COVID-19 Check-In and Quarantine Questions with the Happy Hour Ladies

COVID-19 Check-In and Quarantine Questions with the Happy Hour Ladies

Today is the last Friday of the month and my regular listeners know that on the last Friday of the month, I host the happy hour on the podcast where I gather great friends to drink cheap drinks and talk about money topics. Believe it or not, this is our second Happy Hour while under quarantine. I wanted to find out how my friends are managing through their quarantine lifestyles, so today’s episode is all about our new realities in our socially distant world.

What are we drinking?

Melanie from Dear Debt, Lola Retreat, and MentalHealthandWealth.com — Chai, honey, tumeric, cinnamon, and vodka

Tonya from Tonya-Stumphauzer.com — Chamomile tea

Liz, Mrs. Frugalwoods, from Frugalwoods.com — Margarita

Shannon — Cavit Pinot Grigio

Podcast Notes

• Melanie is doing okay today. She is currently working a lot, but the anxiety comes and goes. She did some things to mitigate her anxiety, like taking Twitter and Facebook off her phone. She had worked herself into almost a panic attack and realized she needed to take step back.

• Melanie called her doctor, got a refill of Xanax, and was reassured that she was not the only one asking for it. She oscillates between wanting to go outside for a walk and never wanting to leave her house again.

• Anxiety magnifies all of this. Melanie has to take extra steps to take care of herself. She limits her time on social media, checks in with several friends every day, tries to find the humor in the day, and has been getting enough sleep. Tiger King has been a welcome distraction.

• Tonya had a little breakdown, when they closed down the beaches and trails in L.A. Beach volleyball ended and beach running had become a substitute. Tonya doesn’t run on pavement, because it is hard on her body, so she knew that would be the end of running for a while.

• Tonya regrouped, cleared off her balcony, and expanded her gym. She started creating circuit workouts.

• Tonya has been really busy working on projects she isn’t getting paid for, so she is trying to pivot and think of ways to earn income. She just released a video of video tips to help people who are creating their own video content. She may parlay this into courses or Patreon.

• Tonya may revive budgetandthebeach.com. She is still working on the volleyball content, but she isn’t making much money from that. Her sleep has been bad lately, and she has been working on a sleep routine.

• Tonya doesn’t watch the news and she unfollowed a lot of people on Facebook who were posting doom and gloom. John Krasinkski released a video call Some Good News, and it is great to watch.

• Liz and her family have been getting outside each day and they hike and let the kids run around. Her husband went to the grocery store a few weeks ago and stocked up for a long time.

• They are working from home and parenting. There is no school or daycare, but they have fallen into a routine every day, which has been their saving grace. The kids know what to expect, and it is working.

• Liz vacillates between being really worried about what is going on and knowing there is nothing she can do about it. Liz would love to be able to lay on the couch to take a little break, but it is really hard to have some time to herself.

• Liz has a two-year-old and four-year-old and it makes for long days.

• Shannon is in a good head space right now. She was feeling a shift, because she had to lay off staff at The Gym, and she will likely need to lay off more people. They are trying to figure out how to weather the storm, and payroll is the biggest expense. It is a work in progress to get to the final team.

• A week ago, Shannon felt like she needed some time to herself, because she wasn’t sure how she was feeling. The world feels surreal when she goes out. Every time she goes to stores, she can’t find toilet paper. She has gone through all of the emotions and her sleep rhythms are off.

• She is processing the social stuff well and is trying to find positive videos online. Shannon is not here for TikTok. She doesn’t want to see another one of those videos.

• Have you watched more than one movie during your quarantine?

  • Melanie: Yes

  • Tonya: Yes (Bombshell, Ford vs Ferrari, Lincoln Lawyer)

  • Liz: No

  • Shannon: Yes (Gone with the Wind, The Irishman, Pride and Prejudice)

• Have you done any personal grooming that you would have paid for previously?

  • Melanie: Not yet, but she may need to dye her hair with a box and give herself a little trim

  • Tonya: No, she normally dyes her hair and she paints her own toenails

  • Liz: No, she does this all herself anyway

  • Shannon: No, the weekend before everything shut down, she got her hair cut and her nails done

• Have you watched Tiger King?

  • Melanie: Yes

  • Tonya: Yes, but she only made it through the first episode. She’s not a fan.

  • Liz: No, but she is interested

  • Shannon: Yes

• Have you done a virtual happy hour?

  • Melanie: Yes

  • Tonya: Yes

  • Liz: Yes

  • Shannon: Yes

• Are you triggered by anything new?

  • Melanie: photos or movies with a lot of people and the news when they show graphic images

  • Tonya: statistics and people who post about making $18,000 last month

  • Liz: quarantine dreams

  • Shannon: people who post pictures with their arms around other people

• What are you doing, reading, or watching that is helpful?

  • Melanie: creating a “what makes me feel good” list to look at when she needs to feel good

  • Tonya: watching Little Fires Everywhere, writing, journaling, looking up positive things online

  • Liz: reading historical fiction, like the queens of England, and hiking alone

  • Shannon: avoiding the news as much as possible

• Have you cooked or baked anything new?

  • Melanie: Yes, Trader Joe’s cookies

  • Tonya: No, but she tried Trader Joe’s cauliflower pizza dough

  • Liz: Yes, her husband did a sourdough starter and is making sourdough bread

  • Shannon: Yes, Pillsbury cookies

• Have you spent more time on your phone than you would like?

  • Melanie: Yes, so she took social media off her phone

  • Tonya: Same as usual

  • Liz: Yes, she is texting more with people

  • Shannon: No answer

• What do you want to do the most, when this is over?

  • Melanie: Boxing class, go to a coffee shop

  • Tonya: Beach volleyball

  • Liz: Get together with friends, go to a restaurant with her husband

  • Shannon: Sit at a bar with a friend, eat at a restaurant

TAKEAWAY: My biggest takeaway is that, despite the challenging times that we’re in, we’re given so many opportunities for growth and creativity in how we manage our situations. I hope you’re thriving in your new normal.

Now, more than ever, it is so important to have a B.F.F, Best Financial Friend, in your life. While you may want to cut back on your monthly expenses, working with my team at The Financial Gym may be exactly what you need now and we need you as well. We have special discounts happening, so head over to, or send friends to, financialgym.com.

If you have any topics you would like for us to talk about during happy hour, please feel free to email me at shannon@fingyms.com or tweet to me at blonde_finance or join the private martinis and your money Facebook group and let us know. Until next time, take care!!