Speaker 1: Episode one sixty two is episode sixty nine, creating a
Speaker 1: minimalist schedule. Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll
Speaker 1: learn to save money, embrace simplicity, rice, and liver with
Speaker 1: your life. Here your host Jen and Jill. M m mmmm.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen,
Speaker 1: my name is Jill. And if you are listening to
Speaker 1: this on your ride to some sweet Memorial Day getaway
Speaker 1: or some kind of pool or beach party, good for
Speaker 1: you being outside in the sun eating hot dogs. Imagine
Speaker 1: that I am with you doing all those things, and
Speaker 1: that we are We are frugal Friends vacationing together. I
Speaker 1: would eat a hot dog while we recorded this if
Speaker 1: it if you wouldn't have to hear me chewing. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: they're so, I'm a hot dog fan. Like I know
Speaker 1: this is not relevant to the podcast, but Travis didn't
Speaker 1: like hot dogs. I love hot dogs. Love hot dogs.
Speaker 1: It's why we're for you. But a lot of people
Speaker 1: do minimalist schedule. Those two So when you create a
Speaker 1: minimalist schedule, even more time for vacations and hot dogs.
Speaker 1: But so today we are replaying one of our most
Speaker 1: listened to episodes, from twenty nineteen on creating a minimalist schedule,
Speaker 1: because really, in all seriousness, when your schedule is simple
Speaker 1: and only includes the things you value, then you have
Speaker 1: more brain power, more cognitive function to be able to
Speaker 1: make better decisions outside of your schedule, and a lot
Speaker 1: of those times those decisions involve spending, and so it
Speaker 1: can save you money. So this is a really important
Speaker 1: aspect to frugality. I like the idea of relating some
Speaker 1: of these common themes that we talk about to a
Speaker 1: lot of different aspects of our lives and lifestyles. Of course,
Speaker 1: we talk about a minimalist home and what it means
Speaker 1: about things, but it's really neat to kind of correlate
Speaker 1: those concepts into other parts, like our schedule, just how
Speaker 1: we manage our time, energy, emotions, attentions that does have
Speaker 1: to do with this overarching theme of minimalism. So we
Speaker 1: dexcited to replay this for you all, and definitely last
Speaker 1: year would not have been a good time to replay
Speaker 1: this episode. But I feel like as summer approaches and
Speaker 1: we are about to be doing more things again, that
Speaker 1: we just take the time and be like, yeah, it's
Speaker 1: okay to make up for some lost time. But like,
Speaker 1: let's not get crazy. Okay, let's remember um the principles
Speaker 1: that saved us so much money in and let's try
Speaker 1: to instead of going in the opposite direction and totally rebelling,
Speaker 1: let's just find some like good, happy, radical mettle. We
Speaker 1: could find ourselves on the other extreme of that pendulus.
Speaker 1: For one is everything everything, So we're not here for that.
Speaker 1: We are here for our sponsors though, and all seriously,
Speaker 1: if we can say we're here for two people, it's
Speaker 1: for you and for our sponsors. And the first of
Speaker 1: those is the Frugal Friends Workbook. The flash sale is
Speaker 1: back if you're counting. We only do it like three
Speaker 1: or four times a year. So if you have been
Speaker 1: thinking about getting the Frugal Friends Workbook, if you heard
Speaker 1: us talk about it, then this is the time to
Speaker 1: get it. So this is a digital workbook with six
Speaker 1: week long challenges that help you improve your finances. But
Speaker 1: it turns it into a game, so you will get
Speaker 1: sixty pages of teaching and implementation guidance on challenges ranging
Speaker 1: from decluttering and increasing your income to having healthy conversations
Speaker 1: about money, um and so while it can be completed
Speaker 1: on your own, it's created to be gone through in
Speaker 1: pairs or small groups. That's why every purchase comes with
Speaker 1: two downloads. So if you want to take advantage of
Speaker 1: this sale um it is available for this coming week only.
Speaker 1: Head to Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash workbook to
Speaker 1: learn more and you will get forty off with no
Speaker 1: code needed. That's Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash Workbook,
Speaker 1: also brought to you by bond Bonds. We're still not
Speaker 1: entirely sure what they are, but we hear you will
Speaker 1: be able to just sit around and eat them as
Speaker 1: we learn to create a schedule that works for us
Speaker 1: and serves us. Bond bonds the candy choice of those
Speaker 1: with lots of free time. I think it's candy. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's a cake. What is a bond bond? Sitting around
Speaker 1: eating bond bonds? I have heard that before, and you're right,
Speaker 1: who does know what a bond bond is? That's so interesting. Well,
Speaker 1: maybe you don't have a lot of free time if
Speaker 1: it's not your candy choice. So true Truer words have
Speaker 1: never been spoken, Jillian, True words never spoken. So let's
Speaker 1: get into this episode because I know you don't have
Speaker 1: a lot of time either, But if you wanted to
Speaker 1: queue up some other episodes to play after this. A
Speaker 1: few that are in line with this topic are episode
Speaker 1: thirty two The Meaning in Minimalism, our interview with Joshua Becker.
