The Rachel Cruze Show - When Spending Extra to Save Time Is 100% Worth It

Starting point is 00:00:05 Social media really sets up this lie to believe that it's possible to create a perfect balance in life in every category to have great friends and family and working on your faith and having a job and taking care of your mental health and your physical health, like all these parts of life. But listen, you're not going to be perfect all the time. I'm not going to be perfect all the time. But there are some ways that you can actually buy back your time to free it up to do the things that you really want. So today I'm sharing four ways that I use my budget to improve my quality of life. And later, my number one tip for finding balance and living and freedom. So make sure to subscribe to this channel, share this episode with the friends. Let's get started.

Starting point is 00:00:46 So Arthur Brooks always talks about there are things that you can do with your money that actually bring you joy and happiness. And this is one of them, is to buy back your time to outsource things that you can outsource. And then the time that you are buying back, you actually use. to benefit yourself, not just like scrolling on social media, but to read or to work out or to meet with a friend. So, again, if you are able to be in a position where you can buy back your time, it is a great way to spend your money.

Starting point is 00:01:14 Or maybe you're getting out of debt or you're building your emergency fund, but this is a goal for you later down the road to be like, I want to get to this point. So again, here are four ways that I buy back my time. Number one, a house cleaning service. So when we started doing this, it was probably after, I think, Caroline, our second was born.

Starting point is 00:01:31 And I was like, all right, let's get someone to come in and deep clean. We started doing it once a month. And then that was seven years ago. And now we were at every other week. And now it's once a week. But this idea of having someone come in and deep clean is amazing. And I know that it's not available all the time for everyone watching this. But I know for me as a mom, like when I can spend weekends, not deep cleaning, but like hanging out with the kids and going and do things, it is phenomenal.

Starting point is 00:01:57 And so we did at the beginning, like look at our budget and we were only able to afford once a month at that. point. And so it was like, okay, that makes sense. And then as the things went on, we kind of changed things because it did become a priority for me. And so especially when you're working, if you're working, if you have kids, all the things, it's just nice to get a deep clean. It is like one of the best gifts ever. And when you're looking at your budget, if you need a great spot to start budgeting, every dollar is phenomenal. And it makes budgeting easy for every season you're in. So I'll put a link down below. Number two, lawn care. Winston's sold his lawnmower.

Starting point is 00:02:32 Gosh, when was this? It was probably five years ago. And it was a, it kind of hurt his heart a little bit. I don't know why. He was like, he grew up mowing lawns. And he was like, it was just important, I don't know, for him to do that. For our family, just like, it was like something that he like always wanted to do. And then we got to a point three kids later and all the things.

Starting point is 00:02:52 And it's like, yeah, on Sunday afternoons, I would rather have you here hanging out with us than going and doing yard work. So we ended up hiring a lawn care company to mow the lawn. And he still will do stuff for sure in the yard himself because he just likes it. But to get his time and energy back, it's worth it. Number three is child care. So child care looks different. I think for everyone, depending on the situation. But when I'm talking about this child care, it's not like for me going to work child care.

Starting point is 00:03:22 But it really is about babysitters. And if there is a day, maybe you are a stay at her. home mom and maybe it's like a parent's day out program or a preschool or whatever that looks like. But for me and our budgets, for us to know that we can pay a babysitter and sometimes it's like a middle school girl in the neighborhood, right? Or whatever it is, but just having the ability for someone else to watch the kids for a period of time, even beyond work is so nice. I mean, right, just to have a break, especially if you're a stay-at-home mom and you're like have all the grocery runs you want to do and, I mean, all the stuff out there to do just to know that.

Starting point is 00:03:57 like there's a day to have to yourself is so key. And again, depending on the season of life you're in, maybe it's there, maybe it's not in the budget. But for us, that is a really big one because when we know we can have a date night or go out, like it just brings some peace of mind for sure. Love the kids, love them so much, but also love a date night every now and then.

Starting point is 00:04:18 Now one thing that is in my budget that I love is my Delete Me plan. So Delete Me is a fabulous service that goes in and removes your information that is online. Now, so much of our information is out there. And data broker websites will gather your information. And this is everything you guys from like where you've worked to your full name, your address, your phone number.

