Speaker 1: Frugal Friends book Club Winter Edition, four books to kick
Speaker 1: off the new year. Welcome to the Frugal Friends Podcast,
Speaker 1: where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, rights, and
Speaker 1: live with your life. Here your host Jen and Jill
Speaker 1: m Yes, welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast and book
Speaker 1: club and book club. I am Jen, I'm Jill, and
Speaker 1: this is I have loved. I loved the last one
Speaker 1: that we did, the book club series, and you guys
Speaker 1: enjoy book recommendations. So here we are again. We're going
Speaker 1: to make it a recurrent thing. Three times a year.
Speaker 1: We'll give you four book recommendations. See you've got a
Speaker 1: book a month. There you go. It's so great, especially
Speaker 1: for those avid readers. I am excited. We will use
Speaker 1: the same scientific method we use the last time for
Speaker 1: the books this time. I just it's um painstakingly created
Speaker 1: through many hypotheses and tests. Its yeah, trial error, trial
Speaker 1: more error, and here we are. So but first, this
Speaker 1: episode is brought to you by the One Week Spending Makeover. Yes,
Speaker 1: brand new, you haven't heard it before. Here it is
Speaker 1: the One Week Spending Makeover. So January two through six,
Speaker 1: mark your calendar. It's the first Monday, to Friday of
Speaker 1: the New Year, we are hosting a free one week
Speaker 1: challenge with daily live lessons in your in box, an
Speaker 1: exclusive pop up Facebook community that you also don't need
Speaker 1: to be part of. If you don't have Facebook, it's
Speaker 1: just a bonus, but you still get everything without it.
Speaker 1: And the goal of this one week spending makeover is
Speaker 1: that in five days or less, you have a clear
Speaker 1: picture of your past spending, a foundation for values based spending,
Speaker 1: and a plan to improve and implement moving forward. We're
Speaker 1: looking at past, present, and future spending. That's what the
Speaker 1: spending makeover is. We're doing that in five days. There's
Speaker 1: gonna be prizes, free pdf downloads. We're gonna be live
Speaker 1: with you every day, especially that that Wednesday right in
Speaker 1: the middle, so much more. If you want to kick
Speaker 1: off your financial goals with a bang, then join us
Speaker 1: for the one week spending Makeover. It's free and you
Speaker 1: can sign up at Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash makeover.
Speaker 1: Oh I can get a makeover for free. Yes, if
Speaker 1: you're spending so grazy spend spending, that's where I probably
Speaker 1: need it the most. And you're doing mostly work here.
Speaker 1: Yeah that's true. Oh yeah, I'm excited for that. Yes,
Speaker 1: So if you love books, then definitely you're going to
Speaker 1: want to also listen to our Last Frugal Friends book
Speaker 1: Club episode four Books to Read in the Fall, and
Speaker 1: that is episode two five, and maybe you will feel
Speaker 1: you'll resonate more with that group of books than this.
Speaker 1: But this is a good group, good, good group of
Speaker 1: books here, good stock. They come from good stock, good stock,
Speaker 1: all right, so let me they are famed and prized,
Speaker 1: trademark patented book selection process, scientific method, scientific method for
Speaker 1: selecting our book club books. Um for it's not a quarter,
Speaker 1: it's for triannual. I don't know, triannual, alright, four books.
Speaker 1: Our first book something old, or then five years, our
Speaker 1: second book is something new, or then one year. Our
Speaker 1: third is something borrowed from our listeners, so something you
Speaker 1: suggested to us. And our fourth is something with a
Speaker 1: blue cover. Oh that such a method, such a sciences
Speaker 1: the method method trial, errored, tested and now tried and true.
Speaker 1: And it's a tradition that brides use. So if brides
Speaker 1: on their wedding day feel like they need to have
Speaker 1: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, of course
Speaker 1: we're going to replicate that scientific method for our book
Speaker 1: club recommendations. Yeah, and you know what, they've got a
Speaker 1: shot at being right and we've got a fifty shot
Speaker 1: at being right for you. So we feel that this
Speaker 1: is good. This is the facts. These are We're just
Speaker 1: laying down facts for you here. So let's get into
Speaker 1: our first book, which is something Old or then five
Speaker 1: years uh, and that is The Simple Path to Wealth
Speaker 1: by Jail Collins. And why did we pick it? Well?
Speaker 1: I picked this one because it is It defined the
Speaker 1: way I and thousands of other people invest, and it's
Speaker 1: amazing start to investing. I know some people like live
Speaker 1: and die by it. I wouldn't go that far. I
Speaker 1: would skip the chapter on bonds for sure, as long
Speaker 1: as you know you should have some and by the
Speaker 1: end of the book you can figure out how many
Speaker 1: you want. There you go, you're good. But I so
Speaker 1: this is a really good, easy to read book on investing.
Speaker 1: And that's why it's been so popular for so many years.
Speaker 1: It's why it's our something Old pick, because it's tried,
Speaker 1: it's true, and it's really I mean, it's used by
Speaker 1: a lot of people, even more than our scientific method
Speaker 1: for picking out books. Well. Vulnerability segment. I know we're
Speaker 1: not there yet, but you are convincing me to read
Speaker 1: this book because I have not read it. But when
Speaker 1: we talk about throughout our podcast learning and not being
Speaker 1: afraid to ask the questions and being able to do
Speaker 1: some of the difficult things or things that we thought
Speaker 1: were unattainable for us, this is the next step in
Speaker 1: how we do it. Yes, we can listen to podcasts
Speaker 1: and we can talk with friends, and that is great
Speaker 1: and that will get us decently far. But if there's
Speaker 1: more that we want to take a deeper dive in
Speaker 1: we wish we knew more about. That's where these books
Speaker 1: are going to come in handy, so especially for building
Speaker 1: upon tools and resources, and I think books can fit
Speaker 1: a variety of different needs and means for us. Sometimes
Speaker 1: we turn to books for escape, sometimes rest, sometimes knowledge,
Speaker 1: sometimes tangible tools, And certainly this one falls under that
Speaker 1: kind of tangible tools lifelong learning category where hey, I
Speaker 1: don't know much about investing. Let me fill in the
Speaker 1: blanks here with something that's being recommended to me. I
Speaker 1: think that can be part of the problem too. I
Speaker 1: know I want to learn more about investing or wealth building,
Speaker 1: but I don't know where to start hearing it from you,
Speaker 1: Jen and others who have said this is this has
Speaker 1: been really helpful for me. Oh, that takes a lot
Speaker 1: of the guesswork out, so I think, and for me
Speaker 1: that's that's more so where I'm at. I'm not necessarily
Speaker 1: one who reads things just pleasure. I don't know what
Speaker 1: that says about me, But I read things to grow professionally,
Speaker 1: to learn more about some of the therapeutic and interventions
Speaker 1: I'm trying to utilize with clients and and then for
Speaker 1: personal growth, and so this for me falls right into
Speaker 1: that category. And to have something kind of written out,
Speaker 1: here's what you need to know about investing, it can
Speaker 1: take what I need I can learn more fantastic. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he really does make it so simplified, and some may
Speaker 1: argue like oversimplified. So we have I have an investing
Speaker 1: course that actually when this comes out, it may already
Speaker 1: be broken up, but I'm in the process of breaking
Speaker 1: up to put it into the Frugal Friends Club. So
Speaker 1: to make it many courses to put it in there.
Speaker 1: And that dives a little deeper into some of the
Speaker 1: ways you can make you're investing a little more well rounded,
Speaker 1: but still simple and that I gleaned that wisdom from
Speaker 1: a lot of other invest sters, financial planners, books and stuff.
Speaker 1: I read them so that you don't have to. But
Speaker 1: if you're looking for a very just beginner simple like
Speaker 1: said it and forget it way to do things very
Speaker 1: easily up front. The Simple Past Wealth made me realize
Speaker 1: that I don't need some person that I don't know
Speaker 1: to manage my money. For me to manage my The
Speaker 1: biggest amount of money like that I will save in
Speaker 1: my lifetime my retirement savings. I assumed that once you
Speaker 1: got to that point where you were ready to invest,
Speaker 1: you just gave it to someone and they invested it
Speaker 1: for you. And it was when somebody recommended this book
Speaker 1: to me and I read it, is when I realized,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, this is technology has made investing so
Speaker 1: accessible for people. I no longer need to do that.
Speaker 1: It is very easy to do it yourself, and you
Speaker 1: can just stick to the stuff in the this book
Speaker 1: and be very successful long term. And if you find
Speaker 1: an interest in it, you can definitely take it further.
Speaker 1: It's not either or it's it's both. And imagine that
Speaker 1: And for our next book, something new or than one
Speaker 1: year is Messy Minimalism by Rachel Crawford, and a couple
Speaker 1: of reasons why we chose this book. First of all
Speaker 1: is this emphasis that minimalism doesn't mean perfection, which is
Speaker 1: definitely one of those myths that we do try to
Speaker 1: push back on. Minimalism doesn't have to cost a lot
Speaker 1: of money, Minimalism doesn't have to look one way. Minimalism
Speaker 1: doesn't have to mean perfection. And Rachel kind of continues
Speaker 1: to affirm and tease out that idea. I like, how
Speaker 1: so I'm on the Amazon description of it too, and
Speaker 1: the way that it's describing the book I think can
Speaker 1: feel really relevant to a lot of people, like drowning
Speaker 1: in tides of boys, overflowing closets, crazy schedule. Rachel Crawford
Speaker 1: assumed that you'd be naturally organized to keep a tidy space.
Speaker 1: Then she found minimalism, the messy, real life kind that
Speaker 1: is less about perfection and more about purpose. Thus began
Speaker 1: a journey towards decluttering her home, calendar, soul. So if
Speaker 1: this is something that you're interested in in this new
Speaker 1: year of how can I find a minimalism that works
Speaker 1: for me? This could be a really great book for you.
Speaker 1: Another reason why this one is recommended is that in
Speaker 1: part of that journey that Rachel talks about is looking
Speaker 1: at conscious consumerism, and so if if minimalism is maybe
Speaker 1: the result of this process, conscious consumption is a big
Speaker 1: part of that journey, and so not just stuff but time,
Speaker 1: and so having a book that kind of covers all
Speaker 1: of those different domains can be really helpful. So minimalism
Speaker 1: that work for you. Looking at Rachel's journey, messy minimalism
Speaker 1: and we like alliteration too, Yeah, absolutely, And she has
Speaker 1: a great Instagram account to I forget what her Instagram
Speaker 1: a count is, but I follow her and it's always
Speaker 1: very practical minimalism, which I appreciate more than some other
Speaker 1: creators that that take it very like like existential almost,
Speaker 1: where we're very into the practical side of minimalism. And yes,
Speaker 1: we believe minimalism in you know, more than just physical
Speaker 1: space does help your mental processes, your energy, all of that.
Speaker 1: But we're very much into practical minimalism. That's saying, the
Speaker 1: less stuff you have, the less time you spend cleaning it,
Speaker 1: and the more willing you are to have people over
Speaker 1: to hang out instead of going to a bar and
Speaker 1: all of these practical things. The you know, the less
Speaker 1: hectic your schedule is, you know, the left for the
Speaker 1: fewer times that you were shopping, the more time you
Speaker 1: have to do things that either make you money or
Speaker 1: to invest in the things that money can't buy. So
Speaker 1: we're very into the practical aspects of minimalism, and Rochelle
Speaker 1: definitely talks about those on her Instagram and her and
Speaker 1: expounds upon them in her book. So the subtitle is
Speaker 1: Realistic Strategies for the rest of Us, if that gives
Speaker 1: you any idea. And oops, it sounds like it's Rochelle
Speaker 1: and not Rachel, even though they're spelt. I did try
Speaker 1: to highlight it, and I highlighted it as you were
Speaker 1: saying it, and you just kept saying it. I I
Speaker 1: wasn't looking at the outline when you were. We were
Speaker 1: just you were in the flow, you were in it.
