Beginner's Guide to Zero-Based Budgeting: Your Path to Smart Saving

Summary

Frugal Friends Podcast - Episode 490: Beginner's Guide to Zero-Based Budgeting: Your Path to Smart Saving

Release Date: March 4, 2025

In Episode 490 of the Frugal Friends Podcast, hosts Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni delve deep into the world of zero-based budgeting, offering listeners a comprehensive guide to mastering their finances with intention and flexibility. Aimed at individuals striving to save money, reduce spending, adopt minimalism, pay off debt, or achieve financial independence, this episode serves as an invaluable resource for anyone looking to take control of their financial future.

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1. Introduction to Zero-Based Budgeting

Jen kicks off the episode by introducing the concept of zero-based budgeting, emphasizing its role in achieving financial clarity and control. She explains that zero-based budgeting involves allocating every dollar of income to specific expenses, savings, or investments, ensuring that no money is left unassigned.

Jen [07:13]: “Zero based budgeting is just spending 100% of your income on paper.”

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2. Defining Zero-Based Budgeting

The hosts break down zero-based budgeting, clarifying that it requires meticulous planning where every dollar earned is given a "job." This method contrasts with traditional budgeting, where leftover funds might not have a designated purpose.

Jen [07:13]: “Essentially you are just spending a hundred percent of your income on paper.”

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3. Zero-Based vs. Traditional Budgeting

Jen and Jill compare zero-based budgeting with traditional budgeting methods. They highlight that traditional budgeting often leaves "leftover" funds at the end of the month without a specific allocation, whereas zero-based budgeting ensures that no dollar goes unassigned.

Jill [10:59]: “Traditional budgeting has a free for all amount of money that's not really having a place to go.”

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4. Customizing Your Zero-Based Budget

Customization is key to making zero-based budgeting work for individual needs. Jen discusses the importance of flexibility to avoid the perfectionist trap, suggesting that budgets should be adaptable to reflect changing financial circumstances and goals.

Jen [09:05]: “If you can take away that perfection mentality or that all or nothing mentality and create a zero based budget that's a little more flexible, yet still zero based. This is going to work a lot better for you.”

They also recommend using budgeting apps like YNAB (You Need A Budget) to streamline the process and maintain a cushion in checking accounts, ensuring that unexpected expenses don't derail the budget.

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5. Pros and Cons of Zero-Based Budgeting

The discussion moves to the advantages and potential drawbacks of zero-based budgeting:

• Pros:

  • Full Financial Awareness: Provides a clear picture of where every dollar is allocated.
  • Flexibility: Monthly resets allow for adjustments based on current financial situations.
  • Goal-Oriented: Facilitates rapid progress toward specific financial goals.

• Cons:

  • Time-Intensive: Requires consistent monitoring and adjustment.
  • Potential for Mental Fatigue: The detailed nature can be overwhelming for some.
  • Adaptability in Partnerships: May require compromise when budgeting with partners who prefer a more relaxed approach.

Jen [37:57]: “The only con is that it ends.”

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6. Listener Interaction: Bill of the Week

Engaging with their audience, Jen shares Brenna's "Bill of the Week." Brenna illustrates practical frugality by purchasing children's toys secondhand, significantly reducing costs while still providing quality items for her family.

Brenna [39:59]: “I was able to score it for 15 bucks. Not only did I get the Mosasaurus, but I also got the giant Indominus Rex, which would cost $175 new. So I got them all for 15 bucks.”

Jen praises Brenna’s savvy spending and strategic saving, highlighting how zero-based budgeting can make such wins possible.

Jen [40:06]: “Super excited. My son is gonna absolutely love his Mosasaurus and the Indominus Rex I’m setting aside to give to him for his birthday next year.”

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7. Book Promotion and Reader Reviews

Jen and Jill promote their book, "Buy What You Love Without Going Broke," featuring a heartfelt review from Stephanie. She commends the book for making financial management relatable and engaging, reinforcing the podcast's mission to make money management approachable and fun.

Stephanie: “Jen and Jill have a way of making it relatable while driving your curiosity to really delve into understanding how to better manage your money to fit the values you’ve prioritized for your life.”

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8. Lightning Round: Budgeting Success Stories

In a lively lightning round, Jen and Jill share their personal budgeting successes:

• Jen recounts saving diligently to purchase their current home, which they transformed into a rental property, highlighting the long-term benefits of strategic budgeting.

  Jen [44:50]: “We have a house that we live in, two rentals, and vacant land. It was a good financial move.”

• Jill celebrates her ability to afford spontaneous travel, thanks to maintaining a sinking fund for adventures, showcasing how budgeting can facilitate fulfilling experiences without financial strain.

  Jill [44:50]: “I just bought last minute tickets to Puerto Rico because we had the money and I loved spending it on that.”

