People Share What They're Doing to Save Money in This Economy

Summary

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Frugal Friends Podcast

Episode: People Share What They're Doing to Save Money in This Economy

Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Date: March 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Frugal Friends Podcast shines a spotlight on real-world money-saving habits, as practiced by everyday people—not financial experts or influencers. Hosts Jen and Jill compile and discuss practical, often overlooked strategies gathered from unsponsored voices across the internet. With a focus on relatable stories, small wins, and building sustainable frugal habits, this episode is both validating and motivating for anyone navigating the current economy’s financial pressures.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Small Money-Saving Actions Add Up

• Vacation Saver's Taco Night Swap
  • Opted to make tacos at home after vacation instead of eating out, emphasizing that minor decisions can powerfully impact budgets.
  • "I sat there and I was thinking about it... I called him and said, how would you feel if I just went to the grocery store and bought stuff to make tacos at home?" —Vacation Saver [03:33]
  • Jen: Small acts of frugality matter, even if you can't transform every spending habit overnight. [04:33]
    • "The real power comes in the choice on those hard days to do the thing that you want to do, whatever that is." —Jen [07:49]
• Meal-Planning After Vacations
  • Jill: Meal kits can be a helpful bridge between takeout and home cooking when routines are disrupted. [05:13]
    • "Those are the exact moments that I have found meal delivery kits to be perfect...far less than getting takeout every single night." —Jill [05:46]
  • Jen: Keeping “emergency meals” in the freezer (e.g., salad kits, chicken nuggets) is a practical backup. [06:47]

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2. Gamifying and Romanticizing Frugal Routines

• Debt Payer's Approach
  • Gamify Debt Payoff: Set a daily payment goal for debts, however small, to build momentum. [08:31]
    • "This is the number one thing that changed my whole mindset..." —Debt Payer [08:36]
    • Hosts elaborate: Visual trackers (like paper chains) keep the process motivating. —Jill [11:29]
      • "Every time I put money towards it, I got to rip off a chain and I had that visual of seeing the chain shrink." —Jill [12:10]
  • Romanticize Cooking at Home: Make the kitchen enjoyable—find simple, tasty recipes, play music, sip a preferred beverage, and set yourself up for success by keeping dishes clean. [08:31-15:11]
    • "You need to make sure that you have no dirty dishes in your sink..." —Debt Payer [09:51]
  • Barriers & Solutions:
    • Jen: Paper plates and parchment paper can make cleanup easier—frugality doesn’t have to be about perfection. [13:44]
    • Jill: Find ways to make time in the kitchen enjoyable (e.g., background shows, fun drinks). [14:35]
    • Jen: Focus on building a core set of 5-10 easy meals you can cook without a recipe. [15:11]

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3. Digital Decluttering & Social Media Hygiene

• 25 Year Old Saver’s Approach [18:37]
  • Unfollow Consumerist Influencers: Reduce temptation and unrealistic aspirations by curating your feed.
    • "Unfollowing a bunch of celebrities and influencers who push on consumerism...it has helped me save a lot of money." —25 Year Old Saver [18:37]
  • Sharing Cars & Temporary Sacrifices: Downsizing to one car in a city setting saves on gas and parking costs. [19:53]
  • Prioritize Beauty Treatments: Choose just one (e.g., hair appointments) to regularly maintain, cutting out others to save significantly. [19:53]
• Jen & Jill’s Take:
  • Curate feeds for edifying, not enticing, content. Less social media time often equals fewer spending triggers. [19:53–22:31]
    • "Just spending less time on social media, just getting off. Take it off your phone for a month. Go take it off your phone for a month and see what you do instead." —Jen [21:02]
  • Creative transportation solutions (bikes, scooters, public transit) can cut costs, especially in walkable, urban areas. [22:31]
  • If you must keep two cars (e.g. with kids), minimize to one payment at a time. [24:03]
  • Deliberate approach to beauty: pick one ‘splurge,’ stretch time between appointments, and DIY where possible. [25:02–28:30]
    • "You want to feel good about yourself...but choose your thing." —Jen [27:35]

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4. Tactics to Control Impulse Buys

• Return Window Discipline
  • One listener keeps tags on new purchases, sets them aside, and often returns them a few days later after deciding they were unnecessary. [29:43]
    • "Chances are three to four days later, I'm like, I actually really didn't need this, did I?" —Debt Payer [29:45]
• Hosts’ Reflection:
  • Returning items shouldn’t be a purchasing rationale but is a useful last resort for mistakes or regrets. [30:30]
    • "The ability to return should not be a rationalization for buying. It should be a freedom from an unwanted purchase." —Jen [32:42]

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5. Young Saver Wisdom

• Triple-Threat Money Approach [33:10–34:12]
  • Implement a Two-Week Waiting Period for Major Purchases (> $150).
    • "I put a two week wait period on that. So I wait two weeks and if I still want the item, then I can get it." —Young Saver [33:10]
  • Pre-game at Home: Buy alcohol from stores and socialize at home before going out; saves significantly compared to restaurant/bar markups. [33:10]
    • "Alcohol that you just purchase from the liquor store has not gone up [in price]." —Jill [35:08]
  • One In, One Out (+ Sell): Sell an old clothing item on Depop before buying something new—improves closet quality and subsidizes purchases. [33:59]
    • "You get into the mindset of buying clothes to be like, okay, when I'm done with this, would this be something I could sell on Depop?" —Jen [36:05]

