We’re one week out from Thanksgiving, and holiday shopping is in full swing. One thing to consider - return policies. Clark has a personal story to share that saved him big money. Also, this season of giving arrives with credit card debt at an all-time high. A Clark smart assignment for you.  Return Policies: Segment 1 Ask Clark: Segment 2 Credit Card Debt: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: Phone Plan Finder – Find and Compare Phone Plans - Clark.com Budgeting Basics: What You Need To Know To Get Started Best Budgeting Apps in 2024: Our Top 5 Budgeting & Saving Archives - Clark Howard The Best Place To Buy a Mattress How Can I Get Rid of My Old Mattress Cheaply? Should I Freeze My Credit With the Other Credit Bureaus? How To Freeze and Unfreeze Your Credit With Experian, Equifax and TransUnion Best 529 College Savings Plans By State Should I Contribute to a 529 Plan Only To Roll It Into a Roth IRA Later? Clark.com resources Episode transcripts Community.Clark.com Clark.com daily money newsletter Consumer Action Center Free Helpline: 636-492-5275 Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices