12.20.24 Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / A USPS Warning

Summary

The Clark Howard Podcast – Episode Summary (December 20, 2024)

In the December 20, 2024 episode of The Clark Howard Podcast, host Clark Howard dives into a variety of listener feedback, offers financial advice, and addresses critical issues affecting consumers today. The episode, titled "Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / A USPS Warning," provides a comprehensive look into Clark’s interaction with his audience and his insights on pressing matters like the U.S. Postal Service’s challenges.

Show Announcements and Format Changes

Clark begins the episode by announcing significant changes to the show's schedule for the upcoming year. He shares his decision to reduce the frequency of episodes from five to three per week, opting to focus on quality over quantity. Additionally, Clark introduces a new segment titled "Ask an Advisor," where financial advisor Wes Moss will address investment-related questions every Tuesday.

Clark Howard [01:31]: "I have decided, actually I decided years ago that in 25 I was going to work less. So I'm going to do three episodes a week in 25 instead of five."

Clark Stinks: Listener Criticisms and Discussions

The "Clark Stinks" segment serves as a platform for listeners to provide constructive criticism on Clark’s previous advice. This episode features several noteworthy critiques:

Debit Cards and ATM Usage

Listener Jennifer criticizes Clark’s advice on debit card usage, suggesting that his recommendation lacks practicality.

Krista [04:02]: "Your advice for the caller about how you use debit cards and ATMs had a faint scent of rotting pumpkins... I still love you, even if that advice was a little bit stinky."

Clark responds by acknowledging the limitations imposed by financial institutions, explaining why he relies on a Visa debit card from Charles Schwab.

Clark Howard [04:27]: "Unfortunately now a lot of financial institutions, including my ATM comes from. My ATM card comes from Charles Schwab. I'm only allowed to have one that is a Visa debit card to use as an atm."

Zoning Laws and Housing Issues

Steve from the audience criticizes Clark’s stance on zoning laws, arguing that changes can adversely affect homeowners who have invested in larger plots.

Krista [04:27]: "Clark stinks like a week old coyote carcass... it is grossly unfair to those who are playing by the rules."

Clark concurs, highlighting the complexities of zoning laws and their impact on community development.

Clark Howard [05:34]: "Houston just said, okay, we're not going to zone. So what's happened over time in Houston is... people started going into gated communities... it's something you can't change the rules in the middle of the game."

Health and Prescription Costs

Audrey suggests that promoting a whole-food, plant-based diet could reduce healthcare costs and eliminate dependency on prescription medications.

Krista [07:12]: "How about telling people how to reduce or eliminate most or all of their scripts? A whole food plant based diet has been shown to reduce or eliminate common such leading killers..."

Clark shares a personal testament to the benefits of diet changes, recounting improvements in his cholesterol levels through a suggested diet.

Clark Howard [07:52]: "My cholesterol numbers and all that have improved so much being on this new diet that it's absolutely shocking."

Advice on Apple Products

Roxanne critiques Clark’s guidance on transitioning from PC to Mac, particularly regarding password management.

Krista [09:36]: "You advised correctly about the safety of the Mac against viruses, but you failed on the password piece... Mac wins on all counts."

Clark humorously acknowledges the oversight and agrees with the listener’s points, especially after feedback from his son Grant.

Clark Howard [10:25]: "He said, dad, if you just would have paid four times the price for a MacBook, it would last more than four times longer than your Chromebook."

Google Fi's Foreign Coverage Policy

Todd expresses frustration with Google Fi’s abrupt termination of cellular data for international users, leaving his daughter stranded abroad.

Krista [10:56]: "I was outraged at the inhumanity of their policy that would leave a young lady stranded abroad."

Clark empathizes and offers practical solutions, emphasizing the importance of reliable communication methods.

Clark Howard [11:38]: "They don't tell you in advance, hey, in two weeks we're going to cut you off... It is mean spirited and inhumane."

Minimum Wage and Employment in California

Mark challenges Clark’s views on the impact of raising the minimum wage, citing job losses in California.

