Mini-Ep 470: Teach My Your Frugal Ways
In this grab bag mini-ep, listeners send in their commentary on aging parents, Australian pop-culture recs, and shift work. Plus, Doree and Elise talk about money-saving hacks and Elise discusses her teen modeling years.
Don’t forget to find our newsletter at the free tier on Patreon!
To leave a voicemail or text for a future episode, reach them at 781-591-0390. You can also email the podcast at forever35podcast@gmail.com.
Visit forever35podcast.com for links to everything they mention on the show or shopmyshelf.us/forever35.
Follow the podcast on Instagram (@Forever35Podcast) and join the Forever35 Patreon.
Sign up for the newsletter! At forever35podcast.com/newsletter.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.
Transcript
This episode transcript is AI generated.
Doree Shafrir (00:10):
Hello and welcome to Forever35, a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves. I'm Doree Shafrir.
Elise Hu (00:17):
And I'm Elise Hu and we're just two friends who like to talk a lot about serums.
Doree Shafrir (00:21):
And this is a mini episode where we hear from you, we share your comments and your thoughts, and we answer your questions to the best of our ability. But please do remember, we are not experts. We are podcast hosts, and we always encourage you to seek support first and foremost from a medical and/or mental health professional as needed.
Elise Hu (00:38):
Do you feel like the comments and thoughts that we're getting are all on one theme today or is it a real grab bag?
Doree Shafrir (00:48):
It's probably more of a grab bag than some of our previous episodes, but we have a couple of voicemails on the aging parents topic.
Elise Hu (01:01):
Okay.
Doree Shafrir (01:02):
Nothing on towels.
Elise Hu (01:05):
Oh, okay. Maybe the towels thing has died down very quickly.
Doree Shafrir (01:07):
Maybe it's died. Yeah. So there's a mix of things.
Elise Hu (01:12):
All right. All right. Looking forward to it. I have made one small hack in my life that I just want to tell the mini app community because this is a very practical show. And so I buy a lot of black iced tea when I go to coffee shops since I'm not a coffee drinker unless, except for socially. It's like social smokers, social coffee drinkers.
Doree Shafrir (01:37):
Right.
Elise Hu (01:38):
Yeah. Understood.
(01:38)
So I do a lot of iced tea and I'm making one small austerity fix that just makes me feel somewhat smug that I'm doing it, which is I'm just asking for light ice. I know this is like a ridiculous thing anywhere else in the world because Americans are probably the only country that's as obsessed with ice. And the quantity of ice that we put in our drinks is often more than 50% of the drink. And so I'm just making one hack and I feel kind of good about it, like that I'm getting one on the man just a little bit by getting just a little bit more quantity of tea to ice. I've been doing it just for the, I don't know, past week or so, but I feel like I'm getting so much more drink because I'm not finishing my iced teas that I'm buying at shops.
(02:31)
And then I can come home and just add a little bit more ice and it lasts longer. How about that? Why wasn't I doing this for the last
Doree Shafrir (02:40):
30
Elise Hu (02:41):
Years of my life?
Doree Shafrir (02:41):
Well, and then it's not as diluted.
Elise Hu (02:44):
Right. That's that too. You're cutting the flavor of the tea when there's too much ice.
Doree Shafrir (02:50):
Yes. Wow.
Elise Hu (02:52):
I guess it's a micro joy or a micro hack, micro hack really more than anything else. Yeah. So I'm feeling good about that. Just a tiny little thing.
Doree Shafrir (03:03):
I like that. I mean, great.
Elise Hu (03:07):
I'm not getting as frugal. I told you about how frugal my helper, Ling Ling is. Ling Ling, who is Indonesian, she is probably a generation older. Her kids are like college or graduating from college. And she's not as frugal as my grandmother, but she is frugal. She definitely, for any gallon Ziploc bags, she definitely washes them and dries them like a good
Doree Shafrir (03:33):
Asian. A classic frugal. Yeah.
Elise Hu (03:35):
Yep. Yep. So in our little drying rack area by the sink, there's often just an upside down Ziploc bag. So this is not like that level of frugality, but I am getting more drink.
Doree Shafrir (03:50):
My parents reuse Ziplocs.
Elise Hu (03:51):
Yeah. I mean, a lot of parents do, but it's smart. It's smart. My dad's really good about finding creative ways to reuse packaging. So like blueberry, raspberry packaging. He often uses those for gardening because they already have the little cutouts in them.
Doree Shafrir (04:10):
Yes.
Elise Hu (04:12):
Yeah. So he reuses those a lot. He comes up with different ways to reuse things and my mom gets super annoyed.
Doree Shafrir (04:18):
I would say this is frugal, but it's also good for the environment to be reusing. If you're going to use plastic, might as well reuse it.
Elise Hu (04:28):
Yeah.
Doree Shafrir (04:28):
So
Elise Hu (04:29):
Yeah.
Doree Shafrir (04:29):
All right. Absolutely. I'm on board.
Elise Hu (04:32):
The other one hack while we're on hacks really quick is that I've been shown on my algorithm a lot about how we shouldn't be leaving our berries in the containers that we buy them in because it makes the berries go bad. It makes them rot faster and you're supposed to bring them home and wash them right away and then put them in some other kind of container that makes them last longer. So listeners, whatever you do to preserve your berries, please call, write and text because I want to know more about this. I've always just brought home my groceries and put them in the fridge and whatever packaging that they're in, but maybe I need to just take one extra step just like I'm doing with this tea. For a while I was putting my- Save
Doree Shafrir (05:16):
Money. I was putting my berries in those. There's like these reusable berry containers that you can get that are supposed to keep the berries for longer. So for a while I was using those, but I don't know. I kind of stopped. I lost steam on that, I guess.
Elise Hu (05:35):
I was going to say, it's already ... I find it a lot to like go and buy my groceries, have to bring them in from the car and then put them away. All of that is stuff that I don't even really want to do. But then to put away my groceries and then put them away again in a second kind of packaging
Doree Shafrir (05:54):
Or container- Kind of like decant them. Yeah.
Elise Hu (05:58):
Do we need to decant our berries is the question.
Doree Shafrir (06:01):
Great question. Great question. Elise, we did get a couple of messages that I want to read before we take a break.
Elise Hu (06:11):
Okay. Go for
Doree Shafrir (06:12):
It. One is for you.
Elise Hu (06:16):
Okay.
Listener Voicemail (06:18):
I'm listening to today's episode and loling at Elise, first of all.
Elise Hu (06:23):
I get that a lot.
Listener Voicemail (06:25):
Do not call it Hotlanta, please. I think it ended up being a cult. While you were here, just to spite you. Ha. You know what that reminded me of?
Elise Hu (06:36):
Yeah.
Doree Shafrir (06:37):
When people from San Francisco get really mad when people call it Frisco.
Elise Hu (06:45):
I don't know that many people who call it Frisco, but yeah, I could find that. I could see how that would be annoying.
Doree Shafrir (06:49):
I think it's just like people who don't live there call it Frisco, but no one who lives there calls it Frisco. Anyway, whatever. Also, Pullman Yard. Now I'm continuing the text.
Elise Hu (07:01):
Yes.
Listener Voicemail (07:02):
Pullman Yards gets a lot of grief in the neighborhood for bad community decisions, but it actually is a very cool history. The Pullman Company was a significant employer of African American men known as Pullman porters who were involved in the creation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. It was the first African American labor union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. Pretty neat. The space itself is not well designed. I'll give you that. And they've definitely whitewashed some of the history. The owners are trash too. Just a little Atlanta tea for you.
Elise Hu (07:32):
Ooh, I love this tea. It's so insidery. Yes. So the reason we were talking about Pullman Yards, if y'all missed last week's episode is because that is where Ted hosted its first TED Next conference in 2024, but we had to move it away from there because there was like a rainstorm right before. And after the rain, there was so much mud. It's like mud grounds. It's just dirt as if you're out on stables. And so after all the mud, apparently in order to make that venue ready and time for Ted, they poured gravel all over the mud. And so then when people were walking around and the wind blew, you just had gravel. You were kicking up gravel all over your feet and your calves and everything. And so it was a bit messy. It was a bit messy. This time we went with a real traditional hotel convention center kind of situation and it worked out great.
(08:28)
I never even got to go outside to feel that cold snap that I was spite with. But yes, there was a cold snap by the time we went home. So it was not hot after all. You are correct, texter. Wow.
Listener Voicemail (08:41):
All right. One more message, which is hi Doree and Elise. I was so excited to hear Doree recommend Fisk on the recent monthly culture Roundup episode. Not only do I also love that show, but I used to live on the street in the suburb of North Melbourne where it's filmed where the office Fisk works in is based. The number 57 tram that you see going past was my old tram to work in the city. The Blendology Smoothie Cafe is not real, but the wanker vibes are spot on for the suburb. I feel like I can say this from a place of true love for North Melbourne having lived there for 12 plus years. However, the convenience store where Helen buys for $2 coffee must be filmed somewhere else as it's not on that street. That recurring storyline cracks me up. Also, very happy to hear recommendation for Australian made media on your podcast.
(09:37)
Thank you. Take care both Amanda.
Doree Shafrir (09:40):
Okay. First of all, if you want to hear more of our culture recommendations, those are on our Patreon at patreon.com/forever35. We do a monthly culture recommendation, pop culture entertainment recommendations episode. It's very fun. We also get your recommendations and it's a good time. Talk about all this stuff. Yeah, that's in addition to our weekly casual chats. Now our newsletter is on Patreon. You can get ad free episodes on Patreon, so there's a lot going on.
Elise Hu (10:12):
So the pop culture episodes, just to be clear, are if you are part of the $5 and up tier.
Doree Shafrir (10:18):
Correct.
Elise Hu (10:19):
Yeah. Because we have moved a lot of y'all over to Patreon just for our newsletter and that is free. But if you want the pop culture episodes and the casual chats and the Forever35 questionnaires and just like a little bit more community, that's at $5 a month. So join us. It's true.
Doree Shafrir (10:39):
Okay. Now Fisk, I love this. I also love the like ... To me, the fact that they're in North Melbourne, that was meaningless to me, but now she's kind of providing some more context of wanker vibes. So that's helpful. Also, listen, I've consumed several Australian shows that I like, including Bluey. Oh yeah. But there's also, there's a great Australian reality show called Instant Hotel that ran for two seasons that Matt and I really enjoy. What's the premise?
Elise Hu (11:28):
Say more.
Doree Shafrir (11:29):
Basically, it's like they took Airbnb hosts from all over Australia and then they go and stay in each other's Airbnbs and like judge them.
Elise Hu (11:44):
We should
Doree Shafrir (11:44):
Totally. Why don't we have that in the States? I don't know. And then it only ran for two seasons. So I imagine maybe it was like logistically complicated, but we still like quote some ... There were some real characters on that show and- I'm sure. It's very funny.
Elise Hu (12:02):
No doubt.
Doree Shafrir (12:04):
And then there was also an Australian reality show called Zumbo's Just Desserts. Okay. Say more. That we really enjoyed. There's like a famous pastry chef in Australia named Adriano Zumbo.
Elise Hu (12:25):
Okay. Zumbo. Got it. Got it. All right.
Doree Shafrir (12:28):
And he had a reality show called Zumbo's Just Desserts that ran for, I don't know, like three seasons or something. And it was just, I don't know. There was something about it that was just very entertaining.
Elise Hu (12:43):
But entertaining in a funny way or charming? It was actually sweet or were people getting roasted?
Doree Shafrir (12:51):
No, people weren't getting roasted. No. No, it was fun. I mean, if you're into these dessert challenge-
Elise Hu (13:00):
Totally. Well,
Doree Shafrir (13:01):
I love it. Yeah. I feel like this is ... I mean, it's not like groundbreaking television, but it was- Doesn't
Elise Hu (13:09):
Need to be.
Doree Shafrir (13:10):
It was kind of just delightful to watch.
Elise Hu (13:13):
Okay.
Doree Shafrir (13:14):
So there you go, Amanda. Two more.
Elise Hu (13:17):
Australian based television.
Doree Shafrir (13:19):
No, actually three. Well Bluey.
Elise Hu (13:21):
Bluey
Doree Shafrir (13:21):
Counts. And oh, sorry, one more thing.
Elise Hu (13:24):
Yes.
Doree Shafrir (13:24):
I have been getting a lot of TikToks served to me about the Australian version of Love Island.
Elise Hu (13:32):
I do love Australian dating shows. I'm glad you brought
Doree Shafrir (13:35):
This up. Yeah. I mean, it seems completely unhinged. So I was like, "Huh, maybe I should watch Australian Love Island." I've also heard that Australian Traders is very good.
