Speaker 1: Episode four fifty six, how to have a Frugal Holiday Season.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to
Speaker 2: save money, embrace simplicity, and live a life. Here your
Speaker 2: hosts Jen and Jill.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast.
Speaker 3: My name is Jen, my.
Speaker 1: Name is Jill, and today we are talking about the holidays,
Speaker 1: the trifecta. It's upon us Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and then
Speaker 1: all the December holidays. Let's just put them all together.
Speaker 3: They are all to January the release of our book.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, that's an extra holiday. But yes, we
Speaker 1: are referring to Black Friday as a holiday. Sorry, not sorry,
Speaker 1: but we're going to talk about how to celebrate frugally
Speaker 1: and it's gonna contain some of the the normal tips
Speaker 1: that you are looking for and expecting, but also as
Speaker 1: we are conscious consumption and intentional spending gurus, I'm gifting
Speaker 1: myself with that title, now, how guru. It's going to
Speaker 1: be some of some of the alternative mindset shift stuff too,
Speaker 1: you know, so we're.
Speaker 3: All craving it. We all just need the permission.
Speaker 1: For h want less, want different sort of stuff. So
Speaker 1: buckle up, especially if you're listening to this in the
Speaker 1: car and uh, let's get into it.
Speaker 3: We pulled you all in the friend letter on the well,
Speaker 3: here's what we asked, what do you spend the most
Speaker 3: money on during the holidays? And the options or decorations, gifts, food, activities,
Speaker 3: other and all of you by a land spot.
Speaker 1: I've never seen a poll more skewed about gifts. Gifts
Speaker 1: just that's that's where the money's going.
Speaker 3: The second runner up was food, but way trailing behind gifts.
Speaker 3: That's where the most money goes around the holidays. So
Speaker 3: we're going to talk a lot about that, Yes we are.
Speaker 3: But first this episode episode is brought to you by
Speaker 3: patting yourself on the back, because more often than not,
Speaker 3: no one else is going to do it for you.
Speaker 3: Did you defer us the meat for tonight's dinner, fill
Speaker 3: up the gas tank the night before, put some extra
Speaker 3: cash aside for the holidays, Give yourself a pat on
Speaker 3: the back. Didn't do any of those things, but wish
Speaker 3: you did. Set yourself up for a future pat on
Speaker 3: the back by pre ordering our book Buy What you
Speaker 3: Love Without Going Broke. It will arrive to your home
Speaker 3: early January and be packed with all the tips and
Speaker 3: information on how to get your spending back on track
Speaker 3: after the holidays. Give this gift to yourself, pat yourself
Speaker 3: on the back for it. Buy what you Love book
Speaker 3: dot com.
Speaker 1: Yes, all right, so Holidays. A couple episodes to queue
Speaker 1: up for after this one Episode one thirty three Tips
Speaker 1: for avoiding holiday impulse buying. That's a really really good one.
Speaker 1: And then also episode one eight four tips to prepare
Speaker 1: for holiday sales early. So those are two good follow ups.
Speaker 1: Today we're talking about more of the savings tips for
Speaker 1: all around stuff, and we're going to start with this
Speaker 1: headline from Simple Home, Simple Life of how to simplify
Speaker 1: the holidays to save money and the planet. And before
Speaker 1: we get started with this one, just another callback to
Speaker 1: the gifts because I forgot to say this when you
Speaker 1: were mentioning the poll.
Speaker 3: There was one.
Speaker 1: Response on here that said gifts was their obvious biggest expense,
Speaker 1: and she said or he depends on the holiday. One
Speaker 1: of my love languages is gift givings. So it's a
Speaker 1: weakness of mine, and I want us to know that
Speaker 1: gift giving is a love language. The holidays, I think,
Speaker 1: in themselves, are a love language. Sometimes we can feel
Speaker 1: guilty for we feel guilty after the fact for all
Speaker 1: the spending we did around the holidays, because we love
Speaker 1: the holidays, we love the feeling it gives us. And
Speaker 1: we want you to fully embrace your love languages, fully
Speaker 1: embrace the things about November and December that you love,
Speaker 1: just without the guilt that comes in January. That's the
Speaker 1: only thing we are trying to get less of. So
Speaker 1: we want to give you creative tips in this episode
Speaker 1: to get the most to fill up your cups for
Speaker 1: as little as possible.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I relate to that. Gift giving is one of
Speaker 3: my love languages as well. I love doing it. If
Speaker 3: you were to look at the where I spend money,
Speaker 3: it's food, gas, dine out, and gifts for people.
Speaker 1: And that's just that's on a you know, in a
Speaker 1: July right our summer night, like that's every month.
Speaker 3: I just I love it so much. So I'm with you,
Speaker 3: and so I think we can kind of weave in
Speaker 3: and look at how can we do this really intentionally
Speaker 3: and not where we'd have to put blindfolds on in
Speaker 3: December only to be horrified come January. And this article
Speaker 3: I thought was really helpful. We looked at a couple
Speaker 3: of different articles, and this one had I thought some
Speaker 3: really a little bit unique tips and an additional perspective.
Speaker 3: And we see it in the title of Simplify the Holidays,
Speaker 3: save money and the planet. Not that we're saving the
Speaker 3: entire planet, but this lens of how can we experience
Speaker 3: greater levels of peace and simplicity during this time that
Speaker 3: can feel really chaotic, and in what ways can that
Speaker 3: both help us and our environment and the community. Because
Speaker 3: there's so much that can happen around the holidays that
Speaker 3: just isn't overall good for the environ and that's another
Speaker 3: reason to simplify in the ways that are already going
Speaker 3: to be beneficial to us. I love the intro of
Speaker 3: this article, and I want to just kind of read
Speaker 3: off some direct quotes from it because I resonated with
Speaker 3: it so much. Imagine you may too. They pose this question,
Speaker 3: when did the spirit of the holidays go from celebrating
Speaker 3: together with people you love to buying and entertaining and
Speaker 3: having perfect decorations and doing a million things at once.
