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American Morning

Bargain Bonanza

Aired April 23, 2003 - 09:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: For a guy who made millions before the age of 31, Clark Howard knows an awful lot about pinching pennies. The best-selling author has been called America's money-saving expert. He's got a new book out. It's called "Clark's Big Book of Deals," and a bit earlier today, he shared some his latest money-saving advice for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Clark Howard, in New York City, great to see you here.

One of the points you make in your book is that it's not what you earn, it's what you spend.

CLARK HOWARD, AUTHOR, "CLARK'S BIG BOOK OF DEALS": Right, The measurement of wealth is know what your paycheck says; it's what you keep after your paycheck. So many times what do we do? We get our paycheck, and before it's even in our hands, it's gone.

HEMMER: Yes, but you need discipline for that, don't you?

HOWARD: Sure.

HEMMER: The other thing you make, though, the average American now owes more money than they earn in a year.

HOWARD: Never happened in American history. Didn't even happen in the depression. It's going everywhere. No, no, no plans. Do you know what those are? You want to furnish your house? What do you do? You go to a store. They say no down payment, no interest, for one year, right? So you go and you say, I'll get the living room, I'll get the bedroom, I'll get the den, I'll get kitchen furniture all at once. And then what happens?

HEMMER: You're stuck with a lot of debt.

HOWARD: A year later the no, no, nos over, and you're in big trouble, because you owe all the money. And that's the way we think today -- we're a nation of payment buyers.

HEMMER: A couple of things you point out in your book about how you think people can save money. You say go online to buy tires for your car.

HOWARD: Why not?

HEMMER: Tell me. HOWARD: The savings are unbelievable, not if you have like a typical sedan, like a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry, but we have so many unusual cars now, and if you go to a traditional tire store, they're not going to have the selection or the price you're going to get online.

HEMMER: You need to do the research, though, to get that done.

HOWARD: Incredible deals. The biggest seller is a place called tirerack.com. I don't know if you heard of them, but they're one of many who will sell you tires online and they tell you where you can get it installed. Put in your zip code, and they'll either ship the tires to a tire center, or deliver them to your house.

HEMMER: Tirerack.com. What about monthly service, long distance, using the telephone, always comes up in terms of how consumers can get better deals. You're finding out what right now?

HOWARD: Incredibly cheap deals. Well, first of all, with local phone service, there are so many offers now where you get the long distance thrown in for free. Right when MCI-Worldcom went into bankruptcy, now just called MCI, they offered a deal where it was called the neighborhood plan, where you get your local calling and your long-distance calling all thrown into one bundle, and the long distance costs nothing. Now one company after another after another are rolling out plans where long distance costs zero. You know, we can thank the cell phone companies for that.

HEMMER: Why is that?

HOWARD: Because they're the ones who said doesn't matter where you call, no roaming, no long distance. Now the traditional wired phone line is going that way, too.

HEMMER: You have a Web site too. Is it V-O-N-A-G-E?

HOWARD: Oh, Vonage, what a cool company, based in New Jersey. If you have DSL or cable modem, you can hook up phone service through the cable modem or DSL with a little teeny router. You get your dial tone. You can take your phone number from your local monopoly phone company, put in on Vonage, unlimited local and long distance calling, $39 a month.

HEMMER: Online. Prescription medication, you went through essentially three different types of drugs at three different drugstores.

HOWARD: Top ten.

HEMMER: CVS, Walgreens and Costco. You went through to antibiotics and Moxixylin (ph) -- what did you find out?

HOWARD: Huge differences in price with Moxixylin (ph). And there's something special about generics that I want you to know. When you are buying generic medicines, if you're near a Costco, that's the place to buy them, because Costco uses a different pricing method for generics than any other retailer. What they do is they mark up from the cost of a generic. Everybody else who sells pharmaceuticals marks down from the brand name. So let's say the brand number is $10, they might give 25 or 30 percent discount for the generic. Costco instead goes up from the cost, and so you pay a tenth of the price you would pay for it somewhere else, or a third.

HEMMER: Your jacket is something special, too, I understand.

HOWARD: Well, you like it?

HEMMER: Despite the fact that a lot of people think Clark Howard is just the cheapest man on the planet. This was expensive.

HOWARD: How much?

HEMMER: This was $69?

HEMMER: At where?

HOWARD: Sam's Club.

HEMMER: Camel hair?

HOWARD: Paid too much. Yes, look at that, 100 percent camel hair.

HEMMER: Good bargain shopping. Clark, thanks.

I understand you got a pretty good deal on a hotel in New York last night, too.

HOWARD: $75.

HEMMER: Keep shopping.

HOWARD: OK.

HEMMER: Good to see you.

HOWARD: Good to see you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired April 23, 2003 - 09:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: For a guy who made millions before the age of 31, Clark Howard knows an awful lot about pinching pennies. The best-selling author has been called America's money-saving expert. He's got a new book out. It's called "Clark's Big Book of Deals," and a bit earlier today, he shared some his latest money-saving advice for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Clark Howard, in New York City, great to see you here.

One of the points you make in your book is that it's not what you earn, it's what you spend.

CLARK HOWARD, AUTHOR, "CLARK'S BIG BOOK OF DEALS": Right, The measurement of wealth is know what your paycheck says; it's what you keep after your paycheck. So many times what do we do? We get our paycheck, and before it's even in our hands, it's gone.

HEMMER: Yes, but you need discipline for that, don't you?

HOWARD: Sure.

HEMMER: The other thing you make, though, the average American now owes more money than they earn in a year.

HOWARD: Never happened in American history. Didn't even happen in the depression. It's going everywhere. No, no, no plans. Do you know what those are? You want to furnish your house? What do you do? You go to a store. They say no down payment, no interest, for one year, right? So you go and you say, I'll get the living room, I'll get the bedroom, I'll get the den, I'll get kitchen furniture all at once. And then what happens?

HEMMER: You're stuck with a lot of debt.

HOWARD: A year later the no, no, nos over, and you're in big trouble, because you owe all the money. And that's the way we think today -- we're a nation of payment buyers.

HEMMER: A couple of things you point out in your book about how you think people can save money. You say go online to buy tires for your car.

HOWARD: Why not?

HEMMER: Tell me. HOWARD: The savings are unbelievable, not if you have like a typical sedan, like a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry, but we have so many unusual cars now, and if you go to a traditional tire store, they're not going to have the selection or the price you're going to get online.

HEMMER: You need to do the research, though, to get that done.

HOWARD: Incredible deals. The biggest seller is a place called tirerack.com. I don't know if you heard of them, but they're one of many who will sell you tires online and they tell you where you can get it installed. Put in your zip code, and they'll either ship the tires to a tire center, or deliver them to your house.

HEMMER: Tirerack.com. What about monthly service, long distance, using the telephone, always comes up in terms of how consumers can get better deals. You're finding out what right now?

HOWARD: Incredibly cheap deals. Well, first of all, with local phone service, there are so many offers now where you get the long distance thrown in for free. Right when MCI-Worldcom went into bankruptcy, now just called MCI, they offered a deal where it was called the neighborhood plan, where you get your local calling and your long-distance calling all thrown into one bundle, and the long distance costs nothing. Now one company after another after another are rolling out plans where long distance costs zero. You know, we can thank the cell phone companies for that.

HEMMER: Why is that?

HOWARD: Because they're the ones who said doesn't matter where you call, no roaming, no long distance. Now the traditional wired phone line is going that way, too.

HEMMER: You have a Web site too. Is it V-O-N-A-G-E?

HOWARD: Oh, Vonage, what a cool company, based in New Jersey. If you have DSL or cable modem, you can hook up phone service through the cable modem or DSL with a little teeny router. You get your dial tone. You can take your phone number from your local monopoly phone company, put in on Vonage, unlimited local and long distance calling, $39 a month.

HEMMER: Online. Prescription medication, you went through essentially three different types of drugs at three different drugstores.

HOWARD: Top ten.

HEMMER: CVS, Walgreens and Costco. You went through to antibiotics and Moxixylin (ph) -- what did you find out?

HOWARD: Huge differences in price with Moxixylin (ph). And there's something special about generics that I want you to know. When you are buying generic medicines, if you're near a Costco, that's the place to buy them, because Costco uses a different pricing method for generics than any other retailer. What they do is they mark up from the cost of a generic. Everybody else who sells pharmaceuticals marks down from the brand name. So let's say the brand number is $10, they might give 25 or 30 percent discount for the generic. Costco instead goes up from the cost, and so you pay a tenth of the price you would pay for it somewhere else, or a third.

HEMMER: Your jacket is something special, too, I understand.

HOWARD: Well, you like it?

HEMMER: Despite the fact that a lot of people think Clark Howard is just the cheapest man on the planet. This was expensive.

HOWARD: How much?

HEMMER: This was $69?

HEMMER: At where?

HOWARD: Sam's Club.

HEMMER: Camel hair?

HOWARD: Paid too much. Yes, look at that, 100 percent camel hair.

HEMMER: Good bargain shopping. Clark, thanks.

I understand you got a pretty good deal on a hotel in New York last night, too.

HOWARD: $75.

HEMMER: Keep shopping.

HOWARD: OK.

HEMMER: Good to see you.

HOWARD: Good to see you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com