← Frugal Friends Podcast
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- [00:00]
Oracle Representative
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- [01:00]
Jill
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.
- [01:13]
Jen
It's not just some limited time deal. You get nationwide 5G coverage with 3 gigabytes of data, 300 texts and 100 minutes of calls. If you need more data, you can upgrade to their other plans. Plus, you're supporting a community built network that's growing every day to keep you seamlessly connected wherever you go.
- [01:30]
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.
- [01:41]
Jen
So if you're in the market to cut that monthly phone bill, like really cut it, Helium Mobile is where it's at. Download the Helium Mobile app today and use the code Froogle to get your free plan today.
- [01:52]
Disney Representative
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- [02:22]
Target Representative
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- [02:52]
Nicole Stanley
Episode 497 Investing for Financial Freedom A Woman's Guide with Nicole Stanley Foreign.
- [03:02]
Jen
Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity and.
- [03:09]
Jill
Live a richer life. Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.
- [03:17]
Nicole Stanley
Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen.
- [03:20]
Jill
My name is Jill and today we.
- [03:22]
Nicole Stanley
Are talking about investing. This is something you guys said you wanted more knowledge on specifically investing for retirement, but then also outside of retirement accounts. So we are going to cover both.
- [03:33]
Jill
Today with a woman talking about a.
- [03:37]
Nicole Stanley
Woman'S perspective and obviously because we're women and having a woman on, we'll be talking about how important it is for women specifically to have this knowledge. But first, this episode is brought to you by by YouTube. Not specifically YouTube, not the company, please don't sue us, but our YouTube channel, Frugal Friends. On YouTube, we just started a series called the Sunday Reset where every Sunday we are releasing a video. Yes, you can see our faces talking about a weekly money move that you can do to progress your finances. Every week six different recipes that you can add to your meal plan that we have already done and we can tell you what went right, what to change, how it went for us and then listener listen, answering a listener question, mostly about the things that you have episode topic ideas for that we can't make full episodes on. We still want to get to those. And so those are a lot of the listener questions we are answering on the Sunday Reset. So head to YouTube.com frugalfriends and subscribe. Don't miss one because next month we're also starting another series that's really exciting and you are not going to want to miss out.
- [04:58]
Jill
No, you aren't. See you over on YouTube, but stay here too.
- [05:02]
Nicole Stanley
Yeah. So today we are talking about investing, obviously with Nicole Stanley. She is the owner and head money coach at Arise Financial Coaching and she helps women figure out their family's net worth and improve their financial situation through investing. And we are excited to talk to her today. She's just a, she's a kind soul and I think you guys are really going to like her.
- [05:29]
Jill
Let's get into it.
- [05:34]
Nicole, welcome to Frugal Friends. We're so happy to have you here.
- [05:37]
Jen
I Am so excited to be here.
- [05:40]
Jill
This is such an important conversation for us to be having, and we don't talk about it a ton on this podcast, which is also why we turn to experts to bring in just more perspective on this theme of investing. But specifically looking from the lens for women, I'm curious how you see investing strategies maybe be different for women. How much do we need to know to get it done right? What are your thoughts here?
- [06:08]
Jen
Yeah, so I really love how financial coaching can bring a different perspective to something that's long been almost accepted as, like, too complicated for women. So one of the cool things about being a financial coach instead of an advisor is you get to focus more on, like, the education of your clients and helping them understand why investing is important, how they can find more money to invest, and then ultimately how to understand, like, how fees work, et cetera. And that was something that, when I started my investing journey maybe about seven years ago, wasn't something that was very popular. So when I started investing, my husband and I were making collectively 56,000 a year, and we had our first child. And I remember, like, going and interviewing all of these financial advisors and kind of having them, like, laugh at us because of the amount that we were starting with per month and feeling like, is this even worth it to get started? Because between, you know, we were doing a few hundred dollars a month and we didn't have a ton of money in extra, you know, assets that we were rolling over since we were so young. But I look back at that time and I'm so grateful that I decided, you know, okay, we're just going to make this important, even if we feel kind of dumb doing this as, like, young kids in our early twenties starting to invest. And so that's one of my main goals today when I'm teaching classes about investing for women, is helping women understand that the concept that investing is too complicated for them to understand is a little bit of a marketing technique to just kind of offload it to someone else. Right. And so I think that it's never been easier to be a woman and to start investing. And that's why I probably never shut up about telling women, you know, hey, if you think that this is too difficult for you, honestly, if you passed high school algebra, I think you can learn how to do this.
- [08:05]
Jill
It's such a shame that we feel like we need so much to begin investing, and we are told that, like, it's so sad to me that you felt, like, laughed out, laughed out of the office.
- [08:16]
Jen
Well, they literally Laughed.
- [08:17]
Jill
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't just feel that way. It's what happened.
- [08:21]
Jen
Yeah.
- [08:21]
Jill
That's insane.
