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Speaker 1: Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt.

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Speaker 1: Today we're talking saving big at the supermarket with Brian Vines.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Joel, food inflation is up one hundred percent over

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Speaker 2: the past few years. Okay, okay, that's just that's my

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Speaker 2: family's personal spending at the grocery store. And actually maybe

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Speaker 2: it has to do more with feeding a much of

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Speaker 2: growing kids.

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Speaker 1: But prices are up.

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Speaker 2: Prices have increased over twenty six percent from twenty nineteen

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Speaker 2: to today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This

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Speaker 2: is a pattern that most Americans hate seeing paying more

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Speaker 2: for the same old stuff. But luckily we're joined by

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Speaker 2: Brian Vines, who knows all about groceries and how that

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Speaker 2: impacts you as a consumer. He's the deputy editor of

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Speaker 2: Special Projects over at one of our absolute favorite publications,

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Speaker 2: Consumer Reports, and we're going to talk about how you

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Speaker 2: can pay.

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Speaker 1: Less at the grocery store. Brian Vines, thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for talking with us today.

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Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me.

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Speaker 4: I'm glad to hear that Consumer Reports has a place

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Speaker 4: in your hearts and minds.

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Speaker 3: Like and subscribe please.

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Speaker 1: It's absolutely It's right next to Matt's Bible on the

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Speaker 1: nice sid in case you're wondering.

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Speaker 3: So we're happy to be in such good company.

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Speaker 1: Our first question we ask everyone who comes on the show, Brian,

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Speaker 1: is what do you like to supoorge on? Because Matt

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Speaker 1: and I were drinking the craft beer right now. We

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Speaker 1: like to spend a lot of money on craft beer

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Speaker 1: while we're also doing the smart thing. We're saving investing

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Speaker 1: for our future. So yeah, what's that sports for you?

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Speaker 3: See?

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Speaker 4: I slurge with some guides, but one thing is that

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Speaker 4: I slurge on Cheetos and Jesus. The whole thing that

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Speaker 4: is orange and crunches is likely going to make its

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Speaker 4: way into my market basket.

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Speaker 3: But I do like try to put one.

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Speaker 4: I only buy them when they're on sale. Okay, that's

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Speaker 4: my splur because they're not the best things for.

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Speaker 3: Me and how I want to life right now.

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Speaker 4: So I temper like having that little sheet and splurge

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Speaker 4: at once. And you know PepsiCo and the prices they've

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Speaker 4: been charging us for snacks and those carbonated drinks, it

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Speaker 4: feels like a splurge.

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Speaker 1: It's it's so on brand tube, So Brian, I really

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Speaker 1: appreciate that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so first I got a question out of the

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Speaker 1: gate on groceries, picking up on this obsession of yours

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Speaker 1: with Cheetos and cheese its is when it is on sale,

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Speaker 1: how much are you willing to stock up? And you

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Speaker 1: live in New York City right where you probably don't

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Speaker 1: have like ridiculous amounts of pantry space. So if cheese

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Speaker 1: its are on sale, let's say there, buy will get

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Speaker 1: one free, and you're like, man, that's a good deal.

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Speaker 1: Are you buying like two? A? Are you buying like ten?

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Speaker 3: Oh? This is the eternal fight the devil question.

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Speaker 4: When I'm standing in the aisle there, I again, it

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Speaker 4: depends on how I'm feeling and how active I am

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Speaker 4: at the time, and whether I want to get my

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Speaker 4: future yourself in debt to myself, both workout wise and

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Speaker 4: money wise.

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Speaker 3: But I'll say, if there's.

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Speaker 4: A buy one, get one, I'm not leaving without getting

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Speaker 4: two deals.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so I'm going home.

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Speaker 4: With four bags. Don't tell my husband jeese don't have

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Speaker 4: a lot of room. We don't have a lot of room.

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Speaker 4: I live in New York City, Like pantry space is

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Speaker 4: non existent.

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Speaker 1: It comes out of premium. I've done this before. I

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Speaker 1: come home with too much of something, and my wife's like,

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Speaker 1: it was on sale. You've got to stick that, like

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Speaker 1: under your side of the bed or something, dude, And

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Speaker 1: so I knew well.

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Speaker 2: And actually today it's National Financial Awareness Day, which is

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Speaker 2: I mean, of course, we want more and more folks

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Speaker 2: to know me about the good word of personal finances

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Speaker 2: out there. But I'm curious it's kind of related here.

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Speaker 2: But what led you to Consumer Reports, the great organization

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Speaker 2: that they are in the mission of helping folks to save.

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Speaker 4: Well, The thing that primarily led me to Consumer Reports

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Speaker 4: is at the time when I join in October of

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Speaker 4: twenty twenty, we were in the thick of the pandemic

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Speaker 4: as well as really grapling publicly collectively for the first

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Speaker 4: time in my generation, with what a lot of folks

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Speaker 4: have come to call the racial reckoning here in America.

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Speaker 4: And I saw that Consumer Reports was making a sustained

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Speaker 4: effort to in their lane, look at and examine and

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Speaker 4: really interrogate some of the systems as well as the

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Speaker 4: practices that were in place and prohibiting folks from access

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Speaker 4: to a free, equitable, more just and safe marketplace. And

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Speaker 4: they were asking the questions and I thought, oh, this

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Speaker 4: is something that I'd like to be a part of.

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Speaker 3: So while I.

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Speaker 4: Could talk to you all day about deals in grocery

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Speaker 4: stores and pet insurance, because it is one of my

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Speaker 4: passions at Consumer Reports, I'm able to engage and indulge

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Speaker 4: even sometimes in those pursuits, but also have a focus

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Speaker 4: on some of the larger picture things that are really

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Speaker 4: impacting communities that have been locked out for long time

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Speaker 4: from the market.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's cool. Thanks for sharing. And Consumer Reports has

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Speaker 1: done so much for so many decades now to help

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Speaker 1: inform consumers so they can make smart decisions with their

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Speaker 1: finances or big fans of what Consumer Reports has been

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Speaker 1: doing for a long long time. All right, let's talk specifically.

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Speaker 1: Let's start. Let's get into food and inflation. Matt kind

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Speaker 1: of joked about at the beginning that his food bill

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Speaker 1: maybe has gone up more than others because more kids,

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Speaker 1: more mouse to feed and buying the organics. I guess right, Matt.

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Speaker 1: But true, grocery prices have gone up for everybody roughly

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Speaker 1: twenty six percent over the last four and a half years.

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Speaker 1: But it's also kind of it makes so many headlines

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Speaker 1: even though it's not meaningfully Food inflation has not meaningfully

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Speaker 1: been above head and shoulders above the average inflation rate.

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Speaker 1: So why do you think the grocery store prices get

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Speaker 1: so much coverage?

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Speaker 4: By some measures, the price of groceries are the leading

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Speaker 4: economic indicator for a lot of folks, And you really

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Speaker 4: feel it because it's a.

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Speaker 3: Very visceral experience.

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Speaker 4: You're going and you're filling your basket, and you're looking

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Speaker 4: at the things that you're used to buying, and you're

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Speaker 4: looking at the prices that you're paying for them, and

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Speaker 4: there really aren't a lot of spaces that we're confronted

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Speaker 4: so just starkly by what our idea of what economizing

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Speaker 4: is and what we used to pay versus what our

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Speaker 4: current reality is. So even though those numbers might not

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Speaker 4: be akin to looking at gas prices or insurance or

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Speaker 4: your mortgage or rent, it just feels like it because

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Speaker 4: it's such a basic thing. And you know, eggs are

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Speaker 4: a dollar fifty, and then when you see that they're

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Speaker 4: two dollars and seventy, you're like, WHOA, what is going on?

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Speaker 4: Because there are some things you just know and it

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Speaker 4: feels very much like you're being confronted with it when

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Speaker 4: you're buying the same thing.

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Speaker 3: But you're paying a lot more.

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Speaker 1: There's a lot of things we can cut back on,

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Speaker 1: foods not really one of the most of the time,

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Speaker 1: Ryan's number one tip is just to eat less. Number

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Speaker 1: one meal of a day. Is that a three?

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Speaker 3: No?

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Speaker 2: I think what you said is so true, just the

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Speaker 2: pervasiveness of it. And you're talking about the price per

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Speaker 2: gallon of gas, but when it comes to food, like,

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Speaker 2: there's a like for you. I'm guessing I don't know,

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Speaker 2: maybe I'm assuming here, but a lot of New Yorkers

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Speaker 2: don't have a car, and so the price per gallon

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Speaker 2: probably doesn't affect many Manhattanites.

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Speaker 1: Is that what you?

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Speaker 2: I don't know, nearly as much as the price of

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Speaker 2: let's say, twelve eggs. So you you actually wrote an

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Speaker 2: article over in Consumer Reports about obviously saving money at

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Speaker 2: the supermarket, but you said that technology specifically is rapidly

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Speaker 2: changing the food shopping experience.

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Speaker 1: And you know we're.

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Speaker 2: Not just talking about you know, getting your groceries delivered.

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Speaker 2: So how has the in person experience change and how

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Speaker 2: do you currently see it continue to change?

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Speaker 4: Well, technology is marching on, it's never quit and it

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Speaker 4: is touching every aspect of our lives and shopping and

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Speaker 4: food is no different. We have, of course always known

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Speaker 4: about these savor deals that come when you join a

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Speaker 4: store loyalty program, but now you would be hard pressed

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Speaker 4: to find one of those stores that hasn't taken their

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Speaker 4: loyalty program away from the little rip and go sort

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Speaker 4: of coupons that you might have been used to to

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Speaker 4: the realm of online and.

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Speaker 3: Smartphones as well.

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Speaker 4: We've also seen the advent of this palm scanning technology

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Speaker 4: is pioneered by the folks over at the megabohemoth Amazon

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Speaker 4: using this sort of network that scans your palm that

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Speaker 4: you actually tie to a payment method, and that is

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Speaker 4: making folks move through grocery stores even more quickly and

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Speaker 4: has the ability to tailor deals that are specific to

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Speaker 4: your sort of shopping patterns as well, and that might

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Speaker 4: represent the opportunity for you to manifest some savings there.

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Speaker 4: There are also other things like technology at these warehouse

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Speaker 4: clubs that so many of us shop at now, particularly

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Speaker 4: those who are not Manhattan Ice or Brooklyn Nights like myself,

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Speaker 4: who do have pantry space where you know, the days

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Speaker 4: where you have to stop by that person at the

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Speaker 4: door with a little highlighter where they're.

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Speaker 3: Scanning your card and checking off all the things that

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Speaker 3: they couldn't possibly know are in your aisle.

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Speaker 5: So in your car, right, all of this performative security

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Speaker 5: is yeah, it's sort of but I've seen long lines there,

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Speaker 5: but that is going the way of the Dodo powered

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Speaker 5: by AI, where they're.

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Speaker 4: Actually going to be scanning and allow you to just

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Speaker 4: walk through, so reducing the lag of your grocery store

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Speaker 4: experience and the idea of just getting people in and

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Speaker 4: out more quickly and making the shopping experience more fun

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Speaker 4: and relevant.

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Speaker 3: But one of the most exciting advents.

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Speaker 4: Is with these smart hearts that have the ability to

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Speaker 4: weigh your vegetables and other bulk items as well as

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Speaker 4: show you any savings that you might be able to

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Speaker 4: get from the products and give you information on them

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Speaker 4: as you just put them into your cart. And these

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Speaker 4: are being piloted at a few different commercial supermarkets across

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Speaker 4: the country. So smart carts seem to be a way

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Speaker 4: of the future, and once they get the price down

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Speaker 4: a little, I suspect we'll be able to see.

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Speaker 3: A lot more of those.

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Speaker 4: You have a complete shopping experience and are able to

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Speaker 4: just move your way through the grocery store and not

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Speaker 4: even have to interact with anyone. It charges and pays

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Speaker 4: and keeps the running sabulation the entire time that you're shopping.

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Speaker 4: So those are some of the more forward looking innovations.

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Speaker 4: But yeah, tech has taken over our shopping as well,

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Speaker 4: and hopefully we'll be able to use that to have

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Speaker 4: some savings.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, okay, So I want to hone in on

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Speaker 1: that just a little bit because I'm all for greater

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Speaker 1: levels of convenience. I'm all for like smart technology, meaning

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Speaker 1: that I get in and out of the grocery store

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Speaker 1: a little bit more quickly and I'm not waiting in

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Speaker 1: a line to check out or the self checkout, which

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Speaker 1: can be the main of your existence. Depending on how

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Speaker 1: it's run, maybe that becomes a much smoother process. But

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Speaker 1: is it just about increasing convenience or are we seeing

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Speaker 1: technology legitimately lead to lower prices for people, because that really,

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Speaker 1: at the end of the day, people want to live

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Speaker 1: in the jets and zero, but only if it's going

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Speaker 1: to save them money.

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Speaker 4: Absolutely, number one, it is about convenience because supermarkets know

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Speaker 4: that they're competing with all of the folks who are

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Speaker 4: willing to ring your door bill and show up at

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Speaker 4: any hour with what it is that.

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Speaker 3: You ordered, and once they get you in the store,

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Speaker 3: they get to use all of those mind tricks to

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Speaker 3: get you to buy more than you bargain for.

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Speaker 1: Uh huh.

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Speaker 4: So they want to drive traffic into the stores and

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Speaker 4: entice people in, and this technology is one piece of that.

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Speaker 3: But also when folks do get to the store, they

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Speaker 3: want there to be deals that make you come back.

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Speaker 4: So it's a sort of too prong approach to getting

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Speaker 4: people back in the storage.

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Speaker 3: Number one will.

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Speaker 4: Make it convenient and fast, and will also sweeten it

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Speaker 4: a little bit, and most of that sweetener comes now

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Speaker 4: in the form of these store.

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Speaker 3: Brands that are not the national name brands. It's sort

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Speaker 3: of like, if.

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Speaker 4: You liked Dorrito's, you'll love Crispy Nazzo tortillas, and if

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Speaker 4: you don't love.

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Speaker 3: Them, we'll give you your money back.

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Speaker 4: So a lot of folks who are in the grocery

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Speaker 4: space are sort of doubling down on getting you in

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Speaker 4: with convenience and then trying to get you to engage

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Speaker 4: more with their store brands, which they get more money for.

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Speaker 4: And like we touched on it earlier looking at PepsiCo

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Speaker 4: with their snacks and drinks being even kicked out of

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Speaker 4: some of those grocery store chains in Europe because they

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Speaker 4: won't budge on their pricing. But still in America really

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Speaker 4: sticking it to us when it comes to those foods.

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Speaker 4: But folks are providing alternatives that they say are just

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Speaker 4: as good, if not better, backed by satisfaction money back guarantees.

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Speaker 1: I expect to see cheese bits instead of cheese. It's

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Speaker 1: in your Patriot from here on out.

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Speaker 3: Brian, Listen, I'm not above trying out a new.

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Speaker 1: Thing, are you not?

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Speaker 2: Okay, just avoid the Berman's dorrido equivalent at Aldi. We'll

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Speaker 2: get to I caught some flag for that. I'm sure

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Speaker 2: we'll talk about Aldi plenty later on in the episode.

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Speaker 2: But those things are terrible. But you're talking about convenience,

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Speaker 2: and it's a double edged sword though, because at the

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Speaker 2: same time you're making it more, you're making it easier

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Speaker 2: for the retailer to kind of get their hooks in

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Speaker 2: you under the guys maybe of convenience because it's kind

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Speaker 2: of like, oh, this is going to be easy for you,

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Speaker 2: easy for you to spend money, but also, I mean

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Speaker 2: it makes me You mentioned the how different retailers are,

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Speaker 2: how they're kind of switching up their samples that they

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Speaker 2: are offering there in the store because and that's a

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Speaker 2: similar thing where it's kind of.

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Speaker 1: Like, oh no, you get to try it before give

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Speaker 1: a little sample.

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Speaker 2: Folks set up there like at Costco's what I'm thinking of,

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Speaker 2: But simultaneously, it's another way to get you to spend more.

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Speaker 2: How do you kind of square that, How do you

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Speaker 2: find balance when it comes to the samples that stores

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Speaker 2: are offering.

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Speaker 3: Well, one of those things is to you know, you're

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Speaker 3: not ever meant.

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Speaker 4: To go to the grocery store hungry, but you can

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Speaker 4: also think about the timing of when you do go.

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Speaker 4: I know, in my life there are no stores that

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Speaker 4: sample anything where I am.

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Speaker 3: But when I'm home.

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Speaker 4: Visiting my parents in Chicago and you're shopping in these

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Speaker 4: places that have actual shopping carts and huge aisles and

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Speaker 4: even huger portions and like packs or you can buy things,

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Speaker 4: there are a lot of samples there that can be tempting.

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Speaker 4: But I think if you really know yourself, and if

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Speaker 4: you're one of those folks who are easily swayed, one

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Speaker 4: of the extreme things you can do is just go

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Speaker 4: with the grocery buddy, someone who is going to keep

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Speaker 4: you accountable.

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Speaker 1: If it's accountability, yeah, you go, you know, magic a word.

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Speaker 4: If there is something that you really have no business

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Speaker 4: getting but it was so delicious, just.

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Speaker 3: Double back and get another sample. You don't need to

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Speaker 3: always be the one.

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Speaker 4: But one of the things that I love about your

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Speaker 4: podcast and the way you all interact and.

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Speaker 3: Share with people is that you are here for doing

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Speaker 3: the work.

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Speaker 4: And I think there are ways to try new things

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Speaker 4: and save money, but you got to be willing to,

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Speaker 4: you know, invest a little time. Yeah, find out who

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Speaker 4: sells the products. Ask the person there if they have

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Speaker 4: a coupon. Beyond that, go to the website, go to

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Speaker 4: their social media, engage with them. Say you know what,

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Speaker 4: I saw this at the store and I was really intrigued.

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Speaker 3: It was even.

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Speaker 4: Good and I'd like to expose my family to it

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Speaker 4: or share it with friends. Do you have a coupon

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Speaker 4: that might make it easier for me to pick your

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Speaker 4: brand over the one.

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Speaker 3: That I usually go for.

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Speaker 4: And you'd be surprised how many people actually mail coupons.

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Speaker 4: Sign you up for digital thing, send you a buy one,

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Speaker 4: get one, send you just a free coupon period as

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Speaker 4: a way of introduction and saying thanks for being in

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Speaker 4: touch with us. Nice and it's all for the price

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Speaker 4: of a you know, the three minutes that it takes

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Speaker 4: you to send a little emails. Yeah, I saw something

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Speaker 4: being sampled at the store today. I wondered if you

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Speaker 4: might be able to sweeten it a little bit.

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Speaker 3: Can you help me out with the coupons so I

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Speaker 3: could try it? And they do.

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Speaker 1: We we regularly talk about how asking for a discount

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Speaker 1: is underrated and whether wellether and it's not always the

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Speaker 1: person at the checkout counter probably can't be like, sure,

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Speaker 1: I'll take twenty percent off your bill right now. But

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Speaker 1: those are the kind of ways in which if you

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Speaker 1: ask the right people in the right avenues, you're probably

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Speaker 1: going to get some sort of savings. And I think

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Speaker 1: that's a great tip. You mentioned generic products, and I'm

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Speaker 1: curious or store brands, right, I guess we'll call them

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Speaker 1: store brands more than generic these days. How do you

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Speaker 1: have any data, like how much can folks save by

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Speaker 1: buying store brands? Because I think part of it's the

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Speaker 1: it's the oh man, I remember having eating that product

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Speaker 1: since I was a youth, or the advertising just kind

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Speaker 1: of get you, and that's what you choose in the moment,

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Speaker 1: just because you've seen commercials for Oreos instead of the

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Speaker 1: off brand, knockoff or whatever, and so that's just even

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Speaker 1: if it's two dollars to fifty cents more for the package,

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Speaker 1: you just instinctively reach for the name brand. Why should

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Speaker 1: we consider store brands and how much do we stand

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Speaker 1: to save?

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Speaker 3: So first off, you should absolutely consider store brands.

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Speaker 4: And even if you might get burned by those aldibrand.

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Speaker 3: Costs, it's still with a.

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Speaker 2: Little experimentation, come on, you gotta give it a shot.

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Speaker 4: Absolutely, and the kids will eat it, or you just

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Speaker 4: invite the neighbors.

