Tips to Prepare for Holiday Sales Early

that time. It's time to start thinking about them. Whether you have sworn off the peppermint Mocha's for another weekend, or you are already like listening to Christmas Easy wherever you are financially, it's time to plan for them. Oh, I know some people who started a year ago and haven't stopped with the Christmas lights down. Does not mean you haven't stopped. That's a different problem. Also, I know some people who started before Halloween's so we're all over

the spector. But yeah, so this is the time to start planning. Let's kick it off and share some tips with like, how do we prepare, how do we get the most out of the season and still stay frugal, still be minimalists, sustainable, all the things that we want to be, but not ignore the fact that there are great sales to be taken advantage of in this season. It's a balance and enjoyable time and memories. I think. Yeah, that's the biggest is the parties and the experiences like

that's also things that should be in your budget. So but first, before we start getting into it, let's thank our sponsors. Also brought to you by preppers. A way to describe those that are prepared prepping is a spectrum. And while there are those with closets full of dried food, water, honey, and a few Ham radios, there's also a room for those who are just proactive about the holidays and making wise decisions with their budgets. Preppers, there's room for everyone.

What's a Ham radio? Is that a ham that's also a radio? No, it's used by preppers. It's an amateur radio that does work on some high frequencies and they can pick up waves from apparently Australia and other countries around the world. It's it's a thing that became a prepper thing, I think, particularly after World War two. Maybe a little bit more after the Vietnam War. I'm not incredibly up to date on all of it. I'm sure somebody and are frugal for this community group can tell

us more. But I just know it's a prepper thing. I can see now that HAM is capitalized, so it's surely an acronym and not HAM, and I see that now. Maybe I'm not. I don't even actually know. I just it's a it's a spectrum, and I think there's some people who just enjoy it as a hobby and some people utilize it to be a prepper. Okay, well good.

Where whichever end of the spectrum you lie on, I'm sure that you want to save money this holidays do That's probably why you're listening to this episode so that you can queue up to play next. That will kind of expand on what we're talking about today. So we've got episode one thirty five where we talk about specifically being frugal with technology. A lot of the savings that you will find on technology happen around this time. It's not only this time of year. That's a distinction we

will make. This isn't the only time of year sales happen but it is a big time for episode one thirty three, Tips to avoid holidays impulse spending because we want to prep but we don't want to. We want to be intentional about our purchases, not let our purchases just happen to us. So one thirty three is great. And then all the way back into the archives episode thirty where we examine if Black Friday actually helps you save money? And this was eighteen I think that was released,

so take off a grain of sad. That's our disclaimer. Another decade ago, you know, and a half maybe, So those are the ones you can queue up for later. And if this episode is too long for you to listen to, I think the biggest thing you can take away is make a plan and stick to the plan. I think if you take nothing else away, make a plan, stick to classic prepper stuff. You know a lot more

about this, it seems than I do. I got family in Tenni seeing I am excited to talk more about this thing I didn't know we needed to talk about. Uh So if you want to know more than just make a plan, stick to the plan. Our first article is from the huff Post and it is retail experts share their eleven best tips for saving money on holidays. I cannot wait to pick this one apart. It's funny and for those of you who are longtime listeners, you

know that this is how we structure the show. We look at if you were to google this topic, what would Google show you? And sometimes Google gives you some really great stuff and we agree with it, and sometimes we don't. And I think for this reason, we're still going to go through all eleven tips, but help to discern what's actually good sound advice and what is not. What can we skip or bypass tailor to fit our needs.

And I think that's my summary of this article. Some of it's good and some of it's not good, and we're gonna discern it to gather as frugal friends because we're wise about this. Absolutely. So the first one on this article actually gave me some hope. And this one was written in so this is a relevant, like timely end of so it is relatively timely for when we're recording this. But the first one is don't feel rushed

to make a purchase. And I do like that they say that holiday shopping deals probably won't work the same way they have in the past, and while we may be able this year, you know see some back to normal,

It's not gonna be all back to normal. But you know, last year we saw fewer Doorbuster deals, longer sale periods, and that's actually helpful for shoppers is that you don't have to One of the marketing techniques marketers will use is timeliness, giving you a really short deadline to make a purchase, and this kind of eliminates some of that, which is helpful for the shopper, so you can take time and research your purchases and don't feel pressured to

jump on a particular sale. No more waking up the crack of dawn to stand in lines that will not or otherwise for multiple reasons. Yeah, the second tip on here is to review price matching policies. This is a decent tip. I'm going to be honest. Price matching is a little outdated in my estimation and experience because Amazon in a lot of ways is beating out so many

people will not offer price matches. However, on some of your bigger items from your larger box stores, they might still be offering price match guarantees, maybe on technology or that kind of a thing. But if you are doing your shopping and you are looking for a bigger ticket item, it's worth identifying. Do they have a price match policy, what are the exclusions? Is there a way that I could leverage that to get a good deal on whatever

it is that I'm shopping for. But my tip on this is not to get too caught up or spend too much time in this. With the use of the internet, so many price points are relatively in the same range, so it's it's not worth expending a ton of energy. And my estimation, yeah, I've I've noticed that as well. The third ones, when we start to get really into the weeds, consider interest free by now pay later options And this is absolute horrible, Like what expert recommends that

to save money? And they say it right in here. The expert who they are quoting says, though these interest free financing options can encourage you to spend more than you would otherwise and carry hefty penalties if you miss a payment, they can be a great money saving to when you use with caution. That's not that's no, Definitely, you can't say both those things brand you cannot How

how do they help you save money? Yeah? It literally does encourage more spending, and like prolonged payments and high interest the penalty fees are a small part of the payment model for by now pay later sites. The big thing is that they charge a three percent fee to the retailer, and so they make a bulk of their money because when using them, you will buy more, you will spend more, and so that increases their commission and that is the bulk of how these companies make money.

So it's you shouldn't even be afraid of not missing a payment. It's very likely you will. You will pay that fee in overpay like paying more and buying more stuff, so at least you get stuff in exchange. But is it really worth it? My alternative to that is only by what you can afford. That's a great alternative. And by afford, I mean the money that you currently have. Is it enough to cover your bills and this thing

that you want to Kurchall. That's why we're talking about this in October versus November December, because it's too late then like then, you have to consider these options, and we are trying to help you avoid having this. This is not the best tip for saving I'm so angry, you really are you're getting riled up, let's talk about

number four. This is a good one. This is fine opt for previous generation tech, and as Jen already mentioned, we do have an episode all about saving on tech, so we're talking phones, computers, TVs, electronics, all those things. So if this is what you are considering purchasing this year, definitely check out that episode because we're not going to take a deep dive on it here. But a good tip is look at last year's model, the previous year's model.

There's not too much that has changed as far as what the gadget does year to year that we imagine, especially for us frugal folk, the older generations and models are going to be very suitable, effective meet our needs and we won't have to pay the brand new ticket item even if you're buying it new from the store. Get the older generation, or if you want to take the next step, start now and be looking on some

of these second hand sites. There are specific second hand sites for tech, but you can also just check out eBay and Facebook, mark get place and offer up and let go for some of these tech items that you're looking for that are refurbished and really excellent. So this is definitely one, especially because tech can be such a big ticket item this time of year. And I will reiterate because I say this all the time, the laptop

I run my entire business from. I record videos, I record podcasts, I literally everything every way I make money is from this laptop. I bought it at a pawn shop. I bought this MacBook at a pawn shop decades ago. Two people set about pawn shops. You've and you've talked about that throughout on a couple of episodes that we even have an episode specifically about pawn shops. But yes, I would encourage that because again that's something we don't

often think about. We think about you know, Amazon and Facebook, marketplace in eBay, but that's a great alternative you can find and ethic an ethically run pawn shop, then that'd be great. Yeah, I mean, and even if if you're worried about refurbished, you know, stuff that's a little used, like just remember Frugal Friends is primarily run off of a laptop from a pawn shop. Just remember that. I

just want you to know that. So, um, the five I also hate not as much as number three, and I just so many things wrong with it, but it's still useful to go through it to know what what is good here and what's not good here, and what are the alternatives, because this is the advice that the Internet is trying to give us, So it's good to talk about. Thank you. Look into shipping memberships, so if you're going to rely on online shipping this year, they say, okay,

