These sunflowers have zero regrets

Get ready, get set, and get excited because the much anticipated, the much adored, the much money-saving Uber Frugal Month Group Challenge is BACK!!! Back again! Oh it’s back, tell a friend. Sign-up to join me–and thousands of other Frugalwoods readers–for this free 31-day total revamp of your finances!

The Uber Frugal Month Challenge (UFM) is designed to help you save as much money as you possibly can in a single month and–more importantly–prompts you to ponder the bigger questions surrounding your finances. Such as what you want to do with your life, what your goals are, and how much you’re spending every month. Sound like fun? It totally is!!! And it’s especially fun in the month of July because we’ll be taking the Challenge all together as one big happy frugal group. There’s nothing quite like budgeting with friends! Sign-up by midnight on July 1st in order to join us!

Uber Frugal Month Challenge Signup

We all need encouragement and inspiration on our financial journey! Sign-up to receive an email a day from me for 31 days starting July 1, 2018. Every email has a tip, a mantra, an action item, and recommended reading, all designed to help you transform your finances.

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The NO REGRETS! Challenge (oh yes, the ALL CAPS are necessary)

I’ve decided that our theme for this July Group Challenge is: No Regrets! No matter what you have (or haven’t) done with your money in the past, no matter how disappointed you might feel about where you are financially, no matter how much debt you have, and no matter how discouraged you might be about your financial life, come into this Challenge month with an open mind and no excuses.

Have no regrets about the past. Let go of blaming yourself or others for where you are financially. Eliminate a defeatist mentality. Charge ahead with us this month and allow yourself to have NO REGRETS! This also means you want to DO this Challenge to the fullest. Really dig into it and have no regrets about your participation. I’ll be there in your inbox every single morning encouraging you, cheering for you, and yeah, pushing you to work harder. We’ll do it together and together, we will have no regrets!

And Now For My World-Famous FAQs Section! (probably not actually world-famous, but sounds better than “non world-famous”)

Q: What, exactly, is this Uber Frugal Month Challenge thing?

It’s a 31-day program I created that follows the steps my husband and I took to recalibrate our approach to consumerism, ramp our savings rate up to over 70%, and ultimately, achieve financial independence. To sign-up for the Challenge, enter your email address in the box below and you’ll be all set to go!

Uber Frugal Month Challenge Signup

We all need encouragement and inspiration on our financial journey! Sign-up to receive an email a day from me for 31 days starting July 1, 2018. Every email has a tip, a mantra, an action item, and recommended reading, all designed to help you transform your finances.

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Q: What do you mean “31-day program”? Sounds painful/long.

Preserve your $$$, just like these pickles! And beans!

Not at all painful! Only one month long! You’ll receive an email from me every day for 31 days, starting on July 1, 2018. Each email contains a theme for the day, an action item, links to recommended reading, and a mantra for inspiration.

The first step, which you’ll be prompted to do in the first email, is to read through and complete the questions contained in this post:

Uber Frugal Month: The Ultimate Guide To Saving More Money Than You Ever Thought Possible

You can get started on that adventure now since it does take some time to perform the soul-searching that’s required to really do the Uber Frugal Month with gusto.

Q: Who should take the UFM?

Anyone and everyone!

  • If you’ve never been frugal a day in your life, but are ready to improve your financial health and make real changes in how you manage your money, then the UFM is for you.
  • If you feel like you’re in an awesome place with your frugality, the UFM is a nice touch-up and a good reminder of why you’re frugal and how you might augment your savings and your overall philosophical approach to a simple, fulfilling lifestyle.
  • If you previously took the UFM but bailed without finishing (no judgment from me) or weren’t ready to follow through on all of the action items, now’s your chance to try it again.
  • If you thought about taking it last time, but didn’t sign-up, do it now!
  • If you’ve already taken the Challenge, but want to touch base with where you are on your financial journey, join us again!
  • If you took the Challenge before and had so much fun hanging out in the Frugalwoods Uber Frugal Month Facebook group that you want to hang out with us again, sign-up!
  • If you think you might want to save more money, but aren’t sure, join us.
  • If you have no clue what your longterm financial goals are (or even how much money you have or how much money you’re spending), then the UFM is definitely for you!

Q: Do I need to use Facebook (or other social media) in order to participate?

Nope! The Challenge is conducted entirely via email and here on Frugalwoods. The UFM Facebook page is a totally optional bonus. No need to sign-up for Facebook in order to participate in the UFM. All you have to do is sign-up with your email address in the box below.

Q: If I’ve already taken the UFM, can I take it again?

Absolutely! I had my tech guy (aka Mr. Frugalwoods) set up the email thing-y such that you can sign-up to re-take the Challenge with the same email address you used to take the Challenge previously. You do, however, need to sign-up again in order to join us starting July 1st.

Uber Frugal Month Challenge Signup

We all need encouragement and inspiration on our financial journey! Sign-up to receive an email a day from me for 31 days starting July 1, 2018. Every email has a tip, a mantra, an action item, and recommended reading, all designed to help you transform your finances.

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Q: What does it mean to take the UFM as a group in the month of July?

 

Everything is better with friends!

It means that I will moderate the UFM Facebook page every day and lead discussions with conversation prompts to help you along your journey. This Facebook page is active only twice a year during the two months that we take the Challenge as a group (January and July). You can join the Uber Frugal Month Facebook page here. Note that this is different from the regular Frugalwoods Facebook page, which I moderate year-round.

If you take the Challenge in July, you’re doing so with the knowledge that thousands of other frugal adherents are participating in the UFM right alongside you. There’s power and motivation in knowing that you are not alone on this epic frugal journey.

Q: How much does the UFM cost to take?

It is absolutely free! So, no excuses!

Q: How do I know if my sign-up was successful?

You’ll receive an email from me confirming your registration. The Challenge will commence on July 1, 2018!

Q: When are the UFM emails sent?

 

You’ll receive an email from me every single morning for the entire month (July 1-July 31, 2018) at 5:00am EST. The emails are sent automatically at the same time everyday to everyone signed up for the Challenge so, fear not, they will arrive. I’m also paranoid about the emails so I manually check every morning to make sure they’re sent!

Please note that the time at which emails are delivered to your inbox depends upon your email and internet providers–some providers are slower than others to deliver messages. If you suspect you’re not receiving your UFM emails, please do the following:

  • First, check your spam and all other folders (search for “UFM” as every email begins with that title in the subject line).
  • Second, if you think you’ve accidentally unsubscribed from the Challenge, you can sign-up again on the blog.

Unfortunately, due to the volume of Frugalwoods readers who sign-up for the Challenge, I can’t send out the emails individually. We are a two-person team over here–me and Mr. Frugalwoods—and much as I would love to email each of you personally, I have very real limitations on my time as a work-from-home mama of two small children and a homesteader on 66 acres. People, I don’t even have time to brush my hair everyday (and it shows… ).

Q: Can I access the UFM in any other way?

Nope, you gotta sign-up for the emails.

 

Q: How should I prepare for the Challenge?

  1. Read Uber Frugal Month: The Ultimate Guide To Saving More Money Than You Ever Thought Possible and follow all of the instructions contained in that post.
  2. Join the UFM Facebook page and introduce yourself!
  3. Start tracking your expenses ASAP if you’re not already doing so. I use and recommend the free online expense tracker through Personal Capital.
  4. Be proud of yourself for taking this powerful step toward creating the life you want to live–not the life you have to live.
  5. Invite a friend to take the Challenge with you!
  6. Have no regrets!

Q: Can I take the UFM after July 2018?

Yes! You can sign-up to take the UFM at any time, but the Group Challenge is only offered in January and July. Sign-up by July 1 in order to join us!

Real Live People Love The UFM!!!

Fun as it is to read what I write (right?!), it’s even MORE fun to read what other people (real, live people!) have said about their participation in the Uber Frugal Month Challenge. Lucky for you, I’ve collected testimonials from past Challenge participants who’ve written heartfelt notes about how the UFM revolutionized their finances and ultimately, their lives. Here are but a few selected for your enjoyment:

Samantha wrote,

I just wanted to say thank you for such an awesome, in depth, thought provoking challenge. I am happy to report that despite the fact everyone in my life thinks I’m crazy for doing it, this month has been hugely rewarding for me so far both financially and mentally.

To really get into the spirit and force ourselves to make a change,  my partner and I have imposed a strict 0 tolerance for extraneous expenses during this challenge. We have found in eliminating our capability to be indecisive on every small purchase it has become easier and easier to say no. The rewards have been far greater than the sum of all of those vending machine bags of chips and Starbucks runs with coworkers. I have truly been able to shift my mindset towards my purchasing habits, my mindless swiping days are over and I’m taking control back. My savings rate has sky rocketed, allowing me to finally answer the question I have for myself at the end of every single month that poses “BUT WHERE IS IT ALL GOING?”

Even though I’ve had a Mint account for years, it always seemed like the small purchases were too small to really count for anything significant or be considered that bad, they are in fact that bad! I now find satisfaction in this self imposed discipline and it has inspired me to get back into my healthy eating regime as well, since it’s very much the same mentality in a lot of ways! So thank you, it’s been hugely helpful and I love all of these articles and email prompts that so eloquently keep me on track and focused.

Kaitlyn shared,

I just wanted to say thanks for your blog and for running the Uber Frugal Month Challenge! My husband and I have been following your blog for over a year. We’ve always been pretty good at managing our money – I’m an early-career academic with very little income, and we try to live off my husband’s salary and save mine… But your blog has changed the way we look at money and our financial/life goals and has really made a difference in our lives!
It’s crazy to me how much we spend in a month, even when we try so hard not to! A lot of it is high cost of living (and high expectations for gifts, etc., from family… that’s another story). But a lot of it is clearly discretionary – we spent about $1,000 less than our 6-month average this month! And that included a trip to Miami that we had already planned (plane tickets bought previously). We still have a long way to go to FIRE, but we’re definitely making improvements.
Lisa wrote,
Thank you for the month of helpful tips on frugality. I really enjoyed your daily emails and will miss them! I was able to save $600 this month and will continue the frugal living program.
Kristanna shared,
Thanks so much for sharing your way of life with all. I’ve enjoyed this intro to frugal month very much & really loved how via osmosis my Mr is adapting! He is not on board and will not be denied…. and yet he is showing me some brand new -0- balances on a couple credit cards & suddenly he has money in his pocket all of the time! I think part of it for us is that since I had the cut up credit cards celebration after I paid them all off- he realizes I’m not going to bail him out any more!! Beautiful thing!
I’d like to add here a recent concept that I read about concerning waste & recycling. Even the stained, faded, torn, “holy” old clothes and most all fabric can be recycled at major thrift stores. They are sent to rag mills! Apparently fabric & anything covered up by it takes a very long time to breakdown in the landfill. Love this & now have that pile to recycle along with the usual.
Belinda wrote,
I saved $615.88 extra this month, on top of my usual 50% savings. I gave up eating out entirely, which I typically budget for $100 monthly. I also gave up extras at the grocery, cookies and cakes, which costs about $25 monthly. I am a candy fiend, and also had to cut out the $25 monthly I usually spend on candy at Rite Aid. Giving up liquor and wine was hard, but worth it for another $100! I ran out of wine, which turned out surprisingly well, I only missed it briefly at dinner, but just reduced liquor intake and did fine.
The rest was cutting transport by not going out as much or shopping, and of course the not shopping at all (books, so many books) at home either. The daily emails were tremendously helpful in reminding me why I am doing this, I particularly found writing my goals and wrapping them around my wallet a wonderful tactic. That stays! I am also permanently giving up wine and reducing liquor consumption by half. However, the cookies, cakes, and candy are going back in the budget. That is what I really missed. Most surprising, I did not miss eating out for more than a minute here and there. It is clear to me now that I really only want to eat out socially, I would almost always rather eat my own cooking. This was a wonderful experience and I am so glad I did it! Thank you!
Sarah said,
