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The Clark Howard Podcast — Business
The Clark Howard Podcast

Save more and spend less is more than just a motto for money expert Clark Howard; it’s a way of life. Clark and his crew — Team Clark — are on a mission to empower people to take control of their personal finances by providing money-saving tips, consumer advice, hot deals and economic news to help everyone achieve financial freedom. Clark is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host and a consumer reporter for television stations around the country. His podcast, The Clark Howard Show, receives more than one million downloads each month and is a hub for listeners to get valuable advice on-demand any time. Clark answers questions on the most popular business and consumer topics including; how to buy a cars, financing a home, retirement planning, shopping for insurance and getting the most out of your savings. Join the conversation and submit your question to www.clark.com/askclark . Clark spearheads two free resources — Clark.com and ClarkDeals.com — to encourage consumers to save more, spend less and avoid ripoffs.

Copyright: Copyright © 2023 Clark Howard Inc. All rights reserved.

Latest Episodes:

9.4.19 Your medical info on an app; Hurricane scams abound; Lesser requirements for energy efficient light bulbs Sep 04, 2019

Show notes

Proposed legislation would provide US citizens access to all of our own medical records. This would require providers to send data to medical record apps – with the patient’s permission. Privacy risk concerns are valid here including data breach exposure and data abuse by insurers. The NYT reports Apple is designing their medical app to encrypt the info and confine it to your device only, not on their servers. Android needs equivalent protection.

As Dorian heads up the coast, scamsters are already at it prompting a warning from Homeland Security to be aware of fake emails pretending to be from charities. You may soon see people collecting on street corners. Never respond to phone, email or text solicitations. Give directly to trustworthy organizations. See our guide. If you have first-hand knowledge of a group you trust, excellent. But don’t give to any charity organizations that you can't personally vet.

LEDs were $80 when introduced. Now they’re down to as little as $1. Home Depot Sylvania LEDs – 2 dozen for $24. Dollar Tree and Costco sell them cheaply as well. LEDs use 85% less electricity. If you buy a traditional bulb for .50 cents vs. and LED for $1 – that’s a trap. So the Energy Department is proposing new regs to eliminate standards for efficient bulbs. Lighting comprises about 25% of the power bill, so switching bulbs could save you around 20%. Buy efficient bulbs. They last much longer and save you big money. Changing bulb efficiency legislation is a joke.

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9.3.19 Car seat trade-ins; Wells Fargo has customer falsely arrested; YouTube settles over child privacy violations Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

Walmart and Target are offering great incentives for you to trade in your old (and likely expired) car seat. You can find out more about the Target deal here. Walmart is offering a $30 gift card if you bring in an old car seat. Find out more about eligibility here.

Wells Fargo doesn't seem to learn from prior mistakes. In a case of mistaken identity, Wells Fargo had a customer who had done nothing wrong put behind bars. Now he is suing and Wells Fargo is trying to force him into arbitration.

YouTube is settling with the FTC over claims that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting and exploiting the personal information of children that had used YouTube. This would be the largest civil penalty the FTC has ever assessed.

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9.2.19 Is Amazon Prime worth it?; Keep your car as long as possible Sep 02, 2019

Show notes

Members of Amazon Prime pay $119 per year for 1-2 day delivery at no minimum, Prime only merchandise, Access to Prime instant video and no-frills music service. Amazon has ways to keep you Prime(d). For Clark, it's useful as a $10 a month video subscription. Check out our quiz at Clark.com to determine is Amazon Prime is worth it for you. Non-Prime members get free shipping with the minimum order for that perk. Also, Amazon's more about convenience than low prices. You can often find lower prices elsewhere.

We Americans trap ourselves by borrowing for purchases. At the top of that list is buying a car. Car notes should really be avoided if at all possible. Think about all the other things that car note money could do for you. Don't think of wheels as lifestyle, but only as transportation that you want to keep your monthly bills low and increase your ability to save and invest.

