Tips for a Great No-Spend Month

Summary

Frugal Friends Podcast: Episode 481 - Tips for a Great No-Spend Month

Release Date: January 31, 2025
Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts and Eric Sirianni

Controlling spending is a universal challenge, and in Episode 481 of the Frugal Friends Podcast, hosts Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni delve deep into strategies for successfully navigating a no-spend month. This comprehensive guide is tailored for listeners aiming to save money, reduce expenses, adopt minimalism, pay off debt, or achieve financial independence. Below is a detailed summary capturing all the essential discussions, insights, and actionable tips shared during the episode.

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1. Introduction to the No-Spend Challenge

Jen kicks off the episode by acknowledging that the no-spend challenge is resonating with many listeners:

Jen [02:25]: "Today, if you're listening to this, on the day it releases is January 31st and for many of you, you may be starting or restarting a no-spend challenge."

Jill adds that they are conducting a no-spend challenge throughout February, emphasizing its benefits:

Jill [02:40]: "We're walking through the entire month of February, a no-spend Challenge and kind of helping you along the way, giving some pointers, giving some resources so that you can have a really great no-spend month."

---

2. Understanding the Purpose of a No-Spend Month

Jen elaborates on the significance of undertaking a no-spend month, highlighting its role in resetting spending habits:

Jen [06:13]: "The goal of a no spend month is to reset our spending habits... February teaches you even more because you are learning how."

She points out that humans often struggle to make drastic changes quickly, as evidenced by the typical rebound after the holiday season.

Jill echoes this sentiment, emphasizing self-understanding and habit formation:

Jill [08:37]: "I really love the primary why being self-understanding and creating better habits for the long term."

---

3. Setting Up for Success: Ground Rules and Preparation

a. Duration of the Challenge

The hosts recommend committing to a 28- to 30-day period based on research by Dr. Anne Lembke on habit formation and dopamine regulation:

Jill [06:13]: "It takes about 28 to 30 days for us to retrain some of those neural pathways."

Jen reassures listeners that a 28-day challenge is equally effective:

Jen [11:20]: "If you're doing it in February, 28 will get you as much benefit as 30."

b. Defining Discretionary Spending

Jen stresses the importance of categorizing expenses to identify what truly needs to be cut:

Jen [11:20]: "Decide what counts. Just saying, like, anything discretionary, just across the board, anything discretionary."

She advises excluding non-essential items such as impulse buys and aligning spending with core values.

c. Identifying Your "Why"

Jill underscores the importance of understanding personal motivations behind undertaking the challenge:

Jill [13:16]: "Identify your why, what you hope to gain from this experience. And I would say write it down so that we do have something to look back on."

This involves reflecting on spending habits through a 90-day transaction inventory to pinpoint triggers and habits that need adjustment.

---

4. Practical Strategies for Managing Spending

a. Mastering Grocery Shopping

One of the main areas where individuals tend to overspend is grocery shopping. Jen offers actionable tips:

Jen [18:00]: "Meal planning for the whole month... creating a shopping list and sticking to it to avoid any impulse buys."

Jill adds that online grocery shopping can minimize temptations:

Jill [20:37]: "I love grocery shopping online for specifically a no-spend challenge. It does help me to not spend a ton of money. It keeps me to my list."

b. Limiting Exposure to Temptations

Avoiding sections of the store that encourage unnecessary purchases is another key tactic:

Jen [20:37]: "Avoiding certain sections of the store where you know you're just not going to need anything from them."

Pairing grocery shopping with a pantry challenge ensures existing supplies are utilized, reducing the need for frequent trips to the store.

c. Handling Social and Recreational Spending

Jill addresses common fears about the challenge being boring or restrictive:

Jill [21:35]: "What if I don't want it to be boring? What if I want to have fun?"

Jen counters that fun is still achievable by preparing a list of alternative activities that don't involve spending:

Jen [21:48]: "Have a list of alternatives. Maybe work on a hobby, go for a walk, check out free events, have friends over."

Jill further suggests informing friends about the challenge to gain support and accountability:

Jill [23:16]: "Tell your friends. It can also allow your friends to think through what could we do together or keep you accountable."

---

5. Navigating Impulse Buys

a. Understanding Underlying Needs

Jen emphasizes that impulse buying often stems from deeper emotional needs such as connection, self-esteem, or creativity:

Jen [24:03]: "Identify what we are really after when we are making purchases... our higher needs."

b. Creating a Reflection Period

When faced with an impulse to purchase, Jen suggests delaying the decision:

Jen [25:32]: "Save the thing and then forget about it for a little bit."

This cooling-off period allows the brain to discern between genuine needs and temporary desires.

c. Embracing Imperfection and Learning

Mistakes are inevitable, and the hosts encourage listeners to view them as learning opportunities rather than failures:

Jill [28:32]: "Don't quit. Allow this spending that you didn't intend to do to inform you about what was behind that spending."

Jen reinforces the importance of learning from mistakes:

Jen [30:23]: "We need to learn how to make mistakes... and the skill to observe the mistake and really nonjudgmentally look at it."

---

6. Long-Term Benefits and Financial Gains

Jill highlights the broader financial benefits of a successful no-spend challenge:

Jill [11:20]: "Identify ways to cut costs or identify the things that... can increase this in my spending plan when we go forward."

