Pod Insights The Clark Howard Podcast 04.10.26 Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / Scammers Going For Broke About this episode Friday - Clark Stinks day! Christa shares Clark Stinks posts with Clark. Submit yours at Clark.com/ClarkStinks. Also today - Scam artists are getting more sophisticated and they’re targeting your retirement funds. Clark explains this digital crime wave and how fraudsters are using sophisticated tools & tricks to get into your accounts. The first step in protecting your money is being aware of some of the latest techniques these criminals use. Clark Stinks: Segments 1 & 2 Scam Vigilance: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: 5 Best Robo-Advisors - Clark Howard When Is the Best Time To Collect Social Security? - Clark Howard Term Life vs. Whole Life Insurance: Understanding the Difference How To Buy Term Life Insurance in 7 Easy Steps - Clark Howard Fraud Is Skyrocketing: 5 Ways To Protect Your Hard-Earned Assets Why You Should Never Click on Random Text Messages thestreet: Vanguard warns fraud is quietly draining retirements now Protect Your Rights & Identity Archives - Clark Howard How To Freeze and Unfreeze Your Credit With Experian, Equifax and TransUnion Virtual Credit Cards: An Online Security Measure Worth Taking? Best 529 Plans by State: How Clark Howard Picks the Top College Savings Plans 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. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1:04 Speaker 02 It's my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show, where our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you so you make better financial decisions in your life. And if you're a regular listener to this show, what Krista calls a Clarky.
1:22 Speaker 03 No, you came up with Clarky.
1:24 Speaker 02 I did?
1:25 Speaker 03 You did. And then we had people vote on what they should call themselves. Like a Swifty. Taylor Swift-y. I like the Clark squad, I think, but I like Clarky now. I'm used to it.
1:36 Speaker 02 How does she get out on stage and perform for three and a half hours?
1:41 Speaker 03 It's unreal.
1:42 Speaker 02 I don't know how anybody does that. Anyway, so today begins with our Clark Stinks segment. You know who also stinks? Scam artists. And they're getting more and more and more sophisticated. And I know a really brilliant person who lost his life savings.
2:01 Speaker 02 To crooks and lost even more in what's known as a reload. I want you to be aware of the techniques that these scamsters are using, how they're tricking you, creating a sense of urgency, and then pouring salt in the wounds after. That's coming up later, but right now it is time for Clark Stinks.
2:25 Speaker 04 I should have never encouraged you to speak.
2:27 Speaker 05 You must think I'm pretty stupid. You should be ashamed of yourself. Well, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong.
2:32 Speaker 03 Maybe you're right, pal.
2:37 Speaker 03 Okay, Ken says, he's from Texas. Krista stinks when it comes to pronouncing the name of the state of, I say Nevada. It is pronounced with a short A like an apple or bland.
2:49 Speaker 02 Nevada.
2:50 Speaker 03 Nevada. Krista keeps saying Nevada and it's driving me nuts.
2:54 Speaker 02 So this has been, it's like people who say Missouri versus Missouri.
2:58 Speaker 03 Mm hmm.
2:59 Speaker 02 Nevada has so many people who've moved there from different places that I'd say both of them are actually, okay Krista. So in my book, you don't stink for getting Nevada wrong.
3:13 Speaker 03 That's okay. I appreciate the, I'm sorry, Ken, that it's so, it's driving you nuts. I'm gonna try. No.
3:21 Speaker 02 Nobody should bother you for saying Nevada wrong.
3:23 Speaker 03 I know, but I'm saying it's okay. Oh, okay. Thomas in Georgia says, Clark, you were asked about legacy tech in old EVs. I drive a 2015 Model S. This is a very old car for an EV being over a decade. For context, this came out about the same time as an iPhone 6. For Tesla, they'd only been making cars for three years, which is crazy. For my car, I get updates twice a year, even though it's over a decade old. So what happens if they stop giving updates? Well, it's really not that different from your Toyota or Chevy or Ford. When the second you drive it off the lot is probably the last time we'll ever get a software update. So if Tesla stops giving updates, well, it'll stay exactly as it is today.
