Is it worth it to use an ATM machine that requires you to pay a fee to both the owner of the machine and to your bank? In the past, people didn’t see these fees as any big deal. The convenience of having money in hand made people overlook the fees. But today, people are fed up. The number of transactions per ATM machine have fallen by about two-thirds. There are more machines out there, but the number of transactions have declined by 30 to 40 percent in the past few years. As a result, banks are offering discounts on the fees. Clark saw one when he was in Montana recently. There was a sign on the ATM that said, “99 cent ATM fee,” which is less than the typical $2. If you need money desperately, try to go to an ATM that is offering a discount. But if you can avoid it all together, that is your best bet. Paying fees at an ATM is like throwing money into the wind. There is no benefit for you. Just train yourself to get money often, not on the spur of the moment. When you see your bank's ATM, stop and get money, even if you don’t need it right away.
You’ve probably heard about all of the Wall Street mutual fund scandals, so you may be nervous about a commissioned salesperson talking about your retirement. But there are other alternatives out there. You can invest in commission-free investments that help you meet your retirement goals on automatic pilot. You don’t need a commissioned salesperson at all. Three of the finest investment houses in the country are competing for you business. There are: Fidelity, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price. In each organization’s case, you pick a date for when you want to retire, and the company does the work for you. Fidelity’s auto pilot program is called the “Freedom Fund,” Vanguard calls its the “Target Retirement Fund” , and T. Rowe Price’s is the “Target Date Retirement Fund.” And these companies change your mix of investments over the years based on how old you were when you started the account. As you near your retirement date, the choices get more conservative and less risky. So, they do the homework for you and it’s a one-stop shop. That’s not to say there is no risk at all. But if you’re okay leaving your money in the hands of these well-respected companies, it will cost you very little in fees and the return is likely to be a nice one.
The fact that we have to depend on other countries for energy is an Achilles Heel. There is a lot of vulnerability in our nation’s defense as a result of it. And in certain ways we in the United States are behaving like a third world country when it comes to energy. If you haven’t experienced a blackout, you may not understand. But for Californians, things are shaky at best. Residents there experience blackouts all the time, and Governor Arnold schwarzenegger is trying to come up with a strategy to fix the problem. People just want it to go away, so they have complained about the governor getting involved. But something needs to change in this area, and Clark is glad Arnold is being proactive. And, as individuals, there is a lot you can do in your home. First of all, you need to have a plan. When there is a power outage, you need flashlights and batteries on hand. Non-perishable food is also a must, as is educating your kids about what to do and not to do when outages occur.
Rollover accidents make up three percent of all accidents in the United States, yet they represent one-third of all fatalities. You can look at safecar.gov to see more statistics. But if you are at all familiar with physics, you know that the higher the center of gravity, the greater the chance an item will keep turning if tipped or set off balance. Trying to keep the vehicle from flipping is next to impossible. Clark expects the automobile industry to come up with a deterrent because they make more money off SUVs than any other vehicle, and they’re losing money as people learn about their dangers. In positive car news, more people are wearing seatbelts these days. In states where seat belt use is strictly enforced, fatality rates have declined significantly. About 60 percent of people killed in crashes are not wearing a seat belt. So, it’s clearly in your favor to wear a seat belt. If you are among the one in five Americans who don’t wear a seat belt, think about the family members you will never see again if you are involved in an accident.
Do you use your vacation time? As we near the end of summer, it’s amazing to learn how many people have not taken any time off. Americans take less time off than any other country except for Korea. On the other end of the spectrum is Europe. Europeans are usually out of work about nine weeks, when you add vacation and sick time. That seems like a lot. Maybe we need to find a happy medium. GM has a program that allows workers to buy additional time off. Instead of getting paid while they’re off, workers pay GM. It’s $175 a day, and apparently the employees think it’s worth it. Almost 70 percent bought an additional week. Clark thinks it’s essential to take time off work, not only because it clears your head but it also makes people better workers. If you are not getting around to schedule your vacation, think about having no more days left to take a vacation. Then, maybe you’ll get on the ball.
Do you have a credit card that gives you bonuses? There are some amazing things coming in the credit card business over the next 24 months for people who pay their credit cards in full. People are applying for cash reward cards because they offer such good deals. And now more people will be able to acquire American Express cards more easily. To give some background, banks haven’t had a choice about which credit card they can offer you. It’s been either Visa or MasterCard. But now, because of an anti-trust case headed for the Supreme Court, Amex is about to break the Visa/MasterCard monopoly. So, if you pay your bills in full every month, you will hit the sweet spot with credit card offers. Visa is in such fear of Amex that the company is promoting a premium program known as the “Signature Program” that competes with some of Amex’s premiere programs. So, over the next year, open up the credit card offers coming in the mail. They could be worth it. Clark prefers the cash reward cards, which offer you between 1 and 1.5 percent cash back on your purchases. If you are able to redeem airline rewards often, you are better off with airline cards. But you have to be flexible because airlines have so many rules with those deals. With cash, there are no rules. If you’re not getting anything in return and you pay your bills in full, you are losing out. You could be making easy money.
