What Is Values Based Budgeting & How Do You Practice It?

not popular but valuable. Yeah. And it's values based budgeting my high school career. Yeah. So, and how we can practice values based spending in tandem with values based budgeting, because if we're just focusing on spending in our values, we can definitely spend very frivolously. But if we focus on the budgeting part first, it becomes a budget that you want to stick to, that you joyfully follow and practice because it is bringing you closer to what you

care most about. And what you care most about is different from what I care most about, what Jill cares about, and other people. And so this is a skill that if you learn it and you master it, it will really serve you. But it is it is more difficult than just doing what somebody else tells you to do and the way they tell you to do it. M Yes, this is next level, this is budgeting two oh one. But again, like you said, Jen, it is a tool that we can be implementing, especially for those of us

who are recognizing budgets just don't work for me. Okay, hey that this might be one of the main reasons why not, So let's get into it absolutely. But first first, our sponsor sponsors the new thing we're doing great. I

don't like it, the seven Day No Spend Challenge. If you feel like you spent a little bit too much this summer or on back to school season or whatever, and you want to step back and reset your spending habits, we have created a free our favorite word mini workbook that will help you do that through a seven day no spend challenge. The workbook will help you to plan, execute, and reflect on the challenge so that after seven days, you know what you need to work on and you

have an action plan to do so. So if this sounds like something you need, head to Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash free It's f r e E. You know the word, get yours and this episode is also brought to you by meeting up in person. Haven't done that advertising in a while? Do you live in the Austin, Texas area would you like to meet me? Jen? Do you live in the Fairbanks, Alaska area and would like

to meet Jill? Well, Jill is not doing a meet up in Alaska, but I would love to meet up with you in Austin, Texas if you are going to be there sometime between September two to four. So at the time of this recording, I'm not sure what my schedule will be like. So if you live in Austin and you want to meet up one night, d m me on Instagram at Modern Frugality and let's see if

we can organize a little group haying. Let's see what happens. However, you dangle the carrot of for all the Alaskans out there, I want them to know that you are are intentionally jiming them. Well, Okay, I don't know how many Alaskan followers we have, but if they're out there, I mean I'd consider it. Yeah, So d M is not the purpose of my trip, but send a DM show Jill. If you can show Jill a good time in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Send us a d M. Yeah, I don't know if I want to show me a good time DM, but you want to meet up, feel free to DM, but show her a good time anyways. So we were doing Values based Budgeting episode right now because we just started

our Values Based Life Challenge in Club BFF. So for six weeks, our members are working together in small groups and as a larger group to discover their core values and connect them back to all areas of their life, so primarily financial, so budgeting, spending, earning, well building, but also lifestyle and communication because you know, we spend to get our ideal lifestyle and we budget to get our ideal lifestyle, and it's just easier if the people around

us in our lives know why we're doing that, and so that's we have value centered communication in there as well. So we've written a workbook that our members are going through and we we are going to make that workbook available to everyone sometime in November, but we are so

amped on this topic right now. So if you want to know when that workbook and those budgeting templates become available, definitely get the seven Day No Spend Challenge that free mini workbook, because then you'll be the first to know um when this one is life. But for now, we just want to share this concept with everyone because it really can be a life changing way to not just budget or spend, but like to view your finances, to view your life honestly, because how often does somebody ask,

like you, what do you want from life? What do you care about? Like? How often do you get asked that? How often do you ask yourself that? Honestly? This conversation that you and I have been having, even off the mic, has been it has carried over into conversations with Eric and other friends and so as with anything, and you've

heard us say this before, we are whole people. So while on this podcast will primarily we primarily talk about finances and frugality, but how it intersects with other aspects of our life and if we are going to be aimed at values based budget, my goodness, does that help us understand ourselves more, the decisions we make, why we make them. It can move us towards better decision making,

better relating with ourselves with others. So it's not just about how we then manage finances again, and it's going to impact all these other areas of life that are incredibly beneficial and relevant. So again, this is not the only way of budgeting. It's becoming one of our favorites, but see what works for you. But at the same time, at least give it a try, because again it's going to get you more connected and understanding yourself and probably

those that you live with. Hopefully. Yes. So our first article that we are going through is from Clowbar dot com and it is values based Budgeting, Aligning your money with your goals. This is a really great overview of values based budgeting. What do you think? Jill really enjoyed it. As you said, it goes through both why she loves it, the author loves values based budgeting, and then a little

bit on how to. But one of the things that she talks about before she even gets into some of her bullet points is this kind of magic wand question of hey, imagine your life, if everything we're exactly how you wanted it to be, what is that? And it's kind of a question to help you get at what is most valuable for me or what do I want to see in my future? And I particularly like that because it's very reminiscent of this technique that's utilized in

