Find out what’s on sale this month!
February 03, 2025 | Read Online | | | | Advertisement | | | 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 | | | Android phones, cruises and Valentine’s Day clearance sales are just a few of the things available at a discount right now. Read more. |
|
| | | Tax Day is coming. If you’re looking forward to getting money back from the IRS, here’s when you can expect your tax refund. Read more. |
|
| | | Here’s how to avoid sneaky fees, convert to local currency and ensure your credit cards work. Read more. |
|
| | | 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. | | Refi Info | Mortgage Refi Calculator | | 💸 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 | | | | | 🎙️ Podcast | | Full Show: Clark's Airbnb/VRBO Warning and Should You Buy a Car on Amazon? |
|
| 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. | | Advertisement | | | | | |
| | | | Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2025 Clark Howard, Inc. 1601 West Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA 30309, United States of America | | Terms of Service |
|
|
|
|
|
