Mortgage rates have sunk to historic lows. But there's a LOT you need to know before you pull the trigger on a refinance. Fifth Third Bank is being sued by the CFPB stating that the bank opened up fraudulent accounts in customers names without their knowledge. Sounds like Fifth Third took a page out of the Wells Fargo playbook! We officially hit bear market territory yesterday. Clark tells you what to do with your investments and how to think about Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...
Mar 12, 2020•38 min
As the WHO has called coronavirus a pandemic, there are many ways this impacts individual Americans. Clark says that our politicians are failing us and should be putting a higher priority on public health. He also talks about how we should approach our personal finances in light of the current scary health conditions. Travel companies are having a difficult time and the travel cancellation policies are being changed as coronavirus facts come in. Clark tells you what you need to know. Learn more ...
Mar 11, 2020•39 min
It's hard to know how your financial advisor is being paid. And it recently became even more difficult to figure it out. The CFP board is no longer noting how planners are paid on the site LetsMakeAPlan.org. Since the CFP board isn't going to help consumers out, you'll need to help yourself and ask your advisor specific questions before you enter into a relationship. And make sure that any planner you choose to work with is a fee-only planner who has a fiduciary responsibility to his or her clie...
Mar 10, 2020•38 min
The market is now past a 52 week low and global markets are in panic mode. Global markets are related to an undeclared war between Putin and the U.S. The U.S. has become the world’s most important energy market - natural gas and oil combined. Putin is exploiting the outbreak to undermine the U.S. economy in an attempt to destroy the U.S. hydraulic fracking industry by flooding the world market with oil Russian can produce at a cheaper price per barrel. Putin has engineered a collapse in the pric...
Mar 09, 2020•39 min
Pitches to get into private real estate ventures are prevalent now. Investors own percentages of several properties from dozens to thousands. With little disclosure required in private placements vs. publically traded ventures, the big pitch promises boosted returns. When you put your money in, you're relying on their promises and you can not get your money out of these illiquid investments. Often there are huge commission fees involved. If you don't care to own and manage individual properties,...
Mar 06, 2020•38 min
Life insurance agents are only there to pitch policies with some kind of add-on - the equivalent of a savings or investment account, or something they claim can be used for retirement, will ultimately pay for itself, etc. They have to push ultra-complicated policies to gain more commissions. A straight up policy isn't worth their time. Complicated policies have very high commissions and high costs for consumers. Think whole life, variable life, universal variable life, index universal life etc. ...
Mar 05, 2020•38 min
We’re moving into the home renovation season. The National Association of Realtors and National Association of the Remodeling Industry | NARI conduct value studies and have found that a homeowner will get back 50 cents on the dollar for a kitchen remodel. So a 10k kitchen redo will increase the value of your home $5900 at best. The return on adding a master bedroom suite also yields around half. What does pay? Hardwood flooring, HVAC updates and insulating come close to recovering costs. Clark’s...
Mar 04, 2020•38 min
The SECURE act has brought changes to how retirement accounts work, how they're taxed and inherited. Pre-taxed money goes into traditional IRAs. Contributions + earnings are all taxable upon withdrawal. With SECURE Act changes and tax rates only expected to rise in the future due to massive budget deficits, there's a big advantage to convert money over time from traditional to Roth IRAs. Once you pay the taxes at today's lower rates, that money becomes tax free for the rest of your life. Also, i...
Mar 03, 2020•38 min
The pharmacy business is shifting and market share is moving to a smaller number of players. CVS and Walgreens are taking a huge volume of prescriptions. Many with employer insurance use mail order pharmacies. Others are free agents using supermarkets, warehouse clubs or independent pharmacies. If you don't have pharmacy benefits, check your options. Take Walmart's $4 Rx list with you to doctor appointments for direct prescribing there and save. Know that the cheapest overall place is Costco pha...
Mar 02, 2020•38 min
Recently Clark discussed how AT&T issues refunds on stored value cards. These cards are intentionally tricky to spend down – disallowing partial payments by design to keep some of your money through ‘breakage’. Several tax preparation services are now trying to sell customers on accepting their refunds on stored value cards or even Amazon gift cards. These cards have ridiculous junk fees – monthly fees, per transaction fees etc. Putting a tax refund on any kind of spending card is a bad idea...
