Speaker 1: Episode three eighty five, What to budget for this Spring.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to
Speaker 2: save money, embrace simplicity, and live your life. Here your
Speaker 2: hosts Jen and Jill.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen,
Speaker 1: my name is Jill, and today we are talking about spring.
Speaker 3: Spring has sprung.
Speaker 1: As Robin Williams once said, or according to the Internet
Speaker 1: says that he said, spring is nature's way of saying,
Speaker 1: let's party.
Speaker 3: Ah. Yeah, I don't care who said it, I have it.
Speaker 1: I agree with it. So today we are talking about
Speaker 1: things to budget for the spring, but also I think
Speaker 1: we're gonna mainly focus on some of the springtime spending
Speaker 1: traps that we can fall in too. So these things
Speaker 1: that you are about to see a lot of in marketing, advertising,
Speaker 1: social media, how do you know when it's time to
Speaker 1: spend money on it and when it's a really good
Speaker 1: time to avoid it and just be conscious of springtime marketing.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's good to plan ahead, know what some of
Speaker 3: the associated costs of the season are going to be,
Speaker 3: and start setting money aside now. But it's also important
Speaker 3: to know what are some alternatives to this cost are
Speaker 3: there ways that I can meet this need, do this
Speaker 3: maintenance and not spend a lot of money. So we
Speaker 3: want to go through all that.
Speaker 1: Yes, but first, this episode is brought to you by
Speaker 1: Employee Appreciation Day. Today is Employee Appreciation Day and as
Speaker 1: an es Corp, the IRS requires us to be employees
Speaker 1: of our business. So today we'd like to show appreciation
Speaker 1: to us. Hey, to Jill and Jen, to me and you.
Speaker 1: We are hands down the second and third best employees
Speaker 1: of this company for sure. We'd also like to thank
Speaker 1: Goldie for being our number one employee and for our
Speaker 1: new friend letter writers Kim and Misty, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: If you haven't checked out their work yet, you really
Speaker 1: should be getting the friend letter. We're just incorporating. It's
Speaker 1: frugal friends, right, It's not frugal Jen and Jill, that
Speaker 1: would be boring. It's frugal friends. And so we are
Speaker 1: getting more friends on board to give you savings tips, freebies,
Speaker 1: spending insights, just like what you're going to hear today.
Speaker 1: And if you're already on the front letter, then you
Speaker 1: got our budget toolkit for March and that went out
Speaker 1: the last Friday of February. So if you want to
Speaker 1: get an exclusive, exhaustive, expansive guide on what to budget
Speaker 1: for every month and a big money move that you
Speaker 1: can do every month to really maintain your finances and
Speaker 1: grow them. We send that out on the last Friday
Speaker 1: of every month for the month going forward. So seriously,
Speaker 1: Frugal friendspodcast dot com get the friend letter. There is
Speaker 1: so much good stuff in there.
Speaker 3: Yes, Kim and Miss Day shout out, shout out to Goalie.
Speaker 3: We're growing, Our team is growing. Are small but mighty,
Speaker 3: so mighty with our hot pink microphones.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, all right, so let's talk about budgeting and Spring.
Speaker 1: We have done We've done several of these episodes. We
Speaker 1: love to update them every year. So episode three sixty
Speaker 1: seven Best Budgeting Tips for twenty twenty four. That is
Speaker 1: our that's our vibe going into all of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: So that is going to be some if you are
Speaker 1: new to budgeting or revisiting budgeting for the first time
Speaker 1: in a while, definitely check out that episode. And then
Speaker 1: to ninety four is Frugal Living Tips for Spring, So
Speaker 1: we're that episode is all about waste spring can save
Speaker 1: you money and what to buy today. We're talking a
Speaker 1: little bit about what not to buy, and then touching
Speaker 1: on some of the things that you might be able
Speaker 1: to stock up on.
Speaker 3: It's a classic bait and.
Speaker 1: Switch, am I right?
Speaker 3: So love to do what they want, give them what
Speaker 3: they need. We're not. We're here for it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean will we'll we'll talk about what to
Speaker 1: budget for the spring. That may not be as common too.
Speaker 3: So this first article comes from Wise Bread, Love That Love, Wisdom,
Speaker 3: Love Bread. They're talking about how to avoid seven common
Speaker 3: spring spending traps, so the ways in which we can
Speaker 3: kind of go nuts when spring comes. I was reading
Speaker 3: a few other articles that we're not going to mention
Speaker 3: here but in preparation for this, and they were describing
Speaker 3: how for the majority of people, spending does spike in
Speaker 3: the spring and summer and the holidays. So certainly you've
Speaker 3: got the holidays, but then winter comes and there's this lull,
Speaker 3: mostly because a lot of the country is just cold
Speaker 3: and no one's doing very much. So then spring comes
Speaker 3: and it feels like it's a party. It feels like
Speaker 3: we're ready to party now, and I want to get outside.
Speaker 3: I want to do all the things that I wasn't
Speaker 3: able to do before, and that can lead us to
Speaker 3: spending money that maybe we weren't planning on. So the
Speaker 3: first one here is spring cleaning mania that that fever strikes.
Speaker 3: And not that I mean cleaning isn't the most luxurious,
Speaker 3: glamorous thing ever, but a lot of us do still
Speaker 3: want to freshen the home. We want to open the windows.
