May 6, 2025 • 24 mins
It's May, so there's never been a better time to embrace a minimalist lifetyle. Join Canna Campbell - a financial planner for 20 years - and Fear & Greed's Michael Thompson as they look at the benefits of buying quality over quantity, the effect of minimalism on the household, and how to make some money through decluttering.
---
The information in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances, financial needs or objectives. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of it and the relevant product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. In particular, you should seek independent financial advice and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement or other offer document prior to acquiring any financial product.
Canna Campbell is a Corporate Authorised Representative and Corporate Credit Representative of Wealthstream Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN 35 152 803 113 Australian Financial Services Licensee AFSL 412079.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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 an author and the co host of the podcast
Fear and Greed business News, and I am joined as
always by Canna Campbell, financial planner and founder of Sugar
Mama TV, the financial literacy platform that you will find
on Instagram and threads and YouTube and podcasts and books,
(00:22):
et cetera everywhere. Canna, Hello, Hello, HOWI I had an
epiphany recently. Tell me it sounds painful, doesn't it. The
epiphany was that we have too much stuff, and I'm
sure I'm not alone in having this epiphany. Our house
is overflowing with things. Every single cupboard is full. We
(00:46):
have a little shed that is full as well. The
bedrooms are full. We are just overloaded and absolutely overwhelmed.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
You're busting at the seams.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
We are. We are just I thought, if you're okay
with this, I probably should have checked before we started
the show. But considering we are in May, now it
is time to look at a minimalist lifestyle. Minimalist May
it is time, and as part of that, the question
is kind of how do you prioritize quality over quantity
(01:21):
and what does it mean for your money as well?
Do we have a problem, and I say we excluding
myself from this, do we have a problem with consumerism?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Look, if you look at the state of our planet
and ecosystem, I think we can all agree the answer
is yes. Okay, how I think it's really important to
acknowledge that over consumption is a sign of financial privilege
because having the means to buy excess stuff in the
first place, that's a good point.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, it's also a sign of a probably a potential hoarder.
I'm not even kidding. Like, we just have so much stuff,
and every single kind of part of the house feels
like it is overwhelmingly full of just things clutter, you know.
And I know that you've talked about minimalism in the past,
(02:18):
and I find it a fascinating kind of approach to
living and to spending money and to buying things that
have value to you and trying to focus on those
things rather than just accumulating stuff. Is it a mindset?
Is it about changing your approach and your attitude to
(02:39):
money and about what you're buying.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Is it all of those things So for me, mealism
is more about just having less stuff in my life.
It's very much a mindset, and it's about living with
attention and intention so focused on like sustainable fulfillment rather
than like quick fix you fleeting faction that leaves me
(03:02):
and a lot of other people, you know, craving more. So,
you know, about making conscious decisions that align with both
my financial and my you know, non financial values and
looking at you know, where do those short term needs
fit into my overall long term goals in life and
prioritizing you know, quality over quantity, and ensuring that we
(03:24):
only bring into our lives things that actually add value.
And my journey into millism actually didn't start because of money.
It started from a more of a mental health point
of view.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Okay, can you just explain that what what was that
kind of triggered for you?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Sure? So it was such a distinctive time in my life.
But I had Rocker, was a newborn baby, and I
was being a mother for the first time. I was,
you know, went and brought out bought every single gadget gizmo,
I got the list of what to buy when you're
having a baby, and I just remember standing in my kitchen,
and I had really bad postnatal depression and I was
(04:02):
just there was so much stuff around me, and I
felt like I was drowning. I was suffocated. I had
no mental clarity whatsoever. And I came across something from
the Millmus and you know, watched a video, and then
I read a few blogs and I found all these
other people who were following this lifestyle movement, which would
have been about eleven years ago, and I in that moment,
(04:24):
I just started to release things, let go of things
and in respect the planets. And it's not about going
and dumping a whole pile of stuff on the bin.
It's about, you know, passing those things on to people
who need them. I sold some things as well, I donated,
I gave to friends and family, and or repurposed things
as well. But as I got rid of each item
(04:48):
and started to create space in my life, I had
a huge amount of mental and emotional lightness returned and
I could have that clarity and see the light at
the end of the tunnel when I was in a
really dark headspace.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
How does having too much stuff and what you've just
described there does feel like quite a familiar scenario, just
where you look around and go just you just don't
have the headspace to kind of think to process when
you just you feel surrounded by stuff. But how does
(05:19):
it affect our money? Can it? Kind of having too
much stuff affect our finances kind of without I suppose,
without even realizing it.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Potentially, look, every unnecessary purchase that we make could have
been money that could have gone towards us savings, paying
down debt, investing, or even helping plan for a healthier,
happier retirement. You know, clutter creates so many different types
of waste, not just financial, but also the time and
energy in our lives to maintain items, manage them, replace them,
(05:51):
even like finding them. You know, when you've got trying
to find a toy, like in the middle of the
night for my kids, that's a toy box. It's full
of toys, Like, there's so much time and energy we
think just get kind of buried. So that's one of
the other issues of minimalism and letting go of these things.
