Speaker 1: Episode four thirty six, under Consumption Core. One oh one.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to
Speaker 2: save money, embrace simplicity, and live a life here your
Speaker 2: hosts Jen and Jill.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen,
Speaker 1: my name is Jill. And today we are doing something
Speaker 1: we don't do very often, but we are talking about
Speaker 1: a trending topic that we want to keep trending or
Speaker 1: by the time this episode comes out, it may not
Speaker 1: be trending anymore. It's under Consumption Core, and today we're
Speaker 1: going to talk about what it is, why it's gaining popularity,
Speaker 1: why you should care about it if you are already
Speaker 1: practicing it, what you can do to spread this message.
Speaker 3: To be fair, I don't really care whether or not
Speaker 3: people keep talking about it on social media. I'm more
Speaker 3: so care about out whether or not we're incorporating practices
Speaker 3: into our lives that are going to benefit us, benefit
Speaker 3: our communities. It's cool when something like this becomes highlighted
Speaker 3: and featured and in some ways applauded. I know that
Speaker 3: there's holes to poke in it, but I think that
Speaker 3: a lot of what we've talked about on this podcast.
Speaker 3: A lot of what you listeners have really held up
Speaker 3: as far as frugality goes, is highly connected to under
Speaker 3: consumption course, so I feel like a lot of us
Speaker 3: can just feel like validated in it. But I think, yeah,
Speaker 3: there's a lot we want to say on it, and
Speaker 3: we'll get there. We'll poke the wholes, will elevate what
Speaker 3: needs to be elevated.
Speaker 1: This is a one oh one and a two zero
Speaker 1: one because we recognize that as a Frugal Friends listener
Speaker 1: you are already doing most of this, and so here's
Speaker 1: what you can do next if you want a next
Speaker 1: step too.
Speaker 3: But first, this episode is brought to you by none
Speaker 3: other and deinfluencers themselves, the people who don't care if
Speaker 3: you follow them because they're just out here living their lives,
Speaker 3: not aesthetically drinking from whatever cups they can find, using
Speaker 3: mismatched towels, wearing shoes they bought three years ago, and
Speaker 3: encouraging you that your enough is enough. They're pushing against
Speaker 3: over consumption and showing us how. And if you need
Speaker 3: to be influenced by some de influencers, you should probably
Speaker 3: attend the Virtual Get Organized Summit that's running the week
Speaker 3: of September ninth. They've got over one hundred speakers including
Speaker 3: Ears Truly, Joen and I are on this virtual summit
Speaker 3: with over one hundred speakers talking about home spaces, well being,
Speaker 3: managing day to day tasks. It's all the de influencing
Speaker 3: and contentment creating inspiration that we need to reduce our consumption,
Speaker 3: maybe even our spending. So if you want to attend
Speaker 3: this virtual conference for free, go to Frugal Friends podcast
Speaker 3: dot com, slash go hq. You'll get to see our
Speaker 3: smiling faces and so many other smiling faces. This will
Speaker 3: be like the right next step to this podcast.
Speaker 1: That's absolutely yes, Frugal friendspodcast dot com, slash g o hq,
Speaker 1: and it's free to attend all week, all one hundred sessions.
Speaker 1: So if you are interested in under consumption Core, then
Speaker 1: here are a few other episodes from us that would
Speaker 1: be very good to check out. We've got Deinfluencing Yourself
Speaker 1: from social media with Paige Pritchard. She's overcoming overspending on
Speaker 1: TikTok and Instagram. That's episode three sixty eight. And then
Speaker 1: our Minimalist Skincare Routine was our probably our most recent
Speaker 1: minimalism episode. That we did, but this is it ties
Speaker 1: very closely into this TikTok trend. So that's episode four eighteen.
Speaker 1: But let's get into our headline today, and it is
Speaker 1: from L Magazine, and it's is under Consumption Core really
Speaker 1: as virtuous as it claims? A spicy title, but the
Speaker 1: subtitle is is it really under Consumption Core or are
Speaker 1: we just dot dot dot normal?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I didn't. I when I first read the title
Speaker 3: of this, I'm like, Oh, there's holes to poke in
Speaker 3: under Consumption and like under Consumption Core, which it was
Speaker 3: interesting to kind of hear both sides and how people
Speaker 3: are receiving this, which will definitely go through. But I
Speaker 3: think with anything, as you and I were talking before
Speaker 3: we hit record, there can be this righteous self righteousness
Speaker 3: that comes with probably any trending thing or anything that
Speaker 3: kind of can come across as virtuous, including frugality. We
Speaker 3: can put ourselves on a pedestal thinking, look at us,
Speaker 3: we're doing it all right, whatever it is that we're doing,
Speaker 3: we think we've got it right. I think that that's
Speaker 3: primarily the hole that they're kind of poking in this,
Speaker 3: But we still believe that there's so many amazing things
Speaker 3: about under consumption beyond just elevating ourselves personally, but like
Speaker 3: what it does to our lifestyles and our community and
Speaker 3: all of that. But it's worth going through.
Speaker 1: It, Yeah, definitely. So first up, what is under consumption core? So,
Speaker 1: in short, under consumption core refers to only buying what
Speaker 1: you strictly need and then using it up or wearing
Speaker 1: it and re wearing it until it needs to be
Speaker 1: mended or replaced. And so obviously it makes me think
Speaker 1: of this the saying use it up, wear it out,
Speaker 1: make it do, or do without, which I think comes
Speaker 1: with a negative connotation sometimes or a self righteous connotation
Speaker 1: like you were saying, Jill's. It was used by our
Speaker 1: elders to say like you don't need that. You know,
Speaker 1: anytime you want something, you don't need it, Use it up,
Speaker 1: where it out, make it, do do without. But I
Speaker 1: think it's important to note and what I love about
Speaker 1: this article's specifically is do without is the last. Do
Speaker 1: without is the last of that we use it up
Speaker 1: is first we use We look at what we have.