Speaker 3: And as we're doing that, it's like if you give
Speaker 3: a mouse a cookie and you start to see this
Speaker 3: needs to be clean, and this needs to be washed,
Speaker 3: and I want the place to feel fresh, just like
Speaker 3: my environment is beginning to feel fresh. And that can
Speaker 3: often lead us to wanting to upgrade things or just
Speaker 3: wanting to buy the latest and greatest cleaning products and
Speaker 3: what's the new stuff on the shelves, And marketers are
Speaker 3: aware of this, and they're going to want to convince
Speaker 3: you that what you have in your closets is not
Speaker 3: going to cut it. And you need the electric rotating
Speaker 3: spin brush, and you need the cleaning product that's new
Speaker 3: and will solve all of your problems. And you need
Speaker 3: the new vacuum, and you need new furniture and new
Speaker 3: rugs and you name it. And we're here to say,
Speaker 3: now you don't, no, you don't you can clean, absolutely,
Speaker 3: but you can clean in the same ways that you've
Speaker 3: been cleaning all the previous months, with the stuff that
Speaker 3: you already have. So yes, spring cleaning can bring on
Speaker 3: some decluttering. We would absolutely encourage that sell donate some items,
Speaker 3: but that doesn't mean then that you have to bring
Speaker 3: new items into your home. And if you do, if
Speaker 3: you are identifying, oh this does actually need to be replaced,
Speaker 3: I can't fit it. You name it, then buy it used,
Speaker 3: go or try out your buy nothing groups. And then
Speaker 3: just as far as cleaning supplies, go, use up what
Speaker 3: you already have. I can almost guarantee you you have
Speaker 3: cleaning products under your sink, in your pantries. They may
Speaker 3: not be like super shiny and all full to the brim,
Speaker 3: and you might just want to try something new, but
Speaker 3: use up what you have. Look up DIY cleaning solutions.
Speaker 3: Usually you need very few ingredients to actually do the job.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say if you are going to spring clean.
Speaker 1: The thing you'll see a lot on social media is
Speaker 1: organization goes wild in March, right, So we're looking at
Speaker 1: container Store, Target, Walmart, all of these beautiful clear and
Speaker 1: wicker and retain and whatever. All these beautiful things that
Speaker 1: you can get to organize your home. And I would
Speaker 1: say you can get those, but use them sparingly. Your
Speaker 1: home doesn't have to be esthetically perfect, right. I was
Speaker 1: Actually I forget who it was, but there was this
Speaker 1: the trend on Instagram where it's like, I'm a so
Speaker 1: and so, of course I do this. Oh it was Clutterbug.
Speaker 1: She is a decluttering author, has a podcast on it,
Speaker 1: and she's like, I'm a home organization influencer. Of course
Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you to organize your pantry with
Speaker 1: all these beautiful things. And then she opens up her
Speaker 1: fridge and she's like, well, my fridge is a mess.
Speaker 1: So like she was poking fun at all the things
Speaker 1: she does and sells. She's like a container store partner.
Speaker 1: And her home was not aesthetically perfect, that's what she
Speaker 1: was showing everyone, and so yours doesn't have to be either.
Speaker 1: So if you want to improve, there's no problem with improving, right,
Speaker 1: look on Facebook, marketplace, look around thrift stores and stuff
Speaker 1: and see what you can find, see what you can
Speaker 1: make happen, and just be okay with not being perfect.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, and two, make the list of what you need,
Speaker 3: start doing the work in your house before you go out.
Speaker 3: I think so often we've got this imagined, fantasized self
Speaker 3: and we first buy all the organizing items, and then
Speaker 3: we come home and we try and figure.
Speaker 1: Out for Christas.
Speaker 3: But instead start to do it already in your home
Speaker 3: organizing decluttering. You name it with the things you already
Speaker 3: have on hand, and then make a list of what's
Speaker 3: going to be helpful for me to complete this proper.
Speaker 1: Ject and do it in batches. Do not try to
Speaker 1: do your whole home or a whole room in one
Speaker 1: fell swoop. Do it in chunks. So there's your there's
Speaker 1: your spring cleaning apisode. Yeah, okay, live it, move on.
Speaker 1: So number two is do not Well. It says spend
Speaker 1: your tax refund, but it's essentially saying that that is
Speaker 1: the spending trap is to spend your tax refund fully
Speaker 1: on stuff that is not beneficial. That's going to be
Speaker 1: impulse buying. You know, when we get you know that
Speaker 1: unexpected money, it's girl math, I didn't have the money before,
Speaker 1: so anything I buy with it is essentially free, right wrong.
Speaker 1: You can really use your tax refund to do the
Speaker 1: things with your finances that you have been putting off
Speaker 1: or have felt troubled budgeting for so home improvements, vacations,
Speaker 1: any home improvement. That's where I'm at. Maybe replacing a car,
Speaker 1: stuff like that. Think of the things that you've you
Speaker 1: needed to do in twenty twenty never got around to,
Speaker 1: I e. Maybe a roth Ira. That's a big thing
Speaker 1: to budget for. Right now. You have until March or
Speaker 1: till April I think fourteen fifteenth, I can't remember which day.
Speaker 1: You have until April, mid April, mid April to open
Speaker 1: and contribute to a roth Ira for twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1: Definitely check out our roth Ira Challenge episode if you
Speaker 1: want more on that. But make this money work for you.
Speaker 1: It's money you didn't have before that you you did earn.
Speaker 1: This is your income that the government has held on too.
Speaker 1: It's not free money, so make it really work for you.
