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Best Costco shopping secrets (4 23 24)
Anthony Hazzard
April 23, 2024
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Are you hit with property tax increases? Find out what happened to Clark later on in this email.
šµ Todayās Top Stories
 | Team Clark knows a thing or two about Costco. We reveal new ways for you to save money at Clarkās favorite store. Read more. |
 | One in seven people have money sitting in a database waiting to be claimed. Here are free ways to check if any of these billions belong in your bank account. Read more. |
 | Boeing has made all sorts of negative headlines recently. Should that affect a personās decision to take a lump sum or monthly payout? And how does the math work regardless? Read more. |
 | If you have financial dependents, you probably need life insurance. But how much coverage is appropriate? Hereās Clarkās rule and some personal factors to consider. Read more. |
 | If you invest via one of the accounts Ascensus is buying from Vanguard, what should you think? Clark shares his take. Read more. |
š ļø Clark Hit With Property-Tax Reality
Count your blessings if you owned a home prior to the onset of COVID-19. Right?
After all, if you have a mortgage, you almost certainly have a rate that looks wonderful today. And your home likely has gone way up in value in the last five years.
The problem: those excellent interest rates can act as golden handcuffs. So there may not be a way for you to realize the value increase in a spendable way.
But your property taxes almost certainly are on the rise. Thatās in addition to a wild few years of homeowners insurance premium increases.
Clark typically shrugs off these property tax increases. He hires a firm, appeals the increase and always gets some sort of reduction. Not this time.
āI lost flat-out. The first time ever that I didnāt win some kind of reduction in the value of the property,ā Clark says. āSo now I owe a back-tax bill during the appeal period. And moving forward I owe a lot more tax each year.ā
Christa, Clarkās podcast producer, also lost an appeal. But thatās probably par for the course. Home values have gone up a lot. Therefore property taxes will as well.
Home prices rose 40.8% in the last four years vs. just 21.6% for property taxes. Many states cap how much property taxes can rise each year, excluding rental properties and second homes.
Know that you can appeal, as Clark explains on the April 15 podcast episode. But itās likely a trend that will affect you if you own a home.
š Stat of the Day
š§ 18%: The decline in 24-hour restaurants from 2020 to 2024. Itās becoming a tough world if you are hungry in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Waffle House remains open 24/7.
š°ļø Deal Alert: Todayās Top Deals
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šļø Podcast
Clark recently talked about auto insurers and manufacturers spying on us. We have an update on that story ā and a new twist. A recent report discovered that home insurers are spying on us ā potentially every single day of the year. There are key things you need to know if this is happening to you! Also, some colleges cost more than $100,000/year. Why is education so expensive?ā
āļø 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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