Speaker 1: Episode why paying off debt is important and attainable. Welcome
Speaker 1: to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money,
Speaker 1: embrace simplicity, rights, and liver with your life. Here your
Speaker 1: host Jen and Jill. M m m m m mmmm.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen,
Speaker 1: my name is Jill, and today we are talking about
Speaker 1: debt pompomp because like, what other topics should you talk
Speaker 1: about right before Christmas, you know, in the height of
Speaker 1: holiday shopping? Uh, just humble, you know. Yeah, I just
Speaker 1: want to let you know it's still there guys, if
Speaker 1: you didn't know. But we're mainly talking about why paying
Speaker 1: it off is important. A lot of people with student
Speaker 1: loans that have been on pause for the year are
Speaker 1: going to start seeing those bills come back again, and
Speaker 1: we want to remind you why it's important to pay
Speaker 1: off your debt and inspire you and give you some data,
Speaker 1: some statistics about why it is attainable. So whether you
Speaker 1: are motivated by a good word or a good statistic,
Speaker 1: we got both for you today. But first our sponsors. Yes,
Speaker 1: today's episode is brought to you by the Debt Freedom
Speaker 1: road Map. So like I said before, it is not
Speaker 1: too early to start thinking about your financial goals, especially
Speaker 1: if one of those goals is debt freedom. So over
Speaker 1: at Modern Frugality, I have created a debt freedom roadmap
Speaker 1: to help you see where you're at on the road
Speaker 1: to debt and financial freedom, to make sure you've hit
Speaker 1: all your major landmarks prior and what various detours might
Speaker 1: look like. So if you want a little more clarity
Speaker 1: about the financial road ahead, visit modern frugality dot com
Speaker 1: slash debt free to get your free roadmap. Also brought
Speaker 1: to you by me telling. Because you know what this
Speaker 1: podcast is, you have to pay for some advertising jail.
Speaker 1: Come on, yeah, me telling you about my dear friend
Speaker 1: Jenna Ball. That's right, she's getting a shout out because
Speaker 1: again it's half my podcast. Jenna has been a friend
Speaker 1: of mine since the tenth grade, and like any good
Speaker 1: and refined thing, she has only gotten better and cooler
Speaker 1: over the decades. She is a woman of class, character, competence, care, kindness, generosity, intelligence,
Speaker 1: and humor so much more. You all just need to
Speaker 1: know this, and I'm telling you this because I did
Speaker 1: recently use my friendship with Jenna and an experience that
Speaker 1: we had as an example on the Boundaries episode. I
Speaker 1: did not use her name, but she listened because she's
Speaker 1: a good friend and she listens to this show, and
Speaker 1: she realized that it was about her. And also she
Speaker 1: doesn't shrink back from anything, including making sure that our
Speaker 1: relationship is good and to let me know that she
Speaker 1: cares about her to apologize to me about the example
Speaker 1: that I had used, when really the real apology belongs
Speaker 1: to me. This is not the thing that people should
Speaker 1: know about you, Jenna. They need to know that you're
Speaker 1: an amazing woman whose friendship I really value. And I
Speaker 1: need to remember that people actually listen to my podcast
Speaker 1: even when I give examples about my life that happened
Speaker 1: ten years ago. Anyhow, So you know that I learned
Speaker 1: about setting boundaries in relationship with Jenna in one particular area,
Speaker 1: and also she's an amazing person. To Jenna. To Jenna, Uh,
Speaker 1: if you are confused, definitely check out our setting financial
Speaker 1: boundaries with family and friends and you will put the
Speaker 1: pieces together. She called me later and was like, Jill,
Speaker 1: was that about me? Oh my gosh, I cannot lie. Yes,
Speaker 1: it was, but I hold no grudges about this, and
Speaker 1: my goodness, Jenna you're going to get a shout out
Speaker 1: because you're an amazing friend and it's been ten years.
Speaker 1: I was just using it as an example, but yeah,
Speaker 1: that was quite something. And I learned that at least
Speaker 1: three people listen to the podcast, so your mom, my, mom,
Speaker 1: and Jenna. Yeah, so thanks Jenna. Al Right, so let's
Speaker 1: get into this topic about debt. I think most of
Speaker 1: the people who listen to Frugal Friends have a similar
Speaker 1: view that they want to be debt free. I think
Speaker 1: that is a view that many listeners hold. So we're
Speaker 1: gonna going to convince you that debt is bad because
Speaker 1: I feel like you already have your own reasons for
Speaker 1: knowing that, but we are going to reiterate and emphasize
Speaker 1: some of the reasons why you should get out of
Speaker 1: debt that are not just financial. So if you have
Speaker 1: been a little jaded by let's reinvigorate you and reinspire
Speaker 1: you to head down this journey that you already want
Speaker 1: to be on. And so our first article is from
Speaker 1: Money Crashers and it's seventeen reasons why you should get
Speaker 1: out of debt. What do you think about this one? Jill? Yes,
Speaker 1: I think it's a fantastic motivator. So, like you said, Jen,
Speaker 1: this isn't supposed to convince you to become debt free,
Speaker 1: because I know that most of our listeners are are
Speaker 1: already in that space and really want their debt gone,
Speaker 1: but to help motivate us in that direction. And I
Speaker 1: like the holistic approach that they took in this article,
Speaker 1: giving headlines to different categories and listing out financial benefits,
Speaker 1: mental benefits, physical benefits, relational benefits, each supported by multiple
Speaker 1: bullet points underneath it. So I think we're not going
Speaker 1: to go through all of the reasons. It's definitely an
Speaker 1: article worth checking out, but I think big picture, there
Speaker 1: are a lot of benefits to our whole person, not
Speaker 1: just monetary, that can happen when we become debt free. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I had a lot of flashbacks reading this because I
Speaker 1: remember when I had fifty dollars of debt and I
Speaker 1: was a single woman making thirty five thousand dollars a
Speaker 1: year before taxes, and I felt a lot of these things,
Speaker 1: and now that we are debt free, I feel freedom
Speaker 1: from a lot of them. And so I think it's
Speaker 1: so important, Like a lot of people will debate should
Speaker 1: I just go gung ho paying off debt and get
Speaker 1: it all gone, or should I balance it with other
Speaker 1: financial goals? And I think that decision for you really
Speaker 1: comes down to how much of these things on this
Speaker 1: list are you feeling. So if you're feeling a lot
Speaker 1: of negative mental, physical, emotional, relational things on this list,
Speaker 1: and I was, And so that's when going gung ho
Speaker 1: and pedal to the metal is more beneficial to you
Speaker 1: than any math equation that can show you you'll make
Speaker 1: more money if you invest over paying off debt whatever.
Speaker 1: So that's kind of my view on all of this stuff.
Speaker 1: I love that, Jen, That's such great advice to help
Speaker 1: figure out and suss out what is more advantageous for
Speaker 1: my whole person, again, not just monetarily, which direction should
Speaker 1: I head? For sure? So we'll start out with a
Speaker 1: few of the financial benefits. Um So for me, the
Speaker 1: first one on this list more free income. So people
Speaker 1: are always looking on how do I pinch pennies? How
Speaker 1: do I save money? Or like my budget is stretched
Speaker 1: so thin, I don't have a single extra penny, how
Speaker 1: do I save more? And I'm like, well, what if
Speaker 1: the answer is more money? And so paying up debt
Speaker 1: instantly gives you a raise, and so that was initial
Speaker 1: why for me because I thought I wanted to be
Speaker 1: a stay at home parent. Now as a parent, I
Speaker 1: realized that's the last thing that I want, but I
Speaker 1: wanted to have that option, and I knew if I
Speaker 1: couldn't make money, I needed to be a better steward
Speaker 1: of any money that we had coming in. So I
Speaker 1: liked number three within this category, which talks about being
Speaker 1: debt free. It creates less risk. When we are in debt,
Speaker 1: we are just one financial blow away from disaster, which
Speaker 1: is what this article talks about, that any one thing
Speaker 1: could really derail us financially. But if we are debt free,
Speaker 1: we have less risk because we're not in debt. We
Speaker 1: don't owe anything to anybody where they could collect wages
Speaker 1: or repossess your belongings, or you name it, going into foreclosure,
Speaker 1: being evicted, needing to file for bankruptcy. Those things are
Speaker 1: heightened when we carry debt versus when we don't. And
Speaker 1: then it's also linked to your point gen of having
Speaker 1: more income, so then we have more ability to use
Speaker 1: that income to save up for those emergencies. So it's
Speaker 1: almost like a win win, like a twofold thing where
Speaker 1: not only are we at less risk when we're debt free,
Speaker 1: but then we have more money to put towards making
Speaker 1: sure we're even less at risk. Absolutely. I also like
Speaker 1: number four is being debt free gives you a better
Speaker 1: credit score. And credit scores are so mysterious even to
Speaker 1: credit experts because there are five components to a credit score,
Speaker 1: and we won't get into it. But the most important
Speaker 1: is your payment history. Obviously, if you are making regular
Speaker 1: payments that are over the minimum and trying to pay
Speaker 1: off debt, that increases your score. But people are scared
Speaker 1: to pay off debt because they think they need like
Speaker 1: a thirty percent debt to limit ratio that's just a
Speaker 1: max like they prefer you have zero. And also they're
Speaker 1: scared of their credit length being shortened when you close
Speaker 1: out those accounts. That's a very minimal part of the score,
Speaker 1: that's like mid level. But the second most important part
Speaker 1: is the amount of debt you have compared to your
Speaker 1: credit limit, and so the more debt you pay off,
Speaker 1: especially like student loan debt, your credit score will start
Speaker 1: to increase. And then if you have a credit card
Speaker 1: that has no annual fee that you just keep in
Speaker 1: your closet underneath the shoes in the shoe box that
Speaker 1: you very rarely use, and you just use it to
Speaker 1: build up a credit history. Like the history length. You're
Speaker 1: going to be golden. You're gonna be fine. You will
Speaker 1: not have to worry about your credit score. And so
Speaker 1: is not that hard to get a good credit score
Speaker 1: or an excellent credit score, and paying off debt greatly
Speaker 1: helps you in that. Yeah. I think that's really helpful
Speaker 1: advice to hear from you and to read in this article,
Speaker 1: because I think that was like a myth that I
Speaker 1: had always thought, especially if you're aimed at purchasing large
Speaker 1: items like a home or something. It's like, all right,
Speaker 1: how do I get a good credit score? And I
Speaker 1: don't know, should I pay it off of pay off
Speaker 1: my decks? How's that going to affect It's like, no,
Speaker 1: it's good to pay off your debt. Yes, yeah, And
Speaker 1: a credit score is important. It saves you so much
Speaker 1: money in the long run. It is important. It is
Speaker 1: not something that should be worried about so much, though.
Speaker 1: Pay off the debt, get those accounts closed, and then
Speaker 1: do it little by little after that. The last one
Speaker 1: under the category of financial benefits that I do want
Speaker 1: to highlight is that being debt free can create better
Speaker 1: job prospects, and I would add at least more rewarding
Speaker 1: job prospects. And the reasoning that they give is that
Speaker 1: if you are in debt, then oftentimes we can feel
Speaker 1: stuck to the job that we're doing and living paycheck
Speaker 1: to paycheck and not really able to do what we
Speaker 1: want with the money. But we need to just be
Speaker 1: giving it to all of our bills and the debt versus.
Speaker 1: If we take away that pressure, if we pay off
Speaker 1: our debt and we no longer have that bill, so
Speaker 1: to speak, there is greater freedom in that ability to
Speaker 1: not have to live paycheck to paycheck potentially or feeling
Speaker 1: more reward from the job that you're working because you're
Speaker 1: able to work that job and enjoy the benefits of
Speaker 1: what you're earning financially and not just giving it away
Speaker 1: every month or every other week. And also if you
Speaker 1: if you don't like your job regardless, then it does
Speaker 1: give you more permission and freedom to look elsewhere and
Speaker 1: not have to worry about, oh no, what's going to
Speaker 1: happen if there's a little bit of a lapse, or
Speaker 1: if I choose to take a pay cut to do
Speaker 1: something more rewarding, or if it's going to take me
Speaker 1: a little bit longer to build myself up to a
Speaker 1: certain amount of income. So it just creates greater freedom
Speaker 1: and flexibility and the potential of finding more rewarding work
Speaker 1: when you don't put those pressures on yourself. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: I would also add that better job prospects don't always
Speaker 1: have to mean you're settling for less money. It's estimated
Speaker 1: that if you stay in your career, in your job
Speaker 1: for five or more years, and I'm sure I'm going
Speaker 1: to miss quote this, but you could lower your total
Speaker 1: income earning potential by fifty Whereas if you are increasing
Speaker 1: either being promoted or doing job hops to places where
Speaker 1: you can increase your income by ten every three to
Speaker 1: four years, you can make a lot more money over time.
Speaker 1: But if you're not financially secure, then it's going to
Speaker 1: make going to different jobs a lot more stressful. So
Speaker 1: you have the potential to take those risks if you
Speaker 1: are debt free and don't have to worry about that
Speaker 1: bill in case of job hop goes south. The next
Speaker 1: category is the impact that it can have on us mentally,
Speaker 1: to be dead free, and the first one listed in
Speaker 1: this category is just that there's less stress. It is
Speaker 1: stressful to be in debt, and for some of us
Speaker 1: it's more stressful than to others, but still there's a
Speaker 1: degree of stress that comes with knowing that your money
Speaker 1: is not yours, a good portion is owed to somebody else.
Speaker 1: It is gaining interest that you also have to owe that.
