Amanda Barroso
Appearances
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
Absolutely. And, you know, Kim mentioned this. Unlike other kinds of spending where we can cut back altogether, food is just not one of those things. But we can work on spending our money more wisely at the grocery store. So I know some folks have started using grocery pickup or drive up services to try to cut back on impulse purchases in the store. And I think that's a really smart idea.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
Meal planning and list making are two ways that NerdWallet recommends saving money at the grocery store. But if you're anything like me, you write the list down and you forget to bring it to the store or your partner stops at the store and doesn't have the list. And there's an easy solution for this and it's a grocery list app.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
So for a recent story, I actually looked at some popular grocery list apps for Apple and Android users and found some pretty great options. Just as a baseline, these list apps sync in real time. You can make multiple lists. If you're like me, maybe you shop at Aldi and Costco, you can make multiple lists there. You can share with members of your household so multiple people can access
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
add to the list which is a really nice feature so like the mental load isn't always just on the person who downloaded the app the items on the list are also like grouped into categories that are really smart and kind of make shopping and the store more efficient so like items are grouped so you know you can kind of pick up things all together as you're meandering through the aisles so you mentioned some apps that could make it a little easier to navigate price increases
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
I think there are some apps that are really ripe for this moment in time. For example, Bring with an exclamation point lets you save store cards so you can take advantage of sales and don't have to dig them out of your wallet. You can also get coupons and rewards from those stores right there. There's another app called Out of Milk that displays a running total as you shop.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
So like you don't have that sticker shock when you get to the register. Other apps, Any List and Our Groceries give you the option to take a photo of the product you want to add to your list so you can make sure you or whoever's hitting the store is getting the right thing. That could be important too if you're wanting to make the switch to store brands to try to save money.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
Like, hey, you know, for my husband, like, please don't just get any chicken stock, right? Let's try to save and get the one that I've taken the picture of here. I think the good news is that all of these apps are free or have a free version.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
And while some do offer premium features that are pretty cool, like you could import recipes from your favorite blog and easily add the ingredients to your list, you can get a lot of functionality, pretty much everything you need from the free versions. There's another feature that I think is pretty cool. It's from the Out of Milk app.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
So it allows you to scan the barcodes of items in your pantry so you can track what you have. And I don't know if you guys are like me, but I get to the store and I'm like, do I have chicken stock? I don't know. I'll just buy another one. Do I have diced tomatoes? What's another can or two going to hurt? That's me spending money that I didn't have to spend.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
What to do When Groceries Cost More and Retirement Feels Out of Reach
So this app is pretty cool because you can literally see what's in your pantry when you're at the store and really keep from spending money on duplicates that you don't want.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
You're right. This is such an interesting question. And kind of like you, Elizabeth, my financial profile looked nothing like Chris's when I was their age. I think I'd start with thinking about how their budget might shift if they decide to move out. NerdWallet recommends everyone have a budget. The 50-30-20 is sort of an ideal.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
With this framework, 50% of your take-home pay goes toward needs like rent, groceries, transportation, utilities. 30% goes toward wants, travel, eating out, shopping, streaming memberships, gym memberships, that kind of thing. And 20% goes toward savings and additional debt repayments.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
So if I were Chris, I'd start by researching fixed costs, things that you know are going to be stable month to month, like rent, utilities, and kind of plugging them into this budgeting framework. They can play around with the categories a little bit.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
If they're in a high cost of living area, maybe 60% of their take-home pay needs to go toward necessities, leaving 20% for wants and 20% for savings and debt repayment. So there's some flexibility there, but the point is to start crafting a budget that they can stick to.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
I think that's exactly what a budget is for. Like intentionality is a great word. In an uncertain economy, it can be really scary to spend money because it feels like you're eroding some of that safety net that you've worked really hard to build.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
But if you've made a budget and you've built up an emergency fund with, let's say, roughly six months of living expenses, you're saving for retirement, for example, taking advantage of an employer 401k match or something like that. and you're paying down your debts, or in Chris's case, you have zero debts, then you could also give yourself permission to spend on things that fill your cup.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
It might also be important for Chris to set a threshold. So, you know, how much money could they save that would make them feel safe to move out? Does the limit even exist, right? Like, that might be an important question to ask.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
I know it feels like we have to be sitting on fat stacks of cash to simply exist these days, but there are some real benefits to moving out, even if it does cost, let's say, $2,000 a month in rent, like they suggest. Privacy and dependence and simply being accountable to only yourself can be an important part of adulthood for some people.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
And maybe it's as simple as Chris asking their parents, hey, if this doesn't feel right, if it doesn't work out, can I come back? Having that safety net could make this feel less like a financial risk and more like a step toward building the life they want.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
As the credit scoring writer and residents here at NerdWallet, I would be remiss if I didn't come on here and say, hey, Chris, what's your credit score? That's one thing that wasn't mentioned as part of this larger financial portfolio.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
And so if they have no rent or mortgage payment, they have no utility bills in their name, no debt, like a car or a student loan, then I'm wondering what their credit file looks like. It might be what's called a thin credit file or a credit report with fewer than five accounts.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
So basically what this means is that there might not be enough information in their credit reports to generate a credit score. And this could really be a problem when they go to rent an apartment down the line, for example. So if Chris has a thin file or if their score is lower than they like, it's a good idea to spend some time building it.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
There are some simple things that they can do, like they can become an authorized user on their parents' credit cards, assuming that they're making regular on-time payments and that they have a healthy and trusting relationship with their parents. Maybe even putting a utility bill or two in their name and making sure that they're paying those on time can sort of help in the short term.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
If Chris decides to move out, they can get credit for on-time rental payments through a rent reporting service, which will help continue to build up their credit file. So either way, a strong credit score is a gateway to tons of financial products and services. Many people aim for a perfect credit score, which is 850 on a scale of 300 to 850. But scores fluctuate all the time, almost constantly.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
And so it's kind of like trying to hit a moving target. Instead, I would suggest that Chris focus on the reliable habits that are proven to build a strong score. So making on-time payments, using 30% or less of their available credit, having a mix of credit accounts. and keeping older accounts open to establish that lengthy credit history.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
I'm a planner by nature, and something that I like to do is to get out a planner or calendar and think about what the next year of my life looks like. You could even do it by quarters if a year feels too overwhelming. Look out at the expanse of time. Have you made time for things that you love doing? For me, I ask myself, am I traveling? Am I going to concerts or soccer games?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
Am I building in time for friends and hobbies? And what will all this cost me? So if I can get a sense of those things early on, then I can start saving. I personally use Ally for my high-yield savings account, and I've created different savings buckets for some of those wants, like travel and home improvement projects.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
So this way, I've kind of already given myself the permission to spend on the things that I want.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
You just want to air our dirty laundry, Sean. I get it.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
So I've made a lot of mistakes, but I'm thinking about a period in my life when I got my first real job out of graduate school and I moved to a brand new state. I had like a big girl salary for the first time in my life. It basically like tripled my grad school stipend. If you're a grad student, you know, it's like pennies on the dollar. Right. So needless to say, I bawled at the mall.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
I felt rich. I was rolling in it. But I got into debt quickly and suddenly I felt underwater again. Like it didn't even matter that my salary had tripled. Right. I was like, why do I feel poor? And looking back, there are so many other things I could have done with that money. including, I don't know, having a budget. I would just sort of pay my bills and then what was left was what was left.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
And I used that to shop. So I should have been saving for international travel before kids and starting an investing account. I have regrets about that time period, but... I learned a lot. And look at me now. I have a travel sinking fund. I have a retirement account. And I even own a home. Things work themselves out. But it was a learning period for sure.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
And if I could go back, I would have sat down with my former self and said, girl, you need a budget.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
I literally negotiated for my first salary like five years ago. I understand. I think that's common with women too. It's like, we're sort of taught to just be grateful to get what we can get. Right. A lot of the discourse around that has shifted, but like, yes, girl, you are worth the money. Yes. Pay me. I'm kidding.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
Okay, so Sean, I want to get your thoughts on part of Chris's question about knowing when you have enough saved and invested and can maybe pump the brakes on those two things. Since you're Mr. CFP, what do you think about this? Are there any benchmarks that Chris should consider? Any thresholds? What do we need to know?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
I imagine it has a feather. It's very fancy.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
But I think Chris's story points to that when it comes to money, you can be doing everything technically right, but still not feel fulfilled. And that part is up to you. And money is the tool to help you live the life you want. This is what Sean's been telling us over and over, right? So sure, there's risk involved.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
But I think in Chris's case, the risk seems less about financial inability or instability and more about stepping outside their comfort zone and into a potentially unknown but quite beautiful life.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Car Prices, Tariffs, and Trade-Offs: What to Know Before You Buy or Move Out
Thanks for having me, guys.