January 28, 2025 • 23 mins
The idea of a 'no buy' or 'no spend' year seems to be gaining traction - but is it actually possible to go a full year without discretionary spending? Join Canna Campbell - a financial planner for 20 years - and Fear & Greed's Michael Thompson as they look at why and how a no-buy year might work to help combat spending.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to How Do They Afford That? The podcast that
peeks into the financial lives of everyday Australians. I'm Michael Thompson.
I'm a writer and the co host of the podcast
Fear and Greed Business News. As always, I'm with financial
planner Canna Campbell, founder of Sugar Mummer TV, which is
the financial literacy platform that you will find pretty much
everywhere YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, threads, books and podcasts like this one.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hello Canna, Hello, how are you?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
I am very well? Indeed, thank you? I am. I
have been observing a trend in recent weeks because it
is we are still relatively close to the start of
the year, and so you see people making money resolutions
or at least the first kind of six weeks of
the year, and one that I've seen a few times now,
(00:49):
it just keeps popping up. Maybe the algorithm has kind
of picked me as very susceptible to this, people committing
to a no by year or a no spend year.
So my questions for you today, Kenna, why would anybody
do this? How would they do this? Is it even
possible to go a full year without spending? Within reason? Obviously?
(01:15):
I know that's going to be exceptions to the rule.
Let's jump into it. What exactly is a no by year?
How does it actually work in practice?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Okay, A no by year is a personal financial challenge
where you commit to avoiding non essential spending for an
entire year. So it's really about going to heart of
what a need is versus a wanton stripping back to
the basics of life to help you save money, preserve
(01:45):
money even and just learly recalibrate your spending habits.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
I saw recently some really alarming stats about how much
Australians spend, and in particular clothing.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Black Friday sales. I think we spent seven point three
billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
This is extraordinary. And on the clothing front, Australians by
fifty six pieces of clothing per year on average. That
is more than anyone else in the world.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Isn't that disturbing?
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I am amazed. And obviously that's kind of an average,
and I know that I would be well below that.
So I can only imagine.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Two flannies, two striped shirts and a black T shirt.
Oh and a khaki one that you're wearing today. That's new.
I haven't seen that one within it.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
No, it is very old. Thank you, I have. So
I've pretty much committed to my own no by life. Basically,
I'm just going to re I'm going to rewear these
until they actually disintegrate on me. So I'm already there.
But that isn't that alarming? Fifty six pieces of clothing
purchased per year on average in Australia, So you can
see why you don't come across kind of anti consumerist.
(03:02):
But really that is there's got to be something wrong.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
There's a great documentary actually that's worth watching called by Now,
which I made my son Rocco sit and watch with me,
which touches on obviously clothing and electronic goods, but it
is fascinating, which if you want to learn more about
how we spend.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So I was just like you just stop listening to.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Me by Now.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I was writing it down. There is a difference between
not listening and taking notes, and I was writing down
by Now and I was just there pondering, going, I
wonder if that's by b U Y or b Y. Yeah,
I'm assuming it is now Netflix. Okay, So is that
why people then are drawn to these challenges? Why do
you think it is Is it because that we almost
(03:48):
just get overwhelmed by the amount we are spending, by
the amount of stuff that we are accumulating. Is this
a spending thing or is it a lifestyle thing trying
to get more towards a minimalist kind of lifestyle and
attaching the spending mindset to that.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I think there are two key reasons, and obviously everyone's different,
but these challenges appeal to people because they address a
universal truth. You know, deep down, most of us know
that we are overspending, even if it's not intentional. So
if you take something like a no by challenge, it
gives us this really concrete structure to try and work within,
(04:26):
and gives us some accountability and also allows us to
kind of reset our financial habits as well as, you know,
just have something to sort of sink our teeth in
and focus on if we haven't necessarily come up with
any New Year's resolutions as yet. But also I think
there's definitely a really strong psychological element, because people are
intrigued by the idea of breaking free from consumerism and
(04:48):
seeing actually how much little they can really live on,
and they're really curious to see what they might learn
and discover about themselves by doing a challenge like this
or something very simla. So at the end of the
day where you whatever reason you're doing for, it's definitely
empowering to take control of your finances and see how
you can go with this in a definitive way. And
(05:09):
it also creates a sense of achievement if you are
able to pull off this challenge. I mean this one
we're talking about a year challenge is fairly substantial amount
of time.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And I suppose you can always kind of start with
a no by a month or something like that, right
weekend for February, frugal February, that kind of thing. But
the rules around this, I like structure, I like some rules.
Can you please set some rules here for me? Can
I Is it just you don't buy anything that is
non essential. You can still buy food, food, you can
(05:42):
still buy medicine, I would hope.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
So, ok, right, looking really, but obviously you look at
that Maslow hierarchy all needs you go with the essential.
