Clark Howard

Netflix is going to be more expensive for all cord cutters in 2025.

In a letter to shareholders, the streaming TV giant announced on January 21 that it enjoyed a terrific earnings report for the final quarter of 2024.

And what do we get as a reward as customers? A price increase, of course.

Amid the talk of profits and growth, Netflix also announced it will be raising prices for each of its subscription tiers.

“As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix,” Netflix wrote in that letter. “To that end, we are adjusting prices today across most plans in the US, Canada, Portugal and Argentina.”

Let’s take a look at the details.

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Netflix Announces 2025 Subscription Price Increase

Like it or not, Netflix is going to be more expensive in 2025.

All three of Netflix’s subscription tiers will be impacted, with existing customers most likely feeling the pain on their next billing cycle. New customers should see the new pricing upon signup. I checked the website, and they’re already advertising the increased prices.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the changes.

So, it appears that “Standard” customers are hit the hardest with a $2.50 per month increase. That means subscribers will pay approximately $30 more per year for the same product.

It’s worth noting that those who share a “Standard” account will also be charged an additional $1 per month to add a member. This option, which was given after Netflix cracked down on password sharing, has increased from $7.99 to $8.99 per month.

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Why This Is Happening

As you might expect, Netflix gave the same canned answer most streaming services give when they increase their prices: The cost of providing content to consumers has gone up.

However, in the case of Netflix, there is a case to be made that they are expanding their options for viewers beyond the world of on-demand TV series and movies.

Aside from the investment in Netflix Originals, Netflix also has invested heavily in live sporting events recently. You may recall that it was the exclusive broadcast home for a pair of NFL football games on Christmas Day in 2024, as well as the exclusive broadcast for the widely viewed Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match in 2024.

While most consumers would probably prefer that they get the chance to “opt in” to paying for a tier that provides live sports, the subscription numbers indicate that content is an area for growth for the streaming service in 2025 and beyond.

So, in short, I’d expect to see Netflix continue to pursue more live event content in exchange for charging this higher price.

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Are you considering canceling your subscription as a result of this price hike? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the Clark.com community.

The post Netflix Announces Price Increase for All U.S. Subscriptions appeared first on Clark Howard.

Do you make your gasoline purchases at Costco? I have some good news for you.

The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi, which is already considered one of the top gas rewards credit cards on the market, is now offering cardholders a chance to earn even more cash back with purchases at the pump.

And you’ll do so in style with a refreshed credit card design. Let’s take a look at the new card details.

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Costco Increases Cash Back Reward for Gas Purchases at Wholesale Club

If you’re familiar with Costco’s rewards credit card, you likely already know that it provides 4% cash back on gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 you spend in that category per year (1% thereafter).

This perk was good no matter where you decide to pump and it made it one of our top choices for credit cards with gas rewards.

The wholesale club is sweetening the pot in 2025, though.

Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has added 5% cash back on gas purchases made at Costco in addition to the 4% cash back on other eligible gas and electric vehicle (EV) charging purchases for the first $7,000 combined spend per year (1% afterward).

That’s a 1% cash back rewards boost for gas purchases made on premises with your Costco credit card! This is great news for Costco gas loyalists, who already receive Top Tier gasoline and some of the most competitive gas prices in most markets.

Additional Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi Cash Back Details

In addition to the fuel rewards, here’s a quick rundown of the other cash back opportunities with the Costco credit card:

• 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel, including Costco Travel.
• 2% cash back on all other Costco and Costco.com purchases
• 1% cash back on all other purchases (see rates & fees)

This cash back card, which is in money expert Clark Howard’s wallet, comes with no annual fee. But it does require that you keep an active Costco membership.

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Citi Unveils Fresh Card Design for Costco

As you’re getting your increased gas perks with the credit card, you may be doing so in style with a fresh new design.

Citi debuted a new black-and-red look for this credit card in January 2025.

If you’re already a cardholder, you may receive this new-look card on your next card update. New applicants can expect this design upon approval and receipt of your new card.

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Are you excited about this cash back improvement? Do you like the new card design? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the Clark.com community.

The post Costco Surprises Customers with New Credit Card Perk and Card Design appeared first on Clark Howard.

Straight Talk Wireless (Team Clark’s Review) has updated its Gold Unlimited and Platinum Unlimited plans to include unlimited premium data, access to Verizon Wireless’ 5G Ultra Wideband network, more mobile hotspot data and more. The enhanced plans still cost the same, which means new and current customers are getting more value for the same price.

In this article, I’ll take a closer look at Straight Talk Wireless’ new plan lineup including the new perks now included with the Gold and Platinum Unlimited plans.

Straight Talk Wireless’ Enhanced Unlimited Plans

Straight Talk Wireless offers a variety of prepaid plans starting at only $25/month for the StraightSAVINGS! plan. Prices range from $55-$65/month for the Gold Unlimited and Platinum Unlimited plans, respectively. 

This month, Straight Talk Wireless announced new features now included with its Gold Unlimited and Platinum Unlimited plans at no additional cost. Below, you’ll find a list of perks and features that Straight Talk has added to its two top-tier plans. 

Gold Unlimited: $55/month ($50 with autopay)

• Unlimited Premium Data on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network (previously unlimited 5G/4G LTE data)
• 30GB hotspot data (previously 15GB) 
• 100GB Cloud Storage (new)
• Walmart+ Membership Included (new)
• $100 annual credit towards a new device (new)
• Optional Home Internet Discount (new)

Platinum Unlimited: $65/month ($60 with autopay)

• Unlimited Premium Data on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network (previously unlimited 5G/4G LTE data)
• Unlimited hotspot data (previously 20GB) 
• 100GB Cloud Storage (new)
• Walmart+ Membership Included (new)
• $100 annual credit towards a new device (new)
• Device Protection (new) 

According to Straight Talk Wireless’ Broadband Facts Labels, the addition of unlimited premium data on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network provides customers with download speeds up to 5x faster than 5G. Here are the typical download speeds you can now expect to see while connected to each type of network on the Gold Unlimited and Platinum Unlimited plans: 

• 4G LTE: 11-75 Mbps
• 5G: 35-143 Mbps
• 5G Ultra Wideband: 195-634 Mbps

All of Straight Talk Wireless’ unlimited plans still include unlimited talk and text as well as international calling and texting to Canada and Mexico. Multiline discounts are also available.

You can learn more about Straight Talk Wireless’ new enhanced unlimited plans on the company’s website.

Straight Talk Wireless: An Affordable Verizon MVNO

If you aren’t familiar with Straight Talk Wireless, it’s a low-cost MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) that provides cell phone service via access to Verizon Wireless’ network. 

Compared to postpaid plans directly from Verizon, Straight Talk Wireless offers significantly more affordable options with plans beginning as low as $25 for a single line. Verizon’s plans begin at $65 for one line with autopay. 

When it comes to unlimited cell phone plans, Straight Talk Wireless’ Gold Unlimited and Platinum Unlimited plans are now more comparable to Verizon’s Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Ultimate plans. Here’s a closer look at how Straight Talk Wireless’ and Verizon Wireless’ two top-tier plans compare: 

	Straight Talk Wireless Gold Unlimited	Verizon Wireless Unlimited Plus	Straight Talk Wireless Platinum Unlimited	Verizon Wireless Unlimited Ultimate
Price	$55 ($50 with autopay)	$90 ($80 with autopay)	$65 ($60 with autopay)	$100 ($90 with autopay)
Data	Unlimited Premium Data (Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband)	Unlimited Premium Data (Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband)	Unlimited Premium Data (Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband)	Unlimited Premium Data (Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband)
Hotspot Data	30GB	30GB	Unlimited	60GB
International	Unlimited calling and texting to Mexico and Canada	– Unlimited calling and texting to Mexico and Canada – Unlimited international talk, text and data in Mexico and Canada	Unlimited calling and texting to Mexico and Canada	– Unlimited calling and texting to Mexico, Canada, and one other country of your choice – Unlimited international talk, text and data in 210+ countries and destinations
Perks	– 100GB Cloud Storage – Walmart+ Membership Included – $100 annual credit towards a new device – Home Internet as low as $35/month	– Up to 50% off 1 connected device plan – Eligible for new phone offers – $360 promo credit for bringing your own device – Home Internet as low as $35/month	– 100GB Cloud Storage – Walmart+ Membership Included – $100 annual credit towards a new device – Home Internet as low as $35/month – Device Protection	– Up to 50% off 2 connected device plans – Ultimate Phone Upgrade – $540 promo credit for bringing your own device – Home Internet as low as $35/month

As you can see, Verizon’s plans offer more international connectivity, promo credit for bringing your own device and the potential to save more than $100/year on device upgrades. Plus, if you have a smartwatch, Verizon offers discounts on connected device plans. 

However, if you’re mainly interested in having unlimited premium data on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, you can save $30-$40 per month by opting for Straight Talk’s Gold Unlimited plan instead. If you need unlimited hotspot, Platinum Unlimited is still cheaper than either of Verizon’s top-tier unlimited plans. Plus, you’ll get additional Cloud Storage and a Walmart+ membership with Straight Talk Wireless at no additional cost.

Before you decide to make the switch, be sure to check out our full Straight Talk Wireless review. You can also find more options in our full guide to the best cell phone plans available now.

Once you’ve made your decision, be sure to read our step-by-step guide to switching cell phone service providers to keep your own phone number. 

Will you be switching to one of Straight Talk’s new enhanced unlimited plans? Let us know in our Clark.com Community!

The post Straight Talk Wireless Now Offers Unlimited Premium Data appeared first on Clark Howard.

Just as one door closed on sports fans, another one appears to have opened.

DIRECTV STREAM is the next to step to the plate in the quest to provide a cost-effective live TV streaming package for sports fans.

The premium live TV provider just announced that it will be launching niche-specific standalone packages for people who don’t want to pay for a full menu of channels.

First on the scene: The MySports package.

The sports-centric package launches with access to more than 40 channels that provide many of the live games and events that sports fans want to see most.

“The introduction of MySports from DIRECTV delivers consumers greater choice, flexibility, and control to select the type of content they want to watch at the right value,” said Bill Morrow, CEO of DIRECTV. “This is the first of several genre-based options we plan to launch over the coming months on our path towards a brighter TV future for consumers.”

This news comes just days after it was announced that the launch of Venu Sports, an all-sports streaming service from Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery, was canceled in the fallout of Disney’s recent acquisition of Fubo.

Is DIRECTV’s new sports streaming package a viable alternative to paying full price for a service like YouTube TV?

Let’s take a closer look.

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DIRECTV’s New ‘MySports’ Package: What You Should Know

Here’s a quick rundown of the information you need on this exciting new option for sports fans.

1. Pricing Information

First thing’s first. Let’s set the expectation for what you’ll be paying for this package.

DIRECTV STREAM’s website lists this package, which includes more than 40 channels, at $69.99 per month. At launch, there was a limited-time offer that gave new customers the package for $49.99 per month for the first three months.

Note: Existing DIRECTV STREAM customers can switch to this package, but they would not be eligible for the new customer pricing.

This pricing is much cheaper than a full channel package from DIRECTV STREAM, which starts at more than $100 per month thanks to several price hikes in recent years.

The MySports package pricing more closely resembles paying for Sling TV, which has similarly-sized channel packages available for between $46 and $61 per month.

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2. Channels Included

DIRECTV promises more than 40 channels. Those include the following, listed alphabetically:

• ABC (local affiliate)
• ACC Network
• Big Ten Network
• DIRECTV 4K Live
• DIRECTV 4K Live 2
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNews
• ESPNU
• FOX (local affiliate)
• Fox Sports 1
• Fox Sports 2
• Golf Channel
• MLB Network
• NBA TV
• NBC (local affiliate)
• NFL Network
• NHL Network
• SEC Network
• TBS
• TNT
• TruTV
• USA Network

DIRECTV says that local channels “will initially include any stations owned and operated by ABC, FOX, and NBC, with additional stations coming online soon.”

That means access to sporting events on CBS may be a blind spot, at least early on.

DIRECTV says that “additional networks, local stations and ESPN+, will be included in MySports at no extra cost in the near future.”

However, it appears that Regional Sports Networks (RSNs), such as FanDuel Sports Network (ex. Where Atlanta Braves are broadcast) will not be a part of this package. Presumably, you’d need to stick with a full-service subscription to get those channels at this time.

In addition to the “pay” sports channels, you’ll also get 15 “free” sports channels on the menu. These are already available for free via MyFree DirecTV.

This package also includes some popular “news and opinion” channels to go with all your sports:

• CNBC
• CNN
• FOX Business
• FOX News
• MSNBC

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3. Access Is Limited To Select Markets at Launch

Ready to get started? Well, hopefully you live in one of the markets in which the MySports package is available at this time.

It appears that DIRECTV will be rolling this service out gradually, with 24 major television markets available during the intial “beta” launch in January 2025. Those include:

• Atlanta
• Austin
• Boston
• Chicago
• Dallas-Ft. Worth
• Detroit
• Fresno-Visalia
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
• Milwaukee
• Minneapolis-St. Paul
• New York
• Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne
• Phoenix
• Philadelphia
• San Diego
• San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland
• Seattle-Tacoma
• Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota-Gainesville
• Washington D.C.

If you don’t see your market on this list, don’t panic. DIRECTV says that more markets are coming soon.

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4. More Genre-Specific Offerings Are Coming

If sports aren’t your thing, you may find that DIRECTV can soon save you money by offering a skinnier bundle that does not include these expensive sports channels.

DIRECTV is set to roll out more genre-specific packages in the first half of 2025.

My guess is that at least one of them will be geared toward competing with Philo, which offers many of the top non-sports and non-news channels for just $28 per month.

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Will you be giving this MySports package a try? What channels is it missing for you? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the Clark.com community.

The post DIRECTV STREAM Launches New Sports-Centric TV Subscription appeared first on Clark Howard.

It’s January, and as we head into the New Year, I have 10 things that investors need to really watch out for in 2025:

• Resilience Is the Name of the Game
• The Consumer Is Still King
• Productivity Is Up
• Politics and the Markets Align
• We Will Probably See New Tariffs
• Prepare for More Volatility
• The Bull Market Still Has Legs
• Dividends Might Come Back in Style
• Bonds Are Back
• The Earnings Engine Is Accelerating

Let’s dive in.

1. Resilience Is the Name of the Game

As an investor, I’m always thinking about the economy and how that relates to investments. When I look at 2024, I think the economy and the stock market showed such resiliency because we were faced with so many uncertainties.

We had the election, which was an unprecedented election. We had someone drop out a few months prior when going against someone who used to be president — just very uncertain times. We were talking about recession and inflation for the whole year. How was the Fed going to control inflation and how much were they going to lower the interest rate? There was a whole lot to worry about all of last year.

Yet we ended up with almost 3% GDP growth. Again, lots of resiliency for the economy and the stock market. The S&P 500 was up about 25%.

It was a really resilient year. And I see a lot of that carrying into 2025.

2. The Consumer Is Still King

I think the second thing here, part of that resiliency, is the consumer is king.

In the United States, if we think about the labor force and we think about the behavior of the U.S. consumer, it’s fascinating.

First of all, we have 160 million people working in the United States. Americans want jobs and they have jobs. There are two things about that. Our savings rate is relatively low right now — even lower than historical norms. Usually, we’re saving about 6%. Right now we’re only saving about 4%. That means 96% of what we earn, that 160 million people, is getting spent. That’s what we saw last year and I see that continuing into this year.

The other thing that’s important is we’ve started to see wages outpace inflation. We had a period of time there where wages were going up much slower, so people were feeling like we were in a recession, even though we weren’t. The consumer is spending and wages are going up faster than inflation now, that’s good.

The consumer continues to play a really important role. We know that 70% of the U.S. economy is the U.S. consumer and consumer spending. I think that continues and it’s important to note for this year moving forward.

3. Productivity Is Up

The third part is productivity.

If we think productivity is on the rise, what propels it? It is how much we can get done in the same amount of hours of work. If we can continue to do more work in the same amount of time, then this economy accelerates.

We had a massive acceleration in productivity back when the internet became mainstream (think about the 1990s) and we flourished for about 10 years. We had double-digit productivity growth.

Then for over a decade, we barely had any productivity growth in the United States. It was 1% a year, 1%, 1.1%. We weren’t getting better faster in this U.S. economy for a very long time.

About two years ago, that started to change. You could say we’re more efficient today because we work from home. You can call it the advent of artificial intelligence, making everything a little faster and more efficient. For the last two years, we’ve seen 2 to 2.5% productivity growth. Now, that may not sound like a whole lot, but that’s more than double what we were running for over a decade.

More productivity means a better shot for the U.S. economy to continue to accelerate. If we can do that, it’s a really big deal for the market, the economy and for investors.

4. Politics and the Markets Align

The next one where I’m looking in 2025, I think of Washington as kind of an unlikely ally with the market.

Last year, we had an election. There was lots of uncertainty around it. People are always worried about well, what comes next? There’s all this uncertainty.

But if you look back at the presidential cycle, we’ve got four years. You’ve got the election year, the inauguration year, where we are today, then you’ve got the post-midterms, and then you’ve got the fourth year of the cycle. If you go back over the course of history and look at and see how the markets have done during those four years on average, we’re in the second-best year for stocks.

The election is over, we know who’s going to be in the White House, we know what Congress looks like. On average, that second year of the presidential cycle, we’ve seen about 11% growth on average for the S&P 500. That’s a strong indicator. We’ve got some historical tailwinds, and I think it’s a good thing for 2025.

5. We Will Probably See New Tariffs

Now, with politics, the first question that I’ve been getting, and I think that’s important just to visit here for a minute in 2025, is the worry about tariffs. Well, if we have tariffs, doesn’t that mean we have inflation?

If a brand new tariff is 20% more expensive and it’s coming in from another country, then who pays for that? Doesn’t that mean we’re going to get inflation? And that’s scary because we had a really rough time with inflation over the last couple of years.

But the system doesn’t necessarily work that way. What countries can do and companies in other countries can do is they can bear either some of that cost or most of that cost. So they choose to take less profit and lower their prices, knowing the goods will come into the United States and then the tariff goes up, making it more expensive. But because they reduce their cost, not all that much gets passed on to the U.S. consumer. So that remains to be seen, but what I look at and how I look at it is that there’s a lot of bark about tariffs and the whole world’s going be tariffed, every good coming to the United States. That’s probably not going to be the case.

There probably won’t be giant blanket of tariffs, it’ll probably more specific. So sure, there are going be new tariffs on Chinese goods, probably, very likely, but we may not see tariffs for everything coming out of the European Union.

I look at the tariff situation as not great for inflation, maybe not nearly as bad as we thought. We already have tariffs from countries like China. And I don’t think we need to run out and stockpile prior to tariffs (Clark agrees), because I think they’re going to be a little more benign, a little more bark than bite in 2025.

6. Prepare for More Volatility

Volatility has been sleeping. I want to remind investors that the stock market is never supposed to be an escalator. It’s not meant to just slowly go up and we get our nice average 10%. That’s 1% a month. It doesn’t work that way. To get that great of a rate of return, it comes with a little bit of consternation, it comes with some pain. It’s much more like a roller coaster that ultimately, over time, goes up. And that’s what makes it hard.

Last year, we had very little volatility. The average year for the stock market over the course of economic history has a 16% drawdown, more than 10% correction. Not quite a full bear market, but that’s the average drawdown over the course of time. Last year, the biggest drawdown we had was only 8.5%.

We have low volatility years, then we have really volatile years. But last year was a low volatility year and the year before was pretty low volatility too. So I think that it’s a good reminder that volatility has kind of been sleeping. I think investors should be prepared to have some hiccups in 2025. And just as a reminder, that’s part of the game.

7. The Bull Market Still Has Legs

The next piece of this has to do with the market, specifically the bull market. The bull is not that old, meaning that we had a bull market in 2023. We had another bull market in 2024.

If you watch financial television like I do, I’ll see 50 people a day talking about how it was such a good two years. That means that 2025 can’t be a good year in the stock market. And I think that’s the wrong way to look at it. We had tons of stretches that are three, four, five, six, seven years in a row where stocks really do well.

Now, it’s not that we don’t have some drawbacks during those periods of time. It’s just that just because the market has done well, doesn’t mean it can’t continue to do well. As you hear people talk about how it’s already been good, they say it can’t be good this year. That’s not necessarily the case.

Momentum is the market’s friend very often. I think of the statistics around all-time highs last year. In 2024, we saw 57 new highs in the S&P 500. I remember after the fifth one, people say, wait a minute, we’re at all-time high, we can’t have any more of these. And then after the 20th, well, we can’t have any more of these.

Well, there’s a reason you have a good year in the stock market because things are going well. The economy is doing well. Company earnings are growing. We get this flywheel effect — and that momentum can continue.

Yes, it stands to reason that the market could slow down and not have as good of a year, but it doesn’t mean we have to have a bad year. The average bull market lasts for five years. We’re only two years in, only about 26 months in. So, by historical measures, this bull market just isn’t that old.

8. Dividends Might Come Back in Style

The next part of this is to look at dividend contribution. Investing is pretty simple. We’re all kind of after the same thing, which is total return. If you’re conservative, you want a total return. If you’re aggressive, you want a total return. You just want your money to grow. And that formula is really simple. It’s just growth plus income. You either get some appreciation, the value goes up, or you get some cash flow. You get some rent, you get some dividends, you get interest. And you put those two together, growth and income, and that’s your total return.

When you look at the S&P 500, the stock market in general, over the course of economic history, that 10% number we hear (and it’s really more like 11%), only 60% of that is from the price of the stock market going up. The other 40% of that, not insignificant at all, is the cash flow that gets reinvested from dividends that come from stocks in the S&P 500.

Now, over the past decade, we’ve seen the lowest dividend contribution to returns we’ve seen in a very long time. It’s only been about 12 to 13% of the total return. I worry sometimes that investors kind of start thinking dividends don’t matter. It’s really all about growth. The equation is still growth plus income. Not every investor needs to think about dividends, but it’s a big part of how stocks have done well to reinvest those dividends.

Particularly for retirees who are looking for cash flow, they need to spend their retirement money. Retirees often get a lot of comfort from spending the dividends, saying, “Hey, I’m not taking my principal because I’m spending the dividends.” I think we could see a reversion to the mean — markets tend to pendulum — I would not forget dividends in 2025.

9. Bonds Are Back

Now, speaking of getting income, the part of a balanced portfolio, we’ve talked about stocks, real estate, and commodities; these are all great categories that we should be looking at. But one of them is fixed-income bonds, and bonds are not there to appreciate a whole lot. Bonds are really there for the income.

We had a really rough stretch five years ago back when interest rates were essentially at zero. The 10 year U.S. Treasury bond only paid 1%, and there was a period of time it was way less than 1%.

