Finding Contentment in Your Season

06/14/24 - Friday

Happy Friday, Friends!

For me (Misti), June tends to be a time for self-reflection and a perfect opportunity for a midyear check-in on my annual goals. 📅

And let’s just say… I’m not very pleased with my progress. I notice a dip in my motivation to keep paying off debt instead of spending money doing fun things with my friends.

I know I can’t be alone in this!

Despite my disappointment, it’s highlighting the importance of reorienting goals to align with our current season. ✨

Sometimes it’s okay to slow down a bit and other times it’s good to speed up. Our paths to values-based living may not be perfect, but finding contentment along the way will help us navigate each season well. The best way to do this is with gratitude!

Gratitude is the practical implementation of contentment and it’s what makes values-based living and spending sustainable.

It’s also the tool that moves us out of whatever extreme we find ourselves in.

How to Cultivate a Mindset of Gratitude 🙏🏻

This process will certainly look different for everyone, but there are some solid principles that can help guide this pursuit.

When cultivating a mindset of gratitude it’s important to focus on 2 things:

1. Acknowledging the good things you currently have within your status, situation, and stuff. 🙌🏽 I hate to admit it, but I am very much a glass-half-empty kind of person. Especially in seasons of stress, it is critical to intentionally acknowledge what is going well and celebrate the hard work you’ve already done to improve your spending and live a rich life beyond the monetary definition. 

It helps to incorporate some key questions during times of self-reflection: 

  • What DO I have as a result of this current season?

  • In what ways am I experiencing the benefits of the 4 F’s (faith, family, friends, fulfilling work)?

  • What benefits have I received TODAY?

2. Identifying the role others play in bringing goodness into your life. 👥 We don’t have to walk our journeys alone. Take the time to show your friends and loved ones how much you appreciate them. When you include others in your practice of gratitude, it not only solidifies your thoughts further, it encourages you to keep cultivating this grateful mindset. And others receive the benefit of feeling noticed and appreciated.

On Tuesday, Jen and Jill covered a really fun topic: Staycations Revisited (Ep 414). A great vacation doesn’t always have to involve a lot of travel!

I’m deep in the messy middle of my debt-payoff journey, so I LOVE a good debt-payoff story for motivation. Today, Jen and Jill shared a great one with DFS: How Catherine Paid Off $27,000 in Student Loan in 5 Months (Ep 415).

Tune in wherever you get podcasts and let us know what you thought of the episode over on our latest Instagram post!

Misti’s picks for a stellar weekend.

✅ Listen: My Instagram algorithm has me discovering a bunch of new artists. My favorite this week: Pretty Bird by Miles Hardt.

✅ Watch: This amazing TED talk on gratitude by Cristina Costa: How Gratitude Rewires your Brain.

✅ Do: A little more self-reflection… have you checked on your retirement investment accounts lately? If you’ve been meaning to roll over any old 401Ks, check out Capitalize, a free tool that finds your old 401ks & rolls them over into an IRA of your choice. **

✅ Meal Plan: I’m a major Trader Joe’s girly, and I am obsessed with their Southwesern Chopped Salad Kit. Usually, I just pair it with their sriracha tofu and an avocado for an easy, no-cook dinner. But I saw this recipe on Instagram from @nutritionbymia and might start shaking it up a bit! 😋

Do you prefer your tofu... 💭

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Enjoy your weekend,
Misti

⭐️⭐️ P.S. Want to share all this goodness with your friends AND earn cool Frugal Friends merch?

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