So you know, shelter, accommodation, food, clothing, healthcare, you know,
you start with that.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
But clothing though that.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
What things you're naked, I mean not clothing like you know,
a luxury designer wardrobe. I'm talking clothing, like, let's not
just cover ourselves up.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Yeah, clothing is probably one that kind of straddles this
because you need you do need it to be to
get by.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Okay, let me rearticulate that at least underpants like underwear.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
If you just had a minimum dress code for the studio,
so one must wear underwear and the rest of it.
If you're in a no bio, just go for it.
Goodness me, that is a confronting thought. So anything else though,
gets just struck off. So we're talking that you wouldn't
buy takeaway. You wouldn't buy a takeaway coffee for instance.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
All right, okay, so to do this realistically, you've really
got to challenge this will tailor this to your unique circumstances.
So look at what your spending is like, and what
you classes and essential versus are non essential, and then
you can work out your own rules. You know, this
is not a hard and fast way of doing You know,
everyone is different and people in different stages of their lives.
(07:03):
So for example, you know a young family like you
and I, this is going to be a lot harder
because we have you know, kids' activities that we need
to do and be a part of. And you know,
a child's not going to understand, sorry, we can't buy
Jimmy a birthday present even though you're going to his party,
because we're doing this no spend yere like.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
We'll just send them some best wishes kids love that.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Make them a card. So that's going to be a
lot harder for younger families. So you would make maybe
the rules a little bit more relaxed, whereas say singles
living at home. If you're lucky enough, you know you
might be able to be able to do this realistically
and go fairly aggressively. And I believe you know, the
person who wrote that story for the Sydney Morning Heralds
that you know is someone who's I think you know
(07:47):
single independent person that was has that ability to make
those changes quite easily and doesn't have those financial obligations
necessarily on their shoulders. And then if you look at
someone like who's are self funder retiree, you know they
could cut back on things, you know, the luxuries of retirements,
such as you traveling as much or going out like
certain hobbies that are quite expensive. So everyone is in
(08:10):
a different situation. You've got to kind of create your
own rules and find that healthy strike of balance between
something that's challenging enough but also realistic so that you
can actually stick to it and go the distance with it.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Okay, so we would be realistically looking at things like
excess clothes, clothes just for the sake of buying them,
as opposed to kind of the essentials, buying your underwear,
buying your shoes, that kind of thing that you actually
need to get around. You probably need more than just
undies and shoes, shoes to go to work, but anyway,
take away food, those kinds of things. Those are pretty
kind of clearly defined as discretionary spending items and entertainment,
(08:46):
not going to the movies or not going to a
concert or things like that, which would be tough to
do for a lot of people, but they are things
that you could. You would get quite a good feeling
from not doing those because I'm depriving myself, but I'm
doing it for a good cause.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
But also you need to understand and respect where you
come from. So someone who has you know, spent, has
a spending problem, a shopping problem, for example, and just
buys all the time, then cutting it down to one
item per month is a huge transformation, whereas for someone
else that one item per month is still excessive and unnecessary. So,
(09:23):
you know, be kind to yourself. This is about you know, progress,
not perfection.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Okay, all right. The big benefit of doing it is
it it is a spending reset, really, isn't it. If
you were to do it, even if you're not successful,
not one hundred percent successful, it would make you stop
and take stock of what you are spending. Right.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Oh, the awareness it creates could be very powerful and
something that you could use to reset your financial habits
that take you through the rest of your life. You know,
there's a lot to be learned from doing these types
of challenges, and not even necessarily a you know, no spend,
no buy challenge. Even you know, I did a recently
a seven day mortgage challenge. I did my own Sugar
Mama ten day financial Reset challenge. I learned so much
(10:04):
about myself. So there's lots of non non tangible things
that come from doing these particular challenges. But you know,
at the end of the day, the key benefits, I
would say are obviously number one. Obviously, you know you're
financial you might be protecting your savings, growing your savings,
or even accelerating your financial journey, because that money that
you've managed to save can then go towards some of
(10:27):
your financial goals, such as paying off debt, or building
up your emergency money or investing. So you know, if
you can make sure that those savings at the end
of the year are there, you can quarantine them and
actually look at that bank account and go, wow, this
is how much I was able to save from doing
this challenge. Great, don't go then blow it on something
some stuff. Use that for your financial wellbeing. And then,
(10:50):
obviously the psychological benefit, which I think is the most
beautiful and powerful one, is gaining that deep understanding and
awareness of how you spend money, and you know why
you spend money, what are your triggers, what are the
emotional impulses that go on for you to go and
have a reckless shopping expedition or blow a whole pile
of money on something that you don't actually value. So
(11:11):
you know, this can actually allow you to become incredibly
intentional with your money. You're looking at me like you
just did a whole blow of crap or that's actually.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Really interesting now I was actually thinking about what you
said about eight minutes ago about the limited number of
clothes that I bring in. It is because you lectured
me eighteen months ago now on the importance of using
a capsule wardrobe, and I took your words to heart.
That's rubbish.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
You had a capsual wardrobe before we met, and god,
it couple the bull over my eyes.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
But now I have a name to attach to it.
