01.15.25 A Plan For Credit Card Debt / Direct & Free Tax Filing

Summary

The Clark Howard Podcast: A Plan For Credit Card Debt & Direct & Free Tax Filing
Episode Released on January 15, 2025

In this episode of The Clark Howard Podcast, host Clark Howard delves into strategies for managing credit card debt and offers invaluable guidance on navigating the current tax filing landscape. Interwoven with listener questions, Clark provides actionable advice to empower individuals in making informed financial decisions.

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1. Tackling Credit Card Debt

[01:04] Clark Howard opens the discussion by addressing the common predicament many Americans face with lingering credit card debt from holiday spending. He emphasizes the importance of confronting and organizing one’s financial obligations to pave the way toward financial freedom.

"If you get E statements and you have a printer, I want you to print out those bills... write down what you owe on each card and what the interest rate is on it."
— Clark Howard

Key Strategies Discussed:

• Creating a Debt Map: Clark advises listeners to document all credit card balances and their respective interest rates. This foundational step is crucial for devising an effective repayment plan.

• Debt Avalanche Method: Prioritize paying minimum payments on lower-interest cards while directing any additional funds toward the card with the highest interest rate. This approach minimizes the total interest paid over time.

• 10-Month Challenge: Aim to eliminate holiday-related credit card debt within ten months, targeting completion before the next holiday season. Clark acknowledges that while this timeframe may be ambitious, it serves as a motivational goal.

• Bi-Weekly Payments: To combat daily interest calculations, making payments every two weeks instead of monthly can reduce the overall interest accrued, accelerating debt repayment.

"Nobody ever got rich paying Visa or MasterCard 25% interest? Not a chance."
— Clark Howard

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2. Listener Bruce’s Ticket Refund Dilemma

[07:53] Listener Bruce from South Carolina shares his frustration over losing $2,000 due to a terrorist attack that forced him and friends to abandon their trip to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Clark’s Response:

• Refund Challenges: Clark explains that Ticketmaster offered refunds only within a narrow window when the game was rescheduled. Given the circumstances, obtaining a refund outside this window is unlikely.

• Financial Impact: Emphasizes the difficulty of recovering funds in such unforeseen and tragic events, highlighting the importance of understanding refund policies beforehand.

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3. Fidelity’s Deposit Delays and Fraud Risks

[10:22] Listener Corey from New York raises concerns about Fidelity holding deposits for extended periods, potentially implicating customers in fraudulent activities orchestrated by criminal rings.

Clark’s Explanation:

• Fraud Exploitation: Criminals exploit Fidelity’s delayed clearing processes to steal funds from unsuspecting customers, leaving Fidelity liable to reimburse impacted clients.

• System Vulnerabilities: Highlights systemic issues within U.S. banking that facilitate such frauds, contrasting with stronger safeguards in other developed countries.

"There's a specific reason in the United States that we have these kind of frauds taking place that don't happen in any other developed country. And it's the fault of the giant banks in the United States."
— Clark Howard

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4. Listener Mike’s Home and Retirement Strategy

[14:43] Listener Mike from Florida seeks advice on balancing the need for a larger home to accommodate family needs with maintaining retirement savings and managing mortgage debt.

Clark’s Recommendations:

• Option 2 & 3 Preferred: Suggests either withdrawing retirement funds to purchase a larger home mortgage-free, despite tax implications, or selling the current home, using equity for a down payment on a new property while renting out the existing one.

• Tax Considerations: Warns about the tax burdens associated with early retirement fund withdrawals and advises planning accordingly.

• Direct Deposit for Tax Refunds: Reinforces the earlier advice on setting up direct deposit to avoid theft and ensure timely receipt of refunds.

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5. Navigating Tax Filing with IRS Direct File

[22:14] Clark Howard transitions to tax season, offering insights into the IRS's Direct File program, a free and streamlined method for filing simple tax returns electronically.

Highlights:

• Direct File Benefits: Allows taxpayers to file quickly without incurring tax preparer fees, with participation from major states like California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

• Security Measures: Urges listeners to set up direct deposit to receive refunds securely and promptly, cautioning against mailing checks due to increasing instances of mail theft.

