The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode: 11.17.25: Charity Season Guidelines / Quick Serve Value Wars
Date: November 17, 2025
Host: Clark Howard

Episode Overview

This episode, released just before Thanksgiving, focuses on two major themes:

1. Charity Season Guidelines: Clark provides crucial advice on how to give generously but wisely during the peak season for charitable solicitations, protecting listeners from scams and inefficient organizations.
2. Quick Serve Value Wars: Clark explores how consumer trends and shifting appetites are triggering aggressive value deals across fast food, quick-serve, and convenience store food chains, helping listeners dine out frugally.

He also fields listener questions on personal finance topics, from insurance to travel deals, adding practical advice with his signature candor and wit.

Charity Season: How to Give Wisely

[00:40 – 05:30]

Key Insights

• Peak Charity Season Dangers: The time between now and year-end is when the most—and unfortunately, the worst—charitable solicitations come out.
• Charity Scams: Clark references recent federal action against "Cars R Us," a car donation entity that claimed to help breast cancer but funneled money improperly.
• Mismanagement & Inefficiency: Some real charities poorly manage funds, with up to 90% of money sometimes going to fundraising or administrative costs.
• Pressure Tactics: Clark warns about aggressive phone and especially text solicitations that push "act now" urgency, often mentioning matching donors to incentivize instant giving.
• Clark’s Process for Safe Giving:
  • 1. Give where you know: Donate to organizations you’ve volunteered with or have first-hand knowledge of.
  • 2. Always vet a charity: Don’t give under pressure. Use charity-rating services and guides.
  • 3. Use Team Clark Resources: Clark’s team has a step-by-step online guide to quickly help you assess a charity’s legitimacy and efficiency (“Check here, check here, check here… It takes you not much time at all…” [04:45]).

Notable Quote

“You take your time and you give on your schedule, not theirs.”
— Clark Howard [04:18]

Listener Q&A — Charitable Giving, Cross-Collateralization, Insurance

[05:30 – 11:00]

Giving to Individuals versus Charities

• Call-in about giving to panhandlers: Clark shares an undercover experiment where he dressed as Santa at a street corner, noting one in seven cars donated money.
• Clark’s Stance:
  “I do not [give]. You just don’t know who’s there that you’re giving money to… So that’s my answer. I don’t give to UFOs asking for money on a sidewalk or in front of a store or whatever because you just don’t know.” [05:43]
• Alternative Suggestions: Buy food or hand out snacks rather than giving cash.

Memorable Moment

• Listener shares a fond story and photo of Clark as a Santa at an animal charity, which adds warmth and levity [06:41].

Other Finance Questions

• Cross-collateralization risk (brokerage/IRA at affiliated banks): Clark says it’s not standard practice for brokerages to seize assets from investment accounts to cover bank account losses, though cross-collateralization can be a risk in banking (08:31).
• Adding Spouse to Insurance: Listener points out that in some cases, adding a spouse can lower your rate, and Clark notes this may vary by state—sometimes a better deal than he thought [09:15].

Quick Serve Value Wars: Fast Food & Convenience Store Deals

[12:27 – 17:16]

Rising Deals in Fast Food

• McDonald's App Examples: Clark catalogs a cascade of freebies and deals listed immediately upon entering the McDonald’s app: “free apple pie, free hash brown, free breakfast, free 10-piece chicken nugget, on and on and on…” [12:34]
• Why the Deals?: Major fast food and quick-serve chains are seeing customer drop-off and reacting with more aggressive discounts, especially through apps.
• Clark’s Strategy: Download and use each chain’s app to maximize savings.

The Convenience Store Challenge

• Convenience/Gas Store Food Boom: Chains like Wawa, Sheetz, QuickTrip (QT and KQ), Maverik, and Buc-ee’s are now directly competing with fast food by offering larger menus and often better value.
• Competitive Advantage: They can price food lower since their business is subsidized by fuel/convenience sales, not just food.
• Notable Example: Clark's son claims Wawa subs are the best and looks forward to trips east to get them.
• Trend: Local Costcos becoming popular lunch destinations for cheap, satisfying eats.

Notable Quote

“If you are eating out, one of the secret sauces to saving money—everywhere but on the west coast—is going to be at these big convenience store chains … and the food menus are getting larger.”
— Clark Howard [13:59]

Rapid-Fire Listener Questions: Travel, Insurance, All-Inclusives

[17:16 – End]

Travel Medical Insurance

• Question: Are there places you can safely skip travel medical insurance?
• Clark’s Take: No—coverage is wise everywhere when going out of the US. For frequent travelers, an annual travel medical policy is more cost-effective. Decisions should factor in whether you need medevac coverage, which depends on both destination and local medical facilities [17:46].

Credit Card Travel Insurance

• Sapphire Reserve Coverage: If you use this premium card to pay for trips, you likely don’t need to buy additional trip insurance. Limits or cumbersome claims are the main caveats [18:59].
• Memorable Clark Comment:
  “The claims process will try your patience … the level of documentation you'll be required to have is ridiculous, but yes, it is to me an equivalent.” [19:18]

All-Inclusive Resorts & Tipping

• Sandals Resorts—Are Tips Included? Officially, yes. But Clark says in practice, many visitors give extra cash tips for standout service (bartenders, housekeepers). Not required but common.
• Clark’s Well-Wishes:
  “Congratulations, 10th anniversary! … I hope you have many, many great years in front of you as a couple.” [20:28]

Key Takeaways

• Be Vigilant with Charitable Giving: Verify organizations before donating, even in urgent-seeming situations.
• Maximize Eating Out Savings: Use the restaurant and convenience store apps, and consider non-traditional outlets like convenience stores for the best value lunches.
• Travel Insurance: Never skip it when traveling abroad, and use premium card benefits when possible—but be prepared for a paperwork battle if you claim.
• All-Inclusives: Tipping is technically included but small cash tips for exceptional service are courteous and appreciated.

Noteworthy Quotes

• “You take your time and you give on your schedule, not theirs.” [04:18]
• “One out of every seven cars in that intersection threw money in my bucket.” [06:11]
• “If you are eating out, one of the secret sauces to saving money … is going to be at these big convenience store chains.” [13:59]
• “The claims process will try your patience … the level of documentation you'll be required to have is ridiculous.” [19:18]
• “You just don’t know who’s there that you’re giving money to.” [05:43]

For detailed guides and Clark’s charity vetting checklist:
Visit Clark.com

This summary omits advertisements and non-content sections to focus on actionable advice and key information from Clark Howard’s episode.