Speaker 3: Next number three is the spending trap of wanting to
Speaker 3: splurge on a new wardrobe. Speak to me, Yeah, so
Speaker 3: she's brain comes talking. It's a party. Also, the weather's
Speaker 3: changing and we want an update. This might be where
Speaker 3: we're starting to pull out out clothes we might have
Speaker 3: put away for the winter season, and we're realizing this
Speaker 3: feels dingy. I want something new for people who celebrate
Speaker 3: Easter or Mother's Day, or there's tons of baby showers
Speaker 3: and weddings beginning to happen. And so you think I
Speaker 3: need new clothes for this or just a refresh, and
Speaker 3: I'm telling you you don't got to you don't need
Speaker 3: to do that. Here's the alternative. Wear the clothes you
Speaker 3: already have, truly until they don't fit. I'm not advocating
Speaker 3: that if things don't fit you anymore, just make it work.
Speaker 3: But where the clothes that fit until they really are
Speaker 3: beginning to fall apart, and then mend them. That's a
Speaker 3: fun little hobby. If you want something new, you want
Speaker 3: to refresh and spring learn a new hobby, invest in
Speaker 3: yourself and your own skill set. Mend things, add the jewels.
Speaker 3: Do you heard it here? First, folks, and then betaulate
Speaker 3: the tazzl it. Get out your hot glue gun. No,
Speaker 3: don't do that. Then buy used or search your buy
Speaker 3: nothing group. Look at your local thrift stores consignment shops.
Speaker 3: I know, Jen, you love places like thread Up and Poshmarks,
Speaker 3: So you don't actually have to do the digging and
Speaker 3: sneeze your way through thrift stores. You can do it
Speaker 3: all from the comfort of your own home, and begin
Speaker 3: to educate yourself on quality. What are quality fabrics, What
Speaker 3: are the brands that are making quality clothing and not
Speaker 3: exploiting their workers. These types of things where we can
Speaker 3: when we purchase new items for our wardrobe, we know
Speaker 3: that they're going to last and that they will be
Speaker 3: what we can pull out spring after spring and not
Speaker 3: need to feel forced into a refresh. And from there again,
Speaker 3: start with your closet. Start with your own home. Don't
Speaker 3: start when you're out of your home and already out
Speaker 3: shopping trying to make guesses at what you need. Begin
Speaker 3: by going through what you already have in your closet,
Speaker 3: what you already have on hand, Try it all on,
Speaker 3: see what fits, see what you like, and then start
Speaker 3: to make a list of the items that you would
Speaker 3: like to add to your wardrobe, the items that you
Speaker 3: think this is if I had XYZ, this is what's
Speaker 3: going to last me for years to come. I want
Speaker 3: this type of fabric, I want this type of color,
Speaker 3: this type of style. Then you can feel informed and
Speaker 3: good about making those spending decisions. When you are then
Speaker 3: out of the house, you can reference back to that
Speaker 3: list and say, Okay, these are the things that I
Speaker 3: intentionally put on here because I know this is what
Speaker 3: my wardrobe is lacking. Don't start when you're out at
Speaker 3: the store.
Speaker 1: Yes, and use Benny to get secondhand anything you want
Speaker 1: from the first hand site. It's a chrome extension. You
Speaker 1: can get an app to Frugal friendspodcast dot com, slash
Speaker 1: b e n I it is. If you sneeze your
Speaker 1: way through thrift stores like I do, it will change
Speaker 1: the game for you. Also, I would like to shout
Speaker 1: out another option. So Amelia sent me this on Instagram,
Speaker 1: like weeks and weeks ago. I am I was shook
Speaker 1: if she listened to our Capsule Wardrobe episode where we
Speaker 1: talked about buying in your color like your color palette autumn, spring, summer.
Speaker 1: And she so she is an autumn like me, and
Speaker 1: she had all this black clothing that she loved fit
Speaker 1: her really well. She wanted it to be in her palette.
Speaker 1: And she sent me a video on Instagram of her results.
Speaker 1: After she had put her black clothing in like a
Speaker 1: bleach like bleach and water for ten minutes, took it out,
Speaker 1: watch it dried it and it was like in these
Speaker 1: beautiful shades of brown and burnt.
Speaker 3: Orange and I could shook it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And she said she was gonna try with her
Speaker 1: white to do tea like a tea stain. And so
Speaker 1: that's another thing. Maybe your color, the colors of your
Speaker 1: wardrobe just aren't hitting it anymore for you. Try dying them.
Speaker 1: Try drying them in your color palette, bleach tea, Go
Speaker 1: buy some is it writ like the dye. You can
Speaker 1: buy it at the grocery store. Yeah, try just giving
Speaker 1: it a refrash life.
Speaker 3: Yeah, if the fabric itself is good and the fit
Speaker 3: is good, and you just don't like the color, I
Speaker 3: love that pack. But I gotta tell you, I didn't
Speaker 3: know if I believed Amelia you showed me those pictures.
Speaker 3: I was like, there's no what looks it's too good, beautiful.
Speaker 1: It's too good. It's too beautiful. Yes, So thank you
Speaker 1: Amelia for sending that to me. It's still I'm still
Speaker 1: impressed by it. So yeah, the next, now that we're
Speaker 1: you know, just remember you don't you don't need a
Speaker 1: new wardrobe this spring. Okay, remember that when I say
Speaker 1: the next is spring break vacations. So I love a
Speaker 1: spring break vacation. And I totally think. So I'm going
Speaker 1: to push back a little bit on this. I totally
Speaker 1: think if you have kids in school, that you spend
Speaker 1: the extra take your kids on a spring break vacation.