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Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• "The more I don't spend it, the more money I have. Like, it's crazy." —Young Saver [00:25]
• "If you make a mistake, you can rectify [it] through returning most of the time." —Jen [32:57]
• "Curate our algorithm to actually be helpful content." —Jill [19:53]
• "Part of my gamifying debt payoff was having a fun visual...I made a chain...I got to rip off a chain and see the chain shrink." —Jill [12:10]
• "Eating at home. It's not sexy...it just is how you save money." —Jill [43:33]
• "I'm not buying any clothes right now because I am trying to love my body without trying to make it better, like, by masking it with clothes." —Jen [44:45]

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Lightning Round: What’s Working Right Now (46:17)

• Jill: “Eating at home, making a meal plan based on my schedule, sticking to it, and avoiding last-minute takeout.”
• Jen: “Not buying new clothes, focusing on being content with my body and my existing wardrobe.”

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Listener Bill of the Week (38:14)

• Mara from Wisconsin: Saved money by purchasing the Values-Based Budget Planner at 50% off.
• Special coupon code: MARA for 50% off.

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Notable Celebratory Moment

• Unexpected $400 Insurance Refund
  Jill shares about a surprise $393 refund due to Florida’s insurance reform. Both hosts reflect on the rare joy of bills being reduced without any action from them. [48:35–50:23]

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Takeaway Themes

• Frugality is a journey of small, sustainable choices, not one-time overhaul.
• Curate your digital and physical environments to avoid consumerist pressure.
• Habit-building and gamification keep you motivated on long-term goals like debt payoff.
• Control impulse purchases by instituting buffers (wait periods, resale requirements, or even just returning things you don’t love).
• It’s possible to live well, look good, and enjoy life—just choose your priorities, get creative, and celebrate each step forward.

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How to Engage & Resources Mentioned

• Submit your own bill for Bill of the Week: frugalfriendspodcast.com/bill
• Values-Based Budget Planner: frugalfriendspodcast.com/budget (code: MARA for 50% off)
• Enter the Frugal Friends Mug Giveaway: frugalfriendspodcast.com/mug
• “Emergency Meals” List: frugalfriendspodcast.com/meals
• Their book: buywhatyoulovebook.com

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For further inspiration or practical tips, join the Frugal Friends community or check out their book and free resources.

Transcript

[Jen]

People share what they're doing to save money in this economy.

[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.

[Young Saver]

I've been trying to be more conservative

[Jen]

with my money and I'm starting to realize the more I don't spend it, the more money I have. Like, it's crazy. Hey, Frugal Friends, I'm Jen.

[Jill]

I'm Jill.

[Jen]

And it is one thing for us to sit here and tell you how to save money, give tips from doing this for 10 plus years, or for other experts to make videos on how to save money, but we wanted to share people who are not YouTubers, who are not influencers, who are not experts, what normal people are doing to save money in this economy.

[Jill]

That's what this episode is all about. We found some real people on the Internet telling you what they're doing, and they're actually pretty good. And not a lot of it is being talked about by even personal finance influencers.

[Jen]

But first, I am doing some decluttering at home. And we actually have Frugal Friends merch that we do not sell. We only give it away for free. And I would like to get rid of some of it. So if you're a coffee drinker like me or a tea or other hot beverage drinker like Jill, you could be doing so in a beautiful Frugal Friends mug for free. Frugal, AF and AF can stand for whatever you want it to be.

[Jill]

Frugal and fun.

[Jen]

Frugal and fun. Frugal and folk music lover. Whatever. Frugal and food and frugal and feeling. Yeah, you're in touch with your emotions. So this is how you win one of these mugs. We're doing. I'm going to do a giveaway once a month through May. So we're going to have a March, an April and a May giveaway. If you register once, you're in it for all three giveaways. So our first drawing is on March 13th, and you can register at frugalfriendspodcast.com/mug. And we're giving away five mugs for each one. Three times 15 mugs. And you register today, you're in all three. So it increases your likelihood.

[Jill]

The earlier you come to your house, we might send you one of these.

[Jen]

This is unfortunately for us subscribers only. You do have to also be subscribed to the YouTube channel. So when you register, you're going to put in your little YouTube username. Don't know what it is. Comment on this video and then it will pop up and that's how we'll get a gauge who is subscribed. So you're going to add your little YouTube username and your email to register for that. And you could be sipping from a mug.

[Jill]

Yeah, not this one. Don't worry, I won't give you my lipstick stained one. But it'll look exactly like yes.

[Jen]

All right, let's get into some money saving tips from people you can trust. I. E. People who are not trying to sell you anything, people who are not trying to grow a following, people who are just sharing what's worked for them.

[Vacation Saver]

My for you page is full of people trying to save money. And as much as I want to save money, I also don't want to give up hardly anything at all. But today I made a little progress and I'm so proud of myself and I just wanted to share with you guys. I. I was feeling a little worn out and exhausted this week because we just got back from vacation and it just felt like a really long week at work. So I texted my husband and I was like, where are you taking me for dinner tonight? And he was like, tacos, question mark? And I was like, yes, perfect. And then I sat there and I was thinking about it for a little while and when I got off work, I called him and said, how would you feel if I just went to the grocery store and bought stuff to make tacos at home? And he was like, that sounds perfect. That's great. It'll save us a lot of money. So yeah, January 2026. Saving money over here.

