I ran both budgeting frameworks side by side for three months on the same income. Here's the real numbers, the one rule that broke immediately, and the hybrid I actually use now.
A real list of sinking fund categories I tried for 12 months, with the dollar amounts I actually saved into each, the ones that paid off, and the ones I'm killing in 2026.
A dumb-simple rule that cut my impulse spending by about $90 a month with zero willpower. Here's the exact setup, the numbers from three months of running it, and the two times I broke it on purpose.
A manual burr grinder under $100 beats every electric in the same price band. We tested the Timemore C2, 1Zpresso Q2 and the rest side by side.
Six weeks, five moka pots, one $5-a-day coffee shop habit. We ranked the stovetop espresso makers that actually replace the cafe cup and which fall flat.
The Uber Frugal Month works as a diagnostic for what you actually miss. Run it for 30 days, log the gaps, and the answer is more useful than the savings.