Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni are frugal living experts and cohosts of the Frugal Friends Podcast. Being frugal is what brought them together in friendship and what inspired them to start a podcast together. They share frugal living advice as well as advice on how to expand your circle by stepping outside your comfort zone on this episode of My Biz Bestie.
How did frugal living bring Jen and Jill together?
Jill is a social worker and therapist that has always used frugality and lived in nontraditional ways since being a social worker isn’t the highest paid gig out there. Jen is a personal finance writer who documented her journey in paying off $78,000 in 2 years. She met Jill through a random chance meeting while on a road trip and living in her RV. The two couples hit it off by discussing frugal living. After bonding in a KOA hot tub they knew that their friendship could stand the test of time.
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How did they start the Frugal Friends Podcast?
Jen began working a 40 hour a week job writing for the Penny Hoarder which meant that she was limited in what she could write on her blog and for other sites. Her husband is an audio engineer and posed the idea of her starting a podcast. She was totally against it. Writing is her thing, not podcasting. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. There were no other podcasts about frugal living. She knew that Jill would bring a different point of view on frugal living and bring balance to the show. And so the Frugal Friends Podcast was born.
How did their friendship transform through the podcast?
Jen attributes the podcast to keep them in touch. They produce the Frugal Friends Podcast weekly and have a chance to chat both before and after they record. They have grace with each other and since their schedules fluctuate, so does their recording schedule. They love that recording the show is like hanging out with a friend with everyone listening in. They never really communicated how they would divvy up the work. They divided their roles naturally since they know each other’s strengths. Jill is a great interviewer and connector, and Jen is a natural researcher.
What words of advice do they have on finding business friendships?
Jen’s advice is to make yourself uncomfortable. Put yourself out there even if you aren’t comfortable doing so. When you step outside of your comfort zone you open yourself up to new opportunities. To find people to connect with think about your interests. What are you good at and what do you like to talk about? Find someone you admire that is good at things you want to be good at. These are great ways to make connections.
In this episode…
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[5:42] How did they meet?
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[10:22] How did they start the Frugal Friends podcast?
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[13:30] How did their friendship transform through the podcast?
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[15:54] How do they communicate?
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[19:56] Do they have other biz besties?
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[28:22] What words of advice do they have?
Resources & People Mentioned
Connect with Jen and Jill
Connect With Maelisa and Amber
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And the MBB Facebook Page
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