02.11.26 Tax Refunds & Withholding / Clarksplainer: Trump Accounts

Summary

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The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode Title: Tax Refunds & Withholding / Clarksplainer: Trump Accounts
Date: February 11, 2026
Host: Clark Howard
Co-host: Krista

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Episode Overview

This episode is centered around year-to-year tax changes, maximizing the benefit of unexpected tax refunds, optimizing paycheck withholding, and understanding new "Trump accounts"—a government program for newborn savings. In addition, Clark and Krista answer listener questions about telehealth, utility payment strategies, Roth versus pre-tax retirement accounts, saving for private school, and how to save on expensive vet medications. The conversation exudes Clark's signature no-nonsense, frugal, and empowering style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tax Refund Surprises in 2026

Clark explains how recent tax law changes are resulting in larger-than-expected refunds for many taxpayers and offers advice on what to do if you find yourself with extra money from Uncle Sam.

• (01:37 - 06:42)

  • Tax refunds are higher for many due to retroactive tax law changes and unchanged payroll withholdings.
  • "You could see a tax refund 25% or more higher than you expected, depending on your personal circumstances." (Clark, 03:06)
  • Clark's advice for windfall tax refunds:
    • First priority: Pay off high-interest credit card debt.
    • If debt-free: Invest in a Roth IRA for tax-free future growth.
    • Fun Spending? Only after essentials: “What people tend to do with a windfall is a certain amount of it, they just go have fun with. But if you have preexisting financial needs like carrying high interest debt or you're not saving enough in your opinion for your future, that's where using one time unexpected money becomes such a great thing.” (Clark, 05:32)

• Withholding adjustments:

  • If your employer hasn’t changed your withholding after the tax law update, you’re likely over-withholding for the current year—effectively giving the government an "interest-free loan."
  • Fix: Reduce withholding, increase 401(k) or Roth IRA contributions instead.

2. Listener Q&A

Clark and Krista tackle a variety of listener-submitted questions.

a. Telehealth & “One Medical” Update

• (07:05 - 09:56)
  • “I've loved being in One Medical. ... You pay an annual fee that's really very, very reasonable, particularly if you have a family.” (Clark, 08:25)
  • Amazon’s One Medical is praised for convenience, especially for travelers. Instant virtual visits, access to your electronic medical record, and an affordable annual fee.
  • Direct Primary Care: An alternative to One Medical—pay directly for care, skip insurance bureaucracy, and get more doctor face time.

b. Utility Payments – ACH vs. Card Fees

• (10:51 - 11:38)
  • Listener’s city charges 3% for credit and debit card payments, but ACH transfers are free.
  • “It's crazy that they're charging the same 3% on a debit card. That is unreasonable and foolish on the part of the utility.” (Clark, 11:04)
  • ACH is safe for utilities; for extra peace of mind, use a dedicated bank account for third-party ACH withdrawals.

c. 401(k) Pre-tax vs. Roth

• (12:00 - 13:47)
  • Listener aged 36 asks how to choose.
  • “You want to do Roth because tax rates are historically way low. ... There's an enormous advantage unless you're an ultra high income earner for you to do Roth.” (Clark, 12:07)
  • Traditional (pre-tax) is rarely optimal except for very high earners. Pay tax now, enjoy tax-free withdrawals in retirement.

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3. Clarksplainer Segment: Trump Accounts

Clark’s deep dive into the new government-sponsored savings accounts for children and the risks they hold.

• (16:37 - 20:39)

  • What are Trump Accounts?

    • For a limited time, government gives $1,000 to newborns deposited in a specific account. Some employers and wealthy benefactors may match these funds.
    • Tax Trap Warning: “The Trump accounts were hurriedly drafted by the Congress. They were not well thought out, and they have all kinds of tax traps in them.” (Clark, 16:46)

  • Clark’s Guidance:

    • “If you get the $1,000 from the government—or your employer or a benefactor matches—take the free money, even though the tax implications are beyond lousy.” (Clark, 16:55)
    • Don’t fund these accounts with your own money due to the severe tax hit later.
    • For personal savings: Use a 529 Plan instead—tax-advantaged for education and eligible for tax-free rollover to Roth IRA (up to $35,000 if not used for college).