Speaker 1: It's but just put compare the prices to a summer
Speaker 1: vacation to a spring break vacation, because usually I have
Speaker 1: found that the summers, like certain times in the summer,
Speaker 1: are actually less expensive than a spring break. But that's
Speaker 1: like where I'm at. I live where people vacation, so
Speaker 1: I have like more flexibility. But if it's different for you,
Speaker 1: I'm all for a spring break vacation. Now that's me
Speaker 1: talking to parents who have kids in school. That's not
Speaker 1: applicable to everyone. If you are not bound by time,
Speaker 1: this is cool. Cool. If you're found by time, you
Speaker 1: should You should definitely price check when you take your vacations.
Speaker 1: Travel in a less expensive time. But vacation sites are
Speaker 1: pushing ads hard right now to get you to take
Speaker 1: those last minute spring break getaways. But it's because there
Speaker 1: is a certain group of people who this is really
Speaker 1: the time that they can travel. So do not be fooled.
Speaker 1: Even if you do have kids in school, I find
Speaker 1: that there's a lot more price flexibility in the summer,
Speaker 1: don't be fooled by a spring and if you are
Speaker 1: taking spring break vacation, you don't need a new vacation wardrobe.
Speaker 3: But also shout out to some simple staycations you know
Speaker 3: that I think that they're underrated. Go in an hour
Speaker 3: or two away from where you live and exploring kind
Speaker 3: of a new area that's somewhat local to where you are.
Speaker 3: What are the what are the state parks, what are
Speaker 3: the activities and attractions and amusements in different places at
Speaker 3: maybe a bit more of an affordable price point, or
Speaker 3: just not as complicated, because sometimes a big vacation, especially
Speaker 3: during high touristy times, can just be overwhelming to try
Speaker 3: and pick what can we do and how crowded is
Speaker 3: it going to be? And then you're also spending a lot.
Speaker 3: There's also permission to just keep it simple and enjoy
Speaker 3: the time actually and exploring new spots that are within
Speaker 3: the radius of where you live.
Speaker 1: Yes, and if you are traveling our friend Lydia. Lydia
Speaker 1: said she has traveled I think to like over thirty
Speaker 1: probably like between twenty five and thirty states in the
Speaker 1: last two years with her kids, and they bring their
Speaker 1: air fryer with them everywhere, and they will get they'll
Speaker 1: just buy pre made meals at the grocery store that
Speaker 1: they can just pop into the air fryer, and so
Speaker 1: they are able to save tons of money and travel
Speaker 1: in their car. Then they know they'll stay in an
Speaker 1: airbnb or a hotel or something, and they are able
Speaker 1: to save so much money on food because they're not cooking.
Speaker 1: They are they're buying stuff from the grocery store, popping
Speaker 1: in the air fryer and then feeding everyone, and they
Speaker 1: can afford to travel so much more because of the amount.
Speaker 1: Like literally, she says, the amount we save on food
Speaker 1: each vacation pays for our hotel for the next vacation.
Speaker 3: That's amazing. Yeah, where we would say it's not worth
Speaker 3: it to spend on convenience items like that in your
Speaker 3: day to day when you're on vacation, that saves a
Speaker 3: lot of money. Buying the pre made grocery store food
Speaker 3: is still going to be far less than going out.
Speaker 3: I love that.
Speaker 1: So I would say, if you are traveling, take take
Speaker 1: a hint from Lydia.
Speaker 3: Number five on this list is buying a new car.
Speaker 3: And I would initially want to push back on this
Speaker 3: like that doesn't happen until we've recently learned that one
Speaker 3: of the biggest areas of impulse spending is on vehicles.
Speaker 3: It's not happening all the time, right, It's not the
Speaker 3: same thing.
Speaker 1: It mostly happens.
Speaker 3: But this is the time of year where a lot
Speaker 3: of dealerships are running their deals. They're trying to convince
Speaker 3: you that it's a better deal for you somehow to
Speaker 3: trade in your car now, and it's not. It's advantageous
Speaker 3: for them. It costs them far less to offer you
Speaker 3: a trade in price than for you to try and
Speaker 3: sell your car on your own or just keep your car.
Speaker 3: So the alternative to falling victim to this im massive
Speaker 3: and Paul's purchase is keep your car.
Speaker 1: Yeah, do it. And it's not Toyota thon, I just
Speaker 1: checked Toyota. Than's in November and December. So it's not
Speaker 1: worth it. It's not worth it to get a new car.
Speaker 1: It's not Toyota.
Speaker 3: Sh Is your car still working? Is it decently reliable?
Speaker 3: Keep it?
Speaker 1: Yes? I so I would say, I use this barometer
Speaker 1: so right, for purchasing new cars, we use the rule
Speaker 1: three to five years old, and you know, I think
Speaker 1: we go with like twelve to fifteen thousand miles per year,
Speaker 1: that's kind of our barometer, and go to a dealership
Speaker 1: that doesn't charge superfluary, superfluary, superfluous superfluous fees just like
Speaker 1: random fees, just no random fees.
Speaker 3: So those are no no random fees.
Speaker 1: Those are our rules for saving money on a car purchase.
Speaker 1: And then for when is it time to give it up?
Speaker 1: I would say within like the eight to ten year
Speaker 1: range is a good time to.
Speaker 3: You having owned it or of the vehicle's life.
Speaker 1: The vehicles life being eight to ten now, there is
Speaker 1: no problem with driving a car until it just until
Speaker 1: it die. Hooks to be a one owner twenty years.
Speaker 3: I love that.
Speaker 1: Love that for you, Yes, love that for you. It's
Speaker 1: not the life for most people. And we're looking at
Speaker 1: you if you're you're that person and you want to
Speaker 1: after you've had a car for two years and Toyota
Speaker 1: than comes up and you're like, oh wow, I mean
Speaker 1: this car has a lot more features than my car.
Speaker 1: And I'm in a better financial position because I've listened
Speaker 1: to frugal friends. No girl, keep her, keep her? Yeah, keeper?
Speaker 3: Is she reliable?
Speaker 1: Keeper? Is she a keeper.
Speaker 3: Yeah he does she fix your eggs in the morning, tipper.
Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, keep your car if it cooks you
Speaker 1: eggs in the morning. That's that is a feature. But
Speaker 1: so yeah, that's again not a hard and fast rule.
Speaker 1: But if you're like, do I really need a new car?
Speaker 1: I really need a new car? You probably don't it's
Speaker 1: like eight to ten years old. Then you're going to
Speaker 1: get a higher resale value. But it's also per brand too,
Speaker 1: So we love to use car complaints dot Com and
Speaker 1: it'll really give you an accurate view of the kind
Speaker 1: of the the area those two years where you're going
Speaker 1: to kind of get the best resale Valueeah. Yeah. So
Speaker 1: the last one on this list that we're going to
Speaker 1: cover that is a spending may Oh you're gonna do Okay, sorry,
Speaker 1: you're gonna The one for me is going to be
Speaker 1: number six. Outdoor deals, so camping gear, backyard furniture, grills,
Speaker 1: fishing rods, sports equipment. This is this is when they
Speaker 1: all start pushing. This is their Q four and it's
Speaker 1: it's here for you. So instead of buying outdoor gear,
Speaker 1: outdoor gear is so like outdoor gear like kayaks and stuff,
Speaker 1: but also outdoor like clothes like when we're in the winter,
Speaker 1: the jackets and stuff. These are the These things are
Speaker 1: made of a better quality than pretty much anything you
Speaker 1: can find indoors. They have to be made durable. They're
Speaker 1: the last things on earth where people still value durability,
Speaker 1: which makes them very great to buy secondhand. But again,
Speaker 1: don't procrass to spend. Don't buy a kayak because you
Speaker 1: want to start kayaking. Spend the extra rent the kayak
Speaker 1: a few times. Make sure that it's something that you
Speaker 1: can maintain in this season, in your schedule, that it's
Speaker 1: in your skill set or could be in your skill set.
Speaker 1: Spend the money up front to test before for you invest.
Speaker 3: Oh, that's good, test before you invest. That's a good one.
Speaker 3: Say sticker, I'm gonna and I'm gonna call out the
Speaker 3: paddle borders on that one, because that's usually a paddle
Speaker 3: board decision I love. And then you get out there
Speaker 3: and you realize it's harder than it looks, and gosh,
Speaker 3: you're lowing that thing up every time. Now you need
Speaker 3: a roof rat.
Speaker 1: It's in the back of every Toyota camer A inflatable
Speaker 1: paddle board is probably in the trunk of every toyota camber,
Speaker 1: So don't let that be. And if it's not you,
Speaker 1: you have a friend who is that. I'm probably gonna
Speaker 1: make that meme. But yeah, test before you invest and
Speaker 1: by used when you do, because these are the things
Speaker 1: that you can really afford to be used because their durability.
Speaker 3: Okay, folks, the last and final spending trap gifts and
Speaker 3: not the free, not the GIFs that we love to
Speaker 3: send digitally, the actual gifts with the tea. We're talking
Speaker 3: easter basket, Mother's Day, graduation weddings. Before you come at me,
Speaker 3: mom's with your it's my one day a year, give
Speaker 3: me something. Here's the thing. You don't have to buy
Speaker 3: for all of these experiences. There are ways to celebrate,
Speaker 3: show value, enjoy the day that don't have to cost
Speaker 3: a ton of money. So make your own. I mean
Speaker 3: most moms are gonna love just like a homemade little
Speaker 3: some non here's the thing. As big baked goods cook
Speaker 3: the dinner.
Speaker 1: I don't want anything. I want my family to leave
Speaker 1: me alone for a day. And that is the best
Speaker 1: gift that you can give a mother. And if if
Speaker 1: you haven't asked for that yet, ask for it this year.
Speaker 3: It's a trend I'm seeing happen. All I want on
Speaker 3: Mother's Day is to not have to mom.
Speaker 1: Not I don't want mom today. Uh huh. I love
Speaker 1: I love your trend, and it's okay to ask for
Speaker 1: it early. Yeah.
Speaker 3: But here's the thing too, graduation weddings. I am not
Speaker 3: saying make your own and give them baked goods. That's
Speaker 3: not okay. But if you're going to go to the celebration,
Speaker 3: then then that is what you have to plan ahead for.
Speaker 3: Who's graduating this year, who's getting married, Start to save
Speaker 3: now or opt out it. I think is better to
Speaker 3: not attend the wedding if it's going to be a
Speaker 3: huge financial strain on you, especially if it's going to
Speaker 3: require some travel, a hotel, rental, new clothing. Better to
Speaker 3: not go and send a kind card in the mail,
Speaker 3: maybe get something inexpensive off their registry, then to go
Speaker 3: and really jack up your finances as a result of
Speaker 3: trying to go. It's supposed to be joyous, celebratory. The
Speaker 3: generosity that you give should not be compulsory, and if
Speaker 3: it's feeling that way, better to say I can't be
Speaker 3: at this one.
Speaker 1: And if it's something you're excited, like to take a
Speaker 1: vac you know, the wedding's like a vacation. Save up
Speaker 1: to take a legit vacation where you don't have to
Speaker 1: bring a gift and sit in a service, you know,
Speaker 1: like just and go party elsewhere. So it'll be a
Speaker 1: lot less expensive than some of these some of these
Speaker 1: weddings where they're having them.
Speaker 3: Exactly all these destination weddings. Yeah, people acting like they
Speaker 3: got more money than they do our sager second article,
Speaker 3: we're a little unhinged today. So the second one, we're
Speaker 3: not going to spend a lot of time on it,
Speaker 3: but in order to kind of give you what we
Speaker 3: baited you in to be giving you what to budget
Speaker 3: for this spring, here's some of the top expenses that
Speaker 3: can come up this time of year that aren't necessarily
Speaker 3: seen throughout the rest of the seasons. So so these
Speaker 3: are things that either yes, plan for it, you know
Speaker 3: your situation, or begin considering an alternative of how you're
Speaker 3: going to respond to this potential spring need without spending money.
Speaker 3: So the first one on the list is increased lawn
Speaker 3: care that for many of us homeowners, spring is springing
Speaker 3: and stuff's popping out of the ground. And stuff still
Speaker 3: dead from last year, and there's just a lot to
Speaker 3: clean up. And so for some people that's going to
Speaker 3: mean increase lawn care. Whether you're paying somebody or you're
Speaker 3: going to buy the malt, you are refreshing, some lawn
Speaker 3: and garden tools, whatever it is. Plan for what you need,
Speaker 3: but also be mindful of the areas where you just
Speaker 3: don't need to spend. It's a nice but it's not
Speaker 3: a must have.
Speaker 1: Yeah, if I was going to spend a tax refund
Speaker 1: on something, it would be on a really good lawnmower,
Speaker 1: like a brand new, not top of the line, but
Speaker 1: a good lawnmower. It's going to make doing your own
Speaker 1: lawn a lot easier. When you have the right tools
Speaker 1: for the job, it makes it easier. It's not a
Speaker 1: fun job, but at least it's not going to be
Speaker 1: like taking you all day. And then for multch, a
Speaker 1: lot of places you can get free mult It may
Speaker 1: not be the exact color that you want, but I
Speaker 1: think the first week of April Low's has two dollars
Speaker 1: bags of mulch in brown, red, and black, So that
Speaker 1: might be something to check out as well.
Speaker 3: Yeah, or your city, keep in mind there's lots of
Speaker 3: stuff on buy nothing groups as far as lawn stuff goes,
Speaker 3: So of course you've got We've talked about this, so
Speaker 3: just glossing over it. Vacation camps, kids clothing, as much
Speaker 3: as we can continue to reuse our own clothing. Kids
Speaker 3: are growing, so that is something that needs to be bought.
Speaker 3: Of course, it can still be bought mindfully and used
Speaker 3: and of good quality. Camps if you're sending your kids,
Speaker 3: if that's like your extended Mother's Day gift to yourself,
Speaker 3: start saving now for these things.
Speaker 1: Weddings. Our friend Lisa is getting married at the end
Speaker 1: of the month. Shout out Lisa cong She was our
Speaker 1: guest on the Money Hacks episode where everyone listens to
Speaker 1: the found that finds money on the Found Money website.
Speaker 1: That's Lisa. So I am saving for a wedding gift
Speaker 1: for Lisa currently, but it is March is a big month,
Speaker 1: not as big as October or the summer, but definitely
Speaker 1: time to start thinking about that. Even if you're attending
Speaker 1: some weddings this summer.
Speaker 3: Outdoor activities, so whether you enjoy going to sporting events,
Speaker 3: amusement parks, you name it, this is definitely something to
Speaker 3: be keeping in mind. But I think too potentially that
Speaker 3: alternative to one big vacation could be a lot of
Speaker 3: smaller activities throughout the season. So maybe this year you're
Speaker 3: choosing you're not going to do a massive, expensive, one
Speaker 3: week family vacation, but instead weekly or bi weekly you
Speaker 3: get to go to a sporting event, then an amusement park,
Speaker 3: then to the movies, then to a other recreation center,
Speaker 3: you name it. I like that way of kind of
Speaker 3: spreading out the fun throughout the year, and it might
Speaker 3: be a little bit kinder for our wallets.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's kind of looking. You have to take inventory
Speaker 1: of how was winter break, how was summer last year?
Speaker 1: How was spring break last year? What did I love?
Speaker 1: What do I want to change? And that's where taking
Speaker 1: inventory immediately is very helpful. So if you are not
Speaker 1: a journaler, maybe starting to take some journaling. I got
Speaker 1: and I'm not trying to influence anybody into this, but
Speaker 1: in January I bought a five year journal where it
Speaker 1: has every page has about has five little sections with
Speaker 1: about three or four lines each, so that you can
Speaker 1: write a couple sentences about what happened to the day
Speaker 1: on the day for five years well, are you doing it? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I've been doing it every day, and so that might
Speaker 1: be something too. That's good to start, so that you
Speaker 1: can kind of look back on, like, all right, what
Speaker 1: did last summer look like? What did last spring break
Speaker 1: look like? And how would I like to do things
Speaker 1: differently this year? Did we feel like, you know, we
Speaker 1: did not do anything and we didn't spend any money.
Speaker 1: How do I want to spend money differently this year?
Speaker 1: Did I, at the end of the summer feel like
Speaker 1: we spent too much money? What are the things that
Speaker 1: we spent money on that really didn't serve us or
Speaker 1: that I don't remember six months later or a year later.
Speaker 3: And you don't have to spend on that. Journal If
Speaker 3: you keep some sort of calendar, just look back at
Speaker 3: your calend, nurse, if you haven't already started this.
Speaker 1: Yeah, everybody gets a free calendar in the mail from
Speaker 1: some organization somebody sending Yeah, somebody sends everybody a free calendar,
Speaker 1: so use that.
Speaker 3: And the last one is vehicle maintenance. This could just
Speaker 3: be a good I mean, vehicle maintenance is always necessary,
Speaker 3: but it could be the time of year where you're
Speaker 3: starting to think about it. Keeping that in mind what
Speaker 3: kinds of tune ups are needed.
Speaker 1: Yeah, especially if you just went through a really harsh winter,
Speaker 1: you know, and all that snow and moisture. Carriage, it's
Speaker 1: time to clean the undercarriage, Jill.
Speaker 3: Don't I know it? You know what else it's time for?
Speaker 1: It doesn't have an undercarriage.
Speaker 3: It might it might vow the bill of the weed.
Speaker 4: That's right, it's time for the best minute of your
Speaker 4: entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name
Speaker 4: is William. Maybe you've paid off your mortgage. Maybe your
Speaker 4: car died and you're happy to not have to pay
Speaker 4: that bill anymore. Be billslow bills, bill claim. This is
Speaker 4: the bill of the week.
Speaker 5: Hi, Jen and Jill. I just wanted to share my
Speaker 5: bill of the week. So at the beginning of twenty
Speaker 5: twenty three, I was paying two hundred and fifty dollars
Speaker 5: a month for my car insurance. In June, I started
Speaker 5: looking at different options and I found a new car
Speaker 5: insurance that brought down my bill two hundred a month.
Speaker 5: And then my dad ended up switching to that car
Speaker 5: insurance and it brought it down to one hundred and
Speaker 5: sixty a month. And then because of low mileage, I
Speaker 5: recently got my car insurance bill down to one hundred
Speaker 5: and fifty a month, So I'm saving one hundred dollars
Speaker 5: a month on car insurance.
Speaker 3: That's amazing. Yes, well son, we love it when we
Speaker 3: can find different hacks and strategies to cut costs, especially
Speaker 3: on some of these higher regular bills or at least
Speaker 3: annual or biannual bills that we have. So that is
Speaker 3: very exciting. Well done.
Speaker 1: Yes, And if.
Speaker 3: You all listening, have a bill about saving money on
Speaker 3: your bills, bills you don't mind spending on bills, you
Speaker 3: don't have to pay anymore bills. Who are your friend bills?
Speaker 3: Who are your son's bills? Who are your fathers? You
Speaker 3: are a bill wow for all Friends podcast dot com
Speaker 3: slash bill. Leave us your bill. We're ready for it.
Speaker 3: And now it's time for the lightning around.
Speaker 1: All right?
Speaker 5: All right?
Speaker 1: What are you budgeting for this spring? Jill? What are
Speaker 1: you personally hey for?
Speaker 3: Hey? Oh, an anniversary trip. I've been budgeting for that though.
Speaker 3: That's something I keep a sinking fund for travel that
Speaker 3: I add to as i'm able. Ideally, I'm putting money
Speaker 3: into it monthly until it reaches a certain amount. I
Speaker 3: have a goal amount for that sinking fund, and once
Speaker 3: it's there, then I can put my savings towards other
Speaker 3: little goals, so it actually is fully funded. Now I
Speaker 3: just have to plan the trip and do it. Yay. Yeah, nice,
Speaker 3: we'll see maybe April.
Speaker 1: And by anniversary, you mean the anniversary of my birth.
Speaker 3: That's what you know. No, that's a birthday. This is
Speaker 3: an anniversary, but they are very close together. Yeah, we've
Speaker 3: almost been married as long as you've been born, So
Speaker 3: that's not what I mean.
Speaker 1: I mean your anniversary is on the May twelfth, right,
Speaker 1: and my birthdays May night. Yeah, that's what I mean.
Speaker 3: It's amazing, good things happen days apart.
Speaker 1: Okay, what about you and Chen? All right? So we
Speaker 1: are budgeting for extra roth Aray contributions so we have
Speaker 1: the money for our renovations. We have had saved. It's
Speaker 1: just been one of those things, is like trying not
Speaker 1: to spend it until because it's already allocated somewhere. So
Speaker 1: that is our Yeah, that's where we're at right now.
Speaker 1: Once that money is spent and the renovation is done,
Speaker 1: then we want to put the rest into our wrath
Speaker 1: Ara for twenty twenty three. But I would potentially like
Speaker 1: to get back to well, we need to get back
Speaker 1: to monthly roth Ara contributions. I just have to set
Speaker 1: it up so that is what we will be budgeting
Speaker 1: for us to get back into that. Yeah Spring, Yeah, perfect.
Speaker 3: It's not totally Spring specific now, but it's this season
Speaker 3: of our particular lives and what we're budgeting for. Correct.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I don't I'm not going to like
Speaker 1: really do any like outdoorsy things. I am like currently
Speaker 1: building a new wardrobe with a new body, but I'm
Speaker 1: kind of just doing that as the things come along,
Speaker 1: So nothing special except for that Roperry.
Speaker 3: Yeah cool. I'm excited to see your renovation when it's done.
Speaker 1: Gosh, we're in the middle of it.
Speaker 3: Thanks everyone for listening. We we love having you here. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and we love reading your kind reviews like this one
Speaker 3: from Hailey b Dubs says love frugal friends. This show
Speaker 3: inspires me to be my best frugal self. Jenn and
Speaker 3: Jill are hilarious and have great banter. Definitely recommend. Yes, sure, sweet,
Speaker 3: I love that one.
