This new tool shows the states with the most spam calls

A new interactive web page from the Federal Trade Commission aims to shed a little light on what’s become a huge problem in the United States: unwanted robocalls.

New FTC robocall tool shows who gets the most spam calls

The page, which the FTC says will be updated quarterly, let’s users see spam call statistics at the state and even county level. It also includes information on calls by type, by date and whether those calls were made by a machine or a live person. The statistics are based on complaints made from October 2016 to June 2019 to the National Do Not Call Registry about unwanted calls.

The Do Not Call Registry accepts numbers from both cell phones and landlines.

The page is interactive, so it’s worth spending some time poking around on it to see what you can discover. Here are some of the most interesting things Team Clark found:

• New Jersey had the most complaints per capita, with 7,609 complaints registered per 100,000 residents
• At the other end of the spectrum was Alaska with just 1,380 complaints per 100,000 residents
• States with the most complaints were concentrated in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and West
• Calls about reducing debt received the most complaints — nearly twice as many as the next category, medical and prescription calls
• Even though it may appear that the robocall problem is getting worse and worse, it appears that they may have peaked in the middle of 2017. Complaints were at their lowest point over the last few years in January of 2019

That may be in part because phone carriers appear to finally be getting serious about reducing the number of spam calls their customers are getting. The U.S. government has announced that it is working on measures to do the same.

If you want to prevent robocalls in your life, check out Team Clark’s guide to stop robocalls for good!

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Can freezing your credit hurt your credit score?

Anyone who follows money expert Clark Howard knows that his number one suggestion for keeping your finances safe from criminals is to freeze your credit.

A credit freeze, which is also sometimes called a security freeze, is a way of locking down your credit reports, which makes it nearly impossible for criminals to open new accounts in your name. This is because most creditors need to look at those reports in order to make the decision whether to extend you credit or not.

We here at Team Clark know that thousands of you have already frozen your credit or are considering it, in part because of all of the questions we get from people related to credit freezes. Chief among those questions is: “Can freezing my credit hurt my credit score?”

Does freezing your credit hurt your credit score?

Freezing your credit has no direct impact on your credit score. It certainly will not lower it. Indirectly, freezing your credit can actually help improve your credit score (or at least keep it from dropping) because it prevents unwanted credit lines from being opened in your name.

A credit freeze also does not “freeze” your credit score where it is. It will continue to rise and fall depending on how responsible you are with your credit.

What a credit freeze won’t do

There are some other important things that freezing your credit won’t have any affect on, according to the Federal Trade Commission:

• Freezing your credit won’t prevent you from getting your free annual credit report
• It won’t prevent you from opening new accounts yourself, applying for a job, renting an apartment, or getting insurance. However, to do any of these things you’ll need to temporarily lift the freeze and place it again when you’re finished accessing your credit. This is all free to do.
• Freezing a credit won’t stop criminals from accessing your existing accounts, so you’ll need to continue to keep a close eye on your statements for fraudulent activity.
• It won’t automatically stop you from getting pre-screened credit offers. If you’d like to opt out of those, see our guide here.

Final thought

When it comes to freezing your credit, there really isn’t any downside — and it certainly won’t impact your credit score.

Even lifting the freeze when you need to access your credit and freezing it again takes mere minutes — which is certainly worth it for the peace of mind you’ll having knowing that you’re protected from criminals who could ruin your financial life.

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Costco Tire Center: 5 things to know about before getting new tires

When you think of Costco, you probably don’t immediately think of tires — but maybe you should!

That’s because the warehouse club chain delivers members an exceptional tire-buying experience at its Costco Tire Centers across the country.

And the service doesn’t stop after the sale. Costco Tire Center has some great deals on maintenance, warranties and anything else you could need after you leave the parking lot.

Costco Tire Center: What you need to know about prices, appointments, warranties and more

When it’s time to buy new tires, there’s no lack of places you could go — from warehouse clubs to online tire merchants to discount tire shops to independent retailers and more.

But only one consistently delivers the best shopping experience and price when it comes to purchase, installation and lifetime service.

Table of contents

1. Costco beats all competitors on pricing

Costco will beat anyone on tire prices — hands down. Need proof? Just check out these numbers culled from nearly 50,000 Consumer Reports subscribers who bought tires recently.

Keep in mind that online sellers like Amazon and TireBuyer don’t provide or include installation in their quote!

The prices below reflect median price per tire when purchasing four tires at the same retailer. This number includes installation and balancing fees.

* N/A indicates that the sample size was too small to accurately calculate a median price.

Visit ConsumerReports.com to see the complete list with full rankings on more than 30 retailers.

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2. Scheduling a tire appointment is easy

When you’re ready to schedule an appointment, you can do it right at the warehouse or you can do it online.

The nice thing about making a Costco tire appointment is that you can get all your shopping done while the tire techs work on your vehicle!

3. Tire installation is a cut above the rest

Most garages will inflate your tires with compressed air when they install them. But not Costco. The warehouse club uses nitrogen instead.

“Nitrogen retains tire pressure better over time than compressed air, which can positively impact the life of your tires, as well as the fuel economy of your vehicle,” Costco notes online.

In addition, Costco installs new rubber valve stems when they service your tires. Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) valve stems and accessories are available for an additional charge.

Look for the penny installation deal

Another way you save money at Costco on tires is with the penny installation deal.

Every so often, Costco will discount select brands of tires by $70 to $80 off during different times of the year. Then, to sweeten the savings even more, they offer installation for just 1 penny per tire. That’s an additional savings of $60 right there!

“I buy my tires at Costco when they offer the double discount of penny installation and an additional incentive for using my Costco Visa card,” money expert Clark Howard notes.

However, one thing to note is that Costco will not do alignments when you get new tires. So you’ve got to factor that in if you’re thinking about purchasing Costco tires.

4. The 5-year road hazard warranty protects your wallet after installation

The warehouse club has got your back even after you leave the Costco Tire Center and hit the road. A five-year Road Hazard Warranty protects your wallet from tread wear damage and tire failure.

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That means Costco will repair or replace your tires if they’re damaged during standard legal vehicle operation. Of course, you’ve got to show your original receipt and keep up with standard maintenance like rotations, balancing, etc. for the warranty to apply.

But it’s nice to know you’re protected! You can read the fine print here.

5. Costco offers free lifetime maintenance services on tires

When you purchase and get your tires installed at a Costco Tire Center, you also get a lot of freebie maintenance services thrown in for the life of the tires:

• Free lifetime inflation pressure checks
• Free lifetime tire balancing
• Free tire rotations
• Free flat repairs

Final thought

By now you probably get the drift: Costco is a tremendous place to buy tires. In fact, we’ve included tires as the #1 thing on our list of items that will single-handedly pay for your Costco membership!

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