OUR NEW FAVORITE INSTA FOLLOW - DEBT FREE MOM

Summary

Detailed Summary of "OUR NEW FAVORITE INSTA FOLLOW - DEBT FREE MOM" Episode of The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz

Release Date: December 10, 2024

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1. Introduction to Carly Hill, Debt Free Mom

In this episode, hosts Kelly Stumpe and Lizz St. John welcome Carly Hill, known as the Debt Free Mom, as their guest. Carly is celebrated for her practical and relatable approach to personal finance, especially from a millennial mom's perspective.

Notable Quote:

• Liz [02:35]: "Carly Hill, Debt Free Mom. Welcome to the Carpool podcast."

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2. Carly's Financial Journey

Carly shares her transition from a special education teacher to a personal finance influencer. Motivated by the desire to become a stay-at-home mom, she tackled significant debt and limited savings, which led her to delve deep into budgeting and debt repayment strategies.

Key Points:

• Education and Early Career: Graduated from Illinois State, trained as a special education teacher.
• Motivation: Aimed to be a stay-at-home mom but faced financial obstacles.
• Financial Strategy: Focused on budgeting, paying off debt, and prioritizing family needs over societal pressures.

Notable Quote:

• Carly [05:20]: "Personal finance is not automatic. It actually takes concerted effort over a longer period of time than we want."

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3. Philosophy: Care Creates Contentment

Carly introduces her tagline, "Care Creates Contentment," which emphasizes the importance of maintaining and taking care of what one already has to foster happiness and financial stability.

Origin Story: Carly recounts how cleaning and revitalizing her 2007 Honda Odyssey transformed her perception of her vehicle, realizing that maintenance could create a sense of contentment without the need for costly replacements.

Key Points:

• Practical Application: Instead of viewing car maintenance as a chore, Carly sees it as a way to extend the life and enjoyment of her possessions.
• Broader Implications: This mindset can be applied to various aspects of life, promoting sustainability and financial prudence.

Notable Quote:

• Carly [14:48]: "I was creating a false sense of two options. I thought my two options when it came to this car were to give in and upgrade it or just suffer through keeping it exactly the way it was."

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4. Side Hustles and Financial Strategies

Carly discusses the significance of side hustles in bridging the gap between income and expenses, especially for stay-at-home moms looking to contribute financially without compromising their primary role.

Key Points:

• Types of Side Hustles: Cleaning houses and cars, budgeting services.
• Finding Opportunities: Leveraging local Facebook mom groups to offer services.
• Earning vs. Saving: Emphasizes that increasing income can often be more achievable than drastically cutting expenses.

Notable Quote:

• Carly [18:40]: "If someone hates doing something, they're going to pay a lot of money for someone else to do it."

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5. Influencer Responsibility in Sharing Links

The conversation shifts to the ethical considerations influencers must navigate when sharing affiliate links and sponsored content. Carly emphasizes authenticity and the importance of only promoting products she genuinely uses and trusts.

Key Points:

• Authenticity: Only share products after personal use and assurance of their value.
• Transparency: Educating the audience about how affiliate links work and ensuring they understand the intent behind shared content.
• Balancing Income and Trust: Maintaining a balance between monetization and audience trust.

Notable Quote:

• Carly [36:01]: "I will only ever share things after I have used them and can vouch for them."

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6. Practical Budgeting Tips

Carly provides actionable budgeting advice tailored to different pay schedules and family needs, making financial management more accessible and less overwhelming.

Key Tips:

• Budget by Pay Period: Align budgets with your actual pay schedule rather than a fixed monthly cycle.
• Include Eating Out in Meal Plans: Integrate dining out into your budget and meal planning to avoid overspending.
• Cost Per Person Per Day: Calculate the daily cost of feeding each family member to better understand and manage grocery expenses.

Notable Quote:

• Carly [27:34]: "My first tip is budget by your pay period, not by a month."

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7. Auto Industry Insights

Carly discusses her preference for minivans, specifically her 2018 Honda Odyssey Touring, highlighting the practicality and space they offer for families.

Key Points:

• Preference for Minivans: Offers ample space and comfort for a growing family.
• Future Considerations: While she loves her minivan, she acknowledges the potential need to switch to a larger vehicle as her children grow taller.

Notable Quote:

• Carly [47:03]: "I love minivans. I won't get rid of it just because I don't want to drive it."

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8. Cooking Tips and Recipes

The hosts and Carly share simple and budget-friendly recipes, emphasizing the importance of balancing cost and nutrition.

Featured Recipe: Brussels Sprout Pasta

• Ingredients: Pasta, Italian sausage, Brussels sprouts, Parmesan, lemon juice.
• Preparation: Simultaneously boil pasta, brown the meat, and roast the Brussels sprouts. Combine all and enhance with Parmesan and lemon juice for balanced flavors.
• Tip: Adding lemon juice introduces acidity, elevating the dish's taste profile.

Notable Quote:

• Carly [49:45]: "It's a simple recipe that can be done in under 30 minutes with minimal dishes."

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9. Conclusion and Final Remarks

The episode wraps up with Carly sharing how listeners can connect with her across various platforms to continue their debt-free journey.

Contact Information:

• Instagram: @debtfreemom
• Website: debtfreemom.co
• Podcast: Debt Free Mom Podcast

Notable Quote:

• Carly [52:47]: "If you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody you know, there's room in the car for everyone."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Kelly [02:18]: "Your Mom Time Off starts now."
• Liz [09:19]: "It's questionably changed my entire life."
• Carly [11:18]: "There’s no prize for spending less than someone else."
• Liz [23:16]: "Service-based side hustles are often overlooked but incredibly valuable."

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This episode offers a blend of personal finance insights, practical budgeting tips, and relatable family experiences, all delivered through engaging and heartfelt conversations between sisters Kelly, Liz, and their insightful guest, Carly Hill. Listeners gain valuable strategies to manage finances effectively, embrace sustainable habits, and explore meaningful side hustles, all while maintaining a balanced family life.

Transcript

[Kelly]

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[Liz]

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[Carly]

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[Kelly]

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[Carly]

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[Liz]

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[Carly]

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[Kelly]

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[Carly]

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[Kelly]

Welcome to the Carpool podcast with Kelly.

[Liz]

I'm not trying to be dramatic when I say it's changed my entire life. Questionably. My favorite quote of 2024. I'm not kidding. Like the way I hang up sweaters differently now.

[Kelly]

And Liz, one of my favorite things to do in the holiday season is pick out my Christmas wrapping paper. It brings me such joy. The best place to do it in my opinion is home goods. TJ Maxx, your mom time off starts now. Welcome back to the Caramel podcast with Kelly and Liz.

[Liz]

And we got both girls.

[Kelly]

We got.

[Carly]

And we have another guest today.

[Liz]

So exciting.

[Kelly]

We have Carly. We have Carly the debt free mom. This we just finished recording and it is a incredible interview.

[Liz]

No.

