Clark Howard’s Never, Ever Rules (at least some of them. they all are worth pondering)
1. Never buy travel insurance from the trip provider. Travel insurance provides a full or partial refund in the case of illness or death of a member of the traveling party or close relative. It can also provide coverage if a cruise, tour operator or airline defaults and in several other cases, depending on the policy. He suggests going to https://www.insuremytrip.com/ where you can compare different travel insurance companies and offerings. You must understand what is covers and doesn’t cover. You don’t need it for every trip. Cruises as well as flights can be covered.
2. Never hire a fiduciary or financial planner who is paid on commission. Instead use one who prepares a plan for a flat fee.
3. Never pay an advance deposit with cash or a debit card. If there is a dispute or default or fraud, you will likely not get your money back without a fight. Maybe not even then. Use a credit card to pay deposit as banking laws provide must more in consumer protection in case there is a problem. An additional bonus is that credit cards often give you a percent credit/discount while debit cards do not. Debit cards should only be used to withdraw cash from a trusted ATM.
4. Never put your prescription drugs in your checked luggage. Carry them in a bag that you keep with your. Sometimes baggage is misrouted and does not arrive with you on a flight. It may take a day or two to catch up with you. You might also carry a change of clothes and personal electronics on board too.
5. Never buy a CD from a big bank. Instead, go to brokerages like Schwab, Fidelity or Vanguard which offer more competitive rates.
6. Never exchange money at airports – that is of course if you like poor exchange rates. Wait until you get to your destination to make an exchange at a bank. Most of us today don’t really need to carry too much cash since cards are almost universally accepted. Check into your bank’s cards that don’t charge for foreign currency exchanges.
7. Never invest with a bank. Look at brokerage houses like Schwab, Fidelity or Vanguard which offer more competitive rates. Do your homework and compare. Maybe do your own trading if you are sufficiently knowledgeable and under risk.
8. Never talk rudely to customer service even if you feel that the service is poor. If you have a beef, ask for a supervisor or look at the company’s webpage and contact them directly with your complaint or even write them the old fashioned way.
9. Never trade in your vehicle on which you still owe money. If the dealer is unethical, they may accept your car and not pay off the loan and you are stuck with paying it. The dealer has no legal obligation for your loan. Or the dealer might roll the balance of the loan into a new loan for the new car. Now you have a huge debt to pay. If you are ready to trade in your car, go to credit unions and secure financing before you go to the dealership as the credit unions generally have better rates. Do everything you can to pay off that loan before your buy a new car.
10. Never click on a link in a text or email. Basically that’s true. The exceptions are that you are talking to a company that you know and then they send a message for you to click to confirm who you are. If you did not originate the conversation, then it is very risky to click on links from texts or emails. Even ones that look legit (AI is making this harder to detect), it’s best to be very cautious/suspicious. Call the sender and ask why are you getting this if you did not ask for it.
Visit Clark Howard at https://clark.com/ for more advice on finance and other topics.