Pod Insights The Clark Howard Podcast 11.13.24 Amazon & Walmart Deals / The Power of Positive Thinking About this episode Amazon and Walmart are retail behemoths in a market share fight, and Clark shares 2 new ways you can benefit, including a discount deal on gas. Also today, how much does mindset play into your success at work? More than you think! Amazon & Walmart+: Segment 1 Ask Clark: Segment 2 Positivity - It Really Works: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: Amazon Prime introduces a new benefit to save on gas USA TODAY: Walmart unveils Black Friday plans: When customers can expect deals Amazon targets Aldi and Target with a new lineup of ‘no-frills’ groceries How To Set Up Your Own Biweekly Mortgage Plan Without Paying Any Fees Streaming TV Tool: Find Cheapest Way to Stream Your Favorite TV Channels Phone Plan Finder – Find the Best Plan For You - Clark.com Cash Back Credit Card Calculator Tool / Clark - CALCULATORS Clark.com resources Episode transcripts Community. Clark.com 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 This episode is brought to you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.
0:30 Speaker 01 Visible puts the ultimate wireless hack in the palm of your hand. With unlimited 5G wireless data and hotspot designed to keep you connected. Powered by Verizon's 5G network. And no contract holding you back. Plans start at $25 a month or get the premium Visible Plus Pro plan and save $10 on your first month when you use promo code HACK. Make the switch at visible.com. Terms apply. See visible.com for details.
1:05 Speaker 02 It's great to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show. You know, our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you so you make better financial decisions in your life. This is the Super Bowl of shopping, the month of November. There are sales popping up depending on the retailer, day by day now in Black Friday month. Know that we're following it for you around the clock at Clarkdeals.com with deals you can trust. We don't do pay for play. We only write about what we feel are the best deals to save you money.
1:49 Speaker 02 And speaking of which, Amazon and Walmart are in a huge fight with each other for market share. These two behemoths. Are kind of like becoming the Hatfields and McCoys of retail. And Amazon reported better than expected numbers recently. Walmart reported much better than expected numbers. These two companies are squeezing out other players with how well both of them are doing. But Amazon senses weaknesses in their competition with Walmart and vice versa. So Amazon has launched a new gas discount deal.
2:34 Speaker 02 That involves you going to certain oil company gas stations. So not the deep discounters that I'm really into. And getting a 10 cent a gallon discount on gasoline. And Prime members need to dig into your benefits. If you're already overpaying by going to oil company branded gas stations. You'll overpay less, 10 cents less a gallon. Using your Amazon Prime benefit when you fill up your vehicle. And again, it'll be explained within the Prime app. How to activate that. And Walmart that has its me too kind of thing to Amazon Prime called Walmart Plus.
3:18 Speaker 02 Is trying to lure new people and this is the month, you know, each year. That a lot of retailers try to get new long-term customers. Because again, November is such a huge shopping month. So Walmart Plus is offering a deal the rest of November, all the way up to December 2nd. Where you can buy a year of Walmart Plus for $49. Obviously far, far cheaper than it normally is and way cheaper than Amazon Prime.
3:52 Speaker 02 And in our household, we're a member of both. So when I'm shopping for something, I compare the prices at both, at Walmart and at Amazon. And, you know, you never know when you comparison shop, which delivery program is going to be cheaper. But I find that more often than not, Walmart is cheaper. It's an advantage to me to do the comparison shopping and be a member of both programs. Amazon is much more consistent with delivery times with Prime than Walmart Plus.
4:32 Speaker 02 But the funny thing with Walmart Plus is, as I shared, gosh, I guess, last year. It's so random. Sometimes items show up in less than an hour ordered on Walmart Plus. Then other times they'll take a week. It's not like Amazon where consistently things are one, two, or three day delivery. But the prices are consistently lower in my experience with Walmart. So the 49 bucks is a good enough deal that if you like delivery and you regularly order from Prime, spend the 49 bucks, try Walmart Plus, and then just cancel it.
5:15 Speaker 02 Don't renew it if you find it's not useful. By the way, Amazon has been frustrated for years trying to break into the grocery market and continues to have a pitiful market share in groceries. And Amazon has put a bullseye target on Aldi. Because people's perception, because Amazon owning whole paycheck, is that you buy groceries from Amazon, they're going to be a fortune. So, Amazon has come up with a new line of groceries under the Saver label that's specifically designed to take on Aldi, which is far and away the cheapest place to buy groceries in
5:57 Speaker 02 America. Saver is Amazon's attempt to say, "Hey, look, we are offering deals. We're doing it." And you can tell when you see that Saver label that we are, they don't say Aldi, but that's who they're targeting, that we are offering prices like Aldi. If you don't live in a part of the country that has Aldi, Aldi is about 40% less than a typical grocery price on an item. I know Aldi is very polarizing, but if you're into price, it's my place. Krista, you know that Kirkland Signature was supposed to be named Aldi, our dog?