Thank you SO much for this month of inspiration! For the first time in over a year I didn’t feel the need to check our bank account balance because I knew we always had enough to cover any unexpected expenses that came our way. We are now starting the year with a small surplus and hope to build on our success with an uber frugal month every other month.
Bianca wrote,
…thank you for all the work and thought that went into creating a sort of crash-course into frugalism. I couldn’t have stumbled upon your site at a better time, in December the hubby and I decided to dub 2018 as #TheYearOfFrugality! I posted about this in a group sharing that we are making intentional effort to be more frugal in many of our casual Amazon-prime ways in an effort to save up to pay cash for an anniversary trip in 2020. I had a few scoffers but I ignored them. I loved your day on teaching about the idea of Luxuriously Frugal because that blends so well with our minimalist journey we’ve been on for about 5 years.
We don’t have debt, but we do like nice things. And that’s ok – for US. We are the only ones who decide what means most to us, and we can invest in those things and not feel bad about it! Anyway, this was the perfect course to start off this year and I am already so encouraged and effected with my purchases (or lack there of) this month. Thank you again – I’m so excited to see more benefit that comes from continuing this journey the rest of the year…and hopefully beyond! As you mentioned, I don’t think I’ll ever totally go back to mindless (& wasteful) spending now that I realize how little that satisfied and how much I wasted on it!
Brandy shared,
I considered myself naturally frugal in many ways before starting this challenge–no cable for years, lover of all second hand goods, affordable car/ house, and low-key coupon user. Initially, I wasn’t sure what I would gain but it proved quite helpful.
This month made me much more aware of my spending. I started tracking and budgeting with an app quickly realizing I was overspending in several categories despite my efforts to save with sales and coupons. I was doing this loosely in my head before and didn’t realize how far off I was from my savings goals and my budget! What was key for me was setting clear goals for spending and saving. I was moving over unspent money at the end of the month to savings before and not saving on the front end. This will, no doubt, be a huge positive difference.
Dana wrote,
Thank you so much for the UFM! I’ve learned so much from you in a short period of time. I am extremely motivated to carry these lessons forward with my husband to accomplish some short and long term goals of paying off our graduate student loans, buy secondary real estate, and become financially independent well before age 65.
Pamela shared,
I have been frugal for the last few years, but executing the Uber Frugal this month has made it even easier. Easier? Why…well, finally your advice on living my own life rather than keeping up with the Jonses finally kicked in. I won’t go into great detail, but I have managed to cut my own and my cats’ expenses by about 1/3 during January and plan to go further — now, I have to concentrate on finding a less expensive place to live which will not be easy to do. Thanks for all the advice and rah-rahs you give us.
Karen wrote,
Thank you so much for this month of inspiration. It has come at the perfect time for me as I am on maternity leave and my income has dropped by over half. I was dreading “surviving” this time but now I find myself excited by finding ways to be frugal and thrifty. As a result I have now actually asked my employer for MORE time off to be at home with the bub, rather than thinking I HAD to go back to work to be a slave to the dollar. Thank you for helping me see what’s important and approaching this new lifestyle with a positive attitude. 
Elizabeth shared,
I already thought I was the most frugal I could be (freelance cinematographer living in an expensive city with expensive gear, etc). I never eat out, rarely buy any personal effects (usually second hand if I do), my mom cuts my hair, I shop for necessities cheaply, etc. I took the challenge more out of curiosity than thinking it would directly help me.
You opened up my eyes on some little extra expenses I had unnecessarily decided I needed, which are now cut:
1) I was renting a viola for $30 a month that I never found time to play.
2) I reduced my gym membership from national access to local access only (saving me $10/month)
3) I found out I’ve been spending an extra $3/month on Google Play (which I use daily) by buying it through Apple versus Google. Same service, $3/month saved. Unbelievable.
$516 a year isn’t earth shattering, but when you’re already a frugal weirdo, it feels like an accomplishment. 🙂
Shumi shared,

I enjoy reading your simple but practical ideas and look forward to reading your posts every day.