[Kelly]

Oh Libby, sorry.

[Liz]

Not to be dramatic but like she's my new Favorite Instagram follow.

[Kelly]

She's. I am like so inspired by her. She gives so many good tips for getting out of debt, for saving money. And she just looks at things in such a unique lens and a different perspective. Unique. And like, she will take any problem, quote, unquote problem, anything that we're like going through in our life and she will look at it through a different lens and come up with a solution that I never thought about before. And just talking to her made me so inspired.

[Liz]

No, the way that I'm going to go like, like take care of a micro anxiety and like sew a button on a shirt that fell off after that episode. I'm so inspired.

[Kelly]

I'm so insp. Try and spend less money and try and like, take what I have and fix it up. Like, I don't want to give too much away because we, we cover it all in the episode. But my mindset has just been totally shifted on so many things in my life. And I think Carly's type of person who will just. Who just makes you do that. So I would say we should just get right into our episode because we cover a lot and it's already kind of long. So let's get into it.

[Liz]

Carly Hill, Debt free Mom. Welcome to the Carpool podcast.

[Carly]

Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

[Liz]

So I, like, stumbles. I'm so happy that Carly and I have crossed paths for so many reasons because one, like, you have four kids. Relatable. You live in the Midwest.

[Kelly]

Relatable.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

Well, you live in Peoria, don't you?

[Carly]

I do. I. Somebody else actually just reached out to me yesterday and said, I know Liz. I was at Bradley with her.

[Kelly]

Yeah. Love it. Did you go to Bradley or why do you live in Peoria?

[Carly]

I didn't. I grew up here in the area. I live in the same town I grew up in. And then I went to Illinois State in Bloomington.

[Kelly]

Yes. Yes.

[Liz]

So she's like a Midwest mom of four. Part time content, full time content creator.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

And I'm obsessed. And I was talking about on my stories one day about, you know, taking care of the car you have and especially if you find yourself paying a lot for a car. Well, let's at least make sure it's clean like that. That's a big pillar of my platform. Taking care of your car. CLE cars drive better is like kind of my tagline. And someone messaged me, they're like, yeah, care creates contentment. And I was like, that's so, like profound. Like, who's like my follower who like, has like, that's, that's the phrase has changed my life. So I reshared it to my stories and like your followers just flooded me with like, oh, that's Carly. That's Carly.

[Carly]

That's Carly.

[Kelly]

And I was like, whoa, it's Carly.

[Liz]

Time to give credit where credit's due. That phrase I want to like, do. We're going to dive into that phrase a little bit more. But before we do that, Carly, just give the carpool listeners a little bit of your background and why you're so obsessed with all things finance.

[Carly]

Yeah, sure. So I actually, like I said, I went to Illinois State. They're known for training teachers. So I was a special education teacher and I taught for two years. But before I even started teaching, my goal was to be a stay at home mom. And my husband worked in nonprofit ministry. So that was not necessarily automatically in the cards for me, for sure. And so I tried to figure out what I needed to do to make that happen. I was very determined to make it happen no matter what. And so as I was teaching, I was trying to figure out what are the roadblocks to me becoming a stay at home mom. And a big part of it was that we had very, very little in savings and a lot of debt between student loans and cars. And so I just decided that I was going to get those things under control and at least try to expand my options with what I wanted work to look like for me. So I dug into budgeting, paying off debt, doing those kinds of things while teaching. And then when my first son was born, I was not able to become a stay at home mom. But I did le teaching and started two part time jobs instead. One of them that was partly from home. So it's at least home a little bit. And in the process of that, I realized that personal finance is not automatic. It doesn't just. We can't just decide that we want to be better with our money or have freedom and options and then make it happen. It actually takes concerted effort over a longer period of time than we want. And so what I really started to do was to prioritize the things that matter to me and try to ignore the things that other people were doing around me. And so at that age, I was only 23 when I had my first, but all of my peers were like buying these big houses and driving these nice cars and I kind of decided I needed to put blinders onto what they were doing. And if I was going to try to, because If I was going to try to compete with them, I was going to give up my goal of being a stay at home mom. So I needed to decide what mattered to me and not focus on what was important to other people and work that into my budget, make my money reflect what my priorities were. And so that's how my own personal finance approach to budgeting came, was continuing to ignore what was around me and focus on what mattered to us, to our family. And then as I, by the time I had my third son was actually the first time that I became fully stay at home mom, like left all my part time jobs, stayed home and lo and behold, that was not everything that I had made it out to be. And I was like, I think I made it like six weeks before. I was like, oh my gosh, I need to use my brain some other way than diapers and naps and something. And so what I didn't have in extra money, I had in time because I was, I mean, I was busy, but you know, the kind of busy where it's like I'm busy but I'm also sitting on the couch four hours a day, you know. And so I was like, okay, well, Instagram is free. I like talking about money. I like that in the past four years I figured out a way to make something happen that I didn't think was possible with our finances. So I just started an Instagram account and just started like documentary style, kind of like, this is what I'm doing. Like, these are the ways that I'm planning our money, these are the meals that I'm making, these are the ways that I've found to save money on car insurance or cell phone or I make my own laundry soap or you know, things like that. And that grew over time. And what I learned was that I could really blend my love for just chatting about personal finance with my actual training as a special education teacher. And so while I don't have, I'm not an accountant, I'm not a finance major analyst, anything like that. What I, what I am trained in is taking a topic that's maybe that has high, a high level of frustration and confusion. Confusion and motivating the people who really need to learn about that topic, to learn about it in a way they can apply to their life.

[Kelly]

Obsessed.

[Carly]

That's what I mean.

[Liz]

It's obsessed. And I love it. Feels so similar to our journey of I wanted to take what I loved and mash it with motherhood. And you took what you loved and mashed it with motherhood and now we have careers. It's so inspiring. And I'm obsessed.

[Kelly]

And I just feel like there's such a need because you say you're not an accountant, you're not a finance analyst. When I see, when I stumble upon those people on Instagram, they're like, so here's what you need to do to save $10,000. You need to open this account and get this tax form and do this and that and put this amount of money and then it will grow. Like, I can't do any of that. Like, I need tangible takes, which I feel like is kind of what you put on your Instagram. Like only buying X amount of things from Amazon a month. And I just really appreciate your, your simplistic approach to. Again, like you said, something that doesn't just happen, doesn't just come to you. It's something you have to take, like, thoughtful measures on.

[Liz]

And it's very easy for other, like, finance accounts to say, you know, make sure you have a budget. And no one, I think, really takes the extra tangible step on what that looks like. So one of the things since I've been following on Instagram for a while is you talked about how you let yourself buy 10 things from Amazon a month and you keep track of what those 10 things are. So tangible. Because how many times am I, like checking out on Amazon and the next. I don't even want to think about what my Amazon bill could be in a month, some days. So it's like you're going to do 10 things. And I think your account also is really good at meeting. I think no matter what stage of your debt or money journey you're on, I think you could take something from Carly's account because you're not. You're teaching people how to budget, not how to not spend any money. I find that some of the other really heavy debt accounts who I've come across in the past, it's so like, we're not spending anything. And then people don't ever learn how to have that kind of control or that contentment, if you will.

