Speaker 1: Episode two sixty four, Frugal Living Tips for Winter. Welcome
Speaker 1: to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money,
Speaker 1: embrace simplicity right and live with your life Here your
Speaker 1: host Jen and Jill m Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast.
Speaker 1: My name is Jen, my name is Jill, and today
Speaker 1: we are focusing on winter, the things that we should
Speaker 1: focus on, the things that winter allows us, and how
Speaker 1: it all relates to your money. M hm. Yes, winter
Speaker 1: has historically been not my favorite season. I was able
Speaker 1: to escape at a bit by coming down to Florida,
Speaker 1: only to realize that I didn't go far enough the South.
Speaker 1: Winter still has an impact here, nowhere near to what
Speaker 1: I'm used to. We don't get snow, but it does
Speaker 1: get cold, and the days are still shorter, it gets
Speaker 1: dark early. So there's a lot of reasons that it
Speaker 1: can be a tough time of year, but there's also
Speaker 1: a lot of things that we can lean into and
Speaker 1: embrace and see the interconnectedness of that with some really
Speaker 1: great benefits for our budgets and wallets, and and then
Speaker 1: how to save on the areas that classically are going
Speaker 1: to have increased costs associated with it. In the winter,
Speaker 1: so lots of different approaches and hot takes in this one.
Speaker 1: No hot takes. Hopefully they warm you up hot takes
Speaker 1: on cold days. First, let's talk about our sponsor, hunker
Speaker 1: and Down. It's a very special sponsor that we could
Speaker 1: only showcase in this very special winter episode. It's time
Speaker 1: to gather upboard up, cover up, button up, stash away
Speaker 1: and hunker down. And while we're inside, avoiding the cold
Speaker 1: and eating our way through the preserves and canned goods.
Speaker 1: You know, because it's nineteen o two, why not hunker
Speaker 1: down with us the Frugal Friends over on our Patreon.
Speaker 1: We've got extra monthly episodes and additional frugal goodies at
Speaker 1: Frugal Friends podcast dot com, slash Patreon hunker and Down
Speaker 1: with the Frugal Friends. Because the Internet still works even
Speaker 1: when it's cold out. You can tell you are from
Speaker 1: Pennsylvania because to me, hunkering down is a hurricane season phrase.
Speaker 1: In the winter, we go outside, I do not hunker down.
Speaker 1: We hunker down during hurricanes. I feel as though a
Speaker 1: good portion of the world needs to hunker down in
Speaker 1: the winter. And we're gonna talk about that. You are correct,
Speaker 1: and uh, we're going to talk about it. So if
Speaker 1: you like episodes like this, than a few others to
Speaker 1: queue up. We got episode one forty which is our
Speaker 1: listener special and it is the Frugal Friends share secret
Speaker 1: frugal Tips. Not us, but you guys. You are the
Speaker 1: Frugal Friends and we share your tips. And then episode
Speaker 1: thirty three Frugal Christmas Fun, So we talked about free
Speaker 1: holiday activities, frugal traditions, all kinds of wintry goodness in
Speaker 1: episode thirty three fun. Yes, alright, so let's get into
Speaker 1: our first article. This is from the Dollar Stretcher and
Speaker 1: this is going to be our practical tips article. So
Speaker 1: if you're here for the tips, this is your article
Speaker 1: and it is twelve frugal home winterrization tips. We're really
Speaker 1: going to focus on keeping our utility bills as low
Speaker 1: as possible because this is tis the season for them.
Speaker 1: And what do you think being somewhere from somewhere chill
Speaker 1: that actually requires this? What do you think about these?
Speaker 1: I think it's good. We're not going to go through
Speaker 1: all twelve, but as you can imagine, it focuses the
Speaker 1: majority of their twelve tips on how to save, primarily
Speaker 1: on heating costs, which for those who live somewhere in
Speaker 1: the north around the world, that is the biggest expense
Speaker 1: that happens in the winter is heating the home, trying
Speaker 1: to stay warm, doing all of the things to stay warm,
Speaker 1: so understandably, so a lot of the tips are are
Speaker 1: around that, and I do think that they're good tips
Speaker 1: with some other ones kind of baked in of things
Speaker 1: that we can consider to kind of continue to keep
Speaker 1: this time frame and affordable time frame for us. Yeah,
Speaker 1: So the first one in the tips that I like
Speaker 1: is to invest in a programmable thermostat. And this is
Speaker 1: good if you are not getting like spending multiple hundreds
Speaker 1: of dollars on a programmable thermostat. These programmable thermostats, these
Speaker 1: smart thermostats are much more affordable than they have been
Speaker 1: in the past, and that's why they're finally at a
Speaker 1: price point that justifies the money they save you as
Speaker 1: an as an offset, so and they just save you
Speaker 1: time to like, they save you peace of mind. So
Speaker 1: there's a lot of other reasons. Even if you're paying
Speaker 1: maybe what seems like a lot for one of these thermostats,
Speaker 1: they offer a lot more benefits than just the energy
Speaker 1: saving parts. We had. We had one in our old
Speaker 1: house and we have yet to install the one in
Speaker 1: the new house, and it's so sad. But we got
Speaker 1: them on sale, so it was definitely worth worth the cost.
