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- Best age to collect Social Security (8 25 25)
Best age to collect Social Security (8 25 25)
Sally McDonald
August 25, 2025
Today’s Sponsor
💵 Today’s Top Stories
 | Clark views Social Security as an insurance policy against longevity. How long do you have to live for Clark’s Social Security advice to pay off? Read more. |
 | Google introduces Flight Deals, its new AI-powered search tool. Skip the dates, destinations and filters and tell Google “10-day ski trip to a world-class resort with fresh powder.” Read more. |
Sponsor | Whether you dream of strolling European villages, relaxing on sun-soaked beaches, hiking breathtaking trails, or exploring vibrant cities, our newly released guide is packed with ideas to inspire your next chapter and resources to help you prepare. |
 | Until Aug. 28, new customers can get all kinds of bargains on US Mobile cell phone service. That includes unlimited high-speed data for a year for as low as $199. Read more. |
 | Here are Team Clark’s seven favorite business credit cards based on the bonus offers they award new customers. Also, Clark gives a warning about blindly obsessing over bonus offers. Read more. |
 | Tired of paying for hundreds of channels you never watch? Sling TV launched a new tier for just $20 a month. Find out what channels it includes, how to get local TV and if it’s the right fit for you. Read more. |
🏠️ Today’s Current Mortgage Rates
According to Freddie Mac, 30-year mortgage rates are 6.58% and 15-year rates are 5.69% as of August 21, 2025. The following chart shows the 30-year mortgage rate trend over the last year.
🚗 Avoid Buying Used Vehicles From Hertz Car Rental
You may or may not recall us telling you about Amazon’s foray into auto sales in this space on Dec. 16, 2024 (scroll past the story links).
Now Amazon is dabbling in used car sales.
Rental car company Hertz will begin selling some of its used vehicle inventory on Amazon. The program will start in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle with a plan to expand to 45 cities.
Is it a good idea? If you’re a Hertz shareholder … maybe. The company has posted seven consecutive quarterly losses. (That’s presumably one reason Hertz has rolled out the widely panned AI damage scanners, which have caused Clark to swear off renting from Hertz.)
The rental giant holds nearly 550,000 vehicles at present.
📊 Stat of the Day
🍼 $44,000: The median cost of sending one child to daycare for five years (one year of infant care, two years of toddler care and two years of preschool) in the United States. The median costs ranged from $24,000 (Wayne County, Kentucky) to $147,000 (Arlington County, Virginia).
💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals
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🎙️ Podcast
It’s time for "Clark Stinks!" Christa reads the latest "Clark Stinks!" submissions and Clark responds. Also, you may have noticed electronic shelf labels at the supermarket. Is this a trick to make us pay more? Surprisingly not! Find out how this new technology helps stores fight food waste, why you can expect to see prices go down instead of up, and how it could even fix that annoying problem of the price at the shelf not matching the price at the register.
☎️ Need Money Help?
The Team Clark Consumer Action Center is a free helpline that can help you navigate your money questions. Call 636-492-5275. Visit clark.com/cac for more information.
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