Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Money Moves that Are Good for Your Wallet and the Environment

Episode Date: July 15, 2021

In today’s episode, you’ll learn how to save money WHILE saving mama Earth. Listen up, and make a difference! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. Nicole Lappin. You know the expression, it's expensive to be poor?

It can often feel like the world of finance is set up to hurt the ones who need the most help. And that includes the planet. Oftentimes, when we're out shopping, an environmentally friendly alternative costs way more than its plastic alter ego. If you're like me, you might start to feel guilty and convince yourself that this exact coffee cup or whatever is going to get stuck in a whale's blowhole. Sorry, Shamu. But the thing is, us money rehabbers are on a spending plan. And if we are going to be rich bitches or rich bros, then we have to be disciplined about our budget. And we can't casually spend 500 bucks on sheets made from recycled cans or bottles or

whatever. So where does that leave those of us who want to do some good? Well, as it turns out, there are a lot of ways you can help your bank account and the planet at the same time. I had wanted to do an episode like this for a while, but felt especially inspired after getting this rant from listener Evan. Here I am. I just left my local supermarket. I won't name their name because I don't want to call them out because I actually like the people that work there. But $21 per steak for less than a pound. I mean, that's ridiculous. That is outrageous. I have never in my life paid $21 for anything, let alone a five-ounce steak. You know, I mean, I know COVID, they said there's a

meat shortage, but that's just absurd. I mean, a hamburger, you all of a sudden chuck meats, $8 a pound, $7 a pound. It was like $3.99 before. What's going on? Is this the new normal? Side note, yes, there was a meat shortage during the pandemic, which was caused by disruptions in the supply chain when travel was halted and farmers were sick. Most places are actually starting to see meat prices normalize. So I hope wherever you are, Evan, you start to see those prices drop too. But Evan, I have a hot take for you. You can save money on steak by not buying steak. And there's more where that came from. Here are five ways you can save money and the planet at the same time. Number one, go vegetarian.

You know what? Fun fact, Nicole Lappin has been vegan for 20 years. I know, 70 freaking episodes and I haven't mentioned it not once, not ever. Look at me just smashing these stereotypes of veganism. So in addition to lowering my carbon footprint, going vegan has also lowered my grocery bills a lot. At my grocery store, non-organic chicken breast is $6.99 per pound. Organic chicken breast is $13.99 a pound. And steak, similar to Evan at my grocery store, steak is still $23.99 per pound. You know how much tofu costs? Tofu costs $3.99 per pound. And before you roll your eyes at me at the mere mention of tofu, if you don't like the taste of tofu, you are just doing it wrong. Seriously. It's one of the most

flavor-absorbent foods of all time. So if you don't like the way it tastes, that's on you, boo. I'll share one of my favorite tofu recipes in the show notes for you. And I'm not being preachy here. I'm not saying that everyone needs to go vegetarian or vegan, and I'm not mad at you at all if you like chicken nuggets. I am no preacher. I am doing what's best for me and my wallet. I'm just saying that if you swap out your steak dinner with tofu just once a week, you have already saved yourself almost 100 bucks a month, and you've done good by Mother Earth too. According to the Humane Society and Forbes, the production of one hamburger, that is one single hamburger patty, requires 3,000 liters of water and produces three kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions. To put that into

perspective, 3,000 liters of water is more than the average American uses over the course of 15 showers. Number two, make Uncle Sam pay. The IRS gives them tax breaks when you decide to make your home more eco-friendly. There are qualified purchases for insulation, window replacements, heating and cooling systems that the IRS lets you write off come tax season. And oftentimes, replacing a fixture in your house with an energy-efficient alternative saves you in two ways. First, you get the tax break. We love a good tax break around here. Second, your utility bills are probably going to get a break as well. For example, if your house isn't insulated tightly, it's essentially like leaving a window cracked open. And if you have a window cracked when you heat your house

