WEBVTT - Rules for Mindful Spending #095 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.240 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt, 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:27.200 and today we're discussing rules for mindful spending, mindful of spending. Man, 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:29.960 I am glad we're gonna be talking about that this episode. 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:31.319 You know, a lot of that has to do with 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:34.320 being intentional with your money, with what you're spending your 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:36.680 money on. It's good to be intentional in all areas 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:38.760 of your life. But I feel like lately you and I, 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:40.839 I don't know, we've been having some discussions lately just 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:43.120 being intentional with our time, the energy that we give 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:45.320 towards our kids. Yeah, and it's no different when it 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:47.720 comes to our money. So we're also gonna be talking 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.520 about sales, how they may not be the best thing 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:53.360 for you or you know, depending on how you view sales. 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:55.520 That's fighting words for some people. You know, some people 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:58.280 love a good sales sale, right, and they will fight 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:00.120 you to the bitter end to let you know how 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:01.959 important it is to buy things on sale. And I'm 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:03.840 not against it all together, but that'll be kind of 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.839 an interesting thing to get into in this episode, Matt. 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:08.640 Before we kind of get into it, I wanted to 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:11.520 ask you a question, kind of a frugal or cheap question? 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:16.440 Would you buy a mattress off of Facebook yard sale site? 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:19.400 Like would you go there and buy a used mattress 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.240 from somebody? Okay, so Joel, you're asking me this question, 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:24.560 which tells me that you don't know the story about 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:28.360 when Kate and I got a mattress off Facebook? Did 0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:30.559 you know that? I don't think I do that. Wait, 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:33.120 I knew you guys have a used hand me down mattress, 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.520 and and so do we. But we actually, I guess 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:37.360 kind of third hand knew the folks that we got 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.560 it from. Well, okay, so that's sort of our situation, 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:43.320 but it was second hand knowing through Facebook. It popped 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:45.720 up on Facebook, and it was a girl that I 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:48.760 knew in college, which sounds kind of weird, but her 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:50.480 and I we were in some classes together and the 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:53.520 journalism school. We're Facebook friends. And then turns out they 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:57.040 live in Atlanta, in a nearby neighborhood and they posted 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:59.280 a really nice mattress like it was one of those 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:02.760 fancy one air sleeper two thousand uber fancy you know 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.120 what I'm talking about. Oh yeah, And so I thought 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:06.840 this is kind of weird, but is it kind with 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:08.280 the remote in it, you can like sit up in 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:10.959 it because those look awesome. No, no, I wish. Actually 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:12.400 I kind of don't wish because I feel like those 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.880 are just bound to break and it's sucking, right, you know. 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.360 I always chalk those up to me and for old people. 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.239 But I don't think it's a case anymore. And I 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:21.280 would totally rock. I'll be able to sit in bed 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:23.680 and read I do it. That would be nice. Yeah, anyway, 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:25.760 But I ran over there and it turns out they 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:27.520 actually live the next door to some good friends of 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:29.840 ours as well, and so they know them. And so 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:32.200 because that it felt less weird. I guess it's like, Okay, 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:34.200 I know you from college, you guys from college, and 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.360 also your next door neighbors to some friends of ours, 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:39.040 it still felt weird. So because it was in such 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:41.079 good shape though, the mattress was in really good shape, 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:44.520 and because of that, that's currently still the mattress that 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:47.120 Kate and I sleep on. So, if you didn't have 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:49.760 a connection where you knew the person, would you buy 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:53.120 a mattress from someone in the neighborhood. I totally rando 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.720 a random person off the r tail site. Man, I 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:57.519 don't know that's that's such a hard question because you 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.160 can't go over there and like look at it and say, oh, 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.200 it looks kind of stained or oh it smells weird, 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:04.320 right like once you go over to it to get it. 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:06.200 I don't know. I think you can. I think I would. 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:07.680 I think that you can shop it and give it 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:09.360 a sniff. I think i'd have to say, I'm backing 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:11.560 out of this one. It looks a little wonky, like 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:14.000 I'm not in Okay, wait how much is it? Though? 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.720 So mine was free? Okay, Like ours was totally free. 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:18.480 So I felt like if I was going over to 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:20.880 pick it up, I had to pick it up. You know. Yeah, 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:22.959 if you're paying money, it's a different story. Well, I 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:24.480 don't know. I saw one the other day on there 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:27.280 is a king size bed. They said it was three 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:31.440 months old and for bucks with the platform that goes 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:33.560 underneath it, and so I was like, it's like a 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:35.000 good deal man. I was like, that's a good deal. 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:36.840 I think I might check this out. But then I 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:38.640 got kind of the weird vibe. She was like, you're 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:40.240 gonna have to pick it up tonight, but I'm not 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:42.480 home until eleven. I was like, well, that's really weird. 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:44.560 That's like late, and I pick up. I don't think 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:46.680 I'm doing that, and then she's like, can you help 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:49.640 me back this into the van? You go first, Yeah, 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:52.160 slams the doors on you, and all of a sudden 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:54.840 you're getting driven off to a rock quarry. Yeah, exactly. 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:57.600 Who knows where I end up. So yeah, because of 0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:00.640 the weirdness, I refrained kind of out of the deal. 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:04.200 But I think also actually mattresses have gotten cheaper with 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:06.840 the foam the phone ones that, yeah, the ones that 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.120 shipped straight to your door and stuff, and so you know, 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:10.920 I'm planning on doing a little more research on that 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:12.760 front because I think we would like a new mattress 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:14.880 at some point in the near future. And I'm okay 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.680 paying some money for something good because you sleep a 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:20.760 fair amount on a bed, so your life, man the 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:22.200 third of your life, so I think it is worth 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:24.160 spending some money to to get a good one. Do 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:25.760 you want to hear how I justified it with Kate, 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:27.760 how we would go and get a free mattress from 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.400 some raindo I knew in college? I told her I 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:32.000 would I would tie it to the roof of the car. 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:33.960 At the time, we had a station wagon and so 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:36.000 I strapped it to the roof really tight, and then 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:39.200 I got on the interstate and drove really fast, and 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:41.400 you're like, that'll get rid of well, that'll help air 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:42.800 it out a little bit, you know, like get rid 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:45.279 of any funk, any sort of like you know, debris. 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:47.320 I don't know stuff that by that I mean, I guess, 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.920 so like like I drove fast and all the dust 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:51.520 kind of stuff came out, and I'm telling you look 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:53.880 really good, was in great shape. We sleep really well 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:55.320 on it. Man. That's all I can say. All right, 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:58.040 sounds good. Well, I'm glad you're enjoying your free mattress. 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:00.080 I will say, though, at some point and then to 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.320 just in future, I will spend money and actually finally 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.679 get us a decent adult mattress, because we're still rocking 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:09.039 the free one as well. But for now, let's mention 0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:10.800 the beer that we're having on the show. We're drinking 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:15.440 National Cherry Blossom Festival by Old Ox Brewery. And this 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.599 is a beer brought to us by our friend Andrew 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:20.680 that you mentioned Old Ox Brewery. This is kind of 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.040 I guess on the outskirts of DC, maybe like a 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.640 an ex herb as Andrew, our buddy, likes to often say, uh, 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.640 this is a collaboration though with a national cherry blossom festival. 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:31.919 They made this beer with them, and they say a 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:34.880 portion of the sales benefit the National Cherry Blossom Festival. 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.159 So it's pretty cool. I like cherry blossoms. It's the 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:39.279 next time of year, right when the when those come around, 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:41.760 And we'll discuss our thoughts on this beer at the 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:44.200 end of this episode. But for now, Matt, let's get 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:47.200 to the topic at hand, rules for mindful spending. And 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:49.560 it turns out that we all waste money. You met 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:53.120 waste money, Matt. I waste money sometimes, but not on mattresses, 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:55.839 but not on mattresses. Have never wasted money on a mattress. 0:05:56.120 --> 0:06:00.200 We're just grossing out all of our listeners talking about mattress. 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.440 Just let's just stop. So we're probably cheap. I think 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:05.560 that that most people will agree on on this front. Yeah, yeah, 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:09.520 but often we are more wasteful when we're feeling tired 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:12.600 or lazy, and being aware of some of the ways 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:14.560 that money flies out of our lives can help us 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:17.480 realize when it's happening so that we can change our habits. 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:20.880 There's a minimalist writer named Joshua Becker, and he wrote 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:25.039 on a blog that mindless consumption turns into excessive consumption. 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:27.040 And I think he's spot on with that, Matt, that 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:30.680 when we begin to spend on things without thinking about it, 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:34.320 we begin to be people that overspend. And that's a 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:36.760 problem in our culture, that's a problem in many of 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:38.680 our own personal lives. And I think there's a lot 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:40.400 that we can talk about in this episode that can 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:43.799 help people find some rules to implement when it comes 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.120 to how they spend their money and doing so in 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.120 a more thoughtful way. Yeah, Joe. And the first thing 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:51.280 that's worth noting, right, is that, contrary to popular belief 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:54.600 that like, we're not against spending money, but we want 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:56.520 to make sure that we're spending money on the things 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.880 that matter. What we hate is that mindless consumption, Right, Like, 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.200 I've got a cargo bike that costs two thou dollars. 