Scan barcode
A review by cpaul89
The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
the year of less
By Cait Flanders
I have goals and plans. Cait had goals and plans. This memoir/lifestyle book details Cait's shopping ban year. She also discusses her sobriety and difficult experiences that threatened to derail her goals for the shopping ban year. Her honesty and transparency about the ways she did cope really helps make this a relatable human experience, rather than a set of unrealistic rules for saving money.
Many of the things that she implemented as part of her shopping ban I already do, so those ideas, while helpful for many readers, don't give me much new to try. However, one idea that I will use going forward is lists of what I'm not buying and what is an approved purchase.
My word for this year is "learn," and I'm learning a lot about personal finance. I've never really felt like there was much I could do in this regard. I haven't had a "real" job since Jonah was born (over a decade now.) One of the things I appreciate about what I've been learning through the podcast Financial Feminist is that it is doable, even for me. AND I've been empowered to embrace what my journey has been, and just how much of a job I have been doing by managing my family and our finances for that past decade.
Another thing I've learned is how much we don't talk about things like finances and investing and navigating these sometimes confusing things, which could be so much easier if we shared information and resources instead of shying away.
Yet another acknowledgement is how it can feel like saving money or saving for retirement doesn't matter because will the world or our country even be here? Well, a decision I've landed on is that I would much rather try to be prepared and be wrong than get to that point of my life with no investments and have been wrong.
This book definitely takes some implementable steps in this direction. Cait shared her story honestly and transparently. I'm appreciative and inspired, and I'm in the process of making more specific plans for my own shopping ban and how to prepare for my future in this way
By Cait Flanders
I have goals and plans. Cait had goals and plans. This memoir/lifestyle book details Cait's shopping ban year. She also discusses her sobriety and difficult experiences that threatened to derail her goals for the shopping ban year. Her honesty and transparency about the ways she did cope really helps make this a relatable human experience, rather than a set of unrealistic rules for saving money.
Many of the things that she implemented as part of her shopping ban I already do, so those ideas, while helpful for many readers, don't give me much new to try. However, one idea that I will use going forward is lists of what I'm not buying and what is an approved purchase.
My word for this year is "learn," and I'm learning a lot about personal finance. I've never really felt like there was much I could do in this regard. I haven't had a "real" job since Jonah was born (over a decade now.) One of the things I appreciate about what I've been learning through the podcast Financial Feminist is that it is doable, even for me. AND I've been empowered to embrace what my journey has been, and just how much of a job I have been doing by managing my family and our finances for that past decade.
Another thing I've learned is how much we don't talk about things like finances and investing and navigating these sometimes confusing things, which could be so much easier if we shared information and resources instead of shying away.
Yet another acknowledgement is how it can feel like saving money or saving for retirement doesn't matter because will the world or our country even be here? Well, a decision I've landed on is that I would much rather try to be prepared and be wrong than get to that point of my life with no investments and have been wrong.
This book definitely takes some implementable steps in this direction. Cait shared her story honestly and transparently. I'm appreciative and inspired, and I'm in the process of making more specific plans for my own shopping ban and how to prepare for my future in this way
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction