Speaker 1: Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt.
Speaker 1: Today we're talking saving big at the supermarket with Brian Vines.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Joel, food inflation is up one hundred percent over
Speaker 2: the past few years. Okay, okay, that's just that's my
Speaker 2: family's personal spending at the grocery store. And actually maybe
Speaker 2: it has to do more with feeding a much of
Speaker 2: growing kids.
Speaker 1: But prices are up.
Speaker 2: Prices have increased over twenty six percent from twenty nineteen
Speaker 2: to today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This
Speaker 2: is a pattern that most Americans hate seeing paying more
Speaker 2: for the same old stuff. But luckily we're joined by
Speaker 2: Brian Vines, who knows all about groceries and how that
Speaker 2: impacts you as a consumer. He's the deputy editor of
Speaker 2: Special Projects over at one of our absolute favorite publications,
Speaker 2: Consumer Reports, and we're going to talk about how you
Speaker 2: can pay.
Speaker 1: Less at the grocery store. Brian Vines, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for talking with us today.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 4: I'm glad to hear that Consumer Reports has a place
Speaker 4: in your hearts and minds.
Speaker 3: Like and subscribe please.
Speaker 1: It's absolutely It's right next to Matt's Bible on the
Speaker 1: nice sid in case you're wondering.
Speaker 3: So we're happy to be in such good company.
Speaker 1: Our first question we ask everyone who comes on the show, Brian,
Speaker 1: is what do you like to supoorge on? Because Matt
Speaker 1: and I were drinking the craft beer right now. We
Speaker 1: like to spend a lot of money on craft beer
Speaker 1: while we're also doing the smart thing. We're saving investing
Speaker 1: for our future. So yeah, what's that sports for you?
Speaker 3: See?
Speaker 4: I slurge with some guides, but one thing is that
Speaker 4: I slurge on Cheetos and Jesus. The whole thing that
Speaker 4: is orange and crunches is likely going to make its
Speaker 4: way into my market basket.
Speaker 3: But I do like try to put one.
Speaker 4: I only buy them when they're on sale. Okay, that's
Speaker 4: my splur because they're not the best things for.
Speaker 3: Me and how I want to life right now.
Speaker 4: So I temper like having that little sheet and splurge
Speaker 4: at once. And you know PepsiCo and the prices they've
Speaker 4: been charging us for snacks and those carbonated drinks, it
Speaker 4: feels like a splurge.
Speaker 1: It's it's so on brand tube, So Brian, I really
Speaker 1: appreciate that.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Okay, so first I got a question out of the
Speaker 1: gate on groceries, picking up on this obsession of yours
Speaker 1: with Cheetos and cheese its is when it is on sale,
Speaker 1: how much are you willing to stock up? And you
Speaker 1: live in New York City right where you probably don't
Speaker 1: have like ridiculous amounts of pantry space. So if cheese
Speaker 1: its are on sale, let's say there, buy will get
Speaker 1: one free, and you're like, man, that's a good deal.
Speaker 1: Are you buying like two? A? Are you buying like ten?
Speaker 3: Oh? This is the eternal fight the devil question.
Speaker 4: When I'm standing in the aisle there, I again, it
Speaker 4: depends on how I'm feeling and how active I am
Speaker 4: at the time, and whether I want to get my
Speaker 4: future yourself in debt to myself, both workout wise and
Speaker 4: money wise.
Speaker 3: But I'll say, if there's.
Speaker 4: A buy one, get one, I'm not leaving without getting
Speaker 4: two deals.
Speaker 1: Okay, so I'm going home.
Speaker 4: With four bags. Don't tell my husband jeese don't have
Speaker 4: a lot of room. We don't have a lot of room.
Speaker 4: I live in New York City, Like pantry space is
Speaker 4: non existent.
Speaker 1: It comes out of premium. I've done this before. I
Speaker 1: come home with too much of something, and my wife's like,
Speaker 1: it was on sale. You've got to stick that, like
Speaker 1: under your side of the bed or something, dude, And
Speaker 1: so I knew well.
Speaker 2: And actually today it's National Financial Awareness Day, which is
Speaker 2: I mean, of course, we want more and more folks
Speaker 2: to know me about the good word of personal finances
Speaker 2: out there. But I'm curious it's kind of related here.
Speaker 2: But what led you to Consumer Reports, the great organization
Speaker 2: that they are in the mission of helping folks to save.
Speaker 4: Well, The thing that primarily led me to Consumer Reports
Speaker 4: is at the time when I join in October of
Speaker 4: twenty twenty, we were in the thick of the pandemic
Speaker 4: as well as really grapling publicly collectively for the first
Speaker 4: time in my generation, with what a lot of folks
Speaker 4: have come to call the racial reckoning here in America.
Speaker 4: And I saw that Consumer Reports was making a sustained
Speaker 4: effort to in their lane, look at and examine and
Speaker 4: really interrogate some of the systems as well as the
Speaker 4: practices that were in place and prohibiting folks from access
Speaker 4: to a free, equitable, more just and safe marketplace. And
Speaker 4: they were asking the questions and I thought, oh, this
Speaker 4: is something that I'd like to be a part of.
Speaker 3: So while I.
Speaker 4: Could talk to you all day about deals in grocery
Speaker 4: stores and pet insurance, because it is one of my
Speaker 4: passions at Consumer Reports, I'm able to engage and indulge
Speaker 4: even sometimes in those pursuits, but also have a focus
Speaker 4: on some of the larger picture things that are really
Speaker 4: impacting communities that have been locked out for long time
Speaker 4: from the market.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's cool. Thanks for sharing. And Consumer Reports has
Speaker 1: done so much for so many decades now to help
Speaker 1: inform consumers so they can make smart decisions with their
Speaker 1: finances or big fans of what Consumer Reports has been
Speaker 1: doing for a long long time. All right, let's talk specifically.
Speaker 1: Let's start. Let's get into food and inflation. Matt kind
Speaker 1: of joked about at the beginning that his food bill
Speaker 1: maybe has gone up more than others because more kids,
Speaker 1: more mouse to feed and buying the organics. I guess right, Matt.
Speaker 1: But true, grocery prices have gone up for everybody roughly
Speaker 1: twenty six percent over the last four and a half years.
Speaker 1: But it's also kind of it makes so many headlines
Speaker 1: even though it's not meaningfully Food inflation has not meaningfully
Speaker 1: been above head and shoulders above the average inflation rate.
Speaker 1: So why do you think the grocery store prices get
Speaker 1: so much coverage?
Speaker 4: By some measures, the price of groceries are the leading
Speaker 4: economic indicator for a lot of folks, And you really
Speaker 4: feel it because it's a.
Speaker 3: Very visceral experience.
Speaker 4: You're going and you're filling your basket, and you're looking
Speaker 4: at the things that you're used to buying, and you're
Speaker 4: looking at the prices that you're paying for them, and
Speaker 4: there really aren't a lot of spaces that we're confronted
Speaker 4: so just starkly by what our idea of what economizing
Speaker 4: is and what we used to pay versus what our
Speaker 4: current reality is. So even though those numbers might not
Speaker 4: be akin to looking at gas prices or insurance or
Speaker 4: your mortgage or rent, it just feels like it because
Speaker 4: it's such a basic thing. And you know, eggs are
Speaker 4: a dollar fifty, and then when you see that they're
Speaker 4: two dollars and seventy, you're like, WHOA, what is going on?
Speaker 4: Because there are some things you just know and it
Speaker 4: feels very much like you're being confronted with it when
Speaker 4: you're buying the same thing.
