Deinfluencing Summer

Summary

Frugal Friends Podcast: Detailed Summary of "Deinfluencing Summer" (May 30, 2025)

Hosted by Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni, "Deinfluencing Summer" delves into the rampant spending trends fueled by social media influences during the summer season. The episode meticulously examines how viral trends in travel, shopping, and flash sales exploit cognitive biases, leading listeners to overspend. Jen and Jill offer actionable strategies to regain financial control and embrace frugality without sacrificing enjoyment.

---

1. Introduction to Deinfluencing Summer (02:07 - 04:32)

Jill:
"Welcome to Frugal Friends Podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and live a richer life."

Jen:
"We're de-influencing all the viral trends of summer, shifting our focus from mere theoretical discussions to real-world examples prevalent on social media."

The hosts set the stage for dissecting how summer trends influence spending, categorizing their analysis into three main areas: travel, viral shopping trends, and summer sales.

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2. The Surge in Summer Spending (04:32 - 07:30)

Jen:
"Americans spent over $200 billion on summer in 2024."

Jill:
"From vacations to sales, this massive expenditure highlights where our money leaks are occurring."

They highlight a 3.5% increase in travel spending from 2023 to 2024 and an 118% jump compared to 2019, emphasizing the post-pandemic surge in travel and retail activities.

---

3. Cognitive Biases Driving Overspending (07:30 - 17:00)

Availability Heuristic:
Frequent exposure to luxurious travel destinations on social media makes them appear more accessible, regardless of actual feasibility.

Projection Bias:
People often overestimate the enjoyment they'll derive from anticipated experiences like vacations, leading to overspending based on dreams rather than practical needs.

Nostalgia and Escapism:
Travel content evokes longing and emotional necessity, presenting vacations as solutions to personal problems, which may not be entirely realistic.

Jen underscores how influencers create an illusion of affordability without considering individual budgets or family dynamics, making such portrayals misleading.

Jen:
"These visuals are so elaborate and luxury-focused, giving the idea that this is the vacation everyone should aspire to, without addressing the reality of personal finances."

Jill:
"Family vacations are often not the relaxation they're portrayed to be; they're more like work trips, especially with children involved."

---

4. The Role of Social Media and Influencers (17:00 - 29:50)

Jen and Jill discuss how social media algorithms amplify these trends, making them omnipresent and harder to ignore.

Jen:
"The repeated imagery and narratives on social platforms condition our brains to perceive these expensive vacations and trendy products as standard, pushing us to spend more."

Jill:
"Influencers often receive sponsorships or free products to showcase, blurring the lines between genuine recommendations and paid promotions."

The hosts highlight the influence of cognitive biases such as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and social proof, which compel individuals to conform to perceived norms and trends to feel connected and accepted.

---

5. Strategies for Deinfluencing (29:50 - 39:54)

Local Tourism:
Jen suggests becoming a tourist in your own city—exploring local attractions, museums, and activities that are often free or low-cost.

Intentional Spending:
Jill emphasizes shopping with purpose, ensuring purchases align with long-term needs and values rather than impulse driven by trends.

Mindful Consumption:
Both hosts advocate for recognizing and countering cognitive biases by pausing before making purchases and assessing true needs versus influenced desires.

Jen:
"Instead of endlessly chasing viral trends, focus on what truly brings value and joy to your life without breaking the bank."

Jill:
"Recognizing these biases helps us make informed decisions, ensuring our spending habits reflect our actual priorities and not external pressures."

---

6. Viral Shopping Trends: A Case Study (20:06 - 36:07)

Viral Items Discussed:

• Lobster Beaded Bags:
  A trend that became overly saturated, leading to widespread purchases despite questionable aesthetics and functionality.

• Capri Pants and Other Over-Hyped Products:
  Items promoted as "must-haves" but often impractical, leading to regretful spending.

Cognitive Biases at Play:

• Bandwagon Effect:
  People buy trending items to feel part of a community or trend.

• Scarcity and Urgency:
  Limited stock notifications and flash sales create a sense of necessity to purchase immediately.

Jen:
"These beaded bags were never my favorite, but repeated exposure through influencers made me reconsider their value and aesthetic."

Jill:
"The need to belong drives us to acquire items we might not need, simply because they're popular or endorsed by trusted figures."

---

7. Tackling Flash Sales and Limited-Time Offers (36:07 - 46:33)

The hosts dissect the tactics behind flash sales like Amazon Prime Day, highlighting how urgency bias and hyperbolic discount framing manipulate consumer behavior.

Jill:
"When influencers rapidly present deals, our brains don't have enough time to process whether we truly need the items, leading to impulsive purchases."

Jen:
"Recognizing the fight or flight response triggered by limited-time offers helps us resist unnecessary spending sprees."

Solutions Proposed:

• Delay Purchases:
  Implementing a waiting period before buying can reduce impulse buys.

• Environmental Awareness:
  Understanding the hidden costs of returns, such as environmental impact and resource waste, discourages hasty purchases.

Jill:
"Turning off notifications and taking breaks from sales-centric platforms can significantly reduce the urge to overspend."

---

8. Conclusion: Embracing Frugality Without Sacrifice (46:33 - End)

In their closing remarks, Jen and Jill reinforce the importance of intentional living and financial mindfulness.

Jen:
"Step away, recalibrate, and experience reality without the constant barrage of influenced spending prompts."

Jill:
"We hope your summer is enjoyable and free from the stress of unnecessary financial decisions fueled by manipulative marketing."

They encourage listeners to share their own experiences and strategies for managing finances, promoting a community of support and shared knowledge.

Final Takeaway:
By understanding and countering the cognitive biases exploited by viral trends and social media influencers, listeners can reclaim control over their spending habits, ensuring their financial decisions align with their personal values and goals.

---

Notable Quotes

• Jen at 08:37:
  "What's happening here is something called projection bias, where we can imagine ourselves enjoying something more than we actually might."

• Jill at 10:41:
  "Travel content creators create stories around destinations even when they don't necessarily exist, making the experience feel emotionally necessary."

• Jen at 24:01:
  "There is a part of FOMO going on here. That fear of missing out is alive and well and very real."

• Jill at 33:19:
  "We just hope that summer is an enjoyable season for you, not one that leaves you feeling manipulated into spending money you don't need."

---

Key Insights and Takeaways

1. Excessive Summer Spending:
   The summer season sees a significant spike in spending, particularly in travel and retail sectors, influenced heavily by social media trends.

2. Cognitive Biases:

   • Availability Heuristic: Frequent exposure to certain images or information makes them seem more common and attainable.
   • Projection Bias: Overestimating the pleasure derived from anticipated experiences.
   • Social Proof & FOMO: The desire to fit in and avoid missing out drives impulsive purchases.
   • Scarcity and Urgency: Limited-time offers pressure consumers into immediate decisions.

3. Influencers' Role:
   Social media influencers often shape spending habits through curated content and sponsored promotions, sometimes blurring the line between genuine endorsements and paid advertisements.

4. Deinfluencing Strategies:

   • Local Exploration: Engaging with nearby attractions can offer satisfaction without excessive spending.
   • Intentional Shopping: Prioritizing purchases that align with long-term needs over impulsive buys.
   • Mindfulness: Taking breaks from social media and reassessing spending triggers helps in making more informed financial decisions.

5. Environmental and Financial Impact of Returns:
   Impulse purchases not only strain personal finances but also have broader environmental consequences due to increased shipping and waste from returns.

6. Community Support:
   Sharing experiences and strategies fosters a supportive environment for listeners aiming to adopt frugal habits and resist overspending pressures.

---

Final Thoughts

"Deinfluencing Summer" serves as a crucial guide for listeners navigating the challenges of maintaining financial discipline amidst pervasive social media influences. By dissecting the psychological underpinnings of consumer behavior and offering practical solutions, Jen and Jill empower their audience to make conscious, values-driven financial decisions. This episode not only highlights the pervasive nature of influencer-driven spending trends but also provides actionable steps to counteract these pressures, fostering a community of informed and financially resilient individuals.

Transcript

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[Jill]

D Influencing Summer welcome to the Frugal Friends Podcast where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and live a richer life.

[Jen]

Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.

[Jill]

Welcome to Frugal Friends. My name is Jen. My name is Jill and today we are de influencing all of the viral trends of summer.

[Jen]

This is one of my favorite little series we've been doing because we talk about being able to de influence ourselves. But in the past We've kind of talked about it in this theoretical kind of way about the things. You're probably seeing how marketers do things. And all of that is still true and accurate. But now we're actually digging in and showing examples of where we're seeing this on the Internet, on social media. And it becomes so glaringly acute to realize, whoa, this is everywhere when you kind of hear some of the compilations that we've done. So I'm excited to get into it.

[Jill]

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[Jen]

Frugalfriendspodcast.com capitalize all right, let's get into how we're de influencing some of the viral trends of summer. Looking at this from three categories.

[Jill]

So first, let's talk about the categories and why we picked them. So we're gonna talk about stuff. Travel and sales could be on both, but between vacations, sales, and just having more time to shop in general, Americans spent over $200 billion on summer in 2024.

[Jen]

And that's a massive number. That kind of makes us be like, okay, but how much of that am I responsible for? Most of us saw an increase of 3 and a half percent on our travel spending from 2023 to 24 to 24 and a 100% jump compared to the pre pandemic levels in 2019. So we are traveling so much more than we did pre preventive. Alex.

[Jill]

When I saw the numbers on what people were spending on travel in 2019 compared to 2024, it wasn't just a hundred percent jump, it's 118% jump, which is, wow, we're spending more than double on summer travel than we did when it was at its height in 2019. Yeah.

[Jen]

So maybe the three and a half percent is just keeping up with inflation, but the 118, 2019 to now.

[Jill]

And so some of. And social media is a big part of that. Retail was not left out behind. That's always a little less because people are compensating with their, they're spending more on travel so they cut back in retail. But still a 2.3% year over year increase. And that is heavily driven by like more affordable things, lower cost things that are exacerbated by sales. Memorial Day, 4th of July Prime Day, which is now an actual holiday, and then back to school. So we are focusing on these three biggest leaks to your budget. Travel, viral shopping trends and summer sales. First up, vacations. We bought a vacation house in Mexico a few years ago that we try to come to as much as humanly possible. If you want to be drinking aperol.

[Davey]

Spritzes on the Amalfi coast this summer.

[Jill]

I have the most insane travel deal.

[Jen]

I can't gatekeep this. This is one of the best family friendly vacation spots without having to leave the country.

[Jill]

If you're looking for the perfect girls vacation trip this year, then I've got just the place for you. Day four of our New England summer vacation.

[Jen]

I always talk about moving to Florida.

[Jill]

And this is why I'm just on the beach.

