Episode four twenty six, How loyalty points and programs cost you more.
Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and live a life here your hosts, Jen and Jill.
Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen, my name is Jill, and today we are talking about loyalty points and programs and whether they're a good idea or not.
How loyal are you hell?
And do they actually save you money or costs you more?
Spoilers there probably a bit of all.
It's both.
It's both. If you listen to our big box store, what is the warehouse? Were hubs clubs?
Yes, episode for a little bit of so this yeah, this will be a good one.
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All right, So loyalty points and programs, if you're into things like this, like Jill was mentioning episode four oh two the.
Grocery store versus.
Warehouse Club savings analysis, I went on a six month deep dive immersive investigation to break this down. So episode four oh two is a really good one. And then episode three nineteen tips to stop shopping on Amazon. So while we are covering like these free loyalty programs, we're not covering memberships like Costco, Sam's Club or even Amazon Prime is considered a membership. So we're looking more at the gamification strategies, but those are on the membership side.
And today we'll be looking at an article that has statistics for loyalty programs and then kind of going through some of these like what some like what are the questions like why do companies use loyalty programs, et cetera, answering it with these statistics and then kind of giving you some insight on whether you are in control of your use of the program or you're kind of being marketed to an influenced by it.
We love to deinfluence ourselves and we've done this a couple of times where we kind of look at the other side of marketing, where we take a look at what are marketers saying to businesses that are selling to consumers about us consumers that can help us be aware of the ways that we may be tricked, manipulated, persuaded, influenced and spending money that maybe we would not have
otherwise spent. So if we can be aware of some of these tactics and tips and tricks that people in the business space and marketing space are giving to these companies, then we can be more informed consumers. That's the whole goal behind this. So this article that we're looking at from X two e XTU, it's called Important Loyalty Program Statistics for twenty twenty four. This is really geared towards businesses selling products to consumers for them to understand how
important it is to have a loyalty program. We're not saying that they're all bad, but it is helpful to know how business is like. Businesses aren't doing this just to be kind.
They're not you, Y're not for you.
That doesn't mean that you can't get benefit, but just to be really aware of this. But before we get into all of those statistics, I do want to talk a bit about just what a loyalty program is, just to set the stage. Many of you are I'm sure
are familiar with this. It just is a company's program that they offer to you that you usually sign up for with either your phone or your email, and you get access to deals, discounts, sometimes free products for making purchases with that brand, and it's how they encourage you to stay loyal to that brand. So this is your Starbucks rewards program, this is your Ikia Family, this is Racketen Points, this is anywhere any restaurant or product that
you buy. Chances are you've been asked, do you want to sign up for our rewards program? And it's free, So a lot of times we might choose to do that because there's some sort of incentive. We even talk about this in the friend letter. If you sign up for X's reward program, you'll get a free milkshake. That's great, do it if you just want to get a free milkshake. But then we'll talk about some of the underbelly of that and what to be aware of when you do
sign up for this. But it is different from paid memoship programs. That's your Walmart Plus, that's your warehouse programs and Sephora Beauty Insider. There's even these organizations, companies, businesses that previously have provided free loyalty programs, but many I was in researching for this episode, there's a lot that
are moving in the direction of paid loyalty programs. Oh, well, you might, and it might be a small amount, like I think Sephora are Alta is one of them, where it's going to be like a three to five dollars kind of like annual charge or quarterly or something like that, but still paying to be a part of it. So that especially is something we're going to need to be on the lookout for. If you are accustomed to being a part of these loyalty programs. They may start introducing
fees for their loyalty programs. Maybe moving it into a membership program. So yeah, that's a little tea for you.