And the more we own, the more we tend to
spend on storage, upkeep, and even repurchasing things that we
(06:15):
actually already have. Like how many duplicates do we have?
Like how many white T shirts do we have? I
catch myself, you know, all the time, thinking oh, I
really need a new single it or a new T shirt,
but I've actually got one at home in the drawer.
I just need to reorganize my door so I can
see it, not push it to the back or it
gets cluttered and drowning.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Okay, the next kind of I suppose flow on from there.
Is there a link between minimalism and smarter money habits.
Then if you are, if you are taking a more
minimalist approach, are you then making more deliberate decisions with
your money?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yes? I think so. Okay, So minimalism foster's mindful spending
and obviously financial clarity. So it allows us to experience
I call it a lightness of living with less, but
actually at the same time gaining a deeper richness financially
and emotionally. So you're prioritizing what is essential, and like
(07:16):
a purposeful purchase in your life, you naturally are going
to reduce wasteful spending and mills. And also like it
shifts your mindset, you know, reducing the urge to accumulate
more and more because you actually feel satisfied Can I
give you an analogy?
Speaker 1 (07:33):
I would love an analogy please.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
So if you go, you like, go out to a
cafe and you order a really healthy salad with your
favorite ingredients.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
What's in the salad?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
What's your favorite salad?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Oh, there's something with well, it's got to be green
of some kind.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
You are totally ruining mine, algy.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Can I put say, maybe some some protein, maybe salmon
or something in that.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Like a salmon, salm, goat cheese in there as well?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Sounds great? And is it a decent size? Like? Am
I going to be hungry?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
But it's healthy and it's nutritious. That's the key thing here.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Okay, all right?
Speaker 2 (08:11):
How likely are you to go and crave a big
bowl of ice cream or a really naughty, decadent dessert
after eating something healthy?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
See, this is probably not the best analogy for me
because I always question people that don't save room for dessert, Like,
if you are somewhere that has a dessert menu, it
is almost a crime not to get dessert.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
You are preaching to the convert because I am such
a sugar tooth, But you've totally ruined my.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Now, sorry for ruining you.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I do understand it.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
In principle, when you.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Mosself up correctly, you don't have that insatiable appetite that
leaves you wanting more. You bought something that's fabulous, you
love it. You could even possibly think about going back
online and looking at what else is coming. You know what,
New Seasons just dropped because you're so happy with what
you purchased, because you say up for it, You're intentional,
you paid attention, and if it's perfect for you.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
How do you start the shift? Though? All right, we
are talking here about essentially a shift from buying quantity
to buying quality. What is the first step? How do
you actually kind of flick that switch and go No,
I'm not just going to go on and say go
to like Timu or Shean or one of those ones
(09:27):
and just buy kind of whatever is cheapest and maximum
quantity and actually buy quantity and try and make a difference.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Well, I recommend starting with like assessing the true utility
and joy that each item brings you. So a great
place to start is look at what you have in
your home or your wardrobe or your bathroom cabinet, or
your cupboards and pantries and so forth, and what you
would never part with and ask yourself why, because that
(09:57):
will allow you to see what you truly value and
often you can sort of release the rest. But asking yourself, like,
does this serve a meaningful purpose in my life? Is
this going to provide me with long lasting value? And
learning from the past. Spinning habits allows you to create
(10:18):
a far deeper, powerful awareness to catch yourself slipping up
before you start impulsively shopping again. So you know, say,
for example, you look at your wardrobe and you discover
you've got some jumpers and you've found three jumpers you love,
and you go, why do I love those jumpers? And
you go, well, the fabric's really soft, they're really well
(10:39):
made that I bought them from this shop and they're great.
I don't really care too much about the other jumpers.
There's a lot to learn from that assessment. You might go, Okay, well,
it's the fabric, it's the color, it's the cut. I
really like that. That's what you use going forward if
you ever need to buy another jumper. But you also
look at where did you go wrong? So you go, okay,
there's seven jumpers left. I really like them. I need
(11:01):
to know I now know not to buy those fabrics,
not to buy those colors, not to shop from that
story again because they aren't very well made. You've got
to pay attention to the wisdom and the lessons and
the messages as you're going through this if you want
to take this seriously and have this make a profound
impact in your life, both in your bank balance but
also in your headspace.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Okay, I want to take a quick break, but when
we come back, there is a part of it that
doesn't I don't quite understand whether or not it's actually
going to save you money by shifting from kind of
buying many cheap, smaller things to buying fewer expensive ones,
whether there is actually potentially a gain there, or whether
it all just kind of evens out in the end.
But we'll get into that one after the break. Can
(11:49):
we are talking about minimalism and about the impact that
it can have both on your mental health and on
your finances. Before the break, I mentioned this question over
whether minimalism actually does save you money and improve your
financial position, or whether you are just shifting your spending
from buying multiple smaller, cheaper items to buying one good quality,
(12:14):
potentially more expensive one.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Well, minimalism curbs those impulsive shopping splurges and although it's
completely unnecessary purchases, so that's naturally going to save you
a lot of money. But also at the same time,
some people may choose to invest in fewer items, but
better quality items sometimes which may cost a little bit more.
But the whole purpose behind this is intentional spending, not
(12:40):
necessarily spending more buying better qualities about as I said,
intention and attention. So the real benefit is ensuring that
every purchase that you decide to make, that you've thought
about mindfully before you've purceed ahead, is actually in an
alignment to your values and your actual lifestyle, so you
know you've got financial goal. Minimalism can actually allow you
(13:01):
to redirect your cash flow that actually will help you
achieve those goals faster.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I like that. That makes sense. It is about intentional.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Spending, intention and attention.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Okay, can we talk decluttering then, because it feels like
these two things go hand in hand, and I know
that you are a decluttering queen.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
I'm craving to do another declutter of my home.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Can you come to my house and help me with mine? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
I think I can. I can put aside some time
for you if you stop being.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Mean about my analogies, I will never stop teasing you.
So I guess I'm destined to do the decluttering on
my own. Financial benefit of decluttering, obviously, there is a
mental benefit of having more space around your house. Financial benefit.
We know there is one, because you can sell stuff online.
You are the master of this.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Oh I love it. It just so feels so good. One
man's trash is another man's treasure and just giving your
items a new home. So yes, you can make money
from decluttering your home. Absolutely. In fact, I was reading
a report by Gumtree that they said there's about twenty
each household in Australia has on average twenty one sellable
(14:13):
items with a combined value of over six thousand, nine hundred.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Dollars, a lot of money.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
It's huge. You think about what they could do on
your home load or kicked up your investment portfolio.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Holiday holiday, that's a great holiday.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Actually, No, so yes, you definitely can, and you look
at places like Facebook, Marketplace, gum Tree. I mean you
mentioned taking items back to Ikea even.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, yeah, wasn't that a great hack?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
That was cool?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
This idea of once you have finished with your Ikea furniture,
you can actually sell it back to Ikea and they
pay you a pretty fair price for it, and it
goes back onto the floor at Ikea in a special
kind of secondhand part of it, part of the saw,
and they sell it for exactly what they paid you for,
(15:03):
so that they're not there's no markup there. And it's
great because it just means that that furniture has a
second life. It doesn't end up in landfill. It is
an option then for people who might want a cheaper
alternative to go and buy that, and so it's just
it's all around it a good thing. I really enjoyed
doing that in the past. And often those those furniture
(15:24):
items are some of the bigger ones the clutter, like
how did I end up with three bookshelves? Things like that.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I might know why because you love to read. But
the other thing is when you have a less cluttered home.
And I went through this myself personally, and I sort
of uphold this. I'll hold this ever since I incorporated
this into my life eleven years ago. But a simplified
home means fewer storage costs, less maintenance, and it is
(15:51):
so much easier to keep clean and tidy. You know,
you know when you're dusting and vacuuming, listenings to have
to move around and slow you down.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
It is inc when you want to clean the house,
we need to spend say two or three days before
that tidying the house in order to just be able
to get to the floor to vacuum it definitely and
that is just that is a mental drain and a
half just going okay, I want to give the floor
a quick back. We've got people coming over, Well, we
need kind of four days notice before anyone comes over
(16:22):
because we've got to actually declutter and tidy in order
to clean in order to have people come over.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
You really need to look at the energy of a room.
This is what I do when I try and talk
about kids and with my kids and the mess and
keeping them responsible of being tidy is look at the energy.
So I make my kids tidy their room before they
get into bed, and I say to them, look now,
look at the room. How does it feel? And they're like, oh,
it feels calm, I feels more relaxing, and it's obviously
(16:48):
more inducive to a quality night's sleep.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
That's great. I might use that thinks Okay, when you
are decluttering, do you have any kind of rule or
filters that you apply to help decide kind of what
to what to keep, what to toss, what to sell,
what you need to be buying or replacing.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Well, as I sort of explained, I love to start
with what stays.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Okay, yeah, that's what you're starting, So.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Then I can really see what I really love, Like
I keep that benchmark up nice and high. That's staying.
That's non negotiable. I'm keeping that. I would never get
rid of that or part with it in anyway.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
This is my problem though, I want to keep everything well.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
That then leads me to my next question. Okay, you know,
does this this particular item add value my life? Will
I honestly use this in the future? Could I maybe
rent this or borrow this instead of avatually having to
hold onto it and then look to sell things that
are obviously in good condition that you no longer need,
(17:50):
and think about, well, I could get one hundred dollars
for this, and what would I like to do with
that one hundred dollars. That can be a really good
motivation or tool to users to help you indicate whether
you value that item. Or not. You might think you
love it, but then if someone said, I'll give you
a hundred dollars, but that suddenly you don't really need
it or want it anymore, and you'll you'll, you know,
pass it on. So it's a really good way to
help put things into perspective and the give you that
(18:10):
sort of clarity and only things that you know give
you a clear purpose in life, like that fits your lifestyle,
like you know, if you I know for myself, I'm
I don't need to hold onto any more baby stuff
because I am not having any more babies. I can
let that go. So that's why I said, look at
your actual life, your real lifestyle, and where your lifestyle
is going. And I have a shopping mantra, Oh go on,
(18:33):
would you like to hear it?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I think it's inevitable now that you're going to tell me.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
It's only by what you love, value, use and appreciate.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Only by what you love, value, use, and appreciate.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
It stops the wasteful purchases. It stops me getting caught
up in trends or you know, things that I just
am curious about, Like it just helps slow down the
consumption and makes me more consider it as to what
I want to bring into my home.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
How do you do it with kids? Though? Right you
mentioned before about that question of how does it feel,
how does the room feel after you've after you've done it.
But the process of clutter, decluttering, and trying to move
towards a more minimalist lifestyle feels easier to do if
you don't have kids there that are saying, actually, I
still want to use that toy that I haven't used
(19:27):
for three years and probably won't ever use again after
this current hour that we're in right now, But if
you throw it out, I will throw the tantrum to
end all tantrums.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I've heard some funny stories of parents loading up secretly
in the car in the boot the toys here, hidden
away from the kids, and the kids will be in the
current here a toy go off, They're like, oh, that's
my buddy from well and they suddenly they're like jumping
in the boot, grabbing things out. So great question. I
obviously it's got to be age appropriate and use your
(19:56):
intrusions to what child is ready to hear certain things.
But you know, having open conversations I think is key. Also,
there are some brilliant documentaries like Rock on Ires and
Whose Rocos eleven, ten, and twelve. We recently sat down
and watched Buy Now, and it was so insightful because
you could see the damage to the planet, but you
(20:20):
can see about all the marketing tricks that we buy
into to just continue on this non stop buying spree. Okay,
So that was really helpful. And I think the talking
to kids about the planet is really relatable, showing talking
to them about the ocean and about the quality of
(20:40):
the air and all those sorts of things. It really
does come home to children. It's I think really does
help wake them up and understand they also have a
responsibility and we need to obviously guide them and educate
them around this as well. As I said talking about
making kids aware of the space. You know, when I
talk to my kids and I say, okay, how does
the room now feel as you jump into bed and
everything's put away and neat and tidy, They're able to
(21:03):
articulate the difference. So, and the other final thing I'd
say is teaching our kids to take care of their
belongings so that you know, take care of that toy
because we're not going to replace it. Because that's a
waste of money and that's more landfill. And even clothes.
You know, my daughter Apple is constantly putting her knees
(21:24):
through her T shirt and I'm like, you're stretching your
T shirt. We're not going to replace that. You're going
to have to walk around with the stretch T shirt.
You need to take care of your items, and you know,
even told you know, dropping food all over himself. Like
if we take care of items, make sure we wash
them properly, if we need to take them to the
dry clean so that they last longer. Because at the
end of the day we can get great long term
(21:45):
lover items. We're going to be buying a lot less.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
We have an approach with toys at home because the
kids get very attached to every.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Toy, especially if you suddenly want to get rid of absolutely.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
So what we do is, and this is not very
open or transparent at all, but it works, is that
when they are at school, for instance, we will bag
up toys that we think they're not going to play
with this, they haven't played with these for a long time.
We put them all into a bag that is not
it just like one of those kind of moving bags.
(22:22):
And then we put it away in the shed or
somewhere for six months, and if they do not mention
it once during that six months, then the entire bag
gets donated to Salvo's or Vinnie's or somewhere, and we
will never mention that toy again to them, because as
soon as you mention it brings it back into the
mind they want it again. But if they don't mention
(22:43):
it for six months, then chances are they're not actually
going to care, or they're not going to notice. They
would care, they are not going to notice if it
is gone. And that way we kind of you just
have to come up with strategies, right, You've got to
find ways to work around it.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Absolutely. And then of course, you know, investing experiences. You know,
when my kids earn pocket money, yes they can buy something,
but they could also invest in an experience. What's what
would bring more joy? And kids can figure things out themselves.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah, all right, to wrap things up, because I think
we have covered this fairly well. Minimalism said that strangely, didn't.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I I struggle saying minimalism as well.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
So minimalism, minimalism, it doesn't mean giving up things you love.