Speaker 3: But you're paying a lot more.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of things we can cut back on,
Speaker 1: foods not really one of the most of the time,
Speaker 1: Ryan's number one tip is just to eat less. Number
Speaker 1: one meal of a day. Is that a three?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 2: I think what you said is so true, just the
Speaker 2: pervasiveness of it. And you're talking about the price per
Speaker 2: gallon of gas, but when it comes to food, like,
Speaker 2: there's a like for you. I'm guessing I don't know,
Speaker 2: maybe I'm assuming here, but a lot of New Yorkers
Speaker 2: don't have a car, and so the price per gallon
Speaker 2: probably doesn't affect many Manhattanites.
Speaker 1: Is that what you?
Speaker 2: I don't know, nearly as much as the price of
Speaker 2: let's say, twelve eggs. So you you actually wrote an
Speaker 2: article over in Consumer Reports about obviously saving money at
Speaker 2: the supermarket, but you said that technology specifically is rapidly
Speaker 2: changing the food shopping experience.
Speaker 1: And you know we're.
Speaker 2: Not just talking about you know, getting your groceries delivered.
Speaker 2: So how has the in person experience change and how
Speaker 2: do you currently see it continue to change?
Speaker 4: Well, technology is marching on, it's never quit and it
Speaker 4: is touching every aspect of our lives and shopping and
Speaker 4: food is no different. We have, of course always known
Speaker 4: about these savor deals that come when you join a
Speaker 4: store loyalty program, but now you would be hard pressed
Speaker 4: to find one of those stores that hasn't taken their
Speaker 4: loyalty program away from the little rip and go sort
Speaker 4: of coupons that you might have been used to to
Speaker 4: the realm of online and.
Speaker 3: Smartphones as well.
Speaker 4: We've also seen the advent of this palm scanning technology
Speaker 4: is pioneered by the folks over at the megabohemoth Amazon
Speaker 4: using this sort of network that scans your palm that
Speaker 4: you actually tie to a payment method, and that is
Speaker 4: making folks move through grocery stores even more quickly and
Speaker 4: has the ability to tailor deals that are specific to
Speaker 4: your sort of shopping patterns as well, and that might
Speaker 4: represent the opportunity for you to manifest some savings there.
Speaker 4: There are also other things like technology at these warehouse
Speaker 4: clubs that so many of us shop at now, particularly
Speaker 4: those who are not Manhattan Ice or Brooklyn Nights like myself,
Speaker 4: who do have pantry space where you know, the days
Speaker 4: where you have to stop by that person at the
Speaker 4: door with a little highlighter where they're.
Speaker 3: Scanning your card and checking off all the things that
Speaker 3: they couldn't possibly know are in your aisle.
Speaker 5: So in your car, right, all of this performative security
Speaker 5: is yeah, it's sort of but I've seen long lines there,
Speaker 5: but that is going the way of the Dodo powered
Speaker 5: by AI, where they're.
Speaker 4: Actually going to be scanning and allow you to just
Speaker 4: walk through, so reducing the lag of your grocery store
Speaker 4: experience and the idea of just getting people in and
Speaker 4: out more quickly and making the shopping experience more fun
Speaker 4: and relevant.
Speaker 3: But one of the most exciting advents.
Speaker 4: Is with these smart hearts that have the ability to
Speaker 4: weigh your vegetables and other bulk items as well as
Speaker 4: show you any savings that you might be able to
Speaker 4: get from the products and give you information on them
Speaker 4: as you just put them into your cart. And these
Speaker 4: are being piloted at a few different commercial supermarkets across
Speaker 4: the country. So smart carts seem to be a way
Speaker 4: of the future, and once they get the price down
Speaker 4: a little, I suspect we'll be able to see.
Speaker 3: A lot more of those.
Speaker 4: You have a complete shopping experience and are able to
Speaker 4: just move your way through the grocery store and not
Speaker 4: even have to interact with anyone. It charges and pays
Speaker 4: and keeps the running sabulation the entire time that you're shopping.
Speaker 4: So those are some of the more forward looking innovations.
Speaker 4: But yeah, tech has taken over our shopping as well,
Speaker 4: and hopefully we'll be able to use that to have
Speaker 4: some savings.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, okay, So I want to hone in on
Speaker 1: that just a little bit because I'm all for greater
Speaker 1: levels of convenience. I'm all for like smart technology, meaning
Speaker 1: that I get in and out of the grocery store
Speaker 1: a little bit more quickly and I'm not waiting in
Speaker 1: a line to check out or the self checkout, which
Speaker 1: can be the main of your existence. Depending on how
Speaker 1: it's run, maybe that becomes a much smoother process. But
Speaker 1: is it just about increasing convenience or are we seeing
Speaker 1: technology legitimately lead to lower prices for people, because that really,
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, people want to live
Speaker 1: in the jets and zero, but only if it's going
Speaker 1: to save them money.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, number one, it is about convenience because supermarkets know
Speaker 4: that they're competing with all of the folks who are
Speaker 4: willing to ring your door bill and show up at
Speaker 4: any hour with what it is that.
Speaker 3: You ordered, and once they get you in the store,
Speaker 3: they get to use all of those mind tricks to
Speaker 3: get you to buy more than you bargain for.
Speaker 1: Uh huh.
Speaker 4: So they want to drive traffic into the stores and
Speaker 4: entice people in, and this technology is one piece of that.
Speaker 3: But also when folks do get to the store, they
Speaker 3: want there to be deals that make you come back.
Speaker 4: So it's a sort of too prong approach to getting
Speaker 4: people back in the storage.
Speaker 3: Number one will.
Speaker 4: Make it convenient and fast, and will also sweeten it
Speaker 4: a little bit, and most of that sweetener comes now
Speaker 4: in the form of these store.
Speaker 3: Brands that are not the national name brands. It's sort
Speaker 3: of like, if.
Speaker 4: You liked Dorrito's, you'll love Crispy Nazzo tortillas, and if
Speaker 4: you don't love.
Speaker 3: Them, we'll give you your money back.
Speaker 4: So a lot of folks who are in the grocery
Speaker 4: space are sort of doubling down on getting you in
Speaker 4: with convenience and then trying to get you to engage
Speaker 4: more with their store brands, which they get more money for.
Speaker 4: And like we touched on it earlier looking at PepsiCo
Speaker 4: with their snacks and drinks being even kicked out of
Speaker 4: some of those grocery store chains in Europe because they
Speaker 4: won't budge on their pricing. But still in America really
Speaker 4: sticking it to us when it comes to those foods.
Speaker 4: But folks are providing alternatives that they say are just
Speaker 4: as good, if not better, backed by satisfaction money back guarantees.
Speaker 1: I expect to see cheese bits instead of cheese. It's
Speaker 1: in your Patriot from here on out.
Speaker 3: Brian, Listen, I'm not above trying out a new.
Speaker 1: Thing, are you not?
Speaker 2: Okay, just avoid the Berman's dorrido equivalent at Aldi. We'll
Speaker 2: get to I caught some flag for that. I'm sure
Speaker 2: we'll talk about Aldi plenty later on in the episode.
Speaker 2: But those things are terrible. But you're talking about convenience,
Speaker 2: and it's a double edged sword though, because at the
Speaker 2: same time you're making it more, you're making it easier
Speaker 2: for the retailer to kind of get their hooks in
Speaker 2: you under the guys maybe of convenience because it's kind
Speaker 2: of like, oh, this is going to be easy for you,
Speaker 2: easy for you to spend money, but also, I mean
Speaker 2: it makes me You mentioned the how different retailers are,
Speaker 2: how they're kind of switching up their samples that they
Speaker 2: are offering there in the store because and that's a
Speaker 2: similar thing where it's kind of.
Speaker 1: Like, oh no, you get to try it before give
Speaker 1: a little sample.
Speaker 2: Folks set up there like at Costco's what I'm thinking of,
Speaker 2: But simultaneously, it's another way to get you to spend more.
Speaker 2: How do you kind of square that, How do you
Speaker 2: find balance when it comes to the samples that stores
Speaker 2: are offering.
Speaker 3: Well, one of those things is to you know, you're
Speaker 3: not ever meant.
