I thought it was about time for a money
post today. Even though I don’t write about
money a lot, it’s one of my favourite topics to ponder.
Back in the day I was all about
living frugally. When my husband and I first
started working together in our retail footwear business we were b-r-o-k-e. Not broke-broke, I mean we could still buy food, but we both our
incomes dropped severely to get our business off the ground and we watched every cent like a hawk and read the
supermarket specials each week like nobody’s business. We made an art form out of finding free
things to do and it’s a lucky thing we both love spending time at home – our
little rented place was our sanctuary back then.
Even when we were able to let the
purse strings out a little, we were still in that thrift mindset.
We carried on and saved up a deposit on our
house at the same time as paying off our business loan.
Once the business loan was paid off we bought
a house with that deposit.
Then, and I still
can’t believe we did it, we paid off our home in less than five years.
(If you’d like to read more about this, my book ‘
Financially Chic’ on Amazon goes more in depth).
Somewhere about that time I
discovered the concept of having an abundance mindset; that to only pinch pennies was not the final
answer. I now have a very happy balance
of frugality and abundance, and this is something I tailor-made for myself
because it didn’t feel right for me to be either one or the other. And that’s how I came up with the term ‘financially
chic’. It’s about being a good steward of
your money and living in a way that is low-stress because you’re not worrying
about your finances, but also of living a life of beauty, ease and pleasure.
In that spirit, allow me to
share with you my top five ways to live financially chic a la Fifi:
One. Talk positively about money and finances
As much as possible I endeavour to
keep thoughts around abundance and money high. I try not to judge people for spending
lavishly and trust that there is enough for everyone.
Some believe that money is like air
– you don’t gulp in great lungfuls of air because you’re scared it is going to
run out, and you don’t chastise others for taking too much. It’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? I remind myself of that when I start feeling
panicky because of something like a large bill that’s just come in.
Two. Replace shopping with other hobbies and pastimes
When I used to shop for leisure, it
impacted my finances severely. I was
spending as much as I was earning so was never getting ahead. At that time I was paid monthly and the balance of my entire
pay after rent and other expenses went on the credit card not long after I received it each month. And it’s not even like I was getting that
much pleasure from shopping either, it was just a weekend habit I’d gotten
into.
Nowadays I might shop for something
I need, otherwise I’ll enjoy meeting friends for a dog walk or a coffee, do
some writing, sewing or organising at home, or get my shopping fix by menu
planning for the week and shopping for my groceries in a leisurely way. I make better food choices when I am in a
relaxed frame of mind too. When I do buy something like clothes for the new season, or a pair of new sunglasses (which I did last weekend!) I enjoy it so much more and appreciate what I've bought too, because it's not an everyday occurance.
Three. Make home a fun and nice place to be
This could tag onto point number
two nicely – imagine if instead of going shopping on a Saturday afternoon you
decided to makeover your home instead – a makeover-lite. For me it this would entail tidying up the
main living areas and our bedroom, then adding homemaker touches such as
candles, a couple of new magazines displayed, bottles of sparkling water on the
kitchen counter and stylish music playing.
My point of reference is always a boutique
five-star hotel, so I think how I can recreate that at home and make it feel like I am checking in for the weekend. When you make the most of your home, you are
saving money in two ways – by not going out and spending it, and also by making
the most of the money you are already spending on your home (rent/mortgage
etc), plus you are creating a beautiful space that you can enjoy every day, not
just for the one evening you go out for an expensive dinner, say. Why not organise a dinner party while you’re
at it? It doesn’t need to be expensive; serve
something you’re good at and have fun with your family and/or friends.
Speaking of dinner, I dreamed last
night that I went out to dinner by myself at a very fancy hotel restaurant and
decided to order whatever I wanted off the menu. I remember a bottle of champagne that was
$1,200… Throughout the dinner the waiter kept coming over to check that I knew
how expensive it was going to be with everything I was ordering, and I said yes,
thank you, that's fine. The bill came to $4,798 – yes
I recall the numbers – and I was so glad when I woke up that it was only a
dream – I just saved myself almost $5,000! If anyone has dream analysis skills,
please enlighten me :)
Four. Plan no cost outings (or ‘innings’)
As with dinner-at-home-with-friends,
there are tons of things you can do that don’t cost money (or much money
anyway). Just as you can get into the
habit of going to things that cost such as concerts, dinners out, skating,
bowling etc, you can get into the habit of doing low- or no-cost activities.
Some of my favourites are taking a
picnic to a public park or beach (or the winter equivalent, the carpet picnic
which is so much fun), getting a stack of books and magazines from the library
instead of a retail store, a games night with friends, a movie night at home,
dinner parties (pot luck if you want) and afternoon tea (the image on this post is at my aunty's house - she hosted her own ladies afternoon tea for her birthday recently).
Five. Insource something you currently outsource
Think about all the things you pay
someone else to do and see if you really value the service or if you aren’t fussed
that much. Is there one thing you could
take on yourself without much deprivation?
Some things, I LOVE having done or can’t easily do them myself.
I now have a weekly cleaning
service which I would go without other things for, because my ladies do such a
great job whereas I can procrastinate a whole day away on a few hours of housework. I also love having my hair done every couple of months, but for
everything else I do it myself – facials, nails, waxing my legs. I actually prefer to do these things
myself, it feels more luxurious to do them at home.
It will be different for everyone,
so make a list of your outsourcings and see if you love them all or if you can
save some money effortlessly.
And that’s what it’s all about for
me – not feeling deprived. Compared to
others, I still live a very frugal life, but I feel so abundant every single
day. I am grateful for everything I
have, I don’t take things for granted and I don’t like to waste money.
I hope my five tips have sparked
off some ideas for you, and please tell me, what’s your favourite way to feel
financially chic?
And if you’d like to read more of
my thoughts on feeling abundant on little money, please visit my book ‘
Financially Chic’ on Amazon and read the free sample to see if it might be a contender for
your Kindle library or bookshelf at home. My aim with this book is to inspire you, the reader, to feel differently about money and personal finance - to view it as fun and exciting and not scary at all. I want to inspire you to change your financial life for the better and it totally is possible, because I've done it myself!
~Fiona~
PS.
Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments regarding videos versus
written posts. I plan to do a mix going
forward, because I love doing both. I
know from videos I have watched of others, I have enjoyed getting to know them
more.
Transcripts are just not viable for
me at the moment sadly; it would simply take me too long to do myself and I haven’t
found a transcription service that picks up on my accent well (and doesn’t cost
a fortune as well).
When I do a video I will try and
remember to do a few notes while the topic is still fresh in my mind so that if
you don’t want to watch the video, you can still get value from my posting.
For me, I prefer to read too, but I
listen to YouTube videos on my phone while I’m tidying the house, weeding the
garden, going for a walk, washing the dishes, chopping the vegetables... It passes the time quicker and I learn
something new.
Perhaps you could put your headphones
in and listen to my videos that way if you don’t have the time to sit and watch
one? After all, it’s just talking, I’m
not actually showing you anything so you can happily listen along and not miss
out on any visual action.
Also, I have started a new book! No details just yet but know I am writing,
yay! I always feel so energized with a
new project, it’s a wonderful feeling!
~~
