George Kamel - How You’re Being Tricked into Staying Broke

Episode Date: July 8, 2024

💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app!  Saving big with BOGO? More like overspending on stuff you don't need. In this episode, I'm exposing "spaving": spending more to save. I'll uncover the sneaky marketing tricks behind these so-called deals and dish out tips to help you sidestep this spending trap.  Next Steps  ▶️ Watch 12 Rules for (a Frugal) Life.   📗 Order George Kamel’s new book, Breaking Free From Broke.  Offers From Today's Sponsors  This episode is sponsored by Tello, a mobile service plan designed to save you money. Go to https://www.tello.com/george for $5 off your first month of Tello’s unlimited data plan.  This episode is also sponsored by DeleteMe. 🔒 Remove your personal information from the web at https://www.joindeleteme.com/george and use code GEORGE for 20% off. 🙌  Listen to More From Ramsey Network  🎙️ The Ramsey Show    🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour  💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights  🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show  💡 The Rachel Cruze Show  💼 The Ken Coleman Show  📈 The EntreLeadership Podcast    Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'd bet you a hundred doge coin that you're still falling for one of the oldest marketing tricks in the books. Which is a bummer because it's keeping you broke. This one simple marketing maneuver makes impulse buying sound smart, so you happily overspend on stuff you don't need, even if it means racking up high interest credit card debt. Yeah, I'm talking about spending to save or spaving. If four syllables is somehow too much of a mouth workout for you. This classic con has been flying just under your radar recently,

thanks to aliases like Bogo, subscribe and save, in store cash rewards or even buy in bulk. That's why today, I'll expose the spaving strategies marketers are using against you and help you start playing good defense. And if you think I'm done with the sports analogies, think again, Bucco, we're just getting started. But hey, before we hit the field,

go ahead and give your team captain a virtual high-five by hitting that like and subscribe button. Clear eyes, full hearts, blue 42, set hut. Shat! Shat! Shat! Shat! All right, time to study some metaphorical game tape,

because these marketers have definitely been studying you. That's how they know that you're a walking shopping dopamine addict. Now as humans, we all experience a hit of these feel-good brain chemicals like endorphins and dopamine when we buy stuff. And that's already good news for marketers. But then they figured out that if we think we got a good deal while shopping, it triggers even more than a cute little dopamine high. It's full-on Niagara Falls up there, baby. And marketers took this intel to heart, and now they pump these deals and sales at us 24-7. And if you don't believe me, just check out literally any mattress website. How is time always running out? How is time always running out?

Now is an offer a limited time deal every time. Why is every sale flash? And why is every promo code Welcome 15? You're welcome for that one. Oh my God, he's on to something. And that 24 hours left subject line or inbox somehow convinces you that now is the time to buy those sketchers slip-ons while they're still 35% off. And you're moving down the field, you add them to cart. You bundle with a pair of socks for an extra 10% off.

Your car has saved your Apple pay, so all takes a single click and goal! One point for Team Capitalism. Okay, huddle up guys. We need some defense against all these. urgent deals. Our first move is to go no contact. As in unsubscribe and unfollow all the brand stores and even the influencers that are tempting

you to spend. This also means no more window shopping at the local mall to get your steps in. All right, save that for your golden ears. Your second strategy is the 24-hour timeout. All right, listen up. I need you to sit on the shopping sidelines and don't get back in the game until you've given yourself a full day to think about whether or not you really want those

sketches or better yet need them. I pity the fool have to touch his shoes to put them on. Slowing down is the best antidote you have for overcoming that, I want it now, frenzy. All right, back to the pitch. Now, some of you are already too savvy to buy something as as an eye on slip on Skechers just because they're on sale. You'd rather save money instead, but Team Capitalism figured out a way to use those words

against you. So instead of just offering a discount like 25% off, they started saying, hey, we love that you want to save money. And that's why with this deal, you can save 25 when you spend 100. Newsflash, the math is exactly the same at 25% off. Only now you have to hit a certain spending minimum of $100 to get that discount. Sneaky, sneaky! And you'll see the same kind of word wizardry at play in phrases like,

buy two, get one free, earn in-store cash back, or get 500 reward points when you spend $50. Listen, the only reward you're getting with those sketch or slip-ons is every single person avoiding you in public. That's two points for the away team, you zero. Okay, so how do we play defense against all these sugar-coated sales pitches? Easy. We do the math. Oh, math. That's not so hard.

Yes, you can do this math. I believe in you. Just take a few extra seconds to think about how the deal is worded, and then use your handy calculator app to figure out if the savings are as good as they sound. For example, we've all seen the spend 50 get 15 deal at Target or Amazon. That's a 30% discount, but that $15 is for a future purchase. So you're not actually saving money today. It just gets you to come back to the store later on. Or what about buy one, get one free?