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:05.640 I love that thing, I write it daily, and I 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:08.120 gather a whole lot of joy and utility from that thing. Like, 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:10.440 but two thousand dollars that is a lot of money. 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:12.280 And I think a lot of folks listening to this 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:15.120 would say, Mande's not gonna spend anything on a mattress, 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:17.680 but he's gonna spend two thousand dollars on a bicycle. 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:21.440 That seems crazy or unbalanced. But for me, spending that 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.480 kind of money on a bike, right, a bike that 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:25.320 I would not be able to get for free, is 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:27.280 something I am more than willing to do. That I'm 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.240 happy to do, and it's something that I did very deliberately, 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:32.120 with a whole lot of thought. Yeah. So a good 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:34.200 way to kind of take stock as we get into 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:37.640 this topic is to take a look at your recent purchases. 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:41.200 Maybe check out the last ten Amazon orders that you made. 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:43.920 Are you using those items that you purchased? Would you 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:46.880 purchase those items again? You know, it reminds me, Matt, 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:49.800 thinking of of those last ten purchases I made of 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:52.760 a purchase probably like ten thousand purchases ago, that I 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:54.880 made when I was in middle school. I bought a 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:58.600 second Dreamcast off off a friend nice and so he 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.200 came with all these games and the Dreamcast I think 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:04.720 was probably the least successful gaming system ever made. Maybe 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:06.560 I don't know. I don't think it did very well, 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:08.520 but I had a lot of fun with it. For 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:11.240 for a few days. But I just remember that pretty 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.960 much all my savings went into that one purchase, buying 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:16.600 that seg of Dreamcast, and honestly just didn't move the 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:19.120 needle in in the ways that I had hoped when 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:21.520 I was a kid. And I remember wishing that I 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.160 had money to do other things that summer, but I 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:27.680 had blown all my funds on that stupid gaming system 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.760 to play that crazy taxi game, and uh, and so 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:32.439 it was just looking back, like, I don't know, I 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:34.480 kind of keep that in my mind when I'm making 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:36.560 purchases now, like is it gonna end up being a 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.679 purchase that feels like that Dreamcast moment? Or is it 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:42.199 going to be a purchase that I feel like I'm 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:45.440 actually going to use and implement into my life for 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:48.480 the days and weeks to come, And and running it 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:51.320 through a filter like that for me helps to truly 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:52.880 go back to my middle school self and say, I'm 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:54.880 I actually going to use this or am I gonna 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:57.120 be bored with it in a few days or weeks? 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.720 And and I try to avoid purchases like that. And 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:02.960 I think going through your recent purchases, your recent purchase history, 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:05.680 can help you as you attempt to make better stock 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:08.640 of future purchases. Joe, I love that the Sega Dreamcast. 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:10.280 I don't even know what a Dreamcast is. Like I 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:12.080 know what a Sega Genesis was. I guess it was. 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:14.520 It was after the Genesis, Like, I guess it was 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:18.400 just a non fun Sega. Yeah, it had a couple 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:20.480 of cool games, but it never took off because yeah, 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.000 they just I don't think they had enough variety or 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:26.280 enough good games to justify its existence. So that's the 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:28.920 what though, Like looking at what you're purchasing, the next thing, 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.160 the next filter to kind of run your purchases through 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:34.200 is why. Ask yourself why do you spend money? Like 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.400 why are you spending money? And try to identify the 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:38.720 triggers that might be causing you to spend your money. 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:41.160 You know, in those instances, you can either sort of 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.880 fight those urges and be super disciplined, or you can 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.200 just remove those triggers altogether. But I think a lot 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:49.679 of times folks think, well, no, we I shouldn't just 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:51.640 remove those triggers. I should try to beat it. I 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:53.920 should be disciplined enough to to kind of conquer that. 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:56.280 But in the end, if the results are what matter. 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:58.400 We'll just do what you need to do to achieve 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:00.440 the results. Do what you need to do to spend 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.280 less money. And I think sometimes willpower can be overrated. 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:06.920 Essentially making the decision ahead of time for yourself as 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.240 opposed to trying to fight it in the moment. It's 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:12.920 so much easier, right, So if you're smart to fight 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:15.000 it ahead of time when you aren't in the moment. 0:10:15.080 --> 0:10:16.800 Oh yeah, just like you said, like it's it's not 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:18.960 an incorrect way of doing it, it's probably like the 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:21.160 most smart and efficient way to do it. Yeah, it 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:23.600 prevents you from having to make a more difficult decision 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.400 when you're in the heat of the moment and you 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.800 want to hit click, or you're at the store and 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:32.679 you want to buy some stuff. Well, taking into consideration 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.960 like what makes you spend, why you end up making 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:39.400 purchases that you regret later on, and doing that hard 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:41.880 work up front can save you getting to that point 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:45.199 where you are making crazy purchases that you shouldn't be making. 