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StitcherNew year, new beginnings, but one thing stays the same: our commitment to helping you with your money wins. As we enter 2025, it’s time to focus on what you truly love spending on and align your finances with your values. In this episode, Jen and Jill walk us through the three parts of their book Buy What You Love Without Going Broke, sharing simple, practical ways to spend with intention in the year ahead.
It’s about identifying what is enough where many times we will choose additive solutions when subtractive solutions will be even better.
Sponsors:
- No regrets. Despite what’s been thrown at you this past year, whether it be unexpected bills, health scares, or 2 back-to-back hurricanes that you are able to enter into a new year with no regrets. Sounds like too tall of an order? We’ve got a solution for you and it’s called ‘Buy What You Love Without Going Broke’. Our new book that’s … you guessed it….still available for preorder! We’ll help you live with at least no financial regrets (and even reframe some of the previous money decisions you’ve made that you don’t feel great about). It’s the PERFECT thing to buy this January.
Check out some relevant episodes
Defining What You Love
The first part of the book is all about figuring out what you love spending on. For Jen, that starts with a 90-day transaction inventory. This is the perfect amount of time to get an accurate picture of your current spending habits. By spotting these patterns, we can figure out what our spending says about our values.
Jill uses Maslow’s hierarchy to help us prioritize our needs, showing us that while we have higher needs to meet, spending isn’t always the answer. Jen and Jill take this framework and create a foundational starting point they call the “4 Fs”: Family, Friends, Faith, and Fulfilling Work—four key areas to consider when it comes to your values.
Saying No to What We Don’t Love
In the second part of the book, they explore the power of saying no to things we don’t truly love. Jill emphasizes that this requires understanding our impulse spending tendencies. Jen also points out that most of these tendencies are rooted in the long-term conditioning of marketing, so it’s important to recognize when we’re simply being marketed to.
They also remind us to save smarter, not harder. Using the Pareto principle, they suggest focusing on the 20% of our expenses that typically account for 80% of our spending: housing, transportation, and food.
Don’t Go Broke!
In the third part of the book, Jen and Jill explain that avoiding being broke comes down to making small, consistent changes and doing the right thing. We do this by curating our environment to reflect what we can control and what aligns with our values. Jill adds that we can make better decisions when we feel less chaotic; therefore, simplifying our environment helps us focus on what truly matters.
Lastly, practice contentment over complacency. Jen and Jill remind us that we don’t have to do everything all at once. Allow yourself to be present and find gratitude in the now—not in the past or the future. And remember, you’re on a journey, so there’s no room for complacency.
What’s your favorite thing to buy?
Jen’s is paying for daycare and Jill’s is travel flights.
Bill of The Week
Thank you Marla for sharing your bill about pre-ordering our book!
Thanks so Much for Listening!
Thanks so much for listening. We love love love reading your kind reviews and we especially loved this one from:
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Hands down my favorite podcast!
If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be binging a podcast on finances, saving and frugality, I would have laughed in your face. But here we are, enjoying every episode, taking notes on all the juicy info (nerd alert nerd alert nerd alert!), and humming the “Bill of the Week” jingle as I’m doing housework. Jenn and Jill have excellent content and even better delivery! I’ve only been listening for a couple of months, after they were guests on another podcast I listen to (Hi, Jess Massey from Hustle Sanely!) and I’ve been binging ever since. And yes, I’ve pre-ordered their book as well and counting the days until I can dive into that! Thank you for spreading the frugal gospel with fun and positivity, providing great resources, validating good habits, and celebrating all the milestones along the way. This podcast is a game changer!
If you want to check out our monthly challenge community head to frugalfriendspodcast.com/club to see what challenge we have coming up next.
Keep leaving us reviews on iTunes or Stitcher, and sending the screenshot to reviews@frugalfriendspodcast.com. And don’t forget to share your favorite quote from the episode by using the hashtag #FrugalFriendsNote. 😉