6:39 Speaker 03 I do.
6:40 Speaker 02 And Kirk's tag says Aldi on it, because Lain had already ordered one with Aldi as his name. That's our nine-pound micro dog thing, Golden.
6:53 Speaker 03 Thing. Oh, my God. Don't let Lain hear this episode.
6:56 Speaker 02 No, I mean, the thing is, he has barely survived birth and is the run of the litter, and his siblings are like 35, 40 pounds.
7:07 Speaker 03 Did you get a discount?
7:08 Speaker 02 Fully grown nine pounds. No. But Kirk is the most enthusiastic dog you have ever seen.
7:17 Speaker 03 He's adorable.
7:18 Speaker 02 But, you know, it's our listeners and viewers and readers that in a vote, voted out the name Aldi and voted the name Kirkland Signature.
7:29 Speaker 03 Well, you're just gonna have to get another dog.
7:32 Speaker 02 No. No, not right now.
7:35 Speaker 02 No more dogs.
7:36 Speaker 03 All right, well, good questions. This one came in from Stephanie in Texas. Should I withdraw from my Roth IRA or take out a mortgage? I'm 37, recently divorced, and I've been completely debt-free for five years. I'm preparing to move to a more expensive area with my four-year-old son to be closer to work and family. I'll sell my paid-off home to put towards a new home, but will need an additional $100,000 for something comparable in the new area. I have over $100,000 in Roth IRA contributions that I could withdraw for this without penalty, leaving roughly $175,000 in retirement savings. Is that a smart move, or should I take out a mortgage for the 100K? I love the security of having no debt, especially as a single parent, and I make roughly $75,000 per year.
8:20 Speaker 02 Okay, I'm glad you had that last bit of information for me. First of all, I hope you're doing okay after your divorce. I know it's a tough time in life. And when you buy this new house, the $100,000 mortgage is a better idea, even though psychologically, and you know, I love being debt-free, I despise debt, but it would be better for you to maintain that money in your Roth, have it continue to grow tax-free, ultimately building a very valuable pile of money for you in retirement. And it's just too hard to make up that lost money way down the road.
9:05 Speaker 02 So I would leave that alone. You know, the monthly payment on a $100,000 mortgage at today's interest rates is, was it 600 and something a month approximately? You're better off paying that, you've got six grand a month in income before tax. That is a very, very, very low monthly mortgage obligation. I would go ahead and take out that mortgage. If you can afford the payment being a little higher, you want the time in that mortgage to be shorter, do a 15-year loan. It'll step up the payment about 20%. So it would be, what, 750, let's say, a month?
9:46 Speaker 02 You would be building back that $100,000 as additional equity pretty quickly that way. But yes, definitely take out the mortgage. Don't raid the Roth IRA.
9:59 Speaker 03 Fred in Minnesota says, "Great news. My wife stands to inherit 2 million."
10:03 Speaker 02 That's awesome.
10:05 Speaker 03 Bad news. It's a 2 million Iraqi dinar.
10:07 Speaker 02 Oh no, not Iraqi dinar again.
10:10 Speaker 03 Apparently, my father-in-law fell prey to an "Invest in Iraqi Dinar Get Rich Quick Scheme." He recently has moved to assisted living, and my wife was helping with his financials, and she discovered his safety deposit box has 2 million Iraqi dinar in it.
10:24 Speaker 02 Oh, boy.
10:25 Speaker 03 From what I can see, he bought 2 million dinar in 2018 for roughly $2,300, and it's worth about $1,500 now if, and that's a big if, he can exchange it somewhere. Have you heard of this scam, and any ideas where he can exchange it in the USA?
10:40 Speaker 02 So Fred, this scam has legs, because this started when we invaded Iraq back in, was that 2002, 2003? Whenever we invaded Iraq, and ever since, this, so for two decades now, this has been a scam that comes and goes, comes and goes, and it's a complete utter disaster, because the Iraqi dinar is not an exchangeable currency in normal foreign currency market trading, what's known as Forex. It's not, it's not one that has the ability to simply trade.
