Mastering Money: How to Save, Get Out of Debt, & Monetize Your Passion with Sara Conklin of Frozen Pennies | Ep #158

In this episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast, host Shannon Russell dives deep into financial empowerment with Sara Conklin, the founder of Frozen Pennies. Sara shares her inspiring journey from being an English major and preschool teacher to becoming a financial coach and YouTube content creator.

Discover actionable tips on how to save money, get out of debt, and build a profitable online business. Sara’s expertise in frugal living, combined with her practical approach to money management, will help you take control of your finances and prepare for a successful career change.

Tune in to learn how to make smarter financial decisions, monetize your passion, and create a sustainable income stream, all while enjoying the freedom of entrepreneurship. Don’t miss this episode packed with valuable insights for women in midlife looking to achieve financial independence and career success.

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Connect with Sara Conklin:
frozenpennies.com

youtube.com/@saraconklinfrozenpennies

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Mastering Money: How to Save, Get Out of Debt, and Monetize Your Passion with Sara Conklin of Frozen Pennies
Episode - #158
Host: Shannon Russell
Guest: Sara Conklin
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] Speaker: Are you ready to quit your nine to five job and start a business of your own? Well, you're in the right place, my friend. Welcome to the second act success career podcast. I am your host, Shannon Russell. I am a former television producer turned business owner, career transition coach, and boy mom. My mission is to help you produce your best life.

This podcast will teach you how to get from where you are now to where you want to be and how to build a business that fits your life and lights you up. Let's get started.

[00:00:32] Shannon Russell: Hey there, Shannon here. And I am so excited for this episode. We will be chatting about all things, money, how you can prepare yourself for a career change, how you can make sure you have enough money saved to start that business and how you can monetize on YouTube. 

Because today I have Sarah Conklin. She is the creator and founder of frozen pennies. She is a fundamentally frugal friend of mine who [00:01:00] will talk about her career change \ from being an English major to being a preschool teacher and mom. To now making money online teaching other women in midlife, how they can save and get out of debt. I suggest you grab a pen and paper or open the notes app in your phone, because you'll want to take plenty of notes. Here's my friend, Sarah Conklin.

Mhm.

[00:01:23] Shannon Russell: Sarah, welcome to the podcast. I'm so, so, so excited to have you here. Thank you so much. It's such a 

[00:01:29] Sara Bacon Conklin: pleasure to join you today. 

[00:01:31] Shannon Russell: I know. And Sarah and I know each other. We're in the same mastermind. So we know each other's businesses really well.

And she is such an expert on all things finance you are just the perfect. And I want to hear about your career journey before we dive into the money stuff. So where did your career begin? 

[00:01:50] Sara Bacon Conklin: I was a stay at home mom for years. I have a son who's 25 with severe special needs, and I have another son who's 23.

So I was really a stay at home mom until my [00:02:00] youngest went to kindergarten. And then, I started teaching at the local preschool. So, I was a preschool teacher for 10 years. , I was an English major in college. I had my bachelor's from English. And actually, before that, when I first started, I planned on going into banking and finance.

So, those two things are really key, pivotal moments in my life that Kind of will come to fruition later on in my life. So for 10 years, I really enjoyed teaching preschool. I loved a little kids and I loved the creative outlet that it gave me. It was so much fun. And then, 2017 ish, my. +niece came to me at Christmas time and said, Hey, I've been doing this really crazy experiment.

I did a no spend challenge for the entire year. I didn't buy anything at all for the whole year. And I took all of that money and I threw it into savings. Now, what you also need to know about me is I come from a very long line of frugal women. It is our passion. It is our [00:03:00] superpower. So I know what it's like to be frugal.

So when my niece was telling me about this, I thought, I could do that. I could totally do that. And my youngest son said, Mom, why don't you blog about it? That's where it came from. That's where the blog came from. Frozen pennies, spending freeze, kind of went together. So in 2018, I started blogging about my spending freeze.

That's where it all started it was just going to be a hobby. It was just going to be an online journal. It was just going to be for my own benefit. Maybe my friends, my family would like to follow my journey. And when I learned that this could become a business, when I learned that you could make some money from this, it just kind of took off from there.

So I've been blogging since 2018 and about Three years ago, I decided to dip my toe into the YouTube pond a little bit. and I hated it. I absolutely hated it. I didn't like anything about it. I didn't like putting [00:04:00] on this persona, this full face makeup, the clothes. It felt very inauthentic to me.