It just means kind of buying with intention, more and
more intent, more intention and attention.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Correct, correct, respecting that particular item and taking care of
it for long term love. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
And it has a flow on effect to your finances
because you are not because it puts a stop to
the frivolous spending right.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And that money can go towards improving your financial wellbeing,
which will benefit today and well into the long run.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Nice one. Where do we find you? If we want
more information?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
You can ask me anything you like about midmalism at
Sugar Mammo TV about what Sorry, listen.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
That one sounded a lot better. I've got no credibility
on pronouncing the words, so I just thought I'd try
and take you down with me. 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 for listening to how do they afford that? Remember
to hit follow on the podcast. And the best thing
you can do is tell somebody else, send them a
link to this episode, spread the word about how do
(24:29):
they afford that? Thank you for your company. 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 an author and the co host of the podcast
Fear and Greed business News, and I am joined as
always by Canna Campbell, financial planner and founder of Sugar
Mama TV, the financial literacy platform that you will find
on Instagram and threads and YouTube and podcasts and books,
(00:22):
et cetera everywhere. Canna, Hello, Hello, HOWI I had an
epiphany recently. Tell me it sounds painful, doesn't it. The
epiphany was that we have too much stuff, and I'm
sure I'm not alone in having this epiphany. Our house
is overflowing with things. Every single cupboard is full. We
(00:46):
have a little shed that is full as well. The
bedrooms are full. We are just overloaded and absolutely overwhelmed.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
You're busting at the seams.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
We are. We are just I thought, if you're okay
with this, I probably should have checked before we started
the show. But considering we are in May, now it
is time to look at a minimalist lifestyle. Minimalist May
it is time, and as part of that, the question
is kind of how do you prioritize quality over quantity
(01:21):
and what does it mean for your money as well?
Do we have a problem, and I say we excluding
myself from this, do we have a problem with consumerism?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Look, if you look at the state of our planet
and ecosystem, I think we can all agree the answer
is yes. Okay, how I think it's really important to
acknowledge that over consumption is a sign of financial privilege
because having the means to buy excess stuff in the
first place, that's a good point.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, it's also a sign of a probably a potential hoarder.
I'm not even kidding. Like, we just have so much stuff,
and every single kind of part of the house feels
like it is overwhelmingly full of just things clutter, you know.
And I know that you've talked about minimalism in the past,
(02:18):
and I find it a fascinating kind of approach to
living and to spending money and to buying things that
have value to you and trying to focus on those
things rather than just accumulating stuff. Is it a mindset?
Is it about changing your approach and your attitude to
(02:39):
money and about what you're buying.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Is it all of those things So for me, mealism
is more about just having less stuff in my life.
It's very much a mindset, and it's about living with
attention and intention so focused on like sustainable fulfillment rather
than like quick fix you fleeting faction that leaves me
(03:02):
and a lot of other people, you know, craving more. So,
you know, about making conscious decisions that align with both
my financial and my you know, non financial values and
looking at you know, where do those short term needs
fit into my overall long term goals in life and
prioritizing you know, quality over quantity, and ensuring that we
(03:24):
only bring into our lives things that actually add value.
And my journey into millism actually didn't start because of money.
It started from a more of a mental health point
of view.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Okay, can you just explain that what what was that
kind of triggered for you?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Sure? So it was such a distinctive time in my life.
But I had Rocker, was a newborn baby, and I
was being a mother for the first time. I was,
you know, went and brought out bought every single gadget gizmo,
I got the list of what to buy when you're
having a baby, and I just remember standing in my kitchen,
and I had really bad postnatal depression and I was
(04:02):
just there was so much stuff around me, and I
felt like I was drowning. I was suffocated. I had
no mental clarity whatsoever. And I came across something from
the Millmus and you know, watched a video, and then
I read a few blogs and I found all these
other people who were following this lifestyle movement, which would
have been about eleven years ago, and I in that moment,
(04:24):
I just started to release things, let go of things
and in respect the planets. And it's not about going
and dumping a whole pile of stuff on the bin.
It's about, you know, passing those things on to people
who need them. I sold some things as well, I donated,
I gave to friends and family, and or repurposed things
as well. But as I got rid of each item
(04:48):
and started to create space in my life, I had
a huge amount of mental and emotional lightness returned and
I could have that clarity and see the light at
the end of the tunnel when I was in a
really dark headspace.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
How does having too much stuff and what you've just
described there does feel like quite a familiar scenario, just
where you look around and go just you just don't
have the headspace to kind of think to process when
you just you feel surrounded by stuff. But how does
(05:19):
it affect our money? Can it? Kind of having too
much stuff affect our finances kind of without I suppose,
without even realizing it.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Potentially, look, every unnecessary purchase that we make could have
been money that could have gone towards us savings, paying
down debt, investing, or even helping plan for a healthier,
happier retirement. You know, clutter creates so many different types
of waste, not just financial, but also the time and
energy in our lives to maintain items, manage them, replace them,
(05:51):
even like finding them. You know, when you've got trying
to find a toy, like in the middle of the
night for my kids, that's a toy box. It's full
of toys, Like, there's so much time and energy we
think just get kind of buried. So that's one of
the other issues of minimalism and letting go of these things.
And the more we own, the more we tend to
spend on storage, upkeep, and even repurchasing things that we
(06:15):
actually already have. Like how many duplicates do we have?
Like how many white T shirts do we have? I
catch myself, you know, all the time, thinking oh, I
really need a new single it or a new T shirt,
but I've actually got one at home in the drawer.
I just need to reorganize my door so I can
see it, not push it to the back or it
gets cluttered and drowning.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Okay, the next kind of I suppose flow on from there.
