Clark Biweekly 2 3 25

Author

Anthony Hazzard
February 03, 2025

Have you ever stopped and wondered where your money goes? Later in this email, we will provide a breakdown of how much the average American spends per year by category. 

💵 Today’s Top Stories
Insurance

The idea of umbrella insurance is nice, especially if you have money. “Protect yourself against anything your other policies don’t cover.” But what do you actually get? And does Clark like these? Read more.

Retirement Account

Here’s the median retirement savings for every age group – and some examples of couples starting to save for retirement at 40 and 50 years old and still banking millions. Read more.

Credit

“You’re crazy” if you’re obsessed with getting a credit score in the 800s, Clark says here’s the real credit score number you should target. Read more.

Cloud storage computer

Your phone can only hold so many photos and videos before it runs out of memory. Luckily, you can also use these free cloud services. Read more.

cell phone

Prepaid cell phone plans can save you hundreds of dollars per year. Here’s how they’re different and some of Team Clark’s favorite options. Read more.

🏠️ Today’s Current Mortgage Rates

According to Freddie Mac, 30-year mortgage rates are 6.95% and 15-year rates are 6.12% as of January 30, 2025. The following chart shows the 30-year mortgage rate trend over the last year.

💸 How Average Americans Spend Money

Do you know how much money you spent in the last year – and how your spending breaks down by category?

Whether you use a free or paid budgeting software, an Excel file or an old-school pencil and paper, it’s probably a good idea to know where your money is going.

If you’ve already done so, you may be interested to compare your spending to the average American.

Visual Capitalist recently put together a pie chart of the average American’s annual expenditures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditures Survey in 2023.

The average total spend: $77,280.

Here’s every specific category on which Americans spend at least $1,000 per year on average:

Housing: $25.4K
Transportation: $13.2K
Personal Insurance & Pensions: $9.6K
Healthcare: $6.2K
Food At Home: $6.1K
Food Away From Home: $3.9K
Entertainment: $3.6K
Cash Contributions: $2.4K
Apparel & Services: $2.0K
Education: $1.7K

📊 Stat of the Day

🪙 3.7 cents: The U.S. taxpayer cost of minting a penny. That’s due in part to the rising cost of zinc and copper, used to make the pennies. With the U.S. Mint circulating billions of pennies a year, there’s some renewed discussion about whether the U.S. should eliminate the penny.

💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals
Gift
Home Depot
🎙️ Podcast

Short-term rental sites like Airbnb and VRBO can be great resources for travel planning, but serious issues can occur. Clark explains what to do if things go wrong at your next rental. Also, buying a car today is very different from the past. There are some new ways to go about it, including buying a vehicle on Amazon. Plus, Clark shares shady new tactics some dealers are using that are dangerous to your wallet.

☎️ 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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