- [08:23]
I'm glad you brought up the marketing piece because, yeah, like financial advisors market their services. They want you to think investing is too complicated. But also like marketing for women in personal finance is so different. Like so much of investing, marketing is made with men in mind. When we reach out to investing companies, robo advisors, brokerages, they don't want to work with us because our our audience, especially fintech apps, they don't want to work with us because our audience is 85 to 95% female and all of their marketing is directed at men. I know because I know you can go into the back end of Facebook ads and see all the Facebook ads that any company is running, right. And they're all directed towards men. Meanwhile, for women, anything finance related is, has to do with saving money, like coupons, deals, rebates. Those companies would like love to work with us, but we don't want to like push as much stuff. We're trying to go away from that. But so yeah, it's just like there's so much marketing saturated in the idea of investing. So when we overcome this marketing bias, this cognitive bias, what do you think the order of operations should be for women to be investing for both working women and women who may be stay at home, spouses or parents?
- [10:06]
Jen
That's a good question because I think that yes, there is a marketing bias, but I also think that it's important to note that many women feel like investing is too complicated for them to understand. They also feel that investing is something that's for people who are already rich. And so if they are not wealthy, if they don't have kind of those people around them, it can be very difficult to kind of invite for them to self invite themselves to start to say, well, maybe I can figure this out, right? So one of the best things that I think is helpful for women is for them to know that statistically women are better investors than men. They've done studies and they've seen that we outperform men by I think it's like 2 or 3% that we outperform them in the long run. And so they're actually very, very well positioned to learn about investing. The next thing is for them to kind of realize that you don't have to start investing with, you know, $250,000 in the bank. You can start investing with $10, which is a really radical concept. Right. Like, because we were kind of always taught that you didn't, you know, start doing something until you had more of it to do. And I also think that many women are already investing without them realizing it, right? So if you have had past jobs where there's been a 401k or a 403b, you are already investing. And so, you know, I don't think that any woman gets to say anymore, well, somebody else can handle that for me, or I don't have to think about that. It's like if we don't learn how to do it, then the only person that suffers is us. Right? Because we don't get the maximum, you know, hard work from our money. That when it's starting to compound. And so I think that for many, many women, it's for them to know they're already in the game, whether or not they realize it, whether or not they want to be. You know, we all are kind of in. We're all starting to invest whether we want to or not. And so if we could just say, well, you know what, where are the resources that I can start to learn about this on my own so that I can know what I'm invested in and what its purpose is. I think that that's ultimately going to be a huge, huge benefit to every single woman who's listening. Right. Regardless of if it's something that you thought of yourself before. And it's even more important for women who aren't working, I believe, to be investing, because there are so many benefits to making sure that you're putting away some of your money for your future that gives you just ultimately more choices. Right? That was when I started investing, was when I was a stay at home mom, like really starting to invest. And so I think that many women can feel like, well, I don't have the extra money, but there are so many benefits to getting started anyway.
- [13:05]
Jill
Nicole, what are some of those terms that you think when someone is kind of getting started, even if they don't have a lot of money to begin with, or they feel like I don't actually know much about this, like, what are some of the base level terms that you think we should be aware of?
- [13:22]
Jen
I think that the first term that I think got me the most excited with investing was first finding out how compound interest worked. So I kind of look back at my early 20s because I got married young and my husband and I were not making a lot of money. We could kind of barely afford our wedding. And I had a lot of financial stress and anxiety around that. And so I remember when I Was engaged. And I saw my first compound interest chart, and it was, you know, of the two brothers, where one starts investing at 19 and he invests for seven years, and then his brother, and then he stops investing, and then his older brother starts investing seven years later and then ends up investing for the rest of his life. And between the two brothers, you end up seeing that the younger brother, who only invested for seven years, ends up with almost a million dollars more than his older brother, who invested like five times his amount. And that was the first time that I really had, like, the fire under me. Realizing that time was actually my best asset when it came to investing. It wasn't necessarily how much money I made or what my strategy was, but rather that I just learned the basics to get started. And I kind of look back at that time as my million dollar mistake, because even after seeing that compound interest chart, it still took me another six years to start feeling comfortable to invest on my own. And so I think for me, I didn't know the resources of where to get started. And so some really, really great resources that started me on my journey of learning about the financial independence movement, which, Jill, I don't know. Are you guys into the financial independence movement at all?
- [15:01]
Jill
We dabble, for sure. We are not all the way fire, but absolutely. We will talk about ways to kind of achieve some levels of financial freedom in ways that make sense for each individual.
- [15:11]
Jen
Yeah. So for me, I grew up watching. I grew up in a Puerto Rican American household, and my dad was a very successful software engineer in the early 2000s. And I watched him just really fret about his own retirement most of my childhood, my adolescence, my young adult life. And so I had this innate fear in me about retirement and about this concept of being financially secure that I brought with me everywhere when it came to money. I thought about it when I was accepting my first job when I stayed at home. And so when I learned about the financial independence movement, that was the first time that I realized, like, wow, you know, if I can learn how to invest and how to just do so early, then I could kind of not have those same worries that my dad had, Right. Like, if I could learn how to prioritize it as early as possible. And so when I kind of disassociated the concept of retirement being attached to investing and use the phrase instead financial independence, which really is the same thing. Retirement and financial independence are the same thing. It's just a much sexier word.
- [16:18]
Jill
Right.