solutions focused therapy s f T for short. I won't get too into the weeds on it, but one of the interventions or ways of utilizing s f T is by asking this miracle question. It's this, Hey, if you woke up tomorrow and a miracle had happened, how would you know that everything was different? And very similar questions, but ultimately what these questions do well not realistic. Right. There's not a button I can push and I get my us life now, there's not an actual wand I

can wave. But it does help us to understand what is deep rooted inside of us that we would like to see be different. And it's kind of this starting at the end and working backwards. But if we're able to identify the end point, that helps us to understand what do we even want, and then we can start to fill in the blanks, working our ways back towards

where we actually find ourselves right now. And again it's not going to mean magic, but usually there's some things that we can identify and say, well, if I did take this step, it gets me a little bit closer to this life that I do want to see for myself. So I think it's a really useful question. Can feel really silly, really odd, but I love that she starts it out this way because I think it can be helpful and even understanding what what do I even want?

I think a lot of us can struggle with answering that. Yeah, it is definitely not a question that you will be able to answer in one sitting, and that's why people tend to ignore it or maybe gloss over it, because they want to be able to answer questions as soon as they sit down to answer them. Um, but this is something where you're going to have to ask a lot of dynamic questions, think about, really think hard about, Okay, what values do I want to have but aren't actually

my true core values? That is such a tough one, um, Because I look at a list of core values and I see these all these really great values, and some of them look like values I'm supposed to have or I want to have, and some of them look like values that I do not want to have. But sometimes your core values are different from the core values you

want to have or think you should have. So that's a nut like that goes even deeper into figuring out who am I, what do I want outside of what society and the internet is telling me I'm supposed to

be like. So that's why it just takes time. And our core values, even if they seem really glamorous, like you know, I have a core value of justice, there's a flip side to that too, right, there's there is the way that we can operate in that that is aimed at well being, and there's a way that we can operate in that that can be destructive if we're

too hyper focused on it. So, you know, even if we do assign some of these lofty terms, recognize that there's a way that we harness some of these and walk in a way that benefits us rather than the opposite of that. But then, I know, Jenn and you

and I have talked about this a little bit. My personal perspective on this is that we have core values, right, these core aspect of our personhood, and I would say we probably have about two to three actual core values, and then connected to those, almost like a ripple going out from them, we have other values that are attached to that, and that could be I mean, I don't want to say infinite, but You're probably talking potentially twenty

other values, but I wouldn't say that those more peripheral values would be core. I think core values are not really going to shift throughout our lifetime. The way that we walk them out or the way that they look might shift, but the peripheral values attached to it could shift, right, Like I don't have kids. My own kids aren't that core value of mine because I'm not. I don't have kids the second I do, guess what that would change.

So certain things can shift in that equation. So I just want to give that little caveat before we keep talking about values. Yeah. Absolutely, And I also want to give permission to like parents, wives, husbands, like your spouse, your family. Your kids don't actually have to be a core value of yours, like if they are not, you can have core values that relate to how you interact with your spouse, partner, and children. And so just because like your kids for kids sake aren't your core values

does not mean you don't care about your children. And so this is like stuff you learn about your core values, and it keeps you from overspending on your children for the sake of just loving your children. But you can spend more aligned with your values that are specifically how you want to show love to your children, and so that's why we are really into values based budgeting. So here's a little bit about why the author of this

article is into it. And the first one is that values based budgeting is hyper personalized, kind of like what we mentioned at the beginning. So she says, this approach works for me because I don't like needlessly rigid approaches that follow arbitrary rules put in place by financial experts,

and so we feel the same exact way. And she references the fifty rule, which is a budgeting rule where you spend fifty percent on needs, thirty percent on wants, and twenty percent on savings, which is absolutely the definition of arbitrary. Depending on your income and your values, there is no need for this to be your budgeting percentages

um or or even your goals. So I I hate arbitrary rules like this, and I think, at first, yeah, it is super valuable to just find somebody resonate with and do everything they tell you exactly as they tell you. That's the fewer decisions you have to make to get this, like budgeting or financial habit going is super useful, but after a few months, you cannot rely on other people's definition of budgeting and financial success in goals because it's

not sustainable for you. And so this is a great way to make budgeting sustainable, building upon the tools that you've already established. The second reason that she mentions loving values based budgeting is that it prevents impulse purchases. It already considers the things that you want to spend money on,

So that is one of the biggest budget busters. Alliteration is feeling restricted and not wanting to feel restricted and just spending frivolously or impulsively, and having a budget that is centered around the things that you want to be spending on can be a huge help in not making those impulse purchases. Are not feeling super restricted because you've already identified Okay, actually it's not that valuable to me

to be constantly buying coffees outside of my house. What is valuable is X y Z. So because I've got room in my budget now for that, it's easier for me to let go of this other thing that I thought was important but now I realized it's not as much. So really it connects are spending with our y real time.