Speaker 1: It just comes with so much mental space that it
Speaker 1: takes up emotional space that it takes up causing stress.
Speaker 1: And when we pay that off, we take away that
Speaker 1: very significant stressor mm hmm, oh my gosh. I remember
Speaker 1: having like being in an apartment and sitting in my
Speaker 1: living room with my couch that I got from Salvation
Speaker 1: Army that my roommate hated, and feeling the weight of
Speaker 1: that mental load of looking at like my profile and
Speaker 1: nabbiant and seeing all of those debts and knowing how
Speaker 1: little I made. That is every time I hear something
Speaker 1: like this, it takes me back to a very insignificant moment,
Speaker 1: but it takes me back to that moment I'm just
Speaker 1: feeling completely overwhelmed and hopeless, and so now that I
Speaker 1: don't have that like I have so many other things
Speaker 1: to be stressed about. It's so so great, I don't
Speaker 1: that's one less thing I have to be stressed about.
Speaker 1: That's a particular type of stress. When you realize that
Speaker 1: you are in debt beyond your means for repayment. That's overwhelming.
Speaker 1: It's an overwhelming pressure that causes stress and anxiety sometimes worry,
Speaker 1: which then can impact our sleep, our thoughts throughout the day.
Speaker 1: And we'll get into this more and more. But so
Speaker 1: much then of what we're now going to be identifying
Speaker 1: even throughout this article is related to the ways stress
Speaker 1: impacts us relationally, mentally, and physically, all related to the
Speaker 1: stress that debt induces and a massive reason to get
Speaker 1: rid of it. Yeah, well, that leads into number nine
Speaker 1: on the list is paying off debt gives you better
Speaker 1: cognitive function. So in my course on cutting impulse spending,
Speaker 1: we talk a lot about how making better decisions means
Speaker 1: you make fewer impulse purchases, and that comes down to
Speaker 1: having better cognitive function, which means usually making fewer decisions
Speaker 1: during the day, YadA YadA. But having less debt naturally
Speaker 1: improves cognitive function. So at two thousand seventeen study published
Speaker 1: in Frontiers and Psychology points to numerous studies showing that
Speaker 1: experiencing poverty, both in real life and laboratory conditions, impaired
Speaker 1: people's attention span, working memory, and self control. So in
Speaker 1: the article says, it's a problem that feeds on itself. Obviously,
Speaker 1: you want to have less impulse spending. You're trying to
Speaker 1: pay off debt. So it's just something that you kind
Speaker 1: of have to know at first you're going to suck
Speaker 1: at like you have to be okay with that and say, Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna suck at this right now, but I'm gonna
Speaker 1: keep trying. I'm gonna keep getting better. And then as
Speaker 1: you get better at one, the other one improves, and
Speaker 1: it just compounds on itself. And so then at the end,
Speaker 1: it says a two thousand seventeen study at the University
Speaker 1: of Singapore found that when people paid off debt, it
Speaker 1: reverses these problems. It found that participants reduce their debt,
Speaker 1: their cognitive function rose significantly, and they felt less anxious
Speaker 1: and became better decision makers. It's so interesting that this
Speaker 1: principle works both directions, that on the one hand, it
Speaker 1: can compound upon itself the stress and the way that
Speaker 1: that impacts every other aspect of our lives negatively, and conversely,
Speaker 1: when we are debt free, it can have positive impact
Speaker 1: on every aspect of our personhood when that's no longer present.
Speaker 1: So there is hope in this, and that's the goal
Speaker 1: of what we want to walk away with is motivation
Speaker 1: and hope to become debt free. Yeah. I know people
Speaker 1: place and myself included a lot of blame on themselves
Speaker 1: for impulsive behavior and making bad financial decisions. It's like,
Speaker 1: I want to do the right thing, but I always
Speaker 1: do the wrong thing, And so part of that has
Speaker 1: to do with where you are financially and the cognitive
Speaker 1: load that that takes on you. But know that you
Speaker 1: have the power to overcome it little by little. You
Speaker 1: just can't expect yourself to be perfect right out the game, yes,
Speaker 1: because it does take a toll on us, like we're
Speaker 1: talking about, it impairs our ability to think clearly, It
Speaker 1: has negative impacts on our bodies, and so we can't
Speaker 1: expect ourselves to be fantastic at this when there's a
Speaker 1: very real stress or happening. As it relates to physical
Speaker 1: benefits becoming debt free, research has shown that those without
Speaker 1: debt related stressors have fewer illnesses, and the article sites
Speaker 1: a survey that was done by the Associated Press that
Speaker 1: showed people with high levels of debt related stress are
Speaker 1: more than three times as likely to suffer from things
Speaker 1: like ulcers or digestive problems than their counterparts with lower
Speaker 1: debt stress or no debt stress. And that's just shocking
Speaker 1: to me, the ways that our physical bodies can be
Speaker 1: so connected to our financial lives and the very real
Speaker 1: reality that it can have on our bodies that the
Speaker 1: weight and the cost of the right it's not just financial,
Speaker 1: the cost is physical. And then how does that, I mean,
Speaker 1: speaking of compounding itself, then that creates medical bills to
Speaker 1: be caring for our bodies in the midst of these stressors.
Speaker 1: It can feel overwhelming, But again I want to say,
Speaker 1: there's hope in this, and it then benefits us physically
Speaker 1: to be out of debt because we don't experience that.
Speaker 1: There are fewer illnesses when we are not, when our
Speaker 1: bodies aren't trying to manage and deal with stress and
Speaker 1: anxiety and overwhelm. Yeah, I know that firsthand because I
Speaker 1: got shingles. I still can't believe this Jen, I did
Speaker 1: so many side hustles, and I worked myself up and
Speaker 1: within two months had contracted shingles two months into our
Speaker 1: debt payoff journey. Yeah, and I actually I'm not the
Speaker 1: only person that has stressed themselves into shingles, So you know, yes,
Speaker 1: stress takes itself on our bodies. Although I do think
Speaker 1: that's a bit of an example of being stressed about
Speaker 1: the debt repayment process even and I think that that's
Speaker 1: a fine line that yes, let's allow this to motivate
Speaker 1: us to get out of debt and work towards it,
Speaker 1: but let's also be careful to not put unnecessary pressures
Speaker 1: on ourselves in the process. So once you've bought into debt,
Speaker 1: like paying off debt and being intense about it, that's fantastic,
Speaker 1: But let's keep a pulse on this because it is
Speaker 1: also not a goal that is worth sacrificing every aspect
Speaker 1: of our personhood to achieve it as fast as possible.
Speaker 1: There's also quality of life that is necessary in the
Speaker 1: process so that there can be longevity in it to
Speaker 1: pay it off quickly, but also to not overwhelm ourselves
Speaker 1: beyond the point of return or beyond what we can
Speaker 1: handle in order to get at that goal. I don't
Speaker 1: sacrifice yourself on the altar of becoming debt free because
Speaker 1: process can become stressful. Yes, that was so eloquently said.
Speaker 1: Don't sacrifice yourself on the altar of becoming debt free.
Speaker 1: Absolutely no reason to do that, Thanks Jim. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: I want to jump into the relationship benefits. Are you
Speaker 1: okay with that? Let's do it. Okay, so better relationships.
Speaker 1: This is something I did not realize what happened during
Speaker 1: our debt payoff journey. And at first it was I
Speaker 1: don't know. It was kind of like the death of
Speaker 1: one person but allowed somebody else to emerge from the ashes.
Speaker 1: That's so dramatic. But the article says like being in
Speaker 1: debt stirs up like negative emotions and those can fill
Speaker 1: spill over into your relationships. I didn't realize that as much,
Speaker 1: but I realized that. So debt kept me from doing
Speaker 1: things with my friends. The anxiety about debt. Like I
Speaker 1: remember my friends were going to Disney sometime, and not
Speaker 1: even to the park, but just like went around Disney
Speaker 1: to support one of our friends that was doing a
Speaker 1: half marathon there. And I came at the last minute
Speaker 1: I went, but like all day, I struggled with should
Speaker 1: I go, should I spend the money? And that was
Speaker 1: when I was not even trying to pay off debt,
Speaker 1: so it affected me. Then I wasn't cognitive of it,
Speaker 1: but I was so scared to pay off debt because
Speaker 1: I thought stuff like that was going to happen, and
Speaker 1: it did. But I actually so I shed these friends
Speaker 1: that only wanted to do things that cost money, and
Speaker 1: then I found friends. I was forced to find friends
Speaker 1: that wanted to spend time with me and get to
Speaker 1: know me versus just do activities and go get drinks.
Speaker 1: And so I came out of it with really great friends,
Speaker 1: really really good relationships, and of much more quality than
Speaker 1: previous ones. Very interesting. You really brought that full circle,
Speaker 1: even though it felt dramatic at first. That was with
Speaker 1: it though, Yeah and yeah related to better relationships, they
Speaker 1: just kind of suss out the specific types of relationships
Speaker 1: that could see improvement, like a stronger marriage or being
Speaker 1: a better parent, or being able to help others because
Speaker 1: you're able to turn more outward with your focus, with
Speaker 1: your finances, with your time and energy because you don't
Speaker 1: have debt taking up a lot of that, and I
Speaker 1: just want to highlight the marriage piece. I think that
Speaker 1: if you are doing this together with a spouse, the
Speaker 1: step payoff journey, even though there are for sure bumps
Speaker 1: and even land mines in the road throughout this process,
Speaker 1: if you do it and go through this together, you
Speaker 1: will come out stronger on the other side, more unified,
Speaker 1: more understanding of one another, an incredible feeling of accomplishment,
Speaker 1: which will bond you greater to one another, which then
Speaker 1: sets the stage for other goals that you can set
Speaker 1: as a couple. So my goodness, Yes, just even overcoming something,
Speaker 1: whether it's debt or anything else with a partner is
Speaker 1: incredible for that relationship. And this is one of the
Speaker 1: things that can be super helpful as you relate to
Speaker 1: one another. So I just affirm all of these pieces.
Speaker 1: And I think when we can learn to manage stress,
Speaker 1: whether it's debt related or otherwise, than yeah, we are
Speaker 1: we're better for our relationships thrive. As a results, we
Speaker 1: experience better mental health, emotional health, understanding of ourself, all
Speaker 1: of these things. So I think relating to debt stress,
Speaker 1: learning to manage it while we're in the midst of it,
Speaker 1: and also just paying it off and getting rid of
Speaker 1: that stressor is fantastic. Yes, absolutely so. Now that you
Speaker 1: know why it's important to pay off debt, our next
Speaker 1: article is meant to inspire you, to let you know
Speaker 1: that this is mathematically and mentally attainable for you to
Speaker 1: do this, because I think my biggest barrier before I
Speaker 1: started paying off debt was that I just didn't think
Speaker 1: it was possible. I had a lot of limiting mindset,
Speaker 1: like limiting beliefs, which we're going to talk about limiting
Speaker 1: beliefs next week. But I thought it wasn't possible mathematically,
Speaker 1: and so for some people it's not going to be
Speaker 1: I had fifty dollars of debt and I was making
Speaker 1: thirty dollars as a single person. Like yes, Like I
Speaker 1: understand if you're in that situation, it's gonna be hard.
Speaker 1: But I wanted to give you some inspirational stories that
Speaker 1: we featured here on the show, and then also some
Speaker 1: statistics that may make you feel better about your financial situation.
Speaker 1: I don't know. They're definitely not meant to scare you.
Speaker 1: We're not using scared tactics on the show, but we
Speaker 1: have had a lot of people on Frugal friends share
Speaker 1: their debt free stories from all walks of life. So Jill,
Speaker 1: push of them, do you stand out in your mind? Yeah, honestly,
Speaker 1: the debt payoffs that stand out to me are the
Speaker 1: ones where people pay off a lot of money on
Speaker 1: a small income. So we've got an episode it was
Speaker 1: back in our archives at this point, but Sarah paid
Speaker 1: off over thirty thou dollars of debt as a single person,
Speaker 1: and so for her that was incredible given her life circumstances. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I have a list here of most of our debt
Speaker 1: payoff stories, not all of them, but if you want
Speaker 1: to write this down, this will also be in our
Speaker 1: show notes with links to these episodes. But we've got
Speaker 1: episode fourteen where Amanda her and her husband paid off
Speaker 1: six figures of debt living in California. We've got episode
Speaker 1: eighteen where Allison and her family paid off six figures
Speaker 1: of debt on two teacher salaries. We got episode thirty
Speaker 1: five where Merrily and her family paid off another six
Speaker 1: figures of debt on a single income. And they did
Speaker 1: not do it super fast. I think it took them
Speaker 1: like six or seven years. So they were one of
Speaker 1: those stories where yeah, it took a little while. We're
Speaker 1: a family of four on a single income, and they
Speaker 1: still did it. And I love to see merrily she's
Speaker 1: easy budget on Instagram and now she posts like she
Speaker 1: gets her eyebrows done, and she gets her nails done,
Speaker 1: and she gets like all these things she values now
Speaker 1: she like does them, which is so fun to see
Speaker 1: because it freed up income for her. We've got Chris
Speaker 1: Browning from Popcorn Finance. He lives in like l A
Speaker 1: in the l A area. He and his wife paid
Speaker 1: off their debt. We got Debt Kick and Mom Angela
Speaker 1: her family paid off debt. She's got a great YouTube channel.
Speaker 1: And then Kate from Debt Free Life. She's an attorney.