[Carly]

Yeah. And there's no prize for spending less than someone else like that. I think that is such an important thing to realize is like when people think of budgeting, they think that it means automatically spending less. Like, whatever I'm currently doing, I have to spend less in groceries, I have to go out less, I have to order less. Like, the important thing with that Amazon thing is that it's not zero. I'm not trying to not order anything. Because that's an unrealistic goal. I'm just trying to be reasonable about it, that there is a middle ground between buying whatever I want, when I want, and then also somehow, you know, sticking a prize on myself and saying, you know, I order nothing on Amazon. There's no price for that. Like, you don't win by not doing that.

[Liz]

And that's not probably not sustainable.

[Carly]

No, it's not.

[Liz]

And then you're going to fall off and you're like, well, I bought anything for two months, so now I'm going to buy whatever I want instead of, like, just putting. Putting a process in place. So let's kind of talk about your tagline, care creates contentment. Because the way that I. I'm not trying to be dramatically say, it's changed my entire life, questionably. My favorite quote of 2024, I'm not kidding. Like, the way I hang up sweaters differently now. The way that I, like, take out the trash differently now. Like, I am taking care of things in my life, Candy. I'm obsessed. Tell us about the origin and how people can, I guess, give us some examples of that.

[Carly]

Yeah. So I scrolled back to get ready for this. I scrolled back to try to find. When was the first time I said it, and the first time I could find a variation of it was in 2021. And I was shampooing old. This is not the car I drive now, but 2007 Honda Odyssey floor mats. And they were just disgusting. My kids were so, okay, 2022. My kids were 6, 4 2, and newborn at the time. Vibes.

[Liz]

That's what my kids are.

[Carly]

And, you know, it's just like, you see, like, you might step into the back and your foot sticks and you can't get it up. The floor back comes with you. That was the kind of car I had. And I was so annoyed with it that I was trying to figure out how to buy a new one. A new car. And there was literally nothing wrong with the actual car. It was just. I felt disgusting every time I drove around in it. And I wanted to get rid of that feeling. And then I realized, like, okay, stop being so dramatic about the whole car. Does not need to go to the junkyard because there's some goldfish on the ground. And so I pulled the mats out, I vacuumed them, I shampooed them with the Bissell little green machine. And then I ordered, like, leather cleaner, like, nice leather cleaner, which was like $25, which is like a splurge for a cleaning product. But Compared to replacing your vehicle, it's nothing. It's pennies. And I just went top to bottom in that old van. I think it had, like, 190,000 miles on it or something. And lo and behold, driving around in it after I had done that felt like a new car. It felt complete. The experience was completely different. And so what I had realized was I was creating this false sense of two options. I thought my two options when it came to this car were to give in and upgrade it and replace it in order to stop being discontent or to just suffer through keeping it exactly the way it was and just grin and bear it, basically, that those are my two options of I had to resign myself to driving a disgusting car or buy a new car when I didn't actually need one. And so the origin of Care Creates contentment was like, there's actually a third way. Like, I can actually create contentment by doing something about it.

[Kelly]

Not your favorite quote being origin story being car related.

[Carly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Me and Carla, it's.

[Kelly]

We're.

[Liz]

It's parallel. Like, we're like, it's. I'm obsessed.

[Kelly]

Yeah. I so. I so feel that way in, like, so many things. Like, sometimes I'm just like, I should just throw this away and just, like, order a new one. And it's like, what if you just took care of it?

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

You know, it's like, wow. And I think that helps with, like, the. I love what you were saying about the comparison, and you were seeing other people do this and that, and, you know, in the age of social media, it's especially hard to compare yourselves to people, but just sort of putting those blinders on and just, like, taking care of you and what's going on in your life and what's important to you and taking care of what you've got and not focusing on what everyone else has. It's much easier said than done. But it's the way you phrased it was a very good reminder.

[Liz]

And one way that I've kind of done, like, my care Creates contentment is this past weekend, I was home with the kids on a Saturday, and I just kept thinking about how sometimes, you know, when we're trying to get our life together, like, trying to, like, feel something, it's like, oh, well, what if I just, like, bought this thing from Target or, like, bought this thing off Amazon, and I kind of took our advice that we've given in the past because of Carly's inspiration. I was like, no, I'm just gonna, like, organize my pantry. Because, like, having an organized pantry. It feels just like buying a new sweater from Target.

[Kelly]

It really does.

[Liz]

Because it's like something new.

[Kelly]

Oh, it's.

[Liz]

It's like what you were saying, Carly, like now it's a new feeling. It has created a feeling by just organizing something or taking care of a micro anxiety. So like fixing the light bulb that's been burnt out for five ever.

[Carly]

Yeah. Yep. I think the amount of money we can save when we realize that when we buy something, we're not actually chasing the thing we're chasing the feeling is so it is a life changing amount of money. Because what we can realize is, okay, if I acknowledge that I'm chasing the feeling and not the item, then I can ask myself, what are other ways I could achieve that feeling that don't cost a new Target cart full of things. Right. And so that's the care creates contentment idea is like, oh, I'm chasing the feeling of my life being fresh and things being put together and things being in control is usually a big one. That's purchasing things to help feel control. So organizing the pantry is this little microcosm of control. Well, we can do that without buying something. And so once we identify that that's actually what we're after when we, you know, when we click Buy now is like, oh, well, maybe there's a different way for me to achieve that exact same thing. And I would argue even better. I think it's yes. When we take something that like, we bought five years ago and it is now, like, we can extend the life by another five years. There's more pride behind that than there ever is when a new package arrives.

[Liz]

Obsessed.

[Kelly]

Totally.

[Liz]

Enough.

[Kelly]

Totally.

[Liz]

Do you have something or can I.

[Kelly]

No, you can go.

[Liz]

So I want to talk a little bit about side hustles because I was following car. I was like watching Carly stories, which you're such a good storyteller on your Instagram. And you were cleaning a house because you said that back in college. Was it you trained with someone who taught you how to clean houses. And now you pick this up and you have you clean a couple houses, what, a couple times a month?

[Carly]

So, yeah, I did. I used to do a couple times a month. Now I only say yes to one time cleans because I don't want it in my schedule. So I can just kind of decide to say yes or no. But I used to do it like, yeah, multiple houses monthly, for a long time before kids and when I had kids.

[Liz]

So let's talk about side hustles a little bit because into clean cars. Aren't you also cleaning? Yeah, she's like doing so like it's amazing.

[Kelly]

I know.

[Liz]

So I once heard a quote that kind of changed the way I thought about money. And I think sometimes when I, when I've told people they've taken it kind of the wrong way, but it's the idea that it's easier to make 10,000 than save 10,000. Would like to get your opinion on that and like maybe some tips for finding side hustles.