I have enjoyed the journey of UFM with you.  For me, most important part of being frugal is I have more time – to do things I enjoy in the long run rather than wasting time, money and energy buying stuff!  The second critical part for me is actually knowing where I spend my money – yeah I consider myself a pretty savvy person financially but didn’t know where my money was actually going until recently!  I signed up for Personal Capital at your recommendation and that has been a HUGE help. Thank you so much for sharing your life.  Being generously offering ideas and means to be free – financially and live a more meaningful life.
Donna wrote,
This month was wonderful!  I was able to pay off Christmas in full and start the New Year without debt 🙂  I plan on going on another month with “Frugal February”.  I always give up something for Lent, I think this year it will be Target, LOL.
Molly said,
Thank you so much for making frugality feel doable. I’m a graduate student and I’m about to enter the real world, so finances have been on my mind for a while. However, growing up with two parents who are big time spenders made it feel IMPOSSIBLE to save money. Taking little steps at a time made it less overwhelming. This month I was able to bring my savings rate from 0% to 50% of my income. I already am experiencing more freedom as I look to a future where I will have financial stability. I wasn’t perfect this month, but instead of being down on myself, I’m focusing on what I’ve accomplished and how I can improve in the future.
Wendy wrote,
I’m so glad I found your blog and all the info surrounding it. I’ve always had a high debt level, but a well paying job I love to go with it. I put all my bills on autopay and never really thought about money. I do some freelancing, and last August was a good month, so I was surprised at the end that I didn’t have much money left over…I started tracking my spending in September, just to see where it was going, and was absolutely shocked at how much I was mindlessly spending each month. So, I’ve been tracking my $$ monthly since then, and feeling pretty good about trimming the fat, that it turns out I don’t miss (much) at all!
Much more of my money is going to pay down debt, I’m eating healthier, and I’ve lost weight, because I’m not grabbing food on the go. I’m actually wearing the ridiculous amount of clothing already in my closet, and I’m feeling good about my choices. I found your blog through a google search for “frugal living” or some such, and took the uber frugal challenge in January. I cut my spending in half! And, I’m excited to continue into February, so I think I’m on the way to changing some very old spending habits in my life. Your daily emails and encouraging tone were so helpful.
Trisha wrote,
I wanted to take a few minutes to thank you for being such a positive motivation for me and for taking the time to do the UFM challenge. You’ve definitely made an impact in my life as well as the few friends that I’ve shared your messages and teachings with ( I motivated a few of them so yay to us!)
I’ve always had a unhealthy relationship with money and it’s been something I’ve known I have to change for a while. I grew up in a broken home where I would say we lived a middle class lifestyle but my mother had and still has terrible spending habits. She would forget to pay bills, overspend on gifts, impulsively buy things and we would eat out a few times a week every week. So needless to say I didn’t have a great role model when it came to money management and saving.
My boyfriend and I have just purchased our first house together this year, my first house his second, and it was a big deal for me. Nobody in my family owns a home, so renting is quite normal in my family. I’ve always spent money without thinking or planning. Eating out and buying whatever new outfit I wanted was normal for me because I have a great job and was never in the situation where I felt strapped. Now that all of my savings have went into purchasing this dream house of ours things are different. I will need to save and change my ways to get my savings back and I will need to stop impulsively buying whatever I want. This month has been a GREAT lesson for me, I’ve always known that I emotionally shop ( just like emotionally eating) but what I learnt this month is that I do it when I’m happy AND sad.
Here’s an example, I got a promotion at work this month ( yay me!) but my immediate reaction after getting the call and calling my boyfriend was “I need to go buy something to celebrate.” That was so interesting to me because I’ve taken the 72 hour rule very seriously this month and it made me realize my natural impulse to spending is pretty unhealthy. I mean some people eat or drink or do drugs and I shop. Haha.
So needless to say I’ve learnt a lot about myself and my relationship to spending this month. I’m happy to say I don’t think these lessons or this new mindset is going anywhere, it’s something I’m committing to maintaining. So thank you again for your lessons, your time, your inspiration and your honesty.
Rebecca shared,
…just wanted to thank you so much for this challenge! I was looking for something beyond the “stop buying latte’s, eating out and buying new shoes” advice, none of which we do anyways! Great thought provoking topics and articles. They really helped me identify some behaviors that sabotage my savings efforts.

Barbara wrote,

I really wanted to thank you for hosting the UFM – it’s been an amazing journey for me and I’m really glad I was able to catch the last UFM the Frugal Nation took as a group! Thanks for going through with it despite all the other stuff that’s going on in your life!
The absolutely best thing UFM did for me was that it inspired a lot of soul-searching. It helped me break free of the “treat yourself” culture, get my priorities in order, and, most importantly, re-visit our family goals with my husband and make sure we’re still on the same page about what we want to do with the next few years of our lives. I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person over the past month – thanks again!

Maddy said,

My hubby and I took the uber frugal month challenge together and saved $2,300 more than the previous month (we were already in at ~53% gross savings for a few months). Our gross savings increased to 66.95% this month and we were finally able to get our expenses under $4K/mo!  We’ve set savings goals for the rest of the year to keep the momentum going.  This challenge has simplified and improved our lives. We’re working as a team, communicating better than ever, eating healthier, drinking less alcohol, and exercising more (both have lost a few lbs!). The ripple effect from being frugal is incredible.
Your post about JL Collins’ The Simple Path to Wealth and investing was a game changer for my husband and I.  It took a few years to get him on board and that book made all the difference.  We started making changes late September 2017 and have opened an investment account and 457, moved one of our retirement accounts from a high expense provider to Vanguard, paid off a car (about $5k), switched to cheaper coffee, and more.

Start Now And Don’t Look Back

Starting anything new is scary. It’s hard to step outside of what we’re comfortable with and for many of us, we’re in a comfortable rut with our money. The Uber Frugal Month is a chance to reset that rut. To evaluate everything about your relationship with money and to recalibrate how you spend. While it’s technically a “money-saving challenge,” the UFM is about much more than just banking extra cash. The month is designed to help you build a healthier approach to your money and to get at the root of why you spend, why you feel you need more, and how to create happiness on less, and with less.

These lilacs have no regrets. They’re purple and they know it.

Ultimately, the Uber Frugal Month is about identifying what you want to do with your life and identifying how to bring your money into alignment with those goals. Where you want to be in 10 years is a much better guidepost for how to structure your finances than simply budgeting and plodding along on a month-to-month basis. And that is exactly what the UFM prompts you to articulate. I want you to THINK BIG. Question your life. Question how you use your money. Question how you use your time. Question what you REALLY WANT to do with the time you have on earth.

Ok I realize that sounds overwhelming and overwhelmed is precisely how I felt when I started my journey toward living the life I want to live, not the live I felt like I should live or had to live. But here’s the thing: you can either start working towards your longterm goals now, or you can waste time and fritter away months and years during which you could’ve been making actionable, positive changes in your life. Start today and don’t look back. Part of having no regrets is ensuring that the steps you take today–and every day that follows–are living up to your expectations. Have no regrets about your money going forward.

The Challenge starts on July 1, 2018; sign-up now to ensure you’ll be joining us on this life-improving, transformative, no regrets journey.

Have you taken the UFM before? Are you signing up for July? Are you ready to have no regrets about your money?

Uber Frugal Month Challenge Signup

We all need encouragement and inspiration on our financial journey! Sign-up to receive an email a day from me for 31 days starting July 1, 2018. Every email has a tip, a mantra, an action item, and recommended reading, all designed to help you transform your finances.

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40 Comments

  1. Woot! We did the UFM back before it was even a challenge. It helped us save loads if money and encouraged me to cut my own hair. Looking forward to doing it again.

  2. Small thing in case you want to fix it: the signup success message says to expect the first email January 1st. Looking forward to the first email!

  3. Woot woot! I’m glad the challenge is back. This is perfect timing to be frugal. It’s the time to declutter and also time for higher spending due to travel, fun activities, and great food!

    P.S. Hubby and I were doing a frugal road trip to Raleigh. And I was binge reading your Travel posts and felt really inspired by them hehe. 😉

  4. Can’t wait for this! When I completed it in Jan, it really was life changing. Luckily, I’ve been able to stick with most of the frugal tips, and have done quite well! But it was so much fun, I can’t wait to do this again!

  5. Looking forward to this and just signed up! I wanted to let you know that the confirmation I got after my email was accepted read “Success! Check your email for a list of readings to prepare for January 1.” rather than July 1. Thanks!

    1. Nope! The Challenge is conducted via email and here on Frugalwoods. The Facebook page is totally optional :).

  6. Not sure if we should do this or not. We will be doing IVF that month, and that is the opposite of frugal (although we are paying cash- well cash back card with cash repayment the same day). Although usually we are quite good at not spending extra besides the IVF related expenses and one or two dinners out.

    1. I am wishing you all the very best with your IVF!!! The Uber Frugal Month is designed to help people identify their highest and best priorities for their money and also outline their longterm goals. While one of the goals of the month is to save a lot of money, the overarching goal for the UFM is to chart longterm strategies for how you use your money. Since IVF is a longterm, overarching type of goal, I’d say it’s perfectly consistent with an Uber Frugal Month :)!

    1. Glad to have you! If you’re not seeing the emails in your inbox, check your spam folder–sometimes they sneak into there :).

  7. Participating in this challenge next month comes at the perfect timing for me! I’ll be starting med school in August, so I hope the habits I develop and the insights I gain will stick for the next four years!

  8. Okay, so I signed up for one previous one but it was a crazy time. I was recovering from a surgery and just not in the best spot. So I’m giving it another shot. This may sound strange but I need constant reminders that I’m supposed to be saving money.
    One thing–I have my car scheduled for a detail service in July. Should I keep that appointment? Probably a super frugal person would do it herself but the car is filthy and I can never get it as spic and span as they can. I live in a rural area and my guy is super busy so it took me like two months to get the appointment. Any thoughts? If anyone thinks I should do it myself, do you know of any really great youtube tutorials on detailing your own car?

    1. If your appointment isn’t until July, why don’t you take a little time to try detailing it yourself? If you manage to do an awesome job of cleaning it, then yay you and then you can cancel your appointment while still giving your guy plenty of time to book someone else in your place. If you don’t, then you can reevaluate. If you drive people around a lot, especially for work, then it might make sense for you to spend the money. If it’s only you 99% of the time, can you deal with your car being clean but not perfect? You might realize that this is something that’s really important to you, and that’s wonderful to know, and find something else that’s not so important to you that you can cut (if you need to).

      I’m honestly not the best at cleaning my car, but my tip would be to use a good vacuum. Either our hand vacuum doesn’t seem to have enough suction or I’m just extra messy. 🙂 So I will drag out the stand up vacuum if I really need to get the car clean.

    2. Depends what you mean by detailing. But if it’s cleaning windows, wiping surfaces and vacuuming floors, then yes, I think it is something you could cancel for UFM. Sunshine is right, if you really care about it then list it as one of your long term aims. But I’m guessing that you probably could cut it out. You might even find you enjoy the sense of achievement of doing it yourself!

  9. I am hoping to get some insider tips and tricks on the Personal Capital usage. I don’t see how to “Tag” my expenses, which seems like the best way to categorize them as “luxury” vs. “necessity” (the “fixed mandatory” vs. the “discretionary” labels)!! Please help.! Thanks! ‘looking forward to the UFM!

  10. Yay! I will admit to starting this but not finishing it the last time. So I really appreciate your motto for this go round. Although, I always read it as “no regerts” from the Milky Way commercial. 🙂

    Hubby and I are trying to get ourselves fired up (just excited right now – not the other FIRE term just yet) to reach some goals so this might just be the motivation we need to get us there. I did a victory dance yesterday when I was able to call our trash pickup people and ask them to downgrade us to the next can size. It saves us $9.50 a month! Not exactly a mortgage payment, but it’s $114 a year that we don’t need to spend and I’m sure that if we invested it smartly over the next decade then it would eventually add up to a mortgage payment! 🙂

  11. I’m so excited about the UFM!!! I love the Facebook group even though I totally can’t stand Facebook. I get so sad when it ends.

    I will be so happy to chime in about my favorite frugal hacks and hear all of the great ideas that Frugalwoods Nation has to offer. Just the act of talking about how to save money on a daily basis reinforces its importance to me.