It's a capsule wardrobe and KNA told me to do it,
So therefore I'm allowed to just wear the same kind
of two or three shirts and the same kind of
three pants and two pairs of shoes.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
You are all right, I'll give you that.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Thank you. It is a sound financial decision.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
All right.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
We're going to take a quick break, and when we
come back, I want to find out kind who a
challenge like this is most suited to, who would benefit
most from it, and also how to overcome some of
the challenges that you would have in not just committing
to it, but sticking to it for any period of time.
So we've still got a bit to couple. We'll be
back in a moment. Can we are talking today about
(12:25):
a no buy year or a no spend year where
you commit to not spending money on non essential things
really across the course of a year, and the fact
that it is really a spending reset for a lot
of people. But who is this most suited to. Are
we talking about people that might have a bit of
(12:46):
a spending problem and have identified themselves as being perhaps
a little bit too willing to indulge in kind of
impulse buys, or is it perhaps households might be living
kind of paycheck to paycheck and want to go, Okay,
we need to reset here. We need to find where
there is a bit of room in the budget. Let's
(13:06):
commit to this challenge.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
I think to answer your question both O you know,
anyone that knows they need to do something about the
way that they engage with money and use money and
to a certain degree abuse money. You know, I don't
say that with any judgment. You know, something like this
in a gentle way could be really beneficial because essentially.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
It's a detox.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Then I would say anyone who's curious, you know, anyone
who thinks, you know what, this could be really helpful
for us in you know, getting ready ready of any waste,
any creating any awareness as to have triggers for spending
money and blowing money, and you know, allowing us to
maybe save up a lot of money that we can
then use to catch up maybe for previous lost time
(13:47):
with their financial journey. So yeah, I would say if
you've got a problem and you want to address it,
and you're willing to do the work and face the music,
and for anyone that's curious as to not just the
financial benefit but also the mindfulness and the psychological benefits
from doing this. Because I've done this not a full year,
but obviously I've done Frugal February I think nine years
(14:10):
in a row, maybe ten.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
That's a lot.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
And every time I do it, I learned something new
about myself and it definitely keeps me in check when
it covered for the rest of the year.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
One of the big challenges though, would have to be motivation, right,
because like anything that's a bit of a trend for instance,
or anything that you can start strong with something like this,
you go, yep, committing to a no by year. You
often see it with people when they get like a
like a fitbit or something like that, right, and they
go and I'm monitoring my steps and I'm going to
(14:43):
hit my ten thousand steps every day, and they do
it every single day for the first week, and then
it just drops off and they're at eight thousand, and
then all of a sudden, three weeks later, it's just
kind of sitting on the couch again. It feels like
the same kind of thing that you would hit this
really hard. I'm doing a no by year. You'd plaster
it all over social media and within a month you're
kind of heading out to dinner at restaurants and things
(15:04):
like that. Forgot about it, yeah indeed, and suddenly it's
just kind of well, I'm just going to go back
and delete that post I made about it on Instagram.
How do you stay motivated for the full year?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Look, I have my questions about how sustainable this is.
But to anyone who's thinking of doing this or has
already started doing this, make sure you've put a goal
a goal, oh yeah, you know, so that you know
exactly why you're doing this. You know, for some people
who might be like saving up a deposit to buy
their first home. For some people, it might be about
clearing toxic debt. For some people, it might be about
(15:38):
paying for an amazing holiday overseas. Traveling for five months.
Know your why because you have that why is linked
to that goal, and the goal is something that you
can see and you can track your progress along the
way and know that you know what the hard work
is paying off. It's getting without making progress.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
You're tying it to something positive, then aren't you rather
than just doing something which is even the name of
it is negative. No by year like, there's negativity attached
to this right from the start. But if you're tying
it to something positive, like a like a savings goal
or a trip or something like that, then it flips it.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
This isn't about punishing yourself. You can't go into this
challenge with that mindset. This is about like sacrificing and punishment,
and you know it's a way of undoing your sense
of self worth to rebuild yourself. You can't look at
like that. This is it is a challenge to help
improve your financial situation. It's a challenge to help improve
your the psychology around money and your money mindset. It's
(16:35):
a positive thing. It's exciting. It's called a challenge for
a reason.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Are you alarmed at how easily now I talk about
money mindsets and positivity and the negativity attached to the language.
I think there's a very real chance that I'm in
fact turning into you.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
I sometimes think I am turning into you. So this
is really concerning.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
So it's a really scary thought. The hybrid of where
we would meet in the middle just oh, very unpleasant.
It's extreme, isn't it? Not the hybrid of you and I?
But the idea of going without spending for a full year,
is there kind of smaller steps that we can take.
(17:16):
And I mentioned before the idea of maybe trying it
out for a month or something. Is that the way
to go to kind of ease into it, Because you
wouldn't recommend someone if they've got a bad habit. It's
not necessarily the most effective way. Just to say cut
it out entirely. Going cold turkey is not necessarily going
to be the most effective way to get rid of it.