[Carly]

Yeah, so I, first of all, I agree completely that it is easier to earn an extra 10,000 than it is to save an extra 10,000. I think what happens is that we. So when we are trying to save money and decrease our expenses, that is a, it's a bigger ask because it's asking to change our life more dramatically than trying to find ways to. It feels good to get paid for something. It feels bad to say no to something we used to buy. So I think that earning, having the, having the option to earn money is more intriguing or motivating than just take your life exactly the way it is and find something that you like and you have to cut it out. So I do agree with that, first of all. Second of all, on side hustles, what began out of necessity, what I kind of did, like what I said when I left my teaching job but couldn't be 100% stay at home. I tutored for a while and I took a, a part time administrative assistant job at a church because they were going to let me do it half from home and half in the office and I wanted to be at home as much as possible. I can tutor at home. And so I started realizing that there was so much earning potential out there in these little things that they really do add up. I was not making that much less than when I was teaching in a public school as a first year teacher compared to doing these part time jobs. Now it takes more work because you have to go find it and convince people to pay you for things. But for people who are out there who are like, oh, I could really use an extra side hustle, the thing that I say is what is that weird thing that you either really enjoy or are really good at that when you do it? People are like, oh, I can't imagine doing that. I hate doing that. Because if someone hates doing something, they're going to pay a lot of money for someone else to do it. So that's why cleaning houses and cars makes a lot of money because people hate it. And so if you can solve a pain point for someone, that is where they will pay. Because the more frustrating something is in my life, the more I'm willing to pay someone to do it. So I like to cook. And so I wouldn't pay someone to cook dinner for my family because I enjoy it. But I do clean other people's houses. I hate to clean my own house. And so I would pay, I would pay someone to do that. And that's why other people do it too. So when there's things that you're like, I mean, that's honestly where this budget thing came about. Like building me building budgets for other people. Was that people say, I hate building a budget. And I'm like, well, I love building a budget. Send me your numbers and I'll build the budget for you. And so for people who need a side hustle, like getting creative with telling other people, I think mom Facebook groups are the best place to start. Like just saying in a mom Facebook group, hey, I would, you know, me and my teenager will come rake your leaves this fall, or we have a snowblower, we'll snow blow your driveway for $40. A driveway, whatever it is, like just throwing it out there to a wide net. And I think local Facebook mom groups, that's where I find the houses to clean out a lot of times are where you'll build those connections. And that like the house I cleaned yesterday was just. Somebody reached out to me on Facebook was like, do you still clean houses? And I was like, sure.

[Liz]

I think there's not enough talk about service based side hustles. I think everyone's looking for like that quick, no offense, like mlm online marketing, passive income. Yeah. And at the end of the day, like service people will pay a lot of money for, for service. And it's, you know, not being, not feeling like you're above or like cleaning someone's, I mean, cleaning someone else's house. Like I. That's where the babysitting, the cooking, the yard work, like just something service based I think is like right now if.

[Carly]

You put out on a Facebook group that you would wrap presents for someone.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Carly]

Like there are, there are people that would pay. You could do that in your own house with a show on. You could do it at 11, 11pm and wrap all their presents and bring them back to them the next day. And there are absolutely people who would.

[Liz]

Pay for that laundry. I saw one time in a Facebook group, someone's like, hey, I'm. I will pick up your laundry, I will wash it Fold it and deliver it back within 48 hours for x amount. I mean like so many, so many ways to do it. And I love what you said about it's finding the motivation to become like more financially stable. And yeah, saying like, you're never allowed to go out and get a coffee again to like try to save is not, it's not quite as motivating. I think in doing things in a combo like saving a little, making a little will move the needle a lot more.

[Carly]

Yep, totally obsessed. Especially for moms like stay at home. Moms often say I wish I contributed financially to the family. And what they mean by that is I wish I had a paycheck with my name on it. And what I like to tell them is that making money is anything we do to grow the gap between our income and expenses. So that gap is where we feel like we have money. Whatever set expenses we have and whatever income we have, there's a gap between the two. And that's the money that makes us feel like there's a little bit of margin. And so you don't have to make the top line go up in order to make money. You can make that bottom line go down too. You can do both. And so for a stay at home mom, like if you, if you shop around for, you know, car and home insurance and you can decrease it by $60 a month, you just made money. Like making money is anything we do to create margin. And so we have to just expand the idea that the only way contribute to my family is by having a paycheck with my name on it because there were years that I didn't have any paycheck with my name on it at all. And I would say, and my husband, I know my husband would agree that I contributed more financially to the family than he did because of the way I managed it.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

And today's episode is brought to you by Clean Simple Eats. You guys know we are huge fans of Clean Simple Eats here at the carpool podcast. I use their products just about daily. Whether it is the protein powder or the clear protein in a can or I'm really loving their energy and focus drinks. Lately as an afternoon pickme up, there is something for everyone. I use the protein powder in my oatmeal, in my pancakes, in my smoothies, in my coffee. I am always reaching for my Clean Simple Eats. And not only is it the best tasting protein powder I've ever used, it's also always grass fed with no seed oils, artificial ingredients. It's third party tested non GMO and gluten free and each serving has 20 gram of protein. The protein powder is incredibly creamy and smooth with no chalky touch texture found in most protein powders. And we do have a code exclusive for our listeners so you can visit CleanSimple eats.com and use code Carpool10 at checkout for 10 off your order. That's CleanSimple eats.com code Carpool10 for 10 off your order link is also in the show Notes Today's episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. The start of a new year is a perfect time to get organized, set goals and prioritize what matters most. For me, a top priority is my financial wellness, which feels more important now than ever. And thanks to Rocket Money, my goals feel achievable. They show me all my subscriptions right in one place and help me easily cancel the ones I forgot about. And Rocket Money also pulls together all my spending across all of my accounts so I can clearly track my spending habits and see where I can cut back. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that finds and cancels your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so that you can grow your savings. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. So cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to Rocket Money.com Carpool today. That's RocketMoney.com Carpool RocketMoney.com Carpool streaming December 12th on Peacock.

[Carly]

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are back. That's hot. Loves it. For a show stopping reunion that will prove putting on an opera is anything but simple. We're really good at this. One thing's for sure, they won't be upstaged.

[Liz]

Good to have you back.

[Carly]

Come on, we've got a show to do. Paris and Nicole The Encore, a three part reunion special streaming December 12th only on Peacock.

[Kelly]

Every day supporters like you help the American Cancer Society improve the lives of people with cancer. Help end cancer as we know it for everyone. Visit cancer.org to make a life saving gift.

[Liz]

So what are can can you give us a few of like some of your favorite budgeting tips for the person who doesn't have a budget?

