10.03.25 Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / Travel Warning: The Luggage Tag Scam

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode: 10.03.25 - Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / Travel Warning: The Luggage Tag Scam
Host: Clark Howard
Date: October 3, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Clark Howard Podcast is a classic Friday installment featuring the popular "Clark Stinks" segment, where listeners submit criticisms and constructive feedback for Clark to address. Later, Clark covers two consumer-focused travel topics: the pitfalls of checking bags and a warning about luggage tag scams. The episode keeps a light and conversational tone, with Clark and producer Krista candidly sharing listener stories and practical money-saving advice.

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Main Segments & Key Discussion Points

1. Clark Stinks: Listener Critiques & Clark’s Responses

[02:40–13:57]

• Clark addresses being "softer" with his money advice ([02:40])

  • Listener Glenn observes Clark has shifted from "always pursuing the lowest cost" to favoring comfort and security (e.g., trip insurance, umbrella policies, avoiding basic fares).
    • Clark’s response: He argues risk and reward must be balanced and that life circumstances often dictate a less rigid approach, especially as consumers’ needs change over time.
    • “There are times that call for… well, it’s situational if you do this or not do that.” ([06:09])

• The impact of Airbnbs on local communities ([06:28])

  • Listener Susie voices concerns about Airbnbs contributing to housing shortages and disrupting neighborhoods, especially in Europe.
    • Clark comments on ongoing debate and recent bans in cities like New York and Hawaii.
    • “This is one we’re still feeling our way on, and there’s a lot of minuses that come with Airbnb and VRBO…” ([07:36])

• Artificial Intelligence and Jobs ([09:42])

  • Listener Ev critiques Clark's past stance on tech not costing jobs, citing AI and robots reducing work opportunities.
    • Clark acknowledges AI’s disruption but draws parallels to the rise of the internet, creating new roles even as old ones disappear.
    • “AI will create so many other jobs that are categories that don’t even exist yet.” ([10:08])

• Protecting assets with trusts/LLCs when denied umbrella insurance ([11:21])

  • Listener Kalea suggests using legal structures for asset protection if traditional insurance is unavailable (e.g., after a DUI).
    • Clark defers legal specifics but notes it could be a smart option if effective.

• Tokenization and virtual credit cards ([12:11])

  • Listeners clarify that modern retailers use tokens instead of storing actual card numbers. Virtual cards are one method, but direct card payments can also be safe if tokens are used.

• More on the umbrella insurance for those with a DUI ([13:30])

  • A listener proposes finding an independent broker, as some insurers may still cover such cases.

• Clark Stinks segment origins ([13:46])

  • Clark recounts how “Clark Stinks” began as a way to embrace criticism and increase transparency, silencing negative outside forums through openness.
    • “If there are things I’m doing that you don’t like, it’s something I need to hear.” ([15:07])

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2. Travel Warning: The Luggage Tag Scam & Air Travel Tips

[19:21–29:58]

• Frontier’s ‘Go Wild’ unlimited travel pass – Clark’s experiment ([19:21])

  • Clark discusses buying Frontier’s $299 unlimited travel pass, allowing flights for a penny, despite his own negative opinions of the airline.
    • He describes agonizing over the decision, ultimately choosing to “walk the walk”, promising to share honest experiences.
    • “I bought it. I’m the guinea pig… I need to see it, experience it with my own eyeballs, my own body in that horrendously awful seat.” ([20:27])

• Beware the checked luggage tag scam ([21:54])

  • A recent scam: crooks are stealing discarded luggage tags at airports to file fraudulent lost/damaged bag claims and collect payouts.
    • Tips: Avoid discarding tags in public trash, consider using AirTags or similar trackers in checked luggage for theft recovery.