[Jen]

I have my burger here.

[Jill]

Beautiful.

[Jen]

I just woke up at the beach.

[Jill]

House and I want to show you guys because it's my favorite place on earth. All right, so there is no shortage of inundation of people on social media telling you about the vacations they're on. Whether they're domestic or abroad, they're going to have the same basic setup. There's a beach, there's relaxation, there's, ah, this is my favorite place in the world. I love it.

[Jen]

Yeah. And we are showing that clip on YouTube. So if you want to kind of see the imagery along with it, definitely head over to our YouTube channel. But one of the things that stands out to me is you can hear what they're saying and be like, yeah, but what kinds of visuals are they giving with this? And all of it is pretty elaborate, very luxury. And so kind of giving this idea of this is the type of vacation that you should be having. And some, some of it is saying affordable, but we don't know to who, we don't know how. And so then we can start to think like, this is what an affordable vacation should look like.

[Jill]

Yeah. It's not taking into account variables like budgets and how many kids you have and that a family vacation is not a vacation, it's a trip. It's work.

[Jen]

You're still parenting, right?

[Jill]

And you still, like, look at it and you're like, oh my gosh, like, if I was here, then maybe the trip wouldn't feel like work, maybe would feel like luxury. And that's just not the case. So for, for each of these trends that gets us to spend more money, we're going to talk about the cognitive biases in our brains that these social media videos target to get us to spend money we otherwise wouldn't have or to up our spending in places that we do really want to spend and end up then overspending and regretting it. So the first one is the availability heuristic. So for this one in travel, the availability heuristic, it freak like frequent exposure to travel destinations, whether it's fancy, you know, Bali, Paris, Tulum, or even just like domestic beach places, it makes them feel more accessible even if they're far away or expensive. So even if they're not easily accessible via travel or budget, the more you see it, the more accessible it becomes to you. And so sometimes on social media, the availability heuristic is really good for, for us, for inspirational content, especially in the financial world, we love to use this bias to just drown you with like, debt payoff stories and budgeting hacks and successes and saving money. The more you see it, the more accessible it becomes. They use the same concept in travel to make these destinations feel more available.

[Jen]

What's also happening here is something called projection bias, which is where we can imagine ourselves enjoying something more than we actually might. So overestimating how good it might actually end up feeling later. And this happens a lot, particularly with travel. And even other types of research can even indicate that we will often get more dopamine from the anticipation of the trip than how much enjoyment we get on the trip itself. So there's a lot of things at play here. But that's another draw that can happen is when we are really projecting how great that trip is going to be. And it's not helped by the fact that social media is encouraging you to think that life will be so much better if you book this.

[Jill]

Yeah. Another one is nostalgia and escapism. Obviously escapism is like textbook for travel content, beautiful visuals, and storytelling evoke a longing for either past travels. And we always have this like rose colored glasses when we're thinking about past travel. We don't remember the bad things, like how your toddler was crying in the middle of the night. I actually do remember those ones. But we don't remember like the things that stank. We only remember like the really great things. So it uses that and then making the experience feel more emotionally necessary. That's escapism. So travel contenters. Contenters, Travel content creators will create stories around these destinations even when they don't necessarily exist. The stories, not the destinations, to make them feel like a, like a place that's going to solve your problems. Like you're not happy right now and this place will make you happier because that's what happened to me. I was unhappy and, and then I traveled to all these places. And it's not the end all, be all. It's not gonna solve every one of your problems, but it's gonna solve probably 80% of them. Right. They're not being crazy when they're creating this, but they're being just outside of reality enough to make you believe it.

[Jen]

Yeah. Here's the thing. Most people are not going on lavish vacations. They are not spending an extreme amount of money every single summer. Ooh, hot girl summer in Europe. Ooh, hot girl summer in Mexico. Ooh, hot girl summer in the Amalfi coast. I have $16 in my bank account. It is hot girl summer at Dollar Tree this year.

[Jill]

Yeah, I would, I would dare to say that it is mostly the content creators that are doing this. And it's the thing that we see it so much because it's their job. Like it's their job to be either travel content creators or just like standard influencers, lifestyle influencers. And so they're taking these. Either small, like these, I don't know, I won't say small. But domestic trips, I saw some of these even in the mashup that we included. Clips were actually sponsored so they didn't have to pay for their stay. Otherwise they're doing it. A lot of it is a write off because they get to create content while on the trip. So it's not like most of us are not taking trips like this. I cannot tell you the last time I personally went to Europe. I don't remember. I think I was in college and that was a long time ago. So I love to do a little staycation. But yeah, like most people are not doing this even though it looks like they are.

[Jen]

Well, and even, even a lot of these influencers, for some of them, it's not even as regular as it might seem. We're just seeing so many influencers talking about this. But even if we do go to Europe, because I did actually last year and it was fantastic. But that's a once every five years type of vacation that we get to do. And so if you were to be following my Instagram account alongside other people's, you might think, oh, this gets to happen all the time. But I think we're really trying to de influence, bring us back down to normal life and recognize we're not all doing this all of the time.

[Jill]

Yes.

[Jen]

So instead be a tourist in your own city. Consider doing a spa day at your local spa facility. Go to museums, get free passes from your library, go see a movie, go do some of the fun things that you don't do very regularly in your area as a way to really enjoy summer.