So I did about five or six videos and I said I'm never going back. I went to a conference and, FinCon it was called. It was a conference for women, or anybody really I think, but they focused a lot on women I found that were in the financial industry, creative content industry, and everybody was talking about YouTube and how it did amazing things for their career.

So I thought, all right, I got back. I said, I'm going to do it again. So I started with 700 watch hours and 700 followers in October of 2022, I believe. I was able to monetize in six weeks. From there, so I got that, for YouTube, you have to have 4, 000 watch hours and 1, 000 subscribers. So I was able to launch that to that point in about six weeks, and it's taken [00:05:00] off ever since.

I mean, I have found a newfound love for teaching women, midlife women, What frugality means, what being frugal means, what getting out of debt looks like, how saving money is so important, especially in this time of our lives when we are struggling and juggling, you know, retirement is on the horizon and taking care of Children who are navigating college, taking care of aging parents and all of those things combined, it's kind of a stressful time of our lives.

So being able to save money and be frugal and then spend money where you value most is really it's all about and what's most important to me. 

[00:05:41] Shannon Russell: Wow. Okay. So you just really combined everything from your past into this project because I heard you say you're teaching women how to be frugal and save money, pay off debt.

That comes from your teaching as teaching in a preschool. And then just all the creativity from being an English major [00:06:00] and studying that and being a mom and coming from a frugal family. It just all kind of. fell in your lap, if you will, and you just ran with it. 

[00:06:09] Sara Bacon Conklin: It absolutely did. And it was such a happy accident.

Everything that I have done in my life kind of came to fruition within this business. 

[00:06:17] Shannon Russell: Right, and your kids were old enough at that point too, they were adults at that point. So you were able to kind of take on this project and see where it would lead. Were you teaching at the time when you started writing your blog? 

[00:06:31] Sara Bacon Conklin: I was. When I first started, I was still teaching, and then as the ball got rolling, it was different, the atmosphere of the school system, as any teacher will tell you, the atmosphere of the school systems has really changed and pivoted, not necessarily for the better.

So I was finding that my passion for the teaching part was starting to dwindle. And I just felt like it was time to take this where it needed to go or where I [00:07:00] would hoped it would go. And at the same time feeling pulled to exit the education system a little bit. because it just wasn't as much fun for me as it used to be.

And that's honest. I mean,That is my honest answer to the education system. 

[00:07:14] Shannon Russell: Yeah, I hear that time and time again. I have quite a few clients that have left the education system and are going out on their own too, , but it seems like this challenge that your niece brought to you just created this whole new form of income. And I want to dive into the, YouTube aspect because you started as a blog and then you dipped your toe in, didn't like it.

How did you come back to it and find a way to enjoy it and really thrive? 

[00:07:42] Sara Bacon Conklin: Well, my outlook the second time around was, if I'm going to do this, it's going to be me, I'm going to be me, there's not going to be any kind of persona, you know, I'm not going to stepping into a different persona type, Beyonce kind of did that, does that with her fierce thing.

Whatever her, her persona [00:08:00] is. And I didn't want to do that because I wanted to make it as easy as possible for myself. So I didn't want to go in and put on the full face of makeup. I'm not a big makeup wearer, a little bit of eyeliner, a little bit of lipstick, that's about it. And I want it to be me. I didn't want to come across as somebody who.

didn't screw up their budget often. I wanted to be very vulnerable and very authentic. And so when I decided to do it that way, It just felt better, and it was fun. You know, I have a post it note on my computer that says, What would this look like if it were fun? And it doesn't have to be hard, and it can be fun.

Especially at this time in our lives, in this age that we are, this midlife era that we are. We deserve to have some fun in our jobs. 

[00:08:50] Shannon Russell: And being content creators and being on camera, you do have this first immediate thought of I [00:09:00] have to put on the makeup and I have to do this and it has to be perfect.

I think you're right. And I struggle with that as I try to grow TikTok. I feel like, Well, I can't do a TikTok if I don't have makeup on. And I'm trying to get past that too because then you'll never do it. It will never grow. Just like you in saying, I'm going to give up on YouTube. You found a way to make it comfortable for you where it was easy and fun and you didn't have to think so hard about it.