Jen adds a compelling example of how small savings can compound over time:

Jen [37:12]: "If you're starting with $0 after 10 years with a 7% return rate... you'll get up to an end balance of $13,800."

This illustrates how consistently saving even modest amounts can lead to substantial financial growth.

---

7. Community Engagement: Bill of the Week

A segment called "Bill of the Week" showcases listener success stories, reinforcing the community aspect of the podcast:

Listener Emily shares her achievements in negotiating bills and saving money:

Emily [33:50]: "I got it down to $120, saving US$40 a month... saving $80 a month in total."

Jen praises Emily's proactive approach, highlighting the tangible benefits of small financial adjustments.

---

8. Promoting the "Buy What You Love Without Going Broke" Book

Throughout the episode, Jen and Jill promote their book, sharing positive listener reviews to emphasize its value:

Amber C. [45:24]: "As a newly single mom... it's very simple and rooted in values-based spending. I love this book and plan on reading it over and over again."

Jill reflects on the feedback, noting how listeners find the book useful for different life stages:

Jill [46:14]: "There are pieces here that are like standalone pieces... It's really cool."

This endorsement underscores the book's role as a practical guide complementing the podcast's advice.

---

9. Upcoming Events and Community Activities

Towards the end of the episode, Jen and Jill discuss their upcoming party, emphasizing frugal yet fun planning:

Jen [48:01]: "We're gonna go to Costco to get some snacks... make a balloon arch."

They highlight the importance of celebrating milestones economically, aligning with the podcast's frugal ethos.

---

10. Final Reflections and Encouragement

In concluding remarks, Jen and Jill encourage listeners to join the no-spend challenge, leveraging community support and continuous learning:

Jill [43:45]: "If you could use some of your time during a no spend challenge to save yourself $80... imagine what you could do with an extra 80 bucks a month."

Jen [37:46]: "That's an extra hundred grand you have to spend in retirement. Think about that."

They reiterate the value of incremental changes and sustained efforts in achieving long-term financial well-being.

---

Key Takeaways:

1. Purposeful Spending: Identify and align spending with personal values and financial goals.
2. Structured Planning: Commit to a consistent time frame (28-30 days) and prepare by categorizing expenses.
3. Practical Strategies: Utilize meal planning, online shopping, and alternative activities to minimize unnecessary spending.
4. Emotional Awareness: Understand the emotional triggers behind impulse buys and develop reflection techniques.
5. Community Support: Engage with the Frugal Friends community for accountability and shared success stories.
6. Long-Term Financial Growth: Recognize the compounding effect of small savings over extended periods.
7. Continuous Learning: View challenges and mistakes as opportunities for personal and financial growth.

---

Embarking on a no-spend month requires dedication, self-awareness, and strategic planning. Jen and Jill provide a roadmap not just for temporary restraint but for fostering sustainable financial habits that align with one's values and long-term aspirations. Whether you're a seasoned frugalist or new to budgeting, this episode offers valuable insights to help you gain control over your spending and achieve a richer, more intentional life.

Transcript

[Jen]

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[Jen]

Episode 481 Tips for a Great no Spend Month.

[Jill]

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 to Frugal Friends Podcast. My name is Jen. My name is Jill and today if you're listening to this, on the day it releases is January 31st and for many of you you may be starting or restarting a no Spend challenge.

[Jill]

We're actually doing this in the friend letter so if you subscribe to that and if don't if you're not, you should. Freewellfriendspodcast.com we are walking through the entire month of February, a no Spend Challenge and kind of helping you along the way, giving some pointers, giving some resources so that you can have a really great no Spend month. And February is the shortest month of the year so we know dummies.

[Jen]

We are not dummies. Everybody out here trying to do no Spend January and we the intelligent people in the frugal friends community. This year we do a no spend February. We have done no spend January. We love no spend January. But we're gonna be true to our hearts and we're gonna do a 28 day challenge.

[Jill]

So we know that if you're listening to this on the day, you've only got today to prepare for tomorrow. But also know you can do a 30 day no spend challenge. It doesn't have to follow along with the month. Exactly. You get to choose. We'll get into that. But just so you know, there's more resources to come. If you like what we're talking about here, you can join us in the challenge.

[Jen]

But first, this episode is brought to you by 29. The number 29.

[Jill]

Ooh. Ooh. Wow.

[Jen]

Last year, February had 29 days.

[Jill]

It did.

[Jen]

And we did a no spend January last year because why, why would we cheat ourselves of a day if we could just get like around even 30? But this year we're back to 28. And actually, I hope last year was a leap year because I might be getting all my years.

[Jill]

No, I think you're right.

[Jen]

Yeah, 29 and yeah.

[Jill]

Bringing it back. Bring it back.

[Jen]

I'm bringing it back. You know what's also not 29 this year? Our book. Ooh, it's 25.

[Jill]

Yes, because of 20. 25.

[Jen]

No, it's $25, Jill.

[Jill]

Ow.

[Jen]

Our book is $25.

[Jill]

And I'm just trying to track which.

[Jen]

If you comp to all the other personal finance books out there is a dollar or so cheaper, I think around $2 cheaper than most other personal finance books out there. We did that intentionally because we know you're frugal. And our book, Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke is available now. So if you are looking for a personal finance book that you're gonna wanna own, you're gonna wanna highlight it, you're gonna wanna take notes, and Your budget is $25 head to buywhatyoulovebook.com. get yours right now. Support your local bookstore, bookshop.org and quick.

[Jill]

Do it before the no Spend challenge starts tomorrow.

[Jen]

Quick, quick, quick, quick.

[Jill]

You got this. Okay, so we are going to talk about how to set yourself up for a great no spend month. And we're primarily going to be looking through this article that we found from Simple Purposeful Living. It's titled Mom's Guide for How to do a no spend Month Challenge. You don't have to be a mom in order for this information to stick with you and be helpful. But if you are a mom, you.

[Jen]

Know, it'll be extra helpful and a little bit catered.

[Jill]

Yeah. So we want to start first, start talking about why to even do one what's the point in the first place. Then we'll go through some how to's and some what ifs because we know you all have questions and you're thinking about all the reasons that this isn't going to work for you and we're going to address those.

[Jen]

Yeah. So you know, I love no spend challenges. I wrote a book on them called the no Spend Challenge Guide. They have a whole dedicated section in our book Buy what yout Love Without Going Broke. But let me just reiterate why it's so important to do one and how helpful it is. And I'm so glad that simple purpose living, Purposeful living agrees. She says the goal of a no spend month is to reset our spending habits. And she's specifically talking about no spend January. She said it's especially helpful after the holiday season. And I, I mean February is the same like I think it teaches you even more because you are learning how. How. I don't want this to sound negative, but how incapable incapable we are of just kind of trying to white knuckle our way through changing our habits. We say I have been doing this for the last one to two months. This buy now by now, by now. And then I think that I'm just going to do a total 180 in January and be even better than I was in September and October in the months leading up to this trigger happy November and December. And we are quickly reminded of how that's not the way our brains work and it can be a bummer. But we we actually had a book signing last night and one of the questions in our Q and A is like what do you do when you make a mistake? And I'm going to say that right here. When we make mistakes and we are doing these no spend challenges and we fail, we almost you want to celebrate it and because it is an opportunity to learn, you're giving yourself with a no spend challenge. Self imposed barriers, self imposed friction between you and the buy now button, you and the cash register. And this friction will inadvertently lead to mistakes, quote unquote. And you get to learn from those mistakes. You get to observe and implement new ways of doing things and move on and be better.

[Jill]

Of course there's the benefit of being able to possibly save more, set more money aside for particular goals. But I really love the primary why being self understanding and creating Better habits for the long term. Like, I think that's a really excellent reason. But you can also define your own reasons for this. And we'll talk a little bit more about the whys and how you can kind of define that. But let's first talk about how to set up some of these ground rules, because it's gonna be really important to define some of these limitations and the boundary lines that you are going to be willing to operate within ahead of time. And so the first one is certainly just deciding the how long do you plan on doing this no spend challenge? We are talking about doing it for a month or 30 days. So if you want to do it for the entire month of February or you want to say 30 days, of course, there are no spend challenges out there that talk about kind of no spend days throughout the month, doing a certain amount of no spend days throughout the year. There's doing a no spend two weeks and no spend one week. All of these are possible, but we are primarily focusing on the 30 days. We do recommend this. We think that this is a great place to begin and even a great place for kind of ongoing something that you could do every year. And it's because of the ways in which our brain works and how habits are formed and reformed. So we've recognized that it takes. And this comes from research from Diane Lemke's Ann Lemke's book, I Don't Know why, I Just Want to Call her Diane Ann Lembke's book book, Dopamine Nation, where she describes kind of how long it takes for us to come down off of some of the dopamine hits that we are accustomed to experiencing on a regular basis with any type of addiction that it takes about 28 to 30 days for us to be able to retrain some of those neural pathways in our brains, to not rely so heavily upon these kind of quick dopamine hits. It doesn't mean that we don't need or want dopamine anymore, but where that dopamine is coming from and being able to reintroduce other dopamine hits that might be more beneficial for us, for our wallets, for our lifestyles, so we can really experience an opportunity to shift our spending behaviors and habits if we give ourselves this full 30 days. So that would be a really good parameter, a really good timeframe to set.

[Jen]

But if you're doing it in February, 28 will get you as much benefit as 30. I assure you. Dr. Lembke's dopamine fasts were all 28 days. So next is decide what counts. You have to define what is discretionary or quote unquote, non essential. And so the reason that we do that is because I always get emails about no spend challenges, being like, I tried to start one, but then I needed gas in my car and it was over. And I was like, are you impulse buying gas? Is that a struggle for you in your spending habits? No. Well, then it doesn't count. In the challenge, you want to decide the most challenging things that you see an issue with your spending. Those are the things that you're giving up. The mindless, the habitual, the things that you believe are hindering yourself from reaching your financial goals faster because it's going to help you change them. And then maybe occasionally it's going to alert you to the things that you thought were problems were not actually problems. It was other things that you weren't even thinking about. So that's why we have to decide what counts. And an easy way to do this is just saying, like, anything discretionary, just across the board, anything discretionary. Things that are not discretionary are bills, the gas to put in our car to get us to work. Like all of those things that you need that you are not impulse buying, that you don't want to buy, that you could easily give up if you wanted. Those are the things you still need to be buying. It's, it's the things that, you know, the first thing that pops in your head is like, I don't want to give up Taco Tuesday. Well, that's probably something you should give up for a month and figure out, how do I get the same dopamine hit as Taco Tuesday but for less expensive or for free.

[Jill]

The next thing that we want to do ahead of time before we are engaging in this challenge is identifying your why, what you hope to gain from this experience. And I would say write it down so that we do have something to look back on. Because reflection is going to be a really key part of doing this no spend challenge. So whether that is taking a, like breaking a habit or you really do want to be able to set some money aside for a bigger investment, if it's aligning your behavior with your values, writing these things down to really identify this is the reason and the purpose behind this, not just because Jen and Jill said that it would be a good idea. One thing I will add that's not in this article, but it is in our book that we think is really important to do before doing a no spend challenge is that 90 day transaction inventory, we talk about doing this before we set a budget. It's also going to be really important to do this before we engage in this challenge because it can help us to define what will our goals be for this no spend challenge. So as we go through this 90 day transaction inventory, which is just looking at all of our spending for the last 90 days by compiling our credit card statements, our bank statements, and being able to look through line by line, where are we spending money? What are some of the cues, the triggers that are coming before some of these transactions? This can highlight to us what are our spending behaviors right now? What are some of our habits and identifying okay, does it happen at a certain time of day? Is it a certain location? Is there a certain emotion that might be triggering some of this spending? That can help you to define what is it that I'm hoping to shift in this and it can also help you to be able to create this list of what could be some alternatives for me rather than just depriving myself. What else could I be doing? So if you've got the time to do the 90 day transaction beforehand, that would be really great.

[Jen]

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[Jen]

So let's get into some of the what ifs. These are the really tactical tips for doing the no Spend challenge. And the first one we'll bring up is the grocery store. We have to eat every single day. We are not going to be able to get food for free every single day. But it is something that causes a lot of impulse spending. So we've kind of got that double edged sword. We need it. It is a necessity but can also be the source of a lot of our overspending. So how do we navigate that? The first thing is meal planning. So we want a meal plan for the whole month. And this is exactly what the author says. The the biggest help for her was meal planning. She said it was her best friend. Every Friday she would create a shopping list and she would do her grocery shopping. She would stick to the list to avoid any impulse buys. Now if you are having to shop in store it is going to be a lot harder to navigate the impulse shopping than if you are shopping online. So I would say if you haven't, then it may be time to try out online grocery shopping. If you have a Walmart nearby, you can do that for free. They do not raise the prices of the groceries when you are shopping online. And then you can pick it up for free. If you have a 30 day free trial of Walmart plus available, then this could be the month that you take advantage of that free trial so that you, you don't even have to go pick up your groceries at that point. You can have delivered. So it takes away, it creates that barrier so that it's much easier to stick to your list and you don't have to go into the store and be tempted.

[Jill]

I love the grocery shopping online for specifically a no spend challenge. It does help me to not spend a ton of money. It keeps me to my list. She also talks about not like avoiding certain sections of the store where you know you're just not going to need anything from them, or you might be tempted to purchase something that you don't need. So plenty of little tips and tricks and hacks around the grocery store. But I think some people will also pair this with a pantry challenge. So being sure that we are using up the things that are in our fridge, freezer, pantry before we're even making that grocery list, so that we're not even going to the grocery store maybe as often as we might typically be going month to month. So that can also just eliminate some of those temptations.

[Jen]

And maybe you're not doing it the full month. Maybe you just say the first week you want to do a pantry challenge and that's, that's good too.

[Jill]

The other what if that can come up is what if I don't want it to be boring? What if I want to have fun? What if I'm a person who enjoys life? Don't and I want to live in the present?

[Jen]

Stop it.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Next.

[Jill]

Well, here's the thing. You can still have fun. And this is why that this prep time is really important to be able to define some of the alternatives, the things that you are going to do instead. When you feel the desire to buy something and maybe just because you want that dopamine hit, because you want the rush and the thrill of spending, or because it's the path of least resistance and we're comfortable and accustomed to buying our solutions, it's really important to have a list of alternatives. So maybe that means that you're actually writing down, I'm going to work on that hobby that I'VE been wanting to do. I'm going to use up the craft supplies that I already have. I'm going to go for a walk. I'm going to check out this park. I'm going to go to the library. I'm going to look at free events on Facebook Marketplace. I'm going to have friends over. You come up with the list. You decide the things that are going to sound really fun to you. But know that you can go to this list when you're experiencing the pinch of oh man, why did I do this to myself? I've got this whole long list of things that I can try out. Let me see if any of this will fit. The other thing that we recommend is tell your friends. Because I think one of the hardest things, at least for me, is when invites come up. Hey, you want to go out at this happy hour? You want to go see this movie? You want to go to this event? If my friends know ahead of time that I'm doing this, first of all, it might just help to eliminate like the invite where I'm going to experience fomo. But it can also allow your friends to think through to what could we do together or keep you accountable to Hey, I was going to say let's do this, but I know you're doing a no spend challenge. So like what do you want to do? Or maybe even challenge you to be the initiator of plans. If this isn't typically in your wheelhouse, it's an opportunity to try something new and invite people over. Hey, you want to come over Saturday morning for a coffee? You want to meet up for a packed lunch? You want to go for a walk with me? Do you want to check out this free event? So it doesn't mean that we have to crawl into a hole for the month. It just means that we have to be a little bit more creative. But we are going to learn so much more about ourselves. We're still going to experience awesome connection with people when we're able to exercise this creativity.

