08.04.25 Subscriptions: A Clark Smart Assignment / Tax Update for freelancers & Payment Apps

Summary

The Clark Howard Podcast – Episode Summary (08.04.25)

Release Date: August 4, 2025
Episode Title: Subscriptions: A Clark Smart Assignment / Tax Update for Freelancers & Payment Apps

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Introduction

In this episode of The Clark Howard Podcast, host Clark Howard delves into the pervasive challenges consumers face with subscription services, offering actionable advice on managing and canceling unwanted subscriptions. Additionally, Clark provides a comprehensive update on recent IRS tax reporting changes affecting freelancers and users of payment apps. The episode features insights from various listeners, addressing personal finance dilemmas and offering tailored solutions.

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Navigating the Subscription Maze

Clark Howard opens the discussion by highlighting the frustration many consumers experience with subscription services. He emphasizes the deceptive ease of signing up versus the cumbersome process of canceling these services.

Key Points:

• Failed Legislative Efforts: Clark recounts a failed attempt to implement new rules requiring companies to simplify the cancellation process, which was overturned by a three-judge appellate panel.
  “...companies are still going to be able to lure you in with an easy sign up for something and make it as difficult for you to cancel it as possible.” [02:30]

• Industries Most Affected: He identifies home security, gym memberships, and streaming services as notorious for complicating cancellations.
  “Home security contracts require sending a registered letter months in advance, while streaming services make cancellation buried in FAQs.” [03:15]

• Consumer Vigilance: Clark advises consumers to always understand the cancellation process before subscribing and to set reminders to review subscriptions regularly.
  “Before you click to sign up for it, I want you to know, how do you get out of it first...” [04:10]

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Listener Calls and Advice

1. Budgeting with Prepaid Debit Cards – Kathy from Georgia

Issue:
Kathy is experiencing a decline in income and finds it challenging to control spending, even with a budgeting app.

Clark’s Advice:

• Return to Cash: Clark suggests that using cash can psychologically curb overspending better than debit or prepaid cards.
  “There's something about pulling out plastic that doesn't feel the same with spending...” [06:42]

• Alternative Solutions: If cash isn’t feasible, he recommends setting up a separate online bank account with strict withdrawal limits to control spending without incurring overdraft fees.
  “Set up a separate account with an online bank... when that card no longer will tap because you're out of money...” [07:20]

2. Improving Credit Score – Julian from Rhode Island

Issue:
Julian has a solid credit score of 730 and seeks advice on further improvement.

Clark’s Advice:

• Utilize Credit Tools: He recommends signing up for Credit Karma to access personalized tools for enhancing credit scores.
  “Set up that Credit Karma. If you sign up for Credit Karma, it has a number of tools that will walk you through...” [10:02]

• Ongoing Monitoring: Emphasizes the importance of monitoring credit trends rather than focusing on minor fluctuations.
  “Credit scores move around more than you might imagine even in the same week...” [10:30]

3. Amazon Refrigerator Recall – Janet from Illinois

Issue:
Janet purchased a mini fridge from Amazon, which was recalled due to fire risks. Amazon’s replacement policy is slow and unsatisfactory.

Clark’s Advice:

• Persist with Amazon: Encourages Janet to continue pushing Amazon for a refund, stressing the safety implications.
  “You got to push them because this is not acceptable. This is a fire risk.” [12:25]

• Consumer Rights: Highlights the importance of demanding proper resolutions, especially when safety is at stake.
  “Amazon loves to play this game. Sorry I pick on Amazon so much. They're not who they used to be.” [13:00]

4. Futures Trading Accounts – Tyler from New Jersey

Issue:
Tyler, a college student, inquires about Charles Schwab's futures trading accounts and AI tools, questioning their value.

Clark’s Advice:

• Caution Against High-Risk Investments: Advises against futures trading for mainstream investors due to its high-risk nature.
  “Futures trading is something that I don't recommend for a mainstream investor... it's a very, very high risk potential high reward thing.” [21:29]

• Focus on Core Investments: Encourages building a solid investment foundation through low-risk vehicles like Roth IRAs and target retirement funds.
  “The core is that your initial investing and what you should be doing is plain vanilla... Target Retirement Fund Year 2070.” [22:10]

5. Chase Bank Security Concerns – George from Arizona

Issue:
George encountered an overly invasive security verification process when accessing his Chase account from a new computer.

Clark’s Advice:

• Verify Authenticity: Recommends contacting Chase directly through official channels to confirm any unusual verification requests.
  “Wait to talk to a representative, they may be able to verify you without as much specific and invasive information...” [24:40]

• Awareness of Scams: Alerts listeners to remain vigilant against potential spoofing and to ensure they are interacting with legitimate bank communications.
  “Double check that you've gone to the right website... people will absolutely spoof this.” [25:22]

6. Cruise Ship Room Purchase – T from District of Columbia

Issue:
T, a 57-year-old retiree, is considering purchasing a room on a cruise ship as a long-term lease but is uncertain about the financial risks.

Clark’s Advice:

• Highlighting Risks: Warns against the significant risks involved in such long-term maritime leases, especially with startups.
  “I don't like the idea of you effectively entering this 15-year lease because there's just too many potential risks involved...” [28:30]

• Alternative Options: Suggests exploring affordable cruise options without long-term commitments to experience life aboard ships safely.
  “Booking cruise cabins when they're on sale... can effectively, as many other Americans are doing, live on ships... affordably.” [28:50]

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Tax Update: IRS Reporting Changes for Payment Apps

Overview:
Clark provides an in-depth analysis of recent IRS adjustments to tax reporting requirements, particularly affecting users of payment platforms like Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, and Zelle.

Key Points:

• Reverted Thresholds: The initially proposed requirement for issuing 1099 forms for transactions exceeding $600 was rolled back. Current thresholds are:

  • $20,000 in Transactions: Automatically triggers a 1099 form.
  • 200+ Transactions: Even if under $20,000, reaching 200 transactions in a year also necessitates a 1099 form.

  “200 transactions with one of the payment apps, more than $20,000 in a year. Either of those triggers the 1099.” [16:29]

• Impact on Freelancers and Landlords: For professionals like landlords receiving rent via payment apps, the $20,000 threshold is typically met without issues, ensuring all income is appropriately reported.
  “As a landlord, you'll be required to report that income on your tax return and reflect the 1099... no significant meaningful change for you.” [17:50]

• IRS Intentions: The changes aim to capture more tax revenue by addressing unreported income from side businesses previously managed in cash.
  “The whole purpose of this that Congress has been fumbling over for years is to capture more tax revenue.” [19:10]

• Simplification for Employers: The new provision raises the threshold for employers to issue 1099 forms from $600 to $2,000, reducing paperwork for minor earnings.
  “The requirement that they issue you 1099 has been $600 in earnings... that's now $2,000.” [20:00]

Conclusion:
Clark emphasizes that while the initial changes were met with resistance due to their intrusive nature, the final adjustments aim to balance tax compliance with practicality, minimizing the administrative burden on most users.

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Closing Remarks

Clark Howard wraps up the episode by reiterating the importance of staying informed and proactive in managing personal finances. He encourages listeners to utilize available resources, such as the Clark Consumer Action Center, for personalized advice and support.

“Our goal is to provide you knowledge, information, empowerment... so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off.” [28:44]

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Stay Connected:
For more personalized advice, visit www.clark.com/cac. Join the conversation and submit your questions at www.clark.com/askclark.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this summary are based on the provided transcript and do not constitute professional financial advice.

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 can make better financial decisions in your life. I hope you started out this week by reading our daily newsletter from the [e-mail] we've recently made additions to it like daily stats that I really enjoy seeing in my inbox. To subscribe so easy, just go to clark.com newsletter and you know what, this is important about what I'm going to talk about straight ahead. We make it really easy to sign up. Do you know we make it is equally easy if you say I don't like this thing to unsubscribe. As simple to cancel as it is to sign up because I'm going to talk about that straight ahead. And later I've got a homework assignment for you. Some good news for you on tax reporting changes. Good stuff. Okay, so I was all excited last I think it's last year when it was initially announced we were going to have a new rule going into effect this summer that would require that companies could no longer play you like a fiddle when they'd have a trial period or you sign up for something and then you want to quit later. Whatever it is, a gym membership or a video streaming service or whatever it is that however you were able to sign up, you would also be able to quit the same way. Well, let me tell you, companies large and small went berserk, lawyered up, and just before the new rules on canceling were going into effect Three judge panel at an appellate court said, nope, nope. This interferes too much with business. So businesses are still going to be able to lure you in with an easy sign up for something and make it as difficult for you to cancel it as possible. Let me tell you some of the industries that are the worst offenders of this. For years and years and years and years it's been the home security industry makes it really easy for you to sign up, makes it nearly impossible for you to quit. They will have rules in those long term home security contracts that require on a set day, after so many years in a contract, you must send them a letter by registered mail. Nobody even knows what registered mail is, but you have to send a registered letter saying you want to cancel or else it does what's known as an automatic rollover for another three, four, five years. Gym memberships do all kinds of funky stuff like that. And don't get me started with the streaming services that make it so easy for you to sign up for a six month thing at so many cents a month or just a few dollars a month. And then at that six months, bam, suddenly you're paying a huge amount of money and you can't even figure out how to cancel the stupid thing. You know, this is a true lack of business ethics. It is people afraid that the product or service they're offering, well, I wouldn't in my right mind keep doing it, so why would they? So you put up roadblocks to make it as difficult as possible. So anytime you sign up for any subscription of any kind, I want you, before you click to sign up for it, I want you to know, how do you get out of it first, when you don't want to be in it anymore, how do you do it? Because it's a lot easier for you to get into it than it is to get out of it. And I'm sure the judges, in their infinite wisdom thought they were doing the right thing. But it sure is a terrible thing for the American people.

