Michele Norris
Appearances
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
This is a really good question, and it depends on the individual. So I'm going to try to give you a blanket answer, but you're going to have to edit this based on where you live, how you cook, how often you cook, and what your budget is. Generally, I think if it's something that you're going to use all the time, it's worth getting the best that you can get. Get the best knives that you can get.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
And then take care of them. If you're cooking, you're going to use a knife every day. And... A really good knife can make a difference. It's about safety, making sure that you keep the knife sharp, that you're less likely to cut yourself. That knife is less likely to sort of slide outside the onion and cut you accidentally if you get a good, clean cut through something.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
You don't necessarily have to buy the $500 Japanese knives. That may not be necessary. But get at least a good carving knife or a paring knife, something that you use every day to chop. And then something that's a little bit heavier that you can use, say, to chop root vegetables.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
If you want to cut up a chicken, you know, something that has a little bit of weight and a really nice sharp edge on it. And then take the time to, if you're getting the knife set, invest in what you need to keep it sharp. So that's an example of where it might be worth spending money.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
If you're on the keto plan and you don't eat a lot of carbs, you don't eat a lot of bread, you don't need the bread knife. You know, you might not need the whole set. So there is a lot of talk with the Duchess on TV, Meghan Markle, about Le Creuset. And this is another example, you know, do I really need an actual Le Creuset pot?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
Well, it depends on how much you cook, and it depends on if you're willing to make an investment. There are some pretty good alternatives, and there are some pretty good knockoffs. So you might not need to spend the money, but, you know, Stob, Lodge, there are a lot of other people who make cast iron or enamel cookware that are also very, very good.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
One of the questions that people ask, do I really need a Vitamix? You have lots of options. There's Vitamix, there's the Ninja, there are a couple of other high-end blenders. Vitamix is going to set you back. It's going to cost a couple hundred dollars. They go on sale every so often. That's a good way to get it is when they go on sale.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
Sometimes you can buy refurbished or open box items, but this is another individual question.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
Well, if you're cooking smoothies, you might not need a Vitamix, right? Magic Bullet makes a pretty good smoothie, even if you gunk it up with some of that high protein powder that you can use or, you know, and it still does a good job. But if you are making soups, if you are making pesto, you can make almost something like a gelato in a Vitamix because it has that much horsepower.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
It has so much horsepower that you can make a soup and it heats the soup in the Vitamix. So it depends, again, on what you're doing.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
A stove is an item that gets a lot of wear and tear. And so you want the best one that you can afford, not just for cooking, but for safety. So, you know, whether it's electric, whether it's induction, whether it's gas, you want to make sure that it's safe. But I would say a word about replacing a stove. Again, this is know your skill level, know how you cook.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
We are inundated, particularly on social media, with people who have these high-performance kitchens. And, you know, it looks like a restaurant stove. Do you need a griddle? Do you ever make pancakes? Do you need all six burners? Do you need a super high-performance stove? Because if you don't cook, you're going to burn everything. Trust me on this.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
The other benefit that people don't recognize, perhaps, in some of the higher-performing stoves, and some of the mid-range stoves are starting to pick up on this now also, is the simmer function.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
So if you like to make a nice ragu on a Sunday and you want to make a pot of greens on a Sunday, you want to make a lovely soup of some kind, you can keep it on such a low simmer that you can keep it on the grate or on the induction stove. surface for three, four hours and not worry about it burning up or reducing too much.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
It's this constant, low, just barely there flame that lets something really cook down, that lets the flavor sort of marinate and move all throughout the dish without worrying about it burning or sticking to the bottom.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
Find the kitchen that's going to work well for you. And it's really hard to do because I have in my own house a stack of kitchen magazines, you know, with the dream kitchen that I love to have. But then I think about how I really cook. And that's what you really have to do is be aware of how you cook, how often you cook, how many people...
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
are in the kitchen when you cook, do the things that make sense. And that's true for appliances too. You know, when you have, we now have kitchens that have entire appliance garages because people have so many countertop appliances and they're trying to find a place for them. Like I purchased an Instant Pot
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
Because I saw everyone using an Instant Pot and that thing is taking up a whole lot of space in a cupboard right now. I just don't have a lot of use for it. Other people love it. It's probably going to make its way to a friend of mine's house who does a lot of cooking and makes a lot of stews and she probably would make better use of it.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
You talked about things that are worth spending a little bit of money on. I think an air fryer is something that's worth researching to understand. Again, safety is a big part of this because you don't want something that's going to leach anything into the food. So you want to look at what it's actually made of and how you cook and how you're going to use the air fryer. Do you need a small basket?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
Are you going to put an entire chicken in there? Are you cooking for a family of four? So you want to be able to put For salmon fillets to get a nice crust on that if you're doing like a hoisin, brown sugar, maple glaze on that. But the fish stays really soft and moist inside. Or will a small basket do if it's just two of you and you occasionally want to roast some broccoli?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
Or, you know, do something a little simpler.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
This is a tough one because it depends on whether it's a countertop appliance or whether it's a big item that you plan to use. And I think stoves and refrigerators and dishwashers probably fall in a slightly different category. I think the garbage disposal might be in that category as well if you live in an area where you're allowed to have garbage disposals.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
So for a big appliance that you really depend on, if your dishwasher breaks, can you live without it? Probably. Will you enjoy life without it? Maybe not. For your oven, it may be worth doing the extended warranty. For some of the other appliances, I'm not so sure about that. But it's probably not a bad idea to register things.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
So if you do have problems, if you do take just a moment to fill out that card that they give you, And send it in if you ever have a problem down the road. You're much more likely to get a much more welcoming response if you actually took the time to register it.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
I'm thinking a lot about my mom these days because she went to Glory last year and she's just kind of on my mind all the time. And if you had asked me that a while ago, I might have said the air fryer because I too use it every single day. That is an appliance that gets a workout. I have this mixing bowl that is jade green and I've always loved this bowl.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
And then when I was going through photos, I realized it was almost this little rosebud moment. I realized that in a bunch of pictures in our kitchen, my mom had the same bowl, jade green. And I got mine, I think from William Sonoba, maybe Soylentop. I got one of these, you know, high-end culinary stores and it was on sale and it just spoke to me and I purchased it and I just love it.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
It's where I make pancake batter. If I make cornbread, it's where I make the batter for that. It's something that has a handle on it. It looks like a pitcher, but it's a big and a mixing bowl, and it's jade. And that jadeite, I think is what they called it. I don't know if it was made by corning or anchor hawking, but it was quite popular for some time.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
And then I realized what I was doing is buying something from my youth, something that I saw because my mother made her own bread. She made... cakes and pies all the time. She made rhubarb crisps. She was a fantastic cook and a very good baker. And so I realized what I was buying is something that subliminally I remembered from the kitchen counter in my childhood kitchen.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Michele Norris Shares Kitchen Must-Haves and the Nerds Break Down Switching Banks for Better Rates
And I have two of them now because I found a second one on sale also. I'm always scouring sales for kitchen items. That's what we like to hear. And I have two of them and they make me happy.