Things We Won’t Spend Money On In 2024 (with Minimal Mom)

Hey guys I'm so excited to have Don AK mom

minimal

back with me you and Don thank you for being here thank you Rachel oh my gosh every time she comes over you guys love her I love her she's just fantastic, so off we go. Talking about

minimal

ism because it's something we talk about a lot on this show and when you're taking back control of your

money

, it's really helpful to adopt some of these habits when it comes to minimalist practices in your life to help you simplify. your life and

spend

less

money

and Don and his family have been practicing this for over eight years which is amazing and she has always been gracious on this program in sharing her knowledge with us and she has been on several occasions so I I'll be sure to link to all of those videos below, so today, in honor of a new year and a new beginning, we're going to share some of the

things

we're no longer

spend

ing money on, so I asked Don to make a list for her mhm, I made a list, so let's talk about it and why we have decided to eliminate these

things

from our life, so I'm curious to know what things are going to be eliminated. of your life that you will spend less in

2024

, so be sure to stick around and leave those comments while you watch, but before we get into all that, I wanted to tell you about one of our sponsors, Christian Health Care Ministries, if your health is the costs are rising as As the options available dwindle, be sure to check out Christian Healthcare Ministries chm is a biblically based healthcare cost-sharing ministry and is an affordable alternative to health insurance, so check out more about them at chministries.org. okay Don, let's jump right into these lists because you're very C, you're a big thinker, you always think outside the box and all your ideas.

I always say, oh, that's good, that's good, so why don't you start? with something that you're cutting, and again, if you're married to any of these things, of course, you can keep them, but it's surprising how many things we buy and keep without really thinking about it, so question number one. of the rugs in your house, the scattered rugs and the rugs and the area rugs because it's just one more thing that we have to sweep and move and shake and vacuum and it just gets in the way most of the time. Yes that's fine? I know the ones we like are the ones next to the bathroom sink, oh yeah, like I had to and I did years ago and I don't miss them, they collect hairspray and hair and like everyone else, it's the worst.

I'd rather have an outdoor rug than the one next to my sink with all my makeup and hair and everything on it. It's okay, it's good. Number two is microfiber towels. It's so fascinating, so I'm so grateful for all of you because you teach me things every day, so one day I said, "Okay, buy your microfiber from Amazon." There's a great game and a lot of the comments were like, "Hold the phone, we don't buy microfiber anymore," so I said, "Tell me more." So it turns out that microfiber is basically little plastic particles that break down in water and they are always chemicals that enter our bodies, our water sources and all this, and I think I had no idea about myself either and then there is sensors. that you can buy when you wash them to help trap the fibrils or whatever and then I'm going to use the ones I have in my house I'm not going to buy new ones and really what I've learned from the professionals Cleaners can now be used as cleaning cloths cotton bar, so they're not as fancy, everything is microfiber now, but they actually work really well, but they're okay, yeah, okay, that's good to know because I can get it. train of like oh yeah, I need like six of them, I need, I need so many and yeah, and sometimes it's good to get new ones too, right, that's right, okay, okay, so one of mine are mugs, okay, I know it sounds a little funny. but whether it's coffee cups, water cups, water bottles, I get as many as glasses or the kids coming home, they came back from the dentist two days ago with little water bottles that a dentist likes, but it's like plastic, you know everything and I'm like oh my gosh we just piled up all this junk and the thing that stresses me out the most is I open our cabinet yeah and everything is like you're trying to push everything back.

I'm like it's over. I'm done, so anything like more water models or scams. PS: I'm done, especially the professional ones, the promotional ones that are not that good quality, so they don't seal well and are gone. I just need a couple like gimme. a nice Yeti or two, yeah, and I'm fine, but I don't need all this and it's a lot harder to unload the dishwasher and everything, it's actually better if your kitchen cabinets are half full, that's what makes it more easy to put things. and for your family to keep things too, so good, I love it, okay, so what's yours?

Okay, next up, clever kitchen gadgets and cleaning products, so this is a tough one. I mean, I think we've all been to Chef Pampered's party. and the hostess is very good at using the products, so she says: she looks at this Chopper. I'm going to do it and again, I'm not against pampering the Chef in any way like I do, but I think we see influencers using kitchen gadgets and them. Look how fast this is and it's so easy, well yeah, because they've gotten really good at it, that's what they do and they're trying to sell something and then we take it home and I'm like I don't even take it I took it out. out of the box because I don't even know how to assemble it or we used it once and thought it was a lot more work to clean it than it was worth the time it saved me chopping the onion totally fine and So we've acquired a bunch of nifty gadgets, even products from cleaning for the home, which we believe will make our lives easier and that is not the case.

They just end up cluttering up our kitchen and it's hard to get rid of them because we've spent money on them but today permission to let those things go if you're not using them and they're just cluttering up your kitchen yeah okay okay I love it okay , then I am very interested in this next, okay, skin care perfume lotion. candles, so again, I want to blame the influencers a little for this. I feel like every influencer I follow says this is my skincare routine and these are my miracle hair care products and this is my miracle cleanser and every week they have like something new that they're trying to sell me and it's so confusing.

Rachel because in many ways they feel my friends are right, my friends wouldn't steer me wrong, if they recommend it it should be really good and once in for a while it often isn't and now I have all this stuff in my cabinets, from the bathroom to the kitchen, in all the places that I have acquired and am not using, that is why I made a rule about a year ago, like at the beginning of 2023 I think this is the year when everything sells out. I think I won't be buying anything new in these areas until it's all gone and what I've discovered is that it's not really the skincare system or the cleanser that's magical. it's when you use it it's when you use it consistently correctly and that's why most cleansers and most products work very well when you use them consistently so again we're at the beginning of a new year so it's a good time to commit I'm using stuff Before I buy anything, it's really good and I'm the worst with hair stuff.

I think I'll look at all of this differently, like the enhancers or the texture spray and all this. I think oo, I'll try this and that. and that's because somehow I'm going to have long, flowing, thick hair, like that, it's going to work and you're like n mm- no, so yeah, that's my, that's my weakness, sure, sure, okay, one that I'm not. What I do most is buy cute kids clothes, yeah, so there's a candy store, Jamie and Jack. I don't know if they have one in Minnesota, but it's the cutest thing, but it's expensive and I would go every year and buy it. like maybe like six cute pieces for my kids, okay, per season, did they wear them?

No, no, they didn't use them, no, and there I am packing them up to give them to our little neighbor with the price tags still on and I'm like, this is it. "This is a good thing, so I'm done. I just think it's going to be the Old Navy Target and it might not even last the whole season and I don't care anymore. I just think I'm going to spend." a quarter of the money, yes, and if we have to buy another piece during the season, that will actually feel better, because now we have also reached that point with our children where they are actually wearing their clothes correctly. and by the time they're done, it's done and I think that feels so much better than donating clothes that are still like new.

And then we decided that I really just need it at any age. It seemed to a lot of our kids like they needed a dress and they did, but it's so much fun, especially even if you go to garage sales and thrift stores, like it's always the nice clothes that are there because your kids don't have them. they used. and I'm like it's only $2. I'm going to take this and then you feel so guilty once they're over it and they haven't used it, so I think there's a lot of wisdom in saying, okay, what kind? What clothes do my kids actually wear because what our kids wear to school, even the girls, is like Nike shorts and t-shirts, that's all anyone wears well and I'm like, why am I trying to convince you to wear a dress that I don't?

I don't know, I just think it's cute with a headband to look a little put together, but no, everyone just runs out the door, all that. I'm like I'm done, that's cool, that's cool, go girl, go girl, okay next. it's jewelry, so again I really like to invest in good quality pieces that are very versatile and I know that when I get dressed in the morning I can take something that goes with everything, dress it up, dress it down and not have to. I'm worried about putting it away and untangling it and having things that, you know, go out of style and all that, so I've decided to invest in some good pieces, I mean, invest.

These are from Target, but they are very neutral and versatile. Going with everything mine is from Amazon is fine, yes, very easy, but not having to think too much about dressing and what I'm going to wear, yes, it's surprising how much mental space you end up having when you don't. I have a thousand options because jewelry earrings are probably my weakness. I love earrings, but even today I like and always go back to just the gold earring. I wonder why I don't buy as I can. I don't think so, but the mental space it takes to have to sit there and examine and think and decide.

I say no, it's yes, it's too much. Next up is unnecessary home decor or furniture, so again I'm talking about stores like HomeGoods and Hobby Lobby and TJ Maxx, oh my goodness the amount of home decor there is when you walk in there. I wonder how so many things can fit into such a small, totally tight square, and it's very tempting because in many ways, I think. As women, it's fun to make our house beautiful and look pretty, but I just discovered it again, especially I think at the stage of life where we are with young children and taking them places where it was more to manage , it was more to remove the dust. things that were going out of style and then I was like, oh, I want to change them, and I found that as I greatly simplified the furniture and decor in our house, it's a lot easier. to take care of and it is also easier for our children to help.

I realized that I often didn't even ask our kids for help in certain areas because I was like, oh, don't break that or don't touch that or just me. I can do that and then I feel like our house is a lot more peaceful now because we don't have as many of those things in it oh, I love that, I know because for me I'm like because I have. I haven't done this in a long time. Not really, we were talking about the previous Christmas decoration from the previous season and how we bought some things years ago, we invested in good pizzas and I feel like when we bought in 2019 for our house, that's the philosophy I took, I just want to invest in some Good stuff so I don't have to go through TJ Maxx and feel like, oh, I should buy a new pill to throw away, all this stuff, I mean, you know what?

I do not have to. I like it and it's okay and it's okay so it's nice and I mean I think that's hard too because there are so many influencers that make a living showing us different things like home decor and stuff and I love them like people, but I have had to do it. unfollow especially if you're working your way out of debt by working I mean, I love your children's book about finding fulfillment, um and that's why I think sometimes we have to unfollow certain accounts or mute them for a while so we're not I'm always tempted to buy some of this stuff, yeah totally, you open it and see something new.

I know, okay, so one thing I'm not buying this year, you'll have to hold me back is jeans, okay, this sounds so dumb, I realized. jeans, the style changes every season, yes, every season, so it goes from one thing to another and so last year I made the high-waisted mom ones, you know, with the legsstraight and I thought, you know what? and I bought probably three. to four nice pairs of jeans because that's basically all I wear. I just wear jeans all the time and I say and that's it, I'm not going to buy more because let's be honest next season, I know it's going to change and I'm going to want it because I know myself and then I say: no, I'm not going to stockpile jeans. .

I used to say, oh, I'll have a lot of CU jeans, that's what I wear and now I'm like, no, you don't really need much. I don't need much, so hold me. Don, I love that there are no jeans in 24, yes, no, every time I reset my wardrobe for the season I have. two pairs of jeans and again that idea that I want to wear them, you know, and then the next year, when the style changes, I think I can justify buying new jeans and, since I have worn them, I have worn the ones I have. wearing them I got my money off of them and you know almost always two pairs of jeans would fit into my budget no matter where we were to get out of debt so I love that and again is anyone really looking at your jeans ?

Not that, no, so that's okay, the following are not fake plants, so again, this is something that my friends online gave me a hard time because they would see like my fake plants from Ikea and were like Don, you should update to some real plants and me. I'm like no, because I kill them, you know? It's like it's very logical, so I thought, "Okay, I'll start with a couple of easy ones and then I started having them in our house and I was like, oh, it's actually really cute." having living things around us and not dead things, fake dead plants and again, I still stick with plants that are very easy.

I had to throw a couple out, um, but I have Grace to myself with that, but it's actually a lot of fun to have now. some real plants around the house probably because our kids are a little older too. I feel like I can totally take care of that and get rid of all the fake ones. Yes I love it. I know we have these two vases in our living room when you walk into our house and they had orchids in them because apparently they're not supposed to be hard to kill and I've replaced them a few times, but when they get replaced and I'm in it, there's something so peaceful about have live plants, so I'm with you on that, I love it, I need to do more, I think it's cool and supposedly they have something about the color green that helps us relax and then, you know, they help clean the air and all that, we probably need all the help with that, I know, alright, totally, alright, next up are kids toys and craft supplies, so something I've learned on this journey of going minimalist and getting rid of 85% of our thing is that kids need very little when it comes to craft supplies and kids, and it was always important to me to have very creative kids.

I was creative growing up and did a lot of different artistic things, but I realized that kids don't need the things they just need. their imagination because we've seen when kids can go out and not build anything with sticks or other things they find or you know, the joke is always wrong. Christmas is like, well, they just need to play with the boxes correctly, and so I did it again. I liked this experiment where I thought I didn't like keeping the craft supplies, it felt like a big mess all the time, so I thought I was going to remove the craft supplies.

I was just going to have, like cardboard boxes, duct tape. it's very safe for kids and some markers and they would play with that stuff for hours, so I know it's fun to go to the dollar store, go to different places and get all the bright colored fun and the pom poms and the pipe cleaners, but If that's a lot for you and if you're tired of having to organize it and take care of it and your kids aren't very good at doing it, I encourage you to simplify those things a lot and just let them use their own imagination with the limited things they have.