[Jill]

Yes.

[Vacation Saver]

I just got back from a vacation to Orlando, so spent way too much money then. But today is a new day and we are saving money.

[Jen]

Woo. Yeah. I wanted to start with this one to emphasize that small actions matter. That we so often, no matter how many times we sit here and tell you small actions matter, still in my mind, I feel like if I can't do it 100%, if I can't turn over a new leaf and keep the leaf turned, that it's not worth it. That I'll just wait to save money or wait to do these little actions when I'm ready to actually turn that leaf over for good.

[Sponsor Voice]

Yeah.

[Jill]

But building these habits of cooking at home and reducing that barrier to entry to cooking at home can make such a big difference long term. I mean, certainly month to month. But as we build that habit, it becomes more of a habit. And not just a. Okay, now I'm so used to buying takeout. I can appreciate, especially in this example, the coming back from vacation or having a super long week at work or with the kids or you name it, that when things just feel really stressful, a lot of times cooking, eating at home is the last thing we want to do, which is why we've done so many episodes on food. Because we know what it's like to be tired, we know what it's like to be stressed and yet still set ourselves up for some of that success. And one of the things that I will mention as it relates to coming back from a trip, because, yeah, you haven't grocery shopped and there's usually a lot of stuff that needs to go into getting yourself back into a routine. Those are the exact moments that I have found meal delivery kits to be perfect. Like, I don't do them regularly, but it is something I will do to help ease myself back into life, where I'll schedule that delivery kit maybe the day, the day I get back from vacation, the day after. And yeah, it's going to be a little bit more money than I would have spent at the grocery store, but far less than getting takeout every single night. Because life just feels overwhelming and I wish I was still on vacation.

[Jen]

So, yeah, it is that good buffer. Like, it's not a good thing to make a habit out of, but it is a good buffer between if I'm just getting home and I don't have any food like that I want to eat in the fridge, what is going to force me to eat at home. And it's not grocery shopping, meal planning and cooking. It's like having ingredients prepped and at my door. Another thing that I will do if I don't think about that ahead of time is just like a bag salad kit, back salad kit. And then I always have chicken nuggets in the freezer and. And that's a really good emergency meal.

[Jill]

Having emergency meals, which we do have a list of 15 emergency meals. Those are things using ingredients that you most likely do already have on hand if you want to get that for free.

[Jen]

Frugalfriendspodcast.com meals yes.

[Jill]

And you can get that whole list for free and be inspired to know what you can do instead of eating out.

[Jen]

Because we've all been there and we will all continue to be there. There is no. There is no magic elixir on the other side of the leaf that makes this all easier. Right. It's always going to continue to be easier in some seasons and harder in Other, and I don't even want to say seasons easier, some days harder than other days. And the real power comes in the choice on those hard days to do the, to do the thing that you want to do, whatever that is. Next tip is a triple play. I think it's a double or a triple. I think it's a double. Let's go.

[Debt Payer]

I sat down and I actually like compiled everything onto a list because I want to make sure that I hit everything and that it's actually helpful to you. I don't want you to watch this like super long video and have it not be concise. So the number one thing that you need to be doing right now, immediately, no matter if you can pay $1 towards your debt or $20, right? The second is gamify, the paying down your debt. This is the number one thing that changed my whole mindset and has allowed me to begin paying down debt and not also adding to my debt at the same time. Quick disclaimer. I'm not a financial planner. I'm not like a CPA or something. I've just. This is what I've been doing. It's the first time in my life I've actually been able to save money. So number one, Gamify, paying down your debt. You're going to be paying something towards your debt, paying it down every single day that you go to a job and work. I don't care how much it is. It could be a dollar, it could be 50 cents, it could be $100. Whatever you can, whatever you can comfortably do. You're gonna be doing that every day as a bare baseline minimum. The next thing you're gonna do is romanticize cooking. I don't care if you've never cooked before in your life. I don't care if you burn eggs. Go on Pinterest right now. I don't care if you have a Pinterest or not. I don't care what your gender is or if you think Pinterest is silly. But what I do every single day, if I'm at work or not wanting to go home and cook after or wake up in the morning and I'm not motivated to cook, is open up Pinterest and you will find some sort of food that looks good on there. In the beginning, it's really important that if you aren't very good that you try and find really simple meal type ingredients. I recommend starting with breakfast food because I felt that that was the easiest. As a person who was horrible at cooking my whole life, I'VE had so many people say that they can't cook without a recipe, and that's just not true, babes. It's just not. The other thing that you need to do if you're gonna be romanticizing cooking is washing your dishes more. You need to make sure that you have no dirty dishes in your sink and that your dishwasher is clean at all times, as much as you possibly can every day. How many times are you excited to go home and cook? And then you realize that you have a bunch of dirty dishes and nothing to cook with, and then you just don't cook. So make sure your dishes are clean. If you have roommates or a partner, maybe one of you could cook and the other could do the dishes or whatnot. But it's important to do the dishes before you cook and not after.

[Jen]

All right, let's start with the first one. Gamify paying down debt. I do love that idea, is that when you work and you come home, put a portion of that work towards your future, towards your debt. I think that's a really good way to stay engaged with it. And the reason it's a money saving tactic is because the earlier you pay things off, the more money you save in interest. So there's nothing that will save you more money on your debt or saving for retirement or what have you. What Anything that has to do with interest. There is nothing that saves you more money than putting money in early. Time will cost you the most and time will save you the most. So again, the small actions, consistently, consistently staying engaged, that's the hardest thing. So I love that advice.

