Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - The Best Saving Tips You’ve Never Tried

Episode Date: May 16, 2022

We're tired of the same obvious and just plain boring savings tips, aren't you? Here are five fresh, new ways to save $$$. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Money rehabbers, you get it. When you're trying to have it all, you end up doing a lot of juggling. You have to balance your work, your friends, and everything in between. So when it comes to your finances, the last thing you need is more juggling. That's where Bank of America steps in. With Bank of America, you can manage your banking, borrowing, and even investing all in one place. Their digital tools bring everything together under one roof, giving you a clear view of your finances whenever you need it. Plus, with Bank of America's wealth of expert guidance available at any time, you can feel confident that your

money is working as hard as you do. So why overcomplicate your money? Keep it simple with Bank of America, your one-stop shop for everything you need today and the goals you're working toward tomorrow. To get started, visit bofa.com slash newprosmedia. That's b-o-f-a dot com slash n-e-w pros p-r-o-s media. bfa.com slash newprosmedia. Hey guys, are you ready for some money rehab? Wall Street has been completely upended by an unlikely player, GameStop. And should I have a 401k? You don't do it? No, I never do it. You think the whole world revolves around you and your money.

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. Have you noticed how financial advice can be an echo chamber?

It probably goes like this. You get inspired to look up some best practices around a certain financial topic. Yay. So you take to the internet and all of the results are exactly the same. And let's be honest, they're all super lame. Maybe you've Googled something like tips to save money on rent. And all you get is five articles telling you how to find an apartment in your budget. Like, come on, internet.

Is that the best we can do? It's like all of these articles are written by Captain Obvious himself. We got a question from a money rehabber who is sick and tired of the same old advice. Here she is. Hey, Nicole. I was wondering if you had any sneaky ways to help me save some money. Everything online are things that are either really obvious or things that I've already tried, like using a budgeting app or buying generic brands.

Like, yes, obviously I'm not falling out buying designer brands, but yet I still don't meet my savings goals. I feel like I've tried all the go-to moves and I'd love some fresh advice. Thank you. I love this question and I can relate big time. I remember when I was looking for some help padding my savings account and all of the advice I found made my eyes roll. We can definitely be more creative when it comes to saving our money. Here are five ways to get you started. Number one, shop at companies with lifetime warranties. Einstein, of course, said that the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and over again, expecting the same result. My definition of insanity is buying the same things over and over and over again, expecting the same result. My definition

of insanity is buying the same product over and over and over again, instead of shopping with a company that will let you replace what you need. Jansport, Eddie Bauer, L.L. Bean, and Away all have lifetime warranties, and there are plenty of other companies out there. Remember, purchases feel like expenses, but they can be investments. So choose the product with the best ROI and shop with a company that offers a lifetime warranty. Number two, put birthdays in your calendar. I'm going to come clean about one of my biggest financial pet peeves right now. It drives me absolutely nuts when people shop at the last minute and then they have to pay for all of this expedited shipping. That is truly just flushing money down the drain. You basically just added your own premium. And why the heck would you do that?

The secret here is to make sure you're staying on top of time-sensitive shopping that you need to do. So that's birthday presents, holiday shopping, anniversary gifts. You get the idea. I try to put all of my friends' birthdays in my calendar and make sure that if I'm buying a gift, I do it far in advance to opt into standard shipping. Number three, use ad blockers. There's a reason you get so many ads online. They work. The ad targeting is getting so freakishly accurate that the ads you're seeing online are probably things that you actually want to buy. Spooky. I know. And bad for our spending plans. Ad blockers are basically blinders that your computer can put up for you so that you don't have to see any online ads and therefore be tempted to buy

something that you don't actually need. You can set up ad blockers pretty easily on whatever web browser you use. Just look up the instructions and ta-da, your computer, no longer a billboard. You're welcome. Number four, go cash only. As we all know, credit cards can sometimes feel limitless,

even though they aren't. I've found that one really helpful way to keep strict to a spending limit is to make that limit physical and withdraw exactly the amount of money you can afford to spend in cash each week. And then, when the cash is spent, you are done. Well, within reason. I don't mean you can't swipe your card in case of an emergency, but for everything else, cut yourself off when the money goes dry. To do this, go to your spending plan and check out how much you expect to spend weekly, and this should be the total amount you're expecting to spend on both essentials like gas and also extras like getting coffee with a friend. Then go to the ATM and take out that amount in cash and let that be your spending limit.

Number five, don't store your credit card information in your web browser. When you buy something online, the site or maybe even your web browser itself will ask you if you want to store your credit card information. Just say no. I know this is counterintuitive. Saving your credit card information makes it really easy and convenient to buy from the same sites over and over. And we love convenience, right? Well, if spending is too convenient, it leads to overspending. I know that going through the motions of getting your wallet out and typing in the credit card information every time you make a purchase online isn't that it leads to overspending. I know that going through the motions of getting your wallet out and typing in the credit card information every time you make a purchase online isn't that much

extra time and work, but you'll be surprised how effectively that slight change weeds out the purchases that you don't actually need to make. And if you can't get your ass up to get your wallet, you don't really need it. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. One way to customize your own tips to save is to notice patterns in your own shopping behavior. Do you buy more at the grocery store when you're hungry? Or order a few too many things online when you're tipsy? Been there. Hence all of my dog pennies.

Many, many random chew toys. If you practice self-awareness of your own shopping habits, you'll be able to tailor your own safeguards and guardrails around unnecessary spending and ultimately saving. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Mike Coscarelli. Executive producers are Nikki Etor and Will Pearson.

Our mascots are Penny and Mimsy. Huge thanks to OG Money Rehab team Michelle Lanz for her development work, Catherine Law for her production and writing magic, and Brandon Dickert for his and writing magic, and Brandon Dickert for his editing, engineering, and sound design. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.