The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode Summary: 11.19.25 Save More On Thanksgiving / The Clark Smart Way To Shop Online

Date: November 19, 2025
Host: Clark Howard (with Krista on mic)

Overview

This episode aligns with Clark Howard’s core mission: equipping listeners with actionable, practical personal finance tips focused on saving money and avoiding consumer pitfalls. As Thanksgiving approaches, Clark shares how families can cut costs on holiday meals, answers listener questions ranging from banking safety to mortgage hacks, and demystifies how retailers use technology to adjust prices for different shoppers online. The episode closes with an important note for Medicare Advantage plan holders.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Saving Money on Thanksgiving Dinner

[00:33 - 03:38]

• Clark spotlights Aldi’s new Thanksgiving deal:

  • Aldi is offering a full Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people for only $40, or $4 a person, using 21 specific products.
  • Clark notes: “Where you go eat for $4? You can’t. But Aldi has 21 products that you need to put together a full Thanksgiving feast. And they price them all so that you can do it for $40. I mean, that’s great, right?” (01:28)
  • He anticipates competing supermarkets will roll out their own deals in response to Aldi’s price leadership.

• Personal anecdote:

  • Clark confesses he’s not a fan of traditional Thanksgiving fare. “This is going to sound really terrible. I don’t like Thanksgiving food. Not my thing. Does that make me a bad person?” (02:56)

2. Listener Questions: Smart Banking & Charity Checkouts

[04:22 - 09:44]

A. ATM Safety for Community Banks

[04:22 - 07:20]

• Janice from Georgia explains using only cash and avoiding ATMs without tap-to-pay due to Clark’s advice, but her local bank doesn’t offer tap-to-pay.
• Clark assures her: “If you’re going to an ATM, you’re withdrawing cash and you’re doing that once a week and they don’t have tap to pay…it’s all right. It’s not as safe as if you could do a tap of the ATM… [but] you’re okay pulling the cash out.” (05:17)
• Clark reiterates his longstanding warning: Never use your debit card at gas stations that do not offer tap-to-pay; criminals target these for “skimming.”

B. Rounding Up for Charity at Checkout

[07:51 - 09:44]

• Ed in Florida asks: Does rounding up at the register for charity actually help, or do companies just recoup previous donations?
• Clark clarifies: The money “never heard of a scandal where the money was not going to the charity.” He explains retailers act as gateways, collecting your donation. They often get positive publicity but rarely chip in their own funds. (08:04)

3. Financial Pitfalls: The HELOC Mortgage Pay-off Pitch

[09:44 - 12:28]

• Dave from Virginia asks about using a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to pay off the remaining mortgage faster and save on interest.
• Clark firmly rejects this pitch: “No…If you took out a mortgage in the last few years, you’ve got a high interest rate mortgage. But it’s absolutely a horrific idea…when rates went up.” (10:15)
• He elaborates that such plans only show the math in a best-case scenario and ignore real-life expenses.
• Krista adds tax considerations: “Isn’t it true…only a hundred thousand of a home equity line is deductible…?” (12:07)
• Clark notes: In some cases, a refi may make it deductible, but there are “a lot of ifs and then.” Bottom line: Not worth the risk and complications.

4. Surveillance Pricing: How to Outsmart Online Retailers

[15:18 - 19:50]

• Clark discusses the growing use of dynamic or “surveillance pricing”:

  • “There was a lot of fuss earlier this year involving Delta Airlines that Delta now told Wall Street that they’re using AI to come up with individualized pricing on airline tickets…” (15:18)
  • Retailers, especially in travel—hotels, flights, cruises—and online stores, now have the tech to charge different prices to different shoppers based on data profiles.

• Tips to avoid discriminatory pricing:

  • Don’t sign in to an account when price-shopping.
  • Use private/incognito browser mode.
  • Act like a “UFO shopper” (anonymous) when pricing out big purchases.
  • On Amazon and other platforms, use tools like CamelCamelCamel to track historical price trends— don’t overpay just because of targeted pricing.

• Key quote:

  • “The pricing models are now fully capable of ferreting out: Are you a convenience shopper?…Are you going to play hard to get? And there are some ways you may be able to fool the pricing systems.” (16:55)

5. Timing High-Value Purchases

[19:50 - 23:29]

A. Apple MacBook Deals

• Maria from Iowa asks the best time to buy an Apple laptop, and whether to get 13-inch or 15-inch.
• Clark: “The price difference between the 13 inch and 15 inch is so small that I think I’d do the 15 inch…the screen on the 13 inch just seems not big enough to me.” (20:01)
• Best time: Now (Black Friday month) and back-to-school season (July/August).

B. When to Book a Cruise

• Michael in Washington wants to book a fall cruise.
• Clark: “Wave season is when you want to book this. That’s January…Wave season comes after Christmas.” (21:49)
• He urges using the calendar to one’s advantage—prices fluctuate weekly.

6. Banking Security: Fighting Back After Fraud

[23:29 - 25:36]

• Listener Richard shares a story: online thieves stole $17,100 from his big-bank checking account, but after persistence—including a letter explaining bank failures—he was refunded after six weeks.

• Clark critiques the bank’s initial response: “This to me is classic customer no service…” (24:20)

• Krista and Clark discuss how major banks are no longer vigilant about knowing their customers (“know thy customer”), making online fraud easier.

• Notable quote:

  • “The banks are at war with their own customers because…banks have been so sloppy and careless about knowing what’s known as the ‘know thy customer’ rule. Banks don’t know their customers anymore.” (25:36)

• Clark’s preference: Use local credit unions or small banks, not “giant monster mega banks.”

7. Medicare Advantage Change: An Important Loophole

[25:36 - End]

• For listeners with Medicare Advantage: Many insurers are leaving the market for 2026.
• If your Advantage plan drops you, you can switch back to traditional Medicare and get a Medigap policy without underwriting, even with pre-existing conditions—but only if you have the official termination letter.
• Clark: “If you regret being in Advantage, your advantage plan terminates you, then you do have the option of saying…you get to go back into traditional Medicare and have a Medigap.” (25:53)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Aldi and Thanksgiving bargains:
  • “Aldi used to be like a flea on the back of an elephant, but now they’ve got to pay attention to them at traditional supermarkets.” (01:59)
• On gas pump skimming and debit cards:
  • “When you should tap—pay at the pump at a gas station that doesn’t offer tap to pay. That would be never, never with a debit card.” (06:17)
• On living on cash:
  • “It’s proven you will so reduce your spending if you live on cash for walking around money.” (07:25)
• On surveillance pricing:
  • “There’s even a term used in the industry for it now. Oh, it’s a creepy term: surveillance pricing.” (15:48)
• Clark’s “ideal” Thanksgiving meal:
  • “It would be scrambled cheese eggs. Oh, bacon, extra crispy and raisin toast. That’s my perfect Thanksgiving feast.” (03:17)
• On big bank fraud recovery:
  • “You got your money. So if that’s customer service to you, you’ve had a lot of customer no service in your life, Richard.” (24:58)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Thanksgiving dinner savings at Aldi: 00:33–03:38
• Cash-only banking & ATM safety: 04:22–07:20
• Charity Round-Up Programs at Registers: 07:51–09:44
• The “HELOC to pay mortgage” myth: 09:44–12:28
• Surveillance pricing & smart online shopping: 15:18–19:50
• Best times to buy MacBooks/cruises: 19:50–23:29
• Big-bank fraud story: 23:29–25:36
• Medicare Advantage caveat: 25:36–end

Final Thoughts

Clark and his team keep the show’s tone light yet practical, combining consumer advocacy, humor (especially when poking fun at their own food tastes or buying habits), and urgent warnings about evolving scams and market tricks. The episode is especially timely ahead of the holiday season, empowering listeners to make smarter spending decisions online and in stores, while staying vigilant against banking and healthcare pitfalls.

For more advice or to ask Clark a question, visit www.clark.com/askclark.