Co-host (6:40)

At Costco, of course, use your Costco.

Clark Howard (6:43)

Costco, Costco Visa card, and get an additional 2% off the already cheap price.

Co-host (6:50)

All right, well, 2% back, right, 2% back. All right, we'll go to some questions. This one's from Lucy in Florida. Is it a good idea to purchase a warranty from companies that offer coverage for your vehicle that's no longer under warranty?

Clark Howard (7:04)

So, no, Lucy, almost without exception, the companies that market so heavily on television, they're, they're running these ads all the time for you to buy their extension or service contractor warranty on your vehicle. They make it look so impressive. But then if you go look online for reviews, you'll find that people repeatedly are left hurt. They paid all that money for that extension of a warranty from these third party companies. And then when the chips are down, something really bad happens with their vehicle. They don't pay. The way it tends to work is when you buy one of these third party warranties for minor things, they'll do those because, you know they're not enough money. But when it's a big thing, they stall. They stall, they stall or they ignore. The other problem in the industry that happens repeatedly when you buy an off brand extension of a warranty from a car dealer is these are sold is what are known as packs to the dealer. What's a pack? So they'll sell you something for 20 $500 that the dealer may be paid 150 bucks for. There's no way they can insure a car, you know, the repairs a car would need for 150 bucks. Right. So you're in a position where you paid these thousands of dollars, the vehicle breaks down and it turns out the company is long gone that the dealer sold you the warranty from. So the best thing to do is if you want to extend the manufacturer's warranty, you do so with the manufacturer itself because then you've got the manufacturer providing that warranty to you that is so superior to any of these third party warranties. And there may be somewhere hiding in some cave, a third party warranty. That's okay. I just haven't seen it yet.

Co-host (9:12)

Okay. Angie in Indiana wrote in with this one. I was talked into an annuity from my insurance agent in 2004. I didn't have a great feeling about it since it was a mandatory buy in for $50,000. And I said no, I could do $20,000. And he said since he was looking out for me, he could override it as a favor. I called two days later and tried to cancel and he talked me out of it. So now in 2025 he is retiring. I hadn't thought about it until I started listening to your podcast. What can I do now, 21 years later to benefit me?

Clark Howard (9:50)

Okay, this is a great question. So you've been in this annuity for 21 years, so you're past any what are known as surrender charges, meaning that you don't have to pay a penalty for exiting. From this first question I'd have is what's it worth now? Has it increased a meaningful amount from the 20,000 you put in? If it has, then maybe your return has lagged where I'd want you to be, but hopefully it is worth a lot more than 20,000. You can at this point, you're obviously still working, Angie, or you wouldn't be talking. You're not asking me how do you use it now in retirement? You can exchange it for a better annuity. Potentially. The hard part is finding somebody who will talk to you about annuities who will do so as a fiduciary. Fiduciary means somebody who's not a commission salesperson, but somebody who is knowledgeable and can place you in one commission free. That would be an appropriate replacement for this one because once you're in an annuity, basically you're in it. So I would like you to go on clark.com and look at our guide on finding a fiduciary someone who legally is bound to do what's right for you instead of what lies their pocket and find out the proper exit strategy into an ultra low cost replacement for this thing you've been in 21 years.

Co-host (11:36)

Okay, and this is from Jerry in Connecticut. Clark answered a question regarding excess liability insurance umbrella. Clark gave good advice to the person with three and a half to $4 million in assets. And we would all be wise to protect ourselves against schlocky attorneys looking for deep pockets to go after. However, he didn't mention that in many states, IRAs, even Roth IRAs, and primary residences are protected against such judgments. In many cases, this would reduce the need for umbrella coverage by 50% or more, depending on one situation. In my case, it's 75% of assets.

Clark Howard (12:13)

