Clark Howard Down Again

Five days and counting.

I donā€™t think itā€™s coming back up

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Clark just made a post on Parler saying it will be up shortly. :grin:

I donā€™t either.

However, itā€™s still listed in the ā€œcontactā€ drop down menu.

Idk why they kept it going for so long, with Fb having evolved as the go-to social networking platform.

Forums seem to be 99% anonymous/pseudonymous users. Thatā€™s only useful for political discussions & generic inquiries impacting certain private affairs.

Politics & controversial topics were definitely not any high-priority concern of Team Clarkā€™s.

The only advantage (other than inertia) that Iā€™m aware of is that not everyone has a FB account, or wants one. By having their own board, they can give people the opportunity to ask questions or whatever without.

About a year or two ago it was down for something like two weeks before it rose from the ashes. That is my benchmark for declaring it presumed dead.

I personally donā€™t see any reason to keep it going. I mentioned on the board how it used to be a really lively and vibrant place for consumer-related discussions but how those have dried up in recent years.

One problem with the non political Clark Howard forums is that there were a few people who used them to promote their business which adversely affected their ability to be objective.

A few years ago there was a discussion on long term care insurance and I was insulted by an insurance agent in that forum when I posted why my husband and I decided to be self insurers for long term care and explained our reasons for that decision. Then when I responded that we discussed our reasons for this decision with our financial advisors and accountant and they agreed with us, this insurance agent got quite nasty.

The problem with long term care insurance is that the benefit of having it depends on the circumstances of a specific individual which makes it a good decision for some people and a bad decision for others. Unfortunately, since it is very profitable for a sales person to sell these policies, there were a few posters in that forum who were more concerned with what is best for them than what is best for a client.

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I already have a reminder set in my calendar to look into LTC insurance around my 55th birthday.

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Just curious is that the earliest age it is available? Or is it only considered a worthwhile investment starting then?

I assume you can get it at any age, but not sure. Clark has said mid to late 50s.

Also, the market is pretty screwy right now. It was initially underpriced and people seeking renewals are getting sticker shock at the increases. Iā€™m hoping that it sorts itself out by the time Iā€™m ready. It will still be pretty expensive though.

brobbs - At one time people were advised to buy a long term care policy when they were in their forties or fifties because they could get a significantly less expensive policy at that age. The problem is that they were led to believe that even though they would be paying for it longer their premiums would be much lower so the total cost over the years would be much less. Unfortunately, after paying for long term insurance for years, many owners of them have been recently advised that they had to choose between having a substantial increase in their premiums to keep the same benefits or keep the same premiums but have less benefits.

Mrs. Maven,

Thank you for that perspective. Reminds me that insurance is just like money or any financial instrumentā€¦it is based on a promise (debt) underpinned by consumer confidence.

Obviously all of these things can change with the wind. :slightly_smiling_face:

And that depends on the policy written. A lot of them are junk with incredibly low maximum benefit periods.

You are the not the only person who had an experience than that. There were several insurance pros on that board who knew their stuff. A few of them, though, were not exactly the most humble in how they thought of themselves or showed their disregard for people who disagreed with them.

At the end of the day you made a decision that you and your husband felt was best for you. You do not need to justify it to anybody else, least of all insurance agents on that board.

On a general note, what you described you will find anywhere in life, not just on the CHB. Heck, I think Clark Howard himself was just as guilty as that. He was always preaching about how people could save money doing things themselves and how a third party was often not needed. However, on travel issues I often heard him saying that somebody should consult a travel agent. What was the difference? Clark Howard was a retired travel agent, of course.

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I saw that one coming a mile away. I was in my late 20s when my employer rolled out LTC insurance. With no guarantees, it was worthless to me. Iā€™m glad I passed.

Day 6, Clark Howard Boards held hostage.

Yeah that is frustrating. Youā€™d think there was a way to lock in a rate even if you had to pay more when you took out the policy.

You really have to pay close attention to the coverage amounts, limits and requirements and time delays. For example, many policies require a 90 day delay after meeting their disability definitions before beginning coverage. Some policies can be purchased with a one time payment, but their coverage amounts are usually small and their criteria for payment very high. The policies all need to be carefully read and considered based on your own need.

My wife and I looked into them in our early 50s and were greatly disappointed. We decided to self insure. Within a year or two after we looked into them, some of the same policies we had looked at were raising premiums and reducing coverage.