2024 Money Savings Tips + Last-Minute Holiday Gifts to Delight from Trae Bodge
Show Snapshot:
Running out of gifting ideas? Smart shopping expert Trae Bodge wraps up gifts that sparkle, delight, and bloom during the holidays and beyond. Plus, money-saving apps, websites, and strategies that can save (and earn) you money all 2024 long. Trae shares the deals and steals coming in January 2024, hacks, and online shopping tools she uses to save tens of thousands of dollars, pay for international travel, and for everyday purchasing. Plus, ideas for curbing out-of-control shopping habits. Do not reach for your wallet until you listen to this show.
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Quotable:
I love bringing a plant—there are small plants that you can buy, say at IKEA, that are as little as $5 and they're quite lovely. And something like that is really affordable; it's sustainable. It's something that will live in your host or hostesses’ house and grow and remind them of you.
Transcript:
Katie Fogarty 0:06
Welcome to A Certain Age, a show for women who are unafraid to age out loud. I'm your host, Katie Fogarty. Beauties, we are at the finish line of 2023 and we are wrapping up this year with some sparkle and fun. My guest today is Trae Bodge, a smart shopping expert with a passion for helping you save money, and an expert in helping shoppers get the best value from purchases at the holidays and beyond. Trae is a lifestyle journalist and TV personality who specializes in savvy shopping, personal finance and retail. You may have seen her on the Today Show or Inside Edition. You may be following her on Instagram or on LinkedIn where she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in retail. You may have seen her quoted in USA Today. Or perhaps you are just meeting her here today. Any which way, we are in for a fabulously fun show. Trae will help us unwrap the perfect holiday gift and head into 2024 armed with smart shopping advice for year round purchasing. Welcome, Trae.
Trae Bodge 1:08
Thanks so much for having me.
Katie Fogarty 1:10
I'm super excited about this. I follow you on Instagram, I know you have such fantastic practical fun smart advice. But I want to start off by asking you a little bit about your career. I've had the pleasure of interviewing almost 200 super cool women on the show, and I'm always knocked out by people who created their own career path. You fall into that category. You have what many people would consider a dream job. How did you get started in this line of work?
Trae Bodge 1:37
I do have a dream job in my opinion. I love my work. But it was definitely kind of cobbled together based on the things that I love. And it, I came to it through a very circuitous route. I started out my career in the beauty industry. I worked for Kiehl's for many years, prior to them being purchased by L'Oreal. And then I started my own brand, which is called Three Custom Color Specialists, with two partners, which we ran for about 15 years. And then around 2008, I kind of hit a wall and I felt like I was done with my own brand. I wanted to do more things, I expected that I would end up in beauty again. And so I started interviewing around at all the L'Oreal owned brands and Lauder owned brands and independent brands. And no one could figure out what to do with me, it was a very frustrating time because I thought that I was going to be working in the lab developing products or I was going to be a marketing person. And no one could figure out where to put me, what box I fit in, which is kind of the plight of the entrepreneur. So just sort of out of desperation, I started writing budget living content for a couple of different websites, one of which happened to be RetailMeNot, which is you probably know is a large coupon site now, but back then it was very new, very young. And I started writing a bunch of content for them and then they started doing a lot of media. And I kind of put my hand up and said, hey, you know, I'm media trained, I've done media for my own company, I did QVC, I was the spokesperson of our brand, so if you ever need any help, you know as we do as freelancers, I was looking for the next opportunity. And it turned out that they were looking for a spokesperson. And so they kind of put me through a few interesting media related tests, like satellite media tour, where I had to do 24 interviews in a row. And I guess I did okay, because I was offered the position and I served as the RetailMeNot consumer spokesperson for about three years. And then they had a pretty significant layoff in 2015 and, you know, that was scary. And it was, you know, a bit like being pushed off a cliff for a second. And then I realized, you know what, I think there's a real need for this type of role, even in the freelance world. And so I just kind of set off doing this on my own. And it's, I haven't looked back, it's been amazing. So I've been doing that since 2015 on my own and here I am.