Bonds are off the bench and the reason is that yields are back to a much more normal level. The 10-year Treasury started this year at around 4.5%. It is now up to almost 4.75%, meaning that interest rates on the 10 year government bond are paying between 4.5 and 5%. There’s a saying in the bond world: “Yield is destiny.” This means that over the course of five and 10 years, you’re much more likely to get a total return about where you start with whatever your yield is.

So if you’re investing in bonds and they’re at 1%, there is a good chance over time, you’re going to get 1%. Here we are at 4.5 to 5%. So I think bonds are back to much more normal levels. People could wrap their heads around 4-5%, particularly when we’re owning them for steady income and stability when the stock market goes haywire. Bonds are off the bench and I think that’s important to note here in 2025.

10. The Earnings Engine Is Accelerating

I would put this as number one because it’s the most important, but I’ll put it as number 10 because it’s the capstone. We think about all the emotions that drive the markets, we think about politics and government and elections, and then earnings reports, and then we have economics reports and the jobs numbers. It’s endless variables.

What really drives markets, what so many of us have in our 401(k), exposure to the S&P 500 or other funds that have exposure to it, is not the stock market. It’s the companies that make up the stock market. We own those companies. And those companies are there to make a profit and grow those profits. And that’s what’s called earnings.

You hear a lot about the P/E Ratio. The common denominator of PE is earnings, price to earnings. What are we paying for those earnings? And it’s a rough stock market run when earnings are down from year to year or flat from year to year.

Fortunately, if you look at consensus from dozens and dozens and dozens of Wall Street firms, and research firms and strategy firms that are looking at all the different components of the market. they’re trying to measure, hey, where do we think companies are going to be earnings wise? Are they going to be up 1%, down 5%, up 5%?

Right now earnings estimates for this year are up 13% from last year. It doesn’t mean the market’s going to be up 13%, but it’s just a very nice undercurrent to have companies churning out 10 to 15% more in earnings and profits than they did last year. That is the bedrock of the equity markets. And it’s a good outlook.

This content was originally published on the Ask an Advisor show on the Clark Howard Podcast. Listen or watch to learn more about the things investors should know in 2025. New shows air every Tuesday!

The post 10 Things Investors Should Watch Out For in 2025 appeared first on Clark Howard.

If you’re a live streaming TV consumer, there’s a very good chance you have experienced a subscription price increase in the last 12 months.

Whether it’s full-service options like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, or skinny bundle offerings like Philo, the price of streaming has gone up on consumers thanks to supposed increased carriage costs for providers.

Sling TV, which positions itself between the premium and cheap live TV options, was not immune.

It recently raised subscription prices on its Orange, Blue and Orange + Blue packages. The cheapest you can subscribe with them is now $46 per month.

As you may have guessed, customer retention has been an issue for streaming services amid increased costs. Even money expert Clark Howard has talked about potentially ditching his live TV service in favor of free streaming TV (FAST) as costs continue to rise.

So what can be done to stop the exodus of subscribers who are canceling their service to save money?

Sling has a new anti-cancelation concept that could become an industry standard in the months ahead.

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Sling Tries to Retain Customers with New ‘Pause Extra’ Package

Any time a streaming service announces that it will be raising prices, they know they’re going to have to deal with customer attrition for the weeks that follow.

Inevitably, there is a wave of customers who say they’ve “had enough” of the price increases and opt for the cancellation button upon hearing news that their bill is going up.

Sling is trying a fresh approach to keep those people from completely leaving their ecosystem in 2025.

Now, when someone tries to cancel their subscription, they’ll be met with the option to choose “Pause Extra” instead.

This package, which was recently discovered by Cord Cutter News, will give would-be cancellers a chance to stay in the ecosystem for a small monthly fee.

What Pause Extra Includes

For $5 per month, Sling’s Pause Extra is offering customers the following before they cancel:

• Complimentary AMC+ Access: This is a $9.99 per month value as a standalone subscription. You’ll get access to on-demand content from AMC, Sundance, Shudder and more. This includes access to the popular “Walking Dead” universe and hit shows like “Mad Men.”
• Unlimited Access to Your Existing DVR Library: This is a big one for people who binge TV shows. It appears that this new package will allow you to keep your DVR library, and access your recorded content even though you don’t have a full subscription. Presumably, you won’t be allowed to add new content from paid channels while paused. Still, this is a strong option for people who want to trim their bill but still have episodes of a show to watch.
• Sling Freestream Access: This is no big surprise, as anyone who sets up a free account with Sling can enjoy their growing FAST service. However, it does appear you can use your DVR functionality to get the most out of Freestream while you’re not paying for a full Sling subscription.

And, perhaps the most underrated part of this new package is that Sling will give you a $5 credit for each month that you pay for Pause Extra when you decide to reactivate a Sling subscription.

So, for example, if you paid $5 per month for four months of Pause Extra, you’d have a $20 credit toward your next month of a full Sling subscription.

Sling also says that you can continue to earn your points through their loyalty program while on Pause Extra.

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Why This Strategy Might Actually Work

You may be familiar with the “pause” option on many streaming subscriptions, which allows you to stop paying for the service for a pre-established amount of time without losing your favorites, DVR recordings and other settings upon your return. Many of the live TV streaming services offer that.

But Sling really is taking things to the next level by offering a small package of benefits that presents a value worth more than its nominal monthly fee.

Doing so not only keeps the customer on the hook and revenue coming in, but it also makes them feel like they’ve won in the face of a price increase.

Sling probably believes it’ll be able to convert resubscriptions at a higher rate as a result. (We’ll have to wait and see if that is true.)

I wouldn’t be surprised to see other live TV streaming services attempt a similar strategy in 2025.

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If you were canceling Sling, would Pause Extra be something you’d consider? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the Clark.com community.

The post Sling’s ‘Pause Extra’ Is New Strategy To Keep Streamers from Canceling appeared first on Clark Howard.

