← Frugal Friends Podcast
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- [00:02]
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What does leadership really look like?
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On the Power of Advice, a new podcast series from Capital Group. You'll hear from athletes, entrepreneurs and executives.
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Who'Ve led on the field, in the.
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Boardroom and in their communities. It's not about titles, it's about impact.
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Discover what drives them and the advice they carry forward.
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Subscribe and start listening today. Published by Capital Client Group Inc.
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If you're early in your career and looking for insight, inspiration and honest advice, listen to the Capital Ideas podcast. Hear from Capital Group professionals about leaning into the differences that make you unique, making decisions that last, and what it means to lead with purpose. The Capital Ideas Podcast from Capital Group. Available wherever you listen. Published by Capital Client Group, Inc.
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4 Things Influencers have Normalized and We Still Over Consume.
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Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and live a richer life. Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.
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If you have spent any amount of time on social media, you get conditioned to just see certain things over and over. Part of it is because it's popular, part of it is because of algorithms. But these influencers truly have normalized things that 10, 15, 20 years ago weren't really normal. To over consume in the quantities that we are consuming, we're going over four.
- [01:53]
A
Categories that we just think are not worth it to be spending so much money on. Let's get into it.
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There's food in the fridge. Not the good kind. Welcome Frugal friends. I'm Jen.
- [02:06]
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I'm Jill.
- [02:08]
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And if you too struggle with eating the food you have at home, you are going to love that. You're actually, you're not going to love this. You're going to hate this episode. But you should stick around and watch it.
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A
We know that we need it.
- [02:21]
B
That's because we know we need it. So this episode is inspired by a video I saw on YouTube from Susannah Friesen titled 5 Things We Normalize and Over Consume without Question. And she went through some of the things that she sees on social media that she herself started to over consume without question. And so I thought it would be cool to expand on that list with some things that we personally, Jill and I over consume because of what we see on social media and really have to keep ourselves in check with.
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A
And so the first one is food.
- [03:00]
B
Oh my God, we should go get a burger and fries. Oh, the grocery store, like two days ago.
- [03:06]
A
You don't even need to eat that. That can just stay.
- [03:08]
B
We can eat that tomorrow. And it's like if it's happy hour it's basically free. When you think about the math, it makes sense. God, I really want a chicken strip. We have those in the freezer right now. Those are not the same and you know that. So you want me to go hungry? There's food in the fridge.
- [03:24]
A
Not the good kind.
- [03:26]
B
Oh my God, my phone just opened to Uber eats. Buy one, get one free. Like one of us doesn't even have to pay for that. They're paying us to eat it. When you think about it, I just like don't even have the energy to cook. But you have the energy to go to a restaurant. Yes. Is there different energy? They are different energies. These are all the things that go through my head when I am trying to decide if I'm going to eat out or eat the food I have at home. And all valid arguments, honestly.
- [03:57]
A
A lot of times if I know it's frozen in the freezer, I'm like, it'll keep, it's fine, it'll stay frozen and it'll be there for another day when I will eat that thing. But right now I want to go out.
- [04:09]
B
I just. And sometimes it is like when we were like, we have food at home but not the good kind, right? Like that is, that spoke to me so to my soul. And food is the biggest expense that we have to think about day to day. So you know our big three expenses that we think impact our budgets most are food, housing and transportation. You don't make housing and transportation decisions often, but you have to make food decisions every day. And it's a category that we often feel guiltiest about. We will make decisions about food in the moment, what feels good and then just live with the guilt and the shame later. And that has been enormous. That like that like giving into the dopamine and feeling the guilt later. Or to just like be like, oh, I'm just going to yolo, I'm going to live and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. That never works. The guilt does always come and it may be short lived, but we can say like, oh, I'm just going to like live my life, whatever's in my bank account, whatever, and not care. But the caring does always come.
- [05:25]
A
Or just to be like, I don't know how to cook. We can't get away with that, my friends. We can't say that anymore because here's the thing, we all know how to eat. We all have to eat. So it is basic, basic human necessity, survival skill to be able to know how to feed yourself and you can.
- [05:44]
B
Clip that and you can play that for your man or woman who doesn't cook that too. Clip that and play it for them.
- [05:50]
A
I know you could say, I think I can figure it out. I know how to drive to the drive through. No, like truly how to feed yourself cooked food. I'm not saying it's going to be the most tasty thing ever in your mouth, but knowing how, knowing some kitchen skills, it is a requirement of just growing up. We just, we need to know how to use kitchen.