Katie Fogarty 4:14
I love this story so much because I, you know, it's a common theme of the show that women sometimes get to midlife and they create their own box, you know. You share like they didn't know what box to put you in and you're like, well, I'm just going to define my own box. I'm going to create these new opportunities for myself. I sometimes ask this question at the end of the show, but I want to ask it now. I mean, do you think you could have made this life, this leap, earlier in your career or did it take getting to midlife to sort of have the confidence of creating your own thing and hanging out your own shingle and and redefining your career?
Trae Bodge 4:47
I love this question. And my response would be no, I feel like I was able to do this in midlife because of the experience that I had gathered throughout the decades. My professional life, being a beauty executive, and then having my own company, and all of those things led to this. Even my more recent experience at RetailMeNot, where I was one of the oldest employees there, the median age at the time was 32 and I think I was 48, and so I, I learned so much along the way. And being this person now, this professional person, requires a certain level of maturity. And also, all of the experience that I've gathered along the way, kind of coupled with that maturity allowed me to do this on my own. So yeah, I needed everything behind me in order to get here.
Katie Fogarty 5:44
I love that. You took all, your toolkit, you built this cool new career. So let's get into it. I know from following you that you share a lot of great shopping advice. We are, you know, in the thick of the holiday season. We are, you know, checking our list, you know, whatever, looking at our list and checking it twice, we got to come up with gifts. And I have actually just gotten, had the pleasure of going to my first holiday party and I brought a little hostess gift. But it was challenging, because we want to, we want to pick out something that the recipient is not going to immediately be tempted to regift. What is a hostess gift that you think always is appreciated and lands well.
Trae Bodge 6:21
So I love bringing a plant. You know, there's small plants that you can buy, say at IKEA that are even $5, you know, and they're quite lovely. And something like that is really affordable, it's sustainable, it's something that will live in your host or hostesses house and grow and remind them of you. So it's, that's one of my favorite things to give. If you're kind of scratching your head, I think you cannot go wrong with like a food item like chocolates or a beverage item like wine. And obviously, if your host doesn't drink, there's so many beautiful non alcoholic options. So those are like my, my safe items. You know, I'm in a little bit of an interesting situation, because I'm a lifestyle writer, in addition to the other things that I do. And so I always have a lot of amazing products in my house that I've tried or haven't tried, and people mail me things. And so often, the people who know me, often expect me to bring a goodie bag of those things.
Katie Fogarty 7:24
I love it.
Trae Bodge 7:24
Those end up being my hostess gifts. And you know, so I'm not a typical consumer.
Katie Fogarty 7:30
I love that. But I think the plant is such a great idea because, you know, who doesn't want sort of a, you know, a bit of greenery in their house. And it's something that that lives and lasts forever. And I actually buy a lot of flowering plants for myself, I pick up a lot of, you know, Whole Foods often has, you know, decently priced orchids that lasts forever. And they also have wonderful plants during the summer months. And it's great because they last so much longer than cut flowers. So I think that is a really phenomenal suggestion. Okay, let's move on to something a little trickier. How about an end of the year gift for your boss or for clients? And I'm asking this because I remember years ago when I was a kid, my dad was a partner in a law firm. And he would often get like wine, like you said, but he'd also get these big, gigantic tubs of designer popcorn and as a kid, I was super thrilled. But now as an adult like I wouldn't want a gigantic tub of kettle corn. So I'm wondering what is sort of a better, but it's tricky because you want to give something to your boss or a client that's going to be well received, but there is sort of like a personal, there's a boundary a little bit, you don't want to give anything too personal. What might we consider?
Trae Bodge 8:37
Yeah, this is a tricky one. And this is something that I love to look at just because it is one of those harder topics. I think for a client, obviously you don't want to spend too much because that can be like you're kind of trying to ingratiate yourself to them. I think you want to be careful there. A very general gift for me is like something practical, maybe like a mobile charger for their phone. Who doesn't need one of those? You know, something like that. I try to think of like, what is something that everyone needs, that everyone could use, that would be practical. Or things like, you know, grocery bags that kind of pack down into a tiny little pouch or a really cool little flashlight. Just, I always think of like what's something that someone is going to tuck into their backpack on a hike and definitely need it, or pack into their briefcase that they're going to bring with them on their next work trip. I do also, you know, kind of the plant theme continues. There are these beautiful floral subscriptions that you can get. So if your boss likes plants or flowers, there's a company called Bouqs, it's B-o-u-q-s and they do an amazing flower subscription that you can do for say, three months or six months, or even just want a one off, and they're about $44 a month. So if you're looking for a more generous gift, I love those and I'm actually giving those to a bunch of people this year just in case anyone's listening, the surprise is over.
