Pod Insights The Clark Howard Podcast 01.08.25 New Year, New Job / Your Longevity About this episode A new survey finds that half of all workers are basically miserable. Are you thinking about getting a new job this year? There are some great ways to receive additional training for free to up your skill set. Also, you can do something absolutely free to improve your health and lengthen your life. 2025 Employment: Segment 1 Ask Clark: Segment 2 Rise & Thrive: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: The share of US workers who are “thriving” has fallen to a record low These 4 fantastic sites offer more than 17,000 free online courses Military and Veterans Guide: Free Resources for Your Finances Why Clark Howard Is So Excited About His Wedding Band NYTimes: Why Sitting All Day May Shorten Your Life What's the Best Way To Donate to a Charity? Clark Howard: My 7 Rules for Using Credit Cards Clark.com resources Episode transcripts Community. Clark.com / Ask Clark Clark.com daily money newsletter Consumer Action Center Free Helpline: 636-492-5275 Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 Meet the Simplify Target 15 Distribution ETF, ticker XV, which seeks higher income potential than traditional bonds, reduce downside risk compared with stocks, and a targeted 15% annualized distribution rate paid monthly. Distributions aren't guaranteed and may vary. The distribution rate isn't investment return. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Stop waiting for your nest egg to hatch. See how XV could help put it to work. Carefully consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information. Visit simplify.us/nestegg to learn more. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest. Distributor: Forside Financial Services, LLC.
0:46 Speaker 01 UKG is the workforce operating platform with unified HR, payroll, and workforce management. Built to solve the unique challenges of frontline work. Powered by People First AI and decades of labor data, UKG turns workforce intelligence into real-time decisions around staffing, pay, compliance, and productivity, enabling every worker to confidently take action as work happens. Because when work works, everything works. Learn more at ukg.com/work. UKG: HR, Pay, and Workforce Management.
1:21 Speaker 02 It's my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show. Our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life. Are you thinking about getting a new job this year? You're not alone. But do you know there's a lot of training that can help you for free make yourself a better job applicant as you go out and look for that new opportunity? And also, do you know there's a magic pill? There's an actual magic pill that can extend your life or improve your health? I'm going to tell you what it is.
2:06 Speaker 02 Right now, I want to talk about the job market. Gallup, that does so many polling and survey things, has found that individual workers are really, really miserable right now, in numbers that are virtually unprecedented. I'm looking at the Gallup survey called the Life Evaluation Index. This survey finds that we are 50/50 now, in the people that are, as they would say, they're asked, "Are you thriving at work? Are you struggling? Or are you suffering?"
2:50 Speaker 02 Today, and I don't remember this ever happening, even during the Great Recession, the number of people that were struggling or suffering at work was never close to being half of all workers in the United States, which is where it is right now. People are, well, I mean, again, 50/50. One out of two people at work are miserable. Struggling or suffering? That's bad ugly. Because think about how much of our waking hours we spend at work. And if we go to work dreading, walking in the door.
3:35 Speaker 02 I've had a job like that before. It is no fun. Dreading going to work, hating being there, and can't wait to leave. It's bad for your mental well-being. It's bad all the way around. But also, if you are not engaged in what you do for work, you're not going anywhere in that job. And so, why this is so important to me, is there are so many opportunities out there for you to skill up into things that the marketplace is calling for. You know, the workforce is not a static thing.
4:15 Speaker 02 What people are seeking in a worker, the skills, constantly moving target, never stops changing. And if you decide you're going to be what you're going to be forever, that's a mistake. You know, I've talked about this to my kids their whole lives when they were really young, so much so I knew I had succeeded when my son, who's training to be a professional airline pilot, called me and said, Dad, I'm gonna get a second degree. I think I'm gonna do finance. Is it okay with you? It'll take me one additional semester to complete professional pilot and also to have a degree in something else. I said, Yeah, I think that's a great
4:59 Speaker 02 idea. Why do you want to do that? And then he was repeating back to me what he heard. It's propaganda works. He heard much of his life that the nature of work never stops changing. He said, Dad, I saw this story that Airbus is trying to get approval around the world by 29 to only have a single pilot in the cockpit, you know, because of all the automation going into airplanes. He said, I don't know what kind of longevity my career as a professional pilot will have. I don't know when planes are gonna all fly themselves. And I thought that was really smart of a teenager to recognize that and already be
5:41 Speaker 02 preparing for what happens if his dream job, because let me tell you, he loves flying an airplane. If his dream job no longer is viable, he's already thinking, what else would he be doing? And that's not human nature. Usually, we have blinders on with our job or career, and what we do is what we do. Then that makes you roadkill for what changes over time. Because I will tell you that in 2050, almost all the jobs that exist will be things that don't exist today, because the market never stops changing. Technology
6:21 Speaker 02 never stops moving forward. And so you have to be prepared for change. And sometimes, that's gonna mean additional training or even education. I mean, I think about how many times over the years, I've talked about Coursera, which has thousands upon thousands.