- [06:14]
B
Yeah, we need to know how to use kitchen, kitchen, kitchen. Go here. But okay, so some of the things that have been normalized and like let us know in the comments as we go through this list when you feel the most seen and if you feel more seen as we go on, just like follow up comments and be like timestamp and be like seen, seen, feel seen and be like shut up or whatever, talk docking. I don't like that. Whatever you're feeling in the moment, leave, leave it in the comment and we will receive it for you. Because it's usually what I'm feeling too. But so like eating out multiple times a week. So if you're watching this on, on YouTube, like we're going to be also playing some examples on mute in the background. But so eating out, like eating out multiple times a week has become like this status symbol. The more you can get takeout or the more times you can eat out, the more well off you are. And in reality, like these influencers don't care about your future, they don't care about you. So like you emulating them doesn't impact you positively impacts them because then they get to profit from your impulsivity. They get to do brand deals with food companies, they get free food from restaurants sometimes, unless they're rude, which we've all seen the videos of those people. But like they do it for themselves, they don't do it for you. So like, why are we trying to emulate them?
- [07:52]
A
Yeah, not just going out, but getting takeout. Never before has it been so accessible to us and so underscored by social media and advertisements. And yet it draws me because it benefits me in that it's convenient. But I would say it's the good food that tired that often that like, I just don't have the energy to cook that many days a week. I need to be looking at something else about my life.
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B
Amen.
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A
Eating is actually the most important thing. And if I don't feel like I consistently ever have the time to be able to make simple meals for myself. Arguably something else.
- [08:33]
B
Gotta go.
- [08:34]
A
Yeah, we gotta clear the plate metaphorically in another area so that we have the energy to feed ourselves. Basic human necessity.
- [08:43]
B
Yeah. Oh, basic human food too. I didn't even get into, like, talking about these, like, overcomplicated, like, beautiful recipes that we see on social media being normalized too. No, I'm talking, like, rice, chicken, broccoli, and then you just change up the seasoning. Maybe we got some salsa and cheese. Maybe we got some garlic, herb parmesan. Maybe we got some ranch, like, simple stuff. We have an emergency meal, like, recipe book that has 15 different, like, simple meals that you can customize, like, via seasonings and stuff.
- [09:17]
A
Like things you most likely have on hand and would take you like 15 minutes to put on the table.
- [09:22]
B
Frugalfriendspodcast.com meals. Get that. Because these are the things that we should be able to cook for ourselves and make them delicious. Cause again, gosh, that good food versus food at home, that spoke to me so highly. That is typically the reason I choose to go out. Because I do a lot of meal prep. I do hate to cook, and I am busy and I am tired. So when I found those three things out about myself, I was like, okay, I need to make the barrier to entry to eat lower. And so that included a lot of meal prep. So, like, I am taking the rice and chicken, broccoli and I'm like, meal prepping like a bodybuilder. I am not a bodybuilder, but I'm meal prepping like one. And I've got then, like, you know, maybe some. Some. A noodle dish and some potatoes with beef and honestly and cottage cheese and hot honey and sweet potatoes. Like us. Actually, that was viral on TikTok. It is good.
- [10:19]
A
That's easy. Okay.
- [10:20]
B
So easy too. So I'm doing stuff like that, but sometimes I can get a little bored and I want to eat out. So, like that.
- [10:30]
A
Not never.
- [10:31]
B
It's not never. I do still eat out once a week, like maybe twice. And maybe there's some times where I eat out every other week, but so that's kind of where it kind of levels out. But another thing that has been normalized is like, doordash and getting food delivered.
- [10:51]
A
Yes. Because it's so easy.
- [10:53]
B
So easy. I have a rule that if I. If I don't pick it up, I don't want it bad enough. Like, that's the rule. I have never had doordash Uber eats, like, on my phone for more than a day. Like, maybe If I'm traveling and I literally cannot go to pick it up, then I will get it delivered to like a hotel room.
- [11:11]
A
My hot take is that I don't really care for takeout because there's always a mistake and it never tastes good by the time it gets to my house. So that's how I cut that out.
- [11:19]
B
But personally, I don't like eating at restaurants because I have children that are crazy. So I do eat a lot of takeout. But I, I keep remembering there is one influencer on TikTok who is a budget influencer and he got so much flack for taking a Doordash brand deal and basically going against all the things he promotes. Like, his audience was so pissed. And the reason influencers are normalizing this stuff is because there's so much money to be made with these apps like Doordash and Uber Eats.
- [11:54]
A
Because we're all over consuming it.
- [11:55]
B
Yeah, because they don't care about your financial security. They care about their financial security. So they will compromise their morals for. For that bag.
- [12:05]
A
Okay, the next category of over consumption travel. We're coming for you.
