Skip to main content

tv   C-SPAN Weekend  CSPAN  October 3, 2009 6:00am-7:00am EDT

6:00 am
there's something he want you to know about me -- i am not into depriving myself. but i am cheap. you give me a half-hour one after another, i'm going to show you how you can be thrifty and live like a king at the same time. ever since i can remember, i've been fascinating by money, making it, saving it, studying it. by the time i was 31, i had earned enough to retire. so i embarked on a new mission -- helping you take care of your money. so you can save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. now, from his radio studio,
6:01 am
your money expert, clark howard. >> you know what? we as americans can do so much more with less. and it's rhetoric that we've all heard, maybe we've even talked it ourselves. but now we're walking the talk. and i got proof in several areas. first, you want video entertainment? well, you can entertain yourself all you want for $1. i can't guarantee the movies will be good, but redbox is booming. those are those fancy vending machines that are popping up all over the place, where you can rent all the late release moviesth and you know what? it's $1 per day. just don't forget about the thing, because it's $1 every day until you remember to return it. video games? i saw recently that the rental of video games as an alternative to buying them, is up 30% in the last year. again, another cheap way for you to have entertainment at home. and third?
6:02 am
if you are in college, going to college, or know someone who is, how about renting textbooks instead of buying them? probably never heard of that. there's a website called chegg.com, where you can learn whether the textbooks you need for school can be rented instead of purchased. think about all the money you'll save. now, do you have any money-saving questions you want to ask me? fire away. what's going on with your credit card, beth? >> caller: well about six months ago, i closed one of my credit cards. because it went over the limit just $2, and then they started charging me like 31% interest, even though i closed it. so since i've closed it, they have charged me about $600 in interest. >> wow. >> caller: and they did a negotiation with me. they said if i paid the $600,
6:03 am
they would drop the interest to zero percent and i could pay off my $2500 balance at $50 a month. but i don't know if i should do that. i'm a homeowner. i own a home jointly with a relative. and i'm just wondering if they could ever put a lean against my home if i don't pay them for a while. >> well let me explain how that plays out. you have a credit card that goes into charge-off. and the credit card company wanted to really eat you up. what they would have to do is they would have to hire a law firm to sue you against the unpaid balance of the credit card. get a judgment against you, and then having the judgment, a judgment becomes what lawyers call a license to hunt. and they go out and they try to figure out what assets you have. and at that point, is when it's possible that they might try to go after the home that you jointly own with somebody else.
6:04 am
but that is a lot of if's getting to the point where that would happen. so here's what you do. you can have one more conversation with the credit card company. at that point, i would say no more conversations. you tell them here's my alternative offer. you agree to waive all interest, and i will pay you on a payment plan and you will pay off the balance at 0% interest. now if they don't accept that. then here's the offer you make. you either accept this, because i'm offering to pay you 100 cents on the dollar of the principal i owe you. here are my terms, if you do not accept them, you will not get a single penny from me ever again. hello, marty, how are you doing? >> caller: well clark, the reason i called is i'm finding myself in a mortgage dilemma
6:05 am
that i'm not even sure is a real serious dilemma. i'm in a 5/1 a.r.m. that's going to mature in 2012. i have a second of 10,200 at 7%. the worth of my house has dropped down to about roughly 235. and everybody is advising me to get out of this a.r.m. and get into a fixed-rate while the rates are down. and i'm, i've been talking to lenders trying to figure out. and i find myself choking on adding $11,000 into my note for all the closing and -- >> closing costs lately have been off the charts crazy. >> yes, sir. >> they've been really, really up there. now you said the value of your home has dropped to -- >> caller: around 235. >> and the first mortgage is at?