- [16:19]
Jen
And so financial independence is just when you're able to no longer have to trade your time for money, but rather your money makes you enough money that you can stop working. And so As a early 20, mid 20 year old, I became very interested in this concept. And that's what really spurred me to get started investing and to start prioritizing it. And so I think those two concepts, if somebody, you know, decides for the first time today to take a look at a compound interest calculator with their age as well as to see for themselves, okay, how much money do I need to be considered financially independent? Right. That can be a really powerful concept for people to, to be motivated by. I see it like, for me it was because once I got that number right, I knew that we needed X amount when we were going to be able to retire. Then it just became a game of, okay, how can I figure out how to find this extra money? So for me, I started, you know, nannying on the side. I did some side hustles and I was motivated because I knew that, okay, if I could put this extra money here, then I can hit that. So at age 27, my husband and I, we had made 56,000 on average since we had gotten married. And we collectively had our first a hundred thousand saved in investment accounts. And that was what we hit when we hit coast fire, which is basically a term for those of you listening who might not have heard that before. It's when you've saved enough money in your investment accounts and invested it that even if you never invest another dollar, you can know that you're going to retire, right, and you're going to be able to retire safely. And as a kid who watched my parents fret so much about their retirement that hitting that achievement was, I didn't realize like the stress I was carrying around in my life, just not knowing if I was going to end up in that same place wondering, am I going to work till the day I die?
- [18:17]
Jill
Yeah, it's so powerful to, to recognize that we can learn this skill, that there are resources available for us to understand even if we feel completely like inadequate, inept at this topic. And like you're saying, just the power of compound interest, that we can utilize that to our advantage even if we're only bringing home, you know, $60,000 a year, that it still is possible if we start, even if we start small, if we start early. And so I think it's really helpful to hear stories like yours of, yeah, people laughed at me, but I still kept going. Compound interest is on my side. There are a few important things we believe everyone should be doing with their money, one of them being securing term life insurance for yourself. It's one of the best ways to prepare for the unexpected, and we're thrilled to introduce you to a company that gives you coverage and peace of mind in just minutes.
- [19:10]
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- [19:24]
Jill
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- [19:40]
Nicole Stanley
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- [20:00]
Jill
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- [20:14]
Jen
It's not just some limited time deal. You get nationwide 5G coverage with 3 gigabytes of data, 300 texts and 100 minutes of calls. If you need more data, you can upgrade to their other plans. Plus, you're supporting a community built network that's growing every day to keep you seamlessly connected wherever you go.
- [20:30]
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.
- [20:41]
Jen
So if you're in the market to cut that monthly phone bill, like really cut it, Helium Mobile is where it's at. Download the Helium Mobile app today and use the code Frugal to get your free plan today.
- [20:52]
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- [21:51]
Disney Representative
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- [22:03]
Jen
Hiya pal.
- [22:04]
Disney Representative
Meet alluring landscapes, where Broadway quality shows meet historic cities, where imaginative dining meets amazing wildlife. And where exciting experiences await the whole family. Book an adventure filled summer Disney cruise to Alaska or Europe.
- [22:23]
Jill
Okay, so, so we're listening to this and we're hearing, yeah, I, I want to start, I want to do something or I want to keep going. How do you recommend women choose which accounts are best, especially for those who might be self employed or you know, maybe stay at home? How do we go about choosing what's going to be right for us when it comes to investing?
- [22:49]
Jen
Well, I think the first place to start is with a good education. So some of my favorite books are I Will Teach youh to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. Another really great book is the Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. collins. And then if you are somebody who's a total numbers nerd, which I kind of am. And so another great book is called the Little Common Sense Book of Investing by John C. Bogle, who was the creator of Vanguard. And so he writes a really great book, statistics book. Essentially, like it's just an, it's, the whole book is a math problem. And he writes about how the average person can learn how to invest simply and get their fair share of market returns. So I think a lot of women kind of think that if they're going to start investing, they need to learn how to be like a stock trader. And that is not the case. That's not statistically the best case for many women. So I would start with those resources because that gives you a knowledge of like, okay, what am I going to buy in these accounts? Because many people say, should I invest in my 401k? Should I invest in my, my Roth IRA? But it's like, you know, really what matters is what are you going to buy within those. And then the second part of that is you choose which account based on the tax benefits typically and the, the tax consequences of being in that account. So in America there's like, if you're a US based listener, there's a couple main types of accounts. There is retirement accounts where you pay your taxes upfront, that would be something like a Roth IRA where you use after tax money. There is a, there are retirement accounts and different accounts that you get to save on taxes today. So you pay before taxes and then it grows tax free. But then when you have to take it out later, you're going to pay taxes on it. Whereas the first one, you pay taxes today, it grows tax free and then you can take it out without tax. And then the third option is that there is, you know, the regular old investment account or a brokerage account where you use after tax money, it grows with tax consequences, and then you also pay taxes, a different tax rate depending on when you take it out. So I think for many people, most of us aren't utilizing the tax benefit accounts that we have because there's certain maximums and minimum, not minimums, but there's maximums every single year. And so I think that if you're just getting started investing, one of the best things you can do is pick which tax benefited account you're going to use and then understand what you're going to be investing in so that you can make good decisions in the long run. Because I think one of the worst things that can happen to someone, I mean, I guess this isn't the worst thing. The worst thing would be like losing a kid or something. But the, one of the worst investing mistakes that can happen is when maybe you start investing because somebody told you to, right? Or you meet up with an advisor and they say, well, I'm gonna invest it in here for you. But you don't really understand why you're in that, why you're in that fund, what the fees are, how it works. And so all it takes is a couple years later, the political climate changes, the economic climate changes. And then all of a sudden you say, oh, I want to switch what I'm doing. And I think that that's really where people end up making bigger errors. I think about, you know, I don't want to talk about anyone specifically, but I know someone in my life who, you know, they just didn't have investing education and when they retired, they, it was, you know, 2007 and 2008 hit and because they didn't have a financial education, they ended up pulling out all of their money during that time. And that really changed the rest of their retirement and still affects them today. And so I kind of always go back to this idea of, you know, you can hire the best advisors in the world, but if you don't have a financial education, that's going to be your biggest liability. I think that's so true.
- [26:37]
Jill
I've always wondered. So when we are talking about retirement accounts, we live in Florida where we only have a federal tax, we don't have a state tax, we're not highly taxed. So for us it makes a lot more sense to invest money that is, you know, already been taxed. Right. But for people who are in states and cities where there is not just a federal tax, but also a state tax and then potentially also a city tax, do you find that it can go either way on whether you're recommending like, or the numbers could go either way on whether like a pre tax or a post tax retirement account could work or. Because I feel like there's just so much across the board that's like, get a Roth ira, get a Roth ira. But is it always the best choice, especially in those highly taxed areas?
- [27:38]
Jen
Yeah, I think that's a really good question. 1. I mean, who doesn't love a Roth IRA? And I don't know what part of Florida you're in, but I grew up in Florida too. So my dad always talks about the tax benefits of Florida. Yeah, Love it. You gotta love it.
- [27:52]
Jill
Beautiful.
- [27:53]
Jen
So, and it's funny because I live in Massachusetts now, which is affectionately known as Taxachusetts. And so I can see the differences. My good friend who's a cpa, so a certified public accountant, she is huge into the fact that, you know, this is a divisive issue. Like if you talk to one cpa, they'll have one opinion, another one will have a different one. So it's kind of a, you can make an argument for both, but she always is on the side of like, I always take the tax benefit today. You should never ever not take a tax benefit today because you can always, you know, roll, you can always roll over your account. That's a 401k. So that would be a account that you use post or sorry, pre tax money into. You can always roll that into a Roth IRA later and pay tax. But you can do it at a time when you make less money. So most people in their 30s, they're making the height of what they're making. So there is a argument to say, well you'll be making less later, so better to pay taxes later. But all of that is really, I think, where a lot of women get overwhelmed. Right. My initial advice for someone is if you are out of high interest debt, if you have at least one month of cash savings, you should be investing a portion of your money every single month automatically. And it's typically going to be best to use one of the tax benefited accounts. You're not going to shoot yourself in a foot in the foot either way. But as long as you're using the tax benefits that we have here in the US to your favor and you know what you're investing in and why, right. That's going to be what puts you ahead of the pack.
- [29:38]
Jill
Right.
- [29:39]
Jen
It's why the average American I think this year has like about $450,000 in their retirement, which is not enough to be able to retire. And so if you can just pick which tax advantage account you're going to use, there are always some really general rules. Like you always want to take your company, if they offer you a match, you want to invest up to that match and then after that, depending on what other benefits they have, you would then switch potentially to a Roth ira. Some people make too much money for that and they just have to stick with the 401k. If you're self employed, you can choose between similar account options that are for self employed people, a SEP IRA or an individual. But at the end of the day, right, what's going to make you the most money as an investor is going to be did you get yourself out of high interest debt? Do you have at least a month's savings if not more? And then the last part is, how much money are you going to put in every single month? Like that's, that's a budgeting thing and that's something I feel for many women we're like, well, we know how to do it, right. If we want to find three to five hundred dollars to do something we want, we can find it. And so if you're able to find out how to do that with investing, you're going to be in such a better place.
- [30:58]
Jill
Yeah, absolutely. Time in the market is better than which tax advantage account you choose. It's also as long as you choose one of them, as long as you choose one of them, the rest is semantics. And yeah, we've already, we've always, I've, you know, never had a self employed retirement account. We've always had access to either a 401k or a Roth IRA. So we've kept it as simple as possible. Kind of just like for that reason, so many other things can be complicated, but this doesn't need to be. Okay? So once we feel like retirement is covered, we know how much we want to save every month. We've kind of hit that goal, and we want to still be, you know, we've got some extra money now, and we want to be using it efficiently, not just sitting around making 0.01% in the checking account. Where should we look next to invest outside of retirement accounts?