[Jill]

Yeah. And if you do want to take a vacation, make it like a drivable staycation. I think back to when I'm thinking like nostalgia. I'm thinking back to trips. When I was a kid, we never flew anywhere. We would always drive and it was always like small. We would like stay in a nice hotel cause we didn't have to drive. But even it wasn't like top notch for me, it was nice. It was probably like, I don't know, like a best step above a best Western or something. I always thought it was like luxury because it wasn't my home. And your kids are thinking the same thing. It doesn't have. We don't have to live on this like lifestyle inflation, you know, treadmill and just get better and better and better. When we think about vacations, like we can do Europe but like again, make it at every 5 to 10 year thing. Start saving now. Decide how. Decide where you want to go and how often you want to go. Like totally separate from what you're seeing on social media. Because most by the time it's on social media, it's probably oversaturated and not that great anyways. So yeah, I've never been to the Amalfi coast, but I can only imagine how crowded it is in summer.

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[Jill]

So moving on to viral trends.

[Jen]

Oh, this one gets a little bit juicy.

[Jill]

This is my 12th attempt trying to.

[Jen]

Find the viral lobster beaded bag.

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Capri pants are Going to be absolutely everywhere this summer.

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5 trending summer items to pick up right now.

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Bestie boo. I just created the perfect list of things that you need for hot girl summer. I'm not a gatekeeper and these are things that I love that either make my life easier or make me feel cut or both. Six reasons why this gadget is this summer's hottest product. You know, when we started outlining this episode, it was originally going to just be about the viral lobster beaded bags. Because I was seeing all these people looking for these, this specific lobster bag at T.J. maxx and Marshall's. And they were like this woman who said she was on her 12th store. She went further. I still think this was in April and I still don't think she's found the lobster beet. I think she made it to like store 18 and she's like, like going to other stores and it's probably not.

[Jen]

Even on trend anymore.

[Jill]

No, I mean it's so that's the point. Like these viral trends are trends and Lord only knows why anything goes viral. But these are all like you're going to be hearing so many. Like, this is the must have of summer. These are like summer dress haul like this. And those viral beaded bags were not good looking. They did not look good. I made a mashup of just beaded bag tiktoks too. And it's not good. And these people at the end, one of these girls, and you couldn't hear it, like she didn't say it out loud. It was just like a note on the video. She's like, I don't, I don't know if this is just like TJ Maxx blindness, but this is so cute. And then on the video it said it was absolutely TJ Maxx blindness. This is not cute. But that's how I see so many people. I can like, I see so many people with these things that I've seen on TikTok and Instagram as trends and they're not cute. If you, if you're not familiar that it's a trend on social media. I look at them and I'm like, why did, why do you have that? What got you to buy a tiny shell bag that you have to carry the whole time? You can't put it on your arm. You can't put it down. It's going to fall over. Like, if you open it, all your things are gonna fall out. But. But here's the thing. I watched so many of these videos, and by the end, I was like, actually, the lime one's kind of cute.

[Jen]

That happened to me, too, with one of the. I think they were. It might have been seashells. And to hear me say it out loud is a little bit.

[Jill]

Right?

[Jen]

What? And it had these, like. It had, like, dangly fringe. It was. My perception of what looked good slowly shifted over.

[Jill]

It was wild. We were trying to debunk the thing, and our minds were slowly getting roped into it.

[Jen]

Yeah. I mean, bell bottoms, right? Am I right?

[Jill]

Do you own bell bottoms?

[Jen]

No, but. But you know what? I might end up. Because you just get worn down.

[Jill]

That's the thing. When you see in your algorithm, if you watch something, it shows you more of it, right? So if you see it over and over and over, you will just naturally start to be attracted to it.

[Jen]

So here's what's happening. There is a part of FOMO going on here. That fear of missing out is alive and well and very real. And it's kind of what we're describing. Once you start to associate yourself with a certain group, you feel like you are like this person or these collection of people. This is what they're doing. Our sense of belonging kind of starts to take over our desire for connection, and we don't want to be on the outskirts of that. We want to be right there in it, feeling like we're riding the wave, too. What you like, I like. We're having fun. We're all laughing together. So I'm getting a lobster bag.

[Jill]

So I'm getting a lot. I'll add the bandwagon effect to that, too.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

That. It's just we want to be connected to each other. Right. And we watch for the people. And I think that was what I was seeing a lot of when I was looking at these trends, is that I was interested in the people more than the stuff. And then the interest in the stuff came as a result. And I saw so many people go in for these lobster bags that were very hard to find. They just went in because it was hard to find. They wanted to see if they could get it. They bought it. If they couldn't find it, they came out with other stuff or other beaded bags that were, again, not cute.

[Jen]

So a lot of them, they feel like you're friends. It Feels like you're coming along on a shopping trip with a friend, and don't we all just want that?

[Jill]

And these women are so likable and relatable, and so you want to root for them and. And be part of that journey. So the next bias that this is playing into is social proof. So when a product has hundreds or thousands of glowing reviews, dupe tutorials, influencer messages, it signals that it's safe and smart to buy. And also the comment section. The comment section can be dangerous, too. You're seeing. Just ordered mine. Oh, my gosh, I love it. Stuff like that. When you see that, then. And I'm thinking back to the fragrance video and the makeup video that was in the mashup. Like, you could just have not even used it. And you're just doing. You're an influencer doing a video on it. And then people can come up in the comments and do the selling for you. And you like all of the people who like it, and anybody who doesn't like it, you kind of bury that comment. Like, that's how this thing works. That's how influencers get social proof on their videos. And we just cannot trust influencer social proof anymore because people are doing this for money. Like, that's what all of this is. I don't know what the Marshalls thing was. I think that was really just the FOMO aspect of it, because you can't really monetize Marshalls. But people with the target fines and all of the. You know, the Capri pants, you can link to your ltk, to all kinds of Capri pants, which I was shocked that capri pants left because I have long legs and, like, a lot of pants are just capris on me. And I was a. Upset, actually, to know that they had left, but pleased to know that they've come back.

