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Speaker 1: Welcome to Sugar Mama's Fireplay, the place where weird nite

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Speaker 1: your financial independence, retire early dreams, and empower you to

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Speaker 1: live a life on your own terms. Now, for the

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Speaker 1: last ten years, I have been doing my annual Frugal

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Speaker 1: February challenge, and that is where, for twenty eight days straight,

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Speaker 1: I am the world's biggest tied us and I literally

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Speaker 1: say that with a mixture of love and hatred. Now,

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Speaker 1: every dollar I managed to say from being super frugal

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Speaker 1: for the month of February goes towards a thousand dollar project,

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Speaker 1: which is my diversified share portfolio that I have literally

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Speaker 1: built one thousand dollars at a time. And today that

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Speaker 1: portfolio I can proudly share with you is worth over

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Speaker 1: three hundred thousand dollars. But even more importantly it makes

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Speaker 1: me even prouder is the fact that it pays me

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Speaker 1: a passive income stream of over fourteen thousand dollars a

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Speaker 1: year via dividends, a majority of which are fully franked dividends,

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Speaker 1: so they come with some very sexy tax credits. Now,

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Speaker 1: this year, I decided to do something different for Frugal Forebay,

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Speaker 1: and it was met with mixed emotions because I know

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Speaker 1: a lot of people both in Australia and around the

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Speaker 1: world follow along with this because it often is a

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Speaker 1: great financial reset coming off the back of Christmas time

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Speaker 1: and school holidays where we have maybe burnt through our

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Speaker 1: budgets and maybe left with a little bit of credit

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Speaker 1: card debt. So a lot of people I know really

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Speaker 1: look forward to this particular challenge. But let's be honest,

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Speaker 1: we've actually all been living really frugally for the last

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Speaker 1: eighteen to twenty four months, the rising cost of living,

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Speaker 1: interest rate hikes, and it's not just been about trying

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Speaker 1: to get ahead financially over the last couple of years,

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Speaker 1: but instead it's actually been more about just trying to

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Speaker 1: stay afloat financially for the last couple of years. It

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Speaker 1: has been utterly exhausting and it has felt like a

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Speaker 1: major frugal burnout. Well for me at least, it definitely has,

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Speaker 1: and I have a feeling I'm not alone. So this

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Speaker 1: year I decided to flip the script on frugal February.

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Speaker 1: And don't worry, the traditional frugal February'll be back next year,

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Speaker 1: I promise, But for this year, I just needed to

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Speaker 1: do something different. So instead of just focusing on cutting back,

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Speaker 1: I focused on the things that actually fill my soul

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Speaker 1: make me feel rich inside. And I nicknamed this fun

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Speaker 1: Frugal February. So in today's episode, I want to share

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Speaker 1: with you my insights, what I learned, my evolution and

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Speaker 1: my results. How much money did I really save and

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Speaker 1: how do I feel about this? So sit back, relax,

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Speaker 1: or if you're walking and doing some exercise, enjoy this

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Speaker 1: episode and enjoy it with me what I'm about to

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Speaker 1: share with you, because I have a feeling that you'll

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Speaker 1: find this really meaningful too. So the shift from deprivation

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Speaker 1: to fulfillment. So this year I set out to answer

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Speaker 1: a new question for myself. As I said, I wanted

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Speaker 1: to go deeper with my Frugal February challenge. So I

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Speaker 1: wanted to ask myself how frugal can I still be

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Speaker 1: whilst also at the same time bringing more joy, bringing

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Speaker 1: more meaningful wealth and a deeper connection into my life.

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Speaker 1: And this is what I discovered while being intentional and

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Speaker 1: paying attention to my frugal ways of February. So number one,

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Speaker 1: baking at home, so instead of spending money on treats

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Speaker 1: that I often get caught into the trap and the

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Speaker 1: habit of I did so much more baking with my kids,

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Speaker 1: and in being more intentional and paying attention, I actually

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Speaker 1: realized there was so much more joy in doing this.

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Speaker 1: It wasn't just about saving money. There was joy in

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Speaker 1: the mess, the chaos, the smells, the taste testing where

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Speaker 1: my kids licked the spoon and got food all over

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Speaker 1: their face and their clothes, but we just laughed hysterically,

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Speaker 1: and just the experience of doing things together, but doing

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Speaker 1: things that are creative together. And let's be honest, homemade

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Speaker 1: cooking always tastes way better than those store board ones.

