Frugal Ways to Stretch Everyday Products with Hope Ware

Summary

Frugal Ways to Stretch Everyday Products with Hope Ware – Frugal Friends Podcast Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Frugal Friends Podcast
• Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
• Guest: Hope Ware
• Release Date: May 13, 2025
• Description: Each episode of Frugal Friends delves into different aspects of frugality, offering tips and laughs to help listeners save money, reduce debt, and achieve financial independence.

---

1. Introduction and Guest Welcome

The episode kicks off with Jen and Jill reintroducing the podcast and welcoming their returning guest, Hope Ware, known for her popular YouTube channel, Under the Median. Hope brings her expertise in practical frugality, focusing on budgeting, debt repayment, and sustainable living.

Notable Quote:

• Jen [02:53]: "And today we are talking with our good friend Hope Ware. She's back on the show."

---

2. Assessing Product Usage

Hope emphasizes the importance of understanding how long everyday products actually last, challenging the habitual "Buy, use, replace" cycle. She shares a personal example with maple syrup, where tracking its usage revealed that a 32-ounce bottle lasted only 30 days. This insight sparked their journey into extending product longevity.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [08:19]: "The first thing that people need to figure out is how long stuff is lasting them."

---

3. Stretching Household Products

The core of the discussion revolves around innovative methods to make household items last longer without compromising their effectiveness or quality.

a. Maple Syrup Optimization

Both Hope and Jill share strategies to reduce maple syrup usage:

• Portion Control: Using serving spoons to dispense measured amounts.
• Smaller Containers: Transferring syrup into smaller bottles to limit excessive pouring.

Notable Quote:

• Jill [09:43]: "She puts smaller portions so that people are more aware of how much they're using."

b. Multi-Purpose Cleaning Products

Hope introduces the concept of morphing products to serve multiple functions:

• Foaming Soap: Transforming soft soap or shower gel into foaming soap using a foaming dispenser and water. This not only stretches the soap but also reduces plastic usage.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [14:45]: "Fill the bottom of that foaming soap container one fourth of the way full of the soft soap. Three quarters is water."

c. DIY Solutions with Castile Soap and Baking Soda

• Castile Soap: Used for dishes, laundry, and homemade foaming soaps, enhanced with essential oils for fragrance.
• Baking Soda: Versatile for dishes, laundry detergent, deodorizers, and drain maintenance.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [30:21]: "Basic ingredients like vinegar and baking soda can be used in various ways to keep things clean and deodorized."

---

4. Efficient Laundry Practices

Hope and the hosts delve into laundry-saving tips, focusing on detergent usage and washer capacity.

a. Reducing Detergent Use

• Measure Carefully: Using a measuring spoon to avoid overuse of detergent, especially with pods.
• Optimal Loads: Filling the washer to three-quarters capacity to balance cleaning efficiency and energy use.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [23:18]: "Use a measuring spoon, a real measuring spoon, to know you're using the right amount."

b. Washer Capacity and Cycle Selection

• Load Size: Adjusting load sizes based on fabric type, such as smaller loads for heavy items like towels.
• Cycle Selection: Choosing appropriate washer cycles (e.g., towel cycle) to ensure efficient cleaning without overloading.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [26:33]: "For towels, a half load is better to prevent the washer from struggling."

---

5. Energy Savings Tips

Hope introduces the concept of keeping an energy diary to monitor and reduce electricity consumption.

a. Tracking Energy Usage

• Diary Method: Recording the usage of high-energy appliances like microwaves and ovens to identify costly habits.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [43:03]: "We keep a piece of paper next to our microwave to record energy usage."

b. Choosing Energy-Efficient Cooking Methods

• Instant Pot vs. Other Appliances: Conducting experiments revealed the Instant Pot as the most energy-efficient cooking appliance compared to ovens, toaster ovens, and crock pots.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [46:10]: "The pressure cooker uses energy only until it gets up to pressure, then drops to zero."

---

6. Everyday Products Often Thrown Away Too Soon

During the episode, Hope and the hosts discuss common items that are prematurely discarded, advocating for better utilization and storage practices.

a. Food Products

• Expired Food: Clarifying that "sell by" dates don't always indicate the product's actual usability.
• Spices and Nuts: Highlighting that spices lose potency rather than spoil, and nuts can be stored in the freezer to prevent rancidity.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [52:18]: "People throw away expired food and spices too soon. Proper storage can extend their life."

b. Glass Jars

• Reusability: Encouraging the reuse of glass jars for storage, homemade products, and gifts to minimize plastic use.

Notable Quote:

• Jill [54:00]: "Glass jars are great for making salad dressings, DIY laundry detergent, and storing leftovers."

---

7. Determining What is Enough

The conversation shifts to the philosophy of "enough" in frugality, urging listeners to assess their consumption and decide what suffices for their needs.

Notable Quote:

• Jen [60:21]: "Finding our 'Enough' is what we are all about."

---

8. Listener Engagement and Community Goals

The hosts encourage listeners to engage by sharing their "Bill of the Week" and contributing to community goals, such as subscribing to their YouTube channel and leaving reviews for their book, Buy What You Love Without Going Broke.

Notable Quote:

• Jill [43:03]: "We have a goal of getting 500 reviews on our Amazon book by the end of the year."

---

9. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The episode wraps up with Jen and Jill reiterating the importance of mindful consumption and stretching product usage to save money and reduce environmental impact. They thank Hope Ware for her invaluable insights and provide information on where listeners can find more of her resources.

Notable Quote:

• Hope Ware [57:58]: "You can find me at my website underthemedian.com or on YouTube at Under the Median."

---

Key Takeaways:

• Track Usage: Understanding how long products last helps in reducing unnecessary purchases.
• Portion Control: Measuring out servings can significantly extend product life.
• Multi-Purpose Products: Utilizing products for multiple purposes reduces overall consumption.
• Energy Monitoring: Keeping an energy diary can identify and help reduce high-energy usage habits.
• Proper Storage: Correct storage methods can extend the shelf life of food and other perishables.
• Mindful Consumption: Determining personal "enough" encourages sustainable and financially healthy living.

Final Thoughts: This episode provides a wealth of practical tips and encourages a mindset shift towards intentional and informed consumption. By implementing these strategies, listeners can enhance their frugal living practices, save money, and contribute positively to environmental sustainability.

Transcript

[Hope Ware]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.

[Jen]

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[Jill]

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[Jen]

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[Jill]

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[Jen]

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[Jill]

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[Guest]

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[Jill]

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[Guest]

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[Jen]

Frugal Ways to Stretch everyday products with HopeWare.

[Jill]

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.

[Jen]

Welcome to Frugal Friends Podcast. My name is Jen.

[Jill]

My name is Jill.

[Jen]

And today we are talking with our good friend Hope Ware. She's back on the show. She hosts. She and her husband host the popular YouTube channel under the Median.

[Jill]

Great title.

[Jen]

And we just love nerding out about Frugal Living tips with her. So if you also nerd out when you hear Frugal Living stuff, this is the episode for you.

[Jill]

Don't worry. Never in this episode do we talk about how to squeeze toothpaste from the toothpaste container. Although now I just did. Now you just heard it. If you open this episode expecting to hear squeeze a toothpaste around the bottom and get all of it out of it.

[Jen]

But we do talk about why you may want to.

[Jill]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jen]

But first, before we get into that, this episode is brought to you by video. So we may or may not be recording the video of this?

[Guest]

Well, we are recording it.

[Jen]

We may or may not be showing it to you. You may or may not be seeing our faces on YouTube right now.

[Jill]

It's all a lie.

[Jen]

We're trying out new things all the time over here. And so if you want to know if we're showing our faces on this episode, you're going to have to head to The Frugal Friends YouTube and subscribe. We have a goal of getting a thousand new subscribers per month.

[Jill]

It's a big goal.

[Jen]

It is such a big goal. Right? We're probably not going to hit it, but you can help us hit it. If you have not been to frugalfriendspodcast.com YouTube or YouTube.com frugalfriends that's actually shorter. And hitting that subscribe button, smash the like button. Smash the subscribe button.

[Jill]

One of the things that I love about our Frugal Friends community is that when we say we have a goal for xyz, you all make it happen. Happen. But it's not until we say, here's our goal. Here's what we want to see happen. So it's why we're sharing it with you. Because apparently when we tell you this is what we want to do, you all show up for us and show out.

[Jen]

You hit subscribe, and then you go to your partner or husband's phone and you subscribe from their YouTube channel.

[Jill]

And then you from your siblings phone, your friend's phone, your co workers subscribe.

[Jen]

On theirs, your roommate, you do it up and so that's what we're asking.

[Jill]

From you today, especially the ones who really need the extra financial assistance. If you just, like, did that, that's a public service.

[Jen]

Don't tell them it was you.

[Jill]

And then they just open up their YouTube app and they get killer content straight to their phone because you've subscribed it for them. Okay, you know what they need?

[Jen]

Best friend alert.

[Jill]

So, yeah, we're on YouTube now.

[Jen]

YouTube.com Frugal friends, please. All right, so we do very few kind of Frugal Living Nerd out episodes, but this one with Hope is special. And we're talking about a topic that we normally don't like to indulge. It's, you know, it's the cutting the toothpaste tube from the back and squeezing it at the end sort of thing. But I. So we actually didn't mention that at all in the episode. I think we just talked about some really, like, helpful hacks to reframe our mindset around this traditional idea of frugality.

[Jill]

Yeah, because it's not a race to the bottom. We don't ever want to lean into that level of extremism. But also to recognize that when we learn to stretch our products, it also connects us to our level of consumption, which we are here for. Understanding how much am I consuming? What am I throwing away, and where can I be more mindful? And Hope is here to help us with that.

[Jen]

Without further ado, Hope. She is the host of under the Median, and she teaches busy people practical frugality skills so they can learn to budget, pay off debt, and live the life they really want. They raised four sons debt free, including purchasing their current home with cash when their income was about $40,000 a year. So let's get into our chat with Hope.

[Jill]

Let's do it.

[Jen]

Hope, welcome back to the Frugal Friends podcast. We are so delighted to have you back.

[Hope Ware]

Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

[Jill]

This is an exciting topic to talk about. I think that this is probably a classically frugal episode title, and we're here for it because we think that you're going to give us some fresh takes and some new things to just consider. So let's get into it. Let's talk about household products. How can people make everyday household products just last longer? What's the overview?

[Jen]

I also want to know your favorite ones, too.

[Hope Ware]

Okay, so we'll get into that, but the first thing that people need to figure out is how long stuff is lasting them, because we get into this Buy, use, replace, cycle. And we just do that over and over again, right? Never stopping to think, gee, am I buying this a little more often than I actually have to. This happened to us. We are huge fans of real maple syrup. We want the real stuff on our pancakes. I'm just saying.

[Jill]

I'm with you. I'm with you.

[Jen]

Same.

[Hope Ware]

And so we realized after a while, it's like every time we go to Sam's, we're like, are we out of maple syrup? And the answer seemed to always be, yeah, we need more. And I was like, I think we need to figure out how long this like, bottle of maple syrup is lasting us. So we got into the simple habit of writing with black marker. When we opened it, we'd put the date on the container. And we realized that 32 ounces of maple syrup was lasting us 30 days. And we were like, that seems like a little. A lot. We, we should figure out how we can buy this product, still use it, but make it last longer. And that, honestly, that event was how we got onto this whole cycle of how can we make this last longer? So figure out how long it's lasting you in the first place.

[Jill]

On that note, my mother in law, she is like an honorary special guest. She comes up quite a bit.

[Hope Ware]

Yeah.

[Jill]

She is specifically about maple syrup. So for years, maybe even decades, she will take maple syrup and put it into smaller bottles. So like the bottles from Cracker Barrel that they'll serve you with your breakfast and fill up those tinier bottles and serve those individually to people. Cause she makes breakfast and just food in general for a lot of people, realizing that a lot of the waste that was happening with expensive maple syrup was just people pouring too much onto their plates. And then you can't put it back into the bottle once it's on the plate. So giving people just smaller portions so that they were more aware, rather than a big bottle, people are just dumping it and. And then you're not even eating at all. So I don't know if that was the case for you all, but. Right. Yeah. So with a tinier bottle then you can be more aware of how much you're using. And she says that that exponentially changed how much syrup they were using. They were still getting enough, getting what they wanted. It just wasn't all over their plates. And then in the trash can eventually.

[Hope Ware]

Yeah. And the other thing you can do, which is one of the things that we did, you just take a serving spoon, which is, it's a tablespoon, but it's not really. It's more than a tablespoon. We all know that. Right. And. And you pour your maple syrup into there first, because then it's on the spoon and it hasn't touched anything. You drizzle that over your pancakes, and you'll figure out quickly whether you're using more or less than that. Because if it's less, if it's on the spoon, you can just put it back in the bottle. Cause it hasn't touched anything. Right. So serve. And that's one of the things that we tell people all the time. Serve only what you expect your guests to eat or what you expect your family to eat. This is more like family time. Right. Where you're. You're serving them. Instead of serving them the whole chicken, you're taking meat off the chicken, putting that meat on the table that you expect your family to eat. Because you put that whole chicken. I raised four boys. It's gonna be gone. It will be cleaned down to the bone. There will be nothing left but carcass when you get.

[Jen]

Put your leftovers away. If you're. If you've made four portions, put two portions in your to go containers before.

[Jill]

You serve the dinner.

[Jen]

Yeah, that is. And people think it's. So this is like, when you're thinking about, in terms of money, you're like, oh, but this is like pennies and dimes. But like, if you think of it in terms of health, like your pennies and dimes and your, like, calories. I'm not into, like, restricting calories or counting calories for the sake of doing it. But, like, it adds up.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

And then you don't end up feeling ill when you eat too much afterwards. Right. And we can avoid that by just knowing what we're putting in our bodies.

[Jill]

Yeah. Just so much more awareness. I love what you're describing. Just know how much you're consuming first. So then once we do know. Okay. I. There's. Here's how long this product is lasting me, but I want to make it last longer. What. What are some things we can be considering for. For that product?

[Hope Ware]

Okay. So of course, you can serve it less often. You can serve less of it. But here's a really interesting idea. Morph that product into something else. So let's just say, you know, like those cheesy rice side dishes you can buy. Let's just say you get some of those cheesy rice dishes and they are on sale, you get a banging good deal on them. You open that rice dish and you look at the number of servings on the back. And your first words are like, you gotta be kidding me. Like, you're gonna eat more than that. Right? Their serving size is like, no. No human being, unless the five is gonna eat that amount of that two tablespoons of rice. I'm like, really? For real? I don't think so. So what we started doing is figuring out how can we morph that side dish into something that is more of a main dish? So you add more rice, you add vegetables, you add some protein, you add some things to that. You use that as the base instead of the actual dish. You add things to it to make it into a main dish. You can also add. This works really well. You can add broth, vegetables, things like that. And you're going to make it into a cheesy rice soup instead of a side dish.

[Jen]

Yes. Because then you really only do need two tablespoons of rice.

[Hope Ware]

That's just true. That's the only way that you need.

[Jen]

Only way you do this, Jill, with, like, our hello, fresh deliveries that we get.

[Jill]

I sure do.

[Jen]

I'm real good at stretching those.

[Jill]

Oh, I sure do. Yeah. Whether it's adding in more of the protein or more of the vegetable, everything you're saying, whether it's the start, the starch, the veggie, the protein, just add a little bit more. Make a little bit more. Freeze half. Yeah. I love the. I love the food focus that we're taking at the beginning of this, too.

[Jen]

Yes.

[Jill]

We all need the tips.

[Hope Ware]

Let's go to, like, like something that's not edible. All right.

[Jen]

Yes.

[Hope Ware]

Let's morph soft soap into foaming soap. Get a foaming soap dispenser. Ask one of your friends who's going to throw it out in the garbage to save it for you. Right. You don't even have to buy one. So you got your dispenser. You're going to go find the least expensive, huge. The refillable bottles, the refills of some sort of soft soap product. Fill the bottom of that foaming soap container one fourth of the way full of the soft soap. Three quarters is water. No, gently mix it up a little bit. That's what's. That's what the soft soap is. But here's something else I just found out, and this is very cool. You can use, you know, the shower gels you can get? Well, they have, like, thickening agents in there that it's like soft soap, only they've got it. A thickener in there. You can use that shower gel instead of Soft soap. And you can do maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons in the bottom of that foaming soap container. And you need to use really hot water instead of tap water because it breaks up that emulsifier or whatever it is that makes the gel stuff gel and it will disperse into the water and it will make soft soap, foaming dispenser, you know, this foaming soap out of your shower gel. So when you find those things like on a really good deal, you can get it.

[Jill]

Yeah. Again, what I'm liking about these tips, similar to what you said Jen, about the food pieces, is not only can it help us a little bit with our wallets, but it can also help us nutritionally. Same thing here. Not only can it help a little bit with how much we're spending month over month, month on these types of products, but it also helps the environment to not be purchasing as much plastic, to be able to buy that soap in bulk and have that big soap dispenser, that shower gel be able to last us potentially months and months if we are cutting it with water the way that you're saying and using a foam dispenser. So there can be multiple reasons that people come to wanting to make the stuff that they have last longer when it comes to kind of over consumption and waste how much we're throwing out how much plastics we're using. So yeah, that's a really helpful one. This message is brought to you by Apple Card.

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[Jen]

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[Jill]

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[Guest]

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[Jill]

When we first heard about Helium Mobile, we couldn't wait to share it with all our frugal listeners who are looking to budget smarter when it comes to everyday necessities without sacrificing quality.

[Guest]

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[Hope Ware]

Speaking of the environment, here's something. Dryer sheets.

[Jill]

Yeah, I don't use them.

[Hope Ware]

Don't even use them. Instead, when you take your laundry out of the washer, put it in the dryer, throw in a clean, dry towel. If you want it to smell good, put a few drops of essential oil on that towel, put it in and your clothes will dry 30 to 45 minutes earlier. About 30 minutes is what we found 30 minutes before they. Because that dry towel works almost like a dry sponge would. It wicks up that water and in doing that, it helps cut down on the static cling.

[Jill]

It is shocking. I. I don't do this as often as I should, but I'm glad you're reminding me of this because there have been times when I'm washing like bedding or towels, things that kind of take a long time to dry. I've thrown in a hand towel, a dry hand towel, and it seems to.

[Jen]

Go so much faster that I have.

[Jill]

Never such a good reminder before.

[Jen]

I use like the wool balls, which like, I guess help. But you. But do you think like, are you saying full size towel, hand towel better than wool balls?

[Hope Ware]

A hand towel. But I had the wool balls because a friend of mine who like raises her own sheep, she. With her own sheep wool, she made me wool balls.

[Jill]

Very cool.

[Hope Ware]

I know.

[Jill]

That is awesome.

[Jen]

Well, there you go.

[Hope Ware]

It was a great gift. I was like, so excited.

[Jen]

I'm definitely.

[Hope Ware]

They work.

[Jen]

The wool balls work.

[Hope Ware]

I do. You know what? I dry out on the line as much as I can. Though I have to say, my dryer lives a very lonely life for the most part. But. But there are times you just need a dryer.

[Jen]

Yeah. Okay. So on the topic of laundry, using laundry detergent has always been something that I think I might use too much because I think I might overfill my washer. I would love to get your perspective. I hate. I don't want to ever underfill it because I don't want to like waste money or time. But then I think I might be kind of like doing myself a disservice. What is your research show? Because I know you've. You've done it.

[Hope Ware]

I do. This is such a fun topic because people do use way too much. If you read. And that's one of the things I tell people. You want to make it last longer, look at what the manufacturer says and use less. Because. Because. Because, look, let's just face it. They're not philanthropic people. They are there to make money. They want to search. They Want to sell you more detergent. But here is. This is the acid test. Are you ready? Try this and you will believe me. You know those little pods that we all love because they're so convenient? You're like, screw it. I don't even have to like measure this detergent. I'm just going to throw one of these pods and I'm done. Yes, break open one of those pods. Look at how much detergent is actually in one of those pods. It is not. It's about a tablespoon. Maybe you don't need any more than a tablespoon. Maybe two tablespoons if you've got a great big heaping load of laundry in there. But don't use any more than that. And keep a measuring spoon, a real measuring spoon, not like a serving spoon. Cause that's more than a tablespoon. Keep a measuring spoon, measure it out so you'll know you're using the right amount.

[Jen]

And how much do you fill your washer? Would you say it's better to do like a quote unquote more than what they recommend fill to like use less water or do you really do a half fill and do two loads?

[Hope Ware]

I do three quarters of a fill.

[Jen]

Okay, so I fill it.

[Hope Ware]

It's more than halfway, definitely. But I will say that then that we're kind of split the difference people. So we do the research and think we're going to do this and see how it works. So we do three quarter fill with clothing and then the small amount of detergent. And then our washer lets us do like a, like a water cycle that has a little bit more water in it to make sure that everything gets clean.

[Jen]

Is that a towel cycle? Because I've heard that. Oh, the towel cycle does water, deep.

[Hope Ware]

Water cycle or something like that.

[Jen]

Okay, good to know. Yeah, that has helped me.

[Jill]

Yeah, you definitely don't want to overfill a washing machine because that is going to cost you far more in the long run if you like make it go off kilter.

[Jen]

And like they really struggle stuffing it in.

[Hope Ware]

Sure.

[Jen]

But I'm definitely going like, I'm going three quarters of the way. Like. Yeah, I talked to like Tide and the GE people like at conferences and they're like halfway all the this much detergent. And I'm like part of me just like I don't have time. Like if I do two loads at three quarters of the way, I get to eliminate one load from my, you know, weekend. That's what I'm gonna do.

[Jill]

Yeah, yeah, agreed.

[Hope Ware]

But I Will say, don't you feel like it makes a difference? The difference between half and three quarter. Like what you're putting in there, like towels. Towels are really dunce. They're really heavy. And I'm thinking that's hard for that poor little washer to, like, move all those towels around. So if I were going to err on the side of caution, I'd go with a half a load of towels rather than a half a load of like, I don't know, like fluffy things like undergarments and things like. I feel like that can be 3/4 of a load.

[Jen]

Yes. I'm glad that we've scientifically decided this. You in. So this episode is kind of inspired by a video you did on stretching household products. And you talk about. You get a big thing of castile soap. Dr. Bronner's. We love Dr. Bronner's castile soap. And you said some DIY things that you do with it and you stretch it into different types of products. I think that's a really good. Like, using one product and making it into different types of products is also a way to stretch things. Can you tell us your favorite ways that you use that Castile soap?

[Hope Ware]

So castile soap can be used for, like, you can do dishes with it. It doesn't take very much by way castile soap to do dishes. You can do laundry with it. You can make. I've used the castile soap to make the soft soap with the foaming thing. I've used it for that. And if you want it to smell good because I get the base, like, just basic. Like, there's no scent in my castile soap. You can just put a few drops of essential oil in there and make your. Your foaming soap with it. That is actually something that we work pretty hard at is figuring out what are the basic products that we need to use that we can morph into a whole bunch of different uses. And those are the products that you want to take a look at.

[Jill]

Yeah. I can appreciate how sometimes when we are aware of our consumption and how to make products stretch, that it can then lead into diying your own stuff when you start to realize, oh, man, I've got a product for cleaning my floors and for doing the laundry and for washing my hands and for washing my body and for washing the dishes. And it's like, I wonder if I were to understand the ingredients of these things and how much crossover could there be here? And turns out a ton for me, it's baking soda. So I will make my own dishwashing detergent. Laundry detergent. And so baking soda is a common ingredient in both of those things, but also a deodorizer. So I, every couple of months, will sprinkle baking soda on my bed, like, on the mattress, let it sit there for a while, and then vacuum it up. It's kind of a way of like deep cleaning your mattress or upholstery, getting out odors from different places. There are times I've needed it in the car. I think somebody had spilled coffee. And so that was the thing we first put into the car before we were kind of like, yeah, dealing with the stain. But to your point, there are things that we can do that even. That's kind of the next step. But learning to stretch the products, but then also learning what are the components of the product itself. And is there a way that I can just get that ingredient and stretch that ingredient in all these different ways?

[Hope Ware]

And that's one of the things that. That I hear from people. It's like, well, I want to use natural ingredients. I don't want to use these products that have all of these additives in it. But I feel like that those products are more expensive. And I think you're right. So you look at basic ingredients, like a vinegar, like baking soda, and you figure out, how can I use those in such a way that still gets things clean or still does what I need it to do? Like, if. You know how when your drains start to smell kind of yucky, like your kitchen drains, you put baking soda in there, and then you follow it up with vinegar, you know, and you get that lovely, like, foaming reaction, and it goes down your drain, and it deodorizes your drain. You do that about once a month. It's very cost effective, very inexpensive to do, and it keeps your drains running a little more freely. And they smell. They smell better, right?

[Jill]

Yes.

[Hope Ware]

And so you figure out how to do those things with basic products. So I don't think, you know, and. And I. So I love the idea of doing things that are green in nature. I really do. But it's like a double win when you could do things that are green in nature and they also keep some green in your back pocket, where you're saving money and saving the planet at the same time. Right. It's a double.

[Jill]

We love it when they go hand in hand. So speaking of tracking how much you're using, how might somebody know if their consumption is maybe a little too much? Like, how do we even determine the metric for how long my laundry detergent should last? Me or how long my cleaning product or hand soap should last me. How would they know?

[Hope Ware]

Okay. One of the things to do is to make sure that you're using it in a way that is consistent with saving money. Here's an example. Body wash, we all love it, right? Because it just feels very, it feels very much like we are indulging in a spa experience in our own home because we've got body wash. I love that. But people like squeeze it directly on their body and you shouldn't do that. You can take a loofah going once again, you can get an inexpensive loofah and it goes with that spa like experience because we want that at home without paying for it. And you only need a quarter size dollop on there or your sponge or your washcloth. You're start at the top of your body, work your way to the bottom and that quarter size dollop, believe it or not, is going to be enough. We underestimate what we use consistently. But when you systematize how you're using it and what you're using, the amount you're using, then you can easily figure out where you're overusing or if you are.

[Jen]

Yeah. We always just err on the side of more. Right. Like it's, it's always, especially when we get older and like nobody has really taught us how much soap to put on a loofah or if they did, it's went one time when we were five. Like you're all, we're all just making it up. So when you don't know what to do, you just add more.

[Jill]

Yeah. Not to mention when the pre portion sizes of a pump of hand soap or a pump of shower gel is determined for you already, then you just think, well, that's how much I need. But really like a half pump or a quarter pump of some of these products really are enough. I know you talked about that in your video and I love for you to go say it to us too here about how much hand soap you actually need, how much shampoo or conditioner you actually need to kind of help us get a sense of are we utilizing too much?

[Hope Ware]

Right. So hand soap, it's like half a teaspoon or something. It's not very much at all. With hand soap. One of the things that we have done is like especially, let's just say you have kids who are helping you do dishes and we do dishes by hand. We've never had a dishwasher. I know I raised four boys with no dishwasher.

[Jen]

Wow.

[Jill]

Congratulations.

[Hope Ware]

I know it I feel like I need someone to win a reward.

[Jill]

You too.

[Hope Ware]

Our kids helped us with dishes. If you put your dish soap into one of those empty soft soap containers and you measure how many pumps because you need less than a tablespoon of good soap to do a whole load of dishes, how many pumps is that? Because it's easy to put a label on the side and say when you're doing dishes, two pumps is plenty. That's all you're going to put into whatever you're putting it onto to. To fill that container that you're using to put the dish soap dishwater in. And so something like that helps with knowing this is how much shampoo I need. The other thing is, do you really need to wash your hair, your whole head twice? Do you need to wash your hair once with that shampoo? And then maybe you just need to do the tips of your hair for the second time, or do you need to do it a second time at all? I'm all about, like, try something out. If you don't like the results, you can always go back to washing your hair again twice. You can. But if you try it out and think, you know what, my hair still stays soft, I still can go three days without washing my hair. I'm satisfied with that. You don't need to go back to. Because I am. So. I use expensive shampoo. I use a shampoo called Better Not Younger. It's formulated for people over the age of 40, 45. I love this stuff passionately, but it's expensive. It's $30 a bottle. But on Black Friday, they put it on special every single year. That year, they have $15 a bottle. I buy enough for a year, but I know because I'm still paying $15 for a bottle of shampoo. I know how many squirts of that shampoo I need to use to get it to do what I want it to do for my hair. And I'm using their conditioner, and I'm using it mainly on the bottom part of my hair, not the top of my hair. You got to figure out how you want to put that product on your body and what really needs it. Here's something else people don't realize. There's a really good reason that you should apply all of your, like, moisturizers to your body right after you've taken a shower or a bath. Because your skin is. The pores are open and it's. Your skin is still slightly moist. It will receive that moisturizer a lot more effectively than if you're doing it like right before you go to bed or something when you've taken your shower two hours before that. So right as soon as you step out of the shower, have those products in there, have them available and apply them right out of the shower. They'll work more effectively.

[Jen]

This is the skin fluencing that we need. Not the 25 step shower routine but like the tip that's like put your lotion on right after you shower friend. Do that and it a less will go further. And I, I love your tip on like try it, see if it works and if it doesn't, you don't. Like I was trying the, the curly girl method of not shampooing your hair for extended periods of time.

[Jill]

What's extended? What's extended? Yeah, be real with us.

[Jen]

I would wash my, I would wash my hair once a week. Okay.

[Hope Ware]

Oh yeah, that's.

[Jen]

But like I have very thin hair. So like I couldn't get away with more than that. And honestly, after a while I realized I couldn't get away with that either. My hair is just too thin.

[Jill]

Fine. You have fine hair. Fine.

[Jen]

It's. It's fine. And I had to go back to washing my hair two or three times a week because I was looking at my hair every time and I was.

[Jill]

Like looking, you know, I probably interacted with you in this time and I didn't notice. You were probably okay. You were probably fine.

[Jen]

I was probably fine. But I, I think what's important is that I liked it better when it was shampooed versus when it was not. So I chose to go that route more. But I did try it and I use very expensive conditioner and shampoo. So what I have started to do now is I will shampoo the roots and condition the tips. Yeah, like half and half.

[Jill]

I feel like when in doubt. And I wish that this rhymed. It doesn't. Maybe I'll figure it out at some point. When in doubt, use a. Oh, here we go. Oh yeah, yeah. When in doubt, use a pea sized amount. Woo. Yes, yes.

[Hope Ware]

True. For almost everything.

[Jill]

Yes. Start there, just start with a pea size and then figure it out. But honestly. And I have fine hair as well. But a pea size maybe, maybe slightly more than that is all I need for conditioner. Like that stuff goes far when it comes to the creams that I'm putting on my face. That's all I need. And the company that I buy my skincare from is often reaching out to me relentlessly. Isn't it time to renew? No. I only have to buy my skincare stuff twice a year. And it lasts me. I'm using it every day, but I don't actually need that much. So I'm able to buy, you know, quality stuff but purchase it less often because I know what is actually enough. And usually it's a pea sized amount.

[Jen]

Same. I use the retinol bottle says use in the morning and the evening. And I'm like, I know retinol makes you more susceptible below the sun. No, thank you. So I just do it in the evening. Lasts twice as long.

[Hope Ware]

It's all about being informed, isn't it? It's like you're reading and researching and researching and figuring out where you lie on different issues and doing what works for you. But I want to bring up two controversial things since we're talking.

[Jill]

Yes, we love it.

[Hope Ware]

Hot take number one controversy is that you cannot be frugal and buy quality products at the same time. So wrong. So wrong. I love my real maple syrup. I love my expensive shampoo and conditioner. I figure out how to get it at a price point that I'm willing to pay. I figure out how to stretch it to make as long last as long as I can. And that might come down to saying, okay, so I'm going to use this instead of every time. I'm going to use it every other time. Or it might be instead of washing my hair every four days, I'm going to go every five days or every six days. So you figure out how to get what you want at the price that you're willing to pay. And that is frugality. It's putting money toward things that are most important to you.

[Jen]

Yes, I buy my, my artificially, my expensive, artificially flavored coffee.

[Jill]

She loves to rub this in my face. I can't stand that for you. I mean, for me. I can't stand it for me. I guess it's fine for you.

[Jen]

I love it.

[Jill]

Okay, what's your second hot take?

[Hope Ware]

Okay, the second controversial thing is thinning products. When you get to the end of them, what is it? I mean, because we all remember our parents pouring so much water into the ketchup bottle that they're like, put this on your hamburger. It's like, it's like going all over the place. You're like, dad, this is just not working. He's like, we're getting another serving out of this ketchup bottle. And so we tend to think of thinning products as being something that's cheap and not frugal. And I would argue that there's a way to thin products to make sure that you are cutting open that package, you're getting the most out of it without it being cheap, instead of frugal.

[Jill]

Without winding up on some TLC special.

[Jen]

Yeah, My hand soap dispensers right now.

[Jill]

Yes.

[Jen]

I have the backups on deck, but I'm like, I'm gonna just put a smidge of water, use them all up, make sure it's all good again before I head to the extras.

[Jill]

It might be pennies that you save, but I do think the practice of it, the mindfulness, the intentionality, the awareness of consumption, is worth it to. And to pick and choose what products you're going to do that with. I mean, we don't want to be hurting ourselves, like slicing open metal containers and digging in and getting, like, wounds on our fingers. But for me, yeah, with the shower gel, because the pump doesn't go all the way down to the bottom. So you've usually got, for me, two weeks still of soap left in the bottle. That. That's. That's two weeks. That's more than pennies. That's a couple dollars that I'm saving on that.

[Hope Ware]

Oh, yeah.

[Jill]

And. And the hand soap and the shampoos and conditioners. Laundry detergent. Absolutely. But then on some of these, I am not going to add water to ketchup. Oh, my. That's a little too overwhelming. Unless. Unless you're making, like, meatballs or something and you're gonna add it into that.

[Jen]

You're making a Big Mac salad and you're adding some vinegar to the bottle.

[Jill]

Oh, yeah. To make a little.

[Jen]

Make a little salad dressing. Yeah. Let's get it to. Let's get it together. We always make a peanut sauce from the end of the peanut butter jar.

[Jill]

Yes.

[Hope Ware]

I was getting ready to say that. I'm not joking. I was just getting ready to do this.

[Jen]

If you're not making peanut sauces at the end of your peanut butter jar, what are you even doing?

[Hope Ware]

Exactly. And you call yourselves frugal?

[Jen]

You know what? We never waste. We always use every single one. And it's why we're so behind, and.

[Jill]

It'S why we're so frugal.

[Hope Ware]

The bill of the week.

[Jill]

That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Duck bills, Buffalo Bills, Bill Clinton. This is the Bill of the week. Okay?

[Jen]

Every week we invite our listeners and our guests to share with us their bill of the week. And we are always four to six months behind because we don't waste a single bill. We play every single one and we take one from every single guest. And we can't wait to hear yours.

[Hope Ware]

Okay, this bill of the week tip goes literally hand in glove with what we've been talking about. Your energy bill, Lowering your energy bill. Energy prices have been going up dramatic over the last 24 months. How can you lower that? Now here is something that we stumbled upon because we are huge. Like, we do everything we can to keep our electric bill down. And, and we reached an impasse. And I'm like, Larry, there's got to be something we can do. I'm pretty sure that there's an idea we haven't come up with yet. We came up with it. An energy diary. We keep a piece of paper right next to our microwave because that's the thing. Turn that microwave on more than you do any other appliance in your house. Right? And we just recorded the date and what we use that energy for and how long we used it. So when I turned on my electric oven, which sucks energy like a vampire, then I knew how long it was going to be on. And I was able to take that energy diary. Our utility company shows us our actual energy usage down to 15 minute increments. No way. I know. Yeah, they do. So I was able to match up the energy diary with my actual usage and figure out what I was doing. That was costing me far more money than I thought it was. One of it was the electric oven. It tripled our electric usage during the time it was on.

[Jill]

Interesting.

[Hope Ware]

So we created a list. Then how are we going to use the electric oven less? What are we going to do? We're going to make sure that oven's full. We're going to cook multiple items. We're only going to turn it on twice a month. What else are we going to use? We did a video, this was a couple of years ago, where we tested four appliances. I got four squash that were about the same size and shape. And we cooked it and did a scientific study, as scientific as we could be, to figure out which appliance used the least energy to cook. So we used our wall oven, which we knew would be the most expensive, a toaster oven, crock pot, and our instant pot.

[Jill]

Oh, I'm excited for these results.

[Hope Ware]

We are leaning instant pot, hands down. Here's what we didn't realize. Here's what we didn't realize.

[Jill]

Oh, they scare me, though.

[Jen]

No pressure cook.

[Hope Ware]

Oh, I love my pressure cooker under pressure. Here's what people don't realize because they go, oh, it's gotta be. It's gotta be your crock pot because it sips energy. Yes, it does, but it sips energy for four hours. Your pressure cooker uses that thousand watts of energy only until it gets up to pressure. Once it's pressurized, it uses zero. It drops to zero. And that was why it used less than any of the other three methods.

[Jen]

That's how you avoid a hangover, too. You take one shot before the party versus your friend who's sipping the whole time. She's gonna feel bad tomorrow, but not you.

[Hope Ware]

This is an analogy I did not think of. Wow.

[Jen]

It's advice that you needed, but you didn't ask for.

[Hope Ware]

Okay, I know.

[Jill]

I think we didn't need it and we didn't ask for it. Okay, well, we've recorded three episodes today, and this is the. Jen's forgetting she's on the microphone. This is so amazing that you did this, Hope. Because I do think that this probably feels like more work for most people than what they're willing to do. But I think we often just assume, assume what's taking the most energy, we don't actually know. So I think as a practice to figure it out, it's worth doing. But then also being able to learn from your research and your experiences to know, okay, these are the things that are costing me the most. It's my AC and heating and my water heater and my oven, and how can I reduce those things that are. That are draining the most? But also that instant pot. Little tip is super helpful. How can we cook more with our instant pot? And that's how you save on your electric bill.

