The Clark Howard Podcast

We’re nearing open enrollment. If your employer offers the option of a lower payroll deduction for a high deductible health plan or higher pay deduction for a lower deductible plan – It’s usually best to pay the higher premium, especially if you have health issues. Due to backlash, more employers will offer the option to pay more for a lower out-of-pocket. High deductible plans can be HSA eligible – a tax-advantaged account for medical expenses. Many employees don’t fund their HSA – which allow medical payments with pre-taxed dollars. Then they’re hit with bills they must pay with after-tax dollars. Fund an HSA – it amounts to a 20 to 37% discount on medical bills – depending on your tax rate. It’s important to have disability insurance. You have a 3 times greater chance of becoming disabled than dying during your core working years. Social Security disability is an arduous, lengthy process and is often denied. Take what your employer provides for free and beyond that, buy your own policy. Airline junk fees amount to $35B per year – this is true will all airline except Southwest. American, United and Delta advertise low fares, and the sell you up to fares way higher with all kinds of fees. United alone charges a huge fee for carry on now, taking that cue from the hard discounters. Before you buy, know what all the fees are and what you can handle.Clark and Deals Producer Charis talk about a recent Clarkdeals.com survey and the best deals around the web today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your phone may power up, but if your service is dead, that could be SIM hacking. Crooks have penetrated operations of the big 4 cell provider to hijack service. Because of the Equifax data breach, criminals know who has money,  target individuals and steal their phone service via phone to usurp 2-factor authentication text codes so they can penetrate financial accounts. The go in a setup wire instructions to send money overseas where it can’t be reclaimed. While financial companies investigate, you’re broke. Get the anti-fraud guarantees and / or written fraud policy info from your financial institutions. Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T have been scrambling to come up with new preventive procedures. Two carriers have gone to no porting meaning you put in place a standing order not to port your number from that carrier. This is another layer to protect your identity, and existing accounts, whereas credit freeze helps prevent fraudulent new accounts.  There’s is a fake grass-roots organization called Free and Fair Market Initiative. The WSJ reports this outfit is principally backed by the Simon Property Group – the big owner of malls around the country, suffering from Amazon taking 6% of retail market share. In addition to Simon, they’re funded by Walmart and  Oracle (a web service competitor). There are plenty of reasons to talk about a company legitimately without sullying their reputation falsely because you’re afraid of the competition. Shame on Simon Malls, Walmart and others, funding an effort to slam Amazon.Two years ago there was a scandal involving Vizio TVs spying on viewers – collecting and selling data to aggregators for ad servers. Piercing people’s privacy, Vizio figured out how to monetize viewing. Update: That problem has gotten worse. The average Americans spends 3.5 hours a day in front of a TV. Since Vizio faced minimal consequences, now other TV makers are up to the same thing including Samsung, TCL and LG.  These makers account for most of the TVs sold in the US. Princeton came up with software to track how this is done. Data houses link up what you watch with your phone,  computer and even purchase activities. Laws designed to protect us are not being enforced. DC’s emersion in senseless partisan battles creates a vacuum that allows for enormous violations of our privacy. Europe’s Right to Be Forgotten gives citizens there the right to shut down data harvesting. When our Congress begins to actually serve the people, we need to have privacy laws in place and enforced that clearly provide protections to the American people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This summer came reports that cell phone carriers have been tracking and selling consumer location info. Lawsuits have been filed against AT&T for this practice, selling to 2 partners without consumers’ knowledge. But AT&T is hiding behind the arbitration clause buried inside consumer contracts, even though they’ve engaged in  illegal activity. Clark is diametrically opposed to mandatory arbitration. If both parties are for it, fine. But ALL – 100% of arbitration forums between a business and consumer or employee are rigged in the company’s favor. The U.S. House just last Friday approved a bill outlawing mandatory arbitration – which is fantastic. The Senate remains a question mark. We live in a society where the deck is stacked with unfair rules against consumers and employees. The bigs have too much power and use it to our detriment. Kangaroo court arbitration is a manifestation of that. Hopefully, the Senate will follow the House lead. AT&T broke the law and it’s reprehensible they hide behind arbitration. Arstechnica reports the hack of city & state government payment portals, compromising people’s credit cards in all 50 states. If you use such a government portal – do NOT use a debit or enter your checking account info. If you pay on a gov portal, use a credit card. Credit cards have protections debits do not. Yahoo mail had a massive data breach and settlement info is now coming out for those with Yahoo email between 2013-2016. Watch for your class action notice and make a claim if this affects you.This data is based on the scarcity of buyers post Labor Day, while the number of homes available isn’t much less than the peak season from March to May. In many areas, an agent listing agreement runs for 6 months. Clark sees a more important bargain window November thru mid-January. That 11 week period is potentially the ultimate bargain week for buyers. It’s true there are fewer properties listed for that time period.  