Katie Fogarty 10:07
You're spoilers over. That's a great idea. I've actually sent Bouqs to, you know, to girlfriends for birthday gifts and so it hadn't occurred to me to do a subscription, which is another great idea. I've also sent Farmgirl Flowers to people as well, which is another wonderful -
Trae Bodge 10:14
Yes!
Katie Fogarty 10:15
And I don't know if they do subscriptions, but I'm definitely gonna check after this. Because they do lovely, kind of, sort of wildflower sort of burlap-y kind of loose bouquets that are really vibey and fun. So that's a wonderful idea. Trae, we're heading into a quick break. But when we come back, I'm going to tap into your earlier expertise. We're going to talk beauty and wellness.
Trae Bodge 10:45
Awesome.
Katie Fogarty 10:46
[AD BREAK]
Trae, we're back from the break. You shared some really terrific ideas about hostess gifts, what can make a client or a boss happy, that feels comfortable to give. I want to ask now about beauty and wellness gifts. I know that you have an expertise, you were a beauty executive for a number of years. I'm looking, I have sisters, sister in laws, friends, sometimes we gift ourselves. So what are some fun beauty products or wellness products that we should have on our radar for December?
Trae Bodge 11:16
Oh you know, I recently discovered that Target has these gift sets that have multiple brands in them. So they have little sample sizes of a bunch of popular brands. And some things are full sized as well. And I just thought that was the coolest idea, because what a fun way to discover lots of different brands all at the same time. And that way, you're not kind of urging someone to commit to say one brand that you really like. So that for me is like a really great risk free gift. Also something else that, and this can kind of apply to beauty and wellness or any other category, boss, client. Gift cards. And gift cards are a little bit controversial because people feel like oh, it doesn't feel like I gave it much thought, it doesn't feel very personal. But thanks to technology, there are ways to give personalized gift cards. And one of them is, there's a company called perfectgift.com. And you can order or a personalized gift card where you upload a photo and a little message like Happy Holidays, or I appreciate you, or what have you. And that gets printed on the Visa card. And now they just recently launched sort of quote unquote, handwritten greeting cards. So you can choose one of many really beautiful holiday cards and sort of enter a message when you're placing the order for your gift card and they have these robotic scribes that will hand write the gift card for you in cursive so it feels very personal, very fresh and kind and thoughtful. And so the person who receives this, which is the shipping times very, very fast so this is really good for last minute gifts. But it feels very personal, versus like a gift card that you picked up at the cash register when you were checking out at the pharmacy.
Katie Fogarty 13:04
This is so fabulous. Can you please repeat the name of that website?
Trae Bodge 13:09
Sure it's called, it's at perfectgift.com. And the gift cards can be as low as $10 and go all the way up to $500 I believe.
Katie Fogarty 13:17
This is phenomenal. I'm definitely checking this out. I actually have a 30th birthday coming up for my niece and I was gonna get her a yoga gift card but I'm wondering if I can do it through this and then it has something that's more personal and custom on it. I also think gift cards make great teachers gifts. My kids are a bit older now so we're, you know, I no longer do teachers gifts but for people who are tuning in who still have that as an option. You know, I think it's so wonderful to get, you know, to give teachers gift cards because they can use it for their classroom or their personal life and, you know, I have a lot of teachers in my life and I know they get a lot of mugs. And you know, everyone loves a mug but it's, sometimes it's nice to get, it's nice to get something you can put to use. Okay so you were talking, I love also this notion of going into Target and finding these smaller sample sizes. I think Target can actually be a great place to go for things like fun hot chocolates, and like, you can get like funky marshmallows and different things and put together little gift baskets. I've done that too for people in my life. So if we were looking for a more like luxurious beauty product to give to like somebody special, you know, what, you know, what do you recommend and what should we think about?
