Clark books own travel on book tour to save money

Welcome to the latest stop on my Living Large in Lean Times book tour. Today I’m coming to you from Hartford, Conn., in an event hosted by affiliate WTIC News Talk 1080.

My book publisher gives me an unusual privilege: I’m the only author they can remember having who requested the right during contract negotiations to book my own travel. That’s because I book it cheaper than they ever could. My hotel in Hartford was $43, bought on Priceline, but even that is more than I like to pay.

What I do with saving money used to be so out of style, but now it is so in. I think about all the TV appearances I’ve done over the years and they’re always looking for the “goofy Clark” to highlight what kind of crazy things I do to limit my expenses.

But during a recent taping I did for The Dr. Oz Show, the segment was all about smarter choices when it comes to health and beauty. Dr. Oz’s producers played it straight ahead. But if I had been a guest four years ago before the financial crisis really began, that might have turned into a goofy segment.

On the show, we started by talking about how I got from LaGuardia Airport in Queens to the TV studios in Manhattan. The show’s producers wanted to send limo, which I refused. Instead, I got on the Q33 bus at LaGuardia with my assistant producer Joel. We rode into the heart of Queens and then transferred for free to the subway, which brought us right into Rockefeller Center for a total of $2.25 each!

Doing something like that may seem to be too much bother for some people. But in reality, the United Nations was in session and we made it across Manhattan’s eastside quicker by traveling underground than we would have in a fancy car on the gridlocked surface streets. So it was cheaper and more efficient too. You know I love that!

Editor’s note: This segment originally aired in Sept. 2011 and subsequently on Oct. 10, 2011.