[Jen]

Yeah, if you are not paying attention, check back in and replay what Jill just said because it is going to. It is the same secret to sticking with a no spend challenge with a no spend month. And it comes down to identifying. Okay, I'm just going to assume you already re listened to. Comes down to identifying what we are really after when we are making purchases. We need to be aware of our higher needs, our need for connection, belonging, love, our connection for our needs for self esteem and self confidence, creativity, spontaneity. Those are the things we are truly after. And those. When you make your list, you need to make sure all of those things are on the list, because that is what we are buying. When we are buying clothes, makeup, skin care, when we're just impulse buying, when we're going out to eat, we are buying our higher needs. And so when you can make a list of fun things to do that are specifically based off of your higher needs, then you will find you are naturally impulse buying, much less. Next is I got on my soapbox and now, okay, what if I want to buy something? What if I just see something that I want to impulse buy? Is that mine or yours?

[Jill]

No. Yeah, take it.

[Jen]

Okay, so this happens. I don't think impulse buying is the enemy, is the thing. And I know this makes us an outlier in the frugal community that we don't think impulse spending is bad. We think impulse spending comes from that need we have for spontaneity. And so. And sometimes it can be a very cool thing that you really could be missing out on if you pass it up. But that's the exception, not the rule. So we don't want to villainize all of it. But again, it's the exception, not the rule. So if you see something that you really want to buy, save it on a list, write it down, take a picture of it and wait. Because you need to give yourself that time so your brain can differentiate. Is this something I really want and really solves a problem that I actually have?

[Jill]

Or.

[Jen]

Or is it something that has created a pattern interrupt in my daily routine that has made me not think straight and created a problem that I didn't have before that I need to solve with this product or service or made me think it's going to make me feel better about myself or get more community or whatever. What is it you just need to create? And a no spend challenge gives you that space. It gives you an excuse to have that space. And so when those things do come up, save the thing and then forget about it for a little bit. Forget about it for however many days you have left in your challenge. I guarantee you, if it's on sale, it'll go back on sale again. And if it's not, then you can wait for a sale. That's great. That's even better. But it will still be available in 28 days.

[Jill]

Sure will. And you may not want it anymore. I think a lot of times that's one of the reflection pieces when you go back and look at, well, what is the list that I created and be able to sometimes laugh at. Oh, wow, I wanted that. I'm so glad I didn't buy that. Or I do still want that. That's gonna solve a problem for me. And okay, great. You've allowed yourself plenty of space to sit and think on it and really know that you're gonna feel good about that spending decision. And I think allowing yourself to ask some of those questions, if one of the goals is learning more about who we are, how we spend, when you have that urge to buy something, it's an excellent opportunity for some of this understanding of what am I experiencing right now in my body? What is my brain telling me to do? What am I getting after? What's the loss I feel like I'm going to experience if I don't get this thing? And what does that tell me about my relationship with money, my desire to buy things? And what can I do instead? Again, not just depriving myself, but replacing some of these things. Another what if that can come up is what if I messed up? I didn't write it down. Jen and Jill and I just bought the thing. Quit.

[Jen]

Start over next month. Quit and try again. Ow.

[Jill]

No, that's not right. Jen's playing devil's advocate here and it's kind of fun.

[Jen]

I'm just playing devil.

[Jill]

Yeah, don't quit. That is the point. You will not do this perfectly. Spoiler. You will never create a perfect spending plan. You will never create a perfect meal plan. You will never create a perfect no spend challenge month. All of these are learning opportunities. It is not failure. It is, you did something outside of the parameters that you set for yourself. But it's going to be informative.

[Jen]

Some people don't want to do a no spend month because they don't think that they can do it. They don't think they can spend for no month.

[Jill]

And spoiler alert, none of us can.

[Jen]

That's why you do it.

[Jill]

Yeah. So keep going. Don't let that be an opportunity for you to say, ah, I didn't do it fully. I'm just going to quit altogether now. I'm going to buy whatever I want and maybe I'll try again next month. No, just keep going and allow this. I wouldn't even call it a mess up, but allow this spending that you didn't intend to do to inform you about what was behind that spending and how could you make a different choice in the future and what led you to make this purchasing decision? Because again, when this challenge is over, you're going to go back to spending money. So allow this to be the opportunity to learn more about how you spend and the lessons that you then want to take with you into the rest of the year.

[Jen]

And honestly, we need to learn how to make mistakes. We have been conditioned to believe that mistakes are failure. In reality, mistakes are life. And the only failure is not acknowledging them and learning from them. We need to learn how to make mistakes to be okay with it and the skill to observe the mistake and really nonjudgmentally look at it and see, okay, what was the source of it? Where did it come from? And how can I make a different decision next time?

