Clark Biweekly 7 15 24

Author

Anthony Hazzard
July 15, 2024

Are you looking for a shorter commute? You may need to set your radius a little farther out. Think International. Find out more later in this email. 

💵 Today’s Top Stories
Costco

Costco is increasing membership fees for the first time since 2017! Here's everything you need to know. Read more.

Move

Willing to be a free agent for where you live? Get paid up to $15,000 to relocate to one of these places. Here’s how it works. Read more.

Vanguard

Vanguard’s Cash Deposit Account is similar to interest-paying cash management accounts at Fidelity and Schwab. How do the interest rates compare? Read more.

Tips

We’ve compiled years of money-saving strategies into one article. We’ll help you save on your internet, cell phone and steaming bills among other things. Read more.

Sling TV

Sling offers a FAST streaming option (free ad-supported streaming television). Find out what free content you can get by watching a few ads. Read more.

📣 Today’s Top News
🏠️ Today’s Current Mortgage Rates

According to Freddie Mac, 30-year mortgage rates are 6.89% and 15-year rates are 6.17% as of July 11, 2024. The following chart shows the 30-year mortgage rate trend over the last year.

🚗 Shortest Commutes By Country

Want a short commute to work? Try living in Europe.

AHTI Games researched daily commute times across the world. Don’t tell your friends who live in New York or Los Angeles. But the U.S. features one of the fastest average commutes in the world at just 26 minutes.

Here is the full top 10:

1. Denmark: 17 minutes
2. Sweden: 20 minutes
3. Switzerland: 24 minutes
4. Norway: 25 minutes
5. France: 25 minutes
6. United States: 26 minutes
7. Austria: 27 minutes
8. Netherlands: 28 minutes
9. Luxembourg: 29 minutes
10. Germany: 40 minutes

The same dataset revealed that the Swiss earn an average monthly salary of $6,150 on 35 hours of work a week. That’s $40.55 an hour. By comparison, U.S. workers don’t make nearly as much at $29.13 an hour.

If your commute is half an hour or less, consider yourself blessed. You’re in line with some of the fastest commutes in the world.

📊 Stat of the Day

🏊️ +72%: The increase in the average retail price of a new in-ground swimming pool in the United States from 2019 ($43,000) to 2023 ($74,000). But demand has slowed. Last month, Google searches for pools were the lowest of any June on record. Pool company stocks also dropped sharply at the end of June.

💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals
Woot
Amazon Prime
🎙️ Podcast

It’s time for "Clark Stinks!" Christa reads the latest "Clark Stinks!" submissions and Clark responds. Also, prescription drugs can be really expensive. Clark explains where he fills his prescription to save money – and the only reason he ever uses a pharmacy benefit manager.

☎️ 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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