so this is where this is. Okay, take advantage of free trials of shipping memberships. This is that's what they're really recommending. If you don't have access to the free trials, maybe you've already used them of Walmart plus, Amazon Prime, Shop Runner, then don't get a shipping membership just for this. Be intentional with your purchases because Walmart plus Amazon Prime they already offer free shipping as long as you make a minimum purchase. So just make the minimum purchase and

uh do that. I think it's also worth looking. Always look at eBay or posh mark before for what I want before I go to Walmart or Amazon Prime, and sometimes I will choose if shipping from one of those is just outrageous, which sometimes it is, then I would choose like a Walmart or an Amazon. But yeah, compare to because it may be worth paying shipping to get something on eBay than it is to get um something

new with free shipping from walmarted Amazon. And just to clarif I we're not saying, oh, just rack up the things in your cart to meet the minimum by for free shift. This is where we implement patients and being proactive to wait until you have enough in your cart that you actually need and you've been planning to buy

until you meet that minimum spend. And that's just a great money saving tip anyhow, leaving things in your cart, sleeping on it, making sure you are prepared and you actually want to buy this thing, and it's not just an impulse purchase, So that can work in our favor in a lot of ways. Absolutely Number six on here, I do like use money saving browser extensions. I don't think this is utilized or talked about enough, and there's

nothing hidden here. I know you've heard us talk about racket in a lot, and we encourage people to use racketin even before we had a referral code, because it just it's a it's really excellent. Both you and I gen utilize it and we get checks in the mail just from cash back on stuff, so if you're not already using racketan as a browser extension. Again, it works in conjunction with a lot of these online retail sites,

including sometimes Amazon. Although it does shift with what the cash back percentage is, it changes moment to moment, and so you can look and see what's the cash back on certain items from Amazon or Walmart or eBay or etc. Or you name it, and it keeps track and it sends you a check quarterly based on what you've spent. I also really do like rebate key. They were a recent sponsor of ours. It's not as extensive as the things that you can purchase through racket in, but they

offer some really steep discounts. If you can happen to find some Christmas gifts through rebate key, I would highly recommend that you can get things for like seventy to nine off at rehab And I think we still might have a discount code um either Total or Frugal Friends podcast key um use one of those. Yeah, I think we might still have that. Seven is to track price changes, and I love this with a caveat that it may we may not have enough time to track price changes

even at this point. Because there are shipping delays. There are you know delays, so we're going to have to shop earlier this year. But it does help you if you're waiting on something and you add um, I think Honey is my favorite place. Camel Camel Camel is one that tracks Amazon prices and Honey tracks a lot of my Amazon prices too. But if there is a sale, it will instantly notify you that the price on something on your on your list has dropped in price, so

that you can get on that price drop. So that can help you save a little. But I would I wouldn't rely on it. I'd be like adding things to my car and just waiting and if there happens to be a price drop, cool, If not, then definitely just get it and don't like wait for it. But there are so many price drops around this season. Should not

be hard to get one. And you can also, I think even better, see the six month history of the price of an item, so you can see if they just jacked up the price right before Halloween so that they could drop it to have a quote unquote sale, which definitely happens. Classic yeah, yeah, And of course we're talking about primarily gift giving here when we're talking about purchases.

Although if this this could also be a time to make some of those purchases that you've been considering throughout the year if you do find a good deal on something. But this isn't just so you can be alerted and have your phone constantly going off for every deal that might be available to you. And we want to be thinking about what do we want to purchase, how much money is it, what can I afford to buy, what's within the realm of my income, and then these are

some tips to be implementing. But then I think it will be a hard stop. Once we do acquire the things that we're hoping for, then turn off camel camel camel and honey and all these things that are turn off decem Okay. Number eight on here is to collect cash back. So again this is some of the things that we've already been talking about. Rebate, key racket in swag bucks, fetch rewards. These are some of the platforms extensions that we can utilize to get cash back on

our purchases. Of course, some of us have credit cards that also offer rewards and purchases. We recommend utilizing credit cards with caution, with good stewardship, paying them off weekly, bi weekly, monthly, not carrying over a balance or paying interest on those credit cards. So if that's you, then the rewards can really work in our favor. If that's not, you utilize these chrome extensions that are going to give

you cash back on your purchases. Yes. Nine, Okay, this is where this the last three is where we start getting into the really good expert advice. Finally, so refreshing to be at the bottom of the article. Uh nine, don't be afraid to tighten your belt. So it's saying, don't be afraid to decline the secret stand, a gift exchange or the pot luck. Don't be afraid to say no. No is a full sentence no thank you, honestly is

the one that we prefer. But well for gratitude, your yes always, So yeah, you can always say no thank you, even if these people are in your family and they will look at you weird. Honestly, I think it's I think you could blame anything on and people will be

generally more accepting. So this is a great time to use that excuse and just be like, hey, I'm still recovering, Like I can't, and you can use that, use that excuses for as many years as possible until you're like, no, man, I was just lying, I don't want to participate in your annual secret Santa. So the other day I saw somebody on Instagram was saying like the look or the sound of all the text responses when they said they weren't going to be involved in the family gift exchange

this year. Like everyone was just like where, And I was like, our family just stopped inviting us to the exchange. Cut out. Yeah. But also I was like, I'm sorry, I don't want to receive like holiday gourmet popcorn tin is not part of my core values in what I want to receive or give. So that's not what I

want to be a part of. And you can't say no if that's not what you want to be a part of either exactly, and with that too offering alternatives of Hey, I'm not going to do that, but I am having people over to sip on some apple cider and cut snowflakes out of scrap paper and we'll listen to music. Right like that, we could do these things where we still can engage in relationship. Again, you mentioned core values, Jen, that's a challenge we're stepping out of

currently within Club BFF, which was amazing. That's a whole other conversation. But we can still engage with people without spending money. I think it's just a matter of finding the freedom and permission in our own voice and choy in that. I understand that that takes a lot of guts, nerve, whatever word you want to put to it. But I think the scariest thing about that is coming off as devaluing of others. And I think there is a way to set our own boundary lines say no, thank you,

but still value ourselves and other people. And so there there's room for both here and sometimes we just might not go to the secret Santa. That's fine too. Yeah, that's number ten on here is pare down your gift list. I really like the specific tip that they gave here of writing out kind of priority of who you want to buy for, as in, who's essential to buy gifts for, followed by who would it be really nice to include, and who would be okay if if it so happens

that I can afford this, then awesome. Kind of these three different in tears and start with those that are at the top of the list. We do not want to be bying gifts for every single coworker and then run out of cash to purchase for our nieces and nephews. That's just my situation. So prior of your coworkers are

you don't worry, I'll make a dinner or something. But yeah, identify who do you absolutely want to give a gift to if at all, Also know that it is okay for a year or for the rest of your life to say this is the year that I'm going to be not giving gifts. Maybe I'll give my time and energy, maybe i'll host, maybe i'll cook for people, but I'm not going to give tangible gifts. And that could actually be a really beautiful exercise where you learn about yourself

and others. But if gift giving is a priority, this is a great tip. Identify who do you want to give to and start there and then work your way through it. And if you end up running out of time, energy, money, okay, at least you know that you're giving to those that are on top of the priority list. Yeah, I would like to um differentiate, like when we don't get invited to the gift exchange that's like the extended family gift exchange. We still get gifts for our parents, siblings, all of those.

That's something we prioritize as our immediate family. We actually don't get gifts for the kids because they get so many gifts from my mother in law. And I was like, I'm not going to play. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to clutter somebody's house more. Even if they don't see it as clutter, I see it as clutter. But we do get we get gifts for all the parents. I was like, who really deserves a gift more than a than a parent? So that's I know that's debatable.

Don't don't come at me. We're all out here. I just really feel like the adults need the affirmation and the encouragement more than the children do. So that's where my priorities lie. And we do get gifts for the whole immediate family. But yeah, we just we don't need to be part of the gift exchange through the extended family. Travis's extended families ginormous. They have multiple gift exchanges, so

it doesn't have to be forever. Like if you're in a season where you're paying down debt, you can write a nice letter, an affirming, heartfelt letter, and then when you were in a better situation where you're building wealth and increased income, then you know, give give generously, whow them with your gifts. That's what we love to do. Yes, agreed, it's okay to be where you're at and set your own boundaries. But I did give a discounted gift card to the movies to my brother there in law one year,

so there you go. It's also paper, not a piece of paper. It was printed. It off beautiful. And the last one is to consider d I Y gifts this for better for worse. If you are really good at making d I Y gifts, do that. If you are not,

think twice. But they have like a little um a suggestion for a care package with like a hot chocolate and marshmallow with a candy cane, like that's very easy, d I Y. There was something that we saw when we went to a distillery towards you where Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, do you want to say you do it? I'm so full. It is like a little cocktail like kit I don't know. I think it was for like a bigger cocktail, not just one, but maybe two with dried fruit and the akutram that you need for a

fancy cocktail. So all the person would need to provide is their liquor of choice and you know, club soda or something. Yes, I love this because it does feel very luxurious and thoughtful and it's a d i y gift. But you're not spending the money on the alcohol, which

let's be real, that's where the true expense is. But it was all the ingredients to also infuse an alcohol, so different types of things that you could put into you know, a vodka or gin or something, and then it infuses that with that flavor and then some recipes on how you could utilize that creation in a tasty way. And and of course even even for nonalcoholic beverages, infusing different types of drinks and it's just a creative luxury thing.

And I think that's what gifts are things that people would not do or purchase for themselves or even consider and it can just spark a little joy and luxury in someone's life. So yeah, those SAIDs, I would welcome that for sure. It's a fun gift. So that is all for this huff Post article on Gosh expert tips to save. Some were good, some were bad, some were there. It was expert for our next article. I wanted to

actually so this was when I googled it. All of them were articles actually for e commerce stores or brick mortar stores to increase their holiday sales. Like not for consumers to take advantage of sales or save, but how can business owner get other people to spend more at

their store? So I was like, we have to use one of these in the episode so that you know what these stores are being told to get you to spend more money, So you're aware, so that you can discern whether this is something that you need, this is a place you know where you want to spend your money, or if it's if you're just falling prey not pray. It's marketing is not evil, but if maybe you're getting a little swept up in the moment, swept up in the season, which is very normal. Yes, I love it.

Was that such a good description, and I think this is something really important for us to be aware of, both at the holidays and year round. Again, not to say that this couldn't work. I mean, bogo deals are awesome if it's what you're looking for and you can utilize two of the same thing. It's not a good deal if you never even intended to buy one of that thing. So yeah, like you said, it's not bad,

it's not evil. It can be really helpful. But then to be aware of and when we go into this season and stores and we're engaging with friends and some of these parties and within our community, just having these things in the back of our minds, it's like, what's that show Criminal Minds? Again, it's not evil, but it's like getting into the mind of it and and being aware and more wise too, is this just a marketing tactic? Yeah?

Or is this something I actually want to buy? Absolutely, So we won't go into all twelve of these, but they definitely are worth giving a read if you want to look at them. But so I think i'll go The first one that I will go with is the giving back. I think this is great for stores to do. So they say, um, if you shop with us, like they give back there, like if you shop here, will

give to a charity. So maybe they can afford to charge more something because they're playing at your heart strings to oh, I make a difference if I shop here,

which is great. I think that more stores should be doing that, not just for the tax write offs, which is usually what they're doing it for, but I think that you could make a bigger difference by giving to the charities that you are passionate about, versus entrusting a corporation or business to give on your behalf and therefore shop at the place that saves you the most money

and then just add generosity to your budget. But if you're a person who knows that you won't do that and you want to entrust somebody else to give on your behalf, that's not bad. You know, at least charities are being funded exactly. Another one on here that stood out to me was just the themed parties and really anything that is a themed get together gathering around something. And I think this stood out to me because I think this is the marketing tactic that works best on me.

You use the term getting swept up, and I would just define the holiday season as that in a lot of ways for me personally, and I love going to themed parties and things that I would never typically spend on. I'm like, it's Christmas and this smells like Christmas or this taste like Christmas, and I love it and I want to buy it, But you already felt prey to that this year. Yes I did. I did, but I'm prepared.

But now I'm a prepper, you know. I'm prepared with my drink, with my beverage that reminds me of Christmas, and I'll step on it, you know, throughout this holiday season anyhow. It's I think it's fun. We can go to these theme parties, but know that a lot of times they are playing upon the fact that there is a theme and there is excitement around that and potentially urgency.

So enjoy the parties, go to them, but have a plan before going of how can I engage with this and just enjoy the experience of it without actually needing to spend a ton of money on it. I got swept up in the season two. I can't say that I did not. I bought a pumpkin candle from al d And I used to be like candles used to be everything to me. And and then and then what happened was there some sort of drama and then a

candle betrayed me. But I got out of the habit of buying so many candles, and so I haven't bought a candle in a really long time, and I bought one for those those like five bucks. But yeah, I I relived that love of this getting swept up in the season with the holiday candle five dollar pumpkin, Yes, five dollars. Uh. So I'm gonna my next one is going to be one that's actually on the list, and it's going to be the one that I originally was going to talk. The give back to your customers, So

it is through like rewards programs and loyalty programs. So this is how they're going to try and get you this holiday season, is to try and send you a discount for their store, to run some kind of Instagram holiday giveaway or holiday specific rewards or loyalty programs just run for like six weeks or something that get you to shop somewhere so many times. So these are kind of the things that stores. You're gonna be seeing a

lot of these on Instagram. You're gonna be seeing a lot of them in your email inbox that you have to just discern and be aware of so that you can save money on the things you're intending to buy but don't let marketers tell you what you are intending to buy, make a plan before they can get to you. Yeah, exactly. The other one that stands out to me is just related to s c O, like search engine optimization and the buzzwords that people are wanting to utilize to get

themselves in front of you more. So, people are going to be searching holiday deals, specials, whatever the latest gadget or gift is, and so there are companies and organizations who are going to pay money to get themselves in

front of you more often. And I mean that can be all fine and good if it is actually something that you're looking for, but also know that this could lead you to have something in front of you that you were never intending to buy just because or companies have paid money to either know what it is that you're searching for and maybe put something slightly similar in front of you through social media or yeah, your your Internet usage. So just be aware of the buzzwords and

the way that some of that online marketing works. Yeah, and they will start to couple that with paid ads, so not just s c O and organic, but paid So you're going to see a lot of Facebook and Instagram ads for things that you've already used for things that you've searched. They're going to retarget um with these special like holiday things, so just be aware. And you can use like a plug in like news feed eradicator to essentially eradicate your news feed on Facebook on your desktop.

It doesn't work on the phone, but you can definitely take Facebook off of your phone and then you have access to it on your desktop without a news feed, so that so that can limit that. There's still nothing for Instagram that I know of, but I'm sure there's something to come. But but yeah, so those are the kind of the things that marketers are using, so be aware of them. They are not bad. You just need to be aware that that's what they're doing so that

you can discern um and make conscious choices. Yeah, other things would include people hosting classes or tutorials online. Again, that's the whole social media. Instagram, people are going to be going live a lot businesses are going to be

doing that. They're going to be advertising actionable things, even utilizing their Google page for you know, click here for this upcoming live event, and a lot of times people are all will offer that's you know, called the value add something for free, although they will be selling you something on that free tutorial or class or you name it.

And again, if it's something you're really interested in you've already had it on your list of something you would consider purchasing, then great, that can work in your favor, but be aware that it is a technique that could get you to spend more than you intended to. You know what else is a technique that's going to get you to give more but won't actually cost you. It just gives back the bill of the week. 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've 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. Hey, so good friends, this is Molly calling from Blee Peters First, Florida. I'm a recent drance plant from DC and I'm loving it the Florida sunshine so far. I just wanted to call and leave you guys with my favorite Bill, who is a DC native.

Bill and I the science guy. He is someone I've always really admired from a young age who didn't love in science class and the teacher would roll out the TV on wheels and watch an episode of that for the period. I mean who I think he stands for gaining knowledge and making the world a better place through learning different things, which you two very much emulate on each of your podcasts every week. So thank you for what you do. I hope you guys are doing well.

He's have good one Bill Bill Bill Night sign. It's so many things I love about a Molly from St. Pete hit us up girl b that total compliment about us being even like Bill Night, like third out of order but still but still third on priority. You remember when they would just roll out the TV and you would watch TV or a movie for a period. They don't do that anymore. We lived in a golden age. We did. We it that, yes, and the TV was on wheels, massive tube TV on wheels, plug it in,

put in the VHS and just learn. I love I sleep. Yes. You know, my entire American history class was just watching Band of Brothers. That was the class and that's how I learned American histories. And you know, it was probably better than a lecture. Well, maybe there's a Florida education for you that is Florida St. Pete though, Molly, Oh, it's so nice to meet another local person. And yeah, I agree with Bill Night. He's great. I remember he

was my after school show. I would eat my goldfish, my cheddar goldfish as a snack and watch Bill Night, the science Guy. So we're with you. These are the mem uh. If you have a bill of a week, whether it's a person named Bill who shaped informed your childhood, or a bill you paid off, a bill you have yet to pay, a bill you didn't have to pay, whatever, visit for ol Friends podcast dot com, slash bill. Leave us your bill so excited to hear it. Now it's

time for the lightning around. So here is what we are buying this holiday season. It's already on our plan list, We've already made it. I love yours, Jill, but I'm gonna go first. I love this topic because it's always what I'm asking people, partially to help myself prepare and make wise decisions, but also I love getting tips from other people on this because this happens every year, and let's be real, we're not always super prepared for it.

Or have the best ideas. And this is where community and accountability comes into play of what are other people doing? Where can I find freedom and permission? What's the best use of my time, energy and resource? And so that's my aim with this question, and then love to hear

what others have to say. So I'm happy to hear yours first gen Okay, okay, So we actually need and this is a frustrating, we need a new TV because ours has gotten to the point where it does not function properly, which is upsetting because it's not that old and we have manually fixed it and tried to digitally fix it and it just keeps going back. So that is something that we will be getting on a probably Black Friday, Cyber Monday, we'll see. But that's kind of

the thing we're getting for us. We don't really need any thing else. But we will also be looking at second hand gifts for our family. Maybe we can get them something a little nicer, something a little more quality by getting it secondhand. And our family knows us and they will roll their eyes for a second and then be thankful. So that's that's us. And it's just better too than getting like new stuff. Um, better for the environment.

So that's that's that. And then also I think I would like to attend some kind of holiday event every single weekend in December, whether we are hosting it on our patio we have a beautiful patio outside or going over to somebody else's house. And so I'm gonna I'm gonna buy the things that I need to buy to buy my way into these parties. So food essentially and uh, beverage. That's so fun. And I love the way that that's aligned with values for you because that represents getting together

with payes, community and Netflix binging core values. And so that's really how our holiday purchases are aligning. Yes, and in myer mental sustainability by repurposing, reusing, recycling, second, mostly mostly cult and murder documentaries. Cult documentaries is a core value for me. Uh, And then I'll get together with you and we'll watch it together. Mine. And you've heard me, if you've listened to us long enough, you know that this is my realization. With the holidays, food is my

area of biggest spending. And know we talk about gift giving and that's a part of it, but I usually spend the most money on food. And rather than be shocked and surprised by it, I'm planning for it. Of this is what I like to do. I like to eat good food, share good food with others. I think the holidays represent a lot of that. I don't want to go crazy with it. I mean, you know me, I still have my vitem mix and I'm going to

be making my smoothies. But I think that this time does represent getting together in small groups of people and enjoying meals together. And so that's something I don't want to cut out. So I am already preparing for what that's going to mean. I'm already stalking my beverage shelf and my freezer, and it's gonna be a good year. And and for me, it's prioritizing kids gifts. We train people how to treat us. This is this is my

clinical therapist Jill coming out. And thankfully, after years and years of identifying where are my values, where's my budget? I love giving kids gifts for Christmas. And that's that's what brings me the most joy and seems to bring children the most joy, and so that's the priority. I typically don't get gifts for adults us, so opposite it is, and that's totally fine. We're all out here doing our own thing if I do see so. And for me

to gift giving has to be meaningful. I don't just want to give you something for the sake of giving you something to clutter your house. And I don't just want to spend money for the sake of spending money. But throughout the year, I keep my eyes on what might be useful, beneficial kind to people, and so if I see something I'm like that would be a good gift, I might get it and hold on to it for Christmas. So it's not to say that the adults in my

life never receive a gift. It's not going to be priority. You may or may not get something. If you are going to get something, I've identified it as something that I think you're really gonna like and it's meaningful. So that's the way that I give to adults. And otherwise, if you're a kid, yeah you'll get something from me. It might just be candy, but that's the priority. My nieces and nephews love and the pieces gotta give a gift.

I think for for me, I see the adults like in my my in laws and my family there and see how they're such generous people and they give and they work so hard, and I just feel like they don't get honored enough. And so this is my opportunity to say, I see you, I see your hard work, and uh, I know you've given a lot to your children.

Here's something for you. I can appreciate that. I think for me, the way that I give in that regard is with the food, Like come on over and I'll make you a drink and I'll give you some good apps. That's that's my gift to you, some canapas. Uh. Well, however you gift and whoever you gift to, we are so thankful that you listen to this show. You are a gift to us because without you, we would not

be doing this show. So thank you so much for listening and sharing your kind reviews with us on iTunes and Stitcher, like this one for Manatee friend who isn't a friend to Manatees. I love it inspiring, motivating and fun to listen to. I started listening to Jen and Jill on the Frugal Friends podcast about three months ago. In that time, I've learned so much between debt payoff stories and guest speakers. I learned something new or get

inspired by someone's journey every time I listen. Fortunately I don't have student loan debt, but I still felt like I was living paycheck to paycheck. Now I'm evaluating where all my heart earned dollars go, and I'm starting to make smart financial decisions for my future. Thank you for working so hard to make such a great resource available

to all who listen. And that was five stars. I wonder if you're in Florida too, maybe whatever union over here us up and thanks for your gratitude and recognition of hard work. I mean we It really is a privilege, in an honor to put out this content and to be helping others, and there's so much reward in that, but it is work, and and it just feels good to hear that. Thanks man it Ti friend you. We also want to thank our friends who share these episodes

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you all next week. By Frugal Friends is produced by r Experian. Okay, Jen, you were just at finn Con, which, for those who don't know, is a financial conference for people in the personal finance space. And it's where you learned so much. We all learned so much good things about how to keep putting out good content, YadA YadA. But all that to say, you met a Frugal Friends listener, Yes, and I've not been able to hear about it yet. Okay, So this was at the time this comes out a

month ago. But her name is Veronica, so shout out to you. She you can everyone can follow her, especially Allied health professionals at fired Up for Allied Health. And it was a treat to meet her and her husband. And so here is here is how serendipitous this meeting was. I have been battling tendonitis in my ankle for almost I guess two months at this point. It's been really hard. Actually,

because I'm super active, and um, it's been painful. And I can still walk and drive, but it is I can't run, I can't jump, I can't do anything where I like lift my ankle off the floor. So it's been really debilitating for the lifestyle that I used to leading. So I went into Finncon with this and then I meet Veronica and she's like, oh, I'm a physical therapist and her husband's like, oh, yeah, I'm physical therapists. I worked with athletes, and I was like, how well, let

me tell you about my life. And so they gave me a treatment plan to help my ankle will get better. And it was similar to what I had been doing, but I was doing fifteen reps a day and they're like, no, girl, you got to do a hundred a day. So I am so thankful to Veronica and her husband. So if you are listening, which I know typically they both listen, thank you so much for your help. And it was a pleasure meeting you and I am now a fan

of you. That's amazing. Hi, Veronica, I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you, but thank you for helping my friend Jen. You're silent sufferer. How did I not know that this is happening for you. Well, it hasn't been super debilitating to where I can't you know. It really only in the gym. Is it um debilitating? Yeah? If you worked out with me, you definitely know that. I know. Yeah. Oh, and that's a lot of reps though. You got to put on some work. I made a chart and I've

been filling it in. The only day that I missed was the day I actually re injured my ankle. I fell off a bike and so it was I hurt all day, so I didn't do the exercises. But other than that, I've been so faithful because I have signed up for half marathon and I have to get this nipped in the bud. Wow. Yeah, I'm glad for the help. Yeah, I hope it works. If you are an Allied Health professional, definitely follow fired up for Allied Health