They may be listed for many reasons – estate sales, job transfers, divorce – people problem sales, which put the seller in a weakened position, outside normal cycles. During the holidays, the number of people looking to buy drops dramatically. But there are still wounded duck properties on the market. Clark believes the greatest opportunity to get a deal is late fall through early winter. That’s when a buyer looking for a bargain will find it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deleting financial emails has become standard consumer behavior, due to so much spam. This has become a frustration for the financial services industry. Their legit emails aren’t getting through. So a new industry standard has been developed for a verified certificate for real financial emails. Many organizations including Google worked on this tool, which validates that a logo is authentic. It’s a digital symbol you’ll see but you must know to look for it. The validation process, in theory, is designed to prevent scamsters from coming up with their own fake mark. We’ll see over time if the verified mark is effective. Be aware of this initiative. Still true advice: Do not click a link or call a number in any email. Go outside the email to verify the email or web address or phone number of a business you’re attempting to contact. Christa reads listener posts about how Clark has missed the mark in his advice this week. If you have a "Clark Stinks" to share you can leave it here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With new partner Capital One, Walmart is offering a store credit card or a co-branded Walmart Mastercard. With the use of their app tied in with a Capital One credit card, you get 5% off purchases in-store for a year, 2% after that.  Walmart.com purchases with their card maintain the 5% discount after the first year. As the 3 titans of retail – Amazon, Walmart and Target continue to slug it out (Costco in a class by themselves) – consumers benefit. Loyalty discount cards are the game plan. In a world of bad news, know you’re surrounded mostly by good people. American Psychologist published a study about bystanders confronted with fellow humans in trouble. The common belief is that most people do nothing to help out strangers. Now there are security cameras in metros all over the world, giving an opportunity for researchers to observe human behavior. In danger situations in 3 different cities, bystanders intervened to calm, protect and stop conflicts 91% of the time. The more bystanders there are when trouble starts, the greater the change some will step in to help – safety in numbers. Often when called upon, humans wish to do the right thing.Knowing why auto insurance rates go up, helps you keep them down. Here's what you need to know:1. In almost all states insurers can set premiums based on your credit score.2. The Consumer Federation of American has found that your zip code is a factor.3. Do not purchase roadside assistance from your auto insurer. They count this as a claim as an excuse to jack your rate. They even put it on your CLUE report to hose you with any other insurer. State insurance regulators should prohibit this practice of cheating customers. Don’t have this benefit unless you get it writing that roadside assistance will NOT constitute a claim.4. Many states allow using divorce to raise rates, kicking you while your down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Reserve lowers interest rates again to reduce the severity of economic slowdown and to help prevent a recession. The Fed is acting defensively. This will lower interest rates for car buyers and on credit cards. HELOCS historically follow, but many banks put a floor in recent contracts. Re-shop to get a lower rate if need be. Saver rates decline as well. Online bank savings rates have already dropped about 1/3 of 1 point.  The smart move now is to lock in money you won’t need into a 1 year CD to earn more. Oddly, when the Reserve lowers their rates, mortgage rates often rise to compensate for inflation long term. But if the economy slows, you’ll see mortgage rates go down.Two years ago with the new tax bill, Congress made a mistake that has dramatically affected military families. Gold Star families are entitled to survivors’ compensation. Congress made a clerical error, changing the tax on those benefits from 12 to 37%. This is punishing families who’ve already made the ultimate sacrifice of losing a loved one in service. The U.S. House passed a bill to fix this last spring 417 to 3 – basically unanimous. Now that correction is tied up in the Senate and Mitch McConnell will not allow this to be voted on. This needs to be fixed now.Kaiser Health News has exposed the UVA Medical Center for ruining lives by confiscating homes and garnishing wages under a hospital bill shock system exploiting state codes to sue people blind. This after billing at rates way beyond what’s reasonable and customary. UVA isn’t the only perp here. Recent stories expose medical providers in TN and GA. No one in medicine is interested in telling patients what treatment will cost. One consumer was given a quote yet was billed 52 times that amount after a procedure. What does it take to be a consumer? You choose what you buy, based in part on known costs to fit your budget. Healthcare is the only thing that doesn’t follow this.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Saudi Arabia represents a huge percentage of world oil production. The recent drone attack took half their production offline. But it appears they will be back to full production in a matter of weeks. In addition, fall is a slow time of year for oil consumption. After Labor Day, demand declines. Factor in recession in some countries and a slowing U.S. economy bringing down demand. Meanwhile, U.S. production has increased. A decade ago, the U.S. produced little oil, and faced shortages driving up costs to $147 a barrel, compared to $60 last trade. We may see a brief minor spike in prices at the pump.Equifax conned the states and the Feds to reduce their settlement liability to $125 per affected person and is still hitting back over the number of applicants. Now that want you to verify information again. You have 4 weeks to reverify your application.  