Speaker 1: Episode one. What is values based budgeting and how do
Speaker 1: you practice it? Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where
Speaker 1: you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, rights, and liver
Speaker 1: with your life. Here your host Jen and Jill m.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen,
Speaker 1: my name is Jill, and today we are talking about
Speaker 1: a budgeting method that is not super popular but is
Speaker 1: super valuable and made up fun what's sorry? Oh goodness, Yeah,
Speaker 1: not popular but valuable. Yeah. And it's values based budgeting
Speaker 1: my high school career. Yeah. So, and how we can
Speaker 1: practice values based spending in tandem with values based budgeting,
Speaker 1: because if we're just focusing on spending in our values,
Speaker 1: we can definitely spend very frivolously. But if we focus
Speaker 1: on the budgeting part first, it becomes a budget that
Speaker 1: you want to stick to, that you joyfully follow and
Speaker 1: practice because it is bringing you closer to what you
Speaker 1: care most about. And what you care most about is
Speaker 1: different from what I care most about, what Jill cares about,
Speaker 1: and other people. And so this is a skill that
Speaker 1: if you learn it and you master it, it will
Speaker 1: really serve you. But it is it is more difficult
Speaker 1: than just doing what somebody else tells you to do
Speaker 1: and the way they tell you to do it. M Yes,
Speaker 1: this is next level, this is budgeting two oh one.
Speaker 1: But again, like you said, Jen, it is a tool
Speaker 1: that we can be implementing, especially for those of us
Speaker 1: who are recognizing budgets just don't work for me. Okay,
Speaker 1: hey that this might be one of the main reasons
Speaker 1: why not, So let's get into it absolutely. But first first,
Speaker 1: our sponsor sponsors the new thing we're doing great. I
Speaker 1: don't like it, the seven Day No Spend Challenge. If
Speaker 1: you feel like you spent a little bit too much
Speaker 1: this summer or on back to school season or whatever,
Speaker 1: and you want to step back and reset your spending habits,
Speaker 1: we have created a free our favorite word mini workbook
Speaker 1: that will help you do that through a seven day
Speaker 1: no spend challenge. The workbook will help you to plan, execute,
Speaker 1: and reflect on the challenge so that after seven days,
Speaker 1: you know what you need to work on and you
Speaker 1: have an action plan to do so. So if this
Speaker 1: sounds like something you need, head to Frugal Friends podcast
Speaker 1: dot com slash free It's f r e E. You
Speaker 1: know the word, get yours and this episode is also
Speaker 1: brought to you by meeting up in person. Haven't done
Speaker 1: that advertising in a while? Do you live in the Austin,
Speaker 1: Texas area would you like to meet me? Jen? Do
Speaker 1: you live in the Fairbanks, Alaska area and would like
Speaker 1: to meet Jill? Well, Jill is not doing a meet
Speaker 1: up in Alaska, but I would love to meet up
Speaker 1: with you in Austin, Texas if you are going to
Speaker 1: be there sometime between September two to four. So at
Speaker 1: the time of this recording, I'm not sure what my
Speaker 1: schedule will be like. So if you live in Austin
Speaker 1: and you want to meet up one night, d m
Speaker 1: me on Instagram at Modern Frugality and let's see if
Speaker 1: we can organize a little group haying. Let's see what happens. However,
Speaker 1: you dangle the carrot of for all the Alaskans out there,
Speaker 1: I want them to know that you are are intentionally
Speaker 1: jiming them. Well, Okay, I don't know how many Alaskan
Speaker 1: followers we have, but if they're out there, I mean
Speaker 1: I'd consider it. Yeah, So d M is not the
Speaker 1: purpose of my trip, but send a DM show Jill.
Speaker 1: If you can show Jill a good time in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Speaker 1: Send us a d M. Yeah, I don't know if
Speaker 1: I want to show me a good time DM, but
Speaker 1: you want to meet up, feel free to DM, but
Speaker 1: show her a good time anyways. So we were doing
Speaker 1: Values based Budgeting episode right now because we just started
Speaker 1: our Values Based Life Challenge in Club BFF. So for
Speaker 1: six weeks, our members are working together in small groups
Speaker 1: and as a larger group to discover their core values
Speaker 1: and connect them back to all areas of their life,
Speaker 1: so primarily financial, so budgeting, spending, earning, well building, but
Speaker 1: also lifestyle and communication because you know, we spend to
Speaker 1: get our ideal lifestyle and we budget to get our
Speaker 1: ideal lifestyle, and it's just easier if the people around
Speaker 1: us in our lives know why we're doing that, and
Speaker 1: so that's we have value centered communication in there as well.
Speaker 1: So we've written a workbook that our members are going
Speaker 1: through and we we are going to make that workbook
Speaker 1: available to everyone sometime in November, but we are so
Speaker 1: amped on this topic right now. So if you want
Speaker 1: to know when that workbook and those budgeting templates become available,
Speaker 1: definitely get the seven Day No Spend Challenge that free
Speaker 1: mini workbook, because then you'll be the first to know
Speaker 1: um when this one is life. But for now, we
Speaker 1: just want to share this concept with everyone because it
Speaker 1: really can be a life changing way to not just
Speaker 1: budget or spend, but like to view your finances, to
Speaker 1: view your life honestly, because how often does somebody ask,
Speaker 1: like you, what do you want from life? What do
Speaker 1: you care about? Like? How often do you get asked that?
Speaker 1: How often do you ask yourself that? Honestly? This conversation
Speaker 1: that you and I have been having, even off the mic,
Speaker 1: has been it has carried over into conversations with Eric
Speaker 1: and other friends and so as with anything, and you've
Speaker 1: heard us say this before, we are whole people. So
Speaker 1: while on this podcast will primarily we primarily talk about
Speaker 1: finances and frugality, but how it intersects with other aspects
Speaker 1: of our life and if we are going to be
Speaker 1: aimed at values based budget, my goodness, does that help
Speaker 1: us understand ourselves more, the decisions we make, why we
Speaker 1: make them. It can move us towards better decision making,
Speaker 1: better relating with ourselves with others. So it's not just
Speaker 1: about how we then manage finances again, and it's going
Speaker 1: to impact all these other areas of life that are
Speaker 1: incredibly beneficial and relevant. So again, this is not the
Speaker 1: only way of budgeting. It's becoming one of our favorites,
Speaker 1: but see what works for you. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: at least give it a try, because again it's going
Speaker 1: to get you more connected and understanding yourself and probably
Speaker 1: those that you live with. Hopefully. Yes. So our first
Speaker 1: article that we are going through is from Clowbar dot
Speaker 1: com and it is values based Budgeting, Aligning your money
Speaker 1: with your goals. This is a really great overview of
Speaker 1: values based budgeting. What do you think? Jill really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: As you said, it goes through both why she loves it,
Speaker 1: the author loves values based budgeting, and then a little
Speaker 1: bit on how to. But one of the things that
Speaker 1: she talks about before she even gets into some of
Speaker 1: her bullet points is this kind of magic wand question
Speaker 1: of hey, imagine your life, if everything we're exactly how
Speaker 1: you wanted it to be, what is that? And it's
Speaker 1: kind of a question to help you get at what
Speaker 1: is most valuable for me or what do I want
Speaker 1: to see in my future? And I particularly like that
Speaker 1: because it's very reminiscent of this technique that's utilized in
Speaker 1: solutions focused therapy s f T for short. I won't
Speaker 1: get too into the weeds on it, but one of
Speaker 1: the interventions or ways of utilizing s f T is
Speaker 1: by asking this miracle question. It's this, Hey, if you
Speaker 1: woke up tomorrow and a miracle had happened, how would
Speaker 1: you know that everything was different? And very similar questions,
Speaker 1: but ultimately what these questions do well not realistic. Right.