Speaker 4: To go to the grocery store hungry, but you can
Speaker 4: also think about the timing of when you do go.
Speaker 4: I know, in my life there are no stores that
Speaker 4: sample anything where I am.
Speaker 3: But when I'm home.
Speaker 4: Visiting my parents in Chicago and you're shopping in these
Speaker 4: places that have actual shopping carts and huge aisles and
Speaker 4: even huger portions and like packs or you can buy things,
Speaker 4: there are a lot of samples there that can be tempting.
Speaker 4: But I think if you really know yourself, and if
Speaker 4: you're one of those folks who are easily swayed, one
Speaker 4: of the extreme things you can do is just go
Speaker 4: with the grocery buddy, someone who is going to keep
Speaker 4: you accountable.
Speaker 1: If it's accountability, yeah, you go, you know, magic a word.
Speaker 4: If there is something that you really have no business
Speaker 4: getting but it was so delicious, just.
Speaker 3: Double back and get another sample. You don't need to
Speaker 3: always be the one.
Speaker 4: But one of the things that I love about your
Speaker 4: podcast and the way you all interact and.
Speaker 3: Share with people is that you are here for doing
Speaker 3: the work.
Speaker 4: And I think there are ways to try new things
Speaker 4: and save money, but you got to be willing to,
Speaker 4: you know, invest a little time. Yeah, find out who
Speaker 4: sells the products. Ask the person there if they have
Speaker 4: a coupon. Beyond that, go to the website, go to
Speaker 4: their social media, engage with them. Say you know what,
Speaker 4: I saw this at the store and I was really intrigued.
Speaker 3: It was even.
Speaker 4: Good and I'd like to expose my family to it
Speaker 4: or share it with friends. Do you have a coupon
Speaker 4: that might make it easier for me to pick your
Speaker 4: brand over the one.
Speaker 3: That I usually go for.
Speaker 4: And you'd be surprised how many people actually mail coupons.
Speaker 4: Sign you up for digital thing, send you a buy one,
Speaker 4: get one, send you just a free coupon period as
Speaker 4: a way of introduction and saying thanks for being in
Speaker 4: touch with us. Nice and it's all for the price
Speaker 4: of a you know, the three minutes that it takes
Speaker 4: you to send a little emails. Yeah, I saw something
Speaker 4: being sampled at the store today. I wondered if you
Speaker 4: might be able to sweeten it a little bit.
Speaker 3: Can you help me out with the coupons so I
Speaker 3: could try it? And they do.
Speaker 1: We we regularly talk about how asking for a discount
Speaker 1: is underrated and whether wellether and it's not always the
Speaker 1: person at the checkout counter probably can't be like, sure,
Speaker 1: I'll take twenty percent off your bill right now. But
Speaker 1: those are the kind of ways in which if you
Speaker 1: ask the right people in the right avenues, you're probably
Speaker 1: going to get some sort of savings. And I think
Speaker 1: that's a great tip. You mentioned generic products, and I'm
Speaker 1: curious or store brands, right, I guess we'll call them
Speaker 1: store brands more than generic these days. How do you
Speaker 1: have any data, like how much can folks save by
Speaker 1: buying store brands? Because I think part of it's the
Speaker 1: it's the oh man, I remember having eating that product
Speaker 1: since I was a youth, or the advertising just kind
Speaker 1: of get you, and that's what you choose in the moment,
Speaker 1: just because you've seen commercials for Oreos instead of the
Speaker 1: off brand, knockoff or whatever, and so that's just even
Speaker 1: if it's two dollars to fifty cents more for the package,
Speaker 1: you just instinctively reach for the name brand. Why should
Speaker 1: we consider store brands and how much do we stand
Speaker 1: to save?
Speaker 3: So first off, you should absolutely consider store brands.
Speaker 4: And even if you might get burned by those aldibrand.
Speaker 3: Costs, it's still with a.
Speaker 2: Little experimentation, come on, you gotta give it a shot.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, and the kids will eat it, or you just
Speaker 4: invite the neighbors.
Speaker 3: Over and like put them out there. It's not a
Speaker 3: big deal.
Speaker 4: But you can absolutely manifest those savings through what has
Speaker 4: come to be known as private label.
Speaker 3: Like when I was it was.
Speaker 4: The generic off brand, no name with the x's in
Speaker 4: the black and white boxes. But now those products that
Speaker 4: are private label can really save folks a lot of money.
Speaker 4: And one of the things about store brands is that
Speaker 4: you can manifest twenty to twenty five percent savings by
Speaker 4: choosing to give those a chance. When you're looking at
Speaker 4: things in the food section and those savings go up
Speaker 4: even higher when you're looking at personal care like antipersperants
Speaker 4: or mouthwash or dental floss.
Speaker 3: Or any of those things that fall into the personal
Speaker 3: care line.
Speaker 4: You can see savings of up to forty percent when
Speaker 4: you start to get into those products.
Speaker 3: And like we talked about before, there.
Speaker 4: Are so many of them that come with those money
Speaker 4: back guarantees where they'll give you your money and in some
Speaker 4: instances from stores even replace it with something that is
Speaker 4: your usual brand. But again, this is one of those
Speaker 4: followed through things. You might open it up and see, oh,
Speaker 4: this is horrible, and they're counting on you to just
Speaker 4: dump it or put it into the kids lunches for
Speaker 4: the rest of the week, never to be bought again.
Speaker 3: But if you take that extra step.
Speaker 4: I've been behind the line at someone at Whole Foods
Speaker 4: who was returning something, someone who was at all the
Speaker 4: even at Trader Joe's, and they're returning and say not
Speaker 4: for me, and the process is so painless.
Speaker 3: Like I imagine, people build up in their minds that they're
Speaker 3: going to be in.
Speaker 4: Front of some tribunal and be made to answer for
Speaker 4: why these aren't as good as you expected, or what happened.
Speaker 2: We're going to weigh it and like kind of call
Speaker 2: you out as to how much do you actually consume
Speaker 2: before you return.
Speaker 1: Oh, man, okay, you ain't have to pack, dude, I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: we can't take I listen.
Speaker 4: I've seen people come with the flat bags and like,
Speaker 4: these just were not great.
Speaker 3: It wasn't as expected. Please run me my money, and
Speaker 3: they do.
Speaker 4: And the person behind the counter is much like us,
Speaker 4: and they are in the position to help you, and
Speaker 4: I urge you.
Speaker 3: I employ you.
Speaker 4: If you actually do find yourself in one of those situations,
Speaker 4: think of that person on the other side of that
Speaker 4: desk as your friend who doesn't want to see you
Speaker 4: get shafted by something that you didn't enjoy.
Speaker 3: It's not an intimidating or even the long process. They
Speaker 3: just wasn't for me. I'd like to take advantage of
Speaker 3: the guarantee.
Speaker 2: See them instead as working for the man. See them
Speaker 2: as like your fellow man. Us more about how they're
Speaker 2: approachiate you.
Speaker 3: You're inside person, You're not standing, You're in the deal.
Speaker 3: I live by that motto. You have not because you ask,
Speaker 3: not get in there and ask.
Speaker 2: So you kind of mentioned samples and in your writing
Speaker 2: you've talked to it, and I didn't know this was the case,
Speaker 2: but you've You've written about how a lot of stores,
Speaker 2: like you mentioned Trader Joe's, like them specifically, I think
Speaker 2: you mentioned Whole Foods as well, like a lot of
Speaker 2: them evidently will will open something up and let you
Speaker 2: try it just because it's it's something that you've that
Speaker 2: you're curious about, or maybe if you ask in a
Speaker 2: in a nice way.
Speaker 4: Yeah, these are things that you presumably have never tried, right, like, oh,
Speaker 4: I'd like to try those nacho chip store this hummus,
Speaker 4: but yeah, I'd like to stample it and you can
Speaker 4: take it to the customer service and in the old
Speaker 4: days those sampling stations that they had at Trader Joe's.
