So look, I get that we are money hobbyists and all the things we do to stay “financially woke” may seem like a lot sometimes. If you’re overwhelmed, I come bearing good news: it’s doesn’t have to be like that forever unless you want it to be.
When you hit your stride, your money mindset just melts into your life and you can let go of some of the rituals and let your habits take the lead.
The transformation is different for everyone, but here are four ways my journey to financial independence changed my day-to-day:
1. I’m hyper-sensitive to marketing.
I stare at a screen all day at work so there are days where I feel like I’m drowning in marketing messages. In order to stay financially disciplined, I have to actively work to drown out or replace the noise created by consumerism culture. I can’t change my work environment, so for me this starts at home. We are proud cord-cutters for over 5 years now, and happily pay $5 extra to watch a commercial-free version of Hulu. I also try to listen to podcasts or other streaming services instead of traditional radio during my commute. Next on my list is junk mail! One of my New Year Resolutions is to eliminate it from ever coming into the house. This is partially because seeing stacks of it gives me anxiety, and partially because even though we fund the USPS through our taxes – we are not the customer, we are the product.
2. I don’t monitor my money nearly as closely as I monitor my time
I used to have a ritual of starting my day by checking my accounts and budget tracking apps every day. I don’t really do that as much we automated most of our financial plan, but I do still manage my calendar DAILY. Financial independence has truly made time and money transferable for me. Emotionally, I feel the same way about wasted time as I do about wasted money – managing this is a form of self-care. At work, it means I protect my time by time-blocking places where I need to accomplish something. I encourage my colleagues to have thoughtful agendas and objectives for any meetings they schedule with me. When I’m the facilitator, I go out of my way to prepare so that it’s the best use of my time and theirs and try to make the meeting high-impact by involving multiple people. At home, this means…
3. I am constantly “inventorying”
This is two-fold: 1) avoiding food waste and 2) controlling the “just need one thing” trips to the store. And by store, I mean Target…I have a weakness for Target. I spent 4.5 years of my career working there so I know how to shop it. And in the absence of a 12-step program, I just have to limit the likelihood of an impulse purchase. I use our Amazon Echo to remind me of my recurring purchases like baby formula and I can order it on command. We also keep a running list for groceries on the fridge. If something is running low, we add it and it gets included in the order. Here is a link to the template Mr. r&R created for us to use. It’s organized the way a grocery store is set up, so you’re not wandering around.
4. Getting dressed is the easiest part of my day
After I gave birth, I had a new body and a new lifestyle that demanded clothes that were fashionable but not fussy. Instead of sinking back into old habits and buying enough clothes for 8 people, I adopted a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is a set of clothes that you can mix and match because almost every piece works with each other. This approach gave me the boundaries and structure I needed to buy with intention. I’m positive this decision has saved me thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. I can literally grab and go, no daily decision required.
Mrs. r&R
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So look, I get that we are money hobbyists and all the things we do to stay “financially woke” may seem like a lot sometimes. If you’re overwhelmed, I come bearing good news: it’s doesn’t have to be like that forever unless you want it to be.
When you hit your stride, your money mindset just melts into your life and you can let go of some of the rituals and let your habits take the lead.
The transformation is different for everyone, but here are four ways my journey to financial independence changed my day-to-day:
1. I’m hyper-sensitive to marketing.
I stare at a screen all day at work so there are days where I feel like I’m drowning in marketing messages. In order to stay financially disciplined, I have to actively work to drown out or replace the noise created by consumerism culture. I can’t change my work environment, so for me this starts at home. We are proud cord-cutters for over 5 years now, and happily pay $5 extra to watch a commercial-free version of Hulu. I also try to listen to podcasts or other streaming services instead of traditional radio during my commute. Next on my list is junk mail! One of my New Year Resolutions is to eliminate it from ever coming into the house. This is partially because seeing stacks of it gives me anxiety, and partially because even though we fund the USPS through our taxes – we are not the customer, we are the product.
