The Thing Doers

Frugal living sounds great in theory. Saving money, cutting costs, making smarter spending decisions. Then someone mentions a Porsche, and suddenly financial responsibility becomes a little more complicated.

Eight months later, we're back! Still doing all the things, still questioning why we're the ones doing ALL the things, and apparently still finding plenty to talk about.

This week, we're talking about the wonderfully ridiculous ways we try to save money, from subscription services and rising grocery prices to asking for discounts, selling stuff we don't need, and justifying the things we probably shouldn't be buying in the first place.

Along the way, we contemplate opening an eBay store called "Sell That Shit," question the price of an Egg McMuffin, and examine our own questionable spending habits.

It's frugal living, everyday expenses, a little practical advice, and a whole lot of tangents from two sisters who've spent a lifetime doing all the things.

Welcome back to The Thing Doers. We're glad you're here.

Because somebody's gotta do all the things.

Life, death, what we leave behind, and black licorice. Because apparently, those things belong in the same conversation.

In this spontaneous minisode of The Thing Doers, Pam turns on the microphones in the middle of a completely unplanned conversation with her husband Steve, sparked by a little epiphany earlier that day.

What starts as an ordinary husband-and-wife conversation takes a detour into life's bigger questions, what happens to all our stuff when we're gone, and somehow, black licorice.

No script, no agenda, and absolutely no guarantee that we'll stay on topic.

Just a short, unscripted conversation about life, mortality, the things we accumulate, and the random thoughts that pop up when you're least expecting them.

Because apparently, even contemplating your own mortality doesn't get you out of doing the things.

Fear of flying? Wendy spent decades avoiding airplanes, choosing road trips and ground transportation rather than setting foot on a plane. Apparently, driving across the country seemed perfectly reasonable as long as nobody mentioned boarding a flight.

With Sam on hiatus navigating the chaos of life with little ones, Pam welcomes her sister Wendy as guest co-host for a conversation about flying anxiety, facing fears, and finally deciding enough is enough.

Wendy shares her personal experience overcoming her fear of flying, what actually helped her get comfortable with air travel, what didn't work, and the surprising things she learned along the way.

We also share some of our favorite travel tips and shortcuts for making trips a little less stressful. Because navigating airports, packing, and dealing with travel headaches is enough of an adventure without adding a full-blown panic session at 35,000 feet.

It's an honest conversation about fear, courage, travel anxiety, and realizing that sometimes the things holding us back have been calling the shots for far too long.

And if Wendy can finally get on a plane, maybe there's hope for the rest of us and our questionable coping mechanisms.

Because apparently, even facing your fears is another thing that needs doing.

There should be a law against some of life's everyday annoyances. And frankly, we're a little surprised nobody's put us in charge of writing them.

With Sam off homeschooling and keeping her husband alive, Pam brings in her sister Wendy as guest co-host for a much-needed rant session about the ridiculous things we all put up with.

From the essential features every vacuum cleaner should have to the never-ending nonsense of daylight saving time, we're proposing a few laws that would make everyday life considerably less irritating.

And don't even get us started on those overachievers decorating for Christmas in October. There ought to be a law. Oh wait, that's the point.

We also squeeze in a few holiday gift-giving tips, because apparently even when we're complaining about doing all the things, we can't help doing a few more.

It's everyday frustrations, household pet peeves, holiday madness, and two sisters with opinions nobody asked for.

You're welcome.

Egg pan, yes we start with another short chat about the egg pans in our lives and whether WE should just "chill" more or others should raise the bar a bit. But don’t worry, we don’t stay scrambled for long. In true Thing Doers fashion, we veer off into everything from bizarre phobias and random personal trivia to cruise ships, porta-potties, and the best and worst jobs we’ve had. And what we’d say to our younger, dumber selves—because nothing says "therapy" like chatting with your inner child over an egg pan. Buckle up, it’s an episode as messy and delightful as breakfast at 2 p.m. Which again, in Thing Doers fashion we hadn’t eaten yet and never remember to schedule that into our ever busy days.

Episode 33: Careless Culture?

Are we all just getting... lazy? In this episode, Pam and Sam ask the hard-hitting question: Are we becoming (and raising) a Careless Culture? You know the type—leaving messes for someone else, living in a personal bubble of “not my problem,” and casually ignoring the ripple effects of our actions like it’s a competitive sport. But don’t worry, we don’t stay too deep for too long. We veer off into the questionable bathing habits of the Old West, dog poop and piano teachers. Oh, and of course we toss in a few tips, because we’re helpful like that—even if society isn’t.

In this episode of The Thing Doers, Sam and Pam take on the so-called "formula for a perfect day"—and promptly call nonsense on it. Along the way, they tackle They chat about everyone's favorite pit of despair: the DMV, ponder different types of clouds and get real about the examples we're setting when it comes to male and female roles for the next generation. As always, they wrap things up with a couple of practical tips to make your imperfect day a little bit better. So basically Perfect days are fake. DMV rage is real. And clouds are watching us.

Guess who’s back? That’s right—Sam and Pam have dusted off the mics, wrangled their thoughts (sort of), and are kicking off Season 2 of The Thing Doers with an episode that covers everything you never knew you needed.

They’re diving into the fine art of flipping someone off (yes, there are options), celebrating the magic of boredom (who knew doing nothing could be so profound?), and talking sleep—glorious, elusive sleep. Plus, they’re sharing what they’re loving right now, dropping a few tips and tricks, and throwing in some stuff and things because... why not?

If you've missed the sarcasm, the oversharing, and the wildly useful (or at least entertaining) advice, don’t worry—they're back and still doing the things. Welcome to Season 2, baby.

Pam surprises Sam with a blast from the past—way back to when The Thing Doers was a trio! That’s right, Richelle stops by to record with us today, and in the spirit of surprises, we dive into the ultimate debate: surprise parties—love them or loathe them? From there, we spiral into bridesmaids - who needs em, the mission to make sure mom’s stocking at Christmas isn’t just a flat sock, what we’re currently watching, and something to ponder — Is Taylor Swift actually a man? Plus, we circle back to reunions because, apparently, we’re still not over it. It’s a little nostalgic, a little chaotic, and 100% us.

In this episode, Sam and Pam kick things off mid-rant about cheapskates and people who insist on shrink-wrapping their entire existence (couch, lamps, car, soul—you name it). But eventually, they land on the real topic of this episode, their recent “read” “The Let Them Theory" by Mel Robbins and unpack how this little gem of a theory is messing with their deeply ingrained need for control. Anxiety? Stress? Oh, they’ve got thoughts. And because they can’t stay on topic, they wrap it all up with chats about cell phones, social media doom, football, and commercials. Just another day in the Thing Doers universe, give it a listen, or don’t, whatever.