4:06 Speaker 03 One thing that does amaze me is the tech in my legacy car is still better than. And our brand new Toyota Grand Highlander, the auto drive is better and the infotainment is better. It can be a bit slow. It's over a decade old, but if we never get another update, it would still be a great car. And we, I know we heard from someone else who talked about that too, but I just thought that was kind of an extra little twist that it would stay the same.
4:30 Speaker 02 Right. I mean, this is really puzzling to me that Tesla is a computer-first company. And everything was designed from day one to have these, what are known as over the air updates where the, the software of the vehicle, even if the hardware obviously is the same, the software continually gets updated. And that the rest of the automotive industry hasn't adopted this is really weird to me.
4:58 Speaker 03 Danielle in the District of Columbia says, Clark, you don't stink. I'm not mad, but I am disappointed. That's almost worse, right? In a recent podcast, you said that people shouldn't pay for their kids' college at the expense of their own retirement because you can't fail retirement. I grew up in rural America with supportive parents and a handful of teachers who saw something in me I didn't see in myself. I always loved politics and knew that political science was the field for me. The programs offered at the public state schools left a lot to be desired. So my mom worked two full-time jobs for six years. So I wouldn't be drowning in student loan debt.
5:37 Speaker 02 Wow.
5:38 Speaker 03 She knew that I would never take on the debt required for private or out of state tuition. I now make 30 times what they made despite working nowhere as hard as they ever did. Frequently I have to help my parents out now that they are retired. I've never once considered it a burden and I would never, never, not ever say that my parents have failed in any parts of their lives, even retirement.
6:03 Speaker 02 Thank you very much for that. And I absolutely love your story, Danielle. And to your mom, the sacrifice that she made for those six years because she believed in you more than as a young person you yet believed in yourself and what you've accomplished because of her belief in you. And so when I talk about this, you are an obvious example that under the roof you grew up in, what I say generally specifically would have been harmed to you. And I'm so glad in your case, everything's worked out and you have no amnesia about what
6:48 Speaker 02 your parents did for you and you're there for them. So often, though, kids don't really appreciate, like you do, what their parents do in terms of sacrifice to make things happen for them. And the parents end up in extreme hardship and potentially in poverty in later life because they sacrificed for their kids. And the kids then aren't there for them. As my late father used to say, one parent can take care of 10 kids, but 10 kids can't take care of one parent. So I would say your story for me is a wonderful exception to what I normally say.
7:31 Speaker 03 Sarah in Georgia says, Clark, I smell a half baked loaf when listening to your segment on investing with the giant monster mega banks. I say half baked because you only talked about the big banks and didn't mention online banks. My husband and I have a hers, his, ours banking setup. We use Ally for our shared expenses, the mortgage and utilities, emergency fund savings and pet care. Yes, we created a Critter Cash checking account. We use our SoFi for our separate food spending, groceries and dining out. I opened a SoFi Invest account and any remaining balance in the checking account before the payroll drop is transferred into the SoFi Invest account. Our money is invested.
8:12 Speaker 03 In Vanguard S and P 500 ETF with an expense ratio of 0.03%. Amounts have varied from a dollar to $50. At the time of this message, our account has $123. I'm curious to hear Clark's thoughts on online banks getting into the investment space for a fully baked loaf that smells amazing.
8:34 Speaker 02 That is a wonderful question, one that no one has ever asked me and addressed. So I don't want to be flip about the answer. And so what I would like to do is at a future time, I want to look at some of the online banks, the investment options they have and see if they are a significant improvement on the investing side over the investing arms of the traditional banks.