Krista [12:57]: "I believe the Wall Street Journal over your diatribe that raising wages significantly has no effect on employment, Mark."

Clark responds by linking job losses to California’s housing affordability crisis rather than wage policies.

Clark Howard [13:24]: "The primary reason that California loses jobs is because no one, even on a good middle class wage can afford to buy a home in much of coastal California."

Listener Questions and Advice

The episode also features listener questions, with Clark and Krista providing detailed advice.

401k to Roth IRA Conversion Tax Implications

Michael from Vermont seeks guidance after mistakenly transferring his traditional 401k to a Roth IRA, facing potential hefty tax bills.

Michael [22:37]: "I AM facing a 22 to 24% tax bill on this amount come spring."

Clark explains the complexities of retirement account transfers and suggests hiring an accountant to navigate IRS regulations.

Clark Howard [23:42]: "The rules are clear as mud on retirement plans... You could hire an accountant to request a private letter ruling."

Car Subleasing and Repossession

Fred from Georgia describes a problematic situation where a sublessee has defaulted on payments and moved out of state.

Fred [26:34]: "I subleased a car to another person... I would like to have the car repossessed."

Clark advises against repossession due to potential long-term credit repercussions and recommends consulting a collection attorney.

Clark Howard [26:57]: "You don't want to have the vehicle repossessed because if you do, the financial consequences stay with you seven years."

Judge Clark: Resolving a Domestic Dispute

In the "Judge Clark" segment, Liz from Vermont seeks advice on a minor domestic issue regarding missing magnets in a purchased product.

Liz [29:59]: "I recently purchased a set of two photo tiles that come with two adhesive magnets. The package came without the magnets."

Clark concludes that the company has already rectified the issue by sending a replacement product, suggesting that Liz accept the resolution.

Clark Howard [30:47]: "You've made you whole. ... they have taken care of you and solved the problem. Case closed."

USPS Warning and Final Thoughts

Toward the episode’s end, Clark shifts focus to a critical issue: the deteriorating state of the U.S. Postal Service. He expresses deep concern over unreliable mail delivery affecting credit scores and essential bill payments.

Clark Howard [18:00]: "I feel so badly for the hard working men and women of the U.S. postal Service... The system is in chaos."

Clark advises listeners to adopt proactive measures such as meticulous bill tracking, either through printed statements or diligent online monitoring, to mitigate the risks posed by unreliable mail services.

Clark Howard [22:37]: "It's so important to look through your statements each and every month... hope springs eternal. At some point maybe we'll have reliable mail delivery in the United States again."

Conclusion

Clark wraps up the episode by emphasizing the importance of financial empowerment through knowledge. He encourages listeners to remain patient, especially during the holiday shopping rush, and to uphold values of peace and joy.

Clark Howard [32:18]: "Know what this is all about is you being empowered with knowledge so you learn ways to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off."

The episode effectively balances listener engagement with actionable financial advice, addressing both personal finance issues and broader economic concerns. Clark Howard continues to solidify his role as a trusted advisor, dedicated to helping his audience navigate the complexities of modern financial life.

Transcript

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[Clark Howard]

I'm so glad you're with us here 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. Today, this day, the 20th of December, is our last Clark Stinks of the year because I really think I'm not doing work on next Friday.

[Krista]

But we have one more show Monday.

[Clark Howard]

We do, but I'm saying no Clark.

[Krista]

No more Clark Friday.

[Clark Howard]

Got to wait till 25 after today. Hope you got some good ones for me, Krista. And one thing that I talk about that always generates Clark stinks when I start talking smack about the U.S. postal Service. But I am really concerned about the Postal Service right now and what it means for you. And we're going to talk about that later. But right now it's time almost to begin. Clark Stinks because I got an announcement that may make you happy unhappy. I have decided, actually I decided years ago that in 25 I was going to work less. So I'm going to do three episodes a week in 25 instead of five. They're going to air on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in 25. And Krista is going to do one episode each week called Ask an Advisor. Right?

