WEBVTT - Mind Altering Effects of Simple Money Tricks #320 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:02.640 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I and 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:06.680 that today we're discussing the mind altering effects of simple 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:27.720 money tricks. Maybe we should have called this with the 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:32.040 Psychedelic Effects of Handling your Money properly. I know, mind 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:33.960 altering does sound like we're going down another road, but 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:36.640 we're not talking about anything drug related here, No, it's 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.520 just truly implementing some of these tricks is actually can 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:42.760 have significant effects on your brain and how your brain 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:45.000 thinks about money. Yeah, exactly. We started thinking about this 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:48.000 episode and we realized we were specifically we're talking about 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:50.120 some of these techniques or tricks that we can implement 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:52.920 in our lives. But what we realized we're so important 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:54.960 about these specific ones that we're gonna talk about today 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:57.880 is the impact that that it can have on our psyche. Right, 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:00.560 it can completely shift the way that we think about money. 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:02.200 And when you have sort of this shift in the 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.600 like the undercurrent and you know, and how you've used something, 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:07.399 it can dramatically affect how it is that you go 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:09.720 about handling something like your money. And so that's exactly 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:11.600 what we're gonna talk about today, buddy, no doubt. All right, 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:14.040 But before we get to that, Matt, you just recently 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:17.440 told me about kind of this revolutionary way to to 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:19.440 dry out your phone if you dropped in the toilet, 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:21.160 which almost all of our listeners I'm sure you've done 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.240 at some point or another, or not dropping in the toilet. 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:25.480 I thought about you specifically because you're talking about your 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.000 old phone. How easy, how he would just keep sticking 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:29.760 the end of it in his mouth. I was like, 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.040 even for that, uh, this technique would work. Okay. So yeah, 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:34.759 this is a great, great thing that came across because 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:36.520 most people what they do if something like that happens, 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:38.640 if he gets a little wet or whatever people saying 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:40.240 that they do or tyler sticks in their mouth, they 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:41.640 put it in a bag of rice and a bowl 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:43.039 of rice or a bag of rice. That's what I 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:46.000 do exactly. So the problem they work, okay, is if 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.440 it's well, if it's really wet, it can actually cause 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:50.480 more problems, right like if you've got water coming out 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:52.640 of like the port where it plugs in and can 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:55.559 get gooey, cause even more problems. But I came across 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:57.440 the step and they talked about how you know those 0:01:57.720 --> 0:01:59.040 so when you get like a pair of shoes in 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:01.360 the mail or like try necks. Oftentimes it will come 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.320 with those those little packs a little silica gel also 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:07.520 known as desiccant packs. You know what I'm talking about, right, yeah? Yeah, 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:09.520 yeah yeah, So the kind that you're not supposed to 0:02:09.520 --> 0:02:12.120 give to your infants, right, do not eat? Yeah, this 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:14.960 is not food, That's what it says on there. But 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:17.160 somebody was saying, how every time you get one of those, 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:20.160 take it, throw it in a ziploc bag or another 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:22.960 airtight container like a mason jar something like that. Right, 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.120 and then if you ever find yourself in a position 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:27.400 where you need to dry out your phone, a bunch 0:02:27.440 --> 0:02:29.560 of those in a sealed container is going to be 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.880 much much more effective at drawing out the moisture from 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:35.280 your phone, uh than a bowl or a bag full 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.840 of rice. You can actually buy these on Amazon, right, 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:39.640 I saw you can spend like eight bucks and you 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:43.400 can buy like three hundred of those tiny things. Or 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.120 the fact is that we get them for free, and 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:46.919 so why not just instead of throwing them, you know 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:48.480 in the trash where it goes to a landfill, just 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:51.160 take those and save them. Uh. And you're asking what 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.959 happens when they get full of moisture, right, because it 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:55.960 seems like they would be ineffective. And what you do 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:57.760 is you take them, you put them on a baking sheet, 0:02:57.800 --> 0:02:59.760 you stick them in your oven at a hundred and 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.680 fifty degrees