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9. Behind the Scenes: Recording the Episode

Adding a personal touch, Jen shares an anecdote about recording the episode while registering for a RunDisney half marathon. This behind-the-scenes moment highlights the real-life challenges and multitasking that comes with balancing personal goals and podcast responsibilities.

Jen [51:04]: “I had to keep the thing up on my laptop across the office and wait. And finally, when my time was up, I put down the microphone and I went over and registered for the half marathon and I got in.”

Her candidness about being momentarily distracted adds authenticity and relatability to the episode.

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Conclusion

Jen and Jill wrap up the episode by reiterating the effectiveness of zero-based budgeting as a tool for financial empowerment. They encourage listeners to adopt this method to align their spending with personal values and long-term goals, emphasizing that while it may require effort and adaptability, the rewards in financial clarity and achievement are well worth it.

Jen [54:38]: “The more things you get, the less special each thing is individually. So if we want something to be more special, we cannot surround it by more stuff.”

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “Zero based budgeting is just spending 100% of your income on paper.” – Jen [07:13]

• “Traditional budgeting has a free for all amount of money that's not really having a place to go.” – Jill [10:59]

• “If you can take away that perfection mentality or that all or nothing mentality and create a zero based budget that's a little more flexible, yet still zero based. This is going to work a lot better for you.” – Jen [09:05]

• “The only con is that it ends.” – Jen [37:57]

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Final Thoughts

Episode 490 of the Frugal Friends Podcast serves as an essential guide for anyone new to budgeting or looking to refine their financial strategies. Through engaging discussions, real-life examples, and actionable advice, Jen and Jill empower listeners to take control of their finances, align their spending with their values, and achieve their financial goals with confidence.

For those interested in diving deeper, the hosts highly recommend purchasing their book, "Buy What You Love Without Going Broke," and subscribing to their YouTube channel for additional content and support.

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Thank you for listening to the Frugal Friends Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, please leave a rating and review wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners on their journey to financial freedom.

Transcript

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Everywhere episode 490 the beginner's guide to zero based budgeting.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Guest]

Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity and live a richer life. Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name is Jen.

My name is Jill.

And today we are talking about zero based budgeting and how we would like to kind of shape it and form it around values based spending and all of the spending psychology that we talk about on the show. And then also in our book, buy what you love without going broke.

There can be a lot of these terms used in the personal finance space about different ways to pay off, different ways to budget and it can feel so confusing. So we're just breaking down one particular method to budgeting. Spoiler alert. They're all pretty much the same. Some of it just has to do with the type of approach, mindset, the ways in which you kind of manipulate the numbers. But we'll get into all that. But first, this episode is brought to you by Ms. Frizzle, my favorite childhood guide to the world of all of the sciences. If you also loved the magic school bus or you just like the idea of a fun guide on typically boring subjects, let us be your Ms. Frizzle. Through our YouTube channel, we're making Frugal fun and money management shame free and approachable with a new series weekly called the Sunday reset where we are recapping our week of meal plans. We are talking, talking about a money move that we made that week and we're answering a listener question. So it's like all of our favorite things combined into a short 30 minutes every single Sunday. If this sounds like exactly what you need, subscribe to Frugal friends podcast on YouTube and you can watch our first episode that just went live this past Sunday.

Yeah. So frugalfriendspodcast.com YouTube or just search frugal friends on YouTube. It is very fun and so I'm very excited. And you'll also see the link in the description on YouTube if you want to submit your own question.

And you'll get to see our new studio set up.

Yes. Yes. So we are so excited to bring you guys more video to show you guys our face more in 2025. And we just think that YouTube is going to be a way that we can help more people in a new way. So there's going to be more to come on there, not just us sitting down and talking to each other. Even though we know you guys would like that. We are not going to stop there. We could do more.

So many more high schools, but we could do more in 2025. Yeah.

All right. If budgeting is something that you want to get better at, then we have a lot of episodes on quote unquote budgeting. We also call it a spending plan. So whatever you have fewer negative feelings about, you can call it whatever you like. It's more or less the same thing. We also have some other episodes like 471 budgeting tips for 2025 and then episode 444. Try this Japanese art of mindful budgeting. I really like that one. So I would really encourage you all. You can pretty much just go like search Japanese art, Mindful budgeting, Frugal friends. And it will come up for you in any podcast player. So let's get started with zero based budgeting and by first defining what it is. So zero based budgeting is a type of budgeting where essentially you are just spending a hundred percent of your income on paper. And so that has a not on buying paper.

If you were to write it down.

Right where you are basically Dunder Mifflin and you are buying 100% paper, that's all you need or, or on an app. But it's essentially you calculate your, your income and then 100% of that gets spent in some way, shape or, or form and everybody is essentially creating a zero based budget. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, congratulations, you are already zero based budgeting.

Right.

If you're not going into debt, then congratulations.