Speaker 1: I was sorry. Rochelle, Yes, but we will. We will
Speaker 1: will read your book, and that is that's what you
Speaker 1: really want. I don't care if somebody calls me Jessica
Speaker 1: as long as they listen to my podcast. Some people
Speaker 1: will call me Gillian even though my name is spelt
Speaker 1: with a J. Huh. They just I think that it
Speaker 1: should have been with a G and then sounding it
Speaker 1: out with a G. I don't even know what to
Speaker 1: tell you, so empathizing with you, Rochelle in the way
Speaker 1: that I just butchered your name, all right, moving on
Speaker 1: to something borrowed from our listeners. So every once in
Speaker 1: a while we'll get on our Instagram at Frugal Friends
Speaker 1: podcast and we will ask you for book recommendations, and
Speaker 1: from those we will pick one to borrow essentially from
Speaker 1: your bookshelf and add to our book club. And this
Speaker 1: one several times recommended, and it could have been recommended
Speaker 1: by me. It could have also been one of our
Speaker 1: something old choices, and it's I Will Teach You to
Speaker 1: Be Rich by ramat Setti. There is no better book
Speaker 1: to start the year off than this one. Honestly, it
Speaker 1: is our personal finance book of choice. Chapter four, specifically
Speaker 1: on conscious spending, has had a huge impact on our
Speaker 1: values based spending philosophy. So if you really enjoy our
Speaker 1: values based spending, values based budgeting, all of that, like
Speaker 1: the things we talked about, you're very much going to
Speaker 1: enjoy chapter four of I Will Teach You to Be Rich.
Speaker 1: We are chapter four if it explode we are essentially
Speaker 1: we we have expanded upon it infinitely. Uh so he does.
Speaker 1: It is written for maybe people that are of maybe
Speaker 1: a higher income bracket, definitely above the average median income.
Speaker 1: Definitely not for wealthy people. So I'm talking like if
Speaker 1: you're making sixty two, a hundred something like that. But
Speaker 1: literally doesn't matter how much you're making, you can still
Speaker 1: glean wisdom. But a lot of his examples are in
Speaker 1: that income range and higher. But he also lives in
Speaker 1: New York City, so take that with a grain of salt,
Speaker 1: because a higher income there is you know, lower in
Speaker 1: other places. So I I love I'm not one to
Speaker 1: just uh you know, follow a six step plan to
Speaker 1: wealth and your a ten step plan or seven step plan,
Speaker 1: which is what most financial authors tout, and this one
Speaker 1: is no different. But I love the way in which
Speaker 1: the information is presented. It did find it. I read
Speaker 1: this probably five years ago, and I was challenged by
Speaker 1: some of the things that I read, and I loved that.
Speaker 1: If you love to be challenged, then this is a
Speaker 1: good book for you. But it's all very common sense.
Speaker 1: If you're looking for just uh one book to rule
Speaker 1: them all, not one, it's not the right. It's if
Speaker 1: you're looking for one book that's got everything, this is
Speaker 1: my favorite for sure. Nice. Yeah, yeah, I hear you
Speaker 1: talk about this one a lot and another vulnerabilities segment.
Speaker 1: Still haven't read it, but these two are standing out
Speaker 1: to me. For me, I think I will go with
Speaker 1: the I Will teach You to be Rich and the
Speaker 1: Simple Path to Wealth, just because that fills in the
Speaker 1: blanks for me on some of the things that I
Speaker 1: feel like I'm not an expert in. Yeah, I don't read.
Speaker 1: I'm an audiobook listeners, so I'll get it from the library.
Speaker 1: And all of these are available at the library. Is
Speaker 1: that's one of the things I check for at least
Speaker 1: in my library, they're available. If it's not available from
Speaker 1: my library, I have a pretty robust library system in
Speaker 1: our city. If it's not there, I don't put it on.
Speaker 1: So trying to make that as like accessible to as
Speaker 1: many people as possible. And for our final category, something
Speaker 1: with a blue cover, yes, or something blue. A lot
Speaker 1: of books have blue cover, so that's they do you
Speaker 1: would you would be surprised that this is not hard
Speaker 1: one to look for. Yeah, So even with all the
Speaker 1: options of blue covers out there, we picked this one
Speaker 1: Set for Life by Scott Trench. You you may remember him.
Speaker 1: You may know this name. We had him on our
Speaker 1: podcast episode one talking about home buying. He is a
Speaker 1: real estate investor and co host of the Bigger Pockets
Speaker 1: Money podcast CEO of Bigger Pockets. So but in this
Speaker 1: one he's specifically talking about kind of making me set
Speaker 1: achieving financial goals at a younger point in life. And
Speaker 1: so one of the reasons that we picked this one
Speaker 1: is that it does offer a good perspective on building
Speaker 1: wealth earlier in life. So if that's something that you're
Speaker 1: interested in, what are my options as if you are
Speaker 1: a younger person you kind of want to be getting
Speaker 1: at some of these big goals earlier on. To me,
Speaker 1: it strikes me a little bit more of that fire movement,
Speaker 1: financial independence, retire early. Not all of that are am
Speaker 1: I or are we completely on board with, but again,
Speaker 1: alternative perspective something to get you thinking. Him telling his
Speaker 1: story of what he did. I appreciate the bullet points
Speaker 1: of what the book is gonna be highlighting saving more income,
Speaker 1: so maybe ways to live off of fifty and save
Speaker 1: while still having fun, how to explore possibilities of doubling
Speaker 1: or tripling your income within maybe a three to five
Speaker 1: year range. How to track your financial progress and achieve
Speaker 1: some of the greatest, most influential results. How to build
Speaker 1: frugal and efficient habits to make the most of your lifestyle.
Speaker 1: It sounds that's how to secure in quotes real assets
Speaker 1: and avoid false ones that might destroy wealth. Looking at
Speaker 1: real estate and stock investing to generate passive income. So
Speaker 1: those are a few of the highlights. And if this
Speaker 1: sounds interesting to you, if this feels like it's going
Speaker 1: to fill in some of the blanks, some of the
Speaker 1: questions that you have, some of the things you're pondering,
Speaker 1: this could be a great option for you. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: like this one. So I haven't read this one, but
Speaker 1: I actually like before. So there's an updated version, and
Speaker 1: I think both covers are blue, but the new cover
Speaker 1: is definitely blue. But I had somebody several years ago
Speaker 1: read it and their mind was just blown. And I
Speaker 1: was already familiar with Scott and you know, had hurt
Speaker 1: him speak, had heard him like he's just a He's
Speaker 1: a great guy. He's very smart, and what he did
Speaker 1: was very unique and set him up for long term
Speaker 1: success without having to be as on fire as as
Speaker 1: vigilant as some other fire people seem to be. So
Speaker 1: I just love that it seems like a very strategic
Speaker 1: and not extremist way to achieve fire. But I also
Speaker 1: love it because it's a little bit different. Then I
Speaker 1: will teach you to be rich, So you might benefit
Speaker 1: from reading both, but you might be able to choose
Speaker 1: which one makes more sense for you in your season.
Speaker 1: So Remin is a big proponent for renting. He is
Speaker 1: a big rent guy. And then Scott over here is like,
Speaker 1: you should buy a house like a duplex or something
Speaker 1: that you can rent out to a roommate, and then
Speaker 1: do that for several years and then buy something else,
Speaker 1: keep renting out the other house, and then just like
Speaker 1: kind of keep doing that until you feel like you
Speaker 1: want to settle. So he's big into not like intense
Speaker 1: real estate investing and also not intense stock or retirement investing.
Speaker 1: It just is a very it's kind of like what
Speaker 1: we're doing. We're not in our twenties anymore. But we
Speaker 1: rent out our house. Our first house that we ever bought,
Speaker 1: we rented out, and we bought it with the intention
Speaker 1: of renting it out. We bought our first house, knowing
Speaker 1: this isn't going to be our dream home, it's not
Speaker 1: in our dream location. We will rent this out eventually,
Speaker 1: and we are. And we bought another house now that
Speaker 1: has a part in the back that we will be
Speaker 1: renting out. And I don't know if we'll ever leave here.
Speaker 1: I'm still tired from renovating, so I can't think beyond that.
Speaker 1: But our first house we didn't even have to renovate.
Speaker 1: We just we got a good deal on it and
Speaker 1: it was already renovated, so that was great. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I really love that method, and it does focus on
Speaker 1: that a little more intensely, whereas I will teach you
Speaker 1: to be rich, UM focuses on like set it and
Speaker 1: forget it investment um and also gives some great, you know,
Speaker 1: frugal living tips and and focuses a lot on I
Speaker 1: would say, more increasing your income versus the real estate
Speaker 1: like gradually investing part. Both books are great, both strategies.
Speaker 1: You should know both so you can decide if you
Speaker 1: want to do both one or neither. But I just
Speaker 1: I love the They're both very successful people and they're
Speaker 1: doing it different ways, and it shows you can be
Speaker 1: very successful and do things very differently from somebody else
Speaker 1: who's very successful exactly. It further highlights the ability to
Speaker 1: find what works for us. But it's super affirming to
Speaker 1: know a few different paths can be good ideas, Like,
Speaker 1: it's not one set way, And so I think even
Speaker 1: if you kind of know the direction you're going, it's
Speaker 1: still worthwhile to hear, well, what are the things other
Speaker 1: people are doing, or what is an alternative perspective to that,
Speaker 1: just to be sure that the path you're choosing and
Speaker 1: taking truly is the right one for you, or to
Speaker 1: maybe even give some brainstormy creative problem solving ideas of
Speaker 1: how you might be able to do the path that
Speaker 1: you're choosing even better or with greater efficiency or effectiveness.
Speaker 1: I also love about this list how like seemingly all
Speaker 1: over the map it is like talking about wealth building
Speaker 1: and investing and real estate and minimalism, which also just
Speaker 1: all falls under the umbrella of how massive this concept
Speaker 1: of for gality is, but the reality of how complex
Speaker 1: our lives and lifestyles and the span of life can
Speaker 1: be in the various decisions that we make. So I
Speaker 1: think what I would highlight here is identifying what is
Speaker 1: the one area that you feel like there's a gap
Speaker 1: in knowledge base, or there's a gap in or or
Speaker 1: barriers to your lifestyle right now, and whether it's on
Speaker 1: this list or somebody else's list, but picking up a
Speaker 1: book or a podcast that's going to help fill in
Speaker 1: that gap so that we can keep growing and and
Speaker 1: getting better at the things that we are saying are
Speaker 1: important and that we value. Yeah, and frugality is being
Speaker 1: a good steward of your resources. And we think of
Speaker 1: that in the ways we spend primarily, but we keep
Speaker 1: emphasizing that is in it's in the way you spend
Speaker 1: your time. And so Re meets really like he gives
Speaker 1: a lot of um negotiating scripts, especially for negoti changing
Speaker 1: your salary, because where you work takes a lot of
Speaker 1: your time, so let's make the most of it. And
Speaker 1: for Scott, where you buy your house, the type of
Speaker 1: house you buy that is a big investment. Let's be
Speaker 1: a good steward of that. With the simple Path to wealth,
Speaker 1: you can spend a lot of money and fees going
Speaker 1: to UH an actively managed fund or a financial advisor
Speaker 1: that's earning a commission on what they're selling you. If
Speaker 1: it's not the right product for you so you can pay.
Speaker 1: You waste a lot of money to fees that you
Speaker 1: don't need to be paying. Uh So, you do save
Speaker 1: a lot of money by knowing these alternative ways. And
Speaker 1: not all actively managed funds are bad, you'll see. He's
Speaker 1: a big proponent of Vanguard in this book, and they
Speaker 1: have actively managed funds, but many there for a select
Speaker 1: few people at a select time. Uh So, and you will,
Speaker 1: you'll figure that out or you'll learn about that up
Speaker 1: the more you read about it. And so I I
Speaker 1: love And then obviously we know, like minimalism, the less
Speaker 1: you buy um, the less you consume, the more money
Speaker 1: you will keep. And so all of these books are
Speaker 1: frugal living books in my opinion, in some way or another.
Speaker 1: And it emphasizes that frugality isn't a race to the
Speaker 1: bottom of spending. It is good stewardship of every aspect
Speaker 1: everything that money touches, Yes, and and resources includes time
Speaker 1: and being a good steward of our time and energy
Speaker 1: can also include in what ways are we being kind
Speaker 1: to ourselves, benefiting ourselves, helping ourselves learn and grow. Books
Speaker 1: are a massive part of that. So our podcasts, so
Speaker 1: well done being here, Thanks for what you are both
Speaker 1: listening and learning about books. That's like double double time.
Speaker 1: You're putting in double time time right now. You pat
Speaker 1: yourself on the back today because you are it. You
Speaker 1: are doing it the person that you want to be.
Speaker 1: You are, you are, You have defined yourself in that way.
Speaker 1: You are her or him, and you're only getting better.
Speaker 1: Do you know what else? It seems to only get better,
Speaker 1: It only gets Honestly, it does only get better. Well,
Speaker 1: and we're going to test that theory right now with
Speaker 1: that Bill of the week. That's right, it's time for
Speaker 1: the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby
Speaker 1: was born and his name is William. Maybe you've paid
Speaker 1: off your mortgage, maybe your car died, and you're happy
Speaker 1: to not have to pay that bill anymore. Bills Buffalo bills,
Speaker 1: Bill Clinton, this is the bill of the week. Hi,
Speaker 1: Jen and Jail, This is Patty. I live up in Calgary, Canada,
Speaker 1: and my bill of the week that I'm thankful for
Speaker 1: is something that my parents will be paying for themselves.
Speaker 1: They had their house to become unlivable in Fort Myers,
Speaker 1: Florida from Hurricane Ian. But my brother in Denver is
Speaker 1: going to get them in an RV today and come
Speaker 1: back and install them and an assisted assisted living housing
Speaker 1: just outside of Denver near him. It's very expensive, but
Speaker 1: we are so grateful that they will be able to
Speaker 1: pay it because they have been frugal their whole lives
Speaker 1: and they have taught me to be frugal. I've paid
Speaker 1: off my mortgage last year, and if I need to
Speaker 1: help pay for it they're assisted living, I can and
Speaker 1: they will be taken care of and happy and safe,
Speaker 1: and even though they will miss their friends of their
Speaker 1: community has been you know, really tested down there, and
Speaker 1: they feel terrible about that. But they're in their mid
Speaker 1: eighties and we are thankful to be paying that bill.
Speaker 1: So that's it. Thank you so much. Bye bye Wow. Patty.
Speaker 1: First to your parents, Yeah, we are. The devastation continues
Speaker 1: in Fort myers Port, Charlotte, Santa Belle, and it is
Speaker 1: something that we talked about in October and it is
Speaker 1: December and we're still talking about it. It is still
Speaker 1: devastating down there, and so so thankful that you were
Speaker 1: able to move your parents out of there, because there
Speaker 1: are some parents that are down there that can't move. Gosh,
Speaker 1: they can't even afford to redry wall their houses and
Speaker 1: mold is rowing all over the walls. So that is amazing.
Speaker 1: That is an amazing benefit of frugality and good storship
Speaker 1: of resources. Yeah, what a lineage. And when we talk
Speaker 1: about legacy, I hear that coming through and what you're
Speaker 1: describing your parents living a lifestyle that's allowing them to
Speaker 1: make these pivots even in really crisis unforeseen difficult times.
Speaker 1: But the ability to now have options because of the
Speaker 1: way that they've managed money and the way that you
Speaker 1: have carried on that amazing trait and behavior and decision
Speaker 1: making in your own self with a paid off mortgage, congratulations,
Speaker 1: and the lifestyle that you're living that has afforded that.
Speaker 1: And yeah, just what's happening now for your parents, your brother, yourself,
Speaker 1: the peace of mind that can come with that, your
Speaker 1: your parents moving. I mean, I know it's not an
Speaker 1: easy thing. That's quite a transition, but my goodness, Denver
Speaker 1: and Colorado is beautiful. I have often said, if I
Speaker 1: didn't live where I live in Florida, I think I'd
Speaker 1: want to live in Colorado. So your parents are living
Speaker 1: that reality and I hope it's a really great assisted
Speaker 1: living place for them. I mean, well done. On all
Speaker 1: of these bills, And in that transition, you've brought up
Speaker 1: a point that I've been passionate about for a really
Speaker 1: long time, is that you you planned well enough to
Speaker 1: be able to take care of your parents when you
Speaker 1: need it to. And typically when we think about caregiving
Speaker 1: for our parents, it's not till fifties or sixties when
Speaker 1: it very much is almost too late for us to
Speaker 1: do anything about it, to prepare financially, because we're just prepared.
Speaker 1: We're trying to, you know, maybe sometimes starting just to
Speaker 1: prepare for our own retirement, and in that time is
Speaker 1: when parents start to need caregiving, and if they haven't
Speaker 1: prepared for it, then that will definitely stall your own
Speaker 1: preparations for your own retirement because those needs are more immediate.
Speaker 1: This is something that we need to be thinking about
Speaker 1: starting in our thirties, honestly, is what have my parents prepared?
Speaker 1: What have they not prepared? Do I have the margin
Speaker 1: to or in what capacity do I have the margin
Speaker 1: to be able to prepare to help them? Um? And
Speaker 1: and how will that be divided between siblings if it
Speaker 1: will be uh so, so this is something that nobody
Speaker 1: wants to think about. Everyone will deal with the average
Speaker 1: age people say they want to retire. In a survey,
Speaker 1: people said sixty four was the year they wanted to retire.
Speaker 1: The actual average retirement age is sixty one. And that's
Speaker 1: not because people are saving more and being pleasantly surprised
Speaker 1: and retiring early. That's either because of a health reasons
Speaker 1: or be caregiving reasons where they have to leave their
Speaker 1: work to care for either their parents or their spouses
Speaker 1: parents or something like that. Um, those are the most
Speaker 1: two most common reasons. And so this impacts your retirement.
Speaker 1: Thinking about your parents and Patty, I'm so glad that
Speaker 1: you brought this up and you were able to a
Speaker 1: have parents that prepared themselves and taught you to prepare, uh,
Speaker 1: not only so that you can you know, support yourself,
Speaker 1: but you can you know, bless your parents should they
Speaker 1: need it, should a random hurricane throw off their plans
Speaker 1: for retirement. So yeah, this is something I want to
Speaker 1: talk about more on the show. Do it do an
Speaker 1: episode in the new year. But thank you, Patty, thank
Speaker 1: graduations for highlighting all of this, so much food for
Speaker 1: thought and highlighting just another episode that we need to do.
Speaker 1: But you are just modeling well the way that this
Speaker 1: can look and again, I do hope that this transition
Speaker 1: goes well for your parents. Thank you so much for
Speaker 1: your bill. If you all listening are in a similar
Speaker 1: position of the ability to help your parents, are the
Speaker 1: things that you've learned from your parents or having a
Speaker 1: paid off mortgage? Who knows, there's so many different bills,
Speaker 1: you know, just you know a bill parent named bill. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's all we require or loosen goosey over here, visit Google,
Speaker 1: Friends podcast dot com, slash bill. Leave us your bill.
Speaker 1: We're ready for it. And now we're moving into your
Speaker 1: round round. Oh okay, it is time for the lightning
Speaker 1: round to get vulnerable. So let's talk about it. Okay.
Speaker 1: I love how just just just jump jump. Goldie didn't
Speaker 1: even like give us any like runway. She just jumped
Speaker 1: too intense. And her question for us today is a
Speaker 1: book that made you question in everything that you know.
Speaker 1: And Juli, I'm puzzled by your answer. I look forward
Speaker 1: Iel like you want me to start. Yeah, because you've
Speaker 1: got probably like a more realistic because I wrote down
Speaker 1: a book. Because I wrote down a book, is that
Speaker 1: why I should start? Huh? Okay, because you took that,
Speaker 1: you took the assignment seriously, and I understood the assignment, okay,
Speaker 1: so mine is maybe it didn't. I don't know if
Speaker 1: it made me question everything that I knew. But it
Speaker 1: was the most recent book that I read, and I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, what is happening. Everybody is suspicious, skeptical
Speaker 1: of everything everywhere, ever, which I already am, but this
Speaker 1: just made me more so. And and nobody is surprised.
Speaker 1: The book is called cult Dish and hold on, let
Speaker 1: me pull up. I listened to the audio book for
Speaker 1: free from hoop La, which is my Library Systems audio
Speaker 1: book and e book app alright, So it's called Cultish
Speaker 1: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell. And if you
Speaker 1: like cults, this is the book for you. And so
Speaker 1: this author, Amanda Montell, she's a linguist and she studies
Speaker 1: language and specifically cult language because her parents, her father,
Speaker 1: I think, was in a cult. So she they pushed
Speaker 1: back on the term brainwashing and they and they say
Speaker 1: that and this is is fascinating because I've always had
Speaker 1: this like belief anybody the smartest people in the room
Speaker 1: joined cults, honestly, Like if you look at the history
Speaker 1: of cults, like anybody can get into a cult, so
Speaker 1: you just have to be aware so that that's not you.
Speaker 1: And and this kind of emphasizes that and saying that
Speaker 1: cults don't actually brainwash. They use very specific language to
Speaker 1: make people feel part of a tribe and then to
Speaker 1: make them feel indebted to the tribe and then kind
Speaker 1: of make them feel like they can't leave. So that
Speaker 1: is it was like and they say, and they're like,
Speaker 1: it's not just cults, it's everywhere. People use this language,
Speaker 1: this cult language everywhere, especially in marketing products. People use
Speaker 1: cult language to market products influencers. Influencers use cult language
Speaker 1: essentially at themselves. I mean, we've never used cult language
Speaker 1: because but maybe we'll start. You're right every time I
Speaker 1: say never, So are you recommending this book? This yes, round,
Speaker 1: so that just I want you to know when we
Speaker 1: start using cult language, I want you to know that
Speaker 1: I want you to be able to be fully aware. Yeah.
Speaker 1: It is insane, very good book for anybody that likes
Speaker 1: cults are just how h language is used. Two twist.
Speaker 1: Reality has very little to do with frugality and just
Speaker 1: more to do with well free entertainment. This book was
Speaker 1: probably free. Okay, it was free entertainment. But then also
Speaker 1: like it like goes into health and fitness, right, so
Speaker 1: we always say, like these health and fitness places like
Speaker 1: soul Cycle, Peloton, they have cult followings and they have
Speaker 1: cult following things because they use cult language to create
Speaker 1: super fans and so, and like Peloton is not a cult,
Speaker 1: but people are buying two thousand dollar bikes and biking
Speaker 1: every day and spending the money on the annual membership
Speaker 1: and they're doing all this stuff because they feel part
Speaker 1: of a tribe and they feel indoctrinated into it. You know,
Speaker 1: nobody's gonna shun you if you leave, but yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: a bit that they that's how they get you in,
Speaker 1: but they might you might lose I mean, how much
Speaker 1: of the community you're a part of in You can
Speaker 1: lose communities when you leave places. What's the thing you
Speaker 1: two CrossFit that's the first one they mentioned Jill Pros
Speaker 1: first when they mentioned language. But imagine if you do
Speaker 1: like you're not gonna not maybe intentionally or maliciously, but
Speaker 1: you certainly won't be going to all the community things
Speaker 1: that they You would lose community if you no longer
Speaker 1: did cross fit. Yes, absolutely, And I love my community CrossFit.
Speaker 1: It's the one of the reasons I do it. But
Speaker 1: obviously it's like not my closest community, it's not the
Speaker 1: tribe I identify with, so but yes, that community focus
Speaker 1: is a big part of why I am so committed
Speaker 1: to it. And yes, no CrossFit. They they they start
Speaker 1: out the book with a yoga cult and then cross
Speaker 1: fit and I was like, okay, girls, we are getting spicy,
Speaker 1: but I'm here for it. What else you got for me? Yeah?
Speaker 1: So it is a fun read. Well, similar to some
Speaker 1: of the different episodes that we've talked about with marketing
Speaker 1: tactics and how knowing marketing tactics can help us to
Speaker 1: spend more wisely and intentionally and be privy to those things.
Speaker 1: It sounds like this is kind of right up that
Speaker 1: alley and in a more intense way. But this is
Speaker 1: this is what a lot of organizations, businesses, sales teams
Speaker 1: are trying to do make us feel like we belong.
Speaker 1: And yeah, and they were. Now and here's the thing,
Speaker 1: this is a small spoiler alert. They're the next cult
Speaker 1: wave because there's cult waves, like every decade has a
Speaker 1: different type of cult wave, you know. So you've got
Speaker 1: your hippie type cults in the seventies, and you've got
Speaker 1: your tech and space mostly space type cults in the nineties.
Speaker 1: And she says the next cult it was going to
Speaker 1: be consumer based. They're already seeing anti level market based no.
Speaker 1: I mean, yes, she does talk about multilevel marketing absolutely, um,
Speaker 1: but it's going to be these cult followings of influencers
Speaker 1: and the products they hawk and the products they create.
Speaker 1: So that's what the cult I mean. And Taylor Swift
Speaker 1: just broke the inner Internet. Yeah, gets sales, Yes, I
Speaker 1: mean our internet went out for two hours and we
Speaker 1: just realized it was at the very time that Taylor
Speaker 1: Swift tickets went on sale. And I love that. It
Speaker 1: may not be the exact reason that my internet went out,
Speaker 1: but I will believe that that's the reason. And we're
Speaker 1: already seeing instances where influencers are trying to start their
Speaker 1: own like kind of cults, and they talk about she
Speaker 1: talks about that in the book, like influencers the new
Speaker 1: cult leaders, and it is fascinating. It did make me question,
Speaker 1: It did made me question everything that I knew because
Speaker 1: I already kind of thought that way. But it was
Speaker 1: it's not conspiracy theorist like either it's not like that,
Speaker 1: but it's just how these people use the language in
Speaker 1: the same way that you know, the leaders of jonestown
Speaker 1: and scientology and all of these other things. They use
Speaker 1: very similar, very interesting, very interesting. I feel like I'm
Speaker 1: part of a book club right now. Just the way
Speaker 1: we're talking about, we probably talked about more than all
Speaker 1: the other books. It should have been it's a new book.
Speaker 1: It would have been our something new. Alright, Jill, how
Speaker 1: about yours a book that made me question everything that
Speaker 1: I know? I said my journal it is a book
Speaker 1: two ways of two ways of looking at this. Okay,
Speaker 1: well maybe more than that. I'll back it up by saying,
Speaker 1: you've heard me already describe this. I don't read many books.
Speaker 1: I don't know what to tell you, folks. It's not
Speaker 1: my main way of spending time. I swing hammers. There
Speaker 1: are many listeners, okay who will feel seen by that. Okay,
Speaker 1: don't feel ashamed. And so in the books that I
Speaker 1: have read, I can't say that like I questioned everything
Speaker 1: I knew, like life just isn't that extreme for me.
Speaker 1: But that being said, I'm not even lying with this.
Speaker 1: This would have happened a couple of years ago, I
Speaker 1: was going through my old journals and reading them, and
Speaker 1: it did feel like a little bit of a upside
Speaker 1: down reality for me, just to realize and recognize like
Speaker 1: what I used to think and say and do, Like
Speaker 1: what like if you would have asked me what kind
Speaker 1: of person was I at ten or eleven? I probably
Speaker 1: would have had a very different answer for you than
Speaker 1: what my journal of a ten eleven all year old said.
Speaker 1: Like it was. It wasn't even cute though, That's the thing.
Speaker 1: It wasn't even like, oh, this is so heartwarming looking
Speaker 1: back on this, I could not stomach reading the things
Speaker 1: that I wrote at ten. I threw them out. They
Speaker 1: were just so silly and like, but not in a
Speaker 1: cute way like out yeah, just like, oh, like this
Speaker 1: stupid stuff I wrote and not stupid ten year old.
Speaker 1: That's not to say, like, if you're a ten year
Speaker 1: old and you're listening to this, like definitely journal, you're
Speaker 1: probably way cut than I am. Uh you're and you're
Speaker 1: going to enjoy looking back on those journals. But for me,
Speaker 1: it held nothing like, it held no version of sentimental value.
Speaker 1: I threw them out. What's one thing, Okay, give me
Speaker 1: one example, like what wasn't cute? I just need to know. Now,
Speaker 1: if you're gonna say the journal is your book, you
Speaker 1: need to expound. I'm trying to think of examples. I
Speaker 1: mean some of it was just like there's no sentimental
Speaker 1: value in this one. One one journal entry was me
Speaker 1: listing out all the things I got for Christmas, just
Speaker 1: like now it's still it was like bullet points of
Speaker 1: me misspelling that I got pens and stickers and like noxious,
Speaker 1: well that's what you do at ten, like what else
Speaker 1: is going there? Nothing else in my life that should
Speaker 1: be more important than what you get for Christmas? Or
Speaker 1: like Sack complaining at eleven that like I haven't had
Speaker 1: a boyfriend yet and no boys like me, and no
Speaker 1: boys are ever gonna like me. It's just like it's
Speaker 1: just so you know, you are love. Some people feel
Speaker 1: that way at thirty one, Okay, chill, like don't yeah,
Speaker 1: and you know what, like you're fine. Felt like the
Speaker 1: eleven year old me was journaling as if I was
Speaker 1: forty three, and it just was like I think it
Speaker 1: felt like I thought I was so much older than
Speaker 1: I was and I just couldn't stomach it, and like
Speaker 1: there's never again going to be a moment where like,
Speaker 1: I want to read this and remember that these were
Speaker 1: the thoughts that I thought. So I'm getting rid of it.
Speaker 1: I So I read back when we moved and I
Speaker 1: cleared out some of like I had two boxes like
Speaker 1: memory boxes, and I wanted to consolidate to one. And
Speaker 1: it is hilarious, like how when I made those two
Speaker 1: boxes five years ago, how easy it was to consolidate
Speaker 1: to one five years later. It's hilarious. But so I
Speaker 1: found one of my journals. I kept it. But it
Speaker 1: was like I was going through a breakup and I
Speaker 1: was sad because apparent and he broke up with me.