for fifteen minutes and it dries them out, 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:04.840 so they get dry, let them cool, but then take 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:06.760 them and put them back in an air tight container 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:09.160 and then it'll definitely be good to go the next 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:11.040 time that as he sticks your new phone in his 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:14.520 mouth and completely use it up, Yeah, well, I'm keeping 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:17.079 it away from as much as I can. But now 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:18.840 that's a good tip man, and I think, yeah, it 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:21.920 prevents some waste. It allows us to use something that 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:24.120 we're already getting into our home in a way that's 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.320 more effective than the current way we're trying to do things, 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:28.280 or at least the current way I'm trying to do things. 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:30.360 By sticking it in a bag of rice. We've had 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:32.040 to do that. People do that, yeah, and especially with 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:33.680 young kids, we've had to do that a few times. 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:37.160 A remote even to like that's another thing that gets 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.680 wet or gets stuck in the mouth, and so there's 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:41.920 all sorts of things like why is this so wet? 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:44.920 There's a problem here. Yeah, why is this not working? Probably? Oh, 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:47.120 he ate it, that's why. So all right, it's good 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:48.720 to know I'm gonna hold on to some of these things, 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:51.360 and it's next to know that they're reusable too. I 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:52.640 like to think of it as sort of like a 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:55.839 first aid kit for your phone. Yeah, exactly, little emergency pack, 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:57.800 no doubt. All right, let's mention the beer we're having 0:03:57.800 --> 0:03:59.560 on the show today. This one's called Bound by Time. 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.920 It's by Edmund's past Visi Brewery out of Charleston, and 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:05.600 will give our thoughts on the speer at the end 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:07.680 of the episode, but for now, let's get onto the 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:10.360 subject at hand. We're talking about the mind altering effects 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:13.520 of simple money tricks and Matt You know, we talked 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:16.160 recently about bigger money moves and how those can have 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:20.200 more of an impact on us financially than a bunch 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:22.400 of small ones, right, like maybe two or three big 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:24.640 money moves. If you make those, it's probably gonna mean 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:27.520 more than a hundred smaller money moves at least when 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:29.320 it comes to the bottom line, right, or even one 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:31.760 big move, Yeah, if you pick the right big move, 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:34.280 like housing or something like that. Yeah, most definitely, it 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:37.640 could seriously have a dramatic, outsized impact compared to a 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:40.960 bunch of smaller ones. Yeah, little tricks aren't always gonna 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.839 get us all the way to our money goals. There are, however, 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.080 some small techniques and tricks that we can implement to 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:49.680 handle money better that I think are going to make 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.040 a big difference over the years. They can change, I think, 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.560 our relationship to money in general. It's not just that 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:57.640 you'll say five bucks when shopping online today. It's that 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:00.280 these techniques are actually gonna allow us to read think 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:03.280 our overall approach to how we save and spend. And 0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:05.400 that's the powerful thing. It's not the money that you 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.240 save in the here and now this week. Is the 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:10.960 change in the way that you treat and think about 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:12.960 money that's going to have an impact for you know, 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:15.600 a lot of years to come, Yeah, potentially your lifetime. Right. 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:17.839 And you know, the biggest argument too, for making some 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:19.800 of these smaller changes in your life when it comes 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.880 to your money is that these these smaller tweaks. Of course, 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:24.600 they can be more attainable, right, it can be really 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:28.360 difficult to implement, uh say, a new massive paradigm shifting 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:32.000 approach to your spending. It's difficult to go cold turkey 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:34.920 and change your ways on a dime, But by implementing 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:38.359 some small techniques and tricks, we're able to get the 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:41.720 ball rolling in. Those positive changes we make now will 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:44.560 continue to have outsize results down the road. Uh and 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:47.120 then almost you know, more importantly, you'll begin to view 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.359 your money in a completely new light. And that's what 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:51.440 we're excited to discuss today. Yeah, all right, so let's 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:54.720 give a quick example of what this