Speaker 1: And this was created in the during the Great Depression,
Speaker 1: the saying so obviously they didn't have a lot, so
Speaker 1: they were doing without a lot and that's why this
Speaker 1: phrase has so much connotation with deprivation. But the first
Speaker 1: part is to use it up, wear it out, and
Speaker 1: those are those are repurposing things. Those are really positive.
Speaker 1: You know, we're looking at the wealth around us and
Speaker 1: we're getting creative with how we use it. We're wearing
Speaker 1: it out. We're using products up in their fullest capacities.
Speaker 1: And this is something you see a lot in this
Speaker 1: TikTok trend is people opening makeup containers that are no
Speaker 1: longer like pumping out any and when they open them up,
Speaker 1: there is still a week's left of product in there.
Speaker 1: I know, you know, for most of us, when we're
Speaker 1: at the end of our soap, we're putting a little
Speaker 1: water in it. And yeah yeah, so like so these
Speaker 1: are really good things. And the make it do or
Speaker 1: do without those those are last case scenarios. And that's
Speaker 1: a lot of like what we're talking about within and
Speaker 1: buy what you love without going broke. The reason we
Speaker 1: say it's a values based sending, spending includes sacrifice, but
Speaker 1: not deprivation. It's because sometimes in our you know, in
Speaker 1: our hearts, we want to go out and buy the
Speaker 1: new thing, Like that's what we would rather do, but
Speaker 1: we sacrifice that motivation, that desire to use up and
Speaker 1: wear out, and it's not being deprived. We can still
Speaker 1: go out and buy it once we use up and
Speaker 1: wear out. We don't have to immediately immediately jump to
Speaker 1: make do or do without.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I like the order of that. I have been
Speaker 3: finding myself mostly in a joking manner, but I have
Speaker 3: been using the phrase waste not, want not like a
Speaker 3: ton lately with eric with friends. I'll just say it again,
Speaker 3: usually to be funny, but maybe it's connected to this
Speaker 3: trend that's happening. And I think with all things, there's
Speaker 3: a way to do it sustainably and well for ourselves,
Speaker 3: and there's a way to do it super extreme that's
Speaker 3: not necessarily going to lead to well being. And I
Speaker 3: even think with this under consumption trend, you still have
Speaker 3: higher levels of consumption because to get into that bottle
Speaker 3: and get the rest of the product out, they're selling
Speaker 3: more products to scrape out the rest. Like I think
Speaker 3: I've seen, you know, a special type of tool that
Speaker 3: they're selling now to scrape out the rest of the
Speaker 3: foundation or the cream or whatever it is. Like there's
Speaker 3: also a way to end up doing this where you're
Speaker 3: still mindlessly spending and consuming products that maybe something else
Speaker 3: that you had in your home could have been useful.
Speaker 3: But at its core, I think it is this low waste,
Speaker 3: somewhat minimal, simplified, frugal stewarding all resources well kind of approach.
Speaker 3: But of course there's always all sorts of ways that
Speaker 3: we can approach this. A way to do it that's
Speaker 3: going to be have some longevity to it in a
Speaker 3: way in which it does because it's not trendy anymore.
Speaker 1: There's a quote in this article that I really loved.
Speaker 1: Under consumption core doesn't necessarily equate to foregoing luxuries or
Speaker 1: even being all that thrifty. It simply means using the
Speaker 1: things you've bought until they're finished. Yeah, and I thought
Speaker 1: that was like great, because frugality is not being cheap, right,
Speaker 1: it's simply using what we have, being good stewards of
Speaker 1: our money and our physical resources, our physical products.
Speaker 3: Yeah. The trend itself seems to have somewhat originated on TikTok,
Speaker 3: although this is not a new idea, but as far
Speaker 3: as the term under consumption core as a trend did
Speaker 3: originate with TikTok, mostly with people again using up products,
Speaker 3: re wearing things, making it okay to wear clothing again,
Speaker 3: wear it till it's absolutely worn out. These types of things.
Speaker 3: People showing kind of their non esthetic houses. I'm sure
Speaker 3: we've seen everywhere, So this is where that has kind
Speaker 3: of been happening and trending. But again it's not none
Speaker 3: of it's new.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think this highlights just another It's another round
Speaker 1: in the cycle of people being interest in consuming less
Speaker 1: because for so long the narrative has been earn more
Speaker 1: so that you can consume more. Don't focus on controlling
Speaker 1: your consumption, focus on controlling your income so that it
Speaker 1: supports your consumption. And I think there's there's part of
Speaker 1: it is a fight like push back against hustle culture.
Speaker 1: That that's that mentality promotes hustle culture. And part of
Speaker 1: it is against inflation. I think a lot of the
Speaker 1: news outlets are saying this is a response to inflation,
Speaker 1: which yes, I do think that ties into it, but
Speaker 1: I think inflation has been more of like an eye
Speaker 1: opener to to just how unsustainable these fast fashion hauls
Speaker 1: and these grocery store halls and these nice car tours
Speaker 1: and nice aesthetic house tours are for people that are
Speaker 1: not in the business of social media. So this is
Speaker 1: fine for people who are literally showing off their house, cars,
Speaker 1: groceries for a living. These are almost tax write offs
Speaker 1: for their business right, But for the rest of us,
Speaker 1: it's not sustainable. And so I think this is just
Speaker 1: you know, we had loud budgeting earlier this year, we
Speaker 1: had d influencers. Now we're going with under consumption core
Speaker 1: and there will just be cycle after cycle of this
Speaker 1: because people are fed up with the overconsumption that the
Speaker 1: traditional narrative has been touting.