[Jill]

We're most likely to stay engaged with something if it's fun or there are motivators or things to look forward to. As much as we can incorporate those sorts of things, whatever works for us, the more likely we are to stick with it and actually see progress. I know for me, it was really helpful. Part of my gamifying debt payoff was having a fun visual to coincide with money being paid off. And so I made a chain, a paper chain. You know, we all did this in elementary school. Tap into your elementary school side. We need it.

[Jen]

We all have a creative side and sometimes we're not showing it. Yeah.

[Jill]

And you can put action to some of these goals. Creative, a visual. So my paper chain, because I had a lot of debt hanging all around the, the perimeter of our living room. Like, I like, tacked it up to the ceiling. But every time I put money towards it, I got to rip off a chain and I Had that visual of seeing the chain shrink. I got to look forward to doing something, like, not just have a number in a bank account, but something I could put my hands to. And it was just enjoyable. And it led to conversation right. When people come over, like, what's with the chain? And I was able to talk to people about it, which kept me more engaged. So, yeah, that's super important. Okay. She also talked about food, though, And I really connect with this one. Romanticizing time in the kitchen.

[Sponsor Voice]

Yeah.

[Jill]

Because most of us, like, that is the barrier. We just. It feels labor some. We're tired at the end of the day. We don't want to be on our feet. We don't want to be standing. And we were talking with somebody in our Debt freedom challenge that we're doing Debt freedom fast track. And they said that their biggest barrier to cooking is the dishes. And I believe that this person lived alone, so they didn't have the hack of a roommate or a partner being able to do the dishes, which is a bummer. But that's a. That's a biggie. Is. And I don't really have a hack for that, other than trying to keep on top of it as much as possible.

[Jen]

Okay. Paper.

[Jill]

Using a little.

[Jen]

I know you hate me right now. I know you hate that. But in my. In my stressful seasons, I'm getting paper plates, I'm getting plastic utensils, and it does keep down.

[Jill]

If that's your biggest barrier, parchment paper

[Jen]

on the baking sheet. I. I mean, sometimes you just got to do what you got to do, and maybe you don't have to do it, but it does make your life easier. You're not doing it forever. Do it. It's fine. It's okay not to be perfectly sustainable all the time. You're actually probably being more sustainable by cooking at home and, like, throwing away a paper plate than you are by eating out. Like, don't quote me on that. But we can work on thinking, yeah,

[Jill]

one thing at a time is fine. We don't have to do it all all at once. So if we can elim.

[Jen]

Barrier.

[Jill]

Fantastic. But then from there, the romanticizing piece, what's going to make it seem fun to be in the kitchen? Whether that's putting on some fun music or sipping an enjoyable Bev Bevy while you're cooking or even watching a show, like, a nostalgic show that you don't have to really be paying attention to, like. Like, don't watch the bear while you're cooking.

[Sponsor Voice]

Or.

[Jen]

Or maybe I don't know, maybe it'd

[Jill]

be inspiring, but something that, that you're familiar with, you can kind on in the background, but makes you look forward to doing it. That's really going to help.

[Jen]

Yeah, I, and I love how she's like, people say they can't cook without a recipe and it's just not true. You do. You're not going to be able to cook everything without a recipe. That's not our goal. But the goal is to get this collection of five to ten recipes that you can do without a recipe. And you just start with one. You start with one that you make maybe every other week and you start to get familiar with it. It's something that your family will all eat, that you enjoy, that seems more appealing than takeout. And you start small and you start to learn what you really enjoy eating, what you really hate cooking. And so you can learn those things about yourself. The goal is not to become a Pinterest or Instagram worthy cooking influencer. And that's what all those people. So if they're, if our goal is not that, then we cannot recreate all the recipes that these people do. 80% of our meals are going to be super simple, like three component meals. 20% are going to be those, those Pinterest and Instagram and TikTok, beautiful recipes that we see on social media. Life comes at you fast.

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[Jen]

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[Jill]

All right, next tip.

[25 Year Old Saver]

Things I'm doing in 2025 that helped me save money that I will also be doing in 2026. Coming from a 25 year old girl who works a regular 9 to 5 job who is married and is trying to buy a house. Hopefully in the next few years. All right, first on the list, unfollowing a bunch of celebrities and influencers who push on consumerism. I personally do not follow a bunch of celebrities in general because I do not feel the need to keep up with their lives. Just me personally. Now this year I have unfollowed a bunch of influencers who really push on consumerism. Meaning doing crazy hauls every other day, having just unrealistic lifestyles in general. Happy for them, but I personally just do not need to see that on my social media and by just not consuming that content and general it has helped me save a lot of money. Next on the list is sharing a car with my husband. This one. It really depends on your situation. We moved to the city about a year ago. For us it just makes sense to downsize to one car again doing the temporary sacrifice to save money. I have to say it's been really nice to not pay a lot of money for gas and also for parking in general. Next on my list is one upkeep beauty appointment only. So I stopped getting my nails done about six months ago now and I just wanted to pick, pick one thing that I can actually keep up with and for me that would be my hair. I get my hair done about two to three times a year, which is not bad. I feel like once you start doing this, you would be surprised at the amount of money that you can actually save.

