How to Budget For July | Monthly Spending Tips

Summary

Frugal Friends Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: How to Budget For July | Monthly Spending Tips
Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Release Date: June 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Frugal Friends Podcast is dedicated to helping listeners strategically plan and control their spending for July, a month notorious for its budgeting pitfalls thanks to mid-summer activities, holidays, and the looming back-to-school season. Jen and Jill break down what to factor into your July budget, discuss the psychology behind summer overspending, offer actionable tips for avoiding regretful purchases, and share meal-planning inspiration with in-season produce. They also introduce their key “One Big Money Move” for the month, which focuses on credit and identity protection.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why July Is a Spending Danger Zone

• Loss of Routine Leads to Spontaneity:
  “Summer's in full swing. Routines are gone… Let's bring it back in to away from Vacation Brain and let's regroup so that we can make the rest of the summer fun and fiscally responsible.” — Jen [02:00]

• Vacation Brain & Social Pressure:
  “There are vulnerabilities of this particular season… social pressure peaking... seeing other people doing all their vacations, trips, weekend getaways... making us want to do them too.” — Jill [03:05]

2. Top 3 July Budget Additions

• Fourth of July – This Year Bigger Than Usual:

  • With America's 250th birthday, expect heavier marketing and more spending temptations.
  • Budget for barbecues, hosting supplies, fireworks, decorations, and last-minute impulse buys.
  • Plan specifically for holiday-related travel expenses (gas, snacks, travel food).
  • “If we're going to make impulse buys, we don't want to regret them. We want them to be worth it.” — Jen [06:01]

• Build Room for Impulsivity | Convenience Budgets:

  • Recognize that July comes with higher spontaneity; plan for it rather than fight it.
  • “Build in some impulsivity… It might mean cutting in other areas to make room for it.” — Jill [06:38]
  • Swap expensive takeout for affordable grocery store convenience foods.

• Souvenirs & Alternative Memory-Capturing:

  • “Here's an alternative. Take a picture of the event… the souvenir that you thought you were gonna buy… log it that way, rather than feeling the pressure to buy something at every single place you go to.” — Jill [06:56]

3. What’s On Sale & What to Skip

• Prime Day Update:

  • Prime Day took place in June, making July a potential “no buy” month.
  • “July is a very good month for a no spend challenge.” — Jen [08:34]
  • Utilize July’s free events and festivals instead of spending on big-ticket items.

• Summer Clearance & Back-to-School:

  • End of July: Summer clothing (swimsuits, sandals) goes on clearance.
  • Start of school supplies sales; focus on only buying essentials.
  • Consider thrift stores for basics like notebooks and supplies.
  • “Stick to the list, and so often you discover once your kids are in school what's actually needed.” — Jill [11:00]

• Secondhand Marketplace Deals:

  • Good time to shop for used grills, patio furniture, and lawn equipment as people upgrade.

4. Meal Planning: Eating Well in July

• Fruits & Veggies in Season:

  • Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries), watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, plums, cherries (“my favorite fruit” — Jen [15:53]), corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers.

• Meal Ideas:

  • Breakfast: Blueberry protein pancake or sheet pan pancake [17:08]
  • Lunch/Dinner: Sheet pan tomato herb pizza or flatbread; get creative with whatever bread or spread you have—use BBQ sauce, ranch, etc.
  • Dessert/Snack: Peach (or any fruit) crisp/cobbler—simple, adaptable, uses items you likely already have [20:19]
  • “Fruit and oatmeal and sugar, like done.” — Jen [20:34]
  • Freezing/canning in-season produce for year-round savings [16:19]

• Notable Advice:

  • July is not the best month for a strict pantry challenge—take advantage of the fresh, abundant sales instead.

