Tuesday, July 2, 2019

The Transcription to Frugal Workshop Podcast #1: An Introduction

Thank you all so much for the very warm response I received to my first podcast yesterday. Your love and support means a lot to me, so thank you. 

Several people indicated to me yesterday that they would like to see a transcript of my podcast printed out here in order to read it, so here is the transcript for all of those who wanted to read it.  

Frugal Workshop Podcast #1: An Introduction

Good morning welcome to the very first podcast of the Frugal Workshop blog. I'm your host, Belinda Richardson and I want to welcome you and all of my readers from my Frugal Workshop blog. I'm so glad you decided to join us today. 

Frugal living has been a mainstay in my life for many years and I started on my frugal journey back in the early 90s. My former husband and I were not money savvy when we were first married in 1989. We never had any credit card debt, but I used to tease him that he could spend our last nickel. We definitely lived paycheck to paycheck back then. 

The problem didn't have anything to do with employment as we were both working full time jobs and my ex always worked more than one job.  The problem was that we didn't make much money between the two of us and always less than $20,000 per year. 

We didn't know then what we know now. 

We didn't know then about being an entrepreneur and didn't have the online environment to make money like what is available to everyone today. Also, we were not savers.   We were young and we didn't educate ourselves on financial matters. 

That's why it is so important each your children while they are still young and under your care. Let them learn from you and teach them the power of compound interest. 

Back in 1990 we even had a friend who wanted to introduce us to mutual funds, but we were too busy and not smart enough to take his advice. I often think about that now and wish we had listened to him. 

One day back around 1992 we were shopping at Target when I spotted the very first Tightwad Gazette book. I picked it up and flipped through it at the time and thought it was very interesting, but not wanting to spend any money, I put it back on the shelf and continued on my way. 

The next time we went to Target I looked at the book again and decided to buy it.  That was my shopping style back then. I would look at something and put it back on the rack and not buy it until after I had thought about it for a while. 

At the time I found the first book Amy was still publishing the newsletter. How lucky was I? I subscribed immediately and looked forward to receiving a new newsletter every month. 

My ex would even call me at work to let me know when it came in the mail because he knew how much I enjoyed reading them.

See back then times were different. We didn't have frugal living blogs, podcasts, or vlogs or any of the other numerous resources we have available to us today, so getting a frugal newsletter in the mail was exciting to me. 
I still have those original newsletters all organized by date, which I keep in a few 3 ring binders. There is a photo of them on on my blog if you're interested in seeing them. 

I don't think I will ever part with them as they have a little bit more information than Amy's books and I love to reread them from time to time for inspiration on the frugal journey.  

During that time of my life I employed many of Amy's frugal ways of living into my own life. When I was pregnant with my daughter back in 1997 I went to multiple yard sales and bought her clothes the summer before she was born. I wanted to be able to stay home with her and I knew my income wouldn't be there for any extras after she was born.

Our home had a giant walk in attic where I stored all those clothes in storage bins labeled for each stage of clothing from newborn to two years old. I must have had over a dozen bins and I wish I had taken pictures of the bins, but that was a time before blogs, instant photos and places like Instagram. 

But I learned this system from Amy Dacyczyn's Tightwad Gazette and if I were to do it all over I would do it this way again. It's a great way to save money on clothing for babies and for young children as well. I employed this technique for years while my daughter was growing up. 

The month my daughter was born was when I quit working to be able to stay at home with her full time. Unfortunately, right before she turned one year old I became a single Mom and have remained a single Mom to her for the last twenty one years. 

Thankfully at that point in my life I'd already had around five years of frugal living under my belt, and since that time I've employed whatever means possible to live our best life frugally. 

And lucky for me that when she came of age she joined me on this frugal journey and has even taught her old Mom a trick or two. :)

Beginning in the summer of 1998 I was a poster on the original AOL Tightwad message boards. I started my own frugal website back in 2000, and in 2008 I started my first frugal blog. However, I didn't really catch the blogging fever until 2011 at which time I started the Frugal Workshop blog and have been writing it ever since. 

Although those AOL boards are no longer in existence, there are a multitude of money savings forums, blogs, and vlogs out there to learn how to save money these days. So many in fact that I am humbled and honored that people read my frugal blog. 

For the past ten years I have worked as a substitute teacher. And let me tell you there are a lot of funny stories I can tell you from that experience. During my daughter's school years we also had child support to help out. Those days are past us now and it's up to me to find income sources during the summer time when school is out. 

One of the ways I do that is with my blog. Other sources of income I've tried include selling on eBay, pet sitting, selling on Etsy, reward programs like Swagbucks and MyPoints, and some other programs that are unfortunately no longer available. 

One time several posters on the AOL boards joined a website called Epinions, which was a website that paid for reviews of products you purchased. Several of us made a couple of hundred dollars from that website, but it is no longer in existence. 

Not only have I worked on creating other income sources for myself, but also on multiple ways to save as much money as possible. Along the way I've strived to show others how to save money through my blog. I feel that this podcast will be another great platform for my readers to learn from my journey of frugality. 

Podcasts can be played while doing everyday tasks, such as, driving, washing dishes, folding laundry, etc. I, myself, enjoy listening to podcasts and audiobooks while driving so that I am being productive during my travels.

This brings me to my first question. Are you a reader or a listener? I know myself and I process new information better by reading. I don't learn as much by listening because I don't always hear what is being said. So I'm curious, would any of you like for me to post transcripts of my podcast onto my blog? That way, if you are like me, you will still have comfortable access to my content.

Another question I would like to ask all of you is what topics would you like featured on the Frugal Workshop podcast? 

Some ideas that I've had include yard sale hauls as I know several readers of my blog like when I tell them about my latest yard sale finds. We could discuss all sorts of yard sale tricks and tips to help you find the best deals to save yourself some money.

Another topic we can discuss is extreme frugality, which is what multiple people thought of Amy Dacyczyn's style of frugality. I've read over and over again that people are frugal, but not extreme like Amy. I think that would be a good topic to explore. 

Another topic we could explore is living below your means. Some people use credit cards to help them meet monthly expenses when their income falls short. This is not living beneath your means and we can explore exactly what that entails and how to do it properly. 

Another topic we can discuss is how to slash your grocery budget. My daughter and I have run the gamut on how to eat inexpensively and I will be happy to teach you how to learn the ropes. There are a multitude of ways you can feed your family for less and I'll be happy to explore those options with you.

Other topics include shopping the second hand market and saying yes to hand me downs. The second hand market is a great place to get the things you need without spending money excessively. I am a firm believer that whatever you need you can find on the second hand market. I've been yard saling since I was a child and I am convinced that whatever you need can be found at a yard sale. You just have to be willing to go to numerous sales. We will discuss that in one of our future podcasts. 

Another topic we can discuss is the topic of Debt. Is there good debt and bad debt or are you a believer that all debt is bad? Some say there is some debt that is good like a mortgage, student loans or loans for cars. What do you think? 

Food Waste is a hot topic on the internet these days with some bloggers even posting photos of their food waste online. Food waste does contribute to some households losing money they spend on food. We'll be discussing ways to avoid food waste and what we can do to eliminate this habit.  

Other topics can include things like Frugal Fatigue, Working from Home and Second Incomes.

I have many more ideas for this podcast, but would love to hear from all of you. If there is something you would like for me to discuss please DM on Instagram. My handle is @frugalworkshop. Or you can always email me at Bar2969@gmail.com. You can also comment here on the blog. 

Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~
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24 comments:

  1. All the ideas for future podcasts are good ones. You decide.
    I have always been more of a reader - because I can over it and it and reread and reread. It allows me to take nots.
    I did enjoy hearing your podcast and will definitely listen again!
    Good job.

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl. I like taking notes too, as it helps me to learn even more.

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  2. Thanks for the transcript. I hope you continue them.
    Your future ideas sound great.
    I had a subscription to The Tightwad Gazette, Loved it and still read them every year at a minimum. As my circumstances change so do the ideas I implement.

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    1. You're welcome. I do plan on continuing them at least once a week on Mondays for now. I do the same thing as you...sometimes I use things in the TWG that I passed over before, so it's a good thing to reread them from time to time.

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  3. I can learn either way. However, I cannot hear the information on my computer. I have to strain too much. So, right now, I like reading.

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    1. Sounds good to me. Thank you for reading and commenting on my blog. I appreciate it so much.

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  4. I listened to it as I prepared dinner. Personally I had rather listen while I am doing some mindless chore.

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    1. Definitely, Anne. I do the same thing, that way I feel like I am being more productive.

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  5. I love podcasts as I can listen while doing light housework or when I work from home. Not just to save money but to reduce my footprint, I'm trying to learn more and more about reducing waste, plastic, and cheap crap in my home. You've been full of ideas. Thank you and I'll be reading and listening.

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    1. Thank you so much, Sam. I love listening to podcasts while I'm doing other chores too. Kudos to you for reducing your carbon footprint. That's awesome. :)

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  6. I love the transcript. It was fun to hear about the old AOL MB. How I miss it and the wonderful ladies who taught me so much.

    I am more of a reader too. I have a hearing impairment so I use close caption alot.

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    1. I miss those boards too, Safyne. They were good times for sure. I also have a hearing issue, so it's easier for me to read than listen.

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  7. I'm a reader, as we have lousy internet, but it's getting a little better. I will try to watch your podcast. I love the yard sale haul posts. I started with Amy D too and wish she would update her life from time to time. I've seen an interview with her kids recently. I loved her!

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    1. I loved reading the interviews with Amy D's children. They were so great. I loved her too as she taught me so much.

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  8. I am definitely in the reader camp. Enjoy your blog and look forward to each new post.

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  9. I've been listening to podcasts more these days since I am spending more time in the car for my job. I enjoyed yours very much. So informative!

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    1. Thank you so much, DLL. I've been listening to them for the last year or so as there is so much good information there.

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  10. I am a reader too! Thanks for the transcript of your podcast. Looking forward to future talks.

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  11. I love your blog and I read it often, so often I've read all your back posts. More than once! I am a reader and thank you for putting the transcript of your podcast on your blog. I hope you'll continue to do so.

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    1. Thank you, Savannah. I will definitely be putting the transcript on here each time. :)

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  12. I love to read but either format is okay with me. I have the Tightwad Gazette Books and still pick up extras when I see them for cheap at a yard sale or used book store. You never know who will need one. My friend was moving years ago across country and gave me a big binder with her Tightwad Gazette newsletters. I have read them all and it's about time for a re-reading! Love her ideas and the way she thinks. Nothing is too out of the box for her. Take care.

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    1. Thank you, Crystal. How neat that your friend gifted you with the TWG newsletters. I love mine. I pick them up whenever I see one too, I just can't pass those by. You take care too. :)

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