[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That, uh, senior citizens dorm kind of facility and it's, it's really interesting because the, the, the, uh, they're kind of like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're a little more private than dorms, but the idea is proximity, that these people become students at the university.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's kind of fun to see that. You've talked from time to time, Krista, about going your mid career, going back and getting some kind of advanced degree, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That ship has sailed for you right now. You're not doing that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, so this may happen. One day you're gonna come in and say, by the way, I'm now a student again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So what is flex car? It is something that is happening around the country. Different efforts. The biggest is by sixth car rental.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where S I X T, which is a European owned car rental company has been growing in the United States where you basically have a car subscription and you pay a flat rate per month and it allows you to have, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Depending on the program, you pay a, uhm, a fee to enter the program, then you pay a monthly fee based on what class of vehicle you're interested in. From a subcompact on up to luxury vehicles, everything in between. The most popular,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The vehicle typically in these programs is a small or mid-size SUV.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But one of the pitches of these things is let's say one weekend you need a pickup truck.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then the next week you need an over the road vehicle and the next week you'd like to drive a sports car. Uhm, that was the initial pitch and the labor intensive nature of that led to changes in these programs and they tend to be a little more sedate now where you're paying by the month.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My, uh, oldest brother, Gary and his wife who are still nomads, uh, seven years, eight years in, they sold their home and they just live in, uh, shorter term rentals or they live in hotels or whatever. Um, they,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have been regular users of the sixth program where they rent a vehicle a month at a time and flex car is that same kind of idea and it is uhm, for the right person


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is a very viable way for you to have transportation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I think what T-Mobile did was something that was a complete violation


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Of the spirit of the agreement they made with the federal government in order to buy Sprint. There were worries that the marketplace would lose price competitiveness going from four national players to three and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] T-Mobile in order to be able to acquire


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At the time of the acquisition for I forget how many years and they're doing so many different things to try to push rates up including now saying that if you pay by credit card.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then if you pay by check or direct debit or something like that, I feel that violated the purpose and spirit of the agreement because it is a clear, not even hidden price increase. And I think it was an unethical, dishonest move by T-Mobile.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] See if it was his wife, I have an easy answer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because she's still in veterinary medicine school, she can get a credit card really easily and get him an authorized user card.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But, uh, for a girlfriend to do that, don't know their relationship.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It would be risky for her because she'd be extending credit to him and well, who knows what the long-term is. You may know that. That would be the best way.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For him to establish credit. If she gets a card, which is very easy for her being in professional school and then adds him as an authorized user.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then he's going to have instant solid credit with his work status. He's then able to apply for his own card. That would be the simplest path and easiest path for him to establish credit and be able to get his own cards. Next best thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Would be for him to see if he can get a pedal cart. PETAL cart. It's a Visa card that uses non-traditional methods to establish someone being credit worthy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, without using a traditional credit score and traditional credit history. So that would be my second. Third would be going to a credit union.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And joining a credit union and using their fresh start program, which is for people who either have had a bad history with credit or have never had credit, the credit union programs


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are typically the best in the marketplace other than Petal. So try those things. The most important thing doesn't have to pay an annual fee. Most important thing is while someone is enrolled,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In college, full time, that's when you apply for a card. Because they don't require evidence of income.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Typically for you to be able to get your first card because college enrolled people


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How about starting renting a home in order to be able to borrow to buy that home later? We're going to talk about the opportunities and the hazards of doing that straight ahead. This is a very difficult time for people to buy a home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we've covered so many different angles on that over the months.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you just think about, we had this big run up in home prices.


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[Assistant] From 2012 to recently where home prices have leveled off in most of the country.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then we have interest rates that have gone from historical lows to more normalized rates. Uh, if you look historically, today's around 7%.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, for many, many years would have been an unbelievably low rate. So,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Today you've got the much higher home price and what by recent history is a huge increase in interest rates from where we were in the twos and threes and then the fours. And then we jumped all the way to the sevens like felt like seemingly overnight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So being a homebuyer right now is very hard for a first time homebuyer. Uh, for some people it's been impossible.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So there's something that comes in cycles.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And right now, the big solicitation of people.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Who are frustrated in the home buying market is rent with the option to own and rent to own has been something that has been


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You rent and a contract that generally gives you a time period to exercise an option to purchase. And that point maybe two, three years later, most commonly,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And by then you have to, if your credit needs a little work, whatever, you have to be in a position by


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The end of that time period to have qualified for a mortgage and be able to exercise successfully your option to buy the home. It's not a free lunch.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What happens is you pay an above market rent and a certain amount of that rent over that two or three year typical period.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Goes into a down payment fund. If you exercise your option, if you're unable to exercise your option, the, the people peddling the rent to own to you, keep it. So it's, it's a,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With 1500 going to market, uh, what would be considered to be market price rent, 500 every month going into a down payment fund so that the ideas in three years, you now have enough down payment money to be able to secure a mortgage and buy the property.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You walk away, they keep your, in my example, your $18,000.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You buy the home, the 18,000 becomes your down payment.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then your mortgage handles the rest. Why does this not work for so many people? One, you got to be honest and realistic with yourself. You only want to enter a rent to own.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you feel like it's a neighborhood you want to live in, it's a house you want to live in and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's realistic that you will be able, in that time period of the option,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To be able to make the deal happen and buy that home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cause otherwise, any of those three doesn't happen.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then it's just cost you time and money to do the rent to own. Also, you got to be careful with the rent to own contracts. There have been, I think there were even hearings in Congress about dishonest rent to own contracts and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You've got to be very, very cautious. And I recommend something that you may say, you're wanting me to spend more money? Yes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To have the contract reviewed before you sign it by a real estate lawyer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You want that lawyer to let you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fair to you as well as being advantageous for whoever owns that home and is marketing it to you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As a rent a home opportunity, rent to buy opportunity of a home. So be aware.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, there could be minefields in that contract.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's why you go see the real estate lawyer. Should be like, uh, less than an hour, but you'd be billed a minimum time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For a lawyer to go through the contract and tell you if there are minefields in it. Krista?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, this same thing happens in the United States now too. We frequently hear from people with the, uh, told by plate that later you'll get a big fee.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From the car rental agency, usually the worst we've heard is from renters in Florida who are being charged $25 administrative fees for going through let's say a $2 toll.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Many times if there's, uh, toll by plate.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can call, if you know you're going through a toll area, you can contact either the website or call, put in the, the tag number, plate number and pay the toll in Europe. I don't know how you would do that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But in the United States, you can usually do that. Uhm, my, uh, brother who I talk about a lot for being a nomad continually gets


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] These, uh, toll-by-plate things, and he just has to call within five days in most jurisdictions. You contact the toll authority where it is, you pay them directly, and then the bill does not go to the car rental agency that then bills you all their add-on junk fees. And the tickets in Europe, I was recently in Eastern Europe,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then it took a picture of my plate and I know that what happened to you is going to happen to me and at some point I'm going to get like a $50 junk fee equivalent plus the cost of the camera ticket.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That is coming and it's just part of the joys of renting a car, not just in the United States, but overseas as well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That would reflect on you. You're not responsible for the credit, but it would reflect on your credit standing just as it helped you build credit and you now have this, uh, golden credit score of 805.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, that is an issue. Two, I'm gathering he didn't give you the actual plastic but made you an authorized user.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You now, uh, almost 15 years later, you probably have enough variety of credit and all that. The long term credit history from that stays with you. It doesn't age anymore, but it still stays there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so as long as you've got a variety of credit cards and various types of credit, it's fine for the authorized user status to end. It can be ended by either your dad,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or by you notifying the credit card company and say you no longer wish to be an authorized user.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Either way with most issuers, either of you can do that. So, uh, the risk


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To him is nothing if he's giving you, not giving you the plastic.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The risk to you is only in the event that his credit goes bad at some point. Uh, so


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There may or may not be a priority for removing this, but as long as you over these nearly 15 years have established your own solid credit of various types, it's fine for you to be removed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's great that he did this for you because it gave you such a head start.