Speaker 1: She paid off over six figures of debt. And that
Speaker 1: was episode. So people from all walks of life, all incomes,
Speaker 1: all living and financial situations, all time frames, all are
Speaker 1: capable of paying off debt, whether you're married, single, kids,
Speaker 1: no kids, whatever, Like there's a story for you. I know,
Speaker 1: we've got other stories in the archives where we've got
Speaker 1: one she paid off debt inn or forties, all kinds
Speaker 1: of things. Yeah, I think that the biggest variable in
Speaker 1: this is how much time it's going to take. Yes,
Speaker 1: it's not a matter of how old you are, how
Speaker 1: much money you make. These are all factors, certainly how
Speaker 1: much debt you have. I think it's not a matter
Speaker 1: of if I can do it, it's just when. How
Speaker 1: long will it take? Based on the amount of money
Speaker 1: I make, the amount of debt I'm in, maybe my age,
Speaker 1: other financial responsibilities. It's possible regardless of what those factors
Speaker 1: are for you, it's just time is going to be
Speaker 1: the question to answer. How much time will it take? Yeah,
Speaker 1: So this article is from debt dot com and it's
Speaker 1: just personal finance statistics, and so we want to read
Speaker 1: some of them for you that will hopefully encourage you
Speaker 1: or put some perspective on what is average, what's median,
Speaker 1: and what is feasibly attainable. So the first one that
Speaker 1: I want to point out is in two thousand and sixteen,
Speaker 1: the average household earned seventy four thousand dollars and the
Speaker 1: average expenditures were fifty seven thousands, So that leaves around
Speaker 1: seventeen thousand and free cash flow for the average household.
Speaker 1: So the median income take home pay, which is more accurate,
Speaker 1: is sixty thousand, but that still leaves everyone, the average
Speaker 1: American with over eleven thousand in free cash flow every year. Obviously,
Speaker 1: there are variables of where you live and what your
Speaker 1: circumstances are and how many kids you have and all
Speaker 1: of that, but yes, talking about on average what this
Speaker 1: looks like and what we might have access to. And
Speaker 1: I think the point in looking at some of these
Speaker 1: statistics is to say a lot of our barriers to
Speaker 1: doing this or to be even making this a realistic
Speaker 1: goal for ourselves is I just I don't have enough
Speaker 1: money or I'm not going to be able to I
Speaker 1: don't make a lot. And then to say, well, let's
Speaker 1: look at what the average American makes and whether or
Speaker 1: not it's possible if income is actually a good reason
Speaker 1: to say that I can't do this. And I think
Speaker 1: our argument is, no, it's not a good reason. We
Speaker 1: can based on what the median salary is or take
Speaker 1: home cash, this could be possible. Again, might take a while,
Speaker 1: but it's possible. Yeah, I know, fifty seven thousands in
Speaker 1: average expenditures is high for us. I mean we live
Speaker 1: in Florida, which is a lower cost of living state typically,
Speaker 1: but we live in a higher cost of living city.
Speaker 1: For our state, and we without being on any particular
Speaker 1: financial goal. I think we keep it under fifty for sure.
Speaker 1: So it definitely varies, but this is attainable, this is feasible. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it is quite an interesting site because you can click
Speaker 1: on your state or various states and kind of see
Speaker 1: the statistics for what is the average amount of credit
Speaker 1: card debt, the average amount of student loan debt, the
Speaker 1: average amount of people who are filing for bankruptcy in
Speaker 1: that year, and so, yeah, it could be a motivator
Speaker 1: in either direction, whether you realize, oh, I actually carry
Speaker 1: more debt than the average, or I carry less debt.
Speaker 1: I think either way it can be an encourage or
Speaker 1: and a and a motivator if statistics again are helpful
Speaker 1: for you. I know statistics are helpful for me more
Speaker 1: than like motivational speeches. So that's why. And the site
Speaker 1: is debt dot com slash statistics very easy if you
Speaker 1: are not driving, you can just pull it up on
Speaker 1: your phone and see. But yeah, the numbers motivate me. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if I'm over, I want to be average, you know.
Speaker 1: And speaking of holidays, they talk about some of the
Speaker 1: statistics there. Since we are smack dab in the middle
Speaker 1: of holidays that the average Americans spends about one thousand
Speaker 1: fifty dollars on holiday decorations, food, gifts, shipping costs all
Speaker 1: that and two eighteen study from Magnifying Money reported that
Speaker 1: most Americans borrowed, or the average Americans borrowed about twelve
Speaker 1: hundred dollars to fund the holidays. So that's a significant
Speaker 1: amount of money just to go to holiday spending, like
Speaker 1: a one time a year, this amount of money going there,
Speaker 1: and I think they can beg the question of, well,
Speaker 1: what if we did scale back in that regard to
Speaker 1: put some of that money to debt pay off. And again,
Speaker 1: that wouldn't be for the rest of your life, it
Speaker 1: would be for the season that we are in debt
Speaker 1: to be able to get created of and maybe trim
Speaker 1: a little here and there to get us closer to
Speaker 1: that goal more quickly. I know, and I know a
Speaker 1: lot of people are like, how could somebody spend a
Speaker 1: thousand dollars on the holidays, But like easily, very easily. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Think about every candle you buy that you see on
Speaker 1: sale around the holidays, the extra food, whether you're taking
Speaker 1: it to a pot luck or maybe you're hosting someone
Speaker 1: or maybe you just want those like pumpkin things or
Speaker 1: those peppermint things, gifts you're buying for coworkers that you
Speaker 1: don't care about. Things on Amazon, like those Every little
Speaker 1: thing adds up. Yeah, decorations, little things to have an
Speaker 1: outfit for a holiday party. Yeah, everyone's like, I gotta
Speaker 1: have it new every year. But like the matching pajama pajama.
Speaker 1: Oh my word, the pajamas. What a trap. Those pajamas
Speaker 1: are frick and they're too hot to actually wear. I mean,
Speaker 1: I guess you live in Florida. Yeah, but they are
Speaker 1: too much. So family photos, those photo shoots about the highways.
Speaker 1: It adds up, and you will realize that if you
Speaker 1: are budgeting and tracking your spending. So another statistic on
Speaker 1: this list is that a gallop Pole found that only
Speaker 1: one third of Americans maintain a household budget and only
Speaker 1: thirty percent have a long term financial plan that includes
Speaker 1: savings and investment goals. So if you have this, you're
Speaker 1: in the minority. Well done, right, But let's not land
Speaker 1: there people. Right, You are most likely to budget if
Speaker 1: you make at least seventy five tho dollars per year,
Speaker 1: which means the people that need it. Most people with
Speaker 1: lower incomes, the majority are not budgeting, And I would
Speaker 1: venture to say, I mean, at least when I didn't
Speaker 1: do it, is because I was scared of what I
Speaker 1: was going to see, so I didn't want to be
Speaker 1: confronted with that. But it's like this will edge sword.
Speaker 1: If you don't do it, you're going to spend a
Speaker 1: thousand dollars on the holidays, and then if you do,
Speaker 1: you get confronted with the fact that you spent a
Speaker 1: thousand dollars on the holidays. So it's like you still
Speaker 1: have to do it, though, so that you can maybe
Speaker 1: next year spend eight hundred and then next year six
Speaker 1: and so on and so on, instead of going in
Speaker 1: the other direction. Yes, we all need a budget, every
Speaker 1: last one of us, in some way, shape or form
Speaker 1: something to keep us on track. But especially if we've
Speaker 1: got a significant financial goal, like becoming debt free, it
Speaker 1: is all the more important so that you can even
Speaker 1: identify where do I have room to cut and what
Speaker 1: am I spending on things, and how do I put
Speaker 1: more money towards this? And I think ultimately too, we
Speaker 1: cannot always blame low income as our reason for financial hardship.
Speaker 1: Sometimes that is the reality. And Jen, you and I
Speaker 1: have both made less than forty thou dollars a year,
Speaker 1: which is considered to be the poverty line, but of
Speaker 1: people at least in the States are at that point
Speaker 1: facing financial hardship and making less than forty tho dollars
Speaker 1: a year. So unless we fall into that category, we
Speaker 1: really cannot blame our income as the reason for not
Speaker 1: becoming debt free or getting at financial goals. Yeah, so,
Speaker 1: on this survey of people that said they were facing
Speaker 1: financial hardship, one in ten of them earn more than
Speaker 1: a hundred thousand dollars a year, and twenty eight percent
Speaker 1: of these people earned fifty to thousand dollars a year,
Speaker 1: so we didn't even mention this on this article. The
Speaker 1: average amount of debt on American holds increases as their
Speaker 1: income creases, so you might think, oh, if I made
Speaker 1: more money than I could pay off debt. Now, if
Speaker 1: you made more money, you'd probably have more debt, is
Speaker 1: what the statistics say, and a lot of it is
Speaker 1: consumer debt. So we won't just talk about student loans,
Speaker 1: because yes, high income earners typically have more student loans,
Speaker 1: but it's consumer debt as well. Yeah, I think that
Speaker 1: this is a helpful thing to even realize, all right,
Speaker 1: where is the poverty line? How are we defining that
Speaker 1: in the States, and what does that mean? And some
Speaker 1: of us might be there right. I know that we've
Speaker 1: got listeners from a variety of backgrounds and finding themselves
Speaker 1: in a variety of situations. And so if you are
Speaker 1: below the poverty line, then okay, allow this to inform
Speaker 1: you for where you're at, and engage with our community
Speaker 1: and your own personal like local community to find resources
Speaker 1: to help you not remain in that place. If this
Speaker 1: is a goal of yours to rise above that poverty line,
Speaker 1: to be debt free. Also, especially sally, if this is
Speaker 1: an actual reason for you to be in debt, all
Speaker 1: the more reason to say, okay, what can be done
Speaker 1: to get out of debt. So certainly don't use poverty
Speaker 1: as an excuse for being in debt. If you are
Speaker 1: not in poverty, and if you are in poverty, then
Speaker 1: there are resources. Take advantage of the free things in
Speaker 1: your community, some of the resources that are available, even
Speaker 1: just knowledge wise within the Frugal Friends community, within other
Speaker 1: financial communities as well. There is still hope. We don't
Speaker 1: want to say, Okay, if you're above the poverty line,
Speaker 1: then then great, don't use it as an excuse. But
Speaker 1: even if you're below the poverty line, there's still hope
Speaker 1: to increase your earning potential, to still be able to
Speaker 1: get at some of these financial goals. And we want
Speaker 1: to be a community that helps to support you in
Speaker 1: doing so. Yes, absolutely, And we also want to be
Speaker 1: a community that supports you in other ways by improving
Speaker 1: your spirits and giving you what you want. Yes, and
Speaker 1: giving you that's right. It's time for the best minute
Speaker 1: of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and
Speaker 1: his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage.
Speaker 1: Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have
Speaker 1: to pay that bill anymore. That build buffalo bills. Bill Clinton,
Speaker 1: this is the bill of the week. Hi, I would
Speaker 1: like to nominate my uncle Billy for the Bill of
Speaker 1: the week, and also my cousin Bill Um. And also
Speaker 1: I'm from Rhode Island, so boto Williams. Thank you, heyo,
Speaker 1: short and sweet tomorrows that I like Rhode Island. And
Speaker 1: I think part of what I like Rhode Island is
Speaker 1: because I can say the word narraganset like the beer.
Speaker 1: Whoa right because I went there once. Good job, thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you. Way to make that Bill of the week
Speaker 1: about you, Jen is also about smartest family and her
Speaker 1: state pride, little ist state, biggest heart is what I say.
Speaker 1: So good thanks for nominating. Not only did you nominate,
Speaker 1: but you got it still of the week. Congratulations. If
Speaker 1: you want to submit your Bill of the week about
Speaker 1: your family, about your state, really about anything, you know
Speaker 1: that there's really no limitations. Visit for Cool Friends podcast
Speaker 1: dot com slash bill. Leave us a bill, will listen
Speaker 1: to it and try not to make it about us.
Speaker 1: But no promises, no promises. Now when I'm around and
Speaker 1: now it's time for lightning. Mm hmm. It's here. You
Speaker 1: know it, whether you like the intro or not. So
Speaker 1: today Jill and I are going to share our turning points.
Speaker 1: So why paying off debt became important to us and
Speaker 1: the moment we realized it was possible because those were
Speaker 1: definitely two different points, So amazing you go first and
Speaker 1: all right, so I already told you guys, my debt
Speaker 1: was a super a mental and emotional burden for me.
Speaker 1: It was a real source of depression. And I do
Speaker 1: not struggle with depression. Typically, I wouldn't even say I
Speaker 1: struggle with anxiety, though I have had bouts where anxiety
Speaker 1: has given me seizures, so I guess I can't say
Speaker 1: that anymore. But so much so I compartmentalized and I
Speaker 1: hid from my debt. So it was always a negative
Speaker 1: thing in my life, which made it important, But it
Speaker 1: didn't become important to me to pay it off until
Speaker 1: it was important to my fiance. And basically it was like, hey,
Speaker 1: you agreed to marry me, and now I'm going to
Speaker 1: pay off my debt. And I was like why m hmmm.
Speaker 1: And we were still in that like newly engaged phase,
Speaker 1: so I was like, okay, anything you want to do,
Speaker 1: but I'm not really interested. And so that was the
Speaker 1: moment it became important to me. And then you may
Speaker 1: have heard the story. I've shared it before, but the
Speaker 1: way he got me on board was just talking about like, Okay,
Speaker 1: what do you see for our future and what do
Speaker 1: you want? He got me to the place where I
Speaker 1: was thinking beyond debt because in my mind it was
Speaker 1: so overwhelming. All I can see was debt and I
Speaker 1: couldn't see beyond it. So powerful, and he encouraged me
Speaker 1: to just theoretically dream beyond it. And so when I
Speaker 1: did that, that was when I said, Okay, this is
Speaker 1: also something that I want to do because I would
Speaker 1: actually like to see this version of my life that
Speaker 1: I've dreamt. I like that. Yeah, not just debt free
Speaker 1: for the sake of debt free, but putting more reason
Speaker 1: behind it. I think that's a helpful motivator too. For me.
Speaker 1: I don't think that there's ever been a time that
Speaker 1: I have felt comfortable owing people something that goes beyond finances.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying it's a good thing. You're a giver,
Speaker 1: so I get that you were. You were a giver,
Speaker 1: not an oh people. It needs to be definitely fair,
Speaker 1: if not skewed in the other direction. Yeah. So, and
Speaker 1: I also feel like debt kind of happened to me.
Speaker 1: It's probably how most people feel, too, like to wake
Speaker 1: up one day and realize, yeah, this is real. I
Speaker 1: never had a credit card. I think maybe I opened
Speaker 1: one in college, but I didn't even know like how
Speaker 1: to use it. Just like I don't know, I think
Speaker 1: this is something good that I should do. Mostly I
Speaker 1: just had a debit card, so spending money that I
Speaker 1: didn't have wasn't quite a thing or an option that
Speaker 1: I even knew was available, and trust me, if I
Speaker 1: knew it was available, I might have done it. But
Speaker 1: realizing and getting that a final bill after I graduated college,
Speaker 1: I think, like, that's when it really hit me. All
Speaker 1: those years of just like signing the financial aid package
Speaker 1: and it's like, oh, yeah, yeah, but this will probably
Speaker 1: just like go away somehow. I don't know. I don't
Speaker 1: know how my nineteen year old brain really processed what
Speaker 1: was going to happen to me at one. But when
Speaker 1: I finally got it, I was like, all right, and
Speaker 1: now you have six months before it starts gaining interest
Speaker 1: and then you actually do need to start paying us
Speaker 1: this money until all of this money has been paid,
Speaker 1: And that was my moment of realizing this is real,
Speaker 1: this is all real. It's not just this number on
Speaker 1: a piece of paper that I signed a way that
Speaker 1: allows me to keep going to college. This is real
Speaker 1: money I have to pay back and I am not
Speaker 1: gonna lie. I was really angry, to be polite about it,
Speaker 1: It was really angry when I had to pay back
Speaker 1: the loans I took out. Part of it is that
Speaker 1: I felt like I didn't fully know what I was
Speaker 1: getting into because they present it to you like it's
Speaker 1: a financial aid package credit or not. It's money that
Speaker 1: you owe. So I was I angry about that, and
Speaker 1: then I was angry about the fact that they make
Speaker 1: it seem like a good loan. Oh, this is like
Speaker 1: a good loan. No, it's still gains interest, like you
Speaker 1: still owe interest on it, and a real decent amount
Speaker 1: of interest even though they're trying to make it. I'm
Speaker 1: getting angry again. You can tell who, all right, Not
Speaker 1: even am Scott would give an eighteen year old a
Speaker 1: payday loan that big. Yes, right, so there's your measurement.
Speaker 1: You can't even go to the bad part of town
Speaker 1: and get that much money. Like, moving on, moving on.
Speaker 1: So so I think, yeah, that was my pivot point
Speaker 1: where I think, honestly, anger is a decent motivator for me.
Speaker 1: It got me angry and I was like, well, I
Speaker 1: gotta get rid of this. But I was also really
Speaker 1: overwhelmed because at that point I had my bachelor's and
Speaker 1: social work and I was stepping into a job where
Speaker 1: they were going to pay me twenty six thousand dollars
Speaker 1: a year, and my loans were more than that. So
Speaker 1: that was overwhelming. So I knew that I wanted to
Speaker 1: pay it off, and I knew that it was real money,
Speaker 1: and I just resigned myself to the fact that this
Speaker 1: is just going to take me forever, This is going
Speaker 1: to linger over me for forever. And I did feel
Speaker 1: quite overwhelmed by it. Yeah, man, I get angry as
Speaker 1: while thinking about it. I get so angry, still angry
Speaker 1: about it. It's predatory. I think the student loan industry
Speaker 1: is editory. Okay, So when did I realize it was
Speaker 1: possible pay off? Well, I don't think I realized it
Speaker 1: was possible. I think I was hopeful, And I think
Speaker 1: all you need at first is hope. That's it. You
Speaker 1: don't need anything more, you don't need math. All you
Speaker 1: need is hope. And then because you're gonna suck at first,
Speaker 1: and the math's not going to work out, but as
Speaker 1: you get better, then the math will start to work out.
Speaker 1: And that is when I realized that we could do it.
Speaker 1: We got married, Travis didn't have a job. I was
Speaker 1: making probably maybe for d K and that what they
Speaker 1: call that, but love for sure, Um, I was so skinny.
Speaker 1: It was the best. And then we started making more money,
Speaker 1: and we and we started controlling our spending and budgeting
Speaker 1: and the math. What we thought was going to take
Speaker 1: us five years ended up taking us less than two
Speaker 1: because the math started working in our favor the better
Speaker 1: we got. But I didn't see that until we were
Speaker 1: like in it, like several months in it. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Sometimes you just have to start with that little bit
Speaker 1: of hope and put one foot in front of the other.
Speaker 1: I think it was similar for me. I started immediately
Speaker 1: right I had a job. I needed to start paying
Speaker 1: back this loan. I chose to do as much as
Speaker 1: I could. I did not do the minimum payment, but
Speaker 1: even you know, so twenty six dollars a year, I
Speaker 1: was not making much, but I did choose. I looked
Speaker 1: at what our other expenses were and what we're the
Speaker 1: maximum amount that I can do and also not shoot
Speaker 1: ourselves in the foot. So I paid more than what
Speaker 1: what we had to pay every month. But still I
Speaker 1: knew this is going to take me a really long time.
Speaker 1: But I think I started to see the reality to
Speaker 1: being debt free and the light at the end of
Speaker 1: the tunnel nowhere near the middle. But when I start
Speaker 1: to make more money and I realized oh, life isn't
Speaker 1: always going to be me earning twenty six dollars a year.
Speaker 1: That in this debt payoff journey, I can gain a
Speaker 1: skill set, I can get raises, I can switch jobs.
Speaker 1: I can make more money and pay off more debt
Speaker 1: and be more financially free in this process. And I
Speaker 1: think that really spurred me on and gave me an
Speaker 1: even greater injection of hope in that process to realize, oh,
Speaker 1: I'm not stuck. This isn't a static, stagnant process where
Speaker 1: I'm only going to ever be able to pay so
Speaker 1: much off. There are possibilities in this think In that way,
Speaker 1: it almost gamified it for me, where I had these
Speaker 1: little benchmarks of oh, okay, if I just got a
Speaker 1: little bit of a race, which means I can increase
Speaker 1: the amount that I put towards my debt, and then
Speaker 1: I just got a bonus or somebody just gave me
Speaker 1: a birthday after and I was motivated to put the
Speaker 1: majority of that to my debt. And I have not
Speaker 1: regretted it. I have not looked back on the fact that,
Speaker 1: like five birthdays in a row, any money that came
Speaker 1: in from any avenue went straight to my debt and
Speaker 1: golly am I grateful? Yeah, And there's and it's stuff
Speaker 1: like there's financial stuff you don't learn until you're on
Speaker 1: that journey, or at least for me, I didn't learn
Speaker 1: until I was on the journey to pay off debt.
Speaker 1: And like, if you wait until you're in a quote
Speaker 1: unquote better financial situation, then you miss out on all
Speaker 1: of those lessons. And like, yes, you're making slower process
Speaker 1: in the beginning, but you're learning more. You have more
Speaker 1: time to learn so that when you get to that
Speaker 1: better financial situation, you're already so ahead and you can
Speaker 1: do so much more with the more that you have. Yep.
Speaker 1: And I remember when you paid off your debt, you
Speaker 1: were at my how was and I became Yeah, I
Speaker 1: became debt free in goodness before the pandemic struck and
Speaker 1: before the blessing that was. And we say that right,
Speaker 1: like less risk. Yeah, I was able to walk into
Speaker 1: the pandemic with a whole lot less stress on me
Speaker 1: because I didn't have that debt payment. I didn't know
Speaker 1: what was coming. Oh goodness, I'm so grateful for that piece.
Speaker 1: It was a hardship in other ways, but I didn't
Speaker 1: have that additional piece on my shoulders. I'm so grateful. Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: it hasn't worn off either. We're going to be coming
Speaker 1: up on a year of being debt free and man, yeah,
Speaker 1: still so thrilled. The thrill of it has not gone away.
Speaker 1: Riding that wave. I truly believe that feeling is available
Speaker 1: for everyone if you want it. It's a bit for you,
Speaker 1: and we're carrying you on whatever stage of life you're
Speaker 1: in because you can increase your income, you can cut
Speaker 1: out expenses, you can get better and better and get
Speaker 1: to that financial place that you want to be. It
Speaker 1: is possible, and so I hope that this episode was
Speaker 1: the motivation you need and inspiration you need to either
Speaker 1: start that journey or keep fighting for it and get
Speaker 1: involved in with a community who's going to help you.
Speaker 1: We are one of those communities. Get involved with them
Speaker 1: locally as well. But yeah, hang out with us on
Speaker 1: the Frugal Friends community group on Facebook and be motivated
Speaker 1: by one another. It's super helpful to have a team
Speaker 1: cheering you on in the process. Absolutely hang out with
Speaker 1: us Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash group, and thank
Speaker 1: you so much for listening and leaving reviews. The reviews
Speaker 1: help people find us and know that we are a
Speaker 1: legitimate podcast with helpful information, not just two Valley girls chatting.
Speaker 1: So stay you this week. To Megan from Toronto, Canada,
Speaker 1: she says, money conversations you wish you had with your friends.
Speaker 1: It happens to be five stars. She says, Jen and
Speaker 1: Jill are the friends you wish you had in real
Speaker 1: life to talk money with. I tune in every Friday
Speaker 1: to hang out with these ladies. They're always having a
Speaker 1: fresh perspective on personal finance content, but know how to
Speaker 1: keep it real. I also love that Jill and I
Speaker 1: are both social workers. There are not a lot of
Speaker 1: others in our field willing to talk about finances. Love
Speaker 1: from Toronto, Canada, Love right back at you. Yeah, social
Speaker 1: workers can do this thing of becoming debt free to
Speaker 1: We also want to thank our friends who share these
Speaker 1: episodes on social media. So when you share the latest
Speaker 1: episode and tag us on Facebook or Instagram, we add
Speaker 1: you to our monthly drawing. So for every five tags
Speaker 1: and reviews we get each month, we give away a
Speaker 1: copy of the Frugal Friends workbook. So keep leaving us
Speaker 1: reviews on iTunes and Stitcher, sending those screenshots to Frugal
Speaker 1: Friends podcast us at gmail dot com and don't forget
Speaker 1: to tag us on social We do see it. See
Speaker 1: you next Week by Frugal Friends is produced, edited and
Speaker 1: mixed by Eric Syria. So last week, not last week
Speaker 1: when you're listening to this, but last week and we're
Speaker 1: recording this. Um, I had a COVID scare. I was exposed.
Speaker 1: UM pretty directly, I am. I was negative. I spent
Speaker 1: the whole week quarantining and it was very surprised I
Speaker 1: was negative. I didn't have any symptoms, but it was
Speaker 1: a week spent at home with my with my son
Speaker 1: and with your thoughts and what did you choose to do?
Speaker 1: How did you handle like a full on quarantine? Oh
Speaker 1: so boring. We watched a lot of octonuts, and if
Speaker 1: you are a parent with a young toddler, octonuts is everything,
Speaker 1: like they're the best. I would steal away at nap
Speaker 1: time to get some work done, but other than that,
Speaker 1: it was eating Halloween candy. Yeah sounds productive. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: learn a lot about sea creatures so much. Yeah, asked
Speaker 1: me about sea creatures. All I can tell you a
Speaker 1: lot about it, so don't really, but yes, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I dropped you off a care package. Enjoy beverages together,
Speaker 1: but separate. Jill. Let me guys, this episode may have
Speaker 1: been brought to you by Jenna, but it's also brought
Speaker 1: to you by Jill, who is the sweetest person ever. Um.
Speaker 1: Jill brought me a care package. And and also our
Speaker 1: friend Jessica, who was she was positive and that's who
Speaker 1: I came in contact with, UM. So she was also quarantining,
Speaker 1: but she had she could only stay in one room
Speaker 1: of her house because she was two weeks away from
Speaker 1: her wedding and her fiance was negative. So so they
Speaker 1: were just trying to keep every everyone who wasn't positive
Speaker 1: al Um. And so we were actually face timing when
Speaker 1: you dropped off the care package. That's so amazing. And
Speaker 1: I was sitting right by the door in the window
Speaker 1: and did not see you come in, like come to
Speaker 1: the door and dropping so bizarre, just like a tiny
Speaker 1: little like fairy Yeah, present, fairy l Um. It was
Speaker 1: everything that I needed. And you are a beautiful soul.
Speaker 1: Oh well, gosh, I'll have to pay you for that
Speaker 1: shout out later. Um. It was fun for me. It
Speaker 1: is better to give than to receive. You are a
Speaker 1: great gifter. UM blessed by you for sure, so thankful
Speaker 1: for your friendship and looking forward to when we can
Speaker 1: spend time in person. Yes.