[00:00] Speaker 1: Everyone has their own unique views and needs when it comes to financial success. If you'd like to leave your financial woes behind and live a life of financial freedom, you've come to the right place. Welcome to The Saving with Steve show, hosted by Steve Sexton. The show will help you with the ins and outs of money. We talk about financial issues that could be costing you thousands of dollars and keeping you up at night. We talk about money, tax reduction, saving more, spending less, 401 (k) s, risk management, retirement, and everything under the sun that relates to you having a healthier, happy relationship with money. Now, here is your host of Saving with Steve, Steve Sexton.

[00:43] Speaker 2: Hello, welcome to The Saving with Steve show, where we talk about the ins and outs of money. Pretty much everything under the sun relates to you having a happier, healthy relationship with money. My name is Steve Sexton. I want to thank you for joining us today. Hey, we're just a few weeks into the new year. Many people are seeing rising costs, you know, hangover from the debt over the holidays, and looking for ways to cut back. And a lot of times, people just cut back what they eat, but the question is how do we realistically save money while eating well? Our guest today is Nia Rennicks. She's a systems advisor who works with organizations on dignity, access, and how large systems are designed to impact people. 17 years of experience across the food system, public healthcare, disaster response, community infrastructure where she helps redesign things for real life. She's the author of What Healthcare Misses and The Dignity Blueprint. Nia, welcome to the show.

[01:41] Speaker 2: We're really gratefully you're here today.

[01:43] Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you so much, Steve, for having me. I'm- I'm excited. I love this topic, and so I'm excited to share some knowledge with everyone.

[01:50] Speaker 2: This is perfect. Well, the big question is this. Our listeners love to know, how'd you get started doing this? (laughs)

[01:57] Speaker 3: Oh.

[01:58] Speaker 2: I know it's a toughy.

[01:59] Speaker 3: That's a great... No, it's a toughy, right? But it's a great question, so I'm glad that you asked. So I am a clinical nutritionist, you know, by trade, and I started out with a company called The Rennicks Way. I had struggled with my weight and just with eating healthy, and, um, I had some medical issues too, was put on some medication. It didn't work for me, so what I decide- decided to do was design a plan for myself, um, that would help me lose weight, which I lost over 120 pounds. And then, thank you, that was many, many, many moons ago. And then everyone started to say, "Oh my God, like, you know, Nia, how- what did you do? How did you do it?" I created a system, right? I found that gap, and I created something that worked for me and for a whole lot of people. And so that just kind of spun into what it is now. It's a parent company. We have different, uh, ventures underneath The Rennicks Way group.

[02:49] Speaker 3: Um, and then being a clinical nutritionist, I've always been aligned with food and food access and how that works with the everyday person. And so it just- it just naturally kinda took shape, um, clinical nutritionist to kind of what I do now, and I love it. I love working with folks who, um, have questions about health, about, uh, dignity, about choice, about food access, uh, and that's where I am.

[03:17] Speaker 2: Now, can I... I wanna just start with one-

[03:19] Speaker 3: Sure.

[03:20] Speaker 2: ... big question that we... I'm talking like 200 people-

[03:22] Speaker 3: Yes.

[03:22] Speaker 2: ... ask this one question. It really-

[03:25] Speaker 3: Yes.

[03:25] Speaker 2: ... um, they're like, "You know what?" They were- they were told by various people, some are nutritionists, uh, natural doctors, all that stuff-

[03:35] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[03:35] Speaker 2: ... that some of the things that ail them has a lot to do with their diet, and if they adjusted their diet, they would be in better health just by... and some of those conditions could go away.

[03:47] Speaker 3: Right.

[03:47] Speaker 2: Is that true?

[03:49] Speaker 3: I believe so. I- I- I definitely do. I think food is medicine, right? And I think when you look back at other different cultures, and I'll specifically talk about, um, the- the- the culture of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. I did a lot of work and studied and lived over in China, and that was something that I observed, right, is that kind of the holistic approach of food, um, and physical movement really helped. And again, I'm my own kind of experiment, right?

[04:20] Speaker 3: So-

[04:21] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[04:21] Speaker 3: ... I had a health condition that was really the reason for me not really being able to find or being in tune with my body to- to lose weight. And once I kind of cracked that code and reworked what I ate, how I ate it, when I ate it, the types of foods I ate, not only was I able to lose the weight, but also my health conditions reversed itself. So I am a huge proponent of first let's look at food, right, and then other things, you know.

[04:51] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[04:51] Speaker 3: Yes. Now, I- I will say this. You know, I am not a- a doctor, so I'm- by no means am I getting- you know, giving out medical advice. I would say always talk to your physician, um, whether it's a Western- a Western physician or if it's a natural practation- um, practitioner, whatever the case might be. Um, but I will say and I will agree that food, it- it is medicine.

[05:12] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[05:13] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[05:13] Speaker 2: You know what? I'm- I'm glad you say that. A- and the reason why I'm saying that is, you know, everybody knows I'm a colon s- cancer survivor of 18 years, but-

[05:19] Speaker 3: Oh, congratulations.

[05:20] Speaker 2: ... when I- when I went through chemotherapy-

[05:24] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[05:24] Speaker 2: ... um, and for a person who is very, very active and likes to work out and all that stuff, I thought I'd never be able to work out again because of the- the pain in my joints and the neuropathy-

[05:33] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[05:33] Speaker 2: ... stuff like that. And you talked about acupuncture.

[05:37] Speaker 3: Yes.

[05:37] Speaker 2: Um, one of my clients at the time was an acupuncturist.

[05:40] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[05:41] Speaker 2: And he says, "You know, just come over to my office. I won't charge you." I mean, I think after the third visit, a lot of the stuff that I was dealing with just because of the acupuncture, it just went away.

[05:50] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[05:51] Speaker 2: And then another client, she was a- a- a natural doctor, and she was like, "Okay, instead... You know what? Because of what you've gone through-

[06:00] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[06:00] Speaker 2: ... instead of eating this, you- you need these natural enzymes in your stomach 'cause your-

[06:05] Speaker 3: Yes.

[06:06] Speaker 2: ... your- your stomach's trying to repair itself from the colon resection."

[06:10] Speaker 3: Right.

[06:10] Speaker 2: And- and she started having... She goes, "You're gonna- you're gonna eat pineapple, the desti- the desti enzymes."

[06:15] Speaker 3: Okay.

[06:15] Speaker 2: "You're gonna start eating this."

[06:17] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[06:17] Speaker 2: "Get away from the, uh, the oat- oatmeal, but eat oat bran because it eliminates the sugar 'cause you don't need sugar."

[06:22] Speaker 3: Right. Right.

[06:22] Speaker 2: That's part of the problem with the neuropathy, and it was really wild because in inside of a, like a 30 to 45-day period-

[06:29] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[06:29] Speaker 2: ... and you probably felt it too, once you did, it's like-... pain in my joints. I'm not-

[06:33] Speaker 3: Yes.

[06:34] Speaker 2: ... having issues with my stomach.

[06:35] Speaker 3: Oh.

[06:35] Speaker 2: It was just like, oh, wow. It's, it's so... I totally agree with you. I think that's very, very cool and thank you for answering that 'cause I had a lot of people ask that question.

[06:44] Speaker 3: Absolutely. Just to just piggyback off what you said, I've, I've worked with cancer patients myself in the clinical space that I'm in, and we've used m- um, nutrition, right, as medical therapy, medical nutrition therapy. And to your point, and congratulations on being a cancer survivor for so long, um, cancer loves sugar, right? And so it feeds off of sugar. So I've worked with cancer patients in like that first kind of stage, uh, stage one cancer, and when revamping their, their diet, getting them off of that refined, you know, sugar to a more kind of natural, um, you know, food from, from the earth type of diet, right? You know, they've seen good results from that. So I... You're absolute spot on when you say that. Yeah.

[07:30] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah. And I was gonna say this. Even my oncologist was, um, really excited about my diet when she realized what I was doing and who I was working with.

[07:39] Speaker 3: Right. Yes.

[07:39] Speaker 2: Like, that's great 'cause you know what? You're... When you said all natural, I mean, blueberries, raspberries, salads.

[07:45] Speaker 3: Yes. Yes.

[07:45] Speaker 2: You know, chickens, uh, the beef had to go-

[07:48] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[07:48] Speaker 2: ... which was a bummer for a little bit but-

[07:50] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[07:50] Speaker 2: ... (laughs) but that's too bad.

[07:51] Speaker 3: But, but you know what? It was okay, though, for that little bit of time, right? Just stopping. (laughs)

[07:56] Speaker 2: (laughs) Oh, yeah. No, I every once in a while have a burger.

[07:58] Speaker 3: Right, right, right.

[07:58] Speaker 2: But you know what it is.

[08:00] Speaker 3: Right, exactly.

[08:00] Speaker 2: Um, but so let's... You know what? One of the big things that people, you know, they, they, they look at. They say, "You know what? I really want to eat well."

[08:08] Speaker 3: Right.

[08:09] Speaker 2: "Um, but, you know, it's expensive."

[08:12] Speaker 3: Yes.

[08:12] Speaker 2: "Um, is that a myth or..."

[08:17] Speaker 3: Well, what I'll say is if we look at kind of the reality of the situation, right? Food costs are going up, right? Rent is up. People are struggling with like paying for childcare and, and things like that. Um, it... Y- you do not need to eat well, or eating well doesn't mean you have to have these specialty foods or specialty brands or novelty brands, right? Um, we wanna focus on foods that are nutritious, right? That are, um, easy to, to cook. The basics. Not like the, the Instagram, you know, type food. We're not trying to do that, right? So what I will say that the myth is really eating well doesn't mean that you have to purchase these brands or specialty foods. That's not what it's about.

[09:06] Speaker 2: Yeah, I actually agree with that. For a person that has done the finance world for a long time-

[09:11] Speaker 3: Yes.

[09:12] Speaker 2: ... um, we wanted to figure out, hey, um, what if we just focus on not buying anything pre-packaged-

[09:19] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[09:20] Speaker 2: ... but, you know, buying regular stuff.

[09:22] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[09:22] Speaker 2: So, um, I, I found that, you know, you get the pre-fack- packaged salads. There's enough salad for two but it's five bucks.

[09:30] Speaker 3: Right.

[09:30] Speaker 2: And I figured out, hey, I get a head of lettuce.

[09:32] Speaker 3: Yes.

[09:32] Speaker 2: I get the other little vegetables that go along with it.

[09:35] Speaker 3: Right.

[09:35] Speaker 2: Um, I have a (laughs) big thing of salad dressing that I like.

[09:38] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[09:39] Speaker 2: Um, and I have some croutons, some nuts. And quite frankly, for a salad it costs me less than a dollar to do it that way as oppice- opposed to five. So stuff like that-

[09:48] Speaker 3: Right.

[09:48] Speaker 2: ... are big savers and-

[09:50] Speaker 3: Huge... Yeah, huge savers, right? So, you know, going to the grocery store and making the food yourself, getting those ingredients yourself can save a lot, right? Um, there's also food that you might have in... or healthy food that you might already have in your cupboards already, in your refrigerator, that you are not paying attention to, but you don't notice it. You haven't gone through it. So you're going to the grocery store or you're, or you're going to, you know, fast food and you're getting that type of food but there's things in your house that you have that you can kind of work with. So, absolutely. Yeah.

[10:18] Speaker 2: Yeah. No, no, it was... It's kind of funny-

[10:20] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[10:20] Speaker 2: ... but somebody said, "I didn't realize it, but I had the same rice in my pantry for like six years. It was brown rice." (laughs)

[10:26] Speaker 3: Right. And you just go... It's up there and you're like, you know, going to the store. You're buying more food, but it's there sometimes, right, right in front of our eyes.

[10:34] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[10:35] Speaker 3: You know.

[10:35] Speaker 2: No, that's wonderful.

[10:36] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[10:36] Speaker 2: Hey, folks, stick with us and we'll be right back with more with Nia Renix and Saving with Steve.

[10:43] Speaker 4: (upbeat music) More expert advice for having a happier relationship with money still to come on the Saving with Steve show. Don't let your financial woes keep you up at night and prevent you from living a life of financial and personal freedom. Hi, I'm Steve Sexton, host of the Saving with Steve show. We're gonna be talking about the ins and outs of money, those financial issues that could be costing you thousands of dollars, causing stress, keeping you up at night. We're gonna talk about money, tax reduction, saving more, spending less, your investments, risk management, retirement, and everything associated with you having a healthier, happy relationship with money. So if you've ever dreamed of living a life of financial and personal freedom, you owe it to yourself and your family to tune into the Saving with Steve show. Join me, Steve Sexton, on the Saving with Steve show as we talk about everything under the sun when it comes to money.

[11:39] Speaker 4: To learn more about the show, visit savingwithsteve.us. That's savingwithsteve.us. savingwithsteve.us. We'll see you soon. Welcome back to the show that is here to help you achieve your financial goals. It's the Saving with Steve show. Now here's your host, Steve Sexton.

[12:01] Speaker 2: Hey, folks. Welcome back to the Saving with Steve show. I truly want to thank you for tuning in. I appreciate you completely letting your friends, family, and associates know about the show. All the replays are available at savingwithsteve.us. If you're enjoying the stories of helpful insight on Saving with Steve, I encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss a show. Check out a few of our affiliates at UK Health Radio, BBS Radio, Talk Radio New York City, E360 TV, Las Vegas t- TV Networks. All of these networks are dedicated to empowering you to solve problems, uplift your spirit, and live a f- a life of personal financial freedom. You can also follow us on Facebook at the Saving with Steve Sexton Insider Club. Go to savingwithsteve.us and get all the replays, exclusive access to our shows, guest gifts, the whole shot. But right now we need to get back to Nia. Again, thanks for being here today.

[12:50] Speaker 3: Of course.

[12:51] Speaker 2: Now, one of the big things here is this. People all have habits when we go to the store.

[12:57] Speaker 3: Yes.

[12:58] Speaker 2: Even when I go to Costco, it's cut past, past all the TV stuff-

[13:02] Speaker 3: Yes.

[13:03] Speaker 2: ... coffee, alcohol, meats, all that kind of stuff, vegetables, and then all the other stuff. So, and I go in, I'm one of those power shoppers-

[13:11] Speaker 3: Yep.

[13:11] Speaker 2: ... so I know my list and I get it done.

[13:13] Speaker 3: Great.

[13:14] Speaker 2: Um, but everybody has, 'cause some people-

[13:17] Speaker 3: Right.

[13:17] Speaker 2: ... like, like be my, like my wife-

[13:18] Speaker 3: Right.

[13:18] Speaker 2: ... who likes to mosey through things and say-

[13:20] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[13:20] Speaker 2: ... "What about this? What about that?"

[13:21] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[13:22] Speaker 2: So you know what? There's, what are the biggest grocery store habits that quietly drive food costs up for individuals? I think that's a biggie to understand.

[13:33] Speaker 3: Yeah. I think so too, and you kind of touched upon it just in your, um, in your story. Lists, right? Being prepared. (laughs)

[13:42] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[13:42] Speaker 3: Being prepared when you go to the grocery... I know it sounds so cliche, but it is true, right? So again, looking at what's in your pantry, 'cause sometimes you'll create a list and you go to the store but you already have that can of soup or you already have those carrots in your refrigerator, right? So making sure that you are prepared with a list when you go to the grocery store, right? And making sure that you are staying true to that list, okay? That's huge. It's important. I mean, I know for me, everyone laughs at me, but I am notorious for creating a list, okay? It's just what you need to do, and I think it's the, one of the biggest habits that people say they want to do but they just do not follow. Something else that, and again, I am, oh, I'm bad at this.

[14:28] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[14:28] Speaker 3: You know, because of convenience, right? Because of time. You, in the grocery stores, we have like these convenience, I call them like little convenience creeps, right? Like the precut onions or the precut sweet potatoes, right? Those are expensive.

[14:44] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[14:44] Speaker 3: Super expensive. More expensive than going and buying a bag of onions and taking the time to chop them up yourself, or those sweet potatoes and chop them up, you know, yourself. So definitely stay away, if you can, from those precut little vegetable items and get it yourself and do the work yourself. So I think, though, I mean, there's others, but what I've seen after working with s- several, hundreds and hundreds of clients, it's definitely the shopping list and not kind of, not going to that section with the precut, pre-done already items.

[15:18] Speaker 2: You know what's funny?

[15:19] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[15:19] Speaker 2: You, you say that, uh, about the pantry.

[15:21] Speaker 3: Yes.

[15:22] Speaker 2: And I just think it's hilarious because I know in my pantry...

[15:27] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[15:27] Speaker 2: ... that I probably, we probably have, um, what is it? Seven, um, cans of onion soup. (laughs)

[15:35] Speaker 3: Yeah. Right.

[15:35] Speaker 2: 'Cause I'll be sitting there going, "You know, I think we need some onion soup." (laughs)

[15:39] Speaker 3: Yes.

[15:39] Speaker 2: Sitting there-

[15:39] Speaker 3: Right.

[15:40] Speaker 2: ... and I'll shove it in there.

[15:41] Speaker 3: Yes. And waste is one of the most... I don't know. It's like one of the most expensive kind of line items that people just don't think about, they don't account for. And you'll, like I said, you'll go to the grocery store, you'll buy a bunch of things, and then you come back home. I do it all the time. I mean, I do. I mean, even though I have lists, there's sometimes I miss, right? And I'll say, "Oh my gosh, I already had that in my, you know, my cupboard. I didn't need to go buy that again." And so that's that, and then you're not using it, you know? And then it expires, so then it just becomes one kind of cycle after another. So definitely, I think lists would be kind of number one, and then just staying away from those prepackaged foods and those precut kind of food items.

[16:21] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[16:21] Speaker 3: Do it yourself. Yeah.

[16:22] Speaker 2: I was gonna, I was gonna say, when you talked about... I just, it's so funny you're saying this stuff 'cause it like hits me in the face.

[16:27] Speaker 3: Yeah. Right, right.

[16:28] Speaker 2: But, um, we buy the prepackaged... Well, I used to buy the prepackaged-

[16:31] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[16:31] Speaker 2: ... salads at Costco. So they come in two.

[16:34] Speaker 3: Right.

[16:34] Speaker 2: And I think, okay, there's... I, I take a salad to work. We have a salad for dinner, so I need four of them at least, okay?

[16:40] Speaker 3: Yes. Right.

[16:40] Speaker 2: And the reality is, I won't eat them all.

[16:43] Speaker 3: Right.

[16:43] Speaker 2: And by the time I get to them, they're bad.

[16:45] Speaker 3: Yep.

[16:45] Speaker 2: So it's like there, there's the waste part of it, and-

[16:48] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[16:48] Speaker 2: ... and we see this with stuff where you look at it and say, "Oh, I just bought five pounds of apples."

[16:53] Speaker 3: Right.

[16:53] Speaker 2: Okay?

[16:54] Speaker 3: Right.

[16:54] Speaker 2: Will they still be good by the time you get to the last one? (laughs)

[16:58] Speaker 3: Exactly, you know? And you, and people, you know, things are, are changing, and folks who are really focused on budgets, you know? They're factoring in every single thing. And food is a major component of your, your budget, right? And, and saving versus not saving. And when you think about like people with families, right? Families of four and five, they can't afford, you know, to waste, you know, food. So kind of having these kind of key like steps in place will help a lot.

[17:29] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[17:30] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[17:30] Speaker 2: And, and one of the other things when you talk about, you know, when people buy and they don't use...

[17:35] Speaker 3: Right.

[17:35] Speaker 2: ... is, um, um, a number of people came up with a milk example. I'm like, "Well, milk, what?"

[17:40] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[17:41] Speaker 2: Okay? So like, well, we buy a quart or a half gallon of milk.

[17:44] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[17:44] Speaker 2: But we only use a pint.

[17:46] Speaker 3: Right.

[17:46] Speaker 2: So it sits.

[17:47] Speaker 3: Exactly.

[17:47] Speaker 2: So, you know, you get 2 or $3 or $4 or $5 worth of milk-

[17:51] Speaker 3: Right.

[17:52] Speaker 2: ... it sits, or $10 worth of eggs, which is like 18 eggs now.

[17:56] Speaker 3: Exactly.

[17:57] Speaker 2: And, and it goes bad, and you're like-

[17:58] Speaker 3: Right.

[17:58] Speaker 2: ... "Hey, what did, do I really use?"

[18:00] Speaker 3: Right.

[18:00] Speaker 2: And, and then I'm gonna bet, do you do meal planning for yourself?

[18:03] Speaker 3: I do.

[18:04] Speaker 2: Okay.

[18:04] Speaker 3: And I encourage people to do that. I, I think that meal planning is another way to save money. Um, it's another way to kind of make sure that throughout the week, if you have a busy week, you're already prepared. You're already prepared.

[18:19] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[18:19] Speaker 3: So that is something that I definitely recommend, is prepping your food. I d- I choose a Sunday. Some people choose other days, but I think Sunday just kind of sets me up for the rest of the week. And, you know, I, I, things that I might use, right? Rotisserie chicken, something that's really easy to use, some kind of ground meat, a vegetable, um, maybe a starch. And I just prep it out for, for the week, right? But for me, you know, I don't have kids, right? So that's easy and convenient for me to do. But when I talk about, you know, I think about other clients that I work with or that I'm working with now...... they don't have that time, right? So I recommend meal prepping, um. And even if you have a family, you can still meal prep, you know? But you have to just be very, um, strategic, like about how, how you do it, so.

[19:08] Speaker 2: I agree. Well-

[19:09] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[19:09] Speaker 2: ... I'm one of five and my mom used to do that, so.

[19:12] Speaker 3: Oh, great.

[19:13] Speaker 2: She would, she would (laughs) ... Yeah. See, it was like Sunday after dinner, after everybody got their stuff done and everybody was getting prepared for the next week-

[19:19] Speaker 3: Yes.

[19:19] Speaker 2: ... she spent her time getting ready for the whole week for all five kids' lunches, you know?

[19:24] Speaker 3: That's wonderful. Yeah.

[19:26] Speaker 2: So (clears throat) , and, um, one of the ways that she saved is she went to like, like Wonder, Wonder Bread.

[19:32] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. Okay.

[19:32] Speaker 2: Remember Wonder Bread days? Um, she, they used to have a, um, a, what is it called? A, a day-old store-

[19:39] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[19:39] Speaker 2: ... where you go in there and the things that are, they're just at the day of their expiration, they put them in there and sell them at a discount. So that's one of the ways she saved food. That's the only thing-

[19:47] Speaker 3: That's great. That... No. No, that's, that's great. I mean, essentially, she was like buying in bulk, right, kind of the foods-

[19:53] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[19:53] Speaker 3: ... that you need, which is similar to like the Costcos and the BJ's in, in doing that. And I'll also say, again, this is a, again, a little cliché, but going back to coupons, right? Like, there is nothing wrong with that. I mean, I was in CVS the other day, and even like the loyal- like the loyalty programs, right? You never really pay attention to how much you're, you're spending and how much that's going to like their loyalty, like the loyalty points. And I, I forgot what I was getting. I was getting like some bread, and it was actually a, a well-known brand, one of those kind of natural, expensive brands. It was like $12 for the loaf of bread. And I get to the counter, and they ask me if I wanted to use my points, my CVS points. I said, "Yes." That bread that was 12, like $12.99, that loaf of bread was 84 cents. I was like, "Whoa," right?

[20:47] Speaker 3: So even-

[20:48] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[20:48] Speaker 3: ... using coupons is another great way to, to save.

[20:52] Speaker 2: Yeah. And it's cool, you can go to any store. They all have them online now, so you can just-

[20:55] Speaker 3: All of them.

[20:55] Speaker 2: ... pull them out, yeah.

[20:56] Speaker 3: Yeah, all of them. Coupons.com, I mean, all of them, so yeah.

[21:00] Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. Go, go for it.

[21:01] Speaker 3: Go for it.

[21:02] Speaker 2: Um, so people are trying to get started.

[21:08] Speaker 3: Yes.

[21:08] Speaker 2: So if people were to change just one thing-

[21:11] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[21:12] Speaker 2: ... what habit would that be this week to save money?

[21:17] Speaker 3: Ooh, that's a, that's a tricky one because there's so many, there's more than just (laughs) one. Um-

[21:22] Speaker 2: Well, I know. We'll get to those, but the first thing-

[21:24] Speaker 3: Okay. Yeah.

[21:24] Speaker 2: You can only, you only can do one thing because-

[21:26] Speaker 3: I can only do one? Okay.

[21:26] Speaker 2: ... you know it's too much (laughs) .

[21:27] Speaker 3: Okay, okay. I would say, and when I, when I talk about ****** everyone always like, "What do you mean?" Cook once, eat twice. Cook once and eat twice. People are like, "Nia, what are you, what are you talking about? Cook once, and only eat two times, you know, a day?" No. What I mean by that is you cook a meal that is going to provide additional meals, right? So for example, I am classic on like rotisserie chicken, and maybe some, you know, rice, and maybe like broccoli or something like that. Make a little bit more of that food, right? So that, that, that dinner that you had with rotisserie chicken and rice becomes your lunch, right, the next day.

[22:10] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[22:10] Speaker 3: Um, you could do it with like ground meat or something like that, right? You might be having tacos. So tacos tonight can go into like a rice bowl or a veggie bowl like the next day. So that's what I always say. Cook once, and then eat multiple times with that same, you know, meal.

[22:26] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[22:26] Speaker 3: And believe it or not, that actually cuts costs because you're not at work, right, going and going to a restaurant or anything like that. And also, it helps out with convenience as well, because even if you decide not to go to a restaurant for lunch, right, and you wanna just make your own lunch, well, guess what? Your lunch is already prepared because you prepared it the night before. So that's what I would say. If one, a person could just ha- just change one habit for that week, I would recommend doing that.

[22:54] Speaker 2: I think that's wonderful. And it, it actually-

[22:55] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[22:55] Speaker 2: ... makes me smile when you say that because my wife and I do that. So-

[22:58] Speaker 3: Yes, do you? Great.

[22:59] Speaker 2: And when you said, "Rotisserie chicken," I go, "That's what I'm having last night."

[23:02] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[23:02] Speaker 2: "That's what I'm having today. And, oh, by the way, I got the rice."

[23:05] Speaker 3: Right.

[23:05] Speaker 2: "I'm not a broccoli fan, so it's a salad, so."

[23:07] Speaker 3: Okay.

[23:08] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[23:08] Speaker 3: It's a salad. It's a salad.

[23:09] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[23:09] Speaker 3: That's fine too. That'll work. That'll work.

[23:11] Speaker 2: (laughs) That works. Hey, folks.

[23:13] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[23:13] Speaker 2: Stick with us. We'll be right back with Nia Renicks and Saving With Steve. Welcome back to the Saving With Steve show, where we talk about the ins and outs of money, pretty much everything that's in relation to you having a happier, healthier relationship with money. Truly want to thank you for joining us and you're letting your friends, family, and associates to know. We're well over a million listeners throughout the world now. All the replays are available at savingwithsteve.us. If you're enjoying the stories of helpful insight on Saving With Steve, I encourage you to subscribe to your YouTube channel so you never miss a show. Check out a few of our affiliates at UK Health Radio, BBS Radio, Talk Radio New York City, E360 TV, Las Vegas TV Network. All these networks are dedicated to empowering you to solve problems, uplift your spirit, and live a f- a life of personal and financial freedom. Now, we wanna really get back to Nia.

[24:05] Speaker 2: (clears throat) So, many people right now are on a tight budgets. How can they use Snap or pantries to eat well without feeling deprived? I mean-

[24:13] Speaker 3: Right.

[24:14] Speaker 2: ... it's a tough situation for a lot of people out there.

[24:16] Speaker 3: It is. And this, you know, goes along with what I do in the food access space or food adjacent space with different institutions and, and nonprofits. What I will say is that eating well, um, should always be centered around dignity, right, should be centered around choice, and being, you know, satisfied. That's what I will say. And I would say to use those resources, whether it's food aid or pantry, as a resource, right? Um, historically and traditionally, right, food pantries are for emergencies, right? They are to supplement, right, your food, right? And so, with that, you want to use them as a resource, as a base, and then-... at the grocery store, kind of choose foods that you can kind of interchange and mix, and mix and match with them, right? The focus for that particular family that utilizes that resource is around, you know, predictable meals. It's around structure.

[25:17] Speaker 3: It's around relieving stress that one might already have, um, if they need some type of resource like food aid or, like I said, a, a food pantry. I think the thing to think about when you look at, uh, families who utilize, uh, food pantries is, is that the goal is not around trying to make this gourmet meal, right? That's not the goal of it at all. It's really around making sure that you have meals that are stable, right, the stab- stability is in place, that you're able to make them with ease, um, and that they make you full and they nourish not just yourself but your family. Um, so I would say utilize those resources. They are there for you. Um, but go, and g- but go to the grocery stores, right, to help with mixing and matching with the foods that you choose from those food pantries.

[26:11] Speaker 2: Now-

[26:12] Speaker 3: (clears throat)

[26:12] Speaker 2: ... you, you've had some experience with food pantries and I've had-

[26:15] Speaker 3: Absolutely.

[26:15] Speaker 2: ... a number of people saying, "Hey, where do food pantries get their food besides individuals donating?" And I'm talking-

[26:21] Speaker 3: Yes.

[26:21] Speaker 2: ... um, like, um, we used to work with the Outreach Farm Project-

[26:25] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[26:25] Speaker 2: ... which is a farm that grew vegetables for local food pantries. And I-

[26:28] Speaker 3: Right.

[26:28] Speaker 2: ... know there, there was part of the, the nonprofit that was supported there, and-

[26:32] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[26:32] Speaker 2: ... it was fun to go work on the farm and do that.

[26:34] Speaker 3: Sure.

[26:35] Speaker 2: But then after that, where do food pantries get their food?

[26:39] Speaker 3: Yeah, so food pantries get their food from their local food bank, okay? So there's, like, a little bit of a hierarchy, right? So you have Feeding America, which is the major, um, kind of overarching kind of organization, right? And then through Feeding America... And again, again, I'm speaking in terms of the US, right? But under Feed America, you have food banks, okay? And those food banks will disperse funds to the local food pantries or food programs, and that's how most of these food pantries receive their food. They can also receive them from, uh, there's different grants that are out there, right?

[27:16] Speaker 3: So federal grants-

[27:18] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[27:18] Speaker 3: ... that are being utilized by pantries. There's also food purveyors that also help to provide food support, um, to these food pantries. Like you had mentioned, there's farms that do that as well. But, um, when it comes in terms of, like, w- where that money comes from for them to actually purchase food, it would be their local food banks.

[27:38] Speaker 2: Okay.

[27:39] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[27:39] Speaker 2: And then when you say local pr- food purveyors, what are, do? Is there... 'Cause when... I've been to the food pantries-

[27:46] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[27:47] Speaker 2: ... to help, but I lo- I saw some canned goods there, breads there, sodas, in fact. Uh-

[27:54] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[27:54] Speaker 2: Do those come from local stores? Uh, d- is that what you mean by, um-

[27:58] Speaker 3: So-

[27:58] Speaker 2: ... food purveyors?

[27:59] Speaker 3: Yeah. Excellent question. So yes and no. So food purveyors are more of, like, your, your, your bigger companies like a Sysco or something like that, where you're actually, they're actually ordering food, or US Foods.

[28:09] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[28:09] Speaker 3: They're ordering food. But to your point, absolutely, yes. A lot of that food, like the fresh baked goods, right, or the produce, that comes from partnerships through local supermarkets and grocery stores. So for example, I ran one of the largest, uh, food programs, food pantries, um, in Western Massachusetts, and we had food f- uh, coming to us from all different places. But one of them was, uh, from our partners, right, from our local supermarkets. Um, and we had partnerships with some of the largest grocery store chains, and they w- it, depending on that contract that we had with them, they would provide food for us for the, every week, um, every day. We also had partnerships with Costco, um, with, with BJs. We had l- even Hood Ice Cream partnered with us at, at this particular, um, food program, food pantry. So to answer your question, absolutely. It comes from a variety of different ways. Um, grocery stores love, you know, to partner with local, you know, pantries.

[29:11] Speaker 3: Um, it's something that if you go to their website, you'll see that they have, like, a special section, like, around on their philanthropy, you know-

[29:18] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[29:19] Speaker 3: ... page. They love local, um, collaborations. So if, if you are listening and you're someone who is running a food pantry, I would definitely say, if you haven't done it already, contact your local grocery store. Um, they love to partner with, with local food pantries.

[29:35] Speaker 2: Oh, that's wonderful.

[29:36] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[29:36] Speaker 2: The more we can get, the better.

[29:38] Speaker 3: Absolutely.

[29:38] Speaker 2: Because I know, I know there's a lot of people who... How do I s- how do I say this? Um, there's a lot of people that I didn't realize-

[29:46] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[29:47] Speaker 2: ... when I worked at the food pantry and I was just doing stocking stuff-

[29:52] Speaker 3: Sure.

[29:52] Speaker 2: ... and I went in the back and I'd look up when somebody would come in, I'd go, "Oh, they're parents at the school."

[29:58] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[29:59] Speaker 2: Um, you know, y- y- you know, folks just don't realize people w- who need help are everyday people.

[30:04] Speaker 3: Yes.

[30:05] Speaker 2: And they just need a little lift, and sometimes the food s- food pantry is there to do that. Um-

[30:08] Speaker 3: Absolutely.

[30:10] Speaker 2: So-

[30:10] Speaker 3: No, you're right. You're right. You're right. I work in the dignity space of it. I get called in to add, kind of, dignity and choice back into those food systems to really service the people that they're there to service, those everyday people. Um, there's a lot of stigma, right, attached to food pantries, right?

[30:31] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[30:31] Speaker 3: And to your point, absolutely. I've talked to thousands of people, right, around how they feel, right, when they go into food pantries and what that, what that looks like. Um, so again, I work in a lot of that dignity space and redesigning these food programs to make them work better for those every- everyday people. Um, but it's, it's...... if you need it, it is, it is there. Um, I have an initiative that I started called, um, I don't know, you know, If We're Going to the Hunger Dash, right?

[31:04] Speaker 3: It's, it's-

[31:05] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[31:05] Speaker 3: ... it's, yeah. So it's, um, the first kind of virtual kind of, um, food kind of pantry. It's an initiative, right? And we look at, like, the stigma that's associated with that. Um, you know, so there, there's just a lot that goes, goes into it. I mean, we could talk about... Actually, I could talk about this forever (laughs) , but there's a lot that-

[31:26] Speaker 2: No, that's great.

[31:27] Speaker 3: ... people want to know about.

[31:28] Speaker 2: I, I want, I want to know about it-

[31:29] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[31:29] Speaker 2: ... because it's a resource. 'Cause you know what? There are, are a lot of people out there that need help. They just don't let people know. And you know, quite frankly, you know, if somebody loses a job-

[31:39] Speaker 3: Right.

[31:39] Speaker 2: ... and they, they, they feel that they're stepping down b- if they need help-

[31:43] Speaker 3: Absolutely.

[31:44] Speaker 2: ... and they just gotta realize, "Hey, you need some help as your family. Eat. If you don't eat-

[31:47] Speaker 3: Right.

[31:47] Speaker 2: ... you don't have the fuel to go, go, go out and get another job or-

[31:50] Speaker 3: Right.

[31:50] Speaker 2: ... do the things you need to do."

[31:52] Speaker 3: Right.

[31:52] Speaker 2: Um, so...

[31:53] Speaker 3: Yeah. You'd be surprised at, like you said, I mean, how many people, you know, live in this beautiful house or have this great job, right? But they're still are struggling with, with food. And I like to say that like, you know, food insecurity, it falls on a spectrum, right? So you, even though you might be going to these food pantries doesn't mean that you're hungry for every meal. Maybe you need support for that first meal of the day or maybe the last meal of the day. But there are so many people that look like, you know, you and me that have at work that just need a little bit extra, um, a little bit extra push to kind of make it through that week or that month.

[32:30] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[32:31] Speaker 3: Um, and people don't even realize, you know, how close they could be to needing a pantry or something or some kind of food access, you know, program.

[32:41] Speaker 2: Yeah. In fact, um, I was just thinking one of the kids' parents at the school, they, they had like, like I think they had four or five kids, maybe six.

[32:49] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[32:49] Speaker 2: I'm like, "God, how do you guys do it?" And you know-

[32:52] Speaker 3: Right.

[32:52] Speaker 2: ... I was there in the, the warehouse and, you know, I, I saw his wife came in, and you know what? That's how they do it. So sometimes-

[32:58] Speaker 3: Yes.

[32:58] Speaker 2: ... that's, you do what you need to do to get through.

[33:00] Speaker 3: Do what you need to do. Exactly.

[33:01] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[33:01] Speaker 3: Absolutely.

[33:02] Speaker 2: So that's wonderful. Thank you for sharing that. I, I... You know-

[33:04] Speaker 3: Absolutely.

[33:04] Speaker 2: ... my big thing was there, hey, don't worry about what stage of life are you in or you feel like you shouldn't be there.

[33:10] Speaker 3: No. Right.

[33:10] Speaker 2: Step up, go, get what you need so you can be a prosperous person, and you know what? Pay it forward sometime. Yeah

[33:16] Speaker 3: Absolutely.

[33:17] Speaker 2: Hey, folks. Stick with us. We'll be right back with more Nia Renix on Saving with Steve.

[33:23] Speaker 1: More expert advice for having a happier relationship with money still to come on the Saving with Steve show.

[33:32] Speaker 2: Don't let your financial woes keep you up at night and prevent you from living a life of financial and personal freedom. Hi, I'm Steve Sexton, host of the Saving with Steve show. We're gonna be talking about the ins and outs of money, those financial issues that could be costing you thousands of dollars, causing stress, keeping you up at night. We're gonna talk about money, tax reduction, saving more, spending less, your investments, risk management, retirement, and everything associated with you having a healthier, happy relationship with money. So if you've ever dreamed of living a life of financial and personal freedom, you owe it to yourself and your family to tune into the Saving with Steve show. Join me, Steve Sexton, on the Saving with Steve show as we talk about everything under the sun when it comes to money. To learn more about the show, visit savingwithsteve.us. That's savingwithsteve.us. Savingwithsteve.us. We'll see you soon.

[34:32] Speaker 1: Welcome back to the show that is here to help you achieve your financial goals. It's the Saving with Steve show. Now here's your host, Steve Sexton.

[34:43] Speaker 2: Hey, folks. Welcome back to the Saving with Steve show, where we talk about the ins and outs of money. We're gonna go right to it with Nia right here. We're gonna be talking about, you know what? We've got a lot of, you know, young professionals, and they're in the workforce, they're trying to make everything work, rent, car payment, all that kind of stuff, and they feel like eating well, you know, just drains their paycheck. In fact, you know, I've got kids with this same feeling.

[35:08] Speaker 3: Right.

[35:09] Speaker 2: Uh, and we also want to talk about common food spending traps of busy adults, because there's so much money that goes to waste and we just don't realize it. And you know what? Those dollars can be redir- be redirected to, you know what? Your retirement. Maybe retire-

[35:25] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[35:25] Speaker 2: ... a little early, which would be kind of nice.

[35:27] Speaker 3: Yes.

[35:29] Speaker 2: So, so the first big question is-

[35:31] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[35:32] Speaker 2: ... young professionals, eating well, draining their paychecks (laughs) .

[35:37] Speaker 3: Yes. And it does. It, it does drain paychecks (laughs) . Um, a lot of young adults kind of fall into, I feel like, the, the trap of, you know, organic, right? The kind of that marketing trap, right? Of things have to be a novelty food or specialty or, um, organic in order to be healthy, right? Um, uh, for example, I have a nephew. He is 23 years old. He is a young professional, um, very busy career. He talks about the fact that, you know, he has long hours, and he's tired when he gets home, and he doesn't have time to cook or do anything like that. So what ends up happening? He eats out all the time. He will buy these huge salads, right, from store, but he'll buy two and three of them from, you know, an app or something like that. And I try to tell him, you know, and we tr- and we actually, we map it out together. If you were to go to the grocery store, use the same ingredients, you would save a ton of money. I mean, he probably spends just on those salads alone-...

[36:47] Speaker 3: every week, probably over $200-

[36:49] Speaker 2: Oh.

[36:49] Speaker 3: ... because he buys mul- he buys multiple salads at a time. Right? But this is th- but this is not uncommon. Right? This is- this happens with young professionals. They are tired, they're exhausted, and they wanna order out. A lot of it too can be sometime- sometimes comfort, right? A c- a comfort level. Um, they eat out because it's something that's social. Right? They're gonna eat out with their friends. Right? So it's something that's social. Um, or they feel like, "Okay. I had a long day at work, and so I'm gonna reward myself." And how do we reward my- ourselves? With a big meal. But if it happens multiple times, you know, throughout the week, you're spending, by that point, over 50% of your budget is going towards eating out. So I like to tell, you know, young people, if you would just ta- again, plan your meals. We kinda talked about this before. Right? Plan your meals ahead of time.

[37:44] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[37:44] Speaker 3: Go to the grocery store, right, and choose the ingredients that are in those favorite meals that you buy and prep it, you would save a ton of money, a ton of money. And I don't want them to fall into the trap that they have to eat organic and have these novelty, you know, type of foods all the time. Sometimes just eating healthy is simple, it's basic, and that's okay. Right? You don't have to experiment and have different foods all the time. Stick to what you like, stick to the basics, and prepare your food.

[38:18] Speaker 2: Oh. I totally agree with that.

[38:20] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[38:20] Speaker 2: I- I- I was just thinking to myself-

[38:21] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[38:22] Speaker 2: ... back in the day-

[38:23] Speaker 3: Yes.

[38:23] Speaker 2: ... way back when, I hate to say way-

[38:25] Speaker 3: Right.

[38:25] Speaker 2: ... back when, uh, when-

[38:27] Speaker 3: Well.

[38:27] Speaker 2: ... I was that young executive, uh-

[38:29] Speaker 3: Yes.

[38:30] Speaker 2: ... me.

[38:30] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[38:31] Speaker 2: Um, I would stop through a drive-through on my way in. (laughs)

[38:35] Speaker 3: Yeah. Right.

[38:35] Speaker 2: Uh, at lunchtime, it was always going out somewhere.

[38:38] Speaker 3: Right.

[38:39] Speaker 2: And then, um, it was a- after workout, it was to dinner somewhere.

[38:43] Speaker 3: Yes.

[38:43] Speaker 2: And I probably ruined my workout because I ate crappy food for dinner or ate-

[38:47] Speaker 3: Right.

[38:47] Speaker 2: ... too much food for dinner 'cause it was like a sumo wrestler and then I- that's what put me off to sleep. (laughs)

[38:51] Speaker 3: Yes! Yes! It's true. And don't even- don't even get me started about coffee. I mean, I fell into this trap, you know, always getting coffee before work. I started to make my coffee because once you start averaging out the cost of a Starbucks coffee every single day, you are shocked, you know. Like, "Oh my gosh. I'm spending all this money on a Starbucks coffee when I can make it at home." Right?

[39:14] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[39:14] Speaker 3: And save a ton of money. So I think, and, you know, I tell him that. He doesn't listen.

[39:22] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[39:22] Speaker 3: But I guarantee you, once he starts to become a real, real adult and have real, real bills and things like that, he will pay attention to what I said. So... (laughs)

[39:33] Speaker 2: When he looks at his bank account in a couple years and go, "Why am I not further than when I thought?"

[39:37] Speaker 3: Right. Yes. (laughs)

[39:37] Speaker 2: But here's a f- here's a funny thing. We hear about the, oh, you can save by doing Starbucks and all that stuff.

[39:42] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[39:43] Speaker 2: Well, (clears throat) take the Costco pods. You can get... I forgot. The Summit coffee, the one with the yellow-

[39:48] Speaker 3: Yep.

[39:48] Speaker 2: ... lid on it.

[39:49] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[39:49] Speaker 2: Um, you can get 100 of those or 110 of them for $36.

[39:54] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[39:55] Speaker 2: Okay?

[39:55] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[39:55] Speaker 2: So you're looking at 36 cents to 45 cents each.

[40:02] Speaker 3: Right. Right.

[40:03] Speaker 2: You could get a creamer for five bucks.

[40:05] Speaker 3: Right.

[40:05] Speaker 2: And, you know, you're in a position where for 45 cents or so, 50 cents, you've got your coffee.

[40:12] Speaker 3: Right. Right.

[40:12] Speaker 2: But then you go to Starbucks and pay five for it. (laughs)

[40:15] Speaker 3: Yes. Exactly. You know, food is one of those things that... and, and budgeting for food is one of th- one of those things that people really forget about. Right? They don't think about it. They think about, "Okay. Well, I'm budgeting for a vacation." Right? Or, "I'm budgeting for clothes budget," or something like that. But people don't always consider food being a huge contributor to cost savings. Food is constant. Right? We're always going to need food. Right? So it's so important to start budgeting out, you know. I'll say as a young person, right? Start budgeting as a young person now so that it gets easier over time. Things like vacations, things like clothes. Those things you don't need. Right? They're indispensable to a degree. Right? You don't have to go on a vacation. You don't have to buy that new dress. But food, you need it. You need it to live. Right? You need it to survive.

[41:04] Speaker 3: So it's something that, like I said, just really, people, I think, should really start to consider and take it more seriously when it comes to budgeting.

[41:12] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[41:13] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[41:13] Speaker 2: Is it, um... I just- I'm gonna read from Jessica in Ohio. She just says, "You know what? I didn't realize this but I went through two 40-packs of water at Costco on a monthly basis." And I said, "That's..." and she goes, "It's great. I'm getting all my water."

[41:28] Speaker 3: Right.

[41:29] Speaker 2: "But I just bought a Brita."

[41:31] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[41:31] Speaker 2: "And now I'm saving $9 a month." (laughs)

[41:34] Speaker 3: Yep.

[41:35] Speaker 2: And that-

[41:35] Speaker 3: Yup. Yup. Yup (laughs) .

[41:36] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[41:36] Speaker 3: Yes. Exactly. Yes.

[41:39] Speaker 2: So-

[41:40] Speaker 3: See? You don't have to live like that. Yeah.

[41:40] Speaker 2: ... the- the- the interesting thing about saving money when it comes to eating well, it's just the little things that make the difference.

[41:46] Speaker 3: Little things. Very little things.

[41:47] Speaker 2: Yeah. So-

[41:48] Speaker 3: Because the little things actually add up, you know, over time. Right? So yeah. Absolutely.

[41:53] Speaker 2: And it- and- and it's interesting. You almost started answering my next question which is, you know, most common food spending traps for busy adults is basically eating out, doing the coffee, and all that kind of stuff.

[42:02] Speaker 3: All that stuff. Yeah. And then buying those ingredients that you know that you're probably not going to cook with. Right? You're buying ingredients for that person that, um, isn't stressed. Right? Isn't busy. Instead of buying the ingredients that... Buying ingredients and planning meals around when you may not have time. Right? A lot of people plan meals around when they're, "Okay. I'm gonna be off of work today. I'm gonna feel good." But then you don't use those ingredients so then things go to waste. Right?

[42:37] Speaker 3: We have-

[42:37] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[42:37] Speaker 3: ... to start kind of reframing our mind and start planning meals and buying things when we are maybe not having the best day, when we are stressed, when we are, you know, tired and, and don't have time to prepare. So yeah. So things like that. And it's- it's... The whole thing, I think, um...... it, it just all kind of is this one big circle, right? Like you said. It's, it's-

[43:00] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[43:00] Speaker 3: ... not falling into those traps of eating out all the time, buying those ingredients that you know that you're gonna cook with, right? Not the ones that you're aspiring to cook with, (laughs) you know, like one day. Um-

[43:12] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[43:12] Speaker 3: And just planning for, I would say, like the worst days. Like plan for those worst days. Those, all those things help and, and save money in the long run.

[43:19] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[43:20] Speaker 3: Yeah.

[43:20] Speaker 2: No, I, I, I think that's great. And, um, I'm just... This... Ma- many people might think I'm weird, but I actually think cutting and cooking things and stuff like that is a stress reliever-

[43:30] Speaker 3: Yes.

[43:30] Speaker 2: ... because it allows me to focus on something else other than my work.

[43:34] Speaker 3: Right. Right.

[43:34] Speaker 2: Uh, and that's, that's a wonderful thing. And yes, I'm married. I actually do a lot of the cooking at the house and a lot of it has to do with that. Um, so, uh-

[43:42] Speaker 3: Yes. Right.

[43:43] Speaker 2: I, I think, uh, I, I just... And some of... Some of you are like, "Oh my God, I can't believe he's not..."

[43:47] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[43:47] Speaker 2: But, uh... (laughs)

[43:48] Speaker 3: No, I've heard that before. Yep.

[43:50] Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. You know what? To be able to chop up, cut up things, shred things, cook things and all that stuff, to focus on something else makes a big difference.

[43:58] Speaker 3: Absolutely.

[43:58] Speaker 2: Allows you to decompress. (laughs)

[44:00] Speaker 3: Yeah, it can be a big stress reliever. Just cooking in general, I think, can be a great stress reliever. Um, yeah.

[44:06] Speaker 2: So before we go...

[44:08] Speaker 3: Yes.

[44:08] Speaker 2: Uh, one, I'd like you to share, um, what's the best way people can get ahold of you so you can help them?

[44:14] Speaker 3: Sure. Absolutely.

[44:15] Speaker 2: And then two, if you're thinking of just one thing as a theme for this year, just saving money and eating well, what would it be?

[44:21] Speaker 3: Okay. So everyone, you can reach me at hello@niarennix, N-I-A-R-E-N-N-I-X, uh, .com. And I think the biggest kind of takeaway from this is to understand that you're, you're not behind, right? You're not behind. You are okay, right? You are... You can save money in a variety of different ways. Be kind to yourself and know that it is not a sprint, right? It is a marathon, right? And so make sure that you, like I said in the very beginning, when you go to the grocery store, you have a plan in place, right? You have a list in place. And that you're shopping for ingredients that you're actually going to use, that you're looking into your cupboards, you're looking into your refrigerator and you're looking at the foods you already have so you don't have to go to the store and purchase foods that you already have in your cupboard. So I would say that is really the biggest kind of takeaways from all of this.

[45:28] Speaker 2: Um, Nia, I wanna, uh, add one thing. We did a little poll and kind of-

[45:32] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[45:32] Speaker 2: ... said, "Hey, just let us know what you spend on food, whether it be eating out or preparing things-"

[45:36] Speaker 3: Right.

[45:36] Speaker 2: "... uh, on, on a weekly basis." And the interesting part of it, some of it, um, was about $100 a week.

[45:45] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

[45:46] Speaker 2: And some of-

[45:46] Speaker 3: Good.

[45:46] Speaker 2: ... it was $1,500 a week.

[45:49] Speaker 3: Wow. Uh-huh.

[45:49] Speaker 2: And, uh, and I know... I, I, I went, "Wow," too. And I just like-

[45:52] Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.

[45:52] Speaker 2: ... I said if you're spending that much every single week, you've got to be eating out a lot or buying some-

[45:58] Speaker 3: Yes.

[45:58] Speaker 2: ... really horrendous, nice stuff.

[46:00] Speaker 3: Right.

[46:01] Speaker 2: The reality is if you think about that, if you were just to cut that by a third-

[46:04] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[46:05] Speaker 2: ... you could have a really nice new car.

[46:07] Speaker 3: You could have a nice new car, a nice new a lot of things actually. (laughs)

[46:11] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[46:11] Speaker 3: If you cut it by a third, absolutely.

[46:12] Speaker 2: Yeah. And you know what? Your 401 (k) would do a lot better. (laughs)

[46:16] Speaker 3: It would. It would. It would. But those are those things. Yeah.

[46:19] Speaker 2: Yeah. So think about it. Y- you know Nia-

[46:22] Speaker 3: Those...

[46:22] Speaker 2: ... has come up with some wonderful things that you could do to reduce and eliminate costs while eating well. And she's giving you a wonderful tip. So this is like ah, ah, aha, ah, ah, ah, aha. (laughs)

[46:32] Speaker 3: Yes. (laughs)

[46:35] Speaker 2: So-

[46:35] Speaker 3: I hope everyone has s- has seen themselves in some of these, you know, these tips and these stories. So, yeah.

[46:41] Speaker 2: Yeah. You know what? Actually, I think there's a lot of people that go, "Yeah, that's me. That's me."

[46:45] Speaker 3: Right, right, right. "That's me. That's me."

[46:46] Speaker 2: "True."

[46:46] Speaker 3: Exactly. Thank you so much. (laughs)

[46:47] Speaker 2: (laughs) That's what I kept thinking, "That's me. That's what I used to be." So-

[46:50] Speaker 3: Right.

[46:51] Speaker 2: ... Nia, I wanna thank you so much, Nia Rennick. Thank you for being here. This has been wonderful.

[46:56] Speaker 3: Thank you.

[46:56] Speaker 2: Uh, folks, stick with us and we'll be right back with more Saving With Steve.

[46:59] Speaker 4: (upbeat music) More expert advice for having a happier relationship with money still to come on the Saving With Steve show. Don't let your financial woes keep you up at night and prevent you from living a life of financial and personal freedom. Hi, I'm Steve Sexton, host of the Saving With Steve show. We're gonna be talking about the ins and outs of money, those financial issues that could be costing you thousands of dollars, causing stress, keeping you up at night. We're gonna talk about money, tax reduction, saving more, spending less, your investments, risk management, retirement, and everything associated with you having a healthier, happy relationship with money. So if you've ever dreamed of living a life of financial and personal freedom, you owe it to yourself and your family to tune into the Saving With Steve show. Join me, Steve Sexton, on the Saving With Steve show as we talk about everything under the sun when it comes to money.

[47:57] Speaker 4: To learn more about the show, visit savingwithsteve.us. That's savingwithsteve.us, savingwithsteve.us. We'll see you soon. (upbeat music) Welcome back to the show that is here to help you achieve your financial goals. It's the Saving With Steve show. Now here's your host, Steve Sexton

[48:18] Speaker 2: Hey, folks. Welcome back to the Saving With Steve show. I truly wanna thank you for tuning in and I appreciate you sharing this with your friends and family and associates, uh, about this show. All the replays are available at savingwithsteve.us. If you're enjoying the stories of helpful insight on Saving With Steve, I encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss a show. Check out a few of our affiliates at UK Health Radio, BBS Radio, Talk Radio New York City, E360 TV, Las Vegas TV Network, AM/FM 247. All these networks are dedicated to empowering you to solve problems, uplift your spirit, and live a life of personal and financial freedom. Hey, you can always go to the savingwithsteve.us and check out all the last, um, guest GIFs. You can... Oh, geez.Wonderful stuff. Uh, if you're into dating, travel, the whole shot, it's all there. I do want to thank Nia Rennick for sharing that information with us about reducing cost food and still eating well.

[49:12] Speaker 2: One of the things I want to share with you today is this. Many people are loving the fact that precious metals, gold, silver, platinum have increased in value almost 75, 80, 85% in the last year. And a lot of people are trying to figure out, hey, how is that occurring? Why is that occurring? Well, couple things. One, up until December 1st of 2025 from February 22nd to 2025 what was happening is the Federal Reserve was doing what's called a quantitative tightening. Which means they were allowing bonds to mature and then they would take the money, give it back to the Fed, and the Fed would turn it back to the Treasury. Thereby reducing the, the, uh, uh, the cash in the financial system to limit inflation. Now, Th- December 1st hits when the program ends and then banks, they start needing money and so they go to the overnight window or the funding window to $10 billion a day. So you're seeing a lot of money going to this system.

[50:15] Speaker 2: If it continues, you'll likely see an increase in inflation. And by the way, we're already seeing that. Value dollar is going down. Value dollar goes down, foreign countries start buying more precious metals to keep up with inflation. You do as well, okay? And you also see a little uncertainty which creates that as well, so we got an uncertain world and we're seeing those things go up. That is the reason why. You know, you look at gold and say, "Hey, why are people doing it?" It's a perceived safety asset when things are uncertain. Also you look at things like the 10-year treasury. If the 10-year treasury is at four or above four, you really want to start having conversations with your financial advisor. Why? Because as that, uh, 10-year treasury starts getting over four, 4.2, 4.3, you start seeing more pressure put on portfolios. And when you start seeing more pressure put on portfolios, hey that's when you see things decline. And that's what we saw in 2022.

[51:16] Speaker 2: So don't let history repeat itself. Start having those conversations. Folks, hey, if you need help, concerned about what's going on there from a risk standpoint or just looking to plan the future, you can always go to, you know what, Saving with Steve, the website, or you can call S- uh, Sexton Advisory Group at 1-800-560-2611. We have investment professionals that manage money, tax professionals to help people reduce and eliminate taxes, planning to go along with it. And with that, I want to thank you all for joining us today right here on Saving with Steve. I wish you a safe, happy future and we'll look forward to seeing you next time right here on Saving with Steve.

[51:57] Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us for the Saving with Steve show hosted by Steve Sexton. To learn more about the show and how to become a guest or sponsor, visit savingwithsteve.us. That's savingwithsteve.us. Join us again next time as we continue to talk about everything under the sun that relates to you having a healthier, happier relationship with money. This has been the Saving with Steve show hosted by Steve Sexton.