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[Assistant] I don't and let me tell you, this is something that can be tax avoidance or tax evasion.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is pitched as a way for an individual to be able to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, turn income that would be taxed into untaxed income by treating expenses as something that goes against income before you pay tax. So if you have an actual real business that you're running,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are a number of legitimate business expenses for anybody running their own business that you reduce the amount of income


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Subject to taxation because you only pay tax in a business on the net income, not the gross.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you work for an employer and you got a W-2.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're being taxed on your entire paycheck.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the case of somebody operating their own business, there are a number of expenses that are not deductible or not a reduction of, um, income for a business that are not deductible for an individual, but are


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So this is, this is something that is totally above board if there's a legitimate business activity but is used by many people. It's just a gaming of the system and it is actually illegal as tax evasion.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not tax avoidance. Tax avoidance is a legal activity taking every legitimate deduction or reduction in income


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That be a, would we call that half true? Sure. Okay. We'll go with that. And I want to thank you so much for being with us today.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And know that you want the best deals on stuff that pops up everyday. We got that for you at ClarkDeals.com. And for information for your wallet, you can trust.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Go to Clark.com both around the clock because the sun never sets on Clark.com and ClarkDeals.com.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And know that we are here to serve you one-on-one with free advice, information and guidance.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At the Team Clark Consumer Action Center, a free service we've been offering for nearly 31 years. You can find out how to get that free advice at Clark.com slash CAC. Have a great day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm so glad you're with us here on the Clark Howard show. You know, our mission is to serve you and empower you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With knowledge, so you make better financial decisions in your life.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In this episode, we're on the edge of when the first companies start requiring open enrollment for health insurance. I want you to think about some options you may not have. I want to talk about some new opportunities and also I want to do the opposite land later.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Speaking about something that's not an opportunity.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yet another company promising to help you make big money in real estate has flown the coop with all its investors money, just gone with the wind.


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[Assistant] So healthcare is so hard for us and truth be told, those of us that have health insurance from an employer are really privileged to have that because the employers subsidize so heavily the premiums for the insurance we get. And so you,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As an employee, see that deduction from your paycheck every pay period. And you're like, wow, look how much of my paycheck is going to healthcare. And the reality is that may be only


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 10 or 25% or 50% of the actual cost the employer picking up the rest. So the premiums are really, really high. But the funny thing is you and I, with the portions we pay, most of us are paying more than we should


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because the truth is, we would save more money, most of us,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In an HSA eligible high deductible plan,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then in the traditional insurance plan, PPO or whatever they call it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That is the normal alternative that people have in a plan at work. Look closely at what you've spent as an individual or as a couple or as a family in your employer health plan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What you've had to go, how many times you've been to the doctor or what you've had done or all that. What did all that cost? And you'll find that quite often you're overpaying


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For the health coverage you have, for the amount of medical services you're actually using in a typical year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're eligible for the negotiated discounts that the insurer has negotiated with providers, but you're paying that negotiated discount level out of your pocket, which is what terrifies people because of the what if.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's why you gotta look and see how much or how little you've used medical services.


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[Assistant] Because with an HSA eligible plan, a high deductible plan that's HSA eligible, I guess I should say, it triggers you being able to open


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[Assistant] The best savings plan offered in America, the HSA account, health savings account that allows you to put money aside pre-tax


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have it build up tax free all through the years. If you avoid having to pull it to pay medical expenses currently and you can let it grow.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can invest, grows tax free, and wait a minute, remember, you use pre-tax dollars going into it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It grows tax free and then it is spent tax free.


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[Assistant] So that makes it vastly superior to let's say a traditional 401k.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or Roth 401k, when you get a tax benefit upfront, but pay tax on everything later. The other, you get a tax benefit up, uh, no tax benefit upfront, but you avoid taxes later and HSA, you get a tax benefit upfront and you never pay tax on the money. I mean, what a deal and the amount that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Couples are going to be eligible to put in an HSA in 24, could be as high as over 10 grand.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean this is money you can have growing as essentially an alternative retirement account that you use later in life.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When medical expenses can end up taking typically as much as a fourth of your budget that comes out of your pocket.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How much you use medical services and people use medical services a lot or a little.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Benefit from HSA eligible, high deductible plans. People kind of in the mushy middle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where you go to the doctor often enough that you know the name.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Of the receptionist working at the front desk, then you may in fact be better off in a traditional plan that the employer offers, but just something for you to think about because the, the take up rate


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For high deductible HSA eligible plans is teensy tiny.


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[Assistant] In spite of the overwhelming financial benefit for many people and at larger employers, the employers often will cede you money


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For the out of pockets you'd have each year as part of getting you to sign up for an HSA eligible plan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is hard. There's no perfect crystal ball with the birth of a child.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Odds, overwhelmingly, you're gonna have a very healthy bundle of joy with normal doctor visits and no, uh, potential complications. So, uh, the odds favor you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Staying in the HSA eligible plan. Um, you already have a cushion of money saved. You get the thousand from the employer. I think you could go through 24 with the HSA eligible plan. And if it turned out that any of you in the household developed a ongoing condition that might make it a better idea,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe when you hit 25 to go into the employer's traditional plan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You could do so then, but remember the odds favor you so heavily, uh, to continue doing what you're doing because as you mentioned, your deductible is not extremely high on your high deductible plan. So I would, I would roll the dice here.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For at least 24 and then you'll know what to do beyond in 25 and after that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At Clark.com because so many people have asked us questions.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] About raisin. Raisin is a non-bank.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That acts kind of like a custodian for the money you put on deposit with them, putting it in different FDIC insured banks that are paying in theory, the highest rates on savings. Like right now, uh, with them, as with many others, you're earning five plus percent on your savings. The issues that have come up with raisin had been from people who've had customer service issues that they've had trouble


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When they've needed access to their money, getting it in a timely way from whatever bank is holding those funds through raisin because your relationship is indirect with the bank that has your money. And so if you,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have money sitting there that you might need on a moment's notice and there's no room for a hiccup with getting access to the money. I'd say that's where the question mark is surrounding raisin. As far as the money being FDIC insured and all that, it is the money's safe in these raisin accounts.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 2005 vehicle and you're saying you stink?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you realize how fantastic that is? You kept the vehicle 18 years. How, where's the stink come in? I stepped over you and interrupted you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know if you want to know this, they just cut the price of the X again to a new entry price of $79,000, which is $41,000 less than it was earlier this year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] First of all, there are times I'll say I have a clear crystal ball on something and I'll still be wrong. Uhm, it was clear to me that the electric vehicle market


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was way overpriced, not just Tesla, but other companies. And that's why we're seeing now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The average electric vehicle non-Tesla.