I have some bad news for sports fans who have been holding out for a more affordable live streaming TV option.

The much-anticipated launch of the Venu Sports streaming service is not happening.

It was announced on January 10, 2025 that the joint venture between Disney-owned ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery would be discontinued effective immediately.

The news comes just days after Disney announced that it was acquiring a controlling stake in Fubo and will combine its operations with Hulu + Live TV.

Fubo, which is a live TV service known for carrying many sports channels, previously sued the parties behind Venu Sports on claims of anti-competitive practices. This litigation halted the proposed Fall 2024 launch of Venu, which was going to offer many of the top live channels for sports for just $42.99 per month.

Disney’s acquisition of Fubo ended all active legal disputes between the two, but apparently did not provide the companies behind Venu with the necessary confidence to move forward with their arrangement.

ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery released the following joint statement on the decision to discontinue the service:

“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service. In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period.”

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What Was Venu Sports?

Venu Sports was supposed to be an innovative sports-only streaming joint venture between Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and ESPN.

This trio is responsible for a large percentage of the live broadcasts you may see on traditional cable or live TV streaming services.

Venu promised to provide access to 14 live sports channels and an expansive library of on-demand content from the collective companies’ portfolios of sports networks and ESPN+ for just $42.99 per month. This is approximately half of the monthly cost for subscriptions to services like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM.

The list of channels that were to be included were:

1. ESPN
2. ESPN2
3. ESPNU
4. SEC Network
5. ACC Network
6. ESPNEWS
7. ABC
8. FOX
9. FS1
10. FS2
11. Big Ten Network
12. TNT
13. TBS
14. truTV

The subscription also was set to provide access to live sports via the ESPN+ streaming service.

It was “almost perfect” for sports fans. But there were some holes in the content plan.

It did NOT include content from CBS Sports and NBC Sports, which are two big competitors in the sports space. Nor did it include access to Regional Sports Networks (RSNs), which are the home for in-market telecasts for most NBA, MLB and NHL teams.

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What Could Be Coming Next?

We’re only left to speculate what could be next for sports fans hoping to both simplify their streaming TV strategy and lower their bills in the process.

It’s previously been reported that ESPN is in the process of building out its own sports-only streaming subscription to offer more than what people receive with the ESPN+ product.

Presumably, that includes access to live broadcasts of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and other Disney-owned sports products.

It is possible that Disney’s acquisition of Fubo could aid ESPN’s efforts in building a more robust sports-only streaming service without the direct help of FOX or Warner Bros. Discovery. Fubo brings streaming rights to many RSNs to the table, for example.

Unfortunately, many sports fans are stuck paying $80 or more per month to get live streaming access to many of the games they desire in the meantime.

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Hey sports fans: We’d love to hear how you are keeping your streaming TV bills in check while still catching all the live games you want to watch. Let us know about your strategies in the Clark.com community!

The post This Streaming TV Announcement Is a Big Setback for Sports Fans appeared first on Clark Howard.

Over the last few months, Hello Mobile customers have reported receiving alerts regarding their cell phone plan. Many customers were told that they were now part of Liberty Wireless and given new account/plan information. However, many customers (understandably) assumed these alerts were spam messages.

Now, Hello Mobile has officially shut down its services and former customers are feeling left in the dark regarding how to manage their cell phone service.

In this article, I’ll share what we know so far about the Hello Mobile shutdown. I’ve also compiled a list of tips on how Hello Mobile customers are accessing their new account information and porting their phone numbers to a different service provider of their choice.

Key Takeaways:

• Hello Mobile has officially shut down and customers have been transitioned to Liberty Wireless. Plan pricing and features may have changed.
• Your phone number is the same, but it’s now owned by Liberty Wireless. You can still port it out and switch to a new cell phone service provider, but you’ll need to contact Liberty Wireless instead of Hello Mobile.
• Liberty Wireless’ customer service is overwhelmed during the transition, but you may be able to port your phone number without contacting customer support with these tips from other Hello Mobile customers below.

Neither Hello Mobile nor Liberty Wireless have released an official statement. I’ve also contacted Liberty Wireless for additional information but haven’t received a response.

Hello Mobile Customers Are Now With Liberty Wireless

Hello Mobile was a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that provided cell phone service to its customers via T-Mobile’s network for as low as $5/month. It was a reliable service provider with affordable plans that quickly attracted many customers. Money expert Clark Howard had even tested Hello Mobile himself and spoke highly of the company’s service and value. 

Unfortunately, Hello Mobile was not very transparent about its impending shutdown, which began in November 2024 and was finalized this month. 

For context, Hello Mobile was owned by Q Link Wireless. In October 2024, the CEO pleaded guilty to several crimes involving money laundering and defrauding the government. Since then, customers have been reporting messages from Liberty Wireless about their new plans and account information. 

As of this writing, Hello Mobile’s website is active, but there are no cell phone plans available. Customer service has been shut down and many customers aren’t able to log in to their existing accounts. 

If you had an active Hello Mobile cell phone plan, here’s what you need to do:

1. Collect all available account information. You may be able to search your email inbox for “Hello Mobile” to find any correspondence with your account number, plan information, etc.
2. Log in through Liberty Wireless’ website or contact Liberty Wireless’ customer service in order to verify your current plan information, cost and duration to make sure you’re getting what you’ve already paid for. This is especially important if you had a multi-month phone plan from Hello Mobile or if you’ve recently purchased a new plan from Hello Mobile as it may have changed. 
3. All customers should be aware of upcoming due dates, current plan prices and what’s included in your plan, whether you intend to stay with Liberty Wireless or move to a new service provider. 

How To Save Your Hello Mobile Phone Number

Customers who are planning to stay with Liberty Wireless don’t need to do anything to save their phone numbers. They’ve been ported to Liberty Wireless and are still active on your new Liberty Wireless plan.

If you do want to port your phone number to a new service provider, here’s what you’ll need:

• Your phone number
• Your account number (from Liberty Wireless)
• Your port-out PIN (from Liberty Wireless)

Liberty Wireless’ customer service is currently overwhelmed due to the transition. If you’re having trouble contacting Liberty Wireless or gathering the necessary information, here are a few tips from other affected Hello Mobile customers: 

• If you have your Hello Mobile phone number/account number and PIN, you may be able to port your phone number without contacting Liberty Wireless. Try using your phone number as your account number and the last four digits as your port-out PIN. While this isn’t guaranteed to work, some former Hello Mobile customers have reported success with this method in the r/NoContract and r/HelloMobile Reddit communities.
• Try using your phone number to log in to Liberty Wireless. If it’s recognized, request a password reset to log in. Once you’ve logged in, locate or create your account’s PIN. This is the port-out PIN you’ll need to move your phone number. While this isn’t guaranteed to work, some customers have had success with this method.
• Contact the service provider you’re switching to for assistance. They may be able to contact Liberty Wireless for you, especially if you’re switching to another T-Mobile MVNO. 

Recommended Alternatives to Hello Mobile / Liberty Wireless

The majority of Hello Mobile customers were transitioned to one of Liberty Wireless’ monthly plans. 

Several customers formerly on Hello Mobile’s $5/month plan have reported being switched to Liberty Wireless’ $5/month talk-and-text-only plan. However, Liberty Wireless’ $5/month plan doesn’t include any data whereas Hello Mobile’s plan included 500MB. 

Other customers have been transitioned to the “Liberty Freedom” plan which costs $9.25/month and includes 1,000 minutes, unlimited texts and 4.5GB of data. All of Hello Mobile’s former plans included unlimited minutes. This has already been a problem for transitioned customers who suddenly have limited minutes. The same customers are having to call customer service and wait on hold for extended periods of time. 

If you don’t want to continue service with Liberty Wireless, you can move to a new service provider of your choice. Consider one of these reliable MVNOs for a new cell phone service provider with affordable plans on T-Mobile’s network.

• Tello Mobile (Review) Unlimited talk-and-text-only plans begin at $8/month. Plans with data start at $9/month for 1GB or $10 for 2GB. Tello’s $25 unlimited plan is the only plan that throttles data speeds once you’ve used 35GB. Otherwise, additional data must be purchased or you’ll have to wait until the next billing cycle.
• US Mobile (Review) Monthly plans begin as low as $10 for unlimited talk, text and 2GB of high-speed data. Prepaying for this plan annually brings the monthly price down to $8. By-The-Gig plans are available with shareable data for multiple lines. Unlimited plans begin at $25/month or $17.50/month when prepaid annually.
• Mint Mobile (Review) New customers can get any plan for $15/month for the first three months ($45 upfront). After three months, you can prepay annually to get the lowest rates starting at $15/month for 5GB of high-speed data.

For more options, check out all of our top picks for the best cheap phone plans here. If you do decide to port your number and switch to a new cell phone service provider, be sure to follow this detailed guide that Team Clark put together to take you step-by-step through the process.

Have you been affected by the Hello Mobile shutdown? Share your experience with our Clark.com Community here.

The post What’s Happening With Hello Mobile? appeared first on Clark Howard.

Do you have a good rewards credit card in your wallet for 2025?

If so, you’re likely focused on getting the most value you can out of your cash back or travel points opportunities.

But did you know that your card issuer may be offering you a chance to save money on select purchases that go beyond the standard rewards opportunity?

You probably already know that fancy cards with high annual fees will offer you well-defined perks like travel and dining credits, airport lounge access, and more. If you have one, those are probably a big part of the reason you applied.

However, you may not know that even some of the most basic low- and no-annual-fee cards offer easy additional chances to save cash.

In fact, one of those cards could be in your wallet right now. Make sure to check your credit card benefits to see if you’re eligible to “cash in” on some of these popular benefits in 2025.

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1. Opting into “Offers” on Your Card App Could Save You Hundreds Per Year

Let’s start with one that has saved me quite a bit of money on my personal purchases over the years: “Offers” from your card issuers.

A quick summary of how this works: Credit card issuers, such as Chase and American Express, offer promotional deals from third-party businesses that can land you statement credits for purchases that you make with your credit card.

The “offer” will be provided on your card’s app or website, and you’ll need to click to “opt in” to that offer. You’ll also need to use the card associated with the offer to make a purchase in the timeframe provided. If your purchase meets the parameters of the offer, you’ll receive a statement credit that can serve as a sizeable discount on your purchase.

An example of what this might look like:

You can find popular brands in big spending categories like travel, dining, entertainment, clothing and more. A couple of real-life examples that I’ve been able to enjoy over the years:

• Saving money on streaming services via Amex Offers. I’ve used offers for many of the top live TV streaming services, such as YouTube TV, Sling and Fubo. Most recently, I was able to get a $30 statement credit per month for three months with a Fubo subscription. That saved me $90 for accessing channels I wanted to watch during football season.
• Saving on TurboTax service via Chase Offers. While there are some great free tax filing services available, sometimes you need to upgrade for some more complex filings. I was able to get a $20 statement credit for a $39 purchase.

Check with your credit card issuer to see if it has an “Offers” program. It should look something like this on your credit card’s app or website:

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2. Use Your Credit Card App for Free Access to Your Credit Score

If you’ve followed money expert Clark Howard’s advice, you know that he’s a proponent of regularly monitoring your credit score and freezing your credit with the bureaus until you actually need to use it.

And there’s no reason you should have to pay out of pocket to do this. We have a list of places to get your credit score for free, but the truth is that many of you may already be receiving it free of charge through your credit card issuer.

Known credit card issuers who offer this a perk to cardholders as of January 2025 include:

• American Express
• Bank of America
• Citibank
• Discover

If you carry a card from one of these banks, you can sign in to your account online to see if you have access to your credit score.