- [32:07]
Jen
I think that if you are somebody who is looking to build wealth and you're wanting to have the money to do that, I first usually like to ask, like, what are the goals associated with that? Because that really tells you where to be looking at for your investments. For some people, you know, their goal is they want to have more time with their kids and. Or they want to spend less time working. Maybe they're like, really a slave to their corporate job. And so the next part of that might be starting a business, right? Because a business allows them to control their own hours. It allows them to, you know, take better control of their time. That's obviously a very risky way because 40% of businesses, I think, make it or 40% don't make it. I don't remember which stat that is. But that's one way to build wealth. Another way is, you know, many people look down the real estate pathway. And then the last one, which is my favorite one, is just, you can use retirement accounts not. Not just for your own retirement. There's a lot of different ways that you're legally allowed to use that money. And so many people just say, well, if I'm covered to be able to retire at 65, well, what would happen if I could retire at 40 or 45 or 50, right? And so knowing what your goal is really can help you decide which is the best way to use that money, to use that extra money that you want to make work for you the best, right? But I think that there. I always say that there's like a million ways to make money, but not every single way is perfect. There's no, like, you will be successful if you do X and you will not be successful if you do Y. Because, you know, I could start a farming business and fail. You could start one and totally rock it. The difference is our goals, our motivation. And so I think that knowing why you want to build wealth for what purpose can really help you with the plan of how to get there.
- [34:17]
Jill
I love that. Yeah, I, we've had a lot of people ask us how to invest more sustainably and like, the first thing I come to is like, well, if the next like stage, most people say after the stock market is real estate. And I feel like it's, it's not for everyone and I'm finding it's not for me. But I'm definitely glad we tried it and still, like, recommend it with that caveat. But it is a way like I have found as infuriated as I get with private equity backed like real estate and how hard it is for people to get in there now without some kind of backing, like, you can invest really well into your local community by being a really ethical landlord. And it's a really good way to build wealth and be kind to people. So, yeah, I'm loving that aspect of it. That's like really the only aspect that keeps me going in it, I think.
- [35:24]
Do you know what keeps me going, though? And it's got a lot of aspects.
- [35:28]
To it and is super ethical and sustainable and kind not backed by private equity.
- [35:36]
Jen
The bill of the week.
- [35:48]
LifeLock Representative
That's right.
- [35:49]
Jen
It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William.
- [35:56]
LifeLock Representative
Maybe you paid off your mortgage, maybe.
- [35:58]
Jen
Your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore.
- [36:02]
LifeLock Representative
Duck bills.
- [36:03]
Jen
Buffalo Bills. Bill Clinton.
- [36:05]
Jill
This is the bill of the week, Nicole. Every week we ask our listeners or our guests to share with us their favorite bill for the week, and we would love to hear yours.
- [36:22]
Jen
So I actually took this as your least favorite bill of the week. That's how I had prepared for this. So I mentioned at the beginning of this that we moved from Denver to or we moved to Massachusetts. So we live in Massachusetts now, which is a very high cost of living area. And we have just gotten through our first winter. Well, we're not through it. We're kind of in the midst of it because it's March and if you can believe it. Would you like to hear my energy bill this past month in the month of February? Who wants to hear it?
- [36:56]
Jill
Give it to us. Give it to us.
- [36:58]
How old is your home? Let's preface it.
- [37:01]
Jen
So I'm going to tell you this, okay? First thing is I rent this home because I am a landlord on my past home in Colorado. So I own that home. And then we decided to move kind of quickly because of some health stuff in my family. And we rented this house that, you know is a bit older. It's from the 70s, right? Yeah, 70s. And there's a very cold area in the house. It's not insulated very well. But I mean, I lived in Arizona, so I know high electric costs, or so I thought.
- [37:37]
Jill
Is that. So your heat is primarily. Primarily electric?
- [37:40]
Jen
Well, this is the thing. Our heat is oil. Okay. So I'm about to give you our electric bill. Our electric bill in the month of February. Get your, like if. Just pull up those pants. This is horrible. Our electric bill was $600. Plus we're paying home oil heating. Okay. Which comes out between two and three hundred dollars a month. That is the bill that I hate this week. I had budget. I'm like, you know, at the worst case, right. We're paying two $300 a month for this home oil. Right. But we have this tiny part of our house where we. We've been running space heaters because it's so cold.
- [38:24]
Jill
Oh, my goodness.
- [38:25]
Jen
$600, everybody. Okay, so if you wanted to hate a bill today, I'll give you mine. My electric bill for the month of February.
- [38:37]
Jill
Oh, we all hate that bill. Dang. Sounds like it would be worth investing in some insulation. Well, you could probably spend $600 just sealing it all up.
- [38:49]
Yeah, just throw some. A pile of stuffed animals there. All the kids stuffed animals just go in that corner. And nobody lives there. There's your insulation. That's renter friendly.
- [39:01]
Jen
If I own this house, it would be a different story, but thank God I'm in this house for a year. We're finding where we're going to buy next. And so I'm just like, it's all going to be okay. But I was surprised by that bill. He was not welcome. That bill.
- [39:14]
A surprise in my head.
- [39:15]
Jill
Now I.
- [39:16]
Not the good kind.
- [39:17]
I've created a scenario in your house where there are. I don't know how young your kids are, if they have stuffed animals, but like lots of stuffed animals just in this area of the house, like all over the walls, on shelves, and they are the insulation. And it's a little creepy in my mind.
- [39:39]
Jen
Yeah.
- [39:39]
Jill
But if you're a renter with kids, try it out and send me a picture and see if it is in reality as creepy as I envisioning it in my head.
- [39:49]
Jen
I think it would be.
- [39:51]
Jill
Yeah.
- [39:52]
If you all listening, have a bill that you want to share. If it's about your least favorite bill and you just want to vent to us. If you are a person named Bill, you just want to vent about literally anything going on in your life. We can't wait to Hear it. Visit frugalfriendspodcast.com bill leave it for us. 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.
- [40:23]
Jen
It's not just some limited time deal. You get nationwide 5G coverage with 3 gigabytes of data, 300 texts and 100 minutes of calls. If you need more data, you can upgrade to their other plans. Plus, you're supporting a community built network that's growing every day to keep you seamlessly connected wherever you go.
- [40:40]
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.
- [40:50]
Jen
So if you're in the market to cut that monthly phone bill, like really cut it, Helium Mobile is where it's at. Download the Helium Mobile app today and use the code Froogle to get your free plan today.
- [41:01]
Disney Representative
Sail to breathtaking destinations in Alaska or Europe with Disney Cruise Line. Discover where on Disney magic meets onshore adventures, where beloved characters Hiya pal. Meet alluring landscapes, where Broadway quality shows meet historic cities, where imaginative dining meets amazing wildlife and where exciting experiences await the whole family. Book an adventure filled summer Disney cruise to Alaska or Europe.
- [41:32]
Target Representative
Bring spring to your door with target circle 360. Get all you need for Easter hosting spring get togethers and more with unlimited same day delivery Through Target Circle 360. From Easter basket goodies to fresh florals, getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door with unlimited same day delivery Through Target Circle360. Visit target.com circle or the Target app for more details. Subscription required. Same day delivery is subject to terms. Applies to orders over $35.
- [42:01]
Nissan Representative
You know, when the world gets a little crazy and everything is moving too fast, don't you just wish you could get away from all of it for a while? Well, that's exactly what the all new 2025 Nissan Murano can do for you. And to be clear, you don't even have to go anywhere. The Murano is the getaway. It was designed from the ground up to be a refuge from the daily grind. I mean, it has a Bose premium sound system which can play your favorite, most relaxing music. And there's nothing like a world class audio system to just transport you To a better headspace. Then there's the Murano's massaging leather appointed seats. Yeah, massaging seats. Talk about melting away your stress. So could getting stuck in traffic become your happy place? I don't know. It sounds like it could in the all new Murano. You should probably check one out for yourself. You gotta drive the all new 2025 Nissan Murano today. Bows and massaging leather appointed seats are optional features.
- [42:57]
Jill
And now it's time for the lightning round.
- [43:03]
All right. For today's vulnerability, I mean, lightning round.
- [43:08]
Jen
Oh.
- [43:08]
Jill
Let's talk about what was your first ever big girl investment?
- [43:14]
Jen
Okay, I'm here. Would you like to know?
- [43:17]
Jill
My first ever big girl investment guest of honor.
- [43:20]
Jen
Okay. Okay. So I share this because this was probably one of the best days of my life. Okay. But. So the year is 2020. Okay.
- [43:33]
Jill
Ooh. Set the stage.
- [43:35]
Jen
The year is 2020. And I had been investing just like a regular old girly does, A few hundred bucks a month. And I had a large emergency fund, A little too large. And so when the stock market crashed, when Covid hit, right. I. This sounds so horrible, but I was so excited, okay? Because I knew stocks were on sale and I knew that statistically the market always comes back. It's gonna be fine. Right? But I had never done like a self managed trade before, like on the website, because at that time, I still had an advisor who was doing it. But I was like, I am gonna buy more right now. Okay? That's what I'm gonna do. I'm so excited to do it. But my dad and I have very different investing theologies or like methodologies. He is a stock trader. I am not. And. But I had to call my dad, okay? Because my dad knows how to work the website and I didn't. Okay, which website was it? Fidelity. Like how.
- [44:45]
Jill
And that one was the better one. Dang.
- [44:47]
Jen
Yeah. Yeah. And so I call my dad, okay? And my dad. And I'm like, dad, I'm gonna invest an extra couple thousand dollars because the stock market's down and I don't know what buttons to press, okay? And my dad is like, okay, this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna wake up when the market wakes up, right? Cause again, my dad's like a classic stock trader. And we wake up in the morning and I call my dad and my husband's on with me, you know, and we first. You know, it was again, a really easy kind of situation because we weren't planning to sell it. We still hold those stocks today. But Just to purchase it on my own and to make a big transaction. And I remember I couldn't even, like sleep the night before. I was so excited. I just couldn't believe that I was gonna do this. Right. And so I just remember that day being so fun and, you know, me talking to my dad and being like. Because it's confusing, right? These websites are made for people who do this professionally. And I was making, again, a very simple transaction. But I remember just how delighted I felt. Like I felt so powerful. And that was really what pushed me down the path of saying, you know, let me see how I can do this a little more. Right? Let me see how I can figure out how to invest in diversified, low cost market funds, like, and do it on my own to save. And that was really the beginning of it. And so the market went down, I invested more money. So I didn't stop investing. I was not trying to time the market. I just knew it was an opportunity and I decided to put more money in and the market recovered maybe a week later. And I remember just being like, that was fun. That was so fun. It was like a little drug. It makes me sound like a crazy person. Okay. But I just remember, you know, it's like, it made me feel like Warren Buffett. I mean, granted, I wasn't investing that much money, but I felt like Warren Buffett. Okay. Yeah, I felt like him.