Feb 28, 2020•38 min
Being stuck in an apartment lease when you need to move quickly is a long time problem. Very few leases have any kind of out. Now, a company called Landing, designed around the lifestyles of young adults, rents through membership agreements. You rent an apartment within their system, and are allowed to move to any other property in the Landing system on 3 days’ notice – no penalty. This allows the nomad in you to wander. You pay $200 a year for this advantage. If you choose to move outside Landi...
Feb 27, 2020•39 min
The investment industry is going through consolidation that will lead to fewer players. Weakened mutual fund companies, stock brokerages and investment houses are merging. A small number of huge players will emerge. All this has come about because of the enormous strength of the big 3 discounters. Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab have essentially demolished the competition. Traditionally, investors paid massive fees to bank investment arms or full commission stock brokers. Some still do but the mov...
Feb 26, 2020•39 min
The coronavirus is spreading but know fatality rates are very low. It is creating enormous impact on economies around the world. The U.S. travel industry is hard hit. Airline and cruise line stocks are down and Expedia is laying off 3,000 people. Expect more lay off announcements as part of a response to economic slowdown. It’s unlikely we’ll follow much of the rest of the world into a recession cycle this year, because it’s an election year. But the tremendous job engine we’ve seen in the last ...
Feb 25, 2020•39 min
The IRS has announced they’re going to send out revenue agents to homes and business of people who owe or who have failed to file. Crooks see this as a huge opportunity to impersonate agents and fake demands for money. The IRS is targeting business owners and those who make over $100K a year. But the crooks will go after anyone. The IRS claims their agents will be highly trained and will not require the purchase of any type of prepaid card – which is a scam tipoff. The IRS is short staffed. If s...
Feb 24, 2020•39 min
Harvard University researchers began a health study in 1980. Time Magazines reports subject lifestyle factors were tracked for 40 years. Healthy lifestyle factors include no smoking, no excessive alcohol, regular exercise, healthy weight and a low-fat, plant-based diet. Findings indicate those who practiced 4 out of these 5 healthy lifestyle choices enjoyed more disease-free years - After age 50, 10 more years for women, 8 more for men. Women's lifespans increased by 14 years, men's by 12. So bo...
Feb 21, 2020•38 min
California has passed a law requiring gig employers to classify most workers as employees vs. independents. A Gallup survey reveals this may be a mistake. Over 90% of tax filers have W2 income. One in 4 workers has a side gig in addition, in order to earn more money. Half work extra simply because they want to. More tax filers than ever are working side hustles in addition to regular income. There are cases where large companies lay people off to hire independent workers to avoid paying benefits...
Feb 20, 2020•38 min
Bankrate did a survey on outcomes from lending to family or friends, cosigning for them or giving them your credit card. 4 out of 10 lenders to family and friends report they didn't get paid back. Someone comes to the bank of family or friend because they can't get the money elsewhere, so that borrower is ultra-high risk. There are times we'll give out of obligation or love. Clark's 2 part rule for lending to family or friends: One time only IF you can afford it. And, look at it as a gift, not a...
Feb 19, 2020•38 min
Reverse mortgages have been a caller topic for Clark for 2 decades. When people are house rich and cash poor, reverse mortgage -wherein the mortgage company sends you a check every month while you still live in the home, appears to be a solution. Routinely Clark goes through a checklist to determine the severity of the financial situation, and warns of the high fees involved. USA Today investigated the industry, finding many bad players looking to steal people’s homes via foreclosures. This open...
Feb 18, 2020•39 min
Carl Richards, "Sketch Guy" columnist for the NYTimes, breaks down financial advice to simple sketches and is able to address motivation and how we work against ourselves. Clark is unapologetically dull and believes creating financial security should be dull as well, achieved slow and steady like a turtle. Many are always looking for the big score, the hot tip. So Clark's favorite Sketch Guy message: "The path to long term change is slow, simple and boring". Your investing should be boring so th...
Feb 17, 2020•38 min
Optometrists are independent. Even as they’re renting space in a Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart or Target – the remain independent. This results in different prices within a retail chain. But as a general rule, the cost of getting a full eye exam and prescription averages around $70. If you go to an optometrist in a traditional office or an ophthalmologist, the price goes up. With a prescription plan through work, a once a year eye exam may be covered with just a copay for most practices. Christa r...