[Caller/Listener]

Whenever I sign up for a subscription, I'll put it on my calendar like a week before it's going to renew. I put that on my calendar so I know to cancel if I want to cancel it.

[Clark Howard]

Have you ever had one that was just like crazy hard to get out of?

[Caller/Listener]

Oh yeah. I mean, just to find it. I mean, I just had that recently and I was looking through the website. It's always so hard. Half the time I end up just searching, you know, or it'll be at the bottom of the FAQs. How do I cancel? It's just, it's annoying. Okay, here we go with some questions. This one came in from Kathy in Georgia. My salary is variable and this year it's significantly down.

[Clark Howard]

I'm sorry about that.

[Caller/Listener]

My spouse and I are spending more money than we earn every month. I'm transferring savings into our checking to cover the overage because using cash is troublesome. What is the best way to get prepaid debit cards and load them up to use? I don't want to use our bank debit card because we both might not be aware of what the other is spending and we risk fees for overdrawing our account. Are there any pitfalls to consider before going this route? I'm at my wits end because just saying we need to spend less is not working. I already use a budgeting app, but I'm not crazy about it help.

[Clark Howard]

So Kathy, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry about the decline in income. I'm sorry that things feel out of control right now. So you said using cash is troublesome. I will tell you, historically I found that when couples face the situation you're in that actually cash has historically been the best way to get spending under control. Because what you do is you allocate to each of you an amount of cash every week or every pay period or once a month or whatever. And you each individually and collectively, you have to live within that cash you've taken out. I've seen it work. Miraculously. There's something about pulling out plastic that doesn't feel the same with spending and it. And it feels psychologically almost like a bottomless pit of money where obviously there's not a bottomless pit of money. So that's why I would ask you, Kathy, to rethink this thing of not wanting to do cash. I'd much rather you and your spouse sit down. You agree that this is how much money you're going to pull out and that you, you'll probably see, like so many people do that as the amount of cash dwindles. You think, do I really need this? Do I really need that? And stick to the needs more than the wants. Please try it. If that's falling on deaf ears and you need to do it the way you talked about with some form of card. What I would recommend is you set up a separate account with an online bank. You transfer money to it each period that you're going to transfer money. Do not set up overdraft like you talked about with the fees with that, when that card no longer will tap because you're out of money, then you know you're out of money to spend in that time period till you replenish it with additional money on whatever schedule the two of you agree upon.

[Caller/Listener]

You can also set daily limits. I don't know if you can set weekly limits on debit cards, but I know daily limits of how much you can spend for each debit card.

[Clark Howard]

I know it sounds like like I'm as analog as could be because I don't actually use cash regularly, but I found that for people who were trying to get control of spending that going back to the analog era, the cash era does make a huge difference.

[Caller/Listener]

Some places won't take cash now though.

[Clark Howard]

That is true.

[Caller/Listener]

Julian Rhode island says I just started listening to your podcast and I appreciate all your tips. My credit score is currently 730 but I'm wondering how I can raise my score. I have two major credit cards and two store cards that are active but with no balance. As much as I want to close them. I took your advice and kept them open so it doesn't adversely affect my score. I did take out a Bank loan for $12,000 for three years to consolidate the high interest debt from my credit cards and I pay bi weekly on that. My car is paid off and besides normal bills and rent, I have no other debt. Thank you for any advice you can give me.

[Clark Howard]

So first of all, great. I'm happy with everything you said and you want to get that score up Julie so you're not alone. We have a [e-mail] how to take your score from good, which yours is to exceptional and I think it would be good for you to go read that briefing to try to figure that out. But I also love for you to sign up for a Credit Karma account. If you sign up for Credit Karma, it has a number of tools that will walk you through what are the things you can do in your exact situation where your score is now to raise it up to where you want it to be, which is you go from where you've got a really good score now at 730 outstanding depending on the lender would be considered to be golden is 760 or 780 depending on their underwriting standards. And by the way, credit scores move around more than you might imagine even in the same week. But it's the trend that you want to make your friend going up. So I'd say you read to get the waterfront view. Read my briefing that we've [e-mail] but also set up that Credit Karma. If you have your credit frozen, you'll have to temporarily thaw it to set up the Credit Karma dashboard. Then let it go back to frozen, and you'll be able to see what you need to do step by step to get that score where you want it.

[Caller/Listener]

This is from Janet in Illinois. I bought a mini fridge on Amazon. I recently received a notice that it was on recall for causing fires. The notice said to send a picture of the fridge with recalled written on it and I would get a new refrigerator. I did so. I was then notified it would take a minimum of five weeks to get a new one and it would be a random color. When I told the company this was unacceptable, I was told it was the only option.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, come on.

[Caller/Listener]

I asked for my money back and was refused. Do I have any recourse at all? I use this product on my job where I keep cold sodas for people with autism as a reward for having a good day. They find this more than a little inconvenient, and I am disgusted that their poor workmanship is now my problem. I love the show and thanks for all you do.

[Clark Howard]

First of all, I love how you're using this, Janet. This is really awesome. It's absolutely terrible that you're being treated this way on this recall. And you said you bought it on Amazon, but obviously it was a third party seller. I want you to work hard with Amazon customer no service. Well, I mean, they are customer no service now. Amazon used to be.

[Caller/Listener]

It just doesn't sound very encouraging like I want you to work with customer nose.

[Clark Howard]

Well, you got to push them.

[Caller/Listener]

I know.

[Clark Howard]

Got to push them because this is not acceptable. This is a fire risk. So you're left with the choice, do you have a refrigerator for these kids or you don't. And getting a refund on it is what Amazon should be doing. Amazon loves to play this game. Sorry I pick on Amazon so much. They're not who they used to be.

[Caller/Listener]

It's fine.

[Clark Howard]

So Amazon likes to be. We're Amazon. We're here for you. We do this for you, and then you have a problem. They say, oh, no, that's a third party seller. Oh, no, that's not us. Come on, come on. Step up to the plate. Take care of these autistic children right now. Amazon, I want you to do the right thing. What do you think? Think we'll hear from somebody from Amazon wants to get a refrigerator of these kids?

[Caller/Listener]

Fingers crossed for sure.

[Clark Howard]

All right, I'll tell you what, Janet. I love what you're doing here. If Amazon customer no service doesn't take care of those kids, I will get a new refrigerator for these kids.

[Caller/Listener]

I love it.

[Clark Howard]

I will, because this kind of thing just annoys me no end. You got a fire risk there. You have such a key reason. You're using this refrigerator and they're telling you, take it or leave it. This is how it's going to work. I don't like that. So let us know.

[Caller/Listener]

We'll see. It's for the kids.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, it's for the kids. We'll see whether I am buying a new refrigerator or not. So you get to work with Amazon customer no service. Coming up ahead, we had a flurry of activity early this year and late last year from people who were just so upset about new IRS reporting requirements. When you use payment apps, I want to talk to you about how that's going to work from here forward.

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[Clark Howard]

