the card readers when you insert the card, but this was a new one. They now can hack even using tap. It took four times for the tap to work, and I thought maybe it was a connection issue or something.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We checked our bill and we were charged for pizza, AT&T, and a hotel plus the gas. Be aware.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If available, you can pay by using some gas station's apps, I think, and going inside


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Also going inside, those are the only safe options left.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mark in California says you mentioned that you travel by looking for the deals and you figure out why you're going. How do you decide where to go when there are so many deals? Do you default to the least expensive? Take into consideration variables like weather, political climate, etc. Also, what is your carry-on bag of choice?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] P.S. Like another listener reminded you, I too am looking forward to a time lapse of you researching your travel with 30 open browser windows.


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[Assistant] So now I know people are gonna think, do you have Bose noise-hancelling headphones?


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[Assistant] My pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show, where our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life.


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[Assistant] It's that time again though, cause it's Friday. I get the pleasure of learning from you and today's weekly Clark stink segment. Well, where I'm not doing.


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[Assistant] The job, missing part of the picture, whatever it is.


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[Assistant] And also today, something that may seem way out in the future is now a reality in more and more places. And it's fully automated stores. No cashiers at all.


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[Assistant] No self checkout. I want to tell you how self checkout is purgatory. This may be a better way, but right now it is time for Clark Stinks.


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[Assistant] Sonny, thank you, and that is my fail, cause...


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[Assistant] On these employee stock purchase opportunities.


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[Assistant] The standard industry thing is a 15% discount. Now I participated in a number


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Of employee stock purchase plans over my lifetime and the last four I did to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Made ridiculous money. So I got the discount upfront. They made a great deal of money and I avoided tax by donating all the appreciation and all the shares to charity those first two times. The third time I basically broke even. So I held the shares.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The fourth time I actually lost money. And that's the thing with employee stock purchase opportunities.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And company stocks don't necessarily go up.


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[Assistant] They also can just as well maybe go down. Even companies can go extinct. So that's why if you do a stock purchase plan, it can't be the game for you. You have to continue being well diversified, participating in the 401k, maybe having your own Roth IRA. And then if you can afford


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To do the stock purchase plan, and it can be kind of like a cherry on top for you, that's fine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Catherine, okay, so I've never had to test what you're asking.


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[Assistant] Because when I've sold a car myself,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have never, ever had a buyer who asked me if they could have it checked out.


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[Assistant] Which horrifies me because almost nobody ever has a used car checked out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And my experience was they never have. You bring up very...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Identifiable meaningful risks that I hadn't really processed as an individual seller.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I guess I'd have to assess the individual who was there as a buyer and make, uhm, as best I could, a decision. But I never faced that. Most used vehicles are not bought


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, buy an individual from an individual. So it might not be something that would come up when I last sold an individual car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Again, that was on eBay Motors, which I've used in the past. In that case, the buyer was actually a car dealer that bought the car from me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And they didn't have anybody inspect it. They didn't ask me any questions. They bought the vehicle sight unseen.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then one day a car transfer service showed up and gave them the title and they drove off in it. And, uh, that was funny because even a dealer didn't do anything about making sure that the car was in good shape.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ken, thank you. And you're right. I blew that question as someone who's been to Italy probably 20 times in my lifetime.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've done the trip both by train and with rental car. Um, I actually kind of love.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Driving a car in Italy because I feel like I don't go to amusement parks. I don't like the crowds are standing in line, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Driving in Italy kind of feels like being on the world's scariest roller coaster.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I like going to little villages, little out of the way places that are often harder to reach on the train network. And, but your advice, particularly driving in Naples, driving in Rome, I've done both.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was in a wreck in Naples with an ambulance that hit me. I was sitting still, got hit by an ambulance anyway.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Having, uh, paid too much money to visit Pompeii for parking, just as you said. You're right.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, audio to use to imply a false endorsement. Never thought about that. Did you think about that when I was doing it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, I am guilty of always speaking and broad strokes and making very strong statements. And so paying for or buy now pay later as an industry is something that I don't like at all because it has been a trap for people who make impulse purchases.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I went through the stats recently about


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How many people messed up their credit? How many people are dealing with collection agencies? How many people are paying?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Interest on something they thought was going to be interest fee free and so the whole war


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When you go to buy an airline ticket, you go to an online site, you go to a retail store.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's something you might be on the bubble about buying and then there it is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Don't worry about it. You don't have to have any money right now. We'll sell it to you paying for it. No credit check. And people click and then they end up in over their heads. Uhm, as to what would make


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Paying for provider good. I will watch the video you've sent to me and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If in fact I agree with the source, I will incorporate that when I talk next time about paying for.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Omar, first of all, I'm really impressed how the Jets players


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have risen to the occasion after Aaron Rogers went down injured and they played their hearts out and they've done so much better.