• Frontier’s “carrier interface charge” exposed ([25:34])

  • Listener Ann discovers a hidden $23 per-segment online booking fee on Frontier, purportedly to maintain their website.
    • Best way around this? Book in person, but beware possible alternative fees at the counter.
    • “...it is a bait and switch that Frontier does, but not really under the law considered to be a bait and switch because they then do detail every bit of junk that you’re paying.” ([26:33])

• Southwest’s declining value and alternative travel cards ([27:19])

  • Listener Ben is dropping his Southwest card as perks dwindle and fees rise.
    • Clark recommends Chase Sapphire Preferred for free agents due to its flexibility and relatively low annual fee (~$95).
    • For frequent travelers, Capital One Venture X offers substantial value (high fee mostly offset by travel credits).
    • “If you travel three or more times a year, I’m going to blow your mind… Venture X has a $395 annual fee, but they give you an upfront $300 credit...” ([28:34])

• Rental car re-shopping trick pays off ([30:13])

  • Listener Jim reports saving $135 on his vacation car rental by re-shopping just before the trip as Clark suggested.
    • Clark reaffirms that car rental prices fluctuate wildly and rebooking can yield major savings.

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3. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Risk vs. cost in financial advice

  • “The odds are higher that something might change and you lose all your money... It’s all about weighing risk versus reward and the calendar plays a part in it.” — Clark ([03:36])

• On the reality of “junk fees” in budget travel

  • “Frontier will do these sales where they’re selling a ticket for $19 and then by the time you check out, the $19 is many times that.” — Clark ([26:33])

• How listener criticism helps Clark grow

  • “Hearing criticism is one of the most important things for us, for anybody in a position to change, to improve, to do better.” — Clark ([15:26])

• AirTag tip for lost luggage

  • “Having an AirTag is awesome. The airline can’t tell you where your bag is. You’ll know from that AirTag.” — Clark ([23:34])

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Notable Timestamps

• Clark Stinks begins: [02:40]
• Airbnb ethical concerns: [06:28]
• AI and jobs debate: [09:54]
• Legal asset protection after DUI: [11:21]
• Credit card token/tap-to-pay discussion: [12:11]
• Why Clark Stinks matters: [13:57]
• Frontier ‘Go Wild Pass’ story: [19:21]
• Luggage tag scam and AirTag advice: [21:54]
• Frontier hidden fees story: [25:34]
• Best travel credit cards advice: [27:19]
• Car rental savings story: [30:13]

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Conclusion

This episode blends listener feedback, sharp consumer advocacy, and real-world money-saving tricks—all delivered in Clark Howard’s friendly but no-nonsense style. Key takeaways: be vigilant about the fine print on travel purchases, think holistically about the impact of your spending, and never hesitate to challenge or question even your favorite money expert. And if you value your luggage, keep your tags secure and your AirTags handy!

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For more tips and to participate in “Clark Stinks,” visit Clark.com.

Transcript

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[Clark Howard]

Friday on NBC. Jimmy Fallon and Bozma St. John host the incredible new competition show. I hire 10 creatives from all walks of life. They will be battling it out to see who can impress the world's biggest brands. This is a huge opportunity. This is the battle for the next big idea.

[Krista]

This is not Play Play.

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We're spending millions of dollars.

[Clark Howard]

I'm so excited to embark on this adventure with all of you. Maybe the best idea win on Brand with Jimmy Fallon Friday on NBC. It's great to be here with you 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 happ do. I love our Friday podcast because it's my opportunity to grow and learn. Thanks to you letting me know where I had a blind spot, my judgment was lacking. Whatever it is, it helps me do a better job serving you. And so I'm looking forward to what's coming straight ahead in our Clark Sync segment. And later, we're going to talk about a ripoff that I just can't stand the crazy fees for you to check a bag already and then have something happen ugly on top of it when you check a bag.

[Krista]

Oh boy, you got to watch out for that one for sure.

[Clark Howard]

Wait till you hear. And then I'm also going to share with you. I had a dilemma recently. Frontier offering a pass that would allow me for 17 months to fly last minute for one penny. Could I possibly do it with how much? I've told you how awful Frontier is. I noodled it. I'll tell you what I did. But right now it's time for Clark stinks. I should have never encouraged you to speak. You almost think I'm pretty stupid.