You've got to be realistic about the way you're doing this.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Absolutely, and I'll say this, most households right now are
living like this. Yeah, they are tightening the belt. They're
saying no, they're going without. They're looking to save They've
cut all those non essentials eight years ago from you
know when interest rates started going up in the rising
cost of living. So a lot of people at you
(17:56):
doing this already, So this is not the right challenge
to them because they're they're living and breathing it every
single day. So if someone wants to do this, what
I recommend is bursts and spurts. Lean into it. So
you would say, okay, well, let's do for each month,
let's do one week or one weekend where we do
a no spend. I will say on the other side
of that, though, don't then go and save a whole
(18:18):
pile of money one weekend or one week to then
you know, celebrate with a sort of rebel back, which
is actually was a problem for me with Frugal February.
I would be so bitter and angry by the end
of Frugal February and sur fill with resentment. I'd then
kind of just this bad girl would come out of
me in massive It's free, So you know that's not
(18:39):
the purpose behind is that, don't even bother wasting your
time and energy doing something like this if you go
into rebel like I used to, but you know, so
lean into it to do a short shop burst, do
a ten day challenge, do it, you know, weekend, Try
a month, maybe try three months if you want. And
as you get better and better and understand how to
do this that suits you and your circumstances, the people
(19:00):
around you, and you can keep going with it.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
One last question, actually probably two more. I don't like
to limit myself, but this has the potential to affect relationships,
doesn't it. It has the potential to kind of impact
the relationship you might have with your friends, your social activities.
If suddenly all your friends are going out for a
drink after work or something and saying no, I can't,
I'm doing a no. By year, you have the potential
(19:26):
to suddenly end up a not only yeah, it'll be
a Nigel by the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
I no offense to anyone called Nigel.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Of course, I don't think that's really used anymore. The
Nigel no friends, No, I hope not for Nigel's sake.
If we have any Nigels listening, please get in touch
and let us know whether you have friends, and let.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Us know that we please know that we're not offending you,
mocking you for your name. More importantly, sorry, I bit
of sensitivity here, Sorry, Nige. Go on, look, I will
say this. When I first did Frugal February, I found
it really and I had to learn quickly how to
do frugal February, probably because I had that problem. You know,
(20:05):
Tom would be going, let's go out for dinner. You know,
everyone's going out for dinner together at this restaurant next week,
and I'd have to say, I can't. I'm doing Frugal February,
and so I wouldn't go. So I had to start
being really careful with doing Frugal February and not let
it be detrimental to my mental health. So I would
actually let people know what I was doing. And by
(20:26):
telling people upfront, hey, I'm about to start doing Frugal February,
I would love to see you, but I'm sort of
restricted at the moment because I really am honoring this
tradition and this particular challenge. Then I would give people
the opportunity of time to actually then come up with
something else that would actually work where I could actually
join in. Also, I encouraged as many people as possible
(20:47):
to try and do Frugal February with me. And it's
funny some of my friends would actually say to me, Hey,
we're thinking all going out to lunch, but we know
you're doing Frugal February, so how about we do this
instead to try and support you. So it was actually
really nice. You know, you do need to be aware
that some people are going to find it really annoying
and irritating that you're doing a challenge like this, and
so be it. That's their problem, not yours. But you
(21:10):
need to understand that you have to It works both ways.
So you'd suggest maybe doing going for a walk together
or having coffee, or you know, having a friend over
for breakfast instead of going out for breakfast or doing
a gym workout together. You know, you've got to kind
of let people know what you're doing and why. You know,
if you and share something important to you, if you
feel safe with that person, but then find other ways
(21:32):
to make sure that you keep connections with people so
that you have that you know, mental health is strong
to be able to go the distance and do this
in a sustainable way. All right.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
At the very beginning of the show, I asked you
one question that you will now need to answer. Is
it possible to go a full year without spending?
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yes, but success depends on preparation. And your mindset going
into this. So you've got to create a realistic framework.
You've got to have very clear, pre agreed rules and exceptions.
You've got to have rewards, and I'd even recommend having
rewards along the way, like little rewards to help you
keep going. And of course, you know, had that big
(22:12):
goal at the end, and don't just focus on the money,
but focus on the lessons and the personal growth that
goes on behind the scenes. And that's why, you know,
I think the person who wrote that story in the paper,
I think she was journaling along whilst doing this, which
I think is a really smart idea. And if you
really want to do this, know that even if you
(22:33):
do this only fifty percent of the time, that's incredible.
You know you can fail fifty percent and still have
amazing like get insights and wisdom gained from doing this.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I think you've just summarized it better than I could.
That's that's a really good kind of wrap of how
that's the.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Nicest thing you've ever said to me, because I always
think you summarize our pod episodes brilliantly.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
So rather chuffed, how about this. We're ending on such
a positive note. After you kind of sledged me about
my clothes. I gave it to a good old night
Jill for having no friends, various things. If people want
more information from you, where do they find you?
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Always at Sugar Mama TV and of course Canna Campbell
Official and.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
You can hear me every day with Sean Aylmer on
Fear and Greed, daily business news for people who make
their own decisions. Thank you very much for listening to
how do they afford that? Remember? Please hit follow on
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(23:32):
Join us again next week
Welcome to How Do They Afford That? The podcast that
peeks into the financial lives of everyday Australians. I'm Michael Thompson.