"Do not have the IRS send you a check for your refund... set up direct deposit of that refund. Absolutely do."
— Clark Howard

• Eligibility: Notes that the Free File program caters to approximately 90% of taxpayers, excluding the top 10% income earners and those with more complex financial situations, who should seek professional tax assistance.

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6. Listener Beth’s Credit Score Concern

[27:33] Listener Beth from Oregon accidentally requested a credit limit increase, resulting in a significant drop in her Credit Karma score.

Clark’s Advice:

• Temporary Impact: Assures that the credit score will recover over time, especially if no additional credit applications are made.

• Understanding Scores: Explains that Credit Karma scores are estimates and may not reflect the actual FICO score, which could mitigate the perceived damage.

"The application for credit has a temporary effect... your score heal again fairly quickly from that errant credit application."
— Clark Howard

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7. Listener Mike Nebraska’s Return Issue with Walmart

[29:29] Listener Mike from Nebraska encountered a problem where a Christmas gift returned to Walmart was refunded to the original payer’s credit card instead of his wife receiving a gift card or cash.

Clark’s Solution:

• Better Business Bureau Complaint: Recommends filing a complaint with the BBB to escalate the issue to Walmart’s headquarters, increasing the likelihood of a satisfactory resolution.

• Persistence with Retail Giants: Shares a personal anecdote about dealing with Walmart’s customer service inefficiencies, reinforcing the need for formal complaints to effect change.

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8. Listener Chad’s Grocery Savings Challenge in Utah

[32:28] Listener Chad from Utah expresses concern over the absence of Aldi stores after relocating from Florida and seeks alternatives to maintain his grocery savings.

Clark’s Suggestions:

• WinCo Foods Recommendation: Suggests WinCo as a commendable alternative, noting its employee-owned structure and competitive pricing, which, while different from Aldi, still offers significant savings compared to traditional supermarkets.

• Aldi’s Expansion Prospects: Remains hopeful about Aldi’s future entry into the mountain states but acknowledges the current lack of plans.

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Conclusion

Clark Howard wraps up the episode by reiterating the importance of informed financial decisions and encourages listeners to utilize available resources such as Clark.com, ClarkDeals.com, and the Team Clark Consumer Action Center to further empower their financial journeys.

"It's all about your empowerment with knowledge so that you save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off."
— Clark Howard

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This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for individuals grappling with credit card debt, navigating tax filings safely, and handling unexpected financial setbacks. Clark Howard’s practical advice, combined with real-world listener scenarios, offers a roadmap to achieving financial stability and peace of mind.

Transcript

[Apple Marketing Team]

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[Clark Howard]