Speaker 1: That one was really good one of Jill's favorites. Episode
Speaker 1: fifty nine Creating Soulful Simplicity with Courtney Carver that was
Speaker 1: also really good, and then episode one how a no
Speaker 1: spend Month can help your finances, and that one is
Speaker 1: really good because it can help you detox from everything,
Speaker 1: so detoxing from your not just spending money, but also
Speaker 1: going out so much because sometimes the things you're going
Speaker 1: out for can cost you money. So when you take
Speaker 1: all those things out of your schedule, you're kind of
Speaker 1: left with thinking about what do I actually value? So
Speaker 1: that can be really good for detoxing your schedule. So
Speaker 1: queue those up, But first let's get into this episode.
Speaker 1: We've got this one from Slow and Happy. I got
Speaker 1: to think about that for a little bit, but I
Speaker 1: won't do it now. Slow and Happy and they talk
Speaker 1: about ways to optimize your daily schedule through implementing minimalism,
Speaker 1: and I really like how they mentioned that it's not
Speaker 1: just about things. And we've talked about this before, but
Speaker 1: I think it's still a good reminder because sometimes I
Speaker 1: can get caught up in that and even my use
Speaker 1: of the term minimal When I go to somebody's house
Speaker 1: and they don't have a lot of things, I say,
Speaker 1: look at how minimal you are? And that is true,
Speaker 1: but it is beyond how much or how little we own,
Speaker 1: and bleeds into all other aspects of life also, So
Speaker 1: we want to look at that the ways the peripheral
Speaker 1: impact of that, and how we can incorporate this concept
Speaker 1: into our schedules and lifestyle. So the first thing that
Speaker 1: this article mentions is that a minimalist schedule can free
Speaker 1: you from wasting time on excessive things or things you
Speaker 1: don't care about, which in some ways is connected to
Speaker 1: actual tangible things that the less you have, the less
Speaker 1: time you are spending cleaning, taking care of maintaining, repairing
Speaker 1: all of that. So it is worth considering what you
Speaker 1: have and whether you need to have those things so
Speaker 1: that your schedule can free up a bit more for
Speaker 1: the things that you actually want to fill it with.
Speaker 1: I love how she mentioned, like how much time do
Speaker 1: you spend caring for your indoor plants? And I'm like none.
Speaker 1: That's why they all die. So it's it's things that
Speaker 1: you don't really think about that play into your schedule
Speaker 1: and just take up so much of your time, And
Speaker 1: if you are not spending time on them, then you're
Speaker 1: spending time stressing about them like I do about indoor plants.
Speaker 1: It was an odd example. I didn't really resonate with it,
Speaker 1: and I will say for some it's what gives you
Speaker 1: joy of having live things in your house, but can
Speaker 1: can get hord or ish at times. Take that concept
Speaker 1: and apply it to other aspects. What are you spending
Speaker 1: a lot of time on and do you want to
Speaker 1: be spending time on that? Yes, in the same vein
Speaker 1: a minimalist schedule frees you from spending time on things
Speaker 1: that don't work. So stepping back and identifying the things
Speaker 1: in your life that you have been doing and not
Speaker 1: just doing them for the sake of to shing or continuing,
Speaker 1: like we have been conditioned to think that if we
Speaker 1: start something, we have to finish it or we have
Speaker 1: to keep doing it, but really taking time to assess
Speaker 1: whether these things are working. And a lot of business
Speaker 1: owners will do that. They'll take time to assess what's
Speaker 1: working in the business what's profitable, and they will stop
Speaker 1: doing the things that aren't working or profitable. And we
Speaker 1: should be doing the same thing in our own life,
Speaker 1: like obsessing, assessing like is this giving me joy? Is
Speaker 1: this bring me life? Is this furthering my goals? And
Speaker 1: if not being able to say no to it, constantly
Speaker 1: evaluating that, just like how you would re evaluate or
Speaker 1: revamp your budget every month. Also, living a minimalist lifestyle
Speaker 1: can create space to enjoy tasks. So again this is
Speaker 1: the both and the impact of having fewer things surrounding
Speaker 1: you also create mind space, emotional space to be able
Speaker 1: to engage in tasks in a richer way. So they
Speaker 1: give the example of even like a home office, if
Speaker 1: it's not cluttered, you might be able to more so
Speaker 1: focus on what what's at hand, what you need to
Speaker 1: be doing. And I think we've even talked about this
Speaker 1: in our Digital Minimalism episode of how much freer you
Speaker 1: can be to engage in what you need to engage
Speaker 1: in if your space is one that you want to
Speaker 1: be in. And I know, for me, the state of
Speaker 1: my house, although it's not a house, my home, the
Speaker 1: state of my my vehicle that I live in is
Speaker 1: reflective of where I'm at kind of emotionally. If it's
Speaker 1: super clutter, then I am super cluttered. It is harder
Speaker 1: for me to get things done than if it is
Speaker 1: clean and organized to some degree. So keeping that in
Speaker 1: mind that if you are having trouble making the most
Speaker 1: of your time, take look at your surroundings and figure
Speaker 1: out do I need to eliminate some of the stuff
Speaker 1: so that I can do what I need to do. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and sometimes you will have a big task, like a
Speaker 1: big clean of your house or something, but then maybe
Speaker 1: breaking it up into sections to that so that it
Speaker 1: doesn't feel so daunting, like thirty minute or singular tasks
Speaker 1: can also be a way to not dread the task
Speaker 1: when it comes up, but to enjoy it, and at
Speaker 1: least at least if you don't enjoy it, to make
Speaker 1: it pleasant so you feel good after you finished your
Speaker 1: one task instead of just guilty for not doing it
Speaker 1: all at once. And then the last one on this
Speaker 1: article is that a minimalist schedule reduces distractions, and she
Speaker 1: references two books that I really like, essential Ism by
Speaker 1: Greg McCown and The One Thing by Gary Keller. So essentially,
Speaker 1: working on one thing or minimal amounts of things. UM
Speaker 1: reduces distraction and eliminates like goal competition to where a
Speaker 1: bunch of good things are competing for your attention and
Speaker 1: none of them gets done instead of just focusing on
Speaker 1: a few important things so they don't compete with each other.