It's both long term and short terms. So if we've got room in our budget for the things that we actually want to be spending on connected to these deeper values, connected to our wise of doing this thing again, it's it's another strength and protective factor for not making the decisions that that we don't want to be making and not mindfully spending. Absolutely, and we'll talk a little bit about our whole next article is about values based spending,

but yeah, it does. It does how us definitely rain in our spending. I mean, most people might think that values based spending will inevitably lead to overspending in those categories, but it can. The more introspective you get, the more you realize you don't need. The next one is values based budgeting allows me to live the life I've always wanted to live now. And that's so important because so much of early personal finance education for adults is super restrictive.

And while we totally believe in a detox, we love a good no spend challenge so that you can kind of take a step back, give up all the habits and mindless spending and emotional spending and like pause all of that. So that you can really look at why you're doing each of those that is not sustainable by any means. So sure there are people that do it for a full year, but I feel like those people have quote unquote training in it. You don't just decide

to do a no spend challenge. Very few people could decide to do one of those and and do it for a full year right off the bat. It's like decided to do a marathon with no exactly exactly that. So, uh, we have to put into place safe strategies to live

the life that you truly value now. Um, And so you like what Jill said, two to three core values is really solid, and so you can spend and budget on those things without guilt and then kind of regulate your you know, ten to twenty other peripheral values and do them every once in a while so you still get them, but you're not taking every opportunity to spend on every single one of your values, and you can still feel like you're living a rich, like free life

and you just knowing yourself and your values. So if you like how this sounds, let's talk about how to do this. Number one, figure out what you get? So search she says, Oh gosh, yes it's true. And again, like like we said at the beginning of this podcast, this isn't just gonna be a okay, let me just like quick think about this and write it down. This will be probably a few days, potentially a week of kind of in and out wrestling with this idea of

what matters to me. But we don't want to leave you empty handed in that process, and just like go into a dark room and figure out what you value. In fact, you probably have to engage with the world to figure it out. But I do like this one question that she asks, and there's certainly lots of questions we can ask ourselves, but here's one. If your employer paid you in something other than cash, what would it be?

Is is super helpful to identify? I love this question, Like, what else would would to me feel valuable or a good use of my time if they were to pay me in this and so is that travel that okay? Instead of paying me? Yeah, sure, give me some plane tickets? Is it uh time off? Is it medical expenses? Is it paying into your savings account? You name it right. There's probably a lot of different things that you could consider, but that's one way of identifying what do I value?

Asking yourself that question. You can also certainly look at look back at what your previous spending has been over the past couple of months. Now, certainly there will be spending that you've done, that you've spent in areas that you don't actually value. But look at how you've spent your time, how you've spent your money. That can also give an indicator while you're looking at what do I value? Yeah,

for her, she values time spending time with people. So I pushed back a little bit on the time one. What's the reason you want more time? I think the reason you want more time that's the actual core values. So obviously she's her Number two is spending time with people I love. So I think that's actually a core value of community, travel, living somewhere I love. So that could mean many different things like either location or for Jill like it's it's you know, really great interior design.

She also says advancing her career, which I think could be many different core values, and then working on my passions. So we I mean, you can find lists of core values on the internet. I think the lists that have like fifty those are kind of comprehensive enough so you can find one of those and kind of see what other people are Yeah. Um, so number two is to look at your spending. Uh So, if you haven't done this exercise before, be prepared to be a little or

a lot of surprised, she says. And that's absolutely true. And so she says two to four weeks, but honestly, like I think three months at least thirty days, um preferably ninety and then look at all your transactions and see which values they serve. So this is a good thing to like look at these transactions and up to next to a sheet with those um or pulled up those fifty values and kind of looking at what values those transactions met. Did you get take out on a

Thursday night? So it's good to think about like the setting you were in when you when you spent this too, So yeah, did you get take out? Why? What was what was the value? Was it was it efficiency or you know, was it fun or something? So think about the value so you can look for patterns like which

values are you seeing over and over and over. Yeah, which is why we would recommend looking at your spending for a longer period of time, you're going to see more of those patterns come out rather than a fluke scenario that happened in the last thirty days. Number three on this list is to make a list of the things you don't value. Also really love this This girl might have a background in counseling, because the things that

we don't value still show us about ourselves. To take it even more to an extreme, the things that we hate are usually quite indicative about the things that have shaped us, that are actually really important to us. It's it's usually an indicator of where some of our strongest passions lie. So it's a whole other side tansient, but it's one of the reasons I love this question so much. So consider the things that you just do not want to spend money on, even if society he tells you

that you should. And she makes a point to say here and I'll highlight this too, that there's no judgment here. What I don't value doesn't have to be the same as what you don't value. There is space for all

of us. She lists out some of the things just as an example, and I will say, I do actually agree with a lot of the things on here, and they have the same list, having the latest technology or gadget, fashion, a new car or a fancy car, trying the latest restaurants or bars, attending concerts, festival, sporting events, like, some of these things just aren't where she's going to ultimately want to spend her money. She would rather spend it

in other areas. So this could be helpful to even have a list of, well, what do I know I don't want to spend on? And this could be freeing to to even be able to name it and take some mystery out of it, because we might actually be spending in some of these areas because other people are, or we think that this is what we should be doing.