It'S my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show. You know our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you so you make better financial decisions in your life. So many Americans are, well, maybe you're feeling upset about some of the spending decisions you made over the Christmas shopping season. Credit card bills have been coming staring you in the face in your email and basket or physical mail and you're like what am I going to do? We're going to talk about that. Also, something else is rolling in and that's your tax documents. I got some info for you about this year is the easiest year ever, ever for you to file your taxes for free. I'm going to fill you in on all that. Okay? So I talked back in November about how a survey showed that nearly half of people is they were in the midst of Black Friday month, November, the generally the best month for Christmas bargains that nearly half of people admitted they still owed credit card balances. This was in November, still owed credit card balances from the Christmas before. So here we are now in January you got these bills coming in and the question is, do you want to be part of the nearly half of people who are still going to be paying for Christmas from last month when we hit Christmas season in November of 25. And of course the answer is no, you don't want to be doing it. And then you're looking at these bills, you're opening up and you're like wow, wow, I just got to think about something else. But instead I want you to face facts. I Don't know how many credit cards you used for your Christmas shopping. But I actually want you, if you get E statements and you have a printer, I want you to print out those bills. If you get paper statements, you got them. If you don't have a printer, I want you to take. This is so analog. I want you to take pen and paper and write down what you owe on each card and what the interest rate is on it. But you've got bills that are hanging over you from last month. If you will do what I'm asking you to do. What you're starting to do is you're drawing your map. You know, if you've got a financial thing and you don't have a map, you're never going to get there. You're just going to be able to turn away. But if you will write down all those balances and the bills may not be just from Christmas, they could be from who knows what. But I want you to have a plan. I've got a simple one. There are other simple ones, but in the case of Christmas, if you look at what you owe from Christmas 24 and you see those bills, I want you to come up with a plan to pay them off over the next 10 months before you hit the shopping cycle for Christmas 25, 10 month cycle. Now, I may be depending on how much debt you have on those cards. What I'm asking you may be not realistic, but this is the map I want you to be thinking of. I want you to have a measurable period of time, the next 300 days. And in those 300 days I want you to pay on those cards in the following way. Remember I said I want you to write down what the interest rate is on each of the cards. And in Clark School, which is different maybe than some other things you'll hear. I want you to pay the minimums. If you're running balances on multiple cars. I want you to pay the minimums on cards with the lower interest rates and throw every dollar you can at the card with the highest interest rate. I want you to get that one out regardless what the balance is. I want you to get that one paid off and then you move to the next highest interest rate when you got that one paid off and you pay the minimums towards everything else. But throw every dollar you can at the one with the next highest rate and work them down one by one. But then this is where the real issue comes. When you add up what those balances are, even forgetting the interest, divide that amount 10 what are you going to have to pay per month? Not charging another dollar to any of those cards and ignoring the interest for a minute. What would you have to pay just to tackle that principle over the next 10 months? Is that realistic? What do you change and how you spend money right now? So you can take my 10 payment challenge or 10 month challenge now, I prefer not 10 monthly payments. If you're a longtime listener or viewer, you know that interest is calculated on credit cards daily. So paying against cards on a regular schedule more frequently, at least every two weeks you're sending in the payment to the card that has the highest interest rate. Every day you get money to them sooner is a day. There's never another cent of interest on the amount that you pay off in that two week cycle. Depending on how heavy your debt burden is, what causes all the rest? The 10 month challenge may not be realistic. So if that amount is too large, the point still is you come up with a cycle that will work for you. What is that monthly amount you can afford to throw at these, that you stay methodical and stay on task, that you're able to wipe out your credit card bills. Nobody ever got rich paying Visa or MasterCard 25% interest? Not a chance. I used to say 18, but now the average rate seems to be in the mid-20s. So I want you to face it, I want you to write it down and I want you to resolve. You're going to make those payments and tackle that debt. And if you have another suggestion, I'd love to hear it from you. Krista.

[Listener/Caller]

Okay, we're going to start out with this question from Bruce in South Carolina. My wife and four other friends from South Carolina and Atlanta made the trek to New Orleans to attend the Sugar Bowl. We had to abandon the city for safety after the terrorist attack and didn't have the opportunity to attend the game. We're out $2,000 for tickets and are curious if you have any suggestions or leverage for getting replacement compensation. I'm trying to investigate if there is a terrorism clause on my credit card that can get the charges reversed. But when they canceled the game and the FBI told us to stay off the street and that there were potentially other terrorists involved, we left town as quickly as we could. Understandable. I know for a fact there are a lot of other Georgia fans like us that had to leave town in an abundance of caution.

[Clark Howard]

So first of all, that was such an ugly, tragic terrorist attack that you were in New Orleans for. Second, Ticketmaster, who I trash all the time, did offer after the terrorist attack. And the game was rescheduled. The Sugar bowl was rescheduled to the next night. I guess it was next afternoon.

[Listener/Caller]

Yep.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, they were going to play at 4 the next afternoon. Offered a window that with the postponement, you could request a full refund. That postponement. Refund ended when the kickoff happened that following day. And I know all you were doing was trying to get out of town and be safe. Last thing you were thinking about was looking to see what the refund policy was. Was to my knowledge, there is no procedure of any kind that I'm aware of that at this point will get you back your $2,000. And it's just one of those horrific events where everybody is hurt financially, emotionally. And I feel so bad for the people that were killed, their families and the people that were injured in the terrorist attack. As far as your money, I'm afraid it's gone. So many people left when you did that. Tickets to the game were selling, I think leading up to kickoff for like 10 bucks. 15, 20, 25 dollars that people had spent so much money on because so many people were like, I'm out of here.

[Listener/Caller]

Sure. Okay. Several people wrote into us about this. Fidelity holding deposits for an extraordinary amount of time. This one, Corey in New York sent us an excerpt and I'm just going to read part of it from a chat with a rep at Fidelity. And the rep said, thank you for your patience. I see you have some funds that haven't been fully collected in your individual account. This is for an hsa. In Corey's case, those funds are not yet available for withdrawal, but they are available for purchases within Fidelity. The deposit from December 30th will be fully available for trades and withdrawals on 123.

[Clark Howard]

Okay, think about that. How long a period of time Fidelity is holding the money?

[Listener/Caller]

Yep. You can view in. The cash will be available on your balances page. Due to recent industry wide issues, our timeline for cash clearing has increased. For checks and EFE contribution, EFT contributions transfer initiated by Fidelity. Typically, this is not the case and we appreciate your patience. For faster cash clearing, we recommend using either a wire or an EFT initiated at your bank. A wire will clear the same day and an EFT initiated at a bank will clear within one to three business days.

[Clark Howard]

Okay, so this first came on my radar, I think in October. Did I address it on the.

[Listener/Caller]

Yes. No.

[Clark Howard]

All right.

[Listener/Caller]

Not that I remember because I know.

[Clark Howard]

That I've addressed it. May have been on television. So here's what's Going on. Somehow criminal ring of rings has figured out a procedure to deposit money into Fidelity Normal Clearing, then take that money out. And then only later, the person whose bank account the money was stolen from realizes, hey, where's all my money? And then Fidelity gets left holding the bag because the EFT that was set up inside the person's Fidelity account was to an account of someone else other than the person whose account it actually was. And then they steal the money. So let's think of it. This is very complicated. So I'm going to try to give simplest explanation I can. Let's say you establish an account under false id, okay? And you put a little bit of money in there and then you go into somebody else's account, you steal money from it through an EFT that you arrange through Fidelity. That money goes into Fidelity, you wait for it to clear, and then you do a withdrawal of not your own money, but somebody else's money. So Fidelity has a weak link in their system because I've not heard of any other big financial houses being affected this way. And this has been going on month after month after month. They're trying to batten the hatches and prevent the fraudsters from being able to steal money that Fidelity ends up having to make good to the real customer of whatever bank that EFT came out of. So the crook is the person who under false ID or whatever, opens an account at Fidelity and then buys their time and steals money from someone else that then Fidelity has to make good. So what Fidelity is doing is they're allowing a really long time. Basically it's three full banking weeks for these accounts to be looked at as good because they figure most people in three weeks are going to notice three full weeks somebody stole money out of their account, not at Fidelity.

[Listener/Caller]

Just seems like there needs to be a better way. Oh yeah, that's crazy.

[Clark Howard]

Well, I mean, that's the problem in the United States and gosh, do I have to get into Fed now?

[Listener/Caller]

No, no, no.

[Clark Howard]

There's a specific. All I'm going to say is there's a specific reason in the United States that we have these kind of frauds taking place that don't happen in any other developed country. And it's the fault of the giant banks in the United States.

[Listener/Caller]

And you have done segments on that.

[Clark Howard]

So you can search enough about that.

[Listener/Caller]

You could search on clark.com Mike in Florida says, My wife and I are 50 and 52, respectively. I currently have approximately $1 million in savings through the Florida retirement system.

[Clark Howard]

Fantastic.

[Listener/Caller]

As a retired Law enforcement officer.

[Clark Howard]

Thank you for your service.

[Listener/Caller]

I can withdraw funds without penalties. In my current new career, I save roughly 10% of my salary split between a Roth IRA and an employer sponsored 401k. My wife saves about 10% of her salary with Vanguard and is actively contributing to her own retirement account. We're facing a housing dilemma. Our current home has about 350,000 in equity at a 3.5% mortgage. But we need a larger house. We have an adult daughter with disabilities, an adult son who is not yet financially independent.

[Clark Howard]

But.

[Listener/Caller]

But the real problem is our aging parents who will need to live with us very soon. Thus the need for more space in bedrooms. Here are the options we're considering. 1. Sell our current house. Use the equity as a down payment for a larger home and finance the rest. That would bring us to our monthly limit and expenses though. 2. Withdraw $350,000 from my FRS account, the Florida Retirement Savings Account. Take the tax hit and rent out our current house for additional income while purchasing the new home. Or 3 seller current house, use the $350,000 in equity as a down payment. Also withdraw 350,000 from the retirement account and be mortgage free. Which door do you choose? Clark Howard?

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, this is, this is really complicated. I'm trying to think if there's something. These are a lot of different difficult options because the advantage of not selling your current home is your balance on the mortgage is pretty low. The remaining balance is only paying a 3.5% mortgage, is that three and a half. And today mortgage rates are 7%. So being able to keep that, if you're willing to be a landlord and it's a manageable thing for you to be a landlord is very appealing. That's why so many people are doing whatever they can to hold onto a home with a very low mortgage because that's not going to be repeated. That very low mortgage cycle, then that brings up the problem that you're allowed to pull out the 350 that you are continuing to build up retirement money with what you're contributing at your new career. But you're then going to have to pay tax at your current tax rate on $350,000. And you can't borrow against the FRS because you're no longer working there. So you could do the third option, give up the potential income you would get from having that home with the very, very low mortgage balance versus the value and the very low interest rate. If you ask me, I vote for 2 or for 3. Like the idea of you at this point in your life being mortgage debt free and your 50s, you're able to have a house that works for your expanded family, including parents and adult children, and then you don't have to worry about sweating the payment. The first option does not work because it puts you under too much financial stress. But then you are going to have to pay taxes on the withdrawal of that money. No penalty, but you're going to have to pay taxes and you're going to have to prepare for that as well. How you're going to come up with the money for the taxes. So this does not have a perfect answer, but in my book, being a landlord and buying the other property or just giving up that three and a half percent and moving on with the also the 350 withdrawn from the retirement account. Those are the options that I prefer. But remember the taxes. And speaking of taxes, we're right at the point that the earliest filers are going to start filing once you know some stuff about this tax season that's very important for your wallet At Schwab.

[Apple Marketing Team]

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[Don McDonald]

McDonald from the Talking Real Money podcast. Simple, honest financial advice is hard to find because there are too many people in the financial services industry and even the media who will do or say anything to get your money. Well, for decades, my co host Tom and I have been trying to help people better manage money on the radio, TV and in our podcasts. About five times a week we share simple, low cost advice on building the wealth you need to enjoy a better future without making your broker richer. And ironically, you broker Listening to Talking Real Money could not be easier because you're already listening to a podcast. Just search for Talking Real Money on your podcast service or ask your smart speaker. Give us a try. You have absolutely nothing to lose except a few minutes of time and you might just discover something to help you enjoy a more prosperous and secure future along with a simpler present. Just visit talkingrealmoney.com or search for Talking Real Money in this podcast service. It's that easy.

[Apple Marketing Team]

If you love iPhone, you'll love Apple Card. It comes with the privacy and security you expect from Apple. Plus you earn up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase, which can automatically earn interest when you open a High Yield Savings account through Apple Card. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app subject to credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility. Apple Card and Savings by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch Member FDIC terms and [e-mail] it's tax season.