in the winter, you're going to have to turn the heat on higher and leave it on for longer, just to try to make up for the heat that is escaping from said cracked window. Obviously, that extra energy usage hurts the environment, but also, duh, you're literally throwing money out the window. I'll include a link in the show notes to where you can read more about how much Uncle Sam will pay you for your new green life. Hold on to your wallets, boys and girls. Money Rehab will be right back. life. Hold on to your wallets, boys and girls. Money rehab will be right back. Now for some more money rehab. Number three, go reusable. You can tally up some major savings just by opting for products that are reusable instead of single use. Think about it. How many gas station water bottles have you bought this month or bodega water bottles? I mean, even if you're just buying a water bottle once a week, you're spending $150

per year on just plastic. Do yourself a favor and buy the $20 reusable water bottle and fill it up all the time. There are so many everyday things we can swap with reusable counterparts. Bringing your own bags to the grocery store instead of using the plastic ones, which will save you some money in states like New York where you're charged a fee for getting bags at checkout. And plus, they're way more comfortable to walk with. You can put way more stuff in there. And you can bring your own coffee mug to Starbucks. You can use a dish towel instead of a whole bunch of paper towels. And okay, I hate using a crusty dish towel as much as the next gal or guy, but newsflash, it's 2021. Nasty dish rags are things of the past. They now make dish

towels that come with soap in the microfibers, so you don't have to also buy dish soap, which, yes, comes in a plastic bottle. So instead of buying a multi-pack of paper towels three times a month, you have a one-and-done dish towel purchase that you can throw in with your laundry, and it's good as new. Plus, these towels smell delicious and they come in beautifully bright colors, so they'll just make you happy. Paper towels do not smell good and they do not come in bright colors. The end. Number four, buy used. Nine times out of ten, buying used is cheaper than buying new. And ten times out of 10, it's much better for the environment. Yeah, you know about the vintage clothing store around the corner or the Ebays

of the world, but we can think outside the box here. You can buy pre-owned, aka pre-loved, books, furniture, baby strollers, coffee makers, soccer cleats, those white and gold coffee tables that I keep seeing on Instagram. I'm telling you, the list of what you can buy used is much, much longer than what you can't. And the difference in sticker price is often half priced or less. And how does that make Mama Earth feel? I saw this stat on the TV station K.R.O.N. in San Francisco. They said if everyone chose to buy one used clothing item instead of new this year, it would save the same amount of CO2 emissions as if we took half a million cars off the road for a year. For a year. So choose used. Plus, the 90s are back, baby. Buy a vintage

Rolling Stones tee and save the planet. Number five. Give, receive, and give back. Say it's that time of year again. Your boss's birthday. And shit, what do you get the gal that has everything? Well, a tax-deductible donation in her name, of course. You could make yourself crazy trying to rack your brain for the perfect gift, but you saw the most recent earnings report. If your boss wanted another Paisley scarf, she would have just bought it herself. Instead, give a gift that gives back and make a donation to an eco-friendly charity. Write your boss a note like, you've made such a difference in my career. I wanted to pay it forward and make a difference for the planet in your name. I mean, hello! That is so memorable. That's a great gift to my employees. My birthday is March 7th, FYI.

And not only are you actually funding important projects with your donation, but the good karma comes right back to you on tax day. Yes, because you get to write off that donation. Donations to organizations like the Sierra Club or Earth Justice? Totally tax deductible. Talk about a win, win, win. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. Your new green mission starts at home. So pay special attention to how much water and energy you're using on a daily basis. Whenever I say this, I always get one guy in the back of the room that goes, okay, so Nicole Lappin doesn't shower and she just wants to take away our bubble

baths. Boo hoo. No, that's gross. I mean, I shower. I'm going to come clean. I hope to come clean, literally, but I don't shower every day. I'm not going to lie. I do use a lot of dry shampoo. Listen, we can all do better, but here's the thing. Like when you turn on the shower, do you scroll on Instagram to kill a little bit too much time when the water is, yes, already warm? Do you keep your AC on when you leave your apartment? These little things are really bad for the environment and your utility bills. So do yourself and our planet a favor and do less. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartMedia. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Catherine Law. Money Rehab is edited and engineered by Brandon Dickert with help from Josh Fisher.

Executive producers are Mangesh Hatikader and Will Pearson. Huge thanks to the OG Money Rehab supervising producer, Michelle Lanz, for her pre-production and development work. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.