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I'm Kiana and I leveled up my business with Shopify. Once I figured out that Shopify was a thing, I never turned back. I can create a site with my eyes closed. Shopify thinks ahead of us, you know, and it thinks about the customer more than anything. Every day I'm thinking about some other new business, but Shopify is doing it to me because it's so easy to use. It's like, I can't stop. I'm addicted. Start your free trial@shopify.com if you work
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in University maintenance, Grainger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip off. And Grainger is your trusted partner, offering the products you need all in one place, from H VAC and plumbing supplies to lighting and more. And all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock. So your team always gets the win. Call 1-800-GRAINGER visit grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
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How to Budget for June.
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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.
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Welcome Frugal Friends. I'm Jen.
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I'm Jill.
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A
And it is here here. Everyone's favorite monthly email is here in video and audio form. And if you are not familiar with everyone's favorite email that we send every month, it is the Budget Toolkit is consistently our most open email every month. We send an email twice a week and this is the one we send on the last Friday of every month that helps you budget for the next month. We're saying what what's on sale, what to skip all the things that you need to know. The holidays, the things you should be prepared for in next month's budget that might be unique from the budget you made last month.
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C
And we're gonna take it to the next level with this Budget Toolkit episode. We're gonna cover what to include in your spending plan for June. So we're gonna put an emphasis on the things that really seem to be forgotten. It's kind of that reminder of what's coming coming up. Oh yeah, I forgot. We're going to talk about what's on sale because we always do want to know what are the cyclical cycles of different things that I can get at less expensive prices. And it does occur there are things that are good to buy now only if you need them. We're going to talk about what's in season that's going to include food. So we're going to talk about some food plans and what you can include this month. And one money move, that's something we always highlight in the friend letter. Every month is one big money move to focus on because we don't like to have tons of things we have to do and accomplish. We like one singular goal. Just tell me what, what would be a good thing to prioritize right now? Let me focus on that one thing. And we do better that way when we don't have a bunch of competing goals. So if you're not sure what that is this month, we got a great idea for you.
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A
Yeah. And so if you are a friend letter subscriber, that is our twice weekly, twice weekly email. I'll get it out. Maybe you want to be subscrib. Cause I'm definitely better at writing than I am speaking. Head to frugalfriendspodcast.com if you are not on the friend letter. But if you are, you already have this all in written form. It's in your inbox right now. So no need to take notes. It's already there. Once you hear it, you can go and be reminded there. And if you're not, you need to sign up so that you can get next month's budget toolkit. And we tell you what all of our episodes are every week when we publish them so that you have in your, your inbox and you can be like, oh, yeah, that's an episode I want to check out. Or, oh, I can skip that. Or this is a resource that I might need. So it is definitely beneficial to be on the friend letter. And that is on our homepage@frugalfriendspodcast.com right there at the top. Get it. And yeah, let's get into what to budget for.
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C
For June, is it? Oh, yeah, June. Okay, so here's the thing. You've got your typical spending plan, right? The things that you know you're going to be spending on every month, it's going to include your bills and utilities. It's going to include groceries. So what we're talking about here is those, those categories that don't happen every month that sometimes can really throw us a curveball because, oh, we didn't see that coming. Totally. Or we didn't really plan for it. That's what we're talking about.
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Things that happen every single year, like Christmas. It happens every single year. And somehow we are still unprepared for it. And this is not going to fix that problem entirely. It's not going to fix Christmas, but it may help you be a little bit more prepared.
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C
So June holds summer camp for a lot of people. Hopefully you've already purchased your summer camp.
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Well, some of us, like for me, I registered for summer camp, but they don't start charging you weekly until the week of, so you might put down a deposit and then the weekly charges start recurring in June. And so this one is for me, this one's going to my budget because I have a weekly like deduction that's coming out for the next 10 weeks starting in June.
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C
June also is Father's Day. Let's not forget it. I know collectively we don't make as big of a deal as Father's Day as we do Mother's Day, but it's still a thing and it still can incur charges. So whatever you want to be doing, start planning, planning for that. Now I love to recommend looking back on last year. What did we do? What worked? What do I want to try different this year? About how much did we spend? Do I want to do the same thing?
