Caller/Listener (7:49)

All right. Sam in California says last year in the holiday season I missed a $5 credit card payment. Normally I check every week, but due to traveling and the holidays I forgot I have six credit cards. Normally I use two of them, my Chase and Capital One. The others I only use occasionally to keep them active. I was checking my credit score on my Capital One site and it's dropped from 805 to 718. Is there any way to recover from this? I always pay my balances before the billing cycle ends, but I miss this for the first time in my life.

Clark Howard (8:20)

Yeah, it's an ugly feeling. Two years ago, I guess it was, I missed making a payment on a card and my score fell more than yours did. But the good news is it healed so relatively quickly. The scoring models, particularly the really sophisticated ones from fico, are looking for patterns and a single small miss payment heals relatively quickly. And the good news is you're still in the 700s. So as long as everything is paid on time moving forward, this will not be a significant problem in your life. But just as came up, I think just Friday we had a situation where I said I love where you pay directly at the websites of the credit card companies. And I also like it for you to consider having always minimum payments made automatically to each card so you never have to worry about the impact on your credit. If you had had two cards that you in quick succession missed payments on, you would be shocked how devastating it would be to your score and the time for it to heal takes much longer. In your case. This is really not going to likely harm you significantly.

Caller/Listener (9:52)

Josh in Pennsylvania says Clark, I recently had my credit pulled for A mortgage. It said my score was lowered because I have too many revolving credit cards. With national banks, I have three that I use regularly and one that I use on occasion. My utilization is usually around 5%. I'm in the upper 700, so no big deal. But have you ever heard of this? It seems another example of financial institutions moving the goalposts for no good reason.

Clark Howard (10:16)

Okay, so let me tell you, this is one of the. That is weird when you look at a credit report and they're telling you, well, your score was affected by this or that. The. The factor they're talking about is such a minute part of your credit score that obviously it's meaningless if you're in the upper seven hundreds, ignore what they put there. It's just basically gibberish. Now, different issue. The underwriter at a mortgage company can be somebody who gets nervous about how much available credit you have. And that individual may say, well, we want you to close one of these revolvers because we just don't like how much available credit you have. But that's not something I've heard a lot lately, but that could happen. I wouldn't expect it with somebody with a score like yours. That so sky high.

Caller/Listener (11:15)

Ashley in Georgia says my dentist practice is switching to a fee for service model. This means I'll pay full price for a procedure or checkup. At the time of my appointment, the practice submits an insurance claim to my insurance company, and then after deliberation, the insurance company directly sends me a check to reimburse me. Forgive my ignorance of this if this is a common payment model because it's new to me and threw me for a loop. What if my insurance company doesn't deliberate and decide to cover as much of the cost? If they know the bill was already paid in full by me, they have to work even less now, right? What are some things I should be aware of when walking into my next appointment to advocate for myself? Please help. I'm one of the rare Clarkies out there who loves going to the dentist. And I get that feeling of fresh and clean teeth.

Clark Howard (12:05)

So our mutual friend Sherry wrote this.

Caller/Listener (12:08)

I know, right? She loves dentists.

Clark Howard (12:09)

And she was. Her name is Ashley.

Krista (12:10)

No, no, no, no.

Clark Howard (12:12)

Because I' anybody who loves the dentist more than Sherry.

Caller/Listener (12:16)

Well, now we know to go. Now we know. Ashley, it feels great. When you're done. For sure.

Clark Howard (12:22)

All right, let's talk this through. What may have happened. I'm only speculating here. Dentist's office, as a courtesy, will run insurance for you. Estimate the bill, and if it turns out they were wrong. They expect you to pay what whatever it is. And so you go out the door with a potential liability of the dentist, I'm guessing just speculating that your dentist actually had a number of customers who, when there turned out to be a balance bill, were like, who are you? What? I'm not paying that. I can't imagine another reason why they do it if they are submitting the insurance anyway. They just want to make sure that they don't get left holding the bag with an unpaid bill is what I'm guessing. Now this is is your speculation that the insurer would short pay you because of this process? No, that's not going to happen. But you are the one laying the money out up front, waiting for reimbursement, and I don't know how long your insurer is taking to send you back the money. If you love your dentist and you're not worried about laying the money out, then keep going to that dentist. But if laying this money out is a burden on you, you may have to consider switching to a dentist who doesn't have you lay out the full cost up front like that. And I mean, I love my dentist, I love my hygienist, but I don't exactly look forward to getting in the chair and hearing that whining noise of the equipment. Call me crazy. Anyway, coming up ahead, I want to talk to you about what's going on behind the curtain with not cell phone service, but cell phones themselves that you need to be aware of.

Zapier and Vanguard Advertiser (14:17)

Everyone has been talking about AI lately, but face it, just talking about tech trends doesn't help you be more efficient at work. For that, you need the right tools. You need Zapier. Zapier means you and your team can put AI to work and actually reap the benefits, not just talk about it. With Zapier's AI orchestration platform, you can connect top AI models to the apps your team already uses, so you can add AI exactly where you need it. Teams use Zapier to streamline their marketing, sales, IT HR and more. Whether it's automatically enriching leads, coaching your sales rep, resolving IT tickets, or something else, you can do it with Zapier. Zapier is for everyone, tech expert or not. No IT bottlenecks. No complexity, no AI hype, just results. Teams have already automated over 300 million AI tasks using Zapier. Join the 3.4 million companies already automating with Zapier and transform how you work with Zapier and AI. Get started for free by visiting zapier.com saving that's zap ier.com saving Today's show is brought to you by Vanguard. As we step into a new year, it's the perfect time for all the advisors listening to think about how to set your clients up for success. One way to do that is to level up your fixed income strategy. But bonds are tricky. The market is huge, rates shift and risks hide in plain sight. That's why having a partner with scale and expertise matters. Vanguard brings both. Vanguard bonds are institutional quality. Institutional quality isn't a tagline. It's a commitment to your clients. It means top grade products across the board. The Lineup includes over 80 bonds. They're actively managed by a 200 person global squad of sector specialists, analysts and traders. Lots of firms love to highlight their star portfolio managers like it's all about that one brilliant mind making the magic happen. Vanguard's philosophy is a little different. They believe the best active strategy shouldn't be locked away with one person. They should be shared across the team. That way every client benefits from the collective brain power, not just one individual's take the bond market is complex and it's not something one person or a small team can realistically keep up with. Vanguard's been in the game a long time, and their scale gives them a serious edge. They've been able to invest across all kinds of sectors, maturities and geographies, which means they can spot and act on opportunities that others might miss. Some managers out there promise big returns, but those usually come with big risks. And that can mean a roller coaster ride for investors. Vanguard takes a steadier approach. They don't go all in on risky bets. Instead, they focus on reliability and consistency. It's not always flashy, but it sets the standard for what dependable investing should look like. So if you're looking to give your clients consistent results year in and year out, go see the record for yourself@vanguard.com audio that's vanguard.com audio all investing is subject to risk. Vanguard Marketing Corporation Distributor get in the

Venmo Advertiser (17:19)

game with the college branded Venmo debit Card Wreck your team with every tap and earn up to 5% cash back with Venmo Stash, a new rewards program from Venmo. No monthly fee, no minimum balance, just school pride and spending power. Get in the game and sign up for the Venmo debit card@venmo.com collegecard the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank NA Select Schools available Venmo stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo me stash terms max 100 cash back per

Disney Plus Advertiser (17:47)

month Zootopia 2 has come home to Disney. Let's go get ready for a new case.

Zootopia 2 Character (17:52)

We're the greatest partners of all time. New friends Gary the Snake and your last name the Snake Dream Team the New Habitats Zootopia has a secret reptile population.

Disney Plus Advertiser (18:02)

You can watch the record breaking phenomenon at home. Zootopia 2 now available on Disney plus rated PG and right now you can get Disney plus and Hulu for just $4.99 a month for three months with a special limited time offer. Ends March 24th. After three months, Plan Auto renews at $12.99 a month. Terms apply.

Chef Mei Lin (18:24)

As a chef, I know flavor doesn't begin in the kitchen, it begins on the land. And West Home's Nature Led Australian Wagyu is a story written in the landscape of Northern Australia. Cooking is storytelling and West Home Wagyu carries a story of Northern Australia itself. Raw, powerful and deeply authentic. It's a testament to the passion and care raised in the rhythm of Northern Australia. I'm Chef Mei Lin from ADA Club in Los Angeles and I invite you to visit westhome.com meilin to learn more and taste a story only West Home Nature Led Australian Wagyu can tell. That's W-E-S-T-H-O-L-M-E.com M-E-I-L-I-N the chip industry goes through cycles.

Clark Howard (19:11)

I'm talking about computer chips, and the industry has enormous cost in building fabricating facilities, and they're guessing what demand's going to be. And if they guess wrong and demand is softer than it is, why these companies lose a lot of money. On the other hand, if demand is stronger than they anticipated, the price runs up on memory chips of various kinds. And at the same time, it takes years to build the facilities that fabricate these chips. So we're in a cycle right now of shortage. And that's why people who don't get quote unquote free phones from their cell phone carrier in return for being handcuffed to them for three years are suffering a bit of sticker shock from how much phones are costing. And some components in phones are also still subject to some of the tariffs the president's imposed pushing prices up. So people have already been stretching the amount of time they keep a phone they have. And that's a smart decision because so many of the changes now in cell phones year to year are so incremental that the phone you have is working fine, keep using it. I was in a friendly conversation with someone, didn't get to an argument, but they were upset with me about talking about why I hate the thing of getting the supposed free phone from the cell phone carrier because you think you're getting something free but you're paying a lot higher monthly bill for the service because really most of us don't need but we want that new phone and all the hype and advertising and all that gets us wanting it. So in an ideal world you have a phone that does all the stuff you want. Even a lot of mid range phones have great cameras in them and you just keep using that phone and you own it hopefully free and clear at some point. And you use this chip shortage as a time that you say, you know what, I thought this was the year I needed a new phone. But I'm okay, I'm going to wait and keep your money in your pocket because again the industry is going to build new fabricating facilities and supply and demand will get back into sync and then phones will get cheaper again. When I talk about phones getting cheaper, I'm talking about the real price, not the fake one from AT&T, Verizon or T Mobile. The real prices will come down some once the chip shortage is dealt with. And people understand this because so far this year the sales of smartphones are down double digits, double digit percent because people are looking at the prices and they're saying you know what, what I was tired of, it suddenly looks a whole lot better to me. Krista.

Caller/Listener (22:36)

Okay, Linda in Marilyn says my tax preparer last year did not include my traditional IRA contributions on my 2024 taxes. I had to kick myself severely for this. I had to pay a significant amount to the irs. Is there anything I should do about that now? I oops. I mean she began the 2025 return and correctly reported contributions this year and boy did that make my return look great. The 2025 return also asked about a previous year's amounts but I afraid not having reported any of the previous year and now reporting this will flag my return for an audit. What do you recommend I do if anything about 2024 and should I mention the previous undisclosed contributions on my return?

Clark Howard (23:20)

Okay, so Linda, you're asking me for advice. I'm not a CPA who does tax but I will tell you it is not going to be a big deal for you to report the 24 contribution on your 25 return. Do a 1040 X which is a simple all it Is, is an amended return. So many amended returns are filed every year. It's not going to be an automatic audit kind of thing like you worry about. You get the money back from 24 that you as you're still in plenty of time to do the 1040 X and get the tax benefit you were supposed to get. Because think of, think of how bad this is. You're going to have tax due on that money in that traditional IRA you contributed to from 24, but you didn't get the upfront tax benefit. So you absolutely amend the return with the 1040x. And while we're at it, Linda, while we're talking about this, I also want you to consider should you be doing traditional IRA or should you be doing Roth unless you're in a giant tax bracket. I know, I'm Pete and repeat on this. You should be doing Roth, not getting the current tax deduction by having the benefit of years of tax free growth and spending tax free, which is what you get out of the Roth.

Caller/Listener (24:49)

Can I also say, it seems to me like, first of all, Linda, you say you're kicking yourself, but you used a tax preparer to do this. And that tax preparer sounds like they missed putting your contributions for your 2024 taxes. So I feel like that person, first of all should have told you about this other form and what to do and they should be providing you service for free on that. And I wouldn't have them do my taxes this year. I think I would.

Clark Howard (25:13)

Well, I thought, I thought she said she was doing her own taxes.

Caller/Listener (25:17)

No, she said that she said you said.

Clark Howard (25:18)

I, I. Oops. I mean, she. Oh, okay. So I completely misunderstood what, what you were reading. So, yeah, it's completely normal that the preparer, having made that oversight, should prepare the 1040X. And there's so much stuff involved with doing a return. That's why I go through it line by line when I get my tax return back from my preparer before I submit it. And it's something that you missed, but you were paying somebody to do it. So Krista's advice is better than mine.

Caller/Listener (26:00)

I don't know about that. Okay. Marcus in New York says my enrolled tax preparer just submitted my tax return and it was rejected by the IRS because one had already been filed with my Social Security number. Obviously this is fraud. I listen to you. And I've had my credit frozen for years with all three credit bureaus. How did this happen? And now what do I do? Help.

Clark Howard (26:21)

Okay, so the IRS is its own separate thing. And doing a credit freeze does not prevent tax ID theft, tax ID fraud. So who knows what the reason that that fake return was done. But now the IRS thinks you've already filed and probably gave a false refund to whoever it is. Now, Marcus, number one, I hope that you're not due a refund because you're going to hate what I'm about to say. If you're due a refund, you may not get it for 10 to 14 months. Now, your return will have to be submitted now as a paper return. And the IRS is going to have to go through the whole thing with, oh, this, it was, that one was a fake one, and whatever. And moving forward, the IRS will request that you set up an IRS pen code where they will issue you a code that has to be submitted with your electronic submission of your tax return that you'll do next year for 26. And that code means the criminal won't have it and the IRS won't accept a fake return from somebody else because they won't have your pen. And as a preventative measure, the IRS now allows anyone, even who's not been subject this terrible circumstance, Marcus, has been subject to, to apply for a pin with the IRS. You go to IRS.gov and you'll see how to apply for a pen. And that means that your return cannot be submitted electronically any year until you provide the pen as part of the process of filing.

Caller/Listener (28:08)

And David in Washington says, I'm 16 and I'm starting to work. What would be a bank that would be good to have as someone who's in high school and working well, I'm

Clark Howard (28:19)

so glad you asked this because, David, the bank I want you to be with is not a bank. Since you're working, I would like you to open a youth account with Fidelity Investments. Fidelity. Of my three favorite children, which are Vanguard, Schwab and Fidelity, Fidelity has done the most to be very friendly to teenagers that are working their first job so you can have your quote unquote banking with Fidelity. And you also, since you're working a first job, can open a Fidelity Roth IRA. And at 16, putting money aside for the long term into a Roth IRA is going to double over and over and over again over the decades. Because you started as a teenager, what are Fidelity's fees for you to have youth account with them? 0. So it is my favorite starting place for somebody wanting to open their first quote unquote banking kind of thing when they're working their first job to develop a lifelong habit from get go of building up money towards the long haul. Habits developed young can be habits that change the course of your entire financial life. Now if I jump too many steps ahead, you're not interested in having your own retirement account yet or anything like that. Where would I be? It would not be a bank. It would be at a credit union. A lot of credit unions in Washington state you can go to cuna.org I think is where you can see credit unions near you that you might be eligible to join. And many credit unions are very friendly to people after age 15 opening accounts with them. And the reason credit unions they're so much better than a bank. It's amazing because you're an owner of the place where a bank has to make money off of you to send to their stockholders. A credit union is a co op where you're one of the owners and you get the benefit of ownership. I'm so glad you're asking this question at 16 and I hope someday you've got huge money in that Roth IRA because you started it as a teenager. And appreciate you joining us this Monday. Know all week long we have one on one advice available for you as we've had since 1993 where you can get free one on one advice. If you go to clark.com cac you'll see how to get that done. It's just one more way we offer you empowerment through knowledge so you can save more, spend less and never, never not ever get ripped off. And on Wednesday we have a special treat for you all. Bad advice on our April Fool's edition of our podcast. See you.