Yeah, so this is outside of stores too, Like so like what Jill said, racketin points, there's also I use this app called Paceline that that gives you rewards based on like working out, So if you work out one hundred and fifty minutes a week, you get like so many points. And so that is a marketing strategy, not just for one store, but for a lot of different startups in the wellness industry will put their products in and you'll get disc like you can trade in your
rewards for discounts to those stores. So it's you know, like fetch I bought. All of those are essentially loyalty programs, but with like a rebate kind of edge. So so that's yeah, that's what we're talking about. So why do companies use loyalty programs? So in this article from X two dot com, which I'm pretty sure this company does loyalty programs, I'm sure that's why they are publishing this, they say it's five to six times more expensive to find a new client than it is to reactivate an
old client. And that's based on an American Express study so loyalty programs have, you know, a great incentive. Companies have a great incentive to do a loyalty program because it's much less expensive to just remind somebody who's already purchased from you or signed up for your email that you exist and you have things that they want that you want. There's also another statistic from HBr, which I
think is Harvard Business Review. Companies with strong loyalty marketing programs grow revenue two and a half times faster than their competitors and generate one hundred to four hundred percent higher returns to shareholders. And then sixty five percent of businesses use their loyalty program to also tracked new customers. So it's not just to get current customers or pre prior customers to buy again. But we've all and we
again do this in the friend letter. We'll tell you if somebody is offering something free if you sign up for their loyalty program, and that's how they attract new customers. I did this recently, read Robin. I signed up for their when I did my Instagram reel on Birthday freebies. I signed up for their reward program and then got their email that they do, like I think it's like five or ten dollars burgers on a day, and I actually wanted to try them, so we went on that day.
We really liked them, and so I was really glad that I signed up for their loyalty program and got a discount and was introduced to a new restaurant that I had slept on for years. I mean that Red Robin's been over there for like years and years and years and I just like never considered it. Yeah, and then we went there and we actually really liked it, and they had balloons for the kids like they.
Do like Red Robins. Yeah, good burgers.
So these are not always bad, right. Our real goal is to make sure that we are not impulse spending because another like the reason we went is because I didn't feel like cooking. And then I saw that cupon in my email and you know, barrier to the barrier to entry is lowered. So where that's that is the purpose of this deep dive.
Well, and once you sign up, yes, you get the freebeet And then how many times has Red Robin texted you emailed you afterwards trying to get you back in? And how easy is it to kind of keep saying those no's over and over and over again when they're offering you something that now you know you enjoy, and that can be the downfall of it. So it's interesting.
The article also talks about how pervasive loyalty programs are and they cite they cite that the average US consumer has about is a part of about seventeen loyalty programs, but actively only uses half of them. So that did have me thinking, like, how many loyalty programs do I have? And probably a lot more than I think, and most of them are through email. But you've talked about this, the round up, the roll up, unrolling.
Unroll me. Yeah, that was going to be something that I mentioned on this episode.
Okay, okay, so I won't get too deep into it, but I think depending on how we arrange our inboxes can be really helpful for us to take advantage of the loyalty programs when we want to and not see them when we don't want to. But the ones that I get kind of active notifications from, probably daily I'll get three to four text messages or emails that I will notice that this company is something and I don't know.
Sometimes I'm just lazy to like not hit that unsubscribed button. Yeah, I mean it isn't for me, It isn't causing me to spend the money, but it is annoying to get the text message in the day.
Yeah, and you never like you never know when they're going to be doing like their you know, their best sale, or when you're going to want the discount. Right, So it's like I don't want to unsubscribe to something I do want to get discounts on because that's a big Like the first thing you do when you want to save money is you unsubscribe from all of these loyalty emails, right, but what if so, yes, that's there's there. You can look through your emails. Definitely no reason to be getting
text messages from companies. There's there's just no reason.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I get that. I agree.
You can definitely unsubscribe from every text message like people that are marketing to via text. That is just too much. But so like there's all of these emails in my inbox and sometimes I want them there, you know, like I truly do. I am looking to like upgrade my wardrobe from ninety nine percent AF leisure to you know, downgrade to like ninety percent af Leisure and get some more like sustainable brands going and buy more from thread
up or Poshmark. So I want to be like, I want to get those emails, but I don't want to be tempted by them. And so this is where I use unroll me. And I have been using this for over a decade, like before I met Travis, and it has been revolutionary. It's U n R L L dot me E and it will roll up all your subscriptions into one email and you get that email every day.
You can choose whether you want it in the morning, afternoon, or evening, and you can go into unroll me and you can say I want these emails sent to my inbox, and I want these subscriptions sent to my roll up, or I want to just be totally unsubscribed from these. It's very user friendly and you can even switch like if I've got something in my roll up that I want to get to my inbox for a period of time,
I just switch over for a period of time. And so it allows me to stay on these loyalty program emails but not be tempted by their very well crafted headlines. I can look at my roll up if I want, if I have time, if I'm intentionally going there, or I don't, I could just ignore it. So that is a really really good tool if you want to utilize some of these loyalty programs but don't want to get rid of all of them. So, speaking of being tempted by these well crafted headlines, how much more money do
we actually spend bomb bomb because of them? Is this even a real problem? So returning customer spend sixty seven percent more than new customers. And this is looking at the lifetime value of a customer because again, it is less expensive to re engage an older customer, an older customer like a pre prior customer, a current customer, than
it is to find new ones. And they do these through these loyalty programs, and they are much less expensive than doing Instagram and Facebook ads, website advertising, all this that stuff is expensive. But sending out an email that you got for free on a platform you pay monthly for you pay like pennies per email, that is really affordable.
So that's why it like, not only does is it like it's cost effective to market to cur customers, they're also shown to spend more so loyalty program members generate about twelve to eighteen percent more incremental revenue growth per
year than non members. So people who are getting these emails are and they work off of like gamifying it, right, Like you want to get to the next at least I feel like this is my Starbucks rewards, Like I want to get up to the two hundred stars, and I know if I put my if I reload my card and I pay from the app, I get double stars. So that's how Starbucks has become this quote unquote bank. I don't know if you've likever seen it on there
was a lot of like press. I don't know if it was recently, but like the worst bank in the world is Starbucks because it's all these people reloading their Starbucks cards in the app because you get the double stars from the loyalty program and they just let the money sit there, and so they are essentially a bank, but they pay you no interest at all and you get no benefits except unless you pay them for their coffee.
Oh wow, genius on Starbucks as part for sure genius and yeah, just stabilitating for the rest of us. Adjacent to that study, though, in doing some other research, there was this statistic put out by Antovo and Tavo that said, over a lifetime, consumers that are a part of a member loyalty program will spend six point three times more than non loyalty members, which similar to what you've described how it can increase revenue for these companies who have
loyalty points. But I think part of that is because if you know you're going to shop there, then you're going to shop there more. But this piece of how much more incentivized are we to spend above and beyond just because we have a loyalty program, I think this is saying, yeah, it is higher than if we were just to opt out, unless we are very intentional and mindful and aware.
Yeah, I think it kind of it takes away. There's a conversation to be had about taking away from local, locally owned businesses because they cannot provide in loyalty programs that are as I don't know flashy or exists at all. I know that there is a tie restaurant I went to and after your tenth like entre, you got a free entree. And that's kind of like the extent of these like local small businesses like what they can offer.
But I think we do have to think twice before we are loyal to a company of just any like just any company, and really consider where am I shopping like Amazon? Like again, we're not chatting about Amazon because they don't have a loyalty program, but it does make it easier when you are a member, a paying member
to Amazon. Why would you shop anywhere else? Right you're paying you're paying member, or you know, if I'm so close to getting this reward with this loyalty program, why would I go anywhere else?
You know?
And that is their goal, but we should really consider if it's worth the discount or the freebie or should we just like stay you know, stay local when we can.
And I think that's going to vary person to person as well, like what you're capable of saying yes and no too, like what are your kind of cryptonites and what works for you? And so I think, you know, one of the reasons that we might spend more as a loyalty member versus a non member is, like we said, we might already want to be shopping at that store, but this article and their statistics are also said. It's it's how these businesses are going about doing this and
utilizing their loyalty program. So fifty percent of the business's surveyed list that building a stronger emotional brand connection with customers is their primary goal. Because if you have an emotional connection, if you can connect with people on a deeper level than just here's a thing by it, if they can sell you a lifestyle, a feeling, an idea of who you're becoming, then you are more likely to keep spending there. Out to Lulu Lemon.
You have you bought Lulu Lemon because of.
No but I just feel like it is stretch stretching.
Pants and they are atleisure that.
Is comfy stretch pants, but they're selling this kind of elevated fit girly life style.
Yeah, and you see that little silver circle on the back of the pants, and you're like, everybody at the gym is wearing this? Why am I not? Because you're not giving in to marketing culture. That's why.
Good for you and the emotional connection. I see this primarily with commercials where especially around Super Bowl, you know the ones that want to make you cry. It's like, what was that that was? That was a Toyota? They want you to buy their car. Why are we crying?
I think it's super that does cry. They do the most crying.
Yeah, I'm surance companies are trying to get you to cry. Meal plan delivery kids are trying to get you to cry. I just think if tears are happening, then you know, let that be a little indicator sign to us. Hmm, okay, I had an emotional experience, But does that mean I need to spend my money?
They kind of. It's so we're laughing about it, but it is a little more like insidious than that, in that when you are when your emotional guard is let down, you are more susceptive to influence. That's the real purpose behind it. Like, think about and this is why I love cults. Think about why people join cults. Very smart people join cults because these people target people who are emotionally vulnerable, and so when you make someone cry, you
make them emotionally vulnerable. They're more susceptible to influence.
Which that doesn't have anything to do with intelligence. It's a different part of our personhood that we're tapping into, and we have an emotional experience and then kind of flipping the script to then get you to make one of those other impulsive decisions, but we can still have control and influence over ourselves in those situations to be able to recognize and pay attention and be curious. This is one of the reasons we talk about curiosity so much.
To be curious about what is happening inside of me, value your emotional experience or whatever you're dreaming up for yourself, your future, you your desires, but then be able to ask those additional questions of what does this mean though, about how I want to spend my money, even asking questions about what is this company trying to get me
to do? Is that actually what I want? Another thing to be paying attention to the reason that loyalty programs work so much for businesses to make more money is that they will use their loyalty programs to gain insight
and data about their customers. So a lot of times when you are saying yes to opting into a loyalty program, you're giving access to certain information about yourself which can help them sell better to you or a group of you to kind of identify, oh, these people are interested in this, Here's how frequently they buy, Here's how I can push them to buy this next thing? So that's something for us to be aware of as well, how much information we're giving away.
I was thinking about this when I read it and realizing, like back in the seventies eighties, there was a company had one AD and they would put that one ad in and they would repurpose it for TV, for print,
you know, but they had one ad campaign. Now, with technology and customization of algorithms, you can have hundreds of campaigns, and the more information you give a company about you, the more targeted they can give you one or two of those one hundred campaigns that are most like speaking to you, you know.
Like social media algorithms, it's the same.
It's so much easier to target us to where it almost feels like it's talking straight to us, right, But they're also wise enough to know you can't talk straight to somebody and make them feel weird because then they don't buy for you. They're doing, you know, they're doing the most that they can, and we're giving them this
information to do it with. Especially like when we sign up for a birthday reward and we tell somebody our birthday and then they know we're you know, gen Z, millennial, gen X, and they kind of know where to hit us with the nostalgia or the trends, you know, like it gets it gets really deep in there, and I just wanted to the last thing I wanted to talk about is this study. It's in the Chicago Booth Review
and it's called when Loyalty Programs are Bad for Consumers? Uh, and this so I don't believe that this is super common, but this is a possible side effect of loyalty programs. And so what these researchers did was they studied two gas stations in Italy I believe that had loyalty programs. And so for some reason, these loyalty programs had to start and an end date, and essentially you would get
rewarded for being loyal to where you purchased gas. And so what they saw was that when the like at the end of the loyalty program, the average price different per leader of gasoline between these gas stations and others that when the they were on the like program, they were charging I think it was more, and then they charged even more after like. So the difference in gasoline prices between these stations, I'm totally I read this right
before we started recording. I don't know why, but essentially it was when these gas stations increased their prices because of their loyal the end day of their loyalty program, the other gas stations around them also raised their prices too to compete with these two like gas stations, not as much because they still wanted to be like a little lower, I guess, but like the twenty closest gas stations to these literally were raising their prices because of
these two gas stations, and the pricing pattern was around the loyalty program when the discounts were, you know, there, versus when they weren't. And so it really just showed this kind of insidious nature that these loyalty programs could cause a indirect effect for other people too in the increasing of prices. And they don't have to keep these programs forever. They can end them at any time they
want or change them in any way they want. I was talking about the price line app price line Paceline, and it used to be a really cool app where if you worked out for one hundred and fifty minutes a week, you could get points and then after like a month or two, you would get like five bucks to Amazon, like a five dollars Amazon gift card, or it used to even earlier than that, you could get a one dollar Amazon gift card like basically every week
or every other week. Yeah, and it was every other week. And now you can't get You can only get you can only buy discounts to stores, to wellness stores with your with your points. Yeah, so you have to spend money to essentially benefit from the from the app.