[Krista]

That's right. We're going to have West Moss with us to start the new year. He's a fee only fiduciary financial advisor which is what we normally recommend. And you get a lot of questions because you're not a financial advisor that are very much investment oriented. And so we're going to and technical too, right? And Wes is great at answering those. He's filled in for you a couple of times and we had a great response. So he and I are going to do a show that will air on Tuesdays that's we're calling Ask an Advisor and it will be all your questions about your investments.

[Clark Howard]

So without further ado, it is time for our last Clark Stinks I should have never encouraged you to speak. You almost think I'm pretty stupid. You should be ashamed of yourself. Well, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you're right pal. What you got to start with Clark Clark Clark.

[Krista]

Your advice for the caller about how you use debit cards and ATMs had a faint scent of rotting pumpkins. You told them the only reason you have a debit card is to get cash from the atm. You should be doing what I do. I marched into my physical bank branch and turned in my inferior debit card and told them I wanted to replace it with an old fashioned ATM card. This is what I have in my wallet now for the rare time that I need to withdraw cash. If someone steals my wallet it will be of no use to them whatsoever. I still love you, even if that advice was a little bit stinky. Jennifer.

[Clark Howard]

Jennifer, thank you and what you're doing is the best possible course. Unfortunately now a lot of financial institutions, including my ATM comes from. My ATM card comes from Charles Schwab. I'm only allowed to have one that is a Visa debit card to use as an atm. They don't have an ATM only card anymore and it's great that your financial institution still does.

[Krista]

Clark stinks like a week old coyote carcass rotting in the Arizona desert on 120 degree summer day. That's very clear. He loves to rag on restrictive zoning as something which should be changed to help alleviate the housing crunch. Allowing things like MIL apartments in the backyard, allowing larger lots to be subdivided, changing the zoning codes to allow for these and smaller lots, etc. That's all well and good for a new town subdivision development, but not for folks who have bought a house on a one or more acre lot along with all of their neighbors. If if I buy a 4 acre plot of land that allows for one house, I bought that plot and built my house there for a reason. To allow someone to come in and buy another 4 acre lot then whine to the ZBA that they should be able to subdivide or have four or eight or maybe more houses on that lot is grossly unfair to those who are playing by the rules. Same with the mother in law Apartment. I don't want that structure in the neighbor's backyard and cars parked in the street or who knows where they'll end up. I should be able to depend on the zoning to keep my area the way it was when I bought it. Steve, Steve.

[Clark Howard]

So for so many reasons, you're right on this, because I think about Houston now. Houston is a city that in order to eliminate corruption in local government, most corruption in local government ends up happening with zoning. Houston just said, okay, we're not going to zone. So what's happened over time in Houston is people didn't like it when they built a nice house and next to them opened up a convenience store or a gas station or fast food restaurant or whatever right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. So people started going into gated communities, added security, but the big thing they were after was not having the unintended effect of ending up with who knows what next to them. So it is something you can't change the rules in the middle of the game. That I completely agree with. And having the rules in a neighborhood suddenly say, oh well, we don't mean that anymore. Now you can do this, that or the other and build an apartment building right there or whatever. I'm with you on that. I do think that going forward in new areas of development, we need to rethink what is allowed to be built if we are trying to increase density. And what I really object to are counties that do. A county wide restriction on what can be built in the entire county is a way of cordoning off the county from having anybody but wealthier people living in that county.

[Krista]

Isn't it wonderful that you tell people how to save money on their prescriptions? How about telling people how to reduce or eliminate most or all of their scripts? A whole food plant based diet has been shown to reduce or eliminate common such leading killers as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and common cancers. The pioneering research of Nathan Pritikin, Dean Ornish and Caldwell. I don't know how to pronounce that last name. Have put this to the test. If you would only do the research and see for yourself, you could be promoting this diet and potentially saving people thousands of dollars each year and eliminating the pain and suffering from chronic diseases. Audrey from California, Audrey, I mean you.

[Clark Howard]

Are what you eat and you are how active you are that those things together clearly make a difference. And I can actually give an example. I was going to give another day, but I'll go ahead and give it now. I just had my one year follow up, I go every 90 days to see how my aortic valve replacement is doing. It's two days of tests because I have an experimental valve. So I'm a lab rat. I'm a research lab rat and I've been on a suggested diet. I won't call it restricted for a year now. And it's so funny because my cholesterol numbers and all that have improved so much being on this new diet that it's absolutely shocking. And so I have to say because anytime you've brought this up all through the years yourself, Krista, I've been kind of like not paying attention, not listening and blowing you off. I saw the numbers with my own two eyes. It is stunning. My friend of mine who's a former cardiologist now oncologist, looked at my cholesterol numbers and he said these are unbelievable and looked at the trend from before. So yes, it is true that how we handle lifestyle and what foods we put in our body clearly do make a difference. They won't necessarily eliminate all meds, as you can see from my medical list, but it can improve quality of life and health and maybe not ever need to Go on the Scripts Dear Stinky.

[Krista]

Clark, don't give advice about Apple products without learning more before you talk, A listener bought a Mac and wanted to know about password apps, virus protection, etc. They sounded like they came from a PC world and just got their first Mac. You advised correctly about the safety of the Mac against viruses, but you failed on the password piece. You don't need to buy an app. All Apple products have password app that ties the products together through the Apple account. You set a password once and it's available across all of your devices. I could go on about the comparison between Chromebook and the Mac, but Mac wins on all counts. Even when you consider cost, the Mac lasts much longer than the Chromebook, making it a better value.

[Clark Howard]

Roxanne is that my son Grant's new made up name?

[Krista]

You were struggling with your Chromebook during our show meeting yesterday?

[Clark Howard]

Well, let's go to what Roxanne said. I was using an old Chromebook and that Chromebook has way outlived its useful purpose. And as Roxanne my son Grant said to me the other day, he said, dad, if you just would have paid four times the price for a MacBook, it would last more than four times longer than your Chromebook. So you both have made that point. My son will be very happy to hear that I just said that when.

[Krista]

You switch to Google Fi, I switch carriers as well because my family and I also travel internationally a lot. My daughter is currently on a semester abroad through her university. Google Fi terminated her cellular data recently, telling us that it's their policy to only allow 90 days of foreign cellular coverage before one must return to the United States for seven days. I spoke to their customer no service and explained that this is a 20 year old girl who must remain abroad to complete her final in 14 days. Is there any way that their cellular service could be extended for 14 days? The customer no service representative just kept repeating the same scripted message. The only exceptions are military and government employees. I was outraged at the inhumanity of their policy that would leave a young lady stranded abroad.

[Clark Howard]

Sincerely, Todd Todd, thank you for that post. So for people who are extended time away with any carrier, they're not going to let you keep using their service overseas. And hopefully your daughter's phone allows for a second ESIM and I want you to get her a data where she can find a date only plan available to her where she is overseas and she'll have the ability to stay in communication What I don't like at all about the way Google Fi does this, they don't tell you in advance, hey, in two weeks we're going to cut you off or whatever. It's just one day. Suddenly your phone doesn't work anymore and that is mean spirited and inhumane. The other thing about Google is you have a feeling when you're talking to somebody that you are talking to advanced AI because no matter what you say, no matter what you ask, you're going to get the same answer back. And I can't believe that they offered no way for even you to buy a block of data for two remaining weeks.

[Krista]

Clark stinks like a filet o fish left in the armrest of a hot car. Like Clark, I read the WSJ Daily and sure enough, the November 29th commentary titled the Minimum Wage Loses states that in California, quote, the industry has lost more than 4,400 jobs since January according to seasonally adjusted data. End quote. Sorry Clark, I believe the Wall Street Journal over your diatribe that raising wages significantly has no effect on employment, Mark.