Speaker 1: There's not a button I can push and I get
Speaker 1: my us life now, there's not an actual wand I
Speaker 1: can wave. But it does help us to understand what
Speaker 1: is deep rooted inside of us that we would like
Speaker 1: to see be different. And it's kind of this starting
Speaker 1: at the end and working backwards. But if we're able
Speaker 1: to identify the end point, that helps us to understand
Speaker 1: what do we even want, and then we can start
Speaker 1: to fill in the blanks, working our ways back towards
Speaker 1: where we actually find ourselves right now. And again it's
Speaker 1: not going to mean magic, but usually there's some things
Speaker 1: that we can identify and say, well, if I did
Speaker 1: take this step, it gets me a little bit closer
Speaker 1: to this life that I do want to see for myself.
Speaker 1: So I think it's a really useful question. Can feel
Speaker 1: really silly, really odd, but I love that she starts
Speaker 1: it out this way because I think it can be
Speaker 1: helpful and even understanding what what do I even want?
Speaker 1: I think a lot of us can struggle with answering that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it is definitely not a question that you will be
Speaker 1: able to answer in one sitting, and that's why people
Speaker 1: tend to ignore it or maybe gloss over it, because
Speaker 1: they want to be able to answer questions as soon
Speaker 1: as they sit down to answer them. Um, but this
Speaker 1: is something where you're going to have to ask a
Speaker 1: lot of dynamic questions, think about, really think hard about, Okay,
Speaker 1: what values do I want to have but aren't actually
Speaker 1: my true core values? That is such a tough one, um,
Speaker 1: Because I look at a list of core values and
Speaker 1: I see these all these really great values, and some
Speaker 1: of them look like values I'm supposed to have or
Speaker 1: I want to have, and some of them look like
Speaker 1: values that I do not want to have. But sometimes
Speaker 1: your core values are different from the core values you
Speaker 1: want to have or think you should have. So that's
Speaker 1: a nut like that goes even deeper into figuring out
Speaker 1: who am I, what do I want outside of what
Speaker 1: society and the internet is telling me I'm supposed to
Speaker 1: be like. So that's why it just takes time. And
Speaker 1: our core values, even if they seem really glamorous, like
Speaker 1: you know, I have a core value of justice, there's
Speaker 1: a flip side to that too, right, there's there is
Speaker 1: the way that we can operate in that that is
Speaker 1: aimed at well being, and there's a way that we
Speaker 1: can operate in that that can be destructive if we're
Speaker 1: too hyper focused on it. So, you know, even if
Speaker 1: we do assign some of these lofty terms, recognize that
Speaker 1: there's a way that we harness some of these and
Speaker 1: walk in a way that benefits us rather than the
Speaker 1: opposite of that. But then, I know, Jenn and you
Speaker 1: and I have talked about this a little bit. My
Speaker 1: personal perspective on this is that we have core values, right,
Speaker 1: these core aspect of our personhood, and I would say
Speaker 1: we probably have about two to three actual core values,
Speaker 1: and then connected to those, almost like a ripple going
Speaker 1: out from them, we have other values that are attached
Speaker 1: to that, and that could be I mean, I don't
Speaker 1: want to say infinite, but You're probably talking potentially twenty
Speaker 1: other values, but I wouldn't say that those more peripheral
Speaker 1: values would be core. I think core values are not
Speaker 1: really going to shift throughout our lifetime. The way that
Speaker 1: we walk them out or the way that they look
Speaker 1: might shift, but the peripheral values attached to it could shift, right,
Speaker 1: Like I don't have kids. My own kids aren't that
Speaker 1: core value of mine because I'm not. I don't have
Speaker 1: kids the second I do, guess what that would change.
Speaker 1: So certain things can shift in that equation. So I
Speaker 1: just want to give that little caveat before we keep
Speaker 1: talking about values. Yeah. Absolutely, And I also want to
Speaker 1: give permission to like parents, wives, husbands, like your spouse,
Speaker 1: your family. Your kids don't actually have to be a
Speaker 1: core value of yours, like if they are not, you
Speaker 1: can have core values that relate to how you interact
Speaker 1: with your spouse, partner, and children. And so just because
Speaker 1: like your kids for kids sake aren't your core values
Speaker 1: does not mean you don't care about your children. And
Speaker 1: so this is like stuff you learn about your core values,
Speaker 1: and it keeps you from overspending on your children for
Speaker 1: the sake of just loving your children. But you can
Speaker 1: spend more aligned with your values that are specifically how
Speaker 1: you want to show love to your children, and so
Speaker 1: that's why we are really into values based budgeting. So
Speaker 1: here's a little bit about why the author of this
Speaker 1: article is into it. And the first one is that
Speaker 1: values based budgeting is hyper personalized, kind of like what
Speaker 1: we mentioned at the beginning. So she says, this approach
Speaker 1: works for me because I don't like needlessly rigid approaches
Speaker 1: that follow arbitrary rules put in place by financial experts,
Speaker 1: and so we feel the same exact way. And she
Speaker 1: references the fifty rule, which is a budgeting rule where
Speaker 1: you spend fifty percent on needs, thirty percent on wants,
Speaker 1: and twenty percent on savings, which is absolutely the definition
Speaker 1: of arbitrary. Depending on your income and your values, there
Speaker 1: is no need for this to be your budgeting percentages
Speaker 1: um or or even your goals. So I I hate
Speaker 1: arbitrary rules like this, and I think, at first, yeah,
Speaker 1: it is super valuable to just find somebody resonate with
Speaker 1: and do everything they tell you exactly as they tell you.
Speaker 1: That's the fewer decisions you have to make to get this,
Speaker 1: like budgeting or financial habit going is super useful, but
Speaker 1: after a few months, you cannot rely on other people's
Speaker 1: definition of budgeting and financial success in goals because it's
Speaker 1: not sustainable for you. And so this is a great
Speaker 1: way to make budgeting sustainable, building upon the tools that
Speaker 1: you've already established. The second reason that she mentions loving
Speaker 1: values based budgeting is that it prevents impulse purchases. It
Speaker 1: already considers the things that you want to spend money on,
Speaker 1: So that is one of the biggest budget busters. Alliteration
Speaker 1: is feeling restricted and not wanting to feel restricted and
Speaker 1: just spending frivolously or impulsively, and having a budget that
Speaker 1: is centered around the things that you want to be
Speaker 1: spending on can be a huge help in not making
Speaker 1: those impulse purchases. Are not feeling super restricted because you've
Speaker 1: already identified Okay, actually it's not that valuable to me
Speaker 1: to be constantly buying coffees outside of my house. What
Speaker 1: is valuable is X y Z. So because I've got
Speaker 1: room in my budget now for that, it's easier for
Speaker 1: me to let go of this other thing that I
Speaker 1: thought was important but now I realized it's not as much.