11:21 Speaker 02 So you have to go to black market dealers, and the 1,500 you expect won't be 1,500, because the commissions you tend to pay are somewhere 30 to 40% for, for trading it back out. And so, whatever you can get is what you're gonna get. The Iraqi currency, because of the instability in Iraq, the Iranian terrorist influence within Iraq and all the rest, the instability has led to steadily depreciating value of the Iraqi dinar. And so, this is one that I hope for the Iraqi people, at some point,
12:05 Speaker 02 things really turn around in a positive way. But in this case, I think you just shop different of the black market dealers. You can see them, gosh, you can go right on, I remember in the past, you could just go on Google and see people that would buy your dinar, and you can shop different ones and see who will offer you the least bad deal. To exit the position in the Danars.
12:32 Speaker 03 You can't just go to like an exchange place?
12:34 Speaker 02 No, you cannot.
12:36 Speaker 03 M D in Alabama says, my son is a sixth grader and likes basketball. He wants me to buy him an NBA subscription, but I'm not a fan of subscriptions. What can I do to help him watch the games?
12:47 Speaker 02 So locally, you know, there the NBA thing is is a jumble. And they've never been able to put together something like NFL Sunday Ticket, where you can just see games other than if you have a local, you don't have a local NBA team in Alabama. But out of market games with NFL Sunday Ticket, you see every out of market game. Even if you were to spend the money you don't want to spend and buy the NBA League Pass, you'll only see some what are referred to as out of market games available.
13:27 Speaker 02 Because the NBA has done a multi-network deal with cable, what we used to call cable channels, that you have to be a subscriber to YouTube TV or Sling or Fubo or any of the streaming services. If you already have them, your son will be able to see a lot of NBA games just being broadcasted on the various NBA outlets that are going to change again next season, where those are.
13:59 Speaker 02 But League Pass is not terribly expensive. It's about a hundred bucks a year. And Krista, you're waving in front of my face. So explain our wonderful streaming TV tool.
14:11 Speaker 03 Do you want to see the prices?
14:12 Speaker 02 Oh, I know the prices.
14:13 Speaker 03 We have a streaming tool on Clark.com where you can put in what channels you want. And I put in NBA TV and then Clark has a list that it generated of what.
14:21 Speaker 02 Yeah, so this is just one of the coolest things I believe we've done at Clark.com, where you can put in what's really important to you. And in order to get the NBA package, and again, it's it's bare bones NBA package and get traditional, let's say cable TV kind of stuff is from sling. And it's $51 a month when you add in the NBA thing. But the NBA that you get with that is different than the league pass that you can buy as just a standalone app. And that, as I recall, is a hundred, little over $100 for the season.
15:02 Speaker 02 But it's still only going to get your son some of the games. But if you do have a traditional streaming service, your son's just got to watch on there because he'll get plenty of NBA. And here's the poor man's way to watch. After a game has been played, you can see on YouTube for free, the game highlights for games like you can for football, basketball, baseball, whatever. And you tend to get 10 or so minutes of highlights from a game. And your son would be able to watch the highlights of every NBA game being played after the game
15:43 Speaker 02 is over, like later that day, next day, and see it all for free. You know, I like that free price.
15:51 Speaker 03 Yeah. Or buy the pass because I feel like I would love for my kid to watch NBA rather than some of the stuff he watches on YouTube, but make him work it off.
15:58 Speaker 02 He doesn't want to spend the money.
15:59 Speaker 03 But what about make the kid work it off potentially? No?
16:02 Speaker 02 That's fine with me.
16:04 Speaker 03 It's an idea.
16:04 Speaker 02 Chores, whatever.
16:05 Speaker 03 If you can do it, yeah.
16:06 Speaker 02 Okay. So coming up ahead, Krista just gave an example of what we're going to talk about.
16:14 Speaker 03 Oh, boy.
16:15 Speaker 02 The power of positive thinking. Get him doing something great in his life, watching NBA instead of something dark on some kind of message board or whatever, right? I want to talk about why I have always been all about the power of positive thinking and how it can make such a difference in your life.
16:38 Speaker 00 This episode is brought to you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.
17:08 Speaker 01 Visible puts the ultimate wireless hack in the palm of your hand. With unlimited 5G wireless data and hotspot, designed to keep you connected. Powered by Verizon's 5G network. And no contract holding you back. Plans start at $25 a month. Or get the premium Visible Plus Pro Plan and save $10 on your first month when you use promo code HACK. Make the switch at visible.com. Terms apply. See visible.com for details.
17:37 Speaker 04 Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change. Your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.
17:50 Speaker 05 Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.
