Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Dollars & Deals: Spending Your Tax Refund

Aired July 11, 2003 - 06:19   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well he's the man who knows everything when it comes to saving you money, and he's back for "Dollars & Deals." And we're excited about the return of our consumer advocate, Clark Howard. He's been on the road promoting his best selling book, "Clark's Big Book of Bargains."
Well this morning, Clark has some advice on what to do with that tax refund check millions of you will be getting in the mail later on in the month.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARK HOWARD, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: This morning's question is from Chip in Lyons, Illinois.

Chip, you're looking forward to getting your tax refund check in the mail in just a few weeks. You want to know should you pay off bills, invest in the stock market or spend the money and try to help the nation recover?

Well, I want your finances to recover first and that will certainly help the nation. The most valuable use you can make of your tax refund check is to use that money to ditch your credit card debt. Nobody ever got rich paying any credit card company any interest at all, even if you're at 4.9 or 6.9 percent, one of those great deals. It's not really that great a deal because you're paying a lot more out than you could earn somewhere else.

So take your money, pay off those credit cards. And then you know what I need you to do? Those credit cards, I need for you to either stop using them or only charge to credit cards what you can afford to pay off each and every month. That's the right way to use credit. And what's really exciting, 40 percent of the American people now are using credit cards that way.

So you take that tax refund, put it to immediate great use for you, you'll smile the next time your credit card bill come in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, 40 percent are being smart about their credit card bills. That's big news.

Well Clark will be back next Friday with more "Dollars & Deals." And you can e-mail us your consumer questions. Just visit our Web site at CNN./ -- .com, rather, /DAYBREAK. I'm sorry about that.

In the meantime, you can get Clark's money saving tips on the Web. The address is ClarkHoward.com.

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 July 11, 2003 - 06:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well he's the man who knows everything when it comes to saving you money, and he's back for "Dollars & Deals." And we're excited about the return of our consumer advocate, Clark Howard. He's been on the road promoting his best selling book, "Clark's Big Book of Bargains."
Well this morning, Clark has some advice on what to do with that tax refund check millions of you will be getting in the mail later on in the month.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARK HOWARD, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: This morning's question is from Chip in Lyons, Illinois.

Chip, you're looking forward to getting your tax refund check in the mail in just a few weeks. You want to know should you pay off bills, invest in the stock market or spend the money and try to help the nation recover?

Well, I want your finances to recover first and that will certainly help the nation. The most valuable use you can make of your tax refund check is to use that money to ditch your credit card debt. Nobody ever got rich paying any credit card company any interest at all, even if you're at 4.9 or 6.9 percent, one of those great deals. It's not really that great a deal because you're paying a lot more out than you could earn somewhere else.

So take your money, pay off those credit cards. And then you know what I need you to do? Those credit cards, I need for you to either stop using them or only charge to credit cards what you can afford to pay off each and every month. That's the right way to use credit. And what's really exciting, 40 percent of the American people now are using credit cards that way.

So you take that tax refund, put it to immediate great use for you, you'll smile the next time your credit card bill come in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, 40 percent are being smart about their credit card bills. That's big news.

Well Clark will be back next Friday with more "Dollars & Deals." And you can e-mail us your consumer questions. Just visit our Web site at CNN./ -- .com, rather, /DAYBREAK. I'm sorry about that.

In the meantime, you can get Clark's money saving tips on the Web. The address is ClarkHoward.com.

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