6:41 Speaker 02 Of free courses available that can teach you skills for free. You don't get a degree, you don't get a certification. But you're able to learn skills and a lot of employers now are not as much into certs, certifications of various kinds, as they are into you having the skill base to do a job. And there are hundreds of universities that make their courses available for free through Coursera. I love that. There's another one I didn't know about I saw in Fast Company, EDX, which has a thousand courses that was founded by Harvard and MIT. Has a thousand courses you can take for free.
7:25 Speaker 02 They call it auditing the courses. But there's an online catalog of those. And then for years I've talked about Khan Academy, which is a nonprofit that is all about free education for STEM. And you know, last month I read a list of all the jobs that are paying the most money. And they were almost a hundred percent of them were somehow engineering or STEM. Trying to think if there were any that weren't engineering or STEM. So you've got these resources available to not feel stuck in a rut.
8:09 Speaker 02 To not feel like I just hate, I'm, you know, I'm, what were the terms of the Gallup thing? Suffering or struggling? Man, is that a way to live your work existence? Struggling or suffering? When there's so much other opportunity out there. It's not just about money. It's about that you look forward to what you do, that you enjoy what you do, that you have options in what you do. That's what I want. I don't want you stuck in a rut.
8:41 Speaker 03 Okay, Kenneth in California wrote in and said, "I appreciate your recent advice on money for exchange recommending the Wise app to get the best foreign exchange here in the United States. When I logged into the app, they asked me to access my bank account, social security number, and a copy of my driver's license. Do you think it's safe to do so?"
9:01 Speaker 02 You have to do it. It's a financial institution. When you do business today with any bank, brokerage, credit union, whatever, they are under strict requirements for siphoning out who might be doing money laundering or criminal activities of various types, and they want to follow the money and follow the person who has the money. So this invasion of privacy came about because the original reason that has expanded way beyond that was the 9/11 terrorists and how they were able to come up with the money to do the
9:42 Speaker 02 various things they did, leading up to the horrific terror of 9/11. And then since then, it's expanded for any of a number of other purposes, as often happens. And that's why this "know thy customer" thing is absolutely a requirement. How financial institutions do it is not prescribed specifically by law, but the industry has defaulted to the very things that you've been asked for. And social security number, anything involving financial industry, it is considered to be a legitimate business purpose to require your social security number.
10:26 Speaker 03 Jeffrey in Virginia says, "Being a military veteran, I noticed many ads for insurance, both auto, homeowners, and sometimes life insurance that are supposed to be so much more affordable for veterans. My question for Clark is, are any of these really cheaper or better for us veterans, or is it just advertising hype? This would be a great thing to research for veterans and see if we really can get better discounts."
10:49 Speaker 02 I want to thank you, Jeffrey, first of all, for your service to this great nation. Second, I want to tell you that most of those pitches are just propaganda.
11:00 Speaker 03 Who we?
11:00 Speaker 02 They're not who we.
11:01 Speaker 03 Who we, as you like to say.
11:02 Speaker 02 Who we, as I like to say. Occasionally, there will be organizations that specifically are devoted to military personnel and military retirees. And you may, may, you heard the emphasis on may, get a better deal from these organizations. Think Navy Federal Credit Union, USAA would be two examples. And again, may with both of those, or a military-based credit union may offer you a better deal on various things. But the reality is, most of the pitches you see saying targeted towards veterans are that's just a marketing attempt.
11:47 Speaker 02 It is not necessarily in any way a better deal.
11:51 Speaker 03 Reid in Ohio wrote in with a question I know you will love. What do you know about health tracking rings? Are they worth the investment? And which brand of health ring, if any, do you recommend?
12:02 Speaker 02 So to call this an investment, you wearing one still?
12:06 Speaker 03 No, I wear it when I'm sleeping sometimes because I have a tracking watch. And I don't wear three devices like you, but I will wear it when I want to track my sleep.
12:15 Speaker 02 So for those of you on the YouTube show, I wear as my wedding band, my Oura ring. Now, I'm wearing it on the ring finger for a wedding band, which is not the best place to wear a fitness tracker.
12:29 Speaker 03 This is your index finger.
12:30 Speaker 02 Index, yeah. But I don't like wearing jewelry much. So this way, I just wear it and get good data, not perfect data. But nothing yet invented tracks your health.
12:44 Speaker 02 As well, 24 hours a day, not my Garmin fitness tracker, not my Samsung watch, nothing does the thorough data as the Oura.
12:56 Speaker 03 And you spell that O U R A.
12:58 Speaker 02 Oura Ring is the website, Oura, O U R A ring.com. Now, they have a lot of competition now they didn't used to have. Samsung has one. The thing with Oura is Oura, you have to pay. I don't because I was an early adopter five years ago. So I'm grandfathered in and I don't pay a monthly fee. But now you pay a monthly fee for the treasure trove of data. And I'm so hooked on the Oura that if they decide that they're excising the grandfather clause and I have to start paying, I'm going to pay the money because the data I get has been such an improvement.
13:40 Speaker 02 I sleep so much better than I used to because Oura nags you. And it says, you've got to settle down. You want to sleep well tonight? You need to calm down. You need to just stop doing blah, blah, blah. It will goad you into going to bed maybe earlier than you normally do or whatever it is. And my sleep after five years with Oura is so crazy better. But you know what I find with any of these fitness trackers? Think about an Apple watch or a Samsung watch or the Garmin. That after a while, people don't like the nag in their lives. They don't like what it's telling them.
14:22 Speaker 02 And think how many Apple watches that people bought for big money or Samsung watches are sitting in a drawer somewhere.
14:30 Speaker 03 Well, I was going to say, if you're looking for
14:32 Speaker 02 Like you're not wearing.
14:34 Speaker 03 Right. If you're looking for an Oura ring or one of these, a lot of people got them probably over the holidays, don't want them, look on Facebook Marketplace. You can get a used one.
14:41 Speaker 02 They're so cheap used.
14:42 Speaker 03 So cheap.
14:42 Speaker 02 Like with Oura, if you buy Gen three instead of Gen four, the Gen threes are available in the marketplace for like nothing. And then you just have to pay your monthly fee. The Samsung ring. Has not really caught on in the United States. It has overseas. But if you go read like any of the tech oriented sites, they have reviews of all the various brands of the watches. And I'm sold because I think it's really, really helped me with my overall health and wellness. I'd always been into being active and exercising. Where it's helped is with overall health.
15:23 Speaker 02 And by the way, the daily health score I get, it's creepy weird. Aura knows I'm sick before I know I'm sick.
15:33 Speaker 03 I know, but sometimes I feel like you almost listen to Aura too much because you might wake up feeling good and you're like, I don't, something's wrong with me. I'm, I'm having a bad day. Aura told me, you know? I mean, you do.
15:46 Speaker 02 I'd say I'm guilty as charged. So speaking of which, forget Aura. We're going to talk about, you want longer life, better health? I have the magic elixir. I really do. I'm going to share it with you straight ahead.
16:03 Speaker 01 UKG is the workforce operating platform with unified HR, payroll, and workforce management. Built to solve the unique challenges of frontline work. Powered by People First AI and decades of labor data, UKG turns workforce intelligence into real time decisions around staffing, pay, compliance, and productivity, enabling every worker to confidently take action as work happens. Because when work works, everything works. Learn more at ukg.com/work. UKG, HR, Pay and Workforce Management.
16:40 Speaker 00 Real traders still hear the noise. They just know when to stop listening to it. Find and research opportunities to fit your strategy with Thinkorswim trading platforms from Schwab. Discover features like robust charting, nearly unlimited customization, and built in risk management technology. Plus, get 24/7 support from real trading specialists. That's Schwab Trading. Learn more at schwab.com/trading.
17:05 Speaker 00 Are you ever shopping online and suddenly a discount that helps you save pops up?
17:09 Speaker 01 It makes your day, sometimes even your week. Want that feeling month after month? Well, new customers who save by switching their home and auto insurance to Progressive save hundreds. Cue your happy dance. Get your quote today at progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and other insurers not available in all states.
