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StitcherThat lobster bag is everywhere. Your FYP, your DMs, even your dreams. And as summer hits its stride, so does the relentless push to book, buy, and binge every trend in sight. In this episode, we’re calling out the sneaky ways social media makes us want things we don’t need. It’s a fun, eye-opening look at what’s actually worth it versus what’s just really good (or bad) marketing.
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Check out some relevant episodes
Summer in Numbers
Americans spent over $200 billion in summer 2024 – between vacations, all those sales, and just having more time to shop online. Travel spending was up 3.5% from last year and a crazy 118% compared to before the pandemic. Stores did well too, with sales growing 2.3% thanks to Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July, Prime Day, and back-to-school shopping. Today we’re going to talk about the 3 biggest leaks to your budget: travel, viral trends, and summer sales.
Tiktok-perfect Vacation
Social media has a sneaky way of making every vacation look like a sun-soaked, luxury escape. And suddenly, that beach trip you hadn’t even considered feels like a must. But those dreamy posts gloss over the reality: most people aren’t flying off to Bali every summer. We’re influenced by what we see, from idealized travel content to the pressure to make every summer “the best one yet,” and it can lead to overspending and unmet expectations. The truth? A meaningful summer doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. By getting honest about what we actually want (not what we’re told to want!), we can spend smarter, travel more intentionally, and avoid falling into the trap of picture-perfect getaways that weren’t really for us in the first place.
Viral Trends
You see something like that viral lobster bag enough times and suddenly it goes from “kind of weird” to “I need this now.” That’s how social media works. It slowly shifts your taste, adds urgency with restock alerts, and before you know it, you’re on a mission to find something you didn’t even like a week ago. It’s a good reminder to slow down, scroll with intention, and ask yourself if you truly need it or just got swept up in the hype.
Summer Sales
Retailers like Amazon are masters at using urgency, exaggerated discounts, and influencer hype to push us into spending more than we mean to—all under the illusion of “saving.” But when buying becomes a habit instead of a choice, especially with the ease of one-click shopping and fast shipping, it’s easy to lose sight of what we actually need. Pausing to ask whether a purchase aligns with your values or if it’s just reacting to FOMO or a polished pitch can turn shopping from a mindless scroll into a meaningful decision.
What’s a summer trend or thing that you think is all hype?
Jill thinks seasonal decor is just unnecessary and might be one of those trends or things people feel almost like obligated to do. Meanwhile, Jen always thought that water theme parks are overrated (and yucky).
Bill of The Week
Thank you Davi for sharing your bill with us about your cable bill that you cancelled and saved $161 per month!
Thanks so Much for Listening!
Thanks so much for listening. We love love love reading your kind reviews and we especially loved this one from:
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A great book for those interested in personal finance!
This book is a solid 10/10! 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 Frugal Friends 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!
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