6:06 am
>> caller: $200,400. >> so your equity is down to 17%. >> i think you've got sometime, there's enough slack in the economy, that i think you're okay to sit tight for a while. before you'd have to hit any kind of panic button. as far as that a.r.m., when we're looking three years out, the a.r.m. going crazy on you, 2012 and beyond. how long do you expect you're going to own this house? >> caller: well, we have no plans on moving. >> so this could be a forever house? >> caller: yes, sir. >> then here's your assignment. you told me that your work is still good, you're still making good money as an electrician. >> caller: yes, sir. >> you need to pour every dollar you can into paying down principal on that loan to create more head room that will give you the opportunity to
6:07 am
refinance. >> caller: uh-huh. >> the marketplace took equity away from you, you're going to have to rebuild the equity by paying down debt. >> next on clark howard -- >> a collection agency was pretending they were going to put your step-son in jail and were talking to you about the ticket? >> caller: exactly. >> down how much they have broken the law? i'm with my family in london, and we're here, why? well because trips to europe are the cheapest they've been in eight years. because of the sick economy, which means you can travel really well. hotels, tra cheap. airfares extra cheap. right in the heart of london, the london eye. and on this side of me, is big ben. the most famous tourist attraction in london.
6:08 am
6:09 am
one of my favorite ways to save, shopping in england is go to the 99 p store. everything is 99 pence, roughly, $1.65 at today's exchange rates. they've got a ton of good stuff in there. and len is with us. hello, len. >> caller: hey, how you doing, clark? >> great. thank you, except you got one of those phone calls nobody wants. >> caller: sure did. >> tell me about this, if you would. >> caller: what happened two weeks ago. my husband and i received a call from a department stating they were calling from a warrant division and they're looking for my stepson. settle and i said why are you looking for my stepson? and they said, he owned $271 on a traffic fine. come to find out this is a
6:10 am
traffic ticket he received back in 2001. so that is correct, my stepson did have a traffic ticket. he went to probation. my husband ended up selling his car and paying the traffic ticket off. >> wow. >> caller: we explained that to them. unfortunately, we don't have any receipts. i did some research and i kept calling back and calling back. i come to find out it was a collection agency. >> a collection agency was pretending they were going to put your stepson in jail and were talking to you about the ticket. >> caller: exactly. >> do you know how much they have broken the law? >> caller: no, i don't. >> under the fair debt collections act, a collection agency is not allowed to -- a collection agent is not allowed to impersonate a member of law enforcement, number one. number two, a collection agent is never allowed to talk to someone else about another person's debt. >> caller: okay. >> so do you have an answering
6:11 am
machine that, or do you use voicemail? >> caller: i have an answering machine. i have the first call that she placed to our answering machine. >> you do? >> caller: i do. >> wow. okay. i want you to call the district attorney or the solicitor in the jurisdiction where your stepson originally got this ticket eight years ago and offer to play the tape for the d.a. or solicitor. >> caller: all right, then. >> because the collection agency operating on behalf of either the court or the jurisdiction, is totally in violation of the law. and the district attorney should know that that's going on. >> how would you like for me to answer your money questions? well that's easy. all you do is go to cnn.com/clarkhoward, and then submit a video question to me. you'll see the link right on the
6:12 am
home screen. now speaking of asking me a money question, carmen has done so about her retirement plan. let's see what's on carmen's mind. >> i'm carmen. >> i'm ray. >> and we need a money coach. >> my biggest concern related to our finances is having enough money for retirement. i currently have a roth ira through my employer and my husband and i each have one through our banks. i don't feel that i need because. fees i'm being charged a fee from the bank and then i'm being charged a fee through my employer. it's not a large amount of money. but i just think that it's money that i can use to save and contribute to one roth instead of two. my question is, do i really need two roths. >> carmen, i love what you've got. it's a special kind of roth that more and more people will have over the next few years. as a choice in a 401(k) plan. you can stay in the traditional
6:13 am
401(k), or make the decision you did, and go in the roth 401(k). they're wonderful. because you put in after-tax dollars, that will grow tax-free through the years, and they'll never be taxed again. plus, you're still eligible for whatever employer match your employer chooses to make. now that goes in pre-tax dollars. that portion will be taxed. and yeah, there's a fee embedded in a 401(k) plan. there's also a management fee involved in the roth ira you're doing. but you do want to do both. because it gives you the double opportunity to save. i think it's great. now why am i so hot on the roth 401(k) versus the traditional 401(k)? simple -- you know what, you have a regular 401(k), you put the money in, when you go to spend it in retirement, you have much less money than you thought you have. because so much of it gets shaved away by taxes.