Speaker 1: That is interesting. I have heard of a few people
Speaker 1: that it seems to work for to be doing a
Speaker 1: bunch of things kind of all at once. I think
Speaker 1: it's a little bit of a misconception. We can't actually
Speaker 1: do a bunch of things all at once, but moving
Speaker 1: from thing to thing. But I do think that the
Speaker 1: general rule of thumb is that most people do well
Speaker 1: to focus their attention in one area, complete that task,
Speaker 1: move on to the next. UM. But I don't want
Speaker 1: to lose the outliers in this situation, who who do
Speaker 1: kind of need something to break it up and have
Speaker 1: a bit of those brain breaks, if I can say
Speaker 1: it in that way, And I'll be bouncing around a
Speaker 1: bit for sure. I'm writing a lot about this. I'm
Speaker 1: writing my next book then I'll be publishing on Amazon,
Speaker 1: and I'm writing a lot about goal competition and ways
Speaker 1: to effectively achieve in my case for this book, paying
Speaker 1: off debt by eliminating other goals that you may want
Speaker 1: to have in tandem with that one goal. So it really, yes,
Speaker 1: it uh sets me on fire to read stuff like
Speaker 1: this because I'm really excited about it right now. But
Speaker 1: we must we must move on. We mustn't dwell in
Speaker 1: just the reason why you should have a minimalist schedule,
Speaker 1: but maybe some ways to achieve that. And this next
Speaker 1: article is five steps to declutter your schedule and live
Speaker 1: your desired life. And it's on Joshua Becker's website, Becoming Minimalist,
Speaker 1: And we had him on the show a while ago.
Speaker 1: It was such a treat to get to talk to him.
Speaker 1: He's like one of the godfathers of minimalism and he's
Speaker 1: such a good guy. H And he didn't write this post,
Speaker 1: but it's on his website, so I will love talking about. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Super good insight on how to aim at decluttering your schedule.
Speaker 1: And the first thing that they mentioned is to acknowledge
Speaker 1: the fact that you can't do everything. And my goodness
Speaker 1: is this so important in that we all have capacity
Speaker 1: and we may see that it's different for everybody, which
Speaker 1: it is. My capacity is different from yours, but we
Speaker 1: still cannot do it all. We don't have unlimited options.
Speaker 1: And I think it's a misconception to say time management
Speaker 1: because we don't actually manage time, Like we all only
Speaker 1: have twenty four hours in a day. We manage ourselves
Speaker 1: in the midst of time. So acknowledging that that I
Speaker 1: have twenty four hours, how do I want to make
Speaker 1: manage myself? What are the most important things that I
Speaker 1: need to be doing. What are the things that I
Speaker 1: need to eliminate? What do I want to spend time on?
Speaker 1: Because what can happen is that if we think we're unlimited,
Speaker 1: or we don't have capacity, or we're somehow going to
Speaker 1: get it all done, what can happen is we spend
Speaker 1: a whole lot of time doing the unimportant tasks, never
Speaker 1: getting to the important tasks, and become super frustrated that
Speaker 1: we just can't seem to get this done. So first
Speaker 1: step acknowledgement it always is right. So yes, instead of
Speaker 1: trying to get everything done, just create fewer things to
Speaker 1: get done because we've recognized that we're not going to
Speaker 1: be able to do it all. So don't take off
Speaker 1: your cape, your superwoman cape. I love the one less
Speaker 1: thing you have to launder that the video compilation on
Speaker 1: the incredible as I believe it was the first, the
Speaker 1: first movie where it was all of their capes sucking
Speaker 1: them into danger, risks things, lose the cape. I kind
Speaker 1: of think about that with this. You do it all,
Speaker 1: You're not Superman, You're not superwoman, lose the cape. It
Speaker 1: gets at people in trouble anyhow. And then move on
Speaker 1: to the point number two, Yes, and that is clarify
Speaker 1: what's most important to you. So not to your family,
Speaker 1: not to your spouse, not to your friends, what's most
Speaker 1: important to you? And so step back because it may
Speaker 1: not be the things that you think are important to you.