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[Assistant] Is sitting rotting on dealer lots with just a few model exceptions is the manufacturers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Price them way too high thinking they had a hot thing there and now people aren't even looking at them because they were priced too high. Electric vehicle price trends.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are headed steadily lower. The cost of the batteries has been going down, down, down, down. The range getting better, reliability better, all those things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So electric vehicles are not far at all away from being cheaper to buy than an equivalent gas engine vehicle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But that's not how they've been priced to this point and so it's a market that is still developing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I hope that that X gives you 18 years of wonderful service. You're going to save a fortune on the cost of energy, not having to buy


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Gasoline since the electricity for an electric vehicle so much cheaper. And I'm really sorry about the price cut and Tesla not giving money back to people who bought like in the last even 30 days is just hard hearted and long term. That's a stupid play.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To treat customers so badly, but as I've said, Tesla's customer service


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is in the picture nary when you look at customer no service you see a picture of tesla at the same time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The American customer satisfaction index gives Tesla, I think it's second highest rating.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For customer satisfaction of luxury vehicles. So the vehicle is what people love the Tesla experience. If you have an oops, people generally hate coming ahead. I want to talk about something that if I had a dime for every dollar people put into something that I kept telling you not to go into,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Unfortunately, the people who put in their dollars, many of them have lost them all.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And these various goofy real estate ventures, we're going to talk about straight ahead.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's been such a thing over the last, oh, I guess like, uh, seven, eight years that people are pitched.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Going into these private real estate placements, not traded on any public exchanges and because of a weird, uh, law and regulation, not requiring true full disclosure about the expenses involved, the risks involved and where your money actually is going with the added bonus that if your life circumstances change,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you need your funds, you may not be able to get them. This has been a very heavily pitched and pushed item.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With very high commission salespeople pushing you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Going into these various private real estate things that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have gone under the general tone of crowdfunding and we've had.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So many questions about this over the years from people who've been pitched. And they're coming to me truthfully. They're coming for me just to say, yeaah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's a great idea. They don't want to hear from me. No! That's a bad idea. But that is what they've heard from me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the reasons are what I glossed over a minute ago, not good disclosure, very high fees upfront.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And no ability to get your money back when you want it back. But there's another element.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That I implied but didn't say, and that is, there could be a high fatality rate with these things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That Crowdstreet, which is one people used to ask me about, raised billions of dollars


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From individuals promising big returns like all these were, and now guess what? Money's missing. Lots of it's missing, maybe gone forever.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There have been multiple stories in the media about this and the financial press. If you are an investor in this one, in Crowdstreet,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's a really thorough write up in the wall street journal that you should go read to see what is going on with your money that's in crowd street. But I want to draw a clear contrast with you. If you buy a real estate, uh, exchange traded fund or a real estate


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mutual fund or a real estate index fund. You don't face any of these big.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Massive commissions and ongoing fees.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Second, everything they're doing is disclosed to you. You know what they own, where it is, what their objectives are, what kind of real estate investing they do and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With a real estate ETF, exchange traded fund, the value changes even within a day. You know, you can go in, you can go out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you can buy in commission free. You can sell out commission free. You have true.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Access to your funds, true liquidity with your money. I freak out at private placements.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Why do I freak out? Because of all those things I've said, no true disclosure.


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[Assistant] A lot of fees on top of fees on top of fees.


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[Assistant] And a very high risk that you're going to lose your money.


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[Assistant] And the reality is there are lots of bright people.


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[Assistant] Who can make money in investments, lose money in investments, real estate, certain sectors. Imagine you bought into a fund that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is investing in office buildings. Office buildings looked like a great thing in February of 2020. And then what happened? March of 2020, COVID.


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[Assistant] The office market is dead, dead, dead. Foreclosures happening all over the country. So it wouldn't matter where you went into a real estate fund investing in office buildings, you're hurting for certain. But the reality is you would have known what you were in.


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[Assistant] And if you wanted to bail, you could have bailed at whatever the market price was in a publicly traded real estate fund and a crowd funded real estate thing. You're their prisoner and you get out when they say you can get out and you pay the fees. They tell you, you have to pay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And this same theme you'll hear from me with private placements of all different types, not just real estate. Krista?


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[Assistant] So I don't really understand the $400 junk fee, but I don't want you closing the HELOC anyway. The fact that this put a yellow flashing light in front of you is actually good in this case. Having that open and available line


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is good for a number of reasons. One, it shows, uh, active credit line that is aging with good payment history on it. It's really good for your credit score. There are certain situations where having a standby home equity line of credit, if something went wrong with your house or something like that, that you have access to funds that are there to improve your home.


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[Assistant] So the home equity line of credit, I'm guessing since it's a credit union has no ongoing.


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[Assistant] Annual fees or administrative fees other than this junk fee to close it. I would leave it open. It's to your benefit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And this works all over America, this idea that there are dealers charging what are called packs when you buy a vehicle, all kinds of dealer add-on fees. And then there are other dealers that run an honest ethical business and don't charge packs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the vehicle market has changed enough with new vehicles.


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[Assistant] That it's become much easier to find a vehicle available by shopping around the country instead of just local as far as your pain point is to bring a vehicle back that you'll pay


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No dealer junk fees, known as packs, and you also will buy the vehicle at a good discount from manufacturer suggested retail price is for the first time in two years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The average vehicle is now selling at a discount.


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[Assistant] Two manufacturers suggested retail price. The era of dealers adding 10, 20,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 30, 50,000 onto the manufacturer suggested retail price. That's so over.


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[Assistant] Okay, so there are employers that still employ golden handcuffs.


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[Assistant] They may do it for a specific group of employees or key employees where they offer them a preferential ability to have options to buy company stock.


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[Assistant] The stock is restricted a number of ways as required.


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[Assistant] Either by that corporation or under law.


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[Assistant] And this is an opportunity for people.


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[Assistant] Who are considered to be valuable to the company.


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[Assistant] To get a deal from the employer on the stock and what the employer is getting in return


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[Assistant] Is there, if you might have had inchy feet to go somewhere else, maybe you stay because you want to have, uh, there's a version of a stock option for you to have the restricted stock units. So the question that you asked really depends on how much of your investment pool is now in these exercise restricted stock units.


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[Assistant] You say you've got your 401k maxed, you're doing the HSA.


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[Assistant] You're investing in index funds, so you're well diversified there. If though the company stock


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[Assistant] Represents too much of your overall investment assets, which would I say in a case of restricted stock units or stock options would be 25% would be the ceiling of what you should own.


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[Assistant] If in fact you're well above 25% of your overall pool of investment dollars, then it would make sense for you to move some of that money from the company stock.


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[Assistant] Into widely diversified index funds because


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[Assistant] You don't want all your eggs too heavily in one basket. And what can happen a lot of times with stock issued as incentives to people is everything they're in is in that.


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[Assistant] And so if that company's fortunes, even though it's a big dividend payer now,


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[Assistant] I could talk about a number of companies that have shown AT&T that the long-term value


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[Assistant] Of owning that stock is not necessarily there, even though at one time it was considered to be as safe as anything you could go in. So that's why diversifying away from being too heavily in the company stock of the company you work for is a key


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[Assistant] Safety strategy for longterm financial security. And I hope you've enjoyed today's podcast.


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[Assistant] I hope you will check out our other content available. Man, we work so hard.


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[Assistant] And everything we do to give you advice, information, guidance that you can put to work in your life that's actionable.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Content growing, growing, growing as is our audience on YouTube. TikTok, Facebook, Instagram.


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[Assistant] I mean, think about on TikTok, I give you absolutely fantastic financial advice in three seconds. Not really.


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[Assistant] But the idea is wherever you want to be reached, we're going to be there to serve you. And I hope you have a great day.


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[Assistant] I also absolutely want to give a shout out to the ClarkDeals.com team. Uhm, they, like next week, they have a, it's like a war plan for how they're gonna handle Prime Day. Not just on Amazon, but on the other sites that are competing with them.


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[Assistant] The thing I love about our deals team is they're not just sense, they're not, it's not just like, oh, Amazon's selling these things. Like what they do is they go in, they price compare, they have spreadsheets of what things have been. Are these really good deals? Because that's the thing that's hard to know. Like is this really a deal or not a deal?