Speaker 1: So really it connects are spending with our y real time.
Speaker 1: It's both long term and short terms. So if we've
Speaker 1: got room in our budget for the things that we
Speaker 1: actually want to be spending on connected to these deeper values,
Speaker 1: connected to our wise of doing this thing again, it's
Speaker 1: it's another strength and protective factor for not making the
Speaker 1: decisions that that we don't want to be making and
Speaker 1: not mindfully spending. Absolutely, and we'll talk a little bit
Speaker 1: about our whole next article is about values based spending,
Speaker 1: but yeah, it does. It does how us definitely rain
Speaker 1: in our spending. I mean, most people might think that
Speaker 1: values based spending will inevitably lead to overspending in those categories,
Speaker 1: but it can. The more introspective you get, the more
Speaker 1: you realize you don't need. The next one is values
Speaker 1: based budgeting allows me to live the life I've always
Speaker 1: wanted to live now. And that's so important because so
Speaker 1: much of early personal finance education for adults is super restrictive.
Speaker 1: And while we totally believe in a detox, we love
Speaker 1: a good no spend challenge so that you can kind
Speaker 1: of take a step back, give up all the habits
Speaker 1: and mindless spending and emotional spending and like pause all
Speaker 1: of that. So that you can really look at why
Speaker 1: you're doing each of those that is not sustainable by
Speaker 1: any means. So sure there are people that do it
Speaker 1: for a full year, but I feel like those people
Speaker 1: have quote unquote training in it. You don't just decide
Speaker 1: to do a no spend challenge. Very few people could
Speaker 1: decide to do one of those and and do it
Speaker 1: for a full year right off the bat. It's like
Speaker 1: decided to do a marathon with no exactly exactly that. So, uh,
Speaker 1: we have to put into place safe strategies to live
Speaker 1: the life that you truly value now. Um, And so
Speaker 1: you like what Jill said, two to three core values
Speaker 1: is really solid, and so you can spend and budget
Speaker 1: on those things without guilt and then kind of regulate
Speaker 1: your you know, ten to twenty other peripheral values and
Speaker 1: do them every once in a while so you still
Speaker 1: get them, but you're not taking every opportunity to spend
Speaker 1: on every single one of your values, and you can
Speaker 1: still feel like you're living a rich, like free life
Speaker 1: and you just knowing yourself and your values. So if
Speaker 1: you like how this sounds, let's talk about how to
Speaker 1: do this. Number one, figure out what you get? So
Speaker 1: search she says, Oh gosh, yes it's true. And again,
Speaker 1: like like we said at the beginning of this podcast,
Speaker 1: this isn't just gonna be a okay, let me just
Speaker 1: like quick think about this and write it down. This
Speaker 1: will be probably a few days, potentially a week of
Speaker 1: kind of in and out wrestling with this idea of
Speaker 1: what matters to me. But we don't want to leave
Speaker 1: you empty handed in that process, and just like go
Speaker 1: into a dark room and figure out what you value.
Speaker 1: In fact, you probably have to engage with the world
Speaker 1: to figure it out. But I do like this one
Speaker 1: question that she asks, and there's certainly lots of questions
Speaker 1: we can ask ourselves, but here's one. If your employer
Speaker 1: paid you in something other than cash, what would it be?
Speaker 1: Is is super helpful to identify? I love this question, Like,
Speaker 1: what else would would to me feel valuable or a
Speaker 1: good use of my time if they were to pay
Speaker 1: me in this and so is that travel that okay?
Speaker 1: Instead of paying me? Yeah, sure, give me some plane tickets?
Speaker 1: Is it uh time off? Is it medical expenses? Is
Speaker 1: it paying into your savings account? You name it right.
Speaker 1: There's probably a lot of different things that you could consider,
Speaker 1: but that's one way of identifying what do I value?
Speaker 1: Asking yourself that question. You can also certainly look at
Speaker 1: look back at what your previous spending has been over
Speaker 1: the past couple of months. Now, certainly there will be
Speaker 1: spending that you've done, that you've spent in areas that
Speaker 1: you don't actually value. But look at how you've spent
Speaker 1: your time, how you've spent your money. That can also
Speaker 1: give an indicator while you're looking at what do I value? Yeah,
Speaker 1: for her, she values time spending time with people. So
Speaker 1: I pushed back a little bit on the time one.
Speaker 1: What's the reason you want more time? I think the
Speaker 1: reason you want more time that's the actual core values.
Speaker 1: So obviously she's her Number two is spending time with
Speaker 1: people I love. So I think that's actually a core
Speaker 1: value of community, travel, living somewhere I love. So that
Speaker 1: could mean many different things like either location or for
Speaker 1: Jill like it's it's you know, really great interior design.
Speaker 1: She also says advancing her career, which I think could
Speaker 1: be many different core values, and then working on my passions.
Speaker 1: So we I mean, you can find lists of core
Speaker 1: values on the internet. I think the lists that have
Speaker 1: like fifty those are kind of comprehensive enough so you
Speaker 1: can find one of those and kind of see what
Speaker 1: other people are Yeah. Um, so number two is to
Speaker 1: look at your spending. Uh So, if you haven't done
Speaker 1: this exercise before, be prepared to be a little or
Speaker 1: a lot of surprised, she says. And that's absolutely true.
Speaker 1: And so she says two to four weeks, but honestly,
Speaker 1: like I think three months at least thirty days, um
Speaker 1: preferably ninety and then look at all your transactions and
Speaker 1: see which values they serve. So this is a good
Speaker 1: thing to like look at these transactions and up to
Speaker 1: next to a sheet with those um or pulled up
Speaker 1: those fifty values and kind of looking at what values
Speaker 1: those transactions met. Did you get take out on a
Speaker 1: Thursday night? So it's good to think about like the
Speaker 1: setting you were in when you when you spent this too,
Speaker 1: So yeah, did you get take out? Why? What was
Speaker 1: what was the value? Was it was it efficiency or
Speaker 1: you know, was it fun or something? So think about
Speaker 1: the value so you can look for patterns like which
Speaker 1: values are you seeing over and over and over. Yeah,
Speaker 1: which is why we would recommend looking at your spending
Speaker 1: for a longer period of time, you're going to see
Speaker 1: more of those patterns come out rather than a fluke
Speaker 1: scenario that happened in the last thirty days. Number three
Speaker 1: on this list is to make a list of the
Speaker 1: things you don't value. Also really love this This girl
Speaker 1: might have a background in counseling, because the things that
Speaker 1: we don't value still show us about ourselves. To take
Speaker 1: it even more to an extreme, the things that we
Speaker 1: hate are usually quite indicative about the things that have
Speaker 1: shaped us, that are actually really important to us. It's
Speaker 1: it's usually an indicator of where some of our strongest
Speaker 1: passions lie. So it's a whole other side tansient, but
Speaker 1: it's one of the reasons I love this question so much.