Feb 14, 2020•39 min
Teachers, non-profit workers and some hospital workers are shuttled into inferior 403b retirement plans. 401ks have gotten more affordable with steadily lower costs for employees, lead by Vanguard and Fidelity. Teachers on the other hand get cheated repeatedly. 403b plans are often sold by insurance company sales reps, selling ultra high cost plans often wrapped in annuities. A WSJ investigation has uncovered just how dirty this system is, rife with horrendous kickbacks paid for by the 403b work...
Feb 13, 2020•39 min
Wall Street analysts predicted the demise of Costco Wholesale not that long ago, believing it had no chance against Amazon. But Costco and Sam’s Club are doing well. In fact Costco is booming. People willingly pay membership fees. The Krazy Coupon Lady reports that consistently across items, Costco and Sam’s Club are 10 to 15% cheaper than Amazon. Many use both warehouse clubs and Amazon. Though Costco offers savings, they also offer temptation to buy more. Clark’s answer: Not cart. Hands only s...
Feb 12, 2020•38 min
The merger between wireless giants T-Mobile and Sprint has cleared a major hurdle as a federal judge ruled in favor of the deal. Clark explains his take for consumers, including information about the impact on home internet service. Today, we pause to salute companies that value their employees. One great way to do so is profit sharing. Especially in a service businesses, workers are core and key to progress. Delta has paid huge bonuses, having profited from the grounding of the Boeing Max, whil...
Feb 11, 2020•39 min
Some have lost a tremendous amount of their savings betting on Tesla. Know that betting on any one enterprise is risky – Apple, Amazon – stocks that become stories. Amazon went through a cycle that wiped some stock holders out. When you invest in an individual company, you’re creating risk. You could come out ahead, or lose a great deal or both. First build a base and create a strong core in funds wherein your money is well spread out. The U.S. represents 3% of the world’s population and 22% of ...
Feb 10, 2020•39 min
Mortgage rates have plummeted recently. This is creating even more competition in the housing market. If you are planning on staying in your home for a while you could save a lot of money in interest payments by refinancing soon. 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...
Feb 07, 2020•38 min
There's a major problem happening all across the country. People are trading in cars that aren't paid off. This can lead to a whole lot of issues. Never trade in a car that you haven't finished paying on. US Bank fired an employee who spent her own money to help a customer on Christmas Eve. Clark thinks this is ridiculous! Clark is a romantic at heart. But he also likes to save money. So he gives you his favorite tips for saving money around Valentine's Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
Feb 06, 2020•38 min
Most taxpayers are eligible to free file. But only 2% who qualify use the IRS free file site. Most software vendors are in the IRS Free File program, but tout their paid software instead. Go to IRS.gov - Free File: Do Your Federal Taxes for Free | Internal Revenue Service . Some of the software includes free state tax filings as well. If you don’t like the one you’ve selected, you can bail and try another. If you make over $69K a year, you’re not eligible for Free File. In that case, try Credit ...
Feb 05, 2020•39 min
Pharmacy mistakes filling prescriptions are becoming more common as volume increases on a small number of players who allegedly put the pharmacists under unsafe quotas. Investigative reporting by the NYT reveals that pharmacists with the major chains are under pressure to fill prescriptions and the resulting errors. Another recent report states 1.5 million people have been adversely affected by Rx mistakes. Oversight by state pharmacy boards has failed. Marketplace pressures being applied to pha...
Feb 05, 2020•39 min
Last year there was the mad rush of discount stockbrokers to cut commissions on various kinds of trades to zero. Nobody's laughing anymore at the once obscure app Robinhood. Now millions use the app to trade stocks at no commission. Finally Chuck Schwab had enough and decided to stop charging commissions as- which set off an earthquake. The stocks of various discount (now free) brokers just collapsed because the investment community thought this was financial suicide. It wasn't, because brokers ...
Feb 03, 2020•39 min
Variable pricing has made it even harder for consumers to book travel. But there are some important things to know when you are looking to book airfare, hotels, and rental cars. 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...
Jan 31, 2020•38 min