17:31 Speaker 04 As wish lists grow, you know where to go. Head to Ulta Beauty. We have gifts they'll love from brands like Tato One and Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez. Shop beauty faves to give or keep from Shark Beauty, Sol de Janeiro, and more. Not sure what they want? You can't go wrong with Baumann, Clinique, or Redken. And don't forget to put yourself on the list. Book a salon moment or add a little more sparkle to your season. Shop holiday in store or at Ulta.com. Ulta Beauty.
17:59 Speaker 01 LinkedIn is pretty amazing at helping you grow your small business. We cannot make your email response time faster. We can help you sell, market, and hire in one place. We cannot help you find space for your three desk drinks. Why do you have three? And while we can't help you find the perfect volume for your presentation video, LinkedIn can help you find the perfect audience for your business. Grow your small business on LinkedIn. Learn more at LinkedIn.com/smallbusiness.
18:29 Speaker 02 Those of you who watch the YouTube show see me do something you almost never see on a YouTube show. I stand in a studio. What does everybody else do in a studio? They sit. I started this as something that I do in the decades that I did radio. I always stood. I didn't sit because sitting on your rear end is not a great idea. It will actually affect your health. And the statistics are pretty clear about this. You know, they call it dead butt syndrome, believe it or not. You ever heard that expression?
19:07 Speaker 03 Not until now.
19:10 Speaker 02 So, okay, that's not a cuss word to say.
19:12 Speaker 03 No.
19:12 Speaker 02 Okay.
19:13 Speaker 03 I think it's fine.
19:14 Speaker 02 So, being active is so important, but the reverse is potentially deadly. In fact, I saw a New York Times story where in Taiwan, they followed half a million people for 13 years and found that people who sit a big part of the day have a one-third higher risk of dying from heart stuff. One-third higher. Just this one change in their lives, standing instead of sitting. And I know in corporate America, it was like a big thing to do like five, 10 years ago
19:56 Speaker 02 to be at standing desks, but people found they didn't like it because, well, it was a lot easier to sit on the rear end. So, the standing desk just kind of went the way of the dodo bird because people found it, to call it not enjoyable would probably be accurate, but I find that I have so much more energy when I stand than when I sit while I'm doing it and that overall, the health benefits are so great. And if you are in an office job and you're sitting on your rear end all the time and then you have a long commute as well, oh, man, that's a bad combination for your health and wellness.
20:39 Speaker 02 Forget the people who died of heart disease in this Taiwanese study. Let's just talk about every day feeling sluggish and, you know, not energetic and getting tired easily. Standing is really great. Now, I tried for a while doing a treadmill desk. I had a treadmill desk in my home office and I found that I didn't absorb material as well, reading. I would stand. Walk the treadmill and read at the same time. I had to ditch it because my comprehension declined. I don't know what that's about. Maybe somebody who studies minds could tell me that.
21:23 Speaker 02 But if you can think about your life in ways that you can be doing anything other than just sitting on your rear end, think about that. Think about doing something to improve your health. It is habit forming, but not a bad habit. And it's hopefully addictive in a good way. And it doesn't cost any money to stand instead of sit. You know, I like things that are free that make you better.
21:55 Speaker 03 All right, we'll go to some questions. Sam in Texas wrote this one. I appreciated your article on what's the best way to donate to a charity. But I noticed that Charity Navigator's giving basket was not included. I've been donating that way for several years and wonder how Clark feels about it.
22:10 Speaker 02 So Sam, this is how I feel about it. There are some nuisance fees using the giving basket. But the advantage of it is what you find, that you're more likely to screen charities at Charity Navigator, which is one of the three sites I recommend to make sure that charities are on the up and up. And that they spend your money efficiently instead of on outside fundraisers and executives that make crazy amounts of money and stuff like that. So the giving basket charges, it's like right around 1%.
22:45 Speaker 03 So they don't charge it. The Charity Navigator and the third party platform they use are both 501(c)(3) nonprofits. But to donate via, it depends how you're donating, a credit card. I think it's 2% from some like third parties. And this will happen if you're donating at a charity's website often too.
23:02 Speaker 02 Well, they'll ask rather than tell.
23:05 Speaker 03 Yes, true.
23:06 Speaker 02 So this you pay, if you're paying not with a credit card, I think it's right at 1%.
23:12 Speaker 03 1% and then a check is 99 cents. And there's a cap on the amount.
23:17 Speaker 02 So it is an effective way. The money will all go to the organization. You'll pay whatever fees there may be or costs that would be incurred for transmitting the money. So as long as you're comfortable with those fees they add on, it is an effective way because it's a clearinghouse to make sure that it's going to good, efficient, legitimate organizations. And you can give it to multiple organizations all in a single donation rather than having to give it to each. But you know what some people really love?