looks like. We're 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:56.640 One thing that we're not going to be talking about 0:05:56.680 --> 0:06:00.440 in this episode is like the savings app Acorn. It 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:03.640 is a perfect example of a fintech product that uses 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:06.400 automation to trick us into saving more money, and that 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:08.400 works well for a whole lot of folks. They've got 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.960 extra money in their savings because they let Acorns round 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:15.000 up their purchases and save some money for them on 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:18.599 their behalf. But if you take Acorns away, what do 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:20.919 you have left? Well, a user is likely to go 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:23.720 back to their old ways because that app hasn't fundamentally 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:26.799 changed how they view their money. It certainly helped facilitate something, 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.360 but it didn't change anything deep down inside of us, 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:33.520 and uh, they've essentially received monetary benefits without the mental 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:35.560 shift that you and I are going to be advocating 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:38.640 for in this episode. Not that Acorns is bad. Acorns 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:40.960 is still good, and we think automation is still good, 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:42.880 but we would say that there's something to take any 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.159 more of an analog approach when it comes to some 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:47.920 of these money tricks and the psychological benefits that you're 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:50.760 going to that you're gonna see by doing so. Yeah, 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:53.600 I think sometimes we can become overreliant on technology or 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:56.120 these apps, which is why, Yeah, an analog or a 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:58.560 manual approach, however you wanna want to describe it. But 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:01.320 there are certainly benefits we received from those. I think 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:04.360 it's almost like using GPS versus the old school maps 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.360 we got to use, right, versus knowing how to get 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.640 there exactly. Yeah, Like, and there are places I should 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:11.560 know how to get to by now, but I don't. 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:13.920 If I don't, it's there's some place just like fifteen 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:16.680 minutes away, and it's because you like, let me just 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:18.440 pull up the phone. Yeah, but if my phone is 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:20.960 dead or something like that, I'm out of luck trying 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:22.560 to figure out how to get there, and so I think, 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:24.720 you know, that's that's kind of maybe what we're duplicating 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.520 for here too, is to skip the GPS, figure out 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:30.680 in the analog world how to actually get to your destination. 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:33.560 And there's actually your reasons for doing that. Yeah, there's 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.040 deeper benefits that we receive. So for that reason, we 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:37.920 don't want this to just be an episode that's about 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:40.880 the simple techniques that could allow us to spend less 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:43.560 and save more money. We're also going to focus on 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.920 the mind altering effects that some of these simple modifications 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.920 can have on our personal finances. But we are all 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:52.640 about automation again. You know, we we dedicated an entire 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:55.280 episode on it, that was episode one, six one, But 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:59.080 sometimes it can lead to behaviors that aren't rooted in principle. 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:00.960 And you know, for that reason, we're gonna get a 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:03.720 little more kind of manual versus uh, you know, and 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:06.280 less automation in this episode because we're we're looking for 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.440 that lasting mindset shift. Yeah, and when you have a 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:11.760 shift in mindset, you'll see the effects in your saving, 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:14.880 your spending, in your investment plans. And these are changes 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.640 that I think that anybody can benefit from, whether you're 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:19.920 just getting started with personal finance, and maybe you're new 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:23.440 to the podcast, or you are getting closer to financial 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:26.240 independence or closer to retirement, whether you've been handling your 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:28.960 money well for decades, Implementing a couple of these tricks 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:31.600 that we're going to discuss can have a big impact 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:34.160 on your relationship with money, whether you're good with money 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:36.080 already or not. Yeah, and again, you know, the reason 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:38.640 that we're focusing on these smaller changes and how they 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:40.640 can have a big impact on how it is that 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:42.959 we kind of view our money overall is because it 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:45.320 kind of goes back to the psychological payoff, right, And so, 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:47.280 just like you said, you'll, regardless of where you are 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:49.640 on your personal finance journey, when you're able to see 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.520 immediate results like that always feels good. You get that 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.520 small dopamine release by accomplishing maybe a relatively minor task, 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:58.880 But those small tweaks you make can really add up. 