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StitcherIt’s time to show you the truth about us. Behind being frugal, the reality is we still fall into spending traps. Doing a 30-day transaction inventory revealed a lot that they hadn’t noticed in the eight years of doing this. Today, we’ll share what we spent on, what we learned, and why we’re finally opening up about it.
You can’t change what you don’t see.
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Our Why on This Matter
If you are not yet familiar with our 90-day transaction inventory concept, it’s where you list all the transactions you’ve made over the past ninety days to see where your expenses are mainly going. Except this time, Jen and Jill did this for 30 days. Their goal here is to become more aware of where their money goes and not to restrict where they may be spending more.
In doing this, Jen used Monarch Money to help make sure she didn’t miss anything and could keep everything in one place. Meanwhile, Jill is more familiar and comfortable with spreadsheets and pen and paper. There are two rules: track every small and big transaction, and don’t judge yourself during the process.
Major Things We Find Out
Jen shares her Monarch chart, which shows that her biggest spending category is housing and her lowest is shopping. Meanwhile, Jill’s spending is a bit more diverse, with almost half going to housing and bills and the least going to gas and subscriptions.
From doing all this, they learned three key insights. First, that $10 purchases can quietly creep into our spending because small buys add up fast. Second, convenience costs money, and that’s the reality. Lastly, there were things they thought were worth it but turned out not to be. This reminded them that even as frugal people, they still fall into spending traps. We’ll never do it perfectly. But if you’re making good decisions 80% of the time, the 20% that falls into these patterns won’t derail you.
Favorite transaction from the last 30 days
Jen’s favorite is the $94.32 on four tickets to Monster Jam. Jill’s is her spending on entertainment like movies, soccer game, ren fair—though ren fair wins as her one pick.
Bill of The Week
Thanks Sharlene for sharing your bill about using substitutes instead of running to store, AND squeaky treadmill fix with grease instead of purchasing a new walking pad. AND sending your students our way
Thanks so Much for Listening!
Thanks so much for listening. We love love love reading your kind reviews of our book Buy What You Love Without Going Broke and we especially loved this one from:
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Realistic and relatable financial perspective
I have been listening to the Frugal Friends Podcast for a few years - all throughout my debt pay off journey, my savings journey, and my investing journey. This book is the best of all those worlds - with REAL financial perspectives for REAL people. Highly recommend for those wanting a wholistic approach to their financial success.
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