6:14 am
you do the roth 401(k), a dollar in there is a dollar you get to spend in retirement. essentially, it means when you retire, you have about 40% more money that you can spend than you thought you did. >> next on clark howard -- >> you said you want me to direct you to a legitimate place to buy gold. which means you already know how many snakes there are in the grass who are out there pretending to sell gold, or selling gold but ripping you off when you go to buy it.
6:15 am
6:16 am
as you probably have figured out by now, i am a very opinionated guy and it's all about you taking control of your wallet. if you go to cnn.com/clarkhoward
6:17 am
i've got a variety of ways for you to take control of your money. now we're at the cheap way of seeing the bird's eye view of london, we're at monument tower. had to walk 311 steps up from the ground, but we have a view of the complete panorama of london. very much like the london eye, but at one-seventh the cost. plus, bemind me, if you look over here we have tower bridge. and the tower of london. a beautiful view from up here. and all you got to do is be fit enough to walk the stairs. every day when i'm doing research for my radio show, i go to cnnmoney.com. you should, too. poppy harlow is here from
6:18 am
cnnmoney.com with good tips for you. >> reporter: trying to keep your small business afloat in these tough times can be a daunting task. but maximizing your company's website is a cheap and easy way to target your customers. here are three tips to help you do just that. first of all, focus on the content. consider the top three things that a customer would come to your site looking for. and highlight those things right on your home page. don't bury that information, bring the best stuff right up front. next, you want to provide expert tips. giving some measure of free advice really elevates your own reputation as an expert, and that can help. and finally, consider your site's design. well, slick effects and animations are great for making a splash, most consumers prefer an easy to navigate, simple and clear web page that, well, they can use easily. for more tips on this, what you want to do is check out cnnmoney.com/smallbusiness, a lot of great helpful stories and tips right there. back to you, clark. >> hi, andy. >> caller: hi, clark.
6:19 am
>> how are you? >> caller: not too bad. >> andy, tell me what you're thinking of doing. >> caller: well, i'd actually like to find a legitimate place to buy the actual real gold. >> ooh. what if i were to answer your question not the way you asked it. >> caller: well, go ahead and i'll see if it's something that's going to work for me. >> okay, i would much prefer for you to consider, instead of buying the actual tangible gold, is that you buy what's known as a gold etf, exchange-traded fund. where you will buy actual ownership of gold, that will be stored for you off-site, not in your possession. but you will have the value of that will actual gold. and with that, what happens is that you buy gold and you buy it
6:20 am
with just money. and then you buy it from an outfit that stores it for you. and when you want to sell your gold, they tabling your gold and they sell it to somebody else. and i know it sounds like i'm talking about some kind of scam or something? but this is completely legitimate. and then you don't have to deal with the, with the storing of the gold. you don't have to deal with the big rip-off they charge you to buy the gold. you don't have to deal with the big rip-off when you go to sell it. and here's the neat thing -- let's say, andy, you want to turn that gold back into money. you can do it like that. you can sit down at your computer and in a blink of an eye, you can sell your shares and a couple of days, you have your money. in u.s. dollars. >> do i have great bargain news for you for your christmas
6:21 am
shopping. if you go back over recent years, the toy market has been really a toy story of two places -- you know what they are? walmart. the nation's largest toy seller and target. it used to be that toys 'r' us were the biggest player in the game. they really have faded. but now toys 'r' us are doing something great for this time in history. they're going to open hundreds of temporary toy stores around the country. there's plenty of vacant retail space, plenty of people they can hire to work the registers. and it's going to inject new competition in the toy market that we haven't seen in a long, long time. and you as a parent? you're going to be smiling. because as we move through october and into november, there's going to be deal after deal. >> next on clark howard -- >> caller: they claim now that the packaging is inadequate for the item. and i feel like my only recourse
6:22 am
at this point is to go to small claims court. >> you should do that, because if you sit on your rights, you lose them. you should go ahead and file. but that's not all you should do.              