- [12:10]
B
Book that trip. Book that trip and put it on a payment plan. Life is too short. Life is too short to wait for others. Life is too short to not experiencing because you don't have the money right now, baby. Put it on the payment plan. Pay it off in 18 months. Book the trip. And you know what? I don't feel like she's on a trip when she says that. It doesn't look like she's on a trip when she's saying that. It's this idealized, aspirational, that's what we're buying. Like travel is this like. And come at me, come at me in the comments. You can say it. You can say, stop talking.
- [12:49]
A
We know we're making you mad.
- [12:51]
B
I'm not gonna stop talking, but you can tell me to. It's one of the most popular goals people have and it's not bad. But influencers have normalized to a level that is financially detrimental to us, especially as people like with debt raising young families. Like, do you remember how many vacations did you go on when you were growing up? And to what extent were they right?
- [13:16]
A
One a year, pretty much. And other little trips. But they would be camping. It's a weekend camping trip.
- [13:23]
B
Very, very simple. And so like, I think her arguments are valid.
- [13:27]
A
Yeah, right.
- [13:28]
B
Just like the first video that was like a joke, but still honestly so valid. Yeah. Life is short. So there does have to be this balance between like experiencing. But I think we've equated travel with experiencing life to the fullest. That's what they've made us believe. Like you're not experiencing life to the fullest if you're not traveling. And I just, that's BS to me. Like you should be able to build a life that is full in experience without having to leave it.
- [14:02]
A
Yeah, I have such a difficult relationship with this concept because travel is one of my favorite things to do. And I do go on a lot of trips. Not I don't go into debt for them, but I know a lot of people do and I know a lot of people that do like personally and I've heard this argument and I'll. Even when Eric and I are different places and you know, we interact with an older couple, we will often hear them say, I'm so glad you're doing it while you're young. You know, we had all these plans and we were going to wait till retirement and we just weren't ever able to. And it is kind of affirming to me, like, yeah, this is when I. But it's unfortunate because when you've got the energy and the time to do it is usually not when you have the money to do it. And so how do we make these things align? And I think it's not don't travel, it's just don't over consume travel is ultimately what we're saying and that that is what influencers and even people in our community and network are pushing. It's making it seem as though everyone's always going on some sort of trip and it's always beautiful and it's super luxurious. And I think we're trying to say no, it's not. No, it's not always the most luxurious. Sometimes it is just that weekend away to someplace close that we were able to use our points for or this thing that we've been saving up because we know how to utilize sinking funds or because we paid off the debt, we are now able to do some of these things. So there's, there's, there is for us normal people a give and take. You are allowed to value travel, but it's going to be no to other things and it's, it cannot be a yes to every single trip and realize that like not every trip is all it's cracked up to be. Oh my gosh, there is an expectations versus reality happening.
- [15:53]
B
Love this trend on social media. We'll play a couple on mute. But like these big expensive places that all these traveler all these influencers traveling to, like, Maldives, Bali, that one place in Italy that everybody's getting married at, like Florence and like Venice and all of these places that are just now so overcrowded, not what they're cracked up to be. And honestly not worth it unless you really do have, like, the money to do them and the money to go at the best time. Like, I think you should experience these things, but stuff like that experience, like later in life when you have the disposable funds to do it. Right. Yeah. Like, don't do it cheap because then you're going to be like, lugging your. All your luggage around and doing it. Like, it's like half of it is gonna be not fun. For half of it to be fun. And if you can wait and save, you can make it all fun.
- [16:56]
A
Yeah. Or as much as possible, an idiot abroad. Have you ever seen that show is kind of similar to this expectations versus reality. It's Ricky Gervais's friend who he takes to all these different places and just kind of like debunks how much we've idolized these different places. Like, he goes and sees the pyramids. He's like, that's really cool. But like, his experiences, there's.
- [17:18]
B
There's ton.
- [17:19]
A
Tons of people in. There's a lot of trash and just has a very, I mean, really pessimistic view on things. But if you've got the travel itch and you just kind of want to like, see the world but also have it be a little de. Influence for you, that's a good show to watch.
- [17:34]
B
Yes. But, yeah, I, I love. I'm. I'm not a big traveler, just even without kids. But, like, I think the most fullest experience. Experiences that I've had have been when I'm pursuing an activity versus a place. So, like, I want to go ziplining. So, like, I'm choosing a really cool zip line and that doesn't have to be in the rainforest. There are plenty of good ones in Florida or the U.S. yes. You know, so, like, I think kind of maybe reframing it and being like, okay, I want to do this event or conference or activity and then trying to plan travel around that could probably save you a lot of money versus doing these really, like, big overhyped things.