[00:09:24] Sara Bacon Conklin: Exactly. Exactly. And I, tape my YouTube videos in the same spot every time. So the lighting is all there ready for me. It's next to a window. It's the perfect spot. I don't have to set everything up and break everything down over and over again. I do if it's dark, like today's a gloomy day, so I might need some lighting.

But they're right there. They're easy. You pop them up, you turn them on, and you're ready to go. So it needed to be easy for me. 

[00:09:50] Shannon Russell: Yeah, and I'm sure your audience, your watchers, your followers appreciate that because they're not sitting watching you with a full face of makeup and perfect [00:10:00] either. So they want to come and learn from you and however you show up to teach them is great.

How they relate to you and learn and so you went through that year of a spending freeze. Yes. First, how was that for you? And what did you learn from it that you could then turn around and teach your audience? 

[00:10:17] Sara Bacon Conklin: So, the surprise moment was the spending freeze didn't last.

I didn't make it like six months because, it's hard to do, right? There's always something that comes up and without proper planning and without complete dedication to it, just like anything, whether a diet or your budget, doesn't matter. I had to kind of re evaluate it and I did it, for six to, I think it was six to eight months, I actually did it.

I was able to save enough money and that launched, of course, all of the content that I needed for the website. So I tell everybody all the time, I'm like, listen, a year is a lot. If you want to try a spending freeze, start small. Start on a weekend or a week or a month. Everybody likes to do a [00:11:00] no spend challenge in January.

Start there first, then kind of work your way up. 

[00:11:06] Shannon Russell: That's smart. That's smart. And just see what it really entails. It doesn't mean you're not buying food, or you're not paying your bills. It's all that other frivolous stuff, right? 

[00:11:16] Sara Bacon Conklin: Exactly, and that's exactly what it was. It was pay your bills, put food on your table, but when you're grocery shopping, you're not buying things that you don't necessarily need.

I teach you shop from what you have. first and then get the sales to fill in the blanks and then fill in where you need. It's like that, I like to equate it to that, that experiment with the jar. You put the big rocks in first, then you put the smaller rocks in to fill in, and then you dump the sand in to fill in every place else.

So those were the rules for the spending, no spend challenge, was pay your bills, everything goes first, put money in savings as you normally do, buy your groceries, And then that's it. There's no other spending. So it would be [00:12:00] free things to do on the weekends with your kids if you're no spending.

It would be wear the clothes that you have in your closet because we all know we all have enough clothes. It would be no shopping on Amazon. It would be only those essentials that you need. If you're out of shampoo, of course you have to buy shampoo. If you're out of Advil, you need to buy Advil. But nothing else that's frivolous, nothing else

that you don't need to survive. 

[00:12:26] Shannon Russell: Mhm. Wow. And then so you must have learned a lot from doing that and then that just fed into the content that you were going to continue on your blog and now in the YouTube channel as well. Yes. Absolutely. And what do you really teach? Let's talk about you know, my listeners, when they go to frozen pennies blog and YouTube channel, what are they going to learn?

What are some of the things that you really focus on? 

[00:12:50] Sara Bacon Conklin: Well, the, YouTube channel is much more niched than the blog. So if you go to the blog, you are going to get lots of things. You are going to get [00:13:00] how to organize your, your on a budget. You're going to get how to save like a 1950s housewife.

You're going to get recipes for cheap and easy summer meals. how, meals that you can use a can of tuna with. All of those kinds of things on the website. So it's very, very broad. You're also going to get the Frugal Living stuff on the website, but the YouTube channel specifically is focused on mostly saving money, planning for retirement, spending on a lower income, because that's the content that my viewers really want to see.

Every once in a while, I'll throw a little wild card in there. Like I just had a video about, the things I don't care about anymore as a midlife woman. Right. Which it ties into being frugal and , saving money, but at the same time there were other things on that list that, we don't care what people think of us anymore.

We're stressing for comfort instead of trends, things like that. 

[00:13:54] Shannon Russell: Right. And therefore you're saving money because you're not out shopping and buying all of this and. Exactly. [00:14:00] Oh, I love it. And I'm right there with you. I can relate to all of it and it really is such great tips. I just want to say.

