Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!

This issue marks one year of Saving Money with Andrew. I started this newsletter because I really, really enjoy saving money (especially in creative ways) and wanted to share it with as many people as possible. I expected to run out of material in a few months, but found I constantly came across new ideas.

Also, simple tips about saving money (change your light bulbs! or call your cable company) often led to more insightful and interesting conversations about how different industries work, bettering ourselves through becoming better negotiators, or contemplating our relationship with Amazon. But there are many places on the Internet where one can read interesting things; I want this to be a place where almost every week you can learn something that can provide tangible benefits. And that’s why I particularly enjoy hearing your success stories.

I began writing in September 2019 with about 20 subscribers (all family and friends). Today’s issue goes out to almost 500, thanks in part to mentions from #5SmartReads, Normcore Tech, and social media. Writing this newsletter is a lot of work, but something I enjoy enormously and plan to continue for a long time to come.

I also want to reiterate my promise to you, dear readers. I will never monetize or charge for this newsletter. No subscription fees, no ads, no sponsored content or affiliate links. I started Saving Money with Andrew in response to what I see as a flood of low-quality, excessively wordy, and often biased or incomplete tips on saving money. Often, this advice is skewed by the desire to monetize the content with ads, or steer the reader to products. I promise never to do that.

There is one thing I do want to ask, though. If you know of anyone who you think would enjoy or benefit from the newsletter, please share it with friends or on social media (I’m on Twitter now, though not doing a whole lot with it yet). I would love to be able to share this with more people and, most of all, to hear from more people about how this advice has made their lives better in small ways.

I’ll be back next week with more helpful tips and suggestions. Thanks again!

But finally…Andrew’s pick of the week!

An Arm and a Leg

America’s healthcare system is…complicated. Some of us (particularly seniors on Medicare) have health insurance that is relatively affordable and usable with most doctors, and are generally highly satisfied.[1] And some have generous health plans from their employers. But most Americans have plans with high premiums, deductibles, and restrictive networks that make almost every unexpected interaction with the healthcare system potentially financially ruinous. Most people are healthy and rarely need intensive medical care, so it’s easy to overlook just how messed up the system can be sometimes.

On An Arm and a Leg, host Dan Weissman tells crazy stories about the exorbitant costs and unfair practices of the healthcare system, and how patients have fought back, in stories ranging from $3000 out-of-network charges for simple stitches, to patients being illegally charged hundreds of dollars for COVID tests, to the hospital that routinely sued poor patients, including many of its own employees. A great and engaging podcast.

I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it with a friend! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.

[1] Interestingly, despite high-profile stories in the past about difficulties within the VA system, veterans reported the highest satisfaction with their healthcare coverage.