9:02 Speaker 03 Okay. Rich in Virginia says, Clark, love the show, but you're killing me with the wait until 70 for social security advice. I swear you think we all have multimillionaire status with the vacation home in Hawaii money like you do. Listen, Clarky boy, I love my family and I want to travel while I'm able to as long as I can. It's not likely when I'm 85, trying to figure out if my knees can handle a cruise ship. Taking it early is about making memories while I can walk without a cane or a scooter. Why are you denying families the joy of a slightly smaller but earlier paycheck just to build a mountain of cash I might not live to spend? Plus, you're so wealthy, you probably don't even need that social security check like Warren Buffett.
9:47 Speaker 03 And speaking of cash, you're always lecturing us on saving, but I think you're just keeping all the tips for yourself. I'm kidding. I know you tip 20%, but for a multimillionaire, you really should be blowing people's minds and changing lives a tad more. Think about it. Instead of just another 20%, you could really create a big smile at a hotel or restaurant with a 200% tip or $20 a day for cleaning your room. Make them happy, make them know they're appreciated, you big tightwad. You spread love and joy and knowledge and do so with those working the hardest for you. And I, and I too have a lovely vacation. Signed, a fan who wants to enjoy life now, not when I'm 80 plus and possibly decrepit.
10:30 Speaker 02 Okay. And that was Rich?
10:32 Speaker 03 Yep.
10:33 Speaker 02 Yeah. So Rich, thank you.
10:35 Speaker 03 Rich who says you're rich.
10:39 Speaker 02 Okay, Richie Rich. No, I love what you wrote. And so when I talk about age 70, almost nobody waits till age 70 for social security. My worry always is what happens? You're like, hey, I'm vital now. I want to enjoy life. I want to go travel here and there. I want to do the things I want to do while I still feel really great. And I don't want to be somebody who's old, broken down, and now I can afford to travel, and I don't get to do the things I would have done. Life is always a series of compromises and choices.
11:23 Speaker 02 And what I worry about is somebody who takes a social security check really early is that later, when push comes to shove, expense-wise in your life, you're not in a position to say, oops, I need to go get a part-time job that you can't do. And then life can be a real struggle, and you may not have any support from family. So that's what it's about. It's not about the joy that having that money earlier can bring. It's about my worry about where people would end up later in life. In your example, in their 80s, in their 80s, I want people to have enough money to get by.
12:07 Speaker 03 Akshay in North Carolina says, Clark stinks, stinks. Not really, but one of the submissions, you said you cannot auto make ETF investments. This is incorrect. I've been using Fidelity for the last year to make automated investments and buy ETFs. I think there's no submission which favored mutual funds or ETFs because it did not allow this automatic investments is no longer true.
12:34 Speaker 02 That's awesome because that was a very strongly worded Clark thinks before. I'm going to see if it's now common that you can do automatic investing into ETFs, just like you would with an index fund or a mutual fund.
12:50 Speaker 03 Matthew in Texas says, "I'm puzzled by Clark would say that the family should no longer pay their annual renewable term life insurance and they should sign up for life insurance equal to 10 times their earnings. That's a generic number that applies to no specific individual family's needs. Why not reference an online tool that shows what amount of obligation is needed to cover their loss of life? Maybe more of us should be on annual renewable term as compared to the alternative, which is signing up for a flat rate for the entire life and then canceling after seven years due to a job loss. Thanks for all you do."
13:23 Speaker 02 Thank you very much, Matthew. And you bring up an intriguing thought that with insurance, when somebody loses a job, they have a big reversal in their life. Insurance is one of the first things to go. And that's why I love so much term insurance because the premiums are so very low that the odds that someone will have to cancel it because of another circumstance in their lives is a tiny fraction of the cancel rate on what insurance agents push, which is what they call permanent insurance, which is whole life, various forms of variable universal life and things like that.
14:07 Speaker 02 The problem with ART, annual renewable term, is it resets every year based on a new mortality risk. So the premiums go up and up and up and up. And then when you're closer to the point where your mortality risk is higher, you might not be able to afford the premiums anymore on the annual renewable term that resets every year. But you can afford the premiums on the level term that you buy for a number of years, typically 10 to 30 years. You buy the level term and the premium stayed the same over the years. The need for it becomes greater. Why do I say the 10x your earnings?