California has passed legislation making app-based workers employees vs independent contractors, starting in January. This includes Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and the like. There’s been a large movement by employers pushing the private contractor designation, to avoid paying benefits. We need a class of employment falling somewhere between a contractor and full-time employee. Uber and Lyft predict their labor cost will rise 20- 30% in California from this change. This current system of off or on is exploiting and harmful to workers. Ratio employment would help ease the income inequality problem in the U.S.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clark recently returned a rental car. He had 5 pics of the car. Why? After returning, sometimes weeks later you may get a notice saying you owe for damage. They may have already charged your card for the damage. All contracts say your check-in slip is subject to later inspection and damage charges. Clark takes pics of the car upon return, so if this happens later – he’s got dated pictorial proof. Clark had noted a ding and windshield chip on the initial ticket. You’ve got to protect yourself. Also, for at least 20 years Clark has advised travelers to rent from an off airport rental site to save money. Many airport rentals come with massive junk fees. Because many people have been avoiding airport rentals, cities are fighting back by imposing nuisance fees and requiring affidavits. If you pick up a non-airport rental in a metro with an out-of-state license you must sign an affidavit stating you did not fly in the last 12-24 hours. Clark’s nomad brother rented a car this way for one day, then turned it in for a longer term rental having satisfied the time limit – to save big money. It’s work, but you have to know how the car rental game is played to avoid getting burned. Previous Clark Rage: In order to maintain an Apple controlled monopoly, Apple had been refusing to supply parts to independent repair shops. This lead to legal action and resolution. Apple is now selling parts and allowing access to manuals to independent repair shops. This will give users more choice and competitive pricing, and ease the repair backlog. Instead of industries operating closed shops, the free market should rule.    Clark has been accused of being unrealistically optimistic. He’s OK with that. The National Academy of Sciences Journal published a Boston U School of Medicine study finding tremendous benefit for inherent optimists. Men and women innate optimists have around 15% more longevity, accounting for other factors. Optimism was found to be about 25% genetic. That means 75% is in our control. Optimistic women are 50% more likely to see 85 or older. Optimistic men are 70% more likely to see 85+.  The study found that positive people recover from illness, injury or surgery sooner and are generally healthier.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The World Health Organization has declared excessive gaming a psychological disorder.  A MarketWatch survey reveals the number of people spending an hour or more a day playing video games increased 20% over the last year. Many believe they'll go pro and earn a living and become reclusive and obsessive in the endeavor, gaming constantly. For parents, it's a tug of war you want your kid to win, so game time should be strictly limited.  Who knew the pro athlete mentality would translate into gaming.  The winner of a Fortnight competition won $3M, reinforcing others to abandon all else for gaming. But, for athletes and gamers, almost no one makes the cut as a pro and those who do have a short career.   Clark answers his critics on Clark Stinks.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beware of annuity sales. Annuity sales subsided when fiduciary rules were in place - rules that have now been pushed aside, causing new sales to skyrocket. Insurance companies and banks push these because they have humongous fees and commissions. These contracts allow the insurance companies to change the terms at any time and the tax treatment is generally not favorable. When you're getting a vague investment pitch ASK if it's an annuity. If so, walk away. File an insurance claim, and the next thing you know police are accusing you of a criminal act. It's happened. When shopping insurance, make sure the company is solid. Clark routinely recommends choosing insurance  companies that get the highest ratings. Cost is secondary in this area. A Buzzfeed investigation reveals some insurers investigating big claims, will direct law enforcement against the insured. Clark had a co-worker who had just moved, suffered a fire, and was accused of torching his own house. Insurers working with police to start a criminal investigation to delay or deny a claim - this is hopefully rare but raises the stakes on how important it is to be with a company that rates high in serving customers. Don't just go with the cheapest insurance company.  The Cash app has now eclipsed Venmo as the top app for sending money to family and friends - special emphasis on family and friends only. These apps operate efficiently, making it easy to send money. When shopping online, particularly with sites like Craigslist, eBay etc - if the seller requests payment by one of these apps, consider that a red flag for a con. They vanish and your money is gone. ONLY use apps to pay someone you know because once you pay, the money is gone. Zelle is being pushed by banks but does not have any meaningful consumer protections compared to Cash app and Venmo.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices