Let's Normalize Secondhand Gifting

is America's actual favorite holiday. They may say it's Christmas or even Halloween, but we know where the money goes, and we know that it's Black Friday. If the Christmas decor keeps coming out earlier and earlier every year, how much more so are the Black Friday sales earlier and earlier every year? So that proves America's favorite holiday. I'm waiting for them, like Labor Day, just to skip right to Black Friday. Like Labor Day sales end and then

Black Friday starts. It's like this is a black one day, Like, let's not color the whole season black. I guess October is already kind of black, so it wouldn't fall like October Halloween. Okay, anyways, Happy Black Friday, today we are pushing back not on shopping. We love getting a good deal, um, but we are pushing back on all of the vanity gifts and the obligatory gifts and the obligatory first hand brand new gifts that people feel like they need to give.

And today we're gonna normalize secondhand gifting. You're gonna You're gonna leave this episode and feel like I'm gonna shop thrift for everyone, eBay for everyone, threat up for everyone. You are gonna be so excited about it. And by golly, so will they program podcast dot com slash everyone that won't take you anywhere, don't don't plug out that the thing is is even the best of us fall for this. We get caught up into whatever is happening in the sea.

There is this like feeling that kind of comes over me. At least you. I'm not looking at you. I'm looking at you and your gift setups that you have for your niece and nephew over here. Jill is so extra with gift giving, and so this episodes for Jill. Well, yeah, and that's the thing because and I was just talking to my husband about this too, that my ideal self, my ideologies are one thing, but I'm realizing that in certain areas of life, my actions don't always line up

with that. Like in my in my mind, I'm minimalist. I don't I don't want to buy new I don't want to buy junk, I don't want throwaway things. I don't want plastic. I don't want to just get a gift for the sake of getting a gift. But then my niece and nephew come to visit me, and I lose my mind. I'm like, I want to go to the plastic section and just like get the things that I think are going to excite them. I do feel

like I did decent this time. I already had some stuffed animals on hand, and I bought crafts that we could do together that have like a carrying case with them whatever. I just I could have gone so much extra, and I'm still trying to hone it in. All I'm saying is I'm with you for this episode. We're all going to try this together. We can do hard things.

But like even me who considers myself super super non spending, there are certain things that are like my kryptonite and well and you're and gift giving can still be your love language, and you can do it in a better way. You can just get creative. You can improve, and there's prioritizing, there's grace, but there is room always for improvement. And then we're gonna talk about that. That's where we are today. But first, this episode is brought to you by our

annual debt free Christmas Planner back. This free twenty page planner will help you plan your holiday budget, gifts, track online orders, right out your favorite holiday recipes, and even track your savings for next year with a cute tree where you can color in all the ornaments. It's very great. So if you're already on our email list, check your inbox today probably after like nine am Eastern Standard and

it will already be in your inbox. If you are not on our email list, why because we send free stuff out like this all the time. Head to free girl Friends podcast dot com slash Christmas to grab yours and that will get you on our email list so you can get all the free bees we send out. I love free bees, and you just get them to your inbox. We're like an email. You don't have to

unsubscribe to it. It's beautiful. Yeah, it's like not just like PDFs and spreadsheets, it's like playlists and different like articles things. That's just always good stuff. And I'm biased because I write them, and I'm biased because you're my friend and I support you, thank you, and I also think they're great. I love you for that. So if you are gearing up for gifting, it's bit's it's time, it's the best time of the year. Then we have

a few other gifting episodes for you. We've got episode one um what to do after the d clutter, so tips for donating, gifting, selling, all that, and then we have EPISOD thirty four with free and easy gift ideas, especially last minute gifts for frugal gifters, because that's that's where we spend the most money, is last minute stuff. Oh I love all these episodes because I just I do you you you caught me Jen, you know me. It's not in any a Graham number. It's it's a gifting.

It's a love language, and you are so good at it. Well it feels like pressure. I say, no, it's not pressure. It's it's you have a gift for gifting, and I am excited to see how you expand with this new challenge, so let's get into it. The first article is eight important reasons to buy gifts second hand, and I would love to know how this how this article attacked you, I mean impacted. Well, here's the thing. I you don't have to get me on board with this. I'm already there.

I love the thrift store, I love yard sales, I love buying second hand and spoil wort. A lot of my gifts are second hand, and we'll we'll talk about that in the second article about how we can do this and not offend people. But I don't really worry about that. I just do what I'm gonna do and see how see how the cookie crumbs fall. But yes, let's convince ourselves further on why this is a good idea. Whether you're already doing it, this will just be further validation.

Or if you're not giving second hand stuff as gifts, here's some reasons why and maybe kind of lower that bearer to entry. So so I think great reasons here. The first is that giving second hand reduces waste. We already know this in our own lives, so of course it's going to apply when we give gifts. We are not purchasing new We're not getting it all wrapped in the unnecessary plastic and packaging that just gets thrown away. Uh,

we are taking things out of the thrift store. Not Yeah, continuing to lead to the consumption and consumerism that definitely were plagued by this time of year. And another great reason speaking of like reducing waste, is that these things often come pre assembled. Like it, it not only reduces waste, but it reduces our waste of time. I don't know if you've ever gotten or your kids have gotten a gift that not only do you have to like use the jaws of life to get that gift out of

its packaging, but then you have to assemble that. You've got to hunt for the batteries. You gotta do this, you gotta do that. And second hand kifs usually come pre assembled, along with all other types of things like whether it's furniture or you name it. We often when we're getting so many things delivered to our homes now we're so accustomed to putting them together ourselves, and so it reduces our waste of time as well. Yeah, of those especially on Facebook marketplace where you get some of

your bigger items so that is absolutely true. Uh. Number two is secondhand gifting supports local communities and local economies. And if if solely for the reason that you are not supporting that, you are just pulling some of your support from big box retailers. So that's kind of just biomission. Uh, you're just taking it away from there. But the article says that a healthy local economy is a backbone for a strong local community, which often leads to happier residence,

more connected and invested neighbors. I don't know one of our one of our after we don't talk about the after show, but one of our after shows where I talked about how I got a coffee table on Facebook Marketplace and ended up at a house I used to live at, So weird. Um. Supporting local second hand shops short supports the local community and using by nothing groups free cycle, Facebook Marketplace, you support the individuals in the community,

so we we pay for items that we purchase. So would you rather your money going to Jeff Bezos or to your neighbors in your community? And I think this is a really this is the same reason why we say keep your money in a credit union versus a big bank, because your money stays in the community, it supports the local economy. Um, and this is just uh continuation of that on a more direct level. Yeah. I mean we're getting to the point and recognizing that buying

second hand isn't just a financial decision. It's also connected to our own morality and ethics and the way we want to show up in the world. So even if we I think it helps to reduce the stigma that buying secondhand is just something cheap people do or you know, something stingy that people do, there's so much more to it, and it's running deeper and deeper that I think more people are getting on board with you are buying from somebody and giving them money, who also is buying gifts

for their children. Yeah, Like Jeff Bezos doesn't need any more money to buy gifts for his children, but the people in your community do. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And when you're shopping at local thrift stores, usually their nonprofits, which is supporting some of the nonprofits within your community. So it's like a win win where you're practically donating to them while also getting some of the things that you need and helping you in your own generosity. My goodness,

we're only on the second reason. We're gonna jump to the fourth reason though, we're not going to go through all eight on here. But secondhand gifting is more affordable. I mean, that's just pretty obvious. I think one of these articles mentioned that she started tracking how much she was spending on her gifts that she was buying at second hand stores versus what she would have spent on that item new, and it ranged anywhere from fifty six to nine six percent off of what the new the

new items cost would have been. And that's massive, even when we talk about I know, we did a couponing episode, like the most you can expect to save on a new item is like ten to fifteen if you're lucky. Yeah, So if you're talking fifty six to nine six percent off of what the new item would have been, my goodness, that's steep discounts. But also what it means is that we can still buy high quality. I mean I have rarely been to a thrift store where I couldn't find

multiple things of high quality. Certainly, you know, there are things that you're not going to want or you don't even need, but you can find brand new stuff at drift stores or second hand places you can find gently used, hardly can tell anyone ever used it, and people just didn't have a value for trying to resell it, so they don'tated to the thrift store. I mean, it's just

it's more affordable. And and then that means that you can get nicer stuff than maybe what you even could have bought new, which is really I think valuable as far as a gift giving scenario goes, that you could give somebody something nicer than if you had bought new. Yeah, I will do this again, Facebook, Marketplace, maybe small appliances.

We got my mother in law, like a really nice flick massage or one year which was like half the price, and if we bought it new, And and some of this stuff is just people bought it, they used it once or twice, did it wasn't for them, but they couldn't return it, like I see that so often. I just got a rug for our rental. They sent her the wrong rug, said keep it, it's more expensive to ship it back, and we'll just send you the correct rug. And she made money. We got a discount and it

was a brand new, unopened drug. Well, and especially when we live in such an age where we are obsessed with nostalgia. This is really working in our favor because everybody wants the old toys and games that US millennials grew up playing with. It's like coming back around full circle and these things you can find at the thrift store, the old board games, the old toys, the old you

name it, video games, clothing styles, all of it. So it's like, why by the updated version that the company is putting out when you can just find the actual, true vintage, nostalgic version at the thrift store. And if you can't find it at the thrift store, then you can certainly find it on eBay and it will be a little more expensive than the thrift store, but it will be less expensive than buying the new version for sure,

depending on how vintage you want to go. But again, eBay is also a place where I go if I want a good brand name or threat up if it's like fash and like, my purse is Mark Jacobs, and I would have never bought a brand new Mark Jacob's purse. But my last purse was not great quality. It fell apart really quickly, and I was like, I'm getting a very good quality purse and I'm just gonna do it. And you can do that when you are buying like quality designer secondhand, you know it's gonna last. So yes,

threat up is great, eBay Marketplace love it. Next number five, secondhand gifts reduce carbon emissions. So if you're somebody who really values sustainability highly, we don't have to obviously convince you the secondhand gifting is great. But it can reduce carbon emissions in a variety of ways so that you may not have known so from obviously for manufacturing of new products um that would otherwise fill those needs. Second on the transportation of the new products from China or

Cambodia or wherever they're coming from. And they decrease carbon emissions from landfills because fewer products end up in the trash to release greenhouse gases. So there's three major ways that's buying second hand can reduce carbon emissions. And it is you don't think about it, but everything's going to end up in the landfill one day, everything, So let's let's just try and you pay for those landfills. You you do pay for them, whether you know it or not.

So let's let's keep our city from having to make one more landfill. Let's just make that our goal. Yeah yeah, or we can reduce the amount that ends up in a landfill if we're not demanding more things be made. Oh I love This is the last one I'm going to read off of this list, but number six, which I love. Second Hand gifts can be really unique, and this has been my experience as well. You are not going to a store where there's multiple items of the

same thing that are all brand new. You're finding things from other people's homes that they're passing along and there's most likely not going to be multiple of that one item, which means that there can be a higher level of creativity and personalization for gift giving. When you're going second hand, you can find some really amazing one of a kind, whether it's a vintage item or something really specific to

that person, you can find really amazing stuff. And as I'm thinking about this, even just reading through this article, some of the best gifts I've received our second hand where gifts that were I mean, my my engagement ring

is from a consignment store. I don't know who previously owned it, but it's a nineteen twenties antique wedding engagement ring and I love it, and all of my other favorite jewel was passed down from my grandmother to my mom to me, like, these are the things that that I love And then you know, of course, yeah, whether you're getting it from family. And because that's also second hand, let's remember like we don't always have to pay for secondhand.

Second hand might be something we already have in our homes that we can identify a friend or family member who might appreciate and enjoy it more, might be more fitting for their their lifestyle right now. Heirloom items are second hand and usually carry so much meaning to it.

So these these types of things, especially at a time this year where a lot of us can feel the pinch in our wallets of what's happening in the economy, we can go meaningful and that could be way better than even what previous years have been when we felt a little bit more fat or wallets buying brand new stuff. But where's that stuff now? And what have we kept

what actually holds meaning to us? Absolutely, So this last one that I'm going to talk about is one that I feel specifically like connected to, and it's that second hand gifting limits the support of exploitative consumption systems. And so we say frugality is being a good steward of all your resources. That frugal is stewardship, and cheap is manipulation and exploitative. And when we are buying new things that are fast fashion, fast produced, then we are supporting

some of these exploitative systems. Uh And when we opt out, then we are telling retailers that we no longer support the systems they are using to create cheap stuff. Uh. So most consumption systems that feed are purchasing habits, use labor for marginalized communities that are paying menial wages, work in terrible conditions, but it's really all they have. It's better than nothing. So it's not that we want it taken away. It's that we want to put pressure on

companies to do better for people. And we can't do that if we say I want more and more and more, because they're going to give us what we want, and they will ramp up the production of new stuff in concordance with what we're buying and the prices that we will pay, and that is what leads to these terrible conditions. Menial wages in in these marginalized countries. So when we opt out and shoe second hand, the only thing companies listen to is money, and we're telling them by withholding

our money that we don't support those practices. Okay, are you convinced? Are you as passionate about second hand gifting as we are? Goodness? I mean, I feel so ramped up. I cannot wait to hit the thrift store for my Christmas shopping before you do. Before you do, let's talk about ten tips on giving second hand Christmas gives that

people will love. Right exactly. So now we're convinced this is the way to go, So let's talk about the potential barriers that people still might bump against in why they might do this and how to do it well for people. So one of one of the biggest pushbacks, and this is listed on this article called minimize My Mess and talking about tips on giving secondhand Christmas gifts

that people will love. There's another portion of the article that's very similar to the first article that we read, but we're looking at the second half and the first reason, and I would say the one that we hear most often is what if I offend someone by giving them a second hand Christmas gift and yeah, that that's a that's a real thing. It's worth considering. Not everybody is going to be he has gung ho about getting something that's been used before. You know your audience. Yeah, yeah,

read the room. Now here's the thing. There's just general standards across the board, like don't give gross stuff, don't get anybody shirts with holes yourself, including don't give don't give yourself those things. Do you deserve better? Yeah? Jen speaking of a shirt she's currently wearing that has holes in it, and she knows it has holes in it. She got its second hand, but she's not getting rid of it until she gets rid of the baby that's

growing outside of her clothing options. We've talked about this. We're not going to get best. So, so here's the thing. What if I offend someone and I love the advice that this article gives of, just ask them there you get away? Can that just totally lets the air out of the room. I hate talking to people, Well, then she might not be getting Christmas give them a gift. What if I've never spoken to them at work? Am

I still obligated to give them a No? The answer is no, So if you're in casual conversation ahead of time, this can be some proactive work of hey, what do you think of secondhand gifts? If they're really great and they could either say no way, it must come in a plastic or cardboard box with a brand new sticker on it, or they're gonna be like, yes, I would love that. That sounds like a great idea. There's plenty of great stuff you can find used. Then okay, you

have your answer. Now maybe alternative or unpopular opinion that I'm going to say that's not in this article is there have been times that I gave secondhand gifts and didn't tell people. I don't think you always have to tell people. First of all, I'm not giving people coal or junk or something like or something that smells. And none of us should be getting this is my personal standard. We should not be adding our underwear or our mattresses

from the throat store. You and I have different opinions mattresses. Well, I don't get mattresses from the store. I get them from Facebook marketplace, and you did vet them, so like, that's okay, you're a little bit on the edge. You were living on the edge, not totally a decision I would make. But don't give somebody something that is generally accepted to be something that you shouldn't buy used, like underwear.

I don't know why. Uh, it might be weird in general to give a friend underwear for Christmas, so think about that. For instance. I you know me, I've loved to give plants to people as gifts. So yeah, I have gotten used pottery and put a plant into that used putter. I don't got to tell people that I didn't get that pot from loser Home deepot, and they're probably more thrilled with it because, like the other article said,

it's more unique. I have found really beautiful things within that category at thrift stores that I think people are more pleased with than if it were to have been new from some big box store. You don't have to convert people to your agenda. You just have to be true to your values. And if you have a family member that's going to talk about you behind your back all year for giving them a non like new gift, then don't do It's not work and don't do it. Yeah,

it is not worth the stress. Get him a popcorn tin, it's fine, Or give them money so you don't have to feel or SMS or what they bought with it. Cash is king. Okay, moving on number four. We're both going to talk about number four because it's where to shop, the best places to shop, and I am going to cover the in person places. So in person places obviously you know a thrift store. Obviously you know Facebook, Marketplace, UM, buy nothing group. This is a good time to babysit

here buy nothing group. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, people are getting rid of stuff to make room for new stuff. It's a good time to be on marketplace and you buy nothing group. Okay, So we've also got like Facebook communities, just like local mom groups, local whatever groups that could be posting things lesser known places. Pawn shops. Pawn shops are really great places, especially for jewelry. Like Jill got her engagement ring from a because signment store.

I got mine from a pawn shop and it's beautiful. I love it. So that's a great place for jewelry and other maybe high value stuff. Consignment stores. They're not just fancy clothes for old people. There are tons, right, you know, you know that's what it has been before, and that maybe the stigma. You're listening and thinking, I don't have any old people that I want to get clothing for. Nay, I say, nay, it has a lot

of people, especially children. Consignment stores. Oh yes, all the clothes, all the toys really good and they're What I found with consignment stores is that usually they're a little bit more choosy about what they're going to allow into their store because that consignment stores, the thing that sets them apart from thrift stores is that they share their profits with the person who's selling it, so they are definitely more critical about what's going to be on their shelves.

The person truly believes that it has enough value to not only make them a little bit of money, but also the store a little bit of money. So you might pay a little bit higher of a ticket price. It's going to be less than brand new. But this is especially where you're gonna find your really great toys for kids, maybe some nicer clothes thing, and especially jewelry.

I think this is a great if we had any listeners who are trying to buy jewelry this year, I found some awesome consignment stores is where I do well with that kind of thing that the real stuff, the real treasure. But but yeah, and it's it's curated stuff, so it saves you time as well. There's not as much to look through like a thrift store is, so if you are short on time, consignment stores, pawn shops even yeah, so these are and then we've got your

garage and yard sales. If you're in the South, it's starting to be yard sales baby. Uh So these are antique stores. These are kind of your in person places to shop. They're all great and as far as online goes, some of these crossover both. Right You're you're buying nothing groups your Facebook market place. This is both online and in person. But for fully online, especially for things like clothing and accessories and purses and shoes, you've got your

poshmark thread up Marcari. Again, it's I would say similar pricing to more your like consignment store pricing. People are trying to get a little bit of higher price point than maybe just a thrift store. Still less than brand new and usually very good stuff, gently used, hardly ever used sometimes new tags on them, so great spot for that category. eBay is really great. You use it a lot more than I do, but it is excellent for all kinds of things, whether you're getting dishwear to like vehicles.

eBay is a really great spot, and I would say to for electronics, that would be a great spot to go to have a really great buyer protection policy so you can feel a little bit more confident. I don't think I've ever purchased electronics from there, but definitely when I'm looking for a certain brand um a certain item, I have a lot of success on eBay, and I can find the same item like on posh marker threat

up and it's a little more expensive there. I save a little bit more in eBay and get cash back from racket in Frugal Friends podcast, dot com slash racket in. I love that it works with so many things. All right there you go, okay, go okay, go in peace. So the final thing on this article for me is number eight that as we give second hand gifts, I think it can also take off a little bit of

pressure in the expectation for the recipient. I don't know if you've ever experienced this gen well, the number eight says like, let the recipient know that they can pass their gift on whenever they no longer have used for it.

I think this is another really great thing when it comes to second hand because a lot of times when we've spent a ton of money or we've bought something brand new, we give it to somebody, there can be this unspoken expectation for the recipient, like you must keep this always and forever and use it and better I better be able to see it when it's out at

your house. Only your mom does that, I know, But not your mom specifically, like them you listening, yeah, mom, Yeah, But I think it can And whether or not you the giver are saying this, I think it can be a pressure that a recipient can feel. But when we're giving a secondhand gift to already say, look, this item is already getting more life out of it than anyone would have expected. So when you no longer this no longer fits for you, pass it on. Give that thing

more life. So there's just kind of like a mindset and a permission attached to that, a greater freedom and flexibility in the whole gift giving exchange process. Yeah, it really becomes the thought that counts. Like that's true. It genuinely it's the thought that counts, Not just arra got you this plastic thing that was on a Doorbuster deal on Black Friday. I really thought about it. No, it's it's secondhand. You like actually had to think about it. So that kind of brings to the last one I'll

talk about is number nine. Challenge yourself to shop secondhand at other times of the year too. I think when we are doing a lot of shopping this time of year,

there's a lot of consumerism. I think this can be a really good like challenge to Okay, let's see how much second hand gifting I can do this year, and then build up your muscles and your creativity and you're planning to do second hand shopping the rest of the year so that when we get to next Christmas holiday season, we can do even more secondhand gifting and we're more prepared. I know Number six on here was to give yourself

extra time. So this is somewhere something where like now you can start with the with the looking, it's not going to be as effective if you're waiting till the last minute. That's how anybody spends more, especially with secondhand You're not going to have the time to find what you need if you're doing it at the last minute. So challenge yourself to start now and then let it carry on through the rest of the year to not just gifts, but things you need regularly, to build a

habit of choosing secondhand first. That was a tip that I do appreciate it. I didn't really want to blow past either. Is that the idea of keeping a running list on our phone of ideas gift ideas that we have the people that we know we're going to be buying for, and that help us to be on top of things and make the second hand gift giving possible because it's not as if I can go to the

thrift store and find everything I need. It is uh practice and patience checking out multiple different thrift stores, holding out looking online on some of these sites that we've already talked about. So having that running list can be really helpful when we do find ourselves at a thrift store. Oh what can I be looking for? That's gonna be really meaningful? So I love that idea. I think this one will particularly come into in handy for next year,

absolutely well. Something that comes in handy all the time. We don't have to wait for a year, and we don't need to keep a running list in our phone, but we can use our phone already built up this habit the bill of the wey. 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. Bill

Buffalo Bills, Bill Clint, this is the bill of the week. Hi, my name is Lloyd. My pronouns are they them? And my bill of the week is my false semester tuition. I'm going to community college for two years, and then I'm going to hopefully go to ut for another two years. I was told that I could apply to the Tennessee Reconnect Grant when I turned twenty three. I turned twenty three,

a week after payment is due for the semester. But I did my own research and found out that actually it's students who would be three or older by January one of the academic year. So I applied and I got it, And I also got a scholarship for being in my school's community service group. And so my tuition bill went from two thousand and three hundred and eighty four dollars two hundred and nineteen dollars two negative five

hundred and eighty dollars and sixty five cents. I'm putting all the money that I saved on tuition into a three year certificate of deposit so that I'll have those extra funds for my final year of college. Lloyd, Oh

my gosh, I wish I was as responsible as you. Three, Holy smoke twenty three, not even twenty three yet, Holy smokes, well Downlowering your tuition feels like I know that there's not a hierarchy when it comes to bills, but it kind of feels like there is where like tuition bills and what we pay for our education feels like weightier than other bills, usually because it represents a lot of debt for a lot of people. And have like bringing your tuition down to negative and then having a plan

for saving what you didn't and holy smokes rushed. You are giving inspiration to other people, because I think scholarships and grants are kind of they're like they feel like a gamble almost like why try because they go to one person. But I think I hope that other people are listening to this who are trying to pay for school and they're like, Okay, if Lloyd can do it, then maybe I should at least try. Maybe I should just make an effort. So kudos, kudos to you, Lloyd.

Thank you so much. I was so so excited for you. Well done celebrating with you. You've got a good head on your shoulders. You're gonna be all right. If you want to submit your bill of the week, if it has to do with lowering your deuition bill in and the negatives, just be in a twenty three year old who's crushing life, that'd be great. Want to hear from

more of you. And if not, if you're like a forty three year old who's still figuring it out, you matter to visit for a Friends podcast dot com slash bill. We leave us your bill and now it's time for round. I am so excited for this one. Thank you Goldie for our lightning round question today. Oh my gosh, we have a very similar one. Stopic gosh um. Okay, our morphing into the same person might be, but we are

still very different. I am still wearing a shirt with a whole of it, and I'm still wearing a sweater. You're wearing a tank top, and I'm wearing multiple sweaters and sweaters. So today's question is a secondhand item you'd love to receive. We are going it out into the universe. Our Christmas list. I've got more than one, actually list from all off. Maybe I mean you, maybe a Christian or editor could relay these things to Eric and he can surprise you with them. You can't afford these things,

can't afford me awful treasure. He can only afford half treasures. Wow, okay, Jill, you go first. So I'm not a hundred percent sure what this is, but I love it. I'm curious. Thought it was so like an expression machine and express machine. Oh that'd be funny. I wouldn't express myself through this. It was really well. I knew it was similar to mine. So I was like, when is this new coffee contraption? How I would love to get a very high end

espresso machine second hand? Second hand. I check Facebook Marketplace about every other month for this type of contraption. They do exist, It just is usually still within the price range of like five hundred dollars, which might be something that I spend at some point, just like not right now, because I'm still in the middle of renovations, but I still do check. I I would love to be able to make cappuccino at home for myself. And I did have like a lower end kind of espresso machine and

milk steamer, and it was awesome. It wasn't super high end, so I feel like I kind of could taste the difference, and then well, really it took up a ton of space on our counter in our kitchen. That was a dumpster fire that we couldn't fit it anymore. And it was a friend had given it to me, so it was second hand, but then I just gave it back to her and she was pleased for that. So an espresso machine, if anyone out there wants to gift that to me second hand or knows where I can get

one for a good price. I also have my sights on like a floor steam cleaner. I have seen them at the thrift store, but then I've looked up the reviews and there's like three of the same exact kind at one of the thrift stores I went to, which tells me maybe that item that brand doesn't work that well if three separate people have put it in the thrift store. But I have high gloss floor tile, which looks amazing, but it gets really smudgy easily, and it's

it's hard to get chiny again. And regular mopping leaves streaks on the ground. It's been a it's been a real challenge. I won't take up too much of your time talking about that, but I see a steam cleaner from my floor is going to do the trick. But I don't want to pay full price to find out. I wait, where is Jeremy. I haven't seen Jeremy. Jeremy's

Jeremy's still here. Jermy's alive and well. Jeremy cleans my floors every other day, so having set to go him Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Jeremy, for those of you listening, is my robot vacuum and it is okay, So yeah, tomorrow Jeremy will clean and that's great. Picks up all all the dust and dirt, but doesn't like mop the floor. You know they have

mops now, I know. I know. I think though, what you need to do, because I've done a lottery starch on this is the water needs to be very hot so that it evaporates quickly, because that's always the thing is like it leaves water like residue. You have large tiles that are very shiny. Yeah. And the other thing is that they're saying you should use distilled water. You haven't tried that, because I'm like, am I really going to be buying distilled water just to clean my floors?

And maybe maybe I value that cleans our house requires because there's minerals and your other types of water and that's what also leaves some of that. That's why I fired her. Some people say you can get distilled water from your washing machine, like your washing machine, I don't know. That was a video I watched from somebody in the UK. So maybe there's stuff works differently than our stuff. But I'm like, how what I wouldn't know? Yeah, me neither. Okay, okay, alright,

what do you want secondhand? Okay? So I have been struggling this whole pregnancy. My taste for coffee has changed, So I during six months of the year will only drink like instant coffee, like iced uh. And that went away very quickly. It just I lost my taste for it. And then I tried to make a cup of coffee with my coffee maker and that was a fail. That also tasted gross. So I have been since July, either buying cappuccinos at coffee shops or coming over to Jill's

house and drinking her coffee. Is it is? Oh yeah, I didn't even ask you. It's palatable. Absolutely like it. So that's why I either need to get the full setup that you have, or because I'm lazy, get an espresso secondhand. Do you think then espresso would do it for you? You think you'd like So I have had an espresso before, and it was when I was pregnant, and I did really like it. But I also didn't

have the disdain for coffee that I have now. Um, but your coffee that you make me, Jill, is fantastic. The coffee we had Nashville, which was French Press, also fantastic. So I think I just I am skeptical about my abilities to recreate coffee that doesn't come out of a coffee maker. So I am open to options. You've got a good coffee maker. I wonder if it's the grounds you use. It could also be that maybe I need

better grounds. Here's what we should do. I should come over to your house with my coffee grounds and try your coffee makers if you like it. We're digressing, but yeah, I mean essentially our dreams of secondhand items. We'd love to receive centers around coffee. Basically, I don't want secondhand coffee beans. That would be the only thing we need first hand. Yeah, well, I mean you'll take my coffee? Is that second hand? I guess yeah, we will both

partake in it together, it's true. Um, And I also I would like a room, but I would like, uh, I kind of a top of the line one. So we found we got a dyce in that was top of the line when we bought it, but we got it from eBay, and so that's how we kind of

do those things. Now is a great time because they they've gotten better and better, and as they're coming out with newer versions, I think people are more apt to get rid of their older versions, where that might not have been much of an option a few years ago. So yeah, check it out. I love ours. It's great. When we put down our floors. We couldn't do it in our last house because we had like tripped like three levels, like three step downs, so it would have

only gotten one room. But now it will be able to get the whole house. Because it's all on one level, all all of the rooms except for our bedroom, which does have a step down. So those, uh, those are things. So if you want to send us your five espresso machine, you're an espresso or steam cleaner or your unused root us so old. This is what we prioritize, coffee and cleaning products. No, that's where we're at. We are thirty three years old. I asked for a Dyson for my

lasts not even my last birthday was like three years ago. No, and that used to horrify me, and I avoided those types of gifts just out of pride and principle, and now I've just embraced it. This is where I'm at. I think I lost it when I married Travis because I said no Crocs and then I married Travis, who wears Crocs, and I was like, well, I've lost like everything. I've won the husband game, but I've lost everything else

won a husband? You won? Yeah? One and a half children? Yeah, so that's a and I really lost it when I had kids. Anyways. Anyhow, thank you all for listening. This has been so fun. All the second hand purchasing. We hope you're inspired and many of you know, we have a private community where we do monthly money challenges offer accountability because we all need that, especially when it comes to reigning in some finances and paying off debt wherever

you find yourself. And one of our members, Debbie, did something amazing. We're going to shout her out. Debbie says, shout out to Frugal Friends the Detonators. So that's their accountability group name because they're so fun. Have great accountability group names. And the Detonators. Uh, Sam w and my therapist. This is amazing. Okay, you are everything, girl. We are the four Corners, the Frugal Friends, the Detonators, Sam, and Debbie's therapist. I have really wanted my husband to join

me in making financial decisions. It's lonely and challenging to be doing it all on my own. It's taken nine months, but it's happening. Enter Open enrollment for health insurance, f s A, life insurance, etcetera, etcetera. Me. I would like to do this together. Him, great, let's do it Saturday. Me with the research. It can take about five hours to make the best decision. Him four hours, You said five, She said four. That was my bad four hours he says,

four hours surely not me. Actually, yeah, discussion, discussion, discussion, dot dot discussion him. Okay, it took four hours and in the evening, but we definitely made changes based in joint decisions. Clap emoji, clap emoji, clap emoji, wow star emoji. Oh. I love this. This script makes me feel like I was there, Debbie, and I'm so so proud because we don't do this like to get people around us on board. We hope that our passion will be a guide to

them to also get on board. And so for you to have this win is great and for you to be so on that you're like, it's going to take approximately four hours to make these decisions. And he's like, noah, girl, and you were right. I wouldn't. That's a girl, He wasn't. And you know what, that's the thing. We can't ever point to one thing in particular that really starts to

turn the needle for us. Usually as a combination, like Debbie's saying, so like, find your people, find your motivation, find your group, find your challenges, memberships, whatever it is to like bring all these corners together to really find a different pathway. And usually it's honored. That's the thing that we're seeing for our people in this membership. If if we can be a part of that equation for

you all, that's amazing. If any of this sounds worthwhile to you, Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash club you can see what money challenge we have coming up next. You could be a part of a dope accountability group like the Detonators. You can come up with your own fun pun. You can rhyme pun, make it punny. Yes,

here for it um. But ultimately, just find your people, figure out where that is, do thing, and we'll the hand will either see you in there, or we'll see you in the thrift store, or we'll see you next time, see you next time. Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni. What do you think is Travis's biggest hope for what he would get secondhand? Everything in his life? He would eat, heat, will would and does eat. I can hand a food that's um, anything and everything, honestly, I yeah, anything he

wants he wants a secondhand, which is great. I love that about him and he gets me secondhand stuff and I love that he's very good at it. Um. I can't I don't really know what he wants right now. He wants to finish the rental because I want to finish the rental. We want that together, all of us want that. Yeah, um, but yeah, he just got some disc golf stuff. He wanted a boomerang that he saw at a yard sale the other day. I talked about of that. I that just brought back a memory for me.

I feel like there was a time when we went through there were multiple times that we've gone thrift store shopping together, like as a couple activity, and there was a boomerang he checked out. Then this would have been years ago, but before we moved here, and potentially before we even lived here in our trailer, and he was he almost bought a boomerang. I so he loves Frisbees and those go forward and boomerang. I can just see coming back and hitting our son in the face or

worse our window. You know, not if you're good at it. I mean, but surely Kai will throw it. He is not good at it, so we have more hands to think. I'm sure Travis will be fine at it. He's good at everything. But I just don't want it in my house. I mean, with a frisbee that could still hit Kai in the face and break a window if you throw it at the window or the child. Um, if you throw a boomerang any which way, you don't know where

it's going to come up. Have you seen the Pepper Pig episode where they go to Australia and everybody throws the boomerang and it just it's Mr Wallaby's house, like every single one of his windows every time they throw the boomerang. Okay, So that's what has major decision. He's never gonna get a boomerang. I've seen that. I've seen that clip so many times. I feel like it's a sign. And now we will never own a boomerang because of Pepper Pig. I respect that. Yeah, does Eric still want

an indoor water feature? Oh my gosh, Yes, that's never gonna go away. And he always wants something. The one thing that I think we're gonna have the best luck secondhand, that we've been on the lookout for for years and years is like a kind of like a piece of furniture, like a storage organization thing. We've seen them before but haven't never been able to pull the trigger on them.

But essentially like metal drawers, like small compartments of drawers that he wants to be able to put his microphones into, but could also be kind of like a cool piece as well um form and function. Yeah, like if you kind of think like old library card catalogs, or like old warehouse or mechanics tool bench that was well taken care of, that has like you know, you're a little kind of like four by four drawers or slots, and he hads something like that for his microphone storage. So

I'm on the lookout if you have any library pure storage. Ben. The thing is is a lot of that type of stuff does exist at like antique stores and throw stores up north, But now that we're in the South, it's like, well, how we're going to get that to us? I can't go shopping up there anymore. We don't. We don't throw stuff like that a way. We treasure it exactly. Yeah, antiques aren't aren't as huge of a thing down here as they are up north. It's yeah, few and far between.

That's okay. We'll survive as long as we get our coffee machines and are cleaning much more important