Budgeting Tips!

In this podcast episode, the host discusses three tips for saving money. The first tip is to let go of loyalty to favorite brands and be aware of how price and colors can influence our purchasing decisions. The second tip is to join local grocery store loyalty programs to take advantage of deals and discounts. The host suggests comparing prices per ounce to get the best value for your money. Lastly, the host shares tips for budget-friendly clothing shopping, such as shopping at Goodwill, Plato's Closet, and TJ Maxx. She also provides a guide for organizing a work wardrobe with a limited number of items. Overall, the episode offers practical advice for saving money. Hello everyone, and welcome to the Meg's Like Eggs podcast. I'm your host, Hannah Meggs, and today we'll be discussing the best ways to keep your money in your pocket. Let's get started. Alright, as you've heard, today we're talking about saving money and some ways you can navigate all of those confusing deals. I'm here to give you three tips on how to do that without pulling out your hair. My first word of advice is to let go of your loyalty to your favorite brands. When you walk into a store, especially grocery stores, companies earn your money by convincing you their product is best. There are several factors that influence our brains into determining which products we trust. Price is one. There was a study done in 2007 that entailed giving students two differently priced coffees. There was no taste or brew difference, just price. Students preferred the higher priced coffee simply because they paid more for it. Your brain will make any excuse to feel good about a purchase, and combating that is the first step to saving your money. Another thing that influences our brain is color. Red and yellow are easily recognizable and are scientifically shown to make us hungry. Blue is calming, often used to advertise skin care or laundry detergents. Look at some of your favorite products. They usually all have a theme when they really don't need one. Big tech is often white, black, or silver. Personal tech has more of the fun colors for marketing's greatest schemes, customization, but I won't get into that. Noticing what marketers utilize to capture your attention and choosing products for you, not the company, is the first step in what I like to call a better buying process. Secondly, join your local grocery store's number program. I have one for Harris Teeter, Lowe's, Ingalls, and Food Lion. I've shopped around while I've been in Boone, and for me personally, Food Lion has always been the cheapest with the most deals and good quality produce and meat. One of the best tips I picked up when comparing prices for an item was looking at the price per ounce that's beside the actual item price. You'd be shocked at how expensive and not worth it some things are when you look at the individual price for each ounce. And it can save you a couple dollars to buy more product, just not as name brand as you're used to. This is another step in my better buying process. Last week, I saved $2 on some cat treats and ended up with three more ounces of treats. It may seem small, but over my cat's life, I could save hundreds of dollars as my cat eats more treats than the Grinch in that one Christmas feast scene. Small changes like that make a big impact on your grocery bill and long-term savings. For my third budgeting tip, let's talk about clothes. I dream of a world where a nice shirt is always a reasonable price. Most of the time, I walk into a store and see an item of clothing I like and close my eyes as I turn the tag around. It physically pains me to pay that much for clothes, no matter how long they last. Buying clothes is a balance between price and quality. Some patrons are willing to pay a premium price for clothes that will last a long time. But if you're like me, most of those clothes were only bought for me when I was younger. As a broke college student, I can only revel in the feeling of new, good quality clothes not bought by me probably once a year. When shopping for clothes on a budget, I always turn to Goodwill, Plato's Closet, and TJ Maxx stores, especially for my job or business casual clothes. For my listeners who are in the market for a job and maybe have one, here are the best tips I have to organize your wardrobe. Start with five nice shirts. One white and light blue. And the other three, pick neutral colors that fit your personality well. Next, three pants that go with the shirts. And at least two blazers. I'd suggest black, gray, navy, or white. With these 10 items alone, you will have 30 outfit combinations, enough to last the month and rinse and repeat. Enough to get you started. That's everything I have for y'all today. I hope you enjoyed and hopefully took a few things away from this one and only episode. I'm your host, Hannah Maeg. Enjoy your day. you