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Speaker 1: Next thing was eating up the leftovers. Yes, I do

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Speaker 1: this always, well, I should admit I try and do

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Speaker 1: this always. Let me explain, and again I want to

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Speaker 1: really focus on the word intention and attention for this

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Speaker 1: particular episode. So usually leftovers feel like the sad second

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Speaker 1: choice meal. You know, they pushed to the back of

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Speaker 1: the fridge. You may not get to them in time,

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Speaker 1: which is sometimes something I do if though I have

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Speaker 1: the best intentions of eating it for lunch or using

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Speaker 1: it to fill up a meal. But this time I

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Speaker 1: decided to stop that from happening, and I reframed it.

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Speaker 1: So every time I repurposed food and reduced waste, I

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Speaker 1: made sure I paid attention to the deep satisfaction that

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Speaker 1: I actually had within myself. You know, it wasn't actually

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Speaker 1: just about saving money by reducing my landfill and the leftovers,

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Speaker 1: but it was about being more resourceful and mindful. And

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Speaker 1: I have to say I included my dogs in this,

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Speaker 1: so they got, you know, some of the leftovers that

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Speaker 1: I couldn't eat, and they absolutely loved it. And sitting

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Speaker 1: watching my dogs eat up the leftover vegetables from the

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Speaker 1: night before felt really good and I felt even a

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Speaker 1: deeper connection to them, which I know sounds a little

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Speaker 1: bit crazy, but this is a bit of a different

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Speaker 1: challenge this year. Next thing is playing outside amongst mother

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Speaker 1: nature in the park. Now, I admit I used to

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Speaker 1: feel the need and this is my own insecurity around

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Speaker 1: being a mother and motherhood and trying to do my

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Speaker 1: best job and make sure that my kids, you know,

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Speaker 1: look back and go, oh, we had the best mum ever.

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Speaker 1: So I am guilty of, you know, taking my kids

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Speaker 1: to the movies. And I will admit to a certain degree,

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Speaker 1: time is throwing money at the problem to entertain them so,

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Speaker 1: and this includes amusement parks, you know, special events. But

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Speaker 1: this month I didn't do any of those things. I

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Speaker 1: changed those things where I would normally like take them

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Speaker 1: to an arcade or the movies or you know, something

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Speaker 1: like you know, Bounce or you know, any sort of treat.

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Speaker 1: I saw firsthand that simply being present is actually enough.

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Speaker 1: Kicking a ball around the park, having a picnic together,

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Speaker 1: dancing to music, or rolling down the hill on amongst

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Speaker 1: the grass. Just being there, being present, laughing with them,

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Speaker 1: connecting with them and listening to them, talking in their

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Speaker 1: language and getting down on their level. That's really actually

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Speaker 1: what they want, not throwing money at a need or

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Speaker 1: a problem. And to be honest, sometimes I catch myself

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Speaker 1: trying to work so hard to make them feel happy

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Speaker 1: and busy and entertained, particularly during school holidays, that I'm

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Speaker 1: actually exhausting them by dragging them from pillar to post

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Speaker 1: around Sydney finding the best and latest, you know, entertainment

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Speaker 1: factor for them. And I do this a lot. I

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Speaker 1: don't actually need to do that, and they actually don't

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Speaker 1: necessarily want to do that. Yes, it is fun, but

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Speaker 1: these are actually special treats for special times of the year.

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Speaker 1: Like birthdays or when they achieve something important I can

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Speaker 1: pass on an exam, or you know, getting through a project,

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Speaker 1: or just simply ending a year of school. So for me,

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Speaker 1: I'm going to be spending a lot more time being

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Speaker 1: way more present, just hanging out with my kids. Now.

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Speaker 1: The next thing that brings me to this, and this

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Speaker 1: is a very similar topic, is having one on one

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Speaker 1: time with my kids. Now, this is something Tom always

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Speaker 1: bangs on about the importance listening and agreeing, But I'm

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Speaker 1: not really listening and agreeing well until now. We have

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Speaker 1: a busy household. Tom and I both work for ourselves,

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Speaker 1: and you know, Tom travels a lot, so I do

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Speaker 1: a lot of solo parenting and We've got three kids

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Speaker 1: with three different routines in three different schools. So I'm

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Speaker 1: running across Sydney a lot. And we've got three big

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Speaker 1: dogs as well. They need a lot of exercise. So

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Speaker 1: my kids are always sharing and sometimes fighting for my attention.

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Speaker 1: But taking just one child at a time for a walk,

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Speaker 1: for a chat, hanging out on the sofa, a tickle fight,

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Speaker 1: doing some role play together, a backscratch or bedtime story.

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Speaker 1: These moments when I paid attention and was intentional with

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Speaker 1: creating these moments actually felt so much more special and connected,

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Speaker 1: and they cost absolutely nothing, And I could see the

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Speaker 1: return of my investment in time and effort and energy

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Speaker 1: in my kids' faces. Their smile was bigger there, look

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Speaker 1: at me was far deeper, looking at me in the

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Speaker 1: eyes and smiling felt very different to what it is

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Speaker 1: any other time before. And for me, this has made

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Speaker 1: me realize, going forward from doing fun frugal February, I'm

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Speaker 1: prioritizing this and it's going straight to the top of

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Speaker 1: my list of family needs and goals. Next thing is

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Speaker 1: morning walks. Now every morning I walk my three dogs, Giuseppe,

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Speaker 1: Peppie and Julip. It's part of my routine and it's

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Speaker 1: something I really love. It's not a chore for me

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Speaker 1: at all. But doing this challenge actually really made me

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Speaker 1: slow down and appreciate it so much more and notice

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Speaker 1: the little things that happen on my walk that actually

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Speaker 1: make it so beautiful and so special. Little things like

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Speaker 1: the warmth of the sun on my face, the crisp

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Speaker 1: morning air, seeing my dogs is flapping as they're walking

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Speaker 1: to keep up with me, or walking ahead, seeing their

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Speaker 1: faces and their tongues hanging out and their panting, watching

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Speaker 1: them go and smell things and meet other dogs with

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Speaker 1: curiosity and discovering new bushes that they can smell, And

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Speaker 1: watching my dog GUSSEPPI find another tennis ball this time,

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Speaker 1: not just look at him discoverable, but looking at the

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Speaker 1: pride and satisfaction in his face as he jumped out

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Speaker 1: of the bushes with a new tennis ball that had

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Speaker 1: just discovered for me to go and throw, slowing down,

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Speaker 1: throwing that tennis ball not just a few times, but

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Speaker 1: a few extra times for an extra bit of fun,

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Speaker 1: really slowing down, And it made me realize how grateful

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Speaker 1: I am actually for my health and my movement of

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Speaker 1: my body. That I am healthy and strong enough to

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Speaker 1: be able to go for a walk. I have that

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Speaker 1: opportunity to get out and go for a walk somewhere

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Speaker 1: that's safe and safely, let my dogs enjoy some lead

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Speaker 1: free time, and speak to people in my neighborhood, get

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Speaker 1: to meet new people. This particular awareness of being intentional

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Speaker 1: and paying attention made me feel so much more present,

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Speaker 1: but also so much more alive and grateful to be alive.

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Speaker 1: Next thing I realized from doing fun for a wild

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Speaker 1: February is saying yes to invitations. Now normally frugal February

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Speaker 1: for me means saying no to dining out, with the

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Speaker 1: exception of my best friend's birthday Matay. But this time

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Speaker 1: I said yes to an early Sunday night dinner at

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Speaker 1: our local bowling club with two other families. Now it's funny.

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Speaker 1: Old habits die hard, because when I saw the text

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Speaker 1: message come through about this invitation I meet, it was like, no,

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Speaker 1: I can't February and I was like, hang on, no, no, no,

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Speaker 1: back it up. This time, you have permission to say yes.

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Speaker 1: And I'm so glad I said yes because it was

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Speaker 1: such a wonderful, wholesome catch up with two other families,

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Speaker 1: the kids at the bowling club, which and I'd never

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Speaker 1: actually even been to this bowling club before. I don't

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Speaker 1: know why. And again this was one of the other

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Speaker 1: many bless blessings that came from doing this challenges. The

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Speaker 1: kids were running around there about I think seven or

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Speaker 1: eight kids, and they were running around like Hooligan's safely

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Speaker 1: having so much fun together, whilst all the adults we

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Speaker 1: all sat down together having a great laugh and be

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Speaker 1: able to have conversations that weren't being interrupted, and when

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Speaker 1: they weren't interrupted, it was because the kids wanted to

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Speaker 1: go and do something else that they discovered to have fun.

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Speaker 1: They weren't on screens, they weren't on devices, they were

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Speaker 1: just all having fun together. And seeing a really healthy

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Speaker 1: mix of different ages as well made me realize how

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Speaker 1: grateful I am for my children and for my friends

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Speaker 1: children as well, that they can all get on so

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Speaker 1: nicely together and play and use their imaginations and get creative.

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Speaker 1: And it also felt really good to support a local

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Speaker 1: business while enjoying a really simple night out and then

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Speaker 1: finally exercising, exercising actually for free. Now often I catch

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Speaker 1: myself looking online, particularly social media, for the latest trends,

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Speaker 1: the latest gyms that have opened up in my area,

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Speaker 1: even like exercise gadgets. I have shared recently on How

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Speaker 1: Today fort that I spent fortune on a Cellu light machine.

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Speaker 1: I got it trapped into an Instagram ad. So I'm

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Speaker 1: just as vulnerable to those temptations as everyone else is.

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Speaker 1: But anyway, as I said, sometimes I feel victim of

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Speaker 1: the temptation to sign up to something that's new and flashy,

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Speaker 1: and you know, to be one of the first people

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Speaker 1: that gets to try it out and let people know

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Speaker 1: what I really thought of it. However, during this challenge,

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Speaker 1: I actually did most of my exercise in my local

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Speaker 1: free outdoor gym. I would use YouTube videos to give

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Speaker 1: me a guide as to a good workout, and this

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Speaker 1: costs absolutely nothing. And as a result of this, I

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Speaker 1: actually found myself exercising more and actually feeling so much

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Speaker 1: more proud of myself from doing my own workout, feeling good,

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Speaker 1: paying attention to what muscles were working, how much I

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Speaker 1: was really sweating, and whether I felt satisfied enough to

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Speaker 1: go you know what, this is a decent workout, rather

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Speaker 1: than just going to an exercise class or going to

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Speaker 1: the gym or even training with my trainer and just

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Speaker 1: kind of ticking a box. Being intentional and paying attention

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Speaker 1: to what was going on during this particular challenge made

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Speaker 1: me actually work harder my body, respect it, and be

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Speaker 1: more respectful and efficient with my time. A challenge within

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Speaker 1: a challenge my unexpected health scare so halfway during this

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Speaker 1: particular challenge Fun through Good February got really sick. I

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Speaker 1: developed this really nasty, rapidly spreading rash blisters, non stop

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Speaker 1: itching like Weltz and literally would keep me up all

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Speaker 1: night going mental scratching. I couldn't stop. I had no

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Speaker 1: self control, and it was spreading up around my body

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Speaker 1: and up the center of my chest and was heading

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Speaker 1: towards my neck. And along with this was not only

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Speaker 1: sleep deprivation, but a fever that went for five days straight.

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Speaker 1: I was literally dripping in sweat and it was absolutely disgusting. Now,

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Speaker 1: it took four doctors and four different doctors appointments and

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Speaker 1: multiple mixes of medications to actually get me better again

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Speaker 1: and to figure out what was really going on. It

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Speaker 1: was stressful, it was incredibly expensive, and it was also

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Speaker 1: really embarrassing because I had to keep my distance from

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Speaker 1: people because they weren't sure yet whether I was contagious

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Speaker 1: or not. And I had these huge, nasty pussy blisters

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Speaker 1: around my body and creeping up my chest towards my neck. Now,

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Speaker 1: thank goodness, I was doing this challenge in a different

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Speaker 1: way this time. Because I'm embarrassed to remit this, I

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Speaker 1: may have actually delayed going to the doctors, which is

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Speaker 1: really concerning. As it turned out, luckily, we did get

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Speaker 1: figure out what was going on to it, and I

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Speaker 1: got a huge dose of two different types of strong

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Speaker 1: medication to quickly shut it down and stop it from spreading.

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Speaker 1: So this actually really helped me shift my perspective. So

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Speaker 1: instead of dwelling on the cost and frustration, which I

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Speaker 1: would have done if I was doing my traditional, typical

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Speaker 1: frugal February, I reminded myself that I'm actually really lucky

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Speaker 1: to have access to doctors, good quality doctors. I'm also

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Speaker 1: really lucky to be able to afford medication, and my

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Speaker 1: body is healing, and what was going on was only temporary.

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Speaker 1: Even though I was feeling flat, deflated and incredibly frustrated,

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Speaker 1: doing fun frugal February really helped protect my mindset and

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Speaker 1: also helped me shift, which for me was huge because

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Speaker 1: I could have easily gone down a bit of a

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Speaker 1: downward spiral. So I'm grateful for that. So what of

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Speaker 1: this challenge really teach me? Well? I didn't realize actually

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Speaker 1: how much I needed this version of frugal February until

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Speaker 1: I was in the thick of it. It showed me

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Speaker 1: that frugality isn't just about money. It's actually about deep

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Speaker 1: intentional mindfulness that we pay attention to. It's about slowing down,

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Speaker 1: allowing us to see the beauty in those every day moments,

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Speaker 1: those simple everyday moments, And of course the connection doesn't

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Speaker 1: cost a cent, and it is actually priceless when you

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Speaker 1: do hit it correctly, those moments when I actually realize

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Speaker 1: the difference in smiles in my children's face, when I'm present,

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Speaker 1: when I've slowed down, when I'm properly listening and I'm

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Speaker 1: not surrounded by distractions. So for me, I've realized that

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Speaker 1: I actually have everything that I need, and creatively embracing

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Speaker 1: zero waste and using what we already have around us

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Speaker 1: and around myself is actually so much more satisfying, more

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Speaker 1: satisfying than any purchase that can possibly deliver in my

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Speaker 1: life right now. So intentional gratitude is game changing if

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Speaker 1: you want to have a doing this for yourself and

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Speaker 1: really need to shift your own mood. So my biggest

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Speaker 1: lesson I have to say, it's got to be being

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Speaker 1: frugal shouldn't actually feel like deprivation. It feels like empowerment

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Speaker 1: when you do it correctly, with intention and attention. And

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Speaker 1: whilst I barely saved any money this year than my

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Speaker 1: previous years, and I will share with you that I

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Speaker 1: had I think twenty dollars left in our family account,

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Speaker 1: which I didn't even want's transferring to one thousand dollars

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Speaker 1: Project Will folio. This year, I actually felt a far

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Speaker 1: deeper sense of pride in my results. This challenge taught

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Speaker 1: me that what really truly fills me up, and what

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Speaker 1: really makes me feel like a fun present parent, what

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Speaker 1: brings me genuine happiness, and what creates long lasting moments

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Speaker 1: of connection and joy. So, if you're listening to this

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Speaker 1: episode and you normally do frugal February, or you did

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Speaker 1: a different type of frugal February, or you've been doing

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Speaker 1: something similar like this where you've been slowing down and

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Speaker 1: spending more time investing in what you're grateful for, I'd

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Speaker 1: actually love to hear from you. And if you've been

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Speaker 1: doing something that's frugal, that is genuinely more joy in

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Speaker 1: your life, please let me know. I would love to hear,

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Speaker 1: and I'd love to be able to share that with

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Speaker 1: everyone else who's listening right now. And also i'd love

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Speaker 1: to hear have you ever experienced frugal burnout? Please tell

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Speaker 1: me I'm not alone, send me a DM on Instagram

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Speaker 1: and let me know. Now. Thank you everyone so much,

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Speaker 1: for listening, and thank you everyone who's been so patient,

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Speaker 1: and thank you for everyone who's been so understanding and

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Speaker 1: doing Frugal February this year differently. As I said, I

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Speaker 1: promise to bring the traditional, typical frugal February next year.

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Speaker 1: But for me, I'm actually so glad that I did this,

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Speaker 1: and perhaps we can find a way of bringing these

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Speaker 1: two different concepts into next year's transformation as we look

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Speaker 1: at the way that we spend money, use money, build money,

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Speaker 1: and invest money. Now in the meantime, as always, keep

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Speaker 1: that financial fire burning bright, and I'll connect with you

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Speaker 1: next Monday morning at five am. Rain Hail or Shine,

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Speaker 1: chaufa now