The FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement was a hot topic last year. People set early retirement goals and modified lifestyle dramatically to make it happen. Now we can add the ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) movement, giving people the freedom to work when and where they want. Many employers can’t handle this. But if you do task oriented work with measurable results, this can be liberating. For example, radiology is performed around the clock, so practices can hire radiologis...
Nov 07, 2019•38 min
Roughly 20% of American adults have no credit file at all. There’s not enough data to establish credit risk. Around 25% of American adults have low credit scores. That’s 45% total. Lenders use different strategies to figure out who among them are worth taking a chance on. Data is more sophisticated today than traditional credit reporting. The Pedal Card uses proprietary criteria to issue credit cards to those with no/low credit. Last decade credit reporting and scores proved to be an inaccurate ...
Nov 06, 2019•39 min
Clark recommends a minimum ownership cycle of 7 years for houses and 10 years for condos. There’s enormous expense involved in both buying and selling a home – 10% in and 10% out. In addition to expenses in and out, condo values are more unstable than home values. So owning for a decade is best for your wallet. Historically, 7 years has been the typical amount of time people stay in a home. But according to Redfin, the ownership cycle now averages 13 years. People are choosing to stay longer and...
Nov 05, 2019•38 min
ID theft criminals are entering post offices with fake IDs and doing address changes. The USPS gets 37 million address changes each year. An unwitting pawn in ID theft, they say working to prevent false address changes, but determined criminals can get this done. If your mails suddenly stops coming, it’s 5 alarm fire drill time for your finances. Immediately freeze your credit with Equifax, Transunion and Experian. That prevents the crooks from applying from new credit as if they’re you. Meanwhi...
Nov 04, 2019•39 min
ClarkDeals has created a new poll that reveals some of the Holiday consumer shopping trends. Clark discusses the findings and how you should approach Holiday shopping in order to save the most money. 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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 01, 2019•38 min
Clark talks about the best places to open an HSA. Some providers do a better job for people attempting to save money in their HSA while other providers do a better job helping people invest well inside of their HSA. Two of the best overall providers are Fidelity and Lively. A new TX law allows sky high fees inside of teacher 403b plans. This is Clarkrageous and will have a major impact on the overall amount that teachers will have saved in retirement. Most people taking out student loans will be...
Oct 31, 2019•39 min
Clark discusses the fed rate cut and how the economy is slowing. Online installment loans are rising to prominence. The interest rates are almost as high as payday loans. You should never sign up for an installment loan when attempting to purchase something online. Amazon has stopped charging grocery delivery fees for Amazon Prime members. Clark discusses the details and what this means for Amazon competitors also prioritizing home grocery delivery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...
Oct 30, 2019•39 min
Open enrollment is near for corporate workers and individuals on the federal exchange. Employers are facing major cost pressures providing healthcare for workers. Strategies to reduce costs include sending workers to seek out of state care, and in rare cases care outside the U.S. This is a result of the hospital system chokeholds in most metros. Employers may waive your deductible if you go out of market for specific care. Read your open enrollment kit carefully. Look closely at deductibles. You...
Oct 29, 2019•38 min
Affordable housing is in short supply in the U.S. these days. It hasn’t been this difficult to acquire affordable housing since 1948. Restrictive zoning – a NIMBY problem, has made it difficult to impossible for builders. But zoning changes are making affordable housing more possible. A few months ago metro Minneapolis passed such zoning changes. Now Oregon has passed a law to phase in by 2021 to allow second structures and garage apartments. Many young adults under 40 have been shut out of the ...
Oct 28, 2019•38 min
More people would be willing to create a will if the process was easier. So states across the country are changing laws to allow people to create their will completely online. 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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Oct 25, 2019•39 min
Two US Senators have introduced legislation to get rid of non-compete clauses in almost all cases. This is GREAT news because these non-compete clauses are terrible for individual earnings an the overall economy. Moviepass has gone out of business after disappointing millions of customers. But Moviepass is STILL charging money to their former customers. This is truly Clarkrageous. Drone delivery is coming. And actually, it's here. Google Wing is actually delivering some packages in a test market...
Oct 24, 2019•39 min
California has passed legislation to delay school start times. This is great for kids! Apple's parental controls for Screen Time have been easily bypassed by kids. Parents need to take more proactive approaches towards limiting technology use by their children. Hackers are stealing personal information while you are purchasing things online. Clark tells you what you need to know and how to protect yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Oct 23, 2019•39 min
Walmart is launching new healthcare centers around the nation. And up-front pricing is making things more transparent. You can get urgent care, x-rays, counseling, dental, and optical services at these new and innovative health centers. Equifax has responded to a recent inquiry from the Clark Howard Show. They don't require your PIN number in order to freeze or thaw your credit. This puts you at risk. This is not ok and it needs to change. The Boeing Max is still being investigated. The software...
Oct 22, 2019•38 min
Americans are doing record time on the roads in traffic crawling to work. As many metros have developed by sprawl, public transit is not the answer. Solutions require behavior changes, including from employers. To increase employee happiness and retention, they need to flex on how and when you work. Allow employees to work from home at least 1 day a week. Depending on the job, work from home can be done most or all of the time. Often productivity is higher at home. Flex schedules are helpful for...
Oct 21, 2019•39 min
The BBB has issued a new scam warning. Historically, scams have most often come via phone. Now, the most common point of scam contact is on social media. The most common way people have money stolen from them is on social media. The second most common scam point of contact: websites, like Craigslist or eBay. People are more than 5 times more likely to get taken on social media than with a con artist on the phone - 4 times more likely on social vs. through the mail. Beware. Christa reads listener...
Oct 18, 2019•39 min
The U.S. has lagged behind in 'conversational commerce' enjoyed elsewhere in the world, where texting meets commerce for AI customer service. We spend most of our online time now throughout smartphones. Unlike other countries, the U.S. lacks centralized portals from which to operate in multiple ways, including shops, email, social and news. Now Apple is working to set up and integrated hub to drive the brand. For example, through the Apple platform - Apple Business Chat - and Delta's app, iPhone...
Oct 17, 2019•38 min
Of the 4 major cell carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile & Sprint - all the growth over the past 4 years has gone to T-Mobile, steadily taking market share. But all 4 also have captive discount brands on their networks, at a lower cost. The price points have kept moving. Total Wireless is a joint venture on Verizon's network, The 4-line family plan shares 100 gigs of data per month, starts at $100 a month, and it is available for $95 with auto-refill.. Available at Walmart and TotalWireless...
Oct 16, 2019•39 min
There are now more people working in wind / solar energy in the U.S. than in coal mining, which has become an industry in retreat. It's now cheaper to generate power from wind or solar, depending on geography. The new energy outlook from Bloomberg reports that wind is THE cheapest way to generate power in the U.S. In 2/3 of the world, solar and wind are more economical than even natural gas. Power companies are fighting in state legislatures and with utility, regulators to prevent consumers from...
Oct 15, 2019•39 min
There’s increased interest in protecting privacy. We forget how things we say aren’t private in this electronic era. Text messages aren’t really private. But there are things you can do to protect privacy. When both parties use an encrypted third-party texting app – only the recipients get your text. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook – is a secure texting app so far, used by ¼ of the world’s population. For business and other proprietary transactions and for consumers, Signal is used for privacy prote...
Oct 14, 2019•39 min
The FCC doesn't want states to be able to implement their own rules surrounding net neutrality. Clark explains what this court battle means for consumers and the future of our TV and internet usage. 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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Oct 11, 2019•38 min
New tariffs will protect Boeing and hurt Airbus. The new tariffs could also mean higher prices on food and drink. AdvoCare has been fined $150 million for running a multi-level marketing scheme. The FTC has called it a pyramid scheme which means that AdvoCare pressures sellers to bring in new distributors. The emphasis is less on selling products and more on recruiting new people. Don't sign up for an MLM. 99% of people lose money. Clark discusses how to protect yourself if your luggage winds up...
Oct 10, 2019•38 min
We have the lowest unemployment rate in years, while wages remain relatively static. Most aren't seeing meaningful pay raises. Certain sectors of the economy are seeing layoffs, job losses, and closures. Many corporate sectors predict a recession or believe they're already in one. For others, times are great. Manufacturing is suffering because of the trade wars, here and abroad. The greatest job growth is in education, healthcare, state, and local government and the hotel industry. College gradu...
Oct 09, 2019•39 min
Follow-up: the financial industry continues its radical transformation. Technology has made it possible to invest at a lower cost. Last week Schwab announced no commission stock buying and selling. There are free and low-cost robo advisors and robo/human hybrids. Investing with high-cost companies could cause you to end up with 40% less money than investing the same amount with their low-cost rivals. Even Ally bank is offering a no-fee robo-advisory service. Vanguard will soon launch its low-cos...
Oct 08, 2019•39 min
Current privacy concerns have Google in the spotlight. Google lives in fear the U.S. will finally pass privacy laws outlining restrictions and consumer rights, as exists in Europe. The Right to be Forgotten and to control online info in Europe puts them way ahead of the U.S. in the privacy realm. Google’s preemptive strike is a newly launched activity suite tool allowing users to better control their info and have their tracking data wiped automatically. Sign into Google. Type in myactivitiy.goo...
Oct 07, 2019•39 min
Roughly half of us have no access to a retirement plan through work. Most small employers don’t know how to make this happen. If they go to an insurance company or bank, they face extremely high costs and employees pay the price, making the plan essentially a rip-off. So many just give up. A new federal rule just went into effect allowing small employers to team up to create group buying power for lower costs. These can happen through Chambers of Commerce and industry trade groups. We’re about a...
Oct 04, 2019•39 min
NEVER NEVER NOT EVER publish your birthdate and place of birth online or on social media. Why? That's 98% of what a crook needs to steal your identity. Also, when you get the 'magic formula' investing pitch - know to RUN. No-one legit can promise great results using their strategy - red light / green light investing systems - NO. Don't ever believe it. DO NOT answer your phone if you don't know who is calling. If caller ID says your bank or a government agency is calling, don't answer. Nothing g...
Oct 03, 2019•38 min
We borrow principally for a home, vehicle, credit cards, student loans. A long-held frustration is how scoring models punish you for eliminating debt. Paying off a loan (other than credit cards) could drop your score 50 points. Don't worry about it. If your score is healthy enough, the payoff score pinch does not matter. You DO NOT raise your credit score by leaving a balance open on a credit card. That's a myth you pay interest on. With cards, using very little of your credit and paying on time...
Oct 02, 2019•38 min
Southwest is having a sweet sale right now! An all-out price war to zero is underway with small company Interactive Brokers and giant Charles Schwab. Both are ending commissions on stock trades. Buying and selling stocks and ETFs will be commission-free. This will penetrate the investing world, with discounters also going to zero. This started earlier this year with Fidelity Zero, offering free mutual funds – no account minimums required. The ability to invest at zero cost is taking hold in the ...
Oct 01, 2019•39 min
Over the last week, there have been several stories published about why you should stop using a debit card. When you present your card in person, the merchant is protected. But when you shop online the liability moves from the banks to the merchant. The MRC reports that now over 8 in 10 cards have been compromised. If you carry 5 cards, crooks have the goods on 4 and may get around to using them. That exposure includes debit cards, enabling the criminal to strip the funds out of your checking ac...
Sep 30, 2019•39 min
By most estimates, 40% of the food in the U.S. is tossed – from expiration, restaurants, grocers. Some supermarkets route expiring food to food banks, but only a fraction. Some bagel shops sell them at 75% the next day. Some convenience stores sell off pastries at discounts to clear them out. U.S. restaurants have always served larger portions than elsewhere in the world. Our supersize mentality results in leftovers, which often get wasted. Some restaurants give you 2 price points to include a s...
Sep 27, 2019•38 min