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[Assistant] Then the prognosticator said they would, and it's just wonderful to see that. Uhm, my late cousin,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, who passed away recently was a huge Jets fan. Season ticket holder forever.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I got it at a warehouse club. So it was, as we would, as I'm sure he would have expected. Yeah. Okay. So yes. Uh, I only see commercials during football season cause that's the only time I watch television and the commercials from Jake from state farm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, the weird stuff with the mustache from... Who's the yellow company? Liberty Mutual. Uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Geico doing its things. I can't remember who else. Allstate does the things with the mayhem.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] See, I watch a lot of football, don't I? That I know all these. And they spend...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So much money. I mean they'll, the insurance ads.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have built up the revenue replacing what uh, car manufacturers used to do and beer producers used to do. I mean it is the


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I would assume it's it and the cell phone companies are the two top categories now advertising on football. And, uh, yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If they just put their efforts on doing a better job.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They wouldn't spend all this money, but why do they advertise? Because advertising works.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When somebody gets, uh, unhappy with their insurer and they shop, who do they think of? They think of these companies that advertise as they try to move market share one to another and, uh, if they were to not spend the money on advertising,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They almost certainly would have smaller market share. So to them it's just a cost of doing business.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] On the issue of insurers being upside down, this is, uh, something that is, that came out of nowhere with the big increases and the cost of vehicles, repairing cars, all of that and the


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Increasing number of storms and claims involving them. So I'm not crying a river for the insurers. It's just there's a real reason why the premiums have moved up lately.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, I'm having trouble understanding Edward, what happened.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh, okay. So Edward, what I've said, and maybe I haven't explained it well, you want to follow this priority.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If your employer has a crummy 401k plan, let's say participate in it up to the employer match, then your next priority is to do the Roth IRA. Do it to the max. If you still want to save more money, then you go back and contribute more in the employer 401k. Or if the fees are outrageous in the plan, do an additional investment account with your money.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't want you to not participate in the employer 401k.


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[Assistant] Especially if there's a match, I want you participating, but I want your priorities to be different.


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[Assistant] If your employer has a crummy 401k. And Edward, I'm really sorry.


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[Assistant] If my advice that you heard was incomplete, misleading and led you down a path that costs you additional dollars in tax when you did your return for last year and I never want to give advice


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[Assistant] That ends up backfiring on someone and I'm sorry that it did to you in this case. Coming straight ahead, people either already hated self checkout or they're learning to hate self checkout. Is the answer going to be more cashiers? Uh-uh. I'm going to tell you.


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[Assistant] Where technology is leapfrogging to solve this. Self checkout.


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[Assistant] Is kinda like a plague happening to all of us when you shop at a discount store, warehouse club, uh, you go to supermarkets and they've all


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[Assistant] To really channel you into self-checkout and I use self-checkout all the time. Well, something happened to me at Costco that was a really a bit disturbing. So I'm at self-checkout at Costco and I'm ringing up and I have some bigger items.


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[Assistant] So a very helpful Costco employee working the self-checkout registers.


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[Assistant] Comes over and, uh, does the thingy where they can take over with one of those, uh, racing guns.


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[Assistant] And finishes out my cart because of the heavy items in there and then says, okay, you're done. Well, I get to the door.


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[Assistant] And it turned out the employee would come over and miss two items. So I'm sent back to pay for those items.


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[Assistant] And you go to that, uh, kiosk where you get things that are in the cage, you know, the things they lock up that are shoplift items. And that's the same place where they


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[Assistant] Where they would charge me more money for the items that we missed. And I got written up. They had a form.


