By Holland Cooke
Consultant
BLOCK ISLAND, RI — All this month, my column outlines “Inflation Hacks,” easy ways to cut costs as our listeners (and we) are coping. To catch you up, here are previous installments:
- OFFER — don’t ask — to renegotiate
- Vino, Vodka, Video: Stop over-paying
- Store brands and “Use-by” dates
Eating-out is in the budget crosshairs
But you CAN afford to treat yourself, occasionally, by shopping smart:
- As they do at Del Boca Vista, eat early. In restaurant lingo, you’re in “the first turn.”
- NO NAMES, because the place is cozy and doesn’t take reservations. Let’s just say that a certain oyster bar my wife and I like offers “Buck-a-Shuck” before 6:00 pm.
- Opt-in if your favorite spot has an email list. They’ll tout specials.
- Have dessert at home. It’s one of restaurants’ two most profitable items (drinks being the other). And every add-on adds to the tip.
- Members: Actually bother reading what AAA and AARP send you. You are entitled to a discount at some restaurants.
Open wide…
My pal Larry doesn’t go to a dentist. He lets university dental students hone their clinical repertoire on him.
- Yes, it is less-expensive, “and insurance still covers it!”
- One trade-off he is quick to add: “Plan on spending the whole morning there,” because students’ work is so closely supervised.
- Because it’s a university, he reckons he’s getting state-of-the-art care.
- When I asked about students’ rookie mistakes, Larry quips: “The students are gentle. Just don’t let the faculty in there!”
In next week’s column, The Lightning Round…and a fabulous radio prize.
Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is author of the E-book “Spot-On: Commercial Copy Points That Earned The Benjamins,” a FREE download here, and “Multiply Your Podcast Subscribers, Without Buying Clicks,” available from Talkers books. HC is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. Follow him on Twitter @HollandCooke