Pod Insights The Clark Howard Podcast 06.12.26 Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / “Spaving” Your Way To An Empty Wallet About this episode Friday - Clark Stinks day! Christa shares Clark Stinks posts with Clark. Submit yours at Clark.com/ClarkStinks. Also, we all love the thrill of scoring a great deal, but a dangerous retail trap called "spaving"—spending money to "save" money—might be quietly sabotaging your budget. Retailers like Amazon have mastered the art of the impulse buy, using tricks like "buy two, get an extra discount" or free shipping minimums to trigger a dopamine rush that makes us chase the deal instead of the actual value. Even Clark is guilty of it! Know how to recognize when you're being manipulated at checkout, and the simple rules you can use to protect your hard-earned cash from the spaving trap. All this and more on the June 12, 2026, episode of The Clark Howard Show. Clark Stinks: Segments 1 & 2 Defeat This Spending Trap: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: How To Get a Free Credit Report - Clark Howard How To Monitor Your Credit - Clark Howard National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Home NAELA Best Free Streaming Services in 2026: Movies and TV for Cord Cutters Streaming TV - Clark.com Are You ‘Spaving’? Why Trying to Save Could Be Costing You More Target Date Funds: Clark Howard's Favorite Retirement Investment 10 Secrets All Shoppers Need To Know About Costco - Clark Howard Warehouse Clubs Archives - Clark Howard 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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1:20 Speaker 02 It's my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show. You know, our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life.
1:33 Speaker 03 You always point at me when you're saying that.
1:35 Speaker 02 Well, it's fun.
1:36 Speaker 03 I know.
1:37 Speaker 02 Because you're kind of standing there and people are like, "Why is she standing there?" Well, it's Friday, so it's a little different. Because that means it's time for me to hear from Krista, your posts...
1:47 Speaker 03 Not my posts, the listeners.
1:50 Speaker 02 The listeners' posts, your posts.
1:52 Speaker 03 Mm-hmm, the Clarkies.
1:53 Speaker 02 On how I have been stinking it up with terrible, smelly advice.
2:02 Speaker 02 So later, after we've had Clark stinks, you love a deal like I do? There's something that I do to conspire against myself that you may do too, that can eat up your wallet. It's called Spaving.
2:20 Speaker 03 Spaving. Isn't it spaving?
2:23 Speaker 02 I've heard it Spaving. You say spaving? You know, it's probably got more than one way people say it, but the same concept.
2:30 Speaker 03 Okay. I think it's spaving.
2:32 Speaker 02 Spaving?
2:33 Speaker 03 Yeah.
2:33 Speaker 02 I've always heard it as Spaving.
2:34 Speaker 03 Spend saving.
2:35 Speaker 02 Spend saving. No, but I'll go with.
2:38 Speaker 03 Is it splurge? Are you saying splurge saving?
2:40 Speaker 02 Yeah, it's kind of like, I'm, that's why I guess I've heard it both ways. But whatever.
2:46 Speaker 03 Sorry.
2:46 Speaker 02 You say spave, I say slave.
2:49 Speaker 03 Okay.
2:49 Speaker 02 We're gonna talk later about what that means and how that gets you to conspire against yourself. But right now, it is time to find out where I didn't do a good job.
3:02 Speaker 04 I encouraged you to speak.
3:03 Speaker 05 You must think I'm pretty stupid.
3:04 Speaker 06 You should be ashamed of yourself. Well, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you're right, pal.
3:13 Speaker 03 All right. Uh, we're gonna start with Andy in Mississippi. Mr. Clark, in a recent episode, you mentioned the American dream in relation to homeownership. To quote Wikipedia, "The American dream is a phrase referring to the national ethos of the United States that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. There are too many people that make this mistake, but I expected you to be above this error."
3:42 Speaker 02 Thank you for that, and you are right. A lot of people refer though, also to homeownership as being the American dream. I mean, you're talking about the American dream being that you can come from nothing, be, you know, a classic immigrant to the United States who comes with nothing and America offers the opportunity to become financially independent. And same thing for people born here, who may be born without much. But a lot of people also use that term for the American dream being owning a home.