[Jill]

The nature of this challenge means that there's going to be a bit of slowing down. It just we're slowing down our thinking processes. We're creating more friction, which leads to some more slowness. We're asking ourselves questions. We're noticing things. And so because of that, it's also a really great time to kind of relook at, take inventory of all the things that we're spending money on. So this could be a great time to address some of your bills while you're still paying your bills. It's an awesome time to renegotiate bills. Make sure that the subscriptions you're subscribed to are still working for you. They still make sense within your spending plan that the big things that you're spending money on still fit in this season. And if they don't, then realigning. And that's where we can even experience even bigger savings beyond just not spending money. We can possibly identify ways to cut costs or identify the things that, you know what, I actually want to increase this in my spending plan when we go forward from here. So that's just not only something to do to fill some of your time, but also an added benefit. And the one final thing we want to talk about, too, is the reflection afterwards, being sure that when we are writing some of these things down, it makes it easier to be able to come back and reflect on, okay, now what have I learned about myself? We don't just want to have done this no spend challenge and then just move on. Be like, oh, Great, I saved 50 bucks and here we go. We're just plowing into the future, but giving ourselves that space to say, all right, what challenges and barriers did I run into? What does that inform me about what my future is going to look like? What sorts of friction do I want to maintain? What are the things I felt really good about doing when I wasn't spending Money. Are there even habits now that I can incorporate that? I'm realizing, oh, I actually don't want to keep spending on that one thing. Here's what I want to do instead. So it doesn't have to be long, but sit down for an hour at the end of it and just review. What did I experience? What did I learn about myself, and what do I want to take with me?

[Jen]

And you know, what I want to take with me into the no. Spend month and beyond. And I think it truly will help you every single, every single challenge.

[Jill]

The bill of the week.

[Jen]

That's right.

[Jill]

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.

[Jen]

Duck bills, Buffalo Bills, Bill Clinton. This is the bill of the week. Hi, this is Emily. I've been listening to you guys for almost two years now, and I just really enjoy all of the lovely tips. And this is always my favorite segment because I get lots of great ideas. So today I called my Internet company because we were thinking about switching to Starling, and I talked to my husband, and we decided that if our provider.

[Jill]

Would get it down to the $120.

[Jen]

For the Starlink price, that we would stay with our provider. And after some negotiation, we got it down to $120, saving US$40 a month. I let my husband know. He ended up going through our cell phone plan and lessened our cell phone plan because we weren't using it. We weren't using all the data in all the jazz that comes with it. So we ended up saving $40 on our cell phone bill now a month, for a total of $80. And the last thing was today, actually, as well. I called a company I had just ordered something through. I forgot to use a coupon, and they had shipped it and asked if they could go back and gave me that discount. And they said they'd give it to me on a store credit. So I got $40 back to use at a later date, which we already have planned. So it worked out perfect. Thanks. Bye. Whoa. That is good. That is 80 bucks a month. And then just like a 40 like, they. That was a significant discount.

[Jill]

That $40 store credit now back in your hands.

[Jen]

So that. That is something that I wouldn't do if I forgot to use a coupon. I would be too embarrassed to go to the company and say, like, hey, can you give me the. You know, can you price match this price, match this with the, with the coupon. Cause I wouldn't even think about asking for store credit.

[Jill]

Many places will if you are with. If you've made your purchase. I don't know exactly every store's policy, but many stores will be like within a week of the sale price. You can go back and ask them for that sale price. Yeah. I have not bothered with it on smaller things, but on larger things that has happened. So that's a great tip. And this is significant amount of monthly savings to get 80 bucks a month back in your pocket is huge. And it's one of the things, like we were just talking about negotiating some of these bills. If you could use some of your time during a no spend challenge to save yourself $80, because you just call your Internet and your cell phone providers. That's huge. Imagine what you could do with an extra 80 bucks a month. Oh, Jen's doing it. Jen's doing it in the past.

[Jen]

Calculator. I want to do the math, like to see after. Okay. If we're starting with $0 after 10 years with a 7% return rate, that's very conservative and we're compounding, I'm going to say quarterly, then we're going to get up to an end balance of $13,800 over the course of 10 years. So you have made. Well, yeah. You have made over $4,000 on that contribution.

[Jill]

If you were to just invest that.

[Jen]

Extra 80 bucks a month, that's with nothing else. Oh, that's nothing you could make in 10 years over $4,000. If you handed me $4,000 in 10 years from now. Yeah. I would be like, okay, yeah, thank you.

[Jill]

Thanks for that. With hardly any work, like a day of making phone calls.

[Jen]

Right. And in 30, if we're thinking about like retirement here, that is an extra over 30 years. That is an additional $100,000.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

That alone, $80 a month over 30 years is an extra hundred grand in your retirement account. Think about that.

[Jill]

I am thinking about that.

[Jen]

When you're thinking I don't have enough to Invest. You have $80 a month.

[Jill]

Say it. Say it.

[Jen]

That's an extra hundred grand you have to spend in retirement.

[Jill]

Wow, Emily, you are really bringing us the bill of the week that we're just getting on another high horse about. Something else I love is that it's evident to me that you were driving in your car while you called in the middle of the week. And I just find that incredibly adorable and endearing. Like, I love imagining our Frugal friends, listeners, just in the car or putzing around, doing chores, just like living daily life with us. And it just feels like such a unique friendship and community. We're just chatting in the car.

[Jen]

We're with you. We know we're with you in your car.

[Jill]

Yeah, we know it. We know that you're turning left right now. We know it.

[Jen]

It's the algorithm.

[Jill]

If you have a bill that you want to submit, if it is about money, savings, negotiating bills and getting money back in your pocket or getting that discount because you forgot your coupon, you're getting money back, store credit, or your name is Bill. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Bill we can't wait to listen to it.

[Jen]

Hi friend, it's your inner child calling and they want churros, a new toy and a new adventure. Or maybe five with the bestest besties on Earth. Find your moment at Walt Disney World Resort. Do you want to understand an invisible force that's shaping your life? I'm Osvaloshien, one of the new hosts of the long running podcast Tech Stuff. I'm slightly skeptical, but obsessively intrigued.

[Jill]

And I'm Cara Price, the other new host, and I'm ready to adopt early.

[Jen]

And often on Tech Stuff. We travel all the way from the mines of Congo to the surface of Mars to the dark corners of TikTok to ask and attempt to answer burning questions about technology. One of the kind of tricks for surviving Mars is to live there long enough so that people evolve into Martians.

[Jill]

Like data is a very rough proxy.

[Jen]

For a complex reality. How is it possible that the world's new energy revolution can be based in this place where there's no electricity at night? Oz and I will cut through the noise to bring you the best conversations and deep dives that will help you.

[Jill]

Understand how tech is changing our world.

[Jen]

And what you need to know to survive the singularity. So join us, listen to tech stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jill]

I'm so sick of hearing men talk about women's basketball. If only there were a professional WNBA player with her own podcast I could listen to. Hey, this is Lexi Brown, WNBA player and professional yapper. And this is Mariah Rose.

[Jen]

You may know me from spilling the.

[Jill]

Tea on Hoops for Hotties on Tik Tok. And we've got a new podcast, Full Circle. Every Wednesday, we're catching you up on what's going on in women's basketball and not just in the wnba. But with athletes unlimited unrivaled and college basketball, we've got you with analysis, inside stories, and a little bit of tea. I know you guys have seen a lot of former and current basketball players telling their stories from their point of view, and I just think it's time for the girlies to tap in. We want to share all of the women's basketball stories that you won't see anywhere else. Tune into Full Circle, an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Welcome to my legacy. I'm Martin Luther King III and together with my wife, Andrea Waters King, and our dear friends Mark and Craig Kilburger, we explore the personal journeys that shape extraordinary lives.

[Jen]

Each week we'll sit down with inspiring.

[Jill]

Figures like David Oyelowo, Mel Robbins, Martin.

[Jen]

Sheen, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Billy Porter and their plus one, their ride or die as they share stories never heard before about their remarkable journey.

[Jill]

Listen to my legacy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is my legacy. And now it's time for the lightning round.

[Jen]

Okay, what are your usual exceptions during a no spend month? So groceries is always my exception. I don't keep a lot of extra food on hand, so I don't need to like a pantry challenge is a non issue for me. I don't keep enough food on hand to have an issue. So I'm always buying groceries. Yeah, that's my thing.

[Jill]

Yep, same, you know, my bills, groceries. I will try and pair it with a bit of a pantry challenge, but I never have enough food for that to be able to be the entire month.

[Jen]

But I do have to work through.

[Jill]

Yeah. Like what I already have on hand. I will say that for me, I will spend on things that would come out of my sinking fund. So for instance, like in February, I will probably need to buy plane tickets for trips that are gonna happen in April and May. And so I already have money set aside for that. So I will spend on that.

[Jen]

Yes, money. Come. Yeah, anything that was already planned to come out of the sinking fund. I think that's a good use. That's a good exception.

[Jill]

Yeah. So that's how that goes. Yeah. Thank you all for listening. We really do hope that you are able to join us in this no spend challenge. Again, we're talking about it in the friend letter. So frugalfriendspodcast.com if you don't receive that friend letter already. And we'll also be posting a bit on Instagram. I don't think we're gonna go as crazy as Jen did last year, although that was crazy. She did post every day of January last year. So if you wanna go all the way back in our Instagram account for some of that motivation, feel free. But still, following us now will be helpful because we'll be posting little tidbits about it. So following us on Frugal Friends podcast on Instagram. We love to connect with you all there outside of the show and we're just so grateful for all of you that are here listening to this podcast and we love reading your kind reviews.

[Jen]

Is this one about so we are, yes, we are today making a change. Instead of reading podcast reviews, we are going to read your kind reviews from our book. And so there's over 120 of them on Amazon alone as of right now.

[Jill]

By the time this episode comes out. Yeah, hopefully there's more.

[Jen]

So yeah, we will have no shortage we hope. And yeah, we're gonna just read those.

[Jill]

Yeah. So if you got the book and you haven't reviewed us yet, please do. But this one is an example. It comes from Amber C. Five stars. I am a big consumer of financial podcasts but have yet to read into the subject matter. This book, however, got my attention from the beginning. I've listened to lots of podcasts and Frugal Friends is my favorite because of their simple and applicable advice. There's no fancy math equations involved or strict and soul draining practices. It's very simple and rooted in values based spending. I appreciate this book, especially as a newly single mom. The fact that everything revolves around values based spending is a simple and powerful tool for me to spend my money in a meaningful way. I love this book and plan on reading it over and over again. Thanks Jen and Jill. Amber C. How beautiful.

[Jen]

Thank you Amber.

[Jill]

You know, that's something that I've been hearing from people recently who now do have their hands on the book is they're saying this is something where I'm going to come back to specific chapters. Like I'm earmarking this because I know I'm going to revisit this when I get to this season of Life. And I didn't totally think that through when writing it. I did kind of think you can read it from front to back in a week, in a month and kind of capture some of the big concepts and begin applying them But I think through the lens of other people, it's been interesting to have that kind of reflected back, that they're identifying. There are aspects here that are kind of like standalone pieces and advice that I'm going to want to revisit this and come back to it. And that's really cool. I've had a handful of books like that throughout my life where I'm like, this is a guide that it's not just, like, I appreciated the concepts and now I'm moving on, but that there are pieces here that it's gonna be good to revisit. And that's so fun.

[Jen]

Yeah, definitely. So thank you so much for listening and for reading the book. If you wanna check out the book, head to buy what you love book. And you can get it from your favorite retailer. We obviously prefer bookshop. And then leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads and you could hear it on the show.

[Jill]

Thanks so much, everyone. See you next time.

[Jen]

Bye. Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

[Jill]

So this upcoming weekend is our party.

[Jen]

Yes. I'm so excited. I did my nails for it.

[Jill]

Yeah. So we. Again, we record a month in advance. So the party is happening mid January at my house. I'm just.

[Jen]

Well, we're two weeks in advance for this one. We're a little late.

[Jill]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Right.

[Jen]

That's. Okay.

[Jill]

All right, that's fine. But the party isn't happening during the no Spend challenge, just in case you were wondering. But, yeah, so we're gonna. What are we gonna do? We're gonna go to Costco to get some snacks.

[Jen]

We're gonna get snacks at Costco.

[Jill]

You're gonna make from Publix.

[Jen]

You're gonna make a balloon arch. Garland arch.

[Jill]

Yeah. Maybe not a full arch, but. Mm. I did get some balloons that are the color of the book.

[Jen]

Yay.

[Jill]

And I'm gonna blow them up with whatever pump we hopefully have in the garage.

[Jen]

How exciting.

[Jill]

Yeah. So we're gonna have, like, a photo wall. Eric had a good idea to have everybody, like, not just take pictures, but also be able to have people record themselves. We did do this at one of our parties years ago, and actually, we never watched them. That would be really fun to look back on.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

We had people talk about, like, their frugal wins and frugal fails. I think for this party, we should have people say what they love to buy things that they love to spend money on. Oh, and then we can have that they won't spend money on a compilation that we can post To Instagram.

[Jen]

That would be fun. Yeah. We have to pick out our cake flavor because now we're just gonna go to.

[Jill]

Yeah. And in bigger news, we gotta figure out what kind of cake we want. Yeah.

[Jen]

Yeah, that's great. That's great. But the cake. Yeah. I think I'm gonna take the book to Publix and say, like, this is the inspiration.

[Jill]

Okay. Yeah.

[Jen]

What can you do?

[Jill]

We talked about getting a printed picture of the book on the top of the cake, but we realized that not many bakeries do that in house. You have to order that online. And we're too late. We were too late when we had bathroom. We had to be too late. Yeah.

[Jen]

It's okay, though.

[Jill]

It'll save us money. It's almost better to have that parameter.

[Jen]

Yeah, I guess.

[Jill]

And not spend $30 on that.

[Jen]

It's fine. It's sad, but it's fine. Maybe we'll figure out another reason to do it one day. Yeah, it'll be fine. Nobody's so sad. Nobody's as sad.

[Jill]

It'll be fun. Gonna take pictures, gonna eat good food. So. Okay. And then we're gonna post about it on Instagram. Thanks, everyone, for celebrating with us. If you haven't gotten the book yet, wherever you get books, buy what you love without going broke. Bye.

[Jen]

Do you want to see into the future? Do you want to understand an invisible force that's shaping your life? Do you want to experience the frontiers makes us human? On tech stuff, we travel from the mines of Congo to the surface of Mars, from conversations with Nobel prize winners to the depths of TikTok to ask burning questions about technology. From high tech to low culture, and everywhere in between.

[Jill]

Join us.

[Jen]

Listen to tech stuff on the iHeartRadio.

[Jill]

App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm so sick of hearing men talk about women's basketball. This is Lexi Brown and Mariah Rose, and we've got a new podcast, Full Circle. Every Wednesday, we're catching you up on what's going on in women's basketball. We've got you with analysis, inside stories, and a little bit of tea. Full circle is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Full circle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Welcome to my legacy. I'm Martin Luther King iii, and together with my wife, Andrea Waters King, and our dear friends Martin Luther and Craig Kilburger, we explore the personal journeys that shape extraordinary lives. Join us for heartfelt conversations with remarkable.

[Jen]

Guests like David Oyelo, Mel Robbins, Martin Sheen, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Billy Porter.

[Jill]

Listen to my legacy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is my Legacy. Calling all Yellowstone fans. Let's go to work. Join Bobby Bones on the Official Yellowstone Podcast for exclusive cast interviews, behind the scenes insights, and a deep dive into the themes that have made Yellowstone a cultural phenomenon. Our family legacy is this ranch, my protector of my life. Listen to the Official Yellowstone Podcast now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.