Is there a link between minimalism and smarter money habits.
Then if you are, if you are taking a more
minimalist approach, are you then making more deliberate decisions with
your money?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yes? I think so. Okay, So minimalism foster's mindful spending
and obviously financial clarity. So it allows us to experience
I call it a lightness of living with less, but
actually at the same time gaining a deeper richness financially
and emotionally. So you're prioritizing what is essential, and like
(07:16):
a purposeful purchase in your life, you naturally are going
to reduce wasteful spending and mills. And also like it
shifts your mindset, you know, reducing the urge to accumulate
more and more because you actually feel satisfied Can I
give you an analogy?
Speaker 1 (07:33):
I would love an analogy please.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
So if you go, you like, go out to a
cafe and you order a really healthy salad with your
favorite ingredients.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
What's in the salad?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
What's your favorite salad?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Oh, there's something with well, it's got to be green
of some kind.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
You are totally ruining mine, algy.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Can I put say, maybe some some protein, maybe salmon
or something in that.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Like a salmon, salm, goat cheese in there as well?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Sounds great? And is it a decent size? Like? Am
I going to be hungry?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
But it's healthy and it's nutritious. That's the key thing here.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Okay, all right?
Speaker 2 (08:11):
How likely are you to go and crave a big
bowl of ice cream or a really naughty, decadent dessert
after eating something healthy?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
See, this is probably not the best analogy for me
because I always question people that don't save room for dessert, Like,
if you are somewhere that has a dessert menu, it
is almost a crime not to get dessert.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
You are preaching to the convert because I am such
a sugar tooth, But you've totally ruined my.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Now, sorry for ruining you.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I do understand it.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
In principle, when you.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Mosself up correctly, you don't have that insatiable appetite that
leaves you wanting more. You bought something that's fabulous, you
love it. You could even possibly think about going back
online and looking at what else is coming. You know what,
New Seasons just dropped because you're so happy with what
you purchased, because you say up for it, You're intentional,
you paid attention, and if it's perfect for you.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
How do you start the shift? Though? All right, we
are talking here about essentially a shift from buying quantity
to buying quality. What is the first step? How do
you actually kind of flick that switch and go No,
I'm not just going to go on and say go
to like Timu or Shean or one of those ones
(09:27):
and just buy kind of whatever is cheapest and maximum
quantity and actually buy quantity and try and make a difference.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Well, I recommend starting with like assessing the true utility
and joy that each item brings you. So a great
place to start is look at what you have in
your home or your wardrobe or your bathroom cabinet, or
your cupboards and pantries and so forth, and what you
would never part with and ask yourself why, because that
(09:57):
will allow you to see what you truly value and
often you can sort of release the rest. But asking yourself, like,
does this serve a meaningful purpose in my life? Is
this going to provide me with long lasting value? And
learning from the past. Spinning habits allows you to create
(10:18):
a far deeper, powerful awareness to catch yourself slipping up
before you start impulsively shopping again. So you know, say,
for example, you look at your wardrobe and you discover
you've got some jumpers and you've found three jumpers you love,
and you go, why do I love those jumpers? And
you go, well, the fabric's really soft, they're really well
(10:39):
made that I bought them from this shop and they're great.
I don't really care too much about the other jumpers.
There's a lot to learn from that assessment. You might go, Okay, well,
it's the fabric, it's the color, it's the cut. I
really like that. That's what you use going forward if
you ever need to buy another jumper. But you also
look at where did you go wrong? So you go, okay,
there's seven jumpers left. I really like them. I need
(11:01):
to know I now know not to buy those fabrics,
not to buy those colors, not to shop from that
story again because they aren't very well made. You've got
to pay attention to the wisdom and the lessons and
the messages as you're going through this if you want
to take this seriously and have this make a profound
impact in your life, both in your bank balance but
also in your headspace.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Okay, I want to take a quick break, but when
we come back, there is a part of it that
doesn't I don't quite understand whether or not it's actually
going to save you money by shifting from kind of
buying many cheap, smaller things to buying fewer expensive ones,
whether there is actually potentially a gain there, or whether
it all just kind of evens out in the end.
But we'll get into that one after the break. Can
(11:49):
we are talking about minimalism and about the impact that
it can have both on your mental health and on
your finances. Before the break, I mentioned this question over
whether minimalism actually does save you money and improve your
financial position, or whether you are just shifting your spending
from buying multiple smaller, cheaper items to buying one good quality,
(12:14):
potentially more expensive one.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Well, minimalism curbs those impulsive shopping splurges and although it's
completely unnecessary purchases, so that's naturally going to save you
a lot of money. But also at the same time,
some people may choose to invest in fewer items, but
better quality items sometimes which may cost a little bit more.
