Morning, everyone!
It’s the last day of February, and you know what that means.
WE FINISHED THE NO-SPEND CHALLENGE!!! 🥳
Whether you finished strong or celebrated with a spending sesh 💸, it’s important that we set ourselves up for success for the next few months.
In our opinion, there’s no better way to do that than to create March’s Spending Plan! Periodt.
What to Include in March’s Spending Plan 📝
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Spring Break. Have you been daydreaming about warm, sandy beaches these last few months? Need a break from the office? Samesies. Good news! Spring break is right around the corner (usually the last two weeks in March), which means it’s time to plan a trip! Make sure to write a budget that includes all the fun souvenirs & excursions you can think of. Bonus points if you take a staycation instead!
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St. Patrick’s Day. Thinking about doing something fun on the 17th? Budget it. We def. don’t want to be three parades deep & spending without a care. (Psst. Partying not your thing? Kiddos still celebrate in school with treats, and everyone at the office will pinch you if you’re not wearing green). Little things can add up if we don’t plan for them!
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Spring Cleaning. Thankfully, there are lots of ways we can get spring cleaning costs ⬇️. However, it’s still important to assess what we need to replace – like brooms/mops, air filters, and vacuums.
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Spring Cleaning (Finances). The 90-day transaction inventory is our favorite tool to use before a NSC, but we still need to look at our finances as a whole yearly. We might “know” that yearly tag fees or large subscriptions are coming up, but it’s almost impossible to keep track of it all! That’s why we recommend Monarch. Monarch is a personal finance app that creates a space where you can view your debt, cash flow, investments, and share with a partner! Right now, you can get a 7-day free trial AND 50% off your first year with code NEWYEAR2025. **
What’s on Sale in March 📢
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Luggage. Need new luggage? March is the best time to buy for a few reasons. 1). It’s shoulder season for travel, which means retailers have a lotta extra stock they’re looking to say buh-bye to. 2). It coincides with spring break, so it’s prime time to sell to vacationers & cruisers (AKA low prices). If you can’t trade, borrow, or patch up your luggage, now might be the best time to make a line item. ✍️
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Running shoes. 👟 With better temps & the Spring Equinox around the corner, retailers will be transitioning in their new outdoor wear & phasing out winter boots. This means that popular athletic shoes will be on sale by 20-50% off. Goodbye snow, hullo mud.
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Vacuum cleaners. As much as we all want that perfect vacuum that will last forever, kiddos & pet hair = frequent replacements. Vacuums are on steep discount this month (thanks to spring cleaning). View our recommendations here.
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Frozen food month. March is Frozen Food Month! Keep an eye on the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association for great deals and helpful nutrition tips throughout the month. 🧊
March’s Big Money Move 📑
We’re keeping the momentum from our No-Spend Challenge strong, and because of that, we’re going to focus on TWO big money moves for March.
1. Extra Contributions. Did you know that you can still make contributions to your 2024 Roth IRA until April 15th? If you didn’t hit your max in 2024, go back and listen to The 6 Week Roth IRA Challenge (Ep 381) for motivation! Jen & Jill do an excellent job of breaking down different types of retirement accounts & how extra contributions can benefit Future You bigtime.
2. Taxes. Did you read “April 15th” in the last paragraph & get full body chills? It comes ‘round yearly, and somehow, we’re never prepared. Take these three steps to make Tax Day just a bit easier this year.
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Get all of your tax forms together (W-2’s).
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Don’t forget Certificates of Rent, interest documents, & 1099-T’s.
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Schedule an appointment.
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Whether it’s with a trusted professional or individual software, make it an appointment so you’re not interrupted.
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Add it to the budget!
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Tax preparers need to be paid, too. 💁♀️
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What to Cook 👩🍳
St. Patty’s Day is right around the corner, which means it’s time to whip out our favorite Irish dishes! Because we appreciate you, these recipes are ALL slow cooker wins! 🍀
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Easy Corned Beef and Cabbage (All Recipes)
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Shepherd’s Pie (Eating on a Dime)
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Irish Beef Stew (Savory Nothings)
On Tuesday, Jen & Jill broached the powerful topic of financial trauma with a special guest. Listen to: Start Healing Your Money Trauma with Shannah Game (Ep 488) for a respectful discussion on how to move forward financially.
Achieving our higher needs is what drives us, but it can also cause us to spend $$$ we don’t have. Today, we break these categories down & identify ways to still meet our needs without breaking the bank in Higher Needs: What They Cost Us & What To Do Instead (Ep 489).
Tune in wherever you get podcasts and let us know what you thought of the episode over on our latest Instagram post!
Peace ✌
Kim
⭐️⭐️ 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.