Jerry, what a good point. And you know, Connecticut is one of a handful of states that provides near solid protection from lawsuits for IRAs. That's not generally the case across the country. So IRAs in most places potentially are at least part at risk. And oddly enough, there are some states that haven't updated their protections for IRAs to include specifically Roth IRAs, where they have old statutory language that protects from lawsuits, traditional IRAs, but not Roth. So this is a dicey area. If somebody has millions of dollars in assets, though, you're going to know the answer this way because you're going to have sought out the services at some point of a lawyer who specializes in wills, estates and trusts to make sure your will is done properly to minimize tax exposure and risk at the time you die, will know what the use of trust may be or llc, and your overall financial picture. And they would also at that time be able to give advice specific to your state about what Jerry's talking about, about your risk as somebody with a large amount of assets to having any of that money at risk from lawsuits. I had talked, I think two, three years ago, I talked about a doctor whose daughter was in an at fault accident where the doctor had bought minimal liability coverage on his vehicles and ended up personally bankrupt from the judgment from court against his daughter, which ultimately was against him because she was a minor from the accident. Liability coverage is very important as what I call a success tax. If you are in a position where you have a great deal of assets and in your case, Jerry, you're talking about, you're not at risk as a resident of Connecticut, what happens if you later in life move somewhere else in the country, you decide to move who knows where, then you got to reevaluate that and make sure that you are as protected in the future as you are right now. But I appreciate so much you pointing out that I ignored the shield that might be there in place in some places for IRAs. I should also mention 401ks around the country have more protection as a general rule than IRAs from judgments coming after that money coming up ahead. Oh boy, beef prices are going crazy. It's a real incentive suddenly to become a vegetarian. I'll tell you what's up.

Don McDonald (15:22)

Hey there, Don McDonald from the Talking Real Money podcast looking for a source of honest, consumer centric financial help. While obviously biased, I think you'll find that talking real money is what you're looking for. My co host Tom and I have spent most of our careers helping people like you manage their money on radio, TV and podcasts. Joe from Stacking Benjamin's and Paul Merriman from Sound Investing both love Talking Real money and I'm pretty sure you will too. Why? Because we tell the truth about saving and investing based on decades of academic research, not a bunch of dubious hunches or mysterious premonitions Talking Real Money is both a valuable education and a lot of fun. Plus, we answer your questions on almost every episode. So if you're looking for a better way to manage money and build wealth, look up Talking Real Money on your favorite podcast service like this one. Ask your smart speaker to play Talking Real Money or go visit us online@talking.

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Clark Howard (16:57)

This episode is brought to you by Discover. Hey listeners, bet you didn't know that Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. You know what's a little less accepted? Taking financial advice from random usernames and avatars you found on some forum. That's just sketchy. No offense to all the finance bros out there on the Internet, based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com credit card Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3.

Apple Pay Advertiser (17:46)

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Clark Howard (17:52)

Fees, extra fee, full terms@mintmobile.com so I was teasing just moments ago about it would be a great moment in life for me to become a vegetarian. I'm not that direction, although I am very much. Is it called a pescatarian now? Since I had my aortic valve replaced, Fish has become a very important part of my diet to keep me ticking, to keep me alive. But I about passed out when my wife Lane sent me out weeks ago for a family cookout to buy ground beef for the cookout and right after that I see a story in the Financial Times that the cost of beef has hit record highs in the United States, it's because the amount of beef available has reached its lowest level. And how long since the mid-1950s. Can you imagine? Think how few people lived in the United States 70 years ago. A fraction of the population we have now, which I think is somewhere around 340 million. And the beef supply is lower now than it was in the mid-50s. It's because of multiple years of drought in the mountain states in the west. And so the number of beef cattle way, way down. So the average price of a pound of ground beef now $5.79. That's, I mean, that's a huge amount. And steak, unreal. So I go to Costco to buy beef for this family cookout. And I was supposed to buy ground beef, but there was a sign, there was a special deal for that weekend on filet and do I love filet mignon. So I go over and one pack of filets and it wasn't that big, was $70, $70. And then at the checkout I'd get $10 off. I was like not doing it. So I ended up going to Aldi because I'd read a review about these Aldi Smash burgers they're selling and they were so good and they were a lot cheaper than they were in a regular supermarket, but they were still a good amount of money. So think about this. When you look at the advertising that the hamburger chains are doing, what are they all pushing right now? They're pushing chicken. They're pushing chicken so much you think they were chick fil a. So that's what people do. Just as the restaurants are product substituting chicken promotions for beef promotions. That's what we do in our own lives is we eat more fish or we eat more pork or we eat more chicken. It's like a chick fil a slogan, eat more chicken. Anyway, we change what we consume. And that's what this is going to require. Because the cost of beef going crazy. McDonald's reported really bad numbers for the first sales numbers for the first three months of this year. And it's because they're on a cost squeeze that the McDonald's target customer is looking for a deal when they walk into McDonald's. And a non deal deal is when you have to pay a value menu price or a value meal price more than 10 bucks. What people in their minds expect they're going to pay five or six bucks for is now over ten. So that's the deal is it's not a deal right now with beef. And you got to rethink. Eventually herds rebuild, supply becomes more plentiful. But that's going to take time. In the meantime, you got to protect your wallet. And Krista, I know you think the whole lesson I should take from this is being a vegetable tarian.

Co-host (22:23)

No, that's not true.