17:53 Speaker 06 Low energy, unfocused, foggy? You might be dehydrated. Gatorade Zero powders have been scientifically designed to help improve hydration balance in the body. With a clinically proven electrolyte blend and no artificial colors or flavors. Great tasting hydration, no matter where you're going. Shop now online or at retailers nationwide. Gatorade. Hydrates better than water. Is it in you? Symptoms noted are signs of mild to moderate dehydration. Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist.
18:23 Speaker 02 So I have always had a sunny disposition. I mean, it's just part of who I am. And I have a longtime friend who makes fun of me for it and thinks that I am just completely unrealistic and that I sail up to Nile all the time. That I just don't, when there's darkness going on, whatever it is, that I'm always, well, you know, it's gonna be okay. It's just who I am. And it turns out... That people who are just really positive tend to do better in the work world.
19:03 Speaker 02 I saw a long form story in the Wall Street Journal that referred to happy warriors and how much better they do in the corporate environment. But they were only talking about people having success in business. I believe so much that if you allow yourself to be consumed by negativity, that what will result are negative things. That if you are always, well, you know, maybe pretty today, but did you see that storm front coming in on the weather forecast? I mean, you know, if you're always looking at what the dark cloud is, it's just not going to work for you in life generally.
19:48 Speaker 02 Specifically, we're all going to have adversity in our lives. There's no way we're not going to have adversity in our lives. Life is not perfect. And a person is really tested by things that don't go right in life. And so you can take what goes badly in your life or around you or whatever, and you can then extrapolate, yeah, this is just, just my future. And that's called recency bias, where whatever's going on negatively, we are like, okay, that's what happened? That's what's happening? That's what's gonna happen? And the more you do that in your head, the more you get lost in your head with those
20:33 Speaker 02 negative thoughts, the more that is going to be your path. So I ask you, no matter what is going on in your life, remember that the thing about human beings is our ability to adapt and overcome. And there are always tough circumstances, and there are things that will leave emotional scars, no doubt. But it's what we do moving forward that matters.
21:05 Speaker 02 So, so much. Why is it that some people can come through a bad circumstance and go on with their lives and other people, that bad circumstance defines them for the rest of their lives? And it's just all about grabbing hold of what are the positives? What are the things? And I want to tell you something. You want to know when I really started to get down? During the Great Recession, I was doing a lot of town halls around the country where I was meeting with audiences of people who were in desperate shape, desperate circumstances.
21:50 Speaker 02 And it was so hard to have somebody tell me, this happened, and this happened, and this happened, and try to look for some hopeful message for people. And by the end of a town hall, I would be emotionally spent. And I would feel so bad for the people who were there. But I ended every town hall with a message that sounds trite, but I want you to think about it when you are tested by tough times, that things are never as good as they seem when they're going well, and never as bad as we feel they are when circumstances are
22:35 Speaker 02 bad. And I think about all the people who I hear from today, who went through so much after the banking scandals that led to the Great Recession and caused so much hardship on so many people. And I could throw some bitterness at you, that none of those dirty bankers ever went to prison. And that is true, and it's wrong. But the reality is that most people, after so much, came back and rebuilt their lives and rebuilt their circumstances. So, we never know what the tough circumstances are going to be that hit us, society, that
23:16 Speaker 02 hit us here on earth, that hit us in our own household, but we overcome. And if you're listening to me or watching me, and you live in the North Carolina mountain regions... Where so much loss of life and loss of property and disruption in your life has occurred. All this hardship, from talking about from Helene, all this hardship, you will overcome. I know it. Krista?
23:47 Speaker 03 Okay. I'm gonna start with Peg in Wyoming's question. Do you want me to name this company?
23:52 Speaker 02 I don't know that there's a reason to. There are lots floating around out there right now like that organization.
23:59 Speaker 03 Okay. So this company offers bonds $10 each, earn a fixed 7% APY with no fees, penalties, or minimum balance. Is it too good to be true?
24:10 Speaker 02 Yes. And Peg, I am so thrilled with your question because I'm seeing so many of these offerings. They're not approved by any government authority. They are not FDIC insured. They're promising you the world. What's different in this case is what they're offering is an interest rate is lower than a lot of the others I've seen. But to get 7% in a world where you can easily pick up close to 5% that's fully FDIC insured, completely safe and all that, from just somebody's offer of a promissory note, which is what this fits under, is really dangerous.
24:54 Speaker 02 Let me tell you what a promissory note is. Hey Krista?
24:57 Speaker 03 Clark.
24:58 Speaker 02 How would you like to earn 10% on your money?
25:01 Speaker 03 Oh, yeah.
25:02 Speaker 02 I promise I'm gonna pay you 10% on your money.
25:05 Speaker 03 I believe you.