14:52 Speaker 02 Because yes, there are a number of very good tools that will guesstimate based on everything else in your life, what the actual amount of life insurance is you need. And it would be better for people to use it. But based on the fact that from when somebody thinks, you know what? I should have life insurance to actually getting a policy issued overwhelmingly, people fall by the wayside and they never get to that issuing of policy. So what I talk about on our insurance guide at Clark.com and what I'm talking about right now is the ease of you being able to buy that policy, to go through the steps as quickly
15:37 Speaker 02 and effectively as you can. So I'm looking at saying it's a bad idea for somebody to just follow a back of the envelope thing and buy 10x their income is, yeah, that's not the perfect answer. But I don't want perfect to be the enemy of the good, which is getting people to the finish line of buying that life insurance policy. So they provided the protection for their loved ones. And all too often, people have the best of intentions, but never make it to the completion of buying that policy. So your statement that it'd be better to run the simulations of what the proper amount
16:21 Speaker 02 of insurance would be 100% right, but people getting it done so often, they wouldn't do that and they never even get to applying for a policy. So that's just why I talk that way about life insurance. And I want to tell you, I appreciate everybody's perspective, the posts you made and the things that that it triggers in me, like the thing about, what about investing with an online bank where I say investing with a bricks and mortar bank is a bad idea? Never thought about that. So I'm going to check it. And that's the kind of thing is expanding my pool of knowledge that the advice that I give
17:04 Speaker 02 improves over time because things never stay the same and I can't stay the same. I've got to continue to learn and we all learn from each other and there's nothing more valuable for your wallet than being a lifetime learner. And so, thank you so much for joining us for this podcast, our YouTube show and learn along with us. So, thank you to all the people who took the time to post a Clark stinks because it improves me and improves how I can serve you. Coming up
17:42 Speaker 02 ahead, talk about something that never stops morphing, never stops changing, the scam world. Gosh, I wish these people spent their time in productive things in life instead of stealing from other people, but you've always got to be vigilant.
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20:15 Speaker 02 Fraudsters, they're lurking everywhere and it can start to undermine your faith in your fellow human being. And so I think before I start talking about the dark side in a lot of life, most people are good, decent people. They're not up to no good, but your life can be disrupted by those who are not A-OK. And today, so much crime that we used to have, violent crime, is down all over the United States. Because a lot of people who a life of crime might have involved a knife or a gun, or who
20:56 Speaker 02 knows what, now it involves a laptop computer, a phone, buying cheap software that helps you run your own con on other people. Vanguard reported recently that the amount of fraud attacking people's retirement accounts is way up. So you need to be prepared. You know, I have a friend who lost a lot of money. When criminals attacked his crypto wallet and then he got reloaded on reload is where someone claiming to be a lawyer said they were going to help him get that money back.
21:40 Speaker 02 And all he did was have more money go down the drain on the reload. There are so many different stories about how people get into your life, get into your wallet and steal your money. And there are certain things I want you to think about. Yeah, I talk about the basic protections you should put in place, you know, the credit freeze, which even as much as I've talked about it over the years, let's face facts, most listeners and viewers of us right now don't have a credit freeze in place, even though you've heard me talk about it off and on for years and years and years because life's busy. This is one you make time for, you do it.
22:24 Speaker 02 And then the rules of engagement change over time. Think how common it was that it was a good thing that you would get a notice from a bank, a brokerage, your cell phone carrier, whatever, and they'd want to let you know about something and you'd click on a link in a text or an email or whatever, or you'd get a phone call that said on your phone's caller ID, it was from blah, blah, blah bank. And you'd think that, and at that time, it really was your bank calling. Today, you have to prepare yourself with the ability for pretexting to happen all different ways.
