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Notes on Get Clark Smart: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Rich from America's Money-Saving Expert by Clark Howard

Cars

• buying cars
  • look at cars when the dealership is closed to avoid pushy salespeople
  • rent a car for a day or two to test drive it thoroughly
  • discuss a trade-in only after negotiating the purchase of a car
  • by selling your vehicle yourself, you'll get a price about halfway between average trade-in and average retail
  • finance for 48 months or less or you can eventually end up owing more than the car is worth
  • pay $20 for a report on used cars from www.carfax.com
• car repairs
  • don't authorize any other work besides oil-changing at oil-change shops
  • write "estimate only" or "I authorize repairs up to _____." on work tickets
  • check www.alldata.com to see if your car is prone to any problems
  • take car to a reputable mechanic once a year or every 15K miles
  • beware of specialty repair shops, particularly brake and muffler shops
  • don't rely on famous name repair shops, the parent company may not accept reponsiblity for the francishe's actions
  • don't allow a tow truck to dictate what shop you get towed to
• auto accidnets
  • wait for a police report before driving off
  • exchange information & get witnesses' contact information
  • report it to your insurance company even if not filing a claim & if the other driver was at fault, contact their insurance company also
  • if fault is in dispute, file the claim with your company and let the two fight it out
  • ask for a comparable rental car during repairs
  • insist on a lifetime warranty if at the insurer's preferred shop
  • don't accept the company's first estimate if the car is totalled, check comparable value online

Money

• investing
  • priority one should be funding retirement
  • consider several investment vehicles for retirement savings:
    • 401k plan
    • Roth IRA
    • IRA
    • Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)
    • Simple IRA

Investing Priorities

1. put money into 401k to the maximum your employer matches
2. put $3,000 each year into a Roth IRA

Real Estate

• buying real estate
  • make an offer on a home contingent on tis passing an inspection by an inspector of your choice and contingent on your ability to get financing at or below a set interest rate
  • get an owner's title insurance policy that covers you, not the lender, if your ownership is successfully challenged
  • hire a real estate attorney to review the closing papers and, if you're buying a hosue still under construction, to draft or review the purchase contract
  • before you buy a house, try your commute to work during rush hour
  • learn about the area surrounding a potential purchase, including the potential for new roads or development
  • look at a property while it's raining to see how water flows across it & look for signs of poor drainage and danger of flooding
  • buy a house that's fundamentally sound, in construction and materials, even if it doesn't have the latest, greatest design features
  • when buying a used home, it's important to put at least $50 a month into a repair fund
• selling real estate
  • when selling yourself, always specify on the sign that brokers or agents are welcome to protect yourself from agents steering clients away from your home because you're not paying commission
  • interview a number of real estate agents and preferably deal with one who sells a lot in your neighborhood
  • ask an agent for a detailed, written sales plan for marketing your home
  • limit listing time with an agent to 3 months or negotiate a fee to get out of listing after three months
  • listen to every offer and always make a counteroffer
  • prepare to sell: house should be clean, bright, uncluttered, and uncrowded
• refinancing
  • insist on a good-faith estimate of the costs up front, before you give the lender a penny
• mortgages
  • avoid paying private mortgage insurance by taking an 80% first mortgage and a 10-15% second mortgage
• being a landlord
  • manage it as if it were a business; set rent that's fair for the market, not based on mortgage payment
  • require prospective tenants to fill out an application, pay an application fee, and give you permission to pull a copy of their credit report
  • make the security deposit a little higher or lower than, but no the same as, a month's rent
  • include a repair clause that makes the tenant responsible for the first $50 cost of any repair; to do this, you may have to charge a little less in rent
  • provide a $25 to $50 discount for early rent payment
  • do a move-in inspection and move-out inspection of the property to protect yourself in case you have to keep part or all of the security deposit to cover damage

Miscellaneous

• homeowners insurance
  • raise your deductible to $1,000 or $2,500. You'll pay less in premiums, but more important, you'll reduce therisk that your insurer will cancel your coverage because you made too many claims
  • ask your agent what documentation you need to substantiate a claim in case of theft or fire; consider videotape
• long distance calling
  • consider calling cards from warehouse clubs
• travel
  • be ready to buy tickets when there's a great deal available, then figure out a reason you want to go
  • for hotels, check the hotel web sites and the independent travel sites, but look in USA Today and The Wall Street Journal first for specials deals that require a special code number
  • try renting the smallest car available in hopes of being upgraded due to availability
• inventions
  • nonprofit inventors' clubs, which can be found in many cities, also are excellent for sharing ideas and providing encouragement