Speaker 1: He dumped me, and I'm sad that I made him
Speaker 1: feel some type of way that he felt he needed
Speaker 1: to break up with me. To read. Oh wow, that
Speaker 1: was hard to read. That was hard to read, but
Speaker 1: it was very educational and I got to see how
Speaker 1: far I've come. Yeah, no one can undo me and
Speaker 1: make me question everything that I know, quite like myself.
Speaker 1: So that's why I say my journal can be an
Speaker 1: upending book. Yes, well better not. There you go. Um.
Speaker 1: Five out of the six books stated can be can
Speaker 1: be read. The other one can be read and one's
Speaker 1: the only copy was thrown away through the trash. See
Speaker 1: what you find and we hope that you get to
Speaker 1: read at least one of them, uh this winter slash
Speaker 1: early spring, and let us know what you thought of it,
Speaker 1: let us know if we were on the money or
Speaker 1: if you're like, actually, you should probably talk about this
Speaker 1: one next time. And I know we keep saying book club,
Speaker 1: and what we mean by that is these are the
Speaker 1: books were recommending. Pick one, start your own club, or
Speaker 1: you could also join our membership where people are able
Speaker 1: to get together in a club and talk with other
Speaker 1: fellow frugal friends. Frugal Friends Club where we facilitate people
Speaker 1: coming together that have all heard this episode and are like,
Speaker 1: maybe I want to read this book with other people,
Speaker 1: but nobody else in my life is a frugal friend.
Speaker 1: Not true. They are there there at the Frugal Friends Club,
Speaker 1: speaking of that private community where those monthly money challenges,
Speaker 1: book clubs, accountability groups are happening. We want to call
Speaker 1: out one of our members, Corey, who shared, to my surprise,
Speaker 1: something actually came up that I did not want to
Speaker 1: make time for in my schedule this week. So I
Speaker 1: said no boundaries. This is from last months simplifying challenge,
Speaker 1: where one of the weeks you had to simplify your
Speaker 1: schedule in some way and we all know that simplifying
Speaker 1: our schedule makes it easier to spend money intentionally, and
Speaker 1: that was kind of the purpose of that week. And
Speaker 1: so congrats Corey. That was very convenient that it came
Speaker 1: up for you during this challenge and proud that you
Speaker 1: you said no. You were in the right place at
Speaker 1: the right time to say no. No more excuses needed.
Speaker 1: No is a full sentence. And then thank you all
Speaker 1: for listening. If any of this sounds interesting, if you
Speaker 1: want to learn how to make no a full sentence,
Speaker 1: or you know you want to be part of a
Speaker 1: book club or an accountability group or do a money challenge,
Speaker 1: head over to Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash club.
Speaker 1: You can check out all the things that are going
Speaker 1: on there. What challenge we have coming up next. Hopefully
Speaker 1: we'll see you over there, If not, we'll see you
Speaker 1: here and we'll definitely see you at the one week
Speaker 1: spending challenge for Goal Friends podcast dot com slash makeover.
Speaker 1: That is going to be just a small introduction to
Speaker 1: what we are doing over in Frugal Friends Club. It's
Speaker 1: just like a tiny little piece of the pie. So
Speaker 1: if you're kind of like I want to try out
Speaker 1: the Frugal Friends Club, then join us Frugal Friends podcast
Speaker 1: dot com slash makeover and uh, you'll probably meet some
Speaker 1: of our members over there, taken doing their extra credit
Speaker 1: the one week Spending Makeover. So we'll see you, We'll
Speaker 1: see you somewhere, see you somewhere. Frugal Friends is produced
Speaker 1: by Eric Syria. When do you do most of your
Speaker 1: book listening when I'm doing home renovation things? So like
Speaker 1: I did when I did painting, I was listening. So
Speaker 1: when I think when I did painting, I was listening
Speaker 1: to Coldish. When I listened when I was priming, I
Speaker 1: listened to this book called Never Saw Me Coming. And
Speaker 1: it is a it's an interesting it's not my favorite
Speaker 1: book that I've ever read. It has an amazing premise though.
Speaker 1: So it is a group of psycho paths like kids,
Speaker 1: can you tell? I mean, I'm into it too. I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna so sorry, I'm not sorry. This is me.
Speaker 1: So it is centered on this one girl. She's a
Speaker 1: clinically diagnosed psychopath and she goes to this college where
Speaker 1: they are doing a program for psychopaths to kind of
Speaker 1: like study them and integrate, to teach them strategies to
Speaker 1: integrate into society, because they believe not all psychopaths end
Speaker 1: up being killers and serial killers and stuff, and then
Speaker 1: and stuff and then some But this girl has every
Speaker 1: intention of killing this guy. There's a whole story behind
Speaker 1: that that's a subplot. So it's funny because she's in
Speaker 1: this program to like be a normal member of society,
Speaker 1: and the whole time she's plotting like murder. And then
Speaker 1: somebody starts murdering students in the psychopath program and they're like,
Speaker 1: which psychopath is killing all of us? And so they
Speaker 1: go first on a trying to figure out who's in
Speaker 1: the program because they don't tell you who's in the program,
Speaker 1: they all find each other and then and finding out
Speaker 1: who's trying to kill them. So lots of murder in
Speaker 1: this one. So much murder. Wow. I mean, I would
Speaker 1: recommend one of the four books that we recommended today
Speaker 1: that will actually like expand and grow. It is. Yeah,
Speaker 1: So it has such a great premise. The execution was
Speaker 1: not um up to part was a little It was
Speaker 1: a little y a young adult, but it was not
Speaker 1: a young adult topic, so I don't know, Okay, okay,
Speaker 1: So that's why I didn't talk about it in the
Speaker 1: Lightning Round because I'm glad. I'm glad you did, right. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it would be a little bit too much for the
Speaker 1: listener who doesn't listen this far. But then I also
Speaker 1: love Disney bloggers on YouTube. I watch a lot of
Speaker 1: Disney had Left Turney loved hard Left turn It me
Speaker 1: love you for that.