[Clark Howard]

Kicking off now, and for people that are expecting a refund, you're excited. It's tax season for people like me who perma owe money. Well, this isn't such an exciting time, but for early filers there's a few things I want you to be aware of that having to pay for tax prep if you have a pretty simple tax return is absolutely not necessary this tax season. A year ago I talked about a new IRS program that was in a pilot phase called Direct File, and with Direct File you're able to [e-mail] you set up an account. The IRS already has your W2s and 1099s and all that. And it's an ultra quick process to prepare and file your tax return for free. And a bunch of states participate in it as well. The important thing for you to know is that the four biggest states, which I guess are California, Texas, Florida, New York, are all participants in Direct File. And there are a bunch of other states accounting for about half the states in the country that are part of Direct File. So you set up the account, you do your return, which is amazingly quick and easy, and then you submit. We were the last country in the developed world to offer something like what we call Direct File here. And it's something that a lot of Americans are afraid of because you don't trust the government. But the process is so transparent. I would tell you that I would not worry about that. Here's what I would worry about. Do not have the IRS send you a check for your refund. The number of these checks that are being swiped in the mail is, is so large. And then the time to get your refund reissued can be as long as more than a year. So you want to set up direct deposit of that refund. Absolutely do. Direct deposit. It's really easy to set up. Means the money will not be intercepted on its way from you doing the Direct File into your account. Now, if you don't like the idea, Direct File, the Free File program, is still alive and well. Free file allows about 90 something percent of taxpayers to use free software from major tax preparation firms. And so if you go to irs.gov you'll see the Direct File link, you'll see the Free File link, and then you choose which software you want to use. Now, who's not eligible? People make a lot of money. So the top 10% of income earners in the country approximately are not eligible. But who shouldn't be using this stuff anyway? Anybody who owns his or her own business, people who make quite a bit of money anyway, should be looking at hiring a tax professional, either a CPA who does tax or an enrolled agent. It would be a bad decision if you've got complicated finances for you to do your return yourself electronically. That's when I really like for you to have professional tax help. Again, you own your own business, you're an entrepreneurial type. You're usually used to fending for yourself, doing things yourself. The complications of the tax code and the benefits available to you as a business owner make it a better idea for you to have that professional help. And if you've got a complicated family, you got a Lot of money coming in, whatever. Again, you want that professional help, not a simple software package. My advice and please take to heart what I said about no check coming in the mail for you from the irs. The criminals are too good. It's breaking into those boxes and stealing the mail. So we were in New York between Christmas and New Year's, and I'm walking down a street in Manhattan and there's one of those boxes that's not the one you put mail in, but the one that the postal carriers put mail in to be picked up later, busted wide open, sitting there with the door open, all the mail out of it gone. And that we don't have a secure system to deal with the criminal element that stealing the mail at various processes of its collection, sorting and being sent out for delivery. And that's why sending any kind of money through the mail is not safe anymore.

[Listener/Caller]

Okay, Beth in Oregon says, I did a lame blunder. I had logged into a credit card account to transfer to a 0% interest rate for 12 months. I accidentally clicked request an increase. I don't need an increase. And I still don't know how I did it. Anyway, I received in the mail letter stating I was denied the increase, blah, blah, blah. And it didn't mean anything because again, I accidentally clicked on the request. Until today. I got an email from Credit Karma that says there was a change in my score. I opened it expecting good news because of the transfer of some credit card balances to another card. But to my horror, my credit had dropped 29 points. I am devastated. I worked very hard for an excellent credit score. And just like that, poof. All because of the credit increase. By the way, the card has $15,000 available. My question is, is there anything I can do to get it taken off and what are my options?

[Clark Howard]

Okay, so Beth, don't worry too much. The application for credit has a temporary effect on how you're doing. And if your credit score, you've worked hard, you've got a decent credit score, and you're not applying for any new credit over the next couple of months, you'll see that score heal again. Also, it was a credit Karma score. Yes, Credit Karma scores are approximations of your credit. And it's not the same as a real FICO score. Fact. Some people refer to those as fake O scores that you see from Credit Karma. Many of the credit cards you have just don't click on an application for anything. Have a thing there where you can see your actual FICO score for free. Your FICO score may not have been impacted by as large an amount as 29 points. So I would not worry too much. I think you're going to be okay. Fairly quickly from that errant credit application.

