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It's my pleasure to welcome you to the Clark

0:46

Howard Show Our Emissions to serve

0:48

you and empower you so you make

0:50

better financial decisions in your

0:52

life. Wanna know if you are

0:54

one of the lucky ones who have the ability

0:56

to work from home. If you do,

0:59

You may be part of a radical

1:02

change in real estate that

1:04

nobody ever could have predicted. There's

1:07

a lot of debate about what it's gonna mean for

1:09

housing prices overall in the

1:11

United States. I'm gonna give you my

1:13

guess. And something

1:16

new again

1:18

You know how something old becomes new again?

1:21

All the questions I'm getting about c

1:23

d Laddering, what is ACD

1:26

ladder? Is the c d ladder

1:28

right for you when you talk it

1:30

through? Okay. So

1:33

when COVID really got going

1:35

back in twenty, and the whole

1:37

concept of remote work,

1:40

took off for the roughly third

1:42

of Americans who

1:44

can do their work from wherever versus

1:47

having to physically be wherever

1:49

they're doing their work. And the

1:51

third is kind of like a rough estimate. I

1:53

know it could be a little wouldn't be less.

1:55

It could be a little more than that. There

1:58

was a lot of upset in

2:00

a lot of areas further

2:02

from metros or even

2:04

rural areas, that home

2:07

prices were becoming unaffordable in

2:10

areas where housing prices had been

2:12

extremely inexpensive.

2:15

And this has been a case

2:17

in many, many communities around

2:19

the country, and the story has only been

2:21

reported from a negative perspective. Yes.

2:24

It may have been a hardship

2:27

on people who lived in a community and

2:29

all these outsiders come in and

2:32

the demand pushes up prices. Also

2:35

led to new construction, new

2:37

employment activity and,

2:40

actually, the intermediate term

2:42

effect, not the short term effect from twenty

2:44

and twenty one, but you look longer

2:46

out And this

2:48

is ultimately an economic revitalization

2:52

for retail in areas that may

2:54

be had slowed down economically

2:57

for housing construction. There

2:59

are a lot of activities that

3:01

will actually benefit from

3:04

this new way of

3:06

people living who can live completely

3:08

remotely and still work.

3:11

In the tax base and

3:13

local communities that may have suffered

3:16

as the economy was not maybe as strong

3:18

as it once was in areas. The

3:20

tax base will rise as well. So they're

3:24

you know, the reporting originally

3:26

and for an extended period of time has only

3:28

been negative in

3:30

the effects on rural

3:32

areas that have seen the influx

3:35

of these people that can

3:37

work remotely and choose to live

3:39

far away from the city

3:41

where they did work, a metro area they did

3:43

work. Well, there's a

3:46

on economic effect that

3:49

is not being discussed. And

3:52

we've had higher and higher and

3:54

higher cost of living and housing

3:56

costs, as we've been

3:58

in this, quote unquote, knowledge economy,

4:01

and these big metro areas

4:04

have gotten bigger and bigger and bigger

4:06

with larger and larger populations, and

4:09

the cost of housing is based

4:11

on the land that sits underneath. And

4:14

as that densities increase in these

4:16

metro areas, the cost of living, the

4:18

cost of housing is going up and up. So

4:20

the effect

4:22

of people deciding they

4:24

can live somewhere else far

4:26

from a large metro. Ultimately,

4:30

brings about potentially lower

4:32

costs of housing. Obviously,

4:34

in the areas people are

4:36

going to from where they were from, and

4:39

also, lowers some of

4:41

that demand in these major

4:44

metro areas we have in the country

4:47

and doesn't necessarily depress housing

4:49

prices, but reduces

4:52

the climb in those prices

4:54

as we move forward. So

4:58

I know that so much media

5:00

coverage is always from a negative

5:02

perspective because people don't

5:04

read happy stories. They read alarmous

5:07

headlines and they read Alarmous stories.

5:09

They watch Alarmous

5:11

stories. Nobody's gonna be excited

5:13

watching a story about Wow,

5:16

is it as great? And I hope

5:18

that I'm not boring you right now by

5:20

telling you that the housing thing that

5:22

has come out of COVID is more complicated

5:25

then it was presented and

5:27

that actually can lead

5:29

us having more affordable housing

5:32

in the US. Now one

5:34

burden For people who've been working

5:36

completely remotely, more and

5:38

more employers are ordering

5:40

people back to the office who

5:43

did not require that, and

5:45

many who have required people to come

5:47

back to the office are increasing the

5:49

number of days that people

5:51

must come back. I think it's Walt Disney

5:53

just went to four days out of five.

5:56

People have to be in the office financial

5:59

companies tend to be three days

6:01

out of five now and that's

6:03

become really hard for people

6:05

who didn't just go to, let's

6:07

say, let's say, somebody worked in the New

6:09

York financial district. And

6:12

they've gone somewhere upstate or they've

6:14

gone somewhere in Pennsylvania or whatever.

6:16

For them now, they have three ultra

6:18

long commuting days a week. That's

6:21

really hard. If somebody had

6:23

decided, hey, you know, this is a great time in

6:25

my life to moved to Idaho. And

6:27

they moved to Idaho when their job was in

6:29

New York, then they faced the

6:31

problem. They've got to either give up that job

6:33

or they have to move back to New York. That's

6:35

just the kind of thing COVID

6:38

was so disruptive in so many

6:40

ways AND CREATED ALL THESE

6:42

NEW POSSibilities. BUT A

6:44

LOT OF COMPANIES ARE RUN BY

6:46

OLDER BOSSES And

6:48

they are of that era that the whole

6:50

idea of seeing somebody virtually, you

6:52

know, on a screen, doesn't cut

6:54

it. They want people right

6:56

there in front of them where they

6:58

can see them in their office,

7:01

and that's why you're seeing

7:03

this, I guess, we can call it a counterrevolution.

7:06

Of these older bosses requiring

7:09

people to come back in person.

7:12

I think that's gonna generate some

7:14

clark stinks the way I just described

7:16

that.

7:16

Well, probably so.

7:17

But I think it is an

7:20

age thing. I think that, you

7:22

know, companies that are run by

7:24

younger people completely

7:27

see, hey, this works for us,

7:29

but I think when you have bosses

7:32

that are more in my age

7:33

range, I don't know. I also think it

7:35

depends on your industry and how things

7:37

work. Like, can it work with people being remote

7:39

all the time and are you

7:41

missing, you know, I think even for

7:44

younger workers too, you might be missing something

7:46

not being in the office and having

7:48

that contact with other people you work

7:50

with. So I agree with some of that,

7:52

but I think it's much broader. Now

7:54

is this a good time for us to announce that

7:56

all our employees have to come back five days

7:58

a week person? No. It's

7:59

not.

8:00

No. It's not. No.

8:01

We're not doing that. Just kidding. Alright.

8:03

We'll go to some questions now. This is

8:05

from Wesley in Indiana. My

8:07

employer recently started offering a new

8:09

benefit called a lifestyle spending

8:11

account with five hundred dollars in the

8:13

account. I'm not familiar with this benefit,

8:15

and I was wondering if you could lane,

8:17

what this is, and the best way to utilize

8:19

it. So this is something

8:21

that's considered to be a when when kind

8:23

of thing it's often

8:25

referred to as an LSA to

8:28

to differentiate from an FSA, a

8:30

flexible spending account. A flexible spending

8:33

account is a tax free account

8:35

to pay for eligible medical

8:37

expenses or dependent care

8:39

expenses. And as a user

8:41

lose it thing and you have to figure out beginning

8:43

in the year how much money to put in and

8:45

all that. An LSA is an

8:48

invention that is

8:50

a taxable thing for you.

8:52

The money that it costs for

8:54

whatever the employer provides

8:56

on the list of eligible

8:58

LSA activities. If you take advantage

9:00

of one of them, then that is

9:02

reported as taxable income to

9:04

you, but it's like a a

9:06

raise in your paycheck. And what

9:08

employers are trying to do with these LSA's

9:11

is reduce absenteeism

9:14

and improve your health

9:16

and reduce their health costs and in

9:18

turn by offering you free

9:20

gym memberships, free

9:23

classes, you know, exercise classes,

9:25

pilates, yogurt,

9:26

yoga. You said yoga?

9:27

Yoga. Yeah. Yoga, all those

9:30

things. And so you're gonna be a long

9:32

list of things that are designed

9:34

to improve your health

9:36

and well-being. The employer makes

9:38

it additional benefit, but the

9:40

difference between most fringe

9:42

benefits and this is this is

9:44

kind of like an invention It is

9:46

just recognized as like it's a

9:48

bonus in your paycheck that

9:50

you pay tax

9:50

on. And if

9:51

you don't, just do the things you don't

9:53

get taxed on. Right. Right. It's only if

9:55

you take advantage of the

9:58

additional benefits and they

10:00

pay for that membership, to

10:02

the gym or whatever the activity

10:05

is, that the LSA that the

10:07

employer has says, these

10:09

are eligible expenses. And will

10:11

pay up to this amount of money

10:13

if you say, yeah, I'm gonna take

10:15

that money. You pay

10:17

tax on it, which is still a lot cheaper

10:19

than you having to use your

10:22

paycheck dollars to pay for it. It

10:24

is an additional sum

10:26

in your paycheck. Just like I

10:28

said, like a little bonus.

10:30

Gary in California says would you mind

10:32

sharing your thoughts on purchasing rental car

10:34

coverage while traveling abroad?

10:37

During a recent trip to France that required a

10:39

rental car, my partner and I struggled

10:41

with purchasing the all inclusive rental

10:43

coverage. My California car insurance did

10:45

not cover rentals outside the US. Our

10:47

trip insurance did offer some coverage but

10:49

not the level I was comfortable with.

10:51

For reference, the car rental through Crosco

10:53

travel was one thousand dollars and

10:55

the full coverage was an additional

10:57

six hundred dollars. We

10:59

are thinking, hulu, purchased the full

11:02

coverage due to the many dents received during

11:04

our adventures, but curious

11:06

about your thoughts on coverage outside the US.

11:08

Side note, The Costco outside of

11:10

Paris was amazing. We hope

11:12

you are able to experience it some day in

11:14

your travels if you haven't already

11:16

been.

11:16

Okay. So when I go to a Costco

11:18

outside the United States,

11:20

my family thinks I'm out of my

11:22

mind and they don't go. But

11:25

I have been to Costco in other

11:27

countries. Have

11:27

you been to the Paris one? I've not been to the Paris

11:30

one. And so

11:32

I'll just have to add that to my list

11:34

of something to do. And

11:37

they are really different. And it's

11:39

the same cost savings you have from

11:41

having things just in concrete

11:43

warehouse with steel, but

11:46

they are all different. But your

11:48

membership works at all cost goes

11:50

around the world. Anyway, going back to

11:52

your question about the

11:54

semi pseudo fake

11:56

insurance that is sold at rental

11:58

car counters. What you do is you check

12:00

with your own automobile insurer

12:02

first before you go and see if

12:04

they cover you for temporary use

12:06

of a rental car. In whatever country

12:08

you're renting a car from. Depending

12:10

on your auto insurance, they may or may not

12:13

cover foreign rentals, they may or may not

12:15

cover the country you're going to. Then

12:17

the second thing is

12:20

you may well have coverage with

12:22

a credit card that you have And

12:25

so if you have both of those

12:27

in a foreign country,

12:30

you're good to go. If you

12:32

don't have the coverage

12:34

from your auto insurer,

12:36

but you do have coverage from a

12:38

credit card for the damage to the vehicle.

12:40

You would still need liability coverage

12:43

potentially either from a third party

12:45

you buy for that trip, which

12:47

would be cheaper or from

12:49

the car rental company itself. As an

12:51

example, in Europe, if you rent from

12:53

auto Europe, a lot of

12:55

their rental rates that are really

12:57

good come with coverage

13:00

levels that come with the

13:02

rate without you having to pay

13:04

extra at the rental

13:06

car counter. And

13:08

do you know that

13:10

for the first time I can ever

13:12

remember, I just had

13:14

to buy collision damage

13:16

waiver on a vehicle. Oh,

13:18

really? Yeah. My wife and

13:20

I rented a moving

13:22

truck, a sixteen footer,

13:24

we had had a storage unit that

13:26

we emptied out. And I know

13:28

you said, Krista, we should have hired people

13:30

to do it, but Lane and I did the

13:32

move ourselves. And

13:34

I called my insurer, which is

13:36

USAA, and they said, you're not

13:38

covered for the truck. And

13:40

then none of the credit cards I had

13:42

covered

13:42

me and I was covered by

13:45

USAA for liability, but not for

13:47

damage to the truck. And so

13:49

I had to buy the

13:52

collision damage waiver. How much was it

13:54

for a day for the

13:56

collision damage waiver? Fifty?