- [18:23]
A
We did an episode on, like, Vacation Dupes. This is a little while ago. We can link it in the show notes. But talking about, okay, here's the places a lot of people go, you know, like Greece and. But here's another place that you could go. That kind of gives similar vibes for less money, less crowds. So. And even if you don't listen to that episode, you could just Google those things. If there's a type of experience that you want, you could ask the Internet. Well, what's an alternative?
- [18:51]
B
Yeah. Somebody has definitely found a dupe for it.
- [18:54]
A
100%. I'm here on a job site with Tim, who owns his own electrical contracting business. Three employees and two work trucks. Tim traded up to Geico Commercial Auto Insurance. We're positively here where he needs us most. They sure are. With step by step help on all his insurance needs. All for shocking low rates.
- [19:12]
B
Shockingly low, huh?
- [19:13]
A
It's just a little bit of electrician humor. Do you get it?
- [19:15]
B
I got it.
- [19:16]
A
You know, it feels like we have a real connection. All right, I'll stop, get a commercial.
- [19:20]
B
Auto insurance quote today@geico.com and see how much you could save. It feels good.
- [19:24]
A
To Geico. The next category is. We're not gonna make you any happier. Okay. Just, like, brace yourself over consumption of little treat treats. I think you should treat yourselves. I know you were thinking about it and you were like, I don't know. Do it.
- [19:42]
B
Do it.
- [19:43]
A
Who's gonna stop you? Me? No.
- [19:46]
B
You?
- [19:47]
A
No.
- [19:48]
B
A man?
- [19:49]
A
No.
- [19:50]
B
So go get it. That little laugh at that little. Okay. That voice is everywhere in my head on social media. Yeah. That laugh is everywhere. It's haunting me. But, yeah, like, I. I mean, I love a little treat. I do love a little treat. I don't hate myself. I'm not a monster. Like, I love a little treat. But when did we cross the line of deciding that merely functioning in a day deserves a treat? Like what you were saying, like, if that is getting through the day, every day is that much of a struggle for you. We. We need to stop focusing on treats and start focusing on other things. Yeah.
- [20:40]
A
Yeah. If we're that tired, there's other things that need. That need to be cared for.
- [20:45]
B
And we, obviously, we. You know, we'll take away, like, short seasons of, you know, sickness in the family, like injury. Right? Oh, yeah. Treat yourself during those days. Right. We're not monsters. Right. You know, but outside of those caveats like that, we really need to figure this out. Yeah.
- [21:08]
A
Treats are happening, like, all the time. We've got the stuff to prove it. What's a treat?
- [21:13]
B
You know, like, can we define treat now versus habit?
- [21:18]
A
Right. It then just. It is just a habit. That's the thing. We're calling it a treat. And really, it's just what we're doing every single day. So it's not. That treat really does imply it's something special. It's something that doesn't happen very often. Often it's, you know, we, we've, we've planned for it intentionally. And it's not just like I'm going to get my favorite coffee every single day and spending a ton of money on it. Or you know, I'm, I'm going shopping every single weekend or every time, every.
- [21:50]
B
Friday, I, I finish the week, I go shopping. I had a bad day, I go, I go to TJ Maxx and I look around, I buy something. Yeah, like when did we like, do we need a reward for, for doing hard things? For being an adult? Yes.
- [22:09]
A
Yeah, but of course we're not monsters.
- [22:11]
B
But also, do we like, do we.
- [22:15]
A
Okay, but I think it's worth re evaluating the ways that we do care for ourselves. I think when we say a little treat, it's, it's moving the needle in a decent direction of, of caring for ourselves, seeing that we did something, we accomplished something, or we just frankly got through the day and we know what that took for us and so we want some sort of reward. I don't think that that's bad, but I think we've too narrowed what a reward or a treat is. We've allowed social media to dictate what it is when in reality we can reward ourselves with a really good home cooked meal. We can reward ourselves by getting those 10,000 steps. We can reward ourselves by taking 30 minutes outside to breathe some fresh air. Like those are real treats that don't cost any money, that are going to actually be fulfilling for us. And I think we want dopamine. That's okay. We kind of function off of it. It's like it makes us happy. But I think we forget that there are so many ways to get dopamine that doesn't involve us overextending our wallets like some of the things that I just mentioned. I mean, Google like all the ways to get dopamine. It has to do with diet and body movement and engaging with people we enjoy and laughing and playing. And none of that needs to cost money.