Speaker 4: But this is still something again you mentioned Whole Foods does.
Speaker 4: So if there is a product, they'll rip it right
Speaker 4: open for you. They'll let you.
Speaker 3: Drink their teas or munch on their popcorns, all of
Speaker 3: the things within reason.
Speaker 1: They're not going to try the caviar, sir, exactly like.
Speaker 5: They're not going to throw wagu at you in the
Speaker 5: middle of the aisle and let you indulge for a
Speaker 5: little bit.
Speaker 4: But there are, there are policies in place, and yeah,
Speaker 4: you can try the cheese.
Speaker 3: You can try all of these things, all of these
Speaker 3: and more can be yours just for the price of
Speaker 3: a mass.
Speaker 1: I love it. We got so much more to cover
Speaker 1: with you, Brian about saving money at the grocer store.
Speaker 1: We're also going to talk about a controversial money saving topic,
Speaker 1: pet insurance. We'll get to that and more in just
Speaker 1: a second. We're back from the break talking with Brian
Speaker 1: Vines and Brian.
Speaker 2: Before the break, you mentioned private labels, which kind of
Speaker 2: leads me into thinking about specific grocery stores and how
Speaker 2: it is that you can save a ton there. Let's
Speaker 2: talk about where it is that you shop, because on
Speaker 2: one hand, you could you know, you can spend a
Speaker 2: ton of time, you can go hogwild on all the
Speaker 2: different digital coupons out there, but we often talk about
Speaker 2: how much you can save with some of the And
Speaker 2: I don't even like using this term discounters, because in
Speaker 2: my mind, these guys aren't discounters.
Speaker 1: They just they just sell affordable Stofinitely, when you think
Speaker 1: the term is the gunner, you're thinking of some sort
Speaker 1: of dramatic, awful trade off in order to get the discounts, but.
Speaker 2: Like, it's not that big of a trade off in
Speaker 2: my opinion all the and legal specifically. And so how
Speaker 2: do you think the I guess, the digital coupons and
Speaker 2: rotating specials out there, how do they line up with
Speaker 2: just everyday ultra low prices that are offered at some
Speaker 2: of these quote unquote discounters.
Speaker 4: So one of the things with those discounters like an
Speaker 4: al do you or Little or even to some extent
Speaker 4: Trader Joe's, where they can be considered in this lane.
Speaker 4: They don't do coupons and they don't do sales because
Speaker 4: they are positing that these are our absolute rock bottom
Speaker 4: prices and we don't manipulate things at all to bring
Speaker 4: you in and you can use a coupon or whatever.
Speaker 3: So these are places that there's.
Speaker 4: Sort of not a lot of room for negotiation and savings.
Speaker 3: The best thing.
Speaker 4: That you might want to do if you want to
Speaker 4: manifest even further savings at these places.
Speaker 3: Is engage one of the rebate apps like the Eyebotas of.
Speaker 4: The World or Fetch Rewards where you go and shop
Speaker 4: and then you can scan your receipt and manufacturers of
Speaker 4: products sort of contribute to this rebate system where you
Speaker 4: get points per item bought that you can later trade
Speaker 4: for actual visa gift cards and other financial rewards that
Speaker 4: can come back to you. But the patch with that
Speaker 4: in some of these bargain spaces is that like aal
Speaker 4: they or the Littles of the world, they are primarily
Speaker 4: like ninety percent stocked with their own private label goods.
Speaker 3: So whilst you might find those things that the national
Speaker 3: name brands that you're.
Speaker 4: Used to, those sort of come with the season when
Speaker 4: they can buy them at the price that makes it
Speaker 4: advantageous for them to platform them on their stores. But
Speaker 4: the overwhelming majority of those products on offer at these
Speaker 4: stores that fall into that category are private labels, so
Speaker 4: they're able to manifest that lower savings. But if you
Speaker 4: have things that you absolutely have to buy.
Speaker 3: In the national name brand sort.
Speaker 4: Of space, and you want those products that you grew
Speaker 4: up with, and one of the things that we found
Speaker 4: people are most loyal to is breakfast Seal if you
Speaker 4: can imagine, which is one I imagine one of those
Speaker 4: as you alluded to earlier, nostalgic things where I grew
Speaker 4: up eating this. This was in my bowl that made.
Speaker 1: Me happy, Cookie crisp every morning, Brian.
Speaker 3: Yes, so that's it. That's one of those things and
Speaker 3: nothing else compares.
Speaker 4: It's like going to your friend's house and they have
Speaker 4: the off brand one. Dude, we got to go back
Speaker 4: to my house and have the real cookie crisps.
Speaker 1: Why are your parents awful? Frank?
Speaker 3: Exactly.
Speaker 4: But when you're looking at those if you can find
Speaker 4: them at those stores, take advantage of the price if
Speaker 4: it works for you. But they really operate in that
Speaker 4: space and you can manifest savings there. But sometimes it
Speaker 4: just may not be the same if you had an
Speaker 4: idea of what the product should taste like and look
Speaker 4: like from the national name brand.
Speaker 1: What about the loyalty clubs that some grocery stores operated.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking of like Kroger, and I remember when they
Speaker 1: came out with the Kroger card, and it used to be, oh,
Speaker 1: it's the sale price and the non sale price. If
Speaker 1: you shop on the right day when it's on sale,
Speaker 1: everybody gets the sale price. And now it's like, oh, no, right,
Speaker 1: only if you fill out this form and you scan
Speaker 1: your card every time. So what are those loyalty programs Like?
Speaker 1: How can we get the most out of those loyalty
Speaker 1: programs and are they. I don't know. I guess some
Speaker 1: people feel maybe a little self conscious about giving having
Speaker 1: that closer tie and divulging some of their personal information
Speaker 1: because it's like, dude, I'm just Brian Grocey's here, but
Speaker 1: you want to know everything about me?
Speaker 3: Are you?
Speaker 1: What's your take on the loyalty clubs that some of
Speaker 1: these grocery store chains have.
Speaker 4: I do belong to a loyalty club at every store
Speaker 4: that I shop at with any regularity.
Speaker 3: I also take advantage.
Speaker 4: Of my friend's loyalty club memberships when I'm traveling, like.
Speaker 3: I was in La a little while.
Speaker 4: Ago, and I was found myself at a Ralph's and like,
Speaker 4: I'm firmly a East Coast guide for the last twenty
Speaker 4: plus years. But I know my best friend is as
Speaker 4: cheap as I am. So when I got to the.
Speaker 1: A good friend right there, that's a good friend.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: When I got to the check out, I put in
Speaker 4: his phone number and the savings just started falling off.
Speaker 4: I'm like, I know, gil Go, so I'm just going
Speaker 4: to put it in his phone number, and I was
Speaker 4: able to get those savings.
Speaker 3: So this is the thing about those clubs. Yes, you
Speaker 3: do have to share some level of information with them.
Speaker 4: At the most basic, it's your phone number and an
Speaker 4: email address, your name, and your birth date they might
Speaker 4: ask for. That's sort of the basic entry level getting
Speaker 4: to the savings, and they may use that for marketing
Speaker 4: and sending you things or sort of looking at what
Speaker 4: people in your supposed.
Speaker 3: Demo are buying.
Speaker 4: If anyone gives you anything for free, that's because you're
Speaker 4: usually the product and they're going to make some kind
Speaker 4: of money off of you or information exchange. So you
Speaker 4: really have to gauge your comfort level with what you're
Speaker 4: willing to divert divolge to get those savings and see
Speaker 4: if it's worth it for you. And that's a very
Speaker 4: personal decision, and we ATCR often monitor just the state
Speaker 4: of privacy and what you're exchanging by giving up information
Speaker 4: to these free apps. So know that there are people
Speaker 4: who are minding the store, but your number one loyalty
Speaker 4: has to be to yourself and your digital hygiene.
Speaker 3: So if you don't feel comfortable about it, just don't
Speaker 3: do it.
Speaker 4: But one of the things is I was able to
Speaker 4: clearly demonstrate the way that these programs have grown when
Speaker 4: I was at my grocery store which was a stop
Speaker 4: and shop in Brooklyn.
Speaker 3: I walked in and there was a Briar's.
Speaker 4: Ice cream pint and they were two for eight dollars
Speaker 4: or something. If you were to walk into the store
Speaker 4: just as an unaffiliated shopper like I just landed here.
Speaker 4: I walked in eight bucks to buy these things. But
Speaker 4: if you're part of the Loyalty club, you can get
Speaker 4: them two for six. But if you were part of
Speaker 4: the Loyalty Club and you have a digital subscription on
Speaker 4: the app right on your phone, you can get them
Speaker 4: at two for five. So it's one product, three different
Speaker 4: price levels.
Speaker 3: Yeah, just depending on.
Speaker 4: Your level of involvement and engagement with the company.
Speaker 1: Yeah, how a trench do you want to be with
Speaker 1: that grocery store exactly.
Speaker 3: So it's like, really, like is it worth it to
Speaker 3: you to number one sign.
Speaker 4: Up number two go a little bit deeper, let them
Speaker 4: have some space on your phone drive. So it really
Speaker 4: is the trade off and how much you're willing to
Speaker 4: give in order to get those savings.
Speaker 2: Okay, So you mentioned maybe the rewards apps that the
Speaker 2: different stores offer, and earlier you mentioned Ibata, like you
Speaker 2: got some of these different rebate apps. Do you think
Speaker 2: that those different rebate apps where you're kind of collecting
Speaker 2: points and finding the discounts and taking pictures of receipts, ay,
Speaker 2: are there some new ones out there that maybe folks
Speaker 2: haven't heard about? But then, b do you think that
Speaker 2: they're worth the additional hassle?
Speaker 3: For most people, they are not worth the additional hassle
Speaker 3: because they don't take the initiative to take it to
Speaker 3: the next step and actually reap the rewards.
Speaker 4: Okay, And I have been guilty of this myself, where
Speaker 4: I've been scanning receipts and everybody in the house knows
Speaker 4: that when they get something, there's a receipt on the counter,
Speaker 4: and I just come in and scan it like hours later.
Speaker 4: Everyone is trained and you accumulate all these points, and frankly,
Speaker 4: you need a lot of points for these things to manifest.
Speaker 4: Don't think that just because your grocery bill was two
Speaker 4: hundred bucks and you walked out with three bags this week,
Speaker 4: that you're going to be balling out of control on.
Speaker 3: These rebate apps, because it does take some level.
Speaker 4: Of consistency and investment in just maintaining before you can
Speaker 4: manifest some savings. So you might be thirty thousand points
Speaker 4: in the tank before you start to see that ten
Speaker 4: dollars gift card from Visa coming.
Speaker 3: Back at you.
Speaker 4: So it really is just maintaining and rocking steady with
Speaker 4: it and completing the loop.
Speaker 3: You can get the savings, but it takes some doing.
Speaker 4: But I'm sure a lot of these manufacturers are enticing
Speaker 4: us to go and favor their products with the promise
Speaker 4: of doing it, but we don't follow through.
Speaker 3: Much like those rebates of old right where you.
Speaker 4: See you can save three dollars just to rip this
Speaker 4: and mail it back into us, and people are just
Speaker 4: not going to do it. They have people crunching numbers
Speaker 4: there to say, listen, you'll get a ten percent return
Speaker 4: on this thing.
Speaker 3: Like people might buy the product, but the folks who.
Speaker 4: Are going to engage fill it out, mail it in,
Speaker 4: put a stamp on it, and send you the envelope.
Speaker 4: Those people, it's are diminishing. So the juice is worth
Speaker 4: the squeeze for them. We just have to make sure
Speaker 4: that we follow through.
Speaker 1: I had not seen a mail in rebate offer at
Speaker 1: like right like a store for a long long time.
Speaker 1: I saw one the other day and I was like,
Speaker 1: I wonder what percentage of people actually like fill it
Speaker 1: out and get that rebate sent back to them. It's
Speaker 1: got to be a small percentage. And I think that's
Speaker 1: largely why they've gone away, is people just it's stopped
Speaker 1: being an influencing tactic as more and more people said
Speaker 1: it's not worth the hassle of sending that stuff, and
Speaker 1: especially if it's a smaller dollar amount. I'm curious Brian
Speaker 1: to hear about senior discounts. Chains of all sorts have
Speaker 1: been offering senior discounts for decades. Matt and I were
Speaker 1: not quite there yet to the extra five or ten
Speaker 1: percent off, but yeah, can you talk about how those work?
Speaker 1: And we do have a decent trunk of listeners who
Speaker 1: are in that age bracket. How much do they stand
Speaker 1: to say by shopping on the right day.
Speaker 4: I'll go back to that earlier bit of advice that
Speaker 4: we talked about earlier. You have not because you ask
Speaker 4: now use that senior status and find out what it
Speaker 4: is that you can trade on and ride it into
Speaker 4: the ground. Get all of the senior savings and deals
Speaker 4: that you can, and that usually starts with going to
Speaker 4: the customer service desk at the beginning of your shopping
Speaker 4: trip and being very transparent and saying, hey, I'm a senior,
Speaker 4: what if you guys have on offer from me? Are
Speaker 4: there special days or deals or things that.
Speaker 3: I might be able to look forward to?
Speaker 4: You engage with people, and you might be surprised as
Speaker 4: some of the things they offer, especially with bridging these
Speaker 4: technology gaps that a lot of seniors might find themselves
Speaker 4: confronted with. They're not tied to their phones, like these
Speaker 4: digital natives where your entire life is on a handheld
Speaker 4: device and looking at things and trying to download a
Speaker 4: coupon or add it to your wallet, or doing these
Speaker 4: shopping lists and all of these great things that the
Speaker 4: apps facilitate might be just out of reach for some
Speaker 4: people who don't feel as safe and sound with technology.
Speaker 4: So there are some supermarkets that are piloting ways that
Speaker 4: can bring folks who are seniors or not have the
Speaker 4: sort of technological documen to get the best of the savings,
Speaker 4: including setting up kiosks where you can get the deals
Speaker 4: and coupons printed right there for you that would put
Speaker 4: you on par with some of the digital offerings or
Speaker 4: app users, as well as lending iPads even to walk
Speaker 4: around the store and make savings and scan products and
Speaker 4: find out about health information as well. And they really
Speaker 4: are trying to make an effort to keep engaged with
Speaker 4: those seniors and folks who might find the technology a
Speaker 4: little daunting, And there are several products and programs being
Speaker 4: piloted across the country to address that.
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 2: I'm thinking about something you said earlier, Brian, your stopping
Speaker 2: shop that's kind of like your go to I guess
Speaker 2: grocery store.
Speaker 1: There in Brooklyn. But is that like, is that your
Speaker 1: local grocery store essentially, or is that more kind of
Speaker 1: like a.
Speaker 2: Dollar store, Because I wanted to ask about I guess
Speaker 2: dollar store specifically, because it seems like more and more
Speaker 2: folks are kind of jumping on these sort of miniature
Speaker 2: grocery stores right where they can go and get some
Speaker 2: fresh produce. They can go there and they can get
Speaker 2: some cereal.
Speaker 1: And those dollar stores didn't really used to do groceries,
Speaker 1: but they've been expanding grocery.
Speaker 2: Store out exactly. Yeah, they've been expanding some. Yeah, I'm
Speaker 2: curious a what life looks like there for you stopping shop.
Speaker 2: But then, yeah, talk more broadly about dollar stores.
Speaker 4: Well, stopping shop is one of the major grocers. Here,
Speaker 4: they're a full service supermarket with.
Speaker 3: You know, the deli counter and there's nine.
Speaker 4: Dollars, so it really it's uh, I'm a Chicago boy.
Speaker 3: So it's it's a big grocery cart place where.
Speaker 4: You got four wheels and you're going all around so too.
Speaker 4: So yeah, they are sincere full service place. But there
Speaker 4: are you know a few places in my immediate area,
Speaker 4: including dollar stores and the bodega's New York City bodegas.
Speaker 3: And smaller mom and pop independent grocers.
Speaker 4: And I am in the sort of privileged position where
Speaker 4: I have all of.
Speaker 3: Those in my immediate shopping landscape.
Speaker 4: And the thing about a dollar store versus a full
Speaker 4: service grocery store or a cheesemonger or a butcher, that
Speaker 4: healthy retail mix is really what is ideal. Where it
Speaker 4: becomes problematic, especially in the dollar store space, which they
Speaker 4: call value retail, is you when there's a dearth of
Speaker 4: other choices, when it becomes your default, when grocery stores
Speaker 4: that were mom and pop independents have to close because
Speaker 4: they can't compete if you only go to them for
Speaker 4: fresh meat and veg but every other thing you're getting
Speaker 4: at a dollar store because their prices were so cut rate,
Speaker 4: so the margins in supermarkets are famously thin, so they
Speaker 4: really can't sustain themselves if you're only using them to
Speaker 4: get what.
Speaker 3: You can't buy at the dollar store.
Speaker 4: So that healthy retail mix is really what is to
Speaker 4: the shopper and the community's advantage. But dollar stores, is
Speaker 4: we known, are the home of shrinkflation where their price
Speaker 4: is it's dollar store is a remnant of the past
Speaker 4: because you can barely find one that has anything in
Speaker 4: it for a dollar. And you talked about that expansion
Speaker 4: of things where they're going into maybe some fresh groceries
Speaker 4: or larger portions or those national name brands that we know,
Speaker 4: and they somehow wind up in the dollar plus section, Yeah,
Speaker 4: where some of the prices are on par with full
Speaker 4: service grocery stores. And you can be tricked sometimes because
Speaker 4: you're like, wow, when did the dollar store start carrying
Speaker 4: this brand of frozen pizza or some other thing that
Speaker 4: your family might be used to, And if you look
Speaker 4: a little closer, nothing is a dollar.
Speaker 1: That's again, I'm glad you brought up shre inflation, because
Speaker 1: it is one of those things when we're talking about inflation,
Speaker 1: it's I'm not against it, because I think lots of
Speaker 1: times it means the price can stay the same instead
Speaker 1: of going up. But you have to pay a close
Speaker 1: attention because you might be getting less of the product
Speaker 1: than you're used to. I start, especially at the beginning
Speaker 1: of the pandemic. I remember the toilet paper and paper towels,
Speaker 1: like those sizes of the packaging just shrunk dramatically because
Speaker 1: of the increased cost. But I was like, it's better
Speaker 1: than the price doubling. I guess, but you just have
Speaker 1: to notice that, And you're right. The trade off my
Speaker 1: even more severe than a lot of those dollar stores
Speaker 1: get specialty packaging and so like two paste for a dollar,
Speaker 1: but it might be like three ounces of two paste
Speaker 1: versus five and a half or something like that.
Speaker 4: That's right, when you're looking at this sort of unit
Speaker 4: pricing model where they tell you per ounce how much
Speaker 4: you're actually paying for something, that the fact that it
Speaker 4: looks like a deal, the scales will soon fall from
Speaker 4: your eyes if you're looking at these things.
Speaker 3: And Senator Bob Casey out.
Speaker 4: Of Pennsylvania has been doing a lot of work legislatively
Speaker 4: to hold manufacturers and stores to account for this idea.
Speaker 4: Of these shrinking products that we're paying even more for.
Speaker 3: And you're very right about the dollar stores.
Speaker 4: They deal in such volume that they actually have people
Speaker 4: making products specifically for them.
Speaker 3: So it's that same national name brand. It just might
Speaker 3: look like Honey I shrunk the products.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they might not make the same size for anybody else,
Speaker 1: but the Dollar store they don't. Right, We've talked so
Speaker 1: much about about groceries, so much good information here, Brian.
Speaker 1: We got to talk about pet insurance though, because that's
Speaker 1: something that you are well versed in and it's a
Speaker 1: place where we could potentially save a lot of money.
Speaker 1: So we'll get to a few questions with you about
Speaker 1: that topic right after this.
Speaker 3: A.
Speaker 2: Right, we are back from the break talking with Brian Vines.
Speaker 2: We were talking about saving when it comes to groceries,
Speaker 2: but let's talk about I guess another expense that a
Speaker 2: lot of folks have, which is paying for your pet.
Speaker 2: We were talking a little bit before we hit record,
Speaker 2: and we're like, all right, we.
Speaker 1: Got to talk about this. Our listeners.
Speaker 2: They don't love it when we talk smack or when
Speaker 2: we tell them that self ensuring often makes the most
Speaker 2: sense when it comes to pet insurance and covering some
Speaker 2: of those unforeseen pet medical costs. But you've got data
Speaker 2: on this, and we try to follow that right self
Speaker 2: ensuring what are the pros and cons of pet insurance
Speaker 2: and what have you experienced recently.
Speaker 3: The pros and cons Number one, you know where your
Speaker 3: money is and.
Speaker 4: You're not paying into something with the idea that you're
Speaker 4: going to use it and you may not. We've seen
Speaker 4: the rate of return for the pet insurance here at
Speaker 4: CR most people just about break even. From the last
Speaker 4: nationally representative survey that we looked at. People were getting
Speaker 4: just about what they paid in as a median, So
Speaker 4: that means there are a lot of people who were
Speaker 4: paying for pet insurance and their claims never really got
Speaker 4: to the level of the amount of money that they
Speaker 4: paid in. But had those folks save that money and
Speaker 4: put it into an account earmarked specifically for that pet
Speaker 4: care that you consistently tended and beneficently left alone.
Speaker 3: Until you needed it, that's the trick.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you would have the money on hand when you
Speaker 4: needed and not have to worry that, Yeah, I'm paying
Speaker 4: in for it and I'm not using it, but I
Speaker 4: have the peace of mind. I personally have peace of
Speaker 4: mind knowing that I'm saving money doing something responsible from
Speaker 4: my pet that I can call on at any time.
Speaker 4: Because one of these things about pet insurance even is
Speaker 4: you have to have the money to pay for it anyway,
Speaker 4: because it's based on a reimbursal model. So if you
Speaker 4: are using your own money to pay, why not save
Speaker 4: your own money and cut out the middle person?
Speaker 1: Talk about shopping for pet insurance? How many players are
Speaker 1: there in the industry? Is there potentially significant savings? I
Speaker 1: know there are also certain breed types that are more
Speaker 1: prone to different medical problems. If you have one of
Speaker 1: those breeds, is the insurance price jacked up commensurately? And
Speaker 1: so you might say, oh, well, my breed is prone
Speaker 1: to issues, but maybe insurance makes more sense. But then
Speaker 1: maybe that insurance costs a lot more, and so that's
Speaker 1: not the case.
Speaker 6: Sure, the age, breed and location of your pet are
Speaker 6: the sort of biggest factors in determining what your premiums or.
Speaker 3: Coverage would be.
Speaker 4: So you know, there are certain pets that are predisposed
Speaker 4: to certain conditions that are pricey to maintain or to address,
Speaker 4: and insurance companies are in the business of.
Speaker 3: Knowing these things.
Speaker 4: And there are often these reports that come out at
Speaker 4: the end of the year where they tell you the largest.
Speaker 3: Claims paid or what most pets came into for if
Speaker 3: it's a gastro issue or if it's a breathing or
Speaker 3: a hip thing.