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[Assistant] Who had come over the helpful employee had come over and said, hey, that was my fault. I was, I was scanning that card and the woman,


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[Assistant] Didn't even acknowledge and wrote me up on the report.


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[Assistant] So I don't know what happens in the Costco in the sky. Nothing's happened so far. But when you use self-checkout, know that there are eyes on you all the time.


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[Assistant] And you are automatically suspect if just like there was a miscan or whatever.


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[Assistant] And uh, Walmart has been written up a lot in the news media for doing deferred prosecutions.


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[Assistant] Where you have to pay Walmart this big fine and then they don't prosecute you.


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[Assistant] For failing to ring up an item at self-checkout. I mean, it's, it's crazy.


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[Assistant] And so here they are, they're making us unpaid employees to ring stuff up. And I like everybody else pretty much goes to self checkout because


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[Assistant] The cashier lines are either non-existent or they're really long.


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[Assistant] I was in a Walmart of the future experimental design. There's not a single cashier available in the whole store. Everything is self checkout in the store.


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[Assistant] It's really cool looking design, but still there's no more cashiers.


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[Assistant] That now others have also come up with where when you go into a store,


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[Assistant] You tap in, in the case of an Amazon store that has this and you pick up the items you want.


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[Assistant] And if you look around you, there are cameras everywhere.


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[Assistant] And I, and I did a, a video we ran on YouTube.


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[Assistant] Of me doing this in an airport in Kansas City.


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[Assistant] Where there were long lines at all the food things. I had a short connect. I didn't have time to get food and I was hungry. So I went to this Amazon grab and go store. Went in.


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[Assistant] Uh, picked up the items, go to a, go, uh, to the front. It knew what I had.


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[Assistant] I looked, it showed on a screen, everything was right. I tapped to pay and I went straight to my flight. So I didn't go away hungry.


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[Assistant] By the way, it was like the worst sandwich I've eaten in 10 years. It was like,


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[Assistant] It's like a national delicacy. They take white bread, they slather mayonnaise on it, they put some kind of description of processed meat on it and they're all soggy and they're terrible and


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[Assistant] The British people love them like they've lost their minds. Anyway, it was like that kind of sandwich in Kansas City that day. But I'm digressing because the real story.


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[Assistant] Is the technology has now gotten cheap enough and different vendors are selling it even to independents. I read a story on Axios about a little market that's a privately owned market, uh, not even part of a chain that now has the whole automated thing. And so you don't have to worry about a cashier.


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[Assistant] You don't have to worry about accuracy because the screen shows you and if something's on there,


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[Assistant] That you didn't actually, let's say you picked up on the shelf, you decided not to get it, put it back. If it shows up there, then there's a human.


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[Assistant] Who can actually fix that and you don't pay for what you didn't buy.


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[Assistant] And this is where we're headed and I actually support this, that we move out of the purgatory of self-checkout.


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[Assistant] And, or the long long lines waiting to check out somewhere.


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[Assistant] And being able to do these automated systems since the technology now exists, and as I've shared with you before at Sam's Club, I always use Scan and Go.


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[Assistant] Sam's club did a great job with it. They have not been doing it.


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[Assistant] Except for limited people in Walmart that they also own, or Walmart owns Sam's, because of the shoplifting problem.


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[Assistant] But these, uh, technologies are going to get us over that hump and away from stinky self-checkout.


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[Assistant] Yeaah, the 2017 and earlier, uhm, computer systems.


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[Assistant] Are not efficient and you'll find that they do slow down over time. And that's been a big beef is the, uh, what do you call that? The latency.


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[Assistant] of the, the brains of the Tesla and you'll have more crashes of them and restarts and things like that. Uhm, I know someone, my wife had a 90D at one time and so that is a known problem with it.


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[Assistant] Uh, 47,000 miles is not a lot. Your battery degradation is probably tiny, but you're getting closer to where you're going to have to worry about, uh, being your own insurance company on the battery pack. I would say the, that you face two things here.


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[Assistant] The cost of a new, if you want to do another S has come way down.


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[Assistant] And so you can buy a new Model S for like a third less than it was a year ago.


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[Assistant] And the new one is really great. I'd go test drive it and make sure.


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[Assistant] That you really like it, but I would also say there are a number of other.


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[Assistant] Electric models that have come in the marketplace since you bought your 2016, I guess you bought it new seven years ago and see what else is out there as well.


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[Assistant] It depends on how much you use supercharging. I mean in seven years. She said almost exclusively. But 47,000 miles we're not talking about that hadn't brought you


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[Assistant] Uh, an extremely large savings, but it's really nice to never pay for the energy to run your Tesla.


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[Assistant] So there's a lot of factors to consider, a lot of moving parts that new Tesla is going to cost you.


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[Assistant] Somewhere close to 80,000, you might have a tax credit that you get back from it. And so that's a lot of money to put into a car just for the value of the free supercharging. So I think you go drive it, look at other models from other brands, and then make that call. Uhm, I have tried a number of other models and what do I still drive? Tesla.


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[Assistant] I love that. I mean, I really love that. I love that the messages have lived on. Now let's go.


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[Assistant] And they know information about you. You obviously were in one of the data breaches that they know your credit's frozen.


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[Assistant] Uhm, this is going to be a high risk thing I'm going to recommend to you. But I need you monitoring your credit. And if you don't have a Credit Karma account, uhm, you would have to temporarily thaw your credit.


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[Assistant] At Equifax TransUnion and Experian, we also addressed recently on the podcast, that go around credit freeze. A criminal who has enough information about you from a data breach may be able to crack the code at the credit bureaus because they don't use the pens anymore.


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[Assistant] So in your case, credit monitoring, which normally I say is pretty much a joke,


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[Assistant] Since a criminal already knows you have a credit freeze and has tried to break into your credit that you are a target


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[Assistant] For somebody engaging in identity theft and applying for credit as if they're you.


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[Assistant] So what the issuer is required to do is give you a provisional credit for that hotel charge.


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[Assistant] And hopefully they have done that. Now this is a bank that is one of the four giant monsters. We've had a number of customer no service complaints recently about Citibank.


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[Assistant] And this is the Citibank Costco visa involved.


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[Assistant] And so, what I would do with Citi.


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[Assistant] Is I would file a complaint if in the next couple of weeks they don't get their act together.


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[Assistant] File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about, uh, the problems you're having with Citi.


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[Assistant] And you do that at consumerfinance.gov. But there's something I want you to not wait on that I want you to do.


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[Assistant] I want you to contact that hotel in California directly and


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[Assistant] Talk to the, uh, it will usually be the front desk manager. So you want to talk to.


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[Assistant] Tell them this is going on. There was a fraudulent charge at the hotel and


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[Assistant] You need documentation for city and ask them for whatever help they can provide you and hopefully they'll be able to give you


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[Assistant] Some information, how the hotel was booked, other things like that, that are additional pieces of information that helps support your situation.


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[Assistant] Have the fact that you live in Alaska and if you weren't in


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[Assistant] California at the time, gosh, that's an awfully great defense against what's going on here, but uhm, Citibank tends to wave right through small disputed charges.


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[Assistant] And is somewhat difficult to deal with or in your case very difficult to deal with on those larger ones. And that's why you may need to bring them to account. But I want you to be active not passive.


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[Assistant] And this should be resolved to your satisfaction and now it's time for our Friday edition Clark


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[Assistant] Well, thank you very much. That is wonderful to hear. Thanks Rob. And Rob, the closest I ever have gotten to Princeton is going by Princeton on Amtrak. I certainly did not have the intellectual candle power to go to an Ivy and that's fantastic. And continued success to you.


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[Assistant] And your two sons. And with that, it is my pleasure also to thank all of you who posted on Clark Stinks. I love for you to do so. We all learn together. I love your different perspectives.


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[Assistant] And if you want to do that, go to Clark.com slash Clark Stinks.


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[Assistant] Have a wonderful weekend. Remember what we're about, that you learn ways to save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off.


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[Assistant] This question is from Nick in Washington. My 16 year old daughter drives to school and works near a Costco.


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[Assistant] I'd prefer she fill her gas tank there, which we agree to pay for as she drives her sibling to school and this saves us paying for a private school bus. However, she must be 18 to be an authorized user on the Costco Visa card. I can get her a household membership card and have her use our Fidelity 2% cash back or other card.