6:23 am
6:24 am
6:25 am
6:26 am
6:27 am
6:28 am
6:29 am
6:30 am
everybody's got to eat. sometimes i like to eat too much. but one thing i don't want you to do is spend too much in the supermarket. i got some advice for you about a gotcha you got to watch for. and that's just one thing you're going to learn this half hour. that will help you stretch every dollar. ever since i can remember, i've been fascinated by money. making it, saving it, studying it. by the time i was 31, i had earned enough to retire. so i embarked on a new mission -- helping you take care of your money. so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off.
6:31 am
>> now from his radio studio, your money expert, clark howard. >> i got to tell but a tale of two people in a household. if my wife gives me the grocery list, i buy whatever the cheapest is, in each thing that she has on the list. but when she goes grocery shopping, somehow magically, we spend a lot more money because we have organic this, organic that and organic the other. and a lot of people really believe in the health claims and maybe they're true, who knows? about organic products. should you believe them? well let me tell you something. there's been more and more stuff saying organic that truly is not organic. because the federal government has continually loosened the standards on what can say organic. there's something you should look for before you spend huge amounts of money buying organic stuff. make sure it says on the front "100% organic."
6:32 am
don't buy something that sass organic. if you're going to spend the big bucks, get the real deal. speaking of the real deal, when something says "natural" on the package what does that mean? nothing. it's just a marketing term in most cases. you're throwing your money away. now you want my opinion on something other than food, i bet? how about your wallet? david, how are you? >> caller: just fine, clark, thank you. >> you are in the midst of doing some building at your house, huh? >> caller: yes, sir. we got -- >> i don't know if i'm supposed to congratulate you or send you my regrets. >> caller: yeah. what we are doing is we are going to be having a mother-in-law suite built on to our home. my mother-in-law is willing to pay for the room addition. so i guess we have something along the lines of a gifting-type thing here. >> how much money is it going to
6:33 am
cost? >> in the ballpark of $40,000. >> let me tell you how you can play that. you can do it in a way there's no gift tax issue at all. >> caller: that's what i was looking for. >> your mother-in-law is allowed to give both you and your wife $13,000 each, each year without any tax implications at all. >> caller: okay. >> so she can just right off the top, give you $26,000, done. and she has to write two checks. one to you, one to your wife. very important that there be two separate checks. >> caller: okay. >> then she can, for the remainder, you said it's going to be 40, total? >> caller: yes, about 40. >> she can give you a note for $14,000. with the first interest payment due january 2nd, 2010. then on that day, she can say, oh, i'm gifting you that money. and you're done.
6:34 am
>> caller: okay. >> actually she would have to do seven and seven, wouldn't she? she'd have to do 7 and 7, two different notes. so the $40,000 can be transferred from her to you and your wife, in a very short period of time, completely tax-free. >> caller: uh-huh. >> but the notes need to say $7,000 loan for you know, until january 2, 2010. interest rate of 6% or some, it has to be something that would feel like a market interest rate. >> caller: right. >> and do and payable at that time. and when that time comes, she forgive it is and that becomes a gift. >> john joins us, john, welcome to the clark howard show. >> caller: thanks for taking my call. >> what's going on with your life? >> caller: back in '9 4 or '95,
6:35 am
my wife had a settlement tore a credit card debt and it was settled. and there was a settlement drawn up and all and it was a done deal. now in 2002, approximately, the same company sent a collection agency on her for the same debt that was settled. and i believe that she showed the settlement papers and it was dropped. now just yesterday, a subpoena was dropped here for the same company -- >> no way. >> caller: i'm serious. >> she was served court papers? >> caller: yes. >> this is very important, very important. you ready? >> caller: yes. >> now what happened was a collection agency bought what's known as zombie debt. the bank that your wife originally reached the settlement with, 15 years ago, they're reporting her still as not having paid this. and some zombie collector paid the bank penny, two cents on a
6:36 am
dollar. on this debt. even if she had not paid it. is well outside the statute of limitations to sue. but what the zombie collector does, is they file suit against your wife, expecting that she's not going to show up in court. and then they will get a default judgment from the court, an illegal judgment. but it is one that will have full force of law that will then be a judgment against her that will stay on her credit in most states for seven years. and will allow the collector, once they have the judgment, to garn nishee your wife's wages or empty her checking account. >> caller: oh, my gosh. >> so she must answer the courtth and she must, if necessary, appear in court. this he are trying to take advantage of the fact that the courts are busy and that a lot of people will say, oh, that's not a problem. i took care of that long ago.
