It All Adds Up, The Podcast

You'll achieve significant financial savings by practicing the tips and tricks from our podcast series. But it's important to not fall victim to Jevon's Paradox, which could make you spend even more money than you did before you implemented our podcast advice. Check out this episode to learn more!

Most of the concepts we have discussed throughout this podcast series can be applied to both personal and workplace settings. By transferring our podcast tips from home to the workplace, companies can save money on their utility bills, food offerings and waste, business travel, and more. 

You can save a lot of money with these simple rules: live smaller, live closer, and live with others. Smaller housing spaces save money on utilities and material possessions; living closer to work and social centers saves money on transportation; and living with others splits costs over multiple people.

If you could live with only 100 material possessions, what would you choose? It's important to be aware of what and how much you own, so you can decide what you really need. If you are intentional about your purchases and buy only what you need, you have the potential to save a lot of money. 

The average American household spends $1,800 on clothes every year. The average American spends $650 on jewelry and buys 6 new pairs of shoes every year. You can save money on clothing, shoes, and jewelry by purchasing fewer items, buying durable items, and enrolling in rental programs.

In the US, we send hundreds of millions of pieces of mail per day. Across the globe, we send hundreds of billions of emails per day. Mail and packages are expensive to ship and dispose of in landfills, and emails are expensive to store in data centers. You can save money and time by cleaning out your junk mail and your email account.

The average American uses over 700 pounds of paper per year. The US spends over $470 million every year on paper just for school work, and the average American uses over 50 rolls of toilet paper per year. These costs can be reduced by reusing scrap paper and limiting your paper use.

The average American spends over $1,200 on prescription medication and $100 on dietary supplements every year. It's important to spend money on medication and dietary supplements that maintain and improve your health. You can reduce these expenses by eating a healthy diet and exercising daily.

The average US household spends over $700 per year on personal care products and services, and the average person also pays over $700 per year on dental care. You can reduce these expenses by using smart and effective hygiene habits, like air drying your hair or decreasing how often you shave.

This interview with Caroline Ling (Stanford University MBA/MS) takes a closer look at some of the topics we discussed in our episode called Your Trash. Caroline reviews some tips for proper disposal of trash, recyclables, and compostables to help you reduce how much you pay for waste collection.

About 75% of US adults wear glasses or contacts. The average glasses wearer spends up to $600 per pair, and the average contact wearer spends $250 per year on lenses, plus expenses for solution and cases. You can reduce these costs with regular eye doctor visits and by eating more veggies.

The average American spends only $92 per year on reading material. Reading more books improves your literacy skills, and childhood reading increases adulthood income by over 20%. Purchasing used books or reading free books from the library are great and affordable ways to enhance your life.

The average US household owns 5 electronic devices that have high upfront and ongoing operating costs. For example, the US spends $16 billion on streaming services per year. You can reduce these costs by using your devices until they break, by reducing streaming services, and by using your devices less. 

The average family spends close to $7,000 on toys per child from birth and throughout adolescence. Toy purchases are important because toys greatly impact childhood development measures like attention span, coordination, creativity, and interpersonal skills. Purchasing fewer and more purposeful toys can provide huge savings!

In 2020, the US spent $99 billion on pets. Some expenses, like training classes and healthy food, are good investments to ensure your pets’ safety and health. But there is high potential for savings with purchases like pet clothing. And you can save up to $4,000 by adopting (instead of shopping for) your next pet!

The average US household pays over $7,000 to furnish an apartment with new furniture. The cost for a new mid-range sofa alone can be as high as $2,000. These expenses can be reduced by purchasing second-hand and multi-purpose furniture. Further savings can be achieved with strategic furniture placement.

Every year, the average US household spends $180 just on paper towels, not to mention the cost for all their other cleaning supplies. Chemical cleaning solutions can have costly health consequences. By switching to reusable cleaning tools and to non-toxic cleaning solutions, you can save close to $300 per year.

The US spills 17 million gallons of gas every year while filling up residential lawn mowers. Assuming $2.60 per gallon, that’s over $44 million wasted on spilled lawn mower gas! Smarter lawn mowing methods combined with strategic tree and shrub placement can provide huge gas, energy, and water cost savings.

This interview with YouTube cooking star Ethan Chlebowski takes a closer look at some of the topics we discussed in Season 2: Food. Ethan reviews some clever tricks for buying in bulk, repurposing food scraps, and eating more vegetables to make home cooking cheap, healthy, and tasty.

The average US gym goer spends $300 on annual gym memberships. If these memberships are used regularly, they are a great investment, since exercise can reduce medical expenses by $2,500 per year! You can save money while you exercise by taking public transportation to the gym or by working out at home.

The average sports fan in the US spends over $725 per year to cheer on their favorite teams. This spending goes towards fan gear, cable packages, occasional tickets, tailgating, parking fees, and concession stands. Fans can save money by avoiding expensive concession stands, by carpooling to the games, and more!

The US spends $1.1 trillion on vacations every year. The main spending categories include food, lodging, transportation, and retail. You can decrease your travel expenses by reducing your food waste at restaurants, booking Airbnbs instead of hotels, and using public transportation instead of renting a car.

US consumers love to spend money for holidays. The average person spends $162 for Valentine’s Day, $151 for Easter, and $1,048 for winter holidays. These expenses can be greatly reduced by decreasing food waste, reusing wrapping paper and gift bags, and gifting loved ones with homemade presents.

Airfare accounts for 25% of the average person’s annual travel expenses. In addition to ticket fees, the average traveler spends $140 on food and other goods while waiting at the airport. Intercity travel expenses can be reduced by taking the train or bus and by using smart packing strategies for luggage.

Every year, the average driver spends almost $9,000 on their car and up to 23 days driving their car. These time and financial costs can be reduced by living closer to work and the places you frequent. By using public transportation instead of driving a car, the average household can save $10,000 per year.

The average US driver spends almost $8,900 per year on car expenses. This includes car payments, gas, insurance, taxes, registration, parking, tickets, maintenance, and repair. Many of these expenses can be reduced with safer driving techniques, carpooling, and owning fewer and smaller vehicles!

The US throws away over 300 million pounds of food EVERY DAY. Not only do we pay for that food in the first place, but we also have to pay for trash services to throw it away. We can reduce our trash service costs by reducing food waste and the use of single-use packaging, and by recycling and composting.

The cheapest and healthiest beverage is tap water. Bottled water can cost 800 times more than tap water, and other beverage choices like sugary drinks and alcohol can result in expensive healthcare costs. Using a tap filter and flavoring tap water with fresh fruit can make tap water more enjoyable!

A typical garden can save about $10 per square foot of garden on annual costs for fruit and vegetables! That means a 64-square-foot garden can put $640 in your pocket per year! Crop rotation and rain barrels provide even further savings by avoiding the need to pay for fertilizers, pesticides, and water.

What you eat affects how much money you spend on food AND how much money you spend on healthcare. In the US, red meat consumption accounts for $20 billion in healthcare costs. Reducing your red meat consumption can improve your health and save you up to $750 per year in food costs!

The average US adult spends $1,300 per year on food that they ultimately throw away! That means 30-40% of all food expenses just go straight to the landfill. Strategies for smart shopping and storage can reduce this wasted cost at grocery stores and restaurants. And be sure to eat your leftovers!

If you’re buying beer for a house party, is it cheapest to purchase aluminum cans, glass bottles, or a keg? What are some low-cost snacks that will impress your guests? Buying in bulk, creating your own fruit and veggie trays, and using reusable dishes can save a lot of money when hosting parties!

The price you pay per kWh of electricity and per gallon of water can change from hour to hour or from month to month depending on the rate structure that your utility companies use. Understanding how you’re charged for water and energy can help you minimize the price you pay for utilities!

Did you know that utility companies and the government will give you money in the form of rebates and tax credits to help pay for home upgrades? These financial incentives can help you upgrade to more energy- and water-efficient heating and cooling systems, water fixtures, light bulbs, and more!

Investing in residential solar can significantly reduce your electricity bills! Your savings will depend on how expensive your electricity bill usually is, how often the sun shines on your roof, how many solar tax rebates are available in your area, and how you choose to finance your solar installation.

Is it cheaper to adjust your thermostat temperature when you’re away from home or leave it as is? Listen to the final episode of our 4-episode mini-series on heating and cooling costs to learn more! In general, programmable or smart thermostats can save you up to $176 per year!

This is Episode #3 of our 4-episode mini-series on reducing heating and cooling expenses! Heating expenses are typically the largest single item of a household’s energy bills, with an average US household paying up to $900 per year for heating. Upgrade to EnergyStar systems to save on this expense!

Welcome to Episode #2 of our mini-series on reducing heating and cooling expenses! The average household spends $273 per year to cool their homes, but this average can be as high as $550 for homes in hot, humid climates. Upgrade your system, use fans, and wear light clothes to reduce this expense!

This is Episode #1 of a 4-episode mini-series on reducing heating and cooling expenses! The average household spends $882 per year to heat and cool their homes. About 30% of this cost is due to air leakage and insufficient insulation. Tighten your building envelope to reduce this wasted expense!

How often do you cook? Which kitchen appliances do you use? The average US household spends $88 per year to use their ovens, stovetops, and microwaves. Use the properly-sized stovetop burner, cover your pans while cooking, and cook multiple meals at once to save on your utility bills.

Depending on the age, type, and size of your refrigerator(s) and freezer(s), you could be spending over $300 per year to keep your food cold! Tighten the door seal, organize and label your food, and let your food cool off before putting it in the refrigerator or freezer to save money on your electricity bill.

Air drying clothes can save the average US household with an electric dryer almost $100 per year! But even with machine drying, huge savings can be achieved by upgrading to an EnergyStar heat pump dryer. Look into purchasing some dryer balls to even further reduce costs!

Front load, EnergyStar clothes washing machines provide a low-cost way to clean the 320 loads of laundry that the average US household does per year. Even further financial savings can be achieved by washing with less hot water and making sure to run the washing machine only when it’s full.

Is it cheaper to wash your dishes by hand or to use a dishwasher? It depends on how often you run your dishwasher and how much water you use to wash dishes by hand. The average household spends about $105 per year to wash dishes; learn how to reduce this expense by 60%!

About 13% of the water bill for an average US household accounts for water that is lost to household leaks. That’s $112 per year wasted on water that isn’t even used! By repairing dripping faucets and fixing broken pipes, you can minimize household leaks and put money back in your pocket.

The average US household spends $249 per year to use their sinks! Sink usage at home has increased over 21% during the pandemic, adding $52 to this average annual expense, for a total of $301. Installing aerators and turning off the sink while you brush your teeth can reduce your costs by up to 50%!

The average household spends $312 per year for the water and energy costs to take showers and baths! You can reduce this expense by 50% or more by taking colder and shorter showers. Upgrading to a low-flow shower head alone can save you up to $78 per year!

The average US household spends $296 every year to heat water! Adding some low-cost insulation to your water heater tank and lowering the hot water temperature to 120F are easy ways to reduce this expense. Upgrading to a heat pump water heater can reach annual savings as high as $148!

Do you still use a lot of CFLs and incandescent light bulbs in your home? LEDs use about 40% and 85% less energy than CFLs and incandescents, respectively, and LEDs can operate for up to 50,000 hours before replacement! Switching to all LEDs can provide huge savings for your electricity bill!

The average US household spends about $200/year (or almost 2 months’ worth of electricity bills) on powering devices that they aren’t even using! This electricity usage is referred to as vampire loads. Learn how power strips and smarter charging habits can help reduce these costs!

How much money are you flushing down the toilet every year? Adding a couple of bricks to your toilet tank or upgrading to a dual flush toilet can reduce your toilet water costs by as much as 67%! Food coloring can help you identify leaks that could cause you to pay for an extra 300 gallons of water per day.