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[Assistant] But I was wondering if you knew of a workaround to be able to use the Costco Visa for the 4% off of gas. It's also very nice that Costco Visa will separate out charges by user on the billing statement, which our Fidelity Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards Card do not.


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[Assistant] Jim in Wisconsin says I have enough money saved to pay off my student loans of $35,000. However, my savings are currently earning 5.05% interest. The loans interest rates range from 3.5% to 4.65%.


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[Assistant] Do you recommend that I make the minimum monthly payments and take advantage of the higher interest rate of my savings or should I simply pay off the loans?


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[Assistant] Uhm, it said they range 3.5 to 4.65.


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[Assistant] Timothy in Wisconsin says, I love the podcast. I wanted to share something I recently discovered that is now saving us about $600 per year. A prescription drug that I've been taking for several years is a combination of two drugs in the same pill. After changing those insurance providers this year, our new insurance policy did not cover that prescription.


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[Assistant] Even using GoodRx, this prescription was costing me $50 per month.


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[Assistant] After doing some research I discovered that my prescription drug plan covers each of the individual drugs at no cost to me. After consulting with my doctor he rewrote the prescription to the two separate drugs and these are now completely covered by my plan.


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[Assistant] Didn't you tell me recently that you were a little worried about good Rx?


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[Assistant] Okay, time for questions. This one's from Nate in Connecticut. I have a 2003 Honda CRV with 180,000 miles on it. I won't lie, I beat on it. I know, I need a new radiator, possibly a new engine.


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[Assistant] Pretty sure the gaskets are blown. Something's up with my catalytic converter and I have an exhaust leak and I also need to replace the suspension.


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[Assistant] I was quoted $300 including labor for the radiator replacement and $1,100 for the labor on the engine swap.


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[Assistant] Engine itself would probably be another thousand. I haven't gotten any of the- Thousand?


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[Assistant] That sounds really cheap. It does. I haven't gotten any other quotes for the other stuff. I was planning on just buying a new used car, but it seems like only sedans are for sale.


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[Assistant] From what I see the price of these used cars would be the same as just to fix mine up. Even if I get a new used car,


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[Assistant] Assad in Arizona says there's a growing advice on social media to invest in rental property instead of running a 529 account for your child. What?


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[Assistant] Is there any drawback to this idea? We're expecting our first child next month and still debating if we want to open a 529 for the baby because we already have a rental property and we'd name it for the child.


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[Assistant] Also your thoughts on an LLC for rental property.


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[Assistant] David in Georgia says, I live in an apartment community. My landlord sent an email to residents informing us that we are no longer allowed to make partial rent payments.


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[Assistant] This prevents me from splitting my rent payments each month between a credit card and my checking account and presents a financial hardship.


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[Assistant] Do they have the right to do this? As long as I am paying my rent in full and on time, do they really have the right to restrict me to only one payment source each month?


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[Assistant] It's great to have you here on the Clark Howard Show. Our mission is to serve you and empower you with knowledge so you make better financial decisions in your life. Before we begin today's show,


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[Assistant] I want to sincerely thank each of you.


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[Assistant] Who's taken time to review us on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to our podcast. It helps so much for others.


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[Assistant] Who might benefit from what we do to find their way to us.


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[Assistant] So do more people find their way to us through Apple Podcasts than other sources? Yes. Oh, okay.


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[Assistant] So those of us who are inferior Android users, how do we find our way?


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[Assistant] Is something I deserve and that's why today is my favorite day of the podcast each week because it's when we do our Clark Stink segment and


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[Assistant] You get to hear many of the ways that your fellow listener feels or viewer feels, I'm stinking it up. And later.


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[Assistant] As the weather starts to chill in a lot of places in the country, the cost of heating goes way up.


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[Assistant] Unless you wear ski park indoors, right? And so I'm going to talk about how simple it is as we approach colder weather to lower those bills. And by the way, a lot of things you do that lower them in the winter also help you


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[Assistant] If it's hot where you are, or when it gets hot again.


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[Assistant] But without further ado, it is time for Clark Stinks!


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[Assistant] Vern, thank you. Alright, so auto insurance is about, uh, not just the loss of your vehicle, which is the small money.


