7.26.19 The app stores are ripping people off; Clark Stinks
The app Tinder has changed the way you pay for its services because Google Play charges apps a WAY too much money; Christa reads listener posts about how Clark has missed the mark in his advice this week. If you have a "Clark Stinks" to share you can leave it here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Read more
It’s that time of year when back-to-school sales abound. If you’re looking for school supplies, it’s time to do some shopping.
Two of America’s favorite stores — Walmart and Target — are competing for your back-to-school dollar. But who’s cheaper?
Since the stores offer many of the same items, I decided to conduct a price comparison to find out which one is friendlier to your wallet.
Team Clark’s price comparison between Walmart and Target looked at more than 50 items, but we narrowed it down to 12 items that were exact matches only.
Take a look at the findings…
Sharpie Black Permanent Marker, 10 Count
$7.99 $5.97 Ticonderoga Pencils, 30 Count $5.99 $5.97 Typing Paper, 500 Sheets $3.99 $4.47 Crayola Marker, 10 Count $2.39 $2.97 Crayola Construction Paper, 240 Sheets $4.99 $4.96 Total $56.10 $56.79 Price comparison conducted week of July 23, 2019One main theme in this price war between the retailers is that they are very keen on offering the same or similar products packaged in totally different ways. For the best deal, you have to read the labels carefully.
For example: Target has a five-pack of Expo markers labeled as “4 + 1” for $4.49. Meanwhile, Walmart offers a 4-count with two extra markers in it for $4.46. That’s six markers labeled as four!
In many other cases, prices between the two stores are just a few pennies different.
Of course, other things that could affect the total price — like rebate apps, coupons and cash back credit cards — were not accounted for in this price comparison.
Want to save money on back-to-school supplies? Make a list of items that you’ll most likely need and do your own price comparison. Don’t hesitate to use Google Shopping and other online tools to help you find great prices.
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Do you prefer to shop at Walmart or Target? Let us know why in the comments below!
Visit any Kohl’s department store now and you’ll be able to return items bought on Amazon, thanks to a new partnership between the retailers.
The initiative, called Amazon Returns at Kohl’s, aims to make the return process simpler for customers.
In the spring, the retailer announced that the Amazon returns initiative would begin in July, just in time for Amazon Prime Day, which is rapidly approaching.
“Amazon Returns at Kohl’s is now available in all of Kohl’s more than 1,150 stores nationwide — including more than 21 stores in the Atlanta area,” Kohl’s spokeswoman Michelle Anderson tells Team Clark.
“Customers can now visit their local Kohl’s store and return eligible Amazon items, without a box or label — it’s free and easy!”
Amazon says that when you return an item, you may see different return options depending on the seller, item, or reason for return. Here’s how to return an Amazon item at Kohl’s:
On your desktop computer, you can click here to get to Amazon Return Center . You’ll have to choose an item to return, as well as a reason for the return.
When you get to the recommended dropoff locations, you should see a Kohl’s option.
Disclaimer: This writer didn’t, but when I reached back out to Kohl’s, the spokeswoman said that it should be there. You’ll have to see if it works in your individual account.
Once you choose Kohl’s as a dropoff location, you’re all done on the site. Amazon will email you a QR code that you will need to present to the Kohl’s cashier.
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Bring your returned item to your local Kohl’s store and show them your QR code. Kohl’s will handle the rest from there!
Easy enough? With returns now a breeze, you’re “primed” for some shopping. Here’s everything you need to know about Prime Day 2019.
His name is synonymous with being cheap. But do you really know all the ways Clark Howard stretches a buck in his everyday life?
RELATED: Clark’s Cash Challenge: 5 steps to save more money in 30 days
When everything is $1, how can you go wrong? Clark has been a fan of dollar stores for a long time.
That means buying everything from toiletries to greeting cards to $1 steaks at true dollar stores like Dollar Tree and 99 Cents Only stores.
“My poor wife has not gotten a card from me that was more than a dollar in all the time I think we’ve been together,” Clark admits.
See a list of Clark’s favorite dollar store buys here.
Clark’s longtime mantra is that he’s always willing to accept lower quality for a lower price. Hence his deep appreciation for dollar stores!
Just about the only instance where he won’t accept lower quality for a lower price is with both home insurance and auto insurance.
“While [a cheaper] premium might be tempting, you want to be sure your insurer is there for you when the chips are down,” the money expert says.
Another one of Clark’s favorite stores is the warehouse club Costco. When he’s walking the concrete floors, he looks for anything that ends in 97 cents — as in $3.97 or $199.97.
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The 97 is like a secret code at Costco. Whenever you see a price that ends in 97 cents, it means the item is being sold below cost. Now that’s a real deal!
See a list of secret codes at other retailers here.
Clark never pays for extended warranties. Instead, he gets the same protection they offer and more for free!
How does he do it?
Many credit card issuers will double the manufacturer’s original warranty up to one additional year if you use their card to make your purchase. Check with your card issuer to see if this is among the benefits your card or cards have.
Here’s a funny story: Not too long ago, Clark was at the regional hamburger chain Krystal which was running a ‘5 for $5′ menu special. But if a menu item is regularly less than a buck, bundling it into this deal is actually no deal at all.
Such was the case with the mini Krystal burger that normally sold for 79 cents. So Clark just asked the cashier to ring his five burgers up at the standard price of 79 cents each, not the ”˜deal price’ of five for $5.