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:47.880 And it makes me kind of think of like QVC shoppers, 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.880 and I don't want to lump them all in one category, 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.360 but I've just heard way too many examples of You're 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.679 not all terrible people, right, I'm sure there are fine 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.439 people that shop on QBC. But I've just heard in 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:03.160 particular of older people that live alone, they watch a 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.120 lot of QVC and they end up buying a lot 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:07.200 of things with money that they don't have. And I 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:09.079 think if we can even just take stock of kind 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:13.480 of those emotional reasons potentially that cause us to feel 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:16.440 a certain way, or that trigger a mood for spending 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:19.480 or a desire to satisfy ourselves in a way, I 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:22.760 think those are the kind of steps necessary to take 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:26.199 in order to make sure that we become mindful spenders. Yeah. Man, 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:28.640 you know a simple example I'm thinking of is when 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:30.959 you go to the grocery store and you're hungry. Folks 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:33.199 tend to make decisions based on how they feel in 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.440 the moment about what they're purchasing. Well, it's not that 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:37.920 difficult to make the decision ahead of time to to 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:39.880 go to the grocery store and make sure you have 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:42.240 something already in your stomach, because if you don't judge me, 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:44.680 I needed those four packs of bacon. Okay, I did 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:47.680 I need it. But again, that's just a simple step. 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.600 It's it's something a parameter that you set there for yourself, 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:53.120 and it's like, Okay, I don't go to the grocery 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:56.480 store at eleven thirty on a Saturday, because by the 0:11:56.480 --> 0:11:58.360 time you get there, it's like twelve and by the 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:00.679 time you're you know, in a certain aisle, twell thirty 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:04.319 and I start getting hungry at yeah, exactly. So it's 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:06.120 it's good to set rules like that and have those 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:09.439 in place. Yeah, it's also important to ask yourself, who 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:12.600 are you making purchases for? Are you making purchases because 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:14.920 other people around you are are doing something, are living 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.080 in a certain way. I think it's easy for us, 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.440 especially in an age of Instagram and photos in front 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:22.760 of us all the time, seeing what other people are doing, 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:25.760 what they're taking in, how great their lives are. Because 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:28.800 they're showcasing just the best parts of what's actually happening. 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:32.920 It's easy for us to justify purchases because, uh, we 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:35.319 see how other people are living their lives, and you 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.320 have to ask yourself, how has that worked out for 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:39.480 you in the past. Has that led to not having 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.640 any money in the bank in your emergency account when 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:46.040 an actual need arises because you are spending most of 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:49.280 what comes in asking those questions what, why, and who 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:53.000 are just really helpful in formulating good ground rules for 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:55.760 mindful spending in your life. Yeah, Joel, and quickly, you know, 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:58.560 like talking about the who makes me think of high schoolers. Right. 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.160 I thought you're gonna say the band, the Who, the Doors, 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:03.520 the Who, the Beatles. Those are bands we don't know 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:06.439 anything about. We're too young, It's true. But I think 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:08.640 about like high schoolers. Do you think of, Oh, I'm 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.200 doing this because like of social pressures and stuff like, oh, 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:12.760 I need to get this kind of phone because you 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:14.800 know the quote unquote cool kids, that's the phone that 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:17.719 they're getting, or play hacky sack. But I think this 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:21.360 also applies to adults, like even college big purchases, not 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:23.240 just like small little stuff. But I think a lot 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.319 of times there's social pressures and a desire to conform 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:28.800 to like what other people are doing. That can range 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:31.640 from students, so you know, with like little gadgets all 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.080 the way to like big expenses like adults. He might 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:37.240 even feel pressured to go on a fancy trip that 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:39.240 maybe you can't even afford. Like you said, there might 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:41.360 be a real emergency in your life. I just won't 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.440 feel like it's worth noting that it can span all 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:47.000 ages and it's not just something that like, oh, that's 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:49.040 just something that kids feel. Yeah, you can see that 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:51.679 in kids more clearly because we're we're adults and we 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:53.840 can kind of see the dumb things that kids do. 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:56.480 But it's something that we all deal with, and often 0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:58.320 I think it's it is worth it to ask ourselves 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:01.200 that very question and to sort of question our motives. 