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3. Pay with Your Credit Card To Avoid Car Rental Insurance Fees

Before you book your next rental car, you may want to check with your credit card issuer to see if they provide auto rental collision and damage waiver coverage.

Many travel cards offer this, but you may find that a cash back card has this perk as well.

If you have a card that offers this perk, you’ll be able to skip the add-on fees at the rental counter with confidence, knowing that paying with your credit card will provide you coverage.

To better understand the nuances of this perk and car rental insurance, you can read my article on the topic here.

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4. Pay Your Wireless Bill with a Credit Card to Protect Your Cell Phone

Have you recently invested in an expensive cell phone? You may be worried about what happens if it is damaged or stolen.

Clark generally advises against paying for add-on protection services from the manufacturer or from your wireless provider. But there’s a way some of you can get added protection without paying for it.

Some credit card issuers offer what is usually termed “Cell Phone Protection” if you pay your wireless bill each month with their credit card.

This protection is a third-party insurance policy that usually protects against damage, theft, or unintended separation. Typically, there is a deductible you’ll have to pay ($25 or $50, most commonly) and a maximum benefit per claim (typically between $600 and $1,000).

This won’t protect you from phone malfunction like a manufacturer protection plan might, but it’s a freebie that is worth claiming for wireless phone users who have a credit card that offers it. You can read more about this perk in my article about it here.

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5. Skip Lines at the Airport for Free with This Credit Card Benefit

Have you ever experienced the line-skipping luxury of the TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or CLEAR lanes at the airport?

Did you know that your credit card may cover your membership fees to join that club?

Select credit card issuers will issue a statement credit to cover a subscription to one of these services as long as you pay for it with their card.

Depending on which services your card covers, this could save you $100 or more on a subscription and precious minutes at the airport each time you travel.

For those who aren’t familiar, TSA PreCheck is a five-year membership offered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). It costs $78 and is used for domestic air travel in the United States.

TSA reports that, in January 2025, 99% of PreCheck customers experience wait times of less than 10 minutes at airport security checkpoints.

You can read more about this perk and the cards that offer it in my article here.

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Do you have another money-saving tip from your credit card perks? We’d love to hear from you in the Clark.com community.

The post Are You Taking Advantage of These 5 Credit Card Perks in 2025? appeared first on Clark Howard.

When things are going great financially, we hardly ever think about putting money away, but recent retail door closings at Party City, as well as Big Lots and the latest data from the U.S. job market, indicate that things may be getting harder out there.

“People are finding that if their employer does go out of business, finding the next job is harder,” says money expert Clark Howard. “And it’s not just a thing that you feel, it’s a fact.”

To Clark’s point, recent reports show that the job market may be showing some cracks in its veneer. Consider these data points from November 2024:

• At 4.2%, the unemployment rate experienced a slight bump, rising 0.5% compared to the same month a year ago. 
• Long-term unemployment (defined as a job seeker being out of work for 27 weeks or more) is starting to tick upward as well. The figure was 22.9% in October and increased to 23.2% in November.

Is there trouble in job land? There might be, which is why the time-tested advice from Clark on creating a stash of cash for emergencies rings truer than ever today.

“Most of us, even if we have a lifestyle where we could do it, don’t build up that rainy day money,” says Clark. “But when I see stats like [the ones above] it means that you’ve got to prepare for how you’re going to pay your bills if that event happened to you.”

Why You Need an Emergency Fund

Clark says you need an emergency fund because we simply can’t predict what the future holds.

“You need to be really, really thinking about having that good rainy day account, being prepared for a period of time for an ‘oops’ in your life,” Clark says. “Oops come in all different shapes and styles.”

For example, you could be traveling to work and hit a pothole that flattens your back tire. You can get a good tire — but it’s going to cost you. Or your refrigerator could stop working. Or your furnace (Oh no!) could go out. 

In an instant, you could find yourself having to get out of debt because you had to spend money you didn’t have.

How To Create an Emergency Fund

The general steps to creating an emergency fund begin with learning how to save money.

It’s not a fast process, but one that involves slowly building up your savings week by week, month by month. You can even start by putting aside $10 per paycheck. The key is to start.

“Don’t try to do it all at once because if you do, you’re just going to get discouraged, and you’ll just give up,” says Clark.

“Nothing happens in a day,” Clark says. “It’s all about changing your perceptions and habits. So if you’ve got nothing, you should work toward a goal of having a month’s living costs saved. When you get to that month, then you worry about the second month and on like that.”

Read our comprehensive guide on how to create an emergency fund, which will tell you how much you should aim to save.

How Big Should My Emergency Fund Be?

“I know you’ll hear that you should have six months in living costs saved, but if you’ve got zero pennies saved, you’re like, ‘Well, why would I even bother?’” says Clark.

Several factors will help you determine how big your emergency fund should be. Some questions you’ll want to answer are:

• What are my financial goals?
• How much debt do I owe?
• What are my monthly financial obligations?
• What expenses can I cut?

The first step in implementing the answers to some of those questions is to create a budget, which will allow you to track your expenses and give you a clear picture of your finances.

Read our in-depth guide on how much money you need in your emergency fund.

Final Thoughts

The job market can experience a downturn at any moment due to a natural disaster or another huge event. In terms of history, the unemployment rate is still low. But if your employer goes out of business or downsizes and you find yourself without a job, it may still take months before you find you land your next role.

Insulate yourself the best you can by having an emergency fund.

“The day you resolve that you’re going to start building up that cushion, that reserve, is the day that you start reducing the anxiety in your life and creating more security in that life,” says Clark.

The money expert is also a big fan of keeping some cash on hand. Why? Because out-of-the-ordinary expenditures can hit at any time. Be ready!

The post Why It’s More Important Than Ever To Have an Emergency Fund appeared first on Clark Howard.