[Jill]

Great, great tips. That was the three banger right there. The unfollowing influencers that are not helpful for our own perspective and outlook is such a game changer. Of course it depends on how much time you are scrolling the Internet. But for most of us it's, it's at least 20 minutes a day. That's solid kind of marinating consumption. And so if we can curate our algorithm to actually be helpful content, maybe it is some food influencers who are making cooking look approachable for you. They're doing minimal ingredients. They're making meals in less than 20 to 30 minutes. They exist. You can follow them. Yes. Maybe you're following some financial influencers helping you on your journey towards debt payoff. Maybe it's the frugal friends, I don't know. But we're certainly not going to be telling you to buy a bunch of stuff all the time.

[Jen]

So that's helpful, I think, really narrowing down the people you follow so that your algorithm, your feed has an end.

[Jill]

How often I've seen that one already.

[Jen]

How to get off. Right. How often do you see the end of your social media feed? And if you cannot tell me when you see that little message because it does exist, when you've seen all the recent posts, it's like that's the end of your feed. Yes. And so, and you'll see ones you know from, from far back. But I think if you can really curate, get your following list down to. And of course you're gonna, it's, you're gonna see suggested too, but you can turn that off for, you know, I think 30 days at a time. So really getting that down and just, just spending less time on social media, just getting off. Take it off your phone for a month. Go take it off your phone for a month and see what you do instead. See what happens. And I think you don't have to be anti social media. We are not anti social media. But you can do these tests to challenge yourself to be more present. Like right now, I don't have any social media on my phone except TikTok which is for work and finding these videos. But like TikTok doesn't tempt me. I don't get on there and scroll when I'm bored. So for me I can leave that. So test what challenges you and test what's hard for you to see what you will do differently if you don't have those kind of mindless go to's at your disposal.

[Jill]

Eric and I are a one car family as well. As she mentioned, not everyone can do it, but there might be more people who could, who haven't really even thought of it or given themselves the opportunity to think outside the box on could we make this work? With more and more people working from home, the need to have two vehicles per household I think is definitely decreasing. Yeah, there are certainly times that it's inconvenient, but we also have two scooters and we live in like a downtown area. So a lot of times if one person's going really far, like over the bridge, the other person could take the scooter if they need to go someplace. Or we have public transportation that Eric has done on multiple occasions. So consider it, it will significantly save you money.

[Jen]

Public transportation, man. Like if you're not taking advantage of it, you really should try it. Just see how your city's public transportation is because you're probably assuming it's worse than it actually is 90% of the time.

[Jill]

Eric was shocked to learn that the bus from where we used to live, our house to our office made like one stop. So it was about the same amount of time as if we were to drive it. You know, a lot of times you don't want to do it because, oh, there's so many stops in between. It goes a weird route. The bus came every 15 minutes and was like a 10 minute ride. Yeah, it was crazy.

[Jen]

Whenever I travel, I try to use public transportation as much as possible and it's so affordable, like as compared to like an Uber or a Lyft. So please try it. I mean, so we, my husband and I have two cars because we have kids, we're doing drop offs. He works, you know, at Clearwater. I work from home most of the time. And so yeah, two cars. But what we have decided, a compromise, is that we will only have one car payment at a time. We used to have zero car payments and then we bought a house to renovate and we didn't want to take out a loan to renovate because that's higher interest. So we got the van, we financed it and then the truck is paid off. And we are keeping the truck until the van is paid off, because we'll only have one car payment at a time. So that is an alternative if you do find yourself in a place where you do need two cars.

[Jill]

Speaking of one payment at a time, love her tip for one beauty treatment at a time. This is taking me back to our conversation with Katie Gotti Tossen about the hot girl hamster wheel and how for a lot of us, this is such a slow bleed, or maybe a quick bleed of our finances, depending on what all it is we think we have to be doing. Again, heavily influenced by social media, making us think that we all have to look like we're still 17 years old.

[Jen]

Well, I think it's worse for. For girls in their 20s. Like, you have more time to worry about how you look, and it is honestly, like, more energy. You spend more energy into that. It's more important.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

And so, like, in the time of your life where you're, like, supposedly at peak beauty, we're doing so many more beauty treatments. It's wild.

[Sponsor Voice]

Yeah.

[Jen]

So really, again, like. And it's. It's not just social media. It's really cultural, like, where you live,

[Jill]

like, what your friends are doing.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Jen]

Like, here we have much more, like, relaxed beauty standards. I think there's a lot more freedom. But you go across the bridge to Tampa. Yeah. And it's shocking. It's a lot more heightened. And then you drive down to Miami, and it's an entirely different ball game. Right.

[Jill]

Like, we're not allowed in.

[Jen]

We just, like, cross the border in Miami. No. So it is cultural, too. So you kind of have to, like, fight back against, like, the cultural norms around you.

[Jill]

And that doesn't mean don't do anything. That doesn't mean we can't feel good about ourselves. But I love her challenge of what is most important. And can we learn to do the other things ourselves? One of my friends has the most beautifully done nails that. I mean, it'd be in the top of my friends, and she does them herself. Not saying we all have that. That skill, but she learned how to do it. Sometimes she'll get, like, the stickers from Marshalls or something and learn how to do them. And I can't tell the difference. Granted, I'm not like, a connoisseur, but

[Jen]

we look at our nails. We're au natural. I got that natural French.