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.680 And that's the reason why our seven Money Gears starts 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:04.240 with the simplest task of getting money in the bank 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.600 for an emergency fund. Of course, you get the immediate 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:09.000 result of a little more financial margin, but then all 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:11.560 of a sudden, you know this deeper shift begins to happen, 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:13.800 and all of a sudden you're a saver, which gives 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.080 you the confidence then to move on to the next gear. 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:18.880 It's all about maintaining that momentum. Yeah, And what's great 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:20.640 about a lot of these techniques and tricks is the 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:23.040 fact that we can implement them as kind of like 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:27.000 spending and saving rules. That way, during moments of financial temptation, 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:29.720 which we all have when we're really actually put to 0:09:29.720 --> 0:09:31.720 the test, we don't have to try and decide in 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:34.040 the moment whether this is a good decision or not 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:37.480 because we've previously made the decision already. And I think 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.520 that's really helpful to folks because when it comes to 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:43.120 the moment whether or not you're gonna eat dessert, well 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:45.480 have you? Uh? I mean, you're gonna choose yes, unless 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:47.760 you've made a decision beforehand, but it smells so good 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:50.120 exactly that you're not gonna do it. It's helpful to 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:53.800 have decided how you're gonna respond during moments of clarity, 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:56.240 like when you're setting goals towards the beginning of the year, 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.400 versus when you want to buy something in your judgment 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.360 might be clouded. When I'm smell the scent of cookies 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:03.679 wafting from the kitchen, It's gonna be harder for me 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:05.960 to say no to that than if I've kind of 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:08.520 written something down previously and I've come to the conclusion 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:11.160 that I'm not doing dessert this month, right, Yeah, so true, man, 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:13.439 it's hard to be the scent of fresh baked chocolate 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:15.200 chip cookies. By the way, I'm not saying I'm not 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:18.240 never gonna say no, yeah exactly, And I'm not saying 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:20.160 that I'm eliminating dessert. I'm just saying, like, you know, 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:24.600 if if someone theoretically pathetically for for somebody else, Yeah, honestly, 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:26.000 this kind of makes me just think of a budget. 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:28.000 You know. The reason you create these categories is so 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:29.720 that you don't really have to think about it in 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:31.360 the moment. You're kind of reaching the end of the 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:34.200 month and you're thinking about maybe getting some more take out. Well, 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:36.320 it's gonna be really easy to convince yourself to get 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:37.920 more take out if you don't want to cook dinner. 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:39.839 But if you can look at your restaurants or take 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.400 out category and if you've only got like five bucks left, 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:45.199 that's not gonna get you very far trying to cook 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:47.400 some food at home, maybe pull out some leftovers, but 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:52.400 it's all about taco bell takeout. Dude, I would totally 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:54.520 eat taco bell if we had one around us. We're 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:56.560 we're kind of like in this taco bell desert. Have 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:59.440 you ever realized that there are no taco bells near us? 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:01.120 I hadn't really thought about that because I wasn't worried 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:04.720 about it, But now you are, I am exactly, and 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:07.280 so yeah, uh, in a sense, kind of these techniques 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:09.080 and these practices are a good way to kind of 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:13.600 remove some of that mental fatigue that sometimes accompanies making 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:15.520 these financial decisions. And so, you know, this is why 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:18.720 we're dedicating an episode to these simple personal finance techniques. 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:20.800 It can be more effective to completely dominate some of 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.559 these smaller tasks than to just slog away towards an 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:26.120 overwhelming goal like retirement that you know might be thirty 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.960 to forty years away. But then along the way, they'll 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:31.520 begin to alter how it is that we think about 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:33.680 our money, you know. And so we'll discuss some of 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.360 these specific techniques of these tricks that you can implement 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:47.520 in your life right after the break, all right, we're back. 