[Krista]

You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Clark Howard]

Well, maybe I'm wrong.

[Krista]

Maybe I'm wrong.

[Clark Howard]

Maybe you're right, pal.

[Krista]

All right, Glenn and Texas Clark, as the years go by, your odor has gradually gotten worse. As far as us super savers out here, your advice has been moving away from always pursuing the lowest cost in favor of comfort, low risk and certainty. And examples are advising trip insurance, travel medical insurance, umbrella insurance, avoiding low cost airlines and basic fares, and never choosing no change fares. All of these really add up and for each of them there is A statistically low chance that you'll need them or that taking the cheaper route will cause you problems. I think if you listen to your own advice from 10 years ago, you'd see this change now. No risks, no rewards. And P.S. i don't expect you will use this. Clark stinks. But come on Krista, you've seen the change, right?

[Clark Howard]

Have you seen a change? No.

[Krista]

You think you've gotten soft?

[Clark Howard]

You think I've gotten soft? I don't think so.

[Krista]

This isn't about me.

[Clark Howard]

So Glenn, of course, of course we would read your Clark stakes because it's such an interesting point. So I'm going to go in reverse order. Why do I not like buying a hotel room that is non refundable, non changeable? Because the discount you get tends to be 10%. But the odds that someone's situation will change before they take the trip that involves a hotel, the odds are higher that something might change and you lose all your money. Except if you're booking a hotel in the week before travel. Then at that point if it becomes non refundable, non changeable, go for it. It's all about weighing risk versus reward and the calendar plays a part in it. Airline tickets, we buy airline tickets that are non refundable. That's pretty much how you buy airline tickets. The distinction is are you allowed to change it fee free or is it only good for that flight? If I'm buying a ticket very last minute I will buy the basic where I'm stuck if I can't go and if I'm buying one further advance, further in advance, I won't do it because my life changes so much over time. Umbrella insurance, that is one that I have never changed on you. Go back to my very first book I wrote 35, 30 something years ago. I wrote about why umbrella insurance is important because it's a success tax. If you've done really well financially you need to protect your assets from an event that could wipe you out. And umbrella insurance is cheap for what you get. Now the other two, trip insurance, general trip insurance, you insure what you can't afford. If you had to walk away from the money of a trip and it makes no financial difference in your life, you don't need trip insurance, the medical insurance for overseas that could be a high end risk for anyone if you were in an accident, suffered a bad injury, something like that, or became extremely ill overseas. So I would say that that one is not being soft, it's knowing whether your own existing health insurance covers you outside the United States. If it doesn't, I see that as necessary. So I think there's, as much as I'm an all or nothing kind of guy, never do this, always do that. There are times that call for, well, it's situational if you do this or not do that.

[Krista]

Susie in Missouri says, I would never say Clark stinks because my Southern mother has taught me to say bless your heart Clark. When talking about travel and Airbnb's I understand the cost and convenience of sometimes booking with one, but in this case I think it's important to be aware of how Airbnbs impact cities and neighborhoods not only in the US but more importantly in Europe. Using Airbnbs takes money away from family run and local run hotels and also strips neighborhoods of actual citizens and authentic culture. In many European cities it's a crisis and they have been restricted or banned. When we travel we like to use local hotels and then book an Airbnb mid trip to use for laundry for a night and then the next city back to using local as much as possible. We were in Venice six years ago. Our family owned hotel gave us free drinks and the best service, thanking us up and down for choosing them over an Airbnb. I checked Google this year and they are out of business. It really hurt thinking about them. I realized it may not be an option for every travel or every trip, but I think it's an issue that we Americans must be well informed about at home and abroad to make the best choices about how we spend our dollar and the effect it can have.

[Clark Howard]

Thank you for that post. And this is an ongoing debate in every tourist oriented city is the housing supply available for locals being impacted and causing rents and cost of purchase to go up because the properties being pulled out of inventory being made for short term rentals? This is one that communities are still feeling their way on. New York City banned Airbnbs and so far there's been no net increase in supply of housing that's observable in New York, but it does destabilize buildings. That's why so many properties in Hawaii have now banned Airbnb and VRBOs because it took stable buildings and communities and turned them into transient hotel like facilities. So this is one we're still feeling our way on and there's a lot of minuses that come with Airbnb and vrbove and there are some pluses for travelers. I'm not throwing you on the bus here because you've said over and over again how much you love Airbnb. When you stay in one. Do you feel any of these things that you just heard?

[Krista]

You know, I haven't stayed. I'm trying to think. I haven't stayed in one of my. In Europe. It was a really long time ago when I stayed. It's only been hotels since then, so I don't really know. I can't really speak to that. But I understand. I mean, I would definitely think about it. It was more when my kids were little. I mean, it was such a lifesaver to stay in an Airbnb. It was awesome. So. But I hear this point and I think it's something to think about for sure.

[Clark Howard]

You know, the thing for me, I'm a hotel guy. I. I'm not. I don't like the whole thing of staying in a rental apartment. It's just not something I like.

[Krista]

I mean, I love hotels too, but it saved money and then feeding the kids breakfast and things like that. Just having the opportunity to do that was. Was super helpful. Ev in Georgia says Clark stinks worse than a load of shrimp left in the hot sun.

[Clark Howard]

Boy.

[Krista]

Whoa. Months ago, he claimed I would not cost jobs. That has been proven wrong by the low employment rate. There are less jobs offerings because AI and robots are doing so many jobs people used to do. What's Clark's solution?

[Clark Howard]

So it's funny because we talked about this just recently on the podcast and YouTube show, that with AI, there are people that are going to get train wrecked by AI. Their. Their jobs are going to be eliminated. So that's what we feel and see. And no doubt it's going to disrupt people's lives in really bad ways. At the same time, AI will create so many other jobs that are categories that don't even exist yet. We've talked about that in the past, how you go way back in the Wayback Machine where we used to have people that would call me when I did radio decades ago and say, oh, this Internet thing is going to destroy all these jobs and nobody's going to have work anymore. And instead, it led to a huge increase in employment around the world. So new technologies are so disruptive and the effects play out over a number of years, but they're not all one thing.

[Krista]

Kalea in California says, I'm set financially partially because of your advice. But when a person asked about protecting his second home with an umbrella policy, but because of a dui, he was not able to purchase a policy, you missed the other protection option. And that is a separate trust. Even better, a trust in an llc. Thank you so much for all you do for us.

[Clark Howard]

Thank you very much. I'm not a lawyer and I'm going to defer to your expertise in this area because I'm not aware of that being something that doesn't pierce the owners of the LLC for underwriting the insurance or the trust for underwriting the insurance. Based on what you've said, that would, if it works, would be an obvious smart answer.

[Krista]

Steve in Kansas says when answering about using virtual cards for online shopping, you mentioned that paying with a one time card is the only way to go. Most online sellers do not retain your actual credit card number, but instead keep what's called a token. The token only works at that seller, so if the seller is breached, the criminal ends up with a token they can't use.

[Clark Howard]

So is that I'm trying to follow.

[Krista]

I think he was talking about the only use a virtual card number. But what he's saying is that actually just using your credit card is okay as well.

[Clark Howard]

It depends on the process, whether the merchant has your permanent real number or not. Thank goodness. More and more the processes of transmitting payment numbers is doing tokenization and virtual numbers is a method of tokenization. Tap to pay is a method of tokenization. And the good news is we're moving steadily away from criminals just having to breach the database of a company, a retailer, whatever, to grab people's permanent credit card numbers. And that's going to be a wonderful era when we don't have to worry about somebody stealing our number when they don't have possession of our card.

[Krista]

And then Paul in California also wrote in about the gentleman who had the DUI and said that he needs to seek out a independent insurance broker, that some insurance companies will write an umbrella policy for someone with a dui.

[Clark Howard]

I appreciate that, thank you.