He wound up paying only $3.95 plus tax, not the $5.40 he normally would have paid if he was rung up with the ‘5 for $5’ pricing.
Clark loves snatching up the savings of 75% to 90% at thrift stores, particularly on men’s formal clothing.
“I’m fond of picking up dress clothes at secondhand shops and have bought a few pieces of used formal men’s wear for between $1 and $7 a piece. They’re usually in great shape because few men dress up for work anymore,” the money expert says.
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Clark’s #1 rule of cheap travel is something a lot of people aren’t willing to do. But for him, it’s a no-brainer.
“It’s really pretty simple: I don’t pick a destination that I have to go to. I wait for a deal somewhere, buy the deal and then figure out why I want to go there,” he says.
“By following that simple rule, I’ve been able to visit every continent except Antarctica and every state except North Dakota. And I’ve done it all on a dime.”
If you want to be like Clark, you can use Kayak Explore. You select how much you’re willing to pay, and then available destinations in your price range pop up on a world map.
Clark’s secret for getting the cheapest rental car rates start with booking a vehicle at the time he books air travel. Then one week before the trip, he checks the rates again to see if he can grab a better deal at a lower price.
Car rental fees are completely refundable, so he doesn’t lose anything if he cancels the original booking.
“You can end up cutting the cost of a rental car by half or more by re-shopping it the week of your trip,” Clark says.
Find more of Clark’s advice on saving money and avoiding rental car ripoffs here.
Rather than paying baggage fees, Clark travels only with what an airline permits free as a single carry-on. With bag fees topping $75 on some airlines under certain circumstances, following this advice can be a huge money-saver.
“Another plus is that I never worry about the airline losing my baggage,” Clark says.
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The penny-pincher abhors paying for parking. But you follow his lead on this advice at your own risk; his insistence on finding free street parking has backfired on him more than a few times.
“I often park in questionable areas where I can find free parking. My reward for being that cheap? Five smash-and-grabs through the years that have required me to replace the car window each time. I could have paid for a lot of parking at that rate. In fact, I’ve had vehicles broken into in four countries — Holland, Spain, Canada and here at home — because of my insistence on free parking.”
Clark says he once refused to pay $1 for parking in Appleton, Wisconsin, and went looking for free parking instead. Well, he wound up getting a $25 parking ticket when he violated an ordinance that didn’t allow parking from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. in the whole city of Appleton!
Another time, his parked rental car was crushed by falling debris when he opted for free street parking in Manhattan!
So, feel free to ignore this last tip if you are so inclined…
If you’re a dedicated brand-name shopper, your weekly supermarket haul is about to get more expensive.
Consumer packaged goods giants like Church & Dwight, Clorox, Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble have all recently pushed through price increases on their household staples like toilet paper, laundry supplies, cat litter and more.
But there are ways to beat the price hikes…
RELATED: How to claim up to $40 in the Canada Dry Ginger Ale settlement
Last year, we told you how Procter & Gamble pushed through price increases on some of your favorite brands for the second time in just a year. But they were far from alone. Kimberly-Clark also moved to raise prices and shrink package sizes after P&G’s announcement.
Now, within the past week, both Church & Dwight and Clorox have announced new price increases to Wall Street analysts.
According to the Wall Street Journal, there are three factors behind the price increases: Higher costs of raw materials, increased transportation expenses and the difficulty of managing foreign-currency swings when these companies do business internationally.
Here’s a look at a some items that you’ve probably noticed higher prices on — or will soon:
Even warehouse club shoppers are feeling the effects of the price push. One Costco shopper in New Jersey told the Wall Street Journal that he’s seen prices on Charmin and Bounty products go up to around $23 this year from under $18 last year.
Ditto for Glad trash bags, which are selling at his warehouse club for $19, up from normally being under $15.
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The solution? Buy the store brand. At Costco, that means buying Kirkland Signature. But almost every retailer from dollar stores to big-box stores has private labels that can save you money.
Just because manufacturers are trying to pass the bill on to you doesn’t mean you have to pay it.
Here’s how to save money on your favorite brands:
These apps make it easy to determine if there’s a manufacturer’s coupon or rebate available for the product you want to buy:
iBotta
iBotta is an app that pays you through cash back rebates you can earn before you shop. Once you download the app, you’ll want to look for deals you like. Once you do, you can ‘qualify’ for the deal by clicking on the deal, watching a video or filling out a survey.
Checkout 51
Checkout 51 works in a similar fashion to iBotta. Just download the app, browse hundreds of offers within the app, select an offer, go shopping, upload your receipt and earn cash back!
Coupons.com
This app provides a simple way to select all the coupons you want at the tap of a button, and allows you to print them from your phone or simply save them to scan at the store. Browse by featured deals, grocery, shopping and nearby, or search for exactly the brand or store you’re looking for.
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Talk to your store’s manager and find out where they keep the clearance items. Many stores will have a dedicated rack or shelf. It’s also helpful to know when new stock is added to the clearance rack or aisle.
If you’re first to find it, you can score some real deals!
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card offers 6% cash back on groceries, up to a max of $6,000 annually.
But there are two caveats here: First, the card has a $95 annual fee you should know about. Second, you must be sure you pay your bill in full each and every month — or else you’ll rack up more interest charges than you’ll receive in cash back.