So here's how it works. Before we kind of get into the exact how to's, like the framework is what we want to describe here. And they talk about in this article imagining your finances like a puzzle where every piece or every dollar kind of has a place to go and they fit together. They use the word perfectly. And I'm gonna say you're never ever gonna make a perfect budget.

Well, that is one of the downsides to zero based budgeting because it does lean to this perfection mentality. So if you cannot spend your money perfectly in the way that you have allotted it all, then it can lead to some of that guilt and shame cycle with quote unquote like busting your budget or overspending and all of that. Which is why we, we don't love the traditional view of zeros based, zero based budgeting. It if I say zeros based budgeting one more time, you don't know how many times we've had to re record me saying zeros based budgeting. If you can take away that perfection mentality or that all or nothing mentality and create a zero based budget that's a little more flexible, yet still zero based. This is going to work a lot better for you.

And so the thing that I like most about it is that you are assigning a job to every dollar. I think that's kind of the banner overarching. What is this approach? And so some of the parameters with this is that you are starting fresh each month. Every month is kind of a clean slate regardless of whether you were over or under in a category the previous month. So I think that is redeemable quality of zero based budgeting in that every month is new and fresh. It allows you the opportunity to shift kind of what your categories look like. But every month you will be saying where every dollar is going to go. Of course, like all budgets and spending plans, it's going to include looking at your income but not just the amount of money you make from your job. All of the money that you are bringing in in the month, from freelance work to side gigs, to bonuses, to gifts that you might receive, we're taking it all into account while also listing out all of the expenses. So what you anticipate that month is going to look like from subscriptions to takeout, to activities, to utility bills and mortgage, there's nothing that is too minor or kind of overlooked. Now that doesn't mean that you have to have such specific categories for all of these things. You know, Jen and I love a very simple minimal spending plan where we don't have categories for like every single minutiae of where our money goes. So you can still be kind of broad with it. But where typical budgeting practices are kind of going to say list out all of your expenses, make sure you can cover that. And then it's kind of loosey goosey with whatever you do that's left over.

You've got a free for all amount of money that's not doesn't really have a place to go.

Maybe you'll discover at the end of the month how much you ended up having left over. This instead is being a lot more concrete with that of with this money beyond what my bills cost me. This is how much I'm putting towards savings, this is how much I'm going to invest. This is how much is going to go to an emergency fund or debt payoff. So being really specific about what the excess might be and where each of that excess is going.

Yeah, this is what I thought traditional budgeting was. This is my first foray into budgeting was zero based. I Didn't know that there was anything different. And I think if I had known that this wasn't actually traditional budgeting, that traditional budgeting did have that kind of like loosey goosey excess at the end, I would have felt more permission to maybe have like a larger miscellaneous fund or a larger slush fund or something like that to have maybe a little less rigidity in my zero based budget. So next is we're going to give some examples.

Well, I think it is worth talking a little bit more about the differences because I still think that there's some more to tease apart here between zero based budgeting and traditional budgeting. And I really like the example that they gave here. So where traditional budgeting will often use the previous month or year as a template, making minor adjustments based on anticipated changes, they give an example of. So let's say we spent $500 on groceries last month. We might think similar this month. Okay, put $500 down as the amount that I'm going to spend on groceries and that is fine. And that can be easy and simplified and efficient. But zero based budgeting is getting a little bit more to the nitty gritty. And it's probably especially really good for those of us in debt payoff or who have specific financial goals that we really want to tackle, maybe in term or midterm. And zero based budgeting might ask the question, okay, 500 is how much I spent last month, but what about this month? Does that actually make sense? What if I did 480 on groceries and assigned $20 towards my emergency fund or $20 towards debt payoff? So it's being more specific with the numbers and finagling it a little bit more to be able to achieve some of those goals and assessing month to month. Yeah, that made sense. But does it still make sense this month?

Yeah, I think a trap we can fall into in zero based budgeting is that we will give ourselves maybe too many categories or the specificity of it will be making us or leading us to spend money that we don't necessarily need to. So clothing is a common budget category that many people suggest having every month. But do you need a clothing category and would you be buying clothing? Because it's normal to have a clothing category and it's zero based. So we have to start at zero every month, whereas a traditional budget would not always include that, but maybe have a larger slush fund that clothing could fall into. Or we could create our own flexibility in creating a clothing sinking fund that does not have to be spent every Month, but still creates a zero based budget. And maybe we're only buying clothing like four or five or six times a year.

Yeah. And I think with traditional budgeting we might not always be aware of any excess dollar that we have. That like, okay, if I spent, you know, 490 on groceries instead of 500, like where did that $10 end up going? What are we doing with this now? I will say I'll skip ahead of myself a bit and say if this is the method we're taking, I do think an app would be the best with this methodology so that we don't have be so intense about like, okay, well how much to the penny did I end up spending here and where can I put that money? Like, there is a way that we can become so engrossed in this particular method that I don't want us to get so sucked in that it's consuming.

And this is where the problem lies with couples, is that one person's going to be very into the zero based budget because it's something concrete you can hang your hat on. Every dollar has and the other person is going to want to be less.

Rigid, a little more loosey goosey.

Yeah. And so this is something you definitely have to be aware of if you are finding that your partner is not as interested in the budget. Or maybe you're listening and you want to be as excited about the budget as your partner is, but you're just not getting it. And so this is sometimes the reasoning behind that. Creating a solid financial plan for you and your family should include term life insurance. That's where Fabric by Gerber Life comes in. Fabric offers flexible term life insurance to give you peace of mind and protects your loved ones financially in case the unexpected happens.

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All right, let's walk through how to make a zero based budget and the different ways that you can custom it so one of the you know main characteristics of the zero based budget is that you start fresh every month. Each month is a clean slate, regardless of whether you were under or over in any category the last month you start anew. And that's a really great benefit of a zero based budget because you are never, you're never going to make a perfect budget and perfectly stick to it. And so our mind bias for being all or nothing can sometimes lead us to quit and try to start again fresh the next month, which the zero based budget kind of lends itself to. But if you are moving more towards a balanced approach to budgeting, where you're taking in your inconsistencies and your quote unquote mistakes and trying to live with those, you kind of do get this like fresh start in the month. So I'll say the first part that I like to customize on a zero based budget is I like to take a YNAB approach to saving a month's worth of either income or expenses and having that saved in your checking account ready for the next month. So you're not necessarily starting at zero in your, in your bank account because that, that's a, that's a dangerous thing to do with a zero based budget when you're quote unquote spending every dollar and part of that is going to savings outside your checking account. You can get really low in your checking account. And if you've got bills coming in on the first, if you don't get paid on like just the right day, that could be dangerous. So what I really, and I have always done to prevent this and what I, you know, recommend is that you save a month's worth of expenses, like whether that is, you want to do your whole income because you also consider your savings and investments, your expenses, whatever feels right to you. But you need to have a foundation to start the month off of even if your budget is starting fresh at.

Zero and YNAB is you need a budget and that is a budgeting app who bases their app on zero based budgeting. And so that's one of the things that they say, you don't want to make a budget off of what's about to be earned, but what you've already earned, what you already have. And I think this approach is especially great for people with variable incomes. You don't totally know what's going to come in month to month. And so being able to approach it with what do we already have in the bank account and making sure that we always have a month's worth of cushion in our Checking account that we are making plans for with that money. And then from there you're going to be identifying all of your monthly expenses. The things that you absolutely have to be paying for your big ticket items, rent, mortgage, utilities bills, your cell phone bill, all these things. Then you can think of your subscriptions and memberships and how much you spend on entertainment and activities and dinner out. Those are the categories that can be massaged. Those are not fixed categories. And you can look at bank statements to kind of, this is your 90 day transaction inventory that you can look back at to kind of understand what is the average amount that I've spent. So that you can start with an idea. But again, month to month we can shift this and then from there you're assigning where every dollar is.

Did you talk about income? I think okay. Okay. So yeah, we've got our start fresh assess all of your income. So freelance work, side gigs. This is even like child support, alimony, all of those different things, then expenses. And now we are massaging. So for a lot of people you will be in a like kind of a traditional budget sort of place where now you have this extra money that you get to decide where it goes. For some people that will be a substantial amount of money. And for some people it will be very little. It's all okay. The amount of expenses you have does not dictate how good you are with money or how capable you are at reaching financial goals. One of the things that I love about the zero based budget is that it is a very powerful tool when you have a specific financial goal that you are looking to achieve as quickly as possible. So that I think is the zero based budget's real like diamond quality is that it is very good for reaching particular financial goals very as quickly as possible. And it's this step right here is designating every dollar. So if you have, if you feel good about where your expenses have gone and now you have this extra, now we get to assign it to other places. So if you've already prioritized your goals first, then maybe we get to like add more to fun places or to sinking funds for fun things. If you prioritized your fun first, now we get to designate this to different goals. And honestly I think we would both say let's talk about, let's designate goals first. We're looking at our bills, obviously our foundational expenses and then looking at goals because we can get in this very maybe like toxic cycle of this I deserve mentality. And we've talked about this before, we've done a whole episode on it. But we don't believe that we deserve or are capable of doing big things financially. Whether it's because we never have. The people around us haven't, the people who we do see doing these things we might judge for some reason and we don't want to be judged by others in turn. And so we will settle for smaller things because we're like, yeah, I definitely deserve these fun things, these small fun things. Dinners out, coffee, you know, I know I can, I have enough self worth to think I deserve these things. But we don't know what it's like always to get these bigger things that you have to save for or invest for. And so I would encourage everyone to, if you're not putting money towards your financial goals first, to start there first. And after a while, the more you save and the closer you get to reaching these goals, the more you will believe that you deserve and are capable of bigger things than you realized. And so we can't do that without creating this action based habit like this. These are the actions that we have to do every month, sometimes every week to form these mental beliefs. Like you can't just say like oh, you deserve to be able to take a family vacation every year and then you believe it. That's not the way it works. If I tell you something about yourself, you're not going to just believe it. You have to take actions every month to start to believe these things about yourself. And these are one in this budgeting, the order in which you designate your dollars is one of those small actions that you can do every month to gain that self confidence.

Yeah, I think that's why it is such a good approach for people who are beginning or like we've already said, have these very specific goals that you want to get after because you can see progress towards it pretty quickly when you're so involved with where your money is going and being able to adjust and kind of get excited if you see that, oh, I've actually underspent in this category, which means I've got these few extra dollars I can put towards this thing that I've said that I want to be investing in. And it also gives room for if we overspent in a category that we can look at other categories and say, okay, well then what can I decrease as a result? I might have spent more on groceries this month, but I haven't spent all of my miscellaneous budget so I'm going to decrease that a little bit and just be aware of, you know, not buying as much in that category for this month and then we reset again next month.

Yeah. And I also want to talk to the other half of our audience that now has put all their money towards their savings goals, their debt payoff, all of this, and now are feeling guilty about the money in these smaller categories, these fun categories. You don't want to put your extra money towards fun things. You want to just put more of it towards debt payoff. And so in a season that is good, if you're looking to pay off your high interest debt in this season, that's a really good mentality. It's hard to tell when you've gotten out of that season, though, because there's always another financial goal to reach. And frugal people, for some reason are always looking to be as efficient with their money as possible, to the point where we fear spending money on small luxuries. We fear putting more money into the clothing budget so that we can buy more sustainable goods or higher quality secondhand goods. Because what if I need that money in my retirement account? I don't know what my medical bills are going to be like in my 60s. And what if I need this money to be saved? Right. And so now I'm talking to you now you feel seen. All right. We really don't know how much time we're going to get on this earth. Right. And so the beautiful thing about a budget is that you get to make the most of every month. Life isn't happening to you. You are happening to life. So how do you want to show up for life in this one month that you get? You will never get this month back. How do you want to live it? Because if you've set these really good foundations into place and you've created these really good habits, you can be sure that everything will fall into place as it should be in the future. But what are you going to do about this month? So these are. I'm talking to two different camps in our audience, so don't get it twisted. You know where you are, you know which camp you need to, you know, you need to be in.

Yeah. I had this conversation recently with a friend about kind of identifying enough and how hard that can be to know we might have set a goal, we reach that goal, but then the goalposts can move. And it feels as though, well, was I accurate about that? Now I've got all of these other possibilities that I'm concerning, concerned about and want to risk, assess and adjust for. And it can be really hard to not continue to Move that goalpost and sit in. What we have previously identified is our enough. But that's also tough to say because these things do shift. What was enough to budget for eggs five years ago is not enough. Now we do have to create space to shift these things, but also have a really good pulse on no, this is going to be satisfactory for this category. I have maxed out what I need to be putting there and I can move on to the next goal that I have. And the next goal doesn't have to be the wisest, most efficient thing. It can be that I do really want to spend on this quality product that is going to make my cooking in the kitchen better, more effective, or this thing that I want to invest in my business or this trip that I want to take with family if we're not going into debt for it. We have accounted for some of these other goals and we've been able to identify where is enough, where is our contentment that there is permission to not be the most frugal, the most efficient with every single dollar as well. So they go on to give an example of zero based budgeting. I think we kind of get it at this point, but just to drive it home, let's say that we've got a monthly income of $4,000. Take home. That would mean that we are assigning the different categories. So in this example, this person's rent is $1,200 they've set groceries at 400. Utilities at 150. Entertainment, dining out and shopping at $300. Transportation at $200, student loan repayments at 500. Emergency saving contributions, 250 and just regular savings. One thousand. Maybe that's investing all of that. Yes, does equal $4,000. Now that's a nice clean example. Chances are we bring home a much more uneven number than that and change. And so even with that, we are going to be very specific to the dollar with how much goes into each of these categories. And again, month over month and even within month assessing, okay, maybe we're getting close to the end of the month and we're seeing we only spent $50 of our $100 dining out category. What is going to be the plan with that extra $50? Is it just gonna go to another category or is it gonna go to one of these more mid to long term financial goals? But again, keeping that steady pulse on it to be able to assess where it's gonna go. And as you've seen, there's pros and cons here.

So some of the pros We've got full financial awareness. So this is really good if you are just starting out, even if you don't want to. Zero based budget long term, it is a very good method for people starting out because you get a full financial awareness. So we've talked a lot about the zero based budget and we haven't mentioned the 90 day transaction inventory by some miracle, but. Oh, you.

Oh, I did talk about it. It made its way in here. Jen's been also multiple multitasking, dying Run Disney.

We'll talk about it later. We'll talk about it later. Okay. Full financial awareness. Once you do the 90 day transaction inventory, you will get a picture of where you have been and what has created your habits. And while you are zero based budgeting, you will get to see those habits in action. And I recommend when you're starting out at least maybe for the first month, probably doesn't make sense to do it longer than this, but tracking your transactions in real time like every day. So maybe not in real time, but keeping track of your transactions every day manually. So I, I love Monarch. It keeps track of my transactions automatically. But it's not what I would recommend. If you are just starting out today, you need to be really fully aware of everything that's going on. Do this for a month and it'll give you a lot more clarity. Another one of the pros, it says flexibility. So the monthly reset allows for adaptability. Lean into that flexibility because sometimes we can make it rigid when it's actually designed to be flexible. I would say the flexibility you feel on the first of the month when you're making the budget, keep that with you for the whole month. So when you need to change, when you need to put some more into one category and take away from another, don't feel like you're doing that out of inadequacy or failure. But believe that you are being fluid with the budget as life is fluid. And create a larger slush fund, a larger miscellaneous fund. Don't be so rigid with the categories either because that will help you not have to change over as much money between categories throughout the month. And then again, it's goal oriented. You've got a clear picture of your income and expenses and you can more easily set and reach your financial goals.

And like we've said, some of the cons can be how time intensive it is. This is certainly not a set it and forget it type of budgeting approach. It requires a good deal of oversight and adjustment. Again, which is why we recommend it for people to or who have intensive money goals, and there is the potential for overdoing it. When you are placing an emphasis on literally every singular dollar, you can become quite preoccupied with the details and that can be really mentally taxing in the long run. So this isn't even necessarily what needs to be done long term. It could be what the approach that's taken initially to really get a good handle on budgeting so that we can then incorporate even greater levels of flexibility in the future. But you know what doesn't have any cons to it.

Not a single ever. The only con is that it ends.

It's the Bill of the Week.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Guest]

That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage, Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Duck Bills.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Guest]

Buffalo Bills. Bill Clinton. This is the Bill of the Week.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Listener]

Hi ladies. My name is Brenna. I live in Ohio. I'm a fairly new listener to the podcast, but I've been catching up very quickly on all of your episodes and I absolutely love the show. So I wanted to share my bill of the week today. I'm super excited because I get a total high out of saving money and finding really good deals. My husband tells me that's my superpower. So today I was able to pick up my son's dream toy for Christmas, which is a Jurassic World Mosasaurus. Brand new, this toy would cost $65. However, I was able to find it on Facebook Marketplace from a local woman who was just cleaning out toys that her kids didn't play with anymore. I was able to score it for 15 bucks. Not only did I get the Mosasaurus, but I also got the giant Indominus Rex, which any other moms out there have. Kids who are obsessed with dinos would know that this giant INDOMINUS Rex cost $175 new. So I got the Mosasaurus and the Indominus Rex Rex and two T. Rexes, all for 15 bucks. Super excited. My son is gonna absolutely love his Mosasaurus and the Indominus Rex I'm setting aside to give to him for his birthday next year. So that's my big bill of the week and my mom win that I'm flying high off of today because I saved so much money on getting these toys.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Brenna also like pro mom saving one of the toys for the birthday. So pro.

That is such a pro move. There can be the temptation to just give it all all at once, but to realize we don't need it all at once. Parameters are good for us. Limitations are good for us in budgeting and in play.

And it makes the one thing that you're getting more special. The more things you get, the less special each thing is individually. And so if we want something to be more special, we cannot surround it by more stuff. So good job Brenna.

Well done. You saved hundreds and we're here for it. And you bought used and we're here for that too. If you all listening have a bill that you want to submit to us. If it has to do with pro mom moves or your superpower of paying less or buying secondhand or spreading out gift giving throughout the year, or your name is Bill and you want to tell us what your life is like. Frugalfriendspodcast. Can't wait to hear it.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Sponsor]

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[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 2 (Jill)]

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[Oracle Representative]

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[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Lenovo.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 2 (Jill)]

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Get in the zone.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Guest]

AutoZone.

[Oracle Representative]

Welcome to the A to Z Savings Event at AutoZone. What are you working on today?

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Yeah, I need to change my oil. I want to get a full synthetic oil.

[Oracle Representative]

How about Pennzoil Platinum? It's the only oil made from natural gas.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Sounds great. How much for an oil filter?

[Oracle Representative]

Oh, that's free.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

What?

[Oracle Representative]

The filter is free with the oil.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Free.

[Oracle Representative]

Really, really free. It's just part of our Adafree. I mean. A to Z savings event at AutoZone. Get in the zone. Auto zone restrictions apply.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Sponsor]

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[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Time for the lightning round.

Pew. What's the best thing you've ever budgeted for Jill?

Travel? Of course you know it. I'm a millennial, but it is true for me. I love it. I just bought last minute tickets to Puerto Rico. Friends of ours texted us saying that they have an Airbnb for the whole month and if we want to come visit them, we'd have a free place to stay and plane tickets were inexpensive. But I also have a sinking fund for travel that I can just use at my leisure. And we were able to say yes because we had the money and I loved spending the money on that. As much as I don't love seeing an account with money in it drop, knowing what it's going towards, it is a category I feel shame free, guilt free about.

Nice.

How about you?

I would say the first thing that comes to my mind was when we saved to buy the house that we live in now. We had originally saved to buy an investment property and just did not. We're not competitive with all the cash buyers. So what we had to do was buy a house and then and live in it. And now we rent out our original house, which was not what I wanted. But I can see that the two miserable years of renovations and the moving and it will pay off financially. I kind of just came to that conclusion because the house we bought is large. So we've been renting out a back portion and it's also in a double lot. So we have a vacant lot, like also land. So we essentially have our house that we live in. Two rentals and vacant land. So that was a good financial move. I am putting it into perspective now. As much as I actually don't like being a landlord, eventually it will pay off.

So you're saying when you had budgeted for this additional property.

Yes, yeah, we budgeted and we saved up for it for I think two years to put a down payment on essentially. So, yeah, I'm gonna say that it's not exciting, but it is like relevant right now.

Well, and in the long term, that's a big deal. Like not only did you receive something that you have value for now, but it's kind of that what's one thing you can do now that makes other things easier, unnecessary in the future, like having budgeted for that is massive for your overall kind of like retirement.

Yeah, especially now because we're making a lot less than what we were when we saved for that house. We could not do that now a. Because we're making less and because the homes are. The interest rates are just too high. We did buy at the top of the market, but still we're gonna make out okay. So that I think is the thing that it's not sexy, but I think in a few more years I'll be.

I mean, I think happy I did it. Real estate investing is, is sexy. It's one of the most sexy things that people are doing in the personal finance space.

I guess it's not crypto. No, no, you won't. You won't hear that from me. All right, thank you so much for listening. We love, love, love reading your kind reviews of the show and of our book Buy what you Love without Going Broke. And this one is about the book. It's from Stephanie. Five stars. What I love about the Frugal Friends podcast also shines through in Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke. It's sitting around with a group of friends who are passionate about financial well being. But you are excited to listen. Let's face it, reading about finances sounds a little dry, but Jen and Jill have a way of making it relatable while driving your curiosity to really delve into understanding how to better manage your money to fit the values you've prioritized for your life. I was blessed with an advanced reader copy, but sometimes the ADHD would wins, so grabbed the audible version of the on the release date and walked around my yard and the grocery store until I finished. The fact that I picked up and put down a planner in the aisle of shame at Aldi only later to reach the passage about well intentioned but unused planners is not lost on me. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's trying to wrap their head around their finances, Wants to get there with your everyday and wants to get there with your everyday kind of people who may never be billionaires, but may want to fund a billion memories instead. Happy reading. Oh that's cute. That's cute.

Stephanie, what a thank you thoughtful review and thank you for also getting the audiobook. We've been getting a lot of good feedback about the audiobook. I mean, I think people are accustomed to hearing our voices, so being able to hear us read the book in our own words, we're getting some fun feedback on that, so we'll love it. If you also have not picked up a copy, please do so. Wherever you get the book, we hope that it will help you in similar ways as it helped Stephanie and probably in your own individualized ways. So thanks for reading. Thanks for listening. If you like both, if you like either, please take a minute to leave a rating and review of the show. Wherever you're listening and wherever you purchase the book, it helps new potential listeners and readers figure out if this is going to be for them and just grow our community with more of you people who loves this shame free, fun, approachable take on See you next time.

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

All right, come clean, Jen.

Okay, I'll just say I didn't want to record this episode till I was done and Jill essentially forced me to. So if I was a little divided in my attention, it's not my fault. Okay, this morning was wine and dine registration for the Rundisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon at the end of October. And if you've ever registered for a Rundisney race, you know you have to be there 20 minutes before it opens and you get into the waiting room and then you just wait until they let you in to buy the registration. And it was, you know, as soon as they Give you a number. It's never gonna take that long. So they gave me my, you know, 59 minutes and then it just went down. And about a half hour later it had opened up, but Jill didn't want to wait to record. And so I had to keep the thing up on my laptop across the office and wait. And finally, when my time was up, I put down the microphone and I went over and registered for the half marathon and I got in.

Are you done?

I am done.

Okay, here's my side of things. It said that it was gonna be. I think when we pressed record, it was 36 more minutes. Like that's worth it to start recording because we've got to record two episodes today and you only have so much time before you have to go pick up your kids, so it's worth it. Well, just stop whenever you need to go purchase your Run Disney tickets. Nbd, we have editors. But you know what's interesting to me though is you were the most distracted, actually, after you had purchased the tickets. I did not notice dual attentions. So she actually to get real nitty gritty because whatever, we're just, we're here talking to our real fans. You purchased the tickets at our first ad break. So we were about 13 minutes in.

Right.

It was after that ad break that you weren't sure if I had mentioned the 90 day transaction inventory that you didn't know whether or not I had already talked about.

Well, I had a pattern interrupt. You know, like I was in and then I had to go buy the tickets and then I had to like, mentally get back into the episode and it was hard and I didn't want to do it.

You did do it though. But see, that's the thing. I don't know if it would have been any different if you just. If we had waited to record, you might have still been distracted by the fact that. No, I wouldn't have purchased these tickets. I would not have, because I wouldn't after the purchase. That's all I'm saying.

After I had to get up and walk over to my laptop and go fill something out and then come back and rejoin the mind flow that is the episode. And that was difficult for me to interrupt the pattern.

Oh. I mean, I think it was a great episode. I'm so glad that we did it. I'm not mad about this. I'm just making observations and being curious.

Yeah. The whole time my attention was in two different places. And luckily I've talked about zero based budgets enough that I could talk about them in my sleep.

So you're gonna do this in October.

With my friend Sarah.

And what are you most looking forward to about this? This is something that you've planned for. You've been talking about doing this for a long time. I don't know if you've been setting money aside or what the budget will be.

I do what I want when I want, Jill. Yeah, that's my budget.

What are you most looking forward to about this race?

Getting to train with a friend. I usually do them alone, so yeah, I get to run with a friend for this one.

Will you guys train together too?

Sometimes. She lives in Clearwater, so we might maybe meet up between St. Pete and Clearwater a couple times to train together. But we are similarly paced already.

Nice. Are you on Strava?

I am.

Are you impressed that I know what that is?

You just. I'm sure Sharon told you. I don't know. It was before or after her bowels let loose.

Runners.

I'm sure now you know a lot about Strava. What did she say about her Strava?

Oh, I don't know. She's just always on it like updating stuff in Strava.

What is there to update?

Well, you tell me. Isn't it where runners go and you like put your info in. Isn't it like Goodreads but for runners?

No, I mean you track your runs. So like at the start of a run you press start and at the end of the run you press stop.

And there's nothing else you do in Strava there.

I have gotten kudos before from random people. Like we'll say good run.

Uh huh. Can you like update if like you. I think she might have put in like that she did a race or like maybe she titled a run or something?

Maybe yes. You can add that to your. After it's start stopped, you can make notes.

Yeah, maybe that's what.

Yeah. There are no like games or anything.

See if you can catch them all.

That would be fun. That would be probably more fun.

Wow. Exciting. So glad you're gonna do the wine and dine. You didn't lose out on your spot in line.

Yeah. Thank you.

That's.

I'm excited.

Yay.

It's a lot of money, but. But I am not broke.

It's gone now. Can't get it back now. No refunds for Disney.

There aren't actually. You can't get a refund.

I know that.

[Oracle Representative]

Get in the zone. AutoZone. Welcome to the A to Z Savings Event at AutoZone. What are you working on today?

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Yeah, I need to change my oil. I want to get a full synthetic oil.

[Oracle Representative]

How about Pennzoil Platinum? It's the only oil made from natural gas.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Sounds great. How much for an oil filter?

[Oracle Representative]

Oh, that's free.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

What?

[Oracle Representative]

The filter is free with the oil.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Free.

[Oracle Representative]

Really, really free. It's just part of our Adafree. I mean A to Z savings event at AutoZone. Get in the zone. AutoZone restrictions apply.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Guest]

The Unshakables podcast is kicking off season.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Two with an episode you won't want to miss.

Join host Ben Walter, CEO of Chase.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Guest]

For Business as he welcomes a very.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Special guest, Chairman and CEO of JP.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Guest]

Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon. Hear about the challenges facing small businesses and some of the oh moments Jamie has overcome. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Chase Mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Sponsor]

J.P. morgan Chase Bank NA Member FDIC.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Guest]

Copyright 2025 J.P. morgan Chase in company.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 2 (Jill)]

The battlefield is set. The stakes are high. The only thing standing between you and victory. Nothing. Ascend to the pinnacle of gaming greatness with Lenovo Legion laptops, Towers and the new award winning Legion Go, the world's first officially licensed handheld. Powered by SteamOS, Legion relentlessly pushes gaming technology forward with towers built for raw, untamed power laptops with best in class AI tuning that sharpen your reflexes and the Legion Go, a handheld for serious gaming on the go. Stay ahead with lightning fast responsiveness on a stunning 16 inch PureSight display. Keep your cool with cold front thermal technology engineered for marathon sessions and with all day battery life. The game never stops until you say so. So check out lenovo.com legion empowering creators everywhere.

[Frugal Friends Podcast Host 1 (Jen)]

Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance and keep an eye on what your kids are spending with real time notifications. Kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely and parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place. Try Greenlight Risk free [e-mail] iheartra.