Speaker 1: So consider the things that you just do not want
Speaker 1: to spend money on, even if society he tells you
Speaker 1: that you should. And she makes a point to say
Speaker 1: here and I'll highlight this too, that there's no judgment here.
Speaker 1: What I don't value doesn't have to be the same
Speaker 1: as what you don't value. There is space for all
Speaker 1: of us. She lists out some of the things just
Speaker 1: as an example, and I will say, I do actually
Speaker 1: agree with a lot of the things on here, and
Speaker 1: they have the same list, having the latest technology or gadget, fashion,
Speaker 1: a new car or a fancy car, trying the latest
Speaker 1: restaurants or bars, attending concerts, festival, sporting events, like, some
Speaker 1: of these things just aren't where she's going to ultimately
Speaker 1: want to spend her money. She would rather spend it
Speaker 1: in other areas. So this could be helpful to even
Speaker 1: have a list of, well, what do I know I
Speaker 1: don't want to spend on? And this could be freeing
Speaker 1: to to even be able to name it and take
Speaker 1: some mystery out of it, because we might actually be
Speaker 1: spending in some of these areas because other people are,
Speaker 1: or we think that this is what we should be doing.
Speaker 1: But then to actually just say, you know what, actually
Speaker 1: I don't care about having new clothes awesome, then find
Speaker 1: freedom in that and recognize then this is not going
Speaker 1: to be where a big portion of my finances go.
Speaker 1: And this can become really important when these things become
Speaker 1: intertwined with your actual core values. So maybe a friend
Speaker 1: wants to go shopping, and you value community time with
Speaker 1: friends and so that's something you want to do, but
Speaker 1: you don't value buying clothes. But because you are shopping,
Speaker 1: you might say Okay, well, this is an expense to
Speaker 1: spend time with someone. But when you go and you
Speaker 1: don't buy anything exactly. So when you define these are
Speaker 1: the five ten things I do not value and will
Speaker 1: not spend money on, you can separate those two activities
Speaker 1: and you can spend time with your friend without buying
Speaker 1: close because you've planned for it. You have you've already
Speaker 1: made that decision in your head, and so you don't
Speaker 1: have to make the decision on the fly when you
Speaker 1: might be experiencing a little decision fatigue. So this is
Speaker 1: a super important list to make. So next is see
Speaker 1: which areas of your life you can cut back on
Speaker 1: in order to put more money in the areas you
Speaker 1: value most. So this is where we do the dirty
Speaker 1: work of really making sure our spending and our budgeting
Speaker 1: is aligning with our values a hundred percent and not
Speaker 1: just maybe like that fifty percent in the example of
Speaker 1: going shopping with a friend. So look at your transactions
Speaker 1: from the ninety days and kind of see which of
Speaker 1: them really truly met the value a hundred percent and
Speaker 1: which of them didn't, And how you can get creative
Speaker 1: to still fulfill your values but eliminate the parts that
Speaker 1: don't fulfill your values. So this is where we start
Speaker 1: getting creative and we get flexing those frugal muscles. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we know that our finances are not unlimited, so we're
Speaker 1: not saying just go out and spend. We're saying budget
Speaker 1: for these things. And if it's still not fully there,
Speaker 1: but this is a value of yours. Look at where
Speaker 1: you're spending is where you're not. Where you're spending on
Speaker 1: things you don't value, and how can you decrease that
Speaker 1: even further so that there's more room here. So there
Speaker 1: is a creative process involved in this, uh and even
Speaker 1: the potential of blending with other things that we've talked
Speaker 1: about here earning more that does eventually become part of
Speaker 1: this equation. It's not fully what these episodes about, but
Speaker 1: I think in this category is where we start to
Speaker 1: think about paying off our debt, because it can get
Speaker 1: lost in the I want to afford you living my life.
Speaker 1: I'm tired of restrictive budgeting and YadA YadA. So it's
Speaker 1: really important early on to connect why you're paying off
Speaker 1: debt back to all two to four of your core values,
Speaker 1: and so you kind of have to you have to
Speaker 1: think about paying off debt and kind of remilinate your
Speaker 1: brain cells too. When you think about spending money on
Speaker 1: something you can you can automatically say no, I want
Speaker 1: to pay off more debt, because then you have fifty
Speaker 1: different reasons why you want to pay off your debt.
Speaker 1: And so this is where when we're getting creative and saying,
Speaker 1: how can I cut back to put more money into
Speaker 1: my highest values? This is also where we're thinking about
Speaker 1: how can I make paying off debt, Like why does
Speaker 1: paying off debt get me closer to all three of
Speaker 1: my values? Because it inevitably does. So you just have
Speaker 1: to really think and contemplate that to make this section
Speaker 1: really work. Yeah, because we're not just talking about the
Speaker 1: collection of things. We're not just talking about free up
Speaker 1: money so you can go buy things. Some of this
Speaker 1: might be a big portion of this might be freeing
Speaker 1: up money to get at some of our bigger goals
Speaker 1: of debt payoff, of savings, of being able to, yeah,
Speaker 1: maybe buy that house that we really want, or being
Speaker 1: able to afford our bills, you name it. We're not
Speaker 1: just talking about free up money so you can go,
Speaker 1: like buy things that seem fun to you. It's like
Speaker 1: kind of the opposite of what we're saying, because we're
Speaker 1: still minimalists. Uh, and I mean I think that values
Speaker 1: dice budgeting. We we want so much to base our
Speaker 1: financial goals around being able to buy more stuff and
Speaker 1: being able to buy more experiences. But this goes against
Speaker 1: that and that core values aren't based on stuff that
Speaker 1: you can I core values are based on who you are.
Speaker 1: And so when we start budgeting around what makes us
Speaker 1: more of who we are, we add fewer things that
Speaker 1: cost money. That's the goal, is that we want to
Speaker 1: think about fulfilling our lives, fulfilling our partners lives and
Speaker 1: our children's lives, not what else can I spend money on?
Speaker 1: And so yeah, many things that fulfill us will cost money.
Speaker 1: But when affording stuff and experiences becomes less of the focus,
Speaker 1: then it not we naturally spend less. And finally number
Speaker 1: five on this list as far as the how to
Speaker 1: is evaluate those essential expenses. And so sometimes we can
Speaker 1: think that we have got these fixed, inflexible essential expenses
Speaker 1: and we hardly even look at them. We gloss over them,
Speaker 1: we factor them in, but we we never really critically
Speaker 1: think whether or not it's actually necessary. And this is
Speaker 1: a challenge to re look at those things the transportation
Speaker 1: annual transportation costs, you have, your living expenses, your grocery bill,
Speaker 1: your utilities, you name it. These things are up for debate.
Speaker 1: Certainly that it might require some extreme decision making, but
Speaker 1: it's worth real looking at could I actually cut this
Speaker 1: essential quote unquote essential expense again to be able to
Speaker 1: free up some of that money in other areas. The
Speaker 1: example that this author gives that I don't think is
Speaker 1: going to be realistic for most people, but I'll just
Speaker 1: say it. She noticed how much money she was spending
Speaker 1: annually on her vehicle, between insurance and gas and fixes
Speaker 1: and repairs and all of that. Her company actually offered
Speaker 1: her a company car, so she was able to sell
Speaker 1: her car, utilize the company car, and now has slashed
Speaker 1: her transportation costs significantly. And then we'll also bike a
Speaker 1: lot of places or utilize public transportation. Again, that's not
Speaker 1: always available to everybody, but I like the way that
Speaker 1: this gets us to think of, well, do I actually
Speaker 1: need that. It's one of the reasons that Eric and
Speaker 1: I chose to live in our tiny home for a time.
Speaker 1: It didn't last forever. Now we're in an actual home
Speaker 1: that is stationary. It doesn't move, it's not on wheels.
Speaker 1: But that was one of those let's look at these
Speaker 1: this big expense of rent and do we actually have
Speaker 1: to be putting this much money into rent in this area?
Speaker 1: What's the way that we could slash our housing expense?
Speaker 1: And we did, and it freed up the opportunity for
Speaker 1: me to be able to cash flow my master's degree
Speaker 1: and tons of other things. So it's worth being creative.
Speaker 1: It's not necessarily it doesn't mean that you're going to find,
Speaker 1: you know, some awesome solution, but still look at it.
Speaker 1: Be willing to think outside the box on these more
Speaker 1: big expenses. Absolutely, and then she just says that after
Speaker 1: all of that, you can use the found money to
Speaker 1: go towards your high values categories. So that is how
Speaker 1: to create a values based budget. So let's talk about
Speaker 1: values based spending, which is budgeting in action. This one
Speaker 1: is from Eat, Drink, and Save Money, and it's how
Speaker 1: to save money with values based spending. So what did
Speaker 1: you think of this? And we're gonna we're gonna go
Speaker 1: through all of her examples for values based spending and
Speaker 1: how it works with values based budgeting. Yeah, I like
Speaker 1: the way that she partitioned this out, and she is
Speaker 1: making the ultimate idea behind what we're about to go
Speaker 1: through in these examples is the connection between values based
Speaker 1: budgeting and values based spending. That you can't just values
Speaker 1: based spend if you actually want to get at your
Speaker 1: like long term financial goals, because then it just becomes
Speaker 1: an excuse of well, it's a value of mind, So sure,
Speaker 1: I can drop a ton of money on it, it
Speaker 1: has to be connected to the actual money that you
Speaker 1: bring in and all of the other expenses that that
Speaker 1: are necessary that you do need to pay in some
Speaker 1: regard for food and housing and transportation. So it's showing
Speaker 1: how values based spending without a budget could look and
Speaker 1: how values based spending with a budget could look. So
Speaker 1: the first example goes into friendship. I think all of
Speaker 1: these that we're going to go through are definitely common
Speaker 1: values and they're all ones I share, and it is
Speaker 1: definitely a The budget is a a tool, it's not
Speaker 1: the solution. So we make the budget so that we
Speaker 1: have the plan, because without a plan, we're not going
Speaker 1: to follow through with values based spending. We have to
Speaker 1: know what our values are and we have to allocate
Speaker 1: money to those values, but the budget is not the solution.
Speaker 1: So I think we get into this like vicious cycle
Speaker 1: of budgeting and then spending, and then life throws us
Speaker 1: something that surprises us, and the budget goes a little awry,
Speaker 1: and then we feel kind of like guilt and shame
Speaker 1: for not being able to quote unquote not being able
Speaker 1: to budget, which is totally untrue. And so I think,
Speaker 1: as long as you know your values, whatever spending things
Speaker 1: come your way, you're gonna be able to pivot better
Speaker 1: then using somebody else's like budgeting methods. So yeah, So
Speaker 1: with this first example, let's say you value friendship that
Speaker 1: is super important to you, and you might put different
Speaker 1: words on this of community, belonging, time with friends, it's
Speaker 1: all important. With the values based budget, you could spend
Speaker 1: time with friends, get together monthly, weekly, socialized, find ways
Speaker 1: to do that that work within the budget. Sometimes that
Speaker 1: might be free things. Sometimes it might mean things that
Speaker 1: you're spending money on, but it's not over extending yourself.
Speaker 1: It's not going into debt or taking on expenses that
Speaker 1: you can't actually afford in order to spend on this
Speaker 1: versus values based spending on friendship without budgeting. Could she
Speaker 1: uses a really crazy example bottle service, and I that's
Speaker 1: just like extreme. But but I will say without a budget,
Speaker 1: we could say, well, yeah, I'm going to go out
Speaker 1: on on Saturday and we're gonna go have a spa
Speaker 1: day and we're going to do out to dinner and
Speaker 1: then we're gonna go see a movie. And because friendship
Speaker 1: is important, and if we don't actually have the money
Speaker 1: for that, that that just becomes ridiculous. But it can
Speaker 1: be a reason that we give ourselves right the how
Speaker 1: we justify it in our own minds or to another
Speaker 1: person of but friendship is important. Yeah, Friendship can be
Speaker 1: important without again over extending yourself. Yeah, and knowing your
Speaker 1: core values will actually show you who your true friends are.
Speaker 1: I mean I I encountered this. Like I used to
Speaker 1: go to happy hour like every weekend or out to
Speaker 1: dinner every weekend with friends because that's how my friends
Speaker 1: wanted to spend their time and I wanted to spend
Speaker 1: time with my friends. Um, But when I started spending
Speaker 1: more in alignment with my values and paying off debt,
Speaker 1: that was no longer in my budget. Like I prefer
Speaker 1: to get takeout food for the efficiency factor versus sit
Speaker 1: down dining because I'm not a foodie. I didn't care
Speaker 1: as much about that, and so I stopped hanging out
Speaker 1: with some of these friends because that's that is what
Speaker 1: they wanted to do. But it's okay because I have
Speaker 1: the friends that really wanted to hang out with me
Speaker 1: at my house or getting a cup of coffee. I
Speaker 1: spent more time with those friends, and I developed deeper
Speaker 1: relationships with those people. So don't be afraid of this.
Speaker 1: It's tough, but it's better in the long run. So
Speaker 1: next example two is valuing health through values based budgeting.
Speaker 1: And I know Jill and I both value health in
Speaker 1: different ways, so I love this one. So a values
Speaker 1: based budget will allow you to a lot a certain
Speaker 1: amount of money to the type of health that's like
Speaker 1: factor that's important to you, so whether that's extra size,
Speaker 1: healthy food supplements, whatever, or even different types of exercise.
Speaker 1: So that's what the values based budget helps you do.
Speaker 1: Without values based budgeting, she says that you could end
Speaker 1: up spending ten health retreat because you value your health.
Speaker 1: I say, it's more likely that you're going to end
Speaker 1: up with a lot of different subscriptions, two different health
Speaker 1: apps that you don't need all at once. So some
Speaker 1: of them are good if you value health, but if
Speaker 1: you're not budgeting, you could end up with a ton
Speaker 1: um And so that's kind of how I see it happening. Yes,
Speaker 1: And then the third example here is let's say you
Speaker 1: have a strong value for the environment. It's super important
Speaker 1: to you. You want your time, energy, and finances to
Speaker 1: align with this value. With a budget, that might mean
Speaker 1: that you are buying some eco friendly things at times,
Speaker 1: or shopping local restaurants or stores, going second hand with
Speaker 1: a lot of your purchases, and and really ultimately being
Speaker 1: environmentally friendly is a lot of not spending money. We're
Speaker 1: really trying to push against this idea that living a
Speaker 1: lifestyle of eco friendliness is expensive. That's a whole other conversation.
Speaker 1: But then without a budget, if we're saying we value
Speaker 1: the environment, that could cost a lot of money, especially
Speaker 1: in this current climate. I don't mean that to be
Speaker 1: upon but there you go, Yeah, where you might end
Speaker 1: up spending a ton of money on ethically made cotton,
Speaker 1: organic dresses and I don't know that the beeswax thing
Speaker 1: that you wrap your sandwiches in, and all of these
Speaker 1: things look really pretty and fun, and we might just
Speaker 1: say I'll do it, yeah, because I'm helping the environment.
Speaker 1: And and again we extend ourselves we don't and we
Speaker 1: end up buying things we don't need. We end up
Speaker 1: spending money we don't need to be spending. So connecting
Speaker 1: that value with your budget and identifying where do we
Speaker 1: actually need to be spending and where can I have
Speaker 1: just my actions and lifestyle align with this value and
Speaker 1: it doesn't actually have to cost me a ton of money. Yes,
Speaker 1: And the last one is valuing time through values based budgeting. Again,
Speaker 1: I don't know if I think time is a value
Speaker 1: because time to Yeah, so, but she says that values
Speaker 1: based budgets allows you to allocate money towards conveniences that
Speaker 1: give you time, whereas without you can spend money on
Speaker 1: all the conveniences that give you extra time without thinking
Speaker 1: if you can afford all of them. So that is
Speaker 1: the last one. But yeah, I mean all of these
Speaker 1: are super common values are there are all things that
Speaker 1: we fall prey to? And how a values based budget
Speaker 1: can help you, like reiin in these things while still
Speaker 1: focusing on incorporating them into your life. Because I don't
Speaker 1: know about you, but like I sometimes feel that as
Speaker 1: a frugal person, I am more focused on not spending
Speaker 1: money and I stop focusing on doing things that I want.
Speaker 1: So like, after six months, i look back in my
Speaker 1: life for the last six months and I'm like, I
Speaker 1: haven't really done anything special. And so I think that's
Speaker 1: that's where the freedom of a budget comes in, is
Speaker 1: because you it forces you to plan to do these
Speaker 1: things that make you enjoy life exactly. It's like, to
Speaker 1: what end if you're not doing anything that's enjoyable or
Speaker 1: life giving them? Why the heck put all of these
Speaker 1: restraints on yourself. And again, we're not talking about a
Speaker 1: super restrictive budget. We're talking about a budget that does
Speaker 1: bring in freedom. So this is more the mindfulness of
Speaker 1: going through these motions and rather than the justification. I
Speaker 1: think it's looking at what am I justifying but it's
Speaker 1: actually hurting my finances to how can I still value
Speaker 1: these things and value myself in that process and not
Speaker 1: be spending too much or just justifying what I'm doing. Yes, absolutely,
Speaker 1: you know what I always justified doing when I'm right
Speaker 1: to go with you because it's a value. It is
Speaker 1: one of my core values. The that's right, it's time
Speaker 1: for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a
Speaker 1: baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you
Speaker 1: paid off your mortgage, maybe your car died, and you're
Speaker 1: happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Suck bills,
Speaker 1: Buffalo bills, bill clin. This is the bill of the
Speaker 1: week at and jail. So I just went into Target
Speaker 1: because I had to sail all day, and I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna dreat myself. You know, we'll Starbucks. Straight Well,
Speaker 1: I walked around and I didn't buy any books, which
Speaker 1: is a huge accomplishment for me. And then I went
Speaker 1: and as I was about to talk out, I went
Speaker 1: to get my Starbucks drink. But since I ordered a
Speaker 1: dairy free drink and Starbucks happened to be doing something
Speaker 1: but I didn't know about. Since it was a dairy
Speaker 1: free drink, I got it for free and that really
Speaker 1: made my day. So that's my bill of the week.
Speaker 1: That is awesome, Savannah, that you got free Starbucks. I
Speaker 1: I'm into that. Well done, Savannah. I think I think
Speaker 1: you did two miraculous things, seemingly miraculous by a lot
Speaker 1: of people standards, not spending money at Target and getting
Speaker 1: a free Starbucks drink. You really beat the system. Well done,
Speaker 1: we know what, we know what. I'm focusing on the
Speaker 1: free stuff, but I think this is a perfect one
Speaker 1: like to put in this episode, and we like, don't
Speaker 1: listen to these before we play them. Is that like,
Speaker 1: obviously books you know are outside of your values, or
Speaker 1: you're finding a creative way to consume books without spending
Speaker 1: money on them, because maybe you just don't value having
Speaker 1: like the rows of books at your home, and so
Speaker 1: knowing that and staying true to that, but also knowing
Speaker 1: like a value my Starbucks drink and so that is
Speaker 1: something I would spend money on and then you were
Speaker 1: just blessed to have it for free. I love that
Speaker 1: journey for you. If you have on into Target and
Speaker 1: didn't spend anything, or you've gotten free stuff, or you
Speaker 1: did spend money on something and you're super glad about it.
Speaker 1: Submit your bill of the week to Frugal Friends podcast
Speaker 1: dot com slash bill. We'd love to hear what you
Speaker 1: have to say. Absolutely, and now it's time for the
Speaker 1: Lightning Round. The Lightning round is one of Jill's core values. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I've only got about three core values, and that's one
Speaker 1: of them right there. One of them is one of
Speaker 1: the innermost part of my being the other Starbucks making
Speaker 1: it well, we are actually going to share our actual
Speaker 1: core values with you and tell you how we budget
Speaker 1: for and save on them. So because we're pretty normal,
Speaker 1: we're average ladies, so hopefully you will find some similarities.
Speaker 1: They can go we average ladies, we are we super average.
Speaker 1: So here you go, Jill. Okay, So some of the
Speaker 1: things that I really value are really important to me.
Speaker 1: I got quite a list of bear with me. Time
Speaker 1: with people. I really so what yeah, again, whatever, whatever
Speaker 1: you want to say, whether it's community or friendship. I
Speaker 1: just really enjoy spending time with people and enjoying good
Speaker 1: food with people. So this is probably an area that
Speaker 1: I spend the most on again within reason and within budget.
Speaker 1: But that's one of the ways that I do spend
Speaker 1: time with people. There's other ways too, so it's it's
Speaker 1: it's a balancing act. I also really value generosity, So
Speaker 1: this is a combination between time and money that I
Speaker 1: like to give on being generous sharing what I do
Speaker 1: have with others. I know I've probably shared in the
Speaker 1: past that before we had a lot of money, not
Speaker 1: that we have lot what whatever, When we were really
Speaker 1: broke we were able to be generous with our time
Speaker 1: and energy, but it's been a challenge for me. It's
Speaker 1: been something that I've really tried to focus in on
Speaker 1: that as our finances increase, as we are earning more,
Speaker 1: to also be incorporating giving of some of our money
Speaker 1: in that way. And it doesn't always look like an
Speaker 1: actual cash transaction. It might mean purchasing a meal for
Speaker 1: somebody else, or we do a ton of hosting in
Speaker 1: our home, so it's having some of the amenities for
Speaker 1: people while they're here, not charging people to stay in
Speaker 1: our home even though we are in a destination spot. Baby. Also,
Speaker 1: health is super important to me, and you'll you'll hear
Speaker 1: Jen share about how she approaches this. But the way
Speaker 1: that I approached this is with my VitaminX. Have you
Speaker 1: heard I have a blender and I really like it.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it doesn't doesn't work? Well yeah, oh geez,
Speaker 1: you must not be paying attention to me, Jen, because
Speaker 1: I talk about my VitaminX all the time. I don't
Speaker 1: know where you've been. It's a blender. It helps me
Speaker 1: use up all my veggies and fruit and it's a
Speaker 1: great way to start the day. And then I also
Speaker 1: do YouTube workout, so it's valuable to me, but I
Speaker 1: don't spend money on it. So I have said time
Speaker 1: is super valuable to me, but yes, it's what it
Speaker 1: frees me up to do. I would rather do the
Speaker 1: things that I enjoy than the things that I don't enjoy,
Speaker 1: so I will pay for convenience at times. Also, beauty
Speaker 1: is super important to me. So I don't care how
Speaker 1: big my home is, but I do want it to
Speaker 1: feel like a RESTful, peaceful, beautiful space. So anywhere that
Speaker 1: we've ever lived, it has been important to kind of
Speaker 1: make it our own, refurnish it, renovate it. So that's
Speaker 1: something that we will spend money on to make it nice.
Speaker 1: And of course mental health is super important to me.
Speaker 1: Some of the ways that I care for myself mentally
Speaker 1: isn't going to beautiful places. So that might pair with travel,
Speaker 1: it might mean that I'll take a day off, you
Speaker 1: name it, but that's going to be something that I prioritize.
Speaker 1: And we have a lot of the same values that
Speaker 1: we show in different ways. Um but for me, so
Speaker 1: my first and highest value. And this is funny because
Speaker 1: full disclosure, this is the second time we've recorded this
Speaker 1: episode because my audio on the first one was warped,
Speaker 1: and so we're recording this again and half years in
Speaker 1: and this kind of stuff still happens. It's happened. I mean,
Speaker 1: we can say it on one hand how many times
Speaker 1: we rerecord an episode, but this was one of them.
Speaker 1: And since then, I've actually kind of refined some of
Speaker 1: my core values because I'm working on this workbook. So
Speaker 1: last week I said, like, kind of my business was
Speaker 1: my highest value, but I realized that achievement is actually
Speaker 1: my highest core value. I love of measurable achievement. I
Speaker 1: am borderline obsessed with it. And it is a core
Speaker 1: value that you know is healthy, but like all your
Speaker 1: core values can also be unhealthy and if not kept
Speaker 1: in check. And so my business is the number one
Speaker 1: way I am able to show achievement. So it's what
Speaker 1: I kind of work on the most. Another one for
Speaker 1: me is health, and I show that through CrossFit. I
Speaker 1: love cross fit, but that also allows me to show
Speaker 1: measurable achievements. So that's one of the reasons why that
Speaker 1: is the way I choose to live out my health value.
Speaker 1: Um and so some of them, I mean, all of
Speaker 1: these values, all your values can be inter you know,
Speaker 1: connected um I found. So that's that. And so one
Speaker 1: of the biggest ways that I'm able to achieve more
Speaker 1: is by paying for daycare for my son. It is
Speaker 1: the best money I spend on a month. You love
Speaker 1: that expen daycare every week. If if I had to
Speaker 1: be honest, I wasn't saying Bill Curtis, I would be
Speaker 1: saying my daycare bill. So so that's so achievement is
Speaker 1: number one for me. Communities number two. I will literally
Speaker 1: drop anything on a dime for anything to hang out
Speaker 1: with my friends and family. I will do like all
Speaker 1: certain family, but definitely friends and so real. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: so I thought family was one of my core values,
Speaker 1: but it turns out community is actually the core of
Speaker 1: that because my family is my community, like they're my
Speaker 1: closest community. But I will also drop, like on a
Speaker 1: dime to hang out with anybody that's down to hang.
Speaker 1: I am always down to hang. So that is my
Speaker 1: second biggest one. And then so my third one is health.
Speaker 1: So those are my Those are my top three. And
Speaker 1: I love that there can be crossover. We could have
Speaker 1: shared values with other people, but then the way that
Speaker 1: we walk it out might look differently. And that's okay too,
Speaker 1: it's needed. Even we both value health. I don't spend
Speaker 1: money on a gym membership. You do, but that doesn't
Speaker 1: make it. Yeah, we still both value it. So I
Speaker 1: love the freedom and permission that is accessible even when
Speaker 1: we have similar values, and knowing knowing that achievement is
Speaker 1: one of my core values also helps me figure out
Speaker 1: why it's hard for me to do things that I
Speaker 1: may want to do but never end up doing them.
Speaker 1: It's because they have no achievement component. And so it's
Speaker 1: also easier to have grace for yourself when you're not
Speaker 1: doing things that you think you should be doing but
Speaker 1: are not, and to try stop trying to force yourself
Speaker 1: to be somebody who you think you should be and
Speaker 1: just be who you are. Yes, Jen, that's the cap
Speaker 1: on this one. Will get more and more on how
Speaker 1: who we are as we continue to explore these concepts
Speaker 1: and questions. Absolutely. Yeah, that workbook that I mean that
Speaker 1: I've been putting together has been not just I mean,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be really cool for everyone going through it,
Speaker 1: but like it's been cool for me to think about
Speaker 1: all of the journaling questions and all of the deep
Speaker 1: dives and so yeah, it's really good, beautiful. Well everyone,
Speaker 1: we hope you enjoyed. We hope this is causing you
Speaker 1: to maybe even hit the pause button, start pondering, still
Speaker 1: searching the deepest parts of who you are and what
Speaker 1: you value, and feel free to share more with us
Speaker 1: in our Frugal Friends community group on Facebook. We're hanging
Speaker 1: out there and talking more about values and how to
Speaker 1: budget around that. If you've got ideas that you want
Speaker 1: to share with the community, do that. And we just
Speaker 1: want to thank you ultimately for listening. And for those
Speaker 1: of you who have reviewed us, listen, we live, eat,
Speaker 1: and breathe off of these reviews. That's dramatic, that's not true,
Speaker 1: but it is one of the number one ways that
Speaker 1: you can support the show. So thank you to those
Speaker 1: who have left kind reviews for us, like this one
Speaker 1: from m McHale titled fun It is five stars. We
Speaker 1: do love those for Goal Friends, just because the stars
Speaker 1: they say. Frugal Friends is my favorite podcast. I love
Speaker 1: the range of subjects Jen and Jill cover and how
Speaker 1: they tie them all back to frugality. Even when I
Speaker 1: don't think a particular subject is of interest to me,
Speaker 1: I end up getting something out of the episode. It's smart, useful,
Speaker 1: and so much fun to listen to. McHale, Thank you
Speaker 1: how kind. This is something that stands out to me
Speaker 1: in a lot of reviews and even just feedback that
Speaker 1: we get outside of reviews, is episodes relating or bringing
Speaker 1: benefit or relevancy even when the title or the topic
Speaker 1: didn't seem like it was going to connect. And I
Speaker 1: can say that's true for me as well. Sometimes we
Speaker 1: begin talking about something or we've got to show outline
Speaker 1: that like, well, this isn't my life stage or it's
Speaker 1: not something I'm considering now, so we'll see how this goes.