- [23:40]
B
Yeah, none of it needs to cost money. We do deserve a treat. You do deserve a treat. But you're going to feel so much better about that treat. If that treat doesn't cost you money, if it doesn't cost you regret later or guilt later, that's a treat, right? Like you don't need to go buy another candle or another Tchotchke from TJ Maxx. Like, ultimately that's gonna bring you more pain. That's not a treat.
- [24:09]
A
It was fun in the moment. It was fun to anticipate buying it, but then it's over and then you slump again.
- [24:15]
B
Yeah. I remember when I would just. And I write it. I wrote about this in our book Buy what yout Love without going Broke. I would end up in the Starbucks drive thru and not know I was there until I was already ordering. Like it just became a habit. When I would just be out and about doing errands. I would see a Starbucks and I would pull in. And so now I don't go to Starbucks at all. Q Starbucks.
- [24:39]
A
Yeah.
- [24:40]
B
Q. Starbucks rant that we can. Like I did a whole eight minutes on. We can link to. But I do enjoy an iced coffee from a local coffee shop. And that is something I buy guilt free. But I do want to keep it a treat. I do want to keep it special. And the more times you do something, the less special it becomes. I want my iced coffee to be special. So I usually make my iced coffees at home. And then like once a week I'll be out and about and I'll be like, buy a good coffee shop. And I'm like, ooh, treat time. And then the treat feels like a treat. And I know it's not a habit.
- [25:18]
A
And that coffee isn't gonna be the reason you go broke again unless you are doing it every single day. But it is habit that's built out of that type of thing. Of any time that I feel like I need a reward, I spend money. Doesn't even matter what it is we're spending money on. Coffee is the least expensive of it. Sometimes it's whatever on the Internet that somebody is trying to tell us is going to be the next big thing that's going to solve all of our problems. And frankly, it's just not. Just put the phone down, go outside, touch grass. The f. The last one. Okay.
- [25:52]
B
The last one.
- [25:53]
A
One that we're going to make you angry with here is.
- [25:55]
B
But I feel like most people can agree with on them. I think this one will be a uniform.
- [25:59]
A
We're going to come together.
- [26:00]
B
We're going to come for together.
- [26:01]
A
The over consumption of seasons.
- [26:05]
B
No, it's fine. It's fine. I'm used to doing everything myself anyways around here. I'm never getting a real treat again. Move it to the left here. Move it to. No, move it to the. Your other left. Move it to the other.
- [26:15]
A
Oh my God.
- [26:16]
B
Do you want some help? Not if you're not going to do it right now.
- [26:18]
A
Hold me up. Hold me up. You're not holding me up.
- [26:22]
B
Okay. You have got to be kidding me. I don't want to set up the 72 piece Nativity scene. Then don't do it. Have you lost your mind? Oh my. Who put the cheap ornaments in the front?
- [26:35]
A
I mean, probably actual footage of like all of our homes. Hold me up.
- [26:39]
B
Hold me up. You're not holding me up.
- [26:41]
A
Not if you're not gonna do it right. We do. We get ourselves into a tizzy over our own like self imposed expectations.
- [26:51]
B
Yeah.
- [26:51]
A
Because of what we're consuming online. Because it looks like this is what everybody's doing. Everybody's changing out everything.
- [26:58]
B
Yeah. And that was, I mean, I just love that. I think that's. That was, that one was so funny. But like, honestly, the real thing that influencers have normalized is redecorating your house with every season.
- [27:11]
A
And some good examples.
- [27:12]
B
If you're watching a video. Yeah, they're playing on me right now. But like literally every season going through and like it's spring, so my house is pink. It's summer, so my house, everything is. Or yellow. It's fall and now everything's orange and now it's winter and everything's red and green. Like it is so much. And it's so funny. Like there's such a dichotomy between like when I was growing up, it was a few heirloom. Heirloom, like decorations for Christmas and that was it. Yeah. And that was like obviously bought by our parents. And now our parents are like the worst culprits of this. Like, you know, kids are out of.
- [27:54]
A
The house and so what else are they going to do?
- [27:56]
B
And so now it just looks like home goods threw up in the house. So it's so, it's so funny. But it, I do love this feeling of a few heirloom decorations for each season. I'm not a monster. We're not monsters. Let's celebrate the seasons and identify the change with some kind of symbolism.
- [28:19]
A
The lesson here probably is there is good things to be celebrated about ourselves, about the different seasons. But in those good things, there's always going to be a reason to overspend. And that's where we've got to find our own radical middle of how to enjoy that thing. Right. How to lean into the fact that we love dopamine. That's fine.
- [28:44]
B
We love it.
