How to Save Money on Your Electric Bill

Summary

Frugal Friends Podcast: How to Save Money on Your Electric Bill

Release Date: April 15, 2025
Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni

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Introduction

In this episode of the Frugal Friends Podcast, hosts Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni delve into practical strategies for reducing electric bills. Aimed at listeners striving for financial independence, minimalism, and debt reduction, the episode offers actionable advice supplemented by personal anecdotes and expert insights.

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1. Getting Electricity for Free

Jill introduces the concept of accessing electricity at no cost through government assistance programs.

• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP):
  [04:57]
  Jill explains, “LIHEAP assists low-income households, potentially covering the entire electric bill depending on eligibility.”
  Eligibility typically includes:

  • 1 person: Up to $31,000 annually
  • 2 people: Up to $42,000 annually
  • 4 people: Up to $64,000 annually
    [06:35] Yolene adds, “If you're a single-income household with multiple kids and your income is around $64,000 or less, definitely check LIHEAP.”

• Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP):
  [06:35]
  Yolene highlights WAP’s role in improving home energy efficiency for low-income families, helping reduce energy consumption through better insulation and sealing.

• Energy Provider Grants:
  [07:27]
  Both hosts suggest contacting your energy provider directly to inquire about available discounts or grants that can alleviate electric bills. “Many energy companies have their own programs,” Jill notes at [07:27].

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2. Securing Low-Cost Electricity

Moving beyond free options, Jen and Jill discuss methods to lower electric costs without compromising quality or legality.

• Energy-Efficient Appliances:
  [08:20]
  While frequently recommended, the hosts argue that replacing functional appliances solely for energy efficiency might not be cost-effective. “It’s pointless if you have an appliance that works,” Jen asserts.

• Focus on HVAC and Water Heaters:
  [08:20]
  Jill emphasizes that heating and cooling systems consume about 50% of a household’s energy. Upgrading or maintaining these systems can yield significant savings.
  “Your AC and heating take up the majority of your energy cost,” Jill explains at [09:02].

• Insulation and Air Sealing:
  [10:53]
  Proper insulation and sealing can dramatically reduce energy loss. Jill shares her personal experience, “Insulating our home with the help of my husband, who has construction expertise, was crucial.”

• Free Energy Audits:
  [11:04]
  Conducting a free energy audit through your provider can identify areas of energy leakage. Jill recounts her experience with Duke Energy, which provided tools to reduce both water and electric usage.

• DIY vs. Professional Upgrades:
  [15:07]
  The hosts discuss the cost-benefit analysis of DIY installations versus hiring professionals. “We installed our mini-split system ourselves for $8,000 instead of the quoted $17,000,” Jill shares at [16:00].

• Time of Use Discounts:
  [20:06]
  Yolene introduces time-of-use pricing, where electricity costs vary based on consumption times. Adjusting usage to off-peak hours can lead to savings, although it may require behavioral changes.

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3. Paying for Electricity Guilt-Free

The final segment focuses on maintaining low electric bills without sacrificing comfort or community values.

• Supporting Local Companies:
  [27:12]
  The hosts advocate for hiring local, independent service providers over private equity-backed companies. “When you go with a local company, you don’t sacrifice quality and usually save money,” Yolene states at [30:32].

• Utilizing AI and Technology:
  [31:01]
  Jen highlights the advantage of using AI tools like ChatGPT to verify if companies are privately owned or equity-backed, ensuring funds remain within the community.

• Mindful Energy Consumption:
  [26:30]
  Jill emphasizes the importance of being conscious about energy use, such as adjusting thermostat settings and ensuring appliances are not running unnecessarily. “Reining in how we engage with our usage is key,” she notes at [26:30].

---

4. Personal Experiences and Tips

Throughout the episode, Jen and Jill interweave personal stories to illustrate their points:

• Home Renovations and Energy Consumption:
  [40:28]
  Jill shares, “During renovations with guests and using power tools, our electric bill spiked to $350,” highlighting how temporary increases in energy use can impact bills.

• Energy-Efficient Upgrades:
  [16:23]
  Dolly transitions into discussing the benefits and challenges of switching to modern, energy-efficient systems, using her own switch to a mini-split system as an example.

---

5. Bill of the Week and Listener Interaction

In a lighter segment, the hosts introduce the “Bill of the Week,” sharing listeners’ experiences with unexpected electric bills and how they managed them.

• Listener Story:
  [33:20]
  Ryan Reynolds (a listener) recounts how saving money allowed him to invest in life insurance and take a spontaneous trip to the U.S., showcasing practical applications of frugal living.

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6. Conclusion and Action Steps

Jen and Jill wrap up by summarizing key takeaways:

• Explore Assistance Programs:
  Utilize LIHEAP and WAP if eligible.

• Prioritize Major Energy Consumers:
  Focus on HVAC systems and water heaters for major savings.

• Conduct Energy Audits:
  Identify and address areas of energy loss.

• Support Local Businesses:
  Choose local service providers to keep money within the community.

• Utilize Technology:
  Leverage AI tools for informed decision-making.

• Maintain Conscious Consumption:
  Regularly monitor and adjust energy usage habits.

Jen concludes, “If you’re looking to save on your electric bill, these strategies can help you achieve that while maintaining quality of life and supporting your community.”

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Notable Quotes

• Jill: “LIHEAP might just cover your entire electric bill depending on your eligibility.” (04:57)
• Yolene: “If you're a single-income household with multiple kids and your income is around $64,000 or less, definitely check LIHEAP.” (06:35)
• Jen: “It’s pointless if you have an appliance that works.” (08:20)
• Jill: “Your AC and heating take up the majority of your energy cost.” (09:02)
• Yolene: “When you go with a local company, you don’t sacrifice quality and usually save money.” (30:32)

---

Final Thoughts

This episode equips listeners with a comprehensive toolkit to tackle their electric bills effectively. By leveraging government programs, making informed upgrades, supporting local businesses, and adopting mindful consumption practices, Jen and Jill provide a holistic approach to managing and reducing electricity costs. Their blend of expert advice and relatable stories makes the strategies both accessible and actionable for anyone looking to enhance their financial well-being.

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For more tips and strategies on financial management, subscribe to the Frugal Friends Podcast and explore their book, Buy What You Love Without Going Broke.

Transcript

[Jill]

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[Yolene]

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[Yolene]

Bank of America Episode 502 how to Save Money on youn Electric Bill.

[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.

[Yolene]

Welcome to the Frugal Friends Podcast. My name is Jen. My name is Jo and today we are talking specifically about your electric bill. Ways that you can get electricity for free, low cost, get a deal on it or feel good paying for it.

[Jill]

Which is our new method of how we're going about these episodes. We are not looking to the Internet in the same ways that we used to. We're not doing the old Google search and going through an article. We've got our own framework how to get it for free, low cost deal, guilt free. But first, this episode is brought to you by Electrifying experiences. Not the kind that hurt, but the kind that are fun, exhilarating, thrilling, inspiring. Like the friend letter, which is at least two of those things. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We're inspiring you with a weekly money move you can make to get one step closer to better financial management. And we're thrilling you with some freebies, ways to save money on stuff you're already buying, and helpful ways to reduce impulse spending and feel less guilt about buying the things you love. So get it for [e-mail] and be electrified by our friend letter.

[Yolene]

Yes, I love checking out the friend letter. The gifts are always on point. I opened it one time and there was a ice skating dinosaur and I said, yep, this is, this is my, these are my people. I don't write the friend letters, but I open them up and I say, this is on brand. This is us. All right, so we've talked about saving money on utilities and bills in the past and this year we have committed to updating and publishing new information, new episodes, everything. How to save money on X, how to save money on everything. Because it's been quite a long time since we recorded episodes specific like this and a lot has changed. AI technology has made a lot of things more accessible and a lot of new things. So that is what we are talking about. If you do want to get some more summer specific episodes, check out episode 411. What to budget for this summer. Episode 301, Frugal Living Tips from the Great Depression. It's not summer specific or bill specific, but people tend to like that episode. But all right, let's get into our ways to save money on your electric bill.

[Jill]

So the first category that we want to look at is how can you get it for free? This is not going to be for everybody. But like our framework suggests, we want to offer you a way or an understanding of how you can meet these needs at various levels depending on where you're at currently. So there are programs like liheap, stands for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, that will assist low income households, particularly those who have low income but are paying a high proportion of their household income towards home energy needs. So this is a program that might just supplement how much money you're paying. There are times, however, where they might pay your entire electric bill through this program. So the guidelines are going to vary state to state, but usually it's around 200% of the poverty guidelines. So if you are one person earning an income living alone, the guidelines would be about $31,000 that you're making annually where you could be eligible for LIHEAP. Two people in a household would be $42,000 annually a year. Four people in the household, $64,000 a year. But you can find what you might be eligible for with your local LIHEAP program. So you can go to EnergyHelp us to learn about that one.

[Yolene]

Yeah, if you have kids, two or three kids, then this is something definitely to look into. If you're a single income household with multiple kids and your household income is around $64,000 or less, definitely head to it's EnergyHelp us and see if you qualify for LIHEAP. There's also the Weatherization Assistance Program, WAP. I think they made a song about this one. But it helps low income families improve the energy efficiency of their home. And so there are programs like this that help everyone. And we'll talk about that in a minute. But, but this one is specifically, it will not just tell you how to improve the energy efficiency, but will actually help you take those steps as well.

[Jill]

I also know that many energy companies themselves will have their own grants and programs. So you can go to whoever your energy provider is directly and see if you might be eligible for discounts or free energy, again, depending on your need.

[Yolene]

Yeah, it's very often most of those programs are like funded by liheap, but also they will have separate ones as well. So even if maybe you did not qualify for this one, see if your electric company has any other grants or programs. All right, so the next one is how do we get it for low cost? How do we get our electricity at the lowest cost possible without doing anything illegal or sacrificing quality?

[Jill]

So just plug into your neighbors.

[Yolene]

Yeah, right. No, that's not what we're talking about. So I see on the Internet a lot of all kinds of recommendations and this is kind of where we're gonna debunk some of those and tell you where you're going to get the most bang for your buck. So one thing I see recommended a lot is getting energy efficient appliances that will help you pay less for your energy bill. And so I think that is from doing research on how much your appliances actually contribute to your energy bill. It's full stop pointless if you have an appliance that works. If it is not energy efficient, keep with it because you will, you will spend more money upgrading than you will save on your energy bill. The place where you're going to get the biggest bang for your buck is your air Conditioning and your heating or your furnace. And so that's really what we're going to hone in on the rest of the episode. That uses about 50% of your total energy cost. The second Highest is at 14% and that's your water heater. So if you're going to focus on two things, it's going to be your H vac and potentially your water heater. Only if you really need to. Everything else is kind of superfluous when we're talking about safety saving on your electric bill, you can want energy efficient appliances, you can want a new appliance. Sure, they're all energy efficient at this point. But you're getting a new appliance to get a new appliance, not to save money on your energy bill.

[Jill]

If you're already in the market for a new appliance, then great. That's just an added bonus. And to kind of think about what's going to be like. I know for us, when we went from a duct system to mini splits, that significantly reduced our overall cost. Of course, it would be super expensive if your whole system wasn't broken already to switch to mini splits. I think we got quoted at one point $17,000 for just like half of our house. So to your point, that wouldn't have actually saved us money to make that switch just to make it. But our condenser was broken. We did need a new system. So it's like, all right, we might as well upgrade to something that's going to be energy efficient for the long term.

[Yolene]

Yeah.

[Jill]

It's also worth looking at whether or not there's rebates. I think we're going to talk about that at another point. But there can be reasons to replace for the sake of replacing if there's rebates being offered.

[Yolene]

Yeah.

[Jill]

But back to focusing on what takes the most of our energy, that being your ac, your heating, then we want to be looking at insulating and air sealing our homes. So. And this has even been corroborated by my husband, who has worked in construction for many, many years and he has worked tirelessly to insulate our home. And I think it's so ridiculous some of the measures that he takes, but he's like, this is the number one way that heat or AC escapes the home and the number one way bugs also get into your home. So there's a double whammy reason for making sure that the house is as sealed as possible. One of the things that you can do to figure out where you might be losing the most of your energy is by doing a free energy audit through your energy provider. So I know for us, Jen, I've done this. Eric and I have gotten the free energy audit through Duke, who was our local supplier and was really shocked by the level of like service that they provided that they actually care to help us reduce our energy bill and then ended up giving us something in the mail to help reduce some of our energy costs both on water usage as well as on electric usage. Like probably $50 to $75 worth of things that they gave us to be able to install throughout our home to be able to reduce our energy. So look at this for whoever your energy is provide energy provider is see if they'll do a free energy audit for you.

[Yolene]

And if they won't, if they send you to a private energy company, it's not a scam. That company is probably subsidized by your city. Your, your energy provider is subsidized by your city to do these energy audits. It, it is benefits the city, so they subsidize it. So if you're like, is it a scam? No. Of course they're going to try and push you to buy something, whether it's a private company or they're going to offer rebates from the energy provider to get kickbacks from a company to do the insulation and air sealing for you. But you don't have to go with a company. There are things you can do yourself. And this is an example where if you need to buy some weather stripping or if you need to buy something in order to be more energy efficient, these are the things you want to be buying, not the energy efficient appliances.

[Jill]

Yeah. So where you might see the most energy loss is in the attic if there isn't any insulation or the insulation is going bad is missing in certain parts. If you've got leaks in your ductwork windows, for sure doors for sure. Even checking your thermostat settings. So the like lower barrier to entry would be absolutely your windows and doors, making sure that you don't see any light coming through some of the cracks in there or if you can kind of feel with your hand where you might be getting drafts. So that's where caulk window sealer can come in. Even the plastic weather stripping like you already mentioned, for those of you in the north during the winter, even putting plastic over your windows, you know you're not going to be opening the windows. So getting one of those like plastic window sealing kits can be worth it to be able to keep the heat in and then of course checking your thermostat settings, making sure that you're not overdoing it, but also that you're allowing your areas where you are living to be monitored by the temperature that you want it. But allowing a few degrees difference in maybe some of the rooms that you're not currently utilizing.

[Yolene]

Yeah. And then if you're going to buy an appliance, well if you're going to upgrade. So we talk about sinking funds. You should always have a sinking fund for repair, maintenance, upgrades, stuff like that. So saving for your AC or furnace like replacement. If you know you're going to need a whole new system like Jill did, start figuring out whether it's best to go with the, with the standard that has been in most houses, the central system or if it might behoove you to go to a mini split system. And there's also di. You can get it done professionally, but you can get Mr. Cool offers DIY mini split installation kits. So you can do that.

[Jill]

That is what we went with.

[Yolene]

That's what we went with.

[Jill]

We were able to do our whole house for I want to say $8,000.

[Yolene]

Three bedroom, two bath.

[Jill]

Uh huh. So compared to the $17,000 quote we got from a company to do it for us, $8,000 was far better for. But of course we did have to do it ourselves. It does take a little bit of know how but there are plenty of YouTube videos out there. Yeah.

[Yolene]

And you should have a friend in the H vac industry who can help you if the Freon goes a little haywire because not everyone will repair those systems.

[Jill]

Right.

[Yolene]

And then a tankless water heater. So a gas powered one if you're in the north. If you're in the south you can go gas or electric.

[Jill]

Yeah, tankless doesn't totally work in the north, but we love it here in the south. It saves a ton of money.

[Yolene]

Yeah.

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[Jill]

Right, now we're on to a deal. How do we get a deal on this electric that we're paying for? So, of course, when it comes to insulating, sealing up our homes, definitely look for rebates that might be offered to you from that free energy check that you ended up doing. Not only might they give you some free stuff, they gave us some weather stripping in that little package that they sent to us afterwards. But they also alerted us to if you were to replace these windows, we would cover 50% of the cost of that. I also know in a lot of places this is more to do with water usage. But to use it as an example, many cities might offer rebates on replacing your toilets, making it absolutely free. You know, you guys did that in replacing old toilets that are going to use far less water. And to get a free toilet, totally worth it. So check into what rebates might exist when it comes to tankless water heaters. Check Black Friday sales. Water heaters are more likely to break in the winter, so that could be a time to consider replacing them. Kind of when Black Friday comes around.

[Yolene]

Yeah. Cause if your water heater breaks in the winter, you don't have time to search sales and to get a deal. Right. So if you know this is the season when most water heater break, then you'll want to be looking for these deals in the summer, the fall, stuff like that. So be prepared so that you don't have to pay more in a crisis. Next is the time of use discount from your energy company. Most energy companies offer this. I didn't even realize we had it in our area. I thought this was some kind of special thing that other people had. But no, we have it too. And it is definitely inconvenient times. So you would have to be doing your, you know, most of your, so like running your washer and your dryer and your dishwasher in the middle of the night, essentially. So if you have one of those washer dryers that can switch automatically from washing to drying, this is a great thing. Just set it up to run in the middle of the night. So I actually called Duke and wanted to know if it would benefit me to change to this. And they were so good in walking me through. They walked me through on. I was on my laptop and they told me where to go. So That I can see, this is my energy usage, this is what I'm paying for kilowatt or whatever unit of energy. This is what it would change to if I went to time of day discount program, it would increase the price per use during peak hours and then decrease it during off hours. So what I decided for me is that it, when I look and it even did the math for me, they're like, this is what you're paying now. This is what you would pay with the same habits if you got time of time of use discount. And I would pay more, but obviously I would change my habits. But then I was thinking actually with the kids and everything, I don't really want to change my habits. So I think I'm just going to stay with what I have. But look it up, see how it would change for you and really consider if you could change your habits. If you work nights, if you're a night owl or super early, like you've got one of those 4am Wake up routines or something, check it out, do the math and see if it will work for you.

[Jill]

Yeah, if you're not someone who's always cranking your AC or your heat through the evenings, or if you've got one of those newer washer dryers where you can tell it to start, you don't even have to be awake, but do a delay, start on at least one of those cycles, I think it could be worth it then. There is a thing called energy wise home and this is something that can help particularly when it comes to people who have a pool or a tankless water. Or is it tank or tankless water heater?

[Yolene]

It's regular, regular water heater and ac, but I think it really helps people with pools. That's where I'm thinking this will have the most benefit.

[Jill]

So it's kind of, it's an automation that you can add to your system that will cycle your pool pump, your water heater, your AC on and off automatically to reduce usage in peak times so that you can get up to $150 in rebates. So if you've got these types of systems in your home, this is definitely something to consider that you don't even have to be a part of the process. It will do it for you. And you just got the one time installation and then set it and forget it.

[Yolene]

Yeah, I think if you're in a temperate climate like California or you have a pool or you have a tank water heater, I wouldn't do this with a tankless, but Definitely it's a energy wise home search that put it Ask Chat GPT if the program because it's a trademarked program. So this isn't just like a duke thing, but see if it's available in your area. More often than not something like it is gonna be it's just a little thing that they install that cycles the power on and off without your consent. So again, something that I looked at and I was like, I don't have a pool, I don't have a tank, water heater. I do not want them to turn my AC on and off at their leisure for whenever they feel like it's. So it wasn't the right move for us.

[Jill]

Final category is how do we pay for electricity guilt free. And I do think some of this has to do with making sure that our usage is really buttoned up that we are not being wasteful or over consuming our electric usage. So I do think it's worth kind of going through these first three categories, reining in how we are engaging with our usage, being sure that when we're out of the house for the majority of the day, our AC isn't pumping 66 degrees. Like we're not leaving the doors and windows open. Like we are being aware of how much we're taking.

[Yolene]

But if you are somebody who likes your AC 66 degrees when you're home, how can you do that guilt free? And so the thing we think for this is we're looking at the servicing and the services. We get around our electric items, mainly our H Vac, but all of our appliances. Really, how can we pay, how can we save money and pay for that guilt free too? And so I'll let you in on a little stat. Private equity investors have purchased nearly 800 H VAC plumbing and electrical companies since 2022. In three years, private equity investors have purchased nearly 800 H VAC Plumbing and Electrical companies. And what these private equity companies do is they go in, they clean house, raise prices, repaint the sign on the, on the front door, make it look, you know, a little less seedy. And then every dollar you use in that company now leaves, most of it leaves your community. Whereas when it was just the cdhvac company, most of that money stayed in your community. Hopefully not, not seedy, but you know, you know what, it looks like you're like, I don't know if I can trust Jed, the H Vac guy, right?

[Jill]

But Jed's been doing it for 30 years, right?

[Yolene]

And Jed, if you just got to know him, he is Legit, but he retired and nobody wanted to buy his business except for the private equity companies. So you'll be able to tell, you know, the private equity backed companies, they're very polished, they've got money, but the money goes to them, not your community. Local companies, they may not have the signs may not be as shiny, the colors may not be as bright, or maybe they're too bright. But I'll also say when you go with a local company, you don't sacrifice quality to buy local. And you usually save money when you go with local companies. So that's how we believe that you can save money on your electric bill. Guilt free is when you need these appliances serviced. You go with locally owned companies, so what you can do is get your recommendations from your friends, go about how you would normally do, go search, narrow it down to a couple companies and then you can actually ask ChatGPT, are these companies backed by private equity? And ChatGPT will tell you, which is an amazing thing because before AI, you would have to pay for that. Answer from a company called PitchBook, which details and tracks data of private equity deals. So you don't have to, you don't have to pay for that anymore, which is amazing.

[Jill]

That is awesome.

[Yolene]

You can ask ChatGPT and it will tell you if the company is publicly traded or backed by private equity. You have to answer, you have to ask those questions either separately or differentiate and you can find out quickly. So yeah, find out, take the time and go with a company that yes, is, you know, well rated but local.

[Jill]

So to recap, if you are looking for ways to get your electric for free and you are low income, look into liheap. Look into Weatherization Assistance program, WAP for short. If you're looking for low cost or a deal, go directly to your energy provider. Ask for an overview of your energy usage and maybe areas where you might be leaking. And you can do some of these things to make your home more energy efficient. Focus on what is taking up the majority of your energy. You don't need to be worried about unplugging things that aren't in use or absolutely turning off every single single light everywhere. Of course we do want to be, you know, utilizing like LED wherever possible when they need to be replaced. But take a look at your AC heating, your water heater. These are the things that are going to be taking up the most. Do some of these audits and do some of these simple maintenance things around your home in order to not be heating and cooling the entire neighborhood. And then Spend guilt free by supporting local companies and knowing that your energy usage is enough where it should be for you and your family's needs.

[Yolene]

Absolutely. You know, what else is there for my family's needs? And it doesn't help us save money on anything, but it does really make us feel good.

