Husbands Tell All: Our 2 Year Anniversary Celebration

Happy two years we've done to Who would have thought we would make it two years? That's longer than most marriages for sure. God just throwing out stats. Okay, today's episodes super special. So if you were hoping to learn something about personal finance and frugality today not today, well you there. It's don't expect it, under promise, over deliver, Jill. You're getting nothing. You're getting nothing except the truth behind how Travis and Eric really feel about how they're portrayed

about frugality, about our relationships like they're telling all. And if you're curious, what kind of booze we landed? Checking out on YouTube and you have straight tense, straight dime pieces attract dime pieces. We all so true. But first let's get into our sponsors, also brought to you by the better half. In any whole, there's always a better half. This is true about sandwiches, bananas, shirts, and marriages. Today you will meet our better halves, and then you'll know

the right way to eat a banana. Gosh, I don't know, No, you're my better half. I was just writing this and I don't know. My brain is fried. And then I wrote that, and I was like, that's good, that's good. What's your favorite part of a banana? The top of the bottom? Which path is better at the banana? The top or the bottom? I don't understand what you're asking. Okay,

any of my frugal friends do let me know? All right, well, let's not let's not waste any time except for the whole hour that we're going to waste talking to your husbands. Is about right, He's gonna be good. It's pretty cloud. We should clap three to one. All right, here we are here. We are welcome boys to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money and live a richer life. Well, we're super excited to have our men with us for

this special two year anniversary Frugal Friends Special. We've been doing this for two years, so obviously our husbands are supportive, and this is the number one most requested episode of all time. So here we are, three people requested, and we are answering the questions you asked us in our Frugal Friends community on Facebook. So let's not waste any more time and we will get right into it. Perfect. So Stacy wants to know our love stories and how

we met. So Travis and Jen go first. Okay, So Travis, why don't you tell from your perspective? Yeah? Um, Well it started off. I met Jen at my place. Well, it was where I was staying with a friend outside your window. Yeah, with a boom box. It was like the starting line video. No, um, but yeah, I was. I got home late from work and we had a My roommates had a movie marathon at my place and Jen showed up and I went to go get a drink water before going to bed, and we had some conversation. Okay,

you intercepted his his thirst, he intercepted my first. I was on my third class of wine, so I was feeling good. I was feeling fine and normally I wouldn't have talked to a guy. But ever ever, that night, huh and yeah, she had enough a movie. Do you remember? It was The Grand Budapest. Have you guys watched it again since then? I don't think so tonight tonight? How

about you guys? Go ahead? Go ahead. We met at Jill's best friend's wedding where Jill was the maid of honor and I wasn't necessarily supposed to be there, but it wasn't exactly invited. Yeah, So like this was on like what a Friday, Saturday was Friday? I think the wedding was a weekend. It was Saturday. Yeah, And so that Sunday before the groom was like you should crash my wedding. That'd be so fun, and I was like

I probably won't. And then Wednesday night I got a text from my friend who's playing in the wedding and he was like, you have to come. Uh, they're not going to have a sound like a sound engineer during the ceremony, right the ceremony. Yeah, And so I was playing in the ceremony, so we didn't think about that. You had to both do the sound and play. And he's like, so I need help. Yeah, So I showed up and Jill got me water and I drank it

water Man, the hydration. Yeah. And then I asked you dance and we went on a date two days later and we got married a year later. Yeah, he asked me to dance. The song was at Last by Edda James perfect. Yeah, right on last. My love has come along. Apparently that song is kind of overplayed. So we have our moment a lot. You always leave out, you always leave out the part that I did a rap, which is what really drew you into me. Yeah, you can believe what you want to do. I went for if

you say it enough, he starts to believe you. Yes. And then how we met was that I knew Eric I had well, I didn't know him. I met him once in San Diego, sometimes very long a time ago. And then we became Facebook friends, because that's what you do after we meet somebody one time Facebook friends. And then you guys were coming through St. Petersburg and your motor home and Eric was like, do I have any friends in the area that I want to hang out?

And nobody responded a random post on Facebook an algorithm people to see it. Yeah, for some reason, I've never we're seeing I don't think after I friended you on Facebook, I ever saw anything from you ever again, and if you if you did, it was wasn't relevant. Yeah, so

we didn't really know each other. So I see this one thing and I'm like, well, my friends and I are going to watch the sunset at this beach bar if you guys want to come, And which is so unlike me because I don't talk to people like I don't know if you got this vibe from me, but I definitely don't invite people to hang out for no reason. And so I did it and they came for some reason.

That was the other weird part is that we showed up and we like showed up to St. Petersburg, like parked the r V and took we had like a little scooter. We're using it on the back of the camper and like for Jill to say yes to this was like kind of crazy too, because it was like park twenty minutes, like get everything figured out, get the scooter off the r V, and like cruise to meet

you guys. And I remember we're pushing back a little bit and you're like there were plenty of times, and I's like, is this what we want to do on our vacation, like go hang out with strangers? Like this is weird. This is They're going to think this is weird, this is weird. Why are we doing this? But we did girl that that was a question like what do you mean you remember one time? Like what what did

you do during that one time? Special time? Especially it's a secret that Jen and I will oh my god, And the answer, the real answer is I don't remember. I don't remember it. Yeah, I don't know. We get it off right. You guys were in your debt payoff journey. We were doing crazy things to get at a frugal, minimalist lifestyle and to pay off debt. So we bonded.

We were legitimate friends, which I think is always so funny when people write that on our hum like views sor differ things, where they're like, oh, where are they seem like real friends? Well yeah we are. We are. We're not like putting on a front where nobody where. We called it frugal friends, but like strangers and we're like trying to make this thing work like business partners.

We ended up hanging out every day. We ended up staying an extra two or three days, and we hung out every single day of that and we were so sad when you left that we went and visited you in Pennsylvania twice. We've come down who knows how long. Now we've been living in your backyard for six weeks post to six weeks, were hired of each other, and we're sitting here doing a podcast together. So that is our lives, all right, let's get into these questions. So well,

that was one of the questions there. It is we met? How we all met? Number two? Uh mona asks? Do you feel accurately represented on the podcast? Asked Eric and Travis. I feel represented. Well, I know everything Jen. She's pretty uh detail oriented, and she's compliments me a lot. So yeah, I guess I'm represented. Well, yeah, is it the compliments? Is that what it does? Yeah? It shout out to Travis, happy birthday. It's still your birthday right by forgetting birthday month?

How about you? I do I I don't always feel I don't like if you listen to the podcast and everything you heard about me on the podcast, I don't think that means you know much about me. But I don't feel like I'm misrepresented. I remember a couple of times being like, I should edit this out. Sometimes you do like to influence the time. You usually don't even have time, and you're still adding in lightning noises. That's laugh when I back, so, Mora, all the stories you

want me to talk about you more? Yeah, I think that's what I think you You could talk about me like a lot more so that people really get to know that. Glad we got that feedback. Thanks Mona, good question. All right, Next is from Jocelyn. We want to hear all about Eric's cars and traps. Is amazing hair. What is there to say? I'm him? Look at it? Look at this. Let's talk about the hair. It was much longer. Yeah, it was much longer until I gave birth. But it

is gorgeous hair when it's and the beard. Like the beard better? Actually, yeah, nobody, nobody really likes it. Though I like it, I can't. I like it when it's trimmed. Yeah. Yeah, let's refocus the podcast. It's a bed podcast. I think what Jocelyn's asking about the cars is probably the vibe the episode where I talked about wanting to go down to one car if you don't want to go down

to one car. I think that it sounds glamorous to go down to one car, but in reality, what that would mean is I stay home all the time and I take one uber and it costs seventy dollars because we live in the middle of nowhere and now I'm just alone often. I definitely don't get out much these days. And if I didn't have a guard get out, even the one time a week I use it, I would not get out. I'd just be home. Yeah, it's okay, we'll get there. Yeah, we don't. We don't need to

hash it all out. Yeah. She also wants to know who sings the Bill of the Week song, which is also you. It is me. We hear more about that one. What do you want to talk about? Tell us about when you made the Bill of the song um so and the intro song, like oh yeah, yeah, you did our soundtrack of it and our sound design, you edit

and all of it. It's weird listening back and remembering that I was completely alone in my studio at like ten o'clock at night, and like my studio wasn't completely sound proof, and so like people lived in the house kind of close by, and and it's awkward to remember that. I was like yelling things like this is the bill of the week by myself Buffalo. Yeah it sounds exciting, but it was just me, by myself alone, trying to make this stupid thing work, which is so eerie when

you scream and then it's dead silence. You're not I'm like, yeah, yeah, the couch now I don't know. And we have you to actually thank for the bill of the week segment in like general, you came up, you know what, we were brainstorm and we were throwing things against you came up with the podcast. You came up with the bill of the We do really this one to think for friends podcast. I appreciate where you go. I'm starting to

talk about complimenting you, like gen compliments Travis. Okay, So Leslie asks, how do you balance what you and your spouse think is important to spend money on? Don't don't don't. Jen pretty much just tells you what to spend money on. So not really that's not true, but I mean after paying off our day, it it's a I think it's a lot more we're a lot more lenient on what we can spend and but um, it's all. It all comes down to, like communication and just like, hey, I'm

going to buy this? Is it? Is it art with you? And then it's not. Well, yeah, it's interesting. I think I've also seen the reverse of that for you guys to be talking about of how do you balance what to make money on? Like in some ways like can I sell this? How much should I sell this for? Should I take on more work if I'm able to? Like I think it in some ways can flip for

you both, which is interesting. In these six weeks of being neighbors without borders, we are very Yeah, I am kind of obsessed with making money and that's something that I work through, like emotionally, mentally, Yeah, I know, ye things left and right. Yeah, I was trying to sell things you get top dollar to yesterday. I did sell them that. We sold her couch, We sold like tons of things since you guys been here, are coming for the very chairs we're sitting on soon, So let's keep

it going. What do you think, Eric, how do we balance this? I should have been thinking about that while um, I mean, yeah, we we do. I think the same thing we both communicate on, like you don't buy anything. So this is literally a one sided conversation, like Jill literally doesn't buy anything. I want to buy so many things.

I'm supportive of it, though, Like it's not that I'm okay with spending money, it's just I don't know what to buy, which in some ways, yeah, that's a nice thing, but in other ways it speaks to some of the lack of hobbies and skill set that I have. Like you can always spend money on music equipment, and I'm supportive of that because you do dope things, whereas I'm just like, I don't know. I got a fifty dollar gift card at Christmas from an employer and I to Amazon, right,

who wouldn't want that? And I still have not spend it yet because I literally don't know. I'm fine spending it, but I'm just like, what do I need erasers for my pencils? There's not many hobbies that go along with that. Brain do they call that? So? I can nit? I can crochet, but I have all the supplies that I need for that. Yeah, And yeah, you don't spend any money,

that's yeah, it is. It's a negotiation. Given moment, I could go and spend ten dollars and just like still have things that I want, I never will because I'm also I've just got a cheap But yeah, I mean, I yeah, I think it's really I don't know if that answers the question, but communication, like we just decide as we go. It's not like a there's a question again, how do you balance what you and your spouse I

think is important to spend money on. Oh well, I mean if we're talking to like the other person, like whatever is important to them. If something's important to you and it was a couple of thousand dollars, I would want to figure out how to buy it because I trust that you're not just going to buy something flippant, like something that you like you really want to really need. And I think that goes both ways. I just have a ton of reasons to purchase things that have a

lot of hobbies. But that's interesting. I do think it starts at like believing the best in your spouse and that that's a really important foundational thing that's not present

in a lot of relationships. But I think it starts at believing the best, so then we know that when we come to each other with like when we finally come to the point of I think I want to spend money on this, then yeah, if it's if you're saying that's important to you and you think that that would be a wise decision, I want to support it. Yeah m hm. You just you never actually know what

I end up getting because you don't even understand. I don't I don't even understand why I need inputs and plug ins and phantom power and you're using real terms. I don't know what I said. They need phantom power for the thing on this mic and somehow tons of Mike's. We've got over twenty microphones and yeah we can have sixteen. We're not done apparently. Okay. Patricia wants to know what's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality.

M hm, um, I don't know. I mean for me, like I've been cheap my whole life, So you know, then is this an intervention for me and you? I think that's what it is you who want us to Um. Yeah, I've done quite a few things like dumpster diving and um, I don't know, what do you think everything you pick up free stuff on the side of everywhere not everywhere, because like you brought in um peanut butter and cans of black beans from the alley. Yeah. Yeah, and then

but did you eat it? Jen? The peanut butter is actually in our cupboard? Have I eating it? Gen peanut butter? No? You haven't. That's amazing. I think the biggest thing there is that it probably doesn't strike you as anything crazy, like dumpster diving is why wouldn't you some person's trashes and others giving things out of the landfill. I no longer think these things are very crazy. Yeah, I can't even think of anything. So I'm broken. I've been broken.

Oh man, well, here we go podcast out of that one. What about you? What was the question that's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality? Oh gosh, I do I do things all the time? I don't know. Make the Bill of the Week song? Yeah, yeah, we'll do our own soundtracks that. Um. Yeah. I mean most of my life is trying to figure out how to do things for for cheaper or for more inexpensive. But yeah, yeah, I think most of it has to do with Craigslist transactions. Yeah, Facebook, Mark.

I think my mind goes to like the tentacle of what you've done in the name of frugality. Okay, Craigslist transactions, but you've actually maintained friendships through some of your Craigslist transactions are like while you're doing something, you get into a conversation about something else, and then all of a sudden, together you're you're fixing an engine. Like it, it has

led to I think some community that's unexpected. But beyond that, I mean, I guess more obvious or normal to us, but a little more unusual is like the way that you got your vibe. Oh yeah, yeah, I've done a lot of like trading work for goods, trading services for goods, economical, So let's clarify what services you traded for goods. I did some flooring work and some tile work for our good friends, and they gave me a pony a vibe Yeah, Kevin and Chelsea. Yeah, I still drive that car and

I love it. Yeah, that was that was one of the best, the best moves work for a car like it worked out so good. I've I've barely put any money into that car. We're still friends with them, yeah, I mean, and it was your idea to live in a camper, so I'm going along with it, and I love it, but that's yours. And the reason we did that was Jill want to go back to school for a master's degree, and I said, how can we make that happen? Shoved me in a real living space three

weeks later. Right, she doesn't like to buy cheap things, or she doesn't like to buy things all the time. She just wants to buy degrees. That's what's happened to So it sounds like I buy a lot of things, but they're all under like a few True, I have spent the most money. It was it was your day paper, two pieces of paper. Don't tell them that maybe someday there'll be another piece of paper. Yeah, we don't talk

about that. We're put that on a shelf. Okay, Next, Virginia wants to know what was the most challenging part of becoming frugal or along the frugal journey. Mhm, challenging? Um, I think for me, like I said earlier, like I've always been like cheaper frugal in a sense where I

tried to get the most out of everything. And um, but I think the if I can change the question, like, I think the most challenging thing was trying to be trying to be my cheap self coming into marriage with you, and like you you're more frugal and you're like, but I was like that extreme like which works when you're saying the floor ram and every day you did sleep on a Futon ship are at one point in some Ladies trailer before we met, that was a Suton chairs

but it's I've never actually seen it before until um at that time in my life. And so I and I value comforts and little luxuries and I'm willing more than willing to pay for things that make my life easier. Yeah, that that blending together. Traveling together was probably the most difficult for us. That was maybe the most challenging part because I want a journey everything that's free and I

don't want to pay for anything. Yeah, you don't want to pay for anything, and I like, that's when I want to spend the most money is while we're traveling. It's not like I don't spend a lot of money day to day, but when I'm traveling, I really want to experience different places. And so that's what we just had to figure out, Like did you all inclusive resorts and cruises, because then we're traveling but we don't have to pull out our wallet as much. Just like a

psychological thing. You learned that honeymoon was wrong? Was rough back? What about you? What's been challenging on this frugal journey my entire life dramatic? Yeah, I mean, I don't know when I started. I don't know when I started. It hasn't ended. I've just I've just been going for it this whole time. So it's challenging. It's maybe I don't even know how to answer that, because it's not challenging because it's just who I am. I think I don't

know how. I don't have to like remember back to a time where I wasn't my mom's frugal, I started my dad's frugal. Like, Yeah, I don't. I don't know, honestly. Yeah. Probably probably the spending of money, learning what to do when there is some resource of how to steward that well, right when you can just buy anything, when I can literally go out and buy anything like that. Adriana, has

your idea of style changed since being frugal? Uh? I mean I would say yes because I would I know when I was younger, like middle school, like I'd want to buy stuff from the mall because I would want

to go. But I think after like after high school or during high school, like my mom would take us to their stores, and it somehow clicked in my head where like it makes sense to buy things second in hand because like you can buy a way cheaper sometimes good quality stuff and and you're like you're not you're not buying new, so you're you're keeping like you're not, I guess building more waste, keeping things out in landfill. Yeah so I Um, but style, I always looked good. No,

that was real, Like he's always been a good dresser. Yeah, I always liked buying clothes. Um, but I like since high school, I've never bought, like I'm not never, but I like barely buy new. I always buy a second hand. What about what you wore on your wedding day? That was?

That was my suit that I When I was working in Virginia, I worked for Jay Crew and I there you get a discount um like Allotman card where you get like off cards and then once a month I think it is, or once every other month, they have like a where they have samples and stuff where they put on this put on the wreck for um, for just employees, and it's like off, so I use it. Uh, I bought like a five suit for like Bucks. What about for you? Eric? Ha's your idea of story change

since becoming frugal? Oh yeah, if we can change out the word frugality for minimalism, then yeah a big time. Like I used to just buy clothes that I liked, and now I buy clothes that actually matched that I actually go together. Um, you know, like if you have a like I was at I think it was J Crew somebody owes a sponsorship money and I had a green pair of pants that I went up to the register with and I was like, yeah, those are those

are cool? You know they're green, right And I was like yeah, because well so on color blind, that's probably good good information to now. Uh and yeah, and those pants are really cool and I liked them, but they weren't going to go with at least fifty of my wardrobe and at that point it doesn't make any sense to own them because I only have a few pair of pants. So yeah, yeah, just simplifying and and um yeah,

like what's the word, uh capsule thinking more? And I don't do that, but like thinking more in that it practically is you've really pared down your wardrobe, even within the last year. More and more I'm seeing you really narrow in on the things that you like, getting pieces that all match, no matter what, you can grab whatever from your closet for the most part. Yeah, you're still Chinese space that I give you for your clothes. Well yeah, m hmmm, mini. While okay, so two more two more

quick ones. UM Jay asks what financial goals do you have for yourselves? Let's see, I guess, um, mainly retirement, UM, focusing on you know Kay's um future, UM, because we have a house, we we have those things, UM, and we paid off for debt. So I mean just I guess those two things. Not really any specific goals besides like maybe cruises and stuff were I think we're still

recovering from paying off our debt. Is weird as that is, um, But we went really hard for two years UM, and at one point I had shingles because of the stress. And so it's been almost it's been two and a half years now. So we're focusing on putting as much towards retirement as possible. But other than that, like we are enjoying all of the extra money. We're not trying to pay off our house early or you know, max

out like Kai's nine. I don't know if you can max it out, but I don't even know what it is. So yeah, like we're enjoying it, having some freedom, and you guys are just living extravagant it. Come about my portion in the back. Yeah, we'll post a picture of this set up. You'll see. The reality I have to personal is I've been selling off a ton of music equipment to kind of like it's stuff that I've had for years, and it's really nice stuff, but it's not

really what I want. And I've kept it because I know it's really nice, and you know, it's just like why why go through the hassle? But recently I decided to just kind of like get rid of everything that's not exactly what I want and that will be more more than enough money. When I saw that, and then actually by the things that I want. Um, so that's like I have meant multiple drum sets, I'm gonna sell all of them and get one that I actually want.

Which has been funny because as you've posted these things online, friends have actually reached out to you, being like Eric is everything okay, Like you see that you're selling all of your music equipment, Like, are you doing all right? If you know Eric, he has always played music, Like as long as I've known him, he's had some sort of recording studio, and so to see him just like posting music equipment after music women, what's happening with you?

And Jill literally read are you good? I saw you posted a bunch of guitars on Facebook? I was like, maybe not. It's just like really pouring down and simplifying that your recording process can be more simplified. And yeah, and at the end of the day, I don't have a space that's mine, Like we're renting places and I get tired of moving everything. And if I don't use it in the time that I have a new space and we're moving to another space, like I'm probably not

gonna use it like get rid of it. Um. So yeah, just kind of quality over quantity with that. But then long more long term like our our goal as a couple, I would say, is to buy a house. So and that honestly has paired down my wanting to spend on other things. Yeah, I like to have my own space for my stuff, living living my best journey. This is this is Jill's ultimate dream coming true. I've always felt like it's me kind of just trying to hold in the flood gates of all the money you could possibly

spend a music equipment. Not that you're frivolous, but again going back to our conversation earlier, I don't understand the words that come out of your mouth that you want to buy some I'm just like, I don't know what you need that, and like you need more fretimes, you need fantom power, like you need this, you need that you need obviously, I don't think And then you can tell me it's five thousand dollars and I'm like, I don't know. I just gotta hold it all in. I

gotta read it all in. So it's been interesting to like have a shared mutual goal and see what that's producing in our relationship. Well. One final question is from Caroline and she asks just a riveting, thought provoking question something I struggle. Um, how do you guys handle the fame of your wives? You know, take your time turn to some things that you oh gosh, it's just you know, I created them. What did Frankenstein do with his robot monsters.

It wasn't Frankenstein was the doctor. It was Dr Frankenstein. Yeah, Dr Frankenstein. Sorry, guys, gonna monster or it was Frankenstein probably German, right, But what was the name of the monster. I don't know if the monster. I think it was the monster. Yeah. It was just like, somebody's going to have to tell us the real story about this. Yeah, please in the comments. Well, you know what we don't have to figure out. I didn't answer. I'm sorry. I want to know how he deals with the frame of

his doing. That's true. Um, Actually, I like I am super proud of Jen so, like I know, like she's super famous in the and the frugal friends in the in the podcast, but like like at work and all my friends, I always tell everyone, like, hey, my wife, she's an author, she's a she has hosts her own podcast and all these things, and like it makes me feel good about my life because my wife is famous. She's crazy at the gates, Travis because of your like

literally the work playing mechanics that that analogy work. Okay, now, yes, we can do another analogy the words the thing that works every time. That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage, maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. That's bills, Buffalo bills, Bill Clinton. This is the bill of the week. So you know what the bill of the week is. We don't have

to explain it to you. But if you're listening the first time and somehow you made it to this part of the podcast, we ask our guests to share their favorite bill with us, and we'd like both of you to share your favorite bill. So little it be boys, it's fun. Well, my favorite bill, it's more like a bill of a lifetime, I guess because it's my grandfather.

His name is Bill Smith, and he's just like they've my grandfather and my grandma like took care of me and my sister when we were younger, um, when my parents got divorced and um, so they were kind of in our lives all the time. So um, but yeah, my grandfather has done so many awesome things. He's in the Korean War. My grandma actually wrote a biography on him. Yeah, yeah, and so yeah, I love him and got sentimental. That's amazing. It's just gonna be the bill of the week, the bill.

That's that's incredible. That My mine is my great grand mine is Bill Waterson, who is the writer of Calvin Hobbs, the creator writer, and he is the best. And if I didn't have colvinant Hobbs, I wouldn't know how to read. Problemly incentive to read. Yeah, yeah, great, there you go for all your parents trying to teach your kids to read like short, short blurbs, like it's not this like big page. Yeah. I loved it. I still love reading comic. Yeah. We have a whole volume set in No Way, Oh

my gosh. Yeah. One of our AIRPNB guests gave it to us. WHOA, My parents were getting rid of of those books recently and I was like, wow, I'll just you know, use them online or find them online. They don't they're not online really, They're actually like pretty hard to come by. Yeah, so I kind of wish they

kept them. But yeah, well, if you all want to leave us a bill, or it's sentimental and super kind, or if it's how you learn to read this now related to a bill, we want to hear it, So leave us your bill at Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash bill. There's an option right there to leave us a message, and we'd love to hear it. Yes, all right, let's wrap this thing up. It's the Lightning Round, all right. For today's Lightning Round, we are asking the guys what

their best frugal tips are. Jeez on the spot. Now you looked at this ahead of time. Get that far. Honestly, I learned how to read because of governor don't read that well, I give up. What do you think tips? Um? Well, one frugal tip for married couples, I would say, uh, well, something that like has really been um A huge part of our frugality is to find someone like equal to your mindset of like frugality, or someone that's willing to um kind of change her mind or too, you know,

to be as frugal. Meet in the middle. Yeah, this is a dating tip. Oh, it's something that like I found that like, if Jen wasn't frugal or she if she wasn't like Downdy peanut butter from the Alley, it would be really rough on our relationship because it just wouldn't work. Yeah rough, maybe she would Yeah, like if someone spending and the other ones, you know, trying to say definitely, like in our that payoff journey, it would have never worked. But I wasn't for it in the beginning.

You had to get me on board. I did, but you were super easy to get on board, which is kind of amazing. Travis created you are the Frankenstein who because that's like your life now, that's kind of crazy. Did he get you on board? So it was when we were engaged and we were talking about our debt and he said, as soon as we get married, I want to pay off our debt. And I said, no, I'm trying to go yeah exactly. I was like, I don't want to live my twenties under a rock like

I don't. I don't want to waste the best years of my life paying off debt. And well I didn't know what my thirties would be like, I didn't know that number. Yeah, he just made me. He made me more um forward thinking. I had this mindset, which a lot of people in the middle class do, is um to like live for today, make do for you know

today the next year. But really I didn't have the capacity to think that I could have a better life than what my parents had, UM, and he inspired me to say what I wanted out loud and to believe that I could get there was I'm thirsty and some water. That's when you heard though, alright, that same question, Yeah, that's frugal, Like well, like what what are some ways

you get at frugality? I research until my eyes hurt, like everything, Like I never buy anything for unless unless I just unless I've done the research and I know that it's never going to be cheaper than it is, like I'm going to get it cheaper like I and I Yeah, and that's that's like compromising if it's new or not. That's UM spending just hours on Facebook, Marketplace

and Craigson's, which I do enjoy doing. It's not like this thing where I'm like dreading it like I I enjoy like watching I mean, for lack of a better terms, the market on things that makes me so smarter than I am. But yeah, just kind of watching like when we buy our mote or camper and or when we bought our camper and our motor home. I had been watching them for a long time to see what they sell for, and then when the right deal popped up um.

And so another thing would be patients, you know, just being seeing what you want but not needing it right away and kind of taking your time towards it. Um. But yeah, I mean I don't think there's any good way to do it other than just spending the time and like figuring out how much things. Yeah, I think it seems normal to you, But I do think it's a skill that need, that needs to be honed in and that most people don't do. It's like, yeah, I looked up a couple of different products that seems to

be the best one. Boom, I'm buying it. Whereas you take it to the next level and we reap the benefits of it. But I think people see some of the choices or decisions that we've made and it's like, oh, yeah, I want to do that without realizing, Like to get a two hundred dollar washer dryer combo LG. I mean

for two hundred dollars, we waited a year and a half. Well, you were constantly looking and checking to see if anything was posted on Facebook, Marketplace and Craigslist and so like, it takes dedication to get the really good deals and also to know what you're looking for I think that's the biggest thing we don't have time him for in this episode. But like, I think you've you've honed in some skills on even how to look for what's what's actually a good deal, what's not? How do you spot

a fake or a fraud? Like, Yeah, I think there's a lot more to be said, but you learn that in research and patients. Yeah. I even call Eric whenever I'm looking at buying a vehicle. A lot of people call Eric something. Yeah what do you think when I mean, because even if he's not currently looking for that thing, he has looked for that can rattle off like look for this, got to check that, and yeah, so he's

on this phone a lot. But yet we reaped the benefits. Yeah. Yeah, I kind of also just have to always be doing something too, Like people like just just rest though, just sit and rest. Like when I do that, I hate it. So why would I do that? This is my rest research. That's the moral of the story. Let me be me.

That's it that this episode. I hope you all got what you wanted from our husband's Yeah, if you're the last time, if you have more questions that were answered, Eric and Travis are both in our frugal friends community, so stop buying. Ask them and maybe they'll answer you. Maybe where it's highlighted in black. I don't know what that tag Travis. Travis clearly knows how to respond to you will respond on the internet that it. But thank you so much. If you are still listening to this episode,

you made it you There's no real prize for you. Nope, but you did get to hear all about Travis and Air and you go about them. You get to hear their podcast debut, which I think was even more special, and their YouTube debuts. I mean, really, what if they become more famous than us? Whatever, we can't go there happening. So thanks again for listening, and definitely thank you for your kind reviews as well. Keep leaving them on iTunes and Stitcher. Reviews kind of like this one from vir

six am. It says very relatable, it's five stars, and she says, I'm so glad I found this podcast. It's very relatable and very real usable information. Thank you. She left that before this episode came out, for sure. Um so this is for our our friends, like the people in the community that are curious about our husband. It was our most requested episode today. So there we are. We gave the people what they wanted. Uh. So we we want to say thank you to our friends who

share these episodes on social media. So when you share the latest episode and tag us on Facebook or Instagram, that automatically enters you into our drawing for a ten dollar Amazon card. And normally we say you have to share the current week's episode, but like you don't share this week, you can share any can share any episode you want. It's it's our too year animals we want. We are the bosses, so uh definitely uh screenshot those reviews when you leave them and send them to Frugal

Friends podcast at gmail dot com. Tag us at Frugal Friends podcast when you share on Facebook or Instagram and let us see it. We want to know. Bye, see you next week. Frugal Friends is produced, edited and mixed by Eric Sirian. I'll be the DJ. Oh no, um, how has it been for you guys? Us living in the backyard with that crazy music flares that I have loved it? I think I was telling you yesterday, like we are built for community, and the fact that you

live so close but not in our house. That's that we've been thriving, and I love how we like shared dinners every night. Yes. Yeah. My mom asked like, so you are you guys getting together? And I was like, most nights, I feel kind of nights we get together think complete. If I don't see yeah, I'm like, when you guys don't come over, I'm like, do they hate us? Um? And so that's how I feel. It's kind of like, I really we've become neighbors without borders, neighbors without borders.

We just you know, we come up to each other's doors and sometimes we talk. I mean, Kai is my best friends. Yeah, you have to hang out. Yeah, you and Kai have become best friends. We speak the same language and talks back. Yeah. Yeah, that's the only time. The only consistent thing you can get out of Kai is no matter what mood, is it if I go dad, He's like he has a real conservation happening here. Yeah. I've loved it too. Just yeah, it doesn't It's gone

by super fast. Also, the sharing of the meals, having instant friends, more work on the podcast, it's been that's been great. Oh yeah, help help on know the house projects. Oh my gosh, this couch in our living room and not be here without you. It always wasn't here with couch. I know I got I helped him get it out of the truck, and I was like, I'm not helping you get it out of here. I can't believe that

you did. That's that just goes to show how strong you are, you know, CrossFit as a person, Yes, CrossFit CrossFit, that's that's just that's not even a compliment to you. That's a compliment to CrossFit. Crossfits should be sponsoring. Say nice, what's your gym called? They can sponsor if you say the name, they have to sponsor. I'm pretty sure CrossFit Skyway, Yeah, they now they're legally obligated to give us before we

tell them. Or just pretty CrossFit. Yeah, it's been fun, it has, but now we're done.