4:23 Speaker 02 And the reason is that most people don't create a middle-class wealth through investments, although that's changing because of the 401Ks and IRAs. They do it through owning a home through the years, and that creates the family wealth. They talk about that being intergenerational wealth and on like that. But thank you. You are correct. I've stretched the definition.
4:50 Speaker 03 Tom in North Carolina says, "The coming of summer humidity in Florida does not give you a pass on stinkiness." He told the story of the woman, "All whose money held by Fidelity had disappeared. I waited and waited to find out, how did this happen? All you said was that it wasn't an isolated incident, and it had something to do with a Fidelity computer problem." How vague and superficial is that? Could it happen again? Please do not apply for any job as an investigative reporter.
5:20 Speaker 02 So, Tom, Fidelity has not been forthcoming, but it wasn't just to her. They had a computer error that wiped some customers' files clean. They were able to restore them after a period of time, but for people who did not hear that story, when people called a customer no service at Fidelity, well, this woman in particular was told, who was coming from Colorado, was told, "Oh, well, maybe your accounts are at Schwab, and you just think they're at Fidelity." There was no trace of any record that she had ever had these multiple accounts with Fidelity.
6:02 Speaker 02 So, the point of the story was whether it is just a computer problem, foreign hacker, whatever, I want you to have proof. With recent statements of what accounts you have and what money you have in them, if there is, for some reason, a catastrophic disappearance of the record of your money, that you have documentation to speed up the process of having it restored to you.
6:32 Speaker 03 Sherman in Georgia says, "You missed the mark slightly when you stated you can get a credit report once a year at annualcreditreport.com. It was permanently changed from once a year to once a week in 2023. The URL needs to be updated for sure."
6:47 Speaker 02 So Sherman, the reason I say "once a year," and thank you, you are correct, is that was an administrative decision by Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, subject to their whims. It is not statute. The statute requires that you have access to one free report per year. The great news now, and maybe why the three credit bureaus did this, is now people can see their reports so many different ways that the credit bureaus at annualcreditreport.com have an opportunity to try to sell you all kinds of memberships. So by, instead of fighting them, joining all the others that are now competing to
7:30 Speaker 02 offer access to your credit reports for free whenever you want them, maybe they're permanently or semi-permanently going to continue this, but they're not statutorily required to do so.
7:44 Speaker 03 April in Florida says, "Not enough warning on later-in-life marriages. I'm writing this as an elder law attorney who has seen the whole gamut with later-life relationships. Everything you said was right on, but you didn't go far enough, especially when it comes to living together, married or not. People need to ask the difficult questions like, how long will I live if you die first? What happens if one of us needs long-term care? Who pays? These issues don't involve just you two, but also your families and the government. For instance, will the government require I use my funds for your care? I've seen surviving spouses kicked out of their homes by relatives." Before the funeral, entire estates diverted over the new spouse's family.
8:27 Speaker 03 New spouse considering divorce because of long-term care expenses. Adult children taking over and excluding the life partner. And all sorts of other nightmares, all because of poor planning. The couple should see a qualified elder or estate planning attorney before making commitments. At the very least, make a thorough checklist of financial and health issues that could come up and work out how they would be dealt with and make sure it's properly documented. Most often, the problems arose not because one partner was dishonest or had negative intentions, but because the couple never addressed the issues, made assumptions, and put their heads in the sand.
9:03 Speaker 02 April, you are so right, I can't even begin to tell you. There's a story I told about six or seven years ago. And a neighbor stopped me on the street when I was out for a walk. And she was crying. And I thought she was crying because her husband had just recently died. And she was grieving the loss of her husband, but then the most shocking thing happened. The, her stepchildren, and she had been in a later in life marriage. So the, the children were his. And she had never raised them, but they were adult children when they married.
9:42 Speaker 02 Not only was she grieving his passing, but the kids kicked her out of the house. And she said, is there anything I can do? This goes right to what you're saying, April. There was nothing she could do. There was, he had said, you know, if I die first, you'll just be able to live here as long as you want. Has no force in law. And the kids wanted the house and kicked her out, sold it right away. And I don't know where she went, never saw her again.
10:18 Speaker 03 No.
10:19 Speaker 02 But
10:19 Speaker 03 It's terrible.