I'm a writer and the co host of the podcast
Fear and Greed Business News. As always, I'm with financial
planner Canna Campbell, founder of Sugar Mummer TV, which is
the financial literacy platform that you will find pretty much
everywhere YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, threads, books and podcasts like this one.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hello Canna, Hello, how are you?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
I am very well? Indeed, thank you? I am. I
have been observing a trend in recent weeks because it
is we are still relatively close to the start of
the year, and so you see people making money resolutions
or at least the first kind of six weeks of
the year, and one that I've seen a few times now,
(00:49):
it just keeps popping up. Maybe the algorithm has kind
of picked me as very susceptible to this, people committing
to a no by year or a no spend year.
So my questions for you today, Kenna, why would anybody
do this? How would they do this? Is it even
possible to go a full year without spending? Within reason? Obviously?
(01:15):
I know that's going to be exceptions to the rule.
Let's jump into it. What exactly is a no by year?
How does it actually work in practice?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Okay, A no by year is a personal financial challenge
where you commit to avoiding non essential spending for an
entire year. So it's really about going to heart of
what a need is versus a wanton stripping back to
the basics of life to help you save money, preserve
(01:45):
money even and just learly recalibrate your spending habits.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
I saw recently some really alarming stats about how much
Australians spend, and in particular clothing.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Black Friday sales. I think we spent seven point three
billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
This is extraordinary. And on the clothing front, Australians by
fifty six pieces of clothing per year on average. That
is more than anyone else in the world.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Isn't that disturbing?
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I am amazed. And obviously that's kind of an average,
and I know that I would be well below that.
So I can only imagine.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Two flannies, two striped shirts and a black T shirt.
Oh and a khaki one that you're wearing today. That's new.
I haven't seen that one within it.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
No, it is very old. Thank you, I have. So
I've pretty much committed to my own no by life. Basically,
I'm just going to re I'm going to rewear these
until they actually disintegrate on me. So I'm already there.
But that isn't that alarming? Fifty six pieces of clothing
purchased per year on average in Australia, So you can
see why you don't come across kind of anti consumerist.
(03:02):
But really that is there's got to be something wrong.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
There's a great documentary actually that's worth watching called by Now,
which I made my son Rocco sit and watch with me,
which touches on obviously clothing and electronic goods, but it
is fascinating, which if you want to learn more about
how we spend.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So I was just like you just stop listening to.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Me by Now.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I was writing it down. There is a difference between
not listening and taking notes, and I was writing down
by Now and I was just there pondering, going, I
wonder if that's by b U Y or b Y. Yeah,
I'm assuming it is now Netflix. Okay, So is that
why people then are drawn to these challenges? Why do
you think it is Is it because that we almost
(03:48):
just get overwhelmed by the amount we are spending, by
the amount of stuff that we are accumulating. Is this
a spending thing or is it a lifestyle thing trying
to get more towards a minimalist kind of lifestyle and
attaching the spending mindset to that.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I think there are two key reasons, and obviously everyone's different,
but these challenges appeal to people because they address a
universal truth. You know, deep down, most of us know
that we are overspending, even if it's not intentional. So
if you take something like a no by challenge, it
gives us this really concrete structure to try and work within,
(04:26):
and gives us some accountability and also allows us to
kind of reset our financial habits as well as, you know,
just have something to sort of sink our teeth in
and focus on if we haven't necessarily come up with
any New Year's resolutions as yet. But also I think
there's definitely a really strong psychological element, because people are
intrigued by the idea of breaking free from consumerism and
(04:48):
seeing actually how much little they can really live on,
and they're really curious to see what they might learn
and discover about themselves by doing a challenge like this
or something very simla. So at the end of the
day where you whatever reason you're doing for, it's definitely
empowering to take control of your finances and see how
you can go with this in a definitive way. And
(05:09):
it also creates a sense of achievement if you are
able to pull off this challenge. I mean this one
we're talking about a year challenge is fairly substantial amount
of time.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And I suppose you can always kind of start with
a no by a month or something like that, right
weekend for February, frugal February, that kind of thing. But
the rules around this, I like structure, I like some rules.
Can you please set some rules here for me? Can
I Is it just you don't buy anything that is
non essential. You can still buy food, food, you can
(05:42):
still buy medicine, I would hope.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
So, ok, right, looking really, but obviously you look at
that Maslow hierarchy all needs you go with the essential.
So you know, shelter, accommodation, food, clothing, healthcare, you know,
you start with that.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
But clothing though that.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
What things you're naked, I mean not clothing like you know,
a luxury designer wardrobe. I'm talking clothing, like, let's not
just cover ourselves up.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Yeah, clothing is probably one that kind of straddles this
because you need you do need it to be to
get by.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Okay, let me rearticulate that at least underpants like underwear.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
If you just had a minimum dress code for the studio,
so one must wear underwear and the rest of it.