[Jill]

Yeah. But that could be a fun thing to do. And there's plenty of YouTube tutorials to teach us how to do our own nails, you know, Figure out. Figure out some of the ways to. To do makeup that maybe we've not tried before. If that is your thing. Yeah. It could be a skill that you build.

[Jen]

Yeah, we. You want to feel good about yourself. Right. So that doesn't mean, like, just wearing trash clothes and. And no makeup, no face care, whatever. No, you know, letting your hair grow to the floor. Right. We're not saying that you have to do that, but choose your thing. What is your thing, Jill?

[Jill]

Well, technically, I guess I'd have two things. I do get my hair cut, but about twice a year. But waxing, that is what I've chosen.

[Jen]

That is your thing.

[Sponsor Voice]

Yes.

[Jen]

I will do hair twice a year, and I go to a really nice hairstylist that likes, specialize in curly hair. And I love my hair every time I leave. But I'll also do a pedicure, like, three times a year. That is my other. Like, you know, I could paint my own toenails, but I like the pedicure.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

So those are my.

[Jill]

I can't seem to get my cuticles the same way that they do.

[Sponsor Voice]

Yeah.

[Jen]

I know all the things to do to do it myself with, like, from a stone. I'll do that, like, in the interim. But right now, like, my. My toenails don't have any polish on them. Yeah.

[Jill]

Even decreasing the amount, like, you know, if you do have two things instead of just one, is there a way that you can kind of go a little bit longer in between those treatments, too?

[Jen]

Yeah. And I have thought about, like, permanent makeup, at least for my eyebrows, and it's just, like, not my thing right now. Maybe in the future when I don't have to pay for daycare or preschool anymore, like, that'll be something. It's not gonna. And people are like, oh, you'll save money on makeup? I was like, you don't know. The makeup I'm buying. It will not save me $10 a year.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Jen]

It's never gonna break me even on that. But I have thought about, like, as a time saver, but, yeah, it's just, like, not my thing right now. Maybe in the future. And for now, like, it's sock season, so I don't need to do my right toenails right now.

[Jill]

Who even cares?

[Jen]

Yeah. But yeah, I do like that. That idea.

[Jill]

Next tip.

[Jen]

I'm going to give you a tip on saving money. After you buy something at the store, I keep the tag on it and I sit it on top of my dresser and I wait, and chances are three to four days Later, I'm like, I actually really didn't need this, did I? And I take it back to the

[Debt Payer]

store because I want my money back.

[Jill]

I did not understand the music to that video.

[Jen]

I don't understand it, but I love it. It is just. It's like a. It's almost one of those really intense, like, teaching moments, like, if you don't want it, you can return it. And I'm just sitting there, like, what if I impulse bought something and I don't want it? I can return it.

[Jill]

Yeah, yeah. It's not, like a good plan long term. Right. We want to be decreasing impulse buys, but it is possible that if you regret it and you still have the tags on it, that's available to you. And this did just happen to me. So I am a classic when it comes to wanting to feel prepared for something. I think a lot of people experience this around holidays. This just happened to me with a wedding that I was in. I was the maid of honor, and so I want to do all of the things. And as the event gets closer and closer, it can feel, like, this pressure of, have I done enough? Let's just, like, do a thousand more things so that it can really feel like, yeah, I did it again. Yeah. I think this happens, like, at holidays too. Like, we have the list, and then suddenly it's, oh, no, but did I buy enough?

[Jen]

Yeah, you do the most.

[Jill]

So I wanted to make this wedding day survival kit. 90% of the things in that survival kit I already had. So that felt like a big win. You know, a little sewing kit, scissors, bobby pins, hairspray. You never know what you're gonna need. But there were a couple of things that the Internet recommended to me that I was gonna need. And I'm like, I really probably shouldn't spend this money, but here I go. So I, like, bought a Tide pen. I bought little sticky. What do they call that fashion tape for? Just if we ran into these issues. But I didn't open them. I just put them all in the.

[Jen]

The.

[Jill]

In the survival kit. We did not use any of the things I purchased. We did use. We did use the sewing kit. We used the seam ripper. We used the bobby pins. We used the mints. We. We used the things I already had on hand. But these other things we never broke into. And so I. I returned them.

[Jen]

Amen.

[Jill]

It made the survival kit look great, but I didn't have to keep the items. I'm not saying that I'm super proud of that, but I do. I am saying, like, like, my bad.

[Jen]

Those are reasonable things. And then I got my money back. And here's the thing. The ability to return shop should not be a rationalization for buying. It should be a freedom from an unwanted purchase that you already made.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

So think about it that way. If you make a mistake, you can rectify that mistake through returning most of the time.

[Jill]

Okay, now we got a triple tip.

[Jen]

We got a triple tip.

[Young Saver]

These are some of the ways I'm trying to save money. In order to hit my goal of saving up my first $100,000 by the end of this year. I've been doing to reduce a lot of my impulse spending, because I definitely am an impulse vendor, is when I have anything I want to purchase that's a bigger purchase. So anything over around $150. What I've been doing is I put a two week wait period on that. So I wait two weeks and if I still want the item, then I can get it. Another big thing I've been doing is as a 21 year old, obviously I'm at a point in my life where I want to go out, I want to go to the bars, I want to drink with my friends. But alcohol is such an expensive, massive purchase. So what I do is I make most of my drinks at home and we pre game at one of our houses before going out rather than pre gaming or getting only drinks at a restaurant, which is so much more money. As someone whose closet is very packed, another big thing that's helped me a lot is when I want to buy a new piece of clothing, which happens frequently. I need to get rid of something on Depot from my closet before buying

[Jen]

the new piece of clothing.