23:08 Speaker 02 Pretexting is where somebody pretends to be something they're not. I saw something the other day, there was a warning from a police department in New Jersey, warning people about getting phone calls from what appeared to be the police or sheriff or whatever. And there was a warrant for your arrest or whatever it was, and you could deal with it by paying right now. Well, you know, I can look at that and I think, wow, that's been going on now for years. And just now, it's something that's come on the radar of that police department in New Jersey, that this is happening to people. And so you have
23:53 Speaker 02 to, now with the ability of AI, to impersonate anyone. And, you know, we, we shared with you several months ago, where there was this video, there was an AI video, having me endorse a company I'd never heard of, and I don't do endorsements anyway. And then people being mad at me, because they went to that company to buy something, and got ripped off, and they thought that I had ripped them off. So know how common it is, that people are continually morphing ways to steal from you. Again, please, be careful, do not become cynical. And remember,
24:38 Speaker 02 it's a fraction of people engaging in this dishonesty, this criminality. So I want you to take some things to heart. One of them is remember where the money is. For most of us, who have developed assets, it's very heavily going to be in brokerage, investment, or retirement accounts. And I want you to check those accounts, at least once a week, and make sure everything's okay. And do not ever click on a link, in a text, or an email, because it's so easy for a perpetrator to impersonate an organization now, and that
25:21 Speaker 02 link can lead to nothing but trouble. If it's a legitimate notice, from an organization, you know by going to their website, and seeing if there's something they need to communicate with you. And speaking of communication, do not answer the phone, when it pops up on caller ID, being from your bank. Your brokerage, investment company, whatever, let it go to voicemail. And then you, at the number you know that's where you reach them, can contact them. And know that because criminals continually change their method of operation, you have to stay on your guard with one of the key things of almost all modern scams,
26:06 Speaker 02 and that is sense of urgency. You've got to do it right now or else. Like the thing from the police department in New Jersey, where they say, "You've got to pay right now, or you're going to jail." Or so many different versions of that. Do not allow somebody to bamboozle you into, before you have a chance to think about something, feel that sense of danger and urgency, and only later realize, "Oh, man. Oh, man, they got me." And if you think you're too sophisticated to get taken, any of us could get taken. Because the criminals continually change the story.
26:50 Speaker 02 They continually change the method they operate under. And they come up with new hooks to try to get you.
27:00 Speaker 03 All right, questions for you. This one's from Noreen in Michigan. "I've learned so much from you, Clark, on how much safer it is to use my Google Wallet rather than my physical card. I use Google Wallet exclusively when I'm shopping around town. The other day, I decided to make a purchase online for a specific product. And when I got to the payment options, it autofilled the credit card I have stored in my Google Wallet. My question is, is my Google Wallet card automatically tied to autofill for any online purchases? I posed this question to Google and could not find an answer. I could only find an option to remove the credit card I use for my Google Wallet. I don't want anything autofilled when shopping online.
27:41 Speaker 03 I rely on you, Krista and Wes, to keep my husband and I financially informed. I've been listening to you since the 90s. After moving back to Michigan in 2018, from living in British Columbia for five years, I never miss a YouTube show. Thank you so much for all you do. Oh, and go Lions."
28:00 Speaker 02 Oh, man, that was my big disappointment of this past season is how the Lions performed and how the Buffalo Bills performed. I love those two teams. And, and you know, the Ravens were also a surprising disappointment this year. You can't mention anything about football and me not immediately start talking about it. You can't mention anything about travel without me talking about it. I mean, you mentioned British Columbia, and I immediately started thinking about Noreen being able to ski at Whistler Blackcomb. I mean, I just, can you see why it's so hard for me as a student in school? I get so distracted. Okay, so Google Wallet can freak you out at times, like you experienced where you're
28:45 Speaker 02 at a website, you're not using Google Wallet, but then all of a sudden there's the autofill for a card. And so I love when you're shopping online, that if it's available for you to use one-time-use numbers, that you use those.
29:02 Speaker 03 Also called virtual card.