6:37 am
that's too long ago for that to be an issue for me. and then they sue you against it. and failure to defend yourself means you lose even on an illegal action. >> caller: unbelievable. >> it is unbelievable. and it is an absolute crying shame that this is going on. >> next on clark howard -- >> we're hoping to get some good advice on how to better manage these larger debts.
6:38 am
6:39 am
6:40 am
it's time for money coach. that's where you pose your money riddle to me, and i try to give you the best advice i can for your life and your wallet. let's meet ken and lisa. >> my name is ken. >> and i'm lisa. >> and we need a money coach. >> our financial situation is pretty stable right now. but the current economy, you never know. so we're trying to get a handle on our debts. and how we should handle paying those off. our two largest debts right now are our home mortgage and our home equity loan. one other extra thing is our car. it's really old, it's got a lot of miles and we are going to be needing another car. so should we be paying more on the principal of our mortgage, or should we be throwing as much money to the home equity loan as possible? >> all right.
6:41 am
i love your question. but it's the wrong one. all right. your mortgage, you don't owe very much on it. you have not that many years left to pay. your home equity line, a tiny amount of money owed on it. your current interest rate on it is a floating rate, but it's great in the 3's, even though that will go up over time. you owe so little on it, that's not a priority. any extra cash you have, you should pop into savings. i know, i know. puny amounts of interest you're earning on your savings. but the purpose is to build up the money so that when it comes time that you have to replace that car, you already have a substantial amount of money to be able to pay cash for a used car, or make a meaningful downpayment on a newer used car or a brand-new one. and you know, this is always a juggling act. do you pay off debt? do you build savings? and normally, in most circumstances i talk about well, savings rates are 2%, amount owed on a mortgage is such that the interest rate on it is a
6:42 am
significant factor, 5-plus percent. why would i tell anybody, ever, to put money in savings instead of putting it towards the mortgage? normally i wouldn't. i would say put your extra dough towards your mortgage balance or any other high-interest rate debt. but we know there's a very specific goal here. same for you. if you have a goal you're trying to meet, relatively short-term, pop the money in savings instead of paying down debt. >> what's happening with you, jennifer? >> caller: well, we, my husband and i are purchasing a recreational vehicle. and from a private party. and the seller owes a little more on it than he's selling it for. our concern is that how we've never bought anything worth obviously been owed more on it. and so we talked to his bankth and they said that we could come into the bank, give him the money and then he will pay the
6:43 am
remainder at the bank and the bank will sign off the title to him and he would have to be obliged to send the title to us once they receive it. and we're just concerned because not doing this before, what's the best way to protect ourselves. >> what i have advised people in the past, and what is the normal procedure, is that you would pay the portion that you are to pay, with the check made out to the individual and to the bank that the money is owed to. but what is the most important thing for you to do is the bill of sale needs to be a thoroughly thought-out bill of sale. and in this case, the bill of sale would not only have the v.i.n. number of the rv, the brand name, the model year, almost a narrative following the initial things. and the bill of sale should have
6:44 am
two copies and the two copies should be signed by both you as the buyer and the seller involved. now you can do this face to face or no? >> yes. >> all right. what i recommend when you're doing it face to face is that you, the seller and a bank officer sitting down at the desk, doing all of this paperwork. at that time. i would put on the bill of sale, seller agrees to forward title by, you should designate a method like fedex or u.p.s., that the seller forward the title within, you should give a certain numb of days of when the title is received, with lien clear from the bank. and i would say within five days is a reasonable period of time for the seller to get out there and get to a fedex or u.p.s.