23:54 Speaker 03 What?
23:55 Speaker 02 You can have your identity hidden from the charity so that they're then not putting you on their forever mailing and solicitation list. And that's a reason a lot of people like the giving basket is you do it all behind a wall of anonymity if you wish.
24:13 Speaker 03 Ken in California says, at what age do I need to take required minimum distribution for a Roth IRA? I'm seeing many different answers online. Some say 67, others say 70, and ChatGPT said you never have to take an RMD for a Roth. Which is it?
24:28 Speaker 02 ChatGPT is correct. If you have a Roth IRA, one of the enormous advantages of it over a traditional IRA, anything like that, is that there's never an RMD, required minimum distribution. The money can be held through your lifetime. It is a very good asset to inherit, where a traditional IRA is a lousy asset to inherit because of the way the rules work for each. Now, if you inherit a Roth IRA, then you have to withdraw the money, whether it's
25:09 Speaker 02 a traditional or a Roth, you have to withdraw the money by the end of the 10th year from which you inherit it unless you're a spouse. That's a whole different set of rules. But again, there's a big difference. The Roth, you inherit and you spend it tax-free over those 10 years. The traditional, you have ugly, ugly, ugly tax bills you have to pay. So the Roth IRA wins every day in my book.
25:40 Speaker 03 Jane, Florida says, Clark, you talk quite a bit about maximizing rewards on your various credit cards. How do you feel about others in the financial world who say we should never, ever, not ever have a credit card? I don't believe I've ever heard your theories on this, and I would love your perspective.
25:55 Speaker 02 So, it depends on who you are. If you are going to use reward cards and either not regularly pay the balance in full, or irregularly not pay the balance in full, reward cards are a disaster. Because reward cards tend on unpaid balances to carry higher than average interest rates. So, the reward is fool's gold. Because they're saying, "Hey, look over here, look over here. We're giving you this, this point total this month, and we're giving you this cash back or whatever. Don't look over on the other side where you're paying this ginormous interest on the unpaid balance."
26:39 Speaker 02 So, if you know yourself, as an example, Dave Ramsey, who hates credit cards, that's taken from a perspective of people who he counsels, who've gotten into trouble with credit. That's why there are people who recommend never having a credit card. But, in my book, if you're in the roughly half of Americans who use a credit card as a payment system, where you pay the balance in full every month, and you have the ability to pay with a credit card and receive the cash back rewards, or points, and, you know,
27:19 Speaker 02 whatever program, and you love doing that, there's no problem at all you using a reward card. You have to know yourself. And if you won't pay the balance in full regularly, or even occasionally you won't pay the balance in full, you don't want to use a reward card, period. And so, I have my rules for credit cards on Clark.com that shows you how you make those decisions. If you are somebody who should be concentrating just on if you have a credit card...
27:58 Speaker 02 And you're running balances the lowest interest rate, or having a credit card for rewards, what rewards are best and all that. Just so you know, I despise the reward programs of the three full fare airlines, American, United, and Delta. Their miles have become fool's gold, and chasing after them is something that worked great in years past. Today, not so much. But there are other cards that could be very good if, again, you're somebody who pays your balances in full. So be honest with yourself on this.
28:41 Speaker 02 And I want to thank you so much for joining us today. Know that we're back on the job giving you one-on-one advice in the Team Clark Consumer Action Center. The holidays are in the rearview mirror, and now it's time for you to be shipshape with your money. And we're prepared to do this as we've been doing for 32 years, answering your questions for free, one-on-one, in the Team Clark Consumer Action Center. You can see how to get that free one-on-one advice at clark.com/cac.
29:20 Speaker 02 And spend your day remembering concepts that help you save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. And we'll see you Friday with our first Clark Stinks of 25.
29:40 Speaker 01 UKG is the workforce operating platform with unified HR, payroll, and workforce management. Built to solve the unique challenges of frontline work. Powered by People First AI and decades of labor data, UKG turns workforce intelligence into real-time decisions around staffing, pay, compliance, and productivity, enabling every worker to confidently take action as work happens. Because when work works, everything works. Learn more at ukg.com/work. UKG, HR, Pay, and Workforce Management.
Previous 01.07.24 Ask An Advisor With Wes Moss - 5 Keys To Successful Investing Next 01.10.25 Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / Find Your Best Phone Plan Page updated November 7, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
