Podcast Summary: The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode: 09.29.25 – "This Open Enrollment Is Different / A Good Climb: CD Ladders"
Date: September 29, 2025
Host: Clark Howard

Episode Overview

In this episode, Clark Howard tackles significant changes coming to health insurance open enrollment for 2026, explains why this year will require more diligence from consumers, and shares a defensive savings strategy using CD (Certificate of Deposit) ladders in an uncertain interest rate environment. As always, Clark answers listener questions on financial issues including arbitration, surprise credit card approvals, overseas e-commerce fees, student loans, and home equity lines of credit.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. 2026 Health Insurance Open Enrollment: Why It’s Different This Year

[01:04 – 08:11]

• New Congressional Changes: Recent Congressional tax law has increased costs for both employers and individuals starting with 2026 health plans.
• Manual Re-enrollment: Unlike previous years, individual marketplace customers must manually re-enroll for coverage.
• Cost-Shifting by Employers: Expect many employers to push more costs onto employees.
• Dangers in the Marketplace:
  • Anticipate more “fake” or dubious health plans that don’t offer legitimate coverage.
  • Some plans on the marketplace, while cheap, may only reimburse minor health costs. These are risky if a major medical event occurs.
• Shopping for Coverage:
  • Take time to scrutinize available plans rather than auto-renewing.
  • Catastrophic coverage might be the most realistic option for many purchasing individual insurance.

Notable Quote:

"This is not a year when you get your open enrollment booklet ... and just take 15 seconds and click same same, same, same. Because of changes the Congress made, health coverage is going to be quite a bit more expensive." — Clark Howard [04:23]

2. Listener Q&A: Arbitration & Class Actions

[08:11 – 11:40]

• On T-Mobile Reneging Price Locks:
  • Clark dropped T-Mobile for violating its price commitment, emphasizing consumer power to switch providers.
• Shift in Legal Rights:
  • Companies are increasingly banning both lawsuits and class action arbitration, limiting customer recourse.
• Advice: Exercise marketplace power—switch providers rather than relying on class action outcomes.

Notable Quote:

"To me, the real power of the marketplace...is if a company doesn't behave, you go somewhere else." — Clark Howard [09:58]

3. International E-Commerce: Surprise Charges

[11:40 – 14:27]

• Overseas sellers may add after-the-fact “tariff” charges, sometimes presented as tax, which can be substantial.
• Tariffs are a form of consumer tax, and these unexpected fees are more common as trade policies evolve.
• PayPal’s dispute resolution may not always help with such cases.

Notable Quote:

"The reality is tariffs are nothing other than a tax on consumers." — Clark Howard [12:56]

4. Credit Freezes & Unexpected Credit Card Approvals

[14:27 – 16:34]

• Even with frozen credit reports, card issuers can sometimes approve new cards due to existing account relationships.
• Credit bureaus do occasionally allow hard pulls in error.

Notable Quote:

"Virtually every credit card company in the country checks your credit every single month...once you have that existing relationship, their ability to check your current credit status does not freeze." — Clark Howard [15:13]

5. CD Laddering for Defensive Savings

[19:36 – 23:11]

• What is a CD Ladder?
  • Divide your savings into equal parts and purchase CDs with staggered maturities (1-year, 2-year, ... 5-year).
  • Each year, roll maturing funds into a new 5-year CD to maximize rates while maintaining liquidity.
• Why Now?
  • The interest rate environment is highly unpredictable (“fuzzier than normal”).
  • CD ladders reduce the risk of rate fluctuations and can yield better returns than simple savings accounts.
• Where to Build a Ladder:
  • Use discount brokers; they access wholesale CD rates higher than retail bank offerings.

Notable Quote:

"There's an old strategy for savers that suddenly is very relevant again...it's known as the ladder or CD ladder." — Clark Howard [19:36]

6. Listener Questions & Practical Advice

[23:11 – 29:19]

• Paying for College & Managing Debt (Tim in Pennsylvania) [23:22 – 26:14]:

  • Clark advises not to dip into Roth IRA funds for college or credit card debt repayment.
  • Small student loans for college’s final years are acceptable; focus on retirement security.

  Quote:

  "The last thing I want you doing is using Roth money to liquidate the credit cards, free up money for college. You need that money for your retirement." — Clark Howard [24:29]

• Credit Card Fees on Home Renovation (Catherine in Florida) [27:06]:

  • When vendors pass credit card fees onto consumers, paying by check or cash may be preferable.
  • Consider a home equity line of credit through a credit union as a backup for future projects.

• Dedicated Device for Two-Factor Authentication (Lynn in Delaware) [28:09 – 29:16]:

  • Using a dedicated, home-only phone for 2FA is a clever idea; providers like TextNow and Helium offer low or no-cost text plans.
  • Clark reiterates the importance of SIM locks to protect against account hijacking.

  Quote:

  "Being able to have a two factor line is actually a very clever idea that I haven't thought of." — Clark Howard [28:44]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Open Enrollment:
  "This is not a year when you get your open enrollment booklet ... take 15 seconds and click same same, same, same." [04:23]

• On Marketplace Power:
  "If a company doesn't treat you right, can them." [10:32]

• On Using Roth IRAs for Debt:
  "That Roth money is golden because it continues to grow tax free and will be spent tax free later in life." [26:16]

• On CD Ladders:
  "It's where money that you need to park in savings ... you split it into five equal piles." [19:37]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:04] — Open Enrollment: Changes, Costs, and Warnings
• [08:11] — Arbitration Rights & T-Mobile Price Locks
• [11:40] — international Online Shopping: Hidden Tariffs and Fees
• [14:27] — Credit Freeze and Store Card Approvals
• [19:36] — CD Ladder Strategy for "Parking Space" Money
• [23:11] — Q&A: College Savings, Credit Card & HELOC Advice
• [28:09] — Q&A: Dedicated Phones for Security and 2FA

Overall Tone and Takeaways

Clark’s advice is candid, pragmatic, and focused on consumer empowerment. He emphasizes vigilance amidst regulatory changes and uncertain economic environments, encouraging listeners to:

• Take proactive steps during open enrollment.
• Use consumer choice as leverage against companies that disregard agreements.
• Build defensive strategies for saving money.
• Not sacrifice long-term financial security for short-term fixes.

Final Words:

"The empowerment we're about is so that you learn ways to save more, spend less, and don't ever, ever, not ever allow somebody to rip you off." — Clark Howard [End of Episode]