That there is a woman in our mastermind who got one of your freebies and is constantly telling us how much she's saving for her family. So what you are doing, Sarah, is really, really working and that has to just make you feel so good. It does. And to 

[00:14:22] Sara Bacon Conklin: be honest with you, I get a little flushed when she talks about it because, this is something that I've wanted to help women with for years, since 2018, I'm in my seventh year doing this, and I really love doing this.

I really love coaching and I really love helping people. And every once in a while you get this really great email that says this, but she is really, really Tooting my horn a lot. 

[00:14:49] Shannon Russell: She is. With no prompting from you. 

[00:14:51] Sara Bacon Conklin: With no prompting. Yes. she's doing great, but she's also putting in the work.

And I think that's a really, really, really important [00:15:00] lesson here when we touch on her story is that I'm giving her the resources and the tools to do it, but in order for her to see the success that she has seen, she's putting in the work. She's got to put in the work for it. And she's doing that with her husband together.

they're really doing amazing things. Yeah. 

[00:15:19] Shannon Russell: And you know what? All of your videos and your blogs, like there's probably people who have followed you for quite some time and think, Oh, I wish I could do it. I wish I could do it, but you know what? There's going to be a day where the light bulb goes off and they start really following and implementing what you're teaching.

And that's what will happen, right? People follow you for however long until they're ready to take that action. 

[00:15:42] Sara Bacon Conklin: Absolutely. Absolutely. And you just need that moment. You know, I think Oprah called it a light bulb moment years and years ago where you just need that, one point in your life where something happens or somebody says something and your brain is ready to hear it and everything changes.

[00:15:59] Shannon Russell: Yeah. [00:16:00] And the fact that you've grown this into such a business and you also coach people. Let's talk about the other aspects of your business. 

[00:16:07] Sara Bacon Conklin: Sure. I have a membership that I've been working with, which is really nice because it's a group coaching session that people get, some one on one time with me.

They get a zoom call with me. They're able to ask me all of the questions. They're able to allow me into their budget a little bit. To see what can be tweaked, which is so fun for me. and then , I am planning on writing a book. A book is going to be released in 2025. that's, I'm super excited about, I know we've chatted about this before.

And that's another aspect of my business. So I do plan on doing other things. I would love to have some kind of a course, help, mastermind, maybe related to the book. As a follow up for that. So that's in the works as well. Oh, there's so many ideas for the business. It's going to be huge. 

[00:16:55] Shannon Russell: And that's so, so exciting because you're actually making money from your business while you're [00:17:00] helping other people save money and you're still living a frugal life.

So it really is like all encompassing. and, just to go to the money aspect and really why I truly believe what you're teaching is so important, especially now with the economy the way it is. I think fear is based in money or money causes fear. And you want to have that security of knowing that you can go out and buy that shirt or you can go out to dinner and you can live your life.

But a lot of us feel that clutching of the purse strings, if you will. And especially when we're thinking about major changes in our life. Like you mentioned caring for parents, having children who are going to college, saving for retirement. Those are big changes. And I talk a lot about women who are looking for a career change in midlife.

So money is the number one thing I hear from a lot of my clients and people I meet with that I want to change, but I'm worried about that [00:18:00] security being taken away of that constant paycheck. While I search for what I want to do, let's talk about that a little bit. and what you would say to someone who is looking to change their careers.

But they're worried about the money. 

[00:18:14] Sara Bacon Conklin: Yeah, I think that this kind of falls into two different baskets. So there's the woman who has been downsized or laid off or lost her job for one reason and she's looking to transform her career into something different. Then there's the other woman who's in a career that just doesn't feel good to her anymore.

So I think that If you are in that basket where you've lost your job, then you just have to find something to bring money into the house and to pay the bills. So be nice to find a position that you love. in that situation, but that might not be the best time to focus on this.

It might be just finding a job for now, so you can move to that second basket, so you can really [00:19:00] figure out what it is that you want to do. So as far as money goes for that first basket, I really believe that you just have to find a job. You just have to find a job that's going to pay your bills and put food on the table for your family first.

Then you can move to that second basket. And then you can really discover the kinds of things that you love to do. And then you can start preparing financially for that move. So, in my opinion, as a coach, if you were coming to me with this situation, I would say to you, you have got to get out of debt. You have got to pay all your debt off.

All of your consumer debt off before you transition, because if you want to start your own business, there's not going to be money coming in. So all debt must be paid off, plus you have to have a solid emergency fund, and then even a little bit more, because if you are starting your own business, you're looking at 6, 8, 12 months, maybe, without a whole lot of [00:20:00] money coming in.