[Jen]

They've never been my favorite, but. All right. It's helpful if you're gonna, like, wade through a river.

[Jill]

Right? I never choose a Capri Pant. The Capri pant choose me.

[Jen]

They're not. Yeah, they're not gonna keep you warm. They're not gonna keep. They're not gonna keep you cool. Who knows what they. Who knows what they do?

[Jill]

But they're back for summer.

[Jen]

Yeah. So there's also scarcity and urgency at play here. So only a few left in stock or back in stock now. Or Hurry, don't wait. Limited edition. All of these things kind of make us feel like, I've got to get it now. Particularly for me, I've noticed The back in stock thing always does get an initial like, oh, wow, so it previously sold out. Well, then I'm probably going to want it before it sells out again.

[Jill]

I know.

[Jen]

Good to know that that's a marketing trick. So we can hold it, hold out.

[Jill]

So if you're seeing this, if you're experiencing these hold up trends come and go.

[Jen]

Hold up.

[Jill]

Really, really look to see if it is the TJ Maxx blindness. Like, just pause before you buy. Like, I saw a girl walking out of TJ Maxx with like wall art and she had like 12 different beaded bags and she went in for one beaded bag that was not the lobster bag. But after watching all the lobster bag videos, found the one she wanted and left with all this other stuff. So you just gotta know it's not. Viral trends come and go. So when you go to the search page on TikTok, oftentimes they will suggest, like, viral items.

[Disney Voiceover]

And today the viral item is TJ Maxx viral lobster bag. I do feel like we are just kind of combining words and hoping it sticks.

[Jill]

Next up, we're gonna have the Home.

[Disney Voiceover]

Depot viral lasagna, the Zara viral laptop.

[Jill]

Case, Hometown Buffet viral Grippy socks. I really believe that this, I really believe that the Zara laptop case could actually be a thing.

[Jen]

I mean, I'm.

[Jill]

I don't think he's far off on that.

[Jen]

I'm here for the Hometown Buffet Grippy socks.

[Jill]

You were just saying how many socks that people had given you.

[Jen]

That's true.

[Jill]

And you. And. But this is why I don't want them.

[Jen]

I just want them to exist.

[Jill]

Hometown Buffet grippy socks.

[Jen]

So here's what to do instead of going to happen. Okay. Turn off your phone. Go touch grass.

[Jill]

Go touch grass.

[Jen]

Go ground yourself in nature.

[Jill]

That's. I mean, honestly, when we are oversaturating our brains with the same images over and over and over, we begin to believe what the voices behind those images are saying. It just happens. Like, it's natural. Our brains will do it. The more we hear it, the more we believe it. And that's, that's another cognitive bias that I forget the name of. But it's a confirmation bias. Yeah, yeah. So you have to turn it off. And that doesn't mean social media is bad. It doesn't mean you need to fast from social media or give it up or anything. It just means that you need to, like, take a break and like, you know, kind of open your eyes from your TJ Maxx blindness.

[Jen]

Step away. Allow yourself to recalibrate and experience reality. All right. The third one is Flash sales. These are going to be happening all summer. You're going to hear messages like this.

[Jill]

Sharing some of my favorite Amazon Prime Day deals that Happy Prime Day. To those who celebrate, there is literally only one thing you buy at the Prime Day sale. This should be it. Amazon Prime Day.

[Jen]

Here's everything you need. Beauty related lightning round of things on.

[Jill]

Sale for Prime Day. Amazon Prime Day is coming up this Tuesday and Wednesday. But obviously I'm biased. I think my Amazon's reference the best. Do not check out on Amazon for Prime Day yet until you watch this. Happy Amazon Prime Day.

[Jen]

One of the best days of the year.

[Jill]

Happy Prime Day. This is my favorite time of the whole entire year. I look forward to these next two days.

[Jen]

It is a little nauseating to see it all accumulated like that, like stacked on top of itself. To realize how many people are out there. Some of it with images of just tons of boxes and bags in the background. Just the, the consumption.

[Jill]

And again, it is not. People don't expect you to go on these crazy hauls like they do. They understand that, you know, they're an influencer. It's kind of like it's just 20% like outside of reality again. So they're usually saying like, these are all the things that I have and I love that are on sale for Prime Day. I saw that over and over and over. Another thing I saw was like them saying deals very quickly. That's another thing. When people are throwing things at you very quickly, your brain, the decision making part of your brain can't properly process. And so you start to think like you immediately start to think that you need this and your brain doesn't have enough time to tell you you don't. So you can kind of like accidentally make purchases.

[Jen]

Yeah, we are falling victim to these sales everywhere. Again, in part because of urgency bias. Like this is only on sale for a limited time only. Run, don't walk, last chance. And it kind of elicits this fight or flight response. Like, I gotta do something about this because I'm feeling stressed, might as well do it and whatever. If I don't need it, then I'll just take it back later.

[Jill]

But right, I can just return it. And like how many times do you get something on Amazon and you're like, I'll just return it and then you don't. That happens to me at least once a year.