Trae Bodge 14:25
So, I mean I do hesitate to do that only because, especially skincare, is so personal.
Katie Fogarty 14:34
Yeah, so personal.
Trae Bodge 14:35
Yeah, so I definitely opt for something for body care versus skincare or haircare, just because you never know if someone has a favorite brand that they never veer away from or they have allergies or preferences. So I like to do something more general. You know I said that I worked for Kiehl's before, Kiehl's is actually a great resource for gift products. They do a beautiful wrapping job. They have pre made boxes, you can also get a custom made box and their sales representatives are super helpful. We were, we were trained very, very well. And that has remained within the ethos of the company, even though they are owned by L'Oreal. So I think a brand like Kiehl's is a really good option because you can give someone maybe, you know, a soap and a bath and shower gel and a hand cream and like lots of kind of general things that are less specific. So you're not kind of like, you know, pushing into someone's personal routine so much.
Katie Fogarty 15:30
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I've actually given Kieh's products for men.
Trae Bodge 15:33
Mmhm.
Katie Fogarty 15:34
Because I find like the men in my life, at least, maybe people have different men, but like my husband, my dad, they're not buying, they're not treating themselves to things. And so, you know, I've gotten some products for them and passed as gifts that I know that they use because they're they're fabulous products, as you'd mentioned, Kiehl's has, you know, a terrific product line and, and that's been well received too. So I have a question. This is not really about gifting, but it is about beauty. You mentioned flower subscriptions, which is a super cool gift idea. So many beauty product companies or even like just when I buy my shampoo on Amazon, they're encouraging me to do subscriptions. I know that you're a smart shopping expert, do we truly save money by subscribing to beauty product refills? Are they refilling them faster than we need them? What is your thinking?
Trae Bodge 16:22
So a lot of those opportunities, you can set the timeframe that you receive your next package. Sometimes it takes a little bit of jiggering before you realize like, oh, okay, I'm done with this earlier, or I need a little bit more time. And so it takes a little bit of time to get to that perfect balanced place. But usually, you know, Amazon included, they will offer you 5%, or even in some cases, 15% if you have multiple subscriptions going at one time, that you can save on that order. So absolutely getting refills of anything that you use frequently, I strongly recommend that. I do this as a way not only to save money, but also to save brain space. You know, there's certain hair products that I use I know I'm gonna go through them in four months, I don't even have to think about it because I know it's coming. I even do this with my toilet paper. There's this awesome company called Who Gives a Crap which I just, I love the name, they have amazing packaging, they're just the best.
Katie Fogarty 17:23
That's hysterical.
Trae Bodge 17:25
Oh my gosh, it's the best and literally, you get a box of toilet paper and it's sustainable toilet paper, and they all come wrapped in these super super colorful paper wraps. Which is like the best, like you open up the box and it's so cheerful and it's budget friendly, sustainable, and I never have to think about toilet paper again.
Katie Fogarty 17:45
Okay, Trae, I am literally dying. I am dying. That is the funniest name. I also have to tell you, this is so funny. I went, I went on a girls weekend several years ago with like a bunch of college friends. We went to one friend's ski house. And my friend Meg brought her a huge jumbo size thing of toilet paper as her hostess gift. And I was like, that's smart. Because like, you know, we all laughed, it was the most hilarious gift but it's like, you're gonna use that. And when you're entertaining a lot of people who are in and out of like a weekend house or ski house it's you know, takes a lot of work and time and money to stock those things. So you can, you can, give a crap and you can show up with a gift that's gonna be used.
Trae Bodge 18:25
I mean if you are gonna give a gift of toilet paper, you should definitely give it from Who Gives a Crap because they're so colorful. I mean, you have to look on their site. It's like, I just love this company so much. I discovered it at a little house, or a big house actually that a bunch of friends and I rent every year in the Catskills for a week in the summer, and they had it there and a friend of mine and I were like wait a second, like first of all the company name, then the packaging, like you can't go wrong. And now I just have it come I think every four months or something I get a huge box of toilet paper and it makes me so happy.
Katie Fogarty 18:57
So smart, I love this. Okay, so let's just sort of pull back the lens for a minute now. We talked about some specific gifts, but you know what, what are, like let's have a landscape picture. What should people be buying in December? You know what, what are what are bargains that are out there? You know, we have these different sort of buying cycles during the year. Is it smart to be buying certain things during December? What can you put on our radar for us to think about?
Trae Bodge 19:22
Sure. So December is really good for fall and winter apparel. Fall apparel will be clearance priced. Winter apparel power will be discounted. And then toys often, even though we saw a lot of activity in deals for toys over Black Friday, Cyber Monday, historically, toys are very deeply discounted in December. And then I would also say anything holiday themed. So gift sets, decor, things like that will all be deeply discounted. There's a couple of ways you can kind of strategize especially with the holiday themed items. You know, if there's a brand that you love, and they're offering 50% off of their holiday gift sets, like that's a great investment for you to make to buy your favorite products and maybe discover something new from that brand. Also great for gifting. And then with holiday decor, you know, you might already be fully decorated by now, right. But if you can kind of think forward to next year, like oh, you know, those lights are kind of on their last legs or, you know, maybe my holiday tree needs to be replaced if you buy a faux holiday tree, you will get very, very good prices on holiday decor right now in December. But you will also see those prices continue to decrease throughout the month. And then they'll be at their clearance levels right after Christmas. So if you can think forward to next year, especially with holiday themed items, you'll be in really good shape in terms of how much you save.
Katie Fogarty 20:49
Yeah, that's so smart. So while we're looking ahead, you know, New Year's is around the corner, what bargains can we expect to scoop up in January? What should we be waiting for?
Trae Bodge 20:59
Yeah, so in January, and this has happened for decades, we have our white sales, and so retailers like Bloomingdale's, Macy's and then any other kind of mattress companies, any other companies like Brooklinen or companies like that, will be having some sort of white sale in January. So it's a really good time to kind of evaluate what you have at home. Do you need to, do you need more towels, do you need to replace your sheets in your daughter's room, you know, it's a good time for that. And then furniture is often discounted in January as well. And then as we go into February, TVs pop up again. We see very deep discounts on TVs around Black Friday, Cyber Monday, but those discounts pop up again right before the Superbowl.
Katie Fogarty 21:46
Ah, that's so interesting.
Trae Bodge 21:47
So if you need a TV and you missed Black Friday, the Superbowl's a great time to get a TV.
Katie Fogarty 21:51
Oh my gosh, that makes so much sense. I was like literally sitting here wondering why February. But that totally makes sense. People like are evaluating their, their viewing options as we head into that. That's so interesting. I love this sort of landscape perspective. So what are some of your tips for making your dollars go far all year long? Should we be paying attention to particular websites, should we be using shopping apps? How can we be a smarter consumer year round?
Trae Bodge 22:18
Yeah, so my answer would be yes, yes, and yes. Sites are one of my favorite ways to save. And it's funny because a lot of people I know are like you're always talking about these deal sites but I kind of can't be bothered. I'm like, listen, most of these deal sites have a browser plugin, which takes about 20 seconds to install. Once you've installed a browser plugin from a site like Coupon Cabin, for example, or PayPal Honey, or Slick Deals, or Rakuten, that are all very good, you'll, you'll notice that, you know, one might, you might prefer one over the other or you know, I have all four or five going at the same time, which is definitely overkill. But a browser plugin essentially makes your browser smarter. So as you're shopping, wherever you're shopping, you'll get a little pop up and it'll say, you know, this price is low right now or high right now. Or it might say, hey, there's a cashback offer that you click on to activate or there's a coupon that can be applied to your order, or they might test coupons for you at checkout. So for me, a browser plug in from a deal site is the most friction free way to save. And it doesn't take this huge kind of time commitment. There are some apps that require you, for example, to take a picture of your receipt and then you have to submit it and like that's kind of where I stopped.
Katie Fogarty 23:34
Sure.
Trae Bodge 23:34
Like, for me, it's all about being realistic with what you are willing to do, willing to commit to. It's kind of like, you know, dieting or exercise or whatever, like what's realistic for you to do for the long haul. And that's, that's how I think of savings tactics because if it's not realistic for you to clip coupons, then you're never going to do it and then you're gonna feel bad that you're not doing it. But with a browser plug in, it's like, it's like the easiest thing ever. So that's one. Then the other thing that I would say is just paying attention to the credit cards that you use, you may have a few credit cards in your wallet and you may use one for some purchases and then you want to move a balance over to another one and then use another credit card just because it's the first one in your wallet. You can be more strategic with your credit card simply by googling the name of the credit card to get a sense of what kind of benefits it's offering you. Like some are really good for gas and groceries for example, you get 4% back on groceries and gas for example with one credit card. That's the card you should be using for gas and groceries. So with my mom, she had a bunch of credit cards in her wallet. I wrote in Sharpie on the credit cards, okay, this is your gas and groceries card. This is your everything else card because it was giving her 2% on everything else that she bought. So as long as you're familiar with what your credit cards offer and you use them strategically, you can earn so much cashback throughout the year or points towards your next trip, for example. You know, your credit cards are there to work for you. And so you want to make sure that you're taking advantage of those benefits.
Katie Fogarty 25:07
Yeah, that's such smart advice. I love that Sharpie hack. That is really, really, it's really smart. No, because it just, you know, when you, to your point when it's frictionless, and it's easy, you do it. So I love that. And I have some credit cards that give us miles, and we, you know I get points on Amex. And then I, I've gotten theater tickets with Amex points. You know, you can really, you can really use them. So how do you, I'm going to have everyone you know, actually, can you share with us your website cause I know you have all of this great information on there. So I want to make sure all listeners right now know where they can come and kind of track some of this. Trae, can you give us your website?
Trae Bodge 25:42
Sure. It's truetrae.com. And then, you know, I know you found me on Instagram. I share this stuff all year long on Instagram @truetrae.
Katie Fogarty 25:51
And Trae is spelled T-r-a-e, T-r-a-e. I'll put this all in the show notes, but I'm running a little bit behind on them so I want to make sure listeners have a way of hopping over and following you and all your smart advice. So tell me a little bit about this, we can do our due diligence around our own credit cards, and everyone should pull up open your wallet and Google and learn what your cards are offering you. But is there a master credit card website that you would recommend that we spend time on to sort of get smarter about what's out there that maybe we're not using yet?
Trae Bodge 26:22
You know that's a great question, because I think sometimes people find this really confusing, and there are so many financial websites that do this work for you. I know NerdWallet has a really good kind of roundup of credit, the best credit cards. A site like Bankrate will have that as well. You can also just Google best credit cards, and you'll see that NerdWallet, Bankrate, and several other sites will have done all the homework for you to get a sense of what the best credit cards are. I mean, if you're looking for a good general credit card that gives you cashback, that doesn't have an annual fee, for example. One that I like is from Bread Financial, it's the the Bread Cashback American Express. So it's an American Express, you get all the benefits of American Express, but then you get that 2% cashback on literally everything that you buy. So if all of this stuff that we're talking about right now is like too confusing, and it's like, I can't even think about it, take a look at the Bread Cashback American Express, it's like kind of a no brainer. However, if you are spending a lot of money on your credit card, you might want to consider a fee based card. A lot of people are opposed to one with an annual fee. And I used to be as well until I realized that with a fee based card, you're, you'll get so many more benefits that will often usually more than offset that annual fee. Because like say, if you're paying $250 for an American Express gold, you're also getting $10 in Uber cash every single month plus a free subscription to a streaming service, plus, you know this, that, and plus 4% on food, for example. So if you kind of calculate it out, that annual fee is like well taken care of. Plus, you get all the additional benefits. And so I wouldn't discount a card with an annual fee. But I would say that it really should be only a consideration if you use your credit cards very frequently. And you also have a very healthy relationship with your credit cards, meaning that you're paying them off in full every month.
Katie Fogarty 28:23
Right. Very smart, smart advice. I love this. Okay, I want to switch gears for a minute. Because we've been talking, you've given us so much great information about you know, gift ideas and how to be a more savvy consumer and sort of compare, comparison shop, take advantage of our credit cards, get the benefits. For those of us who are thinking, you know, I'm heading into 2024 and one of my resolutions is to shop less and spend less, you know to be more intentional, what would be some advice about, you know, how do we sort of stop some of this mindless shopping and buy fewer, better things?
Trae Bodge 28:55
Yeah, so I think it's really important to have an honest conversation about what your spending triggers are. You know, we just talked about credit card debt. So if you're carrying credit card debt, you're essentially negating any savings tactics that you're using because you're paying interest on that credit card every month. So the priority should be pay off your credit cards. And you know, the general tactic is the one with the highest interest rate is the one you address first. If you can move that balance to one with a lower interest rate or a zero interest rate, you should definitely do that. Because interest compounds more than you can imagine it will chase you for the rest of your life if you don't pay attention to it and prioritize paying those high interest cards off first. So that's really the first thing is like being really honest with yourself about your credit card situation. If you have a healthier relationship with your credit cards and you are paying them off but you're finding that you're overspending, you're going over your monthly allotment for spending, trying to figure out what those triggers are and maybe what those spending traps are. So for example, you know, you hang out with a bunch of girlfriends, and you all go out every week, and you're looking at your credit card statement, and you're like, oh, crap, I'm spending $100 each time I go out with my girlfriends every week, that's $400 a month, right? Maybe there's a tweak that you can make there. Maybe you propose that you all, everyone hosts every week, like a different person and you, it's a potluck. Or it's just drinks, or something like that, try to like pare that back.
Katie Fogarty 30:29
Go for a walk or something, there's free things you can do too.
Trae Bodge 30:33
Exactly.
Katie Fogarty 30:34
COVID taught us that, COVID taught us that. You can, we can walk and have fun with our friends. It's free.
Trae Bodge 30:38
Oh, and I do this all the time. I'm like such a fan of walking. I have like organized walk and talks that I do with my friends who are far away, and we walk and talk on the phone, we get our workout in, and we talk for an hour and catch up. And it's literally like the best therapy, it got me through COVID, so I'm with you on that. I love that idea. So I think it's like, once you identify what those triggers are, you know, it could be as simple and this is very liquid in the financial community. It's like the latte effect, or whatever they call it. And everyone has opinions about this. And but what it is essentially is like, okay, if you're spending $4 at Starbucks every morning, that's something that you could alleviate.
Katie Fogarty 31:19
Sure.
Trae Bodge 31:19
And move on, you could make your own coffee instead. And you know, some financial experts are like, oh, that's, you know, that doesn't make any sense, that doesn't have any effect. And I completely disagree. If you're spending $4 a day on Starbucks, or 8 or 12. If you're getting multiple lattes, that's a financial trap. And that's one that you can easily change. So make your own coffee, use the coffeemaker at work, you know, cut down at least one a day, something like that. And then you take that $4 and you put it in your savings account every day. Imagine that.
Katie Fogarty 31:50
Right.
Trae Bodge 31:50
I, like my husband and I used this tactic years ago, to, we brought our own lunches and brought our own coffee and tea to work for a year. We put that money in a jar and then we went to Honduras on a scuba diving trip with that money.
Katie Fogarty 32:03
Okay, oh my god, I love it.
Trae Bodge 32:05
It worked.
Katie Fogarty 32:06
I love it, it must have been a very big jar. But that is such an incredible payoff, right? Because sometimes we think small things, you know, don't add up. But it's true. You know, when you, when you do it over a course of a year, two people, putting that money aside, it really can add up to big things. That is such a phenomenal story and very inspiring.
Trae Bodge 32:27
It really, really works. And like something else while we're talking about little things, like another tactic that I love that is so easy to do is to use a roundup app. Like one, my favorite is Acorns. There's also Chime, Stash. So there are a few. So Acorns, basically you set it up, you connect it to your debit and your credit card, and every time you buy something or pay a bill, it takes the spare change and moves it into savings for you. So for example, you spend $9.50, it takes 50 cents, and moves it into investment for you. And then invest in the market in a way that you're comfortable with. Like if you're you know, risk adverse or not. I have saved well over $100,000 In the past decade just by doing that.
Katie Fogarty 33:14
Trae, I should, I wish we'd had this conversation three years ago when I started the podcast. I mean, I can't even imagine. Like, by the way I'm getting started immediately on all of your suggestions. But that is, this is, this is why you are an expert and so good at what you do. That's incredible.