Speaker 4: So it's something to consider when you are starting insurance
Speaker 4: that it might be more well.
Speaker 3: It's definitely more.
Speaker 4: Expensive to ensure some breeds, and there are lists at
Speaker 4: nauseum on the internet about some of the.
Speaker 3: Cutest dogs that you ever saw that are just the.
Speaker 4: Most crazy when it comes to their health concerns, and
Speaker 4: those insurers know it. So shopping for health insurance can
Speaker 4: be very daunting past and you're inbox will be flooded
Speaker 4: for months later because you start one inquiry and they
Speaker 4: never leave you alone, and they ask for your pet's name,
Speaker 4: and they'll continue.
Speaker 3: To say has stought been insured yet? Is not healthy
Speaker 3: and happy? And you'll start to.
Speaker 4: Get these emails all the time, but it's going to
Speaker 4: be something that hopefully you're directing to your business that's
Speaker 4: not business email, because it really is something that you
Speaker 4: have to do is shop around, get recommendations from folks
Speaker 4: who you know and trust, and find out about their experiences.
Speaker 3: Of course, you could always read consumer reports.
Speaker 4: We share member stories and catalog some of those things.
Speaker 3: But of the top eight insurers to emerge from our
Speaker 3: member surveys, all of them were pretty mid of the pack.
Speaker 3: No one was running.
Speaker 4: Away with high satisfaction rate. Two were on the very
Speaker 4: low end. But the best sort of pet insurance feelings
Speaker 4: that people who actually buy it and pay for it
Speaker 4: and continue and maintain people feel pretty mid about petit.
Speaker 2: Sure, all right, okay, so quick follow up. Then let's
Speaker 2: combine pets and groceries. All right, fran do you buy
Speaker 2: your dog food at stopping shop or do you listen?
Speaker 3: Now we're getting into the real nity.
Speaker 1: Okay, what's your secret?
Speaker 3: I make my dogs? Oh so I cook for my dog.
Speaker 1: All right, So is it more affordable or is it
Speaker 1: just more healthy?
Speaker 3: Yes? And yes? Okay, so in the long run, right,
Speaker 3: your health is your will.
Speaker 4: And I just used to cook for my dog and
Speaker 4: it is something that I've done since.
Speaker 3: He was a puppy.
Speaker 4: We're about three and a half years deep into this
Speaker 4: love experiment now, but yeah, I cook for him and
Speaker 4: it's something that works for our family. I have another
Speaker 4: great friend who I went to college with, who has
Speaker 4: a farm and she just has every probably once every
Speaker 4: nine months, they have just a massive day where they're
Speaker 4: making and freezing dog food. And I've seen other people
Speaker 4: do it, and you can do it at all sorts
Speaker 4: of proportions. I usually cook enough for him to last,
Speaker 4: one in the fridge and one in the freezer, and
Speaker 4: when I pulled the freezer went out, I start going
Speaker 4: back to buy things again.
Speaker 3: Smart so there's lots of websites that will share recipes
Speaker 3: with you and tips for your dog, but those fresh
Speaker 3: dog foods.
Speaker 4: Are really at a premium. I've tried the Farmer's Dog.
Speaker 4: We tried some other fresh pet things where they send
Speaker 4: them to you frozen in these sort of blister packs,
Speaker 4: and those things got pricey very very quickly. And I
Speaker 4: know that I'm feeding my dog human.
Speaker 3: Graid meat and other things. So for me, it's about,
Speaker 3: you know, that peace of mind that I get, and.
Speaker 4: Maybe that's my real sport, although I don't like spend
Speaker 4: crazing money on it. I get things at great discount
Speaker 4: price and freeze them until I need them when it
Speaker 4: comes to his protein, But other than that, it's it's
Speaker 4: it's a very basic and healthful diet for him.
Speaker 1: You can also let him snackle some cheese ites with you. Maybe,
Speaker 1: Oh try, I don't know if they're good enough for Brian.
Speaker 3: He tries, he tries, but never has he ever had one?
Speaker 1: All right? Last question is kind of selfish, kind of
Speaker 1: a joke too, But I have backyard chickens. Do they
Speaker 1: make any term life insurance products for bad chicken owners
Speaker 1: like myself?
Speaker 3: I'm sure someone would be happy to sell you a premium, but.
Speaker 1: I would somebody will sell you a policy, Joe.
Speaker 3: I would not advise you to go for it. I
Speaker 3: don't know.
Speaker 4: We should consult Marthus. She's got a bunch of fancy chickens.
Speaker 4: I don't know if Martha Stewart ensures her chickens.
Speaker 2: Hey, maybe I'll reach out maybe so gosh, yeah, I
Speaker 2: don't want to go off on a whole other tangent,
Speaker 2: but Brian, hey, we really appreciataking the time today to
Speaker 2: talk with us just about saving at the grocery store,
Speaker 2: but also just about pets and dog food as well.
Speaker 2: I think there's some valuable lessons there. But where can.
Speaker 1: Folks learn about what you're up to, where it is
Speaker 1: that you're writing.
Speaker 4: Well, you can always like follow subscribe, become a member
Speaker 4: at Consumer Reports. We love to see folks pass through
Speaker 4: and share their experience with us, and we hope to
Speaker 4: amplify those experiences in the service of creating that fair
Speaker 4: or more just more safe marketplace for all of the products,
Speaker 4: especially food and the things.
Speaker 3: That we spend our money on.
Speaker 4: And we're at consumer reports dot org and that's a
Speaker 4: great place to find myself and my colleagues some of
Speaker 4: the smartest people I know doing everything from privacy and
Speaker 4: online security to looking at cars of course, as well
Speaker 4: as food safety, recalls, sunscreen, pet insurance, every part of
Speaker 4: your life. We're over there working to make sure that
Speaker 4: you get the best deal and that the safety is
Speaker 4: really up to par.
Speaker 3: We actually just started a new baby movement and we're
Speaker 3: really delving.
Speaker 4: And looking at the ways in which baby products can
Speaker 4: be brought into alignment with greater health, safety and savings.
Speaker 1: Nice. Yeah, buying a Consumer Reports subscription is money well
Speaker 1: spent because it's going to pay back to you many,
Speaker 1: many fold over the years. So and Brian, we appreciate
Speaker 1: your writing, We appreciate you taking the time. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for joining us today.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me this was pure pleasure.
Speaker 1: Nice man.
Speaker 2: It's always great to talk with some of the folks there,
Speaker 2: the great folks over.
Speaker 1: At Consumer Reports. It's was it? Mike Quincy is maybe
Speaker 1: the last right we talked car. We had on about yeah,
Speaker 1: and we talked with vehicles. When we think about Matt
Speaker 1: people's fumbling trust in institutions, Consumer Reports is an institution
Speaker 1: we can, I think, still trust and it provides so
Speaker 1: much good information.
Speaker 2: Still doing an awesome job advocating for us as individuals,
Speaker 2: as consumers. But what was your big takeaway from our
Speaker 2: conversation with mister Brian Vines today?
Speaker 3: So?
Speaker 1: I mean so much really, But I think the thing
Speaker 1: that stuck out to me that he said that I
Speaker 1: hadn't really thought a ton about, but I have been.
Speaker 1: It's been like kind of hitting me sideways for lad
Speaker 1: in the back of your life. Perhaps he said, they
Speaker 1: want to drive you into the store. They want you
Speaker 1: to be there in person, because guess what happens when
Speaker 1: you're in person. You see the end caps, you see
Speaker 1: you buy. Yeah, you definitely don't buy when you're not
Speaker 1: in the store right right, Although you know you can
Speaker 1: buy stuff online and have it delivered to you, so
Speaker 1: you're buying if you're not in the store. But if
Speaker 1: you're in the store, you're gonna buy more, and you're
Speaker 1: gonna buy the random sports items, so you're gonna buy
Speaker 1: the Starburst at the checkout count or whatever it is.