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A
And when you start early, you spend less. When you can think about it a couple weeks in advance, you can be like, oh, so maybe I can do this thing. I need a little bit of time to get it together. But it's less expensive than just like buying him a bottle of scotch or taking him out to dinner sort of thing. So when you start early, you end up spending less. In cases like this, yeah, you can
- [06:36]
C
look out for the deals and make the plan ahead of time. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money. So yeah, a lot of these things that we're going through, it's not necessarily you have to budget a ton of money. It's also budgeting our time and brain capacity to think through ahead of time. What do we want to be doing? This is the time of year that graduations are happening. So whether you've got a friend that you're going to be celebrating or just a ton of graduation parties, this is going to depend on your life stage. You know, the graduations that are upcoming, plan for, are you going to be giving gifts? How many of those parties are you going to? Of course, summer vacations and travel. We really do hope that we have pre planned and pre prepared these things. But sometimes a last minute weekend getaway we might decide that we want to do. But even if you can have a couple of weeks in advance to, to think through that and make a plan, you can save some money.
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A
Yeah, for me, summer vacation. So the travel is already booked and paid for. Right. It's those last two weeks before we go that we are over buying because I'm like, okay, what do I need? What do I need? I need to be over prepared. And so I'm buying things I don't need or I'm remembering things I actually do need and paying for those. And so budgeting for like last minute things that you do need, not that you're like buying out of fear or over preparedness. And then it's also while you're on vacation is budgeting for the stuff that you can't pre buy. You know, like if you want to get some drinks or you want to go out to a nicer dinner, it's planning for that stuff.
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C
Yeah. So for instance, it has been a year since last June and maybe some of your clothing, bathing suits, aren't fitting anymore. Like think about what are the clothes you might need to be getting this month as we enter into a warmer season, which is also going to mean potentially, potentially higher utility bills. That's at least the case for us in Florida. It we are heading into the hottest season and we just cranking that ac.
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It comes every year and yet still unprepared for the utility bill when it comes. So explain it to me.
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Summer weddings are happening. If you're attending those not just thinking about the gift, what Jen was saying, thinking about are you going to be tempted last minute to go buy a new outfit, new shoes, you're going to need new accessories. Think ahead and see if you can borrow. Like having the pre planned time allows you to make really wise decisions and not hurried impulse purchases the closer you get. And if you've got kids at home, think about all the little activities and the snacks that are potentially going to need to happen as they're just home and bored or you're just deciding last minute, yeah, let's go get water. I say, yeah, let's go get ice cream. Yeah, let's go. Like what are the things that you're going to be wanting to do? Could there be alternatives? But also how can we make room in our spending plan for this?
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Eat so much more over the summer. And so you might want to add a little bit more to your grocery budget because you might go over budget on groceries.
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Well, they're just, they're home.
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Right. Because of how much more you're kids are home.
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So yeah, if you were used to them getting lunches at school. Yeah, that's going to be a big line item in the grocery budget.
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A
All right, what's on sale In June. So things like tools, grills, gadgets, home improvement items, these are things that are on sale around for Father's Day. So like dad themed things. So if you need anything that's kind of, you know, quote unquote, dad themed, it might be on sale in June. So look around that mid month mark. We've also got the spring clothing clearance. So we don't love buying new clothes, but we do love thrift stores. And so some of the thrift stores might be putting on clearance some of their kind of early, more of the not winter clothing, but that shoulder season clothing, that spring clothing might be some good deals on that stuff at the thrift store or even on like Poshmark if you're, if you're going that route. And then cookware and kitchen items are actually on sale in June and that is driven by weddings and graduations. So if you are in need of new cookware, kitchen items, you can look new, but also be aware that this is the time people are buying new cookware. So they could also be putting their old cookware either at the thrift store or on Facebook Marketplace. So this is a good time to look at those places to see if you can find cookware pieces. Maybe you just need one piece. Well, this is going to be a good time to look for it because
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C
remember, the sales don't mean that you need to buy the item. We are only telling you what's on sale so that you can be aware if it's already on your list. Just don't feel the pressure of maybe I should get it. Even if your, your stuff is fine, your kitchen items are fine, I don't
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A
know if I'll need it in the next year. Maybe I should just buy it now just in case. No, that's not how we shop, girl. That's not how we do it.
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C
And I know depending on where our income levels are at, as we listen to this, you know, it can sound like, oh, okay, so I just know that these things are coming and what I just magically have the money for them. And so I just want to underscore here that what we're describing is the flexibility of a spending plan, particularly in the discretionary categories. We know what our housing and generally what our bills are going to be. But we usually have this amount of money that's variable that we're spending on miscellaneous items and food spending and that kind of a thing. And it's that category that we're describing we need to be really mindful of. Where can those shifts be made. Maybe last month I spent 600 on groceries, but this month I've got more activities. Is there a way for me to reduce that to 500 so that I've got that 100 to spend on these other activities? That's just an example you decide for you. We are not imagining that new money magically appears so that nothing needs to change in your spending plan. And now you've got all this money to do all these other additional things. That is not the reality for any of us. It's just the thinking ahead to know what shifts do I need to make. And if shifts are relatively nearly impossible, then that's where we need. We need this extra time to think creatively on the how do I get it for free? Can I borrow it? Do I actually need it? Do I already have something that will be suitable? It's those types of questions that we're answering and still living as much of a fun full life as we can within our current parameters. And maybe it means we're finding a side hustle this year. June. Yeah, that's also possible.
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A
Okay. And here's what not to buy in June. Don't do it. Don't. Red flag. Don't do it. High end fashion. If you're a high end fashion girly, the Nordstrom sale is coming in July. So you will not have to wait long. That's when a lot of other high end fashion retailers and resellers will also have sales around the Nordstrom sale because it is such a big deal. So wait for that. If you're looking for particularly for something high end tech, wait for prime day. So the month of July, essentially it's no longer one or two days, it's the entire month of July. We'll have a lot of good tech deals like smaller tech. It will not just be prime or Amazon, it will be all online retailers to get the business away from Amazon and then patio furniture. I know this is the time we
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C
want to be outside, this is the
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time we want to get the patio furniture. But this is actually the time when it is most expensive. And if you want new patio furniture, I would say wait until late summer because that's when the stuff is going to go on clearance. This is the most expensive time to be buying patio furniture.
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C
Of course any of these things could be bought secondhand any time of the year.
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And yeah, and it's important to know if, if there are some people buying it new, then there's going to be a lot more people selling their old ones. So it's, it's not just knowing what's on sale doesn't just help you buy new, it also helps you buy used.
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One way I reduce decision fatigue is by simplifying my getting dressed routine. This means having closet staples with versatility so my outfits just work for this Quince has been my go to Everything' feels effortless but still put together, which is exactly the vibe I want when I'm running errands or recording same.
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But for me, it's all about their tanks. I am obsessed. They're super soft, they hold their shape, and they somehow make me feel like I tried even when I absolutely did not try. It's giving elevated basics without the elevated price.
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I live in their linen pants and dresses. They're lightweight, breathable and actually flattering, which is not always the case with linen. I also grabbed one of their washable silk dresses and had to double check the price because it felt way more expensive than it was. I genuinely wear these pieces on repeat.
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Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com frugal for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.
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Now available in Canada too.
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That's Q U I n c e.com frugal for free shipping and 365 day returns quince.com frugal does anyone else get the urge to reset everything when seasons change? Like I start cleaning out closets, reorganizing my space and then I'm like, oh, my finances could use this same energy. That's where Monarch has been so helpful for me lately.
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I say let Monarch do your financial spring cleaning for you. One dashboard that gets your entire financial life organized. No more clutter, no more mess, no more scattered logins. Just accounts, investments, property and more all in one place. Get your first year of Monarch for half off just $50 with promo code Frugal.
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What helps me is seeing where my money is actually going. I thought I was doing fine, but Monarch showed me my savings rate had quietly dropped after a month of lots of springtime activities. Now I check the weekly recap and it flags spending spikes before they get out of hand. I use this and I recommend it for anyone looking for a good budgeting app.
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Use code frugal@monarch.com to get your first year half off at just $50. That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code FRUGAL all right, everyone's favorite section. What to cook when we did the Sunday resets, we have a lot of people asking for us to Revive the Sunday resets. And, and maybe down the line, this is probably the closest we're gonna get for now.
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This is what they want when they say Sunday reset. We want the one in order to cook. Look, give me your meal ideas.
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C
And so we do put that in every email, so. Or every budget toolkit that we send out in the friend letter. So. But if we're not leaving behind you,
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if you want it in every email, I can put a couple in every email. Let me know in the comments below. If you want a meal plan suggestion
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section, I can just tell you, yeah, we want it, but definitely tell us.
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Engagement.
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I know, I know.
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You need to like this video because if you don't like it and comment, I won't see it. All right, what are, what are we cooking this month? What are we cooking in?
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So we all know this. The fresh fruit is in season, but particularly cherries, berries, peaches, watermelon. Oh, the best kinds. We don't get this stuff in the winter, my friends. So let's just gorge ourselves on some cherries, berries, peaches, and watermelon.
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We do get them, but they're expensive.
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Right. And if you want to consider canning, try that out. That's fun. You can put some peaches away for, for the winter time. Also, fresh veggies are going to include your corn on the cob, summer squash, bell peppers. It is also National Dairy Month, so you might end up finding some deals on dairy products. If you're an I cream person, maybe consider stocking up if you find a good deal. Yogurt, cream cheese. And then all of our barbecue and cookout foods. Burgers, hot dogs, potato salad. Not only like, these are. These are in season. Burgers and hot dogs are in season, but they are reduced prices because everybody's, everybody's doing it. Everybody's buying up this stuff. I've got a really great. And maybe I'll give it to you so you can put it in this friend letter that you. That, that came out today. Chicken burger. Oh, ground chicken with an. You don't like arugula? You don't have to do arugula, but it's got a really nice, like, mayo spread and aioli with it.
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You love a mayo.
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I just, I love a burger that is a little bit more unique. I love a traditional burger, but this one is a little bit, you know, less red meat, but still really fun and easy. We love easy for the summertime.
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A
Yes. Okay, so what are some ideas for cooking with this? Well, we've got maybe a strawberry spinach salad with a DIY vinaigrette. Making your own salad dressings is an amazing way to save space in your fridge and to save money. And you always have everything you need on hand to make everything. Some kind of salad dressing, literally. My favorite is a little olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, and a little Dijon mustard. Mix it all up.
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C
Mm.
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A
We love it. We love it. So you typically have everything you need to make some kind of vinaigrette and a creamy cucumber yogurt salad. I love, like, even a Greek cucumber and tomato salad. Just some kind of salad where the cucumber has been marinating in some kind of vinegar for a little bit is very refreshing, Very good.
- [21:31]
C
And speaking of these vinaigrettes that we've now homemade a cold pasta salad. If you've got a friend with a pool or a community pool, this is the best lunch to bring along. Get yourself a bunch of these in season veggies. The corn on the cob, the summer squash, the bell peppers. Throw it all in. Pasta is the cheapest thing and so quick to make. And then you just throw all these veggies in that homemade vinaigrette. And you can do so many variations with it too.
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I'm sure you have an unopened can or jar of something in your pantry that would go really well inside a cold pasta salad. Work with those two things. First, the pasta and whatever that thing is you want to get rid of.
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Beans, chickpeas. I had beets and artichokes from, like, like, my. My hoarding for the hurricanes. I just didn't know what was gonna happen, what I was gonna need. So I got artichokes and beets.
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You got artichokes and beets? I got canned, like, Chef Boyardee. I got, like, 10 Chef Boyardee, like, beefaroni ravioli. And I had one the other day. I was like, well, you know, I'm not using these. I don't wanna, like, keep them forever. It was so gross.
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C
Yeah, don't throw that in the cold pasta salad. But I did throw the canned beets and the artichokes into a col. And it was great.
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Yeah. Yeah, you won. And then for a breakfast option, zucchini and tomato frittata. Just make sure you're cooking those down to get all the moisture out before you put it in the egg in the frittata. And that's going to be a really nice summer frittata for. For a breakfast meal prep.
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C
And it's such a Fancy word for something that is actually so easy to make you sound so cool that you've made a frittata, but it took you five minutes. And I.
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A
For all of us, I love that for all of us. All right, so let's bring it home with our money. Move for June. So June is a season, it's a month where we kind of start to take a step back. We like to refer to May as Maysember as the end of the school year. It's the. It's the end of a lot of things. And June is kind of like a step back. So this is a really great time. Instead of kind of doing something that's active or hard, we take a step back and we do an income check in. Because increasing your income is something that takes a lot of Runway before you see the results. So June is a good time to start that Runway. So by the time you are revved up, it's August, September. And that is a really great time to be amped up on increasing your income. And so the first step in laying this Runway is to benchmark your income. So you're going to take maybe 30 minutes or something and compare your pay to people in your same role and experience. Maybe if there are people at your work willing to say what they make, how long they've worked here, you're talking about that openly. That is something that I think should happen more often in work.
- [24:52]
C
A lot of companies will prohibit that though, right? You are not allowed to do that
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A
if you're out of the office. If you're out of the office, what are they going to do? Right. Yeah. Don't talk about it at the office if it's prohibited. But they can't control what you talk about when you're not on their wifi and can't. They can't monitor.
- [25:10]
C
They could report you to hr. You never know. Like, be. Be very discerning with that. But there are ways to figure out similar income levels to you just on the Internet. Like you would be able to look on even just hiring platforms to see what are people hiring at for this same type of role to get that kind of benchmark.
- [25:33]
A
Yeah, I mean, it's even hard to see what people are paying in job stuff. But you can look, you can use tools like glassdoor levels, FYI, you can use pay scale. The goal is really to benchmark where you are at. And I guarantee you if you are at an employer that that prohibits talking about income. And like, based on role and experience, that's probably a company you don't want to work for. So this is a great thing to do. Next, you are going to gather receipts. And what we mean by receipts is not of things that you have purchased, list of things you have done. Because you're going to need these receipts. You're going to need hard evidence to prove why you deserve a raise, not just because you're a human being. That is living. No, that is not good enough. You need to show how. Why you should be earning more either to your current manager or to the next person that you are interviewing with or networking with. So we are taking an inventory of. Of wins from the last six to 12 months. Measurable impact, revenue growth, cost savings, new responsibilities you've taken on. I know this can be uncomfortable for a lot of people. We don't truly value our worth and what we bring to a company. But I need you. And this is something we say off camera. But I'm going to just, just. I'm just going to say it on camera because if you're listening, I think you're part of the tribe and I think you're a safe place.
- [27:09]
C
Should I be scared?
- [27:10]
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No. I need you to have the confidence of a white man with a hundred downloads per episode on this podcast. Okay. I need you to bring that level of confidence to this income check in. All right.
- [27:25]
C
And you are letting them behind the curtain right now. I.
- [27:30]
A
And you will take that phrase with what you will is how we have to use it. But like, we, very often we undervalue what we bring to the table and we just look at other people's confidence as success, knowing that most of it is a facade. And we need to have the same level of confidence and really value what we are doing. And so this is important, important to gather the receipts and ask, if I had to justify a 10 to 20% raise, could I. And that's a really hard, like, question to answer because we, we don't want to undervalue ourselves. We don't want to overvalue ourselves, but we need to. The numbers need to show.
- [28:12]
C
You know what I see a lot, I think, particularly with women, is the concern about the other side of the. Well, I think I would be worth this amount. I think I could justify this. But I don't know if the company can afford it. I don't know where their finances are at and whether they'd be able or willing to do this. I don't know if it might take away from other people or put my
- [28:40]
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job at risk if I start asking.
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C
Right. Yeah. And that's a real thing. And I think one of the reasons for all of this backend work and a reasonable ask and sharing the receipts with it. But I think you need to be worried about yourself as it relates to your income. You don't have to be concerned about whether or not the company can do it or afford it. They can make their own decision. Right. They're adults, the ones who are going to say yes or no to this ask. So figure out what you need to make the work meaningful, doable for you and, and put it out there. Not worried totally about whether or not it's gonna be feasible for them. You don't have to make that decision.
- [29:28]
A
This isn't. We're trying to make this a neutral data driven ask. So we have to present it with neutrality and data.
- [29:37]
C
Yeah. The third thing that we're gonna recommend here is to look for any missed money at work. And no, I don't mean like look under your chair and see if they put an envelope of cash for you. That would be great though.
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Please let us know if they.
- [29:54]
C
But this is an often overlooked category when it comes to 401k matches. If you're not, if your company is offering that, you're not maxing it out, you are losing out on benefits that your work is providing for you. It's essentially compensation. It is your compensation. So we do want to be doing that, maxing it out, getting the match. If it's offered any other bonuses or benefits that you might be eligible for but you are not receiving, this might end up needing to be a conversation with hr. This could certainly be conversations with co workers like what benefits are you taking advantage of? How have you found that to be. Many, many companies offer tuition reimbursement, so definitely be looking into that. But also if you're like, oh no, that's not something I need right now, but you're thinking about going to school, going back to school, going for higher education. This could then be the time to do that. Especially if you're in a job that you would love to get out of at some point, let them foot the bill for you investing in yourself so that you can get out in a few years down the road. Certainly if there's HSA or FSA contributions, you contributing and taking advantage of them. Sometimes employee employers will also contribute to these accounts. So consider those there are qualifications to use them and you cannot use them in conjunction with each other. So again, you're going to want to talk talked with HR about those, those items, but they can be really beneficial Especially the hsa.
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A
For a lot of people, we love an hsa. Yeah.
- [31:33]
C
And then overtime or unused PTO payout. We are not losing our pto.
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A
We are not doing it. We are not losing it. We are taking it.
- [31:47]
C
We are not going to not use our sick days. We're not, we're going to use them all. So look into all of that and make sure you're getting the most.
- [31:58]
A
I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. But if you are sick, you can take a sick day.
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C
So this can easily be a thousand to $5,000 a year just in missed benefits. So that could be. If you're like, I'm, I'm a little scared to ask for a raise right now. This could be something that you put some time and energy into.
- [32:19]
A
Yeah. And create a six month income strategy. That is what we want you to do here with these three steps is we want you to start the Runway for earning more or possibly changing careers. I don't know. We want you to make a six month concrete income strategy so that you are on a concrete path to increasing, to having a higher income next year in June than you did this year. And so we need it to be concrete, not wishy washy, not steeped in nihilism, like, oh, I'm a teacher and this is the most I'll ever make and I can't make anything different.
- [33:01]
C
No.
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I know plenty of people that have been in those shoes and have gotten creative, have made plans and have increased their incomes accordingly. You need to value yourself if you're going to, going to do that and follow these three steps to start that Runway.
- [33:21]
C
Yeah. And so we don't want vague mantras like I just want to make more money. We need some of these concrete statements of what is the plan. And that could include, I'm going to attend one networking event a month or I'm going to talk with HR about what benefits I am not taking advantage of. Like make it really actionable and doable, knowing I will do this thing, I will be able to carve out time. This isn't a huge lift for me to engage in. Identify what the thing could do that could really move the needle. And I can't stress that that networking thing enough. Going to meetups, maybe, maybe it's going to job fairs for you. Maybe it is a networking event. But the more that we can get ourselves in front of new people, have opportunity to hear what others are doing, what we're doing, there's so much, much value to it that might not be Evident right in the beginning. But long term, those relationships are going to be so vital for our careers.
- [34:25]
A
Make those relationships before you need them too. Honestly, just start making them now. I don't know of anybody getting a job who just applied on. Indeed. Like in the recent months of the friends that I know getting jobs, I know people applying on those websites, but they're not getting those jobs. The people who are getting new jobs, I ask them and it's like, oh, I knew this person from 15 years ago and they needed someone and so I, you know, they brought me on or I knew this guy, I knew that person, this person recommended me. It's coming from people that you meet in real life, like not virtually. So you need to start meeting people in real life life.
- [35:10]
C
And you know what, that's, that's actually so convenient for us. We can bemoan it all we want that I can't just apply online, but when we also need just real human connection and we need to be more embedded in our local communities and face to face and in the flesh. This is fantastic for us because not only can it resolve a relational component of need that we have, but it can also help us in our careers. It's like when something's good, it often is a win, win, win, win, win. One of those things. All you know is right. You know what else we know is right?
- [35:46]
A
Oh, it's a win, win, win, win, win. For sure. The definition of it.
- [35:50]
C
Oh yeah, the middle of the week.
- [36:03]
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.
- [36:11]
C
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.
- [36:23]
E
Hey, Jen and Jill, this is Liz in Sarasota. Hello from across the bridge. And I've got a bill of the week. So I'm doing a low spend month so there's a lot less to look at my transaction inventory and I noticed an Amazon charge for 1641. I knew I'd seen it in this amount before, but I always thought it was our prime subscription. I checked in with my husband to ask like, hey, can we just cancel Amazon prime this month? Because you know, I'm doing a no spend. And he's like, we're on the annual plan. And I was like, so then what is this $16 charge we've been paying? Because I've been seeing it every month and I just assumed it was Our Amazon Prime Time. So it was a mystery. We looked everywhere we could think of, like tried logging into old Amazon accounts, add on services. Is this some streaming service that we started and like forgot to end a trial too? Finally we called American Express. It turns out that Amazon had been charging a card that had been lost and cancelled back in October of 2023. So a little heads up to everyone. Even if your card is canceled, Amazon can continue to autograph to it. How is that even legal? So the $16 for the second prime subscription had just been like sliding under our noses with all the other Amazon charges for over two years. Watch the charges make the call. Thanks Jen and Jill.
- [37:54]
A
Girl, I hope that amex, you should try to get reimbursed by Amex because if you canceled that card, like Amex can like try to get that money back from Amazon.
- [38:08]
C
Right. That's the reason to have a credit card is some of the consumer protections that credit cards provide. So take advantage of that because listen, these credit card companies are taking advantage of us.
- [38:17]
A
So that's one reason if you live with a partner and you share finances to sit down once a month, month together and look at all your expenses. Again, we're not doing it to shame each other with what we spent money on. We do it for things like this. So we're not getting double charged on things. And that is, that's the main reason that we come at that monthly budget meeting.
- [38:40]
C
Yeah, and it's one of the reasons that we talk about doing a 90 day transaction inventory because we might think, oh yeah, I saw that charge. Yep, I'm getting that thing. But we, we won't realize a duplicate charge unless we're looking at our spending in aggregate. So this is just a great example of you thought you knew what it was but you had to dig in further and then you canceled it. So we're not paying for it anymore. That's great, but I'd love to see you get all that money back too.
- [39:07]
A
And I would love to see you cancel Amazon prime altogether. The annual plan as well. I think it is a way to make impulse spending easier and it does not have enough benefits to actually justify 145, $40 a year.
- [39:22]
C
And also, hello from across the bridge. Thanks for calling in. If you have a bill that you want to share, if it has to do with finding a charge that you actually don't need to be paying and canceling it, or your name is Bill or you've got anything that remotely resembles the word bill, we want to hear about it. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Bill Thanks. I don't know who needs to hear this, but you don't have to keep paying random bank fees just to have a checking account. Which is why we like Chime. It's fee free banking that actually feels like it's built for real people.
- [39:58]
D
No overdraft fees, no monthly fees and tons of fee free ATMs, which is how it should be. Plus you can get 5% cash back with your Chime card on things like gas or groceries. My current self can really benefit from this.
- [40:11]
C
Chime is not just smarter banking. It's the most rewarding way to bank. Join the millions who are already banking fee free today. Head to chime chime.com frugal that's chime.com frugal it only takes a few minutes to sign up.
- [40:24]
F
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services a secured Chime Visa credit card and MyPay line of credit provided by the Bancor Bank NA or Stride Bank NA. MyPay eligibility requirements apply and credit limit ranges $20 to $500. Optional services and products may have fees or charges. See chime.com feesinfo advertised annual percentage yield with Chime+status only. Otherwise 1.00% APY applies. No min balance required. Chime card on time payment history may have a positive impact on your credit score. Results may vary. See chime.com for details and applicable terms. When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Grainger offers millions of products in fast, dependable delivery so you can keep your facility stocked, safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [41:15]
C
And now it's time for
- [41:20]
A
all right, what's one thing you're prioritizing in your spending plan this June?
- [41:27]
C
Jill, you know what? This is going to shock and delight everybody. Might not delight you, shock and surprise you. I am going to spend money on convenience food in June. Naming claiming it. You know why? Yes, we are studying for the cfp. We are planning to take the CFP exam in July.
- [41:49]
A
We are going to pass the CFP exam in July.
- [41:53]
C
And so you know what that means for June.
- [41:56]
A
I'm not doing anything.
- [41:58]
C
I am not cooking.
- [42:00]
A
I have already not cleaning. I'm not parenting.
- [42:03]
C
No, we're going to worry about shaving our legs in August.
- [42:08]
A
August. I'm shaving on. On May 31st and I ain't shaving again until July 21st.
- [42:16]
C
It's. I'm already in quite a rigorous. I think we both are quite a rigorous study schedule and it is really tough to stay on top of cooking, meal planning, meal prepping, all of the things. Thankfully, Eric is stepping in a lot more. So that's, that is so great. You know, that's. That's a benefit of a partnership is to like pick up each other's slack in these different seasons. But I'm like, as we get closer, I'm just going to need to. And so also I'm giving permission to everybody else. Sometimes there are seasons, there are months, and I just know this is going to. I'm not going to stress myself out more by thinking I have to cook every single thing at home.
- [42:57]
A
Yeah. If you two are sitting for an exam in July that is only offered three times a year and is six hours long with a 60% pass rate. Yeah. Don't cook this month. You have the freedom to do that.
- [43:12]
C
Yeah. I don't know what convenience foods are going to exactly look like for me because I don't do doordash. I'm still not going to do that.
- [43:18]
A
Yeah.
- [43:19]
C
No, but probably more like pre prepared foods and freezer foods, things like that.
- [43:25]
A
How about you? Yes, same. Honestly, it is going to be. It's going to come down to what takes up most of my time every week that I can get the most bang for my buck eliminating. And it is meal planning and cooking. So. Well, Travis will take on some of it because we'll have both of the kids. We'll have daycare and summer camp. So I'll be able to do some of that. But I think we'll also just be doing a lot more convenience food from like the grocery store and then a little extra eating out. You know, a little bit of kava, chipotle pizza.
- [44:09]
C
You're like middle of the road type of fast food.
- [44:12]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So. So that's what I'm spending on this month for Father's Day.
- [44:20]
C
Forget that it's summertime. Summer doesn't happen till August for us. Us. Yeah.
- [44:25]
A
The end of July. Third week of July 3rd.
- [44:28]
C
July. Okay.
- [44:29]
A
Yeah. So.
- [44:30]
C
So we.
- [44:31]
A
We got it. Thank you for listening. We love reading your comments on the videos when they are nice. And we love reading reviews of our book Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke. It's available wherever books are sold or Buy what you love book.com and it talks a lot about the spending psychology that helps you stick with the budget that you are making. So 10 out of 10 do recommend like Ann here, who gave it 5 stars and left a review on Amazon that says say goodbye to beans and rice budgeting. Spend money on the things you love most. Jen and Jill put the fun in Frugal via values based spending. They encourage you to get curious about the things that matter and cut back on the products that don't. Don't spark joy. I adore this book. What will you focus on in 2025?
- [45:28]
C
I love that engaging question at the end of this review.
- [45:31]
A
Yeah, what did you focus on in 2025? Because the book came out at the beginning of 2025.
- [45:36]
C
So I love the word adore here. I adore this review and I adore all of you, especially the ones who comment on this video. Like it. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thank you. We'll see you next time.
- [45:48]
A
Yeah. If you subscribe to this channel, you gonna stick to your June budget. That's. I'm gonna claim that for you. If you want to stick to your June budget, make sure you're subscribed to this channel. And if you don't subscribe, you're gonna blow your something in your house is gonna break.
- [46:05]
C
She's not threatening you. I don't think. I don't think it's a threat. We will please come back.
- [46:16]
A
Bye. Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.
- [46:33]
C
Okay, I continue to forget to comment on it, but we have this phenomenon that is happening to us where we just met. Worst case, we coordinate, which isn't probably hard to do. We both have like, you know, relatively minimal wardrobes and style, kind of a more basic style.
- [46:55]
A
But it is so funny.
- [46:58]
C
Like yesterday when we recorded we wore. We both were had pink tops. Today we're both in brown and we don't talk to each other. You just show up at my house and we're wearing the same thing. It is, is.
- [47:12]
A
It is weird. Do you just throw on random clothes?
- [47:16]
C
Yeah, it's not like I put a lot of thought into it. I'm just like, I usually actually start with what pants do I want to wear? What's going to be the comfiest pants for my day and then. And then throw on a top. Yeah. What about you? Are you just random?
- [47:32]
A
So I will, on recording days, I will actually look back at what I wore the previous week. So I don't wear that again.
- [47:40]
C
Yeah.
- [47:40]
A
Because I don't want because we record two episodes a day, so I don't want it to look like we're the same outfit for two weeks.
- [47:47]
C
Right. Yeah. I don't look back. I just kind of base it on what. What I think I remember, like, trying to wear things that I don't think I've worn recently. So mine's a little bit less scientific of a method.
- [48:01]
A
Yeah. So I don't know. I don't know. Like, we don't really put a lot of thought into our outfit yet we still come, we show up together wearing the same colors.
- [48:12]
C
It's so crazy to me, but it's good.
- [48:14]
A
I mean, it makes. It's, you know, it's aesthetic.
- [48:18]
C
We are one. We are homogenous.
- [48:20]
A
Now, hopefully, the best parts of our brains can homogenize for the cfp.
- [48:26]
C
I was thinking the same thing. Like, how can I tie this into us both passing for the cfp?
- [48:31]
A
We are both gonna pass.
- [48:33]
C
Oh, it is asking a lot. But you know what? There's a lot of people out there who have passed the cfp, and there's no reason why we can't be two of them.
- [48:43]
A
Yeah.
- [48:46]
F
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- [49:16]
B
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- [49:32]
C
More.
- [49:33]
B
And all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock. So your team always gets the win. Call 1-800-GRAINGER visit grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.