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:49.800 We're talking about simple money tricks and how they can 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:52.400 have a mind altering effect. And Matt, let's get straight 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:55.000 into some of the tricks that we think can be helpful. 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:56.559 Some of these you might have heard of before, but 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.680 we're gonna kind of give a deeper explanation for why 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:02.880 you think they're important and why you should consider trying 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:05.120 a couple of these tricks out. And it's not just 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:08.400 again because you might say five bucks today. It's because 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:10.960 it might alter the way you view your money. It 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.520 can change the way you save and spend. And one 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.079 of the things that we think is worth considering is 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.480 instituting a no spend week or even a no spend month. 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:22.320 And this is a technique that can help you reconsider 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.800 your spending through forced absence. At the very least, setting 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:29.080 aside a week to not purchase a dang thing can 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:31.880 save you some real money, but that time spent not 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:34.320 purchasing can lead to questioning the way you think about 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:36.560 spending money in the first place. And this is good right. 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:39.840 It raises our awareness level to spending that might have 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.720 become second nature and that needs to be questioned in 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.880 our life. Instituting a period where you are forcing yourself 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:49.160 to curb all of your spending can really shake things 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:51.080 up in a meaningful way. Yeah, so that's the whole 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.120 point of doing this, right. You know, you can change 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:55.640 this up and enforce a note, maybe takeout challenge for 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:57.959 a month straight, no taco bell for at least a month, Yeah, 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.840 no problems taco bell because you know. Or you can 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:03.120 make yourself drink at home coffee like say, for six 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.720 weeks straight. You know, whatever you choose, forcing yourself to 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.720 change your spending habits reinforces the fact that you don't 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:10.560 have to continue to do the things the way that 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:12.920 you've always been doing them. So in this way, money 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:15.959 challenges can be a great way to catalyze action and 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.520 ramp up your ability to save. In addition to that, 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.720 you add to a little bit of accountability, maybe some 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:23.560 friendly competition, and you're definitely gonna be well in your 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:26.520 way to Yeah, spending less money and saving more. Yeah, 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:30.160 and no spending challenge with a friend like better, I think. Yeah, 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.240 if you have somebody in your life who is striving 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:35.640 after the same goals that you are, you're both gonna benefit, right, 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:38.200 Like it makes me think of in high school, Uh, 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:40.800 I was in a high school government US government class, right, 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.760 and me and my buddy John, we're both in there, 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.600 and neither of us were that great of students, but 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.240 for whatever reason, uh, we we just got into this 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:52.760 competition to see who could just outperform the other person. Dude, 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.000 I have never done so well in a class in 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.640 all of high school even college, like in my entire 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.520 life than in the government class. I mean literally, we 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:02.800 were acing every single pop quiz, every single test. We 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:05.480 were getting one hundreds. Uh. And like our teacher, she 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:08.160 thought we were cheating. She thought we had some sort 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:10.679 of racket going on. But it was just because like him, 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:12.400 like we were just really competitive. He like lived down 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:14.200 the street from me as well. And for us, we 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:17.240 had this mental shift where these lackluster students all of 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:19.240 a sudden, we're able to turn a page and we 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.040 became amazing students. And it all came down to how 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:24.640 it was that we viewed, uh, that specific class. We 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:27.120 wanted to I'll do the other guy, and it led 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:30.400 to us being able to do much better in that class. Yeah, 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:33.160 the effects are real and meaningful when you have like 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:35.360 a little bit of friendly competition going on. So yeah, 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:37.280 I think it's a good way for people to approach this. 