Speaker 3: The season has in many ways become a very commercial endeavor.
Speaker 3: We seem to buy trinkets and decorations and clothing and
Speaker 3: the latest technology and way too much food just because
Speaker 3: it feels like it's expected, or because there's some sale
Speaker 3: that makes us feel like we're crazy not to buy
Speaker 3: it takes an enormous toll on our wallets, our sanity,
Speaker 3: and our planet. What's the alternative to a stressful, expensive,
Speaker 3: environmentally destructive holiday season? A simple one where you buy
Speaker 3: a whole lot less but actually give a lot more.
Speaker 3: Oh the wind, I know, I love it. I feel
Speaker 3: so seen in that introduction, and so I think it's
Speaker 3: also what helps me really embrace some of these tips
Speaker 3: that we're given.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so we're we're going to go through all ten.
Speaker 3: Kay, are there? Okay? Eleven? Actually we're just gonna do
Speaker 3: them all, and this is gonna be the perfect article
Speaker 3: we explore.
Speaker 1: Yes, okay, so let's let us start with decor. So
Speaker 1: let's the first tip is decorate naturally. So I think
Speaker 1: this is going to be more applicable for my friends
Speaker 1: that live in areas that actually have changing seasons. Uh so,
Speaker 1: not not so much applicable for Jill and I in Florida.
Speaker 1: But she is suggesting if you do want to decorate, decorate,
Speaker 1: if that's your love language, live in it. Let's get
Speaker 1: creative with how we do it, and one of those
Speaker 1: ways is to use greenery, branches, acorns, pine cones, berries,
Speaker 1: whatever found in nature. This is awesome if you have
Speaker 1: kids or if you're babysitting and you can gather the
Speaker 1: family to help help get the decorations. What a fantastic activity.
Speaker 1: So plan an outing, she says, to a friend's woodlot.
Speaker 1: How many how many of your friends have wood lot?
Speaker 3: I mean a lot of people in the north. That's okay,
Speaker 3: wood lots and I.
Speaker 1: Have never lived in the north. Okay, go to a friend's.
Speaker 3: Wood lot, Yeah, to.
Speaker 1: Gather stuff and uh yeah, do a walk with the family.
Speaker 1: Uh local farmers market, leftover, you know, greenery scraps on
Speaker 1: the floor or whatever whatever you guys do in the North.
Speaker 3: Well, here's the thing. We have stuff in the South
Speaker 3: we can use. I have a plethora of pine cones
Speaker 3: on my property, Jen, if you want to decorate with
Speaker 3: pine cones this year, I got plenty. And I also
Speaker 3: love to lean into the more tropical Christmas vibe or
Speaker 3: you know, the tropical fall vibe. So I will take
Speaker 3: fronds off my little palm trees and gather up my
Speaker 3: pine cones, and you can actually make some fun wreaths
Speaker 3: with sticks. I know you're probably thinking Pinterest fail, but
Speaker 3: there are some really awesome ideas. But not to mention,
Speaker 3: you can also go to thrift stores and do swaps
Speaker 3: with people. There's a lot that can be done with
Speaker 3: just ribbon from the thrift store. Right, There's there's so
Speaker 3: much that we can kind of think through about how
Speaker 3: to make something feel really festive without a lot of
Speaker 3: supplies or materials or spending a ton of money or
Speaker 3: buying a bunch of new stuff that's eventually going to
Speaker 3: go in the trash. So like led lights and ribbon
Speaker 3: and brown packaging paper and whatever's on your property can
Speaker 3: actually go a really long way. So just no, you
Speaker 3: can be festive, but you don't have to spend a
Speaker 3: ton of money.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking dehydrated oranges are just beautiful decor. Put them
Speaker 1: up on a string, like, put them around places, and
Speaker 1: that's very Florida and that's very natural.
Speaker 3: So yeah, the next tip along those same lines is
Speaker 3: to decorate intentionally, so putting efforts into not just purchased
Speaker 3: items of decor, but thinking this is more of a
Speaker 3: mindset shift of how can I set up my home
Speaker 3: to accommodate the vision of what the holidays mean to me.
Speaker 3: So they give an example of maybe it's pulling out
Speaker 3: board games or puzzles or decks of cards, making them
Speaker 3: more easily accessible. Actually, as I'm saying this, I'm remembering
Speaker 3: I did this last year around Thanksgiving. I got super
Speaker 3: into puzzles, and Eric's parents were in town and we
Speaker 3: had other people visiting, and we set up a table
Speaker 3: with puzzles, and you would be amazed, Maybe you wouldn't
Speaker 3: be a full lot of you out there are puzzlers.
Speaker 3: How much people just walk in and grabate towards a
Speaker 3: puzzle and then just start talking and chatting and having
Speaker 3: tea and eating the cookies that you made, and no
Speaker 3: one's worried about what's happening on the television or on
Speaker 3: their phones. Were just now gathered around a puzzle. Because
Speaker 3: I put out a puzzle like that was the activity
Speaker 3: and the decoration and the thing to accommodate and bring
Speaker 3: forth connection and hooga. That's crazy feeling.
Speaker 1: Very in line with what we talked about in our
Speaker 1: frugal entertaining and hosting that it doesn't have to be
Speaker 1: elaborate or expensive. It can be a couple bottles of
Speaker 1: one and a puzzle.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and songs. I have kind of shifted my own
Speaker 3: vision to or understanding of kind of decorating to an
Speaker 3: entire esthetic, not just visual. How much putting music on
Speaker 3: and the type of music you choose shifts the environment.
Speaker 3: It's something I've learned recently, now that our home is
Speaker 3: done and we're having people over, how it feels when
Speaker 3: I forget to put on music versus when I've got
Speaker 3: some low kind of cocktail hour music, some Frank Sinatra going.
Speaker 3: It totally shifts the environment, makes it much more pleasant
Speaker 3: and enjoyable. So you pick the playlist, you set the
Speaker 3: tone in the environment with the sounds. That's decorating too.