But the whole purpose behind this is intentional spending, not
(12:40):
necessarily spending more buying better qualities about as I said,
intention and attention. So the real benefit is ensuring that
every purchase that you decide to make, that you've thought
about mindfully before you've purceed ahead, is actually in an
alignment to your values and your actual lifestyle, so you
know you've got financial goal. Minimalism can actually allow you
(13:01):
to redirect your cash flow that actually will help you
achieve those goals faster.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I like that. That makes sense. It is about intentional.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Spending, intention and attention.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Okay, can we talk decluttering then, because it feels like
these two things go hand in hand, and I know
that you are a decluttering queen.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
I'm craving to do another declutter of my home.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Can you come to my house and help me with mine? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
I think I can. I can put aside some time
for you if you stop being.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Mean about my analogies, I will never stop teasing you.
So I guess I'm destined to do the decluttering on
my own. Financial benefit of decluttering, obviously, there is a
mental benefit of having more space around your house. Financial benefit.
We know there is one, because you can sell stuff online.
You are the master of this.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Oh I love it. It just so feels so good. One
man's trash is another man's treasure and just giving your
items a new home. So yes, you can make money
from decluttering your home. Absolutely. In fact, I was reading
a report by Gumtree that they said there's about twenty
each household in Australia has on average twenty one sellable
(14:13):
items with a combined value of over six thousand, nine hundred.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Dollars, a lot of money.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
It's huge. You think about what they could do on
your home load or kicked up your investment portfolio.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Holiday holiday, that's a great holiday.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Actually, No, so yes, you definitely can, and you look
at places like Facebook, Marketplace, gum Tree. I mean you
mentioned taking items back to Ikea even.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, yeah, wasn't that a great hack?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
That was cool?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
This idea of once you have finished with your Ikea furniture,
you can actually sell it back to Ikea and they
pay you a pretty fair price for it, and it
goes back onto the floor at Ikea in a special
kind of secondhand part of it, part of the saw,
and they sell it for exactly what they paid you for,
(15:03):
so that they're not there's no markup there. And it's
great because it just means that that furniture has a
second life. It doesn't end up in landfill. It is
an option then for people who might want a cheaper
alternative to go and buy that, and so it's just
it's all around it a good thing. I really enjoyed
doing that in the past. And often those those furniture
(15:24):
items are some of the bigger ones the clutter, like
how did I end up with three bookshelves? Things like that.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I might know why because you love to read. But
the other thing is when you have a less cluttered home.
And I went through this myself personally, and I sort
of uphold this. I'll hold this ever since I incorporated
this into my life eleven years ago. But a simplified
home means fewer storage costs, less maintenance, and it is
(15:51):
so much easier to keep clean and tidy. You know,
you know when you're dusting and vacuuming, listenings to have
to move around and slow you down.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
It is inc when you want to clean the house,
we need to spend say two or three days before
that tidying the house in order to just be able
to get to the floor to vacuum it definitely and
that is just that is a mental drain and a
half just going okay, I want to give the floor
a quick back. We've got people coming over, Well, we
need kind of four days notice before anyone comes over
(16:22):
because we've got to actually declutter and tidy in order
to clean in order to have people come over.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
You really need to look at the energy of a room.
This is what I do when I try and talk
about kids and with my kids and the mess and
keeping them responsible of being tidy is look at the energy.
So I make my kids tidy their room before they
get into bed, and I say to them, look now,
look at the room. How does it feel? And they're like, oh,
it feels calm, I feels more relaxing, and it's obviously
(16:48):
more inducive to a quality night's sleep.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
That's great. I might use that thinks Okay, when you
are decluttering, do you have any kind of rule or
filters that you apply to help decide kind of what
to what to keep, what to toss, what to sell,
what you need to be buying or replacing.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Well, as I sort of explained, I love to start
with what stays.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Okay, yeah, that's what you're starting, So.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Then I can really see what I really love, Like
I keep that benchmark up nice and high. That's staying.
That's non negotiable. I'm keeping that. I would never get
rid of that or part with it in anyway.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
This is my problem though, I want to keep everything well.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
That then leads me to my next question. Okay, you know,
does this this particular item add value my life? Will
I honestly use this in the future? Could I maybe
rent this or borrow this instead of avatually having to
hold onto it and then look to sell things that
are obviously in good condition that you no longer need,
(17:50):
and think about, well, I could get one hundred dollars
for this, and what would I like to do with
that one hundred dollars. That can be a really good
motivation or tool to users to help you indicate whether
you value that item. Or not. You might think you
love it, but then if someone said, I'll give you
a hundred dollars, but that suddenly you don't really need
it or want it anymore, and you'll you'll, you know,
pass it on. So it's a really good way to
help put things into perspective and the give you that
(18:10):
sort of clarity and only things that you know give
you a clear purpose in life, like that fits your lifestyle,
like you know, if you I know for myself, I'm
I don't need to hold onto any more baby stuff
because I am not having any more babies. I can
let that go. So that's why I said, look at
your actual life, your real lifestyle, and where your lifestyle
is going. And I have a shopping mantra, Oh go on,
(18:33):
would you like to hear it?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I think it's inevitable now that you're going to tell me.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
It's only by what you love, value, use and appreciate.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Only by what you love, value, use, and appreciate.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
It stops the wasteful purchases. It stops me getting caught
up in trends or you know, things that I just
am curious about, Like it just helps slow down the
consumption and makes me more consider it as to what
I want to bring into my home.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
How do you do it with kids? Though? Right you
mentioned before about that question of how does it feel,
how does the room feel after you've after you've done it.