5. One Big Money Move for July: Credit & Identity Check

[Starts ~21:39]

• Why Check: Credit scores impact your financial future even if you’re not making an immediate purchase; possible identity theft and errors.
• “If you're not aware of it, even if you're not thinking about buying anything right now, it can take a while to build up a good credit score. So the sooner you do it, the better you are.” — Jill [22:39]

Steps:

1. Get Your Free Credit Report:
   • Use AnnualCreditReport.com for free access to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion reports.
   • “You should not pay for a credit report.” — Jen [23:21]
2. Scan for Identity Leaks:
   • Search your email for suspicious activity (password resets, new login notifications).
   • Use “have I been pwned?” to check if your data has been breached.
   • Remove saved payment methods from rarely-used sites.
   • “Most identity theft starts with old forgotten accounts.” — Jen [25:06]
3. Lock Down Your Info:
   • Enable two-factor authentication everywhere; use password managers.
   • Consider freezing your credit if necessary.
   • Services like Aura can help monitor, but the basic checks are free.
   • “If all of this sounds like really overwhelming and we're not sure… it can be really worth our while to pay for a service that does this.” — Jill [27:27]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Impulse Buys and Enjoyment:
  “If we're going to make impulse buys, we don't want to regret them. We want them to be worth it.” — Jen [06:01]

• On Creative Meal Planning:
  “You can make anything into a pizza or a flatbread... just use your imagination.” — Jen [20:00]

• On Credit Protection:
  “To me, there is honestly a part I don't want to, like, live in fear. There's a part of me that's like, it's not if, it's when...” — Jill [29:02]

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Highlight Segment: Bill of the Week

[32:07]

• Listener Melissa from Virginia shares: Cancelled a pricey music subscription, got a $199 refund by asking via chatbot, now uses the library's Hoopla app for free music.
  • “I made the call, except for I got on and talked to a chatbot, asked for a refund for the whole year, and they gave it to me. It was $199. And now my family and I are utilizing our library... So thank you so much for supporting everyone to value what they spend and spend value wise money.”
• Response:
  • “Well done canceling. Well done advocating for that refund… amazing.” — Jill [33:51]
  • A reminder to always ask for refunds on annual subscriptions and to check out your free local library services.

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Hosts' July Plans & Personal Touches

• Both Jen and Jill are preparing for their Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exams, discussing the challenge and anticipation.
• Jen is taking a family cruise mid-month and jokingly budgeting extra for her family's survival in her absence [36:49].
• Both reaffirm their mission to provide down-to-earth, accessible financial education to “regular people.”

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Action Steps & Takeaways

1. Update your July budget:
   • Account for holiday gatherings, travel, and spontaneous spending.
2. Explore free or discounted summer activities.
3. Embrace seasonal produce for budget-friendly meal planning.
4. Download your free credit report and do an annual check for errors/fraud.
5. Evaluate your digital security—update, clean up, and lock down your online accounts.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:05] — Understanding why July is a high-spend risk month
• [04:06] — Planning for July’s unique budgeting challenges (Fourth of July, travel, impulse spends)
• [08:01] — What’s on sale & best July buying strategies
• [15:15] — July meal planning & in-season foods
• [21:39] — The One Big Money Move: Credit and identity check
• [32:07] — Bill of the Week: Music subscription refund and library shoutout

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Final Thoughts

July can be a budgetary minefield, but with proactive planning—embracing convenience without guilt, utilizing sales strategically, and implementing one focused financial health move—you can balance enjoyment with fiscal responsibility. For more personalized tips, check out the Frugal Friends’ monthly “Friend Letter” at frugalfriendspodcast.com.

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“Let's not let this summer get totally away from us... Let's regroup so that we can make the rest of the summer fun and fiscally responsible.” — Jen [02:00]

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

and live a richer life.

[A]

Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.

[C]

Hey Frugal Friends. I'm Jen. I'm Jill and it is that time again. Everyone's favorite monthly Email the Budget Toolkit in Episode Video Form.

[B]

Yeah, we wanna walk you through how to not overspend. July is one of the easiest months to overspend in, but we don't want you to get to August or September and look back and regret what you did. So we wanna give you some of the template and framework to be able to spend well in a healthy, safety, sustainable kind of way. What to be preparing for, what to completely cut out. We're going to give you all the deets.

[C]

Yes. And so we're going to go over a lot of information in this episode, so don't worry if you are subscribed to the friend letter. This is all in your inbox right now. If you're not, why not go to frugalfriendspodcast.com Enter your email on the last Friday of every month, you are going to get a budget toolkit with information on how to budget for the upcoming month, what's on sale, what not to buy, what's in season, meal planning ideas. That's everyone's favorite part of the episode slash email. So go get it. Frugalfriendspodcast.com, put in your email and that's what we're going to talk about today. Because summer's in full swing. Routines are gone. Every routine you thought you were going to implement over the summer is now null. So let's not let this summer get totally away from us. Let's bring it back in to away from Vacation Brain and let's regroup so that we can make the rest of the summer fun and fiscally responsible.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I think what you've highlighted already is really important for us to be able to name in that there are vulnerabilities of this particular season that makes us more susceptible to spending because we're not in a routine anymore. We might end up spending more because we might be in Vacation Brain or actually planning vacations or on vacation or post vacation. And so our spending awareness just decreases. There's the social pressure peaking at this time when we're seeing other people doing all their vacations, trips, weekend getaways, fun backyard whatever events and making us want to do them too, or we're participating in them and we're spending extra money or it's just, you know, transitioning between both the vacation. But now we're also starting to think about back to school. And so there's a lot of things tugging on our wallets at this time. I think it's just good to be aware of what those things are so that then we can attack them appropriately.

[C]

Yes. Okay, so these are the three most important things when we're thinking about what do we add to our July budget. And so the first is obviously fourth of July and you're going to see a lot more marketing around this Fourth of July because it's America's 250th birthday. So maybe you're usually good on Fourth of July in the past, but you could see some extra spending opportunities because of this milestone. So think about this month. Are we going to any barbecues, any parties that we're going to have to bring something, Then we're going to add a little extra to our grocery budget or we're going to create a special holiday budget just for that. Are we hosting, are we going to be spending extra money on hosting supplies? You know, the cups, the plates, all the utensils, the sternos and any of that. So think about those fireworks, decorations, alcohol. So like peripheral things to hosting or attending parties. These tend to be last minute impulse buys because we've got the firework stands all over, so we see one on the way to the party. We're like, oh, let's, let's pick up some sparklers, you know, or something fun for the kids. These things aren't necessarily bad. You know, the impulse buys are not bad, but we want to make sure that we are adding enough to Our miscellaneous budget to cover impulse buys like this. And it's at the first of the month, so your miscellaneous budget's probably going to be full. But then we want to make sure that nothing else comes up that we're going to have to pull from that. And then travel around the holiday weekend. So you've probably already paid for flights or hotels or any of the big stuff. But we're thinking gas, we're thinking travel, food. We're thinking all the things that you can't pay for up front that happen when your decision making brain is maybe a little fatigued from Trav. We want to plan in advance. So, like, can I bring snacks? Can I get, like a gas, you know, gift card where I can save a couple cents a gallon? Because who doesn't need that in this economy right now? So. So all of that, we want to just be thinking ahead so that we don't make impulse buys that we do regret. If we're going to make impulse buys, we don't want to regret them. We want them to be worth it.

[B]

Yeah, Build in some impulsivity. Because when we lack routine and structure, then that spontaneity is just naturally going to increase. We plan for that. It might mean cutting in other areas to make room for it, but especially when it comes to travel, I think souvenirs can be a big one. Thinking that we need to buy all of the mementos as a way to solidify the memory, here's an alternative. Take a picture. Take a picture of the event. Take a picture of the souvenir that you thought that you were gonna buy and love so much. Like, log it that way, rather than feeling the pressure to buy something at every single place you go to, that's a little bit more of emotional spend. It's an impulse spend that we don't really need. So find other creative ways to log the special moments. Yeah, so we've just got a lot more convenience spending that's happening. The kids are home for probably more meals than what you're used to. Snacking more than you're used to. So thinking ahead for some of those pieces, it is okay to have convenience things on hand. We would actually encourage it better to buy the convenience items from the grocery store, though, than last minute running out to and get. Getting takeout or going to a restaurant. So finding lower cost replacements can be really helpful. Mm.

[C]

All right, let's jump in to what's on sale. Best sales in July. So a big change you're going to see this July versus last July. Is that prime day was in June this year. So if you were looking for that, you've missed it. It's over probably now. I don't know. We are recording this. Amazon has not announced its official price date. So it could be going on right now.

[D]

Who knows?

[C]

So there's going to be an opportunity for a no buy month in July if that's something that you're really looking for. If you can, if maybe you got your, you know, planned sale purchases done in June around prime day, you can put off back to school sales until August. July is a very good month for a no spend challenge. If you're thinking about it again, if you're maybe taking a weekend trip or something, then you can take those days out of the no spend challenge and give yourself free rein there and just do it for the rest of the month. But I will put that out there that July this year is a good month for a no spend.

[B]

Wow. And if that makes you angry at Jen, I get it.

[C]

Some of us will not be spending money traveling. You know, there's some people that it won't be a good no spend month for, but there are some people it will.

[B]

To be fair, July also is a good month for tons of free activities. All of our states that are in colder climate environments, you know, where, where summer's finally actually warm, you know those

[C]

places that have snow in the winter, they have good weather during the summer.

[B]

Now is the time when your city, your town is doing all of the free stuff. So yeah, maybe, maybe Jen's on to something here.

[C]

We really do need to rethink July as a good no spend month because everyone thinks January is it. And we have time and time again decided January is not it. Yeah, January is not it. February or March, those are good beginning of the year ones. And I think July is another one.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

I think July is our second or third place.

[B]

But if you're not going to listen to Jen because she's making you angry, keep in mind, summer clearance does happen in July. So this is when you're getting deals on swimsuits, sandals, summer clothing because they're starting already to make the shift over to the fall clothing. So if you are thinking ahead for next year or you still need it for this year, you realized your stuff really wore out and you do need to make some replacements. Now would be the time for some of those more clothing items.

[C]

And this would be starting in late July.

[B]

School supplies are going to be, you know, starting to be put on the shelves. There's going to be A lot of it. Some people go back to school early August, so there's not much to say about all the ways to save on here. It's more of a make the plan to spend in this category but but also know that not all of the extras are needed. Stick to the list and so often you discover once your kids are in school what's actually needed. So maybe just get the basics and then discover what what else is actually necessary for them. And keep in mind the thrift store is going to have a good amount of things. Like you might be able to find unused notebooks and pencil sharpeners and I don't even what do kids use anymore? It's scrapper keeper.

[C]

It's so inexpensive though. Once you get those back to school sales started and once you find out your state's tax free week for school supplies, it's way easier to just like buy it in the store. But like other things like that are on sale. Even if you don't buy it in the store because it's on sale in the store, somebody is going to buy it new and then they're going to be selling their old one. So maybe right now isn't the best time for grills. The best sales for those are tend to be around August, but people are buying grills now and selling their old grills. So it is a prime time to be looking for stuff like that on Facebook Marketplace and you know, et cetera.

[B]

Same with patio furniture outdoor gear that's going to go on sale in August or September, but you still might be able to snag a good deal on Facebook Marketplace lawn equipment as well. Wait till August. But again secondhand. Always check secondhand first.

[C]

Yeah, definitely around this time of year.

[D]

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[D]

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[B]

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[D]

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[B]

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[C]

Meal planning for the of July.

[B]

Got to eat all the good and nutritious food.

[C]

We did not ask for that but you're welcome.

[B]

Somebody might unfollow us just for that, I don't think.

[C]

Well then they, they don't get us. It's not good for them to be here. Okay, so fruits on sale. We're looking at berries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries. We're getting watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, plums. My favorite cherry.

[B]

Are they your favorite?

[C]

They are my favorite fruit. Yep. And I only got them two months a year. That's it. So get all of your cherries in and start thinking about literally anything that's going to be like two for one deals. Anything that's on sale. Those are your in season produces and those are the things that you're going to want to think about cooking with.

[B]

You can put these things in the freezer too if you're feeling real crazy and domesticated. You can can some of these things as well. Your father in law has A U pick farm. And so if there's farms around you or roadside stands and you can get just like a big bulk of all these things, you can do that and then throw it in the freezer and then have them for your smoothies or throw thrown in yogurt, that kind of a thing. Vegetables are also on sale. We got the corn, we got tomatoes, we got cucumbers, zucchini, peppers. I mean, just this is the best month. This is. This is fruits, fruit maxing, veggie maxing. This is everything to its highest degree.

[C]

That's the kind of maxing I can get behind.

[B]

Yeah, this.

[C]

So let's give you some meal planning ideas for July. Let's start with breakfast. Blueberry protein pancake. Like breakfast cake. So this is like the kind of you can make it as a pancake, but you can also kind of just do a sheet pan pancake and then cut it. Fantastic. For meal prep, you can do it like with or without extra protein. That's up to you. But this is a fantastic, sweet breakfast item.

[B]

Oh, it looks so good. Okay, I'm hungry. All right, the next little idea. This could be lunch, it could be dinner. An easy sheet pan tomato, herb pizza. I always forget. I can find various ways to make my own pizza. Like, you have tortillas, you have pita, you have just anything that's kind of flat already and then any version of sauce, some cheese, some veggies, you're out here making your own pizza. This one calls for pizza dough. You could homemake it. You can buy pizza dough in the grocery store. Sometimes the bakery has it, other times you can find it in the frozen food section. And oh, man, this one has garlic and fig preserves. Or you could use honey. Always remember, substitutions are possible. If you don't have everything on a recipe card, do not run to the store. Figure out Google. Google and say, hey, what can I substitute for this? Or just leave it out altogether. A lot of times, unless it's like flour in cookies, it's not going to make a huge difference. If you leave one thing out. If you don't have an herb or a certain type of.

[C]

Or using dried herbs instead of fresh herbs. Yes, don't worry about it.

[B]

Exactly.

[C]

But I love you can make anything into a pizza or a flatbread. We tend to get the stone fire. Stonefire. The naan bran. N a a n. They also make a flatbread. And so we will tend to get a pack of two of those maybe every other week and do some kind of flatbread. I usually have chicken on hand. That's already prepped. So I have been recently liking barbecue chicken flatbread. So barbecue sauce, which again, is going to be on sale for fourth of July stuff. It's not just produce. We're also looking at like, think parties, potlucks, grilling, stuff like that. It's going to be on sale. So I'm putting some barbecue sauce on the flatbread. I am putting some mozzarella, some shredded chicken, and then I'm topping that with some pickled red onion and a little bit more barbecue sauce. And that has been a really good quick dinner.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

That's such a great idea.

[C]

So you can just have to be

[B]

red sauce and cheese. It can be ranch dressing with ricotta. Like there's maybe.

[E]

I don't know.

[C]

Would that taste good with some chicken and bacon? Yeah. Yeah. Like a chicken bacon ranch or like a BLT flatbread even.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Yeah. So just use your imagination.

[B]

And the final recipe we have to share with you is a little something sweet. Cause we're so sweet. But it's a peach cobbler, peach crisp, whatever you want to call it. Oh, they're so easy to make.

[C]

You could do this with any, any fruit that you're getting on sale. Like fruit and oatmeal and sugar, like done.

[B]

It's so good.

[C]

Flour. You definitely have everything you need on hand for a crisp.

[B]

Yeah. And depending on the ingredients, like, you could make it less sweet and more of a of a good breakfast option for yourself with if you go the oats ro with the fruits and then maybe you put yogurt on it for a little breakfast thing.

[C]

Yeah. This is a month. So it may be a good month for a no spend challenge. I would not say it's a good month for a pantry challenge. So I'll make that differentiation in harvest. We buy the on sale produce, we buy the on sale products, and we want to take advantage of those sales. But it's the things, products, and services that we may be able to buy this month. Right. And then we leave our pantry challenge for the winter.

[B]

Okay. So every month we love to give you a money move. This is also gonna be in the friend letter again, if you don't have that. Fricklefriendspodcast.com Sign up for the friend letter. It's free. We give this to you every month because we think that it is so much better if we're able to focus on one thing at a time. And so sometimes we don't know what that one thing is. You know, we might have debt payoff going on in the background or the forefront. But we're not sure what other things should require our attention. What else should we be doing to be as financially healthy as possible? Girl, we got you. This month we're going to do a credit and identity check. You might not have ever thought about doing one of these before. Why do one of these? Well, because your credit score is so important for so many different things, from getting credit cards to getting auto loans to purchasing a new house. So much is dependent on that credit score. And if you're not aware of it, even if you're not thinking about buying anything right now, it can take a while to build up a good credit score. So the sooner you do it, the better you are. It's also just good to have a pulse on what is my credit score or not just score, but just my credit report, because it might identify things that you weren't aware of. There could be identity fraud issues that might surface that you wouldn't know about were it not for checking your credit. So also, just protecting yourself financially by doing this annually is really important. So the first thing that you're going to do is get your free credit report. And yes, you can get it for free. You do not have to pay for this.

[C]

You should not pay for a credit report.

[B]

You can go to annualcreditreport.com and you can pull those reports from all three bureaus. So there's the. The three reporting companies are Experian, Equifax and Transunion. And you want to look for any accounts that you don't recognize any incorrect balances or late payments. Mistakes do happen and you can correct them. So getting your credit report is not going to tell you your credit score. Well, it is going to give you a good sense.

[C]

They typically do come together now, like you get one at the end, but you're not looking at your credit score. You're not looking at that. That's.

[B]

I mean, you're allowed.

[C]

You can, but that's not why we're doing this. We're not doing this to judge our credit worthiness for loans or whatever. We are looking for, like Jill said, those accounts that we don't recognize any mistakes that need to get corrected so they don't get out of hand. And we are looking for things that could lower our credit score because we are unaware of them.

[B]

Okay, so you're going to be looking also step two for identity leaks. You want to search your email for any of these types of words like password, reset, verification, code, new login because often that will come to your email. If someone's trying to hack into your things and get access to the most important stuff like your bank account, then you're going to get emails with these types of words in it. So if you don't see and if you see any of these things coming through that you don't recognize, it could be an indicator that someone's trying to hack in. And so we want to make sure that our data hasn't been exposed.

[C]

So you can also check have I been pwned? Pwned? And just Google that. And you can enter your email in and see if your email shows up in any data leaks. Spoiler alert. It will 100% it will have been exposed to data leaks because that's just where we are in this day and age. And so you also want to review saved payment methods in apps and sites, so especially maybe sites you're not using anymore. You might, you'd have to go into each individual site, but you could also just go into your backend and lock cards that you're no longer using or kind of check your transactions if that's the way you want to want to go about it. But yeah, make sure your credit card information is saved in as few places as possible. And going forward, when it asks you do you want to save this payment for quicker checkout next time, your answer is always no. It just always is. Most identity theft starts with old forgotten accounts. So just save yourself in the future. Do not save your cards anywhere unless you need to have a recurring payment there.

[B]

And step three of this check is to lock it down. Lock it down. What we mean by that is prevent future damages from happening. So this is when we are turning on two Factor Authentication. I get it. It's annoying. It takes time. That's why it's the one thing we're focusing on this month. We are now going to start to turn on two Factor authentication. We're going to look into the types of things that are going to help us save passwords and not just be using the same password across every single different account. We are going to, if needed, freeze our credit with the different bureaus if there has been some sort of leak, we're going to make the reports that need to happen, set up transaction alerts on bank and credit cards, just all the different ways to protect ourselves. And if all of this sounds like really overwhelming and we're not sure if we're going to be able to capture all of these different pieces because we are not IT specialists, It can be really worth our while to pay for a service that does this. We used both Jen and I, a relatively low cost one called Aura, A U R A. And they do provide this. They scan for data leaks. They tell you which ones are more vulnerable than others, constantly on in the background. And it does provide such peace of mind. So if that sounds like something interesting to you. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Aura. Aura. We'll also link it in the description.

[C]

Yeah, it does a lot of things, so it's not the cheapest out there, but it does, like, 30 different things, including if your data is leaked and there is fraud, then you have up to $1 million in fraud insurance. And they will essentially take care of getting everything back. Because I had a friend who got her identity stolen, like, right when Travis and I got married. And it was so much work.

[B]

It's such a nightmare.

[C]

It was a nightmare making all the calls and getting everything. And like. So honestly, that's why I pay for Aura is because of her experience. I was like, I don't want to ever go through that. And every other month I am getting a letter saying that my data has been leaked somewhere, not from my doing, but from companies that I had to give my information to. I thought it would be safe. And their information is getting hacked.

[B]

Yeah. I think hackers are just becoming a whole lot more complex in their strategies. I think. I imagine AI is making this easier for people to do, to just constantly be running these systems to be able to try and scan for and mine your information. And so to me, there is honestly a part I don't want to, like, live in fear. There's a part of me that's like, it's not. If it's when, you know, it really does feel so vulnerable at this point,

[C]

it is because now these hackers also have AI to help do tasks faster. So they do wait for old dormant accounts, but now they can just access everything faster and try out things faster.

[B]

So. So this is a, this is a form of insurance that we can do for ourselves that is really crucial and beneficial to us now.

[C]

Yeah. So whether you, you, you pay for Aura, like we do that, you know, aggregates all of this into one place, or you do it yourself. It can be done for free. Getting your free credit report. Get. That's, you know, that's not why I have Aura, but it is. Stuff like that is included. At minimum, you need to get your credit report, check your credit report for fraud and errors, and then go to have I been pwned. And see if you're like, where your data has been exposed.

[B]

That in and of itself sounds like a website I shouldn't go to, but I trust you.

[C]

They also, I mean, I think if you want, like, the, this, this one has, like a free thing, but it also, if you want the stuff that aura also includes, you have to pay for it. So, like, why pay for, like 10 different things, right? Or also has a VPN which can help with saving. We talked about that with our loyalty programs episode, which if you have not caught that episode, definitely check out the link in the description for that episode on why loyalty programs are a scam to get you to spend more and to charge everybody more collectively. And so that is how to budget for July. That is what you should be including in your budget, what you should be putting off and your one big money move. Let us know in the comments if you have done that one big money move and what you're doing this July. What are you budgeting for? What are you cooking in your meal plan? We all want to know all that. Let's fill the, let's fill the comment section with more budgeting tips. Tips for July. And I mean, this isn't a budget tip, but this is a really good thing to have.

[B]

Every single episode, every single month, we make room for it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

The Bill of the week.

[A]

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

[E]

Hi, Jen. Hi, Jill. This is Melissa. I'm calling from Virginia. I want to tell you about a bill I'm no longer paying. It's for an unlimited music subscription service. We use this service for years. It was running in the background of our lives. And I did not cancel for this coming year. And I received the bill for January and noticed there was a $50 increase in price. I went in, canceled it immediately, and I said, not again. They're not getting me. I then got an email from them for 2027, and the prices were increasing again. Granted, we had already canceled, but I remembered what you said. I made the call, except for I got on and talked to a chatbot, asked for a refund for the whole year, and they gave it to me. It was $199. And now my family and I are utilizing our library. We utilize the library all the time.

[C]

We love Library.

[E]

We're a homeschooling family and it's so great. But now we're using hoopla and we get to listen to the music the same way we would on the phone in the car. And we now can take the money we would otherwise be giving to a huge corporation and directly support the artists and have the CDs forever if we so choose. So thank you so much for supporting everyone to value what they spend and spend value wise money.

[C]

Wow.

[E]

Good words.

[B]

Okay, have a great day.

[C]

I'm not recording this one again. Oh, Melissa, you sound like me recording podcasts.

[B]

Words.

[C]

Good. Good words.

[B]

I understood everything perfectly. Delivery. Melissa, this is amazing. Well done canceling. Well done advocating for that refund because a lot of times companies will be like, okay, you're canceled, so we won't charge you again. But they're not going to refund you. And so asking, you can ask.

[C]

You have to ask. Because most of the times they have to give you a prorated refund if you paid annually. Like they have to give you a refund for most places for unused months. Not everywhere. But it does not hurt to ask.

[B]

But well done using that library. And that's such a good reminder. If you've not listened to our Our Library episode, why not so few of you did.

[C]

I'm gonna be honest. I know one of our best people

[B]

think library is not that riveting, but here you go. You can get a hoopla subscription for free and and then be able to get access to not just audiobooks, but music through hoopla. Amazing.

[C]

Bless.

[B]

Well done, Melissa. If you're listening and you have a bill of the week that you want to share with us, if it has to do with getting a refund, not paying what it's like being named Bill frugalfriendspodcast.com Bill, we cannot wait to hear it. Summer is here and I want to be spending my time planning the final details for our vacation, not stressing about the financial component. Which is why getting your finances organized by using an app like Monarch is so important. It's one of those things that can alleviate stress, knowing that your money is in order.

[D]

Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything, accounts, investments, savings goals and spending. You can get your first year of Monarch Core for half off, just $50 with promo code Frugal. I use Monarch and it has taken the mental load off of tracking our finances and keeps Travis and I on the same page. Not to mention significantly decreases the amount of time a monthly budget review takes.

[B]

One of the great things About Monarch is that when most apps simply tell you what you've already spent, Monarch helps you set goals, map out big purchases, and determine if you're actually on track before it's too late to adjust.

[D]

Use code [e-mail] to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50. That's 50% off your first [e-mail] with code FRUGAL.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[B]

And now it's time for the Viking.

[C]

All right, it's halfway through the year. What are you looking forward to this month?

[B]

What are you looking forward to, Jen?

[C]

Well, I'm taking a cruise with my family.

[B]

Yeah, you are.

[C]

Later this month. That is a big thing that's happening this month. It's not the biggest thing. It's not the biggest thing that's happening this month.

[B]

What's the biggest thing, Jen?

[C]

We're taking our CFP exam.

[B]

No, we're not taking it. We're passing our CFP exam in July. Thank you. Brett Danko, our exam prep course instructor, says that that's the language we need

[C]

to use that passing our CFP exam. Did you sign up for it?

[B]

Not yet.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Today.

[C]

Today. So hopefully Jill has signed up for it. I am passing on July 17th.

[B]

Yeah. Hopefully I will be passing on July 17th as well, if it's available. And I haven't made a plan yet, but I do hope, like, once this is all done to go somewhere, have a little bit of a vacation.

[C]

Turn your brain off.

[B]

Yeah, that'd be nice.

[C]

And I made us a buy me a coffee link. No, that would be in the friend letter on the 17th. I'll post it in the description of this video, too, but I'm not gonna, like, posted a lot of places, but I basically am sending out an email on that day to be like, buy us a drink that we can celebrate with or cry into. That's so cute. So if you wanted to do that, I'll put the link in the description of this video. Oh, man.

[B]

Oh, so much pressure because we've told you all. Oh, man. Which means we need to tell you what happens, but you, like, won't know

[C]

until there's more pressure than just making it public. Like, like, we gonna do this. We Gotta do this. And the world depends on it.

[B]

The entire world.

[C]

Because financial information on the Internet has become a cesspool.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And it has to stop. And it starts with us.

[B]

Okay. Well, thanks everyone for listening, for being here. Thank you to those who have read our book Buy buy what yout Love without going Broke and who have reviewed it like this person. Tabby gave it five fun and informative. Jen and Jill really managed to transform finance and being frugal into something fun. While being highly informative. They are also light hearted, getting the message across without being boring. This book focuses on living your values and having spending align with your values in a way you can live comfortably and happily. Among other things. Definitely recommend.

[C]

Thank you so much, Tabby and thank you for listening. If you are still here, can you please like this episode on YouTube and hit the subscribe button. It greatly impacts the reach of these episodes and this channel because we want to spread the message of conscious consumption and intentional spending as far and as wide as we can. Because the world needs it. And thank you so much for listening. You can also get a copy of our book buy what you Love without going broke at buy what you love book dot com. So we'll see you next time.

[B]

See ya.

[C]

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni. I am budgeting for quite a bit in July.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because I just plan on like really abandoning my family for the first two weeks.

[B]

So they're gonna need to spend money, huh? Because you've abandoned them.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Like on what?

[C]

I don't know what, Whatever they need to survive. That's up to them.

[B]

It's up to them. I abandoned them. Not here.

[C]

I've abandoned my boy.

[B]

I'm out.

[C]

Yes. So we'll see what happens when I get back.

[B]

I'll be here. I'll be here.

[C]

My body will be here, but my brain will not.

[B]

Oh yeah. It's so much information we have to take in and remember and be able to do.

[C]

Yep. But afterwards I'll be able to help you with your investments, your financial plan, your insurance coverage, your taxes.

[D]

I'm not going to sell you any

[C]

of that stuff, but I'll be able to help you plan it all yourself.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And I. All the other stuff. Estate planning.

[B]

Yeah. I'm like retired.

[E]

Ready.

[B]

Learning so many things. My mom has been calling me with stuff about my grandmother's finances. She's got variable annuities that need decision making happening on and my other friend needs help navigating a divorce and finances and there's just so much need for this and it feels so overwhelming to so many people. But so many people don't feel absolutely flushed with cash. But we can exist for them.

[C]

Yeah, we can exist. List for people who are underserved.

[B]

Our regular people.

[C]

Yeah. Love that. Yeah.

[B]

We're going to do it.

[C]

We're going to pass.

[B]

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