Speaker 1: And I think it's so there are so many more options,
Speaker 1: so much easier to get creative around these holidays versus Halloween.
Speaker 1: When we were talking similarly about, you know, the Halloween holiday,
Speaker 1: like you can have a screen from any streaming service
Speaker 1: with a yule log. I do think for Halloween they
Speaker 1: are coming out with like spooky scapes, which I really like,
Speaker 1: spooky sounds. Yes, that's another holiday, but yeah, like there's
Speaker 1: your visual and then your music is on and your
Speaker 1: and your puzzles up like good to go.
Speaker 3: I love it. I love it all right.
Speaker 1: So the next is where we venture start start venturing
Speaker 1: into gift giving. And I don't love this one as much,
Speaker 1: so I'm going to alter it a little bit to
Speaker 1: be one that I actually really really love.
Speaker 3: You have the prerogative.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So it three is send e cards, and so
Speaker 1: this is a more sustainability focused blog. So they want
Speaker 1: e cards because of its sustainability factor. But also but
Speaker 1: instead of buying and sending a gazillion impersonal cards and
Speaker 1: standard impersonal gifts, a very simple card with a very intentional,
Speaker 1: thoughtful note is going to mean so much more than
Speaker 1: a tin of popcorn or a tin of cookies, or
Speaker 1: a mug with a packet of hot chocolate, no matter
Speaker 1: how cute it looks to DIY on social media. A
Speaker 1: really heartfelt card where you have gone and what I
Speaker 1: like to do. I still send Christmas cards. I will
Speaker 1: will take a family photo in October, October and November
Speaker 1: and then we'll get a one page just like from
Speaker 1: Walgreen's card, with our family's photo on it, but then
Speaker 1: adding some like a sheet of card stock with an
Speaker 1: actual letter on it where you've taken the time to
Speaker 1: think about this person, what they've done all year. You've
Speaker 1: gone to their Facebook to see what they've been thinking,
Speaker 1: what they've been posting, to really tell them about your life,
Speaker 1: their life, Congratulations, condolences, all these things to sum up
Speaker 1: your guys' year, weather together or apart. How much would
Speaker 1: that mean for you to receive something? Would you rather
Speaker 1: get that? Or a mug you'll never use with hot
Speaker 1: chocolate that you didn't need?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 4: You know?
Speaker 1: Like it is so meaningful and keeps It fosters this
Speaker 1: connection with our family that we may not have time
Speaker 1: or bandwidth to invest in physically. But this is something
Speaker 1: small you can do and you can avoid the stores
Speaker 1: and I think the only con to it is that
Speaker 1: your hand might get tired.
Speaker 3: Yeah. When we feel like what do we give somebody
Speaker 3: who has everything? Or we just feel the obligation to
Speaker 3: buy something but it's not actually a thoughtful gift for them,
Speaker 3: then the words are a gift, like I keep. I
Speaker 3: am a minimalist. I throw everything out. What I do
Speaker 3: keep is cards that have been encouraging and kind. Yeah
Speaker 3: that is I'll keep people's words because that means so
Speaker 3: much to me more than Yeah, potentially a mug that
Speaker 3: I've got too many of already, so something to consider.
Speaker 3: It may not be the solve for every single person
Speaker 3: on the list, but it could be the simplicity and
Speaker 3: the actual meaningfulness that we're really trying to get at
Speaker 3: this time of year.
Speaker 1: And one tip to save your hands from arthritis. On
Speaker 1: the back of our Christmas card, I will write what
Speaker 1: everybody in our family kind of their biggest accomplishment or
Speaker 1: change for the year has been, so that I don't
Speaker 1: have to write that to everyone in the writing part,
Speaker 1: I can just focus on them. And it's not like
Speaker 1: an eight x ten sheet of paper. It's a four
Speaker 1: x six card stock. Not even fully filled, right, but
Speaker 1: mostly filled.
Speaker 3: That's what I'm thinking. Yeah. The fourth one on here
Speaker 3: is say no. You know this one. We're just giving
Speaker 3: you all permission again. You do not have to go
Speaker 3: to every holiday party you're invited to. You don't have
Speaker 3: to host a huge holiday party if you don't want to.
Speaker 3: You don't have to say yes to everything. You can
Speaker 3: say no. You can be the keeper of your calendar
Speaker 3: and decide what you want to prioritize and what is
Speaker 3: going to be just too much. You do not have
Speaker 3: to burn yourself out this time of year. I recognize
Speaker 3: that can be easier said than done, especially when you've
Speaker 3: got a lot of people in your house and maybe
Speaker 3: your kids have their own schedules. But whatever is within
Speaker 3: your control that you can say no to and potentially
Speaker 3: opt for the more meaningful things, whether that is just
Speaker 3: getting simple coffee with friends in the morning, or going
Speaker 3: on a walk, or hosting a card night, getting together
Speaker 3: with people in some of these ways where you can
Speaker 3: do a couple of things at once, hang out and
Speaker 3: write your thoughtful cards to other people. These are the
Speaker 3: types of things that could be even more appreciated than
Speaker 3: these larger gatherings that can feel chaotic and obligatory.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think some of the easiest things to say
Speaker 1: no to are those gifts at the office that everybody
Speaker 1: goes in on or like the white Elephant gift exchanges
Speaker 1: you that have like the thirty dollars limit that you
Speaker 1: don't really want to participate in. Stuff like that, Like
Speaker 1: that is stuff we take for granted. Those are easy nos,
Speaker 1: way easier than in saying no to your friend's Christmas
Speaker 1: party that might.
Speaker 3: Have probably want you probably want to go to that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and like bringing a dish to share, right, Like
Speaker 1: we want to say yes to expenses like that and
Speaker 1: no to the to the less meaningful ones. So it's
Speaker 1: just finding. It's finding the easy nose. First five, I
Speaker 1: love this one. Give a repurposed gift. I am so
Speaker 1: about used and rep her best gifts. I think they're
Speaker 1: in style. I think they are great. They are not tacky.