2. I don’t monitor my money nearly as closely as I monitor my time
I used to have a ritual of starting my day by checking my accounts and budget tracking apps every day. I don’t really do that as much we automated most of our financial plan, but I do still manage my calendar DAILY. Financial independence has truly made time and money transferable for me. Emotionally, I feel the same way about wasted time as I do about wasted money – managing this is a form of self-care. At work, it means I protect my time by time-blocking places where I need to accomplish something. I encourage my colleagues to have thoughtful agendas and objectives for any meetings they schedule with me. When I’m the facilitator, I go out of my way to prepare so that it’s the best use of my time and theirs and try to make the meeting high-impact by involving multiple people. At home, this means…
3. I am constantly “inventorying”
This is two-fold: 1) avoiding food waste and 2) controlling the “just need one thing” trips to the store. And by store, I mean Target…I have a weakness for Target. I spent 4.5 years of my career working there so I know how to shop it. And in the absence of a 12-step program, I just have to limit the likelihood of an impulse purchase. I use our Amazon Echo to remind me of my recurring purchases like baby formula and I can order it on command. We also keep a running list for groceries on the fridge. If something is running low, we add it and it gets included in the order. Here is a link to the template Mr. r&R created for us to use. It’s organized the way a grocery store is set up, so you’re not wandering around.
4. Getting dressed is the easiest part of my day
After I gave birth, I had a new body and a new lifestyle that demanded clothes that were fashionable but not fussy. Instead of sinking back into old habits and buying enough clothes for 8 people, I adopted a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is a set of clothes that you can mix and match because almost every piece works with each other. This approach gave me the boundaries and structure I needed to buy with intention. I’m positive this decision has saved me thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. I can literally grab and go, no daily decision required.
Mrs. r&R
2 Comments
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on February 6, 2018 at 2:58 PM
You guys are super informative.I really appreciate what you’re doing. I have two questions. 1) Can you come to my house and fix my life like Iyanla? 2) How do you handle the banking situation? My bf and I live together and we are planning to get married. We both have a separate checking/savings and we have a household checking/savings just for bills and the money we save together for large purchases etc. So far, the system works. We do not have any strife around money. I’m currently trying to get my financial life and I’m bringing the boo along with me. He’s very receptive, but still a little cavalier about certain things. How did you handle this when you got married?
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on February 6, 2018 at 7:43 PM
Thank you so much! And yes, happy to show up and give smooshy bosom hugs anytime you need! LOL!…We lived together for about a year before we got married and we did the exact same thing. I moved in with him, so I would give him money every pay period to cover any JOINT expenses like the bills etc. and I kept all my personal expenses separate. When we got married, we combined everything and it was hella uncomfortable because I felt like I need to explain myself ie: “yes, it costs that much to get my hair done…no, I don’t remember what I bought at Target that day but we using it so hush” lol…After seeeeveral months of conversation, we got over that hurdle and it worked out. We ultimately believe in total transparency because we took on some lofty goals during our first year of marriage and found it easier to look at the WHOLE pot when planning to understand impact/sacrifices. Hope that helps! ~Mrs. r&R
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You guys are super informative.I really appreciate what you’re doing. I have two questions. 1) Can you come to my house and fix my life like Iyanla? 2) How do you handle the banking situation? My bf and I live together and we are planning to get married. We both have a separate checking/savings and we have a household checking/savings just for bills and the money we save together for large purchases etc. So far, the system works. We do not have any strife around money. I’m currently trying to get my financial life and I’m bringing the boo along with me. He’s very receptive, but still a little cavalier about certain things. How did you handle this when you got married?
Thank you so much! And yes, happy to show up and give smooshy bosom hugs anytime you need! LOL!…We lived together for about a year before we got married and we did the exact same thing. I moved in with him, so I would give him money every pay period to cover any JOINT expenses like the bills etc. and I kept all my personal expenses separate. When we got married, we combined everything and it was hella uncomfortable because I felt like I need to explain myself ie: “yes, it costs that much to get my hair done…no, I don’t remember what I bought at Target that day but we using it so hush” lol…After seeeeveral months of conversation, we got over that hurdle and it worked out. We ultimately believe in total transparency because we took on some lofty goals during our first year of marriage and found it easier to look at the WHOLE pot when planning to understand impact/sacrifices. Hope that helps! ~Mrs. r&R