  • Memorable Quote:

    • “Free money, you take. Your hard-earned money going in—don’t do it.” (Clark, 18:51)

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4. Listener Q&A: Saving for Private School/K-12

• (20:39 - 23:26)
  • 529 plans can be used both for college and (up to $10,000/year) for K-12 private schooling.
  • "You can use 529 money for that [private school] up to the cap, tax free. ... Using it for both purposes is ok.” (Clark, 21:50)
  • Suggestion: Use mental accounting (separate 529s) for private school vs. college, if it helps family budgeting.

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5. Listener Q&A: Cancelling a Deceased Parent’s Cable Bill

• (23:26 - 27:12)
  • Listener’s friend has been paying a late parent’s cable bill for 4 years due to auto-debit and unhelpful customer service.
  • Clark’s advice:
    • Escalate via local TV "On Your Side" consumer reporters—"it will not only get this resolved quickly, it will also likely get back a fair amount of the money that the cable company swiped over the four years." (Clark, 24:40)
    • File a complaint at bbb.org; utility companies often respond quickly to BBB.
    • Reminder: "This points out how key it is to look at your credit card…statements, because who knows how many things like this are lurking in all of our lives." (Clark, 25:50)

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6. Listener Q&A: Saving on Pet Medications

• (27:12 - 32:33)
  • Listener shares how Costco Pharmacy cut pet medication costs by more than half.
  • “That $100 monitor became $30. ... The $125 medicine became $83.33 a month. Still pricey, but a savings of $41.67 a month.” (Krista, 28:06)
  • Clark’s personal story: His dog is named "Kirkland Signature" and even the dog’s prescription label reads “Kirkland Signature Howard.”
    • “If you fill your pet meds elsewhere, in fact, there's now online sellers of pet meds that way undercut what you'd pay. So if you're not a warehouse club member...you can still save money for your pets buying from one of the online pharmacies.” (Clark, 31:17)
  • Bonus Tip: Even non-members at big-box stores can access pet meds via the pharmacy.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On tax refunds: “Remember, the refund you're getting is your money that you paid in that you're now getting back.” (Clark, 03:27)
• On Trump accounts: “If the money’s given to you, you take it. ... Don't put your own money in a Trump account!” (Clark, 18:51)
• On cable bill auto-debits: “Phone number four to $5,000 down the toilet.” (Clark, 24:01)
• On naming his dog after Costco: “He named one of the dogs Kirkland Signature because he loves Costco so much.” (Clark, 29:16)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:37] – Tax Refunds Overview
• [06:43] – Listener Q&A Begins
• [07:05] – Telehealth and One Medical
• [10:51] – Utility Payment Methods
• [12:00] – 401(k) Pre-tax vs. Roth
• [16:37] – Clarksplainer: Trump Accounts Explained
• [20:39] – Saving for Private School (529 Plans)
• [23:26] – Cancelling Deceased Parent's Cable Bill
• [27:12] – Saving on Pet Medications
• [29:01] – Kirkland Signature Dog Story

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Tone & Takeaways

Clark’s advice throughout is pragmatic, direct, and rooted in his core philosophy: save more, spend less, and avoid rip-offs. He encourages using unexpected financial gains strategically for long-term benefit rather than fleeting pleasures and warns listeners to be vigilant against bureaucratic and corporate pitfalls. The episode is rich with practical, actionable tips—delivered in Clark’s trademark “no-fun-zone” style, but always in service of the listener’s financial well-being.

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For more info and resources mentioned, visit clark.com and look out for Clark’s upcoming “Clark Stinks” Friday segment!

Transcript

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[Clark Howard]

It's great to have you here on 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. And here in tax season this year there's, well, unexpected good things happening for a reasonable percent of taxpayers. You're gonna get a higher refund than you expected or you may have seen in the past. So there's some things you need to know you need to do. In conjunction with that, I'm going to explain the background and after I get to some of your questions, I'm going to talk about something else I talked about when it first passed Congress, the things called Trump accounts. How they work, who they work for, and who should not do a Trump account. I'm going to give you the full scoop on that later in this podcast so when Congress passed a new tax law, it was retroactive back to January 1st of last year. A lot of us had our withholding set up where we work, as they were, and they stayed that way through the year. So what's happened is you're withholding historically may have generated some amount of refund or hopefully small tax bills still do when you went to file your return. Well, this year a number of taxpayers, and there's such odd reasons that lead to bigger refunds for some people and then not for others. But you could see a tax refund 25% or more higher than you expected, depending on your personal circumstances. So if you get that unexpected higher refund from your taxes, remember the refund you're getting is your money that you paid in that you're now getting back. Of course I'm going to say things not exciting you should do with that money, particularly the money that's beyond what you expected. If you're carrying high interest credit card debt, you know, you know, I want you to take that refund and throw it at the highest interest rate you're paying. And if it's enough to wipe out that credit card debt, great. But use it as a way to create more space in your life. If you don't owe any credit card debt, you don't owe any crazy debts at all, well then, gosh, you know what I'm gonna say next. I bet if you're a long time listener or viewer, you know, I'm gonna want you to put it in a Roth ira. Sorry. I want you to build tax free wealth for your future in that Roth. And if you weren't able to afford to do it before, you do it now for 26. Okay, so they got those things. And here's another thing, that tax law remains in place for 26. If your withholdings were not automatically adjusted by HR where you work, it means that when you go to file a return a year from now for this year, you're going to over withhold and you're making an interest free loan to the government. Don't do that, don't do that. What you want to do is reduce your withholding sum so that you pay in enough that'll cover your tax bill, but not too much that you're not having use of that money all this year. And so you could, if you reduce that withholding some, take that money and increase what you're doing. If you're offered a 401k at work, increase what you're contributing every pay period or if you haven't fully funded a Roth ira, set it up where automatically money goes in there every month. And whatever you do, what I'm. What people tend to do with a windfall is a certain amount of it. They just go have fun with. They go buy something new or book a trip or whatever. But if you have pre existing financial needs like carrying high interest debt or you're not saving enough in your opinion for your future, that's where using one time unexpected money becomes such a great thing for you to do because it will pay off month after month, year after year doing that. Krista.

[Krista]

Okay, here we go.

[Clark Howard]

I a no fun zone. No, I just, I just totally said no. Don't go buy that thing, whatever that thing is, don't go take that trip.

[Krista]

You often talk about having a balance and so you have to save first and feel financially empowered before you can and then you treat yourself. That's what you've always said. Okay, it's true.

[Clark Howard]

True.

[Krista]

Janice in Georgia wrote into you Clark with this one. It's been a while since you've discussed telehealth, particularly Prime One Medical. Any updates on the status of this kind of 247 virtual medical help?

[Clark Howard]

Okay, so one medical that offers who it's not prime. You get a better deal if you're an Amazon prime member. But you don't have to be a Prime member to be in One Medical. Years ago the founder of Amazon, co founder Bezos had this idea that he could fix medicine, primary care medicine. So he bought a company that already existed called One Medical and now it's called I think Amazon One Medical. And I've been in it now for a few years. And I appreciate Jeff Bezos being willing to lose billions on this experiment because it's been really good. I mean I've loved being in one.

[Krista]

You use it in conjunction with health insurance, right?

[Clark Howard]

Yes.

[Krista]

Yeah.

[Clark Howard]

And so what it is is it is a primary care doctor network. It's. And not everywhere in America but and generally in cities where Amazon has a really strong customer base. And it works really well for me traveling because I can go to another city and if I have a medical problem, I don't have to go to an urgent care. I can go right on the app and make an appointment. Now you're talking about the telehealth. So let's say you have a medical problem. Off hours on the weekend you can have an on demand face to face medical appointment right then and there with a doctor, a Pennsylvania or a nurse practitioner. You pay for that. But you have instant access to being able to have that appointment. And they see before the. The appointment starts, they see your whole electronic medical record with one medical. They know about you. They're not saying, well, tell me about you, or whatever they know. So I've been really happy with it. Don't know how long it will go on. You pay an annual fee that's really very, very reasonable, particularly if you have a family, which you pay for each additional member. It's not concierge medicine. Like these things. People are paying 3, 5, 6,000, $10,000 a year to have a doctor's personal cell phone number that you can call him or her from anywhere in the world at any time, and they're there to serve you. It's not that, but I hope that Amazon is willing to keep losing billions on it and keep subsidizing my health care because I've been happy.

[Krista]

Okay. Any others that you know of that would.

[Clark Howard]

I don't know anybody who's done a business model like Amazon has done. But there is something else we've talked about from time to time called direct primary care. It's where you go to a streamlined doctor's office that doesn't accept insurance and you pay the doctor for seeing you and treating you. And these offices tend to be a doctor and maybe a nurse, a medical assistant. No normal overhead of a doctor's office where a third of their staff is paid just to deal with the horrible claims processing with insurance companies. And direct primary care is a very affordable alternative for you to have a relationship with a doctor.

[Krista]

Glenn in Minnesota says, my city accepts utility payments online, but they've begun to charge a 3% fee for payment by credit or debit cards. There's no fee for ACH transfers. What would Clark do?

[Clark Howard]

First of all, it's crazy that they're charging the same 3% on a debit card. That is unreasonable and foolish on the part of the utility. ACH for paying a utility is just fine. And it's not like dealing with the gym that you give ACH to and you cancel your membership and they just accidentally on purpose keep taking money out of your checking account. You got to fight to get back. I think it's a okay to pay a utility by ach, but I again, I use my.

[Krista]

I talked about. I have a separate account that I use for Venmo, and I also put money in that account if I have to give someone ach. David in Texas says, I'm 36 years old and I started my 401k two years ago with my job and they'll match me 6%. I am having a hard time choosing Pre tax or Roth what will benefit.

[Clark Howard]

Me Unless you're making a zill.

[Krista]

What's a zill?

[Clark Howard]

A zill. Okay. I gave those numbers before. I know it was, was it 200 was the cut. 200. 250 for an individual and like double that for a married couple. May have been higher for a married couple than double that. You want to do Roth because tax rates are historically way low. We're running these massive budget deficits and at some point we're going to have to deal with that with an aging population as well. So there's an enormous advantage unless you're an ultra high income earner for you to do Roth. 401k, not traditional. Pay the tax now instead of having a tax bomb later with your 401k being in a traditional instead of a Roth. Nobody I know of, except in the rarest of circumstances should be doing a traditional IRA anymore. It should all be Roth IRAs. And again, there's minuscule number of exceptions to that. Very, very particular circumstances. Coming up ahead, I'm going to talk about another type of account that you can put money in, but it has an ugly, ugly tax time bomb to it. It's the new Trump accounts. The rules are now clear or more clear with them. I'm going to tell you who benefits, who doesn't, who should put money in and who shouldn't into a trump account straight ahead.

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[Don McDonald]

You know what's funny about free financial advice? It's usually the most expensive kind. I'm Don McDonald from the Talking Real Money podcast. For over three decades, my co host Tom and I have been the antidote to the financial nonsense that fills the airwaves. We don't sell products. We don't have sponsors paying us to recommend their funds. We just tell you what has actually worked. Backed by decades of academic research, not some guru's gut feeling. Our listeners tell us we're like car Talk for your Money. Minus the car problems with maybe even more bad jokes. You're already listening to a podcast right now, so finding us couldn't be easier. Just search for Talking Real Money or visit talkingrealmoney.com give us a few minutes. The worst that happens, you're mildly entertained. The best? You stop making your broker richer and start building actual wealth. Just search for Talking Real Money Talking Real Money is an educational podcast. Hosts are affiliated with a registered investment advisor. For disclosures, Visit talking real money.com the.