Speaker 1: You can give a tacky gift, absolutely, I think you're
Speaker 1: more likely to give a tacky brand new gift than
Speaker 1: you are a repurposed one. So instead of adding to
Speaker 1: the all the new I get. So I get so
Speaker 1: many things from my sweet mother in law who's loves
Speaker 1: giving gifts, and she gets everyone the same thing. And
Speaker 1: by the end of the holiday, I have a at
Speaker 1: least ten or fifteen items that I know I will
Speaker 1: return or donate, Like, don't do that to people, you know, Like,
Speaker 1: she's I love her and she's sweet, so she can
Speaker 1: do whatever she wants. But you're not everybody's lovely sweet
Speaker 1: mother in law, so you don't have that excuse.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I love this for kids too, And I was
Speaker 3: just thinking about this recently, how annoying it is when
Speaker 3: you give a brand new toy it's all wrapped up,
Speaker 3: and then you got to spend the first ten to
Speaker 3: fifteen minutes just undoing all those zip ties and twist
Speaker 3: ties and finding batteries that doesn't exist when you give
Speaker 3: a toy from the thrift store that you wash down
Speaker 3: and you already have the batteries in it once it's unwrapped.
Speaker 3: About a bing.
Speaker 1: Bought a boom that puppy can't played with, or from
Speaker 1: Facebook Marketplace. We're not talking about just people's discarded toys
Speaker 1: to the thrift store. We're talking Facebook Marketplace, eBay. Mostly
Speaker 1: I would go Facebook Marketplace though, that's my favorite place
Speaker 1: to get or the thrift store.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you spend more time unhooking toys than do playing with.
Speaker 3: So much time you gotta have the exact o knife
Speaker 3: and the scissors, and it's just ridiculous. And then the
Speaker 3: kids over it by the time you're done with it,
Speaker 3: and then you didn't remember the batteries because you didn't
Speaker 3: open it up and realize which kind of batteries it needed.
Speaker 3: So I'm over it. I don't even have kids. I'm
Speaker 3: over it.
Speaker 1: But batteries are a great gift for Christmas. Yaues you
Speaker 1: always forget them.
Speaker 3: That's so great. Okay. Number six is give experiences. So
Speaker 3: instead of all the stuff that we've just talked about,
Speaker 3: we don't need or want, giving something that can add
Speaker 3: enjoyment and connection. So whether that's giving movie tickets or
Speaker 3: a bowling pass or spa treatments or yoga classes or
Speaker 3: park passes, that's a fun one. Like if you live
Speaker 3: near a state or national park, rock climbing adventures, museum tickets,
Speaker 3: ski lift tickets, a sporting event, a concert. Obviously these
Speaker 3: range in price points, so there's a lot of different
Speaker 3: options there. It also could be an invitation to set
Speaker 3: a certain time aside to do something that you've wanted
Speaker 3: to do already, like let's plan a day to do
Speaker 3: the Armer's market together, or to go on that walk
Speaker 3: at that free park we've been talking about doing, actually
Speaker 3: planning to do the thing and setting it aside the time,
Speaker 3: whether that is in these next couple of months, to
Speaker 3: just celebrate and enjoy each other doing something meaningful that
Speaker 3: you're both gonna like or you're deciding this is what
Speaker 3: we're going to do and how we celebrate January February.
Speaker 1: Yeah, something that I was thinking that might be a
Speaker 1: cool alternative if there is a white Elephant gift exchange
Speaker 1: you have to participate in. Maybe we can wrap this
Speaker 1: in a value too, So instead of just giving a
Speaker 1: gift card for Chipotle, we're giving a you know, a
Speaker 1: kind of like a lunch on me card where you
Speaker 1: take the person to lunch at Chipotle or whatever.
Speaker 3: So you're like auctioning yourself off like this comes with
Speaker 3: me too boo. Yeah right, and could be good or bad.
Speaker 3: This year you've given myself.
Speaker 1: You want to be careful who's in the in the gift.
Speaker 3: Exchange Christmas package.
Speaker 1: Do it in a safe space. But yeah, so something
Speaker 1: like that that meets an additional need instead of just
Speaker 1: like a one off.
Speaker 3: She is jen this year I'm giving you me.
Speaker 1: That's so, aren't you so excited? I expect it because
Speaker 1: you're contractually obligated to me. The next one is to
Speaker 1: give learning. So this is an interesting one. I it's
Speaker 1: definitely for a certain person, I guess, But again maybe
Speaker 1: it's an experienced thing too. But online learning classes from
Speaker 1: skill share you to me a class from a local
Speaker 1: college or university, and art class like here we have
Speaker 1: a lot of glass blowing classes because this is a
Speaker 1: big hub for that cooking classes.
Speaker 3: You say that that like you're not sure who this
Speaker 3: would be for, but this is a hobbyist. This is
Speaker 3: somebody who already has a lot of things. They're into
Speaker 3: a lot of things. Like I've talked with a lot
Speaker 3: of people I'm remembering last year who were talking about
Speaker 3: their in laws or their parents, people of kind of
Speaker 3: a more wise generation, who have what they need. They've
Speaker 3: already got a lot, they're into a lot, but there
Speaker 3: might be this desire to like learn a new skill
Speaker 3: or refine their skill. And this was a recommendation I
Speaker 3: gave to a couple of friends of there's this like
Speaker 3: class Pop thing that's nationwide where you can just give
Speaker 3: a class Pop gift card and they can choose which
Speaker 3: kind of classes they'd want to go to, anything from
Speaker 3: cooking to pottery, to woodworking to birdwashing to whatever.
Speaker 1: And a good way to meet like the family value
Speaker 1: if you're looking to give you're in law, a parent
Speaker 1: or an aunt, an uncle like something maybe a you know,
Speaker 1: a pottery class together or a sip and paint or something, And.
Speaker 3: That's something you could even go in on. That could
Speaker 3: be a group gift, right, Like if sometimes these classes
Speaker 3: can be more expensive. Like if if all the adult
Speaker 3: children are looking for something to give parents, that that
Speaker 3: could be.
Speaker 1: Sound Obviously would have to be something you all want
Speaker 1: to do and are excited about. But yeah, if it is,
Speaker 1: then yeah, I'll give it.
Speaker 3: Of course. There's also the tip of giving consumables, So
Speaker 3: whether that's homemade cookies, muffins, soup, frozen casseroles, assorted tea packs.
Speaker 3: I actually love the soup and the gas roles idea like,
Speaker 3: give an actual meal. Who who doesn't want that? Who
Speaker 3: doesn't need dinner? Want in their fridge and freezer? But
Speaker 3: give me chocolate. So a lot of times we'll roll
Speaker 3: our eyes at the consumables thing, like there's so many cookies.
Speaker 3: We don't need more cookies, so okay, don't do cookies.
Speaker 3: Recently people have been given giving homemade vanilla. Vanilla is
Speaker 3: super expensive, but you can make it relatively affordably if
Speaker 3: you start now. You're listening to this in November, start now.
Speaker 3: Purchase a vanilla bean, a couple of vanilla beans, vodka,
Speaker 3: let it sit for the next two months, don't drink it,
Speaker 3: pour it into tinier vials and give vanilla. You can
Speaker 3: give cocktail mixtures to come up with different herbs and
Speaker 3: citrus that could be added to a cocktail.
Speaker 1: Those leftover orange, dehydrated oranges.
Speaker 3: People will give spice mixtures that and then recipes on
Speaker 3: how they can be used on different meats and veggies,
Speaker 3: or infused oils I've gotten like things that I use regularly,
Speaker 3: spice blends, oils, honey, vanilla. These are really awesome gifts.
Speaker 3: I have loved it when I've received these things. Or
Speaker 3: if you want to get into trying to make a lotion,
Speaker 3: there's all sorts of things that are consumables that aren't
Speaker 3: just cookies.
Speaker 1: Just get I mean, be aware of the price of
Speaker 1: the DIY. So the more complex, the more expensive it
Speaker 1: will be. But man, I'm never going to turn away chocolate,
Speaker 1: like a dark chocolate.
Speaker 3: Yeah, just like.
Speaker 1: A truffle, things that don't go bad quickly. I just
Speaker 1: love I love a truffle. All right, I skipped mine
Speaker 1: that was actually mine, But next would be I'm back
Speaker 1: on track. Give your time. And so this is kind
Speaker 1: of in line when I was saying, instead of giving
Speaker 1: a gift card to Chipotle, like give a lunch date
Speaker 1: with yourself at Chipotle. The date they didn't ask for
Speaker 1: having your time is so much better and more valuable
Speaker 1: than anything else you could give. It's the gift you
Speaker 1: give somebody that has everything they can never have enough
Speaker 1: time with you, the gift they didn't ask for.
Speaker 3: Me because I love their Examples, like babysit for someone
Speaker 3: so they can go on a date night, wash someone's car,
Speaker 3: help them on their paint project come springtime. There's always
Speaker 3: opportunities to give of your time and help someone else
Speaker 3: with whatever project or need that they may have.
Speaker 1: I feel like if gift giving is your biggest desire
Speaker 1: and your biggest joy around the holidays, if you can
Speaker 1: keep it in alignment with your highest values and realize
Speaker 1: that the people you're giving to also have similar highest values,
Speaker 1: and if you can connect those things, you're both going
Speaker 1: to be getting more of what you want. Because there
Speaker 1: is a deeper reason to why you like giving gifts.
Speaker 1: Pinpoint that reason and look for that. Not the perfect
Speaker 1: gift or not just a general gift, pinpoint the deeper reason,
Speaker 1: and you will enjoy You will enjoy the gift giving
Speaker 1: so much more, even if it's not a traditionally wrapped
Speaker 1: or bagged box.
Speaker 3: Number ten on here is buy local and handmade. I
Speaker 3: can't emphasize this enough. If you are going to buy
Speaker 3: and you've got people that you have to give tangible
Speaker 3: gifts to, this is another place to begin beyond. I mean,
Speaker 3: in addition to second hand stores and previously owned items,
Speaker 3: this is the next best option of local and handmade
Speaker 3: to support the small businesses in your community, your actual neighbors.
Speaker 3: This is so helpful to the people around you. So
Speaker 3: whether it's gifts or decorations, going to your local farmers' markets,
Speaker 3: craft shows, your local artisans, small merchants. I know I
Speaker 3: see every year on social media where these pop up
Speaker 3: shows are happening and lists of here's the local people
Speaker 3: in your community that you can be buying from, and
Speaker 3: usually it's a wide variety of stuff, really unique stuff,
Speaker 3: sparks ideas for things that I wouldn't even have thought
Speaker 3: about as what could be good gifts. This could include consumables,
Speaker 3: buying local and handmade consumables. I love this idea, especially
Speaker 3: when looking for a thoughtful gift for that person who
Speaker 3: has everything. What do I give for them? I do
Speaker 3: have to give them something. This is where you can
Speaker 3: find your unique things and kind of tick off a
Speaker 3: lot of boxes in helping more than just the person
Speaker 3: that you're giving a gift to.
Speaker 1: Yeah, something that I was thinking about that would be
Speaker 1: a really cool gift is if you know this person's size,
Speaker 1: maybe they love a certain brand that's a little higher end.
Speaker 1: Is if you can find that in a consignment resale
Speaker 1: thrift store, even if it's not their size, like giving
Speaker 1: it to them with a card for your favorite tailor
Speaker 1: or alterations person. Because local isn't just products. It's not
Speaker 1: just candles and lotions at the winter holiday market, right,
Speaker 1: it's our local service providers too, you know, like Alterations,
Speaker 1: and so being able to support them and also giving
Speaker 1: a gift to somebody you know they like the brand
Speaker 1: and being like, hey, I know you like this if
Speaker 1: it's maybe a little big or a little awkward, here's
Speaker 1: my favorite tailor. And then it cost them what twenty
Speaker 1: five bucks to get it tailored, whereas they would have
Speaker 1: maybe spent fifty dollars on it if they were going
Speaker 1: to buy it, you know themselves, And then still they
Speaker 1: probably it probably wouldn't have fit perfectly anyway at fifty bucks.
Speaker 3: You know that's cool? Okay. The last and final one
Speaker 3: on here, number eleven ban waste commercial wrapping paper is
Speaker 3: non recyclable, burning it amidst toxins into the environment. So
Speaker 3: to save our landfills using natural or recyclable wrapping options,
Speaker 3: whether that's recycled paper bags, craft paper, scraps of fabric, newsprint,
Speaker 3: old maps, even a tea towel. You can forget the
Speaker 3: tape and plastic bows, tie it up with a pretty knot,
Speaker 3: or just rope or twine or string or that ribbon
Speaker 3: I talked about from the thrift store that can have
Speaker 3: multiple uses. There's so many ways that we can wrap
Speaker 3: without buying brand new rolls of commercial wrapping paper. I
Speaker 3: can't tell you the last time that I bought brand
Speaker 3: new wrapping paper like this has been a thing that
Speaker 3: I've done for years. I Mean, you all know us,
Speaker 3: we are the frugal friends. But around this time of year,
Speaker 3: if I do even get any shipments of things, you
Speaker 3: know it's always coming with brown paper inside. I'll wrap
Speaker 3: it up with that stuff. I'll use old boxes. I
Speaker 3: will throughout the year get wrapping paper at yard sales
Speaker 3: and that kind of a thing. But also wrapping with
Speaker 3: tea towels is so sweet and so cute, and it's
Speaker 3: an additional gift that that you're giving the tea towel
Speaker 3: in addition to whatever it is that you're giving. So
Speaker 3: chances are you already have things you can be wrapping with.
Speaker 3: And I said, go for it.
Speaker 1: I started last year. I went to the fabric store
Speaker 1: like two days before Christmas, so all the Christmas fabric
Speaker 1: was seventy five percent off.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I got.
Speaker 1: I let Kai pick out his fabric and pick out
Speaker 1: some for the baby, and I wrapped several gifts in fabric.
Speaker 1: And I say, you've kept that, b and I will
Speaker 1: use it again this year.
Speaker 3: Heck, yeah, Jen, Yeah, we're so different but yet so similar.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I will buy one roll of wrapping paper
Speaker 1: every year, maybe every other year, but I make sure
Speaker 1: that it can be used for birthdays, baby showers, Christmas, everything,
Speaker 1: like it is one wrapping paper for all.
Speaker 3: Yes, agreed, one color, that's all you're getting. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So, and I only do the fabric for my kids
Speaker 1: because I know it's coming back. Like I'm not giving
Speaker 1: the fabric wrapped gift to somebody who's going to take
Speaker 1: the fabric away from me.
Speaker 3: Oh I love that idea, you know what. I also
Speaker 3: love and fits for every season, every day every episode.
Speaker 1: Absolutely the bill.
Speaker 3: Of the week.
Speaker 5: That's right, it's time for the best minute of your
Speaker 5: entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name
Speaker 5: is Williams. Maybe you've paid off your mortgage, maybe your
Speaker 5: car died, and you're happy to not have to pay
Speaker 5: that bill anymore. Duff Bills, Buffalo Bills, Bill Claion, this
Speaker 5: is the bill of the week.
Speaker 4: Hi, I'm Kavin, and my bill of the week is
Speaker 4: the cancer bill near the Buffalo Bill Stadium. I wasn't
Speaker 4: sure how much it was gonna cost for chemo every
Speaker 4: two weeks, but turns out, because of the joys of
Speaker 4: health Stare insurance, it is only ten thousand dollars. I
Speaker 4: looked at the actual price and it is thirty eight
Speaker 4: thousand dollars for the chemotherapy and the immunotherapy that goes
Speaker 4: along with it. But I only have to pay ten dollars.
Speaker 4: So make sure you have good a health insurance because
Speaker 4: it is worth it.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, Catherine, there's a lot in that bill.
Speaker 1: There's chemo and a bill of Savings and the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1: And I first want to start with Buffalo Bills, Go bills,
Speaker 1: and I then want to follow up with congratulations, Catherine.
Speaker 1: I hope that you have completed chemo. If you haven't,
Speaker 1: I hope that you sound you are strong and feeling good.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm so sorry that you have to go through that.
Speaker 3: I am glad that you're feeling good about the amount
Speaker 3: of money that it's costing, recognizing that the insurance that
Speaker 3: you have or the sharing plan that you have is
Speaker 3: helping to cover so much. But I'm still so sad
Speaker 3: that that's where ten thousand of your dollars has to go.
Speaker 3: I agree with Jen, I hope that your treatment is
Speaker 3: going well, that it is causing the healing that your
Speaker 3: body needs, that you're getting what you need. And thank
Speaker 3: you so much for thinking of us and sharing your bill.
Speaker 3: We feel so honored that through this time of your life,
Speaker 3: you are sharing these things with us. We appreciate it.
Speaker 3: If you all listening have a bill that you want
Speaker 3: to some if it's sentimental or celebratory, or it's just
Speaker 3: an update on how life is going for you, or
Speaker 3: if it's about being able to save money.
Speaker 1: Or you're a player on the Buffalo bills, we'd love
Speaker 1: to hear it. Around the Bills.
Speaker 3: Frugal Friends podcast dot com, slash bill, leave us a bill.
Speaker 3: We're ready for it, and now it's time for piding around.
Speaker 1: Shoooo all right, what is something you're doing differently this
Speaker 1: year for the holidays from previous years. I am so
Speaker 1: thankful that our renovation is virtually done for this holiday season.
Speaker 3: I think I'm gonna.
Speaker 1: Have some people over.
Speaker 3: Maybe I'll put out a puzzle.
Speaker 1: I can't have puzzles. I have an eighteen month old.
Speaker 1: He'll eat it that. He will eat them.
Speaker 3: He'll stomp on it first, he'll climb up onto whatever,
Speaker 3: yeah place you have it on. He'll stomp around on it,
Speaker 3: he'll sit down on it, he'll mess it up, he'll
Speaker 3: throw pieces, and then he'll start to eat them after
Speaker 3: every part of his body and bumb has touched the puzzle.
Speaker 3: That's it.
Speaker 1: That's exactly play by play of what would happen.
Speaker 3: And he would do it all in ten seconds while
Speaker 3: you've looked away for just a short period of time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you can't, like change his diaper and throw the
Speaker 1: diaperway or go to the bathroom yourself, because if you
Speaker 1: do and you're not watching him, he will run out
Speaker 1: the front door. I mean we lock the front door,
Speaker 1: but the one every time if the one time I
Speaker 1: don't he's out there.
Speaker 3: I want to get out. I want to be frond side.
Speaker 1: Outside, is all he says. But yeah, so I'm gonna
Speaker 1: host something not intense. I already had my one intense
Speaker 1: rager for the year. That was the Olympics party. Yeah,
Speaker 1: opening ceremonies. Yeah, but I want to do a little something.
Speaker 3: How what do you think you would prioritize in hosting
Speaker 3: a holiday party? What would be kind of the main
Speaker 3: thing you would do for it?
Speaker 1: Food. I don't decorate greatly. I will have the tree, obviously,
Speaker 1: So I splurged a little bit after our tree last
Speaker 1: year was definitely I mean it's always been a little
Speaker 1: cock eyed, but this past year it was sad, so sad,
Speaker 1: like oh so bento, like a nightmare before Christmas tree.
Speaker 3: Uh huh.
Speaker 1: So that tree has retired after six glorious Christmas is
Speaker 1: and we got a big tree artificial and it was
Speaker 1: I got it in the week after Christmas.
Speaker 3: It was half off.
Speaker 1: It is not pre lit, because I'm just paranoid that
Speaker 1: pre lit trees. Once the lights go out, you know,
Speaker 1: the tree's done. So so I'm just paranoid about that.
Speaker 1: So I got also new Christmas lights that were half
Speaker 1: off because I wouldn't have enough because it's a bigger tree.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna that's gonna be my decoration. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: KAI want some outdoor decorations.
Speaker 3: I couldn't.
Speaker 1: They were all gone by the time the sales rolled around,
Speaker 1: So I don't know. We'll see what Black Friday holds
Speaker 1: for that, but that would be a maybe a splurge
Speaker 1: just because.
Speaker 3: I mean check Facebook marketplace. Oh that is true.
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, so food is where I like to splurge.
Speaker 3: Yeah, not splurge invest Yeah, where as your spending.
Speaker 1: I will put on Christmas music, I'll put on the
Speaker 1: Yule log and I'll wear a red shirt and that's it.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Wow, good, I'm excited to come to that party. Yes,
Speaker 3: for myself, I think something different from years prior. So
Speaker 3: you all heard me. Last year, I did no gifts
Speaker 3: except for Eric and I. We did exchange. However, both
Speaker 3: of us literally returned everything each other got for each other,
Speaker 3: like I thought that we would want to remember that.
Speaker 1: Those were thoughtful gifts. Though it's just the gifts.
Speaker 3: Weren't or Yeah, it was things Eric had said he wanted,
Speaker 3: like a foot massage and a thing that goes around
Speaker 3: your phone, almost like a Nintendo switch looking thing. I
Speaker 3: don't even know what I'm saying. I don't know fully
Speaker 3: what a Nintendo switch looks like. But it's like a
Speaker 3: remote control that wraps around your phone and can kind
Speaker 3: of like turn it into a video game thing. He
Speaker 3: hardly plays video games. He just was like, I want
Speaker 3: to play this like dirt bike game and that'd be
Speaker 3: kind of fun. So I got it all off a
Speaker 3: Facebook marketplace because I'm like, I'm not gonna spend a
Speaker 3: ton of money on this because I know what. I know.
Speaker 3: He's not gonna end up. He's going to find something
Speaker 3: that he's going to want to refine and want a
Speaker 3: different version of it. Yeah, sure enough, very true. He
Speaker 3: found that. Yes, he indeed does not play video games.
Speaker 3: He used the thing once on Christmas Day and the
Speaker 3: foot massage er. He wants something slightly different. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I'd rather spend thirty bucks on Facebook marketplace to test
Speaker 3: something out, to refine it so you can feel really
Speaker 3: positive about your next decision.
Speaker 1: And turn around to just sell it for the same price.
Speaker 3: She got it. It'sly my girl. Yes we did. We
Speaker 3: just resold it or other things we returned. But this year,
Speaker 3: I think we're learning better. I think we're just gonna
Speaker 3: not do gifts across the board.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 3: As fun as it is to kind of open something,
Speaker 3: what we really enjoyed were the days out being able
Speaker 3: to go do something fun together. We checked out a
Speaker 3: New State park last year in between Christmas and New
Speaker 3: Year and just had a blast. And we're like, we'd
Speaker 3: rather have money to do these things and maybe go
Speaker 3: out to lunch. So I did put money aside for Christmas,
Speaker 3: and I think I'm just going to use it on
Speaker 3: experiences and food. I think I'm gonna do away with tangibles.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's funny because Travis and I don't exchange tangible gifts.
Speaker 1: We haven't for years. We'll do them for the kids
Speaker 1: because yeah, we just like we like buying ourselves stuff
Speaker 1: that we really want, yeah, and also just spending time. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so we'll get gifts for other people. But we're also
Speaker 1: not big gift givers, so we don't get I mean,
Speaker 1: that's definitely not our gifts are not our love language
Speaker 1: either of us, so there's no like bitterness there. We
Speaker 1: just don't do physical gifts.
Speaker 3: You know. Last year it really did bring so much
Speaker 3: more peace and calm to the season, even beginning back
Speaker 3: in October and November. To know I don't have to stress.
Speaker 3: I already and I did. I communicated it ahead of time.
Speaker 3: I told my sister and the kids and family and
Speaker 3: friends like, I'm not doing gifts this year, but I'm
Speaker 3: going to host a party and I still like, I
Speaker 3: want to see you. Let's plan to do fun things together.
Speaker 3: And it made the entire time so much more enjoyable.
Speaker 3: I was actually able to engage in the activities and
Speaker 3: do the fun things and hang out with the people
Speaker 3: without the thing in the back of my mind like
Speaker 3: what am I going to get? How much more time
Speaker 3: do I have? What am I going to get to
Speaker 3: the store? I don't even know what to buy them?
Speaker 3: Everyone new, Yes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, take away all that stress. Yes, there's your permission. Yes,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening. We hope that this
Speaker 1: has inspired you to get creative with how you meet
Speaker 1: your highest values around the holidays so that you can
Speaker 1: have a joy filled holiday without the obligation to spend
Speaker 1: way more than you want or need to. And if
Speaker 1: it has, we would love if you would leave a review,
Speaker 1: a rating and review on Apple and Spotify. We especially
Speaker 1: we love reading them, especially ones like this from Debravaza
Speaker 1: ninety happens to be five Stars says besties for the
Speaker 1: rest ees, I love listening to Jen and Jill. Been
Speaker 1: listening to them. I did that because there was a
Speaker 1: comma after Jen, like they were just going to say
Speaker 1: I love listening to Gen and then added Jill. Anyways,
Speaker 1: back to it. Been listening to them since twenty eighteen
Speaker 1: ish time frame when I was going through financial shifts
Speaker 1: in my life with family. Jen and Jill have really
Speaker 1: helped in giving me ideas that I can change and
Speaker 1: improve on with my financial life, goals that are now
Speaker 1: lifelong habits.
Speaker 3: Thank you, ladies. Brothers A ninety you've been with us
Speaker 3: since the beginning.
Speaker 1: All right, you couldn't bet us the.
Speaker 3: Eighteen Yes, that's when we began and we were besties
Speaker 3: and we're still besties. I can't believe you're still here
Speaker 3: leaving us reviews. This is amazing.
Speaker 1: Thank you deep having me, and thanks for not.
Speaker 3: Just listening to Jen. Thanks for listening to me too.
Speaker 3: That's so sweet of you. And thank the rest of
Speaker 3: you for listening. If you've been with us for a
Speaker 3: long time or a short time. But you've got some
Speaker 3: good things to say, You've got some good feedback to
Speaker 3: give that'll be helpful to other listeners who might want
Speaker 3: to listen to a show. Please leave us a rating
Speaker 3: and review. It helps us phenomenally more than you can imagine.
Speaker 3: That's the free gift you can give to us this holiday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and if you don't have good things to say
Speaker 1: about us, leave the show. Find another personal finance podcast
Speaker 1: you love and leave them a five star.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, there you be for everybody. I have to
Speaker 3: You don't have to stick around.
Speaker 1: See you next time. By Frugal Friends is produced by
Speaker 1: Eric Siriani. Well, I guess unless they leave then we
Speaker 1: won't see them next time.
Speaker 3: Right, So yes, Well they already knew that they're not
Speaker 3: still listening. They're not here.
Speaker 1: They're not Debravas.
Speaker 3: No, no it's not they're not the they're not the
Speaker 3: O G S.
Speaker 1: Yeah, which is fine.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: We we got to talk yesterday to our friend Andy
Speaker 1: over at marriage, Kids and Money, and we've been both
Speaker 1: podcasting I think since twenty eighteen. I've been doing this
Speaker 1: a long time.
Speaker 3: Yeah. We keep saying six years, but we're encroaching seven,
Speaker 3: like we're.
Speaker 6: Going to chang number soon yep, and UH still love
Speaker 6: it honestly. Yeah, right, like we're still doing it and
Speaker 6: we are you know, we're full time podcasters, have the
Speaker 6: same profession as Joe Rogan.
Speaker 3: Yeah, which we are podcasters full time is like Lucy Goosey.
Speaker 3: We are.
Speaker 1: It's I don't do anything more than I do the podcast.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I still maintain a few side hustles, but
Speaker 3: this is my main hustle.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I have a side hustle of parenting, but it's
Speaker 1: not my main hustle. It's just something I do on
Speaker 1: the side, you know, when the shift arises. I do
Speaker 1: have shifts, right, I don't control my schedule on that,
Speaker 1: but they don't pay you. Nobody can have perfection right.
Speaker 3: Exactly, So there is no such thing as nirvana.
Speaker 1: I So we were talking with another podcaster in LA
Speaker 1: and he was saying how it is he can't relate
Speaker 1: to people that don't have that have never had a
Speaker 1: real job, because I because so many And at first
Speaker 1: that didn't click and I was like, what do you
Speaker 1: mean a real job? And because so many people over
Speaker 1: there are just podcasters, content creators in business for themselves
Speaker 1: like creatives, but have never had an hourly or salaried job.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's so he was saying, like he has,
Speaker 3: and so he likes to connect with people who feel
Speaker 3: kind of grounded and down to earth, like you know
Speaker 3: what it is to actually have a a job.
Speaker 1: And then we're like, oh, it's weird for us to
Speaker 1: for it's so weird for us to tell people where
Speaker 1: podcasters Jill won't even do it. Jill tells people she's retired.
Speaker 1: Jill won't even say honestly what she does for a living.
Speaker 3: It's true. People don't get it. Yeah, it's easier to
Speaker 3: say I'm retired. And it's more fun actually, because.
Speaker 1: If you don't have an hourly, your salary job, that's weird.
Speaker 3: You know what, though no one beats an eye.
Speaker 1: That is also I think that's d But it's also
Speaker 1: Florida and where a lot of people do retire to.
Speaker 3: I also told people when I was in California, they
Speaker 3: didn't bat an eye. A lot of them were trust
Speaker 3: fun babies, so they're like, oh, yeah, I've just never worked.
Speaker 1: What's that considered retired? Yeah? What a what a strange world,
Speaker 1: what a diverse world we live in