Speaker 1: I like this one because I think it's really similar
Speaker 1: to automating savings or automating bill pay. It's the decision
Speaker 1: that you already want to make about how and what
Speaker 1: parts of your home to heat and cool and to
Speaker 1: what temperature, rather than needing to think about it and
Speaker 1: go over to the thermostat and manually do it every
Speaker 1: single time. Because we have many splits, we're we're able
Speaker 1: to do that. But after having talked with multiple h
Speaker 1: VAC experts, it's pretty well understood and agreed upon that
Speaker 1: it is not good to turn off, whether in the
Speaker 1: winter or summer, to turn off your heating and cooling
Speaker 1: all the way. I know you'll read that in some
Speaker 1: of these articles, and I just disagree with that. I
Speaker 1: think it's better too. Maybe, you know, keep it out
Speaker 1: of cooler temp in the winter, not heat it super
Speaker 1: super hot. But that's gonna be far better than turning
Speaker 1: off the heat altogether when you leave the house and
Speaker 1: turning it all back on. It's just this kind of
Speaker 1: snip snap seesaw exchange that is not actually going to
Speaker 1: save you much money in the long run. It's not
Speaker 1: great for your systems. It's not great for your home
Speaker 1: and the things in it to be going from that
Speaker 1: extreme of temperatures in the course of just twenty four hours.
Speaker 1: So just better to to maintain a lower temp and
Speaker 1: then raise it as you need when you're living in
Speaker 1: the space, and a program of both thermostats going to
Speaker 1: help with that. The next one I'll point out on
Speaker 1: here is number six, which is to make sure that
Speaker 1: your air filters are clean. This is a great time
Speaker 1: of year. I mean really we should probably be doing
Speaker 1: this that at least once a quarter, making sure that
Speaker 1: the filters are clean. It's a super simple job, easy
Speaker 1: to look up on YouTube for the specific types of
Speaker 1: units that you have. But they do get clogged fairly quickly,
Speaker 1: and it really can have a big impact on our
Speaker 1: utility bills. If the filters are clogged, it's going to
Speaker 1: cause the unit to have to work harder longer, it
Speaker 1: might lessen the life of your heating and cooling unit,
Speaker 1: it's going to cost you more. So really simple thing,
Speaker 1: here's your alert if you've not done it yet this
Speaker 1: year cleaner air filters. Yes, yes, speaking on this like
Speaker 1: topic of preserving your h back and preserving your systems,
Speaker 1: which is honestly where you're going to get the most
Speaker 1: bang for your buck effort in saving So I was
Speaker 1: just looking up what are the degrees that we can fluctuate?
Speaker 1: Did you talk to any h back people that gave
Speaker 1: you a range of up down, like with your system.
Speaker 1: I can't speak confidently to that. I mean, I don't
Speaker 1: think you're gonna want more than a ten degree range,
Speaker 1: but I can't speak confidently. That's what it's saying. So
Speaker 1: the Internet says, um, if you're going away for an
Speaker 1: extended period of time, so like maybe more than twenty
Speaker 1: four hours or something, no more than seven to ten
Speaker 1: degrees to conserve energy. So depending on whether it's hot
Speaker 1: in the summer or cold in the winter, no more
Speaker 1: of the colder heat by seven to ten degrees um.
Speaker 1: In the winter, they're saying anywhere from fifth no colder
Speaker 1: than fifty five to sixty degrees in in the cold.
Speaker 1: So if you want to put your if you want
Speaker 1: to go as low as as you can go, probably
Speaker 1: no lower than sixty degrees and that's only if it's
Speaker 1: like within seven to ten degrees of what you're comfortable with.
Speaker 1: So that's kind of what the internet is agreeing on
Speaker 1: to preserve your HVAC system. So there you go. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they say no lower than fifty and no higher than sixty.
Speaker 1: So yeah, they're pretty much all consistent on the fifty
Speaker 1: to sixty in the winter. So there you go. Um,
Speaker 1: the next one, let's preserve all of that heating that
Speaker 1: you are doing in your house by caulking your windows,
Speaker 1: your eyelights, maybe your doors, any place where heat can leak.
Speaker 1: You want to be ceiling and that's just smart because
Speaker 1: you don't want condensation or liquid to get into your
Speaker 1: house either. You want your house to be like weather
Speaker 1: tight honestly. So that's a good reason to to save
Speaker 1: you money on your utilities, but also to preserve the
Speaker 1: integrity of the structure, especially if you have a wood home. Uh,
Speaker 1: those are very I don't know how common those are
Speaker 1: up north, but yeah, that's definitely something that we do
Speaker 1: here once a year. We just make sure and you
Speaker 1: can I don't some people have tools where they can
Speaker 1: see where heat or cooling is being lost. Do you
Speaker 1: know how how you find that, Jill, No, I'm not
Speaker 1: certain about that. I mean, we just always did the
Speaker 1: draft test. Walk around where do you feel are pouring in?
Speaker 1: That's tide are being sucked out. Sometimes you just have
Speaker 1: to go outside in the cold and see where the
Speaker 1: warmth is coming. You could do it inside to kind
Speaker 1: of where is the cold air coming in? I mean, yeah,
Speaker 1: really eliminating the drafts and it's it is going to
Speaker 1: be around your doors and your windows. That is where
Speaker 1: the most heat loss happened, so between calking. If you've
Speaker 1: got really old windows but you don't have it in
Speaker 1: the budget yet to replace them, we've even in the
Speaker 1: past utilized it's almost like a saran wrap film you
Speaker 1: can put over your windows. Now, it's going to keep
Speaker 1: it from being opened, but chances are you're not going
Speaker 1: to be wanting to open your windows in the winter.
Speaker 1: So things like that can buy you a few extra
Speaker 1: seasons before you need to replace or upgrade some of
Speaker 1: those pieces, which is worth considering if you've got very
Speaker 1: old drafty winters and you live in the north. But
Speaker 1: there are some really helpful solutions that I know Eric
Speaker 1: and I have done at various places that we've lived
Speaker 1: and really did make a difference and keeping the heat
Speaker 1: in and helping us to lower our heating bills. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and skylights. Skylights always leak and when if you whether
Speaker 1: it's rain or snow, stuff gets in there and and
Speaker 1: you've got problems not just leaking inside your house, but
Speaker 1: like all the things that get wet around it. So
Speaker 1: always worth it to be checking if you have skylights
Speaker 1: to make sure those are are cocked and airtight. Number
Speaker 1: seven I liked dress appropriately for the season, just the
Speaker 1: conservative reminder, but in all truth, the highlight of layering.
Speaker 1: I think we can often still despite all of the
Speaker 1: science and research, think just a big, bulky sweater is
Speaker 1: what we need to stay warm, when in reality, what
Speaker 1: we need is layers, thin layers over one over top
Speaker 1: of the other, and that's really going to hold in
Speaker 1: our body heat and keep us from that kind of
Speaker 1: not really thinking about it. I'm just so cold, let
Speaker 1: me go turn up the thermostat and then wait for
Speaker 1: the bill and be shocked. I know oftentimes it's the
Speaker 1: parents to the children reminding them I'm not going to
Speaker 1: turn up the heat when you're wearing shorts and short sleeves.
Speaker 1: So there's definitely a training process in here, but training
Speaker 1: ourselves to to wear the clothes that are necessary, and
Speaker 1: and that can help too, because I think sometimes it's
Speaker 1: I don't want to wear a big bulky sweater and
Speaker 1: be walking around the house. I'd rather just have to
Speaker 1: be warm in here. But if you're just layering up
Speaker 1: thin layers, that does more for us than usually even
Speaker 1: the big bulky thing. So just consider it. There's your
Speaker 1: other reminder that your brain probably already knew, but you're
Speaker 1: not going to be as likely to try and turn
Speaker 1: up the heat if you've got the right clothes on.
Speaker 1: I would also be prepared for a teachable moment because
Speaker 1: your kids will ask you to turn up the heat,
Speaker 1: because I was a child once and I asked that
Speaker 1: and my parents only ever said no, but didn't tell
Speaker 1: me why. So take it upon yourself to like pre prepare,
Speaker 1: know the rate of usage, know how much, know the
Speaker 1: math behind what you were saving by keeping it as
Speaker 1: at a certain temperature, so that you can tell them
Speaker 1: by keeping it this for this number of hours, we
Speaker 1: save this much, and so we can take once we've
Speaker 1: saved it this much, we can take that and we
Speaker 1: can go do something fun as a family. Or I
Speaker 1: can turn up the heat and we can sacrifice this
Speaker 1: fun outing but make it a I mean, it's a
Speaker 1: great opportunity for a teaching moment that nobody ever used
Speaker 1: with me. But like you just assume that your kids
Speaker 1: will get it when they're adults, but they can get
Speaker 1: it when they're not adults. To you just have to
Speaker 1: tell them. The kid might say, I don't want to
Speaker 1: go do that thing anyway, turn up the but yeah,
Speaker 1: you're still the adult. Eric and I as adult children.
Speaker 1: We got married very young. We decided when we had
Speaker 1: one of our first apartments, we're going to do things different.
Speaker 1: I don't care if it's going to cost us more.
Speaker 1: I want to be warm, like I want to be
Speaker 1: warm in the winter. We're gonna put the heat at
Speaker 1: at a temperature that feels good for us. Until we
Speaker 1: got that first bill and it was close to like
Speaker 1: five dollars for that month, and like our hearts fell
Speaker 1: out of our chests. Were like, nope, it is time
Speaker 1: to be grown adults. But the childish ways behind us
Speaker 1: layer up and turn that sheet down. We get it now, yes,
Speaker 1: and Travis, So this is still like a point of
Speaker 1: contention between Travis and I Travis would have it at
Speaker 1: sixty degrees. He'd keep it at sixty. No, I mean
Speaker 1: sixty is a compromise for us. He'd keep it below that,
Speaker 1: he'd keep it at like fifty. But I want to
Speaker 1: not be miserable, so we keep it at like, gosh,
Speaker 1: sixties sixty seven. I think I may go down like
Speaker 1: a degree every year because my body gets more numb
Speaker 1: every year that I'm married us. So I don't know
Speaker 1: what that says, but yeah, I am not one to
Speaker 1: be miserable in my house. But I am gonna wear
Speaker 1: layers and do that and keep it lower to be
Speaker 1: able to save that little bit of money. Well, and
Speaker 1: you can get back by your next tip. Absolutely can
Speaker 1: heat up your next You can heat it up more
Speaker 1: with number nine. Bake. I was so in the summer,
Speaker 1: I do not use my oven because it heats up
Speaker 1: the house and it's so hot in Florida. So in
Speaker 1: the winter, I'm using that baby all the time, Like
Speaker 1: I am bacon that this says bake to your heart's content,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, yes, let me bake pizza, let me
Speaker 1: bake muffins. I'm a bake. I'm gonna bake casse roles, bakes, bakes,
Speaker 1: and bake bakes. I'm gonna make bakes and let that
Speaker 1: heat from the oven warm up the rest of the house.
Speaker 1: So keep it open once it's off, and just kind
Speaker 1: of enjoy that heat and let built up the warmth
Speaker 1: of the comfort food warm you from the inside and
Speaker 1: emotions too. I lost my muffin ten though, so I'm
Speaker 1: not making muffins this year. Oh no, I don't know
Speaker 1: where it went. There's no way to get a new
Speaker 1: muffingtin either, God forever you don't have a muffintin either. Okay,
Speaker 1: no muffins this year, sorry, mama. Man. The last one
Speaker 1: I'll point out is comparison shop, So if you're still
Speaker 1: feeling like your utilities are too high, you know, shop around,
Speaker 1: figure out if there's another way that you can get
Speaker 1: a lower rate, whether you've got options for your provider,
Speaker 1: or if it's worth beginning to consider different types of
Speaker 1: ways of heating and cooling, whether you know you're going
Speaker 1: your central h VAC system or mini splits, or if
Speaker 1: sometimes not all the time, it's more advantageous to do
Speaker 1: keep your heat at a really low point if it's
Speaker 1: really expensive and for the room that you're in for
Speaker 1: a few hours, just put a little space heater buy you.
