A Few Quick Tips And 2022 Favorites
Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!
Ever since my first post in September 2019, I’ve really enjoyed writing the newsletter each week and connecting with readers, and I’ll continue as long as I still have things to say. If you haven’t done so, please fill out my completely anonymous reader poll. I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
First, two small but worthwhile money-saving tips:
Do you have a Keurig machine? You may be eligible for a settlement ranging from $5 to as much as $36 if you bought K-Cup pods marked as recyclable. A useful writeup on what to do from CNET, and the settlement website here.
Also, free COVID tests are back. Each household can get four free tests from the US government via USPS, no strings attached, just fill out the form.
Next, a few of my favorite money-saving themed items for the year:
Favorite SMwA Issues - I’m very proud of Too Good To Be True - Protecting Yourself and Vulnerable Loved Ones From Scams and Spending Creep - Is Capitalism Designed To Keep Us Living Paycheck To Paycheck?. These were two longer issues I wrote about serious problems that receive far too little attention—how vulnerable we and less-savvy loved ones are to scams, and how easily luxuries and “spending creep” can offset any financial successes we have.
Favorite Deals Website - Cashback Monitor is a superb site for finding which cashback website offers the best deals for a given retailer. Don’t know what cashback is? I urge you to read one of my first posts, Cashback Shopping for Beginners.
Favorite Podcast - Odd Lots is the runaway winner of the most thoughtful and offbeat podcast about interesting economic issues. It’s more complex and sophisticated than Planet Money (another favorite) but still reasonably accessible.
And now, Andrew’s pick(s) of the week:
In college, Game Theory was one of my favorite classes. In fewer than 30 minutes, The Evolution of Trust (via Recommendo) gives a terrific interactive overview of basic game theory concepts and how they relate to our daily lives.
Do you remember the chaos that was the early 2021 rollout of the COVID vaccines? My defining memories of that period are an incomprehensible mess of websites, reloading those same websites constantly for weeks, and finally, becoming eligible and sitting in a convention center with hundreds of people after a year of isolation. The Story of VaccinateCA is a long but fascinating article from the point of view of a volunteer who worked to increase vaccine access amid bad incentives and neverending bureaucracy. TheZvi has a slightly abridged post summarizing some of the highlights.
Also, for classical and jazz music fans:
I loved Tyler Cowen’s recent interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams.
Also, a nice holiday story about the late jazz great Lester Young.
I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it on social media! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.