It's Sunday, which means it's recap time here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.This week I talked about my experience with my own no spend October.
I talked about what I learned, my successes, my failings, the benefits of doing, even if you don't have a spending problem. I don't have a spending problem.My husband would maybe disagree with that, but I don't.I'm actually a saver.He's a saver too.
And I'm the one who spends most of the money just buying stuff for our family.So he thinks I spend a lot of money, but in comparison to him, yes.But you know what?
My kids have clothes and we have lamps and lights and plants in our house and food in our fridge.And I bought all of those things.So someone's got to do it.
In case you missed any of the episodes, I think the biggest takeaway from this week and the thing that I would most want to convey if you're considering doing a no spend month, if you're on the fence about it, is that the positive experiences I had with my no spend month far outweighed some of the little annoying things about not being able to go out to eat or not being able to buy these leggings that I really wanted to buy and stuff like that.
When I say this out loud, I assume it sounds kind of whiny, like, who cares if you can't buy your leggings?Exactly.Who cares?It's not a big deal.
But on the flip side, on the positive side, I had so many, especially unexpected things that I was surprised about in a good way. I had a noticeable change.It wasn't like a huge night and day shift, like it changed my life forever.
No, but it improved my life during the month of October because I felt more peace.I felt less anxiety.I saved time because I spent less time, I don't know, like scrolling on my phone or
mindlessly looking on Nordstrom or when I was like upset or stressed about something.I do sometimes shop, like emotional spending, retail therapy, I will do that.And so I didn't do any of that at all for an entire month.And I had a lot of peace.
I lived more simply.Because I knew I was going to talk about this on the podcast, I would make notes and kind of kept like a little diary during the month.
And that was really helpful because I would jot down some thoughts that were sort of related to that.But then when I got to the end of the month, I was like, wow, yes.
Had I not taken those notes or kept a little journal about my no spend month, I might not have realized the extent that I felt more at peace and less guilt because I just wasn't spending any money at all on anything other than the things that were necessary.
So that was probably my biggest takeaway is that I had so many positive, unexpected positive experiences from my no spend month.And it was eye opening in a lot of ways.Like, yeah, we all know that spending doesn't, money doesn't buy happiness.
We can't spend our way into happiness, but it's easy to forget that.And the no spend month kind of resets spending priorities.It helps to free us from some of our bad spending habits that pretty much all of us, most of us have.
So tomorrow I'm starting a brand new theme.I'm talking about year-end tax planning tips and I'm doing that with a guest.So I'm gonna have Sean Mullaney.He is the FI tax guy.FI stands for financial independence Phi tax guy.
I met Sean at a conference a couple weeks ago in Atlanta.He knows his tax stuff.So I interviewed him for the podcast.We talked about some of the key things you want to keep in mind as the year-end deadline approaches for specific tax planning things.
We actually talked about some things that are unique for 2024.So I'm excited to talk about this very timely topic next week.Thank you so much for listening.
If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave an honest review wherever you're listening right now.I really appreciate it.It's one of the best ways you can say thank you if you're getting value from the podcast.
And if you're interested in learning more about working with me, you can schedule a free 15-minute call with me.
We'll discuss your situation, see if I can help you, and I can answer anything on your mind unique to your situation about your retirement, no strings attached.
Now you can see a link, find a link to schedule a call with me on my website, truenorthra.com. Thank you so much for sharing the love, spreading the word, leaving a review.I hope you have a blessed Sunday.
My name is Ashley Michike, and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.
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