10:20 Speaker 02 The, the thing you point out, you know, so often people do, there's gray divorce and gray remarriage, or people will, will live together without benefit of marriage. And we're only thinking about our enjoyment with the other person, our life with them. But what April has said, you need to also think about, you know, being with someone involves the heart and the head. And April, I really appreciate you taking the time to post this. A lot of people aren't even aware of the subspecialty of law known as elder law that deals with all these issues.
11:04 Speaker 02 And one of the things that an elder law attorney can be so helpful with are later in life issues, medical and ownership of property.
11:16 Speaker 03 Okay, a few people wrote in about this one, Clark. Totally switching gears here about pets and hotels. Tom in Florida says, you stink like a cat that has marked its territory in a hotel room.
11:29 Speaker 03 Pet charges in hotels are used to clean, vacuum and disinfect rooms after pets stay with their humans, stinking up the place, sheets and other things. I don't have a pet, I don't want a pet, and I don't want to stay in hotels that board pets. And that sentiment was shared.
11:46 Speaker 02 So, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. How many people were talking smack about the pet?
11:51 Speaker 03 I got several of them, for sure.
11:53 Speaker 02 Same kind of thing.
11:54 Speaker 03 Not about, just about, you know, saying like, why it's necessary to have these fees and stuff, because they, some people are allergic too, and they really need to thoroughly clean these rooms when they have a pet in there.
12:04 Speaker 02 So you're assuming that they do extra cleaning because a pet has been in the room. It's always hard with junk fees to know, is it just a revenue source? Or is it something that actually leads to a different protocol at a hotel? Love to hear from some people who are insiders who've worked in the hotel industry. What really happens in terms of how a room is cleaned after someone stayed in it with a pet?
12:35 Speaker 03 Andrew in Florida says, "Two items that are probably not mentioned enough. One, everyone should convert at least a minimum amount of money from an IRA to a Roth. $1 is fine with Fidelity. This way, you can start the five-year clock as the regular Roth accounts and the 401k Roth accounts use separate clocks. Two, if you know you're moving from a high-tax state, for me, New Jersey, to a low-tax state, for me, Florida, within a few years, you should put money in the regular 401k as opposed to the 401k Roth. In my case, I was saving about 8% to 9% in state taxes that I could avoid by converting it in Florida."
13:09 Speaker 02 Andrew, thank you for that. And so you have New York, where the tax max is out, I think, at 14.8%. California, just over 15%. New Jersey, you say, is 8 or 9. There are some other states that have very high state income taxes. And I never mention what you just mentioned. And this is one of the reasons we do Clark Stinks, that I always talk about the federal tax from converting, never talk about the state income tax implications.
13:43 Speaker 03 Janet in Virginia says, "Clark, months ago, you spoke in the podcast about your purchase of the Frontier Pass deal. At the time, you said you were going to use it and let us know how it went and what your experience was. I've been waiting and waiting to hear your report, but I haven't heard you mention it since. Are you using your Pass? What have you experienced? How is flying Frontier? Inquiring minds want to know. And by the way, I'm sure my family and friends are getting tired of hearing me say, "Just go on Clark.com." And Clark Howard says, "Love ya."
14:14 Speaker 02 So Janet, here's the true story. I have tried to use the Wild Pass at least half a dozen times. And every single time, there have been no Wild Seats available. So let me tell you how this works. Frontier markets these passes. They've been selling a summer pass recently. And the idea is that one day before travel, you can book a ticket at a base of, it works out to be like $19.
14:49 Speaker 02 And...
14:51 Speaker 02 They're never available for me when I want to go. I don't have, I wish I had the flexibility that I would just say, well, I'll go whichever day this week. I can use the Wild Pass and I have not been able to be that flexible since I got the Wild Pass. So I'm zero four. Right now, we're talking about, I just took money, put it in the pass and the way, Lane.
15:22 Speaker 03 Well, you've got half a year left.
15:23 Speaker 02 So, no, no, we have till, um, the, when I bought it, it was a special extended one that's good well into 27.
15:32 Speaker 03 Oh, good.
15:32 Speaker 02 So I got, I got more than that. But Lane, you know, I, I signed her up for it too. She's like, really? You volunteered for us without asking me to fly Frontier? Now I have flown Frontier before and um, it's not the greatest product in the world from my experience in the past, but I mean, being able to fly for almost nothing on short notice in theory is great. By the way, international travel, you can book it 10 days out. So there's more flexibility with that.