6:45 am
facility and send that to you. >> next on clark howard -- >> >> caller: can we possibly check or try to find out if these cores are worth anything? >> that's not an easy thing to do.
6:46 am
6:47 am
you can get tons more money-saving advice from me on the web. all you do is go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. you've got a question about your credit card, checking account, cars, houses? you name it, go to cnn.com/clarkhoward and that's also the address you visit if you might want me to be your money coach. upload a video telling your story or fill out the email form. so maybe you'll be a candidate on money coach. and you know what else is at cnn.com/clarkhoward? commentaries from me. >> i've got a website for you that's chock-a-block full of money-saving tips. it's cnnmoney.com and here's poppy harlo with some new info for you. >> rising unemployment is creating an interesting new trend. according to the census bureau, one of every eight people
6:48 am
between the age of 25 and 34 are moving back in with the parents. so, if your mom or dad and your kid has found their way back into the nest, cnnmoney.com has some tips on how you can deal with the situation. first of all, don't baby your babies, while your kid is looking for a job, charge some rent if they have any income and assign responsibilities around the house. and you can help your kid find a job by recommending of course, job search websites or helping them network with your friends. and also, suggesting they get a temp job while they're looking for a permanent one. and don't forget the exit strategy, make sure your child has put some money aside for moving expenses when they've found a job, so they can find their own home. you can find more of these tips at cnnmoney.com. it's right there in that story. now back to the show. hello, theresa, how are you doing? >> caller: hi, clark. my brother passed away about ten years ago. and he had some old coins in a safety deposit box.
6:49 am
so i'm trying to find out what is the best route, where can we possibly check or try to find out if these coins are worth anything? >> oh, that is not an easy thing to do. i'm going to give you how i would do it as a lay person. are you good on the web, theresa? >> caller: fairly good, yes. >> all right. there's a website called money.org. >> caller: okay. >> and it is the website of the coin people. and it's like the trade association for coin dealers. >> caller: okay. >> and they have some consumer information on it. but not, that's not really their market. but what is available on their website is information on where they're going to be coin shows. >> caller: okay. >> and i know a lot of people would say, why aren't i saying ebay, ebay. well, a lot of people do sell coins on ebay.
6:50 am
but you don't even have a feel for range of value. >> caller: that is true. >> but when there's a coin show, you can go with the coins you have from your late brother and you can go to coin dealers who are buying and selling these shows and are buying and selling at these shows and saying, okay, you want not for the collection, you want per coin, what is this? what's it worth? and you're not going to know from a single dealer what you've got. >> okay. >> but by the great thing about shoe leather at a show is you can go booth to booth to booth to booth and show what you've got and then see what value people offer you for it. and then you set in place a competitive marketplace. you can, at that point, get the cards of the people who seem to be on the up and up who gave you decent offers on your coins. >> mm-hmm. >> then you can go test the marketplace on ebay and see what people will pay you for
6:51 am
particular coins that may have turned out to have meaningful value. in the new credit card bill of rights, guess who was left out? small business owners. at the last minute, a provision was put in to the law or basically taken out that gave the credit card companies permission to do anything they want to if you have one of those business cards. now, remember with the business card as an entrepreneur, you also sign for personal responsibility. the worst of all possible worlds. because of this loophole in the law, what i recommend is that you turn your business cards in for personal cards. because you were liable any way. and then just pay the personal cards from your business. you could always do that. now it becomes extra smart. because then, you're protected by the new protections in the credit card law that otherwise you're left high and dry from. and do this quickly.
6:52 am
next on "clark howard." >> we were trying to figure out when she gets to jfk, if she should exchange money there -- >> no, no, no, no, no! >> and then if she should --
6:53 am
6:54 am
6:55 am
6:56 am
6:57 am
6:58 am
6:59 am

118 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on