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Speaker 3: Over and like put them out there. It's not a

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Speaker 3: big deal.

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Speaker 4: But you can absolutely manifest those savings through what has

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Speaker 4: come to be known as private label.

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Speaker 3: Like when I was it was.

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Speaker 4: The generic off brand, no name with the x's in

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Speaker 4: the black and white boxes. But now those products that

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Speaker 4: are private label can really save folks a lot of money.

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Speaker 4: And one of the things about store brands is that

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Speaker 4: you can manifest twenty to twenty five percent savings by

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Speaker 4: choosing to give those a chance. When you're looking at

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Speaker 4: things in the food section and those savings go up

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Speaker 4: even higher when you're looking at personal care like antipersperants

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Speaker 4: or mouthwash or dental floss.

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Speaker 3: Or any of those things that fall into the personal

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Speaker 3: care line.

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Speaker 4: You can see savings of up to forty percent when

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Speaker 4: you start to get into those products.

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Speaker 3: And like we talked about before, there.

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Speaker 4: Are so many of them that come with those money

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Speaker 4: back guarantees where they'll give you your money and in some

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Speaker 4: instances from stores even replace it with something that is

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Speaker 4: your usual brand. But again, this is one of those

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Speaker 4: followed through things. You might open it up and see, oh,

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Speaker 4: this is horrible, and they're counting on you to just

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Speaker 4: dump it or put it into the kids lunches for

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Speaker 4: the rest of the week, never to be bought again.

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Speaker 3: But if you take that extra step.

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Speaker 4: I've been behind the line at someone at Whole Foods

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Speaker 4: who was returning something, someone who was at all the

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Speaker 4: even at Trader Joe's, and they're returning and say not

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Speaker 4: for me, and the process is so painless.

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Speaker 3: Like I imagine, people build up in their minds that they're

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Speaker 3: going to be in.

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Speaker 4: Front of some tribunal and be made to answer for

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Speaker 4: why these aren't as good as you expected, or what happened.

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Speaker 2: We're going to weigh it and like kind of call

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Speaker 2: you out as to how much do you actually consume

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Speaker 2: before you return.

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Speaker 1: Oh, man, okay, you ain't have to pack, dude, I'm sorry,

404
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Speaker 1: we can't take I listen.

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Speaker 4: I've seen people come with the flat bags and like,

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Speaker 4: these just were not great.

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Speaker 3: It wasn't as expected. Please run me my money, and

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Speaker 3: they do.

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Speaker 4: And the person behind the counter is much like us,

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Speaker 4: and they are in the position to help you, and

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Speaker 4: I urge you.

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Speaker 3: I employ you.

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Speaker 4: If you actually do find yourself in one of those situations,

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Speaker 4: think of that person on the other side of that

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Speaker 4: desk as your friend who doesn't want to see you

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Speaker 4: get shafted by something that you didn't enjoy.

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Speaker 3: It's not an intimidating or even the long process. They

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Speaker 3: just wasn't for me. I'd like to take advantage of

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Speaker 3: the guarantee.

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Speaker 2: See them instead as working for the man. See them

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Speaker 2: as like your fellow man. Us more about how they're

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Speaker 2: approachiate you.

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Speaker 3: You're inside person, You're not standing, You're in the deal.

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Speaker 3: I live by that motto. You have not because you ask,

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Speaker 3: not get in there and ask.

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Speaker 2: So you kind of mentioned samples and in your writing

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Speaker 2: you've talked to it, and I didn't know this was the case,

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Speaker 2: but you've You've written about how a lot of stores,

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Speaker 2: like you mentioned Trader Joe's, like them specifically, I think

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Speaker 2: you mentioned Whole Foods as well, like a lot of

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Speaker 2: them evidently will will open something up and let you

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Speaker 2: try it just because it's it's something that you've that

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Speaker 2: you're curious about, or maybe if you ask in a

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Speaker 2: in a nice way.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, these are things that you presumably have never tried, right, like, oh,

436
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Speaker 4: I'd like to try those nacho chip store this hummus,

437
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Speaker 4: but yeah, I'd like to stample it and you can

438
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Speaker 4: take it to the customer service and in the old

439
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Speaker 4: days those sampling stations that they had at Trader Joe's.

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Speaker 4: But this is still something again you mentioned Whole Foods does.

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Speaker 4: So if there is a product, they'll rip it right

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Speaker 4: open for you. They'll let you.

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Speaker 3: Drink their teas or munch on their popcorns, all of

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Speaker 3: the things within reason.

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Speaker 1: They're not going to try the caviar, sir, exactly like.

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Speaker 5: They're not going to throw wagu at you in the

447
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,399
Speaker 5: middle of the aisle and let you indulge for a

448
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:33,880
Speaker 5: little bit.

449
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,640
Speaker 4: But there are, there are policies in place, and yeah,

450
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:38,840
Speaker 4: you can try the cheese.

451
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,320
Speaker 3: You can try all of these things, all of these

452
00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:43,439
Speaker 3: and more can be yours just for the price of

453
00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:44,159
Speaker 3: a mass.

454
00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:45,560
Speaker 1: I love it. We got so much more to cover

455
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:47,480
Speaker 1: with you, Brian about saving money at the grocer store.

456
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,160
Speaker 1: We're also going to talk about a controversial money saving topic,

457
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:52,159
Speaker 1: pet insurance. We'll get to that and more in just

458
00:21:52,200 --> 00:22:02,479
Speaker 1: a second. We're back from the break talking with Brian

459
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:03,679
Speaker 1: Vines and Brian.

460
00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:07,520
Speaker 2: Before the break, you mentioned private labels, which kind of

461
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 2: leads me into thinking about specific grocery stores and how

462
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:12,920
Speaker 2: it is that you can save a ton there. Let's

463
00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,920
Speaker 2: talk about where it is that you shop, because on

464
00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:17,439
Speaker 2: one hand, you could you know, you can spend a

465
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,280
Speaker 2: ton of time, you can go hogwild on all the

466
00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:23,440
Speaker 2: different digital coupons out there, but we often talk about

467
00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,199
Speaker 2: how much you can save with some of the And

468
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:27,800
Speaker 2: I don't even like using this term discounters, because in

469
00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:29,320
Speaker 2: my mind, these guys aren't discounters.

470
00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:31,439
Speaker 1: They just they just sell affordable Stofinitely, when you think

471
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,920
Speaker 1: the term is the gunner, you're thinking of some sort

472
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,040
Speaker 1: of dramatic, awful trade off in order to get the discounts, but.

473
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:37,399
Speaker 2: Like, it's not that big of a trade off in

474
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,280
Speaker 2: my opinion all the and legal specifically. And so how

475
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,440
Speaker 2: do you think the I guess, the digital coupons and

476
00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:45,159
Speaker 2: rotating specials out there, how do they line up with

477
00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,159
Speaker 2: just everyday ultra low prices that are offered at some

478
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,280
Speaker 2: of these quote unquote discounters.

479
00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 4: So one of the things with those discounters like an

480
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,560
Speaker 4: al do you or Little or even to some extent

481
00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,359
Speaker 4: Trader Joe's, where they can be considered in this lane.

482
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:06,520
Speaker 4: They don't do coupons and they don't do sales because

483
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:10,800
Speaker 4: they are positing that these are our absolute rock bottom

484
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:15,000
Speaker 4: prices and we don't manipulate things at all to bring

485
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,600
Speaker 4: you in and you can use a coupon or whatever.

486
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:21,919
Speaker 3: So these are places that there's.

487
00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:26,359
Speaker 4: Sort of not a lot of room for negotiation and savings.

488
00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:27,640
Speaker 3: The best thing.

489
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,439
Speaker 4: That you might want to do if you want to

490
00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,920
Speaker 4: manifest even further savings at these places.

491
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,240
Speaker 3: Is engage one of the rebate apps like the Eyebotas of.

492
00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:41,119
Speaker 4: The World or Fetch Rewards where you go and shop

493
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,679
Speaker 4: and then you can scan your receipt and manufacturers of

494
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,600
Speaker 4: products sort of contribute to this rebate system where you

495
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,119
Speaker 4: get points per item bought that you can later trade

496
00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:57,719
Speaker 4: for actual visa gift cards and other financial rewards that

497
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,679
Speaker 4: can come back to you. But the patch with that

498
00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:04,760
Speaker 4: in some of these bargain spaces is that like aal

499
00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,399
Speaker 4: they or the Littles of the world, they are primarily

500
00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,320
Speaker 4: like ninety percent stocked with their own private label goods.

501
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,360
Speaker 3: So whilst you might find those things that the national

502
00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:18,560
Speaker 3: name brands that you're.

503
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,600
Speaker 4: Used to, those sort of come with the season when

504
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,239
Speaker 4: they can buy them at the price that makes it

505
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 4: advantageous for them to platform them on their stores. But

506
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,760
Speaker 4: the overwhelming majority of those products on offer at these

507
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:37,040
Speaker 4: stores that fall into that category are private labels, so

508
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:41,080
Speaker 4: they're able to manifest that lower savings. But if you

509
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,359
Speaker 4: have things that you absolutely have to buy.

510
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,440
Speaker 3: In the national name brand sort.

511
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:49,720
Speaker 4: Of space, and you want those products that you grew

512
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,080
Speaker 4: up with, and one of the things that we found

513
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:55,320
Speaker 4: people are most loyal to is breakfast Seal if you

514
00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,399
Speaker 4: can imagine, which is one I imagine one of those

515
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,400
Speaker 4: as you alluded to earlier, nostalgic things where I grew

516
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,880
Speaker 4: up eating this. This was in my bowl that made.

517
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,040
Speaker 1: Me happy, Cookie crisp every morning, Brian.

518
00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,240
Speaker 3: Yes, so that's it. That's one of those things and

519
00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:11,639
Speaker 3: nothing else compares.

520
00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:13,480
Speaker 4: It's like going to your friend's house and they have

521
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,760
Speaker 4: the off brand one. Dude, we got to go back

522
00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:18,880
Speaker 4: to my house and have the real cookie crisps.

523
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 1: Why are your parents awful? Frank?

524
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:21,480
Speaker 3: Exactly.

525
00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:24,520
Speaker 4: But when you're looking at those if you can find

526
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,720
Speaker 4: them at those stores, take advantage of the price if

527
00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,960
Speaker 4: it works for you. But they really operate in that

528
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,960
Speaker 4: space and you can manifest savings there. But sometimes it

529
00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:38,600
Speaker 4: just may not be the same if you had an

530
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,840
Speaker 4: idea of what the product should taste like and look

531
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,560
Speaker 4: like from the national name brand.

532
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:48,359
Speaker 1: What about the loyalty clubs that some grocery stores operated.

533
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,959
Speaker 1: I'm thinking of like Kroger, and I remember when they

534
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,600
Speaker 1: came out with the Kroger card, and it used to be, oh,

535
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,280
Speaker 1: it's the sale price and the non sale price. If

536
00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,240
Speaker 1: you shop on the right day when it's on sale,

537
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:01,119
Speaker 1: everybody gets the sale price. And now it's like, oh, no, right,

538
00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:03,840
Speaker 1: only if you fill out this form and you scan

539
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 1: your card every time. So what are those loyalty programs Like?

540
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,000
Speaker 1: How can we get the most out of those loyalty

541
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,760
Speaker 1: programs and are they. I don't know. I guess some

542
00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,080
Speaker 1: people feel maybe a little self conscious about giving having

543
00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,120
Speaker 1: that closer tie and divulging some of their personal information

544
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,199
Speaker 1: because it's like, dude, I'm just Brian Grocey's here, but

545
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:21,439
Speaker 1: you want to know everything about me?

546
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:22,159
Speaker 3: Are you?

547
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,199
Speaker 1: What's your take on the loyalty clubs that some of

548
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:25,240
Speaker 1: these grocery store chains have.

549
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:29,119
Speaker 4: I do belong to a loyalty club at every store

550
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:31,760
Speaker 4: that I shop at with any regularity.

551
00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:34,720
Speaker 3: I also take advantage.

552
00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 4: Of my friend's loyalty club memberships when I'm traveling, like.

553
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,160
Speaker 3: I was in La a little while.

554
00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,919
Speaker 4: Ago, and I was found myself at a Ralph's and like,

555
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,280
Speaker 4: I'm firmly a East Coast guide for the last twenty

556
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,600
Speaker 4: plus years. But I know my best friend is as

557
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:51,640
Speaker 4: cheap as I am. So when I got to the.

558
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:53,320
Speaker 1: A good friend right there, that's a good friend.

559
00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:53,640
Speaker 3: Yeah.

560
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:55,679
Speaker 4: When I got to the check out, I put in

561
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,800
Speaker 4: his phone number and the savings just started falling off.

562
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:00,959
Speaker 4: I'm like, I know, gil Go, so I'm just going

563
00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:02,879
Speaker 4: to put it in his phone number, and I was

564
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:04,240
Speaker 4: able to get those savings.

565
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,919
Speaker 3: So this is the thing about those clubs. Yes, you

566
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 3: do have to share some level of information with them.

567
00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,560
Speaker 4: At the most basic, it's your phone number and an

568
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:18,520
Speaker 4: email address, your name, and your birth date they might

569
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,520
Speaker 4: ask for. That's sort of the basic entry level getting

570
00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,359
Speaker 4: to the savings, and they may use that for marketing

571
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,639
Speaker 4: and sending you things or sort of looking at what

572
00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:30,800
Speaker 4: people in your supposed.

573
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:31,440
Speaker 3: Demo are buying.

574
00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:35,280
Speaker 4: If anyone gives you anything for free, that's because you're

575
00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,639
Speaker 4: usually the product and they're going to make some kind

576
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,639
Speaker 4: of money off of you or information exchange. So you

577
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,200
Speaker 4: really have to gauge your comfort level with what you're

578
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:49,320
Speaker 4: willing to divert divolge to get those savings and see

579
00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:51,320
Speaker 4: if it's worth it for you. And that's a very

580
00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:56,600
Speaker 4: personal decision, and we ATCR often monitor just the state

581
00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:01,040
Speaker 4: of privacy and what you're exchanging by giving up information

582
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,960
Speaker 4: to these free apps. So know that there are people

583
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,440
Speaker 4: who are minding the store, but your number one loyalty

584
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,600
Speaker 4: has to be to yourself and your digital hygiene.

585
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,359
Speaker 3: So if you don't feel comfortable about it, just don't

586
00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:14,679
Speaker 3: do it.

587
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,000
Speaker 4: But one of the things is I was able to

588
00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:22,840
Speaker 4: clearly demonstrate the way that these programs have grown when

589
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,359
Speaker 4: I was at my grocery store which was a stop

590
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,320
Speaker 4: and shop in Brooklyn.

591
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,840
Speaker 3: I walked in and there was a Briar's.

592
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:35,560
Speaker 4: Ice cream pint and they were two for eight dollars

593
00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,040
Speaker 4: or something. If you were to walk into the store

594
00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,880
Speaker 4: just as an unaffiliated shopper like I just landed here.

595
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,080
Speaker 4: I walked in eight bucks to buy these things. But

596
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:47,840
Speaker 4: if you're part of the Loyalty club, you can get

597
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,800
Speaker 4: them two for six. But if you were part of

598
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:55,680
Speaker 4: the Loyalty Club and you have a digital subscription on

599
00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:58,120
Speaker 4: the app right on your phone, you can get them

600
00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:03,160
Speaker 4: at two for five. So it's one product, three different

601
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:04,040
Speaker 4: price levels.

602
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:05,840
Speaker 3: Yeah, just depending on.

603
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:10,040
Speaker 4: Your level of involvement and engagement with the company.

604
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:11,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, how a trench do you want to be with

605
00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:12,760
Speaker 1: that grocery store exactly.

606
00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:15,160
Speaker 3: So it's like, really, like is it worth it to

607
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,360
Speaker 3: you to number one sign.

608
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,320
Speaker 4: Up number two go a little bit deeper, let them

609
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,120
Speaker 4: have some space on your phone drive. So it really

610
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,280
Speaker 4: is the trade off and how much you're willing to

611
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:28,320
Speaker 4: give in order to get those savings.

612
00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:31,160
Speaker 2: Okay, So you mentioned maybe the rewards apps that the

613
00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,720
Speaker 2: different stores offer, and earlier you mentioned Ibata, like you

614
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:36,680
Speaker 2: got some of these different rebate apps. Do you think

615
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:39,680
Speaker 2: that those different rebate apps where you're kind of collecting

616
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,520
Speaker 2: points and finding the discounts and taking pictures of receipts, ay,

617
00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:45,360
Speaker 2: are there some new ones out there that maybe folks

618
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:47,000
Speaker 2: haven't heard about? But then, b do you think that

619
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:48,600
Speaker 2: they're worth the additional hassle?

620
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,000
Speaker 3: For most people, they are not worth the additional hassle

621
00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,560
Speaker 3: because they don't take the initiative to take it to

622
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,000
Speaker 3: the next step and actually reap the rewards.

623
00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:00,320
Speaker 4: Okay, And I have been guilty of this myself, where

624
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:03,880
Speaker 4: I've been scanning receipts and everybody in the house knows

625
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,360
Speaker 4: that when they get something, there's a receipt on the counter,

626
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,440
Speaker 4: and I just come in and scan it like hours later.

627
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:14,880
Speaker 4: Everyone is trained and you accumulate all these points, and frankly,

628
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:18,160
Speaker 4: you need a lot of points for these things to manifest.

629
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:21,040
Speaker 4: Don't think that just because your grocery bill was two

630
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,959
Speaker 4: hundred bucks and you walked out with three bags this week,

631
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,440
Speaker 4: that you're going to be balling out of control on.

632
00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:30,320
Speaker 3: These rebate apps, because it does take some level.

633
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:35,240
Speaker 4: Of consistency and investment in just maintaining before you can

634
00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:39,040
Speaker 4: manifest some savings. So you might be thirty thousand points

635
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,920
Speaker 4: in the tank before you start to see that ten

636
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,560
Speaker 4: dollars gift card from Visa coming.

637
00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:44,959
Speaker 3: Back at you.

638
00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:50,160
Speaker 4: So it really is just maintaining and rocking steady with

639
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,000
Speaker 4: it and completing the loop.

640
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:54,800
Speaker 3: You can get the savings, but it takes some doing.

641
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:59,040
Speaker 4: But I'm sure a lot of these manufacturers are enticing

642
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:03,000
Speaker 4: us to go and favor their products with the promise

643
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,160
Speaker 4: of doing it, but we don't follow through.

644
00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,080
Speaker 3: Much like those rebates of old right where you.

645
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,200
Speaker 4: See you can save three dollars just to rip this

646
00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:15,160
Speaker 4: and mail it back into us, and people are just

647
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,320
Speaker 4: not going to do it. They have people crunching numbers

648
00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:22,600
Speaker 4: there to say, listen, you'll get a ten percent return

649
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:23,320
Speaker 4: on this thing.

650
00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,960
Speaker 3: Like people might buy the product, but the folks who.

651
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,880
Speaker 4: Are going to engage fill it out, mail it in,

652
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:31,320
Speaker 4: put a stamp on it, and send you the envelope.

653
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:35,680
Speaker 4: Those people, it's are diminishing. So the juice is worth

654
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,720
Speaker 4: the squeeze for them. We just have to make sure

655
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:38,680
Speaker 4: that we follow through.

656
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:41,120
Speaker 1: I had not seen a mail in rebate offer at

657
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,080
Speaker 1: like right like a store for a long long time.

658
00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:45,280
Speaker 1: I saw one the other day and I was like,

659
00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,280
Speaker 1: I wonder what percentage of people actually like fill it

660
00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:50,600
Speaker 1: out and get that rebate sent back to them. It's

661
00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:52,880
Speaker 1: got to be a small percentage. And I think that's

662
00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:56,080
Speaker 1: largely why they've gone away, is people just it's stopped

663
00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,200
Speaker 1: being an influencing tactic as more and more people said

664
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:00,720
Speaker 1: it's not worth the hassle of sending that stuff, and

665
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,400
Speaker 1: especially if it's a smaller dollar amount. I'm curious Brian

666
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:07,440
Speaker 1: to hear about senior discounts. Chains of all sorts have

667
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:10,239
Speaker 1: been offering senior discounts for decades. Matt and I were

668
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:12,160
Speaker 1: not quite there yet to the extra five or ten

669
00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:15,320
Speaker 1: percent off, but yeah, can you talk about how those work?

670
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:17,520
Speaker 1: And we do have a decent trunk of listeners who

671
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:19,880
Speaker 1: are in that age bracket. How much do they stand

672
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:21,200
Speaker 1: to say by shopping on the right day.

673
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,640
Speaker 4: I'll go back to that earlier bit of advice that

674
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:27,040
Speaker 4: we talked about earlier. You have not because you ask

675
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:31,120
Speaker 4: now use that senior status and find out what it

676
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:34,360
Speaker 4: is that you can trade on and ride it into

677
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:39,080
Speaker 4: the ground. Get all of the senior savings and deals

678
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,560
Speaker 4: that you can, and that usually starts with going to

679
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,520
Speaker 4: the customer service desk at the beginning of your shopping

680
00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:50,200
Speaker 4: trip and being very transparent and saying, hey, I'm a senior,

681
00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:52,320
Speaker 4: what if you guys have on offer from me? Are

682
00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,760
Speaker 4: there special days or deals or things that.

683
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,000
Speaker 3: I might be able to look forward to?

684
00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:01,640
Speaker 4: You engage with people, and you might be surprised as

685
00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:05,000
Speaker 4: some of the things they offer, especially with bridging these

686
00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,960
Speaker 4: technology gaps that a lot of seniors might find themselves

687
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,960
Speaker 4: confronted with. They're not tied to their phones, like these

688
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,080
Speaker 4: digital natives where your entire life is on a handheld

689
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,320
Speaker 4: device and looking at things and trying to download a

690
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,480
Speaker 4: coupon or add it to your wallet, or doing these

691
00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,360
Speaker 4: shopping lists and all of these great things that the

692
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,200
Speaker 4: apps facilitate might be just out of reach for some

693
00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:33,560
Speaker 4: people who don't feel as safe and sound with technology.

694
00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:38,640
Speaker 4: So there are some supermarkets that are piloting ways that

695
00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:42,760
Speaker 4: can bring folks who are seniors or not have the

696
00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:47,080
Speaker 4: sort of technological documen to get the best of the savings,

697
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 4: including setting up kiosks where you can get the deals

698
00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:55,600
Speaker 4: and coupons printed right there for you that would put

699
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,800
Speaker 4: you on par with some of the digital offerings or

700
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:05,760
Speaker 4: app users, as well as lending iPads even to walk

701
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:09,360
Speaker 4: around the store and make savings and scan products and

702
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,800
Speaker 4: find out about health information as well. And they really

703
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,200
Speaker 4: are trying to make an effort to keep engaged with

704
00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:20,400
Speaker 4: those seniors and folks who might find the technology a

705
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:24,040
Speaker 4: little daunting, And there are several products and programs being

706
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,759
Speaker 4: piloted across the country to address that.

707
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:27,319
Speaker 1: I love it.

708
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:30,960
Speaker 2: I'm thinking about something you said earlier, Brian, your stopping

709
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,120
Speaker 2: shop that's kind of like your go to I guess

710
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:33,880
Speaker 2: grocery store.

711
00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:36,399
Speaker 1: There in Brooklyn. But is that like, is that your

712
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:38,960
Speaker 1: local grocery store essentially, or is that more kind of

713
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:39,200
Speaker 1: like a.

714
00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:41,520
Speaker 2: Dollar store, Because I wanted to ask about I guess

715
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,120
Speaker 2: dollar store specifically, because it seems like more and more

716
00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,280
Speaker 2: folks are kind of jumping on these sort of miniature

717
00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:49,799
Speaker 2: grocery stores right where they can go and get some

718
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,839
Speaker 2: fresh produce. They can go there and they can get

719
00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:52,719
Speaker 2: some cereal.

720
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:54,440
Speaker 1: And those dollar stores didn't really used to do groceries,

721
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:55,759
Speaker 1: but they've been expanding grocery.

722
00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:57,920
Speaker 2: Store out exactly. Yeah, they've been expanding some. Yeah, I'm

723
00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,279
Speaker 2: curious a what life looks like there for you stopping shop.

724
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:03,440
Speaker 2: But then, yeah, talk more broadly about dollar stores.

725
00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:07,120
Speaker 4: Well, stopping shop is one of the major grocers. Here,

726
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,480
Speaker 4: they're a full service supermarket with.

727
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 3: You know, the deli counter and there's nine.

728
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:15,680
Speaker 4: Dollars, so it really it's uh, I'm a Chicago boy.

729
00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:19,240
Speaker 3: So it's it's a big grocery cart place where.

730
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,839
Speaker 4: You got four wheels and you're going all around so too.

731
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,040
Speaker 4: So yeah, they are sincere full service place. But there

732
00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:29,160
Speaker 4: are you know a few places in my immediate area,

733
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:34,920
Speaker 4: including dollar stores and the bodega's New York City bodegas.

734
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:36,960
Speaker 3: And smaller mom and pop independent grocers.

735
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,760
Speaker 4: And I am in the sort of privileged position where

736
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:42,000
Speaker 4: I have all of.

737
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:45,000
Speaker 3: Those in my immediate shopping landscape.

738
00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,520
Speaker 4: And the thing about a dollar store versus a full

739
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,480
Speaker 4: service grocery store or a cheesemonger or a butcher, that

740
00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:56,360
Speaker 4: healthy retail mix is really what is ideal. Where it

741
00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:00,719
Speaker 4: becomes problematic, especially in the dollar store space, which they

742
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:05,680
Speaker 4: call value retail, is you when there's a dearth of

743
00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:10,440
Speaker 4: other choices, when it becomes your default, when grocery stores

744
00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:14,320
Speaker 4: that were mom and pop independents have to close because

745
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,640
Speaker 4: they can't compete if you only go to them for

746
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:20,320
Speaker 4: fresh meat and veg but every other thing you're getting

747
00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,959
Speaker 4: at a dollar store because their prices were so cut rate,

748
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:28,879
Speaker 4: so the margins in supermarkets are famously thin, so they

749
00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:32,000
Speaker 4: really can't sustain themselves if you're only using them to

750
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 4: get what.

751
00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:34,240
Speaker 3: You can't buy at the dollar store.

752
00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,600
Speaker 4: So that healthy retail mix is really what is to

753
00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:43,360
Speaker 4: the shopper and the community's advantage. But dollar stores, is

754
00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:47,400
Speaker 4: we known, are the home of shrinkflation where their price

755
00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:50,920
Speaker 4: is it's dollar store is a remnant of the past

756
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,000
Speaker 4: because you can barely find one that has anything in

757
00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:57,279
Speaker 4: it for a dollar. And you talked about that expansion

758
00:36:57,719 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 4: of things where they're going into maybe some fresh groceries

759
00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:05,160
Speaker 4: or larger portions or those national name brands that we know,

760
00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:09,520
Speaker 4: and they somehow wind up in the dollar plus section, Yeah,

761
00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:12,600
Speaker 4: where some of the prices are on par with full

762
00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:16,160
Speaker 4: service grocery stores. And you can be tricked sometimes because

763
00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,840
Speaker 4: you're like, wow, when did the dollar store start carrying

764
00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:22,560
Speaker 4: this brand of frozen pizza or some other thing that

765
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:24,719
Speaker 4: your family might be used to, And if you look

766
00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:27,000
Speaker 4: a little closer, nothing is a dollar.

767
00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:29,600
Speaker 1: That's again, I'm glad you brought up shre inflation, because

768
00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:31,440
Speaker 1: it is one of those things when we're talking about inflation,

769
00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:35,279
Speaker 1: it's I'm not against it, because I think lots of

770
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:37,400
Speaker 1: times it means the price can stay the same instead

771
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,520
Speaker 1: of going up. But you have to pay a close

772
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:41,560
Speaker 1: attention because you might be getting less of the product

773
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:43,880
Speaker 1: than you're used to. I start, especially at the beginning

774
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:48,240
Speaker 1: of the pandemic. I remember the toilet paper and paper towels,

775
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:53,520
Speaker 1: like those sizes of the packaging just shrunk dramatically because

776
00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:56,040
Speaker 1: of the increased cost. But I was like, it's better

777
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:57,640
Speaker 1: than the price doubling. I guess, but you just have

778
00:37:57,719 --> 00:38:00,000
Speaker 1: to notice that, And you're right. The trade off my

779
00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:02,040
Speaker 1: even more severe than a lot of those dollar stores

780
00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:05,600
Speaker 1: get specialty packaging and so like two paste for a dollar,

781
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,279
Speaker 1: but it might be like three ounces of two paste

782
00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:10,080
Speaker 1: versus five and a half or something like that.

783
00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:12,439
Speaker 4: That's right, when you're looking at this sort of unit

784
00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:15,480
Speaker 4: pricing model where they tell you per ounce how much

785
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:19,759
Speaker 4: you're actually paying for something, that the fact that it

786
00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:22,919
Speaker 4: looks like a deal, the scales will soon fall from

787
00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:25,360
Speaker 4: your eyes if you're looking at these things.

788
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:27,400
Speaker 3: And Senator Bob Casey out.

789
00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:31,480
Speaker 4: Of Pennsylvania has been doing a lot of work legislatively

790
00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:36,560
Speaker 4: to hold manufacturers and stores to account for this idea.

791
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:39,879
Speaker 4: Of these shrinking products that we're paying even more for.

792
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,240
Speaker 3: And you're very right about the dollar stores.

793
00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:46,920
Speaker 4: They deal in such volume that they actually have people

794
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:49,399
Speaker 4: making products specifically for them.

795
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:52,239
Speaker 3: So it's that same national name brand. It just might

796
00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:54,480
Speaker 3: look like Honey I shrunk the products.

797
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:57,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, they might not make the same size for anybody else,

798
00:38:57,960 --> 00:38:59,560
Speaker 1: but the Dollar store they don't. Right, We've talked so

799
00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:02,120
Speaker 1: much about about groceries, so much good information here, Brian.

800
00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,160
Speaker 1: We got to talk about pet insurance though, because that's

801
00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:06,319
Speaker 1: something that you are well versed in and it's a

802
00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:07,919
Speaker 1: place where we could potentially save a lot of money.

803
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:09,960
Speaker 1: So we'll get to a few questions with you about

804
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:11,360
Speaker 1: that topic right after this.

805
00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:19,640
Speaker 3: A.

806
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:22,000
Speaker 2: Right, we are back from the break talking with Brian Vines.

807
00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:25,080
Speaker 2: We were talking about saving when it comes to groceries,

808
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:27,600
Speaker 2: but let's talk about I guess another expense that a

809
00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:29,680
Speaker 2: lot of folks have, which is paying for your pet.

810
00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:32,320
Speaker 2: We were talking a little bit before we hit record,

811
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:33,080
Speaker 2: and we're like, all right, we.

812
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:35,240
Speaker 1: Got to talk about this. Our listeners.

813
00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:37,600
Speaker 2: They don't love it when we talk smack or when

814
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:39,960
Speaker 2: we tell them that self ensuring often makes the most

815
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:42,480
Speaker 2: sense when it comes to pet insurance and covering some

816
00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:46,120
Speaker 2: of those unforeseen pet medical costs. But you've got data

817
00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:49,000
Speaker 2: on this, and we try to follow that right self

818
00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:51,600
Speaker 2: ensuring what are the pros and cons of pet insurance

819
00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:53,760
Speaker 2: and what have you experienced recently.

820
00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:56,080
Speaker 3: The pros and cons Number one, you know where your

821
00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:57,319
Speaker 3: money is and.

822
00:39:57,239 --> 00:40:01,040
Speaker 4: You're not paying into something with the idea that you're

823
00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:04,840
Speaker 4: going to use it and you may not. We've seen

824
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:09,560
Speaker 4: the rate of return for the pet insurance here at

825
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:14,120
Speaker 4: CR most people just about break even. From the last

826
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:19,160
Speaker 4: nationally representative survey that we looked at. People were getting

827
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:23,120
Speaker 4: just about what they paid in as a median, So

828
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,080
Speaker 4: that means there are a lot of people who were

829
00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:28,680
Speaker 4: paying for pet insurance and their claims never really got

830
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,080
Speaker 4: to the level of the amount of money that they

831
00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:35,160
Speaker 4: paid in. But had those folks save that money and

832
00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:39,280
Speaker 4: put it into an account earmarked specifically for that pet

833
00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:44,960
Speaker 4: care that you consistently tended and beneficently left alone.

834
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,880
Speaker 3: Until you needed it, that's the trick.

835
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:49,319
Speaker 4: Yeah, you would have the money on hand when you

836
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,560
Speaker 4: needed and not have to worry that, Yeah, I'm paying

837
00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:55,239
Speaker 4: in for it and I'm not using it, but I

838
00:40:55,280 --> 00:40:58,239
Speaker 4: have the peace of mind. I personally have peace of

839
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:01,960
Speaker 4: mind knowing that I'm saving money doing something responsible from

840
00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:05,080
Speaker 4: my pet that I can call on at any time.

841
00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:07,920
Speaker 4: Because one of these things about pet insurance even is

842
00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:11,400
Speaker 4: you have to have the money to pay for it anyway,

843
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:15,080
Speaker 4: because it's based on a reimbursal model. So if you

844
00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:19,160
Speaker 4: are using your own money to pay, why not save

845
00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:21,400
Speaker 4: your own money and cut out the middle person?

846
00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,680
Speaker 1: Talk about shopping for pet insurance? How many players are

847
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:28,120
Speaker 1: there in the industry? Is there potentially significant savings? I

848
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:31,560
Speaker 1: know there are also certain breed types that are more

849
00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:35,640
Speaker 1: prone to different medical problems. If you have one of

850
00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:38,960
Speaker 1: those breeds, is the insurance price jacked up commensurately? And

851
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:41,239
Speaker 1: so you might say, oh, well, my breed is prone

852
00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:45,400
Speaker 1: to issues, but maybe insurance makes more sense. But then

853
00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:47,440
Speaker 1: maybe that insurance costs a lot more, and so that's

854
00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:48,000
Speaker 1: not the case.

855
00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:53,440
Speaker 6: Sure, the age, breed and location of your pet are

856
00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:58,479
Speaker 6: the sort of biggest factors in determining what your premiums or.

857
00:41:58,400 --> 00:41:59,920
Speaker 3: Coverage would be.

858
00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:05,080
Speaker 4: So you know, there are certain pets that are predisposed

859
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:10,320
Speaker 4: to certain conditions that are pricey to maintain or to address,

860
00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:13,080
Speaker 4: and insurance companies are in the business of.

861
00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:14,080
Speaker 3: Knowing these things.

862
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:18,239
Speaker 4: And there are often these reports that come out at

863
00:42:18,239 --> 00:42:21,520
Speaker 4: the end of the year where they tell you the largest.

864
00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:24,839
Speaker 3: Claims paid or what most pets came into for if

865
00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:27,880
Speaker 3: it's a gastro issue or if it's a breathing or

866
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:28,480
Speaker 3: a hip thing.

867
00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:34,759
Speaker 4: So it's something to consider when you are starting insurance

868
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:36,239
Speaker 4: that it might be more well.

869
00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:37,359
Speaker 3: It's definitely more.

870
00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:43,239
Speaker 4: Expensive to ensure some breeds, and there are lists at

871
00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:46,120
Speaker 4: nauseum on the internet about some of the.

872
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:48,960
Speaker 3: Cutest dogs that you ever saw that are just the.

873
00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:52,319
Speaker 4: Most crazy when it comes to their health concerns, and

874
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:56,799
Speaker 4: those insurers know it. So shopping for health insurance can

875
00:42:56,880 --> 00:43:01,440
Speaker 4: be very daunting past and you're inbox will be flooded

876
00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:05,960
Speaker 4: for months later because you start one inquiry and they

877
00:43:06,239 --> 00:43:09,160
Speaker 4: never leave you alone, and they ask for your pet's name,

878
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:10,880
Speaker 4: and they'll continue.

879
00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:13,960
Speaker 3: To say has stought been insured yet? Is not healthy

880
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:15,480
Speaker 3: and happy? And you'll start to.

881
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:18,640
Speaker 4: Get these emails all the time, but it's going to

882
00:43:18,719 --> 00:43:22,879
Speaker 4: be something that hopefully you're directing to your business that's

883
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:26,800
Speaker 4: not business email, because it really is something that you

884
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:30,000
Speaker 4: have to do is shop around, get recommendations from folks

885
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:33,880
Speaker 4: who you know and trust, and find out about their experiences.

886
00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:36,240
Speaker 3: Of course, you could always read consumer reports.

887
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:40,240
Speaker 4: We share member stories and catalog some of those things.

888
00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:44,799
Speaker 3: But of the top eight insurers to emerge from our

889
00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:48,800
Speaker 3: member surveys, all of them were pretty mid of the pack.

890
00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:50,640
Speaker 3: No one was running.

891
00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:55,759
Speaker 4: Away with high satisfaction rate. Two were on the very

892
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:59,400
Speaker 4: low end. But the best sort of pet insurance feelings

893
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,000
Speaker 4: that people who actually buy it and pay for it

894
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:05,800
Speaker 4: and continue and maintain people feel pretty mid about petit.

895
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:08,600
Speaker 2: Sure, all right, okay, so quick follow up. Then let's

896
00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:12,799
Speaker 2: combine pets and groceries. All right, fran do you buy

897
00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:16,840
Speaker 2: your dog food at stopping shop or do you listen?

898
00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:18,560
Speaker 3: Now we're getting into the real nity.

899
00:44:18,760 --> 00:44:20,840
Speaker 1: Okay, what's your secret?

900
00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:25,799
Speaker 3: I make my dogs? Oh so I cook for my dog.

901
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:27,840
Speaker 1: All right, So is it more affordable or is it

902
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:28,520
Speaker 1: just more healthy?

903
00:44:28,640 --> 00:44:31,359
Speaker 3: Yes? And yes? Okay, so in the long run, right,

904
00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:32,520
Speaker 3: your health is your will.

905
00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:36,839
Speaker 4: And I just used to cook for my dog and

906
00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:39,759
Speaker 4: it is something that I've done since.

907
00:44:39,520 --> 00:44:40,640
Speaker 3: He was a puppy.

908
00:44:41,239 --> 00:44:43,920
Speaker 4: We're about three and a half years deep into this

909
00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:48,000
Speaker 4: love experiment now, but yeah, I cook for him and

910
00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:52,000
Speaker 4: it's something that works for our family. I have another

911
00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:54,440
Speaker 4: great friend who I went to college with, who has

912
00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:59,319
Speaker 4: a farm and she just has every probably once every

913
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:02,120
Speaker 4: nine months, they have just a massive day where they're

914
00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:05,720
Speaker 4: making and freezing dog food. And I've seen other people

915
00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:08,320
Speaker 4: do it, and you can do it at all sorts

916
00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:11,880
Speaker 4: of proportions. I usually cook enough for him to last,

917
00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:14,400
Speaker 4: one in the fridge and one in the freezer, and

918
00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:17,840
Speaker 4: when I pulled the freezer went out, I start going

919
00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:19,360
Speaker 4: back to buy things again.

920
00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:25,080
Speaker 3: Smart so there's lots of websites that will share recipes

921
00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:29,120
Speaker 3: with you and tips for your dog, but those fresh

922
00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:30,360
Speaker 3: dog foods.

923
00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:33,000
Speaker 4: Are really at a premium. I've tried the Farmer's Dog.

924
00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:36,640
Speaker 4: We tried some other fresh pet things where they send

925
00:45:36,680 --> 00:45:39,160
Speaker 4: them to you frozen in these sort of blister packs,

926
00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:43,920
Speaker 4: and those things got pricey very very quickly. And I

927
00:45:44,040 --> 00:45:47,160
Speaker 4: know that I'm feeding my dog human.

928
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:51,040
Speaker 3: Graid meat and other things. So for me, it's about,

929
00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:53,560
Speaker 3: you know, that peace of mind that I get, and.

930
00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:56,360
Speaker 4: Maybe that's my real sport, although I don't like spend

931
00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:59,720
Speaker 4: crazing money on it. I get things at great discount

932
00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:02,400
Speaker 4: price and freeze them until I need them when it

933
00:46:02,400 --> 00:46:05,480
Speaker 4: comes to his protein, But other than that, it's it's

934
00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:09,600
Speaker 4: it's a very basic and healthful diet for him.