29:04 Speaker 02 Virtual cards. So in the case of Google Wallet, many times it will provide me the option, when it's autofilling, to use a number I've never seen before that's a one-time-use number. And that way, even if it's intercepted, it's not useful beyond that one purchase. So the autofill is part and parcel of what you've got on your phone with Google Wallet, and that doesn't freak me out. I wouldn't worry so much about it. But if it starts to autofill and you don't want to use it, don't proceed, and you manually enter a number.
29:42 Speaker 03 I would sign out of, I'm imagining that you're using Chrome, and I would sign out of my Google account on Chrome if I were really worried.
29:51 Speaker 02 Well, you know, it's on a phone, so it could be.
29:53 Speaker 03 Well, I thought this was on her computer.
29:55 Speaker 02 I thought it was on a phone.
29:56 Speaker 03 Um, purchase online, getting to the payment options. Yeah, maybe it was on a phone. I just assumed. Okay.
30:04 Speaker 02 So we're making a lot of assumptions here right now.
30:09 Speaker 03 Oh, sorry, Noreen.
30:10 Speaker 02 So it can autofill on a phone as well if you're at an e-commerce site. And that one of things that worry me, that one doesn't bother me.
30:21 Speaker 03 Danny in Tennessee says, I'm hoping to get your take on something that's been grinding my gears. Recently, my mother's transmission went out on her 2016 Ford Escape with less than 100,000 miles. I've offered to help her out, but the situation got a bit complicated as she's on a fixed income and upside down on the car loan. And while still trying to decide on what to do, she went out and leased a new, more reliable, quote, car for more than her monthly car payments. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the Escape as it's at the local dealership who stated the transmission would either have to be rebuilt for $6,500 or replaced for $7,000.
31:00 Speaker 02 Oh, wait a minute. She didn't trade that in against the lease?
31:03 Speaker 03 She didn't know.
31:04 Speaker 02 So the loan is still there?
31:06 Speaker 03 Yeah. Knowing dealerships almost always charge too much, I called a bunch of local shops and the cheapest and most reliable shops I can find all quoted around $4,500 to do a rebuild or install a used transmission. Now for the cherry on top, she owes $7,000 on the car and the car's only worth $4,000 to $5,000 on trade-in. And on Marketplace, they tend to be advertised for $7,000 to $8,000 in good working order and $500 to $2,000 needing repairs. So what does Team Clark recommend? Sell as is and pay off the loan, pay for repairs and sell to pay off the loan? Or do I go all in paying off the loan, fixing it and keeping it for a year or so as a backup vehicle that I don't want? Or is there another option I'm not seeing or thinking of?
31:51 Speaker 03 I really appreciate the help as I've listened to your show almost all my life. And thanks to you and your team, I've been able to help those that have helped me.
31:59 Speaker 02 My goodness. Okay. I gotta tell you something, Danny. My son, when he was a single digit, would do these, "What would you rather with us?" And it'd be, "Would you rather be eaten by a lion?" Or, "Would you rather, you know, die in a crash?" Or whatever. Every scenario he gave was a horrible outcome. There was no good option. You've now pulled a grant on me. You've got no good option here.
32:31 Speaker 03 But what a good son.
32:32 Speaker 02 What a good son to take care of your mom. So, I would say, if you said to me, "You could make good use of the vehicle," it would make sense to throw money at this, have the new transmission put in, you drive it for a couple of years, and you work out the cost that way. In your case, you don't want or need the vehicle. The die is already cast. She leased the car, all of that. I would sell it as is. You're gonna have to write a check, one way or another. You don't know if you pay to have it repaired. And let's say it is $4,500. But they could get in there and say, "Oh, no, we found this other thing.
33:17 Speaker 02 It's gonna be another $1,000 bucks." I think you sell it as is, as the condition it is. Take your loss that you're gonna absorb for your mom, and be done with it. Because the options, the various options, are all pretty rotten, terrible, truthfully.