If you're in a no bio, just go for it.
Goodness me, that is a confronting thought. So anything else though,
gets just struck off. So we're talking that you wouldn't
buy takeaway. You wouldn't buy a takeaway coffee for instance.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
All right, okay, so to do this realistically, you've really
got to challenge this will tailor this to your unique circumstances.
So look at what your spending is like, and what
you classes and essential versus are non essential, and then
you can work out your own rules. You know, this
is not a hard and fast way of doing You know,
everyone is different and people in different stages of their lives.
(07:03):
So for example, you know a young family like you
and I, this is going to be a lot harder
because we have you know, kids' activities that we need
to do and be a part of. And you know,
a child's not going to understand, sorry, we can't buy
Jimmy a birthday present even though you're going to his party,
because we're doing this no spend yere like.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
We'll just send them some best wishes kids love that.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Make them a card. So that's going to be a
lot harder for younger families. So you would make maybe
the rules a little bit more relaxed, whereas say singles
living at home. If you're lucky enough, you know you
might be able to be able to do this realistically
and go fairly aggressively. And I believe you know, the
person who wrote that story for the Sydney Morning Heralds
that you know is someone who's I think you know
(07:47):
single independent person that was has that ability to make
those changes quite easily and doesn't have those financial obligations
necessarily on their shoulders. And then if you look at
someone like who's are self funder retiree, you know they
could cut back on things, you know, the luxuries of retirements,
such as you traveling as much or going out like
certain hobbies that are quite expensive. So everyone is in
(08:10):
a different situation. You've got to kind of create your
own rules and find that healthy strike of balance between
something that's challenging enough but also realistic so that you
can actually stick to it and go the distance with it.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Okay, so we would be realistically looking at things like
excess clothes, clothes just for the sake of buying them,
as opposed to kind of the essentials, buying your underwear,
buying your shoes, that kind of thing that you actually
need to get around. You probably need more than just
undies and shoes, shoes to go to work, but anyway,
take away food, those kinds of things. Those are pretty
kind of clearly defined as discretionary spending items and entertainment,
(08:46):
not going to the movies or not going to a
concert or things like that, which would be tough to
do for a lot of people, but they are things
that you could. You would get quite a good feeling
from not doing those because I'm depriving myself, but I'm
doing it for a good cause.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
But also you need to understand and respect where you
come from. So someone who has you know, spent, has
a spending problem, a shopping problem, for example, and just
buys all the time, then cutting it down to one
item per month is a huge transformation, whereas for someone
else that one item per month is still excessive and unnecessary. So,
(09:23):
you know, be kind to yourself. This is about you know, progress,
not perfection.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Okay, all right. The big benefit of doing it is
it it is a spending reset, really, isn't it. If
you were to do it, even if you're not successful,
not one hundred percent successful, it would make you stop
and take stock of what you are spending. Right.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Oh, the awareness it creates could be very powerful and
something that you could use to reset your financial habits
that take you through the rest of your life. You know,
there's a lot to be learned from doing these types
of challenges, and not even necessarily a you know, no spend,
no buy challenge. Even you know, I did a recently
a seven day mortgage challenge. I did my own Sugar
Mama ten day financial Reset challenge. I learned so much
(10:04):
about myself. So there's lots of non non tangible things
that come from doing these particular challenges. But you know,
at the end of the day, the key benefits, I
would say are obviously number one. Obviously, you know you're
financial you might be protecting your savings, growing your savings,
or even accelerating your financial journey, because that money that
you've managed to save can then go towards some of
(10:27):
your financial goals, such as paying off debt, or building
up your emergency money or investing. So you know, if
you can make sure that those savings at the end
of the year are there, you can quarantine them and
actually look at that bank account and go, wow, this
is how much I was able to save from doing
this challenge. Great, don't go then blow it on something
some stuff. Use that for your financial wellbeing. And then,
(10:50):
obviously the psychological benefit, which I think is the most
beautiful and powerful one, is gaining that deep understanding and
awareness of how you spend money, and you know why
you spend money, what are your triggers, what are the
emotional impulses that go on for you to go and
have a reckless shopping expedition or blow a whole pile
of money on something that you don't actually value. So
(11:11):
you know, this can actually allow you to become incredibly
intentional with your money. You're looking at me like you
just did a whole blow of crap or that's actually.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Really interesting now I was actually thinking about what you
said about eight minutes ago about the limited number of
clothes that I bring in. It is because you lectured
me eighteen months ago now on the importance of using
a capsule wardrobe, and I took your words to heart.
That's rubbish.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
You had a capsual wardrobe before we met, and god,
it couple the bull over my eyes.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
But now I have a name to attach to it.
It's a capsule wardrobe and KNA told me to do it,
So therefore I'm allowed to just wear the same kind
of two or three shirts and the same kind of
three pants and two pairs of shoes.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
You are all right, I'll give you that.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Thank you. It is a sound financial decision.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
All right.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
We're going to take a quick break, and when we
come back, I want to find out kind who a
challenge like this is most suited to, who would benefit
most from it, and also how to overcome some of
the challenges that you would have in not just committing
to it, but sticking to it for any period of time.