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:39.560 It makes more fun to You're like, it's not purely 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:42.440 utility based. I think a competition adds a lot of 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:44.880 fun and intrigue to the process. Uh, it's a little 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:46.920 bit of spicy. Yeah, it does. Some folks to have 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:49.680 done like a complete no spend year. There's an author, 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:51.880 Kate Flanders who wrote about her year of not buying 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:53.800 new stuff in a book called The Year of Less 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:56.520 matt Our friend Katie Wolke Stanley doesn't buy new stuff 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:59.600 at all ever. True. I saw her fixing a pair 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:01.680 of her old Birkenstocks the other day and I was 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:04.080 like just mad impressed every time, Like with what you 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:06.080 post on Instagram, scored some of that guerrilla glue in 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.960 there and they go exactly and more power to these folks. 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:10.720 Or if you want to give something that big a try, 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.960 go for it. It's intense, but curbing spending for a 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:16.920 shorter period of time definitely has some advantages to It 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:19.680 doesn't have to be taking on some new lifestyle mantra. 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:22.160 It really can be just a weaker or a month 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:24.600 that shows you that you actually do have the willpower 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:26.960 to resist some of the things that were natural urges 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:29.200 in your life. Um, you really can avoid some of 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:31.560 the spending that came so naturally. It's just important to 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:35.960 prioritize implementing a period of time where you abstain altogether. 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:38.240 And I think that does have effects that go beyond 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:41.360 just the money you saved during that specific period of time. Yes, 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:44.560 And similarly, creating sort of this mandatory weight period before 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:46.760 buying anything new is another way to to curb spending 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:48.800 as well. Right, you know, there are items that that 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:52.400 seem like they're totally necessary in the moment, but if 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:54.440 we have a seventy two hour rule, it can help 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:56.920 us to truly assess whether or not it's a good purchase. 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:00.320 Chances are you even forget about that item also together, 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:03.000 or it will you know, languish in your shopping cart 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:05.760 at an online store. But you know, if three days 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:07.800 later you still want or you still need that item, 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.200 then you can finish that purchase at that point. Uh. 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:11.960 And you know, this kind of makes me think about 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.000 our episode that we had with Joshua Becker about minimalism. 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.720 This was episode one eight seven. It's not about saving 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.440 a few dollars here and there. It's not about saying that, Okay, 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:23.120 let's not spend money for a week, because then if 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:25.520 you don't make any change, if there's no deeper change 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:27.360 that happens in your life, well you're gonna make up 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:29.360 for all that spending two weeks later. It's just like 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.320 the economy that you know, economists are predicting that is 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.640 going to be insane. Pentup demand is there because it's 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.480 there exactly. But hopefully this period of time has allowed 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.200 some people to truly look at their lives and say, like, 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:42.440 travel is the big thing, right uh, that that we 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:44.440 haven't been able to partake in. But hopefully there will 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:46.040 be a lot of folks who are like, wait a minute, 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:48.960 I'm actually pretty happy not traveling, Like I don't need 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:50.720 to go on that fancy vacation. And so that's what 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:52.920 we're challenging people to do, you know, with either no 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:56.600 spend challenges or at least by just delaying their purchase 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:58.120 for just a little bit. Yea. And in the case 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:00.480 of our episode with Josh Becker that you mentioned, it's 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.520 more about living more of a minimalistic lifestyle. He's less 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:05.919 about the money you saved, and he's more about the 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:08.320 lifestyle you want to live and being proactive and not 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:10.600 bringing too much junk into your life because it clutters 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:12.800 things up. And so yeah, maybe that's part of the 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:14.880 realization too. When you have a seventy two hour rule, 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:17.120 I don't need all this stuff. It's it becomes less 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:20.359 about the money and it becomes more about doing things intentionally, 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:22.280 um and not bringing things into your life that are 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:24.080 just gonna weigh you down. There's there's a host of 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:26.520 benefits aside from just the monetary benefits. Right, if you 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:29.720 can change your views around consumption, then I think we've 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:32.879