You an update on what's going on with all those crazy tax forms that people were freaking out about. That people were going to receive a form of a 1099 who received money from others in excess of $600 over the course of a year from Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, Big Bad Zelle, any of those. That this was an accounting nightmare. And at the last minute, the last couple of tax years the IRS delayed, suspended the new requirements. And this was a requirement that Congress had passed a few years ago. And then this year they were like, oops, and a new provision was passed that all it did was roll back things to the way they used to be, which is you will receive a version of a 1099. If you on the payment platforms receive more than 20 grand in a year, you're just automatically assumed at that point to be engaged in some kind of business activity. There's also another threshold you could hit even at a lower amount than 20,000, and that's if you have 200 or more transactions a year. A lot of us who are landlords, I'm a landlord, receive rent now from our tenants through one of the payment apps. So depending on how much the rent is, odds are very likely at what rents are in most of the country, you're going to blow past that $20,000 limit. That is not a problem for you as a landlord when you'll get that 1099, because all you're going to do, you're already required to report that income on your rents, royalties, whatever part of your tax return, and you'll reflect that 1099 there, and then you'll back it out versus your expenses and all the other stuff. It will be no significant meaningful change for you. The whole purpose of this that Congress has been fumbling over for years is there are a lot of people running a side business that maybe they used to do in cash, but because so few people carry cash anymore. Our conversation we just had earlier that people are now with the apps, paying for stuff, and so you running a little side thing, you know, may have been just pocketing that money and not reporting the income from your little side gig. That's why Congress put these requirements in place, to be able to capture more tax revenue. Well, it turned out it was very intrusive. People obviously hated it. I can tell you from the responses we got the last couple of years, people really did hate this. Do hate this. And so that's why Congress said we give up and went back to the old system. So again, 200 transactions with one of the payment apps, more than $20,000 in a year. Either of those triggers the 1099. Now the other thing is that if you're doing work for a company, the requirement that they issue you 1099 has been $600 in earnings in a year for as long as I can remember. That's now $2,000. So a lot of people do just a little bit of work somewhere will no longer receive a 1099. The 2000 is base as inflation happens over the years that will automatically reset each year. So there'll be less of a blizzard of paperwork for a lot of us.

[Caller/Listener]

All right, we'll go to questions. Tyler in New Jersey wrote this one. I am a college student who has used your advice to finally start saving for my future. Finally. That's when he was in college student. My question is, what are your thoughts on Charles Schwab's futures trading accounts and their thinkorswim AI? Is it the next big thing or a waste of money? P.S. my accounting professor is in love with your podcast. It will mean a lot if you could shout out Mr. Ledgerwood from Embry Riddle.

[Clark Howard]

Embry Riddle. We, we went to look at Embry Riddle for my son when he was trying to decide what flight school he was going to go to. It's a cool campus.

[Caller/Listener]

Well, Mr. Ledgerwood is a cool professor, so thank you for listening.

[Clark Howard]

Cool professor. Mr. Ledgerwood, this is for your student, Tyler. Tyler is from the Tri State area, just like you, Jersey. So, all right, what Schwab doing here? They're trying to be cool and hip towards younger investors like you have with Robinhood. And Fidelity's been really into this as well. So futures trading is something that I don't recommend for a mainstream investor. It's Futures trading is a very, very high risk potential high reward thing that most of what we've heard from listeners and viewers is when they got burned in it and using AI for investing. So this is, I am as opposite this kind of thing going on at Robinhood and Fidelity and now at Schwab because I believe Tyler, first of all, you said you're finally taking advice. Let me tell you something. If you're in college and you're already thinking of how to invest, that's the biggest part of the game. So my deal is something that Chuck Schwab himself talked about, gosh, decades ago. You always start with the core. The core is that your initial investing and what you should be doing is plain vanilla Dullesville that you want to set up. As soon as you're working your own Roth ira, you want to do the money in that as dull as you can. Likely just doing a Target Retirement Fund Year 20 if you're in college, 2070, 2075, something like that. Yeah, I know that's ways away and building that money for the long term and just that's where you start. And then if you want on the side to do some pretty active kind of trading, fine. Know that if you do it in a traditional investment account and you're doing holdings of less than a year, the tax treatment on that is extremely mean spirited and unfavorable.

[Caller/Listener]

George in Arizona says today I logged into my Chase account with a new computer. After the usual username, password and text code, I was forced to call an automated line. On the call, I had to enter my full credit card number, enter my full Social Security number and speak my full name and address into the phone. This felt excessive and invasive, almost like a scam. Is this becoming standard practice among banks?

[Clark Howard]

George My experience, from my own experience with Chase and what I'm hearing from others, they are more aggressive about security than is typical in the banking industry. They're by far the largest bank. They truly don't know their customers. And so they are putting so many roadblocks in the second you, let's say you get a new cell phone and used to sign in from the old cell phone or you get a new computer and it's different than the one you were signing in before. They put you through so much verification. Often you'll have to not even go through automation. You'll have to talk to a human. And one thing I do recommend if you trip the security trip wires at Chase, that you don't enter all that information in an automated system, wait to talk to a representative, they may be able to verify you without as much specific and invasive information is you were asked for by the automated system at Chase.

[Caller/Listener]

Caution to people though, you got to double check that you've gone to the right website.

[Clark Howard]

Right.