Speaker 1: Yes, I mean, if you wanted to do a review
Speaker 1: that says how unhinge we'ved become but in a good
Speaker 1: way also would accept that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Jen and I are recording a lot more in person,
Speaker 3: and we're sitting in comfy chairs holding our mics like
Speaker 3: they're not on mic stands anymore. So it's become very
Speaker 3: very laid back and I think it's coming through.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we need seven more reviews to hit nine hundred
Speaker 1: reviews on Apple, so if you haven't, then please be
Speaker 1: one of the seven.
Speaker 3: We also need one hundred and seven to reach a thousand,
Speaker 3: which would be awesome taken in baby Stone. Okay, be
Speaker 3: one of the seven.
Speaker 1: We will be one of the hundred. Yeah, we are
Speaker 1: going to celebrate when we hit a thousand in some way.
Speaker 1: But thank you, thank you for your kind reviews. And
Speaker 1: uh men, please take a second to help, in all seriousness,
Speaker 1: help people understand what they're going to be getting from
Speaker 1: the show, because some people think that we talk about couponning,
Speaker 1: And actually somebody reached out to us to come on
Speaker 1: their show to talk about couponning, and we had to
Speaker 1: tell them like, does I really want.
Speaker 3: To talk about here?
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's a common misconception.
Speaker 3: We're redefining frugality, so we're here for the people who
Speaker 3: want that. Yes, Okay, see that time.
Speaker 1: Gorugle Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni. So, Jill, we
Speaker 1: don't always do cube ponds, Yeah, but we will do
Speaker 1: the dollar sale at.
Speaker 3: The label swap Heck, yeah we.
Speaker 1: Will so and that was so fun. We went with
Speaker 1: two other friends and it was quite overwhelming for me.
Speaker 1: I do not like to hunt. I have allergies. But
Speaker 1: I loved going with you guys. And I was really
Speaker 1: excited before until I got in there and I remembered
Speaker 1: who I am, and I was like, dang it, I
Speaker 1: wish I was different, but you and our friend Whitney
Speaker 1: made out like bandit.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was my dream come true. So it was
Speaker 3: a drift store in Tampa that was having a dollar
Speaker 3: sale on select items. It was a decent amount that
Speaker 3: they had for sale for a dollar, so stuff in bins,
Speaker 3: stuff on racks, and then they had just regular racks
Speaker 3: that were kind of their regular pricing, but still with
Speaker 3: stickers that had various percentages off of the stickered price.
Speaker 1: So you know, you.
Speaker 3: Begin by digging through the bins, rifling through the racks.
Speaker 3: It was a lot like Black Friday in the early
Speaker 3: two thousands, which I am here for. I get a
Speaker 3: little bit disappointed. So, I mean, I don't really participate
Speaker 3: in Black Friday anymore, but I remember there were years
Speaker 3: years ago where I really want it. I wanted to
Speaker 3: be like charging through the doors and like seeing people
Speaker 3: elbow just to get to their things. Yeah, I don't know,
Speaker 3: I'm a little I can be a little bit like
Speaker 3: unhinged and instigatory. That's not the way.
Speaker 1: I like that planning part of Black Friday, but not
Speaker 1: the actual elbowing. And I would remember I would get
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, Thanksgiving was so exciting for me, not
Speaker 1: for food, but for planning our Black Friday rat and
Speaker 1: then I would get there and I would just be
Speaker 1: like very overwhelmed, so like we should have gotten together
Speaker 1: way earlier.
Speaker 3: So it was all of the unhinged vibes that I wanted.
Speaker 3: People were staking their claim just I mean rifling here
Speaker 3: in a ferocious way, and it was exhilarating. And I
Speaker 3: did find a decent amount of stuff for both me
Speaker 3: and Eric for a dollar. And then I did buy
Speaker 3: two things off of the not dollar rack, but they
Speaker 3: were fifty percent off and it worth it. It was
Speaker 3: things that I did have on my list for months now.
Speaker 3: I did need new genes and I found them for
Speaker 3: eight dollars and fifty cents.
Speaker 1: Fantastic. I'm going to go back there, yeah, when they're
Speaker 1: not having a major sale like that, because it's a
Speaker 1: resale store, so it was really good quality stuff like
Speaker 1: Levis in there for a dollar. Yeah, it was just
Speaker 1: needed to. I do better when things are separated by size,
Speaker 1: sorted by color, and they do that.
Speaker 3: But it was just.
Speaker 1: Chaos.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was chaos. I brought I still brought my
Speaker 3: colors with me, and even in the midst of chaos,
Speaker 3: I pulled out my swatches to make sure that even
Speaker 3: the thing I'm picking up for a dollar is going
Speaker 3: to be something that I'm gonna want and is gonna
Speaker 3: look good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you thrive in chaos, and.
Speaker 3: Which is funny because if you look at my home,
Speaker 3: it is not. It does not come across.
Speaker 1: Chaoss, not at all.
Speaker 3: I love both. I love clean, simple, non chaos, and
Speaker 3: I also love me a little.
Speaker 1: Bit of Well that's why you have so many guests
Speaker 1: over in your house all the time. And it is
Speaker 1: true chaos, like all not all the time. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I loved planning that outing for us. We did rain.
Speaker 3: It was you wanted to get out of there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I did.
Speaker 3: And then we all needed to take a cleratin, and.
Speaker 1: You laughed at me when I pulled out the cleratin,
Speaker 1: and then you were like, actually I need one.
Speaker 3: We were all sneezing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, mom, Mom had the cleratin. It was fine.