So it's an interesting one because then you think about, okay, well what can be done? And we've talked a little bit about that sprinkled throughout, but even with your example, it sounds like that was a more mezso kind of macro level impact of a loyalty program where these because it had an end date, these other gas stations were able to then increase their prices knowing that the customers wouldn't have any other kind of choice beyond it. But what could they have done about that?
Oh, that's what it was. When the when the thing was ending, they hiked up the prices because they knew everyone had to use their points, so they just hiked up the prices. So they were basically getting it for the same price as they would have been anyway.
There was no discount right, and I think that's part of loyalty programs anyhow. You might get one freebee, but then across the board, are you really saving or are they adjusting prices to make it just seem like you're saving. That's that JC Penny study. All day long, every day low costs was not good for people. They wanted to
feel like they were getting a deal. And so yeah, sometimes with coupons and rewards programs, you may not even actually be getting a deal beyond maybe the one time sign up or the annual discount that you might receive. So I think too, just being aware of typical pricing and what to expect on the things that you typically purchase to even know whether, oh that is actually less than I would typically pay for X item, and to
use it in your favor like we've been talking about. Yeah, great to sign up, get the freebie, but if you know you're not going to go back, or you know, if you get multiple emails you're not like you're going to be tempted to keep going back beyond what you normally would have, then delete it. We can absolutely hit that on subscribe button or do the unroll me like you've talked about.
Yeah, be intentional with your loyalty programs. If there's four or five that you really like, then do it, like participate, fully, play the games, be it, you know, be in it. That's fine, but there shouldn't be more than that, right, Like, if we value every loyalty program in every brand, then we really value no brand. We're just valuing consumption. So so be intentional with your loyalty.
Do you know what else we can be intentional about? And have been for sex plus years.
Yeah, I don't need a loyalty program to be loyal to. This 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. Dust built, blow built, Bill Clinton, This is the bill of the.
Week, hiphergal friends. This is Renee, and I wanted to share my bill of the week. I recently was approved through my employer's childcare subsileute program so that my weekly childcare expenses could be eliminated. That's almost three to four hundred dollars a month that I have subsidized a percentage through my employer so that my child's after school expenses can be covered. So I'm extended, I can save and reallocate that those funds that are being saved to an
investment or even savings. Thank you for a good friends.
Oh, Renee Carl, that is so great. Childcare is it's hard. You know, we want to pay for it, we want good childcare, but it's expensive. So what a great benefit from your employer. Kudos to your employer for offering that.
That's amazing. Well done being aware of this, taking advantage of it and finding out that you qualify. That takes paperwork, that takes forethought, that takes intention, but now you are saving and now investing hundreds of dollars weekly that would have just been going to childcare. Congratulations. I'm so excited about this, and it also reminds me again, I've been talking a couple of times about kind of employee benefits if you can't or your employer's not given you a
raise to negotiate for other things. We talked about tuition reimbursement at one point, or better medical coverage or more paid time off, or childcare subsidies or health and nutrition incentives like you name it. There are so many benefits you could be asking your employer for and you've just highlighted another one for us. So yeah, thanks for that. Now,
thanks for sharing. We're excited with you. If you all listening, have a bill that you want to submit, if it's about not paying for bills because other people are paying for them, or bills you're excited to pay, or what it's like to pay bills. When your name is Bill frugal friendspodcast dot com slash Bill, leave it for us, and now it's time for the light around.
All right, When do you decide to join a loyalty program and when do you decide to skip? For me, I like a if I'm a frequent flyer. Right, So coffee is something I am part of. Two loyalty programs, Caribou and Starbucks and well three because I go to the Blend a lot and they actually do have a you get rewards for every time you buy oh nice,
So that's mostly. And then the restaurants that we eat at a lot, we don't try new restaurants like we are very committed to the quick service restaurants that we go to. We are not sit down dinner people like mostly just because we have kids and it's torture to sit down at a restaurant with.
You weren't before though you really did enjoy takeout.
Yeah, that is true. It is something we have not missed, or maybe maybe I do miss it a little now because I can't do it. Before I was just choosing not to but I could, right Yeah, So yeah, it's all quick service for us. And that's Torchies Tacos is the main one. Tor Cheese.
Wow.
I love Torchise Tacos.
I've only been there once.
It is uh has quickly become my love language.
Wow, so amazing.
I don't know say that that's it I have. I'm on some other loyalty programs. I sign up for a lot for the Birthday freebeets, but I am not trying to game that system. Like you know, we look forward to doing the torchiese thing because we get the points that we can get up to our free tacos. But it's actually I mean, you have to actually buy a lot of tacos to get your free taco, and we do because we love it. So it's worth for It's worth it for us to be on the loyalty program
because we were going to buy it anyway. That's the true answer to this question. If I was going to buy it anyway, and I can get rewarded for doing so, I'm on the loyalty program boom, But I do not let the loyalty program dictate whether I buy from a place.
Yes, yes, there you can, And that takes some time, energy, attention to be able to get to that place where they're not dictating your spending. You're dictating your spending, and it's.
Worth taking look at. So this is why a ninety day transaction inventory is so good, because look at your ninety day transaction inventory, what are the expenses that you really like that are really meeting your values? And then look, does it have a rewards program that I haven't signed up for?
Yep?
Can I get rewarded for doing the thing that I value?
Yep? Uh yeah. That's basically my answer for when I will join a loyalty program is when it can give me a discount right in that moment without costing me money. And I'm not signing up for the credit cards you know all your stores. If you sign up for the credit card, you can get this discountsh new service.
Don't ever, don't never let me catch you signing up for a store credit card.
Yeah, but similar to how I take advantage of, you know, travel rewards credit cards, like, I use it for what it can do for me, not for what I'm doing for it. And that's the same way that I approach loyalty programs is if I'm already in the store about to make a purchase, I'll think, ooh, I wonder if I were to look them up online or sign up for their app, what sorts of additional discounts I could receive.
That recently happened for us at Steak and Shake. I have not been to a Steak and Shake in a decade, but Eric heard from somebody that it's actually real decent for a very very good price, and can confirm Steak and Shake is the best prices around for fast food. Yeah. Yeah, you're still talking like a five dollars burg or where can you get a five dollars burger? Nowhere know how really generous fry portions, at least at the one we
went to. So I just found myself at a Steak in Shake and they're like, do you have the app? I'm like, well, what would I get if I did? They're like a free milk shake. So here here we are, check me out, download the app, and then it got rid of it again.
Always before any purchase, check for a coupon or an app or anything. It's sometimes annoying. So don't be that annoying person.
That, oh well, I'm going to be that annoying prora in. Do it ahead of time, ahead of time, ahead of time before I get to the line. Absolutely before I get to the checkout. This is especially true for like Michael's Joanne's never pay full price. Ever, they they anticipate that you're coming with the coupons, so they are they jack up their price so that by having their app, you actually pay what you should pay for this bed bath and beyond our uh huh friend, all of your
makeup stores. Like, make sure you do if you're already on your way there, download the app while you're going, delete it after you after you leave.
Yeah, yeah, well, thank you so much for listening. And we love reading your kind reviews. And we again we are bribing you to leave us reviews. If you leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, screenshot it, send it to Jen at Frugal friendspodcast dot com or just reply. You send it in a reply to any of the friend letters, then you will be in a drawing for one hundred dollars gift card. We will put you in there.
Like Liz T who says, I just listened to your sixth anniversary special congrats on six years and four hundred and six episodes, I listen to the podcast because it's playful and fun. So many others are serious, are all serious. It's a different way to get content and keep me focused on my goals that never makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong or I'm behind. I also like the mix of topics where one of you knows more
about it than the other. It really gives us better information since one is asking the questions that the listener may ask. I didn't realize it was a requirement to be experts in all things to have a podcast. I think the best ones are when you are learning something too. Not sure why I felt like responding today, but I hope at least some of it makes you smile.
Keep up the great work. WHOA, I am smiling. That's such a thoughtful review and actually really helpful. We love all of our five star reviews, but I think especially when we receive feedback that's specific to here's what we like and keep going with this. I am you're really Liz calling me out. I'm usually the one who doesn't totally know and I'm asking questions, and that has taken some vulnerability on my part to not be an expert on these things. But I'm so glad to hear. It's
affirming to me to know that's helpful for you. So thanks Liz for sharing that. Thank you all for listening. If you haven't shared something, whether it's just helpful or encouraging, or just a quick little note that you like the pod, please do leave that review and again right now. If you take that screenshot send it to jenetrugilfriendspodcast dot com, you'll be entered to win one hundred dollars gift card.
Bye Gorugle. Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni. All right, Jill, I had two things I wanted to talk about with you today.
You're even starting to put that into the.
Well, okay, so I have something interesting that I want to talk about it, and I was like, I always forget. We get to the after show and so today I want to talk about nuts. And if you were if you had to shill for big nut, which nut would you shill for?
Ooh my favorite nut?
Yeah?
Oh man, that is.
Tough, right, Okay? Should I answer first? Because I know the answer? That's my walnut. Walnut is the radical middle, right, Like, it's not peanut. It's not even like almond, which is like, you know, so basic. But it's also not like macedamia or Brazil. You know, it's not like up there's accessible. Walnut is she is elevated but still accessible.
Okay, yeah, and tell us all of the ways you like to use walnut.
I love walnuts mostly in baked oatmeal. I love doing a baked oatmeal. And I'll do a different fruit and nut combo. And that's where I had the thought of this, because I was, you know, I was doing strawberries and I was like, m what nut do I want to do with strawberries? And because I don't typically typically with strawberry, I'll do chocolate that you know, I don't typically do a nut there, and I did. I went with pecan for that one, and it was a good choice. No,
I went with almond, sliced almonds for that one. It was a good choice. Good, But I do I found myself not wanting to use the walnuts because I feel like they're special, right, not too special to where I like wouldn't buy them, or I'd be nervous to buy them, but like I want to use it for a special oatmeal the wall.
Yeah, oh this is you're making me realize. I'm going through the rolodux of nuts in my head and realizing how much I appreciate each one for their different purposes, right yeah, and how difficult it is to just pick one if you're gonna force me, I'm backed into a corner.
You literally are.
I would probably say almond, but like neck and neck with cashew.
Oh yeah, cashew. But she's she's a wonderful so versatile, Yeah, so versatile.
Yeah. Oh man, Now you're making me wonder if I would change my mind. But I just I feel like because you also said I'd have to shill for them, right, meaning I've got to convince other people to spend on it. And so I think I could more easily get other people on board with all the different things almonds could do before I could get them on board with cash together,
like cashies or you don't. Almonds are just almonds, raw almonds, roasted almonds, chocolate almond flavors, almonds ground into peanut butter, like.
The butter almond and butter.
There's there's a lot slivered almonds on salad.
Yeah, there's a lot that I do.
Get people with an almonds.
I do. I love an almond, Yeah, I use them a lot more than walnuts. So yeah, I think you've gone with the utilitarian route and I've gone with the luxury route.
Yeah, but still approachable luxury, which we love because yeah, we're not doing.
Uh huh, yeah we're not.
Or the what's the other version of almond, the mac? I want to say macaroon. That's not it. Do you know what I'm talking about?
No, I don't know if there's another type of almonds.
Yes, it's the fancy type. I'm just gonna have to google.
But I forgot about cash cash is so versus Marcona Marcona almonds, Oh.
Yeah, which I do like on a charcoterie board. But I'm not chilling for them. They're too much, right, they are extra uh huh. You know it's like yeah, around the holidays, like if I'm already shilling for almond and it's just a quick step over around the holidays to talk Marcona and champagne and then I'm here for it. But mainly I'm in my sneaks chilling for almonds.
Eric eats so many almonds too, he does.
He He particularly loves raw almonds, which he turned me on too. Usually I'm just like, you're insane. You should be on a watch list. And then I realized raw almonds do have such a nice little buttery flavor.
I love a little salt, but I think the salt brings out the buttery flavor, so you can.
You can have both. And I'm still making money off of almonds, so.
That's so true. I'm not making much for walnuts because I like nervous to use it.
I'm just just buy it and keep them. Oh here's something. I keep nuts in my freezer. The nuts I don't use that often. Yeah, so I don't. I have usually walnuts, maybe pistachios pecans. Those aren't ones I typically snack on, but I will like cook or bake with, and so I keep them in my freezer. Wow, Yeah, there you go, Thank you. Fact Nuts