Stephanie Marie Seferian's Blog, page 25

10 Ways Americans Waste Money

Materialistic, overly consumptive, and incredibly wasteful: The stereotype of the average American around the globe isn’t flattering. And while being wasteful isn’t a personality trait most of us aspire to have, for many US citizens, wasting enormous amounts of resources and money is simply our way of life.

Fellow Americans, we can do better. On today’s show I rank order 10 specific ways Americans waste money without even realizing it; I also offer practical action steps toward resourcefulness f...

Family Game Night

Ah, family game night. Something special happens when we put our phones away, sit around the table, and have fun with our loved ones. But if you have children, game night can be fraught with whines, groans, and tantrums. And after a long workweek? Game night can feel like another To-Do item.

On today’s show we discuss what research says about the benefits of game night. In the first part of today’s show I offer 6 strategies to curate a successful family game night; in Part 2 I sit down with Ali ...

Fashion’s Missing Link

Perhaps you’ve seen buzzwords like upcycled, renewed, or repurposed on fashion websites and are feeling confused. Perhaps, too, you’ve invested in natural fibers when purchasing clothes but doing so simply doesn’t seem like enough. While the planet operates in a circular system in which everything is reused and repurposed, the fashion industry operates within a vastly different, linear system. Big Fashion gets away with an awful lot of unethical practices: you’re right, then, to wonder whether y...

Skimpflation

You’ve likely noticed that we’re in a period of inflation, and that’s because rising prices are difficult to ignore (hey there, gasoline!). But what about nonexistent customer service, smaller food packages, and the nagging, overall sense that we as consumers are getting the bad end the deal every time we make a purchase?

That, my friends, is skimpflation.

When you start looking for skimpflation in real life you’ll see it everywhere. On today’s show I’m uncovering the sneaky tactics brands use t...

An Extremely Simple Eco Summer

Can a sun-toasting, memory-making, blue sky summer also be eco-friendly?

I believe that the greenest habits are the ones that don’t cost much money; they’d never upend our already busy lives, either. Today I speak with Paul Hope, Home & Garden Editor for Consumer Reports, and together we offer 8 summer-specific tweaks to your days that are so easy-peasy you won’t even realize you’re *also* helping the planet.

 

Here’s a preview:

[2:45] Summer is for barbecues: 3 tips for grilling smarter during ...

The Power Of Anticipation

A vacation. A dinner party. The arrival of a package you’ve been waiting for. There’s happiness to be found in looking forward to something, and that’s because anticipation simultaneously increases levels of optimism and decreases feelings of irritability.

But in a consumerist culture, it’s often assumed that anticipation’s benefits come with spending money. Don’t bigger purchases and grander trips equate to greater happiness? And what about expectation? Isn’t expecting something in the future o...

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are found in loads of personal care, beauty, and cleaning products. But there are both environmental and human health concerns associated with SLS and SLES: why, then, do eco-conscious brands continue to include such surfactants in their product offerings?

On today’s show I’m answering a listener’s question about the well-known “green” brand, Seventh Generation. Why does their laundry detergent list SLS as its first ingredient? Is Sev...

Divesting

Whenever you add money to your bank account, it doesn’t just sit there. Your bank lends your money to industries and projects with the intent of making a profit. Many banks (and all the big name banks in particular) regularly invest OUR money into the fossil fuels industry, thereby funding the continued mining and burning of oil, coal, and gas.

To give you a scope of the problem: In 2021 alone, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America spent a combined $137 BILLION on fossil fue...

All-Things Eggs

There’s lots to consider when buying eggs. What does “humanely raised” mean, exactly, and are free-range eggs actually worth the extra cost?

As it turns out, there are many misleading claims on egg cartons. On today’s short and sweet episode I’m answering listener Lauren’s question about intentional egg purchasing. My goal is to arm you with facts – not marketing gimmicks! – so that you can confidently spend in ways aligned with your values the next time you’re at your farmer’s market or grocery...

Life Lessons Learned From Plants

Life provides countless opportunities each day to practice self-awareness and reflection. For some of us, such introspection happens when we exercise or meditate. For others, it naturally occurs when we’re in touch with nature.

Today I speak with author Marcus Bridgewater, also known as the uber-popular Garden Marcus on social media. Marcus argues that nurturing plants also helps us grow as people, and so he’s on the show to divulge 5 life lessons he’s learned that are rooted in his time in his ...