Hey Friends!
Did you know that having too many choices can lead to decision fatigue, stress, and yep, poor financial habits.
We’ve been through it—overcomplicated budgets, way too many savings accounts, and financial plans that are impossible to stick to.
And guess what? The simpler we made things, the better they worked.
🍃 Why Keeping It Simple Helps Your Money
-
It’s Easier to Follow. Studies on habit formation show that the simpler a habit is, the more likely we are to stick with it. A budget with 10 categories? Confusing. A budget with 3-5? Doable.
-
You Avoid Money Leaks. Too many financial accounts and subscriptions make it easier to forget payments, miss fees, and overspend without realizing it. Fewer moving parts means fewer mistakes.
-
You See Faster Progress. The brain loves quick wins. Instead of trying to tackle all your money goals at once, focusing on one or two at a time leads to better results (and more motivation to keep going).
-
You Reduce Financial Stress. When your money system is simple and clear, you spend less time worrying about it and more time actually living your life.
🧭 How to Simplify Your Finances
1. Automate What You Can. 🔗 Bills, savings, and debt payments should happen automatically so you don’t have to think about them. Less mental effort = better results.
2. Minimize Your Accounts. ✂️ One checking account for spending, one savings account for saving (though we are a fan of savings vaults within that one account if need be). No need to overcomplicate things.
3. Focus on What Matters. 🔎 Choose one or two financial goals at a time instead of trying to fix everything at once. Progress beats perfection every time
In this week’s Sunday Reset, we did a fun deep dive on a topic that feels too complex to keep simple: investing. Spoiler alert, it’s not as tricky as it sounds! Be sure to tune in to 3 Steps to Start Investing For Beginners to hear more.
Another thing that’s hard to keep simple is setting a budget that’s easy to follow. In Tuesday’s episode Transform Your Budget in 30 Days CHALLENGE (Ep 498), we break down a 30-day challenge designed to streamline your finances and help you earn and save more.
Another barrier to simplicity is all things that come with just trying to feed ourselves. We got ya covered with some great tips to keep it simple with Ep 499 The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Grocery Shopping.
Tune in wherever you get podcasts and let us know what you thought of the episode over on our latest Instagram post!
✅ Listen: The Women by Kristin Hannah. A bit intense, but a really informative read that’s a great audiobook. 🎧
✅ Read: The 6 Science-Backed Benefits of Living Simply
✅ Do: Test out Empower to make tracking your transactions and net worth super simple! Using our link gets you a $20 Amazon gift card after you connect an investment account with at least $1,000 in it! **
✅ Meal Plan: We’re not trying to say you need to replace eggs permanently, but if you also struggle finding affordable eggs or need to eliminate due to dietary reasons, now may be a good time to check out this list of egg substitutes. Who knew there were so many options? 🍳
Spending is a skill and you can learn to master it. If you’ve ever struggled with being unable to stick to a budget or felt guilty about spending on something you enjoy, Jen and Jill’s debut book is going to be your next favorite read.
See ya,
Misti
⭐️⭐️ P.S. Want to share all this goodness with your friends AND earn cool Frugal Friends merch?
**Means this is a sponsored or affiliate section. We may earn a small fee or commission when you choose to try one of our sponsor or affiliate partners. But opinions are still 1000% our own.