- [28:44]
A
We don't have to spend on it. We love the seasons, that's fine. We don't have to be spending a ton of money on it. And really, you know, we did a HYGGE episode a while ago, but kind of like leaning into the winter season coziness. Yeah. And. And so I think there's something really beautiful and a lot of wisdom to be found in embracing every season. We actually have a whole chapter in our book about, you know, living into your season, recognizing what season you're in, and allowing your financial decisions to align with that. We believe so much in that, like, as we move through the seasons, allowing that to help dictate what life looks like, to be able to slow down, be able to speed up, spend time with friends, stay in whatever it is. But at every point of that, Right.
- [29:32]
B
That's.
- [29:32]
A
That's healthy, beneficial, but there's always going to be marketers and influencers and people in our community trying to make it seem like in order to get that. In order to get that coziness, in order to feel an enjoyment of the season, you have to spend money. And that's where we've got to really recognize when that's happening and push back to say, I can live into winter, embrace coziness, have a HYGGE vibe, and it not mean that home goods has to explode in my apartment or that, you know, I've got to spend a ton of money to be able to hang out with friends and have a fun fall festive time. Like, we can enjoy the seasons, embrace the seasons, and find ways to do that while not spending money. It's not deprivation. It's just being more creative.
- [30:19]
B
Yeah. Because these influencers profit from showing us these products and us buying through their affiliate links. They get the brand deals. Like, they're doing it because they're making money off of it. And that's what. And so many people are doing it. Even micro influencers are making money off of selling products. And that's why it seems like everybody's doing it, but everybody's not. It's just influencers, and they've normalized it, but it's not reality. It's not normal. Like, you can. One of the big things I heard this, like, this fall and we showed the video of it is like women changing out their KitchenAid mixers.
- [31:00]
A
And that's wild. And we all know that you're wild.
- [31:03]
B
Summer KitchenAid to your fall KitchenAid.
- [31:05]
A
Yeah, no, we're not doing that.
- [31:07]
B
That is wild behavior. Right. Like, this is. And it's not just decor and appliances. It's. I Cannot believe I'm saying appliances. It's like clothes, too. Like, you have to buy new clothes for every season. And yes, I do think you should have different clothes for different seasons. That makes sense. And I don't think it all has to be black, white, and beige either. Right. Like, I think you, you can have color. You don't necessarily have to have a capsule wardrobe with the same things that every other girl has in her capsule wardrobe. But like needing to buy new clothes every season, we don't unnecessary.
- [31:48]
A
We don't need pillows for every season. Blankets for every season. Clothes for every season. Soap dispensers, towels, soaps, entire mantelpiece spreads. It's like choose an area. Here's. Here's where we will say, truly, we're not monsters. It is fun to be able to mark the season in a certain way, but decide what area of your home that's going to happen in. Or. Or what are the couple of things that are going to help you mark that season. If it's your mantle, fine, but it doesn't need to be your mantle. And your kitchen table and your bedside table and your kids rooms. Like, it doesn't have to happen everywhere. Like, you can have a couple of pieces that you put out at a certain place in your home, and that's where you mark your season.
- [32:39]
B
Yeah. The more common something becomes, the less special it becomes. And so few things in our lives are special or commemorative or have meaning behind them. So if we have the opportunity to make special things more special, then we should embrace that. We should strive to do that. And I think in seasonality, I think we can make things special.
- [33:07]
A
Yeah, agreed. And you know what is special? Every single time? We've not over consumed it, we've consumed it.
- [33:13]
B
Not by a long shot.
- [33:14]
A
Right.
- [33:16]
B
The villa of the village.
- [33:28]
A
That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week.
- [33:32]
B
Maybe a baby was born and his name is William.
- [33:35]
A
Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore.
- [33:41]
B
Duck Bills.
- [33:42]
A
Buffalo Bills.
- [33:43]
B
Bill Clinton.
- [33:45]
A
This is the Bill of the Week.
- [33:48]
B
Hi, my name is just Jessica from Greenfield, Wisconsin, and I'm calling in with my bill of the week. Recently, I just switched phone providers. I went from US Cellular to Mint Mobile. US Cellular was charging me a little over $54 a month in service and jumping over to Mint Mobile. I am now saving much more money.
- [34:12]
A
And glad I did.
- [34:13]
B
And I'm no recent new listener to your amazing podcast. Thank you.
- [34:20]
A
Yes, she made the call and lowered how much it costs to make calls.
- [34:28]
B
Yeah. Mint Mobile, you getting an ad for free on that welcome.
- [34:31]
A
Right.
- [34:32]
B
Mint Mobile is a great supporter of the show and we are a great supporter of Mint Mobile because of stuff like this.
- [34:38]
A
Yeah. I mean truly mintmobile.com/frugal. It would be where you'd want to go. And they've got super inexpensive plans that we've heard from so many people how much money we're able to save as a result.
- [34:53]
B
You're probably not using as much data as you think you are. Like a lot of the reasons that we're hung up on staying on a big cellular provider are just not applicable anymore.
- [35:05]
A
Yeah. And they do have unlimited plans, but also you can just recognize how much you use and pay for that amount. Yeah, that's kind of like save money 101. Only pay for what you're using.
- [35:18]
B
Yeah.
- [35:19]
A
Don't pay them for what you're not using. That's a waste of money. If you've got a bill that you want to share, if it's about making the call, if it's about lowering your bill, if it's about a bill that you don't have to pay anymore, if it's about your life as Bill and you just want to call in your mini memoir My Life is Bill, that'd be great. We'd love to hear it. Frugalfriendspodcast.com/bill. And now it's time for the lightning round.
- [35:45]
B
All right, what's the fifth category you could have added to this list? So I guess what's number five and six?
- [35:52]
A
Oh, I don't like to admit it, but it's apparently vulnerability time. Honest to goodness clothing. And I've gone in and out of this, gone in and out of clothing. I got my, my wardrobe real minimal. But, but, but, but, but Eric and I moved, right. We sold our house. Woo. You know this, the only video you all have watched on YouTube is about me selling my house.
- [36:23]
B
Got like, all of our videos have like 500 to a thousand views. And that one about Jill selling her house and choosing to rent again has 19,000 views.
- [36:34]
A
You all love to hate it and I love it. So that's great for me. But we, it or not, have a much bigger closet here than we did where in our house. And I don't want to say that that's why I'm spent. I'm buying more clothing.
- [36:49]
B
Like I think it might be if.
- [36:51]
A
I'm going to really look inward publicly. I think it's like, well, I got room for it.
- [36:59]
B
I do think, yeah, we are goldfish. Like, we do fill up the spaces we inhabit.
- [37:04]
A
I know. Yeah, I really did pare down. But then in this past year, yeah, there's been a lot. There's a lot of reasons. Like, we now go to an office regularly. So I think, you know, wanting to have clothes, I think I'm still learning what is my personal style. My body has changed, and so the clothes that I wore 10 years ago aren't working out for me anymore. And so there's a lot of things. But I think, like, what. What you said earlier, it's do it, but put a cap on it. And I think that that's where I'm at now is like, all right, and done.
- [37:38]
B
Like, you gotta define your.
- [37:40]
A
Define when it is that. All right, I have the clothes that I need. I've got my staples. We're good.
- [37:45]
B
Yeah.
- [37:46]
A
What about for you?
- [37:48]
B
Fitness stuff, like gym memberships, coaches. That's really. That's really. I'm not big onto, like, fitness attire. I've had to buy more because I've used it so much. But, yeah, like, that kind of stuff. I am still on this journey of, like, kind of optimizing my body. I. Which sounds.
- [38:17]
A
That's weird.
- [38:18]
B
I'm not like, biohacking or anything.
- [38:21]
A
Like, that's not what catch me in the cryo freezer.
- [38:24]
B
Right. Like, I am trying to get back to the way I was before I had kids. I know that's like, you know, don't come at me. But it is what I'm trying to do. And so I'm not gonna. Like, there are some things I've drawn the line. Like, there are some things I won't spend money on to. To do that. But. But yeah, it is a goal that I have.
- [38:46]
A
Yeah.
- [38:46]
B
And I am not procrastina spending. And then I'll buy something and then not use it to try and get to where I want to be. Like, I'm just trying things out. But yeah, it's. It has. A lot of the things that I've purchased have been, like, normalized by social media, and I've kind. And I have, like, held back and not, like, tried to, like, impulsively get on the train. Like, I just recently got a walking pad. So, like, it's kind of like a. It's like a small treadmill. But I bought it on Facebook Marketplace, and that has been really helpful. I'm really glad that I bought that. So I bought, like, a water pack for my longer runs. I don't use it on every run but like, you know, eight plus miles. So yeah, like I am adding more things but trying to be very mindful.
- [39:40]
A
It is tough when you identify kind of a new goal for yourself or you want to pursue something different, which I think is great. I think that we all should be doing that as, as we age and move through life. But when you don't quite know what's going to work for you, sometimes there is this trial and error. But I really do like the way that you approach it in that, you know, you, you'll do, you'll do the trials of what, you know, a thing with a coach or a subscription and really identify will I get use out of this or not? If you want to get the equipment like the walking pad, you got it off of Facebook Marketplace. Like there are ways for us to be doing some of these things that yes, some of it will inherently cost us money, but we can pursue it in ways that are still frugal and values aligned. Like for me with clothing, there are some pieces that I'm like, yeah, my wardrobe really could use this and I'm going to the thrift store first. And so still implementing some of these things. When our season of life does call for, we are going to have to invest in this a little bit if we want to achieve it.