- [46:50]
Jill
When you can understand the stock market because of the research and the knowledge and the skills that you've built, yeah, you feel like, I really understand this and I can do it. And that's the kind of power and confidence that we can all have when we can understand what is very understandable. Just we've not been given all the tools to enter into that world. But that's so exciting for me. Not nearly as cool as yours, although I felt so accomplished, was opening my Roth ira. I think it's a great one of those big life checkboxes. Even larger than completing the to do list. But okay. I know that this is something that I need to be doing. And I'm finally at a place where I feel like I can be investing monthly in this. Still not a ton, but that felt so good to know this is something that I should do. And I finally did it. What about you, Jen?
- [47:54]
So my fun investing story, I think would be I got to invest in an ipo, which is an initial public offering. And they're very rare that you get to be that regular people get to get in on IPOs. But essentially the IPO is theoretically the lowest value that a stock will have. So you can get in and, like, you know, make a good gain. You gotta hold it for so long. But we have been Airbnb hosts since 2017. So when Airbnb went public, they gave the opportunity for their hosts to invest in their ipo. And it is still, to this day the only single stock that I own. And it was just a couple thousand dollars, and it has more than doubled. Um, so, yeah, but I was like, I am. I feel very cool. Like, investing in an ipo.
- [49:06]
Jen
That is very cool.
- [49:07]
Jill
Yeah, that's super cool.
- [49:09]
Jen
I remember seeing, I think, the CEO of Bumble, when her company went public and it went on the market, she rang the. The bell, I think of the NASDAQ with her toddler on her hip. And I was like, that's it. That is it. You know, like, just being able to do something cool and, like, historic like that.
- [49:29]
Jill
Yeah, that's cool.
- [49:31]
We can do it. Thank you so much, Nicole, for this really helpful and just strengthening message and encouragement to just keep digging in. Start investing now. If people want more from you, where.
- [49:45]
Can they find that?
- [49:46]
Jen
Yeah, if you are listening to this and you say to yourself, I would love to learn more from a coach. Learn more resources. You can follow us on Instagram. Our handle is Arise Financial Coaching. We put on free investing classes just for women all the time, because our goal is to demystify investing for women. And if you want more individual help, like, let's say you're. You've been budgeting, you've been doing it, and you feel like you can't find the extra money to get out of debt to finally start saving. And you say, you know, maybe. Maybe it's time for me to hire a financial coach. Consider us. You can always apply to work with us. We offer a free consult and we can talk about if we're a good fit to help you reach your financial goals.
- [50:25]
Jill
Cool. Thanks so much, Nicole.
- [50:26]
Thank you so much for coming on the show, Nicole.
- [50:29]
Jen
Thank you for having me. Long time dream.
- [50:32]
Jill
All right. That was. That was fun. I think it's really helpful to hear just more and more perspectives and voices about investing that can help to lower the barrier of entry, push away some of the stigma around it. I mean, I know for me, I still feel inept in this category, and I gotta wonder how much of that has to do with being socialized as a female and just kind of in general, not totally entrusted or welcomed into this space or believed that this is information that I should hold rather than maybe the men holding this information. And so I think anytime we can talk with somebody who can break it down in an understandable way, in an approachable way and an encouraging way to know we can do this regardless of what income level we may find ourselves at, that it's never too late or too early to begin and we can really see a big difference in our financial landscape as a result.
- [51:46]
Nicole Stanley
Yeah, I hope this episode maybe sparked some questions, some more specific questions that we can get into. So if so, definitely head to our YouTube channel and click on one of the Sunday resets. There's gonna be a link to leave a listener question and leave your question there if you have a more specific question that we didn't answer in this episode because we would love to get into more investing topics and answer really specific questions to give you some strategies. Obviously we can't answer like personal, like we need to actually know you and your situation things, but we will try to get as specific as we can, speaking to a national and international audience.
- [52:33]
Jill
Well, thanks so much everyone for listening for being here. We hope it was helpful for you. We also are so appreciative of the kind reviews that you're leaving for us on our book Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke like this one from Tuhana says can't get enough 5 stars. I can't get enough of this book. I have the audiobook and listened in the car every chance I got. Now I want to take notes. So I bought the Kindle to start my new journey again. I wish they would make this a college senior year. Must read. Love that. I want to start a book slash podcast club in my area but I have not heard back from anyone in the community on Facebook. I am open to it. You both have inspired me in so many ways. I have always been a couponer but lost some of my hope and strength because of the medical issues and frustration.
- [53:21]
Jen
Wow.
- [53:22]
Jill
I'm so glad that this has been a bright spot in your journey.