13:57

Forty bucks. How's

13:59

your backfill after that

14:00

move? Backspine my next

14:03

little sore. Duane in

14:05

Colorado says thanks for what you do, Clark. My wife

14:07

hates it when I say according to

14:09

Clark, the way, you

14:11

brought up the recent positive change in five

14:13

twenty nine plans. What are your thoughts on

14:15

maxing out the amount to convert to

14:17

a kid's Roth thirty five thousand dollars

14:19

with the intention of converting it

14:21

if we could afford to pay out of pocket for

14:23

college. My wife and her both maxed out our

14:25

HSA ROTH and 401K

14:27

and contribute some to a four

14:29

fifty seven

14:29

b. That is absolutely

14:32

Dwayne a brilliant idea,

14:34

and it's what a lot of people

14:36

who are serious savers are

14:38

going to do. Before

14:40

people say, oh, well, Duane

14:43

makes a zillion dollars that he can

14:45

save all that money. You are a government employee,

14:47

I know from the four fifty seven.

14:49

Government employees State local

14:51

level don't make huge paychecks.

14:53

You just are a Mac

14:55

savers. So doing up

14:57

to thirty five thousand in

15:00

the five twenty nine plan, and that

15:02

needs to be your earnings included

15:04

as well. And then using the

15:06

new tax law provision that allows

15:08

you to move that money

15:10

steadily into your kids, Roth

15:12

IRA is Fantastic.

15:15

It is a ridiculously wonderful

15:18

benefit because you get all

15:20

through your child's formative

15:22

years. You get tax free growth the five

15:24

twenty nine, you then move the

15:26

money, tax free step by

15:28

step, up to a cumulative

15:30

amount over the years, thirty five

15:32

thousand. Into the kids' Roth IRA

15:34

that continues to go tax

15:36

free, grows tax free, and then

15:38

inspect tax free in retirement, you

15:40

look at what a few thousand

15:42

dollars put in preschoolers

15:46

name in a five twenty nine.

15:48

What that's gonna be worth in

15:50

sixty plus years? Will

15:52

blow your

15:52

mind. But it

15:53

has to be open for fifteen years before

15:55

Fifteen years. So the idea

15:57

is that you open The

15:59

five twenty nine plan, when

16:01

you have a young kid, you build

16:03

money in it through the years, they

16:05

decide not to go to college, or

16:07

they scholarship out, or

16:10

you have other resources you pay

16:12

for college, then

16:14

that money ultimately can transfer

16:16

tax free end of the Roth IRA.

16:19

There's only a million rules

16:21

with it. I talked about some of those

16:23

on another podcast. It's

16:25

pretty complicated, but

16:27

a great great tax

16:30

deal for the

16:32

taxpayer, unbelievable. So

16:36

speaking of ways to grow money,

16:38

so many questions lately

16:40

with kind of people

16:42

suffering whiplash with us

16:44

having earned no money on savings.

16:47

For the last ten years, suddenly

16:49

there's real money to be earned on savings.

16:51

Where does CD's fit

16:54

in that picture going

16:55

forward? We're gonna talk about that. And

16:57

what's the CD ladder?

16:59

Did you know the term

17:01

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including commission stock brokers and

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fully reflect actual interest charges on your

18:25

account. Estimates are based on your posted account balance

18:27

at the time of the estimate and do not

18:29

include transactions or any other purchases you may

18:31

make before the end of the billing

18:32

period. So a lot

18:35

of people are suddenly looking

18:38

at Ads online and they're

18:40

seeing these rates on CDs, which we

18:42

haven't seen in a long, long

18:44

time. And the rates on

18:46

savings accounts have gone up up and

18:49

up. And right now, if

18:51

you put a CD with an online

18:53

bank, you look for the best ones

18:55

out there. Gosh, you can get maybe

18:57

four and three quarters percent

18:59

on a one year CD,

19:01

and that's good money.

19:03

Right now. If you look at a five

19:06

year CD, you

19:08

can't get that high. You'll get

19:10

four and a half. Now let me tell you where this is

19:12

weird because the CD ladder,

19:14

which I've had a number of people

19:16

saying, please explain again the CD

19:18

ladder. The idea of the

19:20

CD ladder is you take the pile

19:22

of money you can put into CDs. You put it

19:24

into five different CDs. A

19:26

one year, a two year, a three year, a four year,

19:28

and a five year. And then

19:30

every year when one of

19:32

them is up for renewal, you put it

19:34

back into five years. So the one year one

19:36

year from now becomes a new five

19:39

year two years from now, the two year CD becomes a

19:41

new five year. The idea is that you have

19:43

access to twenty percent of the

19:46

money you put in a CD every

19:48

year. And historically,

19:51

the longer term a CD you

19:53

buy, the higher the

19:55

rate. But right now, it's

19:57

reversed. Why is

19:59

it that a one year CD is

20:02

paying a higher interest rate

20:04

than a five year CD?