[Clark Howard]

So I'd have to go read the commentary in the Wall Street Journal about job loss. California has been losing native born population for a good while and there are multiple factors for it. The primary reason that California loses jobs is because no one, even on a good middle class wage can afford to buy a home in much of coastal California. You just can't do it. That's more important as a determinant to why people give up on California than the taxes that someone might have to pay or the wages that are paid in California. Just my opinion, Mark, that the big problem California has to solve more than anything else is having attainable affordable housing and not the government building it, but creating conditions that the free market can build.

[Krista]

Okay, last one for today. Clark, you're my exercise buddy so I guess we both stink. My workouts are 30 minutes long so I need 30 minutes of content not including commercials so I don't hate life the last few minutes of sweating. Unrelated yesterday I told my 12 year old that I didn't feel like doing my workout and she said, mom, if you don't work out, you can't listen to Clark Howard. And heck if it didn't motivate me to just do it.

[Clark Howard]

Stop. Stay awesome Mary okay Mary, your 12 year old motivated you to go work out by saying listen to me. That's really, really funny, isn't it?

[Krista]

It is. I love it.

[Clark Howard]

Okay, that's great. Well, thank you for your post and I'm really sorry we didn't get to more of your Clark stinks today. I appreciate more than you know you taking the time to to post these CARC stinks because I learned so much blind spots. I might have false opinions, biases that I have that I can't recognize, or just the way I explain something, being inadequate or giving out wrong information. Any of these things. You help me become a better person. You help me do a better job at providing advice and that is invaluable. Coming up ahead, this is going to cause a lot of Clark stinks. I'm going to pick on the Postal Service again.

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[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Clark Howard]

Front for three months plus taxes and fees. Promote for new customers for limited time Unlimited More than 40 gigabytes per month slows full [e-mail] I feel so badly for the hard working men and women of the U.S. postal Service. They're working incredibly long hours over time coming out their ears. And that's because the Postal Service system is in chaos. And there are several regions of the country that have such unreliable mail delivery that it's hurting people's credit scores. People, even in the most extreme cases are having utilities cut off. I mean, this is weird stuff because if you depend on what comes through the mail, you may end up with a bill that doesn't show up ever, or shows up way late. And you know, it's funny, I had talked before months ago about the problems with mail delivery and reliability and how the Postmaster General seems to be in a job that's beyond him, that he has not been able to make things better. He's made them worse. And the losses are crazy at the Postal Service. So I talked months ago about how I'd always been in favor of paper statements, but now we manually go on and check our bills to make sure we're not late with them. By checking twice a month for bills we've not received well, we got to notice that our power was going to be shut off. That's one that we can't just go online and look at with the power provider. Turned out we had not paid our bill. We never received the bill, made a payment before it got shut off. The bill came two weeks after that, way past. It was so late that it came just before that current month's bill came. I mean, things are broken. And there's a big to do going on right now with a bunch of this one's bipartisan or nonpartisan. You got members of both political parties and the Congress just going crazy about how messed up things are. And again, this is not the fault of the workers. Some of these people are working incredible long days because things are in such chaos. And so know that for your bills, at the very least, if you really like paper statements like I do, you like them to come through the mail. And if you're not digital at all, have a sheet of paper, a simple sheet of paper that has every bill you have to pay each month. And then you put January through December on there for next year for 25. And you check it off each one each month. When you paid the bill and you see something, oop, I haven't paid whoever. And you're meticulous as a bill payer, it means you didn't get that bill. Or things are so bad that I hope I don't choke saying this. Maybe you go to getting your bills by email. Okay, there, I said it. After all my years of saying the value in looking through your bills, you look through them so much more thoroughly when you're looking at a paper statement than you do looking at a computer screen. But the only reliable thing now almost certainly is getting your bills by email.

[Krista]

Print them out though.

[Clark Howard]

You can print them out. I'm stunned. Do you know how many people don't have a printer anymore?

