Two Quick Wins Plus My Favorite Money Podcasts
Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!
Two quick wins this week:
My parents’ business internet and phone plan’s 12-month promotion just expired, raising their monthly price to $155/month. One call later, following the instructions in this early post, they are on a new 12-month promotion at $106/month, with the current bill adjusted to reflect the new rate. If you aren’t on a 12-month promo with your internet or cable provider, go ahead and do it today!
A new money-saving strategy I’ve found useful is to politely ask for discounts if you receive a promotion after placing an order. A go-to weekly lunch is a microwaved frozen tamale from Tucson Tamale (not an ad!) which are delicious with some avocado and eggs. Within 24 hours of placing our last order, we received a promotional email with a coupon code for $10 off. I sent a politely-worded email pointing out that our order was so recent, asking if they could apply the coupon to our order. Five minutes later, we received a $10 refund to our credit card. I’ve started doing this regularly when I receive a discount offer soon after placing an order, and I’m two for two so far.
Money podcast recommendations:
I don’t listen to podcasts for savings tips (in fact, I don’t know of any good ones) but I enjoy listening to podcasts about broader money issues. Two of my favorites are:
NPR’s Planet Money - this is the #1 money podcast out there. Roughly twice per week, they discuss some interesting economic story. Very accessible and fun, with short episodes.
EconTalk - A bit denser, but has great conversations on economic and philosophical issues, with recent episodes on Black entrepreneurship, the future of higher education, the “hot hand” phenomenon, and health care. The host is Russ Roberts, who is a terrific conversationalist with a lot of interesting views.
And now, Andrew’s pick of the week:
This week’s pick is an excellent recent Planet Money episode on plastic recycling. I consider myself an environmentalist and recycle everything I can. But, it turns out that plastic recycling is largely a myth created by the plastics industry to make us feel less guilty about plastic waste and more willing to buy wasteful single-use plastic products like bottled water. This episode is great, both because it convincingly shreds the plastic recycling myth, but also because it shows a useful example of how Corporate America co-opted (and arguably created) a social movement to serve its own ends.
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.