Starting point is 00:04:40 I mean so much is out there. And they gather your information and then they sell it to other websites. And that's when we get so many spams, scam calls, like all of that because our information is out there. So with Delete Me, going in and removing it is phenomenal. And then they actually send you a very detailed plan. on exactly how many websites they've removed your information from. And these websites are nuts, you guys.

Starting point is 00:05:02 Like when I look down my plan, I'm like, I didn't even know how these websites even existed. Like, where are these? But knowing my information was on there, and now it's not because it's a delete me, gives me so much peace of mind. So you can save 20% off on an annual and Delete Me plan, which comes out to be around $9 a month.

Starting point is 00:05:21 So go to join DeleteMe.com slash Rachel and check it out. All right. Number four is grocery deliveries. So this is one that I started during COVID, and I was using Instacart to do all my grocery deliveries. Now, I've pulled back some on this because it has, it got so expensive, and there were certain times that I was like, oh, yeah, I am able to go and just get groceries at the store.

Starting point is 00:05:43 Now, one place I still do it is Costco. Costco stresses me out, and so I will do a Costco delivery run with Instacart. But now again, this is a total splurge, right? So if you are in a position where you're like, no, I can't, because it is expensive. You have to pay for the subscription. They do jack up the prices of the items, which is so frustrating, but they do.

Starting point is 00:06:03 And I get it because you're paying for someone's shop for you. But then also there's a tip because you want to leave a tip to the delivery person. So all of that, it definitely eats into the budget. But again, you're paying to get your time back instead of going to Costco or going to the grocery. It's just being delivered. And then you can use that time how you want.

Starting point is 00:06:21 So for me, in this season of life, those are like the four best things that we, do service-wise that we pay for to get our time back. And again, it may change these in the season to season. We may not do some some. We may add some, whatever it looks like. But that is a great way for you to use your money. So if you are out of debt and you have a fully funded emergency fund and you have some wiggle room in the budget, this is a great use of your money. Instead of going and buying a bunch of crap, you know, stuff you don't need, pay someone to do things in your life to get your time back. Because as Arthur Brooks says, it is a place where actually it can

Starting point is 00:06:55 bring you happiness. All right, my number one tip, though, for living a balanced life is to release yourself from the pressure that you have to do everything perfectly. So there are some perfectionists out there. And so you have to let go of this, you guys. You have to. Now, I'm not going to lie. Mine is more about efficiency, not perfection. Mine's more like, oh, I just want to get everything done. And I want to work out. I want to spend time spiritually in the morning. I want to drink coffee and have a conversation with Winston. And I want to get the kids ready for school and take them to school and go to work and like do everything. and I can't. I can't do it all, right? So I have to pull back. And some of you, you feel like,

Starting point is 00:07:30 if you want to do these things, they have to be done perfectly. So like, no, get rid of that too. You're not going to be perfect. And we're not going to do everything we want. So I think living in reality is really key. So ask yourself, what will feel most convenient in this season for me? Like, what are things that, like, I value and that I want and list them out in priorities because there's going to be some seasons you're not going to be able to do everything you want. But getting the things you want done in the season you're in and being intentional with those things, that can give you peace of mind and feel like you're on top of it. But when you're trying to do everything all the time or perfectly, it's going to stress you out. So release yourself from that. Now remember,

Starting point is 00:08:09 if you are in Baby Steps 1 through 3, all of these things that we talked about here in this episode are luxuries. So if you're in 1 through 3, cut everything you can. Cut these luxuries out to get some money to pay off debt and get that fully a funded emergency fund. And then when you're beyond that, then you can bring some of these back in. But all of this is to create a life that we love because that's what we're all about around here. Now, for more purchases that are worth the investments, make sure to check out my episode on 11 things. You'll regret buying cheap. You can click here for that.

Starting point is 00:08:41 Or if you're listening on podcasts, I will leave a link below. All right, you guys, remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.

The Rachel Cruze Show - When Spending Extra to Save Time Is 100% Worth It

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