Speaker 3: Which is what makes me so excited for the timing
Speaker 3: of our book by What You Love Without Going Broke,
Speaker 3: because I think all of this ends up leading to okay,
Speaker 3: but how exactly because just using up the last of
Speaker 3: my moisturized or what is that really doing? But I
Speaker 3: think there's a deeper message here that I don't think
Speaker 3: social media has truly tapped into yet that our book
Speaker 3: does address, and that is getting to the core of
Speaker 3: why we would do these things and creating that pause
Speaker 3: of do I really need these things? What is meeting
Speaker 3: the core of my needs and my values? They asked
Speaker 3: that question in this article, Do I really need four concealers,
Speaker 3: a cream and a powder blush, three pairs of sneakers,
Speaker 3: two coats, ten handbags, Like do I really need the
Speaker 3: amount of things that I have been impulse purchasing that
Speaker 3: has been sold to me as what will help me
Speaker 3: to belong, make me feel good about myself, make me
Speaker 3: feel like I'm fitting in, or can I choose a
Speaker 3: different path? And is there potentially greater levels of contentment
Speaker 3: on the other side of that? And we would say yes,
Speaker 3: if pursued rightly pursued in this sense of figuring out
Speaker 3: who you are, what matters to you, doing some of
Speaker 3: that foundational work, and then allowing your actions and you're
Speaker 3: purchasing to inform that. Absolutely, I think there's greater levels
Speaker 3: of contentment less stress on the other side. But I
Speaker 3: think right now the trend is just focusing on the
Speaker 3: actions and not entirely the reasoning behind it, and for
Speaker 3: it to last, we need to make that connection. But
Speaker 3: it's a great start and it does open up that
Speaker 3: conversation for how do we make that connection between me
Speaker 3: choosing to consume last and it not just being because
Speaker 3: high inflation, but because I actually see benefit in my life.
Speaker 3: I see long term implications. I see that I'd be
Speaker 3: able to reach other financial goals sooner. I see that
Speaker 3: I have a greater understanding of who I am, and
Speaker 3: I'm able to live into those things, and I'm able
Speaker 3: to respond to my needs better because I'm not clouded
Speaker 3: by all of this other information.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there has been some push back on under Consumption Core,
Speaker 1: saying that some of it is just normal living, and
Speaker 1: that people who are saying that this type of living
Speaker 1: is core, like under Consumption Core, are kind of in privilege. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so I think there's definitely both sides to it, right.
Speaker 1: You know, You've got the Olsen twins carrying around They're
Speaker 1: famous for carrying around these high end bags that they've
Speaker 1: been carrying for you know, over a decade that are
Speaker 1: kind of they get dirty and you can tell they
Speaker 1: get them clean because of the paparazzi photos, Like this
Speaker 1: is the same bag, just over and over for ten
Speaker 1: plus years, but sometimes it's not cleaned and it's seen
Speaker 1: as like this. Jill, you wrote this on the outline
Speaker 1: the cause play of poverty.
Speaker 3: Well that's what the lsin I know this article highlights,
Speaker 3: you know, just like the Olsen Twins who wore out
Speaker 3: their luxury handbags, but that was previously pushed against because
Speaker 3: there has also been this trend amongst uber wealthy celebrities
Speaker 3: of coseplay poverty and the like high peasant look, where
Speaker 3: these very wealthy people, in an effort to try to
Speaker 3: connect with their followers and other consumers, are looking as
Speaker 3: if they don't have a lot of money, like giving
Speaker 3: the impression and idea that they can't afford a certain lifestyle,
Speaker 3: trying to, I guess, make themselves seem a little bit
Speaker 3: more relatable even though they're not. Like it's this. There's
Speaker 3: been this pushback on that tension, so I think that
Speaker 3: this can highlight that, but I don't think that that's
Speaker 3: what true under consumption is. Is like a putting on
Speaker 3: of something, and I think the pushback of isn't that
Speaker 3: just normal living? But at least we've got people who
Speaker 3: are showing that as a regular lifestyle rather than the
Speaker 3: alternative of the fancy cars, the ten step skincare regimen,
Speaker 3: the super beautiful on trend clothing, the home that is
Speaker 3: always updated with like crazy light fixtures, and this is
Speaker 3: what If that's all that we're seeing, then that is
Speaker 3: what can become normal. I think this under Consumption Core
Speaker 3: is helping to tether it and bring it back to
Speaker 3: that's actually not normal, and you don't have to aspire
Speaker 3: to that, especially if it's not what you want. There
Speaker 3: can be another way of living that is just normal,
Speaker 3: and that's fine.
Speaker 1: And I think I don't think calling it a normal
Speaker 1: way of living is really a like condemning of it
Speaker 1: or a criticism, like we want more authenticity on social media.
Speaker 1: That should be praise, that shouldn't be critical size. So
Speaker 1: when you see this, also know you're seeing it from
Speaker 1: a lot of very young people who may not have
Speaker 1: the bills that a mom with two kids has, right,
Speaker 1: So you need to also understand when you're seeing these
Speaker 1: things that a lot of the people, not all, but
Speaker 1: a lot of the people creating this content are in
Speaker 1: a different life stage too. All they're seeing are these
Speaker 1: fast fashion halls and the like, and they're pushing back
Speaker 1: and that's awesome, and let's encourage that. Let's not criticize it,
Speaker 1: and let's just do more to normalize authenticity and not
Speaker 1: being the esthetic perfection that social media so often demands.
Speaker 1: So let's talk about some tips and ideas on how
Speaker 1: to practice under Consumption core and then also for my
Speaker 1: two OHO one girlies who are like, I'm already doing
Speaker 1: like ten out of ten, let's talk about what we
Speaker 1: can do to benefit to capitalize on this outside of ourselves.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I love the intersection here with minimalism, sustainable living,
Speaker 3: low waste, frugality, and so none of this will be
Speaker 3: entirely new, but it is a way to participate and
Speaker 3: lean into this further, like doing a minimalist wardrobe challenge.
Speaker 3: There's so many out there. Google it. One of our
Speaker 3: favorites is Courtney.
Speaker 1: Carver's the three three three mm hm.
Speaker 3: So it's well, the three three three three three of everything, right,
Speaker 3: it is.
Speaker 1: Three thirty three it's like thirty three items every three months.
Speaker 3: That's yeah, I thought it was thirty three items. So
Speaker 3: that includes I think even accessories. You can come up
Speaker 3: with your own whether however many items you want to
Speaker 3: identify that you want to be wearing, and it's a
Speaker 3: practice of really being creative with what you have in
Speaker 3: your closet, but also being okay with wearing the same
Speaker 3: thing multiple times, people seeing you in the same clothing
Speaker 3: and kind of building up that confidence that this is okay.
Speaker 3: I don't have to have new clothing constantly. I don't
Speaker 3: have to be contributing to the fast fashion world and
Speaker 3: just the high turnover of yeah, clothing and textiles. So
Speaker 3: that challenge and can help us really identify what do
Speaker 3: I really love wearing, what do I feel best in?
Speaker 3: So we love a good minimalist wardrobe challenge.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And one of the things that some of these
Speaker 1: girls are doing is are showing pictures of the same
Speaker 1: outfit styled in different ways. So this is something you
Speaker 1: don't even have to do on social media. You can
Speaker 1: do just on your phone. And it's actually a very
Speaker 1: good idea to do on your phone is to take
Speaker 1: pictures of all of your outfits, all the ways that
Speaker 1: you can wear one piece of clothing, different ways you
Speaker 1: can style the same outfit so they look different. That way,
Speaker 1: when you walk into your closet and you're like, I
Speaker 1: don't know what to wear, you can go back into
Speaker 1: that folder on your phone and you can just look
Speaker 1: through and get ideas and see what have I not
Speaker 1: worn or styled in a while. And so that's a
Speaker 1: really great way to make to keep cycling through all
Speaker 1: the options in your closet. And we also love, you know,
Speaker 1: getting your colors done. If you're not a black and
Speaker 1: white girly, you don't only want to wear black, white, gray,
Speaker 1: and beige. To have your colors done online or in
Speaker 1: person and see what colors look best on you. If
Speaker 1: you want to wear yellow, but some yellows look bad
Speaker 1: on you and some yellows look good, then you probably
Speaker 1: just need to get your colors done to identify what
Speaker 1: shade of each color is best for you so you
Speaker 1: feel the best and that can help you create this
Speaker 1: minimal wardrobe that you feel good wearing one hundred percent of,
Speaker 1: not just twenty percent of. So next, I mean they're
Speaker 1: also doing diy upcycling projects. So this is really great.
Speaker 1: When you get tired of something, instead of sending it
Speaker 1: straight to the thrift store, think about how you can
Speaker 1: upcycle it. So one of the girls used avocado skins
Speaker 1: to dye a shirt, a white shirt and it turned
Speaker 1: out pink and yeah, so she was just boiling a
Speaker 1: bunch of avocado skins on the stove with this shirt,
Speaker 1: which I assume would be one hundred percent cotton, because
Speaker 1: you have to get a synthetic dye for polyester, so
Speaker 1: just know you need different dies for different fabric types.
Speaker 1: But she was just doing it on the stove and
Speaker 1: the shirt came out pink somehow. Right. So, if you're
Speaker 1: tired of something before you put it in the thrift store,
Speaker 1: which is, you know, kind of like one step above
Speaker 1: the landfill. Sometimes you send it to the thrift store
Speaker 1: and they put it in the landfill for you, and
Speaker 1: it's just this delayed throwing away. Sorry to break it
Speaker 1: to you, but think about can I upcycle this or
Speaker 1: repurpose this in a way that I can save it
Speaker 1: from the landfill for a little longer. But it still
Speaker 1: feels new to me. I don't feel like I'm making
Speaker 1: do because that's one of that we don't want to
Speaker 1: just make do and do without. We want to really reuse.
Speaker 1: I love, Jill your reuse of your your lamp, your
Speaker 1: your light fixture, light fixture.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Recently so I had gotten this free pendant like
Speaker 3: hanging l It's very large from a previous work and
Speaker 3: we've held onto it for forever and wanted to use
Speaker 3: it in our living room, but it didn't quite match
Speaker 3: the rest of it. It was silver and the rest
Speaker 3: of our stuff is more like gold and black, and
Speaker 3: the wood tone wasn't quite right. But we also couldn't
Speaker 3: find another lamp that we liked for a reasonable price,
Speaker 3: or like a pendant that we liked for the living room.
Speaker 3: So we ended up just spray painting the metal black
Speaker 3: and got wall not veneer to wrap around the previous
Speaker 3: wood and just pollyed it and hung it up. And
Speaker 3: how it happened matches so good everything. Yeah, and that
Speaker 3: cost us like ten dollars. So sometimes upcycling might cost money.
Speaker 3: But then we didn't get rid of a perfectly usable,
Speaker 3: actually great size, like as far as its form goes.
Speaker 1: And you would never have gotten something like that for
Speaker 1: ten dollars, even on Facebook marketplace.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you wouldn't have.
Speaker 1: And you still you bought something new to repurpose it.
Speaker 1: So this isn't always this doesn't involve one hundred percent thrifting.
Speaker 3: Yeah right. My old coffee table became the backdrop for
Speaker 3: the Frugal Friends studio. If you watch us on YouTube,
Speaker 3: you can see I think, well, no, would we have
Speaker 3: this on YouTube? Maybe not on Instagram, you'd.
Speaker 1: Probably see it sometime.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm a big fan of upcycling. I'm also a
Speaker 3: big fan of the thrift store. So if you are
Speaker 3: a person who you really do enjoy shopping occasionally, or
Speaker 3: you actually do need a wardrobe refresh, do a thrift store.
Speaker 1: Hall first day.
Speaker 3: Yeah, go and see whether it's a consignment store or
Speaker 3: a thrift store, anything second hand. You can find some
Speaker 3: really great stuff. And I will say, because this is
Speaker 3: becoming more and more popular, it's it's not as often
Speaker 3: you can find store. So I know, Jen, you're not
Speaker 3: a huge thrifter. You don't like digging.
Speaker 1: However, I love shopping secondhandle, right.
Speaker 3: But there are becoming more and more stores that are
Speaker 3: a little bit more boutique style with their second hand
Speaker 3: offerings that feel closer to a typical store. Okay, it's
Speaker 3: not crazy.
Speaker 1: That I'm wearing right now. I went to was it
Speaker 1: label swap over in Tampa. Yeah, and that's where these
Speaker 1: are from.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yep, so yert is thrifted that I'm wearing right now.
Speaker 3: We love a good thrift.
Speaker 1: Store, and at this point Goodwill is selling at the
Speaker 1: same prices as these boutique consignments, so that you're better
Speaker 1: off just going to these individually owned, locally owned consignment store.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, it is true. I've been so pleased
Speaker 3: with some of even the boutique ones because they'll still
Speaker 3: do their stickers with their twenty five fifty seventy five
Speaker 3: percent off, they still have to move stuff through their store.
Speaker 3: So yeah, don't not get to tell you try it.
Speaker 1: It's great. Yeah, try it, don't you know? Skip the
Speaker 1: spot day. Try a thrift day where you're just going
Speaker 1: all these thrifts and you're like balling on a budget
Speaker 1: shopping spree.
Speaker 3: Still pretty woman, they actually need. I would say, make
Speaker 3: your list ahead of time and figure out what your
Speaker 3: wardrobe is lacking, especially if you have your colors done.
Speaker 3: Know what's going to look good on you. You know,
Speaker 3: even though you're getting it less expensive doesn't mean we
Speaker 3: need more of it. We still want quality over quantity.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I have to remember when I say like pretty
Speaker 1: pretty woman in it, Like my idea of a shopping
Speaker 1: spree is buying like four things in one day. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if you're different from me, maybe don't pretty woman it.
Speaker 3: When you use the word hall, it does give the
Speaker 3: idea that it's more than just like what you can
Speaker 3: hold with your I.
Speaker 1: Once tried to do a hall video. I went out
Speaker 1: specifically to do a thrift hall video, and I honestly
Speaker 1: came back with four items from the day going to
Speaker 1: different thrift stores and again, like I'm not a you know,
Speaker 1: a hunter, So that's why it was a little hard
Speaker 1: for me. But I was like, I can't do hall videos.
Speaker 3: That should be my job. I totally could do a
Speaker 3: whole video because I do keep a list of things
Speaker 3: and then if I give myself a day to go
Speaker 3: to a bunch of different places, I can usually really
Speaker 3: check off everything that's been on that list that's been
Speaker 3: building for like the last three to six months.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so yeah, try try yourself one of those. So
Speaker 1: I love like repurposing, so using like old towels, cutting
Speaker 1: them into cleaning rags. This is probably my favorite thing
Speaker 1: to do. We're using like old jars, glass jars as
Speaker 1: drinking cups. I know people love to do that. And
Speaker 1: using makeup until it's completely out. So one a big
Speaker 1: thing on TikTok is there's a way that you can,
Speaker 1: like I don't know, add water or do something to
Speaker 1: get makeup out and then kind of pack it in
Speaker 1: like scraps of different blushes and then just combine them
Speaker 1: into one thing. I don't know how to do it,
Speaker 1: but it is a thing that I've seen people do
Speaker 1: so that they can use the little bits of everything
Speaker 1: in their makeup and then like, yeah, do carry use
Speaker 1: things that are not esthetically pleasing according to social media,
Speaker 1: dented water bottles, bags that maybe are a little frayed
Speaker 1: or stained. You know, you don't have to get like
Speaker 1: your clothes don't have to have huge stains on them.
Speaker 1: In that case, you can repurpose with some die you know.
Speaker 1: So just think about what can I do to you know, youve.
Speaker 3: Been doing mending too, Like I'll have a pile of mending.
Speaker 3: I have one right now, and once I get like
Speaker 3: three or four items that need to be mended, then
Speaker 3: that'll be like while I sit and watch TV.
Speaker 1: That's actually one of our lives. The pre order incentives
Speaker 1: for the book that we are giving to any everybody
Speaker 1: who pre orders the.
Speaker 3: Book buy what you Love book dot com.
Speaker 1: Yeah, one of the things is on September twenty second,
Speaker 1: make your Clothing Last. This is a free class we're
Speaker 1: doing for everybody who pre orders the book. We're going
Speaker 1: to be talking about mending high qu quality fabrics, you know,
Speaker 1: tips for dying, you know the difference between like synthetic cotton,
Speaker 1: how to get the best. Maybe we'll even eat some
Speaker 1: avocados and try that avocado and be fun.
Speaker 3: Should I save my mending for the group? Yeah, because
Speaker 3: we're gonna.
Speaker 1: Do how to We're not just going to be talking
Speaker 1: about this. This is going to be like a visual thing.
Speaker 1: And I think, does this episode maybe come out? When
Speaker 1: does this episode come out?
Speaker 3: We should go twenty seventh.
Speaker 1: Oh so if you pre order this morning, you can
Speaker 1: catch our meal prep class, which is nice. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: so you might miss that one, but the next one
Speaker 1: is the close class.
Speaker 3: Cool, and we did want to make one final note.
Speaker 3: If you're like, I'm already doing all of these things,
Speaker 3: this is me, then I think the next step here
Speaker 3: is per ongoing permission giving to yourself and to others.
Speaker 3: Maybe don't be so shy about what you're doing, how
Speaker 3: it's benefiting you. Continue to normalize these things. If that
Speaker 3: means that you choose to share some of this on
Speaker 3: social media, so be it. If it means that you're
Speaker 3: talking with friends about it and sharing the benefits. Again,
Speaker 3: not from a I'm better because I do these things,
Speaker 3: and I don't think that our listeners are that way,
Speaker 3: but from this vantage point of here's what has actually
Speaker 3: really helped me in ways that I've decreased stress, and
Speaker 3: the ways that I have really identify what truly matters
Speaker 3: to me, the skill sets that I've built as a
Speaker 3: result of this, These are the types of things that
Speaker 3: I think community is made for, where we can exchange
Speaker 3: skill sets and ideas and encourage one another and just
Speaker 3: achieve things and go further than if we would have
Speaker 3: been doing this on our own. Like, we're not going
Speaker 3: to discover what we don't know without engaging with other
Speaker 3: people and learning from others about that. I mean, it's
Speaker 3: why Jen, you and I did this podcast. We enjoyed
Speaker 3: so much about the conversations we were having, the permission
Speaker 3: we were finding and talking about a traditionally taboo topic,
Speaker 3: and then Okay, how do we open this up for
Speaker 3: more people? It's like that, find people that you can
Speaker 3: talk about this with and exchange ideas on how can
Speaker 3: we make things last longer? How can I under consume
Speaker 3: without feeling deprived? How might even under consumption get me
Speaker 3: closer to understanding myself better?
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think part of this journey might be
Speaker 1: chronicling it on your social media page. Instead of posting
Speaker 1: the perfect picture from brunch, you're posting a picture of
Speaker 1: your upcycled DIY project or a way you got creative
Speaker 1: in upcycling something or using something out. I just want
Speaker 1: to read two quotes from another article that I read
Speaker 1: in prep for this episode. Firstus, by embracing this movie,
Speaker 1: we're not only promoting a sustainable lifestyle, but also building
Speaker 1: a community that values authenticity and creativity over constant spending.
Speaker 1: And that's what that's the mindset we want to cultivate
Speaker 1: in our communities. And by doing it ourselves, we give
Speaker 1: this unspoken permission for others to do it for themselves.
Speaker 1: And then the other quote is under consumption core invites
Speaker 1: us to reclaim our power as consumers, and by embracing
Speaker 1: under consumption, we can contribute to a culture that values
Speaker 1: quality over quantity and mindfulness over impulse. What a good summary,
Speaker 1: And I think that is the core. That's the core
Speaker 1: that we're trying to get across in this episode is
Speaker 1: that we know a lot of y'all are already doing
Speaker 1: this stuff. So how can we be the voice and
Speaker 1: the light in our communities to keep this trend not
Speaker 1: just viral but like sustainable. How can we encourage others
Speaker 1: to use up and wear out? How can we encourage
Speaker 1: people to view frugality as creativity and quality over the
Speaker 1: traditional you know, make do or do without.
Speaker 3: There's another core to this podcast that we are super hardcore.
Speaker 1: About and that we want all communities to be core about.
Speaker 3: The Bill of the week.
Speaker 4: That's right, it's time for the best minute of your
Speaker 4: entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name
Speaker 4: is Williams. Maybe you've paid off your mortgage, Maybe your
Speaker 4: car died and you're happy to not have to pay
Speaker 4: that bill anymore. Dust bills, Buffalo bills, Bill Clinton.
Speaker 2: This is the bill of the week.
Speaker 5: Hi, Jen and Jill. My name is Kelly. I live
Speaker 5: in Seattle. I've been here about a year and I
Speaker 5: moved from the Midwest, and my bill of the week
Speaker 5: is that for the first year living here in one
Speaker 5: of the most expensive cities in the US, I could
Speaker 5: only find part time work twenty hours a week as
Speaker 5: a contract gig. So I was paying for my own
Speaker 5: health insurance, not investing in retirement for an entire year,
Speaker 5: and just making substantially less than I've ever made. And
Speaker 5: the job market right now, let me tell you, is tight.
Speaker 5: But thankfully, after like twelve months of trying, I finally
Speaker 5: got a full time offer somewhere and the pay is
Speaker 5: I mean, in my opinion, amazing. It's not like tech money,
Speaker 5: but it is really really stable. I'll have health insurance,
Speaker 5: I'll have benefits, and I'm just so excited to be
Speaker 5: able to feel secure again after a whole year of
Speaker 5: feeling really really shitty. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Wow, Kelly, It's it's so real. And when we talk
Speaker 1: about authenticity, this is it. Like in personal finance content,
Speaker 1: this is this is not what they're talking about. They're
Speaker 1: talking about job hopping, they're talking about hustling businesses, side gigs,
Speaker 1: all this, but like this is real life, and so
Speaker 1: congratulations Kelly. And I hope that if you're listening to
Speaker 1: this and you are struggling to find full time work,
Speaker 1: which we've heard from so many of you that the
Speaker 1: job market is just it's so hard right now, like
Speaker 1: we see you, and we hope this stuff helps you
Speaker 1: specifically and is not for like, you know, the privileged
Speaker 1: financial independence seeker that has mobility you know, in these things.
Speaker 1: But like I hope you feel seen, and I hope
Speaker 1: that you feel encouraged by Kelly's words that those jobs
Speaker 1: are out there. Keep trucking, keep looking, keep expanding, and yeah,
Speaker 1: I just good luck to you and congratulations Kelly.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm glad to hear you on this side of it.
Speaker 3: But I know that sounds like a really tough time
Speaker 3: when you were just in the contract work and not
Speaker 3: a lot of stability, not doing the things with your
Speaker 3: finances that you want to do. And I just want
Speaker 3: to also normalize that we do find ourselves in those seasons.
Speaker 3: So there could be people listening who they're not at
Speaker 3: the Kelly part of the journey where they found the
Speaker 3: full time work. And sometimes those seasons really do stink.
Speaker 3: But I think there is an entire lifetime here, so
Speaker 3: it's okay to be in those seasons. It's not going
Speaker 3: to be entirely devastating for the long haul. And we're
Speaker 3: here for you. You have a support here. Yes, if
Speaker 3: you all listening, have a bill that you want to submit,
Speaker 3: if it's good news, if it's news in just the
Speaker 3: frenches of what is the economy in life right now,
Speaker 3: we're here for it all. Especially we're here for all
Speaker 3: of you bills, people named bill, all types of bills
Speaker 3: for Friends podcast dot com, slash bill, leave us your bill,
Speaker 3: and now it's time for the lightning around.
Speaker 1: All right, So under consumption core to me, it's mindful
Speaker 1: consumption because we're not under consuming, we're consuming, well, we're
Speaker 1: consuming fully in under consumption core. So whether it's intentional
Speaker 1: consumption mindful consumption today, the question is what's your favorite
Speaker 1: personal mindful consumption hack.
Speaker 3: You asked this question, didn't you. Yeah, right, go for it.
Speaker 1: Okay, So mine are not It's not going to be
Speaker 1: groundbreaking or like really inspirational, dang it, I know, never mind.
Speaker 1: Oh sorry, but like, okay, so I know you're really
Speaker 1: good at food. That's your personal area. I think for me,
Speaker 1: I like to reuse and maintain, like home stuff. So
Speaker 1: we've probably traveled with the same some of the same
Speaker 1: furniture pieces and art pieces from house to house for
Speaker 1: the entirety of our marriage. So almost ten years. We
Speaker 1: just hung art on our wall the other day in
Speaker 1: preparation for our party. Actually the day of the party,
Speaker 1: we finally got around to hanging the waal art and
Speaker 1: one was new one I had just bought. One we
Speaker 1: had had since we moved in two years ago but
Speaker 1: just never got around to hanging, and the other I
Speaker 1: bought it goodwill, I think before I met Travis, it's
Speaker 1: a set of plants, like.
Speaker 3: Something all in something news like bar something on the wall.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So so yeah, just and keeping those big pieces
Speaker 1: out of landfills is something that I am very interested in.
Speaker 1: I feel like I love to I can compost food,
Speaker 1: but I cannot as easily compost something metal, you know,
Speaker 1: or something plastic. If it's wood, it can be you know,
Speaker 1: ground up and used in the in the earth. But
Speaker 1: so I want to save those pieces from landfills, and
Speaker 1: so I like to buy them on face. We're a
Speaker 1: big Facebook marketplace family girl. We boog Facebook marketplace family.
Speaker 1: And just like whatever I can buy secondhand on eBay
Speaker 1: or poshmark or those are you those are my favorites
Speaker 1: right now. Thread up is not my.
Speaker 3: Favorite favorite place to sell Facebook marketplace Yeah, yeah, because
Speaker 3: that goes back and forth.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I like it.
Speaker 3: I like to keep it local, yeah, not have to
Speaker 3: go to mail stuff constantly.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, Travis bought a few Lego kits and when he
Speaker 1: went to resell them, he did resell them on eBay
Speaker 1: because they were specialty, like he could just get more
Speaker 1: money on from them on eBay and they were not
Speaker 1: that expensive to ship.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So man, this has become so ingrained into my lifestyle
Speaker 3: it is hard to pick. Just like I look at
Speaker 3: every aspect of life and I'm like, yeah, there's a
Speaker 3: way that I and I think I'm so glad that
Speaker 3: it's becoming more popular because I think that this is
Speaker 3: where people could borderline like you're just he just you're
Speaker 3: so stingy. You just don't want to spend any money.
Speaker 3: And for me, it's not necessary. I'm not afraid of spending. Thankfully,
Speaker 3: through the podcast, I've become more and more like this
Speaker 3: is a good thing to do on an okay thing
Speaker 3: to do. You just need to feel good about it.
Speaker 3: But I love the creative aspect of reducing, reusing, repurposing.
Speaker 3: I love feeling really good then about every spending decision
Speaker 3: I make. So if a word to say hacks, you
Speaker 3: all know this about me, But I would say probably
Speaker 3: my favorite is keeping lists. As I come across a need,
Speaker 3: whether it's in the kitchen or the house or outside,
Speaker 3: I'll put it in a like put it in my notes.
Speaker 3: And usually what that helps me to do is like
Speaker 3: keep it front of mine to come up with potentially
Speaker 3: an alternative solution. But if it's been on the list
Speaker 3: for a long time. Then the next time I'm at
Speaker 3: the thrift store, it's what I look for. But usually
Speaker 3: it's things that I can learn workarounds for until I
Speaker 3: want to purchase that convenience. But I feel really good
Speaker 3: about those purchases because they feel very mindful, Like I've
Speaker 3: thought about this, I've written it down, we've engaged in workarounds,
Speaker 3: we've explored problem solving solutions, and if it's still there
Speaker 3: on the list, then okay, now I can feel good
Speaker 3: about spending on it.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, okay, so a hack. Here's a new hack. Actually,
Speaker 1: this is brand new. I deleted Instagram, Facebook, threads, Amazon,
Speaker 1: off my phone, anything that could make me so Honestly,
Speaker 1: why I did it was because I was spending too
Speaker 1: much time like zoning out on there. But also these
Speaker 1: are things that make me want to buy things. So
Speaker 1: now when I go to like mindlessly scroll, I'm either
Speaker 1: mindlessly scrolling thread up, poshmark eBay, if I'm like looking
Speaker 1: for products, it forces me to think secondhand first, or
Speaker 1: I am reading something you know, like online, something that's
Speaker 1: good for my time.
Speaker 3: You mean you're editing our book by what you love
Speaker 3: without going broke. That's what you're reading.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's already I do. We have one more
Speaker 1: round of mailing. True, I'm emailing people in hopes that
Speaker 1: they will talk about our book by what you Love
Speaker 1: without going broke. So that's another thing I can do
Speaker 1: besides scrolling Instagram. So if you're having trouble with social media,
Speaker 1: or if you are having trouble with the halls or
Speaker 1: like you want to be under consumption Corps, but social
Speaker 1: media is doing more harm than good in that area
Speaker 1: for you, then that could be a helpful hack is
Speaker 1: to just delete them for a time. I don't plan
Speaker 1: to delete them, you know, forever. I think maybe I
Speaker 1: will go back on around or after November eighth, ish,
Speaker 1: I think maybe it's just a soft date.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you so much for listening. We love, love,
Speaker 1: love reading your kind reviews, and we especially love this
Speaker 1: one from Aaron with a K. The only money related
Speaker 1: podcast I enjoyed happens to be five stars. As a
Speaker 1: trying to be responsible grown up person, I try to
Speaker 1: keep on top of financial advice, but it always seems
Speaker 1: like a chore. Jen and Jill give me all the
Speaker 1: info I need, but I actually look forward to listening
Speaker 1: to and learning from them. Thanks for making a serious
Speaker 1: topic so much fun.
Speaker 3: Wow. Thanks Aaron with a K. And it makes me wonder,
Speaker 3: does that mean your name is Eric? And that's very fun.
Speaker 1: That's so true. Thank you Erin with a K.
Speaker 3: What a kind review, and thank you all for listening,
Speaker 3: your kindness, for being here, and if you enjoyed the show,
Speaker 3: feel free to give us another kindness of leaving a review.
Speaker 3: It's one of the ways that you can help us
Speaker 3: sell the book, believe it or not, because the more
Speaker 3: reviews that we have, the more established we appear, which
Speaker 3: we have been doing this for over six years, and
Speaker 3: we need our reviews to match that reality. And it
Speaker 3: would really help us be able to get on other podcasts,
Speaker 3: be able to talk about this values based spending and
Speaker 3: give more permission, normalize what we're talking about a bit
Speaker 3: more so that others can feel normal. That's what we're doing,
Speaker 3: helping us all feel normal. So leave a review and rating.
Speaker 3: That'd be so so helpful.
Speaker 1: And thank you. At the at the time of this recording,
Speaker 1: we are actually very close to one thousand reviews. How
Speaker 1: Jill asked me, how close.
Speaker 3: Jen, how close are we to reaching one thousand? Reviews.
Speaker 3: Last time I checked, we were at like nine sixty.
Speaker 1: I think we're at nine hundred and ninety eight. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but they haven't more. I know they haven't popular, like
Speaker 1: popped up in two days, like populate repopulated in two days.
Speaker 3: But here's the thing, folks, we don't need to stop
Speaker 3: at one thousand. We can keep going. You battle help.
Speaker 1: If you've already left a review, you can purchase a
Speaker 1: copy of Buy What You Love without going broken.
Speaker 3: That would be that would actually help us all a.
Speaker 1: Bit more helpful. We'll see you next time.
Speaker 3: Bye.
Speaker 1: Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.
Speaker 3: Okay, so tonight we're talking about meal planning, right, meal planning?
Speaker 1: Yes, So if you have pre ordered the book, check
Speaker 1: your email for a special email with a special link
Speaker 1: to tonight's free class, and we.
Speaker 3: Would have their email from them pre ordering or do
Speaker 3: they have to contact us.
Speaker 1: There is a order form if you go to Buy
Speaker 1: what you Love book dot com. There's a form on
Speaker 1: that page where you fill in your order information. You
Speaker 1: got to show a screenshot of your order and then
Speaker 1: once you do that, then you will automatically be sent
Speaker 1: the instructions to register for an account. On circle. That's
Speaker 1: where all of our special private lives are happy.
Speaker 3: It'll all be free. Yeah, that's good information because even
Speaker 3: if you miss tonight, you can make it to the rest.
Speaker 3: I think there's what five more. There will be five
Speaker 3: events that you can participate in, all around life skills
Speaker 3: building and just exchanging of ideas and skill sets so
Speaker 3: that we can consume less.
Speaker 1: Essentially around this under consumption core idea. So the meal
Speaker 1: prep and planning is all about utilizing all the food
Speaker 1: you have, buying as little as possible in getting the
Speaker 1: most out of it. You've got the clothing one, We've
Speaker 1: got one on transportation, one on housing not just for
Speaker 1: homeowners but for renters as well, and then we've got
Speaker 1: the last two. Are the best to the Decembers is
Speaker 1: creating a full year meal plan. So we're going to
Speaker 1: create a full year meal plan for twenty twenty five
Speaker 1: together live and then we're gonna create an all year
Speaker 1: spending plan in January for all of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3: And then we're all going to get our books in January,
Speaker 3: and we're going to geek.
Speaker 1: Out the January ones at the end of January, so
Speaker 1: you have time to read the book if you'd like
Speaker 1: to before that final free live.
Speaker 3: How fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so we look forward to seeing you there tonight
Speaker 1: if you have pre ordered. Otherwise, we look forward to
Speaker 1: seeing you at the September Live if you're pre ordering
Speaker 1: after today, babe,