[Jen]

Yeah. And I am here for returning things. But if that's always the fallback, then that's not taking into account all of the added cost of that on the environment, on our communities, to be having things shipped to our door, picked up from our door, taken back to facilities, thrown in the trash. Like, there's a lot of. There's extra cost to returning.

[Jill]

Not to mention Amazon scheduled itself annual book sale the same weekend as Indie Bookstore Day. And they would not apologize for it or even acknowledge that's what they did. They could have done their book sale at literally any weekend of the year, 51 weekends to choose from. And they did it on Indie Bookstore Day.

[Jen]

Yikes, that's gross.

[Jill]

Yeah. So it's not even like a question of should I buy all, you know, these clothes? And it's not just Prime Day. I wanted to do a mashup of the same quote, unquote holiday just to so you could see. But it's Memorial Day, it's fourth of July, it's back to school. You're going to get the same things for every holiday. It doesn't, it doesn't matter the holiday. And they're playing on not, not just urgency, but also like hyperbolic discount framing. This was a new one for me, but essentially videos that are exaggerating their savings. So, like, I have got $500 in my cart for under 200 and they're going to just say like, how much they're getting for so little, using these manipulative practices to like get you to spend more. And Amazon's affiliate program isn't even great. The affiliate program for places like Amazon, Target, all these retailers that do these sales, they are not great. So I don't know why people put so much effort into getting you to buy stuff like this unless they're getting flat fee paid. And then they're also poorly disclosing the companies that are paying them to promote. Like that last one that said that it was her favorite time of the year was actually sitting in front of like 20 boxes and bags that Amazon had sent her. And it was not disclosed that it was a paid ad, but she was paid in product that per the ftc, that should have been disclosed.

[Jen]

Right. And finally, another thing that can be happening here is narrative bias. So anytime an influencer is using storytelling to kind of rope us in, you might hear phrases like, I've waited three years to get this vacuum, or I regretted missing last year's sale and so now. And attaching story to kind of draw you in and make you believe. Okay, yeah, I don't want to make the same mistake as them. Or I want to have the Same type of experience. So these are the types of things that we can be keeping in mind. These types of biases that would cause us to purchase is what can help us to de influence ourselves, to know here's what's actually happening and then be able to discern, do I actually want to buy this? Okay, I recognize this bias is happening, but do I still want it or no, no, thank you. I'm not gonna give in to whatever bias this happens.

[Jill]

Yeah, all the people who are trying to like present this authority, you know, we've got the authority bias, but that's also the narrative bias where it's like, I've been using this stuff and I love it. And this is the stuff that I love that's on sale for Prime Day. Like that's all bringing you into a narrative. It's also bringing you into believing their authority. But you honestly cannot trust that the story or the authority is actually true or it's manufactured to make money. Time and time again we find that influencers are lying to you to get you to buy stuff. We did a whole episode on it. We'll link to it up here. And we just cannot trust people that we don't actually know. And so we should do this for every sale, but especially Prime Day. And you have to be a Prime member to participate in Prime Day. So I just want to give you a little extra encouragement to not participate or not have Prime. Okay, I get it. But here's the thing. Amazon made $37 billion just last year from prime memberships alone. That's a lot of money. And yet most of us aren't even.

[Davey]

Getting the two day delivery promise that.

[Jill]

We signed up for. That's why I signed up for Amazon Prime. Guarantee my two day delivery. And at this point it feels like less of a convenience and more of a habit. And I want to shop with intention.

[Jen]

Shopping with intention.

[Jill]

Amazon prime is no longer a convenience, it is a habit. And that is what it was designed to be. Amazon may make a lot of money on Amazon prime memberships, but it doesn't recoup the cost of what they. It's a loss leader. What they get more money in is your habit of shopping because you have Prime.

[Jen]

So here's the solution. It is shopping with intentionality. It's also only taking advantage of sales when you actually need that item. Of course, this can intersect with wanting it too. But when there's been thought about it, when you know that this is something that's gonna solve a problem that you've been desiring for a long time. But also recognizing that nothing is a must have other than food, shelter, clothing.

[Jill]

Nothing you can get on Prime Day is a must have.

[Jen]

Yeah. And recognizing that half of these influencers who are trying to sell you things are actually gonna be returning whatever it is that they bought or they got it for free or they're not expecting you to buy all of the things. So keeping this in mind can be part of the solution.

[Jill]

Yeah, we just hope that summer is an enjoyable season for you. Not one that you regret later. Not one that becomes a stressor or one that leaves you feeling less than anybody that makes you feel less than the amazing, unique person you are is trying to sell you something. And so we just want you to take all of this and have the best summer that you can and not feel manipulated into spending money that you don't need to to have a really full life.

[Jen]

Do you know what else is amazing and unique and inspiring and never makes me feel less than.

[Jill]

Oh, I do.

[Jen]

The bill of the week.

[Jill]

This is the bill of the bill of the week. That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore.

[Disney Voiceover]

Duck bills.

[Jill]

Buffalo Bills. Bill Clinton.

[Ryan Seacrest]

This is the bill of the week.

[Davey]

Hey, ladies. I have been watching you guys for quite a while and I have to give you my bills of the week. And oh my goodness. So I've been paying on my cable bill. We've had the same cable plan for, I want to say, over almost 10 years now, and we've been paying 261 every six months. Every year. I would literally call them, get the bill to go down and then the bill will creep right back up. So I decided this month we were going to cut off TV services because we can use streaming, right? Guess what? That saved us $161. We are now only paying $95 for Internet. So I am so motivated to go ahead and now see where else I can save on bills. But I love listening to you guys every single week. I pre ordered and received your book already. And yeah, my name is Davey. Bye.