But the process of clutter, decluttering, and trying to move
towards a more minimalist lifestyle feels easier to do if
you don't have kids there that are saying, actually, I
still want to use that toy that I haven't used
(19:27):
for three years and probably won't ever use again after
this current hour that we're in right now, But if
you throw it out, I will throw the tantrum to
end all tantrums.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I've heard some funny stories of parents loading up secretly
in the car in the boot the toys here, hidden
away from the kids, and the kids will be in the
current here a toy go off, They're like, oh, that's
my buddy from well and they suddenly they're like jumping
in the boot, grabbing things out. So great question. I
obviously it's got to be age appropriate and use your
(19:56):
intrusions to what child is ready to hear certain things.
But you know, having open conversations I think is key. Also,
there are some brilliant documentaries like Rock on Ires and
Whose Rocos eleven, ten, and twelve. We recently sat down
and watched Buy Now, and it was so insightful because
you could see the damage to the planet, but you
(20:20):
can see about all the marketing tricks that we buy
into to just continue on this non stop buying spree. Okay,
So that was really helpful. And I think the talking
to kids about the planet is really relatable, showing talking
to them about the ocean and about the quality of
(20:40):
the air and all those sorts of things. It really
does come home to children. It's I think really does
help wake them up and understand they also have a
responsibility and we need to obviously guide them and educate
them around this as well. As I said talking about
making kids aware of the space. You know, when I
talk to my kids and I say, okay, how does
the room now feel as you jump into bed and
everything's put away and neat and tidy, They're able to
(21:03):
articulate the difference. So, and the other final thing I'd
say is teaching our kids to take care of their
belongings so that you know, take care of that toy
because we're not going to replace it. Because that's a
waste of money and that's more landfill. And even clothes.
You know, my daughter Apple is constantly putting her knees
(21:24):
through her T shirt and I'm like, you're stretching your
T shirt. We're not going to replace that. You're going
to have to walk around with the stretch T shirt.
You need to take care of your items, and you know,
even told you know, dropping food all over himself. Like
if we take care of items, make sure we wash
them properly, if we need to take them to the
dry clean so that they last longer. Because at the
end of the day we can get great long term
(21:45):
lover items. We're going to be buying a lot less.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
We have an approach with toys at home because the
kids get very attached to every.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Toy, especially if you suddenly want to get rid of absolutely.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
So what we do is, and this is not very
open or transparent at all, but it works, is that
when they are at school, for instance, we will bag
up toys that we think they're not going to play
with this, they haven't played with these for a long time.
We put them all into a bag that is not
it just like one of those kind of moving bags.
(22:22):
And then we put it away in the shed or
somewhere for six months, and if they do not mention
it once during that six months, then the entire bag
gets donated to Salvo's or Vinnie's or somewhere, and we
will never mention that toy again to them, because as
soon as you mention it brings it back into the
mind they want it again. But if they don't mention
(22:43):
it for six months, then chances are they're not actually
going to care, or they're not going to notice. They
would care, they are not going to notice if it
is gone. And that way we kind of you just
have to come up with strategies, right, You've got to
find ways to work around it.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Absolutely. And then of course, you know, investing experiences. You know,
when my kids earn pocket money, yes they can buy something,
but they could also invest in an experience. What's what
would bring more joy? And kids can figure things out themselves.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah, all right, to wrap things up, because I think
we have covered this fairly well. Minimalism said that strangely, didn't.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I I struggle saying minimalism as well.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
So minimalism, minimalism, it doesn't mean giving up things you love.
It just means kind of buying with intention, more and
more intent, more intention and attention.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Correct, correct, respecting that particular item and taking care of
it for long term love. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
And it has a flow on effect to your finances
because you are not because it puts a stop to
the frivolous spending right.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And that money can go towards improving your financial wellbeing,
which will benefit today and well into the long run.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Nice one. Where do we find you? If we want
more information?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
You can ask me anything you like about midmalism at
Sugar Mammo TV about what Sorry, listen.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
That one sounded a lot better. I've got no credibility
on pronouncing the words, so I just thought I'd try
and take you down with me. 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 for listening to how do they afford that? Remember
to hit follow on the podcast. And the best thing
you can do is tell somebody else, send them a
link to this episode, spread the word about how do
(24:29):
they afford that? Thank you for your company. Join us
again next week.
Popular Podcasts
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial
Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Betrayal: Season 4
Karoline Borega married a man of honor – a respected Colorado Springs Police officer. She knew there would be sacrifices to accommodate her husband’s career. But she had no idea that he was using his badge to fool everyone. This season, we expose a man who swore two sacred oaths—one to his badge, one to his bride—and broke them both. We follow Karoline as she questions everything she thought she knew about her partner of over 20 years. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-3 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.