Podcast Summary:

The Stacking Benjamins Show – How to Save Money Without Making Your Life Miserable (SB1770)
Date: December 5, 2025
Host: Joe Saul-Sehy
Guests: Paula Pant, Jesse Kramer, Andy Hill

Overview

This episode of The Stacking Benjamins Show explores how to practice frugality—saving money and spending with intention—without creating a miserable or deprived lifestyle. Drawing inspiration from a recent Wall Street Journal article touting the return of frugality, Joe Saul-Sehy and his roundtable (Paula Pant of Afford Anything, Jesse Kramer of Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors, and Andy Hill of Marriage, Kids & Money) dig into what frugality really means in 2025, which money-saving trends actually deliver, and share their own best (and worst) frugal hacks.

The tone is conversational, witty, and down-to-earth—true to the podcast's "fun and functional" style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is Frugality Trending (Again)?

Timestamp: 12:37–16:31

• The episode is sparked by a Wall Street Journal piece announcing "frugality is making a comeback."
• Paula Pant (12:56): Frugality comes in cycles, much like fashion. "...all the factors were there to make frugality awesome again."
• Jesse Kramer (13:41): It's not just a trend; higher prices and persistent inflation have made frugality a necessity, not a fad:
  “The 9 or 10% inflation from two years ago… that’s still baked into the prices. Prices haven’t gone down. It’s just that they're not going up as quickly as they were before.”

2. Should You Go Extreme Frugal?

Timestamp: 16:31–24:16

The roundtable critiques some popular "extreme" frugal tactics:

• Diluting Household Cleaners
  • Andy Hill (16:59): “The amount of time spent on something like that might be better used on maybe increasing income… Those things where you're spending ample amount of hours on ways to save a few bucks, feels like that if you just keep going in that direction, that could get to a hard grinding halt of sadness and depression.”
• Bulk Buying Meat (e.g., Half a Cow)
  • Paula Pant (18:30): “You need to have enough square footage to store it…so how much are you paying for the extra space?”
  • Doug (19:17): Notes the "hidden costs" of bulk buying—freezer price, space, and the risk of wasting food.
  • Jesse Kramer (22:29): Points out bulk-buying can lead to food waste; food is a depreciating asset, not always a frugal win.
• Gardening to Save
  • Andy Hill (25:05): “That's why they invented these things called grocery stores...”
  • Paula Pant (26:14, citing J.D. Roth): Growing your own veggies rarely saves money (“...they're like $9 tomatoes when you’re done”).

3. Real-Life Frugal Tips (That Work)

Timestamp: 28:44–32:40

• Andy Hill: Audit subscription and recurring expenses for waste. "If you spent one hour doing that, the return on your investment versus diluting your soap could be a lot higher." (28:44)
• Jesse Kramer: Batch-cook meals, freezing half for later, to save time and money.
• Joe Saul-Sehy: Use a fridge inventory app to avoid double-buying and food waste.
• Paula Pant: “Shop what you already have”—take a buy-nothing week or month to use up leftovers and forgotten pantry or closet items.

4. Strategic Approach to Frugality

Timestamp: 44:04–49:27

• Should you start with reducing expenses or boosting income?
• Andy Hill: Tackle big expenses first: housing, transportation, food. "Those can be the biggest changes when it comes to growing the gap."
• Paula Pant: Prioritize “growing the gap” (difference between income and expenses), then work both sides of that equation.
• Jesse Kramer: Start by trimming expenses ("low-hanging fruit"), then focus on income (“...after that, if you want to continue growing the gap… you have to focus on the income side and there's no easy thing to do on the income side for most of us…”).

5. “Frugal Sprints” vs. Long-term Lifestyle

Timestamp: 54:20–58:18

• Frugal sprints such as “freezer challenges” or “no spend weeks” are a way to reset and use resources without feeling perpetually deprived.
• Andy Hill: "If we look inside our house for the thing we're about to buy… what can I borrow... what can I buy used... then new?"
• Jesse Kramer (57:24): Notes the emotional (moral) element: “...that feeling of being wasteful… there is that, you know, I can’t waste it, so Jesse’s going to eat it.”

6. Involving the Family in Frugality

Timestamp: 58:20–59:28

• Andy Hill: Kids have clothing allowances and jobs and are taught to use their funds for spending, saving, investing, and giving. “If you start those conversations early, they can really be helpful.”

Notable Quotes

• Joe Saul-Sehy: “Is true frugality maybe thinking like a just-in-time inventory company?” (20:38)
• Paula Pant: “Shop what you already have: your fridge, your closets… so much of the time we forget about those things because we keep replenishing.” (31:11)
• Doug: “Sometimes the cost savings have a lot of hidden costs that you don't think about.” (19:17)
• Andy Hill: "The best place to earn money...is the place you're already making money." (45:57)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------|----------------| | Panel Introductions & Setting the Stage | 02:37–09:43 | | Frugality as a Trend & Inflation’s Impact | 12:37–16:31 | | Critiquing Extreme Frugal Tactics | 16:31–27:04 | | Genuine Frugal Tips That Actually Work | 28:44–32:40 | | Frugality Trivia Segment | 32:58–42:14 | | Expense vs. Income: The Strategic Frugal Approach | 44:04–49:27 | | Big Ticket Decisions: Housing & Transportation | 50:34–53:23 | | Frugal Sprints vs. Lifestyle | 54:20–58:18 | | Teaching Kids About Frugality | 58:20–59:28 | | Wrap-Up, Podcast Plugs, Final Thoughts | 60:03–64:49 |

Memorable & Funny Moments

• The group jokingly wonders whether someone's hair growth supplements could be rebranded as “frugality pills” to instantly stop spending.
  • Joe Saul-Sehy (04:57): “Do you, Jesse, have some frugality pills? Because we are talking frugality today. Like, imagine if we could just take a pill and all of a sudden we’re like, no, I’m not going to buy that now.”
• Trivia: Question about the size of the U.S. cattle herd; leads to friendly ribbing and “staking Benjamins” puns (41:11).
• Joe Saul-Sehy: “I love how this Wall Street Journal piece, you know, we took their suggestions and went, yeah, no, thank you. And I think we supersized them.”

In Summary

• Frugality is less about extreme sacrifice, more about aligning spending with what matters, and not wasting time on penny-pinching that doesn't actually move the financial needle.
• Start by auditing for easy wins—recurring expenses, subscriptions, and food waste.
• Be skeptical of bulk-buying as universal advice; the math—and space—may not add up.
• Focus on big expenses (housing, transportation, food) for highest impact.
• Use short “frugality sprints” or challenges to reset consumption and rediscover what you have.
• Balancing reduction in expenses with ways to increase income is the most effective approach.
• Teach these habits to kids—intentionality and awareness matter early on.

For More

• Andy Hill’s Book: Own Your Time (pre-order, out January 21, 2026)
• Afford Anything Podcast: Monthly macroeconomic updates
• Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors Podcast: Ask Me Anything episodes and deep dives on topics like mortgages, HSAs, and more.

For anyone looking to make their money go further without living like a monk, this episode is a practical—and surprisingly fun—guide to frugality, 2025 style.