[Young Saver]

This is just something that's really helped me maximize closet space so I'm not overspending and not having too much clothes while also kind of making a little bit of a trade. So if I really want something, I need to get rid of something and then make the money to then put towards that purchase.

[Jen]

I love these tips.

[Jill]

21 out here, just crushing it.

[25 Year Old Saver]

Yeah.

[Jen]

And so I think this is a, is a good one for like our young listeners. And I mean honestly, everyone alike. It's. So a two week wait period is ideal. Like I feel like it's a minimum. Some people will start with 24 hours, but I think two weeks is a good amount of time to put something in your cart and wait. I think 30 days is ideal, but that two weeks, great place to start.

[Jill]

Yeah, absolutely. And I also think. So she's talking about the alcohol piece of If. If you are going to consume alcohol. It has gotten so expensive to buy alcohol out, however, and this is wild. I've not done dug into this, but alcohol that you just purchase from the liquor store has not gone up. For some reason, it seems immune to inflation.

[Jen]

Like it's a shrink. Fleeting.

[Jill]

Yeah. A bottle of tequila is the same amount today as it was six years ago. I don't know. Explain that. However, you go out to a restaurant and a margarita that used to cost you $8 six years ago is now somehow $16.

[Jen]

Why?

[Jill]

Explain that to me. Because alcohol has not increased in price, but the people making the drinks. Here we go.

[Jen]

You put a little hibiscus or a little, like, rosemary leaf in there and now it's $18. I don't know. Yeah, listen, we are so old, but she's so right. It is better if you're younger. If you're in your 30s, just stop drinking. Mostly that's gonna be the best route.

[Jill]

I love that she's pre gaming at home. Smart, smart girl. And also, the rest of us just quit alcohol.

[Sponsor Voice]

Don't quit.

[Jen]

We don't need to bother with it. Don't listen to her. We don't need to quit. Sometimes we need it. All right, that's for another episode. And this probably my. The last one is my favorite tip. Sell on Depop before buying new clothes. I think what this also will do is you get into the mindset of buying clothes to be like, okay, when I'm done with this, would this be something I could. Could sell on Depop? So then we're instantly now buying better quality clothes. And this is. This works secondhand, too. I get a ton of my clothes secondhand and I want to buy better quality so that one day when I am done with it, I can either, you know, sell it on Depop, Poshmark, ebay, Facebook, marketplace, whatever. Instead of just sending it to the thrift store, which is essentially just. Just sending it to the trash can with a detour.

[Jill]

Yeah, this one ups. I know I hear a lot of people talk about, oh, I'm not going to bring in anything new unless I get rid of something. And that's great. That's a great decluttering strategy, a great maintenance strategy after you've decluttered. But when it particularly comes to clothing, that can just be a justification. I'll just throw something out and get something new. But to have that added layer of, no, I have to. To sell something in order to bring something else in. You're. Yeah, you're just gonna Be bringing in far less than too. But you know what I don't want to bring in far less of.

[Jen]

And it's something that every week we hear from regular people having success with

[Jill]

the bill of the. That's right.

[Jen]

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.

[Jill]

Hi Jen and Jill.

[Jen]

My name is Mara from Wisconsin. My bill of the week is buying your values based budget planner. I got it 50% off, $14.

[Jill]

I was up last night like nerding

[Jen]

out, filling everything in and so I'm super happy about that mini little bill and how it'll impact my ability to

[Sponsor Voice]

manage all my other bills.

[Jen]

Thanks guys. How fun. Mara.

[Jill]

Mara from Wisconsin.

[Jen]

Okay, so if you don't know what she's talking about, it's our values based like spending planner. It's our budget spreadsheet. You can find it at frugalfriendspodcast.com budget but it is our alternative. Like if you don't want to use a budget app like Monarch, then we have this really extensive comprehensive spreadsheet that does a lot of the things Monarch does, but in a spreadsheet form and you only have to buy it one time, whereas Monarch is an annual fee. So we encourage you to check out both. I'll make a little. If you listen to this episode, you can get 50% off the budget planner with the code Mara. M A R A H. Oh my God. I know. I'm making you into a coupon code Mara. And it's only done this before.

[Jill]

Making a coupon code of a listener's name after sharing a bill of the week.

[Sponsor Voice]

Mara.

[Jill]

Wow.

[Jen]

I mean that's amazing. I decide things on the fly and I don't consult Jill and she. I love it. Okay?

[Jill]

I love just whatever is going happen to spill out of you. Code Mara.

[Jen]

M A R A H And also check out Monarch. You can go to frugalfriendspodcast.com monarch and when you use the code frugal you get 50% off your first year of monarch. So 50% off either way. Check them both out and see what works for you.

[Jill]

If, if you have a bill that you want to submit and if it has to do with purchasing one of our resources, we would love to hear about it. If it has to do with using code Mara, we would love to know about it. Let's do a deep cut on this. If it is a bill where you think that eventually we're going to because of it, tie your name into some code word to save money. Hey, have at it. And if your name is Bill, sky's the limit.