Elise Hu (13:49):
Ooh. I mean, is there any version of Traders that you won't love? I think you got to go there.
Doree Shafrir (13:56):
That's true. Well, yeah. I mean, we can get into this on a pop culture episode, but I have thoughts on traders. Okay. Before we take a break, just one more thing, which is that you can call or text us at 781-591-0390, email us at forever35podcast@gmail.com. Our website is forever35podcast.com. Our Instagram is Forever35 Podcast, and you can shop our favorite products at shopmy.us/forever35. Also, I just want to mention, if there's a category of products that you want us to sort of gather together on our ShopMy and put them together on a shelf, let us know. If you're like, "What are your favorite vitamin C serums?" We can just throw those up on a ShopMy
Elise Hu (14:44):
Shelf. That's a good idea.
Doree Shafrir (14:46):
Just putting that out there for everyone. Yeah. All right. We are going to take a break and after we get back, we have an ode to shift work and more on caring for aging parents. So we will be right back.
Elise Hu (15:00):
All right. We'll be right back.
Doree Shafrir (15:08):
All right. We are back and here is a voicemail.
Listener Voicemail (15:14):
Hey, Doree and Elise. I'm just calling Amy in reference to the whole idea of shift work. And when I was a daily news reporter in New York City, we had people who had beats and they would cover certain neighborhoods. And then we had people who were just kind of circulating reporters who would cover whatever breaking news was happening and people who weren't assigned specific beats would have shift hours, which made a huge difference. So our boss would say, "Are you up?" Which meant like, "Are you on? Are you working right now to the shift people? " Whereas beat reporters were just always on. And I always had this feeling of at any moment there could be a triple homicide or a huge fire. And even though I've worked all day, I could be called to that and be up all night covering that with no break in sight.
(16:12)
Whereas if there was a fire and they called the shift worker, they'd be like, "Oh, well, their shift is over, so we can't call them." And always so jealous of that, that person had a defined start and endpoint to their day. And no matter what happened, whatever the crisis was, they weren't on. They could maybe accept that work and get overtime, but they were off and they could make plans and know that they could follow through on those plans. And I think the fastest route to burnout is that unpredictability and that sense of at any moment ... I remember one time I was watching Seinfeld eating takeout and I was like, "Nope, you're not going to get to finish that dinner off you go. " And that was very stressful. So I left that job after about five years. Anyway, thank you for having this ongoing conversation.
(17:01)
Bye.
Elise Hu (17:02):
Shout out to unions, because I feel like once a lot of newsrooms unionized, management was forced to even take the people who were in beats, for example, like foreign correspondence, or if you had a specific, your beat was the Pentagon or something and double it up and have two Pentagon reporters or on the national desk, make sure that you didn't work, even if you were on some hurricane, let's say, and this was your story and you developed all these sources that once you hit your 12 or 15 hours max in a day, that somebody else on your desk had to take over and you had to sort of ... So it led to, A, define shifts so you could rest, but B, a certain kind of comradery because you would pass off. There would be like less ownership of you specifically on that story and more of a team atmosphere.
(17:56)
This is newsrooms, of course, but I think that the unions really did a lot to make sure that breaks and rest and shifts were enforced or
Doree Shafrir (18:08):
Mandated. Yes, yes, yes. Okay. Thank you. And now on a totally different topic, we have a voicemail about aging parents.
Listener Voicemail (18:25):
Hello, Doree and Elise. I am calling in about mini app 469, Return of the Mac, Love Mac, but I'm actually calling about the story that you read a portion of about, I guess an economist wrote in the New York Times about how healthcare is a good example of a field that sets boundaries with work because doctors and nurses and other providers are on call and when you're not on call, then you're not on call and you're not expected to work all the time. I had to call in. I myself do not work in healthcare, but my husband does. He's a nurse. He's been a nurse for almost seven years, six and a half years. He went back to school as a second/third career, and I don't think healthcare is an industry with good boundaries. I mean, I guess the on- call part, I think that's a good metaphor for a schedule with boundaries, but nurses in particular are really overworked here in the US.
(20:02)
Unions are calling for better staff to patient ratios because in a lot of places, nurses just have too many patients to care for. A lot of hospitals and healthcare institutions unfortunately are profit driven and so they push more patients because they make more money from more people, but then they're not hiring more nurses. Yes, it's great to set boundaries with your work in terms of your schedule. The on- call model makes sense, but I really encourage people to learn more about workers' rights. I mean, look into working conditions for people providing some of that care in senior living facilities. A lot of people work for pretty low wages doing hard work. That is my soapbox. I'm stepping off of it now, and I hope you all have a good day. Thank you.
Elise Hu (21:18):
Okay. Thanks for calling in. Yeah, good take. I mean, we watched the pit. Nurses may be on shifts, but they are feeling very, very overworked and believed in many places.
Doree Shafrir (21:32):
Yeah. All right. One more voicemail.
Listener Voicemail (21:39):
Hi, Doree and Elise, this is your speech language pathologist correspondent. I call in frequently on my car rides to and from work because I listen to you all the time. And I was just listening to your episodes on our aging parents and there was, while you've done an excellent job covering everything, there was just one other thing that I wanted to point out that a lot of people probably don't know unless they've experienced it. I have worked extensively with adults who have had dementia or who are experiencing changes to how their brain functions or their mental status. And one thing that can happen and frequently happens is that their personality can change dramatically. And sometimes that means that they get really, really angry and frustrated and mad and can be really, really difficult to take care of as a result. And that can also just be something that makes multi-generational households or caring for someone very difficult and it can really harm your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
(22:58)
Unfortunately, there are not a lot of resources. Even when you do have money, it's really hard to find good care, likely because no one gets paid enough money to do jobs like this. It's a thankless job and it's a lot of work and it's really truly a labor of love when you care for these patients. They are a joy, but it takes a special person to do this as their job. And it's something that really should be valued more in our society and is not. The crisis that we're going to face is very similar to the childcare crisis. Unfortunately, this country just does a really terrible job at valuing caring for other human beings at any age and any ability. So it's just food for thought. And I just wanted to make people aware of that, that it can also kind of be a whole other level of chaos that you're just not prepared for.
(24:00)
I've had very sweet nuns who have never even thought a swear word cuss me out on a regular basis. Again, I love what you do and I'm so happy you bring light to these issues in a very accessible way. And you're so kind and thoughtful when kind of walking through all these really tricky situations that I can't say enough about the community you've grown and also how you continue to handle these topics. So again, thank you so much and I hope you have a good week. Bye.
Elise Hu (24:38):
Very sweet and thoughtful call. And the sound quality also, pretty good. Pretty good.
Doree Shafrir (24:43):
Chef's kiss. All right. Thank you listeners so much for all of those messages. We are going to take another short break and we will be right back with what I would describe as some questions for Elise.
Elise Hu (25:01):
So maybe it's the more grab baggy section of the show. Yeah. Remember when you were like, "Well, we have some things on a theme and some things that are not, so some things that are not on theme." All right, after the break.
Doree Shafrir (25:22):
Okay, we are back. This first text says, I'm reading it verbatim. "Elise was Levi model. Tell more.
Elise Hu (25:33):
"Like jeans? Yes. Yes. We mentioned this occasionally. It's not like a recurring theme, but we have mentioned occasionally, mainly just to make fun of myself. But yes, when I was like a junior and senior in high school, I ended up working in Dallas as a commercial print model. So like a lot of signage posters in department stores and catalogs. They used to have those back then. JCPenney had this thing called the big book that was like a phone book, so I did a lot of work for them. And it was totally by accident because I'm actually rather shy and I don't like to be in front of crowds. I get very nervous speaking to groups and things like that. And some friend of ours in 11th grade lived down the street from an advertising guy, like a guy at an agency, and he wanted to save money and get real kids instead of models to do a National Seven Up campaign.
(26:30)
And so he asked for a stack of photos of his high school neighbor's friends and she or he sent them in and he picked, he just cast based on actual kids and we got cast, at least the three of us, and then another three kids. And then we were on the back back of seven up containers, like when you got this 12 pack or whatever, and we each got paid the giant sum of $100 each. So that's how it started. And then my friend, Wade, this is Wade for sure, we're still very close. Wade was like, " I'm going to go to an open call and get cast. I really like doing this work. I'm going to go be a model. Let's drive downtown after student council. "So I drove him down after student council so that he could go to his open call and they did not ... I don't need to get hired at an agency, whatever.
(27:30)
They did not decide to represent him, but they asked me- Signed. Oh yes, signed. Okay. They did not sign him, but they asked me. I was just waiting for him driving. They asked me to come in and I'm like a tall person. So anyway, so they asked me to come in, they asked me a few questions and they're like, " Would you like to be part of this agency? "And I was like, " I don't know. I got to ask my mom. "And so that's how it happened and worked pretty steadily over the last two years of school and that's why I skipped golf or that's why I played golf. I guess the answer is
Doree Shafrir (28:06):
The
Elise Hu (28:06):
Reason I played golf was so I could get out of school. So anyway, that's the story. Wow.
Doree Shafrir (28:10):
Okay. You heard it here first. Next text was, " I need Elise to read some of her partner's Facebook Marketplace advertising copy on the pod inquiring minds want to know. "Do you want to just give a quick background for people who might have missed the initial story?
Elise Hu (28:28):
We have decided to try and sell items on Facebook Marketplace, which is something I haven't done before, but apparently it's the only reason anybody uses Facebook anymore. It's just to go on Facebook Marketplace and buy things or sell things. And so you can find lots of stuff on Facebook Marketplace. And we've had pretty good luck just like moving product, getting rid of furniture that we didn't want or other items and usually furniture. I think furniture and plants are very popular. And Rob, as he has downsized, has been selling things, but he is a screenwriter, just a copywriter in advertising too. And so he's had so much fun just writing ad copy to try and persuade people to buy products even though on Facebook Marketplace, even though it has no stakes, it does not matter at all. Most people are like, " Couch, gray, can't use it anymore, or never used, or whatever.
(29:22)
"But he goes in and he writes copy for it as if it's like an ad and he likes it because he doesn't have a boss that's telling him to make edits or makes notes on his copy. And people have enjoyed it so much that there have been some buyers who have been like, " After I saw this ad and I liked the writing so much, I went and looked at all the rest of your products in your Facebook store or whatever it is.
(29:52)
"And they disappear, if you don't archive them, they disappear once the item is sold. But he said that there was one for the Billy Eat booksshelves, they're very popular because they're big cheap bookshelves from IKEA. And he said, there was one that said I installed the bottom wood piece backwards, but that it was a bonus because it helps someone really stand out. And if anyone comments poorly on it, that indicates they don't prize originality and thus should be dismissed as a friend. So either way you win or something like that. Oh my gosh. And then he has one that was like a drying rack and all it says is, this one I actually have a photo of. It says it's just a drying rack, but he calls it ultimate folding clothes drying rack, $9. And then the description just goes, "I mean, come on. Have you ever seen such a deluxe drying rack?" And that's it.
(30:45)
I mean, it's just very quick and easy.
Doree Shafrir (30:47):
Wow. But
Elise Hu (30:48):
It's just a little bit more human than an AI would do.
Doree Shafrir (30:53):
I love it.
Elise Hu (30:54):
Yeah. It's fun. It's great. It's a little humanity.
Doree Shafrir (30:57):
And then we got a text that said, FYI, I contain multitudes was Walt Whitman, not
Elise Hu (31:04):
Maya Angelou. I misattributed to my ... Yes, this came up at one point because you said something like, "This show, we contain multitudes." And I'm like, yes, in the great mind of Maya Angelou. And Maya Angelou does contain multitudes, but thank you for the correction that-
Doree Shafrir (31:22):
She does.
Elise Hu (31:23):
The poet Walt Whitman originally wrote that in a poem.
Doree Shafrir (31:27):
Not to be confused with Henry David Thoreau. Right. Because remember- Don't even get me
Elise Hu (31:31):
Started on Thoreau.
Doree Shafrir (31:32):
Somehow we ... Well, because we brought up- We were like, was it Walt Walden?
Elise Hu (31:37):
Yes. I wasn't sure if it was Ralph Waldo Emerson or Thoreau. But because they were both transcendentalists. Yeah. Okay. Anyway, that's it for us today.
Doree Shafrir (31:47):
Anyway. Yeah. Thanks everyone. We will talk to you soon.
Elise Hu (31:52):
All right. Talk next time.