[Clark Howard]

Trump account that Congress set up and named in honor of the President is an account that for a couple years, newborns will receive $1,000 just given to them by the federal government and parents. You take the thousand dollars if it's given to you, and you put it in the Trump account. The Trump accounts were hurriedly drafted by the Congress. They were not well thought out, and they have all kinds of tax traps in them. So there are green lights for the Trump account and red lights for it. I'm going to make it that simple. If you work for an employer and there are a number of big companies that are offering to put money in a Trump account just give it to you. Doesn't count against your pay. You have a kid, they'll put the money in the Trump account matching the thousand the government gives. Take the money Any circumstance where a company will seed a trump account and give the money, you take the free money, even though the tax implications are beyond lousy. On the other hand, opening a trump account and funding it yourself without any government money coming to it, any company money coming to it, anything like that, don't do it because the tax hit later is so terrible, the accounts are not a good vehicle unless the money is given to you. So that's the red light, green light. You get money from the government, you get money from an employer, you get money from a wealthy individual. They're wealthy individuals, believe it or not, that are funding for certain counties or people, newborns, young kids that are putting money into them take the free money. And then later, when a kid gets to what's considered to be adulthood, age 18, there are some options with it. But basically the tax bill is crummy on these. So free money, you take your hard earned money going in. Don't do it. Now here's the, here's the crazy thing. You want to put money aside for a kid, young kid, and nobody's giving you money. You take your own money and you put it in a 529 account and you're saying, wait a minute, I don't know if my kid's going to go to college. I don't care. You put money in a 529 account because there's a wonderful provision in the tax code. 529 account money grows tax free over the years and then when used for an eligible education expense, it's spent tax free. So everything it grew is tax free. And a number of states give you a tax deduction or benefit up front for putting money in a 529 account. Okay, so a kid grows up, decides, I'm not going to college. Not my thing. I got something else I'm going to do. You are allowed to convert up to $35,000 and that 529 tax free, transition it to a Roth IRA so the money will never be taxed and will ultimately be spent tax free. And a kid, instead of starting to think about saving for retirement, whatever age, you started doing it when they were young or a newborn. And you're giving them a huge booster shot, either with money for college or money for them way down the road in retirement, all of it tax free. Krista.

[Krista]

All right. Jacqueline in North Carolina says, I'm 39 years old and I have a, I have twin four month old boys who.

[Clark Howard]

Are planning, oh my goodness, you are busy.

[Krista]

I know you had time to Write us. I know. Seriously. We are planning to place into private school with our 4 year old son to give an idea. Kindergarten costs $12,000 a year and increases from there. There's some funding provided by the state, but what is the best way for us to save for them to attend without feeling pressure on our finances? My 4 year old has two 529 set up, but my parents said that's for college. We put money into our Roth IRA with work as well as pulled $500 a month into a separate Roth IRA. My husband and I are planning to take that $500 each and put it into something for each baby to save for primary school. But not sure if that should be a 529 or a money market account for my dad who listens to you all the time. Thank you for any advice you have and shout out to Big John Poppy who shares your advice with us millennials.

[Clark Howard]

So you did the big shout out. Hi Big John Poppy. All right, you're both right. How about that? I could run for office.

[Krista]

I know. Seriously.

[Clark Howard]

Okay, so the 529 was designed primarily and originally only for paying for college. But you can spend a portion of the 529 and there are specific CAP rules. 10,000 is the number most quoted that you can use for private school before college. So if your intention you can tell your 4 month olds are so bright they're gonna go to college later and they're going to go to private school at some point K through 12. You can use 529money for that up to the cap, tax free. So the answer is a529 is can't we have both kind of thing. You can put money into it specifically with the earmark towards college and you can also use dribs and drabs of it over the years to pay for private schooling pre college and you can also use it for trade schools and other things like that. So this is one that the 529, using it for both purposes is. Okay. And what you could do is you could segregate money where you have a 529 specifically that you're earmarking the money for private school and have another that is specifically for college. They don't have to be used that way. But mental accounting, a lot of times in families you feel much more comfortable that way.

[Krista]

All right, and this one's from Julie in Ohio. A friend recently told me she's having trouble canceling her late parents cable TV service.

[Clark Howard]

Oh my goodness. How many times have we had this one.

[Krista]

I know.

[Clark Howard]

What are these cable TV companies doing?

[Krista]

I immediately thought this was something Clark Howard could help us solve. Her dad passed away four years ago and she just realized the cable bill has been automatically withdrawn from her parents bank account. Ever since she's called the company many times but customer no service won't cancel without an account number or security answers.

[Clark Howard]

We're talking phone number four to $5,000 down the toilet.

[Krista]

How can she get the service canceled? And is there any way to recover the money that's been charged?

[Clark Howard]

So I got a lot you're not gonna like and then I'm going to give some suggestions. All right. I don't know what your friend's personality is, how assertive they'll be now that they've discovered this four or five thousand dollars is gone. Our experience has been with service providers when you discover that you're being billed for something you never should have been billed for is that they will go back and give you only a 60 day credit. The outrage in this case is that no one will lift a finger at customer no service at this cable monster to figure out how to disconnect this bill. That is totally unacceptable. I'm going to give you two routes. Both will work, but one may get you back, get your friend back more of that money. If a local TV station in your friend's area has one of those on your side kind of TV reporters. Yeah, consumer reporter that goes after bad people, cable companies anyway. Not saying cable companies are bad, they just source of customer no service problems for a long time and they put this on tv it will not only get this resolved quickly, it will also likely get back a fair amount of the money that the cable company swiped over the four years. And this is swiping because almost certainly, well, there's no way your dad, her dad could have been watching. That's crazy TV anyway. I mean how hard hearted, cold brutal is that to treat a customer at customer no service? Second thing is you file a [e-mail] historically we found that both the monopoly local phone companies and the cable monsters have been very responsive to complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau. The third thing is this points out again how key it is to go through bills, particularly if you are taking over someone's estate. I assume that mom is still living and she's helping out the mom because otherwise that account wouldn't still be there four years on that for them to debit the money from. So this points out how key it is to look at your credit card Saying, forget an estate situation. All of us need to look at our bank account statements, credit union statements, credit card statements, all these things. Because who knows how many things like this are lurking in all of our lives. Streaming services we didn't even know we were subscribed to, and we've been paying them month after month. So I just think, this is terrible. I want to hear back from you that your friend was able to get this resolved. If not, we'll come up with other ideas.

[Krista]

Joe in Kentucky says my cat has been diagnosed with diabetes.

[Clark Howard]

I didn't know cats got diabetes.

[Krista]

To treat his new lifelong condition, the vet told me he would need medication that costs $125 a month and to evaluate if the medicine would work where he'd also need to wear a 100 monitor for the first few weeks. Well, I do my best like an.

[Clark Howard]

Adult human wearing a. Yeah, I guess.

[Krista]

You know, medicines for pets, too. Like, we do a lot of human medicines on pets. Human tests, I guess. I'm sure a cat would not like that, though. While I do my best to be frugal, such as being a fan of Costco fashion, one of my Achilles heels for spending is my pets, since Costco is always on my brain for finding a good bargain. When the vet asked me what pharmacy to use for the monitor, I said Costco. And I've never used their pharmacy before. That $100 monitor became $30.

[Clark Howard]

No way.

[Krista]

When I needed to renew the prescription for the meds, I decided to try Costco again. The $125 medicine became $83.33 a month. Still pricey, but a savings of 4,167amonth. I just thought the other pet owners in your audience should know of the potential savings through Costco Pharmacy. And I also just switch my dogs take a flea med that's prescription only, and it's the only one that they will easily take, and it's so expensive. And I saw it at the Costco pharmacy. So I have my doctor write me a paper prescription and I dropped it off because I'm going to save a bunch of money.

[Clark Howard]

Well, I hope that the diabetes control goes well. And have I ever told the story about running into our dog's vet at Costco? No. Okay, I'm gonna. I'm sorry. I. I know we're done with this episode. I got to share this story because this. This is where so many things in my life intersect.

[Krista]

It's called the Clark Howard Show. We can be done when done well.

[Clark Howard]

But I don't want to Bore somebody.

[Krista]

Well, they could move on to the next, you know.

[Clark Howard]

Okay. So the vet is there with her two kids, and she says. She points me out and says, you know, that our dogs are patients of hers. And she says, you're not going to believe this. He named one of the dogs Kirkland Signature because he loves Costco so much. And so I don't know any of this is going on. And I go over and pick up medicine for Kirkland Signature at the Costco pharmacy. And I come back by.

[Krista]

Is his name on there?

[Clark Howard]

Kirkland Signature Howard Kirkland Signature Howard on the Med.

[Krista]

So they must think it's a joke if they don't know who you are.

[Clark Howard]

So I come back, Ryan. She stops me and she's wonderful, fantastic vet. And in fact, my wife says she wants to come back as a dog or cat someday so she can go to the vet is her medical provider instead of the way human doctor offices work. Anyway, editorial comment there. So. So she says, my kids don't believe that your dog is named Kirkland Signature. And I said, well, I actually just picked up a script. You're not supposed to open the bag of stuff you get at the pharmacy till you pass security at the door. So I violated the rules of Costco, wants to handcuff me, take me away. They can't. So I open up the bag and I hand her son the pill bottle. And he's reading it and he just starts laughing. He's. I forget what age he was, but he was. He was just. Just blown away. And then he hands it to his sister, and she's looking and they are trying to decide how crazy is this man who we're talking to? And the deal is Lane gets to have dogs if I get to name them. So anyway, that's my.

[Krista]

I love it.

[Clark Howard]

Kirkland Signature dog story. And yes, we always fill our dogs prescriptions at Costco because they're a tiny fraction of what they are at a veterinary medicine practice. And it's not like they're ripping you off. The services that veterinary practices use are hyper retail pharmacies. So if you fill your pet meds elsewhere, in fact, there's now online sellers of pet meds that way undercut what you'd pay. So if you're not a warehouse club member, you don't like the warehouse club experience, you can still save money for your pets buying from one of the online pharmacies that sell pet meds. And you know what? I want our next dog to be named right, But Aldi.

[Krista]

Oh, that's right. Well, you've gone for that before.

[Clark Howard]

And I got outvoted by our own listeners and viewers who voted online to name the dog. Given a choice between Kirkland signature and Aldi, they picked Kirkland signature and we already had the dog tag that said Aldi made and we had to change the dog's name. I will. Enough.

[Krista]

I know what lane solution to that is.

[Clark Howard]

More dogs.

[Krista]

Yes.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah. You know, if she could, she'd have 101. She'd be like the movie 101 Dalmatians. She'd have dogs running around everywhere. Anyway, I love our dogs. Two is it worked for Noah at the Ark. It works for us as well. My wife doesn't agree. Anyway, have an absolutely great day and I just do anything that's a Clark Stinks is going to come my way.

[Krista]

Oh, we'll see.

[Clark Howard]

We'll see. Okay, if I did say something that you didn't like clark.com clarkstinks right to post away and have a great rest of your day. I hope it's a wonderful day. And coming up, speaking of Clark Stinks, coming up this Friday we'll have our newest edition of Clark Stinks, where you get to hear where I messed up serving you and what we're about. Everything we do, every bit of information we put out there is to empower you with knowledge so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. See you Friday.