With vaccines rolling out for 5-11-year-olds, we may be nearing the end of the COVID pandemic. 

It’s been a time of juxtapositions. The burnout of finally being able to work from home, social distancing with your closest friends and family, and the great resignation from a tenured job – change has been the only constant in our stay in place lives. 

And now, the urge to splurge is on, treat yo’self. We’re tired of the puzzles, the paint by numbers, we want to revenge spend. According to a Bank of Canada survey, many Canadians expect to spend a lot more. Sure, almost 27% plan to spend more at restaurants, going to the movies, and other social get-togethers. And It’s kind of obvious another 21.5% of Canadians plan to spend more on travel. And why not? The average household savings rate went up to 13.10%, up from the 59-year average of 7.78% 

But, with the cost of inflation, from the food we buy to the gas to heat our homes going up 5-20% - how do we stay in control while living the life we so desperately want?

Today on the show, I interview Cait Flanders. She used to splurge. She partied too much, she was maxed out financially, and, eventually turned herself into her own test subject to find her true self 

She paid off 30k in debt, became self employed, and is now living a life true to herself. She documented her unravelling and subsequent rebuild in her best-selling book, The Year of Less. Then, in her next book,  The Joy of Opting Out she helps you walk the same path, or trail because, “doing the opposite of what everyone around is doing is difficult” as she says. 

[2:25] Money mistake or makeup

[4:10] Are we immune to what the media says?

[5:51] Where should we start with new money habits? What was your process for spending less?

[9:55] What needs to break before you start? 

[12:00] Actionable tips to get started on yourself

[18:11] Setting rules & challenging yourself

[21:42] How to make the big decisions easier (paying off debt, saving for a home, preparing to quit)

[26:03] How do you define your values? 

[30:53] What is the joy of opting out? How is it different from the Joy of missing out?

[35:43] Change travels with loss. How has embracing your changes enriched your life?

[39:21] How do we know we're walking the right path? How do we know when to continue with our new challenge?

[45:04] How do you stay on track and focused on your goal? 

[49:20] Do you have regrets? 

[52:49] Rapid fire questions

[1:04:23] Outro