[Krista]

And then Al in Florida said, why do you have a Clark Stinks podcast and allow people to start their post by saying you don't stink. If the poster says that you don't stink, leave it off your show. That's my bad, Al.

[Clark Howard]

So there are people who don't feel right saying it, but it's all with the intent, the purpose. Okay, I'm going to take a moment because I haven't explained this in years. Okay, so back in the, not the earliest days of the Internet, but a little later than that, there were a number of people that were building websites that were derogatory towards me and they had a variety of clever names and they were getting energy from people that were saying, well, Clark's this and Clark's that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I was like, you know what? If people feel that way, we should have a place on our website for people to share their beefs about me. And it was weird because once we opened that up on our website, all the other sites went away. They lost their oxygen. Because I was like, hey, come right into my house and tell me where you're not happy. And then Krista came up with the idea of, why don't we occasionally at that time doing syndicated radio, why don't we do a Clark stink segment on the air? And it's been ultra popular and we've been doing it ever since. So that's why. Because I feel like I should not be in a protected cocoon, that if there are things I'm doing that you don't like, it's something I need to hear. It could be that you misunderstand me or it could be that I'm the one who needs some explaining to whatever it is. And so that's why I value this so much. It's a belief I have about corporate America and politicians as well, that so often that people who run companies or people that are in elected office have such a shield around them, they don't hear things that would be helpful for them to hear. A CEO of a company may be so sheltered in the executive suite that he or she is not hearing things about their company that they need to know to serve their employees better and serve their customers better. I think hearing criticism is one of the most important things for us, for anybody in a position to change, to improve, to do better. And that's why I love it. And I'm so glad we've had this as an outlet for people now, for, gosh, for decades. And you know what? I haven't gotten less stinky. So it's perfect. Oh, man, you would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. We were trying to come up with what we were going to call the. What was then called the Forum, and we landed on stakes. So don't feel bad about telling me that I smell worse than whatever. Coming up ahead. You know, it smells worse than whatever. Frontier Airlines. So what did I do when they had an unlimited travel pass? You'll hear.

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[Clark Howard]

So Frontier has experimented over the years with what are known as go wild passes and they sell them at all different price points for all different travel periods to see what the marketplace will pay for the privilege of being in the miserable airplane that Frontier offers. They are proud to offer the most uncomfortable seats in the air with the most customer unfriendly policies ever to exist. The only airline in the United States that when a flight doesn't go because of their fault they offer you no compensation. I mean they are the bottom of the air travel barrel. So Frontier does this thing, I think it was for four days where you could buy a pass that allowed you 20 months of travel for a penny a flight for $299. And I was like you know what, I need to walk the walk, not just talk. I say how horrible Frontier is from a handful of flight experiences with them and how they show up in government statistics and all the rest. I thought what do I have to lose? I travel A lot last minute. And those tickets are really expensive. So I did it. I bought the $299 Go Wild Pass. And so on one day's notice, I can book a trip when available for a penny. And on 10 days notice, I can fly internationally. You know, it reminds me of the thing. The first prize was one free ticket. The second prize was two free tickets. So I am going to do it. I, I bought it. I'm the guinea pig. So the funniest thing is that attached with it, I bought a $69 option. I think it was $69. Where because I have frequent status on a bunch of other programs, I got gold status on Frontier, which means on my $1 fare, I get advanced seat assignment and I get a free carry on bag. So I won't be paying the endless junk fees for it. And I will let you know, good or bad, what it's like in my Frontier experience. Oh boy. I just had to do it because I mean, I trash Frontier all the time now. I need to see it, experience it with my own eyeballs, my own body in that horrendously awful seat. When I say that seat's bad. You know how bad seats are in doctors waiting rooms? This is worse. Now let's talk about something really bad, ugly. Now. So my Frontier thing doesn't come with a checked bag, which is irrelevant to me because I don't check bags. But a lot of people hate the whole thing of lugging the carry on through the airport. Or they want to take, you know, four months of stuff for a four day trip and so they check a bag. A little bias there. Okay, so the bag you go to the carousel spends around your bag, eventually shows up. And what do people do? They rip off the bag tag and they throw in the trash. This came from a claims person at Delta who leaked this to a media source that now is spread all over. So crooks are lurking at the trash cans and they're grabbing the baggage tags. And then they know how to manipulate the claim process with the airlines claiming a lost bag or damage to a bag or items missing or whatever. It looks like you made the claim, but they're getting the money. I mean, it's crazy because on that bag tag on most airlines there's enough information that this crime only exists because if you go back in the wayback machine, a lot of airlines, not that long ago they had security people that you'd have to prove that it was your bag before you left. Because the other thing keeps happening at the carousels is Crooks are stealing people's bags. Then you get to the carousel, your bag never shows up. And the airlines now that track the bags, they say, well, yeah, we. We dropped it off at the carousel at blah, blah, blah time. But the bag wasn't there because it was stolen. Well, this is why you want to have an airtag or equivalent in every checked bag. Because there was a big criminal ring that was just broken because someone had an airtag in their suitcase and they were renting an apartment near. If I remember, I was lax. And it was stuffed full of stolen suitcases as they were rifling through them and figuring out how they were going to score money from everything in the bag. And so having an airtag is awesome. The airline can't tell you where your bag is. You'll know from that airtag. And if a criminal ring steals it from the baggage carousel, you. You'll know where it went. So I make checking a bag sound like a really great idea. I mean, it's so funny that you got charged a fee for something that adds misery into your trip.