[Hope Ware]

Yep.

[Jill]

Amazing. If you all listening, have a bill that you want to submit to us, if it has to do with lowering a bill or a bill you don't mind paying, or if your name is Bill and you're paying bills or you're not paying bills, you're just. You're just out here being Bill Frugal Friends, podcast.combill. we can't wait to hear it. Looking to save even more money on your phone bill? How does free sound? Helium Mobile is offering the first free phone plan. That's right. Free phone service. Seriously? No bill, no contract, just free.

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[Jill]

When we first heard about Helium Mobile, we couldn't wait to share it with all our frugal listeners who are looking to budget smarter when it comes to everyday necessities without sacrificing quality.

[Guest]

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[Jill]

Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway.

[Jen]

Give it a try.

[Jill]

@Mintmobile.Com Switch upfront payment of $45 for.

[Hope Ware]

3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra.

[Jill]

See full [e-mail] and now it's time for.

[Hope Ware]

Ready Pew.

[Jen]

Okay, Jill needs to scroll down so that I can see the question. It's on the next page. There it is. What's something, an everyday product you think people throw away too soon? Oh, this could be inanimate too. Whatever you think they throw away too soon.

[Hope Ware]

I think that people throw away expired food or food that is past the sell by date way too soon. I mean, cause I've looked at the FDA website, right? And they're like the sell by date is the date it has to be sold by, not when that product is no longer fit for consumption. Now there is a point of course, of which you should not consume something. But if you got a can of soup and it's, you know, a month past the sell by date, eat the soup. People throw stuff out all the time, especially medications or spices. Spices don't generally go bad, they lose potency over time. And you might have to use more of that spice, but they don't generally go rancid. And you know what, and knowing where to keep things, your tree nuts, they belong in the freezer because the natural oils will make them go rancid. So maybe you're throwing away that two pound bag of walnuts because you just didn't store it properly. Put it in the refrigerator, put it in the freezer and it will last a lot longer.

[Jen]

And if you can afford two pounds of walnuts. Walnuts, I know, Keep them in the freezer.

[Jill]

Give us your Venmo. Get an extra freezer.

[Jen]

That's a nice, that's a nice tree nut.

[Hope Ware]

It is.

[Jill]

You do love walnuts. We've talked about out like our, our favorite nut in the past and I think walnut was yours.

[Jen]

Yeah, it's just, it's elevated. But it's like not macadamia, right. It's you know, not Marone almonds.

[Hope Ware]

It adds so much flavor to stuff. But like we're plant based, so the most expensive thing we ever buy is probably nuts. It just because, you know, you know, beans and produce and rice and they don't cost very much, but. Yeah. And I buy three pounds of walnuts at one time.

[Jill]

Wow.

[Jen]

That's because you like quality. Yes, Good quality things. That's a walnut, Jill.

[Jill]

I think people throw away their glass jars too quickly. Well, first of all, they shouldn't be thrown away. Glass is the one true thing that actually can be recycled. So I think if we are getting rid of them, make sure you're recycling. But also, there are so many uses for glass jars that we ought to just be. Now, I'm not saying hoard them because there does come a point where you just don't need them anymore. But I will use my glass jars to make my own salad dressing. Store my DIY laundry detergent. Give cut flowers to friends. Give sourdough starter to friends. Store leftover foods in. Because glass is better than plastic for. For food storage. So better to not have to buy the stuff from the store, but to utilize those pasta jars and.

[Jen]

And they have better lids than Mason jars. Mason jar lids are the worst.

[Jill]

They rust so quickly.

[Jen]

Yes, they're the worst. The lids on these glass jars from food are hands down better.

[Jill]

Yeah. Organizing for stuff even not in the kitchen, like buttons or stamps or stickers or. You know, if you're a crafty person, you. You better be saving your glass jars. Okay, your turn, Jen.

[Hope Ware]

Wow.

[Jill]

Yeah. I got a soapbox about this one.

[Hope Ware]

Love it.

[Jen]

I have a soapbox too.

[Jill]

Oh, no. And please tell me it's not flavored coffee.

[Jen]

I think people throw away their ground flavored coffee too soon. I don't think it expires as quickly as people think it does. And.

[Jill]

Are you really saying this?

[Jen]

I bought some in November because I bought the Black Friday sale and I got it. I got it in bulk so that I could get. Not bulk, but I got enough to get free shipping.

[Jill]

I think you're talking to the wrong one here because I'm pretty sure I remember Hope is a coffee snob.

[Hope Ware]

I. I am absolutely coffee snob.

[Jen]

Well, I'm gonna.

[Hope Ware]

I'm.

[Jen]

I'm gonna.

[Hope Ware]

I like. I like me my flavored coffee. I gotta say.

[Jen]

I do.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Jen]

Wow.

[Hope Ware]

I know. I just went down.

[Jen]

Jill doesn' appreciate flavored coffee. Or if it's pre ground.

[Hope Ware]

Oh.

[Jen]

And then it's expired right now and I'm still drinking coffee that I bought November. Ouch. Yeah, but I think it's fine.

[Jill]

She's hurting me with her words.

[Hope Ware]

I do buy the beans.

[Jen]

We.

[Hope Ware]

We grind our beans. I Will say that. But if we find a rocking good deal on pre ground coffee, you bet that we are buying it. But you know of course where your flavored coffee needs to be stored, it's got to be in the freezer, my friend.

[Jen]

In the freezer.

[Hope Ware]

Because it will last. Yes, ma' am.

[Jill]

I will put, if I get coffee on sale, I will put it in the freezer. But like we are not, I am making sure that it is being drank within like a month of it having been produced.

[Jen]

She is so need it fresh. And so now I just lean in. Yeah, love it.

[Jill]

She loves to torture me.

[Jen]

Hope, now that everyone knows you like nice things and you like to extend the life of your nice things and they want more of that in their life, where can they find you?

[Hope Ware]

All right. If you are ready to consistently spend less and save more, you can find me at my website underthemedian.com or we have a really, really fun YouTube channel where we post twice a week and that's also at under the median on YouTube. Oh, and I have a free, I have a free guide I'd love to give to your to your viewers and your listeners. So I have a guide on how to lower your expenses and it walks through 10 different ways you can lower your expenses, different areas of your budget, step by step instructions plus checklists. It's free. And I will make sure that I give these guys a link and they can put it in the show notes. You can also go to my website underthemedian.com and you'll find it all the way like toward the top of the main page on the website.

[Jill]

Awesome. Hope, thanks for being here. We appreciate it. We feel like we got the most from you.

[Jen]

We stretched this conversation in 2025. We're bringing guests on for us and everyone else just gets to benefit from our enrichment.

[Jill]

Yes. Fastest 45 minutes of my life.

[Jen]

Yeah. Because we just cut from the intro to the outro. If you're watching it via video, if we posted it, I guess you'll have to head to YouTube to find out.

[Jill]

Yeah, but surely. We also just finished up our interview with Hope and it was so fun and I really particularly love her focus on let's get an understanding on how much we are currently using. I think that's just a good practice. Whether or not you want to be cutting all of your stuff with water or not or cutting open the toothpaste bottle. It still is good to know. Am I using the right amount? Am I using more than I need? Because as with anything when it comes to finances and probably apart from that, just finding our Enough is what we are all about. How do we determine what is enough for us and when it comes to consumption? That is a great question to be asking ourselves. What is enough? Hand soap usage, Condiment usage, Laundry soap usage? I mean just all of it.

[Jen]

Just don't know. Yeah, except for like how much condiment usage, you know, how much is.

[Jill]

Oh, I actually use way too much ketchup. Like I realize it when I'm eating. I'll put a whole. It's not even a dollop. It's a whole big old squeeze.

[Jen]

We've got to save that.

[Jill]

Okay, we're going to save that Anyhow, thank the people. First, thank you everyone for being here, for listening, maybe watching again YouTube.com frugalfriends podcast and also thank you for reading our book because we're just out here doing the most writing a book called Buy what you love without going broke, putting out podcasts. We're on YouTube. Thanks for writing reviews and giving us ratings on all of these platforms, particularly when it comes to the book. Here's one of the ones that we loved from Kyle Burbank gave us five stars for the book. I absolutely loved Buy what you love without going Broke for its unique approach to personal finance and focus on values based spending. The authors offer a friendly, non judgmental tone, making the book relatable and inspiring for readers. I also appreciated the radical middle sentiment that's truly missing in the financial space. Although it may not provide in depth advice on certain topics such as investing, the truth is that you can get that anywhere. Ain't it the truth though Kyle? Instead, this is the perfect book for those seeking a more mindful and balanced approach to money. You can fill in the rest later. Ain't that the truth though Kyle? For that reason I not only highly recommend it, but would rank it among my favorite personal finance books ever.

[Jen]

Kyle Wow.

[Jill]

I don't know how many other personal finance books you're reading, Kyle, but love to be at the top of that list. So grateful.

[Jen]

Thank you Kyle. One of our our mighty but few.

[Jill]

Male we're assuming we don't actually know.

[Jen]

Oh this is true Kyle could also be a girl's name. I'm so sorry, but one of our mighty but few.

[Jill]

Book reviewers of the book.

[Jen]

So if you want to increase our reviews of the book, please head to Amazon and leave a rating and review. Even if you didn't buy it there. Even if you got it from the library. Head to buywhatyoulovebook.com we've got all the links to buy it. Bookshop.org is the best. And instructions on how to request it from your library if your library system doesn't already have it. And please leave a rating and review on Amazon regardless of where you bought it. And a rating and review on Spotify for the show if you like the episode.

[Jill]

Yeah, make it mighty and many. That's better because of alliteration. Oh, here you go. We have a goal of getting 500 reviews on our Amazon book by the end of the year.

[Jen]

Oh, she just made that up.

[Jill]

I'm just throwing out goals because when I tell you goals, you all like, cut to it. I love it.

[Jen]

She just does this. She goes off the rails, and I love it. So, yeah, leave us a review for the book. That would be great. And yeah, we'll see you next time. Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

[Jill]

Okay, okay.

[Jen]

Okay.

[Jill]

I eat a lot of ketchup. When I'm eating something with ketchup.

[Jen]

I'm so sad. This is what we're talking about.

[Jill]

What did you want to talk about? You want to talk about our goals and what we're doing with the business?

[Jen]

I just. Ketchup is kind of gross.

[Jill]

I freaking love ketchup. It's so good.

[Jen]

Okay, tell me about ketchup. Tell me about all your ketchup.

[Jill]

It's so good. It goes so well with a few things, but I eat those things a lot.

[Jen]

It goes so well with a small number of things.

[Jill]

Okay. But truly, when I am eating a burger, fries, anything, really, that's. That's what I.

[Hope Ware]

Hot.

[Jill]

Hot dog. Hot dog. I am putting a lot of ketchup on. And I know that I'm putting a lot on because I see what other people are doing, like my husband, and he'll put a true dollop, like a tablespoon onto his burger.

[Jen]

That's more than a dollop. A dollop is like a teaspoon. Let us know in the comments.

[Jill]

How much is a dollop?

[Jen]

A dollop is.

[Jill]

Yeah. So I will put a lot more than that. And then I don't know where it goes. It just feels like it gets soaked into the bun or something. So then I'll also put more than a dollop onto my plate and I'll dip the burger into the ketchup. I know, Jen. I know. And then if I've got fries, which I normally do, I am putting ketchup, more ketchup on my plate two to three times throughout the meal. Yeah, it's a problem.

[Jen]

I like putting some ketchup. If I'm doing like a Big Mac salad, I'll make the Big Mac sauce dressing and that has ketchup in it. I will put some ketchup. Like, I'm not a monster.

[Jill]

I think I'm a monster when it comes to ketchup. I don't want a monster.

[Jen]

Would be somebody who just eats it all dry. No ketchup on fries. No ketchup on burger. That is a monster. You could be a very beautiful monster if you do that. I'm not saying you're not beautiful. Especially if you're subscribed to our YouTube channel.

[Jill]

Oh, you are stunning. You are.

[Jen]

And if you do take ketchup with your. The goddess with your fries. Goddess. Beautiful goddess.

[Jill]

Yes. And if you're looking moonshine, take some.

[Jen]

Fries and burger with her ketchup.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Just a beautiful little glutton goddess.

[Jill]

Gluttonous.

[Jen]

Only if you're subscribed, though. You're not subscribed. Monstrous.

[Jill]

With no other caveats.

[Jen]

Monstrous.

[Jill]

You are a violent monster if you don't subscribe.

[Hope Ware]

I can't even look.

[Jen]

I gotta walk away.

[Jill]

Okay. Smash that like button like and subscribe.

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[Jill]

Listening to an iheart podcast.