[Carly]

Yeah. So first of all, most monthly. Most budget tools are monthly. They just start at the first of the month and they end at the last day of the month. But the that is the least common pay Schedule in the United States, getting paid all of your income once a month. So if you, especially if you are paid bi weekly, like every other Friday, every other Thursday or weekly, which are the. Those two together make up the majority of US Companies. That's how they pay is every other Friday, every other Wednesday. If you are paid that way, a monthly budget will always feel like you have your shoes on the wrong feet. Like it'll always feel almost right, but not because if you, let's say you start your budget, you use Mint or you know, Mint is gone, rip every dollar, or you know, those kind of tools, you start on the first day of the month and you have this enthusiasm behind your plan. You're like, okay, I set it up. I'm going to do better this month than I did last month. And then you go to your bank account and it has less money in it today than it did yesterday. And so you start your budget on the first of the. But you have no extra income available than you had the day before. And so you're already behind. You have bills that you have to pay between the 1st of the month and the 5th of the month. But let's say your first paycheck doesn't even come until the 6th of the month. So my very first thing is that I budget by pay period. So whatever a pay period means to you, that's when the new budget starts. And so day one is always a payday. And then I plan what do I have to do with that money before I get paid again. And so setting it up that way does a couple things. Number one, it tracks the cash flow in your check checking account. It actually matches what is happening in your bank account. Number two, it gives you more. I call it the gift of frequent fresh starts. It means that more than once a month I get to completely let go of whatever happened in the past, and it's usually messy and start fresh. So twice a month, you know, and so like 30 days is just a really long time to stick to anything, to any sort of goal. But if we can break that in half and say, okay, I only have to stick to this budget for 14, 15 days, it just becomes. Becomes twice as manageable. So that's my first tip is budget by your pay period, not by a month. Because if you're not paid once a month, then the monthly rhythm actually has nothing to do with your money. So budgeting by pay period is the first one. Number two is when it comes to food, actually build eating out into not only your budget, but also your Meal plan. People always make a meal plan as if they won't eat out at all. And then week after week after week they eat out. And so they're buying twice as much food as they need to because they're trying to grocery shop as if they won't eat, eat out. And then they're eating out. Yeah. So my meal plan always says, like, eat out on, on at least one day, sometimes two. Like if it's going to be a two eat out week, that I just write that down and then that's less groceries that I buy.

[Liz]

That you buy? Yes. They're not wasting money.

[Carly]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. And so by meal planning and building that into the budget, like just acknowledging we are going to eat out, I'm just putting it in the plan. It decreases how much the groceries are. And then it also makes it realistic and it gives something to look forward to. I feel like if you don't eating out into your meal plan at all, you're looking at your meal plan and you're going, but when am I going to eat out? And so then you just go eat out. For me, if I write it down on Friday and I'm like, Friday, we're eating out. Then when it's Wednesday and I don't really want to cook, I'm like, okay, just cook today and tomorrow and then you're eating out on Friday. So it helps me stick to my meal plan to have eating out in my plan. So that. And then the other. Everybody loves to talk about how expensive groceries are, but nobody talks about how expensive eating out is. So what's hard to wrap our minds around is that when we buy our groceries, we're buying usually a week's worth. So our total is like 250, $300. So we come home and we say, oh my gosh, groceries are so expensive. But then we go through the Chick Fil A, drive through and it's $24. And so we say, well, $24 at Chick Fil A or $300 at the grocery store. Groceries are so expensive. And so we focus on that because of how much it was at one time. So if we take my favorite formula for groceries is I want everybody to do this on a little post. It note is cost per person per day. So if you spend $250 a week, divide that by seven and that's how much you spend per day. And then divide that by the number of people that you feed and that's your cost per person per day. So I'll do it for mine, I spent 300 this week because I had to buy the Costco toilet paper because we were out 300 divided by seven. So I spend $42 per day to feed my family and I have six people. If I divide by six, I spent $7 per person per day. So that is every meal, every snack, every beverage.

[Liz]

I literally, I did it for. I didn't include my youngest yet and I was at $6. That's crazy. So, yeah, you think like that's a kid's meal at Chick Fil a for one meal versus not even.

[Kelly]

Yeah, not even.

[Carly]

But you're feeding an adult for a whole day for that amount. Wow.

[Liz]

Wow.

[Carly]

If you average it out.

[Liz]

So I would not have guessed. I just wouldn't have. I wouldn't have guessed. It only cost $6 to feed Tyler every day.

[Carly]

Yep. Yep.

[Liz]

But Yeah, I spend 250 on groceries a week. And so that's. That's what it is.

[Kelly]

Wow.

[Liz]

Life.

[Carly]

So there's, there's homework for everybody. I want everybody to do that because we don't, we just don't think in those terms. We only think in how much we spent for the week. But if we break it down that way, then it's like, okay, I'm spend. So I'm spending $7 a day per person a day. If I go, I can't go get myself a burger for $7. No, no. Yeah.

[Liz]

That's awesome. That's so awesome.

[Kelly]

Carly, you're so. You're full of just so many golden nuggets.

[Liz]

No, she' it's giving meat and potatoes. Speaking of groceries. Like, this is.

[Carly]

This is.

[Liz]

And I love your energy and your excitement around it. Okay, I have one more question and then I want to get into. We're going to do our last two transactions and then we're going to. Carl is going to bring a ditch the drive thru, which I assume is going to be amazing based on that conversation.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

I want to ask as a, as an influencer, influencer to influencer, do you think that there's any. That influencers should feel any like personal responsibility for the amount of links and affiliate things that they share for? Do you ever like feel guilty about sharing a link when you're like how those people who are like trying to budget. I just, it's just like, it's a question that I don't know who else I would ask this to and I, it's something that I've been thinking. I would love to know if you feel like the influencer is responsible.

[Carly]

Yeah, I Do. So here's. Here's my take on it is when I see influencers who are sharing something I've never seen before multiple times a day, that's a red flag that they're doing it literally just for the money. So if it's like a haul of every single item, where they're like, look at this and look at this and look at this, and it's not anything that they're using. It's not a genuine share. To me, the things that I don't feel bad sharing are the things where I'm like, look how well this works. Like the Bissell little green machine. If they, like, I will share an affiliate link to that every day, all day long. It creates contentment. So that's kind of my. My thing on that too, is like, hey, if you buy this thing for $89, you might be able to keep that couch five years longer. And that paid for itself in one year. So that's my thing on it, too, is for me personally, I will only ever share things after I have used them and can vouch for them. And if I can clearly articulate how it added value to my life, then I share it.

[Liz]

Yeah, I agree. I agree. And I think it also comes with. I don't know, I always just. I go back and forth. Like, as someone who does, like. I mean, yeah, a part of my business is affiliate income. Just like, Just like it's any influencer's business. But I just. I feel like there's gotta be some sort of responsibility on the influencers to not to realize that you're selling. I don't know. Some days, Some days, Some days it just gives me the. And I do it. But I'm with you. Like, I try to be very mindful, and I'm like, this is what I'm using. These are the deals. And I also try to remind myself, like, you know, some people are looking for this. Some people do have this in their budget. There's nothing wrong with me sharing that. It's just kind of. It's finding the balance. And I just always kind of go with my gut. And, like, I mean, I would never share anything that gave me the ick. And there's, like, things in my Things that I've bought that I'm like, you know what? I like this. It is expensive. Like, I'm not going to share this because I don't, like, I don't want everyone, anyone to think that. I think that you need this.

[Carly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

You know?

[Carly]

Yeah. So another thing for me is I, my audience absolutely loved when I just explained how affiliate links work, that they don't have to buy the item that I'm linking in order for me to get a commission. And that's something that's not common knowledge, I feel like. So when I explain to them, like, hey, if you like what I do for free, if you like the content, if you're getting value out of what you're learning from me, that I'm not asking you to pay me anything for talking about budgets, for talking about cleaning cars, cleaning houses, groceries, when I share my meal plan, if you click an affiliate link of mine and then buy whatever you actually need to buy, I still get a small commission. And the only thing it does is take a little bit less of the money that you were already planning to spend and give less of it to Amazon and a little bit more to me. And my, at least for my audience, that resounded so well with them in terms of, of not realizing that that's how it worked, that they didn't have to buy the specific thing that I was sharing. And so it's, you know, if we think about, like, on TV or streaming, when we watch an ad in the middle of it, we're willing to watch the ad because we want to see the rest of the content. And that's what social media is too. Like, they want to see the rest of your content. They get so much value out of your free content that the links or the sponsor posts are an ad. Break. Break.

[Liz]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think when you feel really good, like, I know that Elizabeth and I work every day to bring a lot of value. And that's why, like, I always think I'd really struggle if I was the influencer who, if I was only like a lifestyle influencer. And I like making lifestyle content some days, but the fact that I feel like I, we bring so much free content and we want it to be free on purpose. Like, we'll never charge for like a car tour or car seat tips or anything like that. That, that, that just feels that, that makes me feel like, you know what? Like, you know, the cameras, the camera's not free. Like our, our babysitters aren't free. Like, we have to be able to, to do this. So just, like, wanted to get another influencer's opinion on it because.

[Carly]

Yep.

[Liz]

Yeah, just like, interesting. Well, speaking of, speaking of Amazon, let's get to our last three transactions.

[Kelly]

Yes, but we're actually going to do our last two transactions where we share our recent bank account subtraction And I'm.

[Liz]

Excited to have Carla on. Yeah.

[Kelly]

Yeah. I think it's appropriate.

[Liz]

So, Carly, it can be, but, like, we. We're exposing ourselves. Like, tell us. Tell us your last two.

[Carly]

Yeah. All right, well, tell us one.

[Liz]

It's gonna be popcorn style, so you go, I'll go. Liz goes.

[Carly]

Okay. Okay. My first one is yesterday after I cleaned the house, I got cold brew at Starbucks. But I have a tip for everyone.

[Liz]

Oh, this is a good tip.

[Kelly]

I saw this on your Instagram.

[Liz]

This is a good tip.

[Carly]

Good tip. If you have 100 stars, not 200 stars. If you have 100 stars, you can. Can completely doctor up any hot or cold coffee or tea. So what I do is get an iced coffee, because that's only 100 stars, not 200 stars. I add a few shots of espresso so that it tastes more like cold brew, and then I add peppermint syrup and chocolate cold foam. And all of those modifications are free because the drink itself is free. So for 100 stars, I get a venti iced coffee with two shots of espresso peppermint, and. And chocolate cold foam, and it tastes like a peppermint mocha iced coffee. And it's enormous. And it's a hundred stars, not 200 stars.

[Liz]

No, it's a hack.

[Kelly]

It's a hack.

[Liz]

Like, don't tell them.

[Carly]

Yeah, I don't want them to see it.

[Liz]

Yeah, Well, I absolutely hate that I'm not following up with a hack that. I just, like, had a transaction.

[Kelly]

Yeah. I mean, that's.

[Carly]

But yeah, I didn't have 100 stars yesterday, so I did pay for mine, so that was my transaction.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Liz]

Okay. But. Okay, that makes me feel a little better. Okay. I recently bought. So how. How young is your youngest? You have three boys and a girl, right?

[Carly]

Three boys and then a girl. Yeah, they. My. My youngest is going to be four in February.

[Liz]

Oh, my gosh. You're just, like, a couple years ahead of me. Are you doing okay? Like, I'm mentally.

[Carly]

You are almost there. You are almost there. It's actually great.

[Liz]

Well, for. I've never had a binky baby, but I really would like to have a binky baby because I think there's some benefits. Like, they don't put stuff in their mouth. Like, they will be quiet. I've never tried different binkies. I've always just, like, used the wubba nubs, the little blue ones they give you in the hospital. But with Libby, I'm trying. I'm trying. So I ordered a different type of Binky off Amazon. A Ma'am Mom. Ma'am.

[Carly]

Nope, that's the one. Really? Yeah.

[Liz]

So I ordered a Ma'am Binky.

[Kelly]

Love it.

[Carly]

To see if that.

[Liz]

I bought one at Target just to try it and she seems to like it. But the problem is it's like, where is it? Right?

[Carly]

Yeah. No, you're like, you need 37.

[Liz]

So I ordered a four pack off Amazon.

[Kelly]

Yeah, you really have to buy them like in the one pack at a time because you try to try.

[Liz]

I need a Binky variety. Binky variety pack.

[Kelly]

Binky variety pack. Okay. Something I recently bought is on like Cyber Monday. Target was having, I don't know, 30% off or something off of their shoes. And I really needed some tiny heel closed toed shoes so I can make like a fabulous holiday out outfit. Now, Sydney, our sister Sydney, Whole Foods kind of paycheck girl. She bought. She. She shops on the RealReal a lot and she bought this. What's a mew Mew? Yeah, Some designer shoe. And she showed me them. I'm like, those are really cute. Did you. Did she show you them to you?

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

Okay. Those are From Target for 17.50.

[Liz]

Carly.

[Kelly]

They're the exact same. I mean, they're a total ripoff of these Miu shoes.

[Carly]

Cute. I love the color.

[Kelly]

They are. She got them in black, I got them in red. I wanted to be fun. But they look identical to these designer shoes she just bought. And I got them for 1750.

[Liz]

Yeah. And Carly, that's our sister Sydney. She's what, 24? She, she's doing really good at selling cars, lives at home. So that's why we, that's why we say she has Whole Foods money.

[Carly]

Whole Foods.

[Liz]

She doesn't.

[Kelly]

She has no, no expenses. Like, she's just.

[Liz]

Yeah, she's buying for the shoes. Yeah.

[Carly]

Yep.

[Liz]

All right, Carla, what's your next one?

[Carly]

My next one is a puzzle table. So I don't know. Are you guys puzzled? Do you do jigsaw puzzles?

[Liz]

No.

[Kelly]

Covid times.

[Liz]

Yeah. Not in this era, but I do. I do. I have seen that you do that. And wait, can I say something funny that Carly does. I'm obsessed with Carly right now. She doesn't. She went on a whole round on her Instagram. She doesn't look at the box. She think, go ahead, Carly. You say, I'm not going to butcher it.

[Carly]

So first I have to, I have to clarify it. I don't force other people to do this or look down on people who don't do this. I look at the box when I open the puzzle, and then the box goes away because the box is the answer to the puzzle. So for any other. Any other kind of puzzle, it's. It's total nerdery. It's complete. Like, I will dive full, like head at first into the nerdery. But it is the answer to the puzzle. So any other puzzle, we don't look at the answer while we're doing it and say that we solve the puzzle. Um, so if you look at the puzzle, it's great. It's fine. Like, look at the box. But you're playing a matching game. You're not doing a jigsaw puzzle.

[Kelly]

I mean, I. Carly, I'm just like obsessed with your mind. It's just like you think about everything in such a different way than anyone else ever met, and I feel like it's serving you very well.

[Liz]

Who has a take on puzzles, A very strong take. Who has a strike? I didn't give puzzles a second thought. And Carly has a take.

[Kelly]

A hot take.

[Liz]

So you bought a table.

[Carly]

So I bought a puzzle. So it's a tabletop, one that sits on the table and it moves around. Like you can put it on your dining table, do the puzzle, and then you can move it into the office while you're having dinner. It doesn't have to stay where it's at. And then it has little drawers to put the pieces in to organize them. So if I. You guys are puzzle people. But if anyone is listening, as a puzzle person, it's a puzzle table. You could be a puzzle person. It's a puzzle table.

[Kelly]

That sounds like a low lift. Like a low lift luxury for puzzle people.

[Carly]

Yes. Yeah.

[Kelly]

Like, I can see how that was necessary.

[Carly]

I've upgraded to the car out of the card table and into a portable puzzle table.

[Kelly]

I'm so happy for you.

[Liz]

Okay, well, my next. My last of my last three transactions is actually three, and it's a three in one. Oh, but have we heard about, like, the. The Christmas book thing? We're like, we're reading books at Christmas. Some people are going the extra step in wrapping the book and like unwrapping one every year. I'm not doing that. I did want to get some more. Some better Christmas books, because the ones I have are like, George and Heidi need a little bit more.

[Kelly]

We very little kid.

[Liz]

It's very little kid. We need a little bit more of a story. Like, I don't feel like any of my current Christmas Christmas books have a plot.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Liz]

Yeah, it's like the little Blue truck picked up a tree, and then he dropped it off at the goats. Like, we need a little more to, like, drive Polar Express. We need a Polar Express. So I cannot vouch for these, but I just typed in Christmas. And I also know, like, I could have, like, gone and bought them cheaper, but I'm on. I'm on a timeline here, and they actually were on sale. I bought one called the Christmas Al. Verdict's out if anyone's read it. And I bought one called Dasher.

[Kelly]

Ooh. At least it leaves me wanting more.

[Liz]

Dasher. How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas forever.

[Carly]

Oh, you know what? That's a story. That's story. Girl.

[Liz]

Reindeer also have antlers. I think all reindeer have antlers. So I think.

[Kelly]

Couldn't tell you.

[Liz]

That should be a random fact.

[Kelly]

You should look it up while you're going. Also, like, why does Rudolph get all of the attention?

[Liz]

No, I want Dasher's origin story. Yeah, so I bought that one and then I bought one. The last one I bought is called. Called the Magical Christmas Store. Again, I just looked for books with paragraphs and pictures. I'm looking for a paragraph, picture, paragraph, picture combo. Not just paragraphs, not just pictures.

[Kelly]

I like it. Okay. The last of. My last. One of my favorite things to do in the holiday season is pick out my Christmas wrapping paper. It brings me such joy. The best place to do it, in my opinion, is. Is HomeGoods TJ Maxx. They have a huge selection, reasonably priced, and it is just my favorite thing. I usually pick out two to three rolls. And honestly, they usually last me, like, two years. But this year I was out, so I went. Got to go and pick out three new rolls of wrapping paper. And it just brought me such joy.

[Liz]

That's great. Yeah. Did you go for, like, a theme?

[Carly]

Like, do they match?

[Kelly]

Yeah, so kind of. So the last round, I did, like, very red heavy. So this time I kind of wanted to go more green heavy. So I pick. I went all patterns, though. Like, they're crazy patterns that all kind of go together. But normally I would do, like, a big pattern, little pattern solid. And I just went like bunch of little patterns.

[Liz]

You went out?

[Kelly]

Yeah, yeah. It's very busy, but I. I like it.

[Liz]

I do want you guys to know that. Yes, both male and female reindeer grow antlers.

[Kelly]

Oh, thank you.

[Liz]

So we don't know Dasher Dancer. I mean, we don't know who's a boy and who's a girl. So anyway, I'm gonna.

[Carly]

I'll.

[Liz]

We'll report back about Dasher's origin story.

[Carly]

Dasher could be that quiet one in a group project that's in the back actually getting things done right know.

[Liz]

And Rudolph gets all the glory.

[Carly]

Rudolph takes the glory. Yeah.

[Liz]

The drama w. The potential drama.

[Carly]

Please update story.

[Liz]

Okay, Carly, well, now it's time for our last and probably favorite segment. Well, second to last.

[Kelly]

Second to last.

[Liz]

And that's. Wait, what should.

[Kelly]

No, let's do industry news.

[Liz]

Yeah, let's do industry news. That's why people wait for the recipe. Industry news where I spill the hot tea going on the auto industry. And I think, like, the question on everyone's mind is, what heck car do you drive for? For kids?

[Carly]

Yeah. I drive a 2018 Honda Odyssey Touring.

[Liz]

I was going to get, to be fair, I was going to guess Odyssey.

[Carly]

Were you?

[Liz]

And even before I heard the Odyssey format story, I was going to guess that you love it.

[Carly]

Love it. It's my fourth minivan. I've had two Siennas and two Odysseys.

[Liz]

Do you think you'll be a minivan mom, like a long, long time, or do you think, like, when the kids are grown, you'll get something?

[Carly]

So, yeah, I have, I have three sons and two of them are projected to be like six, four plus or tall. Tall family.

[Liz]

Same.

[Carly]

So I, I would love. I love minivans. I won't get rid of it just because I don't want to drive it. I would, I would swap it out because of leg and space room if I need to. If they're. I mean, if they're like six, four in seventh grade, then, yeah, I'm gonna have to swap.

[Liz]

Interesting.

[Kelly]

What would you recommend?

[Liz]

Well, I think, I think, I don't. Truthfully, I don't think you're going to find that much better legroom in like an expedition even.

[Carly]

Okay.

[Liz]

I mean, they're just going to be uncomfortable and then they're going to start.

[Carly]

They're going to have their knees up and then you're going to get their own car.

[Liz]

Yeah. That's just kind of where you're going to have to be.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

I don't think the Odyssey is pretty good for your leg room.