Speaker 1: And there is there's always something that we can glean
Speaker 1: from topics, even if they don't seem like they're absolutely
Speaker 1: going to relate. So I'm so thrilled to hear that
Speaker 1: every single one of these episodes can bring value. That's
Speaker 1: a value that that that's the goal when I am
Speaker 1: planning and creating outlines is that we appeal to the
Speaker 1: most people as possible while staying true to being a
Speaker 1: show about frugality. That's the only parameter is that it
Speaker 1: has to be frugal. So I'm I'm glad that we
Speaker 1: are fulfilling that for you, m Michale. We also want
Speaker 1: to thank our friends who share these episodes on social media,
Speaker 1: because I think that's the biggest way that we grow, honestly,
Speaker 1: besides people searching for particular things in their podcast listening apps.
Speaker 1: So when you share the late like a screenshot of
Speaker 1: the latest episode, or maybe you uh share a story
Speaker 1: of yourself talking about the latest episode. Whatever. When you
Speaker 1: share those, tag us in them at Frugal Friends podcast
Speaker 1: on Facebook or Instagram. We're mostly on Instagram, and we're
Speaker 1: going to add you once we see that two our
Speaker 1: monthly drawing. For every five tags and reviews week. At
Speaker 1: each month, we're giving away a copy of the Frugal
Speaker 1: Friends Workbook, the o G Frugal Friends Workbook. So keep
Speaker 1: leaving us those reviews on iTunes or Stitcher. Send that
Speaker 1: screenshot once you write the review to Frugal Friends Podcasts
Speaker 1: at gmail dot com. Of course, keep tagging us on
Speaker 1: social both ways will enter you into that drawing and
Speaker 1: we will see you next week. By Frugal Friends is
Speaker 1: produced by Eric Sirian Joe. I'm surprised that, um, you
Speaker 1: didn't say one of your core values was Starbucks. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I've learned I mean, well, you know from the first
Speaker 1: time that we recorded this episode that my unpopular opinion
Speaker 1: that you have to unpopular opinions you need to share
Speaker 1: both going to share both of them, and we're doing
Speaker 1: you need to hear doing it post episode because I
Speaker 1: might lose a few, but you know what, I need
Speaker 1: to get this off my chest. You're raving. Fans are
Speaker 1: going to feel very effect I know they might, but
Speaker 1: that's okay because there's going to be some people who
Speaker 1: feel very appreciated and seen. I do not like Target
Speaker 1: or Starbucks. Okay, exhale, take that in. I'm gonna say
Speaker 1: more about this. I think everybody on the other end
Speaker 1: has it. Listen. I think I've dangled this out there
Speaker 1: in the past, sprinkled it in at times, and now
Speaker 1: I'm just saying at point blank, I have a very
Speaker 1: hard time finding things to purchase that Target. I think
Speaker 1: that they're overpriced. I don't like really what they're selling.
Speaker 1: It's a tough store for me. It's not my first choice. Starbucks.
Speaker 1: I don't think that their coffee is good. I'm a
Speaker 1: I'm a person who drinks coffee black, so I'm not
Speaker 1: adding milk sugar flavored syrups uh, and their coffee is
Speaker 1: just not good and then it's expensive. So no, I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't like Starbucks or Target, so that wipes out
Speaker 1: a massive temptation for me and just the spending arena.
Speaker 1: I realized that I might be making enemies with my
Speaker 1: unpopular opinion, but I just had to put it out there. Well,
Speaker 1: don't worry a one, because you know me, I'm a
Speaker 1: basic B and I like Starbucks, so I'm here for you.
Speaker 1: I don't like bougie coffee shops. Um. And it's funny
Speaker 1: because Travis doesn't like coffee and he thinks Starbucks is
Speaker 1: the bouge coffee shop and if he only knew, Um,
Speaker 1: I'm just I'm just in it for a latte. And
Speaker 1: and a latte is a hot cup of milk or
Speaker 1: a cold cup of milk. And so you don't, I mean,
Speaker 1: you don't really need the best espresso for a latte.
Speaker 1: And that might be a hot take, yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: I would push back on that. I think the foundation
Speaker 1: of what you're making it with has to be quality,
Speaker 1: and Starbucks this is the mark. So that's a hot
Speaker 1: take there. Um. So, and I don't buy a lot
Speaker 1: of Starbucks, though I do actually get their cold brew
Speaker 1: with sweet cream um, because that's um. I'm good on that.
Speaker 1: I like that. I primarily make my coffee at home.
Speaker 1: I've got about ten different ways to make coffee. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I took a deep dive into that whole world. I
Speaker 1: do we all spend money at the local coffee shop,
Speaker 1: coffee roaster occasionally for a good cup of cappuccino? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's do you enjoy that? That's that's life giving to me.
Speaker 1: But I just don't get me a Target or a
Speaker 1: Starbucks gift card. I won't know what to do with it. Okay,
Speaker 1: well noted, um, But if you want to support the
Speaker 1: show and send your targets, is that I'll use them.
Speaker 1: I think Target is just sterile. I love that about it. Again,
Speaker 1: I don't understand sterile. You want to feel like you're
Speaker 1: going to a hospital. It's a hospital, like, but no,
Speaker 1: hospitals aren't sterile, Like, don't get it twisted. Those things
Speaker 1: are so gross and they smell. Target is truly sterile.
Speaker 1: You want to be safe. If you want to be safe,
Speaker 1: go to Target and you will be safe there. And
Speaker 1: I believe that, and I don't believe that's a hot take,
Speaker 1: But I don't buy a lot of stuff. I buy
Speaker 1: diapers there, the overnight diapers. I buy my regular diapers
Speaker 1: at all day, and I buy the overnight diapers at Target,
Speaker 1: and that's pretty much all I buy there. I think
Speaker 1: all of their design stuff is rip offs of hard
Speaker 1: working small designers that have done something really well, and
Speaker 1: then Target comes and like takes over and just does
Speaker 1: a crap job of replicating it for cheap. I feel
Speaker 1: like you might be coming over to my side right now,
Speaker 1: like with everything you're saying, well, I feel like that
Speaker 1: about Target. Your essentially around Target, it's super cold and sterile.
Speaker 1: You can only buy over the diapers there, and they
Speaker 1: take advantage of hard working people. All those things are true,
Speaker 1: but I only dislike one of them, so that those
Speaker 1: are my feelings about Target. Oh gosh, well, we're gonna
Speaker 1: have to do like part two of Starbucks in the
Speaker 1: next time. Yeah, yes, that's all for now. Thanks for
Speaker 1: handling um this real and raw reality that is my truth.