Cycle Syncing Your Money: Spend Less Without Trying Harder

Summary

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Episode Summary: Cycle Syncing Your Money – Spend Less Without Trying Harder

Podcast: Frugal Friends Podcast
Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Episode Date: May 12, 2026
Episode Theme: Exploring how understanding and aligning personal finance tasks with the phases of the menstrual cycle can help people who menstruate spend less and manage money more effectively – without resorting to willpower or rigid discipline.

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Main Theme & Purpose

Jen and Jill dive into the concept of "cycle syncing"—matching financial decisions and behaviors to the natural hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle. The episode explores how awareness of biological and emotional changes throughout the month can be a powerful tool for better, more compassionate money management. The goal is both practical and empowering: to demystify how energy, mood, and vulnerabilities shift over the cycle, and to offer actionable strategies for each phase, all while fostering self-acceptance—and a few laughs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Cycle Syncing & Financial Wellness

• What is Cycle Syncing?
  • Aligning diet, exercise, lifestyle—and spending habits—with the phases of the menstrual cycle.
  • Not about perfection or rigid plans, but adding another layer of awareness to optimize finances.
  • Jen admits skepticism but is open to learning; Jill drives the curiosity and framing.

"Figuring out cycle syncing is just the practice of aligning your diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits, which spending is a lifestyle habit, with the phases of your menstrual cycles, with the fluctuations in those hormones, avoiding some things while your hormones are here and doing other things when it's more optimal." — Jen (04:47)

2. Breakdown of Menstrual Cycle Phases & Financial Strategies

A. Menstrual Phase (Days 1-5): "Reflect & Rest"

• Biology & Mood: Estrogen and progesterone at their lowest; increased physical and emotional fatigue, introspection, and vulnerability.
• Financial Strengths: Increased clarity, lower impulsivity, reduced tolerance for BS (self and others), good time for honest review.
• Recommended Money Moves:
  • Review past month’s spending with curiosity, not judgment ([09:13]).
  • Audit subscriptions and recurring expenses; cancel what no longer serves ([09:04]).
  • Reflect on triggers for impulse purchasing; prep for periods of vulnerability.
  • Avoid big decisions; schedule those outside these days if possible.

"This is not a time to be making big financial decisions if they can be avoided." — Jill (10:28)

"Review last month's spending with curiosity, not judgment, in a comfy place... Audit those subscriptions and recurring charges. Cancel anything that doesn't feel satisfying right now." — Jill (09:13)

B. Follicular Phase (Days 6-14): "Plan & Optimize"

• Biology & Mood: Estrogen rising; mental clarity, optimism, curiosity return, energy builds.
• Financial Strengths: Future-focused, enthusiastic about goals, high motivation for planning, trying new things.
• Recommended Money Moves:
  • Create/refine budgets, map out savings, research investments.
  • Set up automation; order/prep convenience foods for later phases.
  • Write lists of enjoyable, free activities for “down” days ahead.
  • Beware of overcommitting or perfection paralysis; pick top priorities.

"Making a plan is not the same thing as being able to implement that plan. So still keeping it realistic... capture that energy but narrow it down and bring prioritization into focus." — Jill (16:08)

"Pick the one to three things that are going to be most important to accomplish during this about week long phase." — Jill (16:53)

C. Ovulatory Phase (Days 15-17): "Connect & Advocate"

• Biology & Mood: Estrogen peaks; high confidence, sociability, communication, and mood.
• Financial Strengths: Best for tough conversations, negotiations, self-advocacy; energy is high.
• Recommended Money Moves:
  • Schedule meetings, ask for raises, negotiate bills/contracts ([22:51]).
  • List/sell items online (writing, organizing, and follow-through are easier).
  • Plan/attend social activities during this phase (more energy for engagement).
  • Beware of over-generosity and YOLO spending; apply a 24-hour rule for big impulse decisions.

"This would be a great little window if this is you, you're relating to this: ask for that raise, negotiate, whatever. This is the time to make that call." — Jill (22:51)

"Our spending might begin to match our energy and it might lead to a little bit of a YOLO approach to our finances." — Jill (24:04)

D. Luteal Phase (Days 18-28): "Execute & Protect"

• Biology & Mood: Progesterone rises; fatigue, mood changes, cravings, emotional vulnerability.
• Financial Strengths: Attention to detail, follow-through, risk awareness.
• Recommended Money Moves:
  • Pay bills, handle admin tasks, batch errands to reduce fatigue ([25:35]).
  • Focus on completing, not starting, tasks.
  • Rely on pre-prepped “survival kit” foods or easy comforts.
  • Beware of emotional comfort spending—“I deserve it” logic can lead to overspending or convenience creep ([27:38]).
  • Avoid social media comparisons; curate your feeds during this time.

"Our best money moves here can be paying the bills, handling just some of the low level life admin tasks, maybe even some of the things we've been putting off." — Jill (26:10)

"This is when we’re getting that rotisserie chicken and we’re making dinner super easy for ourselves and we’re reining in that social media consumption, particularly being aware in this phase of the influence that others might be having on us." — Jill (29:29)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Vulnerability
  “Vulnerability without protection leads to exploitation; if we’re not aware of our levels of vulnerability where we’re vulnerable to spend, that could be exploited. ... So the reason for looking at this is to bring about some of those protections.” — Jill ([09:33])

• Cycle Syncing Skepticism
  "I am seeing its usefulness, and I am still skeptical." — Jen ([21:15])

• Embracing Dynamic, Not Static, Finance
  “An awareness at least of our cycle can reveal something that most financial advice ignores, which is that we are not the same person every single day. ... Being good with money isn’t really about your steady state of discipline and willpower, but rather about this self-knowledge." — Jill ([30:59])

• Grogu Meme Moment
  “Protect, attack, snack. That is luteal phase actually.” (25:35)
  Lighthearted call-back to pop culture and self-care; broke up heavier content with humor.

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Quick Reference Cheat Sheet

Menstrual:

• INTROSPECT. Review, cancel, and reflect, but don’t make major decisions.
  Follicular:
• PLAN & BUILD. Create budgets, systems, prep for future needs.
  Ovulatory:
• ADVOCATE & CONNECT. Negotiate, have tough talks, sell, socialize.
  Luteal:
• COMPLETE & PROTECT. Pay bills, finish tasks, defend against comfort spending.

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Highlighted Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Key Idea | |-----------|----------------------------------------| | 04:47 | What is cycle syncing? | | 06:48 | Biological changes in menstrual phase | | 09:13 | Menstrual phase money moves | | 13:25 | Follicular phase explained | | 16:08 | Making plans vs. implementing plans | | 19:04 | Ovulatory phase described | | 22:51 | Best window for negotiation/tough calls| | 25:35 | Luteal phase + “protect, attack, snack”| | 29:29 | Social media, comfort, and vulnerability| | 30:59 | Financial advice: not all about willpower|

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Lightning Round Q&A

• Jen: Never tracked cycle closely; mild symptoms; open to trying to link mood/energy to cycle for self-awareness ([39:01]).
• Jill: Wants to sync meal prep to energetic phases for lower-stress weeks ([38:16]).

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Closing Thoughts

• Cycle syncing is not about rigidity or blaming hormones, but gaining another tool for self-understanding and self-compassion in financial decisions.
• Most traditional finance advice misses how much our natural rhythms affect our capacity to manage money.
• The hosts encourage listeners to embrace awareness and build dynamic plans tailored to fluctuating energy and emotions, rather than fighting them.

"Your finances cannot be static when you are not a static person. So the goal is not perfection, but it’s about knowing yourself, protecting yourself, and setting up rhythms and systems that are going to work for you.” — Jill (31:37)

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For Further Engagement

• Friend Letter: Weekly newsletter with tips (visit frugalfriendspodcast.com), includes cheat sheets for episodes.
• Mug Giveaway: Subscribe to YouTube and enter on website until May 22.
• Episode Call-to-Action: Listeners are encouraged to comment, subscribe, and leave book reviews for “Buy What You Love Without Going Broke.”

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Transcript

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[Jen]

Cycle syncing your money Spend less without trying harder.

[Podcast Narrator]

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.

[Jen]

Welcome Frugal Friends. I'm Jen.

[Jill]

And I'm Jill.

[Jen]

And this is an episode about cycle syncing.

[Jill]

Jen just doesn't think it's worth a full episode.

[Jen]

And that's fine. I respect it. It's not that I don't think it's worth it. And even if you're in the comments and you're like, oh, I wanna hear it, it's still a no. Because I'm not gonna create a full 45 minute outline about my, like, talking about my luteal phase for 10 minutes and how that impacts how I spend money. Like, it's just a personal thing that I don't want to talk about. And I respect that you wanted it, so I outlined it. And honestly, it's not bad.

[Jill]

You said you never, but the people spoke.

[Jen]

And if anybody knows, nobody knows this better than Jill. But if I say no or never, it usually means yes.

[Jill]

It is what I wrote in my acknowledgment section. Is that what it's called at the end of the book when you're kind of thanking everybody that you've ever met in your life? And I said to Jen that her nevers are my favorite yeses.

[Jen]

Yeah. So today we're talking about how to align your finances with each phase of your cycle. But first, we have one last mug giveaway for our frugal AF mugs, and we are doing that on May 22nd. So if you haven't entered into the mug giveaway, head to frugalfriendspodcast.com mug mug and enter your Jill's going to go get the mug. It's so close. So these are what the mugs look like if you don't already know. If you've already entered, you're still in the drawing. In this last one, you have to be subscribed to the YouTube channel. Submit your username that you subscribed with and your email, and hit submit. And then we will pick five winners on May 22. That is the last drawing. That is the deadline. And best of luck to you all. And. And best of luck to me getting all these mugs out my house.

[Jill]

Yeah, we want. We want a good amount of them gone. We're going to keep a few for ourselves, but otherwise, you should have them. Yeah. And you should have them for free. And I love that.

[Jen]

I don't want them on a big box in my office. I want you to have them.

[Jill]

Okay. So as. As we all know, those of us who menstruate, this is. This is our cycle. We've got a menstruation phase. We've got. Followed by the follicular phase, followed by the ovulatory phase, followed by the luteal phase, and then we do it all again. But here's the thing. Our hormones shift and fluctuate a lot throughout that 28 to 32 to question mark, amount of cycle. And it's worth paying attention to. Neither one of us are cycle syncing experts, but it has been something. It has been a big curiosity for me over the years as I notice differences in my emotions and relationships and how I'm just engaging with the world that I've thought, man, this probably bears weight on my finances. It might be another layer of information and education that could help me to blend it in, weave it into the way that I approach life and finances, rather than thinking that life is always just this, like, rigid thing and. And you just keep doing it and nothing changes. It's not life. So that's what we want to talk about. We mostly did this, I mean, honestly, for me, because this was my request and I wanted to learn more about it.

[Jen]

And if we're gonna do this episode, I want to about it because I just did a brief outline of what I could search like, quick Google search. Figuring out cycle syncing is just the practice of aligning your diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits, which spending is a lifestyle habit, with the phases of your menstrual cycles, with the fluctuations in those hormones, avoiding some things while your home runs are here and doing other things when it's more optimal. And so I want you to teach me how to cycle things.

[Jill]

Yeah. And it may not always go perfectly.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Jill]

It might be, oh, this is the ideal timing for X, Y, Z. And we're not imagining that our lives always work out that way, but in whatever ways we can to bring this level of awareness to it and begin incorporating this into our regular rhythm. So we're going to start with the menstrual phase. This is days, this is considered days, about 1 to 5 of our menstrual cycle. And in this time we're going to talk about kind of what happens biologically, financial strengths of this time, what, what to look out for, what, what to do instead. So during the menstrual phase, this is when menstruation is happening.

[Jen]

And I think I will put some of these, I will make these lists that you've made in the friend letter. Oh, so if you are getting our friend letter, check your email. Our Friend Letter is our, our weekly newsletter we put out every Tuesday and Friday whenever we have an episode go out.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

And it's got a little bit more insight behind the episode. Or if you're not paying attention on YouTube or Spotify, which why wouldn't you be? Why wouldn't you be there all the time, then you can get it in your inbox. You'll know what the episode is about. But frugalfriendspodcast.com get your email in right there and then you'll get the friend letter. If you already have it, it will be. This list will be there.

[Jill]

So biologically, this is when our estrogen and progesterone, those are two vital hormones for us ladies, are dropping to their lowest. It's never been lower than during the menstrual phase. And so what that can mean is our energy can kind of turn a bit more inwards. Our introspection is just naturally rising at this time because everything just kind of quiet a little bit inside of us with that estrogen and progesterone drop. But it can also come with that physical fatigue, cramping, headaches, bloating. And your body is. Our bodies are literally asking us to slow down during these days one through five if we are listening to those cues. And it's also during this time that we probably don't feel our best because of those physical things that I was saying, those of you who do experience intense cramping and the headaches and the bloating, like we are not feeling top notch in ourselves, which obviously can correlate to some different spending decisions. But the things that go well in this phase include a clearer and quieter perspective because everything kind of is slowing down in our bodies. It, it can give way for some of that clear perspective. We are naturally less impulsive during this phase. And so because of that, we can have this greater level of honesty and transparency about maybe what is or isn't working for us financially. We might be able to see patterns that at other points in our cycle we might be more likely to rationalize away or not totally notice. So this clarity can be really good for us at this stage. But we also have a really low tolerance for any bs. So we are. That clarity is causing us to see straight through some of that bs.

[Jen]

Like our own BS or other people's bs?

[Mandy]

Both.

[Jill]

Mostly other people's. But we could turn it inward and we could. This would be a great time to cancel subscriptions, a great time to look at any of the financial BS that maybe you've been putting up with.

[Jen]

A great time to Inspect if it's one worth paying Jeff Bezos $140 a year to make it easier for you to impulse spend. Yeah, that's some bs.

[Jill]

Yeah, for sure. So here's some really good money moves that we might recommend for you during this stage is to review last month. Spending with curiosity, not judgment in a comfy place. Do this on the couch, do it in your bed. Allow yourself to slow down and use some of that internal clarity that you have right now. Audit those subscriptions and recurring charges. Cancel anything that doesn't feel sat satisfying right now. Reflect on any of those impulse purchases. Maybe ask yourself what were some of the triggers? Was it actually meeting a need or a value? You can look at what financial tasks felt hard in the last month so that you might be able to plan better for this upcoming month. So. So we're starting. We're not necessarily quite making a plan yet in this phase, but a lot of awareness can be happening at this stage, but we are vulnerable at this point. And so both in the menstrual phase and the luteal phase, although we'll get there at the end. But similarly, there's a lot of vulnerability happening. And one of the things that we like to talk about is how vulnerability without protection leads to exploitation and as that relates to our finances is if we're not aware of our levels of vulnerability where we're vulnerable to spend that could be exploited. Exploited in us financially, potentially just by ourselves, maybe by other people. And so part of the reason for looking at this is to bring about some of those protections that can come about by knowing where am I most vulnerable right now? This is not a time to be making big financial decisions if they can be avoided. The menstrual phase is not when we want to make a huge Housing decision, a car buying decision, if we can avoid it. And it might not be for those entire five days. It might be like the very day that the menstrual cycle starts might be where our ability to make those big financial decisions, we're just not in the best place to be able to do it because of some of that low energy. Being aware of some of the impulse purchases that could happen because of the doom scrolling that might be going on here. Financial shame spirals. So that's why again, it's really important if we're looking back at those 30 days, it's without judgment. Also be aware to not think that your, your fatigue or your low energy is laziness. I think allowing ourselves the time to just slow down a bit, to plan for a bit of a slowdown can ultimately help us holistically.

[Jen]

Yeah, I think it's good every month to kind of set aside a couple days where I'm just going to schedule like decisions and tasks and stuff to be more backloaded in this week because I know or more front loaded because I know my like menstrual phase, like my the you know, highest three days or the lowest three days of my hormones is here and just like use those three days not to be lazy, but just to acknowledge that I will have low energy on these days and to give myself grace.

[Jill]

Yeah, yeah. Instead you can have like a comfort day. Allow yourself to do some of the things that that would bring about rest. Maybe now's the time to get that fun book from the library or watch the show that you, you've been holding for this stage. Maybe there's a puzzle you want to do. Protect your schedule ahead of time, see it coming and know, okay, I'm going to be a little bit more low energy so I'm not going to commit to as much setting up Boundari really good way to care for ourselves.

[Jen]

Okay, let's talk about the follicular phase. That is the phase that I am currently in and you have it as labeled as plan and optimize. So estrogen is rising, mental clarity sharpens, curiosity and optimism returns. Energy rebuilds, rebuilds steadily, improve mood, better sleep. So this is seems to be like our fresh start. Feeling our good stuff. What are we doing here?

[Jill]

Oh, this is, this one's the best that honestly for me like day my menstrual cycle ends, it does feel like the clouds have parted and everything is lifted. Like I do feel a shift in myself. Like let's go. So I feel this one really strongly. This is about days six through 14. And some of the financial strengths that can happen here is the planning and problem solving. We can be super future focused in our thinking. So goals can feel really exciting and not overwhelming. We might be more drawn to learning and researching, building and trying new systems, openness to change and optimism. We are on top of the world. And I mean not as like on top of the world as we might be in the ovulatory phase, but we're ramping up. And so if, if you've had any experience of this, then we can just know. This is when we're doing the stuff. This is when we're creating and refining our budget. This is when we are mapping out our savings goals and our plans. This is when we're researching investments. If we've got any kind of credit card strategy that we want to look into, we can be researching that any securing any of the financial tools, the budgeting app that maybe we've been putting off, building the systems, putting things on automation and prepping for our luteal survival kit. That one's gonna come. But we're doing it in this phase. This is when, if we have some of the energy and the motivation to stock the freezer with some pre prepared foods, get some of the efficient, low effort convenience items for ourselves, for our future self that we are just gonna kiss ourselves for. And this is when we want to write down our list of free pleasures, the dopamine hits that we know typically can work for us because when we hit that down phase, it's going to be harder to bring those things to mind or to have the energy to create that list. So it's in this phase that we are thinking about our future self.

[Jen]

And you're lucky because we have a list of 25 of them in our episode of 25 Little Luxuries. So just save that one, queue it

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[Jill]

I think some of the only downsides that can happen here is that that level of clarity and optimization and goal setting can be taken to an extreme where we start a bunch of things or we imagine ourselves capable of so much that we begin all these things and then we never finish them.

[Jen]

That's what I was thinking. I was like, okay, this could go a little too extreme. And then we end up back in the menstrual phase where we're self shaming for not making any progress on these big lofty goals that we made three weeks ago.

[Jill]

Yeah, making a plan is not the same thing as being able to implement that plan. So still keeping it realistic. Be aware of signing up for too many financial tools or researching so thoroughly that you then never it becomes paralysis. You never actually make a move on it. So capture that energy but narrow it down and bring prioritization into focus. So so definitely use this window to make decisions for your luteal and menstrual self and channel that optimism into action. Pick the one to three things that are going to be most important to accomplish during this about week long phase.

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[Jill]

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[Jill]

Okay, that brings us to our ovulatory phase. This one's pretty short. We only feel truly on top of the world for about two days. This is day 15 to 17.

[Jen]

So make so, plan accordingly. Yeah.

[Jill]

So at this point, biologically, our estrogen is peaking, which means our confidence is pretty high. We have heightened senses in general. Our sociability is heightened. We have sharpened communication, usually just increased overall energy. That feeling of being on. I just feel good. But also estrogen boosts serotonin. So this can lead to better mood, increased cognitive processing speed. This is just a really lovely time of the month.

[Jen]

I've. Earliest three days of the.

[Jill]

I've never felt as pretty as I do during those two days of the ovulatory phase.

[Jen]

I've never paid attention.

[Jill]

But haven't you ever had those days where you're just like, oh, my gosh, I don't feel ugly today?

[Jen]

Yes, I have those days. I don't. I don't associate them with. I think that. I think you can have more confidence over your ovulatory phase. And I think it's worth conditioning yourself to believe that you're beautiful even outside of those three days a month, a hundred percent.

[Jill]

Like, I think ovulatory phase is when we see things, like, the most clearly about, like, what we're capable of and the way that we look. And so I do try to harness that. Like, there was that day when I felt that nothing truly has changed. I just feel great. But, yeah. And I think some of this is. Is awareness. Like, at what part of the cycle am I feeling this way?

[Jen]

But then I don't think. If you don't think you look good during your ovulatory phase, is there no hope for you? I think that maybe that's a deeper.

[Podcast Narrator]

No.

[Jen]

No issue that you work through.

[Jill]

Yeah, I didn't think about that. Flip side. No, girl, no. Probably everyone else is like, so I

[Jen]

still think you should take this stuff with a grain of salt. I think I am seeing its usefulness, and I am still skeptical.

[Jill]

This is not gonna solve everything. And there are so many variables in the way everybody experiences. Each of these phases is going to shift, but these are generalizations of what might be happening given the biological components.

[Jen]

I do love that. I love the generalized loose guide. I'm here for that.

[Jill]

Yeah. So there is a real. I'll have to share it at some point in this episode of, like, how we might be feeling throughout the. The different phases. And it feels pretty accurate. Anyways. I digress. Some of the strengths that can happen here financially is just having greater levels of confidence in conversations, you might have a higher perceived value of yourself. It doesn't mean that you don't maintain that same value throughout the rest of the month. It's just how you might be viewing yourself might be helping to increase some of that confidence which might lead to better negotiation abilities during this phase being maybe, maybe having better abilities to communicate clearly, be persuasive in what you're saying. So this would be a great little window if this is you you're relating to this, ask for that raise, negotiate, negotiate, whatever. This is the time to make that call. If you've got a call to make, yes, make it.

[Jen]

I would say this is definitely if you can't. It may be hard to schedule like a meeting with your boss or an interview for a job around your ovulatory phase, but you can absolutely, absolutely schedule in to make that call on one of these days. Even if two out of three are falling on a Saturday and Sunday, you can still make that call on one day. This is what I do love for you.