[Listener/Caller]

Mike Nebraska says, my wife received a Christmas gift purchased at a local Walmart. She returned the gift to the store with a receipt and asked the customer service person to not return the money to the original purchaser's credit card, but rather return the balance as either cash or a gift card.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, boy. I know where this is going.

[Listener/Caller]

Yeah. So just kind of summarizing here, the, the cashier accidentally put it back on the original form of payment. Two managers came to a customer service and both the customer service person told them what had happened. They both said that there was nothing they could do.

[Clark Howard]

So now the person who was generous enough to give your wife the gift knows she didn't like it and they have the money back. Wow.

[Listener/Caller]

And they're wondering if there's anything they could do. And he says, I feel like If I took $25 of product and left the store, Walmart could prosecute me for stealing. But they took her gift and returned the money to someone else. I feel like that's stealing as well. What can I do to resolve this matter? Hopefully this can help other listeners.

[Clark Howard]

Okay, so there's, with Walmart's bureaucracy, there's no way through normal channels that they're going to make this right. And the individual who, who spent the money originally has it back. So their gift to your wife ended up being no cost. Your wife's out of the money and the gift. So what I would do is do a complaint about Walmart with the Better Business Bureau. It'll then go to Walmart headquarters where people deal with Better Business Bureau complaints. Your complaint is so simple. You didn't say, didn't say how much?

[Listener/Caller]

$25?

[Clark Howard]

No, I thought 25. Was that just the example? Was it a 25 gift?

[Listener/Caller]

That's what it seems like they're saying. Okay.

[Clark Howard]

I mean, Walmart, when you file the complaint, and let's say it is $25, Walmart will give your wife some kind of gift card or something like that, which is what she wanted in the first place, they'll just absorb it, but through regular channels, they're not going to do anything. And it's just a fact that they are a very busy organization. They deal with so many unusual situations and they're incapable of dealing with unusual circumstances. Remember the thing when I ordered a bike from Walmart.com I got the bike and then they never charged me for it and I kept trying to get Walmart to charge me for the bike and they had no procedure after their mistake to charge me for the bike. And do you remember what I did with that?

[Listener/Caller]

You donated?

[Clark Howard]

I donated the money because I just didn't feel right having money I wasn't supposed to have. Let me hear back. If you file the Better Business Bureau complaint, keep the story short with the bbb. It'll be read also by the Walmart people who deal with the BBB complaints. I expect you'll get a satisfactory resolution.

[Listener/Caller]

Chad in Utah says we've enjoyed shopping at aldi and saving 40% on groceries per your great advice. However, we recently moved from Florida to Utah where sadly there are no Aldi's. What am I to do now to keep up our grocery bill in check? People say an alternative here is WinCo. Do you know about them and do you have any knowledge or guesses as to when Aldi might expand to Utah? Thanks Clark for all you do. You saved us a lot of money.

[Clark Howard]

So somebody with Aldi hates the mountain states because Aldi is not in most of the mountain states and there's nothing I've seen about when they're going to start coming into the mountain states. So winco Foods that your new neighbors have been telling you about is a fantastic store. It is employee owned, I think in total. And the stores are really, really different than an Aldi. They're big stores, even bigger than the typical supermarket. The prices are very good in a Winco. I would say they are completely different than Aldi. But I'd say that when you're looking to save money, you won't save as much as you will at Aldi, but you'll save a lot more than you would at a traditional supermarket in Utah. So I think you can follow your neighbor's advice, go try WinCo Foods and I bet you'll be really, really happy. And someday Aldi will stop dissing the mountain states and will come in and open stores. They're opening what, 800 new stores and 25 or some number like that. I want to thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast. I hope that you've heard something, learned something that's useful to you in your life. If you watch the YouTube show, I hope you enjoy it however it is you gather information from us, whether it's our newsletters, our websites. Clark.com clarkdeals.com you got great advice from our Team Clark Consumer Action center, which of course is free to get whatever it is, it's all about your empowerment with knowledge so that you save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. Have a great rest of your day.