33:36 Speaker 03 Kurt in North Carolina says, "I have an education savings IRA and a Schwab 529 plan for each of my two children, 11 and 9 years old. So I have four accounts total. The majority of the money is in the education savings IRA plan, with $100 dripping into each ESA account every month from a grandparent. No ongoing direct deposit into the 529 plan at this time. Both accounts are growing steadily, with no account clearly outperforming another to a large degree. I've seen advice stating the 529 plan may be preferred over the ESA account. Would you suggest I keep both accounts as is, steadily growing, or roll over the money from the ESA into the 529,
34:19 Speaker 03 and change the monthly direct deposits to the 529?"
34:23 Speaker 02 So, the covered LESA, education savings account, is what I call...
34:30 Speaker 02 What they call in tech, a successful failure. The Coverdell led to the enormously successful and widely adopted 529 accounts. And so the Coverdell ESA has kind of gotten lost out there, like a forgotten relic. And I never, ever hear anybody who has one anymore. In fact, I don't think anybody's asked us about a Coverdell in maybe once in the last 10 years. So, thank you for bringing it back into our world, Kurt. I would do just the last thing you said.
35:10 Speaker 02 I would stop contributing to the Coverdell, move the money from the Coverdell into 529s, which is a tax-free event, and then continue your automatic contributions to the 529. 529s, if you've got a good plan available to you, and you can see our plan guide to 529s at Clark.com. If you have a good, low-cost 529 plan, you just contribute it because the 529s, with the law continually being revised, have far more flexibility to them than you're going to have with a Coverdell Education Savings Account.
35:50 Speaker 02 I knew the late Senator Coverdell, who came up with this idea, and really, in his own way, is the, I guess you'd call him the granddaddy of the 529. And his family members should be really proud of what he did. However, paying for college has really become more efficient through the 529s. Now, let me give you extra homework, Kurt. If you go on our guide and the 529 plan you have for the kids is not any good,
36:26 Speaker 02 Based on our research, this would be time for a more complicated double move. You don't fund the Coverdale ESA anymore, and you instead open, you're gonna hate me, a new ultra-low-cost 529 for your 11 and 9-year-old, and move the money from the Coverdale to the new 529, and move your old 529 money to the new one. If the existing 529 is a low-cost plan, you're good. You just move the money from the ESA over to it, and you're done. That was pretty complicated.
37:05 Speaker 02 But what's great about 529s is they've gotten better and better and better over the years. And with the changes Congress made, I guess it was two years ago, they became even more useful for families, and eliminated the problem of people not knowing if their kid was going to go to college by having 529 money be able to be converted with limits into a Roth IRA tax-free exchange, and grow through a kid's lifetime as an adult towards having a secure retirement, even if the kid never needs a penny of it for education. And so, check out our 529 Plan Guide,
37:50 Speaker 02 because there are great 529 plans, there are mediocre 529 plans, and then there are absolutely rotten, terrible 529 plans sold by high-commission, high-cost salespeople. 529 plans are only okay if they're bought what's known as direct sold from a 529 plan seller, because you don't need any salesperson involved in the setup, funding, and fund choices in a 529 plan. So, thank you so much for joining us today. I hope that this is going to be a great weekend for you.
38:35 Speaker 02 And I know Tax Day is coming next week. If you, like me, are in a position where you can't file on the 15th because you're waiting for paperwork, or...
38:49 Speaker 02 Computing this, that, or the other part of your tax return. Know that just because you're not ready, doesn't mean you don't file next week. You file your return. And if you need to get an extension, that's easy. And then you don't have to file your return. But what do you have to do? You have to estimate what you might owe additional to what's already been paid in, and pay that on the 15th. But the most important thing is file that extension. Because failure to file is a much more severe penalty under the law than failure to pay. Odd, right? That's how it works.
39:32 Speaker 02 So with that depressing thing talking about income tax to end our week. Don't worry, be happy, and have a great, great weekend. And we'll be at your service Monday.
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