[Caller/Listener]

Because people will absolutely spoof this. It sounds like George got a, he said the text, so I assume someone sent so Chase must have sent a text to his phone number, which, you know, the crook, if it was a crook, they wouldn't have his phone number.

[Clark Howard]

Right.

[Caller/Listener]

So that probably triggered the fact that this was a legitimate call call that George had to make. I don't know, just scary for sure to think of giving that information on a phone line.

[Clark Howard]

But you know, on your Chase statement, if you get paper statements on an online statement on the back of a Chase credit card. It will have the number you call for customer no service. And by the way, every company today, baseline is customer no service. You got to work up from there. But the Chase, you just talked about us not trusting who you're reaching and they're not trusting you. This goes back to a core principle of the financial services industry that was long standing and that is there was the know thy customer rule. Well, today we don't deal with local people at a local bank that they know you, they know your kids, you know them. It's so impersonal now. And that's why these verifications are so important to make sure that you are who you say you are. But as Krista points out, so important what you said, that you're not being spoofed and scammed by crooks because it.

[Caller/Listener]

Sounds like Chase sent a specific number of verification line like. And so it might not have been. I'm sure it wasn't the traditional number that you could find online or on your card.

[Clark Howard]

But if you called your card right.

[Caller/Listener]

Just to ask, do you do this process? Is this what's happening to me?

[Clark Howard]

I guess they would, they would transfer you to that department.

[Caller/Listener]

I don't know. Maybe. Well, I'm paranoid because of my.

[Clark Howard]

Because of everything we hear, we hear all right? We are basically the most paranoid people ever when it comes to the financial services industry because we have heard every scam there is out there and we see over and over again where the banks and the brokerages, they just wash their hands of it. Say, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's your problem, not ours.

[Caller/Listener]

Okay. T in the District of Columbia says, I'm a 57 year old single woman and a newly retired federal employee. I have a decent annuity and a modest nest egg, but I am by no means rich. I have no debt, but I'm living in D.C. i also have no car or house. I'm considering purchasing a room on a cruise ship which would effectively be a 15 year lease. I realize this company is a startup and could be a bit of a gamble. As someone who has worked very hard but not indulged in much international travel, I would love to take this chance to see the world around the world to big ports and small ports in three and a half years. I have done quite a bit of research, but I am interested in hearing your thoughts. I don't have unlimited funds and this purchase would take about half of my retirement savings.

[Clark Howard]

Oh my goodness.

[Caller/Listener]

To purchase the package, which is all inclusive and would allow me to save or reinvest part of my monthly annuity payment for the 15 years aboard the ship. Thank you for your show. I've discovered you on YouTube in the last six months as I have studied retiring.

[Clark Howard]

Well t congratulations on being retired at such a wonderful young age. 57. I mean a lot of people don't even know when they're ever going to be able to retire. So I don't want you to end up saying oh man, I'm having to go back to work because I want to tell you that this has been a trouble prone area where people buy or in your case lease a multi year cabin on a ship. Bit a lot of these have had a lot of trouble launching, staying underway, keeping it going. The economics have been very challenging for them and then brutal for people who pay a lot of money up front and then the thing goes doesn't happen. I'm not comfortable with you taking so much of your money and as you put it, you called it a bit of a gamble. I'd say it's a bigger than bit of a gamble. Besides, if you book cruise cabins and you book them when they're on sale like a cruise compete or various websites where you can find really affordable cabins, you can effectively, as many other Americans are doing, live on ships or even one particular ship for an extended period of time, you'll be able to see is this a life that works for you. You'll be amazed how affordable it will be, especially if you're willing to live in an inside cabin. It is crazy cheap for you to live week after week, month after month on a ship where you get your housing, you get your meals, you get to see so many things. I don't like the idea of you effectively entering this 15 year lease because there's just too many potential risks involved with it for you. I don't want you to have worked so hard for so long to put what you've worked so hard to save for your future at risk like this. So I'm sorry, I hope you have an absolutely great, great day. I want to thank you for joining us and know all week long we have one on one free advice for you available from our team Clark Consumer Action Center. If you go to clark.com cac you'll see how to get that. And I want to tell you our goal is to provide you knowledge, information, empowerment, every way we can think of everywhere you want to be reached, whether it's social media, our websites, the markets that I'm on, TV and radio, wherever it is that we can serve you, to give you the knowledge, the confidence so you can make good decisions when with your wallet, so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. And we'll be at your service on Wednesday.