20:07

Because The marketplace is

20:10

saying inflation has been

20:12

bad ugly, but is

20:14

getting under control. You

20:16

may not feel it in your own life, but

20:18

I can tell you because part of

20:20

our reaction to inflation is based

20:22

on what we've experienced what's

20:25

happening now or looking forward.

20:27

The marketplace says

20:29

inflation is going down. Let me give you

20:32

an example. CD for rich people on big

20:34

institutions, the ten year

20:36

US treasury. What's it

20:38

worth right now? It's paying three

20:40

point six percent approximately And

20:42

that's a ten year obligation.

20:44

So you got CDs

20:46

paying four and a half

20:48

percent for five years out.

20:51

And the equivalent of CDs

20:53

for rich people looking ten

20:55

years out is paying three

20:58

point six. That's what's known as

21:00

inverted yield. So

21:02

people are saying the cost of

21:04

living is going to be less and

21:06

less as we move through the

21:08

next ten years. So money

21:10

you're saving for the immediate

21:12

term, you get a higher interest

21:14

rate than you do for a longer term,

21:16

or for the longest term. So

21:18

the smart money right now with

21:22

CDs goes five

21:24

year. Not

21:26

one year. If there's money,

21:28

if you are a conservative

21:30

saver, a portion of your money, you

21:32

like to have in savings, buy

21:35

a five year now at these

21:37

four and a half percent ranges

21:40

that are generally available

21:42

you can look at bank rate dot com

21:44

as an example of a place you look. There

21:46

are others as well that will show you

21:48

the best rates for different terms

21:51

on CDs and what FDIC insured

21:54

or NCUAA insured

21:56

institutions have those

21:58

rates. And so This

22:00

is a time you go long on

22:03

savings rates. Now let's say

22:05

in all these things are guesses.

22:09

Because even though the smart

22:11

money says the

22:13

inflation curve, the

22:15

inflationary cycle is breaking

22:17

And long term, we're gonna have lower and lower inflation,

22:20

which in turn leads to less

22:22

and less that people will

22:24

accept for their money,

22:26

meaning that people who are putting money

22:28

aside longer, think how weird it is.

22:30

You're agreeing to tie up your money a

22:33

longer time and you're getting less

22:35

interest than if you tie it up a shorter

22:37

time. So if you're somebody who

22:39

says, hey, there's been too much scarred

22:41

on, too many curveballs and

22:43

all that, still use

22:45

a version of a CD ladder.

22:47

Put money in one year

22:49

CDs because remember you'll learn more in a

22:51

one year CD than you will in the

22:53

five year, you could put money in a three

22:55

year CD. You could put money in

22:57

a five year CD and start doing like

23:00

the five steps of do

23:02

one, three, and five, and divide

23:04

the money out. Know that when

23:06

you go to buy a new

23:08

CD a year from now, not invest

23:10

because CDs are not investing their

23:13

savings. When you when that one year is

23:15

up, be prepared to

23:17

earn less than

23:19

today's numbers. The odds very

23:21

heavily favor that interest

23:23

rates that you will earn when you re up

23:25

that CD in a year will

23:27

be lower. That's why money that you're comfortable

23:30

tying up for five years tie

23:32

it up for five years. But

23:34

again, if you don't wanna bet

23:36

a hundred percent that direction to a

23:39

mix. One, three,

23:41

and five years. Krista?

23:45

This

23:45

is from Stacy in Michigan. There's a

23:47

bill called the Bipartisan Credit

23:49

Card Competition Act. On the face

23:51

of it, it seems consumer friendly, but there's

23:54

pushback from the consumer credit card

23:56

protection coalition as being against

23:58

consumers and the government trying

24:00

to tax our cash back from credit

24:01

cards. What are Clark's thoughts on this

24:04

bill? And it's is it consumer

24:06

friendly? Okay. So first of

24:08

all, if you look at the lobbyists for small

24:11

businesses, they're all over this. They

24:13

really, really, really want this

24:15

change. Here's what's going on.

24:17

The Visa Mastercard Cartel

24:20

have fees that merchants have to

24:22

pay that are the highest in

24:24

the world. Nobody's

24:26

even close to us.

24:28

And so this

24:31

bill, if it became and

24:33

again, whatever a bill says, that's not what becomes

24:36

law. But the bill as

24:38

originally written and there will be a

24:40

lots of amendments and who

24:42

knows as powerful as the

24:44

banks are, I'm very doubtful

24:46

that this will even become

24:48

law at some point in any form.

24:50

But the purpose of this is to

24:53

create an opportunity for a small

24:55

business to shop

24:57

for their merchant clearing

24:59

for credit cards. So that our

25:01

rates will go to world standards

25:03

because it's not at all unusual for

25:05

a business in the United States.

25:08

To have credit card processing fees

25:10

be their third largest expense in

25:12

their business and can be the difference

25:14

between making a profit or not.

25:16

So who knows who's

25:19

operating behind these astroturf

25:21

campaigns? Probably behind the

25:23

curtain, you'll find These

25:25

are Mastercard Funding, all these

25:27

disinformation campaigns. You'll

25:29

find the big banks probably

25:31

that have the big credit card portfolios

25:34

and merchant operations, funding these after turf

25:36

campaigns, trying to stop

25:38

a reduction in the

25:41

current fees that merchants are stuck with

25:43

in the United States by opening

25:45

up competition. So what

25:48

would be the effects? Ultimately,

25:51

if we went to a system

25:53

like everybody else in the world uses, the

25:55

cost of a merchant taking

25:58

credit cards would collapse. And

26:00

that would be an enormous benefit to the merchant. Those

26:03

of us who benefit from reward

26:06

cards, we would see the

26:08

rewards decline dramatically.

26:11

And this thing where I can go around and use

26:13

a two percent cashback card,

26:15

that'll be over. The airline cards

26:17

with the massive amounts of bonuses, that

26:20

will be over because

26:22

the reality is all of

26:25

that is funded by the

26:27

massive fees that

26:30

retailers and restaurants and all

26:32

others that take credit cards or

26:34

having to pay. They are subsidizing

26:37

us in our rewards. The

26:39

net effect of something like

26:41

this is that retailers

26:43

and restaurants and all the rest of their costs

26:45

go down, which ultimately I

26:47

know this is weird, but in capitalism,

26:50

ultimately that flows back to

26:52

us as consumers. You think that the

26:54

business just pockets that money. That's

26:56

not the way the free market

26:59

operates. So right now, card processing

27:01

is not free market. This

27:03

would make it free market, and it would

27:05

have a lot of unintended consequences

27:08

like

27:09

all my precious rewards would

27:11

go in the toilet. Well, most of them.

27:13

Deb and Georges has been negotiating

27:16

for card, would get better deal if you finance

27:18

or offer to pay cash? Should

27:20

you even

27:20

say? Okay. You

27:22

said, doubt.

27:23

the dealer knows upfront you're

27:26

paying cash, they're not gonna give

27:28

you as good a deal on a

27:30

car because they make

27:32

a fortune on writing those

27:34

loans. And I gave

27:36

data recently how much

27:38

more expensive a

27:40

vehicle loan is at the dealer versus

27:43

especially versus a credit union. And when

27:45

I was shocked about the newest

27:47

data, the benefit of doing a

27:49

credit union loan versus going to

27:51

your bank, for an

27:53

auto is the largest gap

27:55

it's ever been. And

27:57

so you're paying a massive

27:59

amount more for

28:01

that vehicle loan arranged at

28:03

a car dealer versus doing

28:05

it on your own, whether at a

28:07

bank or especially at a credit unit,

28:11

So the dealer makes

28:13

huge money on writing

28:16

that loan. If you tell them

28:18

upfront, oh, I'm a cash buyer. They're

28:20

like, okay, we're gonna make two

28:22

cents on this person.