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[Assistant] And so I just, I love what they do and they, there is a newsletter you can sign up now, subscribe to the Clark deals newsletter at Clark.com slash newsletters or Clark deals.com and, and there will be extra newsletters sent on the prime days because they,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, speaking of prices, Sherry in Georgia wrote in with this question, I'm tired of paying exorbitant service and handling fees on tickets for sports and entertainment. As the consumer, what can I do if I want a ticket


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And only X online service sells the ticket. Isn't this a monopoly? Accidentally, this is additionally, sorry, this is starting to trickle down into high school sports as well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Many times you must buy an online ticket and yes, pay a service fee. What can we do? I've experienced that. Like going to high school football games and stuff.


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[Assistant] I did just avoid some fees on some college football tickets. The only way I was able to do it was I'm in a private group. Now I'm in a private group for that college, for parents of my daughter's college. And so I went in and someone was selling their tickets and I avoided the resale fees that you get from StubHub and SeatGeek and everything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, Art in Texas says I purchased a 2023 Tesla Model 3 in April. Getting the full tax credit too. Tesla now offers an $1,800 extended service agreement for two years or 25,000 miles with a $100 deductible per claim. I've already had a steering wheel malfunction and an AC refrigerant issue. We've all had AC refrigerant issues with our Teslas.


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[Assistant] I think, okay, and on consumer reports, it has its reliability of three out of five stars. So since it's a relatively newer type of car design, should I give Elon another $1,800 to cover his yacht fees or not? I think that's Bezos with the yacht, but yeah, Bezos.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm curious of Clark's thoughts on keeping this card or downgrading. So sort of a, an extra question on to what you talked about last week.


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[Assistant] It's not easy, I just check my bills all the time and look at them, but yeaah.


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[Assistant] We now are hooked on flying overseas in business class. Our last trip was in business and we loved it. How do we find sales, if there are any, on business class flights? Clark, you rock. And also Dave and Sharon wrote in asking a similar question. They've seen ads for consolidators saying they can get you business class fares to Europe. And so I thought- No, no, no, no.


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[Assistant] Okay, couple more travel questions because we're on the subject. Justin and George says, I know picking a destination to travel breaks one of your cardinal rules, but we really want to visit Japan. We are at least flexible on when we go. We're considering a Japan cruise itinerary and adding on some land days to the tour.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To tour the country before the cruise. I hear Japan is an expensive country to visit. Do you have any tips for saving money while there?


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[Assistant] And I have to bust you a little bit. I was there with you on the staff trip 22 years ago and you, I watched you in Japan eat McDonald's for several meals. You stayed in a micro hotel room at one point where you literally could touch each of the walls.


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[Assistant] Sasha in Arizona says, we booked a fabulous fare to Costa Rica thanks to going.com. My question is pertaining to car rental. Costa Rica is rumored to have lots of added insurance costs to the base price. Many people are surprised when they arrive in the country of the actual cost of their rental. How can I avoid a surprise?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's my pleasure to welcome you right here, right now to the Clark Howard Show. Our mission?


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[Assistant] To serve you and empower you so you make better financial decisions in your life.


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[Assistant] You know what today is? It's Friday. What I've waited for all week long. Clark stinks. Not cause it's Friday in the weekends here.


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[Assistant] I really love Clark stinks because your feedback makes me better at serving you. And later, Oh boy, I have some new stats about credit cards that are very unnerving about the balances people are running and the interest rate charges and what that means.


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[Assistant] To you and your family budget. But.


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[Assistant] Enough about that for now because now it's about me. How you feel I have let you down in today's Clark Stinks segment.


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[Assistant] If we had a camera behind me when I'm trying to book travel.


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[Assistant] It would bore you and then it'd be so, you'd be laughing.


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[Assistant] I was booking some travel last night and


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[Assistant] I opened so many windows at so many websites, comparison shopping. I had the capital one travel.


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[Assistant] Website open. I have the American Express travel website open.


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[Assistant] I had Priceline, I had Booking, I had Hotels.com, uh, what else did I have?


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[Assistant] I had some hotels, their own sites up and my whole screen at the top was tiny little windows, one after another, after another.


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[Assistant] And I was going back and forth and comparing and I got overwhelmed and I actually took out pen and paper and was writing things down. This website had this and that and I know a lot of people get


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, that just sounds like a no fun zone. For me, it's all like this challenge. And so there are times that booking through one of the travel portals


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is gonna cost you more and not worth doing.


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[Assistant] Then there are other times it's a real deal plus you get 5x points or 10x points or something like that using the travel portal and so I don't use it


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[Assistant] Until I have verified it is a okay. So I was booking four different hotels last night and I booked one with Priceline.


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[Assistant] Two with booking, which is the same company as Priceline, and one with American Express.


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[Assistant] So I was like all over the place figuring out for each place what was best.


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[Assistant] Bill, thank you, thank you, thank you. I mention that so infrequently when I talk about community college or anything like that. I should absolutely mention much more often dual enrollment.


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[Assistant] Especially because I have this big bias that senior year is kind of a treading water year for a lot of high school students and especially the spring semester of a senior year. So dual enrollment starting even as early as junior year as you said,


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[Assistant] Or in the senior year, I think is a wonderful option, getting somebody to focus forward and defray a lot of the cost.


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[Assistant] That is a great question about Fed now. So the sending institution,


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[Assistant] To the receiving institution with FedNow. So I think that's why a lot of financial institutions


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[Assistant] Have been unwilling to sign up with fed now to this point and they're pretty married to.


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[Assistant] The ways they've been moving money, which is a real disadvantage to consumers.


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[Assistant] I'm fascinated by what you said because I've always heard this was about the float for banks that they didn't want.


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[Assistant] Banks earning money on the float or credit unions earning money on the float, then I will certainly correct myself on that.


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[Assistant] Sean, thank you. That was not a stat I came up with. Um, and if it, if I was re-quoting a false statement, I apologize. A ceiling fan or even a box fan does make you feel more comfortable though, in my opinion.


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[Assistant] That's wonderful. So my bad, I never talk about U.S. Bank. U.S. Bank is I think the fifth or sixth largest bank in the United States. And I never talk about


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[Assistant] Anything about them, negative, positive, whatever, any of their credit cards, anything like that. And so we'll see what Nick comes up with.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I'm, I'm shocked about patients being violent.


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[Assistant] Kelly, thank you for that. Uh, actually I do have, uh, so many members of my family and extended family that are doctors and so I, I was not talking about


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[Assistant] Doctors themselves and you were giving a completely different perspective. I was talking about the hierarchy and a medical facility where doctors


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[Assistant] Where they are, and of course you spent forever in school, Kelly. Uhm, and yes, doctors are on call.


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[Assistant] 24 hours a day, seven days a week as our nurses and other medical professionals. And I don't like the corporatization of medical care and now


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[Assistant] I think it's more than a third of all doctors are now employees of major hospital systems having lost their autonomy and independence. There's a lot going on here with medicine.


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[Assistant] And if what I said at that time, I don't remember exactly what I said. If it was, if it sounded like.


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[Assistant] Uh, straight shot direct attack on doctors. For that, I apologize.


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[Assistant] I do think there is a clear problem in the way hospitals are run and the way nurses and other hospital staff are treated that is leading to so much turnover.


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[Assistant] Gary, thank you. That is such a phenomenally clear and well made point. Private equity.


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[Assistant] Has been buying up insurers and stripping them of value.


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[Assistant] And then the insurers no longer have claims paying ability. And that is, uh, that is a terrible problem. And what's happened is you have these very sophisticated private equity organizations with all their, uh, uh, advanced degree finance people.


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[Assistant] And they're up against these very small


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[Assistant] State insurance departments that are outgunned.


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[Assistant] Buy these big private equity outfits that come in.


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[Assistant] They run off with the money for themselves and then the insureds don't have money and then it's left to the state guarantee fund.