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[Assistant] It's about the liability risk that you cause if you're found at fault in an accident or partially at fault in an accident. Someone else is hurt and they see that billboard and they call that lawyer and you get eaten up. I mean, that's why


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[Assistant] Auto insurance is not really specifically about the vehicle itself, although if you have a loan, the lender will require that you have, uh, coverage on the vehicle that you have bought and you have a loan against. Extended warranties on vehicles


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[Assistant] The math is not any better typically on those than it is on when they tell you to protect your investment buying a TV and you should buy the terrible extended warranty on it too.


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[Assistant] The reason I'm neutral on car warranties is even though the math is awful, there are a lot of people who don't have the money to pay for a major repair.


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[Assistant] If one comes up. If your TV stops working, it doesn't keep you from going to work.


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[Assistant] If your vehicle stops working, you may not be able to get to work. That's why the stakes are higher and I'm neutral on the vehicle warranties. But remember this rule.


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[Assistant] Never buy any warranty other than one from the manufacturer of the brand you're buying itself. Whether you buy it from the dealer you're doing business with or another dealer, manufacturers own only.


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[Assistant] Chris, thank you for this and, uh, it is a concern. Of course I've read the stories about the security breaches involving the Wyze cams. And this is the real test for any company.


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[Assistant] Cause any company could have a problem of some kind. So how do you deal with that problem?


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[Assistant] And more important, ultimately, how do you communicate to and with your customers? And wise is not being very wise right now on that score.


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[Assistant] So Jennifer, first of all, why you think I'd spend as much money as dockers cost is just absolutely crazy. But second, my wife,


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[Assistant] She dresses about as fashionably as any woman you will ever see. She does.


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[Assistant] And she is such an intense advocate for carry on, you can't imagine, uh, because


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[Assistant] It just causes so many problems when you check a bag. You have a flight problem.


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[Assistant] You're who knows what's going to happen about you being able to change your flight, whatever, because you don't have your luggage with you. You have to sit there and watch that carousel go round and round and round a lot of times waiting for the bag. So it is a personal choice on my part.


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[Assistant] That to simplify my life and to avoid a lot of oops that I never ever check a bag. In your case, if you need that wardrobe with you, then who am I to say?


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[Assistant] And if you want to check a bag and deal with the potential problems that could occur,


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[Assistant] Just know that people are going to enjoy seeing those continual changes in outfits over the course of your vacation.


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[Assistant] Bill didn't know that they had gone to the good side on that and we will make sure we have that updated.


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[Assistant] So the Equate brand is Walmart's private label and gosh, it worked.


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[Assistant] And you didn't lose all the value of those blades.


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[Assistant] Nile, I appreciate that because a number of people at tech companies have gotten burned where they held onto their restricted stock at the point that it was no longer restricted and they could sell it.


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[Assistant] And then the stock evaporated, you know, the company.


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[Assistant] Hit bad earnings or the stock value cratered and then they were, uh, upside down having paid a lot of tax and losing money at the same time. So that is good advice.


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[Assistant] Yeah, uh, on the, the F-bomb being used everywhere, uh, saying to somebody who was at a, uh, oh, it was my son who was at a soccer game and a three year old, three, four year old dropped the F-bomb about the other team.


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[Assistant] And all these people around the kid laughed and the dad thought it was funny.


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[Assistant] And so the coarseness of language today obviously is atrocious and as far as


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[Assistant] I find the, the language and tone of them disgusting and despicable. I do also think it's important


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[Assistant] That we have one of our cornerstones of our society is freedom of speech.


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[Assistant] Kevin, thank you. Uh, there's a lot involved here and, you know, my TV's back on because it's NFL season and I'm seeing ad after ad for this, uh, AstroTurf campaign.


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[Assistant] And allow them to shop in the open market place instead of being forced into the Visa MasterCard Cartel.


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[Assistant] That's why our merchant fees are much higher than anywhere else in the world. So I think it should be a free market environment instead of a cartel, even though I benefit so much from the reward cards. Retailers, and you think about small businesses, what a burden.


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[Assistant] Those credit card merchant processing fees are to a very small business. The big chains, they can absorb it and handle it and they do.