[Krista]

By the way, that Frontier thing, that was so funny. You went to lunch with us and you still couldn't decide. You really were. I mean, you're not kidding. You were in a dilemma.

[Clark Howard]

I was in a dilemma because, I mean, if. What company have I trashed as much as Frontier over the last few years?

[Krista]

I could name a few.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, you could?

[Krista]

It's okay.

[Clark Howard]

So I feel like I need to do it. I need to be there. And besides, if I end up saving money along the way, what could be better than that?

[Krista]

All right. Speaking of which, Ann in New York says I booked a round trip flight on Frontier Airlines.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, what a shock. We're going to pay our complaint. Huh?

[Krista]

Reviewing the summary of the breakdown of taxes and fees, I noticed a carrier interface charge of $23 each. That's $46 tacked onto my round trip fare. A Google search showed it's a fee Frontier is hitting you with for using their website to put your ticket. The fee is collected for the cost of upkeep to their website. Since I live near the airport, I drove the next day to verify with a Frontier representative.

[Clark Howard]

Wow, what a detective.

[Krista]

The agent said she never heard of the fee, so it must be new. I showed her the Google search on my phone. She agreed. It's unbelievable. She did say to avoid the fee, have an agent at the airport book your ticket for you. But be aware that if it's at the discretion of the agent to either charge or not charge you with an agent assist fee. Are there other airlines hitting customers with this fee? Is Frontier just being transparent and the other airlines are hiding it?

[Clark Howard]

So Frontier charges all kinds of mess, but they do. If you click on the summary of charges they will show you what every one of those made up things is. So Frontier will do these sales where they're selling a ticket for $19 and then by the time you check out the $19 is many times that. So know that that is a bait and switch that Frontier does, but not really under the law considered to be a bait and switch because they then do detail every bit of junk that you're paying. In addition to it sure was a lot easier when you used to see the price of something and that was what you paid, right?

[Krista]

Ben in New York says with all the terrible changes Southwest Airlines is making with its baggage and seating policies, I've become a free agent. All the airlines now seem to be about the same and I can get better fares from my local airport on other airlines I I've had the Southwest credit card for years and was going to keep it just for the free checked bag benefit. But now that they've announced they are increasing their annual fee and getting rid of the annual flight credit they had previously offered, I'm going to cancel the card before the next annual fee hits. Can you recommend a good travel card to replace the Southwest card? Although a free checked bag perk is nice, I'm getting used to Clark's method of flying with just a carry on. So an airline branded credit card is not a must and reasonable annual fee is okay if the benefits make up for the cost cost. In the meantime, I plan to use my Costco Visa card for all travel purchases.

[Clark Howard]

So probably if you're looking for something similar annual fee, your Southwest card was probably $95 a year maybe. I like the Chase Sapphire Preferred not reserve because reserve is like an 800 annual fee but preferred is 95 or $99 and does a good job as a travel card. Light and because it is perfect for free agents I really like it. But if you travel three or more times a year I'm going to blow your mind and tell you I would get the Capital One Venture X card. Now hang with me a minute. Venture x has a $395 annual fee but they give you an upfront $300 credit to use, making the annual fee 95 bucks. You get 2x points minimum on everything you charge and the points are usable so many different ways and you get access to Mediocre lounges around the world in airports and then the phenomenal but small number of Capital One lounges, which are the best lounges available from anybody in any airport in the United States. So if you are traveling enough that the $300 credit is automatic in your life, do the Capital One Venture X.

[Krista]

And would you also say the Sapphire preferred offers that really. Rental car coverage, primary rental car coverage. So if you rent a certain number of cars per year, do you recommend that?

[Clark Howard]

So the 95, it's a low, low expense, relatively speaking for a travel card and decent privileges with it. So I think it's a, it's a good choice.

[Krista]

Jim in Georgia says I took your car rental trick, speaking of car rentals to the bank. I reshopped my car rental for our vacation next week and was able to upgrade my car and spend less than my stand sized car. $135 going back into our vacation budget. Thanks again for your great advice.

[Clark Howard]

Wow, 135, you broke the century mark. I think that most people who don't rent a lot of cars have no idea how much the rental car rates go up, down, up, down, up, down. And the price differences can be enormous on those rental cars. And you may have heard on a recent podcast YouTube show how I reshopped two different rental cars while I was on a flight with free wi fi and cut the price of both of them big time just at the last minute. And so if you don't reshop a rental car, most of the time you're throwing money away. And if the car price has not gone down, you keep what you have. If it has gone down, you rebook. And that's why never fall for the car rental companies offering you a slightly lower rate booking a non refundable car rental. Don't do it. Thank you. This is something I do want to thank you for doing, joining us today on our podcast and YouTube show. And on YouTube, not only do you get to see the full show, but you also get to see shorts. Well, not my shorts. Depends on the camera angle. If you see my shorts, if you're.

[Krista]

Lucky that day, that day, you get.

[Clark Howard]

To see my legs.

[Krista]

The cargo shorts.

[Clark Howard]

Cargo shorts.

[Krista]

The clerk go shorts that are, they're.

[Clark Howard]

From Walmart and I broke two digits, they were 11.99 so it was a big splurge.

[Krista]

But they double as a purse. There's so many pockets.

[Clark Howard]

There's only four.

[Krista]

There's a backpack, I should say a backpack.

[Clark Howard]

There's six pockets.

[Krista]

See?

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, yeah, it's Like, I mean, think of what you save on Ryanair. You stuff all your pockets with things. Then you don't have Ryanair saying you're gonna pay a fee for those cargo shorts anyway. The YouTube shorts, we do short, sweet segments for you about things, about your wallet, and they're very popular. Share them with a friend. If you see something that you're saying, oh, I know so and so needs to know this, let them know. Because the whole idea, whatever way you want to be reached, social media, newsletters, websites, the markets I'm on, radio or television, everything we do is about providing information to you that can impact your life and give you more power in that life so you can save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. And I hope that you have an absolutely wonderful, fantastic weekend and that if you are like me and football is your life, that your team wins this weekend. If you don't care about football, well, you enjoy all the video content available to you that doesn't have anything to do with football. I mean, it's shocking to me that more than half of Americans don't even watch a minute of the super bowl each year. I mean, you don't know what you're missing, missing football. But if you have a more interesting, varied life than I do, I hope that the weekend brings you lots of joy with the activities that you enjoy.