935
00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:12,080
Speaker 1: You can also let him snackle some cheese ites with you. Maybe,

936
00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:14,480
Speaker 1: Oh try, I don't know if they're good enough for Brian.

937
00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:19,879
Speaker 3: He tries, he tries, but never has he ever had one?

938
00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:22,560
Speaker 1: All right? Last question is kind of selfish, kind of

939
00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:25,120
Speaker 1: a joke too, But I have backyard chickens. Do they

940
00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:27,800
Speaker 1: make any term life insurance products for bad chicken owners

941
00:46:27,840 --> 00:46:28,640
Speaker 1: like myself?

942
00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:31,719
Speaker 3: I'm sure someone would be happy to sell you a premium, but.

943
00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:34,400
Speaker 1: I would somebody will sell you a policy, Joe.

944
00:46:34,719 --> 00:46:38,319
Speaker 3: I would not advise you to go for it. I

945
00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:38,640
Speaker 3: don't know.

946
00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:41,960
Speaker 4: We should consult Marthus. She's got a bunch of fancy chickens.

947
00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:44,480
Speaker 4: I don't know if Martha Stewart ensures her chickens.

948
00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:48,320
Speaker 2: Hey, maybe I'll reach out maybe so gosh, yeah, I

949
00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:50,160
Speaker 2: don't want to go off on a whole other tangent,

950
00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:53,000
Speaker 2: but Brian, hey, we really appreciataking the time today to

951
00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:55,960
Speaker 2: talk with us just about saving at the grocery store,

952
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,400
Speaker 2: but also just about pets and dog food as well.

953
00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:00,319
Speaker 2: I think there's some valuable lessons there. But where can.

954
00:47:00,239 --> 00:47:02,920
Speaker 1: Folks learn about what you're up to, where it is

955
00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:03,520
Speaker 1: that you're writing.

956
00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:07,800
Speaker 4: Well, you can always like follow subscribe, become a member

957
00:47:07,840 --> 00:47:11,439
Speaker 4: at Consumer Reports. We love to see folks pass through

958
00:47:11,560 --> 00:47:14,360
Speaker 4: and share their experience with us, and we hope to

959
00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:19,080
Speaker 4: amplify those experiences in the service of creating that fair

960
00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:22,600
Speaker 4: or more just more safe marketplace for all of the products,

961
00:47:22,719 --> 00:47:24,799
Speaker 4: especially food and the things.

962
00:47:24,520 --> 00:47:26,480
Speaker 3: That we spend our money on.

963
00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:31,520
Speaker 4: And we're at consumer reports dot org and that's a

964
00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:34,279
Speaker 4: great place to find myself and my colleagues some of

965
00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:38,000
Speaker 4: the smartest people I know doing everything from privacy and

966
00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:42,880
Speaker 4: online security to looking at cars of course, as well

967
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:48,440
Speaker 4: as food safety, recalls, sunscreen, pet insurance, every part of

968
00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:50,839
Speaker 4: your life. We're over there working to make sure that

969
00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:54,440
Speaker 4: you get the best deal and that the safety is

970
00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:55,200
Speaker 4: really up to par.

971
00:47:55,360 --> 00:47:59,719
Speaker 3: We actually just started a new baby movement and we're

972
00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:01,160
Speaker 3: really delving.

973
00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:04,359
Speaker 4: And looking at the ways in which baby products can

974
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:08,560
Speaker 4: be brought into alignment with greater health, safety and savings.

975
00:48:08,719 --> 00:48:13,080
Speaker 1: Nice. Yeah, buying a Consumer Reports subscription is money well

976
00:48:13,120 --> 00:48:15,799
Speaker 1: spent because it's going to pay back to you many,

977
00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:18,200
Speaker 1: many fold over the years. So and Brian, we appreciate

978
00:48:18,239 --> 00:48:19,880
Speaker 1: your writing, We appreciate you taking the time. Thank you

979
00:48:19,960 --> 00:48:21,040
Speaker 1: so much for joining us today.

980
00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:23,720
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me this was pure pleasure.

981
00:48:24,239 --> 00:48:24,680
Speaker 1: Nice man.

982
00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:26,799
Speaker 2: It's always great to talk with some of the folks there,

983
00:48:26,840 --> 00:48:28,080
Speaker 2: the great folks over.

984
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:31,359
Speaker 1: At Consumer Reports. It's was it? Mike Quincy is maybe

985
00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:34,520
Speaker 1: the last right we talked car. We had on about yeah,

986
00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:36,719
Speaker 1: and we talked with vehicles. When we think about Matt

987
00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:40,680
Speaker 1: people's fumbling trust in institutions, Consumer Reports is an institution

988
00:48:40,800 --> 00:48:43,200
Speaker 1: we can, I think, still trust and it provides so

989
00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:44,040
Speaker 1: much good information.

990
00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:47,239
Speaker 2: Still doing an awesome job advocating for us as individuals,

991
00:48:47,239 --> 00:48:49,279
Speaker 2: as consumers. But what was your big takeaway from our

992
00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:52,160
Speaker 2: conversation with mister Brian Vines today?

993
00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:52,360
Speaker 3: So?

994
00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:54,920
Speaker 1: I mean so much really, But I think the thing

995
00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:56,640
Speaker 1: that stuck out to me that he said that I

996
00:48:56,680 --> 00:48:58,799
Speaker 1: hadn't really thought a ton about, but I have been.

997
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:01,600
Speaker 1: It's been like kind of hitting me sideways for lad

998
00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:03,319
Speaker 1: in the back of your life. Perhaps he said, they

999
00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:06,120
Speaker 1: want to drive you into the store. They want you

1000
00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:08,080
Speaker 1: to be there in person, because guess what happens when

1001
00:49:08,080 --> 00:49:10,680
Speaker 1: you're in person. You see the end caps, you see

1002
00:49:10,719 --> 00:49:12,560
Speaker 1: you buy. Yeah, you definitely don't buy when you're not

1003
00:49:12,640 --> 00:49:15,200
Speaker 1: in the store right right, Although you know you can

1004
00:49:15,239 --> 00:49:16,960
Speaker 1: buy stuff online and have it delivered to you, so

1005
00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:18,799
Speaker 1: you're buying if you're not in the store. But if

1006
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:20,520
Speaker 1: you're in the store, you're gonna buy more, and you're

1007
00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:22,799
Speaker 1: gonna buy the random sports items, so you're gonna buy

1008
00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:25,000
Speaker 1: the Starburst at the checkout count or whatever it is.

1009
00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:28,640
Speaker 1: And so I guess I've kind of done not a

1010
00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:31,480
Speaker 1: one to eighty degree pivot, but I've done a serious

1011
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:35,359
Speaker 1: pivot on shopping online for groceries, because I do think

1012
00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:37,000
Speaker 1: the more you're in the store, the more liable you

1013
00:49:37,040 --> 00:49:39,320
Speaker 1: are to not stick to the list to buy stuff

1014
00:49:39,320 --> 00:49:41,800
Speaker 1: that you otherwise wouldn't. And there was somebody who posted

1015
00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:44,160
Speaker 1: in the Facebook group just the other day and she said,

1016
00:49:44,360 --> 00:49:46,320
Speaker 1: I have saved so much money by doing the target

1017
00:49:46,360 --> 00:49:47,799
Speaker 1: where they bring the groceries out and they stick it

1018
00:49:47,800 --> 00:49:50,160
Speaker 1: in your trunk, because I don't buy stuff that I

1019
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:53,080
Speaker 1: wouldn't have otherwise purchased. And I'm like, I think that

1020
00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:55,760
Speaker 1: is actually one of the biggest wins in buying online.

1021
00:49:55,960 --> 00:49:57,920
Speaker 1: And if you buy if you buy an instacart and

1022
00:49:57,960 --> 00:49:59,520
Speaker 1: get it delivered, you're paying for a lot of extra fees.

1023
00:49:59,520 --> 00:50:01,480
Speaker 1: You're paying for higher grocery prices. Yeah, you're paying a

1024
00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:04,880
Speaker 1: premium for that. But there are ways with specific retailers

1025
00:50:05,200 --> 00:50:08,080
Speaker 1: to buy with them directly and go pick it up,

1026
00:50:08,120 --> 00:50:10,760
Speaker 1: but have them put it in your car, and typically

1027
00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:13,040
Speaker 1: you're not paying a dime more for that service, So

1028
00:50:13,239 --> 00:50:15,480
Speaker 1: it's at least worth considering if you find yourself if

1029
00:50:15,480 --> 00:50:18,840
Speaker 1: you're the kind of person who brings home thirty items

1030
00:50:18,880 --> 00:50:21,120
Speaker 1: when there were only twenty on your list. Sure, yep.

1031
00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:24,000
Speaker 2: I think that's when knowing yourself as an individual and

1032
00:50:24,480 --> 00:50:25,919
Speaker 2: how it is that you're going to save the most

1033
00:50:25,920 --> 00:50:28,040
Speaker 2: because I think for a lot of you know, some

1034
00:50:28,040 --> 00:50:30,400
Speaker 2: folks would push back and say, what about the shopping experience,

1035
00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:32,360
Speaker 2: like I've heard you even talk about it before, like

1036
00:50:32,400 --> 00:50:34,719
Speaker 2: you picking out your individual apples and being able to

1037
00:50:34,760 --> 00:50:35,440
Speaker 2: hand select.

1038
00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:36,200
Speaker 1: I do care about that.

1039
00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:39,120
Speaker 2: There's value in getting the ones that aren't bruised, and

1040
00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:40,799
Speaker 2: that's something that you miss out on on somebody who's

1041
00:50:40,800 --> 00:50:43,520
Speaker 2: getting paid by the hour for slinging groceries into a

1042
00:50:43,520 --> 00:50:45,880
Speaker 2: bag for folks. But that being said, if you know

1043
00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:47,600
Speaker 2: you're the type of person who's going to buy all

1044
00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:49,839
Speaker 2: the starbursts, you know, like you said on the end cap,

1045
00:50:50,160 --> 00:50:52,480
Speaker 2: then maybe for you it does pay to I don't know,

1046
00:50:52,520 --> 00:50:53,880
Speaker 2: take one on the chin and get the.

