This spring, we’re focusing our energy on community-building – from our recent political action workshop to helping you retool your budget to be less consumption-minded. And being more community-focused means putting your dollars where they can make the most impact: through a community foundation that’s fueled by people in their local region. 

For those of us here in the NYC area, The New York Community Trust is the region’s trusted community foundation, playing a vital role in making life better for everyone, from those struggling to pay the bills to immigrant families and LGBTQ+ communities, among many more. With more than 2,200 charitable funds created to benefit NYC and beyond, a Donor-Advised Fund at The New York Community Trust is the best first step to make a big difference. A DAF works like a charitable checkbook that lets you give tax-smart, eliminate paperwork, and use a variety of assets. Your fund is invested for growth, meaning your money often goes further than through a simple donation.

Level up your giving to the causes you care about with The New York Community Trust. 

This newsletter was originally shared exclusively with TFD Society members. Below is an excerpt from the full piece. To read the entire entry—and get access to all future Society newsletters—become a member today.

In case you didn't see on Instagram last week (and I'm not so vain as to assume everyone is perfectly up-to-date on what I post to Instagram), my husband and I bought a traditional Provencal farmhouse in Arles, a small city in the south of France.

We've been working on this project for about two years now, and closing on this specific home since last September. It turns out that securing a mortgage as two fiscal residents of the United States -- even if we are both French citizens, me as of a few months ago! -- is much harder than we thought. But here we are: mortgage in hand, with twenty years to go until this home belongs fully to us, and not mostly to Credit Agricole.

As I mentioned on my Instagram post, this home is meant to serve a few purposes. First, it will be our home each May to September. For nearly the last decade, my husband and I have spent several months of every year in France, staying in hotels, Airbnbing, or crashing with family. In the past few years, we've also started renting larger spaces so our friends and family could come through and visit without spending on accommodations -- we hosted 25 people in a single month last year! This has been the great joy of our lives, but it also meant spending between $20,000 and $30,000 each year on rentals with nothing (investment-wise) to show for it. So this home means we will spend more each year -- we'll talk numbers in a bit -- but it's an investment in an asset that we fully expect will retain or increase its value in the decades to come.

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We’re making the above Society Newsletter available to all Patreon members — free and paid — as a small preview of what we share inside The Society. If you want future access to all of Chelsea's home updates (and everything else we offer every month for members), we’re currently offering 35% off annual memberships for both our regular ($4.99) and Premium ($9.99) tiers through midnight Friday. This is the best time to join and get access to everything ahead! Use code SPRING at checkout!

APRIL 8TH: Join us for Your Anti-Overwhelm Approach to Budgeting — a free, live workshop designed to help you build a budgeting system that actually works for your real life (no stress, guilt, or burnout required).

Co-hosted by TFD’s Alexa Claire and Rachel Samara, this session will walk you through how to create a simple, sustainable approach to managing your money—whether you’re starting from scratch or trying again after a few false starts. You’ll leave with practical tools to reduce money anxiety and finally stick to a system that feels doable.

The workshop includes a one-hour presentation followed by a live audience Q&A.

To attend, you’ll need to download Monarch using TFD’s link. Register here.

A quick reminder about one of our most practical resources that you might’ve missed: TFD’s Ultimate Budgeting Guide, created in partnership with our favorite budgeting app, Monarch Money.

This interactive guide helps you identify the budgeting system you’re most likely to stick with—and walks you through exactly how to set it up inside Monarch, step by step. It also includes a 30-day budgeting challenge to help you reset your spending with clarity and intention, not restriction.

All you have to do is sign up for Monarch, and the full guide will be delivered straight to your inbox. If you’ve been meaning to get more consistent with your money, this is an easy, low-lift place to start.

Whether you’re starting fresh or resetting your approach, this is your roadmap to feeling more in control of your money.

The Society at TFD

We’re currently offering 35% off annual memberships on Patreon for both regular ($4.99) and Premium ($9.99) tiers through midnight Friday — this is the best time to join and get access to everything ahead. Use code 'SPRING' at checkout!