25:07 Speaker 02 You shouldn't. So give me, give me your money. And then I promise I'm gonna pay you that 10%. But what happens if I don't? You have no recourse. And these things keep rearing their ugly heads as they have my whole career in providing consumer advice. And this one is no different than any of the others. If you go read on this bond, who it's insured by, who it's been vetted by, you will see, I guarantee you, in the offering, it will tell you. That there's no oversight whatsoever.
25:50 Speaker 02 So if you want to score big bucks in your life, you go off for people promissory notes, but they're crazy to buy them from you.
25:59 Speaker 03 Rick in South Carolina says, "I recently opened checking accounts at two different financial institutions. One was a local credit union, which required pulling my credit report. The other was a regional bank, which did not require a credit report. Why did the credit union want my credit report even though I was not applying for a loan or credit account? What does Clark think about this practice?"
26:19 Speaker 02 Okay, so let me tell you what's going on, Rick. If you go to open an account at a bank or credit union, almost without exception, they are going to do a check on you. Usually, it will be a specialized version of a credit report done for the banking industry. It is unusual, in the case of this credit union, that they did a traditional credit check for a credit union membership with Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. It is normal that a credit union or a bank will do an inquiry with Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian if you're applying for any kind of loan. But for a membership at a credit union
27:03 Speaker 02 or opening a checking account at a bank, usually, it's a different service that they will do the equivalent of a hard inquiry with, but it would not reflect in your credit score. The pull of the credit report by that credit union is abnormal and potentially, in the short term, harmful for you because it shows an additional hard inquiry on your credit. And I don't like that if that's what actually happened. But they all do, almost 100% universally, do this background check on you because this is weird, but in bank speak, an issuance of a checking account
27:47 Speaker 02 is, in their world, an extension of credit because of the problems that happen with people who might bounce checks and then the bank can't recover the money.
27:57 Speaker 03 Lorraine in California says, "When paying my credit card bill this month, I noticed a credit received for returned item was not counted as a payment in the current statement cycle. My statement balance was $48 and the credit was 21. However, the credit card company said I still owed a minimum payment of $35. I noticed something similar with another credit card. When I called the bank, the first rep told me the credit would not reflect on my statement until the following cycle, and therefore I had to pay 35. If that were true, then my remaining statement balance would have been 48, not 35. I called again, and the second rep agreed this was an error. She said the full credit should have been reflected in the remaining amount due." My advice to your listeners is to check their statements closely, not only for purchases, but for credits, and do the math.
28:43 Speaker 02 Okay, so what the second person told you is not really how they think of it at most credit card issuers. So if you have credits posted, you notice how a bank or credit card company will usually put on a statement, if you have a paper statement, or even if you look online, they will first show you a section of credits, and it will be any merchant credit you've received or is pending potentially, and also any payments you've made since the last billing cycle. And then the charges will start. So for whatever
29:22 Speaker 02 reason, the industry does not normally consider credits to be a real thing yet, even though they're there. So the minimum payment on a card with most issuers does not change. What does that mean? Let's say you pay the 35. You will have actually paid more effectively because on the next monthly statement, the credit will be there. Just look at it as bank math instead of traditional math. The most important thing is if you can pay your balance in full, pay it, then the worst that happens is you have a credit in that next month. And...
30:08 Speaker 02 Maybe somebody in banking will explain why it works that way historically and traditionally, but it is how it works that a credit is not considered to be real money in calculating the minimum payment due on, as far as I know, any issuer's statements for a credit card. And I want to thank you so much for joining us today. We mentioned earlier the tool we have for figuring out what's the cheapest streaming service that gets you the channels you want. And it's such a cool, interactive tool where you add your favorite channel, your next favorite, and on like that. But that's not the only tool like that we have
30:52 Speaker 02 that helps you with the noise of life and the difficulty of making financial decisions. We've got a great one that I'm really proud of for picking a cell phone plan because people are so outrageously overpaying for cell phone plans right now that this gives you an opportunity to get those costs way down. And think about it, if you save $50 a month, that's 600 bucks a year back in your pocket. If you have a family plan and you save 150 a month, which is well within reason, shopping your cell phone plan, you've got 1,800 bucks back in your month, in your wallet each year. So use these interactive
31:37 Speaker 02 tools because it gives you the ability to cut through all the advertising noise and find truth. What will actually work for your wallet to put more money back in your wallet? And those are at Clark.com. And remember what we're all about. You, learning ways to save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. And we'll be at your service tomorrow.
Previous 11.12.24 Sandwich Generation Challenges / Holiday Air Travel Next 11.14.24 Your Online Privacy / Good News For Car Buyers Page updated November 7, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