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[Assistant] To make up some of those losses. Then you've got the foreign held ones. Very valid point.


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[Assistant] Is what you should be looking at. And I want to thank you, Gary. You must be in the industry for pointing out what I should have said when I was talking about the annuitization within a plan of a 401k to provide a lifetime income that someone will not outlive.


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[Assistant] So coming up ahead, something that seems to outlive us for many people, credit card balances. We got to talk about this and where things are today.


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[Assistant] There are those among us who continually run balances. We use credit cards as just a way of borrowing money.


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[Assistant] And it's not episodic. There are people that it's episodic, but there are those who just never have an intention. It's never a goal.


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[Assistant] To pay off credit card balances and according to research by the Financial Times, 20%


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[Assistant] of credit card users are what in the lingo of the trade are called heavies, heavy revolvers. Heavies are people who account for


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[Assistant] Almost all the interest banks earn, somewhere around three quarters of all the interest that banks earn on credit cards are from 20% of credit card users, the heavies or heavy revolvers, whichever phrase a particular researcher uses. And so the banks,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are counting on people getting hooked, almost like a drug dealer trying to get somebody hooked.


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[Assistant] On a drug, and then they gotta have that drug over and over again. That's what the banks count on, and let me tell you.


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[Assistant] They have figured out through research and just by trial and error.


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[Assistant] That people never pay attention to the interest rate they're paying on a credit card.


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[Assistant] When I ask somebody who owes money on credit cards, I say, how much do you owe? They usually don't know.


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[Assistant] And then I asked, what interest rate are you paying? And I can tell you 100% of the time, someone cannot tell me. So the banks have taken advantage of that. Listen to this. 15 years ago.


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[Assistant] The average markup above what's known as the Fed funds rate that you paid on a credit card was 8 points higher. Today, it's 17 points higher.


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[Assistant] The banks learned that credit card users, the heavy revolvers,


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[Assistant] Nobody got up in the morning and said, Hey, I can't wait to take out a 20% loan. So.


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[Assistant] What I want to say to you, if I'm talking to you, if you are a heavy revolver,


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[Assistant] You're that person who's accounting for three quarters of the money the banks are making from credit cards. If you are one of those people and they're not a lot of you, but you, you're making all the money for them. It means that if possible, I want you to resolve a change.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I talked about this just a couple of weeks ago, the whole idea of


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[Assistant] Changing your entire connection and relationship to money, starting with putting those credit cards away, away.


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[Assistant] Put them in the deep freeze. I'm not asking you to cut them up. I'm asking you to get a freezer bag.


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[Assistant] Put water in it. Put all your credit cards in there. Seal it. And put that in the freezer.


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[Assistant] And if you're shopping at places where you have to have plastic, they don't take cash.


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[Assistant] The plastic has got to go literally in the deep freeze. And it's not a joke. I mean it.


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[Assistant] I still remember years and years and years ago.


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[Assistant] When we heard from someone who had taken that advice and then they decided they just had to have the credit card out.


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[Assistant] And Krista, do you remember what happened in that case? Did the credit cards break?


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[Assistant] No, what she did was she took a hairdryer and tried to melt the ice quicker and the card, uh, warped.


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[Assistant] And she was never able to use it again. She thought it was so funny that in her mind...


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[Assistant] The deep freeze work because it prevented her from doing the impulsive spending with the card. So try it.


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[Assistant] Because I want you in control. I don't want you to be an easy mark for the big bad banks to charge you all that interest because I want that money working in your life, not for their stockholders. Oh, one other thing, the interest rates.


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[Assistant] If you, if it's going to take you a long, long time to pay off the cards, credit union credit cards usually carry an interest rate as little as half what the, uh, big issuers charge, which the big issuers are city chase. Um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Capital One and American Express. Those are, those four companies control overwhelmingly the credit card market.


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[Assistant] And so if I can get you to move your, transfer your balances to a credit union card,


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[Assistant] You'll be able to service the debt a lot cheaper and it'll make it easier to pay down the balances because more of your money each month will be going to paying the principal


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[Assistant] Instead of the massive amount of interest that the big four issuers are charging you.


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[Assistant] We've had a, all the utility companies now have the technology, not all, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Most all now have installed the technology for time of use rates.


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[Assistant] And time, the reason time of use rates are so important to utilities.


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[Assistant] Is that during hours of peak consumption in the case of your utility, it's four to eight PM.


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[Assistant] They're having to pay at times on the wholesale market.


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[Assistant] Massive amounts, huge amounts for the extra kilowatt hours they need, what are known as peaker rates. And so they're offering you a carrot and a stick if you, uh, use a time of use plan.


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[Assistant] Know that those hours, in their case four hours a day, they're gonna brutalize your wallet.


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[Assistant] And the uh, the benefit for you, the other 20 hours when power is much cheaper for them to supply to you, you're gonna get a better deal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you tend to be at home a lot, or people are at home, there's a lot of consumption going on, you're running laundry, whatever, do not go


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If it's optional on a time of use plan. If on the other hand, in your home, people typically are not home.


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[Assistant] In the hours of the day that your plan calls for high peak time of use charges, then this is a great deal for you.


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[Assistant] Uhm, there's a utility I saw an ad for recently that if you go on their time of use plan,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From it's like 10 at night, I think till five or six in the morning, you pay a penny a kilowatt, which is basically like giving you free power.


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[Assistant] In return for having these extremely high rates during the peak hours and then the other hours are still much more expensive than they are right now when you're not on time of use. So you gotta know your life.


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[Assistant] Your lifestyle, the hours you're home, and are you willing to make changes to make that work for you better?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, this is big. This is big. The hospital-based diagnostics, labs, everything else. In this case, look at the difference. Five times the out-of-pocket cost. And before you finish, I wanted to say, finish, uh, the post. I got a mailer from, uh, the health insurer I have showing me


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[Assistant] For all these different things that my doctor might order.


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[Assistant] If I go where the doctor would normally order me, this is how much it'll cost me. And if I go,


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[Assistant] To these third parties and they listed a lot of third parties. If I go to them, I'll pay this much less. And this is something most people don't know. Go on. I'm sorry I interrupted.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That is great advice as well and, uh, jewelry, uh, you know, where you have the separate policy for your jewelry.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Value of jewelry may in fact have gone up over time, just as you talked about. And if it does get lost or stolen, you're going to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Have paid for insurance that does not fully insure you.


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[Assistant] So we got a couple of things here. One I love widely diversified funds. Right now you have, uh, the world's largest retailer and you're so


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, narrow in where your money is, but you also have 5,000 bucks here.


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[Assistant] You only owe capital gains tax, which is a very favorable tax. If you're just starting to work, you may be at a 0% tax rate on that gain. That's right. There is an actual 0% tax rate.


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[Assistant] On held investments held more than a year for certain taxpayers. If you're just getting out of school, you may well qualify for the 0% tax rate this year or maybe a 10% tax rate. So you could in fact cash out, take the five grand, uh, pay little or no tax and first year on a job, you


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're gonna make enough, you could put a full 6,500 into a Roth. This would be the first five grand.


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[Assistant] Of it, and then the money would grow tax free.


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[Assistant] Forever, till you spend it in retirement.


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[Assistant] And that is so wonderful that you participate in the Walmart stock option. You got the five grand. You used Walmart as a way to pay for school.


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[Assistant] You're rolling in the money when you finish school and go to your ongoing.


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[Assistant] After school jobs, I'm very, very impressed.


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[Assistant] And I want to thank you so much for being with us today.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I hope you have a fantastic weekend.


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[Assistant] Know that we serve you all weekend long at Clark.com and Clark deals.com.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So Neil in California also has the NFL on his mind. He says, I currently use an antenna for TV. What are the best options for the upcoming NFL season? Cable, dish, streaming, or a better antenna?


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[Assistant] Do you ever have that thing in your house, if you're watching, like, we'll be watching the same game, like, I'll be upstairs, I have it on the bedroom, I'm doing something.


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[Assistant] And then it's on downstairs, and for some reason, even though we're both on YouTube TV, it's out of sync, so I'll hear them yelling and I know something's about to happen.


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[Assistant] Google's offering $200 off an ADT security system which I don't want. I paid over $1,200 for all the door and window monitors in late 2017.


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[Assistant] I purchased the rental with my Costco Visa and waived all the optional rental insurance. I understand that card covers up to $50,000 in this case. The rental car company and damage recovery unit seemed insistent that in their communications that I involve my primary auto insurance.


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[Assistant] Since the car I was driving was the only one involved in the incident and the damage is likely low in the thousands rather than the tens of thousands, I'd like to only use the credit card's benefit. If possible, is it still perfunctory to involve my auto insurance company?


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[Assistant] Didn't Costco change that, like they used to offer primary?


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[Assistant] And, and we do have an article at Clark.com about which cards offer primary or secondary rental car insurance, just so you know.


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[Assistant] Okay, DJ Ranz in Illinois says, what have you heard about the new ETIAS slash visa requirements for Americans traveling to Europe starting in 2024?


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[Assistant] And I know the Consumer Action Center, uhm, told me that they've been getting questions from people who have trips planned for 24 and they're nervous. So that's good to hear. Should be fine. We'll keep, we'll keep you updated as soon as we hear anything firm, right?


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[Assistant] Donald in Texas says, I should start by saying that everyone is okay. No one was hurt. Recently my family and I were run off the road by a driver in the wrong lane.


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[Assistant] We hit a concrete construction divider and were lifted four feet off of the ground where we balanced until the police arrived and stabilized the car so we could get out.


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[Assistant] The other driver fled the scene without even checking to see if we were okay We had a witness to the event and the other driver confessed when the officer called and confronted them


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[Assistant] The other driver's insurance refuses to pay for the damage to our car because there was no actual collision. How can this be and what options do I have?


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[Assistant] Nicholas says, I love the Eiffel Tower story. Maybe we'll recap that briefly. My dad saved a dollar by declining the air dry after a car wash. It was winter in Indiana.


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[Assistant] He thought the drive home on the highway would dry off the car. Our minivan turned into a popsicle and we couldn't open the doors. We had to wait for the doors to thaw in the garage.


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[Assistant] Someone also wrote in when you were talking about the hot, the showers, remember the dad, we were talking about dads banging on the door to get you to stop using the hot water. Someone wrote in that their dad would turn off the hot water heater, he had a 10 minute timer on it for showers.


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[Assistant] And so like his brother came out the first time with shampoo in his hair. Turned it off.


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[Assistant] No, the person who wrote in did that to his kids. That's right. Sorry.


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[Assistant] So you're empowered with knowledge that helps you make better decisions in your life. Today's show.


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[Assistant] Well, it's Friday. So what does it start out with? Clark stinks. In addition, I've got a going back to basic segment with my favorite method of investing.


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[Assistant] And it's something that shouldn't be controversial, but really is dollar cost averaging. But right now we get to hear how you feel I stunk.


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[Assistant] Matt, thank you. I mean, it is an inconvenience flying to one city to then fly to where you're going to. The fare differences are so extreme.


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[Assistant] On international fairs out of New York, um, to, I mean, pretty much around the globe to South America out of Miami and out of Los Angeles, Seattle, sometimes San Francisco to Asia or to the South Pacific that it is


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[Assistant] Worth it for your wallet to put up with the inconvenience.


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[Assistant] Of buying two separate tickets in many cases the cost of a ticket to Europe is an example is one third the cost.


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[Assistant] I didn't even think about talking about a check bag because I never, ever, ever,


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[Assistant] Check a bag. I am carry on only. And if you're going to travel my way, you need to do carry on. By the way, for your flight overseas out of New York, Miami or the West coast, remember this, leave plenty of time


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[Assistant] Between your domestic flight to the gateway and your flight overseas to account for the possibility of a flight delay or cancellation.


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[Assistant] Because if you miss your flight to the International Gateway,


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[Assistant] Daniel, thank you for giving a completely different perspective. You bring up a very valid point for someone who has chronic health issues.


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[Assistant] You're right. I think very linearly. I talk about, well, this is how much they rip you off, blah, blah, blah. And you point out a situation where what I've said does not apply. And I appreciate you widening the, the explanation of how to save money on prescription drugs.


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[Assistant] Tom, I also have now read that article in the LA times and I have not ordered from TMU again until the uncertainties surrounding it. And I don't order from Xi'an, but there are also allegations.


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[Assistant] of abuses with child labor and other things like that with, uh, she and, and, uh, as well with team who, uh, so I have, I've never ordered cause I don't care about fashion. She, she, uh,


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[Assistant] And I've stopped ordering from Tmoo after I ordered three times from them. The other thing with Tmoo is they will text you


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[Assistant] Marketers to a fault and it is a hassle factor to the max. I've never seen merchandise that is lower cost really than what's available at these Chinese websites, although Xian claims to be a Singaporean now. But there does come the questions about the


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[Assistant] Child labor and other labor abuses.


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[Assistant] Ken, thank you very much because, uh, that's the largest I think we've ever heard from someone.


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[Assistant] From a class action because so often it's kind of a joke what you end up getting. And I think the worst abuse.


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[Assistant] That we've seen in the last ten years with class actions.


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[Assistant] Was Equifax getting that sweetheart settlement where they destroyed


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[Assistant] The credit, uhm, of half of America's credit, uh, protection from identity theft of half of Americans with their massive data breach and they ended up having to pay restitution of basically nothing to people and that


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[Assistant] Can be a real problem with class actions. You gave an example where a class action actually brought real dollars to you.


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[Assistant] Jimmy, thank you. Uh, you know, Krista, you didn't even know that the Washington football team.


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[Assistant] So I, you know, when you read that, I was like, you know, I didn't say anything. I was like, Oh, so interesting that the person with the post called the team by his old name. And so I just let it go by.


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[Assistant] Steven, uh, I've never heard of this happening. I've, I, I would say almost every car rental I ever book, I reach why I reshop all of them and almost always I get a lower rate when I reshop. I've never had a fee for canceling. I'm guessing Expedia.


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[Assistant] Forced you to prepay for the rental upfront.


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[Assistant] And because I don't know how else he would have had the fee. I never prepay for a car rental. Never.


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[Assistant] Uhm, and so I've not experienced this. I'm going to keep my eyes open for this possibility, but you just brought something completely new to me. And why did you call me Mr. Howard?


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[Assistant] Carl, that is really an interesting, tough love story. It worked. And I'm curious, what kind of reactions did you have? You said several people wrote them.


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[Assistant] Okay, I really appreciate the perspective cause as I shared when I was talking about that earlier, you know, when we had the question before, one in three, I think it is now.


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[Assistant] Adult children come back boomerang back into the household.


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[Assistant] Okay, Rick, this is so funny because I checked, uhm,


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[Assistant] Whether the bill pay service I use uses my account number or not and they don't.


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[Assistant] It was a generic number not tied back to me.


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[Assistant] So you're right, Rick. It depends completely on the bill pay service you use and the financial institution you use, whether the numbers at the bottom of that check


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[Assistant] Could cause you, uh, the, the theft problem of money of your account or not.


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[Assistant] Which is funny cause we talked about that a few months ago. Mahalo. And you had said you were going to do it.


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[Assistant] So, I know Hawaii is over tourism right now.