Clark Howard (22:24)

Not true?

Co-host (22:25)

No. I'm really a pescatarian too. But I mean, I don't think red meat's necessarily bad. And I think I'm going to go into it. No, I love that Aldi does sell grass fed red meat, which a lot of people think is a better choice.

Clark Howard (22:40)

Now you've always talked about grass fed.

Co-host (22:42)

Yeah.

Clark Howard (22:43)

Versus what, what do you feed?

Co-host (22:45)

Like cattle, other corn and all sorts of that kind of thing. So that's bad to make them grow fast. I don't know. I'm no scientist, like I've said, but might as well let you know. It just seems right that they should graze on grass. Right?

Clark Howard (22:58)

Yeah. So. So I got to talk about how I've had to change my diet. If you're not aware, In December of 23, I had life saving surgery. I had something called a tavr where I had a defective aortic valve from birth. And finally it gave up and I was dying and so I had this operation and then I got two diet lists. One, the things I couldn't eat, which was page after page after page after page. And then the things I could eat, which was this really short thing. Short, short it was. That was like a pamphlet. The other was like a book. And so I've had to really adjust what I eat. And I've learned I never was into fresh fish. And now I eat fresh fish all the time and I've learned to really like it.

Co-host (23:50)

That's great.

Clark Howard (23:51)

And you know, I used to love going to Chick Fil A and have a Chick Fil A sandwich. I can't do that anymore because it has more sodium in one sandwich than I'm allowed all day. Sodium is deadly for my valve. And so now I eat the Chick Fil A grilled chicken sandwich, which at first, you know, being so oriented towards fried food, having to get used to something that was grilled took a minute. But now I really enjoy eating it. Everything about except it's $2 more for that than it is for the original.

Co-host (24:26)

But certainly, certainly healthier. Not just the sodium, but having it grilled instead of fried. So that's great.

Clark Howard (24:32)

Fried isn't automatically good for you.

Co-host (24:36)

So I did bring you in, you know, Costco. I'm sorry, I'm going On so long. But Costco has a Kirkland signature, like, organic no salt spice, which I think is delicious. And I brought you a little of it. Did you try it?

Clark Howard (24:50)

I forgot all about that.

Co-host (24:52)

It's good. I put it on my eggs.

Clark Howard (24:55)

I forgot.

Co-host (24:55)

Speaking of not being a vegetarian. All right.

Clark Howard (24:58)

You were for a while, weren't you?

Co-host (25:00)

I was never a full. No, full on. I mean, eggs aren't vegetarian. I've always eaten eggs, so. All right, now we're going to get to the questions. I am really sorry, everyone.

Clark Howard (25:09)

No, no. I just want you to think how many things we just talked about that people are going to submit as Clark stinks. Either about me or you. I know from us talking about food. Every time we talk about food, we get a lot of Clark stinks. If you want to post one, go to clark.com clark stanks.

Co-host (25:28)

Come at me. All right, what about me? No, I think I deserve it. LJ in Illinois says I'm in my late 60s, in relatively good health, and for all intents and purposes, an elderly orphan. I do have some family, including a son who lives in another state but has been estranged from the family for many years. That's too bad.

Clark Howard (25:49)

I'm really sorry about that.

Co-host (25:51)

I currently own a home with a remaining mortgage of about $90,000, along with sufficient financial assets to. To last beyond my living years. My question is, because I do not want to leave any portion of my estate to any of my family members, can I arrange to have my home and possessions, along with any other assets left to a charity of my choosing? I've already contacted a couple of attorneys, but was informed they do not provide a service where they handle the distribution, packing and selling of property. If I leave a will naming a charity as beneficiary, will the charity manage everything I leave behind? And this isn't. I have to say, sadly, LJ is not the first person we've heard from in this situation. Like people write in, you know, at least I'd say once every couple of months, saying they aren't sure what to do and they don't have any heirs.

Clark Howard (26:36)

Right. So, lj, you must have in mind some favorite charities. And if you do, you want to contact the charities, the charity that you'd like to leave your home and possessions to, not your money specifically, but your home and possessions, and tell them, here's the deal. I want to name you as my heir. You'll have to make arrangements to pack and sell my stuff off and do all those things in return for receiving my house and my Possessions and you'll have cherries will say, okay, we can handle that. And others, it'll say, well, that's very nice of you. We don't have that capability. You want to interview the charities that you're thinking of donating to at time of your passing and see how they feel about this and do they have that capability? You're not going to have a lawyer who's going to do that for you. It'll be a charity that they might hire an estate sales specialist to sell off things or whatever. There are these companies that sell off possessions more than just you think of with a simple estate sale where they handle the inventory, they handle everything. And so you do that and then you have a lawyer prepare the will naming those organizations as beneficiaries. I want to make sure though, that you also, you say you have enough assets to make it the rest of your days. I'd like you, if you've got serious assets, I'd like you to sit down with a financial planner, a fee only fiduciary financial planner, and make sure you have enough assets in the event you need care in your home or you need assisted living or anything like that. Do you truly have enough money to carry you through a period of your life where you might need extensive care?