So we've still got a bit to couple. We'll be
back in a moment. Can we are talking today about
(12:25):
a no buy year or a no spend year where
you commit to not spending money on non essential things
really across the course of a year, and the fact
that it is really a spending reset for a lot
of people. But who is this most suited to. Are
we talking about people that might have a bit of
(12:46):
a spending problem and have identified themselves as being perhaps
a little bit too willing to indulge in kind of
impulse buys, or is it perhaps households might be living
kind of paycheck to paycheck and want to go, Okay,
we need to reset here. We need to find where
there is a bit of room in the budget. Let's
(13:06):
commit to this challenge.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
I think to answer your question both O you know,
anyone that knows they need to do something about the
way that they engage with money and use money and
to a certain degree abuse money. You know, I don't
say that with any judgment. You know, something like this
in a gentle way could be really beneficial because essentially.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
It's a detox.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Then I would say anyone who's curious, you know, anyone
who thinks, you know what, this could be really helpful
for us in you know, getting ready ready of any waste,
any creating any awareness as to have triggers for spending
money and blowing money, and you know, allowing us to
maybe save up a lot of money that we can
then use to catch up maybe for previous lost time
(13:47):
with their financial journey. So yeah, I would say if
you've got a problem and you want to address it,
and you're willing to do the work and face the music,
and for anyone that's curious as to not just the
financial benefit but also the mindfulness and the psychological benefits
from doing this. Because I've done this not a full year,
but obviously I've done Frugal February I think nine years
(14:10):
in a row, maybe ten.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
That's a lot.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
And every time I do it, I learned something new
about myself and it definitely keeps me in check when
it covered for the rest of the year.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
One of the big challenges though, would have to be motivation, right,
because like anything that's a bit of a trend for instance,
or anything that you can start strong with something like this,
you go, yep, committing to a no by year. You
often see it with people when they get like a
like a fitbit or something like that, right, and they
go and I'm monitoring my steps and I'm going to
(14:43):
hit my ten thousand steps every day, and they do
it every single day for the first week, and then
it just drops off and they're at eight thousand, and
then all of a sudden, three weeks later, it's just
kind of sitting on the couch again. It feels like
the same kind of thing that you would hit this
really hard. I'm doing a no by year. You'd plaster
it all over social media and within a month you're
kind of heading out to dinner at restaurants and things
(15:04):
like that. Forgot about it, yeah indeed, and suddenly it's
just kind of well, I'm just going to go back
and delete that post I made about it on Instagram.
How do you stay motivated for the full year?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Look, I have my questions about how sustainable this is.
But to anyone who's thinking of doing this or has
already started doing this, make sure you've put a goal
a goal, oh yeah, you know, so that you know
exactly why you're doing this. You know, for some people
who might be like saving up a deposit to buy
their first home. For some people, it might be about
clearing toxic debt. For some people, it might be about
(15:38):
paying for an amazing holiday overseas. Traveling for five months.
Know your why because you have that why is linked
to that goal, and the goal is something that you
can see and you can track your progress along the
way and know that you know what the hard work
is paying off. It's getting without making progress.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
You're tying it to something positive, then aren't you rather
than just doing something which is even the name of
it is negative. No by year like, there's negativity attached
to this right from the start. But if you're tying
it to something positive, like a like a savings goal
or a trip or something like that, then it flips it.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
This isn't about punishing yourself. You can't go into this
challenge with that mindset. This is about like sacrificing and punishment,
and you know it's a way of undoing your sense
of self worth to rebuild yourself. You can't look at
like that. This is it is a challenge to help
improve your financial situation. It's a challenge to help improve
your the psychology around money and your money mindset. It's
(16:35):
a positive thing. It's exciting. It's called a challenge for
a reason.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Are you alarmed at how easily now I talk about
money mindsets and positivity and the negativity attached to the language.
I think there's a very real chance that I'm in
fact turning into you.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
I sometimes think I am turning into you. So this
is really concerning.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
So it's a really scary thought. The hybrid of where
we would meet in the middle just oh, very unpleasant.
It's extreme, isn't it? Not the hybrid of you and I?
But the idea of going without spending for a full year,
is there kind of smaller steps that we can take.
(17:16):
And I mentioned before the idea of maybe trying it
out for a month or something. Is that the way
to go to kind of ease into it, Because you
wouldn't recommend someone if they've got a bad habit. It's
not necessarily the most effective way. Just to say cut
it out entirely. Going cold turkey is not necessarily going
to be the most effective way to get rid of it.
You've got to be realistic about the way you're doing this.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Absolutely, and I'll say this, most households right now are
living like this. Yeah, they are tightening the belt. They're
saying no, they're going without. They're looking to save They've
cut all those non essentials eight years ago from you
know when interest rates started going up in the rising
cost of living. So a lot of people at you
(17:56):
doing this already, So this is not the right challenge
to them because they're they're living and breathing it every
single day. So if someone wants to do this, what
I recommend is bursts and spurts. Lean into it. So
you would say, okay, well, let's do for each month,
let's do one week or one weekend where we do
a no spend. I will say on the other side
of that, though, don't then go and save a whole
(18:18):
pile of money one weekend or one week to then
you know, celebrate with a sort of rebel back, which
is actually was a problem for me with Frugal February.