Speaker 1: There may be the things you think should be important
Speaker 1: to you. So just observe, like what kind of person
Speaker 1: do you want to be, what relationships are most important
Speaker 1: to you? And what do you want to accomplish? And
Speaker 1: find clarity in these three things and that will tell
Speaker 1: you the things that should be in your schedule. So
Speaker 1: once you understand is another book, Start with Why from
Speaker 1: Simon's Neck. It's directed at business owners, but it says
Speaker 1: when when businesses start with the why and base their
Speaker 1: marketing around it, that's what sells people. So if you
Speaker 1: start with the why, like what are you trying to accomplish,
Speaker 1: what are your goals, what relationships do you want to
Speaker 1: nurture long term, and what kind of person do you
Speaker 1: want to be long term. That's going to tell you
Speaker 1: what to include in your schedule, and things that don't
Speaker 1: help you get there can be eliminated. I love this
Speaker 1: article because I think it is causing us to reflect
Speaker 1: on just important life things that we should all be
Speaker 1: reflecting on anyhow, regardless of whether or not we're trying
Speaker 1: to get a minimalist lifestyle. It's interesting there's a lot
Speaker 1: of overlap. I when when Eric and I went away
Speaker 1: back in March, I wanted to take time to process
Speaker 1: and reflect on some of the things that have just
Speaker 1: had just happened in the last six months and look
Speaker 1: forward to what I want the future to look like.
Speaker 1: And there's a lot of similar questions that I went
Speaker 1: through in that process to what's listed out in this article.
Speaker 1: So I think an excellent exercise for anybody. I think
Speaker 1: it's next level to pause and reflect and process and
Speaker 1: plan for the future. I think that it requires a
Speaker 1: degree of maturity and ability to sit with our own thoughts.
Speaker 1: But I think these they not only say how do
Speaker 1: we want to get out of frugal lifestyle? But just who?
Speaker 1: Who's the person I want to be? What are the
Speaker 1: relationships I want to be a part of. I think
Speaker 1: it's these are fantastic questions to ask and can help
Speaker 1: with whatever lifestyle you're trying to move towards. The third
Speaker 1: thing to consider here is determine what you have to
Speaker 1: do to then live for those things. So once you've
Speaker 1: determined your wise and answered some of the questions that
Speaker 1: Jen just went through, then kind of work your way
Speaker 1: backwards to say, all right, if I'm going to get
Speaker 1: at that, what are the steps that someone would need
Speaker 1: to take to do that? And this can help you
Speaker 1: to map it out, to figure out where your time
Speaker 1: will be best spent and identify the ways that aren't
Speaker 1: maybe currently working. Maybe your reality versus your perceived self
Speaker 1: is drastically different. So okay, how do we course correct?
Speaker 1: How do we get back on track? What are the
Speaker 1: things that I thought would work that aren't working? And
Speaker 1: I can begin eliminating and or incorporating new things to
Speaker 1: get towards that singular focus, And for is say no
Speaker 1: to other stuff that hinders you. I've taken all of
Speaker 1: the say no things for myself. It's not enough to
Speaker 1: know what things you should do and what things you
Speaker 1: shouldn't do. You have to be self aware enough to
Speaker 1: say no to them out loud, and whether it's saying
Speaker 1: no to going out to eat with friends or saying
Speaker 1: no to an opportunity, Um that might make you a
Speaker 1: little money, but you could do something that's more profitable
Speaker 1: with your time, or doing something that just doesn't serve you,
Speaker 1: like you don't find joy in, like it's just draining.
Speaker 1: So I grew up in the church and all the
Speaker 1: women were, you know, stay at home moms is very typical,
Speaker 1: very stereotypical, and so whenever anybody asked them to do anything,
Speaker 1: they always said yes. I guess it was just that
Speaker 1: like mom guilt thing where they feel like if if
Speaker 1: I'm not working, I have to say yes to doing
Speaker 1: everything else and keep the house clean and have dinner
Speaker 1: on the table at six, like I have to do everything.
Speaker 1: And I watched so many women burn out and they
Speaker 1: all looked so stressed. I guess I can't collectively say
Speaker 1: like like every single woman, but I just remember this
Speaker 1: really vividly, and so it's caused me in my adult
Speaker 1: life to really just say no upfront, which also and healthy,
Speaker 1: like to just immediately say no to things and then
Speaker 1: go back and say yes. But it really caused me
Speaker 1: to say no very generously because I didn't want to
Speaker 1: be the person that took on so many responsibilities and
Speaker 1: leadership roles that I couldn't invest in the things that
Speaker 1: really mattered to me. Then this is a learned thing
Speaker 1: to say no again across the board. It's useful in life,
Speaker 1: and it comes up against our boundaries, whether or not
Speaker 1: we have healthy or unhealthy boundaries, and an a surety
Speaker 1: inside of ourselves of who we are and whether we
Speaker 1: feel comfortable or confident in our choices and ability to
Speaker 1: say no or to push back on ideas. So exploring
Speaker 1: this topic will inevitably touch on so many other aspects
Speaker 1: of our lives that are worthwhile to explore and will
Speaker 1: help us in the long run. And so finally with
Speaker 1: this number five is to figure out what motivates you.
Speaker 1: And I love how they were this that the author says,
Speaker 1: study yourself and figure out what makes you tick. It
Speaker 1: sounds like an odd concept, but I love it. I
Speaker 1: think self knowledge, self understanding is so important we often
Speaker 1: don't try to explore this to know what are my needs,
Speaker 1: what are my wants, what are my goals? How do
Speaker 1: I make sure that they're met so that I can, yeah,
Speaker 1: live out of a place of well being, and so
Speaker 1: I love what he is encouraging us towards here. And
Speaker 1: this could include I would define this as what's life
Speaker 1: giving like if we were to picture a jar of water,
Speaker 1: the things that deplete you or the things that you
Speaker 1: kind of dump water out on, and the things that
Speaker 1: are life giving to you or the things that kind
Speaker 1: of put water back into your jar. Both happen neither.
Speaker 1: It's not reality to have only a build up jar
Speaker 1: or only a depleted jar. Right, We're constantly pouring out
Speaker 1: or receiving being poured into. But to pay attention to
Speaker 1: what are the things that are life giving what makes
Speaker 1: you tick, whether that they've listed out, Maybe it's music
Speaker 1: or blogging or dancing or painting or singing or jogging
Speaker 1: or weightlifting, whatever. It is just something that you really
Speaker 1: enjoy that you can also incorporate into your time. And
Speaker 1: this will come along with as you find things to
Speaker 1: eliminate and say no to. This can be some of
Speaker 1: what you do fill your time with, maybe not everything,
Speaker 1: because it is important to give back, but this will
Speaker 1: help in feeling the benefits of a minimalist schedule and
Speaker 1: being able to incorporate things that actually matter to you,
Speaker 1: and then having the space and capacity inside yourself to
Speaker 1: do the things that might be more difficult or draining
Speaker 1: at times. And this is great. If you are stressed
Speaker 1: about having too much in your life and you want
Speaker 1: to just step back, then you're going to resonate with
Speaker 1: this so much. If you're the type of person that
Speaker 1: thrives on going NonStop, which is for as much as
Speaker 1: I say no is actually me, I would encourage you
Speaker 1: to challenge yourself by really eliminating a good portion of
Speaker 1: your schedule if you can, because it's it's humbling and
Speaker 1: it's eye opening. The crutches that we use in our
Speaker 1: schedule to avoid more important things and to take that
Speaker 1: step back and challenge yourself um in this minimalist schedule
Speaker 1: can really be important moving forward, not just in your
Speaker 1: stress level, but what you do financially, the things that
Speaker 1: you pay for and the things that you will not
Speaker 1: pay for. What are the ways for you jen that
Speaker 1: minimalism has freed up your schedule a bit more or
Speaker 1: created even minimal in your schedule. That's such a good question.
Speaker 1: So when I was pregnant, I had a few leadership
Speaker 1: roles and i UM specifically in my church, and I
Speaker 1: made the decision to step back from those and like
Speaker 1: leave all of those ministries because I wanted space and
Speaker 1: time before I had a baby to enjoy other things. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and people were saying, like, most moms will go right
Speaker 1: up until they're in labor and doing this stuff, and
Speaker 1: I was like, yeah, well that's good for them, but
Speaker 1: I want the space to enjoy this season. And I'm
Speaker 1: glad that I did take that space. I don't regret
Speaker 1: it at all. And now that I have a baby,
Speaker 1: I don't get to be as productive or do as
Speaker 1: many things as I was, And so that's really humbling too,
Speaker 1: just be stuck all day under an infant, which is
Speaker 1: a blessing, but also for somebody who loves to go, go, go,
Speaker 1: it's really hard. So I'm kind of taking these lessons
Speaker 1: for myself as well. How about you, Jail, Yeah, I've
Speaker 1: noticed I think that this is something I have to
Speaker 1: work at. I'm not saying that my schedule could get
Speaker 1: easily filled and so for me, it's a discipline to
Speaker 1: actually schedule times to rest, and you'll see that in
Speaker 1: my planner. Uh there are days where I actually write
Speaker 1: the word rest so that I don't schedule anything there.
Speaker 1: And for me, that's a boundary thing. And I don't
Speaker 1: feel the need to say no, I can I'm planning
Speaker 1: on resting that day. I just say no, I'm busy
Speaker 1: if there is an invite or something that's going to
Speaker 1: happen that day. So that has been super freeing for me.
