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🧰 Your December Budget Toolkit
11/24/23 - Friday
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Hey frannndss!
With November almost in our rearview, it’s time to set our sights on December.
This is a big one.
As we close out the year we have so many things vying for our attention, time, and money.
If we’re not careful we will spend far beyond our emotional and financial capacities; but we don’t want you feeling depleted!
So let’s prepare ourselves for an amazing month ahead and set ourselves up for a fantastic 2024!
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What to Include in December’s Budget
🎊 Festivities. There’s plenty of free stuff to enjoy, but if there are events you hope to engage in that cost money, be sure to add that as a line-item!
✈️ Travel. Will you be traveling in December? Even if flights/lodging are already booked and paid for, be sure to consider any ancillary expenses (i.e. extra food costs, replacing forgotten items, host gifts, etc.)
🎁 Gifts. Don’t forget kids’ school parties, work parties, and any gift exchanges you may be taking part in.
🔔 Reminder: Giving should be done freely and NOT under compulsion. You have permission to prioritize, simplify, and streamline your gift-giving this year. A simple we won’t be participating in ____ this year will suffice!
If you need extra encouragement check out Ep 300 How to Say “No” To Family & Friends Who Want You To Spend - EP 300
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What’s on Sale?
🔌 Electronics. Even with Black Friday behind us, December continues to be a great time of year for laptops, smartwatches, phones, and headphones
🕹️ Toys and games. The Saturday before Christmas often sees last minute discounts on these items, so waiting isn’t the worst idea :)
🎄 Christmas decor. If you’re wishin’ you had more holiday pizazz around your home, WAIT UNTIL DEC. 26th to get the faux tree, garland, lights, and ornaments. You will thank yourself next year! And be proud of yourself this year.
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December’s Big Money Move
Prepare for No Spend January! ☝
Now is the time to plan for and implement the money goals you’ve been pondering. To set you on the right trajectory, we highly recommend engaging in a No-Spend January challenge. If you’ve never done one of these before, now’s your chance!
We’ve got helpful resources to assist in your planning from How To Prepare For A No-Spend Challenge (The Secret To Sticking To It!) and a workbook to Jen’s actual book: The No Spend Challenge Guide, we have everything you need to prepare for a financially stellar January!
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What to Cook
Remember to keep your meals simple and nutrient dense this month! With the dessert offerings at an all time high, we need few barriers to having some veggie and protein packed meals on hand! Consider adding these to your rotation:
On Tuesday we released our episode on Frugal Side Hustle: AirBnB Rooms and Co-Hosting. As we all consider ways to increase our income without depleting our energy, this is a great one to queue up to learn if this side hustle is right for you!
Today (Friday!) we released Frugality is Giving Big Impact Energy. This is a great one for Black Friday and we encourage you to bring us along to whatever you’re doing as we attempt to encourage, motivate, and inspire you towards your best possible financial self!
Tune in wherever you get podcasts and let us know what you thought of the episode over on our latest Instagram post!
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On a scale of 1-5 how excited are you for no-spend January (5 = beyond excited, it’s just what I need!) |
Catch ya later,
⭐️⭐️ P.S. Want to share all this goodness with your friends AND earn cool Frugal Friends merch?
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