16:04 Speaker 03 Leon in California says Clark missed the mark when saying that virtual home staging was a bait and switch. I'm a retired Realtor and my wife is a retired home stager. Ethical Realtors and home stagers clearly label any virtually staged rooms as being virtually staged. So buyers understand that the room is not staged with real furniture. Furniture and accessories are usually not included in a home sale. So buyers already understand that either real or virtual staging furniture is not included. Virtual staging is an affordable way to make a home look lived in and give buyers an opportunity to visualize themselves in that home.
16:38 Speaker 02 Leon, thank you for that. Now, what I'm worried about is deception, but if somebody goes to tour a property.
16:47 Speaker 02 Then that goes away. But you know, I'm obsessed with actually staging a home for sale. And we've done that again and again, where we hire a staging company, or we use, Lain's got really great taste. We use her own furniture. And I find that properties are more likely to stand out and potentially sell quicker when they are staged. It is not cheap to hire a staging company. But if it gets a sale done, you know, we're in a tough time right now to sell. It's harder for sellers to find buyers. Something that helps you stand out, I think is very
17:30 Speaker 02 useful. But virtual staging is very common now.
17:35 Speaker 03 Linda in Florida says, Clark stinks. He recently said that a VPN isn't really necessary unless you're traveling abroad and want to see sports. When my husband and I travel anywhere, we use a paid VPN. Clark said the only thing it does is keep your information private. Well, isn't that the good goal? Who knows who's staying in the room next to you or sitting in the airport seat next to yours. We think VPNs are great and we don't watch sports.
17:59 Speaker 02 Well, Linda, not everybody's perfect if you don't watch sports. No, anyway, you're right. I ignored the most obvious reason someone should have a VPN, which is privacy. And that's how I use mine. And I've been really happy using and having a VPN. I just have an obsession. If I'm outside the country in the fall, when a lot of better travel deals are available, for me to be able to see my beloved football. So that's why that's all you heard from me. So that was intellectually lazy of me to only talk about my own personal
18:41 Speaker 02 obsession, instead of the primary reason someone would use a VPN. And, you know, the great thing, if you are one of the people like Linda, and you're not into sports.
18:58 Speaker 02 Streaming content is so much cheaper for you. It's unreal how cheap video content is excluding sports. Cause the big cost of streaming now is all sports. So Linda, I want to offer you back something that may save you money. Anyone else, if you're like sports, not for me.
19:23 Speaker 03 Use our tool at Clark.com. Yeah, we have a great streaming TV tool.
19:27 Speaker 02 Add the content that's important to you. And you watch when you, even if you're not into sports, just add sports content as being important to you. You watch the price of your streaming bill go crazy high. And it's possible for you to, if you want a lot of streaming, to reduce the cost by 75% if you exclude sports. So, thank you for your thing about the real reason someone should use a VPN. And not somebody like me who's just football obsessed. Football is my life.
20:10 Speaker 02 I mean, right now, we're right in the middle of the whole World Cup thing. And that to me is something I'm, I'm not excited by. I'm sorry. I know soccer is a much more, as it's called everywhere else in the world. Football is much more popular sport than American style football. But I just have never been able to get into that one, even though my kids played it. Oh, well, coming up ahead, spaving, splaving? Call it whatever you wish. What is it? How does it undermine your finances? We're going to talk about that. And for all of you posted on Clark stinks, thank you for doing so.
20:54 Speaker 02 We all learn from each other and I appreciate so much when you take the time to post.
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22:02 Speaker 02 Okay, we have a consensus that I'm wrong and it's spaving that I'm worried about. So spaving is impulse buying because something's on sale. And you buy something you don't need. And you know who's been very guilty of that over the years? Yours truly. I have spaved again and again and again. So Clark, heal thyself here. It is very, very common. And retailers are so good online especially, but also in physical stores where they'll do, you know, buy two, get one free.
22:47 Speaker 02 Buy one, get 50% off a second. Anything that creates this impulse where we feel like we gotta do it because we're saving money. I don't know if you've noticed how much Amazon uses our natural instinct to spave against us. Where they'll say over and over again, you see on Amazon, buy two and get this additional discount.