- [40:45]
B
I did try to get the walking pad for free first. Since I am an influencer. I did reach out to some companies to see if I could get a walking pad from them and they all shut me down because they're like, you don't post enough and you don't sell enough. Like. And I was like fair.
- [41:04]
A
And that is our brand. We are the frugal brands.
- [41:07]
B
And so then I went to the second step is low cost. So I got on Facebook Marketplace.
- [41:13]
A
Sounds good.
- [41:14]
B
Yeah, Yeah, I did go down. I went down the line, tried to get it for free. Know. Yep. Yes.
- [41:22]
A
Well, thank you all so much for being here. If you have something that you would have added to this list, like what's your fifth thing? What's your let us know. I am over consuming this. Let us know. And if you've read our book, please leave us a review like this one from Dana. Five stars. I've been a frugal friend since the pandemic.
- [41:40]
B
Woo.
- [41:41]
A
Dana.
- [41:41]
B
Hey girl.
- [41:42]
A
And have enjoyed the takes of Jen and Jill. I liked their vulnerability and was able to connect with Jill when she grapples with how the decisions in her 20s have affected her financial realities in her 30s. Yeah, I'm a Teacher and chose to live out my 20s working low wage jobs abroad instead of investing in my Roth ira. I am happy to be more informed but like Jill have owned my decisions. Jen and Jill's philosophy on frugal living and values based spending is something I'll take with me to the grave.
- [42:08]
B
Yes.
- [42:09]
A
Oh that's diabolical.
- [42:11]
B
Honored to be in the grave with you.
- [42:13]
A
We will go there. We'll follow you there.
- [42:14]
B
Oh yeah. I'll follow you into the dark like a death cab for Cutie song. Yes. Thank you so much for listening. Please leave a comment on the video if you haven't subscribed. Half of the people who watch our videos are not subscribed to our YouTube channel. So please subscribe over on YouTube. Even if you're not on YouTube frequently, please subscribe. It helps us so much. And if you have read the book, please leave a review on Amazon. If you haven't, buywhatyoulovebook.com you can get your copy there and we will see you next time.
- [42:45]
A
Bye.
- [42:48]
B
Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.
- [43:01]
A
Okay, Jen.
- [43:02]
B
Yeah.
- [43:03]
A
What's the last free thing you did that was like so fun. Really gave you that dopamine.
- [43:11]
B
The last fast free thing. Oh, I, I don't know. We. So maybe it wasn't free, but we did have a little holiday party that was fun.
- [43:24]
A
Yeah, it was free for me. Right. Although I did bring a salad that I got the expensive ingredients for.
- [43:31]
B
Yeah, you made a, you made a really bomb salad that I ate a lot of and it was just a fun time. We did brackets of like battling for the best Christmas movie and the second best Christmas song.
- [43:50]
A
Right. Because we all know that the best Christmas song is by Mariah Carey.
- [43:55]
B
Yes. So we found those and it was such a fun time.
- [44:03]
A
Yeah, that was like a, that was a fun free game.
- [44:07]
B
Yes. I didn't pay for that game at all. You know, I just found and ChatGPT helped me list out movies and songs. I found a bracket online and I just wrote it virtually and cast it onto my computer. Cast my iPad to the tv.
- [44:25]
A
Yeah. Yeah, it worked relatively flawlessly.
- [44:30]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [44:31]
A
That was super fun.
- [44:33]
B
Yeah. How about you?
- [44:35]
A
Recently? So I. We did recently get free tickets to a comedy show. Again, it happens so regularly. Like while we talk about unsubscribing from emails, there are some emails worth subscribing to like local venues. So there's this local venue that will put on shows and I mean this person, they were actually on tour. Ah, Fiona something. She was super great.
- [45:03]
B
Had a blast.
- [45:04]
A
Brought friends with us.
- [45:08]
B
Yeah.
- [45:10]
A
There's events that happen at our office that we get to go to that are free, honestly, just like plugging into community. There's often. There are. There are often times to spend. Right. As with any, like, good thing, it's going to come with plenty of opportunities to spend money, but also, if we do it right, some opportunities to not spend money.
- [45:33]
B
Yes. Agreed. Cool.
- [45:38]
A
Bye.