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:03.280 I think it's so true. I think there are these 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:05.240 things that we do, these spending choices that we make 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:08.280 that become baseline level of decisions in our lives that 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.439 we don't even realize we can act because they feel 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:13.480 so normal and everyone around us is doing it right, 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:16.160 and we don't even question them because they do feel 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.440 like this thing that isn't even possible to eliminate because 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:21.600 it's just so pervasive in the world that we see 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:23.560 around us. Sort Of on the flip side of that 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:26.920 is being intentional with our spending right, and that feels amazing, 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:29.800 Like that feels really good. Mindful spending and making a 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:33.520 solid purchase is a great feeling. However, impulse spending, that's 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:35.120 what makes you feel like you have a hangover. We've 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:37.280 got an episode right where we talk about the holiday 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:40.440 shopping hangover. Oftentimes, what a company is that spending as 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:43.320 well are large amounts of debt. And when you don't 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:45.800 feel that you're in control of your spending and you're 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:48.360 just being you know, pulled along by your credit cards, 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:50.400 well that's when you wake up the next morning and 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.280 regret those financial decisions that you've made, no doubt, buddy. 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:55.040 All Right, So we're gonna get to some thoughts on 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:58.720 how to plug those spending leaks, and also an interesting 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.640 discussion on sales and how they affect our spending. We'll 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:13.040 do that right after the break, Okay, Jill. Before we 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:16.200 talk about, you know, those spending leaks, we need to 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:19.080 talk about the big spending, the big ticket items, and 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:23.640 the bulk of our spending goes to three main categories, housing, food, transportation. 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:27.640 We've done whole episodes on these, and you know, it 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:31.120 really may not feel like wasteful spending because you truly 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:33.400 need a place to live, you need you know, you 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:35.280 need to eat food, and you need to get from 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:37.800 one place to another. These are bigger topics that have 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:41.040 earned their own episode. But don't leave those stones unturned, 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.320 in particular, when we get to the rules that we're 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:45.920 gonna sort of implement here at the end of the episode. 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:48.440 You know, I like a good rule, Matthew. And it's 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:51.480 not that those bigger categories aren't important, but I feel 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:54.640 like the small things is is where the leaks kind 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:57.360 of arise in our lives. Those spending leaks add up. 0:15:57.760 --> 0:15:59.600 Matt There's this thing that my mom used to always 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:02.560 tell me. I can't remember exactly what it was now, 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:06.360 it was basically essentially that all these small things add up, right, 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:09.520 and they're all really important. And I kind of was like, whatever, Mom, 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:12.760 I hear you, but I don't care. When I was 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:14.560 a kid. I think it's the lyrics from All the 0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:17.480 Small Things song, Remember that one? Oh yeah, Yeah, that's 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:20.720 that's probably what that's gotta be. Yeah, that's why she 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:24.240 was referring to. But yeah, I think she was right. 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:26.000 All the small things do add up. But that's just 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:28.920 not how we like to approach our spending. Oftentimes, we 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:31.280 don't think about the small things nearly as much as 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:32.920 we should, and I feel like we actually need to 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:36.120 kind of recapture that belief that a penny saved is 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.640 a penny earned, and that the small stuff does add 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:40.840 up in more ways than one, right, It adds up 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:42.560 and how much money is going out of your account 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:45.320 and also adds up in how much clutter is encompassing 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.160 your house. And our culture can be so frenzied when 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:51.960 it comes to like shopping for sales fifty off, sixty 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.080 percent off Black Friday, all that kind of stuff. I 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:56.560 think that's one of the ways in which spending leeks arise, 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:59.200 don't you think, Matt, Yeah, man, absolutely, you know, just 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:01.720 the very fact that a sale exists can be a 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:04.520 trigger for somebody like they hear, oh yeah, they're sixty 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:07.440 percent off sale, Like that's fantastic. I'm gonna go spend 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.840 money that I wasn't planning on spending to begin with. 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:12.080 But it's a deal exactly. And I gotta say, man, 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:14.600 this is what I fell prey to earlier on in 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.360 my life. I was thoughtful with my money, but that 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:19.359 was the thing that got me, the sales. It was 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.520 the sales. It was like, oh, well, how it will 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:23.760 never be this price again. I have to make the purchase. 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.560 I have to buy that because because it's cheaper than 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.880 it's ever been before. And you know, the best way 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:33.399 truly to save off something is by saving of your 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:36.240 money and not buying that at all. And of sometimes 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:39.880 those kind of purchases can fall under the category of shopping, right, 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:43.520 and so like shopping is the act of perusing looking 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:45.560 for stuff to buy, essentially, and if you happen to 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.080 see a sale, sweet, then you pounce, you know, like 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.040 you see that there's a deal. But what we want 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.000