Well, that's 50% off. That might be a good deal if you can afford the minimum. spend on one full-price product and if it's an essential that you use regularly. And speaking of essentials you use regularly, let's talk about your cell phone service. I bet you would kill for a nice Welcome 15 discount code on that cell phone bill every month. Unless, of course, you've already switched to Tello, one of the sponsors of today's video. Tello users don't have to scrounge for coupon crumbs because they're already enjoying crazy affordable plans as low as five bucks a month or up to 25 bucks a month for the unlimited

everything plan. Plus, there's no contracts to sign and no fees to pay. So if you're ready to score some serious savings, head to tello.com slash George and, bonus, get five bucks off the unlimited data plan for your first month of service. That's tello.com slash George or click the link in the description below. All right, this little halftime show we find ourselves in is also brought to you by our friends at Delete Me. Now, these guys know a thing or two about defensive strategy. Their sole objective is to keep your personal info away from scammers, spammers, and big data brokers. Because the last thing you need is an identity thief making it rain Cole's cash in your name. Delete Me combs the internet to find and remove your info from hundreds of data broker sites,

and they send you an easy-to-read report so you can sleep easy and be rested up for the big game tomorrow. So if you want to help protect yourself from the risks of identity theft and online scams, it's time to team up with Delete Me. And right now, you can get 20% off their plans by going to join DeleteMe.com slash George or just click the link in the description. All right, half-time's over, guys. Drop the Kool-A jammers and let's get back on the field. Now, hopefully it's obvious at this point that a marketer's first goal is to get you to buy something.

But once it's clear you're on the hook, their next goal is to get you to spend as much as possible in a single transaction. And that's why a whole new world of spaving possibilities pops up on the screen the minute you add something to your cart. Spend 20 bucks or more and get free shipping. Unlock an additional 25% off when your cart hits 75 bucks. Subscribe and save 5%. Using spaving tactics as a way to upsell you, as they say in the biz, this actually works. There's not a single one of us who hasn't scoured the sale section for a $20 chashki to avoid the $7 in shipping fees. And guess what?

That means three points for them on the board. And still, no soup for you. All right, you know the drill. We got to talk defense here. And the one thing we can do to beat these spaving upsells is fight with friction. As in, intentionally make the checkout process harder on ourselves by refusing to store our card info on these apps and websites. Goodbye, Google Pay, adios, Apple pay, peace out, PayPal.

And since upselling uses the momentum of a purchase to get you to buy things you didn't initially plan on, breaking that momentum by forcing yourself to pause and pull out your card is sometimes all you need to think more clearly about that subtotal. The other thing we can do is premeditated shopping, which is just an angsty way of saying, thinking about what you're going to buy, before you go to the store or open that Amazon out. Now, this can be as simple as creating a note on your phone

and sticking to the list that you wrote down. Just start being proactive, because sometimes the best defense is good defense. Again, I don't watch a lot of sports. I don't know what they actually say. The team, the team, go team, go sports. Anyway, there's a few minutes left from the game clock, so it's time to talk about every marketer's spaving Hail Mary.

This tactic completely overwhelms and disorients your common sense, making it extra dangerous. And I'm not going to lie, this one is my own personal kryptonite. Well, that and gluten. That's right, I'm talking about buying in bulk. Don't be fooled. Bulk deals aren't exclusive to wholesale clubs. They are everywhere. Like Home Depot offering you a 40% price break when you buy six allergen reducing HVAC filters.

Or Orange Theory selling you a membership package that works out to only $13.63 per class. I mean, even Disney Plus Premium wants you to save $27 when you pay annually. And all of these bulk buys are spaving deals that get you to fork over more money right now. And I'll admit it, sometimes the deals are worth it. But there are also times where you end up spending five bucks on avocados that are going to go bad before you can even eat them. Yeah, you missed a one-minute window when that avocado was perfectly ripe, but it's your fault. And guess what?

That's a fourth point to team capitalism. It's a shot out. So how do we bulk up on defense instead of canned garbonzo beans? Well, first, let cash be king. If you'd have to put that package of sauna sessions on payments, then it's going to be a no for you, dog. And I promise a discount is never worth going into debt for, ever. Your other big move here is to respect the budget.

This means checking to see if you have money to spend before you start shoveling method hand soap or censadine toothpaste into your cart. And if you learn to check the budget first, it'll also be a good reminder of your financial priorities for the month, which might make leaving those deals behind a little bit or a lot easier. Now, if you don't have a budget yet, you've got to get one. A budget takes all the guesswork and stress out of spending, saving, and spaving. And frankly, it's an absolute godsend for those anxiety-triggered IBS sufferers.

Not that I would know. My microbiome is none of your business. This is classified information. So if you enjoyed even a single second of this video, be sure to check out my favorite budgeting app, Every Dollar. And you can create your budget for free. Go to every dollar.com slash George or just click the link in the description to get started. Now, I want to be clear. I don't think marketing and salespeople are evil.

At the core, marketing just means getting the word out about a product. And it can absolutely help people improve their lives. without being manipulative. But there's a lot of marketers out there that don't give a flying tart about you or the financial future you're dreaming of. I, on the other hand, I give a tart. I personally support your dreams

because they're one of the best defenses you have against overspending of any kind. Long-term goals are what makes short-term dopamine deprivation absolutely worth it. So if this spaving video got you motivated to make that piece silent, that would make it saving. Check out this video to learn the 12 rules you need

for a frugal life. I'll also link it in the description below. Thanks for watching We'll see you next time.