But then to actually just say, you know what, actually I don't care about having new clothes awesome, then find freedom in that and recognize then this is not going to be where a big portion of my finances go. And this can become really important when these things become intertwined with your actual core values. So maybe a friend wants to go shopping, and you value community time with friends and so that's something you want to do, but

you don't value buying clothes. But because you are shopping, you might say Okay, well, this is an expense to spend time with someone. But when you go and you don't buy anything exactly. So when you define these are the five ten things I do not value and will not spend money on, you can separate those two activities and you can spend time with your friend without buying

close because you've planned for it. You have you've already made that decision in your head, and so you don't have to make the decision on the fly when you might be experiencing a little decision fatigue. So this is a super important list to make. So next is see which areas of your life you can cut back on in order to put more money in the areas you

value most. So this is where we do the dirty work of really making sure our spending and our budgeting is aligning with our values a hundred percent and not just maybe like that fifty percent in the example of going shopping with a friend. So look at your transactions from the ninety days and kind of see which of them really truly met the value a hundred percent and which of them didn't, And how you can get creative to still fulfill your values but eliminate the parts that

don't fulfill your values. So this is where we start getting creative and we get flexing those frugal muscles. Yeah, we know that our finances are not unlimited, so we're not saying just go out and spend. We're saying budget for these things. And if it's still not fully there, but this is a value of yours. Look at where you're spending is where you're not. Where you're spending on things you don't value, and how can you decrease that

even further so that there's more room here. So there is a creative process involved in this, uh and even the potential of blending with other things that we've talked about here earning more that does eventually become part of this equation. It's not fully what these episodes about, but I think in this category is where we start to think about paying off our debt, because it can get lost in the I want to afford you living my life.

I'm tired of restrictive budgeting and YadA YadA. So it's really important early on to connect why you're paying off debt back to all two to four of your core values, and so you kind of have to you have to think about paying off debt and kind of remilinate your brain cells too. When you think about spending money on something you can you can automatically say no, I want to pay off more debt, because then you have fifty different reasons why you want to pay off your debt.

And so this is where when we're getting creative and saying, how can I cut back to put more money into my highest values? This is also where we're thinking about how can I make paying off debt, Like why does paying off debt get me closer to all three of my values? Because it inevitably does. So you just have to really think and contemplate that to make this section really work. Yeah, because we're not just talking about the collection of things. We're not just talking about free up

money so you can go buy things. Some of this might be a big portion of this might be freeing up money to get at some of our bigger goals of debt payoff, of savings, of being able to, yeah, maybe buy that house that we really want, or being able to afford our bills, you name it. We're not just talking about free up money so you can go, like buy things that seem fun to you. It's like kind of the opposite of what we're saying, because we're still minimalists. Uh, and I mean I think that values

dice budgeting. We we want so much to base our financial goals around being able to buy more stuff and being able to buy more experiences. But this goes against that and that core values aren't based on stuff that you can I core values are based on who you are. And so when we start budgeting around what makes us more of who we are, we add fewer things that

cost money. That's the goal, is that we want to think about fulfilling our lives, fulfilling our partners lives and our children's lives, not what else can I spend money on? And so yeah, many things that fulfill us will cost money. But when affording stuff and experiences becomes less of the focus, then it not we naturally spend less. And finally number five on this list as far as the how to

is evaluate those essential expenses. And so sometimes we can think that we have got these fixed, inflexible essential expenses and we hardly even look at them. We gloss over them, we factor them in, but we we never really critically think whether or not it's actually necessary. And this is a challenge to re look at those things the transportation annual transportation costs, you have, your living expenses, your grocery bill, your utilities, you name it. These things are up for debate.

Certainly that it might require some extreme decision making, but it's worth real looking at could I actually cut this essential quote unquote essential expense again to be able to free up some of that money in other areas. The example that this author gives that I don't think is going to be realistic for most people, but I'll just say it. She noticed how much money she was spending annually on her vehicle, between insurance and gas and fixes

and repairs and all of that. Her company actually offered her a company car, so she was able to sell her car, utilize the company car, and now has slashed her transportation costs significantly. And then we'll also bike a lot of places or utilize public transportation. Again, that's not always available to everybody, but I like the way that this gets us to think of, well, do I actually need that. It's one of the reasons that Eric and I chose to live in our tiny home for a time.

It didn't last forever. Now we're in an actual home that is stationary. It doesn't move, it's not on wheels. But that was one of those let's look at these this big expense of rent and do we actually have to be putting this much money into rent in this area? What's the way that we could slash our housing expense? And we did, and it freed up the opportunity for me to be able to cash flow my master's degree and tons of other things. So it's worth being creative.

It's not necessarily it doesn't mean that you're going to find, you know, some awesome solution, but still look at it. Be willing to think outside the box on these more big expenses. Absolutely, and then she just says that after all of that, you can use the found money to go towards your high values categories. So that is how to create a values based budget. So let's talk about values based spending, which is budgeting in action. This one is from Eat, Drink, and Save Money, and it's how

to save money with values based spending. So what did you think of this? And we're gonna we're gonna go through all of her examples for values based spending and how it works with values based budgeting. Yeah, I like the way that she partitioned this out, and she is making the ultimate idea behind what we're about to go through in these examples is the connection between values based

budgeting and values based spending. That you can't just values based spend if you actually want to get at your like long term financial goals, because then it just becomes an excuse of well, it's a value of mind, So sure, I can drop a ton of money on it, it has to be connected to the actual money that you bring in and all of the other expenses that that are necessary that you do need to pay in some

regard for food and housing and transportation. So it's showing how values based spending without a budget could look and how values based spending with a budget could look. So the first example goes into friendship. I think all of these that we're going to go through are definitely common values and they're all ones I share, and it is definitely a The budget is a a tool, it's not the solution. So we make the budget so that we have the plan, because without a plan, we're not going

to follow through with values based spending. We have to know what our values are and we have to allocate money to those values, but the budget is not the solution. So I think we get into this like vicious cycle of budgeting and then spending, and then life throws us something that surprises us, and the budget goes a little awry, and then we feel kind of like guilt and shame for not being able to quote unquote not being able

to budget, which is totally untrue. And so I think, as long as you know your values, whatever spending things come your way, you're gonna be able to pivot better then using somebody else's like budgeting methods. So yeah, So with this first example, let's say you value friendship that is super important to you, and you might put different words on this of community, belonging, time with friends, it's

all important. With the values based budget, you could spend time with friends, get together monthly, weekly, socialized, find ways to do that that work within the budget. Sometimes that might be free things. Sometimes it might mean things that you're spending money on, but it's not over extending yourself. It's not going into debt or taking on expenses that you can't actually afford in order to spend on this

versus values based spending on friendship without budgeting. Could she uses a really crazy example bottle service, and I that's just like extreme. But but I will say without a budget, we could say, well, yeah, I'm going to go out on on Saturday and we're gonna go have a spa day and we're going to do out to dinner and then we're gonna go see a movie. And because friendship is important, and if we don't actually have the money

for that, that that just becomes ridiculous. But it can be a reason that we give ourselves right the how we justify it in our own minds or to another person of but friendship is important. Yeah, Friendship can be important without again over extending yourself. Yeah, and knowing your core values will actually show you who your true friends are.

I mean I I encountered this. Like I used to go to happy hour like every weekend or out to dinner every weekend with friends because that's how my friends wanted to spend their time and I wanted to spend time with my friends. Um, But when I started spending more in alignment with my values and paying off debt, that was no longer in my budget. Like I prefer to get takeout food for the efficiency factor versus sit

down dining because I'm not a foodie. I didn't care as much about that, and so I stopped hanging out with some of these friends because that's that is what they wanted to do. But it's okay because I have the friends that really wanted to hang out with me at my house or getting a cup of coffee. I spent more time with those friends, and I developed deeper relationships with those people. So don't be afraid of this.

It's tough, but it's better in the long run. So next example two is valuing health through values based budgeting. And I know Jill and I both value health in different ways, so I love this one. So a values based budget will allow you to a lot a certain amount of money to the type of health that's like factor that's important to you, so whether that's extra size, healthy food supplements, whatever, or even different types of exercise. So that's what the values based budget helps you do.

Without values based budgeting, she says that you could end up spending ten health retreat because you value your health. I say, it's more likely that you're going to end up with a lot of different subscriptions, two different health apps that you don't need all at once. So some of them are good if you value health, but if you're not budgeting, you could end up with a ton um And so that's kind of how I see it happening. Yes, And then the third example here is let's say you

have a strong value for the environment. It's super important to you. You want your time, energy, and finances to align with this value. With a budget, that might mean that you are buying some eco friendly things at times, or shopping local restaurants or stores, going second hand with a lot of your purchases, and and really ultimately being environmentally friendly is a lot of not spending money. We're really trying to push against this idea that living a

lifestyle of eco friendliness is expensive. That's a whole other conversation. But then without a budget, if we're saying we value the environment, that could cost a lot of money, especially

in this current climate. I don't mean that to be upon but there you go, Yeah, where you might end up spending a ton of money on ethically made cotton, organic dresses and I don't know that the beeswax thing that you wrap your sandwiches in, and all of these things look really pretty and fun, and we might just say I'll do it, yeah, because I'm helping the environment. And and again we extend ourselves we don't and we end up buying things we don't need. We end up

spending money we don't need to be spending. So connecting that value with your budget and identifying where do we actually need to be spending and where can I have just my actions and lifestyle align with this value and it doesn't actually have to cost me a ton of money. Yes,

And the last one is valuing time through values based budgeting. Again, I don't know if I think time is a value because time to Yeah, so, but she says that values based budgets allows you to allocate money towards conveniences that give you time, whereas without you can spend money on all the conveniences that give you extra time without thinking if you can afford all of them. So that is the last one. But yeah, I mean all of these are super common values are there are all things that

we fall prey to? And how a values based budget can help you, like reiin in these things while still focusing on incorporating them into your life. Because I don't know about you, but like I sometimes feel that as a frugal person, I am more focused on not spending money and I stop focusing on doing things that I want. So like, after six months, i look back in my life for the last six months and I'm like, I

haven't really done anything special. And so I think that's that's where the freedom of a budget comes in, is because you it forces you to plan to do these things that make you enjoy life exactly. It's like, to what end if you're not doing anything that's enjoyable or life giving them? Why the heck put all of these restraints on yourself. And again, we're not talking about a super restrictive budget. We're talking about a budget that does bring in freedom. So this is more the mindfulness of

going through these motions and rather than the justification. I think it's looking at what am I justifying but it's actually hurting my finances to how can I still value these things and value myself in that process and not be spending too much or just justifying what I'm doing. Yes, absolutely, you know what I always justified doing when I'm right to go with you because it's a value. It is one of my core values. The that's right, 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. Suck bills, Buffalo bills, bill clin. This is the bill of the week at and jail. So I just went into Target because I had to sail all day, and I was like, I'm gonna dreat myself. You know, we'll Starbucks. Straight Well, I walked around and I didn't buy any books, which

is a huge accomplishment for me. And then I went and as I was about to talk out, I went to get my Starbucks drink. But since I ordered a dairy free drink and Starbucks happened to be doing something but I didn't know about. Since it was a dairy free drink, I got it for free and that really made my day. So that's my bill of the week. That is awesome, Savannah, that you got free Starbucks. I

I'm into that. Well done, Savannah. I think I think you did two miraculous things, seemingly miraculous by a lot of people standards, not spending money at Target and getting a free Starbucks drink. You really beat the system. Well done, we know what, we know what. I'm focusing on the free stuff, but I think this is a perfect one like to put in this episode, and we like, don't

listen to these before we play them. Is that like, obviously books you know are outside of your values, or you're finding a creative way to consume books without spending money on them, because maybe you just don't value having like the rows of books at your home, and so knowing that and staying true to that, but also knowing like a value my Starbucks drink and so that is something I would spend money on and then you were just blessed to have it for free. I love that

journey for you. If you have on into Target and didn't spend anything, or you've gotten free stuff, or you did spend money on something and you're super glad about it. Submit your bill of the week to Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash bill. We'd love to hear what you have to say. Absolutely, and now it's time for the Lightning Round. The Lightning round is one of Jill's core values. Yeah, I've only got about three core values, and that's one

of them right there. One of them is one of the innermost part of my being the other Starbucks making it well, we are actually going to share our actual core values with you and tell you how we budget for and save on them. So because we're pretty normal, we're average ladies, so hopefully you will find some similarities. They can go we average ladies, we are we super average. So here you go, Jill. Okay, So some of the things that I really value are really important to me.

I got quite a list of bear with me. Time with people. I really so what yeah, again, whatever, whatever you want to say, whether it's community or friendship. I just really enjoy spending time with people and enjoying good food with people. So this is probably an area that I spend the most on again within reason and within budget. But that's one of the ways that I do spend time with people. There's other ways too, so it's it's

it's a balancing act. I also really value generosity, So this is a combination between time and money that I like to give on being generous sharing what I do have with others. I know I've probably shared in the past that before we had a lot of money, not that we have lot what whatever, When we were really broke we were able to be generous with our time

and energy, but it's been a challenge for me. It's been something that I've really tried to focus in on that as our finances increase, as we are earning more, to also be incorporating giving of some of our money in that way. And it doesn't always look like an actual cash transaction. It might mean purchasing a meal for somebody else, or we do a ton of hosting in our home, so it's having some of the amenities for people while they're here, not charging people to stay in

our home even though we are in a destination spot. Baby. Also, health is super important to me, and you'll you'll hear Jen share about how she approaches this. But the way that I approached this is with my VitaminX. Have you heard I have a blender and I really like it. Oh yeah, it doesn't doesn't work? Well yeah, oh geez, you must not be paying attention to me, Jen, because I talk about my VitaminX all the time. I don't

know where you've been. It's a blender. It helps me use up all my veggies and fruit and it's a great way to start the day. And then I also do YouTube workout, so it's valuable to me, but I don't spend money on it. So I have said time is super valuable to me, but yes, it's what it frees me up to do. I would rather do the things that I enjoy than the things that I don't enjoy, so I will pay for convenience at times. Also, beauty

is super important to me. So I don't care how big my home is, but I do want it to feel like a RESTful, peaceful, beautiful space. So anywhere that we've ever lived, it has been important to kind of make it our own, refurnish it, renovate it. So that's something that we will spend money on to make it nice. And of course mental health is super important to me. Some of the ways that I care for myself mentally

isn't going to beautiful places. So that might pair with travel, it might mean that I'll take a day off, you name it, but that's going to be something that I prioritize. And we have a lot of the same values that we show in different ways. Um but for me, so my first and highest value. And this is funny because full disclosure, this is the second time we've recorded this episode because my audio on the first one was warped, and so we're recording this again and half years in

and this kind of stuff still happens. It's happened. I mean, we can say it on one hand how many times we rerecord an episode, but this was one of them. And since then, I've actually kind of refined some of my core values because I'm working on this workbook. So last week I said, like, kind of my business was my highest value, but I realized that achievement is actually my highest core value. I love of measurable achievement. I

am borderline obsessed with it. And it is a core value that you know is healthy, but like all your core values can also be unhealthy and if not kept in check. And so my business is the number one way I am able to show achievement. So it's what I kind of work on the most. Another one for me is health, and I show that through CrossFit. I love cross fit, but that also allows me to show measurable achievements. So that's one of the reasons why that is the way I choose to live out my health value.

Um and so some of them, I mean, all of these values, all your values can be inter you know, connected um I found. So that's that. And so one of the biggest ways that I'm able to achieve more is by paying for daycare for my son. It is the best money I spend on a month. You love that expen daycare every week. If if I had to be honest, I wasn't saying Bill Curtis, I would be saying my daycare bill. So so that's so achievement is

number one for me. Communities number two. I will literally drop anything on a dime for anything to hang out with my friends and family. I will do like all certain family, but definitely friends and so real. Yeah, and so I thought family was one of my core values, but it turns out community is actually the core of that because my family is my community, like they're my closest community. But I will also drop, like on a dime to hang out with anybody that's down to hang.

I am always down to hang. So that is my second biggest one. And then so my third one is health. So those are my Those are my top three. And I love that there can be crossover. We could have shared values with other people, but then the way that we walk it out might look differently. And that's okay too, it's needed. Even we both value health. I don't spend money on a gym membership. You do, but that doesn't

make it. Yeah, we still both value it. So I love the freedom and permission that is accessible even when we have similar values, and knowing knowing that achievement is one of my core values also helps me figure out why it's hard for me to do things that I may want to do but never end up doing them.

It's because they have no achievement component. And so it's also easier to have grace for yourself when you're not doing things that you think you should be doing but are not, and to try stop trying to force yourself to be somebody who you think you should be and just be who you are. Yes, Jen, that's the cap on this one. Will get more and more on how who we are as we continue to explore these concepts

and questions. Absolutely. Yeah, that workbook that I mean that I've been putting together has been not just I mean, it's gonna be really cool for everyone going through it, but like it's been cool for me to think about all of the journaling questions and all of the deep dives and so yeah, it's really good, beautiful. Well everyone,

we hope you enjoyed. We hope this is causing you to maybe even hit the pause button, start pondering, still searching the deepest parts of who you are and what you value, and feel free to share more with us in our Frugal Friends community group on Facebook. We're hanging out there and talking more about values and how to budget around that. If you've got ideas that you want to share with the community, do that. And we just

want to thank you ultimately for listening. And for those of you who have reviewed us, listen, we live, eat, and breathe off of these reviews. That's dramatic, that's not true, but it is one of the number one ways that you can support the show. So thank you to those who have left kind reviews for us, like this one from m McHale titled fun It is five stars. We do love those for Goal Friends, just because the stars

they say. Frugal Friends is my favorite podcast. I love the range of subjects Jen and Jill cover and how they tie them all back to frugality. Even when I don't think a particular subject is of interest to me, I end up getting something out of the episode. It's smart, useful, and so much fun to listen to. McHale, Thank you

how kind. This is something that stands out to me in a lot of reviews and even just feedback that we get outside of reviews, is episodes relating or bringing benefit or relevancy even when the title or the topic didn't seem like it was going to connect. And I can say that's true for me as well. Sometimes we begin talking about something or we've got to show outline that like, well, this isn't my life stage or it's not something I'm considering now, so we'll see how this goes.

And there is there's always something that we can glean from topics, even if they don't seem like they're absolutely going to relate. So I'm so thrilled to hear that every single one of these episodes can bring value. That's a value that that that's the goal when I am planning and creating outlines is that we appeal to the most people as possible while staying true to being a show about frugality. That's the only parameter is that it has to be frugal. So I'm I'm glad that we

are fulfilling that for you, m Michale. We also want to thank our friends who share these episodes on social media, because I think that's the biggest way that we grow, honestly, besides people searching for particular things in their podcast listening apps. So when you share the late like a screenshot of the latest episode, or maybe you uh share a story of yourself talking about the latest episode. Whatever. When you share those, tag us in them at Frugal Friends podcast

on Facebook or Instagram. We're mostly on Instagram, and we're going to add you once we see that two our monthly drawing. For every five tags and reviews week. At each month, we're giving away a copy of the Frugal Friends Workbook, the o G Frugal Friends Workbook. So keep leaving us those reviews on iTunes or Stitcher. Send that screenshot once you write the review to Frugal Friends Podcasts at gmail dot com. Of course, keep tagging us on social both ways will enter you into that drawing and

we will see you next week. By Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirian Joe. I'm surprised that, um, you didn't say one of your core values was Starbucks. Yeah, I've learned I mean, well, you know from the first time that we recorded this episode that my unpopular opinion that you have to unpopular opinions you need to share both going to share both of them, and we're doing you need to hear doing it post episode because I might lose a few, but you know what, I need

to get this off my chest. You're raving. Fans are going to feel very effect I know they might, but that's okay because there's going to be some people who feel very appreciated and seen. I do not like Target or Starbucks. Okay, exhale, take that in. I'm gonna say more about this. I think everybody on the other end has it. Listen. I think I've dangled this out there in the past, sprinkled it in at times, and now I'm just saying at point blank, I have a very

hard time finding things to purchase that Target. I think that they're overpriced. I don't like really what they're selling. It's a tough store for me. It's not my first choice. Starbucks. I don't think that their coffee is good. I'm a I'm a person who drinks coffee black, so I'm not adding milk sugar flavored syrups uh, and their coffee is just not good and then it's expensive. So no, I don't.

I don't like Starbucks or Target, so that wipes out a massive temptation for me and just the spending arena. I realized that I might be making enemies with my unpopular opinion, but I just had to put it out there. Well, don't worry a one, because you know me, I'm a basic B and I like Starbucks, so I'm here for you. I don't like bougie coffee shops. Um. And it's funny because Travis doesn't like coffee and he thinks Starbucks is the bouge coffee shop and if he only knew, Um,

I'm just I'm just in it for a latte. And and a latte is a hot cup of milk or a cold cup of milk. And so you don't, I mean, you don't really need the best espresso for a latte. And that might be a hot take, yeah, I mean I would push back on that. I think the foundation of what you're making it with has to be quality, and Starbucks this is the mark. So that's a hot take there. Um. So, and I don't buy a lot of Starbucks, though I do actually get their cold brew

with sweet cream um, because that's um. I'm good on that. I like that. I primarily make my coffee at home. I've got about ten different ways to make coffee. So yeah, I took a deep dive into that whole world. I do we all spend money at the local coffee shop, coffee roaster occasionally for a good cup of cappuccino? Yeah, that's do you enjoy that? That's that's life giving to me. But I just don't get me a Target or a

Starbucks gift card. I won't know what to do with it. Okay, well noted, um, But if you want to support the show and send your targets, is that I'll use them. I think Target is just sterile. I love that about it. Again, I don't understand sterile. You want to feel like you're going to a hospital. It's a hospital, like, but no, hospitals aren't sterile, Like, don't get it twisted. Those things are so gross and they smell. Target is truly sterile. You want to be safe. If you want to be safe,

go to Target and you will be safe there. And I believe that, and I don't believe that's a hot take, But I don't buy a lot of stuff. I buy diapers there, the overnight diapers. I buy my regular diapers at all day, and I buy the overnight diapers at Target, and that's pretty much all I buy there. I think all of their design stuff is rip offs of hard working small designers that have done something really well, and then Target comes and like takes over and just does

a crap job of replicating it for cheap. I feel like you might be coming over to my side right now, like with everything you're saying, well, I feel like that about Target. Your essentially around Target, it's super cold and sterile. You can only buy over the diapers there, and they take advantage of hard working people. All those things are true, but I only dislike one of them, so that those are my feelings about Target. Oh gosh, well, we're gonna have to do like part two of Starbucks in the

next time. Yeah, yes, that's all for now. Thanks for handling um this real and raw reality that is my truth.