[Jill]

This is also a good time to be selling any of the items that you don't want on Facebook, Marketplace or Poshmark. You might be in a position to be writing better listings. You might have better follow through during this time if you've been putting a financial conversation with a partner, now's the time to have that exploring any potential side hustles. If earning more income is on the radar, this would be a time that the the highest motivation might be there. And again, setting yourself up for the luteal phase with those pre cooked meals. Make the grocery list, make the meal plan for next week during this phase, what to watch out for. Because we might be feeling in tip top shape that social spending can go up. We our spending might begin to match our energy and it might lead to a little bit of YOLO approach to our finances. Generosity might be overflowing. We might be feeling our most generous towards people wanting to pick up the tab or over tip or lend money impulsively. So keep an eye out for that too and your confidence might be mistaken for absolute certainty. So just in any of these phases, allow yourself at least 24 hours to be making big decisions. And so again we're pre planning. So knowing how we might be feeling during the ovulatory phase, we are deciding what might be the social outings that I want to do or if there's people you know, you've been you want to get together with. You haven't found the time, you've been putting it off schedule it for this timing because it's the most likely that you are to follow through on those plans and not last minute be like, no thank you. It's the last thing I want to do. And then that takes us to our luteal phase.

[Jen]

This you have put execute and protect. And that makes me think of these, the memes with Grogu, the little baby Yoda that was like protect, attack, snack and wow. And this I feel like is an accurate meme for this phase.

[Jill]

Protect, protect and snack. What was it?

[Jen]

Protect, attack.

[Jill]

That is luteal phase actually. All right. Biologically, progesterone is rising, which can lead to fatigue, lower energy, mood changes, being just maybe a little bit more emotionally vulnerable, experiencing some of that irritability, possibly cravings. I've never really noticed that in myself personally, but for some it does happen. And some side effects can also be digestive discomfort, fluid retention, breast tenderness. I feel you, girl. I get a lot of these things. You didn't ask. But it happens. And that impacts the rest of us, the rest of our personhood when these things are happening. But there are still strengths to be had. So task completion, attention to detail, risk awareness, being really aware of, you know, what might be the downfalls of any given decision. So those things are working really well for us. So some of our best money moves here can be paying the bills, handling just some of the low level life admin tasks, maybe even some of the things we've been putting off. We can batch our errands here. So we want to be looking for ways to reduce any decision fatigue. So if we are able to get all of our groceries and any errands kind done in one fell swoop, that's going to really help us here. Things we want to watch out for is that emotional and comfort spending that I deserve. It is so high here. And you know what? You do deserve it. This is a rough one. The luteal phase can just kind of bring us into a new stage of being that might include wanting to attack and attack.

[Jen]

Snack and protect. Yeah.

[Jill]

Oh, there. There it is. All right, we'll put it up. Take a screenshot of that.

[Jen]

I was already gonna put it up when we. I'm gonna put it up so that it already comes up.

[Jill]

Okay. Okay, we'll figure it out so you can laugh along with us.

[Jen]

Oh, wow.

[Jill]

Okay. It's in our outline.

[Jen]

I'm so sorry.

[Jill]

And so this is also as a result where subscription creep or convenience spending can come in. Again, this just requires pre planning utilizing that follicular phase the ovulatory phase, to know that this is coming and we've prepared for it. We've created ourselves a little survival kit of whatever simple pleasures might be useful to, to ward off some of that unnecessary spending. Because you do deserve it, but you don't deserve to hurt yourself financially in the midst of. Midst of it. This is when yeah, we are leaning into some of like just the comfort items but that, that we already have available. So we can make a plan for this. We can implement a 48 hour rule for purchases. 24 or 48 hour, your choice. When the urge to kind of fix something might strike. In this phase, this might be where we can look inward to our environment. Maybe I can do a rearrange, maybe I can decorate with things that I already have on hand. I can dig into that survival kit. I can rely on the freezer meals I've already put away for myself and do the convenience things. This is when we're getting that rotisserie chicken and we're making dinner super easy for ourselves and we're reining in that social media consumption, particularly being aware in this phase of the influence that others might be having on us to potentially spend, but also maybe feel worse about ourselves. If we've got those digestive issues happening, the fluid retention, the irritability, that's not going to be really fun to watch other women on Instagram who might be in their ovulatory phase and we're feeling super bad about ourselves and so we go and spend a bunch of money or we just leave feeling really bad about ourselves. So rein it in and, and curate who we're following as well. That's just an overall tip, but I do think maybe being aware of our vulnerabilities in this stage can, can be useful.

[Jen]

And again, we're going to put this little. I'll put a little cheat sheet to this in the friend letter. I won't. I just thought about it. I'm not. It's the. Today's is already sent out, so it'll be in Friday's friend letter. Yeah, so you'll get a cheat sheet to all this in Friday's friend letter. And yeah, I think this was enlightening and I think, yeah, cycle syncing. Being aware of the fluctuation of our hormones and not suppressing them like so for so many decades we were kind of told to do that. The things that were changing our emotions and our energy were making us weak in actuality, make us stronger, make us more powerful. And if we can optimize that and use that to our advantage. Yeah, I think that's just another tool in our toolbox.

[Jill]

Yeah. I do think that an awareness at least of our cycle can reveal something that most financial advice ignores, which is that we are not the same person every single day. We are not static, we are dynamic. We don't always have the same energy, the same willpower, the same capacity to resist. And so it's not a flaw about you or about us. And being good with money isn't really about your steady state of discipline and willpower, but rather about this self knowledge, this awareness of how we are at these different phases and just who we are, personality wise, that we can understand our relationship with spending, risk, decision making shifts throughout the month and build a life that works with it rather than against. It's the same thing that we talk about when it comes to our impulsivity is that this is part of what makes us human. And it's not about always resisting impulsivity, but working with it. Where can I blend that into my regular plan? Your finances cannot be static when you are not a static person. So the goal is not perfection, but it's about knowing yourself, protecting yourself, and setting up rhythms and systems that are

[Sponsor Voice]

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Yes.

[Jen]

And you know what is a rhythm that I personally love in any phase of my cycle?

[Jill]

It fits with every phase of the cycle. The Bill of the Week.

[Podcast Narrator]

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[Jill]

Hey ladies.

[Mandy]

I wanted to share this tip. I've been using this service from the library and I know you guys are library lovers. My local library subscribes to Hoopla and it's very similar to Overdrive or Libby, where you can download audiobooks through the library. But one feature that I particularly love is it allows you to access Hallmark Plus. So over the holidays I got to watch all of the Countdown to Christmas movies and I didn't have to pay a penny because it was through my local library. I also have used Hoopla for audiobooks and I actually ran a book club where for I think it was two years, we were running monthly and I think I only had to buy one book because Hoopla had all of the books that we were covering. So it's a wide library and I have saved so much money through that resource through my local library. Thanks for what you're doing.

[Jen]

Yes, Mandy, we should have put this

[Jill]

in our library episode. But this is a great tip.

[Jen]

But we are, I mean you already know, especially if you watched our library episode and if you didn't, you should go watch it. That you can get like these sticks to get certain streaming surfaces and Hallmark is just another one. If you enjoy yourself a Hallmark movie. If you have found yourself on a Hallmark holiday cruise either weekend. Did you know that existed?

[Jill]

No.

[Jen]

There is Hallmark holiday cruises.

[Jill]

Oh.

[Jen]

Where like some of the stars, recurring stars from those movies will be on the cruise and they'll do panels. It is it. I, I took a cruise and it came out that like it was between week one weekend, like weekend one and we get two of the Hallmark cruises because there was somebody who was getting off the Hallmark cruise and onto my cruise.

[Jill]

That's amazing. Yeah.

[Jen]

So that's a wild thing that you could do with your savings, Mandy. If you wanted to.

[Jill]

If you love it that much.

[Jen]

If you love it that much.

[Jill]

Wow. Well, thanks Mandy for sharing this extra little t about hoopla and the library. We do love it. If you all are listening, have a bill that you want to submit. If it has to do with saving money, spending money, being bill, anything bill related. Frugalfriendspodcast.com bill we can't wait to hear it.

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[Jen]

Pew. All right. If you could cycle sync one thing about your financial life right now, what would it be? So like a task or something maybe.

[Jill]

I think for me it would be food. I think I would like to take a deeper dive into. Because there are some weeks where it's just like, yeah, I really crushed my meal plan. And then other weeks where I didn't and now I'm curious to see, oh, how did that coincide with my cycle? And so taking some of this advice, I think I would like to try and figure out. Yeah, do it. Do a lot of cooking during that luteal phase and like stack the freezer and allow myself to just kind of take it easy. Or the follicular phase. Take it easy during the luteal phase. Yeah.

[Mandy]

Okay.

[Jen]

Gosh. I don't like.

[Jill]

I just got on board with doing

[Jen]

this episode round is so usually like, oh yeah, we've been doing this. So like what's our personal insight? And my personal insight is I don't have one yet.

[Jill]

Is there anything you want to take away from this? You find it Intriguing.

[Jen]

I do find it intriguing. I think. Well, I've never tracked my cycle before. I tried once for like, pregnancy prevention reasons and that's how ATLAS came to be. So.

[Jill]

So that backfired.

[Jen]

So here we are. And I. So I can't tell if I like which phase I'm in. I also, like, in full disclosure, have a very mild, like, menstruation experience. Like just in general.

[Jill]

That's great.

[Jen]

I know it is.

[Jill]

You're healthy.

[Jen]

Great. And so I think they. The fluctuations do have always impacted me less.

[Jill]

So

[Jen]

maybe I will be more cognizant of the things I'm experiencing and check my cycle to be like, okay, is this hormonal related? And if it's not, then okay, is it like nutrient related or sleep related or something like, different? I think that might be. And that is life. Not necessarily financial.

[Jill]

Yeah. But it all impacts each other.

[Jen]

Maybe I will check to see when my next ovulation is and just like take a few pics of myself in here. Again, not financial. It's not. Not helping.

[Jill]

Wait, take a few pics. Oh, wait.

[Jen]

And be like, oh, look, I look so good.

[Jill]

Right. Right. That's the time to do it.

[Jen]

So that's. That's it. Thank you so much for listening or watching this episode. Please let us know in the comments if this is like, I've been waiting for this episode. Jen, why have you denied this from me for so long? And then thank me for putting it

[Jill]

in, for allowing it to happen, for allowing it.

[Jen]

The only thing I have control over in this business is the content schedule and the outlines. So that's my one superpower. Thank you for listening to them every week as well. If you enjoy them, you can leave a comment. But something even more powerful would be to subscribe to the channel. It helps us spread this message of really how nuanced financial decisions are farther, wider. We want everyone to feel comfortable talking about money, to not feel shameful about money and to understand these nuances. So please subscribe to the channel and leave a comment or a review of the book. If you've read our book, Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke. We don't talk about cycle syncing. We talk a lot about spending. And it can be very helpful when you're in certain areas of your cycle, I. E. All of them. And this is A review from TJ Bradley. Happens to be 5 stars. Says real Solutions for the Financially Overwhelmed and Underconfident. That is the title of my album, Being an Overwhelmed Impulse Buyer. I love that this was like Hanging out with money, smart friends, keeping it real and not making me feel like crap. Like a condescending chad making his Lamborghini payment off my purchase.

[Jill]

Oh, wow. That's so specific.

[Jen]

Tj. I loved the audiobook and hearing the sincerity behind the words and the sound effects alone are worth it. Yes, the whole. There's not a lot of sound effects, I promise. The whole book is amazing. But I learned more about myself and feel that will make the biggest difference. Values based spending is amazing. At 50:56, I finally feel hope in managing our finances. These ladies are a blessing in my life. My husband and I are working on a plan now and truly believe debt payoff and some retirement funds are now in our reach. If you are overwhelmed and don't know

[Sponsor Voice]

where to start, especially with impulse spending, buy this book.

[Jen]

You won't regret this investment. Amazing. Oh, there's nothing more I could have added to that.

[Jill]

That's so heartwarming. If you haven't left us a review yet, it doesn't have to be this kind or this heartwarming. But if you've read the book, we'd love for you to review it on Amazon. Would be great. Subscribe to the channel. We'd love that too.

[Jen]

They're just seeing us as condescending chads making our Lamborghini payments off of TJ's book purchase. Obsessed.

[Jill]

That is a good quote.

[Jen]

See next. Next time.

[Sponsor Voice]

Bye.

[Jen]

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

[Jill]

Well, we did it.

[Jen]

This was our fourth episode in 26 hours and I am glad it was you taking the lead because this is

[Sponsor Voice]

too many episodes in too short a time period.

[Jill]

You can't have me talk so much.

[Jen]

I. Well, the people ask for it. The people want more from you.

[Jill]

No, no, I'm not. I'm saying like, just in general. Oh, okay, fine.

[Jen]

But the people are asking for more of you and so I gave it to them.

[Jill]

There they. There they have. It helps.

[Jen]

I dictate how much you get to talk per episode and I have allowed you.

[Jill]

Let the girl speak. She's allowed to speak now. Okay, now be quiet.

[Podcast Narrator]

Okay.