Co-host (28:37)

This is from Jan, Georgia, and he's following up on Christopher in Florida's question. On the podcast, he says, I had a similar issue where I bought an expensive item, a dive computer on ebay from a seller with no feedback. Red flag. I got shipping information and got notice that it had been. It had been delivered, but it was not delivered to my address, but another address in the same zip code. Long story short, the seller used a tracking number from an Amazon package going to the same zip code.

Clark Howard (29:07)

But this was an ebay.

Co-host (29:08)

Yeah, it was an ebay purchase, but they used a tracking number from Amazon package that was going to the same zip code. After reporting the issue and going to the post office, I was able to find out the actual address associated with the tracking number. I actually spoke with the residents at that address and they confirmed that they receive a lot of Amazon packages, but they were all computer parts. No dive computer. My speculation is that it may be possible the scammer either works at Amazon or has a friend that works at Amazon and they can look up shipments going to the same zip code to assist in the scam. I later saw the same item with the exact same pictures on other ebay auctions and the sellers on those also had zero feedback. If you're going to file a claim against ebay's money back guarantee. Wait until the last possible date to file any chargebacks on your credit card. Once a chargeback is filed, ebay will wipe its hands of the whole issue and nullify any money back guarantee claims. It's in those terms of the guarantee.

Clark Howard (30:07)

Okay, this is phenomenal because when we took that question before, we were like, what in the world is going on? And you playing detective, figuring out what the scammers are up to. And it's supposition that it's insiders at Amazon creating this theft cycle. But this is really crazy. And I think the most important thing that we heard from both posts is that when you're buying on ebay and there's zero reviews of a seller and it's an item that is selling at what seems to be a really good price, you got to smell a rat. You got to be really, really careful. And you have helped a lot of people here, both of you who posted by pointing out that this is a ongoing scam activity involving purchases on ebay. Now let's go to the ebay guarantee. The ebay guarantee sounds very impressive. It's very bureaucratic. You have to be very persistent to be successful with a claim on ebay against their guarantee for failure to receive goods. And especially in a case where something shows delivered ebay treats you, in my opinion, is guilty till proven innocent. So you have to be very politely persistent with ebay to get them to honor their guarantee. Wow.

Co-host (31:47)

And this is from Kevin in Iowa. What are the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing stocks through the Robinhood app? Are these investing apps safe?

Clark Howard (31:56)

Robin Hood is safe. Robin Hood has been a disruptor. And Robin Hood is who you can thank for why so much Stock trading now is free. They're pretty much a break things kind of company Silicon Valley kind of, hey, let's try this, let's try that. And some of their ventures have not worked out so well, but Robin Hood is completely safe to use. And it is a deal. Using Robin Hood for people use it a lot. Using their premium offering is a good idea because of all the additional benefits you'll get from them, including really good rates on savings and eventually on a checking account or something like a checking account from Robinhood. Speaking of investing, we're out of time on today's podcast, but I wanted to mention again my longtime friend and colleague Jonathan Clements, who was the personal finance writer for the Wall Street Journal forever, who wrote in such a clear way that from novice investors to very sophisticated investors learned column after column from him. He has terminal cancer and he's come up with a plan to turn our kids into lifelong savers and investors. And so he's got a new book out where in his book you're able to read his most important columns that he wrote through the years. It's great for adults, but it's really designed for younger, early investors to become smart at how they handle their money. Not just investing, but through their lifetimes and every day. It's called the Best of Jonathan Clements classic columns on money and life. You can buy it right now on Amazon, assume it will be other places. And you're going to love this. I love this. All the proceeds from the book are going to fund the Roth IRA project. See, I've always said I was the man from Roth, but maybe Jonathan is the man from Roth. And it's all about getting people in the mindset from when they very first start working to put money into a Roth IRA for tax free growth. Tax free spending way down the road. And Jonathan is somebody I'm gonna miss because not only has he been a great writer, he's a phenomenal person. Thank you so much for joining us today. You know, what we're devoted to every day is you learning ways to save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped.