Jen Smith is a personal finance expert and the co-host of the top-rated Frugal Friends Podcast. After she graduated from college, she and her husband buckled down and paid off $78,000 of debt in just two years.
They also made extreme lifestyle shifts that she doesn’t recommend anymore. She tried to side-hustle her way out of debt. She stopped spending on almost everything altogether, which wasn’t the answer. Why? Because she was miserable.
She knew she had to find a middle ground between spending frivolously and spending nothing. For the last five years, the “Frugal Friends” podcast has become a journey to find how to get the things you love without going broke.
She’s on a mission to help people spend in alignment with their values, empowering them to live for today while saving for tomorrow. Listen in for some great takeaways about Jen’s journey to eradicate her debt and how she helps others eliminate theirs.
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in…
- Learn more about Jen Smith and her journey [2:15]
- Why Jen and her co-host launched Frugal Friends [7:18]
- Is being “frugal” the same as being cheap? [10:26]
- Frugality = being efficient with time and money [13:19]
- Get your copy of “Financial Planning Made Personal” [16:24]
- You can value nice things and still be frugal [18:32]
- Why finding your own core values is important [20:37]
- Budgets are the diets of the financial industry [22:03]
- The purpose of Frugal Friends “Bill of the week” [25:37]
- Jen’s advice for those interested in podcasting [28:44]
- What Jen did today that put her in the mindset for success [30:08]
Is being “frugal” the same as being cheap?
We’ve been taught that more is more. That when you have more, you’re more successful. We’ve been trained by marketing and advertising professionals to believe this. Frugality has shifted to mean trying to get more for less.
But to Jen, frugality is being a good steward of your resources. It all has to do with making positive changes for you, the people around you, and the earth around you. She’s trying to separate frugality from being cheap. Being “cheap” is saving money or resources at the expense of someone or something else.
Frugality = being efficient with time and money
One example of frugality is the 80/20 rule. It helps you determine what you’ll save money on and what you’ll care less about. Most Americans spend money on housing, transportation, and food. Why not focus on those three things first?
Jen chooses to purchase used cars versus new (still doesn’t mean it has to be a crappy car). It can help you save around $200 a month on an auto loan. That will save you more than 20 decisions to say no to a latte would.
Another way to be more frugal is reducing food waste. It’s the lowest barrier to entry for saving. You do this by making realistic meal plans.. You have to look at what you can actually commit to versus something you’ll never follow through with. Reducing food waste is also great for the environment, which adds intrinsic motivation to the decision-making process.
You can value nice things and still be frugal
The Frugal Friends mantra is, “We help you control your spending without all the guilt and shame of strict budgeting.”
You can value anything. Frugality means that you should identify the things that you don’t value and eliminate those. It’s knowing where to say no so you can say better yeses. Small changes in big places—like housing and transportation—can help you say yes to the things that you value.
It comes down to knowing where you find value. You can value nice things and still be frugal. You have to take the time to do the hard work to look at your spending. What gets you the results you want? What hasn’t?
“Budgets are the diets of the financial industry”
Jen made a lot of “budgets” before she committed to paying off debt. She’d never stick to them because they had to be followed perfectly. They didn’t allow her to spend anything on eating out or activities she enjoyed. It’s like crafting a perfect diet plan with strict macros that you can never live up to.
Instead, why not create guidelines (i.e. spending plans) to strive for? A spending plan allows you to stay on track to meeting a financial goal on a timeline. However, when you’re living life and things happen that you couldn’t plan for, it doesn’t feel like a defeat to deviate. You allowed for it in your plan.
You will never live up to a strict perfect budget because life isn’t perfect. To Jen, falling in love with the lifestyle of frugality is a far better focus than sticking to a self-imposed budget.
Resources & People Mentioned
- Get your copy of “Financial Planning Made Personal”
- The ONE Thing by Gary Keller
Connect with Jen Smith
Bio
Jen Smith is a personal finance expert and co-host of the top-rated Frugal Friends Podcast. Since paying off $78K of debt in two years Jen has been on a mission to help people spend in alignment with their values and live for today while saving for tomorrow. She’s the author of two best-selling books on controlling your spending and paying off debt, The No-Spend Challenge Guide & Pay Off Your Debt For Good.
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