So you have to set yourself up for success there, and With that nest egg to be able to pay your bills and support your family while your business is growing. even if you're transitioning into a different career model and you think that your starting income will not match your current income, that's another reason to get out of debt.

You want to make sure all of that debt is taken care of before you transition. I know many times in a company you're starting at a lower salary at first and then you're allowed to move up the ladder. So, if that career is your, your dream job, you might have to sacrifice the amount of money that you are making in return for that dream job that will eventually make you more money.

But in the meantime, setting yourself up financially for success in a way that doesn't have any extra bills that need to be paid, and this might even be a drastic move like you are paying 5, 000 a month for a mortgage. Can you afford that with a new job? I mean, there [00:21:00] are some really difficult decisions that need to be made there.

If your heart is truly in to moving to a different position or a different job or a different small business. 

[00:21:11] Shannon Russell: Right. I like how honest you are about this because I find that in my space, there are a lot of people. Yeah. Who say just quit and figure it out and I am so anti that and I love it I love a good dream.

I love being an optimist and thinking that would be great Very Jerry Maguire walk in quit who's coming with me But it's not like that and I often say you need to plan ahead So you have the seedling that you want to change something up. Okay, well let's make a timeline of what is realistic. And don't leave your job.

I often say if you're lucky enough to have a paycheck, you have that flexibility to plan ahead and think about what it is you want to do. You're very lucky, so don't give that up. [00:22:00] While you're in this midst of change. So just like you were saying, like you can think about it, plan it, be methodical and work towards it, but don't just give it up because especially if you're opening a business, you and I both know it takes time.

[00:22:15] Sara Bacon Conklin: Right. And I know so many people in this content creation industry that are still working their full time jobs while they're creating content, while they have a website, while they have a YouTube channel. And a friend of mine actually, the funniest thing, she was working her full time job and when she realized that she was making more each month from her side hustle, she was able to finally leave her full time job and then just make more money in this side hustle, making it her full time career.

it's a lot to work a full time job and have a business that you're trying to build, but it might be the best way to transition. That way you are not, like you said, you're still bringing in a [00:23:00] paycheck. You still have money to pay for. The things that your family needs, yet you're able to transition gradually into this new career.

Mm-Hmm. . 

[00:23:09] Shannon Russell: Yeah. And it's just kind of looking at it, being responsible and being practical with, okay, not everything's happening tomorrow, so let's plan ahead. Being more realistic about it. I think knowing right that it can happen. You are getting the wheels turning, and as long as you're doing a little bit of action every day, every week.

You're going to get there. It's just being 

[00:23:31] Sara Bacon Conklin: realistic and pragmatic about it. And I was very blessed to have a husband who was fully supportive. So even though I was still teaching when I first started the website and it started to get momentum, it started to take off, although I wasn't, it took me probably about Eight months to a year way back when in 2018, 2019, when the blogging industry was very different than it is today.

And it took me about [00:24:00] a year to what we call get monetized, which means that ads are on the website and the ad Company is paying you for those ads kind of like a billboard on the side of the road for anybody who doesn't really understand How it works. So that's how you make money from blogging really is to be able to have ads on your website So the ad agency the ad company pays you for those ads and then you can also make money by Having your own products your own ebooks your own Printables, downloadables, those kinds of things, coaching, memberships, all of those things are included.

So, I was grateful and blessed that my husband said, well, you know, if I see how upset and sad you are teaching now, it's okay, I will take care of all of the bills that are coming in. We can manage fine, because I'm frugal. . we will be able to cover each other enough until this business really takes off.

Mm. That's so nice to 

[00:24:54] Shannon Russell: have 

[00:24:54] Sara Bacon Conklin: that. And not everybody has that. And I understand that. 

[00:24:57] Shannon Russell: Yeah. No, and you're right. And you could [00:25:00] have said, no, I'm going to keep working. You had that choice too. So there was, you were able to make that decision. 

[00:25:06] Sara Bacon Conklin: And I did continue working while I was starting.

So , there was that transition period where I was doing both. Yeah. 

[00:25:12] Shannon Russell: And it's funny. you know, I have two different businesses. My first business, Which is a franchise and more hands on working with children. That took me, about a year and a half before I paid myself. That's a long time.

And the business was making great money, but I was paying my employees and I was putting money back into it. And I'm very honest with, you know, it took a long time. And ever since then, I've had a salary and everything's been great. But that was a rough time in the beginning. So it isn't as rosy as sometimes.

Entrepreneurs make it look, you know, there's a lot of time and blood, sweat and tears that goes into it before you see that money coming in. 

[00:25:49] Sara Bacon Conklin: And I think that there are people out there that promote owning your own business, whether it be in the content creation or the any online space, that it's, you know, start a [00:26:00] blog and make six figures.

And it doesn't really work that way. I mean, like I said, seven years, you know, and I'm almost to that point now, but, said, it's not as easy and it's not as rosy. And there's going to be times where that's your business is not bringing any money and you're working 40, 60 hours a week on your small business, as well as possibly working your other career.

Right, 

[00:26:22] Shannon Russell: right. It's just putting in that effort knowing that down the road it will pan out for you. And if you can do that while earning a paycheck, if you're working at Macy's, whatever it is, and you're just having that retail job that maybe has nothing to do with what it is you want to do, but you have some money coming in, there's something about that confidence You can breathe a little easier knowing that bills will be covered that money is coming in and you've got that time and we can all find that time to work on a passion project. It can be an hour over lunch. It can be an hour when the kids go to sleep. while you're cooking dinner, you're listening to a course or you're listening to free content in a [00:27:00] podcast or whatever it is.

So there's ways to incorporate it if you really want to. 

[00:27:04] Sara Bacon Conklin: Absolutely. And really finding, Purpose and that passion I just listened to somebody. And he was on a podcast and he was talking about the difference between passion and drive.

So his theory was, if you can find something that you're super passionate about but still drive for Uber, or you can find something that you're just good at and make lots of money. it was very interesting to me. I think it was finding that balance between the passion and what you're good at and the capability of growing 

[00:27:37] Shannon Russell: and 

[00:27:39] Sara Bacon Conklin: turning that into a business.

Oh, I 

[00:27:41] Shannon Russell: like that. so if someone is in that situation and they're really thinking they want to change careers to do something different, when you do that, sometimes you need more certification or training or education, and it can cost you money, to open a business.

I opened a brick and mortar. That was a lot of money to open that brick and mortar. That was [00:28:00] out of my pocket. I was like, Before I saw a return so to have money to save up and do that and you know where is a great great place to learn how to save money is sarah's blog and youtube channel because Honestly, like you have to have some sacrifices.

So if being frugal and learning these ways To save that money to get to your dream. It's well worth it down the road Wouldn't you say? 

[00:28:25] Sara Bacon Conklin: Absolutely. And there are so many more payoffs to even being debt free. I mean, the weight that's lifted off your shoulder allows you to spend where you find value. And those certifications and that education to do something different mid life is an excellent thing.

starting point, 

[00:28:43] Shannon Russell: right? And you want to be able, if you don't have any debt, you're like, okay, well, great. I can spend a few thousand dollars on this course or in this, you know, training or certification. And then even if I don't need that, sometimes I say to people that that certification, that extra training just gives you [00:29:00] that boost of confidence to say, okay, I can do it.

So it is worth it. If you don't have that debt and you can afford it, maybe you move just that much faster down the road. Yes, absolutely. I agree. 

[00:29:11] Sara Bacon Conklin: I'm a lifelong learner, so. 

[00:29:12] Shannon Russell: Yeah. Yeah. You and I both, I love that. Well, I think it's so great, and how is your life now compared to, say, ten years ago? 

[00:29:21] Sara Bacon Conklin: well, we are debt free.

We've been debt free for about eight years. So, I got out of debt before I started this project, which was very interesting, I guess, living what I'm teaching. Yes. And so now, With this business, there's freedom. there's the passion that's there. So I have the passion, and I also have the vision.

So I know where the business is going, and I know how , we're going to get there. And I've been able to do things like, you know, take three weeks and just sit on a beach in Florida. travel with the camper more often. We've had some really fantastic vacations the last few years [00:30:00] because of this business.

And because it's remote, I was able to take the business with me. my children are learning, About different ways to make money, which is fantastic. My granddaughter, I have a five year old granddaughter who now wants to write a book because grandma is writing a book. So I'm kind of changing my family tree from all of this.

[00:30:22] Shannon Russell: And that's where a lot of money issues come from is through the family tree and what we're taught and those money mindset blocks. and so that is amazing that you're able to do that and have these memories with your family and make the vacation special. And especially with your granddaughter, I know I still can't believe you have a granddaughter.

[00:30:41] Sara Bacon Conklin: Well, yeah, I know. Well, it is my stepson, so that, that makes me feel a little bit younger because, yeah, I didn't give birth to him, but I have two grandchildren. I have a granddaughter who's five, a grandson who's two, and another one on the way in September. So, we are loving life over here.

Oh my gosh, you really [00:31:00] are. 

[00:31:00] Shannon Russell: tell me about your book then. So the book will be out 2025. What can we learn from the book? And writing a book is just such an adventure in itself. So how amazing 

[00:31:10] Sara Bacon Conklin: thank you. Well, it's always been a dream that I've gotten stuck in the back of my mind that I really never told anybody about as an English major, of course, and as a just a book lover in general.

I'm a huge reader. I have always dreamed of writing my own book. it just kind of, again, it fell into my lap. This opportunity just kind of fell into my lap. I'm like, well, what do I need to do to start a book? What do I need to do to write a book? So I got in touch with a couple of publishers and I found one that I really liked.

It's called Fundamentally Frugal and it really is focused on women in midlife who are going through all of these challenges, who have , the parents and The children in college and the retirement looming and trying to get out of debt and it really is creating a System for them to be frugal in order to get out of debt As well as take [00:32:00] care of all of the aspects of life that they need to take care of So it's all of that packaged beautifully in a book.

And there's a lot of fun in it too, because being frugal and having a budget doesn't have to be a chore. It doesn't have to be a negative experience. And I hear that a lot about budgets, especially, people are like, Oh, a budget is so restrictive. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. A budget is telling your money where to go and you get to choose where your money gets to go.

So if you want to spend money. You can't spend 55 every month to get your nails done. That is okay to do. But you have to make sure the money is there and you have to make sure all of the other adulting things are being done as well. 

[00:32:41] Shannon Russell: Mm, yes. 

[00:32:42] Sara Bacon Conklin: So this book is, a guide to teach the women in their 50s, early 60s who didn't really understand this and didn't get it, maybe weren't even taught exactly how to do this.

Because it's never. Never too late. 

We live in a society of instant [00:33:00] gratification and we live in a place where we can get on our phone. And, and I just use this as an example in a video, you know, you're like, Oh, I need this thing. So I get on my phone and I go to Amazon I hit that buy now button and I have it in two days or less.

And then I get it and go, what did I want this for? Why did I order this? What am I going to use this for? And you have to remember, even me, even me who's fundamentally frugal, who is frugal to my core, still has that lapse in judgment. and we'll order things just spontaneously because it's almost become a habit.

So we have to retrain ourselves 

[00:33:39] Shannon Russell: Yeah, it's very true. My mom has always said, if you don't get it, you see something in the store and you walk away, if you're thinking about it 24, 48 hours later, then go back and get it. If you forgot about it.

Then aren't you glad you didn't spend the money on it and buy it because you're not thinking about it. It's not something you really wanted. 

[00:33:55] Sara Bacon Conklin: And that's one of the great tricks that I teach about Amazon in particular, is if you see something you like, just [00:34:00] add it to your cart. Just add it to your cart.

And then at the beginning of the month, once your budget is all done and you have, even if you really love Amazon and you want to put a line in your budget for Amazon, that's okay too. But then go back through your cart and figure out the things that you truly do want and need. And then either save the rest for something else or ditch them.

[00:34:19] Shannon Russell: I think listeners will be mad if I do not ask you about YouTube and blogging as a source of income. It's different than when you started, right? Monetizing a blog in YouTube is different. So what would you suggest if someone is thinking about getting into that as their second act?

[00:34:37] Sara Bacon Conklin: Hmm.blogging is harder now. Google has. Given the small content creators, second seat, third seat, fourth seat, fifth seat on the bus, they are prioritizing now a lot of AI, and they are prioritizing a lot of bigger companies. Better Homes and Gardens, for example, is [00:35:00] outranking that. many small bloggers when they never did before.

There was a way , for us, small people, to outrank on that search. So this is how it works. Just a quick recap. So when I were to search maybe, how to save money on groceries in Google, that's the search result. And in order to rank in the top three, five, there's a certain criteria that as a writer, we need to include in our blog posts in order to get to those top five.

