Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
Hi! I’m Josh Elledge, the Chief Executive Angel of SavingsAngel.com and welcome to the SavingsAngel show! I’m podcasting to you from a windy and chilly Orlando, Florida.
I am an extremely busy consumer expert, money-saving advocate, syndicated newspaper columnist, and the guy that turns digital entrepreneurs into media celebrities with UpMyInfluence.com. I love what I do and can’t wait to get going on today’s episode.
In order to help you save more, earn more and live more abundantly on today’s show I’ll be covering:
- Spend Less with Off-Season Traveling
- Test out of your first year of college
- SeaWorld Orlando Seven Seas Food Festival 2020
LINKS FROM THE PODCAST:
www.petersons.com/angel to get 25% off first month
seaworld.com/orlando/events/seven-seas-food-festival/
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Spend Less with Off-Season Traveling!
I’ve begun planning for my wife’s and my 25th wedding anniversary. We’ve dreamed of international travel – so I’ve been doing my SavingsAngel research.
What if you are eager to travel internationally in the years ahead but you think the cost is inaccessible? As the SavingsAngel, my goal is to help you get a four or five-star experience at two or three-star prices.
One of the best ways to reduce your expenses across the board (transportation, accommodations, and even dining and activities) is to travel in the off-season.
As a bonus, you can beat the crowd and have a more relaxing and authentic experience.
Here are some of the travel destinations that are known for much better off-season pricing:
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Does thinking about the cost of college make you cringe? What if I told you there was a legitimate way to test out of the first year of college, saving students and parents thousands of dollars?
There is, and it’s real. CLEP and DSST exams are the best kept secret in higher education. Similar to AP tests, CLEP and DSST exams are open to anyone and accepted for credit at over 2,900 major colleges and universities. Passing just one of these exams can save you an average of $1,000 in college credit.
Peterson’s is here to help you prepare for those exams. With a subscription to Peterson’s test prep library, you get unlimited access to all of our prep materials for every test we offer. You’ll find practice tests, instructional videos, flashcards and more, so whatever your learning style, you’ll feel confident on test day.
Peterson’s is offering a special discount for SavingsAngel listeners. Use promo code ANGEL at checkout to receive 25% off your first month. For more information or to sign up visit www.petersons.com.
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If you’ve loved hearing everything on this podcast, SHARE THIS episode with a friend! People NEED this information. You and I, together, can change lives. I recommend taking a screenshot and posting on FB – or wherever you hang out most.
And as always, if you have any specific questions, or if there is something you’d like to hear me talk about, you can drop me a comment in the podcast feedback, write me on my Facebook group, or call my podcast hotline at 407.205.9250 and leave me a message. I’ll answer your question, write you back, or – with your permission – I might even share your question or story with others on this show.
Have a wonderful week – full of saving more, earning more, and living more abundantly – and thank you for listening!
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00:03
Hi there, I'm Josh Elledge, the chief executive Angel at SavingsAngel.com and welcome to the SavingsAngel Show. I'm podcasting to you from the windy and chilly Orlando, Florida. You're like Yeah, yeah, get out of here. Listen, I'm an extremely busy consumer expert, money saving advocate, syndicated newspaper columnist and that guy that turns digital entrepreneurs into media celebrities at up my influence.com. I love what I do and can't wait to get going on today's episode. Now in order to help you save more, earn more, and live more abundantly on today's show, I'm going to be covering how to spend less with off season traveling. That's right. It's a travel show. And we're also going to talk about how you can have your kiddos test out of your first year of college. Did you know you could do that did ya seriously. major, major money And then we're gonna head over to SeaWorld Orlando for the Seven Seas Festival 2020. All that and more coming up. Let's get going. Now before we get going, I do like to share the fact that I actually have two other podcasts. Yeah, I've got a seriously. I do a total of three podcasts. Am I crazy? Maybe there's a SavingsAngel Show, which is again, this is Episode 276. That's nutty. But you want to know what's even more crazy, is I have a daily podcast. And that podcast is called the thoughtful entrepreneur, where I interview small business owners who are doing well in business. And so if you know someone who started a business, they're doing pretty well. I would love to feature them on the thoughtful entrepreneur. So just have them go to up my interview. Lewin's dot com slash guest and they can see all the information about you know, kind of who we're looking for what the qualifications are and stuff and they can go ahead and get a pre interview all set up and go through and get them all scheduled and and then I would love to share them with our audiences and on on the socials, not including the social SavingsAngel social media, just unlike my Josh Elledge, and UpMyInfluence accounts, we have over 120,000 followers and I would love to promote them to our audiences. So once again, if you know a business owner, please please please let me share their story with our audiences. Hundred 20,000 fans. Again, just have them go to up my influence.com slash guest and I'd love to have an interview with them. Alright, so I've been planning for my wife's and my guess how many years we've been Married 25 I've been we've been married for 25 years. Trust me we got married very young.
3:10
Now we've dreamed of international travel. And so I've been doing my savings Angel research. So what if you are eager to travel internationally or well actually there's like one place on here that's not technically international at two places that are not international but you know, then I'm going to share with you how to help you get a four or five star experience at a two or three star price. That is that's the savings Angel lifestyle right there. I love getting hookups. I love getting upgrades. I love not having to, you know, live a miserly life, but just know the hookups and how to work the system so we can get great deals. Now one of the best ways to reduce your expenses across the board and I'm talking training portation, accommodations, and even dining and activities is to travel in the off season. Now as a bonus, you can beat the crowd and have a more relaxing and authentic experience. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to share some of the travel destinations that are known for having much better off season pricing. And hopefully I'm going to list a location that you've been dreaming of. Number one, Mexico, now Mexico can actually be a very budget friendly destination year round. However, June to November is the ideal time to visit the country to get all inclusive hotel discounts and airlines will even slashed their rates. Even though these months are the hurricane season. You can still enjoy the less crowded beaches like you are in Your Own Private resort. Now plus, most shops, restaurants and attractions also decrease their prices during the summer season. We see this here in Orlando during the tourist season, we tend not to do as many touristy things prices definitely go up on some things. Well, I'll tell you what they don't have is just they don't have as many discounts during summer and spring break and that sort of thing. So again, if you're a local in Orlando, you go when its value season and so that's usually September and January. Now, back to Mexico when you're in Mexico, you can also take in the amazing see notes. I hope I'm saying that right, or happy sad note days, or you can take a day trip to the cheats and eat saw where you can enjoy the sights that has always been on my dear wives list. And mine. Number two, let's talk about New Zealand. Let's go see hobbit town. Now if you're planning to visit New Zealand, there are a few there are fewer tourists during the months of March to November's pretty good window. Now if you love snowboarding and skiing the month of June to August is the best time to visit the country. Traveling and New Zealand during the off months will give you the opportunity to meet the locals. Plus the nature is stunning. And if you're a sporty person, there are a lot of activities to enjoy in the country. Okay, so just here, here's what I want to do. I want to inspire you. And I want you to at least go check it out. Hit up your favorite travel website. I'm a big fan of Hipmunk because I like the way that it allows you to sort and then of course you can also check airlines that are not indexed in Hipmunk directly. And if you have a favorite travel booking website I use oh I use USA too. If you have that. I've gotten some really good deals through that. If you have another favorite one, please comment over at our savings Angel Facebook group and post in there and let me know where you have found the best travel prices for flying. Now, let's go on down to Barbados. Now. Do you want to enjoy a beach winter or spring escape, but you're on a budget? Well, why don't you try visiting Barbados? This charming Caribbean I feel like I'm going to I feel like I should do the kind of the prices right voice right here. This charming Caribbean island may be small in size, but it attracts those who are looking for both luxurious and affordable taste of the island life. So while bigger islands can give you a better deal, the smaller ones can give you a more private experience. The beaches are more pristine on the West Coast while on the East Coast,
7:54
which is more rugged. It's a good spot for surfing and kayaking. Now when taking a trip to the ocean Don't forget to swim with the turtles. That sounds awesome dive and snorkel. I love snorkeling along the colorful coral reefs. Let's get on over to Greece. Now the country quiets down during the late fall and winter. But there are plenty of things to do in Greece all year round. You can walk the ruins of Olympia, climb the Acropolis, or participate in a traditional Greek CIHR Taki dance. Now, you can also join tours, which include a cruise around Santorini, mechonis, and other islands along to a GNC. And by the way, I'm going to ask your permission, I'm going to ask for your forgiveness, not permission. I'm just going to go ahead and do what I do ask for forgiveness afterwards as I mispronounce things, and I've got a few other words I'm seeing here I'm going to probably mispronounced Please forgive me Go over to Thailand. Now there is a reason why tourists love going to Thailand. It's very affordable and it's very scenic. Now if you want to enjoy better deals and fewer crowds, you can visit Thailand during the rainy season which starts during mid May through mid October. Now although these months are very rainy, the rain showers typically hit during the afternoon or evening and only lasts for an hour two jobs like it is here in Orlando. So if you come down to Orlando for the summer, it's kind of like that. Alright, so getting a full day of sightseeing or going to food crawl or spy escape. domestic flights are cheap as well. Now if you're craving the beach, you can visit the island of Koh Samui or co Penguin, which stay relatively dry the whole year. Next, not International, but there's ones on my list and I'll tell you why. This is where I met my dear wife. Yep. We met at a luau in Hawaii. Now Hawaii is a popular destination anytime of the year, but a lot of visitors visit the state during the wintertime. Although the islands do not have a traditional low season, Autumn is considered the offseason, particularly during late September until the middle of November, right before you just want to avoid Christmas time there. Now having been stationed there while in the Navy, I can share that the weather in Hawaii is fairly consistent with temperatures ranging from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, pretty much year round. Now this means you can go around the coast enjoy different activities like surfing, kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, sightseeing, it is a lovely place to go. And don't tell me this is savings Angel but I think that's where we're planning to go. It's been 25 years. I haven't been back station there for three years. absolutely loved it. That's where we met. We fell in love. And I got to take the lady back. She deserves it. Alright next Croatia, Croatia, as known it's known as the more affordable destination in Europe. And this is true especially if you're traveling during fall, the offseason. Now while traveling around Croatia during fall, you can still enjoy the beautiful beaches and the warm weather minus the crowds. You can find picture perfect stretches of sand and the forest covered mountains in the north Adriatic coast. Now you can also take a stroll along the way plitt this Lakes National Park Forgive me Croatians and with its lush greenery, the lakes and waterfalls and the clear waters. Next place I've been to a couple of times and that's the Bahamas. Now the Bahamas is always on top of people's travel bucket list. usually pretty affordable to get to throughout the year. Lots of lots of flights, lots of little lots of cruises go there, out of Florida. They have three day cruises to Bahamas all the time which you can get really cheap. Now, if you want to escape the crowd and get more value from your money travel during autumn, autumn allows you to fall some private beach time, it allows you to enjoy some private beach time. Along with enjoying the beach. You can also swim along with the dolphins. On Blue Lagoon Island. You can seek amusement at Paradise Island waterpark tour, Eleuthera Island or cruise into Castaway K. And finally, San Francisco. Now the best time to visit when a California is best known northern cities is from September to November when there are fewer tourists. Now these months are also the perfect time to go to the beach. Now you can head down to the waterfront at Fisherman's Wharf. And they're super cool, super fun. You can spend time at Union Square by the way I really enjoyed. This was a long time ago. When I was in the Navy, I was stopping through on a military flight military transport flight. And so I had a day in San Francisco and went to Fisherman's Wharf and took the tour out to Alcatraz, which was really cool. back then. The audio tour was on a Walkman. Again, kind of dating myself, and really, really cool, amazing stories. I really enjoyed that. But continue on again, you can spend some time at Union Square enjoy a day at the Presidio, or you can take in a view from the Twin Peaks. Now because you're on a budget does not mean that you cannot enjoy what the world has to offer. So when you're listening to savings Angel show, I'm going to help you save two to $400. every single month on your budget, you keep socking that away, take care of your debts, sock away some money. And once a year once every two, three years, four years, even if you treat yourself right. Treat yourself right and so, you know, you don't necessarily it's okay by the way mom and dad, if you just want to go without the kids, you're entitled to do that. And I know when we are kids were much younger, we we really didn't do that a whole lot. I mean, we didn't really have the money to do it but to take extravagant vacations, but I do want to encourage you to take the time, enjoy every phase of life, save, save your money on the things that don't really matter to you. You know, taking vacations is making memories you know, certainly paying more profit to credit card interest or any other kind of interest or retailer profits, you know, that sort of thing. You know, overpaying for utilities and your car stuff or whatever. Just keep listening to the savings Angel show. We're going to keep freeing up money from here and there and you can apply it to the things that really matter to you. And probably those things that matter again, those memories and being able to have those experiences. I want to help You get more value out of your money, especially if you plan your trips for offseason traveling.
15:06
Speaking of saving money, does thinking about the cost of college make you cringe, insert scary noise right there. Now, if I told you there was a legit way to test out of the first year of college, would that sound exciting? Do I have your attention parents? This could save students and parents thousands of dollars. How do you do this? Okay, well, there's there's a, again, there's, there's a way you can do this. It's it works. It's real. Colleges don't mind that you know this, in fact, and that is that CLEP and dsst exams. I think they are the best kept secret in higher education. Similar to AP tests, CLEP and dsst. Exams are open Anyone and accepted for credit at over 2900 major colleges and universities, that probably includes the one that your kid ultimately wants to go to. Passing just one of these exams could save you an average of $1,000 in college credit. Now, wouldn't that be cool if you could have your kids test out of like 234 classes? Well, I just saved you 234 thousand dollars right there. That is equivalent to mom and dad being able to take an international vacation. I like that. All right, so how do you do this? So I did a lot of savings, Angel research, and I found a service that had really good reviews, check them out, communicated with them. They are legit, and it is petersons. It's petersons.com slash Angel right, that URL down below. I'm about to hook you up with an even bigger discount. petersons is here to help you prepare for those exams. With a subscription to Peterson's Test Prep library, you get unlimited access to all the test prep materials for every test that they offer. You'll find practice tests, instructional videos, flashcards, and more. So whatever your learning style, you'll feel confident on test day, listen, I mean, test doing really, really good test prep changed my life. And I want you and your kids to be able to experience this as well. Listen, I'll tell you what, you know, My son is just completing his junior year and this summer. That's absolutely what he's going to be doing. He ain't no fool. You like to save that money just like his old man. I like to save that money. I got an international vacation to go on. petersons is offering a special discount for savings Angel listeners remember that you are Allah just gave you Peter sons.com slash Angel. Well, if you go to that URL, okay, if it asks you for a promo code, you can just enter Angel, again at checkout, but go to petersons.com slash Angel, and they were nice enough to set that up. You are going to get 25% off your first month.
18:10
Just try it out.
18:23
I would. I am. I'm dword Ethan's definitely doing it. So join me join Ethan join Noah. And let's test out of some college classes save thousands of dollars. Let's go to petersons.com slash Angel get 25% off your first month and let's test out some college classes, save some money and do some more traveling. And so right now we're actually with Lori cherry. Lori is the director of public relations with SeaWorld Orlando, and we are on the ground here at the seven seas Food Festival. Again here at SeaWorld Orlando. Laurie, thank you so much for kind of sharing with us what the seven seas Food Festival is. It is a really, really popular event both with the locals and again, folks that are coming in for spring break families are coming into the area if you want to come and try a lot of delicious foods. The Food Festival is really amazing. Here is seven at again at SeaWorld Orlando. Can you just kind of give us a quick overview of the event?
19:30
Oh, thank you so much for for being here. And for previewing the event. I have to tell you Seven Seas Food Festival is my absolute favorite event at SeaWorld and we have an event every weekend all 52 weekends of the year, so that is no small statement to make. The Food Festival runs all the way from February 8 through May 3. So we're about three weeks into the festival. Right now. It is Friday Saturdays and Sundays over 180 unique food and drink offerings. You can buy a tasting land And make your way around the park try everything out the portions are really great size. And then we have concerts on Saturdays and Sundays at six o'clock.
20:09
And what's unique so for folks that maybe have attended like a food festival, other places, what's unique about SeaWorld? What's the world's take on the food festival?
20:19
You know our take on the food festival is this is international street food chef Hector travels around, tries things and brings them back to our part. And the other thing that makes our food festival so unique is a portion size we're really great value you don't really fill up and have a full meal and a couple of samples here.
20:39
Yeah. So you know and and shift after we've actually interviewed for a few years now he's really truly amazing at creating new experiences that maybe you've not seen anywhere else. Would you mind maybe highlighting a few of the food experiences that people will find here that maybe they haven't seen before?
20:59
Oh my goodness. Well this year we have the cricket in crusted bison slider which Wait
21:05
wait a minute Say
21:06
that again? cricket crested bison slider so you've got almost everything right that the the foodie the adventures and foodie should try there. So that's definitely one of our hot ticket items this year is a new item. I am a Louisiana native and I am super excited that we have added crawfish at two fates and the Gulf Coast area. And then we also have fried Gator this year which wall we have? Yeah, no Florida favorite bands and you're coming from anywhere else and you wanted to try Gator I'm Chef Hector does it up right. So this is the place to taste it
21:43
as a Floridian of 12 years we've had the opportunity to try Gator and you know if you're just coming into the area. It's something that you really need to experience. How would you describe that dish in particular, like if someone who's never had Gator before. It really is It's really great. It's fantastic you know, it's
22:03
a great white meat meat so I highly recommend chicken Yeah, I do. I'll say it it doesn't taste like chicken you know and then for those people who have a sweet tooth maybe you aren't really into the savory I'll see the absolute best and I hope you guys try it today is the rainbow cheesecake and an ice cream cone. It is just the best way Okay,
22:26
we haven't tried that. Yeah, we did try the meatballs we dry the there was it was like a dim sum. And so what Tell me more about that. What is that? And the demson No, no.
22:39
That sounds delicious cheese cake
22:41
in an ice cream cone with cream fresh fruit on top you can't go wrong.
22:45
Yeah, so for folks that haven't been to Sea World maybe a few years Can you Would you mind your maybe sharing an overview of what's new what is if you're going to come to see world what you should not miss. I'm
22:59
not gonna lie. It's My favorite topic if you haven't been to SeaWorld years you don't know what you're missing two years ago we opened infinity falls It's the world's tallest drop water ride. It's fantastic if you have little ones but really children of all ages enjoy the attraction we open last March. It is a six acres, Sesame Street land. Your first ever daily parade, meet and greet with Elmo and all of his friends. And more and more importantly, it's just take a walk down Sesame Street and really experienced the street that she grew up loving. And then in addition to that, this spring, we're opening icebreaker it's our first family friendly coaster in the park. So it has a shorter height requirement height requirement, right inches. So if you have little ones who are kind of in that in between space, and they're not really into the big thrills, like Maiko, but like posters icebreaker is going to deliver for the whole family.
23:55
So I want to share you know, again, having experienced Sesame Street Here at SeaWorld, it is really it just a magical experience. It really is. You know, I grew up on Sesame Street and SeaWorld Orlando has just done such an amazing job of recreating that experience of actually being on Sesame Street. And Lori Would you mind sharing maybe what kind of encounters meet people might have when they visit Sesame Street here in Seattle or SeaWorld? Orlando?
24:27
Well, there's a great new you're always guaranteed to meet Elmo and Cookie Monster. Yeah, to go into the building. with Mr. Hooper store connected to Mr. Hoover store. You can see Elmo and Cookie Monster get your picture taken and then throughout the day, there are surprise visits from all of the other characters. They just make appearances in the realm Oscar the Grouch is absolutely my favorite. He is trash can. But Burton Ernie are there Zoe Abby cadabby Rosita is in the heart. And then count if you like the count in there. And then of course big word does storytime. So you can head over to big bird's nest and have a seat on the ground and listen to big word tell you his stories are like,
25:13
you know, I just really I was just every time I go through the Sea World area here in the world, I just I'm just so immersed in the you know, something that I have just such an affinity for. So I just I really have to express anyone who has not yet experienced the sea world experience or the the the Sesame Street experience here at SeaWorld. It really is truly amazing. You got food, even food trucks there, you've got a lot of Sesame Street themed rides. It really really is amazing. One last thing, Lori is the whatnot I've got two more things is, you know, for those who love thrill rides, you know, there are a few rides here at SeaWorld Orlando that are just really Incredible. My personal favorite is Maiko. Yeah. And so, you know, if you've got some adrenaline junkies in your family, they are going to have an amazing time here. You know, if you're going to be in Central Florida, there's so much to do. Would you mind maybe highlighting a couple of the horror thrilling experiences that you can experience here and will make Oh,
26:23
that you just mentioned is, is my favorite coaster in the park and it is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Florida. It goes up to 73 miles an hour. Yeah. Which is super fast. For those. There's a hyper coaster, and it is not for the faint of heart. But if you like coasters, it's really one for the bugs.
26:44
I'm trying to figure you out if you if you aren't here you go. Okay. Okay, good. Good. Good. Good. Yes, ma'am. I'm a major fan. So are my teenage boys. I've got my sweet daughter, Olivia here and so I think we're gonna hit it later. I'm a big fan. It's my Favorite coaster in all of Florida.
27:02
It is my favorite coaster. Mike My kids love it too. I have an 11 year old Yeah. 13 year old they both love thrills so they love the coaster. Their favorite is Manson that's our oh yeah and that is really mimics the motion of a man or a underwater so you are you are hanging face forward for most of that ride. Yeah upside down so you get a little bit of a of a kind of a unique thrill. I'm not a I'm a coaster enthusiasts, but not it. I don't know all the technical.
27:35
The air time I know that's a
27:37
big it's got an inverted loop is what I understand. And we're oh my gosh, that that inverted loop is the king of all inverted loops of every roller coaster I've ever written in my life. It is really honestly if you've got a teenager who's looking for like, I want maximum Geez, I want to an incredible experience. Oh, come here. Yeah, just call
28:01
it like that little bit of stomach flipping.
28:07
Yeah,
28:08
well listen, I'm so impressed with So, so many new experiences here in SeaWorld. There's so many great experience the food is incredible here again at the seven seas of food festival here in SeaWorld Orlando. Again, Lori cherry is public relations director. Thank you so much. Now, where can people go for the best deals, offers promotions, that sort of thing.
28:34
I'm going to send you to SeaWorld com SeaWorld Orlando.
28:38
Yeah. Yeah. And and and if they're planning their spring break, or if they're planning their activity, like what things should they maybe include in their in their ticket or how should they plan that vacation?
28:50
Well, you know, we also have a water park across the street. Yeah, I mean, in the next couple of weeks Aquatica is here. Yeah, some really fantastic to park ticket deals or
29:01
I have to say, listen as a local I can tell you that Aquatica is my all time favorite waterpark, anywhere, anywhere, especially in Central Florida. I am a huge fan. I love the roller rapids. I love the cut the what's the one drop that they have? There are so many it's it's really an incredible day over there. It's a great my gosh two to three day experience. See world has so much to offer. Lori thank you so much again, SeaWorld Orlando calm for all the latest promotions, any discounts, coupons, go there first check it out. You can plan your whole vacation around that. Lori the again the seven seas Food Festival is really a great experience not just for the family. But I think for mom and dad. There's a lot of Oh Are there like our Drink things like a special drinks I we name it talk about that that mom and dad might be interested.
30:07
It's a food festival has some beverage offerings, both alcohol and non alcoholic offerings. That's great. There's some great samples to try to a lot of local breweries participate in the arts. It's a lot of fun. We have a couple of specialty drinks that you can find throughout the mart. It's great
30:24
Lori cherry, thank you so much. SeaWorld Orlando, thank you so much. Again, you're planning your spring break in the area. Come here. It's a lot of fun. We're having a great time trying all the foods right now. Lori, thank you so much for joining us.
Now, if you've loved hearing everything in this podcast, Would you do me a favor and share this episode with a friend? People need this information? Seriously, there are people right now that are financially struggling, Been there, done that I wish I had access to a really really smart friend who always knew how to get the hookups on everything. And that's what this show is all about. You and I together, we could change lives I promise. I'm gonna make you look good. I promise they're gonna say thank you. You know what, you're right, that savings Angel guy, pretty smart. I recommend taking a screenshot. However you're listening to this podcast right now and post it on the Facebook post on the Twitter post on the Instagram, post on story, post on Tick Tock. You can do that. Wherever you hang out with me wherever you hang out most. Now, as always, if you have any specific questions, or if there's something you'd like to hear me talk about, you could drop us a comment on the podcast feedback. Just go to savings, Angel calm. There's lots of ways you can get a hold of us. You can write on our private Facebook group, you're welcome to join. Or you can call the podcast hotline at 407-205-9250 and leave a message just at the beginning of the message. Just a Josh you could share this on the show.
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