[Jill]

Yay, Davey. That's so great. That is sign significant.

[Jen]

So significant. What you can do with $161 a month is wild. This was actually one of our weekly money moves recently was to cancel something. If you're following us on Instagram at Weekly money move, you're getting our friend letter. Every Monday we talk about our money move. We talk about it in the Sunday Reset So Frugal friends podcast on YouTube and this is the type of thing that we are talking about. When it comes to canceling something, it's getting creative and finding an alternative for that item. So it wasn't you depriving yourself, it's you recognizing there are other ways to entertain myself. And I can get $161 back into my pocket after over 10 years of something that sounds like it was just on autopilot. Maybe it was a bit habitual. Maybe you thought I'm afraid of missing out on whatever this could mean and I don't want to go through the hassle of it. But you finally did it and you freed up some significant cash. So well done, Davey. We're so excited about this one. If you have a bill that you want to share with us, if it has to do with canceling a bill or saving them bills or a bill that you don't mind paying, you know the drill. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Bill we can't wait to hear it.

[Disney Voiceover]

We're leaving today and entering a world of Cinderella, Castle sightseeing, Tron Light cycling, jungle cruise, punning, pirate, swashbuckling, Everest climbing Dapper Denning Dunning soaring, soaring fireworks, show of other not crying, you're crying. World of favorites for whatever you love. Infinite worlds await at the most magical place on earth. Walt Disney World Resort. Not everyone who handles your personal information is going to be as careful as you are. And it only takes one mistake to expose it to hackers and identity theft. Maybe that's why there's a new victim of identity theft every five seconds in the United States. Fortunately, there's LifeLock. LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will help solve identity theft issues on your behalf, guaranteed or your money back. Plus, all LifeLock plans are backed by the million dollar protection package, meaning LifeLock will reimburse you up to the limits of your plan. If you lose money due to identity theft. You can't control how diligent others are with your personal information, but with Lifelock, you can help protect it. Act now and save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off terms apply.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway this spring. Stock up on all your personal care favorites and earn 4 times points. Now through June 17th. Shop in store online for deals on all your favorite personal care items like Pantene Shampoo, Native Body Spray Deodorant, Secret Body Spray, Venus Razors, Always Pads, Head and Shoulder Shampoo and Native deodorant and earn 4 times points. Then use those points for discounts on groceries or fuel. You don't want to miss these deals. Offer ends June 17. Promotions may vary. Restrictions apply. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Davey]

When you're in HR, it can feel like nothing is easy. From payroll to pto, from onboarding to benefits and everything in between, it's a constant juggle of tasks, systems and spreadsheets. But your HR software? That's the easy part. Meet Bamboohr. Trusted by over 34,000 companies, it handles all your HR tasks, payroll, benefits and time tracking so your team and your company can grow as fast as well. Bamboo and BambooHR software is actually easy to use. One simple system that pulls all your people data together in one place so you can ditch scattered systems and wasted hours on tasks that should only take minutes. Because when HR is easier, you can can focus on what matters most your people. HR is hard. Bamboo HR is easy. Ready to simplify all your HR tasks for a limited time? Get a 100 Visa gift card when you complete a free [e-mail] gift card again, that's bamboohr.com gift card terms and conditions apply.

[Jen]

And now it's time for the lightning round.

[Jill]

Okay, what's a summer trend that you think is all hype?

[Jen]

I love your answer here. I know because I have a hot I just disagree. But okay, for me this is I guess year round but definitely seasonal decor. I just realize I don't think it's necessary.

[Jill]

Jill, how much decor do you have in your house?

[Jen]

No, I don't. And that's why I think it's decor overrated and all hype.

[Jill]

Yeah. Seasonal or non seasonal.

[Jen]

But I do see it as and.

[Jill]

Might be one of those I'll put.

[Jen]

It out there trends or things people feel almost obligated to do. I know people who are like gotta take down the spring stuff and put up the summer stuff. Yeah, gotta take down the summer stuff and put up the fall stuff. Like in addition to changing out your wardrobe from spring to summer and in addition to figuring out all of your activities and still doing your meal plans, like to add the additional weight of I've gotta make sure like my household decor and plants and everything are like up to date. I just think that's an unreasonable.

[Jill]

That's another social media like fallacy that everyone's changing out their seasonal wreath and their seasonal door foot scraper and all their garland and their candles and everything. That's not what normal people do. Yeah, it's not. They were not doing it.

[Jen]

Yeah. You know, go outside and touch grass.

[Jill]

Go touch grass.

[Jen]

Okay. What's yours, John?

[Jill]

Mine's water parks. I always thought that water theme parks are overrated. It smells, it's yucky. You have to buy special shoes for it. And it's scary. Every ride is scary. You cannot buckle into any of the rides. They are all scary.

[Jen]

Okay. Really? You were locked and loaded on that one.

[Jill]

You knew it.

[Jen]

I love water parks.

[Jill]

They are so scary. All of the rides are scary.

[Jen]

I will do a water park 100 times over before I do an amusement park. Like roller coaster rides?

[Jill]

No. I can buckle into a roller coaster ride. You cannot buckle in sliding into a toilet bowl style.

[Jen]

No, I love them.

[Jill]

And then going down.

[Jen]

Flush me down, baby. Flush me down.

[Jill]

I am not a poo. Give me Hagrid Motorbike Adventure.

[Jen]

Drop me off at the pool.

[Jill]

Tower of Terror. Give me a seat belt. My Lord.

[Jen]

I think I hate water parks. So fun. Okay, there you have the beach.

[Jill]

Because I hate sand. But the beach is not overrated, is not hype. Yeah, I just don't like sand. Yeah, water parks are scary and yucky.

[Jen]

I have gone to a water park for like a good amount of my birthdays. My birthday's in August. And I love water parks so much. And I'm so sorry that you're not gonna end up coming with me.

[Jill]

Nope. Nope.

[Jen]

Well, thanks everyone for listening. Feel free to share whether or not you're a. You're a water park or roller coaster kind of person. Where. Where will you share that with us on Instagram? You know what? Follow us on Instagram and tell us no on YouTube. I don't really care. Figure it out.

[Jill]

She does care. We're trying. Please, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

[Jen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell us what. We would love to this episode if you're watching it on YouTube. Anyways, we love reading your kind reviews. Here's something else we really like that Jen and I are not split on. We both enjoy this same your reviews of our book like this one from Brittany Condice happens to be five stars. A great book for those interested in personal finance. This book is a solid 10 out of 10. Jen and Jill are incredible and help make sense of how to spend and save in a way that each person can feel good about values based spending and what they are preaching through. This book is all about aligning your spending with your beliefs, goals and priorities and spending less on impulse or because of predatory marketing tactics. Reading the book and listening to the podcast has helped me to stay the course on my debt payoff journey and has honestly just opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking. I am so very grateful for finding their content. If you are reading this review, I hope that you take a leap of faith to purchase because it could change your life too. Oh Brittany. Yay. Life changing.

[Jill]

Thank you Brittany. Yes. If you have read the book and you have not left a review yet, we would so appreciate if you would do that over on Amazon even if you didn't buy it on Amazon and we are totally okay if you don't. But people do use it as a catalog and if you haven't left a rating review for the show, then we would love if you could do that on Spotify. And we'll see you next time.

[Jen]

Bye.

[Jill]

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni. Tonight is Kai's kindergarten transition night and he will be singing a song with his class that goes a little something like this. There was a great big moose he liked to drink a lot of juice. His name was Fred he liked to drink his juice in bed. And then there's more to the song.

[Jen]

Yeah. But it's copyrighted.

[Jill]

Gotta be careful. Gotta be careful how much ya sing. I'm gonna try to use my clip Profit off of it without knowledge.

[Jen]

That's so cute.

[Jill]

It's gonna be so cute. And I am so prepared to break down into tears.

[Jen]

So he's. This is like graduation.

[Jill]

Yeah. Instead of doing like a kindergarten graduation, I think they just do this transition night.

[Jen]

Okay.

[Jill]

So all the classes will do a song. The first grade teachers come and prepare you for, you know, what to expect next year.

[Jen]

So same school, like, he's not moving, right.

[Jill]

And I'm fully prepared to sob because I sobbed at the preschool graduation.

[Jen]

I was gonna say at this life stage. It's kind of like every year there's some sort of very monumental milestone practically until you get to high school graduation. But it's like, yeah, he was in a cap and gown this time last year.

[Jill]

Yeah, I know.

[Jen]

Are you in a cap and gown this year?

[Jill]

No. They do get special shirts. Oh my God. I'm. I'm losing it now just thinking about it.

[Jen]

Aw.

[Jill]

I can't. I can't. I'm obsessed.

[Jen]

Him getting older is a good thing.

[Jill]

It's so good. I love him so much.

[Jen]

I love.

[Jill]

I love him so much.

[Jen]

Oh, he's gonna have such a fun boy summer.

[Jill]

He's gonna have such a fun boy summer.

[Davey]

Traveling is one of life's greatest joys.

[Jill]

Honestly, can anything be more exhilarating? Well, actually, yeah.

[Davey]

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[Jill]

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[Davey]

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[Jill]

Discover more with Chase sapphire [e-mail] Sapphire.

[Davey]

Reserve cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway this spring. Stock up on all your personal care favorites and earn 4 times points. Now through June 17th. Shop in store online for deals on all your favorite favorite personal care items like Pantene Shampoo, Native Body Spray, Deodorant, Secret Body Spray, Venus Razors, Always Pads, Head and Shoulder Shampoo and Native deodorant and earn 4 times points. Then use those points for discounts on groceries or fuel. You don't want to miss these deals. Offer ends June 17th. Promotions may vary. Restrictions apply. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Davey]

Hey, Jenice Torres here and I'm Austin Hankwitz. We're the hosts of Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories produced by Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Catch up on seasons one and two and join us for a brand new season of the podcast as we talk to small business owners about how they manage and grow their businesses with the help of platforms like Intuit QuickBooks.

[Jill]

Listen to mind the Business small business success Stories on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Davey]

You have a long list of things to deal with. Check dry eye symptoms off with Refresh Relieva PF Extra Lubricant Eye Drops, offering an advanced formula to soothe and hydrate your dry eyes. Refresh Relievo PF Extra includes moisture locking technology that prevents further irritation and gives you lasting relief. You deserve relief from your dry eye symptoms and your eyes deserve extra. Find Refresh online or in the Eye Drop section at all major retailers. FSA and HSA eligible.

[Jen]

This is an I Heart Podcast.