- [53:26]
Nicole Stanley
Thank you so much for reading the book. If you haven't gotten the book, buywhatyoulovebook.com there's also instructions on that page if you wanna request it or how to request it at your library if your library doesn't have it. And thank you for listening. If you've read the book, we would love for you to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. And if you have, then we would love for you to review the podcast on Spotify or Apple. It helps people know what they're getting into. What we're going to help them with and what we are not going to help them with.
- [53:57]
Jill
See you next time.
- [54:00]
Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.
- [54:13]
Nicole Stanley
We have some exciting new things coming in April.
- [54:17]
Jill
Yeah, we do.
- [54:18]
Nicole Stanley
I'm so excited. Two of them. I'll talk about one. The first one that's coming up the first Monday of April. It's called the Weekly Money Move.
- [54:29]
Jen
Oh.
- [54:30]
Nicole Stanley
So it is a new thing that we are starting. You should go follow it. Weekly Money Move on Instagram. We're gonna be sending it out in the Friend letter on Mondays and on that Instagram page on Mondays. Something you can do every single week to either stay on top of or organize your finances. So if you've been in this game for a while, you still need to be doing annual checks on a lot of things. And it can come to sometimes get overwhelming. Like there's so many things you need to keep track of that you can just ignore them because you're like, I'm already in this. I'm fine. No, but we're gonna organize you for you and tell you what to check every week. And if you're feeling overwhelmed because you are not organized and you don't have anything. Here we are with the step by step, every week, one thing to do. And I'm very excited to get started on Monday.
- [55:26]
Jill
You know what I realize I need. It sounds like I'm queuing up the bill of the week. I'm not bite size, bite sized things. Just bite size. Give it to me. Bite size. Make it manageable.
- [55:40]
Nicole Stanley
Cut it up for me before you hand it to me is the thing.
- [55:43]
Jill
Don't chew it up. I don't. I'm not a bird. Cut it up. But just these. Okay. If I can do this five minute thing, this ten minute thing, I'm on track and you're gonna keep serving me those bite sized pieces. It's what I want. It's what I want in learning about like proper nutrition or exercise or like sometimes these, these bigger topics feel so overwhelming. It's just like, yeah, but like what do I do real time. What is tangible thing? So we don't have it covered for you on like all the other parts. But we're gonna do the financial part.
- [56:20]
Nicole Stanley
Yeah. We're not giving you something new every day. We're not going to overwhelm you with a deluge.
- [56:25]
Jill
But no one wants a deluge. We want bite size.
- [56:28]
Nicole Stanley
Yeah, right.
- [56:29]
Jill
You know what else is bite size? Again, not the middle of the week. I'm shaking my own self out like I'm queuing it up.
- [56:36]
Nicole Stanley
Wow.
- [56:37]
Jill
Sushi.
- [56:38]
Jen
Sushi.
- [56:39]
Jill
Sushi is bite size.
- [56:41]
Nicole Stanley
Yeah. And we will be having our annual planning meeting with Sushi today. That's exciting.
- [56:47]
Jill
That's coming up. That is exciting.
- [56:48]
Jen
Yeah. Woo.
- [56:49]
Jill
Okay, well get the friend letter. Follow us on Instagram.
- [56:53]
Nicole Stanley
Bye.
- [56:54]
Jill
See ya. 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.
- [57:08]
Jen
It's not just some limited time deal. You get nationwide 5G coverage with 3 gigabytes of data, 300 texts and 100 minutes of calls. If you need more data, you can upgrade to their other plans. Plus, you're supporting a community built network that's growing every day to keep you seamlessly connected wherever you go.
- [57:25]
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.
- [57:36]
Jen
So if you're in the market to cut that monthly phone bill, like really cut it, Helium Mobile is where it's at. Download the Helium Mobile app today and use the code Froogle to get your free plan today.
- [57:47]
Disney Representative
Sail to breathtaking destinations in Alaska or Europe with Disney Cruise Line. Discover where onboard magic meets onshore adventures. Where beloved characters.
- [57:57]
Jen
Hiya, pal.
- [57:59]
Disney Representative
Meet alluring landscapes, where Broadway quality shows meet historic cities, where imaginative dining meets amazing wildlife light. And where exciting experiences await the whole family. Book an adventure filled summer Disney cruise to Alaska or Europe.
- [58:17]
Nissan Representative
Okay, so we all need to get away from the world sometimes. Well, in the all new 2025 Nissan Murano, you don't even have to go anywhere. The Murano is the getaway. Just picture it. The Bose premium sound system plays your favorite music as the Murano's massaging leather appointed seats melt away your stress. Yeah, that's a real getaway. Drive the all new 2025 Nissan Murano today. Bose and massaging leather appointed seats are optional features.
- [58:44]
LifeLock Representative
You know more about the PayPal debit card than you did at the start of this podcast. You know that the PayPal debit card gives you the ability to pay everywhere. You know that you earn 5% cash back on a category of your choosing on up to $1,000 of monthly purchases. And you know that you get to pick a new category every month. Apparel for back to school. Groceries for the holidays. Start earning 5% cash back with the PayPal debit card today. Don't just pay PayPal terms apply. See PayPal app. This card is issued by the Bancorp Bank, N.A. pursuant to license by MasterCard International, Inc.