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[Assistant] They build it in their price somehow, but small businesses aren't big enough and strong enough to do that. And so charging you extra


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[Assistant] To, uh, cover the Visa MasterCard cartel fees to me is perfectly reasonable.


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[Assistant] Scott, thank you for this. Alright, so it was my wife's experiment.


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[Assistant] And it was an assumption on our part. She's iPhone. She has the settings for Instagram. She doesn't use Facebook, but she uses Instagram. Set where they're not supposed to, uh, share her information.


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[Assistant] But somehow, and she's done this experiment several times, she'll just randomly start talking about something. She'll say, watch this. She'll start talking about who knows what. And then within hours, ads for whatever it is start showing up on her iPhone.


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[Assistant] We have a Google home device, but it's not in our living room.


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[Assistant] Scott, you work in the technology field, hearing what we just said now and our confusion about it.


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[Assistant] I'd love your theory on why this is happening.


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[Assistant] To my wife and why these ads are showing up on her phone at various random sites after she just throws out some UFO topic, whatever it is.


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[Assistant] So with medical, we have a thing on Clark.com how you can vet a medical provider overseas. There is no equivalent for dental care.


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[Assistant] And I'm certainly not in any way, uh, I, I know nothing about dentistry other than sitting in the chair and hearing the saw go on.


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[Assistant] So that's why all I could really say is that this is something that has become a big thing because so many people could not afford the dental care costs in the United States. The country that has the longest standing reputation


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[Assistant] For high quality, affordable dental care is Costa Rica in the Western Hemisphere and the, and in Europe and the country of Hungary.


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[Assistant] There's a long tradition of people from Western Europe traveling to Hungary for dental care.


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[Assistant] The Mexican angle was one that I was not familiar with until I read about it, that people are going these border communities, uh, in sight of the US border for medical, for dental care. So as far as the quality, I have no way


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[Assistant] Of giving you a roadmap to that. And I looked for one and I couldn't find one.


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[Assistant] For the same kind of, uhm, hands-off, impartial review.


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[Assistant] of dental practice like there is for traditional medical care overseas. So that's why I left you frustrated and I'm frustrated that I could tell you that there are these cheaper ways to do it, but I don't know how to vet the quality.


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[Assistant] And maybe somebody will see a marketplace need and will come up with a way to do that. But to my knowledge, to this point, there's not one for dental care.


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[Assistant] So I stink and that problem stinks. Uh, coming up ahead,


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[Assistant] We're moving into the time of year that in a lot of places, there's starting to be a little chill in the air.


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[Assistant] You might start needing a sweater or a sweatshirt and eventually you're going to need a jacket or whatever. And then in turn, the heating bills start going up.


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[Assistant] And just as I would tell you, approaching summer, there are things you can do. There are also things you can do as cold weather approaches that's coming up.


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[Assistant] Are one of the world's largest producers of energy.


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[Assistant] Well, actually by several measurements, we are the world's largest producer of energy. And as a result, even it's time that gas prices are going up,


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[Assistant] Our prices are generally lower than elsewhere in the developed world because we are such a prolific producer of traditional energies. Uh, natural gas has become the most important energy supply we have.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the United States for homes and offices and things like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is actually more favorable even in a more expensive year than it is elsewhere.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A meaningful difference in what that bill is. And the funny thing is in places with more mild winters, the impact you can have is really great because the improvements you do can really reduce the total amount of energy for heating your home needs and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Start with the windows. It doesn't mean replacing your windows. I can't believe how often people think, oh, my heating bill is too high or my cooling bill is too high. I'm going to go buy all new windows for my home. Uh, uh. There are improvements you can do with what you already got with seeing that you've properly insulated and weatherstripped around doors and windows. Caulk, weatherstripped.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Really simple. Takes elbow grease. You can do it yourself. Doesn't cost a lot. New windows cost a lot. And it is true


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] On your bill for heating or cooling because you don't have good windows.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But the cost of the windows, the payback over time is way too great. So around doors and windows, caulk and weatherstrip. And the, one of the greatest losses in a home is really inexpensive to fix.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is something we don't see and if you're in a home with an attic, that attic,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is where you're having enormous heat transfer because most of us have pitiful amounts of insulation in the attic. And today the ability to retrofit