Speaker 1: And I have found, even with some of the minimalist
Speaker 1: things that I have chosen, such as living in one
Speaker 1: seventies square feet, I don't have as much to do right.
Speaker 1: I don't have a yard. I have small small space
Speaker 1: that takes me about ten minutes to clean. So that
Speaker 1: I have found has freed me up a lot. And
Speaker 1: so the other night was a rest night, I could
Speaker 1: have filled it. Eric was out for the night and
Speaker 1: I pulled out my pencils and charcoal and drew. I
Speaker 1: have not done that and so long, but it felt
Speaker 1: so refreshing to be able to have the room to
Speaker 1: do that. And I had the space to do that
Speaker 1: because I'm in my home I've created um a minimalist
Speaker 1: lifestyle here where there weren't a thousand things tugging at
Speaker 1: me because it was clean, because it took ten minutes
Speaker 1: to clean, and then I was able to enjoy my night.
Speaker 1: So I'm not saying that that is all day every day,
Speaker 1: but I am enjoying some of the benefits of it,
Speaker 1: which is so fun for me. Yeah, And another thing
Speaker 1: that I just thought of when you were saying that
Speaker 1: is I gave myself. I scheduled a really solid maternity
Speaker 1: leave schedule, so like I did not schedule a lot
Speaker 1: of things. I took a lot of time off. And
Speaker 1: then when I decided to go back and like take
Speaker 1: on some clients because I had scheduled in so much rest,
Speaker 1: a client that I really wanted to work with approached
Speaker 1: me and I was actually able to take that, and
Speaker 1: I had the time to take that because I had
Speaker 1: not rushed into over filling myself with client work. So
Speaker 1: that's another perk about a minimalist schedule and scheduling and
Speaker 1: rest is that when these opportunities come up, you actually
Speaker 1: have the capacity, and when the really good ones come up,
Speaker 1: you have the capacity to take them. You know what else,
Speaker 1: we have the capacity to take. We have freed up
Speaker 1: and created space within this podcast to do something amazing,
Speaker 1: and that is the bill of the week. That's right,
Speaker 1: It's time for the best minute of your entire week.
Speaker 1: Maybe a baby was born and his name is William.
Speaker 1: Maybe you've paid off your mortgage, maybe your card died
Speaker 1: and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore.
Speaker 1: That's built buffalo bills. Bill Clint, this is the bill
Speaker 1: of the week. Hijen hi Jill. This is Layla from
Speaker 1: Vancouver Island in Canada. My bill of the week is
Speaker 1: my credit card bill, which I finally paid off in
Speaker 1: full this month. Now, I usually pay off most of
Speaker 1: my credit card bills, but I've developed a bit of
Speaker 1: a traveling addiction the last two years and that slowly
Speaker 1: racked up a bit of a leftover. So I decided
Speaker 1: into minimize no spending this past month and pay it
Speaker 1: all off in full, hoping to keep it that way
Speaker 1: and start budgeting more for my future travels, which may
Speaker 1: be a little bit limited because I work full time
Speaker 1: as an economist by day and I'm a master's student
Speaker 1: by night. Here's hoping to pay off my student debt
Speaker 1: by the end of the year. Thanks and keep doing
Speaker 1: what you're doing. It's awesome. I enjoyed listening to your podcast.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Layla. That's so awesome. Thanks for sharing, Layla.
Speaker 1: My goodness, you've got a full quate. So congratulations on
Speaker 1: paying off your credit card bill in full, and good luck.
Speaker 1: I'm paying off your student debt. We it can be
Speaker 1: so difficult, but you could do it, and we're here
Speaker 1: for you as your frugal friends. Layla. That is so awesome.
Speaker 1: And and I know that you will do more traveling
Speaker 1: in the future and it will feel even better when
Speaker 1: you're paying for it upfront and it doesn't follow you
Speaker 1: home and after you finish your masters and all that
Speaker 1: debt is paid off and feels so good. We're so
Speaker 1: proud of you, Layla. So thank you for leaving us
Speaker 1: a bill. And if you want to submit your bill
Speaker 1: of the week, visit Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash
Speaker 1: bill and please leave us something to get excited about,
Speaker 1: because we get excited every single week. It never fails.
Speaker 1: I love it. It's not old yet. Nope, it's not.
Speaker 1: It's not it will not be old. Well, it's time
Speaker 1: for our next favorite segment that we've created space for
Speaker 1: It's time for Lightning Round Round. You can leave us
Speaker 1: a comment in the Facebook group if you enjoy our
Speaker 1: Lightning Round intros or if you hate it. Just don't
Speaker 1: leave a comment on the actual podcast that you hate them.
Speaker 1: Only if you love them. Yeah, only in our Facebook
Speaker 1: group where it's safe. It's not it's not safe on
Speaker 1: the review pages. Anyhow, this Lightning Round, we're gonna we're
Speaker 1: gonna list off some things that you could give up
Speaker 1: for thirty days and try it out and see what
Speaker 1: that creates space for in your life. Yeah, you don't
Speaker 1: have to give up everything all at once, but if
Speaker 1: you want to just give it a try, waite in,
Speaker 1: see what it feels like, see what feelings come up.
Speaker 1: Then yeah try and here you go TV and or movies.
Speaker 1: So we all know that we can spend far too
Speaker 1: much time engaged in this form of entertainment because yes,
Speaker 1: it is frugal. You could spend or share a Netflix
Speaker 1: or Hulu account and then just binge yourself into oblivion.
Speaker 1: But we would argue for not doing that and doing
Speaker 1: something else with your time that's more enjoyable or life
Speaker 1: giving or gets you closer to your goals. So try
Speaker 1: given that up for thirty days and see what happens. Yes,
Speaker 1: this one is one that I am personally giving up
Speaker 1: for thirty days right now, and it's alcohol, so you uns,
Speaker 1: I know, but then I like binged a little after
Speaker 1: I could have it again, and I'm trying to get
Speaker 1: that baby white off, you know. So if somebody asks
Speaker 1: you to happy hour or out Friday night or something,
Speaker 1: this is a really easy way to say no to that.
Speaker 1: Just be like, hey, I'm just giving up alcohol for
Speaker 1: this month. Can't do it, and practice saying no subversively.
Speaker 1: So that's a really great way to save some money
Speaker 1: and also save yourself and time. You could also try
Speaker 1: giving up social media, so this could be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Speaker 1: whatever it is that sucks you in and steals up time,
Speaker 1: probably more than you even know. And if you listen
Speaker 1: to our Digital Minimalism episode, you know that there's an
Speaker 1: actual way to track the real amount of time that
Speaker 1: you're spending on social media. So I would encourage you
Speaker 1: to check that out and get the reality on how
Speaker 1: much you're her spending time in these areas and whether
Speaker 1: or not that's what you want to be doing. So
Speaker 1: try giving that up and see what what you end
Speaker 1: up filling that with yes. And then the last one
Speaker 1: is shopping, So this can be online shopping, thrift store shopping,
Speaker 1: yard sailing. Just giving up shopping for thirty days can
Speaker 1: give you a lot of time back. So you're not
Speaker 1: browsing Amazon, you're not searching for your yard sales, you're
Speaker 1: not wasting time to thrift store. Granted, like all these
Speaker 1: things are good, but you can definitely go thirty day
Speaker 1: is without them. It's so interesting now that we are
Speaker 1: living in a small space that I can't buy anything.
Speaker 1: I have what I need and I don't need anything else.
Speaker 1: So but what I used to do in the spring, summer,
Speaker 1: even fall time is go yard sale shoppings and in
Speaker 1: on Saturday mornings. It is fun to me, but I
Speaker 1: have found myself hardly doing that ever, which has been
Speaker 1: weird because it almost defined what I did on Saturday
Speaker 1: mornings just as an activity, but I inevitably would purchase things.
Speaker 1: So I have had to even shift habits based on
Speaker 1: living minimally. And what I found is, yeah, there's times
Speaker 1: when I missed the yard sales and I have twinges
Speaker 1: of remorse, but it has forced me to do even
Speaker 1: more life giving things, So go to the park and
Speaker 1: find wild flowers and sit by the water and or
Speaker 1: hang out with somebody who's important to me. So it's
Speaker 1: been really neat to see what other things interest me
Speaker 1: and the things that actually are rejuvenating to me. So
Speaker 1: I would definitely encourage this one. Even though, yeah, you
Speaker 1: can get great deals at their stores in your ard sales,
Speaker 1: sometimes you don't need it and you might be able
Speaker 1: to find something better to do with your time. Yes,
Speaker 1: it gives you space to try new things too, which
Speaker 1: is highly underrated. Well, speaking of trying new things or
Speaker 1: old things that are good things, it's still August and
Speaker 1: we're still doing a book club, which is which is
Speaker 1: a great way to spend your time reading, and we're
Speaker 1: reading something very worthwhile and fruitful, The Simple Path to
Speaker 1: Wealth by J. L. Collins for book club this month,
Speaker 1: so feel free to jump in on that wagon. Yes,
Speaker 1: and it is a self published book, so it is
Speaker 1: in a lot of libraries, but not all of them.
Speaker 1: So if you want a free copy of it, we
Speaker 1: are giving one away for every five reviews we get
Speaker 1: sent to us this month, So to be entered into
Speaker 1: that drawing, leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher.
Speaker 1: Screenshot the review and send it to Frugal Friends Podcasts
Speaker 1: at gmail dot com, and we will select one winner
Speaker 1: for every five reviews we receive at the end of
Speaker 1: the month. And for an example of a really helpful
Speaker 1: review that Jenna is shaking her head at right now,
Speaker 1: but it's coming at you, because why wouldn't we, you know,
Speaker 1: one of our very own left this review on the iTunes.
Speaker 1: It's by Travesty zero eight seven, which, yes, full disclosure,
Speaker 1: this is Jen's husband, but he does actually listen to
Speaker 1: every single episode. He is actually a fan. So this
Speaker 1: is why I feel that we can read this podcast
Speaker 1: just for some pointers on on something that is helpful.