[Carly]

Yeah. Yeah, it is.

[Liz]

We were all just. We were all. I'm very. Are you tall?

[Carly]

I'm tall. I'm 5 10.

[Liz]

Yeah, I'm 5 11. See, we currently, we're living parallel lives.

[Carly]

I'm telling you, I'm the oldest of five kids. That's the only. I'm the oldest of five kids.

[Liz]

I know. I literally just got.

[Kelly]

Wow.

[Carly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

When's your birthday.

[Carly]

July 14th.

[Liz]

Are you a Leo?

[Carly]

July 14th. So no, I don't.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Carly]

Yeah, I think I'm a cancer.

[Liz]

I think those are good too.

[Carly]

I think I'm a cancer.

[Kelly]

That's close though. You're August 16th. She's July 14th.

[Liz]

Yeah, I know. We like almost a month, I'm telling you. And she has her life together with four kids.

[Kelly]

So you're tracking to also have your life together. Together.

[Carly]

Yeah, yeah, we took a. You could. I know. You said. I listened to your podcast, that you can't even go to a three hour movie because of your babies. We took a 10 day Europe trip without kids this summer. So four years from now, you and Tyler. I'm so happy.

[Liz]

First of all, that's like. No, like that's really. And I follow Nap time kitchen. And she has four kids and her oldest is. Her youngest is three. And like you can see it. I can see it.

[Carly]

It comes, I promise.

[Liz]

And it just feels really good. Like this is my final. So I know that I'm never going to have to start over. No offense, Liz. Okay.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

I need to get to ditch the drive through. Or we give you an easy dinner recipe to mix it up to get you out of your dinner rut. Carly, what you like to cook? I like to cook.

[Carly]

Oh.

[Liz]

One of my favorite reels she ever made. I'm sorry, I'm all over the place. She goes putting a bay leaf in my soup for good luck. Because literally, what is a bay? What is a bay?

[Carly]

I don't know what else it does.

[Liz]

What is a bay leaf? Talk about a side hustle. The people who make bay leaves.

[Kelly]

Yeah, no joke.

[Liz]

Bay leaves don't do anything. No, but we all use them. All right, what's your dish at the drive thru?

[Carly]

Okay, so this is my one recipe that I claim as I made it up as my own, it doesn't actually require a recipe. So it is a Brussels sprout pasta and it is a half to one pound of pasta of any kind, depending on how many people you have. One pound of meat, protein, sausage, whatever you like. I usually use Italian sausage and then one pound of Brussels sprouts. So at the same time that you are boiling the pasta, you brown the meat and then you also roast the Brussels sprouts. So trim the end off and cut in half. Just do olive oil, salt and pepper at 400 degrees. So all three of those can happen at the same time. You're browning the meat, you're roasting the Brussels sprouts, and you're boiling the Pasta. When those three are done, put them all into a bowl together, and then add a giant handful of Parmesan and a giant squeeze of lemon juice. So it is. It happened by accident. I made pasta with sausage and Brussels sprouts on the side. I put it all together on my own plate, and I was like, it's almost good, but it's missing something. If people have not watched Salt Fat Acid Heat, which is a documentary on Netflix, it's phenomenal. It's about how those are the four elements of cooking, and as long as all four of them are present in your food, your food will taste good. Okay, So I ate it, and it was, like, good. It had. It was salty. It had fat from the sausage and the cheese, and it had heat because the brussel sprouts and the meat had browned. So you got the Maillard reaction. It was crispy, but it was missing something. And what it was missing was acid. So I tried squeezing lemon juice on top of it, and it was so good. No, it sounds so good.

[Kelly]

So lemon juice is very interesting.

[Liz]

The lemon juice is elevation station, because I also make.

[Kelly]

I make a pesto chicken pasta, and I also randomly put Brussels sprouts in it. It's just like. It's an extra vegetable, and it's just. I don't know. It's good with it also. And I top it with balsamic glaze.

[Carly]

So that's the same kind of thing. That's the acid there. That's easy.

[Kelly]

Acid, yeah. Because I agree it's like, it's almost good, but you really, really need, like, that extra thing to send it over the top.

[Carly]

And the thing I love about it is that you can serve it deconstructed for the kids. So, like, you always have. Like, I have one kid that doesn't like pasta, one kid that doesn't like Brussels sprouts. So you just serve it all separate on their plates and then mix it all together yourself.

[Kelly]

Love it.

[Liz]

And I like that it's. It can all be done at one time. So, I mean, it's a little dish heavy, but.

[Carly]

Yep, it's dish heavy, but it's done in, like, under 30 minutes.

[Liz]

It's done. Yeah. So you have time to wash the dishes.

[Kelly]

Love it.

[Liz]

Love.

[Kelly]

Okay, well, Carly, can you tell the people how to find you, where to find you? Can we just. Let's hear all of your presences on the socials.

[Carly]

So my. My main presence is Instagram, so it's debt free. My mom. And then my website is debt free. Mom co. And I also have a podcast. Debt Free mom podcast.

[Liz]

Yeah. And she just said, I haven't. I need to go listen to it. I apologize that I hadn't, but she just did a podcast. Genius. She's so smart, this one.

[Kelly]

I know.

[Liz]

And it was things to ask for in the kitchen to save you money. So it's like, what to ask for Christmas that will save you money in the kitchen?

[Kelly]

Like, what? What?

[Liz]

We have to listen to the podcast.

[Kelly]

Okay, yeah, I know, I know. I'm gonna go listen to it literally on my way home.

[Liz]

But that's like, if, you know, if you're. If you're on, like, your, like, debt free journey and your mom's like, what do you want for Christmas? Like, this is a list of things that you can get that will help you in the kitchen that will save you money. No, it's Elizabeth. It's Elizabeth. She. Her. It's amazing.

[Kelly]

I am obsessed with your brain. I could talk to you literally all day. So I'm so happy to go. So excited to go listen to your podcast. So I can.

[Carly]

There's nothing profound. It's just, like, making it take less time or like, if you love coffee out, how to make fancy coffee at home, fun things like that so that it, like, feels like a gift from someone, but then in 2025, you can spend less.

[Liz]

No, it's just.

[Carly]

It is profound.

[Liz]

It's like. She's like, it's not profound. It's just, like a totally original idea.

[Kelly]

It's just like a totally original idea that's going to, like, totally change the way that you look at life.

[Liz]

It's nothing, but it's just, you know, but that's what you get from the kind of person who doesn't look at the box of a puzzle that is for fun.

[Carly]

It's on. Totally on brand for fun.

[Liz]

All right, Carly, thank you so much for joining the Cargo podcast, and we will talk. Enjoy them.

[Kelly]

Bye, girl.

[Carly]

Thanks, guys. Thank you for listening to the carpool.

[Kelly]

Podcast with Kelly and Liz.

[Carly]

Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed riding with us.

[Kelly]

Tell everybody you know, there's room in.

[Carly]

The car for everyone.