[Krista]

I know people don't use them.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, so you could, you could do PDFs and look at them big on a computer screen and see. I don't know what that is. I didn't shop there. I didn't whatever. But with the E statements, I find that people don't review their statements. And remember, a charge unnoticed for 60 days, even if it was fraudulent, becomes your responsibility. Your money's gone. That's why it's so important to look through your statements each and every month. And hope springs eternal. At some point maybe we'll have reliable mail delivery in the United States again, but we certainly don't right now. And again, no fault of the workers.

[Krista]

All right, Michael in Vermont has this question. I had a 401k plan with that company, through my insurance company, through my old employer, and have moved the $175,000 to a Roth IRA with Vanguard. I am now panicked that I AM facing a 22 to 24% tax bill on this amount come spring.

[Clark Howard]

It was a. It was a traditional 401k into a Roth.

[Krista]

I unfortunately do not have 40k in savings and my wife and daughter will disown me if we're not going to Disney for the break. I am totally kicking myself in the butt and wish I had left the 401k as is. I. I called Vanguard and despite not picking a target date fund for my Roth ira, they advised me I cannot switch it to a traditional ira. I'm guessing if I use that money in Vanguard to pay the $40,000 tax bill, I will also pay 10% penalty on top of that. I didn't even know of tax implications until calling Fidelity, as I also have an old, similarly valued 401k with them that I was planning on moving over to Vanguard but then abruptly concluded that call. What a colossal waste on my part. What would Clark do?

[Clark Howard]

Okay, Michael, please stop beating yourself up. The rules are clear as mud on retirement plans. And I don't know if you heard the podcast where I talked about and the stuff I do for TV stations around the country. I went around and interviewed people along a walking jogging trail and not a single person, not one person knew the rules and procedures on taking money from an old 401k and moving it to a new employer or moving it into your own ira. I remember there were three different people who said, oh, so you take it from the 401k and you move it into a Roth IRA. I said, only if it's a Roth 401k. And they said, oh, and so you are not a lone wolf here. This happens again and again. And what I can't stand is the IRS does not allow reclassifying this when it's an oops like this. This was a error on your part that you were not aware of. You're given a 60 day window to do this right the first time. You could hire an accountant to request a private letter ruling. They would allow the irs, because this was not intentional, get the IRS to issue a letter that doesn't apply to anybody else, just to you. They would let you move it from the Roth into a traditional IRA since it's never been invested in anything yet. It's just sitting in the account. But otherwise you have to pay the tax and it's not 10% penalty, obviously on paying that tax. But if you then have to use some of the money to pay the tax, it would be long term. Even if you had to borrow money so you could pay it back to pay the tax bill or pay the IRS over time on a payment plan for the tax you owe over time, there will be no net difference in your finances having had to front load the tax versus paying it later. But your question is so important for anyone to know. When you take money from a 401k, it's got to go. If it's going into an IRA, it's got to go in the same classified form of IRA as it was in the 401. A Roth 401 goes into a Roth IRA, a traditional 401k goes into a traditional IRA. Because otherwise you end up in this tough circumstance. And, and it's wrong that for a clerical error like this, the IRS does not allow reclassifying.

[Krista]

Fred in Georgia says, I subleased a car to another person. The loan and insurance is in my name. This person has not sent a payment to me in six months, left the state and moved to another state. I do have her address, but she blocked all contact from me. And I would like to have the car repossessed. What snowball effect on my current active credit cards. Will repossession be okay?

[Clark Howard]

I'm having, truthfully, I'm shallow breathing right now, Fred, because this is like the worst possible circumstance with a car. We used to get what was called the vehicle subleasing scam repeatedly on the show. Yours is the first we've had in years and years, years and years. So you cannot. You're in a contract with a lender. It is against the contract. It's basically a violation of the contract and potentially depending on the state of violation of the law that you took your vehicle and subleased it. I don't know if it was an informal thing where you thought you were entering into a sublease with someone or one of those scam companies convinced you you could sublease to this other person. I don't know if this was somebody who was a friend or whatever.