Speaker 1: It's not always going to be the best solution for everybody,
Speaker 1: but kind of trying out a few different things when
Speaker 1: it comes to these utilities, compare, see where the savings
Speaker 1: might be, and know that springtime is coming. Yes, most Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't think most people will have an option for
Speaker 1: their utilities. But like comparing appliances or like Jill said,
Speaker 1: many splits versus central, uh, comparing some of these other
Speaker 1: options you do have or you you may have can
Speaker 1: be really interesting because maybe you already have centrally. See,
Speaker 1: you're not going to spend the money to switch to
Speaker 1: many splits, but if you move, you might have to
Speaker 1: make a choice, and so then you'll already know the facts.
Speaker 1: But stuff like that, it doesn't hurt to be educated
Speaker 1: about your options. Yeah. Oh, John, this next article I'm
Speaker 1: actually really excited about. You picked this one. Jill picked
Speaker 1: this article, And normally Goldie will pick the articles and
Speaker 1: I will like vet them, But this one's Jill, and
Speaker 1: I'm very into the idea behind it. I'm so glad
Speaker 1: you're on board with this. So when when John and
Speaker 1: I were talking about this episode, and considering what we
Speaker 1: wanted to say about winter. It sparked for me some
Speaker 1: recent conversations and ponderings I've been having about the seasons
Speaker 1: and how I was just talking with my sister recently,
Speaker 1: how I wish that our lives could fall in step
Speaker 1: more with the seasons. I do think that there can
Speaker 1: be something really beautiful about winter, the shorter days, some
Speaker 1: of what the cold can bring, the dormancy, the stillness.
Speaker 1: But I think what leads a lot of us to
Speaker 1: not like winter is the fact that our lives still
Speaker 1: demand a similar pace to what we're doing in the summer,
Speaker 1: and it's not kind of leaning into some of the
Speaker 1: natural rhythms of life, and maybe what what we might
Speaker 1: be more built for, and how I feel like I
Speaker 1: might have enjoyed winter more, even in the North, if
Speaker 1: I had been able to lean in more to what
Speaker 1: winter almost demands of us, rather than trying to keep
Speaker 1: pace with something that the summer can support, with the
Speaker 1: longer days and the warmer weather. But but we just
Speaker 1: that's not how life is set up. We still maintain
Speaker 1: our jobs, we still maintain our schedules. But it got
Speaker 1: me thinking, what if in the areas that we can
Speaker 1: control and bear influence on we were able to embrace
Speaker 1: a little bit more of simplicity and stillness, and so
Speaker 1: this article references that, and I think there is a
Speaker 1: congruence of convergence of being a really kind of like frugal,
Speaker 1: simple money saving, more intentional with our money spending that
Speaker 1: can happen in the winter months. And so this article
Speaker 1: comes from I've never heard of this blog before. It's
Speaker 1: called ever Violet, and it's talking about the wisdom of winter,
Speaker 1: rest and renewal. And I do think that that is
Speaker 1: what winter can be, is this time of rest and renewal.
Speaker 1: And if we're able to lean into that, we're going
Speaker 1: to see cost savings, we're gonna see simplification in our lifestyles.
Speaker 1: And I love what they say here about winter, that
Speaker 1: there's these phases of dormancy and stillness that are essential
Speaker 1: to flourish. And the darker months can be the counterpart
Speaker 1: to the bloom that we see in springtime and summertime.
Speaker 1: And so what if we allowed ourselves to engage in that.
Speaker 1: That's kind of the question that we're asking with this
Speaker 1: article of what if we approached winter as a time
Speaker 1: of rest and renewal, a simplification. Yeah, I think that's
Speaker 1: so beautifu full it is, I mean, and it's just
Speaker 1: practical too. So like for someone like you who travels
Speaker 1: a lot, travel is much more inconvenient in the winter
Speaker 1: and demands a lot more uh not just clothing, but
Speaker 1: just demands a lot more like time. And so this
Speaker 1: is something that you may be able to maintain very
Speaker 1: easily in the summer and in the spring, but it's
Speaker 1: it's time to slow down and travel less in the
Speaker 1: winter as the climate kind of demands. And so there's
Speaker 1: all all kinds of different little practical reasons for leaning
Speaker 1: in to the season. And we talked about seasons, like
Speaker 1: in your life, you have a busy season or not
Speaker 1: busy season, but these seasons are they can correspond with
Speaker 1: the actual weather seasons really closely. Uh so, And there's
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff going on in the winter, but
Speaker 1: a lot of it is like family stuff. A lot
Speaker 1: of it is designed or should be designed for rest
Speaker 1: and rejuvenation. So I'm very excited to talk about all these,
Speaker 1: especially the first one, which is sleep. It says winter
Speaker 1: is an ideal time to slow down our pace and
Speaker 1: catch up on all the rest that we missed throughout
Speaker 1: the year, and catching up on sleep is a myth,
Speaker 1: but mentally you can feel like you've caught up. Uh,
Speaker 1: and and this is a really great time to try
Speaker 1: and do that with the earlier darkness. I know, I
Speaker 1: am very It doesn't even matter. I will get into
Speaker 1: bed when the sun is still out, but it just
Speaker 1: feels better when the sun is down and I get
Speaker 1: into bed. Yeah, yeah, it's great. Oh. They use so
Speaker 1: many references to why sleep and yeah, well you can't
Speaker 1: catch up on a night mist of sleep. I do
Speaker 1: think that they're is this deeper concept of what sleep
Speaker 1: can do, or a season of rest can do, for
Speaker 1: maybe the ways that we might have just exhausted ourselves
Speaker 1: in this in the summer and fall, and the ways
Speaker 1: in which sleep can regulate our pulse, lower, lower our
Speaker 1: heart rate, blood pressure, allowing ourselves and our immune system
Speaker 1: to recover. That it's great for just repairing of our
Speaker 1: muscles and organs and cell structure, and it's great for
Speaker 1: hormone regulation and detoxification. Just sleep is good for us.
Speaker 1: And if you know, the sun setting sooner allows us
Speaker 1: to be able to go to bed a little sooner
Speaker 1: than lets embrace it. Yeah, and even I love it, says.
Speaker 1: Researchers believe non rem sleep is when our brain stores
Speaker 1: long term memory and clears out information we don't need,
Speaker 1: which is super important when you're trying to create better
Speaker 1: spending habits, which means free. Good thing you do to
Speaker 1: build up spending habits is a stored in your long
Speaker 1: term memory. Better when you get more non rem sleep
Speaker 1: and information that you don't need, so maybe impulse purchases
Speaker 1: you were going to buy, or worry or stress about
Speaker 1: something that you don't need to be worrying or stressing
Speaker 1: about like that leaves. So the more sleep we can get,
Speaker 1: the more opportunity our brains have to take advantage of
Speaker 1: their natural processes that help us to build habits and
Speaker 1: clear out unuseful information. And here you go to tie
Speaker 1: it into finances. When you're sleeping, you're not spending. So true,
Speaker 1: we don't talk about it a lot. We could probably
Speaker 1: do a whole episode on sleep just how you do
Speaker 1: not typically spend money in your sleep. But also if
Speaker 1: you're getting the adequate sleep that you need, there is
Speaker 1: going to be health benefits to that. And we know
Speaker 1: that the healthier we are, the more we can help
Speaker 1: our bodies get what they need, then, the less money
Speaker 1: we're going to be spending on all of the remedies
Speaker 1: for the fact that we didn't sleep well and we
Speaker 1: didn't give our bodies the time that they needed so
Speaker 1: to go to bed early. The next one on here
Speaker 1: and a little teaser. We're gonna be talking about this
Speaker 1: more in depth and a future episode, but it's worth
Speaker 1: chatting about right now, this concept of houga. It's the
Speaker 1: Scandinavian concept of coziness and convivial feelings associated with a
Speaker 1: deep sense of contentment and well being. And so from
Speaker 1: our Scandinavian neighbors and friends, they certainly live in quite
Speaker 1: a cold climate, but we can take their lead in
Speaker 1: really embracing the season rather than pushing against it and
Speaker 1: wishing that it weren't. Instead, what does this season allow
Speaker 1: us to embrace or what can we engage in during
Speaker 1: this season, especially for those of us who might deal
Speaker 1: with seasonal effective disorder or those of us who just
Speaker 1: don't do well with the sun going down at five
Speaker 1: PM and it being dark for like the next five
Speaker 1: hours before bed, and so really anything that brings joy
Speaker 1: and comfort to you is a step in the right direction,
Speaker 1: and it doesn't have to be massive things. And so
Speaker 1: this again is where simplicity frugality are great pairings with
Speaker 1: this concept of huga of you know, do you have
Speaker 1: just a comfy, cozy blanket that you love cozy up
Speaker 1: with that read a book, take the opportunity to kind
Speaker 1: of catch up on things that maybe you didn't have
Speaker 1: time to get to in the busier months. It might
Speaker 1: be enjoying a really great glass of wine or pulling
Speaker 1: out your favorite scented candle. Like it's just the really
Speaker 1: kind of slower, more simple parts of life. This is
Speaker 1: also of course bringing people together, so the winter could
Speaker 1: be a time of engaging in more regular rhythms. I
Speaker 1: know summer is awesome, but I think a lot of
Speaker 1: us find that our routines and schedules are out the window.
Speaker 1: The kids are out of school, people are traveling every
Speaker 1: which way, But the winter, most people are staying put.
Speaker 1: Like you're saying, Jenn, I didn't really think about that,
Speaker 1: but I don't do a ton of travel in the
Speaker 1: winter because it's just a headache to have to deal
Speaker 1: with all the delays because of snow on the ground
Speaker 1: wherever I might be going, and so being able to
Speaker 1: engage in a rhythm of that. There was a time
Speaker 1: a few winters in a row where we would do
Speaker 1: Sunday dinners with our friends every single Sunday. We were
Speaker 1: able to do that in the winter. The other months
Speaker 1: it couldn't really happen, but we would get together. Everybody
Speaker 1: would bring a pot luck, so that certainly saved all
Speaker 1: of us money. Kind of coming together for that. It
Speaker 1: was enjoyable time of connection with each other, away to
Speaker 1: pass the evening by when you couldn't really be productive
Speaker 1: in other ways. So just kind of leaning in and
Speaker 1: finding what can I embrace that's enjoyable, even though these
Speaker 1: other things might not be an option for me right now. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if you are looking for ways to hang out with
Speaker 1: your friends that are not at bars or restaurants or
Speaker 1: coffee shops, this is the season in which to do it.
Speaker 1: Just not having to walk around outside, being able to
Speaker 1: put on some comfy clothes and go to a friend's
Speaker 1: house and drink wine or have a pot luck. This
Speaker 1: is the season where that is most doable, and so
Speaker 1: that can get you in community, not spending as much
Speaker 1: as you might in the spring, summer and fall months
Speaker 1: for sure, And this all sounds great. These are all
Speaker 1: great examples, but in order to act on them, you
Speaker 1: have to give yourself this next one, which is permission
Speaker 1: to do less. And we often think of this time
Speaker 1: is the most almost one of the most stressful times
Speaker 1: of the year, where we are doing the most. But
Speaker 1: you have to give yourself permission to do less. And
Speaker 1: there's this I have this like new rule where if
Speaker 1: a mom says she's not doing Christmas, to never believe
Speaker 1: her or a holiday in general. She's like, I'm not
Speaker 1: I'm not doing Thanksgiving this year, I'm not doing Christmas
Speaker 1: this year. We're just we're going to go low really
Speaker 1: low key. What that means is that she will do nothing.
Speaker 1: At the last minute, she will think, oh my god,
Speaker 1: I have to do something. The holiday will collapse if
Speaker 1: I don't do something, and so at the last minute
Speaker 1: she will throw something together, expect everyone to be on board,
Speaker 1: like this was the plan the whole time, and she
Speaker 1: will not understand if you've made other plans and this
Speaker 1: is not. This is something that I have experienced, but
Speaker 1: then I have also seen other people experienced. And I
Speaker 1: have already had a friend who is a mom who
Speaker 1: said I'm not doing Thanksgiving this year, and I was like,
Speaker 1: stop it, don't say that, because you know you will,
Speaker 1: and she was she felt attacked. Um. But but it
Speaker 1: doesn't have to be either or right. It doesn't have
Speaker 1: to be the extremes. I think we can pay attention
Speaker 1: to that feeling inside of us like this is too much. Right,
Speaker 1: it might be too much. That doesn't mean that it
Speaker 1: all needs to be thrown out the window. Maybe that
Speaker 1: means you just don't need to do as much. That
Speaker 1: permission to do less. Yeah, so a the lesson is,
Speaker 1: don't listen to a mom when she says she's not
Speaker 1: doing a holiday and be if you are that mom.
Speaker 1: It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Just give
Speaker 1: yourself permission to do less, keep what works and lay
Speaker 1: down what doesn't and that's and that's it, and then
Speaker 1: you can sleep and have good quality family time. And yes,
Speaker 1: just like the bears, and you know what do we
Speaker 1: just talk about this? No bears? Bears? Yeah, bears go
Speaker 1: into hibernation, right, they do way less and they love
Speaker 1: to sleep, and they give birth in their sleep. They
Speaker 1: give birth wall hibernating, and then they wake up to
Speaker 1: their cubs there and just ready to go having already
Speaker 1: nursed off of her. She just slept through it. Give
Speaker 1: it a try, Jen. I know, I know you're do
Speaker 1: to give birth this winter. I'll ask my dad, I'm
Speaker 1: getting birth in the spring, so I think, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: I guess March is like on that cusp uh. Well, alright,
Speaker 1: this next one is time with family and friends. That
Speaker 1: we've referenced this already, but this is a great opportunity
Speaker 1: because we can't be doing all of the projects and
Speaker 1: the clean outs and the whatever it is the travel
Speaker 1: that we're doing in the spring, summer, maybe even fall winters,
Speaker 1: just it demands us to slow down. But it also
Speaker 1: can be great for connection. So this is again what's
Speaker 1: worth repeating. Eat food together, have a cup of tea, coffee,
Speaker 1: wine together, share stories, catch up, laugh, just deep conversation
Speaker 1: into the nights, so you don't even know it's dark
Speaker 1: outside because you are busy with your cozy Houga with
Speaker 1: your besties in the winter. I will also mention here
Speaker 1: it's reminding me I had I got a It's like
Speaker 1: a non game, but a game of cards called Houga,
Speaker 1: and it's a bunch of cards with questions on it.
Speaker 1: The box says for cozy conversations not sponsored by them,
Speaker 1: but that's a fun thing to like get or look
Speaker 1: up on the internet some like questions that might spark
Speaker 1: conversation and have people over for a nice hardy bowl
Speaker 1: of chili and enjoy some cozy conversations with your friends.
Speaker 1: That sounds wonderful, doesn't it. So you know what, if
Speaker 1: like our hearts are like yearning for this, why not
Speaker 1: lean in then embrace it. This really does make me
Speaker 1: look forward to like shorter days. Like okay, so I
Speaker 1: can't do a ton of renovations on my house, all right,
Speaker 1: I'll have my friends over and we'll eat Chilian chat
Speaker 1: chilian chat. And that leads us to the next one,
Speaker 1: the last one replenishing the spirit and winter. It says
Speaker 1: winter is the season to nourish our creativity, stiller months
Speaker 1: off or time to turn inward, make space for new projects, activities.
Speaker 1: I think also just time to reflect, time to catch
Speaker 1: up with people who you have not had the opportunity
Speaker 1: to be in relationship during the busy the rest of
Speaker 1: the busy year. So I think that this can be
Speaker 1: if you let it. If you let it, winter can
Speaker 1: be really replenishing to the spirit. With all the things
Speaker 1: that we just listed off, and all the things that
Speaker 1: we just talked about cost little to no money, little
Speaker 1: to no money. Right, it's a simpler time, and simplicity
Speaker 1: does not cost a lot of money. So this is
Speaker 1: reconnecting with people. That's free. Staying home, that's free, doing
Speaker 1: cozy things that's free. Sleeping that's free. Yeah you know
Speaker 1: what else is free? Oh yeah it is and it
Speaker 1: is cozy, so cozy and replenishing to the spirit the
Speaker 1: love the week. That's right, it's time for the best
Speaker 1: minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born
Speaker 1: and 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. Tough bills, Bufalo bills, bill clean.
Speaker 1: This is the bill of the week. Hygiene and Jill
Speaker 1: Love the Show. My bill of the week is my
Speaker 1: first severance payment from my former employer. I've been very
Speaker 1: unhappy in that job for a while now, and last
Speaker 1: week I had a job interview on my lunch break,
Speaker 1: and when I got back to work, my boss had
Speaker 1: found out that I've been looking for a new job
Speaker 1: and fired me unexpectedly. Apparently, Tennessee is an outwell employment state,
Speaker 1: and you can fire for any reason, but I did
Speaker 1: and expect to ever get fired. But I'm grateful for
Speaker 1: this answer to prayer. He offered me two months of
Speaker 1: my salary and severance payments so I can just enjoy
Speaker 1: the summer, explore some new interests, and hopefully get a
Speaker 1: new job. So I'm celebrating these next two months and
Speaker 1: I'm grateful for how everything has turned out. So thank
Speaker 1: you guys so much for what you do, and keep
Speaker 1: up the great work. Oh free, Okay, severance, that's amazing.
Speaker 1: I hate that for you, and I also love that
Speaker 1: for you. But I think I when I got let go,
Speaker 1: not for that. Well, it's also for a bogus reason,
Speaker 1: but it was the best thing that ever happened to me,
Speaker 1: like career wise, uh so I hope it's also the
Speaker 1: best thing that's ever happened to you. Well done and
Speaker 1: recognizing that and choosing your perspective and outlook on this.
Speaker 1: I mean, it had to have been really difficult to
Speaker 1: be let go of your job just because they hear
Speaker 1: that you're might be looking for something else, but to
Speaker 1: embrace that as an opportunity to rest and explore new
Speaker 1: ventures and find another job that might be better for
Speaker 1: your well being. It's amazing and I'm so glad that
Speaker 1: they at least offered you those two months severance in
Speaker 1: their decision to let you go. And really it's your
Speaker 1: perspective that's standing out to me as quite remarkable, because
Speaker 1: those shifts and pivots and unexpected things can really wipe
Speaker 1: us out. But depending on how we approach it it
Speaker 1: that is the true make or break for a lot
Speaker 1: of us. How are we going to approach that. What's
Speaker 1: the decision we're going to make in light of decisions
Speaker 1: that were outside of our control. So well done, So
Speaker 1: thrilled for you. Sounds like this happened in the summer.
Speaker 1: I hope things are looking up for you as we're
Speaker 1: entering in to the window. If you are listening the week, yeah, haven't.
Speaker 1: If there's anything unexpected that happened for you, whether welcomed
Speaker 1: or unwelcomed. If there's bills you like, bills you don't
Speaker 1: like people bills, you know the Drill Frugal Friends podcast,
Speaker 1: dot com, slash bill, leave us your bill. While while
Speaker 1: yes we're backed up in some regard, we're also coming
Speaker 1: to a tail end on some of them so we
Speaker 1: could use a replenishment. We actually do need a replenishment,
Speaker 1: so please leave a bill of the week, and because
Speaker 1: we are scheduled all of them, which is the first
Speaker 1: time that's ever happened in Frugal Friends history. But I
Speaker 1: guess after six months of doing twice a week, we
Speaker 1: are there. So please please think of any bill seriously,
Speaker 1: any bill. Yikes. It's like a challenge and a threat.
Speaker 1: And now it's time for like me around. I am
Speaker 1: very excited about this question. I don't know and now
Speaker 1: I'm just like even more thrilled this. That last article
Speaker 1: got me so thrilled. Uh So, Goldie's question for us
Speaker 1: this week the thing you're most looking forward to this
Speaker 1: coming winter, and mine is warm drinks. I love warm drinks,
Speaker 1: and that is there's a feeling of a warm mug
Speaker 1: or a warm cup, just warmth into my body. What
Speaker 1: kinds of what kinds of warm drinks are you gonna
Speaker 1: embrace this winter? Of course, coffee, poh, but I love
Speaker 1: a good cider. I'll do a good hot chocolate tea
Speaker 1: just like a warm drink. Lover mm hmm. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: you cannot have warm drinks in the summer here I mean,
Speaker 1: I guess you can, but who are you and just
Speaker 1: to have have those back? Yeah, I will say I
Speaker 1: think the last article did get me excited for some
Speaker 1: things that I might not have said previous to that article.
Speaker 1: For this lightning round, I think staying put is holding
Speaker 1: a little bit of excitement for me. I at this point,
Speaker 1: I don't have travel plans for January and February, so
Speaker 1: just kind of being able to enjoy my house in
Speaker 1: a new way and not be constantly leaving it. I
Speaker 1: think there's there can be pros and cons to this,
Speaker 1: but I do kind of appreciate the fact that it
Speaker 1: getting dark earlier means I can't be outside working. It
Speaker 1: just really limits the amount of exterior work I can
Speaker 1: be doing on the house, which is almost like a
Speaker 1: nice bare year for me, where otherwise I would just go, go,
Speaker 1: go and not listen to my body and maybe some
Speaker 1: of the slower pace that it's desiring. Um And I
Speaker 1: think then with that more time with people, like filling
Speaker 1: up that space with community and connection. I think definitely
Speaker 1: reading through that last article got me excited for some
Speaker 1: hosting possibilities. I'm thinking girls night with some warm drinks
Speaker 1: and I can pull out my hooga game and we
Speaker 1: can have cozy conversation. That'd be so fun. I am
Speaker 1: excited for that. I can't wait. Let's do it, yes,
Speaker 1: So thank you so much for listening. We hope that
Speaker 1: you got excited for winter and figure it out some
Speaker 1: ways that you can kind of alter your lifestyle in
Speaker 1: this season to not just save money, but also rest
Speaker 1: and and rejuvenate yourself. So I hope it was practical
Speaker 1: and inspiring for you. And I wanted to change it
Speaker 1: up a little bit, try new things, um and share
Speaker 1: a really kind email we got recently in case anybody
Speaker 1: else feels seen by it, and this one's from Lisa.
Speaker 1: She says, I just want to say I felt totally
Speaker 1: seen while listening to the podcast on cake Bo when
Speaker 1: Jill said that cash was easier for her to spend
Speaker 1: more freely because it's not necessarily tracked and there's no
Speaker 1: record of it. I've been feeling this way for years now,
Speaker 1: and I've never heard anyone else one say this or
Speaker 1: to some up my feelings so precisely. I am thrilled
Speaker 1: to know that I am not alone, even if it's
Speaker 1: only me and Jill feel this way. That said, I
Speaker 1: almost never have actual cash on hand, which means I
Speaker 1: don't spend much of it anyway. But when I do
Speaker 1: finally use that random five dollar bill in my wallet,
Speaker 1: what a carefree feeling. Keep up the good work, Jen
Speaker 1: and Jill. That's amazing. I'm so glad you felt seen, Lisa,
Speaker 1: and you're not alone. I think there's more of us
Speaker 1: out there. I don't think it's just you and me,
Speaker 1: but recognizing that in yourself, I think that is worth
Speaker 1: celebrating in some regard. Knowing how you approach money where
Speaker 1: you're more likely to spend or save, and leaning into
Speaker 1: that or not whichever direction is going to be better
Speaker 1: for you, rather than taking what everybody else says as
Speaker 1: oh yeah, this is the way it works for everybody,
Speaker 1: because it just doesn't. There's so much flexibility and fluidity
Speaker 1: in frugality and our personal finances. So thanks Lisa for
Speaker 1: the encouragement and sharing that tidbit about yourself. Amen. So
Speaker 1: thank you for listening. We love hearing how the episodes
Speaker 1: impact you because it influences what we do, what we
Speaker 1: talk about, how we talk about it. So thank you
Speaker 1: from the bottom of our hearts for all your kind words.
Speaker 1: Whenever you send them to us, see you next time.
Speaker 1: Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Cirian. I am really
Speaker 1: looking forward to cozy conversations. Wouldn't that be fun? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I love a good girl's night, like with sweatpants and wine,
Speaker 1: or maybe like just fake wind for me right now, cider,
Speaker 1: warm cider, yeah, warm cider, warm drinks. I'm just baked.
Speaker 1: Just a sucker for it. Oh, baked goods. Yes, I'm
Speaker 1: just a sucker for it. We're gonna have to get
Speaker 1: it on the calendar. I will, I will plan it.
Speaker 1: I will host that. I like coasting. Yeah, you had
Speaker 1: a really legit Christmas party last year? Yeah I did.
Speaker 1: You came? We had fun, Yes, we did, and you
Speaker 1: gave me a drink that was accidentally drunk. Oh that's right.
Speaker 1: That was that time I promised I won't do that again.
Speaker 1: Did we talked about that in one of these episodes? Didn't?
Speaker 1: I don't know if we did. Oh, man, it have
Speaker 1: been too fresh. Well, here's what it is, you know
Speaker 1: what it's. It's the new vulnerability around at the very end,
Speaker 1: and hopefully we don't. Here we go. I was growing
Speaker 1: in my garden what I thought was mint and made
Speaker 1: a mohedo, because let's be real, the winter here is
Speaker 1: still relatively warm, so like a mint mohedo can still
Speaker 1: make sense in the winter. And yeah, and I did
Speaker 1: drink it and it sounded good, so I made it,
Speaker 1: only to realize a while later when my mother in
Speaker 1: law came down and saw the plant, she was like,
Speaker 1: this is now I'm blanking on what it's called blue
Speaker 1: something and it is edible, but it's a hallucinogenic. It
Speaker 1: is not meant And I remember you saying like this taste,
Speaker 1: this taste like you know, interesting, and then you felt
Speaker 1: funny that night after having one of them. But you
Speaker 1: didn't tell me. No, I was never going to tell you.
Speaker 1: I was like, I don't know if I should drive home,
Speaker 1: but like I only had one, Like I surely I
Speaker 1: am fine, and so like I was like, I must
Speaker 1: be in my head it must be like something because
Speaker 1: like one mohito has never done it for me, and
Speaker 1: and so, but I was never going to tell you that.
Speaker 1: The thing I wasn't going to tell you is that
Speaker 1: you gave me a gift and I couldn't remember the
Speaker 1: next day. Yes, that's where the gift came from or
Speaker 1: what you had given me like I just kind of
Speaker 1: put two and two together, like, oh, I don't know
Speaker 1: where this came from. I don't remember what Jill gave me.
Speaker 1: It must be this um salvia. That's the name of it.
Speaker 1: I thought it was meant and it was salvia and
Speaker 1: it is a hallucinogenic. And I gave it to Jen.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, that was girl's night gone wrong. I didn't.
Speaker 1: I yeah, And so I don't think you hallucinated, but
Speaker 1: you feel a little funny, more funny than you went
Speaker 1: on ment right, and so I, um, yeah, I wasn't
Speaker 1: going to tell you that until you told me that
Speaker 1: you gave me hallucien and I was like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: that's what it was. It was that. And then I
Speaker 1: was like, oh my god, I should not have driven home.
Speaker 1: I was. I was on a hallucinage. And then I
Speaker 1: was like, oh my god, what have I done? I
Speaker 1: had like, alright, this time around, we will stick to
Speaker 1: cider and mold spices, perfect oh man and cozy conversations.
Speaker 1: We won't go as hard as we did last year.
Speaker 1: We were different people that we were younger, more in
Speaker 1: the hard. Did they see Ouch drinking one mohito each
Speaker 1: I'm just going wild. Yeah, keep it. We'll keep it
Speaker 1: clessing this year. Obses