Speaker 1: And so I guess I've kind of done not a
Speaker 1: one to eighty degree pivot, but I've done a serious
Speaker 1: pivot on shopping online for groceries, because I do think
Speaker 1: the more you're in the store, the more liable you
Speaker 1: are to not stick to the list to buy stuff
Speaker 1: that you otherwise wouldn't. And there was somebody who posted
Speaker 1: in the Facebook group just the other day and she said,
Speaker 1: I have saved so much money by doing the target
Speaker 1: where they bring the groceries out and they stick it
Speaker 1: in your trunk, because I don't buy stuff that I
Speaker 1: wouldn't have otherwise purchased. And I'm like, I think that
Speaker 1: is actually one of the biggest wins in buying online.
Speaker 1: And if you buy if you buy an instacart and
Speaker 1: get it delivered, you're paying for a lot of extra fees.
Speaker 1: You're paying for higher grocery prices. Yeah, you're paying a
Speaker 1: premium for that. But there are ways with specific retailers
Speaker 1: to buy with them directly and go pick it up,
Speaker 1: but have them put it in your car, and typically
Speaker 1: you're not paying a dime more for that service, So
Speaker 1: it's at least worth considering if you find yourself if
Speaker 1: you're the kind of person who brings home thirty items
Speaker 1: when there were only twenty on your list. Sure, yep.
Speaker 2: I think that's when knowing yourself as an individual and
Speaker 2: how it is that you're going to save the most
Speaker 2: because I think for a lot of you know, some
Speaker 2: folks would push back and say, what about the shopping experience,
Speaker 2: like I've heard you even talk about it before, like
Speaker 2: you picking out your individual apples and being able to
Speaker 2: hand select.
Speaker 1: I do care about that.
Speaker 2: There's value in getting the ones that aren't bruised, and
Speaker 2: that's something that you miss out on on somebody who's
Speaker 2: getting paid by the hour for slinging groceries into a
Speaker 2: bag for folks. But that being said, if you know
Speaker 2: you're the type of person who's going to buy all
Speaker 2: the starbursts, you know, like you said on the end cap,
Speaker 2: then maybe for you it does pay to I don't know,
Speaker 2: take one on the chin and get the.
Speaker 1: Bruised apple every now be willing to at least accept one.
Speaker 2: But uh, okay, So my big takeaway is going to
Speaker 2: be there towards the end when we were talking about
Speaker 2: dog food, which I'm sure a lot of folks are
Speaker 2: gonna say, all right, come on, what's the deal here?
Speaker 2: How does this actually pertain to me and the groceries
Speaker 2: that I am taking.
Speaker 1: Home from the store. But what he pointed to was
Speaker 1: a meal plan.
Speaker 2: I loved how he when he's cooking for his dog,
Speaker 2: which I'm guessing there's probably not a lot of folks
Speaker 2: out there who are doing that, so a lot of
Speaker 2: folks were probably thinking, I don't know, maybe they started
Speaker 2: tuning out when they started to hear that, because they're like, dude,
Speaker 2: I can barely feed myself, let alone my actual pet.
Speaker 1: But I've seen so many more commercials for the specialty
Speaker 1: made making a premium for that stuff, and he's getting
Speaker 1: similar quality, if not higher, QUI better, But he's doing
Speaker 1: it for.
Speaker 2: A whole lot less because at least one third of
Speaker 2: the meals that he's making aren't even frozen. Yeah, well, no,
Speaker 2: two thirds, because he makes one now that he feeds
Speaker 2: his dog, one another one lasts in the fridge and
Speaker 2: then the third one is good for the.
Speaker 1: Freezer, right.
Speaker 2: And so what I'm highlighting here is the fact that
Speaker 2: the best way to say when it comes to your
Speaker 2: groceries is to actually have a plan, like a plan
Speaker 2: of attack, when it comes to how it is you're
Speaker 2: gonna approach your meals. Not everybody is going to do
Speaker 2: the meal planning thing, or they're going to make nine
Speaker 2: breakfast burritos and eat one right there that morning and
Speaker 2: throw the red in the freezer for the rest of
Speaker 2: the week.
Speaker 1: That little hardcore. That's hardcore.
Speaker 2: But I do think with a little bit more planning,
Speaker 2: a little bit more foresight into what it is you're
Speaker 2: planning to do with the food, that can keep you
Speaker 2: on the straight and narrow as well as you're walking
Speaker 2: through the aisles and trying to figure out what it
Speaker 2: is you're trying to purchase at the grocery store.
Speaker 1: That planning, Matt is going to keep you from making
Speaker 1: higher cost trade offs, the higher cost train up, which
Speaker 1: is typically going out to the eavenstance. Yeah, you might say, oh,
Speaker 1: this mill cost me a little bit more than I
Speaker 1: wanted it to, but hey, it costs you a heck
Speaker 1: of a lot less than going out tipping all like
Speaker 1: all that jazz. So all right, let's get back to
Speaker 1: the beer that we had on this episode. This one's
Speaker 1: called Free Spirit. It's a New Zealand pilsner from the
Speaker 1: good folks over at Variant Brewing and they collabed with
Speaker 1: Terrapin Brewing on this one to Georgia Breweries. Yeah, what
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on this beer? Quite delicious?
Speaker 2: So this was so it was a New Zealand pilsner,
Speaker 2: which means there's a whole lot more flavor in this
Speaker 2: pilsner than you would find with just a standard run
Speaker 2: of the mill, certainly Macro produced pilsner.
Speaker 3: Man, this was so good, like.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's like florals.
Speaker 2: There's fruitiness going on. It's simultaneously dry, but it has
Speaker 2: also this just depth of flavor that you don't get
Speaker 2: with the pilsner. I don't know how else to describe it.
Speaker 2: I feel like I've just went five different directions.
Speaker 1: But I thought this one was fresh and light, and
Speaker 1: I thought the other good thing that you're right like
Speaker 1: the hops. I don't know why, but from some of
Speaker 1: the especially IPAs I've had, and they shine forth in
Speaker 1: this one too. The hops from like the New Zealand
Speaker 1: Australia region are putting out completely different flavor profile so good.
Speaker 1: And the truth is hops aren't usually the main feature
Speaker 1: of appills, but they stood out nicely in this one.
Speaker 1: So you're getting that pilsner vibe, but you're also getting
Speaker 1: some nice hoppy notes at the same time. And they're
Speaker 1: just these special hops man that really do punch above
Speaker 1: their weight class.
Speaker 2: So there's like this sense of ou mame like I
Speaker 2: don't know that's what I was tasting like, because it
Speaker 2: doesn't go in one direction, like really forcefully, but it
Speaker 2: just has this overall depth that you don't normally expect
Speaker 2: with a pilsner. Yeah, it's almost like they added like,
Speaker 2: what is it MSG mono sodium glutabate that you get
Speaker 2: like Chinese food or some of the different sauces or whatever.
Speaker 2: But it had like this meaty depth to it that's
Speaker 2: hard to articulate. But I don't know, might sound weird
Speaker 2: to you, but to others they might be thinking, I
Speaker 2: got to get my hands on that beer.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I really enjoyed it though. Good beer for sure, and
Speaker 1: a good local one. So all right, that's gonna do
Speaker 1: it for this one, Matt, we'll have links to some
Speaker 1: of the resources, and we'll link to Consumer Reports because
Speaker 1: it is a consummate resource for people throughout the ages
Speaker 1: we subscribe were. We subscribe to a few publications, Matt,
Speaker 1: not too many, but Consumer Reports is one that we
Speaker 1: pay for annuly and it's worthing, so no brainer. And
Speaker 1: we'll have that stuff all up on our website at
Speaker 1: howtomoney dot com. But Matt, that's going to do it
Speaker 1: for this one. Until next time, Best Runds out and
Speaker 1: best friends out.