Search results. So Google has changed that. So , even though our article on how to save on groceries could be so much better than, say, Forbes magazine or New York Times, New York Times is now getting higher priority in Google results. So it's changed a little bit for bloggers. So I think it's a lot harder now to get results.

Although there are many, many different ways that you can get traffic for your website through Pinterest, through now Flipboard, [00:36:00] through emails, through Facebook, even all of those places. TikToks, a little bit of Instagram, maybe. A lot of those places will bring you traffic. So, you make money by getting traffic on a website.

That's where everything comes down to pumping out more content, getting it seen, getting people to visit your website will give you more money. So, in order to make money from an ad agency, you need a certain amount of page views per month. So, it's a little bit more difficult for that. YouTube, I think, is just as easy now as it was when I started.

I don't think it's changed at all. I think that more and more people are ditching things like cable and watching for YouTube instead. I know in our family, in our house, that's pretty much what we do. So, even though A lot of people think that YouTube is very saturated. I still think that there's plenty of room for everybody [00:37:00] because everybody has different tastes.

I mean, in my frugal living, there's a, just a handful of us out there. And I have specialized a little bit more to be, serving those women who were in midlife. So all of those women who are in midlife, who are looking specifically for somebody to connect with that can help them are finding me. Right. So, they call it niching down.

I mean, there's a lot of lifestyle vlogs and YouTube channels out there that are doing really, really well. I think that YouTube now is easier than ever to get started. 

[00:37:37] Shannon Russell: And it goes back to what you were saying earlier about just getting up there and being authentically you and not thinking about the production value.

You know, when we see celebrities that are doing it and it's lighting and a whole crew back there, it doesn't have to be that. It can just be you sitting at your desk with a camera. It Exactly. 

[00:37:54] Sara Bacon Conklin: Exactly. So I think that if you have that kind of personality that is great in [00:38:00] front of a camera. Some people do, some people don't.

I mean, podcast is another way to do it. Podcast is taking off. There's a podcast for every single interest that's out there. So, the concept That you can make money in so many different areas blows my mind every time I think about it. 

[00:38:21] Shannon Russell: It's almost like there's no reason why everyone doesn't have a side hustle like this and it's 

[00:38:25] Sara Bacon Conklin: starting something just to see where it can go.

[00:38:28] Shannon Russell: I love it. Yeah, 

[00:38:28] Sara Bacon Conklin: but again, I have a really good friend who's an excellent writer, and her website is doing well. And the thought of, of doing a YouTube channel terrifies her. she has no interest whatsoever in putting her face in front of everybody else. 

[00:38:44] Shannon Russell: Yeah. 

[00:38:45] Sara Bacon Conklin: So it really does depend on whether or not you, my mom has always told me that I was a ham.

I don't know. So, this feels right for me. Exactly. 

[00:38:57] Shannon Russell: And you're so relatable. And I think that's [00:39:00] what, brings people to watch you every day. I'm so proud of you and everything that you've accomplished and what a career transition you're helping people so much And I just know my listeners are gonna get so much from this conversation Let me ask you one final question What advice would you give to someone who's thinking about starting a second act of any kind?

[00:39:20] Sara Bacon Conklin: Well first I have to say get out of debt that will open up so many more doors for you and allow you to have so many more, choices. because you don't have to worry so much about, you know, paying those monthly credit card bills. And then I would have to say, find the thing that you're really good at and that you want to keep doing and maybe find that thing that We'll give back to somebody because I'm a firm believer in giving back. I believe that we're all here to serve each other and that having that reward, [00:40:00] finding something that you're excellent and you're able to give back for, we'll make that life better.

That much better. That's so good. Thank you so much. Now, how can everyone get in touch with you? My website is frozenpennies.Com. Super easy. I'm also frozen pennies on YouTube. 

[00:40:19] Shannon Russell: I'll link to everything in the show notes and Sarah, thank you so much for all you shared so much good stuff.

I can't wait to read your book and keep following along for all of your good stuff. Thank you, Shannon. It was my pleasure. Thank you.



[00:40:33] Shannon Russell: Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to Second Act Success. To view show notes from this episode, visit secondactsuccess.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell [00:41:00] and this is Second Act Success.