Trae Bodge 33:31
Thank you.
Katie Fogarty 33:32
Thank you for sharing that, you are changing, like you're gonna have to come back in three years and I'm going to let you know what I've done with all the money. No, I'm not kidding. We're staying in touch. You're gonna hear what I've done. That is a phenomenal suggestion.
Trae Bodge 33:44
Thank you. I have several podcast hosts that I've done this with and they're like I used, you know, browser extensions for the last few years and I saved this much money. You know, these little things are little things and they're easy things and it really, really works. I mean you can save for college this way, you know. And like with an app like Acorns, you can also set a little auto withdrawal every week if you want. Maybe it's $5, maybe it's $50, depending on what's going on with you financially. You can set those little round ups and you will be so surprised by how much you can save just by doing something as simple as that.
Katie Fogarty 34:23
So smart. And by the way, anyone who's listening who has a, like a young adult, somebody that's in college or in high school or a, you know, a new grad, these are important tips to be sharing with the young people in your life. Because the sooner they start saving, you know, it's the magic of compound interest. You know, they too can be going to Honduras, you know, saving money for trips for, you know, deposits on their, you know, future homes. Such phenomenal advice. Trae, this has been great. We are about to wrap and head into our speed round. I love ending on this high energy note and I'm super excited to hear some of your answers because I'm sure this is going to be a good one. So the speed round is just one to two word answers. Are you ready?
Trae Bodge 35:05
Yes.
Katie Fogarty 35:05
Let's do this. Okay, I could talk about this smart shopping topic again and again:
Trae Bodge 35:12
Browser extensions.
Katie Fogarty 35:13
Nice. I get that, those are important. Okay, people may be surprised to learn that this simple hack will always save you money:
Trae Bodge 35:21
Making your own coffee.
Katie Fogarty 35:23
Making your own coffee. Okay, we talked about some websites, but check out this app for smart comparison shopping.
Trae Bodge 35:30
Comparison shopping? I'd say Google Shopping.
Katie Fogarty 35:32
Okay, good. You are a vintage shopper. What is something that you are always on the hunt for?
Trae Bodge 35:40
Oh, vintage dresses for sure.
Katie Fogarty 35:43
Nice. Okay, vintage and thrifting is fun to do locally, but vintage hunters will also love this online option:
Trae Bodge 35:50
Thread Up.
Katie Fogarty 35:51
Okay, nice. I hope Santa puts this item under my Christmas tree:
Trae Bodge 35:56
A black motorcycle jacket.
Katie Fogarty 35:58
This stocking stuffer is always a crowd pleaser:
Trae Bodge 36:02
Gift cards.
Katie Fogarty 36:03
This item is always on fire sale in January:
Trae Bodge 36:08
Linens.
Katie Fogarty 36:09
Finally, your one word answer to complete this sentence, as I age I feel:
Trae Bodge 36:16
Powerful.
Katie Fogarty 36:17
Love it. Love it, love it, love it. I so enjoyed this conversation. I feel so much smarter from having this talk with you. I am serious. I wish we had it three years ago but I'm inspired to put in action all of your great advice and before we say goodbye, though, how can our listeners keep following you and your work? Put them in action, tell them where to go.
Trae Bodge 36:38
Sure, so my Instagram, and that you know I'm growing it, it's important to me, it's important to my business. And hopefully I will make it very worth your while by saving, shopping, like sharing savings tips all year long. Also my website truetrae.com. I do have a bimonthly newsletter. I will not spam you, but I share timely advice all year long on my, with my free bimonthly newsletter as well.
Katie Fogarty 37:03
Phenomenal. I'll put all of those in the show notes. Thank you, Trae. This wraps A Certain Age, a show for women who are aging without apology. Before I say goodbye, a quick favor. We are closing in on 200 Apple podcast reviews. Can you take five minutes to write one and help get us over that line? Did you learn something on today's show like me? Do you feel smarter, better informed, excited to use something you learned? Did you have fun listening? If so, please take five minutes to rate or review the show over on Apple podcasts. Special thanks to Michael Mancini who composed and produced our theme music. See you next time until then, age boldly beauties!