[Jill]

It's electrifying the bill of the Week. 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.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hi, guys. This is Yolene from Paris again. Oh, my God, this is amazing. I am listening to my favorite podcast, which happens to be on books, which are my favorite thing in the world. And I'm, you know, minding my own business, cleaning my apartment that is going to be on Airbnb during my Christmas vacation. And then what does happen?

[Jill]

My.

[Ryan Reynolds]

My voice is on the podcast. My. My bill of the week is on the podcast. This is so insane. By the way, it also shows that I. My English is getting worse and worse. Which brings us to the bill of the week. What did I do with that unexpected amount of money I was talking about on our last conversation? Well, you're going to be so proud of me. Half of it was put on a life insurance, which I didn't have before, and the other half was put on a plane ticket to America. Yes, that did happen.

[Jill]

I am so excited.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm going to Boston and Providence and then Vermont in early January. Yes, it's going to be cold. Yes, I'm aware of it. I'm visiting friends and they just invited me and out of the blue, I decided to go. And I was able to because I saved the money I had in July. And this is all thanks to you guys. Thank you so much. Bisous from Paris.

[Yolene]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. Vermont. New. Rhode Island.

[Jill]

Well, Boston.

[Yolene]

Boston. Providence. She said Providence.

[Jill]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Yolene]

Fantastic places.

[Jill]

Amazing. And I'm never gonna get tired of listening to your voice. You don't need to do anything with your English. I understood you just fine and I loved it. Thank you for giving us this follow up about what you did with this unexpected money that you received back in the summer. And I love that you were able to allocate it to a couple of different things. One thing that is maybe a little bit more responsible, achieving this goal of having life insurance that you didn't have before and now this unexpected money allows you to be able to have that and then something more fun and life giving to get to see friends in the US So glad that you came to our little almost neck of the woods. It's the east coast so we'll count it and we hope that you just had such a lovely visit. Thank you so much for calling again. We love our follow up Bills. If you all are listening and you have a bill that you want to share, if it has to do with update on a previous bill that you left us, we'd love to hear it. If your name is Bill, if you were able to spend your bills on things that help you achieve financial goals or just help help you spend time with friends, we want to hear it all. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Bill leave it for us.

[Yolene]

Run a business and not thinking about Podcasting? Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ad supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only iHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. Think podcasting can help your business? Think iHeart streaming radio and podcasting. Call 844-844 iHeart to get started. That's 844-844, iHeart.

[Jill]

Are your ears bored? Yeah. Are you looking for a new podcast that will make you laugh, learn and say que? Yeah. Then tune in to locatora radio season 10 today.

[Yolene]

Okay.

[Jill]

I'm Diosa. I'm Mala, the host of Locatora Radio, a radiophonic novella, which is just a very extra way of saying a podcast.

[Yolene]

We're launching this season with a miniseries.

[Jill]

Totally Nostalgic, a four part series about the Latinos who shaped pop culture in the early 2000s. It's Lala checking in with all things Y2K 2000s. My favorite memory, honestly, was us having our own media platform like Mundo's and MTV. Tres. You could turn on the TV, you see Thalia, you see JLo, Nina, Sky, Evie Queen. All the girlies doing their things.

[Yolene]

All of the beauty reflected right back at us. It was everything.

[Jill]

Tune in to locatora radio season 10. Now that's what I call a podcast. Listen to Locatora Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Yolene]

Sonoro and iHeart's Mike Kultura podcast Network present the Setup, a new romantic comedy podcast starring Harvey Guillen and Christian Navarro. The setup follows a lonely museum curator searching for love. But when the perfect man walks into his life.

[Jill]

Well, I guess I'm saying I like.

[Jen]

You, you like me.

[Yolene]

He actually is too good to be true.

[Jill]

This is a con. I'm conning you to get the Delato painting. We could do this together.

[Yolene]

To pull off this heist, they'll have to get close and jump into the deep end together. That's a huge leap, Fernando, don't you think?

[Jill]

After you, Chulito.

[Yolene]

But love is the biggest risk they'll ever take.

[Jill]

Fernando's never going to love you as much as he loves this job. Chulito. That painting is ours.

[Yolene]

Listen to the setup as part of the Mike Guntura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jill]

My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention. This is a story about radical nuns in combat boots and wild haired priests trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover in a hell bent effort to sabotage a war.

[Ryan Reynolds]

J. Edgar Hoover was furious.

[Jill]

Somebody violated the FBI and he wanted to bring the Catholic left to its knees.

[Yolene]

The FBI went around to all their.

[Jill]

Neighbors and said to them, do you think these people are good Americans? It's got heists, tragedy, a trial of the century, and the God damnedest love story you've ever heard. I picked up the phone and my thought was, this is the most important phone call I'll ever make in my life. I couldn't believe. I mean, Brendan, it was divine intervention. Listen to Divine intervention on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And now it's time for the lightning round.

[Yolene]

Okay, what's the highest your electric bill has ever been?

[Jill]

Yeah, I changed the question.

[Yolene]

You did change the question. I don't have an answer for it.

[Jill]

The other question was, what do you spend the most amount on your electric bill? And we kind of already answered that, like everybody spends the most on heating an ac.

[Yolene]

You're so right. Okay, you go first and I'll look it up.

[Jill]

Okay. Mine at one point was. So I'll preface this by saying we live in a 3 bed, 2B bath, 1400 square feet. Not a large, large home. Not, not the tiniest either. We did at one point live in 175 square feet. So it's, it's bigger than that. And our electric bill got up to $350, which is a lot for us. Yeah, normally we sit around 2:30, 2:50, so this was quite a shocker. However, we go in spurts of our. I mean our electric bill fluctuates throughout the year, as I think most people's does, because our heating and AC is on electric. But certainly through renovations, using a lot of power tools, we would see an increase in our electric bill. But I remember that it might have even been 3:70. Honestly, it was when we had a month where we had guests in our house literally every weekend and Eric's parents were parked in their RV at our house. And in any spare time that we had, we were doing renovations. So power tools. So reasonable for how much we were doing. But it still was a little gut punch.

[Yolene]

Yes. Okay. Ours August of 2023, where we were doing renovations for sure. We had renters in the back. Um, so we actually started that in June of 2023. So that would have been. Right. Our first foray right at the beginning. 377. And we kind of just had three months back to back. 272, 372, 377. 3:47. And this is July, August, September. That is just what July, August, September looks like because it's all ac. And this house is just an older. The walls in most of the house are not insulated and we did not want to open them up to insulate them. So we opened up the walls in our bedroom and in the bathrooms and those got insulated. So any wall we did open that was exterior did get insulated, but a lot of them did not. And then the windows just. So this month it's like 1:30. Whoa, I see. 120. April of last year was 120 even.

[Jill]

With guests in the back.

[Yolene]

119. Yeah. Cause the first. Yeah. 120 we had because it's just airy. We open windows, we enjoy outside and the AC done run. So. Yeah, yeah. So we make up for it. We pay, you know, those summer months guilt free because during the winter we just, you know, let nature be our air conditioning.

[Jill]

Yes.

[Yolene]

So thank you so much for listening. I hope this was helpful for you. I hope you're going to take action on something we talked about in the episode. If you're listening to this on Spotify, please leave a comment. If you're listening on YouTube, please leave a comment. Let us know the action that you are going to take and if you have any other helpful tips. The hive mind is real. We may have missed something. If it's not applicable really to, you know, what we. The knowledge we have access to. And if it helps you, we'd also love if you'd leave A rating and review for the show and or for our book Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke that released in January. This one in particular is for the book. It's from khf. Finally, a personal finance book we all can relate to. This book is spot on. Jen and Jill holistically present in a very digestible related approach many of the primary influences in why and how we value our financial resources and how we can find balance with them amidst all the social media and other noise that competes for our attention. And it follows our money. I work in financial services, have read about 20 personal finance books, listened to many of the major personal finance podcasts and Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke has quickly moved to the top of the list in helping me understand my current mindset and behavior and and how, if at all, I can better align both with what has the most meaning and impact for me. Also, I'm a huge fan of the Frugal Friends podcast and listen to every episode. Wow, that is such a high compliment. Thank you so much. It means so much that somebody in this space would think like that about our book.

[Jill]

So humbling because we hear this from both sides, both from people like yourself who are saying, I've read so many personal finance books and this is becoming a beloved one. And people who buy what you love without going broke is the first personal finance book they ever pick up. That is so fun that our book kind of hits both people that it really could be the first book you ever read or it could be the 21st and there still might be something in it for you. So thanks everyone for listening. Thanks for reading our book. If you have enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and review for the podcast. If you read the book, please leave us a rating and review for the book. If you've done both, leave both. We love you and we thank you for it and we'll see you next time.

[Yolene]

Yeah, and if you want to get your own copy of the book, buywhatyoulovebook.com, get it from bookshop.org or there's information on how to request it at your library if your library doesn't already have a copy. See you next time.

[Jill]

Bye.

[Yolene]

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

[Jill]

Jen, I just had like, I just had a core memory. I just had one of the best experiences of my life recently.

[Yolene]

Tell me about it.

[Jill]

I thought you were gonna know automatically. So Eric and I went to Cleveland, Ohio, the exotic Cleveland where my sister lives. She has four children and we spent like A long weekend there, hanging out with all the kiddos. And when we were out, one of the children, Lydia, who is the only girl, asks myself and Eric, can I come home with you guys? And we were like, hmm. It was her spring break, so she had the rest of the week off. And we were like, we don't see why not. And then she asks her parents, and they were like, yeah, we can make that work. And what a dream to just last minute, spontaneously be able to say, yes, you can come back with us, spend five days in Florida with us. And I mean, we still had work to do, but she was able to come to the office and we went to the beach in the afternoon.

[Yolene]

She was probably our quietest employee. Yeah, she was the best. Definitely best behaved employee all week.

[Jill]

Yeah, she's 10. She kept herself busy with reading books and coloring and some fun videos. And it. It was literally so fun, so cool that it was able to happen. But also, side story with this, because she's a minor, we had to also then take her back to Cleveland. And she wasn't comfortable flying by herself. Understandable. So while her parents purchased her ticket, her round trip ticket down to us, we got a ticket to be able to go back with her on a Sunday. And I was planning on doing this, flying her back to Cleveland, walking her out to the car to see her mom turning right back around, getting on a plane home, and we plan for this. Then we come into the office one day and I look at my calendar and I realize that you and I have a book event for Buy what yout Love without going broke. There was a local bookstore doing a book club on our book, and they invited us to go two months in advance. This event has been on the calendar for two months.

[Yolene]

Two months.

[Jill]

But in my excited stupor of booking the flight, making sure that Lydia could come down to Florida with us without her parents and enjoy her spring break here. Just right out the dome.

[Yolene]

Totally forgot right out the dome.

[Jill]

Booked a ticket for myself. And then we remember, we're like, oh, no. So what? I was able to relatively easily change it to be from me to Eric for him to take her back. So bless him for doing a six hour kind of round trip, fly to Cleveland, fly back in the matter of a few hours. But so that had happened and you knew about it. You're like, you did not book a ticket to fly to Ohio for this thing that we've had planned for two months. I'm like, I totally did. That is my bad. So then I get there that Sunday Morning to our book event and I'm 15 minutes early and usually you beat me places you are. I am typically punctual, meaning, like right on time. And Jen, you are usually early by like 10 to 15 minutes. So I was surprised to not see you there. So I'm like, I'm just gonna shoot her a text. Like, I'm here and glad I did because you show up a little later saying, I totally forgot that we had this event. So we both took our turns in forgetting about this book event that we had. But you know what? We both showed up.

[Yolene]

We both showed up on time and none, nobody was the wiser that we.

[Jill]

That both of us almost didn't show up.

[Yolene]

And it was such a great event. Like, it was wonderful.

[Jill]

We've been saying that it does take the two of us that, like, our two brains combined makes 150% brain. Like, you bring 75. I bring 75. And it's more than enough.

[Yolene]

It's more. It's more than enough.

[Jill]

Yeah. Okay, bye. This is Dr. Laurie Santos from the Happiness Lab at the Boston Marathon presented by bank of America. Thousands of runners are raising funds for life changing causes and you can help make an impact. Visit bofa.com helpacause to donate and support a runner's fundraising efforts. Together, we're making a difference. One step at a time. What would you like the power to do, bank of America? In a world of economic uncertainty and.

[Yolene]

Workplace transformation, learn to lead by example. From visionary C suite executives like Shannon Schuyler of PwC and Will Pearson of iHeartMedia, the Good Teacher explains the great teacher inspires. Don't always leave your team to do the work that's been the most important part of how to lead by example. Listen to leading by example executives making an impact on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are your ears bored?

[Jill]

Yeah. Are you looking for a new podcast that will make you laugh, learn, and say gay? Yeah.

[Yolene]

Then tune in to locatora radio season 10 today. Okay.

[Jill]

Now that's what I call a podcast. I'm Diosa. I'm Mala, the host of Locatora Radio, a radiophonic novella, which is just a very extra way of saying a podcast.

[Yolene]

Listen to Locatora Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.

[Jill]

You get your podcasts. The number one hit podcast, the Girlfriends, is back with something new, the Girlfriend Spotlight. Each week, you'll hear women triumph over adversity. You'll meet Tracy, who survived a terrifying.

[Yolene]

Attack I remember that feeling of, okay, this is how I die and turn.

[Jill]

That darkness into light.

[Yolene]

I want to take over the world and just leave this place better than I found it.

[Jill]

So come and join our girl gang. Listen to the girlfriend Spotlight on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.