23:16 Speaker 02 Routine now on Amazon is a way of getting you to spend more money. What happens is we see an item on sale and it's almost like a dopamine hit. We just, "Oh, I want the deal. I want the deal." And you know, I'm so obsessed with finding bargains that I had to teach myself to fight the instinct to buy something just because it was on sale. But the bigger one for me was this thing of, "We'll get a second one for 50% off." Or buy this bonus item. Buy two, get a third one free.
24:00 Speaker 02 Totally worked on me. It's something that works because we want that deal. We chase that deal and we grab something we didn't need to spend money on. You know, having a closet full of things gathering dust is not a great idea. And nowhere was my Achilles' heel worse with this than anything that was any kind of electronics. I'd buy something because it was a deal and then not use it? And what happens with electronic items? The value of them drops like nothing you've ever experienced in your life.
24:42 Speaker 02 The value just drops just like, I mean, drop a rock. That's what's happening with electronics when you buy them. They're always cheaper later. I mean, the only exception right now is with the memory shortage and computers actually going up in price right now. And the sales we're going to have are going to be non-sale sales on computers. That's an item that what you got, if it's working, you keep on using it, plain and simple.
25:16 Speaker 02 So what's your weak spot on spathing?
25:20 Speaker 03 You know, I am really bad about lately on Instagram, I'll be offered some, and of course, the algorithm is feeding me stuff for my aged woman, right? Like, oh, here's this like, here's this great collagen powder you should be using and all these different sort of face creams and stuff like things for skin and beauty and that kind of stuff for women who are getting older. And so now what I've started to do is, well, first of all, if I see a product I like, I'd never buy it through there. I go and research it online and look at what it costs other places. Usually it's cheaper. And the other thing I do is when I add to cart, just in general for myself, I'm holding it there for 24 hours
26:03 Speaker 03 because I feel like I impulse buy too much. And I'm more, I'd say like eight times out of 10, I never buy it. I just hold it there and I'm, I'll come back to it the next day. And that's helping me a lot. Not buy stuff like if I see a great deal on a shirt or whatever, I'm like, do I really need that? And then I go open my closet and look, oh, I already have two shirts that color. I don't need that shirt that I put in my cart, even though it's 40% off or whatever. And so that is helping me to like, you know, quell that.
26:31 Speaker 02 And in physical stores is you may know, if you're a long time listener or viewer, I do not get a shopping cart. Shopping cart is a magnet for impulse buys, specials. So by not getting a cart, I'm able to really resist what I buy because you only hold so much in your arms. And if I'm, let's say I'm in one of the warehouse clubs and I'm going to be buying something big and heavy, replenishing something for the home, I don't get a cart till the very end. And I go get the cart, go get that item, go straight to checkout.
27:11 Speaker 02 And speaking of which, when is Costco going to get with the program? Because Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale, both, you can ring yourself up on your phone, on the app.
27:25 Speaker 02 You check yourself out on the app. It generates a QR code and you go to the exit. They scan your QR code and you're done. And at Sam's, if it works right, which does about 25% of the time, they just wave you right through because AI with a zillion cameras has already validated what you have with you.
27:48 Speaker 03 I have to quick confession, Costco confession. I went the other day and I did get a cart because I have a list and my list was dog food, paper towels, toilet paper, and things that I knew were going to be big and heavy. And that was all that was on my list. So I go in, well, of course, I see a clothing item, like when you walk in like this, and I was like, do I, oh, I kind of, I don't know, do I like it, do I not like it? I do like it, okay, I'm going to buy it. And brought it home with me and immediately regretted buying it. Cause I was like, I don't need this again. So I forced myself to go back. The punishment is having to find a parking spot in the Costco parking lot again on a weekend and returned it immediately. But it's just like.
28:31 Speaker 02 Try my way.
28:32 Speaker 03 Well, I didn't, I couldn't have done it then because I, I didn't need to walk through. I knew what I had and it was all heavy. So I definitely needed a cart. But Costco is great because you can just return stuff really easily. So, or other stores too, I'm sure.
28:46 Speaker 02 All right, here's my way, but I gotta give one pet peeve.
28:48 Speaker 03 Okay.
28:49 Speaker 02 All right. You shop at Sam's, Costco or BJ's Wholesale and you pick up an item and then later you decide you don't want it and you abandon it somewhere. When people do that with refrigerator frozen items, I'm like the warehouse club police. I don't say anything to them, but if I see somebody dump something out of their cart that's refrigerator frozen, I take it right back to the department and put it back.
29:18 Speaker 03 Well, as long as you see them do it. If you don't.
29:21 Speaker 02 I don't, if it's been sitting for a while, I don't do it because it may have spoiled.
29:24 Speaker 03 Give it to a manager.
29:25 Speaker 02 But that's, but that's money down the tubes. And I just hate that. I mean, part of, part of what you're getting with the warehouse clubs are these very low markups and you erode the incentive, other than Costco has the fixed markup. You rode the incentive for BJ's Wholesale and Sam's to not raise prices a little to deal with the spoilage that people cause by abandoning items just wherever.
29:54 Speaker 03 Okay.
29:55 Speaker 02 Sorry.
29:56 Speaker 03 No.
29:57 Speaker 02 Pet peeve.
29:58 Speaker 03 I get it. When I'm in like Marshalls, I have a compulsion. I'm in like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, somewhere like that. And I see clothing that's put in the wrong size area. I have to move it.
30:10 Speaker 02 That's because you worked at the Gap.
30:11 Speaker 03 I have to.
30:12 Speaker 02 We have new khakis today at the Gap. What was he used to say to people?
30:15 Speaker 03 Oh, yeah. Flat front, fitted. Yeah.
30:18 Speaker 02 Don't I remember Marshalls and TJ Maxx are all the same company?
30:21 Speaker 03 Yes, yes, and Home Goods. But anyway, yeah, it's like a compulsion because I think somebody who's this size can't find, isn't going to find this and I move it. Okay, questions. Tara in Virginia says, I think it's a compulsion. She says, for years, I believed I was invested in a low fee target date fund through Fidelity. Specifically, I held the Fidelity Freedom 2040 Fund. Based on the name and my understanding at the time, I assumed it was a simple, low-cost index-based option. After hearing and reading your constant nudges to check retirement fund fees, I double-checked mine. And it turns out I was wrong. This is actually one of Fidelity's higher-fee actively managed target date funds. There is a similarly-named fund, the Fidelity
31:05 Speaker 03 Freedom Index 2040 Fund, that is significantly lower cost and built on index funds. The naming is so similar, it's easy to confuse the two, and I did. What's more frustrating is I worked with a Fidelity advisor when setting this up, and now I question whether I was steered toward the higher-cost option without fully understanding the difference. The good news is that your advice prompted me to review this, and I'm now in the process of moving my investments to a lower-fee index version. I wanted to share this experience because I suspect I'm not alone. Many people likely assume that Freedom and Freedom Index are interchangeable when they are not, and the fee difference over time is meaningful.
31:43 Speaker 02 So depending on when you originally set up the account and the Fidelity representative helped you. Fidelity didn't have the index version. They added that because of competitive pressures from Vanguard being all about target funds being index funds. So Fidelity, if you're in a legacy Freedom Fund, you're paying typically more than five times the fees per year to be in that versus the index version. And Fidelity would make the case because they believe in active investing, but they offer indexing because of the competitive
32:24 Speaker 02 pressures I alluded to. They would not look at it as malpractice encouraging you to go into a fund that's more than five times the cost. But my belief is a target retirement fund, you want to be as efficient as possible, and that's why you go in the index version. The additional amount that you'd end up with over the decades by being in the index version versus the original Fidelity Freedom kind of product is enough that it would make a big difference in how much money you have down the road. Expenses would be so much higher. Yeah, you'd have a lot more money.
33:01 Speaker 03 Okay, I'm going to go to Angela in Georgia. I've used a Capital One card for years to pay for expenses for my three college-age children. They are all authorized users and charge various expenses I've agreed to cover, like healthcare and car repairs on that card. I just received a notification that my Capital One card is transitioning to the Discover network. A lot of people wrote in about this, Clark. Do you think I need to switch to a different card? I'm particularly concerned about them using it for emergencies while studying abroad, which all three plan to do at different times. Is Discover sufficient for that, or should I get them all a Visa or MasterCard instead?
33:36 Speaker 02 Okay, thank you for this question. All right, so what happened was Capital One bought Discover. And the reason they did is they now control another payment network to compete against the Visa-MasterCard cartel.
33:54 Speaker 02 And Discover, even though it's extremely widely accepted in the United States, has zero coverage outside the United States. So what Capital One did is cards that are generally geared towards people that are not world travelers, you know, because Capital One's so sliced and diced with different card products, who they're targeted to. A Capital One card that runs now on the Discover network is useless for your kids traveling outside the United States. Capital One has a bunch of other cards that will stay on typically MasterCard or Visa,
34:36 Speaker 02 and those are the ones you want for international travel for your kids. If I would say, if your kids are not doing a lot of travel, but will do things like study abroad, I like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card in that kind of environment for your kids to have overseas, because it has a lot of nice benefits to it and a $95 annual fee and no foreign currency junk fees with it as an option. But the Capital One cards that run on the Discover network are great to have as regular everyday cards.
35:18 Speaker 02 There's no reason not to have them as a regular everyday card, just not useful for travel.
35:25 Speaker 03 All right, I'm afraid we might be becoming the Costco show, but Matthew in Ohio said, "Hi Clark, my wife and I recently became Costco members for our growing family. Any recommendations on how to save the most money at Costco? Thanks to listening to you and your team's advice over the years, we have reached a net worth of $650,000 at the ages of 32 and 29. Keep up the wonderful work."
35:47 Speaker 02 Oh, that's so great.
35:49 Speaker 03 Wow.
35:49 Speaker 02 Yeah, I mean, you use one of our calculators. You see, even if you never contributed another dollar, that's not what I'm saying you should do.
35:56 Speaker 03 No.
35:56 Speaker 02 And you see what that $650 would be worth in, let's say, another 35 years. Man, that's fantastic that you've been able to do that. Barely one of you in your early 30s, the other 29. So how do I save money at Costco? Number one, we talked earlier about the cart, not having one. Number two is you look for the items that are marked 97. Those are items being sold below Costco's cost. And they're the real screaming deals inside a Costco. Sam's has a similar system, items in at one penny.
36:37 Speaker 02 Occasionally, an item in Costco that ends 00 for the price also marked down. So those are the bargains I love. But the greatest tax on your wallet in Costco, going full circle, is turning a good thing into a bad thing by buying impulse items. And then the ultimate way to save in Costco is, do you know our nine-pound dog's name? Kirkland Signature. Sam's Club members, buy members marked. BJ's Wholesale members, buy Berkeley and Jensen and their other private label brands.
37:19 Speaker 02 Costco Kirkland Signature, now one of the largest brand names in the world in terms of volume of goods sold. I think this year they'll sell $75 billion worth of items that are Kirkland Signature labeled items. Cause you're getting a discount at a place that already is a discount. Kirkland Signature is the greatest. Not our dog, although Lane would disagree, our dog's the greatest. But what Costco has been able to do with the Kirkland Signature label
37:58 Speaker 02 is something that people in merchandising, advertising, and retail marvel at. The most successful private label in the history of retail.
38:12 Speaker 02 That is the key. Yeah, do I have an obsession with the warehouse clubs? You know I do. And the whole reason is the markup is the best. You know, I go into these things we used to have called ma, ma, ma, ma. I can't say the word malls, which apparently are on a comeback right now. And they got the fountains and they got the fancy floors and the stores are beautiful and all that. Who's paying for that? Who is paying for that? You are. I don't shop in stores that don't have concrete floors. That's the key. Let me put it the other positive way.
38:57 Speaker 02 Shop in stores with concrete floors. It'll save you a ton. And that's it for us today. I thank you so much for joining us. I hope that the weekend is a fantastic weekend you have in front of you. Speaking of the weekend, you heard Krista talking earlier about shopping on a weekend. Uh-uh. Shop in stores Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday nights, whatever kind of store, when nobody's in them. That's the best time to be shopping. And then the weekend, go have fun, go outside, don't be stuck in traffic. But have a great time and do anything you can to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. And we'll see you Monday.
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