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[Assistant] But I'm dying to get back, Rob. I have missed it and I gotta get back. Your CD advice is right on the money right now. CD rates are so much more generous than they used to be. You got the FDIC insurance and you lock in that rate for that period of time.


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[Assistant] I love CD ladders because we don't know exactly when interest rates are going to move down.


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[Assistant] So you take 20% of the money, put it in one year, 20% in two.


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[Assistant] And you properly spread out your money. And thank you for your double post of information, Rob.


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[Assistant] And I appreciate everybody who posts on Clark Stinks. You have no idea how helpful it is to widen my horizons and have me look at things from a different perspective. And at times where you think I'm just plain dumb to let me know that too. It's so valuable.


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[Assistant] And coming straight ahead, we're going to talk about something that I am a strong believer in, that a lot of people in the financial media say that I'm all wet about dollar cost averaging. Dollar cost averaging.


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[Assistant] It's been a friend of mine for well, my whole adult life.


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[Assistant] Not really a friend, but it's something that I had believed in for as long as I learned about investing.


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[Assistant] And by today's standards, I guess I started late. I opened my first IRA when I was 19 and.


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[Assistant] I have been a big believer in steady as you go. It's how my whole mentality works. I am somebody who believes that one step at a time is how


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[Assistant] Successful habits are built and with money as well.


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[Assistant] Now there's story after story and post after post and video after video about why people who believe in dollar cost averaging are just idiots. Okay.


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[Assistant] So first, the most basic, what is dollar cost averaging? The idea is that you put in a set amount of money into an investment month after month after month. So if you're doing a Roth IRA,


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[Assistant] And you set it up where you're putting in so much money every month, your dollar cost averaging. When you do a 401k at work.


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[Assistant] You are automatically dollar cost averaging because money is going in each pay period or each month.


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[Assistant] Into the fund or funds you select in that 401k. It means that in the short term,


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[Assistant] Investments in markets, stock markets.


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[Assistant] Bond markets, whatever, they go up and down, up and down like an ocean wave.


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[Assistant] And a lot of people freak out from the downs.


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[Assistant] And so it changes their behavior and they say, it's not safe for me to have my money in here. And so the idea of dollar cost averaging.


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[Assistant] Is that there's actually a benefit to you in.


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[Assistant] Pay cycles and months where the market goes down because in those months your same dollars buy you more shares in what you're buying. It's a great leveler in that


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[Assistant] You ride with the market without fearing it by putting money in regularly because what I worry about is the psychology.


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[Assistant] That takes over people in investing that if you think about.


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[Assistant] Money coming in in a big chunk. Money coming out in a big chunk.


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[Assistant] You often will make an emotional decision


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[Assistant] And choose, oh, I gotta get out now and wait till it's safe again.


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[Assistant] Well, it, it's been shown behaviorally over and over again that when people get freaked out by the investment markets and what's happening


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[Assistant] That they pull out and they wait way way way way too long to get back in and


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[Assistant] When they get back in, the cost of buying in is much higher.


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[Assistant] Because it takes a long time for them to cross that psychological hurdle that it's safe to be in again.


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[Assistant] But if you look over the long haul, being steady eddy, just riding through down markets, staying in through up markets, obviously, but more important that you're in through the ups and downs that over time you will make more money. Now, yes.


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[Assistant] If somebody ignored the psychology of people and you just put a big lump sum in and you left it alone,


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[Assistant] You would have more money years down the road than somebody who dollar costs average. Dollar cost averages. But however you say that. But the truth is the way we think


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[Assistant] The way human nature and behavior and psychology take over.


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[Assistant] The lump sum kind of investor is also more likely to be the one who, when the market goes through a rough time, panics and sells your holdings and sits on the sidelines way too long.


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[Assistant] If people could just have ice water in their veins and stay young, then yes, by method, dollar cost averaging would be inferior. But I also look at this.


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[Assistant] Because you may have the best of intentions to put money in a Roth, somehow it just doesn't seem to happen.


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[Assistant] But if you set it up where automatically money is going in month after month, it's just like the thing with 401ks. When a company automatically enrolls you,


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[Assistant] People overwhelmingly stay in and they end up with money down the road.


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[Assistant] Building habits with how you handle money.


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[Assistant] Is key to long-term financial security and that's why I love dollar cost averaging so very much.


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[Assistant] So with something like that, first of all, congratulations to you. I don't know. This is a literal fact.


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[Assistant] I have no idea. We have some kind of complicated oven. I cannot figure out how to turn on our oven.


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[Assistant] Well, that's an excuse. Can't turn it on. Okay. So dishwashers, I go to consumer reports or something like that. Dishwashers do not rank highly. The very best dishwashers get


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[Assistant] And the way I interpret Consumer Reports stuff, they basically get a C rating. And most dishwashers, uh, barely scrape by with a C. But the thing that's interesting is that, uh, you can buy a lower cost dishwasher


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[Assistant] And have a score really equivalent to the highest cost dishwashers. There's no reason you have to spend a zillion on a dishwasher to get great results.


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[Assistant] So the highest rated recommended one though, is the cheapest of the boxes. That's the one I got actually. So you got that one, but still. $848. None of them rank really high, but there are a number of mid market ones that get scores pretty similar. So what I recommend,


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[Assistant] Is go to your library or your library app or buy one time access to consumer reports before you buy a dishwasher to see what is the best combination of quality, reliability and price. But again,


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[Assistant] You could be very disappointed even with one of those Bosches, one of the very best ones.


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[Assistant] Because none of them rank very highly. For some reason, dishwashers are an area that has not really


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[Assistant] Achieved high quality and reliability over time as a product. Maybe we asked too much of them.


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[Assistant] Yes, it is worth applying for a credit card to get additional credit in place.


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[Assistant] The payment record you've had on the student loans, if it's been a good one, will remain


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[Assistant] A positive one for you going forward. It just won't be


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[Assistant] Active credit in your profile and that could cause you some hit, which is why getting an additional credit card as you're considering before you pay off the student loans is a really good idea. Also, I see you went to a very, very, very expensive private school for university. One that has a fantastic reputation.


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[Assistant] Yes, and the fact that you have, uh, just


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[Assistant] Wonderful because we hear from people who go to these very high end private schools who have hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt and you're about to have zero. So go for it, get that credit card, pay off those student loans.


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[Assistant] That used to be an easy price ban. That's not so easy anymore.


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[Assistant] Well, Vicki, thank you very much for that. And, uh, as I talked about Hawaii, I also miss Montana. I need to get back to Montana. It's been a while. So the,


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[Assistant] I always talk about when you buy a used car, how important it is.


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[Assistant] To have a used vehicle you're considering buying checked out by a mechanic. Even more important


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[Assistant] With a salvage title or rebuilt title vehicle that vehicle could have been, uh,


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[Assistant] Could end up with a salvage title just from airbags having deployed.


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[Assistant] Or it could have been because the vehicles had major, major structural impact from an accident that you don't see as an individual consumer after the vehicle's been rebuilt. That's why you can either have it evaluated by a body shop.


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[Assistant] Uh, independent body shop that checks the vehicle out for you or have it checked out by a mobile roving mechanic. And, but when you hire that person, you need to make sure that they have knowledge and expertise and evaluating frame damage.


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[Assistant] But it is something that I'm hearing more from people about.


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[Assistant] As used vehicle prices spiked so much in 2021, they're now down about roughly, I guess, 15%.


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[Assistant] From where they were a year ago for used vehicles. The price trend is your friend. The timing is not your friend because you need it now.


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[Assistant] And we're just in the beginnings of the good.


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[Assistant] Of used vehicle prices normalizing, returning to more normal levels and not in time for you.


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[Assistant] So one other thing you can consider, I don't know your personal situation, your family situation, how old your vehicle is. If you have an older vehicle that you've been driving and you completely trust it and feel good about your daughter driving that.