  12. What a great challenge! I never thought of taking a whole month to be Uber Frugal but it definitely seems worth it. Also, it seems extra challenging to do during summer month. It will be great to see how much I can save and how frugal I can be without diminishing my quality of life.

  13. Round three for us… Let’s do this! EVERY time I’ve done this challenege, it always recalibrates us, and gets us back to a solid frugal baseline. Even though we’ve consistently saved >80% of our income the past few years. THANK YOU! AAAAnnnnd since my wife and I are a military family who will be stationed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire next year, I’ve started to follow your content with a fresh interest, knowing we may have our own little patch of new england heaven to call home next year. We’re in for a major learning curve about winter life, both being originally from Calfiornia, and recently stationed in Guam for the last 3 years, but your writing about living in VT should get us started on the right foot. Thanks for your work and how you influence so many of us for the better, near or far!

  14. I did your January challenge and the momentum continued well into the year but now I’m flagging and need a boost! Looking forward to joining you all next month.
    Amanda from UK

  15. I think this challenge is right up my alley! I love finding ways to reduce my spending without compromising my quality of life — excited to see what I’ll learn next month 🙂

  16. LOVE the UFM challenge, I’ve actually done it twice a year for the last few, just never lined up with when you were “hosting” it. But that’s part of what I love about it, anyone can do it at any time! Really helps me cull my priorities and figure out what is worth spending on!

  17. So excited to do this challenge again. Round #3 in January was when things really started to click for me and I was able to move from feeling like frugality was less of a daily test of willpower and more like a habit. My mindset is finally catching up with my now-more-clearly-defined life goals. I’m also excited to see my kids internalize more frugal and mindful behaviors as they see mom and dad shifting more consistently in that direction. Yay!

  18. Very much looking forward to the challenge month! I’m recently separated and while almost all the household expenses fell to me, now absolutely ALL of them do. So, I need to get rocking on building up that emergency fund and looking at what my new life priorities are. Thanks so much for motivating us along Mrs. FW. And, how cute is that toddler of yours! (I always like the little headbands)

  19. I am SO excited to take part in this! I had been thinking I want to track all of our expenses and get a clear picture on where our money is actually going – we have the goal of paying off our remaining student loan balance of $19,000 by the end of 2018.
    This will help so much – especially because I already know that a big money drain for us is TAKEOUT – we are a household of 2 working adults and our kids…it’s easy to fall into the pit of too frequent meals on the run.
    Is anyone doing prep work in anticipation of the challenge? Like meal planning, grocery stocking up, etc?

  20. Yay! Looking forward to this. We can definitely use a check on our finances. I feel like we’ve been doing really well but there is always room for improvement!

  21. Somehow I stumbled on to your blog. (I’m from Belgium). I’m a single mom with a lovely 4 year old daughter. We have it quite difficult financially. So this challenge comes right on time. I hope to learn a lot about frugalism. Thanks already all the way from Belgium.

  22. I am not going to be able to do a July challenge due it being vacation time and we want to be able to use our money then and do fun things like we planned even if they are not the most frugal choices. We are still doing a pretty frugal vacation (staying in a cabin for free mostly) but we have all longed to go to the zoo with the kids and a couple not strictly necessary outings. However, I do want to see what is said here so I can be inspired to either do one myself or go for the one in January.

  23. Today is my first day back to work from Cancer Medical Leave and I am getting back in the swing of things by joining your Frugal Month Challenge! I am already quite frugal but there is always room for improvement. I also need to restart my own frugality blog now that I am back from medical leave so I will make posting on my blog part of the challenge. Having my income reduced during medical leave (I got disability pay) and the related medical bills reinforced my commitment to frugality so I am ready to take it to the next level. Thanks for the inspiration!

  24. I did this a year and a half ago, but I think I’m ready to do it again. My income has dropped since then, and I need to re-examine my expenditures to see where I can save more. Health issues keep cropping up for my husband, but that can’t be helped, and I might as well learn to live with those issues in the budget. I’m in!

  25. Just decided July wasn’t my best month for this(we went on a 2 week vacation)….going to make August my UFM!!! Just planning to reread the emails and go all in!

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