01.28.26 Bypass Finfluencers / Can You Spot A Scam?

Summary

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The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode: 01.28.26 – Bypass Finfluencers / Can You Spot A Scam?
Date: January 28, 2026
Host: Clark Howard

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Clark Howard is on a mission to help listeners shield themselves from unreliable financial advice—especially from social media "finfluencers"—and from the steady stream of clever new scams separating people from their money. Through real listener questions and personal anecdotes, Clark provides actionable tips for long-term investing, offers clear warnings on the latest scam tactics, and discusses shifting trends in consumer finance, from credit cards to airline loyalty. As always, the goal is to help listeners save more, spend less, and avoid ripoffs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Blind Spots of Social Media Financial Advice — "Finfluencers"

• Clark’s Concern: Young adults (teens/20s) are especially susceptible to financial misinformation on social media.
• Washington Post Report: Nearly 2/3 of young adults trust investment advice they see on social platforms. Clark considers this dangerous, since "a lot of what passes as advice is actually really sales pitches." (01:32)
• Motivations and Shortcomings:
  • Much of the advice is not impartial and is often "pay for play."
  • Short, viral content (e.g., on TikTok) can't convey the nuance or strategy needed for sound investing.
• Clark's Approach to Young Investors:
  • Cites a conversation with an enthusiastic 22-year-old, showing how difficult it is for young people to embrace long-term compounding:

    "She said to me, well, I want to be rich now… My son thinks long-term investing is holding a stock for a few weeks." (04:19)

  • Emphasizes the power of habits and "getting rich slowly" through regular, diversified, low-cost investments (e.g., index funds).
• Advice: Always question the agenda of someone giving you financial tips, particularly online:

  "You always got to really suss out what's the hidden agenda here. Is somebody trying to sell me something?" (05:40)

• Actionable Resources:
  • Start with websites like Investopedia or Clark.com for unbiased, in-depth knowledge.

2. Smart Investing Starts with Diversification and Education

• Listener Question (Kate, age 14): Starting to invest with $3,500 in savings—how to begin? (09:31)
• Clark’s Recommendation:
  • Open a Fidelity Youth Investment Account:

    "The account's free. You need $1 to open it. You can easily add money regularly... The beauty of going into the Fidelity Zero funds is Fidelity absorbs all the costs." (11:18)

  • Start with a total stock market index fund for broad diversification.
• On Financial Aid: Clark notes that assets in a minor’s own name can affect college aid eligibility, but learning to invest still has huge long-term benefits.
• Roth IRA for Young Workers:
  • If you have earned income, open a Roth IRA with a simple target retirement fund.

3. How to Research Individual Stocks – Beyond Brokerage Tools

• Listener Question (Bob, Georgia): Safely getting more granular with stocks; what tools to use? (12:54)
• Clark’s Tools of Choice:
  • Yahoo Finance for general company research
  • Stock Analysis (website): For in-depth, tabulated information
  • Use Investopedia to decode unfamiliar terms.
• Clark’s Perspective: Be wary of excitement over research tools, focus on dry fundamentals (like reading company financials).

4. Gifting & Family: When Adult Children Don’t Help Aging Parents

• Listener Letter (Anonymous, NC): Retired, struggling financially, while children give generously to charities but not their own parent; is that right? (14:25)
• Clark’s Reflection:

  "I hear in your words... the pain that you feel that your adult children don't appreciate you... There are different cultures and different families..." (15:36)

  • Recommends a heartfelt, non-confrontational conversation with adult children, simply stating the need without guilt or comparison.
  • Clark shares a favorite saying:

    "One parent could take care of 10 children, but 10 children can't take care of one parent." (16:51)

5. Scams: Evolving Tactics and How to Protect Yourself

[START: 21:12]

• New Wave of Scams:
  • “Pretexting”: Criminals pretending to be from Microsoft, your bank, government, or brokerage, aiming to trick you into giving up personal information.
  • The rise in sophistication: Criminals know how to target those with means (multiple homes, high-credit balances).
  • Bank Response: Victims rarely get money back, since “you gave them the information.”
• Prevention Rules:
  • Never answer unrecognized calls, even if the caller ID matches your financial institution.

    "I don't know who's calling. I don't answer that call, period." (26:50)

  • Never call back numbers from voicemails claiming bank/fraud issues. Instead, sign directly into your own account for verification.
• Scam Anatomy: The formula includes urgency, false authority, and pressure to act fast, leading to self-sabotage.
• Clark’s Warning:

  "You’re the one who has to be the police officer, because law enforcement cannot get your money back." (27:57)

• Memorable Example (New York Times): Retired lawyer lost $85,000 after 150 minutes of talking with a criminal posing as Microsoft support. The bank refused reimbursement. (25:50)

6. Specific Modern Scams & Consumer Issues

• Student Loan Impersonation (Kathleen, Alabama):
  • Fraudster secured a graduate loan in her daughter’s name and pocketed the funds. Even with credit freezes, government loans don’t always vet credit.
  • Clark’s Advice: Once resolved, keep documentation for life, as collection attempts can resurface years later. (29:25)
• Credit Card Benefits & Retention Offers:
  • Listener feedback shows card issuers (like Chase) sometimes offer substantial fee reductions or credits if you call to cancel; worth trying before dropping a pricey card. (34:00)
  • American Express Platinum and other "premium" cards now come loaded with credits—often for things you'll rarely use.
• Changing Airline Loyalty:
  • Southwest Airlines' transformation disappoints Clark (“the heart and everything stabbed you in the heart” (35:15)). He's now a “free agent” searching for best airfares, not loyalty.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Social Media Advice:

  "It's possible that you're going to find something that's really decent in terms of advice on social media. But the real problem here is a lot of what passes as advice is actually really sales pitches." – Clark Howard (01:55)

• On Financial Habits:

  "You get rich through habits. Habits are key. One step at a time." – Clark Howard (05:02)

• On Investing Research:

  "Investigating a company, a stock involves something very dry and dull and boring. Reading their financials, understanding what you're reading..." – Clark Howard (07:50)

• On Family Gifting:

  "My late father used to say one parent could take care of 10 children, but 10 children can't take care of one parent." – Clark Howard (16:51)

• On Scam Prevention:

  "I don't know who's calling. I don't answer that call, period." – Clark Howard (26:50)

• On Being Your Own Financial Defender:

  "You're the one who has to be the police officer because law enforcement cannot get your money back." – Clark Howard (27:57)

• On Loyalty Programs (regarding Southwest Airlines):

  "First there's... what is it? Anger, denial, acceptance. I've reached acceptance that the Southwest that I loved no longer exists." – Clark Howard (35:15)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Social Media "Finfluencers" & Investing Mindset: 00:36 – 07:20
• Guidance for Young Investors (Fidelity Youth Account, Roth IRA): 09:31 – 12:54
• Tools for Individual Stock Research: 12:54 – 14:25
• Family and Financial Support Dynamics: 14:25 – 18:30
• Scam Awareness & Prevention: 21:12 – 29:25
• Student Loan Identity Theft & Documentation Advice: 29:25 – 31:16
• Credit Card Retention Offers/Annual Fee Discussion: 34:00 – 36:00
• Changing Airline Loyalty and the End of an Era: 36:20 – 39:00

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Tone and Style

The episode features Clark’s signature blend of candid advice, gentle humor, and real-life examples. The approachability and modest self-deprecation ("I am boring. Yes, I am. I'm the most dull man alive." – 10:35) make complex topics accessible, while the steady focus is always on empowering listeners against both bad advice and outright ripoffs.

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Whether you’re new to investing, worried about scams, or just want to make smarter day-to-day money decisions, this episode is packed with straightforward advice, relatable stories, and a clear path to greater financial security.

Transcript

[A]

This message is brought to you by Apple Card Isn't it time you earn daily cash back on your everyday purchases? Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and [e-mail] this message is brought to you by Apple Card. Isn't it time you earn daily cash back on your everyday purchases? Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at applecard.com.

[B]

I'm so glad you're with us here on the Clark Howard show where our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life. Just last week I heard from a couple in their twenties that's doing everything right with their money. You know, I wish that was the case for everyone, but of course that's not going to be. And I'm particularly concerned about people in their teens and 20s taking advice from the wrong people. I want to tell you what I'm worried about in that area and also I have a warning for you about a couple of scams that are separating so many people from their money. So Washington Post had a story that just blew my mind, but just under 2/3 of young adults trust investing advice that they see on social media. Now come on, it's possible that you're going to find something that's really decent in terms of advice on social media. But the real problem here is a lot of what passes as advice is actually really sales pitches. And you got the finfluencers earning a living seeming to give advice but touting different organizations or investments that are pay for play. They're making money by saying hey, you should really do this. Also, short pithy kind of things as an example on TikTok are generally not going to go into enough depth for a real understanding of the overall picture of having Investing is not about some hot tip and buying this or selling that or doing this other thing or playing options. Being a smart investor is about thinking the waterfront. What are you trying to accomplish? What are the goals here? And I can't get out of my mind a conversation I had with a very enthusiastic 22 year old woman. I was talking to her about. She said well how am I going to get wealthy? I said well I'll give you some ideas of things. And I explained what a Roth IRA was. She wasn't familiar with it. And I talked about how it's all about getting rich slowly. And I had her on her phone, pull up calculator to see, you know, if you put this much away every week because I asked when she got paid, she got paid weekly. So you put these many dollars away weekly, look how much you're going to have in 30 years and 40 years from now. And so think about for her, 22, I'm talking about when she's in her early 50s, when she's in her 60s. And she said to me, well, I want to be rich now. And then it made me think of my son who has an investment account, he's 20. And Grant thinks long term investing is holding a stock for a few weeks. I mean, it's a hard thing to really get people when they're new to investing to think about it as a long term play. That is not a tactic, it's a strategy and it's a goal you're trying to achieve over time. It's something that I've had a really hard time with because of all the emphasis now on social media. And you see it on TV as well for online gambling that is crazy popular with people in their teens and twenties, especially young guys. It's kind of morphed. And I saw something where the CEO of Charles Schwab was talking about how it's really hard to explain that gambling is in a completely different thing than investing. But in a lot of people's minds in their 20s, they're the same thing. And so how do you get wealthy? Unless you inherit or you have your own business or you win some crazy lottery thing, which the odds are much higher, you're going to get hit by lightning. You get rich through habits. Habits are key. One step at a time. And you pay close attention to being diversified and that you go into things that have extremely low costs or like with fidelity, zero funds, no cost. So be careful where you're getting advice and always. This is so terrible for me to say. It sounds cynical, but it's being protective. You always got to really suss out what's the hidden agenda here. Is somebody trying to sell me something? I mean, sometimes for people that are older, it's clear as day you get one of those mailers and these still come in the physical mail offering you a free dinner for two at some fancy restaurant or steakhouse. Most often they seem to be steakhouses. And you'll hit a certain age, probably early 50s, where you start getting these mailers for the free seminar at the steakhouse and what are they pitching? What's the hidden agenda there? About 99.9% of the time it's a pitch by a commission insurance agent to sell you some kind of crazy insurance product like Universal Life or whatever. Knowledge is your friend. You got to know that where you're getting your knowledge is on the up and up. A lot of it is fundamental reading. Like people ask me, where do you start if you know nothing? I mean, you can always use Investopedia is like your encyclopedia to understand a lot about how Investing works.

[C]

And clark.com.

[B]

Clark.Com. Well, you know, I don't like just saying, hey, go to Clark.

[C]

We do have great info.

[B]

We do. I believe we do. But somebody may find another site. That's really great. And what is investigating a stock mean? Investigating a stock is not being on a message board with people talking about, oh, this, this company is going to do, blah, blah, blah. It's going to be great. In investigating a company, a stock involves something very dry and dull and boring. Reading their financials, understanding what you're reading in the financials and looking at what the trends are with that company and the industry it's in. So somebody who does acute 90 second video and says, this is it, you're going to do all this, that's not being a well researched investor. That's just doing a flip of a coin. Well, if you have coins anymore, do you carry any coins? No, I don't have any coins.

[C]

I have a great coin box where I save up coins.

[B]

I wonder if the time's going to come that somebody would use the expression flip of a coin and people are going to be.

[C]

What is that? I know. My daughter actually was home over the holidays and she lives in an apartment in Boston where she has to go to a coin operated laundry. And so she raided my coin jar for all my quarters.

[B]

Okay, that's funny because my daughter, who lives in Los Angeles, has to go to coin laundry and is always trying to figure out where to scarf up the many, many quarters she needs to do her laundry.

[C]

Yeah, I do want to just brag for a second only because I feel like through all the years of osmosis, my daughter, I mean, she's, she's great. And maybe she would have done this anyway, but she was so excited. She texted me and her dad and said before the end of the year, I just maxed out my Roth IRA for the year and we were so excited for her.

[B]

At 23 years old, is it 23?

[C]

23.

[B]

Wow. Good for her.

[C]

I know. Okay. This one's from a much younger person. Kate in Michigan says, Hi, Clark. I'm 14 and have recently started working. I. I have about $3,500 in savings, and I also have an investment account I'm looking to start investing. What would be a good amount to start with and any other tips on investing, Shout out to my mom, who plays the podcast on the way home from school every day.

[B]

Okay. That's fun.

[C]

Shout out to you, Kate, because a lot of kids might just complain about that. Mine would have.

[B]

I can't tell you, you know, since I, since I was a broadcaster for so many decades, how, how often somebody in their 30s or 40s will come up to me and say, I used to have to listen to you in the carpool.

[C]

Oh, God. I mean, you got a national shout out. On a huge podcast that I listen to. My favorite one armchair expert, the co host said, oh, my dad used to drive me crazy in the car listening to this guy, Clark Howard. I thought he was so boring. And he wouldn't turn it off the radio. I was like.

[B]

And it's true, I am boring.

[C]

No.

[B]

Yes, I am. I'm the most dull man alive. But anyway, 14, I love this because you have this 3, 500 you already saved and you want to invest, and you always start with what's known as the core, and that is building nest egg that is widely diversified. I like the total stock market index, where you own little pieces of thousands of companies. And because you're 14, there's one company that is my favorite for you. They've been the most innovative in this area, and that's Fidelity Investments. That has the youth investment account, where you have pretty significant control over your own account. The account's free. You need $1 to open it. You can easily do that, and you can add money regularly to your investments with them. The beauty of going into the Fidelity Zero funds is Fidelity absorbs all the costs of running the funds. So every dollar you put in goes to work for you. There's no commissions, and the money grows tax free. And because it's a widely diversified index fund and they have several of them in there, and you can read about them online at Fidelity, you were able to spread your money out, have minimal tax, pretty much zero tax each year, and have the money grow. The only problem with you having money in your own name is if you're anticipating going to college and hoping for a lot of financial aid. If you got money in your own name, it actually harms you for financial aid. Worth the risk. Of that because you're learning to invest methodically and build your money for your future.

[C]

And I know, I'm surprised you didn't mention it, but Kate's working, so Roth ira.

[B]

Roth IRA too. Yeah. So a Roth at Fidelity or Vanguard or whatever. And with the Roth thing, you want to go in what's known as a target retirement fund. And we have a good explanation how target retirement funds [e-mail] and how to pick one.

[C]

Bob in Georgia says Clark. I'm interested in purchasing individual stocks. I don't want to play the stock market like a trader, but I want to get a little more granular in my investing beyond something like a mutual fund. What are safe, trustworthy and easy tools that I can use? Is Robinhood a good tool? And what recommendations do you have?

[B]

So if you're investigating individual stocks, you really want to understand the company. I don't get excited about the research tools at any of the brokerage houses, even at my favorite children. One company that's never mentioned anymore that does a good job in this area is Yahoo. Oh, Yahoo Finance does a good job at understanding stocks, industries and the best the rest. But if you want deep dive into individual stocks with great tabs to look at different things about a company you're interested in, stock analysis is one that I really like. It's free. They do a great job with you being able to do deep dives on research. Some of what you'll see when you first start doing it will be a little bit confusing. That's why Investor PD having that in another window. If there's terminology there you don't understand, you can use Investor PD as a guide to understand more what you're seeing when you're deep diving on an individual stock.

[C]

All right. And this is, this is a tough one. This is from Anonymous in North Carolina. I'm retired and struggling in my late 60s. My children make a lot of money and typically donate to churches and other charities upwards of 150 to 250 thousand dollars per year. Yet I'm never gifted the 19,000 that is allowed by the tax law. That was in 2025 because they cannot write it off. What are your thoughts on grown adult children not doing this for their parents who are struggling and living off of Social Security with extreme rising costs for everyday expenses and taxes? You recently did a podcast on adult children being helped by their parents. Nearly $20,000 a year. And I'm wondering if the reverse should be given to parents whose children can afford to help them but do not. I'VE had my own grown children mention that everyone needs to make their own way and each family is responsible for themselves. However, with aging parents it's hard to get jobs and I just feel like it's a slap in the face for adult children who can afford it to not give their parents their money each year. But they, they don't because they can't write it off or feel the parents are still breathing and they should go out and work in their near 70 year age.

[B]

Anonymous I am very, very sorry because I hear in your words that Krista read the pain that you feel that your adult children don't appreciate you aren't grateful for what you did in raising them. No doubt there are different cultures and different families. I mean, another topic we dealt with on this podcast last year, and we've dealt with it before that one time, is how many adult children are taking care of their aging parents and everything involved in that. For whatever reason, your kids feel like you're, you're not worthy when they're making all that money. And so this is a hard conversation for you to have because you're definitely, you feel the hurt. I mean, I hear it in the words, but I think you need to have a conversation with your adult children and say, I need to tell you I'm really struggling here and I'd love it if you could provide me with some financial support. Don't talk about what anybody else does or anything like that. Just, just address it, one human being to another, a parent to a child. My late father used to say one parent could take care of 10 children, but 10 children can't take care of one parent. And it's true that kids often have amnesia about what their parents did for them or do for them. So that's why it's just a straight request. You can't compel them and you don't want it to be out of anger. You just say, I'm really struggling here. And by the way, you know you can give up to this amount of money per year, 19,000 without having to worry about any tax issues for either you or for me. So whatever you could do, I'd really appreciate it and keep it that simple because as soon as any of your hurt comes out, your kids would become defensive. So you just say it as a request and hope that your kids will respond in the way that you need, which is to give you some financial support. And I'm really, really sorry that you feel like your adult children have abandoned you, at least financially. Coming up ahead, I want to talk about scams, which are a steadily moving target, but some things I want to make sure you're completely aware of.

[A]

This message is brought to you by Apple Card Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and [e-mail] we all have moments when we.

[D]

Could have done better like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen so now you look like a tomato.

[B]

Ouch.

[D]

Coulda done better. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market insights, education and human help when you need it. Learn [e-mail].

[E]

Want to know a secret the financial industry hopes you'll never discover? Most of what they sell you has underperformed simple index funds and they know it. I'm Don McDonnell from Talking Real Money. My co host Tom and I have been sharing this kind of inconvenient industry truth for over 30 years. We're not here to make you a sophisticated trader, also known as gambler. We're here to help you understand how an industry designed to enrich itself may be costing you. It's honest, research based advice delivered with enough humor to keep you awake. Since you're already listening to a podcast, you know exactly how this works. Search for Talking Real Money on whatever app you're using right now or visit talkingrealmoney.com you have nothing to lose but a few minutes and maybe a few financial illusions. Search for Talking Real Money Talking Real Money is an educational podcast, hosts or affiliated with a registered investment advisor. For disclosures, visit talkingrealmoney.com this message is.

[A]

Brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and [e-mail] we all have moments when we.

[D]

Could have done better like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen so now you look like a tomato.

[B]

Ouch.

[D]

Coulda done better. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market insights, education and human help when you need it. Learn [e-mail].

[B]

We have a what we call our show meeting where we talk about different things we might discuss on our podcast or our YouTube show or write about on clark.com and when we were meeting most recently doing planning, I was looking at our section that we have when we're talking about topics. The scam section had 11 different scams that were hot or hotter than they'd been right now. And scammers don't need to go rob somebody with a pistol. They don't need to go rob a bank. Instead, it's all about being a con artist. The chances of ever being arrested, the chances of ever even if arrested, getting convicted, the chance of convicted, serving any real time are so small. These are almost crimes without punishment. And this form of theft of money, I guess we could call it modern bank robbery where criminals are specifically targeting you to get to your money. Pretending to be through pretexting Pretending to be from Microsoft has always been the most popular for the crooks where they pretend they're from Microsoft Tech support, Microsoft Security, Microsoft something, and they need to tell you there's been a hack of your computer or whatever and it's, you know what this one's all about. Same thing as the pretexting where somebody pretends to be from your bank or credit union or brokerage. It's all about trying to get access to your accounts and the position of the banks and typically with the brokerages is you are not protected by their fraud systems and your money is not restored even if the person impersonated a bank employee or a brokerage employee or whatever, because you gave them the information they needed to take the money out of your account. There are some simple rules. Remember, the MO is not always the same. It could be somebody pretending to be from the government, somebody pretending to be from a data or computer company like Microsoft, somebody pretending to be from a financial institution. It's all based and starts with pretexting, making you believe there's something they're not. And if you think this couldn't happen to you, let me tell you, the sophistication of people whose money is being stolen through these various scams is usually pretty high because they're going after people who have a good deal of money. And how did they know who to target because of all the data breaches and all the information available online. And if they buy a File with data breach information on a particular person. They already know your Social Security number, they know your address. What's one of the things they look for? Anybody who has more than one residence, Somebody who's got a mountain home and a regular home or a lake home and a regular home, you know, a beach place and a place up north. In those circumstances, you got a bullseye target on you like you can't imagine. Because an automatic lead that is a phenomenal lead for a con artist is anybody. This is almost like another form of success tax. Anybody who's wealthy enough that you got more than one residence, if they know what's on your credit file, and there are lots of ways they find that out, by the way, and they see you've got all these great lines of credit and credit cards and all that, again, you're a target. They, these crooks are not looking for somebody who doesn't have anything. They're looking for people who got big balances and a bank, credit union or brokerage or the bonanzas when they got all three. And what they're trying to get, the method of operation is not the same. There's similar goal to get to your money, but the method of operation is what you've got to be aware of. It starts with the phony phone call or text or email. And then what they're trying to get is the keys to the kingdom, access to the accounts where your money is. New York Times did a story recently where a retired lawyer had $85,000 stolen after a number of conversations with crooks pretending to be from Microsoft trying to protect the retired lawyer who from a data breach, the money gets stolen from his account. His bank says, tough toenails. You gave the criminal the information they wanted. You're not getting anything back. How long did it take for the lawyer to figure out that something bad had happened? 150 minutes. And is contacting the bank saying, hey, I think I got scammed. Bank says. 150 minutes later, after the bank accommodated the crooks and wired the money out, bank says, tough, you're out the money. You gave them the information and know that these are the elements you got to watch out for. My rule, you should start following my rule. I don't know who's calling. I don't answer that call, period. If somebody's calling and the caller ID says, blah, blah, blah, credit union. I don't have a bank account, but I have credit union accounts and brokerage, the caller ID says it's one of those. Do I Answer that call. No, I do not. Do not ever answer that call. What do I do? I wait, listen to the voicemail. They say, blah, blah, blah about my account. Do I then call back? No, I don't. I sign into my account and I'm able to see nothing funny is going on. Nothing weird is happening. So the key is the criminals try to pretend something they're not. They create a sense of danger to you by telling you, quick, quick, you got to act, something's going to happen. So the sense of urgency and then they get you to help them create the crime that they told you was already happening. Remember, those elements don't care what age you are. The criminals are only after money. And you're the one who has to be the police officer because law enforcement cannot get your money back. You think I feel some strength about that, Krista?

[C]

And tough, tough toenails.

[B]

I don't even know where that expression came from.

[C]

I've been thinking about all these expressions. You. You've been saying them lately. And then some other ones I heard like, there are many ways to skin a cat. Like, what is that?

[B]

I don't know either. There are all these things that, that you learned growing up that are all these phrases that nobody knows where they actually came from?

[C]

Yeah, we don't question them. Okay, we'll go to questions. Kathleen in Alabama says, I wondered if you're familiar with a new scam with student loans. Someone took out a fraudulent student loan in my daughter's name, used it toward graduate school, then dropped out of school, and the money was returned to the student rather than fafsa. Even with credit freezes and fraud alerts with all three credit bureaus, they were able to get the loan approved because a credit check is not required by fafsa. It has been a huge headache, Kathleen.

[B]

I am so sorry. And this is a crime that has been around for a while. Again because of how careless so many organizations have been with our information. Criminal gets your profile. They can buy it very easily online because of all the various data breaches. You did the most important thing, having the credit freezes in place. And it still was not enough to prevent this. And yes, when somebody takes out student loans impersonating you, it's a huge hassle to get it cleared up. Now, something we learned over the years because this crime has been around for decades, by the way, is when you get this cleared up, the documentation that you get showing that you're released from responsibility for this or whatever, you keep it for how long? The rest of Your life, You keep it online. You keep a physical copy. Because what we've had in the past is criminals will impersonate somebody, take out student loan debt as if they're them. You think you got it all cleared up in 10, 15 or so years later, you start getting hassled by a debt collector trying to collect on that loan that was never yours in the first place. So once you get it cleared out, cleared up, you're not done with it. You keep the documentation and. No, I don't know, a procedure to prevent somebody from taking out a student loan. Now, private student loans, they're going to pull credit. They're not going to be able to because of the credit freeze in place. But government loans, there's no system like that to prevent this from occurring.

[C]

Hmm. Kenny in Florida says because of a huge increase in the annual cost of the Chase Sapphire reserve card, I will not be renewing my card. My annual subscription that I will not renew is in May. And I've already purchased flight tickets with points for July. Since I won't have an active card in July, will those flight tickets still be valid?

[B]

Yes. Yeah. And you are dumping, or did dump, your Chase Sapphire Reserve? Well, I thought you were. Because of the fee bump up. No, no. Okay.

[C]

I'm just making sure I use every single benefit I can.

[B]

Yeah. It's funny because I've seen the new Capital One Venture X ads that talk about how easy it is to use their credits, comparing them to Chase, Citi and American Express, which are now like coupon books. And. And so you have these much higher annual fees. And what they're banking on is consumer behavior that most people don't use all the benefits there are. So I have long standing. I've had the American Express Platinum, and they raised the annual fee to a million dollars. Was it 8.95?

[C]

Is it? Oh, I thought it was like a thousand.

[B]

I think it's 8.95. And they've added these other credits, and one of them, it's so funny because it's for a place that's so overpriced, I can't imagine 50 years from now paying what things cost there. Lulu.

[C]

Lululemon.

[B]

But one of my daughters and my wife both wear stuff from there. So every 90 days you get a credit where you can buy 75 worth of merchandise for free. So what do we do? As soon as the new quarter starts, either Wayne or Steffi go buy something at Lululemon. And the rule is it's gotta cost no more. My rule than $10 more than what the credit's worth. Okay, so that way we. We pick up $300 of the crazy annual fee right there.

[C]

Mark in Georgia says, hi, Clark. Thanks for all you do and keeping us informed on how not to get ripped off and how to save money. Like you, I have taken the Southwest Airline breakup and have booked my future travel with Delta and Alaska Airlines. I stopped using my Southwest Chase credit card today, and I called to cancel the card. The representative asked me why I was canceling. I informed her the $229 annual fee was too much. She immediately said, we are willing to lower your renewal annual fee to $149 for one year and provide you with a $150 statement credit if I'd be willing to keep the card for one more year.

[B]

Wait, so providing the card for a year, paying you a dollar to keep the card.

[C]

This happened to me, too, with a different card I have. It's actually an airline reward card. I called to cancel it, and they gave me more than a free year of the card, and I get a companion certificate with it. So I kept it for one more year. They asked if I'd be willing to keep it one more year. So that means in 2027, my annual fee will then increase to 229, providing Chase doesn't increase it. I decided to keep the card for one more year just in case I do end up booking again with Southwest. Keeping the card active will at me a free check bag. I set up a reminder on my Alexa to cancel my card before my annual renewal date in March. I thought this might be helpful information for other listeners.

[B]

I love this. And when I canceled my Southwest card, they didn't offer me anything. They said, okay, go. Have a nice life. So you did much better than I did, getting another year essentially for free. And, you know, I. I expressed great anger about Southwest that you've always.

[C]

Anger. I feel like it was more hurt. Like you really had a personal relationship with that airline. You were so upset about it.

[B]

And. Yeah, I mean, the love airline, the heart. The heart and everything stabbed you in the heart. And, you know, I've had enough time. It's like any relationship. First there's. What is it? Anger, denial, acceptance. I've reached acceptance that the Southwest that I loved no longer exists. And I've fully processed that they have decided to become just like any other airline. And good luck to them with that if they can make it work. They're opening lounges. They're apparently going to fly all over the globe. I mean, they're basically becoming, I'd say most like Alaska Airlines, which is steadily growing internationally and doing, you know, lie flatbeds and all that. And they're as big as American, United, and Delta. But the model I look at is they're morphing into more like Alaska. And I just have to accept that. That they're gone.

[C]

Oh, you don't have to like it. Just have to accept it.

[B]

And I'm over my anger and my hurt.

[C]

Okay, I'm glad. That's awesome.

[B]

Thank goodness I never named a dog Herb. We were gonna name a dog Herb after Herb Keller, the. One of my lifelong heroes. Well, not lifelong, but as long as I knew Herb Keller, he founded it, right? Well, he didn't found it, but he ended up basically running it because he was the lawyer for the founder.

[C]

Oh.

[B]

And he won the court case that at that time, the full fair airlines of that era were trying to keep Southwest from existing because it just wasn't fair that they were offering these cheaper fares. And Herb ended up running it and creating this most amazing airline where the employees love the company and loved the passengers and loved him and all that. And, you know, a lot of people said Southwest was never the same after Herb Kelleher retired. So it's just one of those things, and I'm cool with it. And I'm. And now I'm. I'm flying. I really, you know, cool.

[C]

I mean, I'm cool with it. Yeah.

[B]

You look at how many different airlines I fly.

[C]

I know.

[B]

In a few months now, you know, there's no. I'm not looking first at Southwest.

[C]

There's no standout.

[B]

There is no standout anymore. I am a free agent looking for my best deal all the time, so what can you do? But anyway, enough about my personal problem with my girlfriend.

[C]

Ex girlfriend.

[B]

Ex girlfriend dissing me and ditching me and going for extra legroom seats instead of me Anyway, that's fine.

[C]

And bag fees and.

[B]

Yeah, well, since I don't check a bag, the bag fees actually benefit me. It's kind of like renting a car. The people who buy all that fake, pseudo awful pretend insurance from the car rental agencies for a zillion dollars subsidize me when I rent a car. The same thing now is true at Southwest, that the bag fees mean that I can buy a fare that nominally is cheaper than it would have been before. And people who take. Who check bags are paying the fee.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So.

[C]

Except now there's going to be harder to get your bag on a Southwest flight because people aren't going to take the free check bag.

[B]

Going to be. They're already charging for the bags. Lane and I have been on Southwest twice in the last few weeks, and it's like Hunger Games. It's like being on American, United and Delta trying to find room in an overhead bin. And if your boarding numbers too late, you ain't taking that check bag on that carry on bag onto the plane. Enough, enough, enough. Because I could talk about this for what, three hours, four hours straight. So, anyway, have an absolutely wonderful rest of your day. Know what we're about is your empowerment with knowledge so you can take more control over your life involving your wallet so you can save more, spend less. And never, never, never, not ever let somebody rip you off. Have a great one.