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[Assistant] For you, if that works in your budget, that would be another way potentially to approach it. And I want you to know as you go into this weekend,


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[Assistant] I hope you have an absolutely wonderful weekend. And if you're at a point in your life that it feels like you keep getting punched in the mouth and you keep getting knocked to the canvas, my late father would talk over and over again about how life is 99 rounds.


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[Assistant] And we're really tested only by the down rounds, not the good rounds.


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[Assistant] And you know that just because you've had a tough round doesn't mean that the next one's not going to be a good one. So you put that mouthpiece back in, you get back up and you go to that next round of life because yeah, now may be tough, but you have no idea what kind of joy and opportunity could be ahead for you or someone you love. Have a great day.


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[Assistant] Jerry in California says over five years ago, I purchased hearing aids from Costco for $1,600. They're working great, except after five years they no longer could be paired with Bluetooth.


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[Assistant] Costco states my choice is to buy new aids for another $1600 even though there's nothing wrong with my old ones. The company apparently does not want to upgrade the technology so Bluetooth would be available.


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[Assistant] I'm curious, Clark, what your opinion is about this planned obsolescence.


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[Assistant] Michael in Massachusetts says, I heard Clark's story about the lady at the ATM. Way back in 2009, my dad was tricked by a neighbor into giving her over $16,000 in cash over several months before I sniffed out the situation.


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[Assistant] The bank was no help. My dad went to a local branch, sometimes twice in one day to withdraw cash and no one at the bank raised an alert.


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[Assistant] I sat with a bank VP and showed her all the evidence pretty much not even any sympathy from her.


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[Assistant] I did a deep dive into his accounts and went to the police. We eventually got a restraining order and scared the neighbor off.


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[Assistant] Fortunately, after my mom passed away in 2001, dad put me joint on his checking account and introduced me to his two stockbrokers and tax accountant. With that information, I was able to dig around and short circuit any further damage.


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[Assistant] Eileen in New York says, when a car leases up, how do you decide if you should purchase the car or just turn it in?


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[Assistant] Uhm, yes, if I'm on like a highway, I just used it.


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[Assistant] Actually the other day when I was doing a road trip and uhm, I do let it drive me, but I'm very, very aware of what's going on.


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[Assistant] I mean, as long as I'm on a straight highway, but when things start looking crowded ahead or anything like that, or there's construction, I turn it off immediately and take control.


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[Assistant] Uhm, and I have for years and I'm confused as to which is the very best travel reward credit card to get.


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[Assistant] I want to charge a cruise on day one about $6,000 and by day 89 pay the whole amount and get a large check back.


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[Assistant] How much is it? It used to be $3.95. I should know because I have it.


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[Assistant] We have all that, we keep track of that on Clark.com, but the Sapphire Reserve is $5.50 a year. I had it right! Yep, you get a $300 annual travel credit, which you can immediately use, and then they have a lot of other things you can use. And the sign up bonus, right?


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[Assistant] And I like the, I really like the Chase Sapphire Reserve because when you, if you book through them, like if you book any travel through the portal, you get 20% back in points if you're using any of your points for travel. And so that is great.


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[Assistant] Yeah, but you earn 5x on, on flights and 10 times on hotels and car rentals if you purchase through Chase.


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[Assistant] Heidi in Washington says, what are Clark's thoughts about living on a residential cruise ship for retirement? For example, Victoria cruise lines around the world cruise.


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[Assistant] Richard in South Carolina says, hi Clark, love the podcast. My question, it's obvious you're a good steward with your finances. So why do you spend money as if you were broke?


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[Assistant] We have one here from Matthew in Ohio. Hello Clark, first of all, huge fan.


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[Assistant] Net worth is now over one million. Wow. My family and I are planning a trip to Europe and we are all in agreement that we will go where the deals are, like you suggested. Our plans are to go for one week in early May 2024. When should we start seriously looking for flight deals?


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[Assistant] I am an American Airlines Advantage member and I'm just starting to fly again since before COVID. Apparently I had over 17,000 miles that expired. I received an offer to reactivate those miles for $225.


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[Assistant] Come on. What can I do with these miles and is it worth it? I honestly don't have any idea how American Air, American Airlines program works and I'm looking for advice so you can give me.


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[Assistant] If he had a video camera behind him to see all the windows. Well, how about it? I'd love to see the progress Clark goes through to find a great deal on travel, including all the sites, how he compares and etc. I want to see that too, Clark. You think so? I think it would do great on all social media.


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[Assistant] No, just a picture, saying, looking at all your screen would be fun.


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[Assistant] This one is from Diane in Colorado. This is in response to your comment about getting a better price on flights already booked on Southwest. You don't have to search for new flights then cancel and rebook. Simply go to your reservation and select change near the top right side of your screen.


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[Assistant] You can select a new flight or price from there. The system has already completed the comparisons for you. The difference will be credit to your account. Happy flying!


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[Assistant] What can I do next? I was just following doctor's order.


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[Assistant] I really like the idea since it brings structure to a legacy goal and I've been intending to do. However, I'm cautious about using the service since the information I will provide will virtually have all of the answers to the security questions that I often use by banks.


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[Assistant] The first car was my first elementary school. Do you think this is a safe service to use or there's another tool that could help me accomplish this goal of capturing my life story? I hate to throw out this $99 gift, but I'm not sure whether I should trust the security of the service.


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[Assistant] Oh my god. To the moon and back. If I have to fly to a destination to purchase a used car, how would I find an independent mechanic of my choosing to inspect the car if I'm not familiar with anyone in that city or state?


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[Assistant] It's my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show. Our mission is to serve you and empower you.


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[Assistant] So you make better financial decisions in your life. And in today's episode,


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[Assistant] I'm going to begin with a trend you may have noticed around you. A lot of restaurants and stores have really shortened their hours and most of them not just are opening later, they're closing earlier. In some cases, much earlier. Stores were 24 hours, not so many anymore, right?


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[Assistant] And it was funny, I really got a sense of that when I was in a Walmart and somebody, uh, next to me was talking to an employee and said, are you still a 24 hour store? Which they weren't.


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[Assistant] But it was funny that, that people are really starting to recognize that hours are shorter. The other thing is that chains


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's open a much shorter number of hours a day than another. You know who's done that a lot?


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[Assistant] The drugstore chains like Walgreens will have a pharmacy that closes pretty early.


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[Assistant] And they'll have a sign that says so and so locations open till 10 or open till midnight or whatever as an alternative for you.


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[Assistant] To those long hours. And I saw a story in the Wall Street Journal recently about the changes going on in restaurants. I'm going to talk about that in a second.


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[Assistant] And also I want to talk about what's going on with student loan forgiveness. There's a lot going on and the Supreme Court decision.


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[Assistant] Uh, killing the plan that President Biden had tried to put through.


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[Assistant] Was not the last word or act on this. I'll tell you what looks like is going to really happen and who it's going to benefit. And that's coming up later. So speaking of later,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I can't talk too much later because, well, you might all be asleep.


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[Assistant] Till after nine o'clock at night, like they lived in Spain or something. And we've discovered.


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[Assistant] That they're eating earlier and earlier and earlier. And that is not just.


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[Assistant] My brother Gary and his wife Deborah, that is what's going on across America is people are


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[Assistant] They pointed out that 10% of dinners now are being eaten.


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[Assistant] In sit down restaurants before five o'clock at night. Before five.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that used to be something you thought of, you know, people would make fun of Florida, you know, and say that Florida, you got the, the, um, what they call those early bird specials. There would be four to 6 PM or three to five 30 or whatever. And you know, they'd say that was a Florida thing. Well, now it's a post COVID thing is one of the likeliest reasons.