[Sponsor Voice]

We can't wait to hear it. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Bill these days I'm all about quality over quantity and especially in my closet. If it's not well made and versatile, it's not worth it. That's why I love quince. They make high quality wardrobe staples using premium fabrics like 100% European linen, 100% silk and organic cotton poplin.

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[Jill]

And now it's time for the lightning round.

[Jen]

All right, what is working for you to save money right now? Jill?

[Jill]

Oh.

[Debt Payer]

Ooh.

[Jill]

I should have seen this coming. Eating at home. It's not sexy.

[Jen]

It's not usually isn't.

[Jill]

It just is how you save money.

[Jen]

Eating at home.

[Jill]

Making a meal plan. I've been typically making a meal plan on Sundays and writing it out and posting it to the fridge and throughout the week. It reduces my decision fatigue. Like, I just know what I'm doing each day. I have also been making my meal plan based on the schedule, my calendar for that week. So if I know that there's an evening where I'm going to be a little bit short on time, I've plugged in a dinner that is going to either be a freezer meal or something that I know I can make in 15 minutes and that that keeps me to it. I never find myself having a night where it's like, I plan to make something that's going to take me 45 minutes and I have to run out the door in 20 minutes. That's, you know, that's not happening. So I'm sticking to the plan. I'm more likely to stick to it.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

How about you?

[Jen]

Well, I would say yes, same. If I had to think of something else, I would say I'm not buying any clothes right now because I am trying to love my body without trying to make it better, like, by masking it with clothes, which is something I have done in the past. Like, if I'm feeling insecure about my body, I will buy a piece of clothing, thinking that that piece of clothing looks good on me and will make me feel better about my body, but it never does. The real solution is just being happy with myself and not my, like, these arbitrary standards I've set. I'm still always trying to, like, improve and get better and head in the direction of becoming healthier. But, like, satisfaction with my body is not at the end of that journey. It is now. And it is what propels me on that journey.

[Jill]

That's really beautiful. You have also curated a really nice wardrobe, though. I'd say you know, after having Atlas your second like that I know was a goal of yours to have clothing, quality clothing. And so part of it from my perspective is also you being like content with the things you have purchased while also practicing contentment in yourself.

[Jen]

Yeah. Yep. So that's where I am. Let us know what's working to save money for you right now. Let us know in the comments so that we can compile an even bigger list. List of regular normal people saving money and helping other people save money with no ulterior motives. And if you want more, we have personally ulterior motives. We would love for you to get our book Buy what yout Love without going [e-mail] if you've already read it, we'd love for you to leave a review on Amazon. You don't have to have bought it there, but it is where most people read reviews first. Like this one from Patrick happens to be a five star review. It says frugal, fun and full of heart. Buy what you love without going Broke is a wonderful read for anyone, no matter where you are in your financial journey. Frugality is a key ingredient to successful saving and this book is packed with practical ideas that inspired me and were easy to implement in my own life. Saving money never gets old for me because frugality keeps evolving and this book helps me grow right along with it. It's an easy read and quite the page turner. If you enjoy YouTube videos or podcasts, the Frugal Friends have you covered. They're everywhere, offering simple but impactful advice along with a dose of humor in their Instagram reels. Very fun. Thank you Patrick.

[Jill]

That's a beautiful review. And yeah, we are everywhere. And so if you are also in one of these everywhere places that we are and you want to support us in a free way, please do that. Whether you're liking subscribing, commenting, or trying

[Jen]

to get a free [e-mail] mug.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

And you'll also be added to our weekly newsletter.

[Jill]

We are oh so grateful. Yeah, thanks and we'll see you next time.

[Sponsor Voice]

Bye.

[Jen]

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

[Jill]

Okay, another way that I have saved money having done nothing, I don't this is not even a tip. It's just more of a celebration. This is my bill of the week.

[Jen]

Oh yeah.

[Jill]

I got nearly $400 back to my account. Just a refund that I didn't have to ask for. I did nothing to achieve or earn just insurance rates dropped and I'm with Progressive, not sponsored. They refunded me nearly $200. They might be the only company. So other companies are. This is part of a Florida insurance reform that across the board auto insurance and homeowners insurance is decreasing and a lot of these major insurance carriers are decreasing their rates.

[Jen]

But only Progressive.

[Jill]

I'm not saying that others aren't doing this. It's just the only one that I read about doing it is refunding money. So I got just, I was just scrolling through as I do, you know me, I look at all my transactions, I love it. And noticed $393 back in my account. And I'm like, what this, what this for Florida insurance reform.

[Jen]

And we got almost $400 taken off our bill that's due in a week. So it's. It didn't go back to our account but it's being taken off of our notes next six month bill.

[Jill]

Incredible.

[Jen]

Who would have thought, who would have

[Jill]

thought 2026 would have decreased some of

[Jen]

our biggest bills without having to make a call.

[Jill]

Didn't even need actually was going to

[Jen]

make a call to Progressive today because the bill's due in a week and then you brought that up. So maybe I still will.

[25 Year Old Saver]

I don't know.

[Sponsor Voice]

We'll see.

[Jill]

Sometimes good things happen.

[Jen]

Sometimes good things happen to good people.

[Jill]

My gosh, it's probably happening to bad people too.

[Jen]

But you know what everyone. The good thing it is. Yeah.