28:25

We're not gonna give them a good

28:27

offer on selling them a vehicle. So

28:29

you never ever ever

28:31

discuss whether you're gonna have a trade in,

28:33

how you're gonna finance anything like that

28:35

till you have a deal on the price

28:38

for the

28:39

vehicle. And Emily, North Carolina says I

28:41

have a healthy twelve year old dog. She has

28:43

been covered by pet insurance since twenty

28:46

fourteen. In twenty fourteen, the premium was

28:48

thirty dollars a month. In March, her premiums are

28:50

being raised from a hundred and forty three

28:52

dollars to two hundred and fifteen dollars

28:54

a month. Given this huge increase

28:56

in cost, I'm considering cancelling

28:58

policy. I would do anything for my

29:00

dog, including paying for ongoing treatments if

29:02

a serious illness were to arise. The

29:04

problem is I have no idea what the

29:06

worst case scenario cost. Ten

29:09

thousand, twenty thousand, a hundred

29:11

thousand is canceling the policy the

29:13

right thing to do

29:13

here, or am I acting to

29:16

impulsively? You're not acting too impulsively,

29:18

Emily, but this is a hard one.

29:21

So when you buy pet insurance,

29:23

the premiums they're almost

29:25

like annual renewal perform life insurance every year

29:28

as the prospects of more

29:30

and more expensive medical care

29:34

for your twelve year old

29:36

dog, every

29:38

year the medical risk

29:41

goes up to the insurer. So

29:43

the premiums go up. Think about what you said to

29:45

me. Thirty bucks a

29:47

month going to two

29:49

fifteen a month. And in

29:51

addition, the coverages may be

29:53

more limited what the policy

29:55

will pay based on

29:57

the age of your

29:59

dog. So what I recommend

30:01

is go to your vet.

30:03

If you've got a good relationship

30:05

with your veterinarian, You can

30:07

talk with him or her about the

30:10

policy that you

30:13

have, their experience on the

30:15

coverages you get with it, and

30:17

they may even recommend a

30:19

different one for your twelve

30:21

year old and the breed involved

30:23

because insurers also

30:26

mistreat you in premiums based

30:28

on the breed. And that's how

30:30

you decide because you're talking about

30:32

spending twenty five hundred dollars

30:35

a year. For this coverage.

30:38

And if something went

30:40

really medically wrong with

30:42

your dog, what coverage are they

30:44

actually going to provide? It

30:46

may be that you're you're

30:48

buying false peace of

30:50

mind. And then when the reality hits,

30:53

you don't have something that's useful.

30:55

So I think you rely

30:57

on the veterinarian and

31:00

the veterinarians experience with the different

31:02

policies and companies

31:04

to decide whether you maintain

31:06

a policy going forward or

31:09

that twenty five hundred dollars each

31:11

year, you put into a

31:13

savings account for medical

31:15

bills for your twelve year

31:17

old dog. And I

31:19

wish long and healthy life

31:21

to your twelve year old.

31:23

And I want to tell you, I truly

31:26

appreciate you tuning in today to our

31:28

podcast and being a part of our

31:30

team. You know, my thing is

31:33

knowledge is power. And

31:35

we all help each other in every

31:37

way we can provide

31:40

information to you that you

31:42

can trust I hope gives you the

31:44

confidence to move forward with

31:46

your life with more control and

31:49

more money in your wallet as

31:51

you do move forward. And when I

31:53

say part of our team, what do I mean?

31:56

We have so many different ways where

31:58

we all interact with each other.

32:01

With all the various things we

32:03

offer under team. Clark,

32:05

and you help each other

32:08

as

32:08

well. CRISSA, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT PEOPLE ARE

32:10

HELPING EACH OTHER RIGHT NOW? Reporter: IN OUR COMMUNITY

32:12

at COMMUNITY dot CLARC dot COME, IN

32:14

OUR FACEBOOK GROUPS, YOU

32:16

CAN LOOK UP Clark Howard on

32:19

Facebook. We've got Facebook,

32:21

Instagram, YouTube, and the

32:23

YouTube channel. You can see lots of clips and

32:25

videos as Guelph and Clark in addition to the

32:27

podcast. That can be very

32:29

helpful to you. And then, of course,

32:31

clark dot com kark deals dot com as a whole.

32:33

We're trying to help you in our consumer action center,

32:35

of course, team Clark Howard, answering your

32:37

questions Monday through Friday, and you can

32:39

find their phone number and their hours at dot

32:41

com slash CAC for consumer

32:43

action center. Consumer action center

32:45

has been with us thirty years

32:48

and it is a wonderful

32:50

opportunity for you to get, free one

32:52

on one advice and guidance.

32:54

And so everything we

32:57

do is here to be of service to

32:59

you, and I hope you found

33:01

today's podcast to be of

33:03

service to you. Have

33:05

a great one.