Speaker 1: He wouldn't listen to if he didn't like it, I know,
Speaker 1: because there are a lot of things I wish you
Speaker 1: would do that he doesn't do. So it just happens
Speaker 1: to be five stars because that's actually how he feels
Speaker 1: about it. And the title is I'm in Love with
Speaker 1: these ladies. That makes sense for one of us, doesn't
Speaker 1: quite make sense for the other one, so we'll talk
Speaker 1: about that later. But I love the tips they give
Speaker 1: and I really love how Jen and Joe play off
Speaker 1: each other I love listening to it on my way
Speaker 1: to and from work. It's informative and it makes me laugh.
Speaker 1: Thank you, ladies for making my Friday's even that much
Speaker 1: more enjoyable. P s. Jen, Your voice sounds really cute.
Speaker 1: Want to get a four dollar and fifty cent latte?
Speaker 1: Winky face, So that happened a little bit of background
Speaker 1: for that happening is an unfortunate one star review that
Speaker 1: we got recently. We talked about it, I think on
Speaker 1: a previous podcast or an upcoming podcast where they they
Speaker 1: really used all of their words to tear us down.
Speaker 1: So this is just a really good reminder that we
Speaker 1: are real people, even though it sounds like, you know,
Speaker 1: we are professional experts almost robots, and we don't have
Speaker 1: real feelings. We do. And also, no, we're not claiming
Speaker 1: to be experts or professionals. We're just friends. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I do write about personal finance for a living, but
Speaker 1: that just makes it easier for me to write these
Speaker 1: show outlines and find these headlines. So that's what it
Speaker 1: does for me. Otherwise, I'm in it with everybody else.
Speaker 1: We're all in this together, trying to find better ways
Speaker 1: to spend money and spend our time, So that's that's
Speaker 1: where we're at. Thanks so much for listening, guys. We
Speaker 1: love bringing these popular episodes back to you because every
Speaker 1: time we replay them, they continue to be some of
Speaker 1: our most downloaded episodes, so we love re sharing them,
Speaker 1: and we also love it when you leave your kind
Speaker 1: reviews on iTunes and Stitcher, like this one from f Trainer.
Speaker 1: Every episode is an inspiration and it is five stars.
Speaker 1: She says, these women have great ideas and relay them
Speaker 1: in such a relatable way. There do what works for you.
Speaker 1: Approach leaves me feeling inspired to try. Their tips change
Speaker 1: the way I think about finance and sometimes life. Forehead
Speaker 1: sweat emoji as drive towards financial freedom. Thanks Jen and Jill,
Speaker 1: Thank you, Thanks f Trainer, and thanks for calling us women. Wow,
Speaker 1: I feel full grown. Sometimes they call us valley girls,
Speaker 1: other times they call us ladies, but when I get
Speaker 1: called a woman, I feel full grown. So thank you.
Speaker 1: We also want to thank our friends who share these
Speaker 1: episodes on social media. So when you share the latest
Speaker 1: episode and tag us on Facebook or Instagram, we're adding
Speaker 1: you to our monthly drawing. For every five tags and
Speaker 1: reviews we get each month, we're giving away a copy
Speaker 1: of the Frugal Friends workbook. So yeah, yeah, the flash
Speaker 1: sale is happening, but also you can try and win it. Yes,
Speaker 1: so keep leaving us reviews on iTunes or stitcher, sending
Speaker 1: screenshot to Frugal Friends podcast at gmail dot com, and
Speaker 1: don't forget to tag us on social We see it.
Speaker 1: Let's see you next week. Bye. Frugal Friends is produced
Speaker 1: by Eric sirian Gel. What are you doing for Memorial Day?
Speaker 1: I Am going to be back in Pennsylvania for a wedding. Fun. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Eric is in the wedding, which is exciting for him. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So because it's Memorial Day weekend, the weddings on a Sunday,
Speaker 1: so Monday, we'll probably be returning Eric's tucks. So fun,
Speaker 1: so fun right, Actually, that makes me think hopefully the
Speaker 1: place is open to be able to return the tucks.
Speaker 1: They probably are just slide it through the bottom of
Speaker 1: crack of the door. Oh maybe it's like he's the
Speaker 1: just to where it's like not like not a lot
Speaker 1: of fabrics, so he can just slide it under the door.
Speaker 1: Or it'll be like a rental car place where you
Speaker 1: just like drop the keys in the bin, just drop
Speaker 1: the tucks in the box. Yeah, and nobody will take
Speaker 1: it because who steals a tucks? Not me, not this one,
Speaker 1: not a full grown woman. It's like we're actually friends.
Speaker 1: If you are a full grown woman and you wear
Speaker 1: a text like, that's cool because yeah, but Jill will
Speaker 1: not wear a tux. I'm not going to steal a tux.
Speaker 1: That's different. I'm so sorry. I would totally wear one.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to steal one. Okay, I just like
Speaker 1: hashtag alright, hashtags full grown Okay,