I would be so bitter and angry by the end
of Frugal February and sur fill with resentment. I'd then
kind of just this bad girl would come out of
me in massive It's free, So you know that's not
(18:39):
the purpose behind is that, don't even bother wasting your
time and energy doing something like this if you go
into rebel like I used to, but you know, so
lean into it to do a short shop burst, do
a ten day challenge, do it, you know, weekend, Try
a month, maybe try three months if you want. And
as you get better and better and understand how to
do this that suits you and your circumstances, the people
(19:00):
around you, and you can keep going with it.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
One last question, actually probably two more. I don't like
to limit myself, but this has the potential to affect relationships,
doesn't it. It has the potential to kind of impact
the relationship you might have with your friends, your social activities.
If suddenly all your friends are going out for a
drink after work or something and saying no, I can't,
I'm doing a no. By year, you have the potential
(19:26):
to suddenly end up a not only yeah, it'll be
a Nigel by the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
I no offense to anyone called Nigel.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Of course, I don't think that's really used anymore. The
Nigel no friends, No, I hope not for Nigel's sake.
If we have any Nigels listening, please get in touch
and let us know whether you have friends, and let.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Us know that we please know that we're not offending you,
mocking you for your name. More importantly, sorry, I bit
of sensitivity here, Sorry, Nige. Go on, look, I will
say this. When I first did Frugal February, I found
it really and I had to learn quickly how to
do frugal February, probably because I had that problem. You know,
(20:05):
Tom would be going, let's go out for dinner. You know,
everyone's going out for dinner together at this restaurant next week,
and I'd have to say, I can't. I'm doing Frugal February,
and so I wouldn't go. So I had to start
being really careful with doing Frugal February and not let
it be detrimental to my mental health. So I would
actually let people know what I was doing. And by
(20:26):
telling people upfront, hey, I'm about to start doing Frugal February,
I would love to see you, but I'm sort of
restricted at the moment because I really am honoring this
tradition and this particular challenge. Then I would give people
the opportunity of time to actually then come up with
something else that would actually work where I could actually
join in. Also, I encouraged as many people as possible
(20:47):
to try and do Frugal February with me. And it's
funny some of my friends would actually say to me, Hey,
we're thinking all going out to lunch, but we know
you're doing Frugal February, so how about we do this
instead to try and support you. So it was actually
really nice. You know, you do need to be aware
that some people are going to find it really annoying
and irritating that you're doing a challenge like this, and
so be it. That's their problem, not yours. But you
(21:10):
need to understand that you have to It works both ways.
So you'd suggest maybe doing going for a walk together
or having coffee, or you know, having a friend over
for breakfast instead of going out for breakfast or doing
a gym workout together. You know, you've got to kind
of let people know what you're doing and why. You know,
if you and share something important to you, if you
feel safe with that person, but then find other ways
(21:32):
to make sure that you keep connections with people so
that you have that you know, mental health is strong
to be able to go the distance and do this
in a sustainable way. All right.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
At the very beginning of the show, I asked you
one question that you will now need to answer. Is
it possible to go a full year without spending?
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yes, but success depends on preparation. And your mindset going
into this. So you've got to create a realistic framework.
You've got to have very clear, pre agreed rules and exceptions.
You've got to have rewards, and I'd even recommend having
rewards along the way, like little rewards to help you
keep going. And of course, you know, had that big
(22:12):
goal at the end, and don't just focus on the money,
but focus on the lessons and the personal growth that
goes on behind the scenes. And that's why, you know,
I think the person who wrote that story in the paper,
I think she was journaling along whilst doing this, which
I think is a really smart idea. And if you
really want to do this, know that even if you
(22:33):
do this only fifty percent of the time, that's incredible.
You know you can fail fifty percent and still have
amazing like get insights and wisdom gained from doing this.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I think you've just summarized it better than I could.
That's that's a really good kind of wrap of how
that's the.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Nicest thing you've ever said to me, because I always
think you summarize our pod episodes brilliantly.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
So rather chuffed, how about this. We're ending on such
a positive note. After you kind of sledged me about
my clothes. I gave it to a good old night
Jill for having no friends, various things. If people want
more information from you, where do they find you?
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Always at Sugar Mama TV and of course Canna Campbell
Official and.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
You can hear me every day with Sean Aylmer on
Fear and Greed, daily business news for people who make
their own decisions. Thank you very much for listening to
how do they afford that? Remember? Please hit follow on
the podcast And the best thing you can actually do
is to tell somebody else or if they might be
interested in this episode in particular, send them a link
to this episode so that they can listen to it,
spread the word about the podcast. Thank you for your company.
(23:32):
Join us again next week
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