Episode Summary
We have a fun discussion with Jen + Jill from the Frugal Friends podcast where we discuss values-based spending and how to avoid extremes with your money and find your own radical middle. We dig into a wide-range of other topics like the value of budgeting, time vs. money, paying off debt, being intentional and connected to your spending decisions, not treating frugality as a race to the bottom, the state of Pennsylvania, and so much more!
Episode Notes
Jen and Jill kick us off with the best descriptions we’ve ever heard two friends give each of each other, using terms like dry and witty and a tall glass of water. We spend a good bit of time exploring Jen’s relationship with the state of Pennsylvania.
We discuss a number of topics with Jen and Jill:
- How they each grew up and what those experiences taught them about money.
- How they first met and started the Frugal Friends podcast.
- They share their why for being frugal and what drives them.
- Why Jill is moving to Florida.
- Jill and her feelings about the state of Pennsylvania.
- Values-based spending – How to spend more intentionally and based on your values.
- Getting more connected to the decisions you make about money.
- Budgeting vs. tracking expenses and how they are related but different.
- How paying off debt can be isolating from your friends who aren’t on the same path or in the same spending habits as you are.
- Time vs. money and the idea you can take some things off your plate and have time to do other things you enjoy. Consider re-evaluating what you are clenching your fists so tightly for?
- Frugality and how it should not be a race to the bottom. It’s about being intentional with your limited resources. It doesn’t need to be about deprivation and taking things away, but instead about how you’re going to fill those voids with other things. Though we sometimes think it’s a race to the bottom on how little we can spend each month, perhaps it should instead be a race to how much life we can live for as little as possible.
- Jen tells a story about a trip to Uganda and recognizing that each person would hire out a lot of the things that we’d typically do ourselves amongst families that didn’t have a lot of money themselves, but enough to provide a job to others. It’s part of the culture to help out fellow community members and neighbors if you’re able to.
- There are different extremes on the pendulum of how people are living their lives financially, and you could go so far in one direction where you’re not living your life because you’re constantly doing everything yourself and making yourself miserable or you could outsource everything and do nothing productive with your time. Find your radical middle that blends both sides of this for your specific life.
- The lakes of Pennsylvania.
- Inflatable hot tubs.
- They are launching a new frugal friends 6 week workbook coming out August 7th. Follow them on social media to learn more about it when it launches.
Our top 3 takeaways for this episode:
- Talk to your friends about money. Good stuff comes from it. It’s how Jen and Jill bonded and became good friends. It’s how Mike and Maggie bonded and became good friends.
- Being frugal and responsible with your money doesn’t have to be a race to the bottom. You can avoid extremes and find your own personal radical middle.
- Pennsylvania?
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Show References