Frugal can be Fun! TBOL's Bonus Episode #298

Episode #298!

The Business of Life Master Class Podcast
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Hosts: Debbie Lundberg & Barbara Zant
www.debbielundberg.com - Presenting Powerfully - 813-494-4438

Facebook/Twitter/X/Instagram: @debbielundberg
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Instagram for Barb Zant: @thestayatworkmom

Digital Engineer: Brianna Connolly
Music: www.bensound.com
Music by AlexiAction from Pixabay - License code: CBKCX3HKZL8FJ2CM

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hello, hello to all of our TBO listeners and viewers looking for inspiration and actionable tips. Great, we have those for you today on the Business of Life Masterclass. The show for people who thrive on opportunity, strive to get results, and seek input and for all of their ideas to quickly incorporate in life and in business. Barb Zent here, media sales leader and founder of the Lifestyle Brand, Stay at Work Mom.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Hi everyone, Debbie Lundberg, Performance Mindset and Resilience Coach with Presenting Power Fleet.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

My gosh, Debbie, I am so excited for our listeners and viewers. We have a bonus episode for you all today, and it is on Frugal Can Be Fun. How cool is that? Debbie, this is all you. Both you and Michael have been living this for the past year and six months or so. This has inspired me so much. And so I thought that this could inspire our viewers and listeners too.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Yeah, so we say proving frugal can be fun because it can be challenging. The last 585 days since we lost everything to Hurricane Helene, we decided to adopt that. And I even coined the expression frugal organizer as I was putting putting things together in the temporary apartment that has gone on way longer than we ever imagined or anticipated. And so improving frugal can be fun. It's not about being cheap or about saying what you can't do, it's all about what you can do and making it as enjoyable as possible.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

And that you have been doing. And I would love to hear a few tips for our listeners and viewers. And you know, a lot of things that you have been doing, in addition to the frugal, is a lot of people have been inviting you on trips where you use points and you have points for hotels and they have points for flights. That is is you know one way to be able to um travel and enjoy a lot of things. And then the golfing that you have been doing, uh the the same is either invited, um, you know, or with the the prepaid club.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Mm-hmm. It's true. Excuse me. So as soon as all of this happened, we said, number one, so before we jump into anything, and thanks for the idea of talking about this, Barb, we first said we will not sacrifice our health and well-being. So I don't want anybody to hear what we've been doing and think we are scrimping on health and and our well-being, because if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. I mean, you know, we hear the expressions health is wealth, and Michael and I don't disagree. So I put that asterisk out there. So some of the things you you tapped into, now we've we've got rising costs going on, rising fuel costs, fewer airline options. So we used to do eight trips a year, and some of them would be short, some of them would be longer. We would always have a big one or two that were golf-related. And certainly we stopped doing the eight trips. And what we did was what you said, you know, we we have points, so we continued to use a credit card that earns points for Hilton. You could be Marriott people, you could be, you know, whatever else works. But we think about things of we choose to have never carried debt other than our home. And so with that, we didn't live beyond our means in the first place. And that's a lot of the reason we can be in this situation and choose to tear down the home and build a home, even with the outrageous costs that are involved. So we are grateful that we never carried any debt. So one of our things is utilize a credit card that earns points for something you'll really use. And for us, that's Hilton. And we used to use Southwest, but we use American now because of some of the changes. So I do that with my business as well. So when you utilize those points, you're purchasing things and using them. Make sure you're looking at the categories you choose or how the card lays out. There will be charges for the year, but they're often far more worth getting the points and what you can realize with them through the hotel and the airlines. Now I know there's the points guy, and a lot of people follow him, and I've certainly gotten tips from him, but that's approving Frugal can be fun where you may take a day or a route or something for your flights to maintain your status that is a little bit out of the norm, but you want to do an ROI on everything. You don't want to feel like you're being burdened or you're being a cheapskate. So you think, is this return on investment worth it? Here's a good example. We were going to get something for something for a Mother's Day event. And Michael made the point. He said, what we can save purchasing these gift cards this way doesn't even come close to the number of points we'll get for simply paying for that meal. So we'd rather have the points. So it's it's part of a game, and I call it a game no one loses because you're you're doing things, but you're being really mindful. So the airlines and the hotels are one way. Another thing that we started doing that I'm sure nobody's gonna love is we both had subscriptions to have our cars washed, but we both still want our cars to look good. So there's a place up the road and you can spray off your car. It's protected, it's safe. It is truly saving over a hundred and some dollars a month by doing it that way. Now, every once in a while I get myself wet, so I have learned to do it, say after a workout or something, and being mindful of it. Another is using upside or using there's there's another one that I joined that right now, it's called Qualify. You are gonna going to be purchasing gas no matter what, so you might as well go to the stations where there's you're getting money back, and it goes into either your account or onto like an Amazon gift card. But to also be careful there, though, don't get suckered into going to a gas station that's a lot more expensive, or don't drive out of your way to do it. So when you have those things, figure out where in your normal route those are and go to those consistently. So that's another way. And then rackettin, which is I don't even know if I'm saying it right, but it's R-A-K-E-N-T-E-N. I think it's Rackiton. We've seen the ads for that. Yes, yes. And I'm happy to send you Barb the link because if you have others join, you get both get money back. But that is truly, truly, truly, I had a situation where you know that I was getting a new laptop because it was time. I hadn't gotten one since the the pandemic, and then you and I had a laptop swap, and there was a it was something like 12 or 13% back. So on my laptop, even though it was a good price and it was a laptop I wanted, I didn't get one I didn't want. I still got back something like$130. That if I would have just bought it directly, I wouldn't have gotten that. So there are those type of things. The other things now, some things that people wouldn't do. I'm painting my own nails, I'm highlighting my own hair, I'm doing those for the extremes right now. And you also can think about a phase or a season, like you say, in your life where you might not do it forever, but I will tell you that there's a lot of surprising joy when you get a compliment on your nails or your hair, and you're like, thanks, I did them, you know, I did this myself. And another thing was, you know, we haven't purchased any new clothes, and that was a choice we made because 12 families, you know, like you and and others who listen, were kind enough to come and clean our clothes. So we had all these clothes, but there were also some in there that then I've taken in for resale. And instead of taking the money, then look at is there something you want there so that you're getting something new to you, but it's not costing anything out of pocket? And also, I went through everything. Now I get somebody might roll their eyes a little bit. I'd gotten a Cartier watch and earrings for my three-year anniversary of my business and my five-year anniversary of my business. And I'd worn them all along, and I'm about to celebrate 20 years. Well, for Michaels in my 20th wedding anniversary, we got right before the the storm took everything, we had gotten watches. And so I realized I'm gonna wear this watch now probably forever. So instead of keeping what was somewhat sentimental, it really became an opportunity to sell it and sell the earrings, not because I had to, but because I realized I wouldn't be wearing it and somebody else could enjoy it, and then I realized some money that we applied toward the house. So even things like that that you might have sitting around that can be very useful. Number one, cleaning things out is cathartic. And number two, not sitting on something wonderful that someone else can enjoy is another way that you're you're changing your mindset because it's not about holding on, it's about having what you really want and enjoy. So I could keep going, but I'll let you ask a question.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Well, uh, just things that resonated with me. So we um one of our appointments ran long, and so you were looking on your phone for us on apps. So um typically we don't eat a lot of fast food, but it it was fabulous. I think you found like two burgers for five dollars.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yes, yes. So, you know, Michael does tease me about that because he doesn't want to have anything to do with apps on his phone, and I'm not knocking him, but he is he's wonderful and not a person who loves to be connected to his phone very much, except for to talk. So, yes, if you look at the apps, now again, you and Michael both like Chick-fil-A. I'm not able to eat it, I'm allergic to chicken, which is of course not a common allergy. But so if you're going to have something, you might as well see if there's a rate or a price that's better. And so, yeah, looking on the app and looking in the specials is good. I also, you know, I've done Exchange Arama for 23 years. I also encourage people to do their own swap, get your girlfriends together. I know you're not able to come, but this weekend, as we're recording, people who can wear my size, I'm doing it before our exchange a rama where you know we have 20 to 40 women come together and bring clothes, shoes, house goods, everything, makeup. But for for some people, I like to do it ahead of time to say, look, we'll be exiting this apartment soon, thankfully, and it was you know great while it lasted and we're we're appreciative, but we don't want to move anything that we're not gonna use. So we're gonna do that with the furniture, we're gonna do that with everything that let other people get it. So I know this is about being frugal for us, but it's also you don't want to be frugal and stingy, you want to be frugal while still giving to other people. And that's wonderful, pay it forward. So people have been so generous, like you said, to invite us to golf. Now we're part of invited, which used to be Club Core, but when we go to our courses and they're beautiful, it's only cart fee. So you're paying, instead of paying$200 around, we're paying the$30 for the cart fee. And we do one of the four clubs in Tampa every week, and that has carried us through because it's we love golf. The other is when people invite us to things like a charity event, I will say I'm happy to donate services. So if you can donate services that they can auction off or have for a donation, like a drawing, and I'll tell them we're not in a position to bid on things like we usually were and will be in the future, like trips and things, but I can contribute that way. And if you don't want to invite us, it's okay because we'll probably only be donating$100 or$200 at the event. And every single person has been gracious and said, please still come. And so if you can give of a service or you were given a gift card for$200 somewhere, donate it to the charity so they can auction it off. That's another way that you're not spending money yet, you're bringing value. You can make donations, which brings value. I also made a couple other notes on things. Oh, you and some of our awesomeness squad were kind enough to, so I canceled my Orange Theory membership for the monthly membership, and I was going to classes, and you all got me classes. So sometimes if you really like doing something, don't take it away completely. Now I go if my friend John goes and we go on Saturdays for the 90-minute class, and I've made the pack of classes last longer. So in between, there's so many workouts like on YouTube, or you can do things on your own. You can run or walk, it's free. So, I mean, I've always been a runner, so that part hasn't changed. But we don't have a treadmill right now. So there's some days you miss out. You can still do a walking video inside. That's frugal, that's proving it's fun. I'm checking on my notes too, is oh, and another thing is you know, about the clothes, skip the dry cleaning. Everything, and I'm wearing a jacket for those who can see me. Now, the jackets get dry cleaned because I I haven't wanted to risk ruining a jacket, I admit.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Yeah, they're very structured.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Yeah, they're structured, they have shoulder pads, but even pants, anything that's not lined. Now, if I have a jacket that's not lined, Barb, I will wash it on gentle in the wash machine. And we have not had any fatalities, knock on wood. So save for Michael suits in my suit jackets, just adjust your temperatures and things, and you may save a lot that way. The other, the another one is we don't go out to eat, like you said. I mean, we could count on our hands the number of times we've gone out to eat. And one was that time when we were coming back from an appointment together. I don't probably didn't seem like we were really going out to eat because we just got something to drive through. But we will have you know romantic dinners that we make sure that it's something that's that Michael typically has made, or he and I make something together, but then we do it out on our little balcony and we have candles and we make sure that that's special. It's not simply get through another day to have the dinner. So on the weekends we make sure we do that, and you're changing your environment. So have some spaces that are different. Like the balcony is usually where we have drinks or have appetizers or have a romantic dinner, as opposed to it being the exact same place. So that's the frugality is there because we're not going out, but the fun is there because we are changing it up and making it.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

So we did that for our podcast. So normally at the um end of the year, we celebrate you know our wins there, and we um Michael made us in a dinner instead, and I liked that more than going out. It felt like we had longer time together and it was special.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

It was, thank you for that. And it was uninterrupted. And Michael made the same menu that we have usually, so that was great. And then the other thing on the proving frugal can be fun. Mailing cards is still relatively inexpensive. I know people think that because it's 74 or 75 cents for a stamp now, that that's a lot, but you can get cards, get packs of cards, and it's still much more, it's a great way to tell somebody you appreciate them. And I like to make the cards on Walgreens.com where there are photos in them. Those are not expensive, they're less than a greeting card, and you're you're writing exactly what you want. So it's customized. It's customized, and so proving frugal can be fun again, is all about being mindful of your spending while still creating a really good environment. And another thing is if you have something, it's a little bit what I said earlier, but like people have been generous with us and we are so appreciative. And sometimes it's something we can't use, or we Michael and I could use it together, but instead we invite somebody else. Like at an event, we did make a donation where everybody throws their paddle in and you all make a hundred dollar donation. We won a$1,500 experience at Motor Enclave, and Michael and I both love stuff like that. But I said, How about you take it with somebody who's done something great for us? So he took somebody who'd just done a ton for us at the beginning of all of this, and they had a lot of fun. So we got something from one of our friends who works for the Yankees, so we're doing that with someone else, which is like a charcuterie board. And then through Reli a Quest Bowl, we're able to represent at an event, and Carrie and her husband are going. So while we can't, while we're not in a position to comfortably take people to things that we might say, let us host you or let us take you out to dinner. Now, when we get something, we're making sure that we're including someone else in it. Same thing, Tampa General Hospital, because we volunteer so much there, gifted us with tickets to Busch Gardens. So we were able to invite people to Bush Gardens. So don't think about grasping onto anything you have, instead, think about how you can share it to say thank you. And it goes a long way.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Well, and also just another thing that you know resonated with me and how I'm gonna live my life moving forward too is gifts. So for Mother's Day is coming up, and then Michael, as he um, you know, golfs in the golf shirts, and we were out, you know, pretty far from um, you know, where we live at uh a doctor's appointment in Zephyr Hills, and you know, there was a bell's and it wasn't even an outlet, a regular bells where they have name brands, and the shirts were$15.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

Yes, because you were so kind. You wanted to give Michael a thank you, and then you thoughtfully said, I don't want to give you a to-do. And Michael said, We're like 10 minutes early, let's pop in here. And I said to you, this might be your opportunity, and you got him two golf shirts, which was sweet, and he's he's wearing one of them today, by the way. And he wore one of them the very next day because he hasn't had new shirts, and so not that he doesn't have a whole bunch of golf shirts, but he loves the ones you got him right now, and so those little things we used, you used to get me flowers, and you know I love flowers. Now, Michael still gets one little batch of flowers at Publix every week, which is four dollars, where we used to get three or more just to have them everywhere, and you used to get us these gorgeous ones, which I so loved, but you said to me, I realize I want to thank you for something. What could you use instead? Right. And you were kind and got me things to go to Sonic Hold Plunge. And, you know, all of these things. I will say this last thing, and there might be more if you have other questions. One of the things that we do a lot is we drink the hydration drinks, and I would get them on Amazon on subscription. Now, so subscribe and save will save you money, definitely. So that's another proving frugal can be fun. Time out when you're gonna use things. We do that with Daisy's dog food. By the way, our health and anything for Daisy did not scrimp during this. She's got more toys because people like Maria and others send her things. But I will say this the hydration packets I found at the Dollar Tree. They're, you know, the expiration date is good. And I realized I was getting for$14.95 what I can get the equivalent of for$6 at the Dollar Tree, and it's the same brand. So you might want to check your makeup, well, not makeup probably, but like some of your health things, whatever. If you're purchasing certain products, check at other stores if they carry them for less. You might, if you don't want to go into the store, like a Walmart, go to Walmart.com. If you can save$10,$20 a month on one product in a year, if you do that for 10 products, there's a thousand dollars that you're saving. So now I know some of these things will stick, and I'm glad. And some of them we may change slightly, but I will not ever regret proving Frugal can be fun because we we have saved on some money and we have had a lot of fun and we haven't felt like we suffered because of that portion of this experience.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

That's because of that portion. And I know I have learned a lot through what you're doing that I have implemented, and I know that our viewers and listeners will too. And I know you'll continue to share some of those on social media and I will as as well. So thank you. Thank everyone for tuning in today for this Frugal Can Be Fun bonus episode. If you like the insights and the tips that you heard, please rate us five stars. And we are committed to providing you with five-star guests weekly as we are dropping a follow-through later today and a new guest on Wednesday. Um, tune in for sure. Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Business of Life Masterclass, the podcast for successful people embracing every chance to accomplish and experience all you can in business and in life.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Listen, choose, do. Thank you. Thank you. If you have ever thought, gosh, I'd like a collaborator, I wonder what else I could do. It's likely that the answer is a coach. Hi, I'm Debbie Lundberg, Performance and Mindset Coach with Presenting Powerfully. And if you would like confidential coaching to drive you to the next idea, the next role, or even to figure out your own brand, please reach out to us at Presenting Powerfully 813 494 4438. Thank you.