1047
00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:57,359
Speaker 1: Bruised apple every now be willing to at least accept one.

1048
00:50:57,400 --> 00:50:59,160
Speaker 2: But uh, okay, So my big takeaway is going to

1049
00:50:59,160 --> 00:51:01,040
Speaker 2: be there towards the end when we were talking about

1050
00:51:01,160 --> 00:51:03,640
Speaker 2: dog food, which I'm sure a lot of folks are

1051
00:51:03,680 --> 00:51:05,640
Speaker 2: gonna say, all right, come on, what's the deal here?

1052
00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:07,960
Speaker 2: How does this actually pertain to me and the groceries

1053
00:51:08,120 --> 00:51:09,879
Speaker 2: that I am taking.

1054
00:51:09,560 --> 00:51:11,440
Speaker 1: Home from the store. But what he pointed to was

1055
00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:12,080
Speaker 1: a meal plan.

1056
00:51:12,200 --> 00:51:14,319
Speaker 2: I loved how he when he's cooking for his dog,

1057
00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:16,600
Speaker 2: which I'm guessing there's probably not a lot of folks

1058
00:51:16,600 --> 00:51:18,200
Speaker 2: out there who are doing that, so a lot of

1059
00:51:18,239 --> 00:51:20,040
Speaker 2: folks were probably thinking, I don't know, maybe they started

1060
00:51:20,040 --> 00:51:22,040
Speaker 2: tuning out when they started to hear that, because they're like, dude,

1061
00:51:22,040 --> 00:51:24,799
Speaker 2: I can barely feed myself, let alone my actual pet.

1062
00:51:24,800 --> 00:51:27,240
Speaker 1: But I've seen so many more commercials for the specialty

1063
00:51:27,400 --> 00:51:30,600
Speaker 1: made making a premium for that stuff, and he's getting

1064
00:51:30,719 --> 00:51:33,279
Speaker 1: similar quality, if not higher, QUI better, But he's doing

1065
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:33,480
Speaker 1: it for.

1066
00:51:33,480 --> 00:51:35,680
Speaker 2: A whole lot less because at least one third of

1067
00:51:35,680 --> 00:51:38,719
Speaker 2: the meals that he's making aren't even frozen. Yeah, well, no,

1068
00:51:38,719 --> 00:51:40,560
Speaker 2: two thirds, because he makes one now that he feeds

1069
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:42,880
Speaker 2: his dog, one another one lasts in the fridge and

1070
00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:44,960
Speaker 2: then the third one is good for the.

1071
00:51:44,880 --> 00:51:45,520
Speaker 1: Freezer, right.

1072
00:51:45,719 --> 00:51:47,359
Speaker 2: And so what I'm highlighting here is the fact that

1073
00:51:47,440 --> 00:51:48,920
Speaker 2: the best way to say when it comes to your

1074
00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:51,480
Speaker 2: groceries is to actually have a plan, like a plan

1075
00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:52,960
Speaker 2: of attack, when it comes to how it is you're

1076
00:51:52,960 --> 00:51:54,719
Speaker 2: gonna approach your meals. Not everybody is going to do

1077
00:51:54,760 --> 00:51:57,239
Speaker 2: the meal planning thing, or they're going to make nine

1078
00:51:57,239 --> 00:51:59,600
Speaker 2: breakfast burritos and eat one right there that morning and

1079
00:51:59,600 --> 00:52:01,400
Speaker 2: throw the red in the freezer for the rest of

1080
00:52:01,440 --> 00:52:01,680
Speaker 2: the week.

1081
00:52:01,719 --> 00:52:03,320
Speaker 1: That little hardcore. That's hardcore.

1082
00:52:03,400 --> 00:52:05,960
Speaker 2: But I do think with a little bit more planning,

1083
00:52:05,960 --> 00:52:08,359
Speaker 2: a little bit more foresight into what it is you're

1084
00:52:08,400 --> 00:52:10,319
Speaker 2: planning to do with the food, that can keep you

1085
00:52:10,400 --> 00:52:13,040
Speaker 2: on the straight and narrow as well as you're walking

1086
00:52:13,120 --> 00:52:14,600
Speaker 2: through the aisles and trying to figure out what it

1087
00:52:14,640 --> 00:52:16,200
Speaker 2: is you're trying to purchase at the grocery store.

1088
00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:18,960
Speaker 1: That planning, Matt is going to keep you from making

1089
00:52:19,400 --> 00:52:21,759
Speaker 1: higher cost trade offs, the higher cost train up, which

1090
00:52:21,760 --> 00:52:24,480
Speaker 1: is typically going out to the eavenstance. Yeah, you might say, oh,

1091
00:52:24,480 --> 00:52:25,800
Speaker 1: this mill cost me a little bit more than I

1092
00:52:25,840 --> 00:52:27,600
Speaker 1: wanted it to, but hey, it costs you a heck

1093
00:52:27,600 --> 00:52:29,920
Speaker 1: of a lot less than going out tipping all like

1094
00:52:30,080 --> 00:52:32,120
Speaker 1: all that jazz. So all right, let's get back to

1095
00:52:32,120 --> 00:52:33,680
Speaker 1: the beer that we had on this episode. This one's

1096
00:52:33,719 --> 00:52:38,360
Speaker 1: called Free Spirit. It's a New Zealand pilsner from the

1097
00:52:38,400 --> 00:52:41,080
Speaker 1: good folks over at Variant Brewing and they collabed with

1098
00:52:41,160 --> 00:52:44,719
Speaker 1: Terrapin Brewing on this one to Georgia Breweries. Yeah, what

1099
00:52:44,800 --> 00:52:46,600
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on this beer? Quite delicious?

1100
00:52:47,280 --> 00:52:50,040
Speaker 2: So this was so it was a New Zealand pilsner,

1101
00:52:50,239 --> 00:52:52,200
Speaker 2: which means there's a whole lot more flavor in this

1102
00:52:52,239 --> 00:52:54,719
Speaker 2: pilsner than you would find with just a standard run

1103
00:52:54,719 --> 00:52:56,760
Speaker 2: of the mill, certainly Macro produced pilsner.

1104
00:52:56,800 --> 00:52:57,719
Speaker 3: Man, this was so good, like.

1105
00:52:57,800 --> 00:52:59,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's like florals.

1106
00:52:58,960 --> 00:53:02,919
Speaker 2: There's fruitiness going on. It's simultaneously dry, but it has

1107
00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:05,080
Speaker 2: also this just depth of flavor that you don't get

1108
00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:07,480
Speaker 2: with the pilsner. I don't know how else to describe it.

1109
00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:09,320
Speaker 2: I feel like I've just went five different directions.

1110
00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:11,839
Speaker 1: But I thought this one was fresh and light, and

1111
00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:13,719
Speaker 1: I thought the other good thing that you're right like

1112
00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:16,440
Speaker 1: the hops. I don't know why, but from some of

1113
00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:18,719
Speaker 1: the especially IPAs I've had, and they shine forth in

1114
00:53:18,760 --> 00:53:21,200
Speaker 1: this one too. The hops from like the New Zealand

1115
00:53:21,200 --> 00:53:25,919
Speaker 1: Australia region are putting out completely different flavor profile so good.

1116
00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:27,800
Speaker 1: And the truth is hops aren't usually the main feature

1117
00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:31,040
Speaker 1: of appills, but they stood out nicely in this one.

1118
00:53:31,040 --> 00:53:33,320
Speaker 1: So you're getting that pilsner vibe, but you're also getting

1119
00:53:33,320 --> 00:53:35,560
Speaker 1: some nice hoppy notes at the same time. And they're

1120
00:53:35,600 --> 00:53:38,799
Speaker 1: just these special hops man that really do punch above

1121
00:53:38,800 --> 00:53:39,400
Speaker 1: their weight class.

1122
00:53:39,400 --> 00:53:41,800
Speaker 2: So there's like this sense of ou mame like I

1123
00:53:41,840 --> 00:53:44,480
Speaker 2: don't know that's what I was tasting like, because it

1124
00:53:44,480 --> 00:53:48,360
Speaker 2: doesn't go in one direction, like really forcefully, but it

1125
00:53:48,480 --> 00:53:51,400
Speaker 2: just has this overall depth that you don't normally expect

1126
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:53,719
Speaker 2: with a pilsner. Yeah, it's almost like they added like,

1127
00:53:54,239 --> 00:53:58,520
Speaker 2: what is it MSG mono sodium glutabate that you get

1128
00:53:58,600 --> 00:54:01,000
Speaker 2: like Chinese food or some of the different sauces or whatever.

1129
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:04,719
Speaker 2: But it had like this meaty depth to it that's

1130
00:54:04,840 --> 00:54:07,239
Speaker 2: hard to articulate. But I don't know, might sound weird

1131
00:54:07,239 --> 00:54:10,719
Speaker 2: to you, but to others they might be thinking, I

1132
00:54:10,719 --> 00:54:12,080
Speaker 2: got to get my hands on that beer.

1133
00:54:12,160 --> 00:54:12,359
Speaker 3: Yeah.

1134
00:54:12,360 --> 00:54:14,080
Speaker 1: I really enjoyed it though. Good beer for sure, and

1135
00:54:14,120 --> 00:54:16,560
Speaker 1: a good local one. So all right, that's gonna do

1136
00:54:16,560 --> 00:54:18,200
Speaker 1: it for this one, Matt, we'll have links to some

1137
00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:20,839
Speaker 1: of the resources, and we'll link to Consumer Reports because

1138
00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:23,880
Speaker 1: it is a consummate resource for people throughout the ages

1139
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:27,399
Speaker 1: we subscribe were. We subscribe to a few publications, Matt,

1140
00:54:27,480 --> 00:54:29,719
Speaker 1: not too many, but Consumer Reports is one that we

1141
00:54:29,760 --> 00:54:31,600
Speaker 1: pay for annuly and it's worthing, so no brainer. And

1142
00:54:31,640 --> 00:54:33,160
Speaker 1: we'll have that stuff all up on our website at

1143
00:54:33,160 --> 00:54:35,600
Speaker 1: howtomoney dot com. But Matt, that's going to do it

1144
00:54:35,600 --> 00:54:37,759
Speaker 1: for this one. Until next time, Best Runds out and

1145
00:54:37,760 --> 00:54:39,120
Speaker 1: best friends out.