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8.30.19 Paying your mortgage bi-weekly to save money; Clark Stinks Aug 30, 2019

Show notes

Watch out for a pitch that claims you can pay your mortgage on a biweekly plan. Banks often get a commission by conning you into a biweekly payment program run by a third party. If they abscond with your money or make late payments, the bank bears no responsibility. You get more impact if you divide your monthly payment by 12, and pay that 1/12th additional principal payment each month. It is far better to set up your own biweekly payment plan. Your extra payment reduces interest which shaves more time off your loan.

Christa reads listener posts about how Clark has missed the mark in his advice this week. If you have a "Clark Stinks" to share you can leave it here.

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8.29.19 Best cars for resale value; Resort fees are the worst; Focusing on preventative care Aug 29, 2019

Show notes

JD Power reports on which vehicles best hold their value. If you will make one major change to the way you look at vehicles and drive your car until till the wheels fall off you won’t have to worry about depreciation.

More hotels are implementing a bait and switch where they publish a great rate and then rip you off with poorly or undisclosed fees. Clark just ran into a $56 per night resort fee + a $26 per night parking fee – that’s in addition to the room cost. There’s a plague of this and the hotels are defiant about it. Marriott and Hilton are being sued. The price should be the price.

With the current inability of political parties to work together on healthcare, it’s heartening to see solutions being tried at the state level. U.S. life spans have been in decline while healthcare costs skyrocket. The U.S spends 20% of our nation’s output on healthcare. The next largest national expenditure is 8%. N.C. is placing emphasis on regular primary care, creating financial incentives that reward providers for keeping people healthy. When we focus on simple continuity of care and prevention, we get lifespans back up and cut costs at the same time.

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8.28.19 Natural gas rates plummeting; Disney streaming discount; Travel insurance for Fall Travel Aug 28, 2019

Show notes

Problems in the energy industry are working to consumer advantage. Natural gas is in oversupply and at wholesale, the price has been driven down. But for consumers, in states where savings are passed on to the ratepayer, there’s a direct benefit. In some states, you select a natural gas provider. Those states usually offer the option to lock in a fixed rate for a period. There will be a strong advantage in doing that before the cold weather season kicks in. This Fall is a great time to lock in a rate for your home or business.

Check out this awesome deal for Disney's new streaming service.

Cruise lines are changing itineraries to stay out of harm’s way during hurricane season. Travelers can be left out the money and no trip. If the weather could be a factor, for example, a fall cruise out of a FL port or a Caribbean resort booking, you can buy a trip insurance policy allowing you to cancel for any reason for a partial refund. These policies cost more, but most others don’t cover weather interruptions.

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8.27.19 Targeted promo codes abound online; Ford offers relief for defective transmissions; Change of address scam Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

Individual discount codes are hit or miss these days, because they’ve become more personalized. Online sellers are using algorithms to target individuals specifically with tailored coupon offers, often specific to that calendar day. It’s a code only for you, only for today. This started with electronics sellers and has been spreading. These codes pierce privacy so consumers need to decide if they’re worth it. Also, it’s important to hide your identity while shopping. Online sellers have become more sophisticated and give convenience shoppers potentially higher prices. Shopping anonymous may yield a lower price.

Ford knowingly built 600,000 vehicles with defective transmissions. The Detroit Free Press published a long-form investigative series on this. Whistleblowers and leaked documents offer proof Ford sold Focus and Fiesta models that were potentially dangerous and routinely required costly repairs due to defective transmissions. For owners, thanks to the Detroit Free Press, Ford will offer extended warranties to 600,000 owners of these vehicles. They will repair and reimburse transmission repairs for 2014-16 Focus models and 2014-15 Fiestas.

We’re numb with data breach fatigue, but Marketwatch reports how brutal and multi-layered ID theft can be, profiling one case. This couple faced $25,000 in fraudulent charges and while dealing with that, the criminals doubled down, creating a change of address with the USPS. In addition to unknown accounts being opened, this couple’s mail vanished. It took 2 months to unwind this at the postal service so they could again receive their mail. In the interim, despite their best efforts, they missed some bills and late pays damaged their credit further. 1. Freeze your credit. Freeze your kids’ credit. A credit freeze would have prevented this. 2. Have a system for keeping track of all your bills, a list on paper or reminder system via on an online calendar.

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8.26.19 Labor Day gas prices; Beware this romance email scam; Amazon 3rd party sellers warning Aug 26, 2019

Show notes

Oil and in turn gas prices which were expected to be headed higher now, are in fact lower. AAA reports as we move into the Labor Day holiday period, gas prices will average .30 cents less per gallon than one year ago. Traffic will be the problem this Labor Day holiday. Also, electric vehicle purchases are a small part of the market but enough people are buying to affect the demand equation for gasoline, and that is helping to moderate prices. There will still be ups and downs based on temporary factors, but the trends for low gas prices are positive.

A 3 year investigation resulted in a federal bust. Be on your guard for the techniques these scammers used – this won’t be the last criminal ring employing them. The number one scheme here: online romance scams - an active fraud method for at least 15 years. This time, the fraudsters were pretending to be U.S. military personnel. No matter how much you may have fallen for someone online, don’t believe the story until you’re face-to-face and know who you’re dealing with. Criminals exploit the military or anything else to exploit your affection as a gateway to your wallet.

A WSJ investigation has found unsafe and counterfeit sales on Amazon. Their intense digging uncovered safety issues. Most Amazon sellers are third party, much like online marketplace eBay. Amazon muddies the waters by including many 3rd party items as Amazon Choice or Prime. Some kids’ toys contained led, and counterfeits were found. There’s hazard for adults as well such as counterfeit motorcycle helmets. Amazon is selling items that have been banned, including mats that are a suffocation danger to children. 4 out of 10 Amazon Choice kids’ items failed federal safety standards. Amazon sells 3 different ways: Listing for a third party, fulfilling for a third party and direct selling by Amazon themselves which they control. It’s hard to tell. Amazon has a broken system right now. Don’t allow yourself to be harmed. Follow the steps to identify the actual seller. Important: Amazon does NOT stand behind anything sold on its site that is NOT sourced by them. eBay – also a listing service, is more customer friendly to buyers. Know that Amazon is not necessarily a safe place to purchase until they clean up their act.

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8.23.19 Internet speeds are vastly overrated; Clark Stinks Aug 23, 2019

Show notes

Clark's neighborhood recently got 1gig internet service. He signed up. Speed tests show that they are not getting 1 gig. The WSJ did an in-depth testing of home internet service and found that people do not need ultra-fast internet. They couldn't find a home circumstance requiring more than 100megabits per second. There are specialized needs for more robust internet. Some consume massive internet video on their phones without ultra-fast internet from their cell carrier. Clark plans to cut costs and reduce his home internet speed.

Christa reads listener posts about how Clark has missed the mark in his advice this week. If you have a "Clark Stinks" to share you can leave it here.

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8.22.19 Beware college student debit cards; Expensive Nike subscription service; Facebook history eraser Aug 22, 2019

Show notes

College students and their parents are being ripped off by the very colleges they’re attending. Banks approach universities to create co-branded campus debit cards, promising kickbacks to the school for every student that signs up for their debit. The fees on these co-branded kick-back cards are 2 to 3X normal. Meanwhile, most colleges have credit unions available to faculty, staff, administrators, and students – offering great deals and typically no to low fees. There is NO requirement you use the co-branded card and that behind these cards are dirty money kickbacks paid to the college.

Nike has launched a kids’ shoe subscription service. These plans are $20 to $50 a month - $240 to $600 a year for a Nike shoe subscription. Availability has been filled and now there’s a waitlist. Parents, don’t do this. Don’t give your kids the message that brands matter, setting them up for lifelong problems with money.

Facebook’s rep has been heavily tarnished over privacy issues. They say they’re addressing the problem giving users new control over personal info, at least in part. They’re launching a new tool – ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ to give users the ability to see what info has been collected and sold to third parties. You’ll be able to manage that data, control how it’s used, disconnect history tracking and short circuit sharing with third parties. Facebook is rolling this out in Europe and South Korea to work the bugs out, promising availability in the U.S. in a couple of months.

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