[Krista]

It sounds that way to me because she lived in the same state and then moved to a neighboring state.

[Clark Howard]

So you don't want to have the vehicle repossessed because if you do, the financial consequences stay with you seven years. You will be sued for the loss and you will be required to make the payments anyway on this vehicle. And you're paying for the lease, you're paying for the Insurance. This is a disaster. And I want you to go meet with a collection attorney and find out what rights you have in the state you live in, in the state where this car now is to do a repossession where you take possession of the vehicle back. Not a repossession, where the lender comes and gets it the leasing company. Because let me tell you, that is every possible way bad. And you may have rights depending on the law and the state to repossess the vehicle for non payment from this individual you sublet to. I want to hear from you later, but please seek out a lawyer who specializes in collections right away. Time is not your friend here.

[Krista]

This might be crazy, but I wonder if the police would consider it stolen at this point.

[Clark Howard]

They look at it as a civil matter. Okay, it's not a theft. He voluntarily entered into some kind of agreement with her to allow her to sublet the vehicle.

[Krista]

Right.

[Clark Howard]

And that is not a criminal situation. That is civil. That's why collection attorney deals with unusual situations, very aware of what things they can do under the law, what latitude they have to potentially seize that vehicle back if there is a way to do so.

[Krista]

All right, it's time for our Judge Clark segment. I'm going to call this one.

[Clark Howard]

The last one was Judge Clark, and I'm not a lawyer.

[Krista]

This is different. This is different. You're. You're resolving a domestic dispute here. Liz in Vermont. Liz in Vermont says please settle a discussion. It's a discussion, not a dispute with my husband and I. I recently purchased a set of two photo tiles that come with two adhesive magnets. The package came without the magnets. I contacted customer service online and chatted with someone and they resent me. A whole new product with the magnets that I talked about. I just chatted back in frustration that they could not just send me another set of magnets. And I offered to purchase the magnets so that my original set that was missing, the magnets can actually be used. My husband said I should just be happy I got the replacement set at no extra cost. Clark, what do you think?

[Clark Howard]

Okay. You're always right. Except in this case, your husband's right. You know, a lot of companies, it's easier for them to just go in the the system, see the inventory, item number of what you got and have it fulfilled. They could for this item could very likely be using a third party fulfillment house. They almost certainly don't have a way just sending the magnets because it was something that happened in production that that item originally was Sent into inventory and shipped without the magnets as part of it. So they've made you whole. Plus let's say they don't want to deal with just the process of getting you the magnets themselves. So now you're good, you got the magnets. Absolutely. You say, great, I'm good, I got this stuff. And I don't know what you do with the surplus ones that are non functional without the magnets, but they have taken care of you and solved the problem. And I would say case closed. What do you think?

[Krista]

I like it.

[Clark Howard]

Judge Clark. Oh, am I supposed to gavel on the table? How many times does a judge.

[Krista]

No, no, don't do it anymore. One.

[Clark Howard]

One. That's. You wanted me to do zero. Wow, I would be so bad as a judge.

[Krista]

You'd be great.

[Clark Howard]

No, that would not be. And being a lawyer. Oh, that would not be. I could see me in law school and you know, the law is not necessarily fair. It's what the law is. And I could see me now arguing with the law professor, but that's just not fair, that's just not right. And be like, shut up. It's not about what's fair, it's what the law says, period. That would always be difficult for me. But anyway, I want to tell you it's been wonderful being with you this week. I hope that you have a great weekend. Talked about this earlier in the week. Please be patient if you're still out shopping. I don't go out shopping this close to Christmas. It's an exercise in frustration. Not happening. Don't even care if they said the first 10 customers are going to get blah blah blah for free. Not going to do it. But if you are going to be out there, know that they're going to be. People are going to be short fused, going to have quick tempers, stay calm, remember the season, joy, peace on earth. Let's be peaceful and joyous towards each other and know what this is all about is you being empowered with knowledge so you learn ways to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. See you next week.