You will be very impressed with the things your children come up with. Don, you are a hero, thank you for freeing us from all that. it's true, we have a crayon thing and we'll get some from, you know, even from a restaurant, they'll come home and I just throw them away and I'm like that with some blank sheets of paper, seriously. my kids still to this day I will do it and it's like and it just does something for them. I think this is great, this is great, okay, one thing I won't do in

2024

is the target dollars section.

I am right. there with you sister, me and I have been pretty good at it recently, so I'm confident that I can put it on this list because I think I can really deliver on this one because I used to go shopping for things. Shit I am and you justify it the price justifies it I don't need it my kids don't need it I mean it's all so yeah put your blinders on keep moving good and I realized because I'm always you. I know in my house I see myself as what stands the test of time and what doesn't, and I felt like even though it was always super cute in Trend, cheap, yeah, the scale was never right, like it was cute in the store and then I bring it home and I think it's so small that I need 14 of those or I have to combine it now with something from, you know, TJ Maxx or whatever, so I did that.

I figured this doesn't stand the test at some point or goes out of style, so again I put my blinders on and I haven't really missed any of it. I don't know myself nor is it good. Okay, the next things I don't buy anymore are subscription boxes, so in the beginning, when they first came out, I think it's so fun, you get to try new things. I had a subscription to Ipsy and you get different makeup products. I find it really fun to try new things and the first box is great. funny the second one you say, oh, I used a little bit, but then there were things that I didn't use, but I feel like with subscription boxes, most of them, when you get the second, third, fourth, you end up bringing a lot of things. in your house that you don't end up using doesn't totally fit your needs and they're a little expensive yes, totally, oh yes, well for me it's like I have half the things that I never used and then it ends up in a drawer yes because I I feel bad throwing it away or whatever and it just keeps going so yeah, I'm with you, I haven't done them, I haven't done them in years, yeah, I'm the same, okay.

Next up is New Year's workout gear and how guilty do we feel when we buy new shoes, workout gear, new leggings or whatever, new gym memberships and then we never wear them and see them there so my best encouragement for first you should start the new habit and then reward yourself with the new things so if you are hoping to get in shape this year you can just walk outside i mean minnesota nashville no it depends on the weather but there are so many things . you can watch free exercise videos on YouTube, there are so many things we can do right now to start the habit and then once we have proven ourselves and kept this commitment to ourselves we can reward ourselves with new shoes or some new equipment and that feels so good, yeah, sure, once I get into the habit because I think you're absolutely right, you understand because I used to feel like, oh, if I understand the things that are going to be, that's going to be the motivator and they're not. those things simply. the beauty is well done it's just another cute pair of yoga pans but you're not doing yoga so you do it and you get into that groove and then I love to reward you with a great outfit because yeah, you like it. do it, I do it well, so one thing we won't do and spend money on in 2024 is good restaurants with the kids.

I don't know why we do this Don, we do it to ourselves because Wist and I love good food so it's like we're going out to eat like you know you can only have Chick-fil-A at a time limited, so let's go to a good restaurant, our children are at the top. I think in 2025, okay, maybe. Put it back into something I look forward to, there's still that amount of stress as a mom that I'm like everyone doesn't do it because I don't want you to go broke and everyone else is right, yeah and like you. We're not going to eat the kids' meal that was $14 or whatever and I'm like, Oh my God, why are we doing the St and Winston?

I can't enjoy it, so we're saving all the nice restaurants just for Winston and I for date nights. I think we can enjoy great restaurants, but why bring the kids? They are going to want a chocolate milk that costs. That's something we're eliminating, so we'll see, we'll see if it sticks. As you can see, you know that, in general, there is no magic in a specific thing or product that has just changed our lives, but really what it brings. The greatest satisfaction is keeping it simple to free up my time and my mind to be able to spend it with the people I love, so be smart, be smart when you go and spend money, that's not what brings peace to your lives. who you are and I will tell you that over time it gets easier to say no so start that muscle and it will come naturally to you so thank you so much for being a guest today.

I always love having you here, yes, thank you. Thanks for all your thoughts and where can they find you? I spend the most time on YouTube, so we have over 700 videos to help you declutter, of course on January 2nd, the time when we're considering moving things out of our house. I can help. With that I would love to help you eliminate the clutter. I know I love that people love us associating, especially on my channel, because a lot of the people who watch also watch you, so it really goes hand in hand getting out of debt and decluttering is and Yeah, they're best friends, so no.

Don't forget to comment on what you decided not to spend money on in 2024. We want to hear because we might give you some ideas and share this video with a friend. that he is looking to spend less this year and remember that you take control of your money and create the life you love