Leonie Dawson's Blog, page 27

Piggy Makes Bank Interview!

Blossoms,

Another stunner of an interview to share with you today!

I sat down with Tracy and Susanne from Piggy Makes Bank and we got right into thick of it, talking all about:

Using Leonie’s Goal Getter Workbooks to help us quadruple our annual revenueHow  we approach Building a Business 10 Hours per WeekHow to fight overwhelm & still make progressFinding Creativity when you just don’t feel like itQuitting Social Media and how you can still make money without it (and all the drama)Why you should just make the F’ing Soap already!

Honestly babes, this one’s a delight so plug in and get watching!

Ready to watch?

Just click HERE and settle in for brilliance!

Big love!

FREE GOODIES:

Daily-ish writingsWeekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasures

COURSES:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course

 

The post Piggy Makes Bank Interview! appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.

September 2021 Life & Biz Review!

Dearests,

Yay! Our new tradition! A monthly review!

I’ll cover:

life blessings & challengeswhat I’ve created in my businesshow much revenue generatedmy goals for next month.

You can read previous monthly reviews here:

April & MayJuneJulyAugust.Goals I Set For September in August:

In last month’s review, I set goals for September.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t do ’em this month. And that’s okay.

Release new workshop (DID NOT)Project 10%: Email opt-ins (STARTED, NOT COMPLETE)Test tripwire product (DID NOT)Weekly blog posts (DID NOT)Enjoy school holidays & our mini-trip away (DID! HOORAY! SUCCESS!)Stay creatively inspired! (DID NOT! LANGUISHED!)Why didn’t I do them?

I’ve felt foggy over the last month and longer. Itchy. Percolating. Bored.

Feeling like there’s something waiting to be born, but I don’t know what it is yet.

It’s strange for me not to be super amped up & excitable & productive. But I have to trust the creative cycle. That sometimes there will be these times when nothing is happening outwardly, but there’s stuff germinating inside anyway.

Plus, there’s been a lot of life stuff happening this month… as you’ll soon discover…

What We Did On The Life Front:Injured my back. Then had a car accident. It was a drama.Had a sick kid at home for a week. For the first few days I thought to myself: WOAH she is really calming down! She’s way less bouncy than she usually is! Much less excitable! Parenting is much less intense when she doesn’t need new activities every 3.5 minutes. And then… she got better and all her energy came back to her. The poor love! She wasn’t chilled out! She was actually really SICK! I shouldn’t laugh, but I did snigger at myself.Sometimes it feels like the carousel of sick kids is never ending. One gets on, one gets off. One gives it to us, and then we give it to each other. It’s like some kind of sick gifting circle that no one wants to be a part of. I mean… at least it’s not Covid?I did a no-spend challenge in September.I continued with weekly private reformer pilates classes at Noosa Flow. I have done mat pilates before, and I looooooove reformer soooo much more! It’s a highlight of my week.We went away for a couple of nights to Maryborough to visit my in-laws. It was our first mini-break in yearrrrrs (we’re the worst at actually leaving the house!) We had a bonza time staying in an old Queenslander cottage with a mango tree in the backyard. It smelled like my grandmother, and I felt close to her. We took the kids to the Story Bank where the author of Mary Poppins was born. I love weird old Queensland towns, and can’t wait to go stay again.We got inspired by our mini break and booked in two more weeks of holidays for over the Christmas break. EEEEEEEK LOOK AT ME SOOOOO FANCY!Got my first vaccine. HOORAY!Had the arborists back to prune more trees back on the acreage.Had a 2 metre carpet python in our backyard! He slowly moved across our lawn and up a tree. Me and Chris stood near him and just watched in awe. Usually when we have a snake, if it’s venomous, we have the snake catcher in to remove. With the python we decided to leave where he is as he isn’t a threat.We went to an epic birthday party on a farm. My eldest kid spent most of her time down in the chook shed with a hen on her shoulder. My smallest kid spent it playing on the ginormous obstacle course jumping castle. I watched them from the heated magnesium pool. It was pretty amazing all round!Went out to dinner TWICE with friends! WOO! WATCH ME GO!My eldest kid walked to the beach with her class for their last day of school. By the time I arrived to pick her up, she’d been playing happily in the surf for hours. I can’t believe my baby girl is all long and self sufficient and tweeny all of a sudden! I ended up taking 3 of her friends home as well after loading them up with double decker ice-creams. Honestly, the joy on their faces made me felt like I’d earned a Gold Star in Parenting.School holidays: I took the kids to Cat Retreat Cafe to eat cake with kittens. It was hilarious and fun. We also did art journaling together, and the kids had a few private swimming lessons together in preparation for summer.Books I Read:

I’ve now read over 150 books this year.

Here’s my favourites from the last month that I rated 5 stars.

Boyfriend Material – Alexis HallHow To Keep House While Drowning – KC BakerFloat Plan – Trish DollerAtomic Habits – James ClearOrder From Chaos – Jaclyn PaulSimple Path To Wealth – JL CollinsHelp Me! – Marianne PowerWhat happened on the Business front:I finished the Goal Getter workbooks for next year! As always, it’s a MASSSSSSIVE amount of time to get it done. It always takes 10x the amount of time I estimate, and a crap tonne of revisions and fixes to get it sorted for printing. Anyways, it is DONE. More news to come on how to order very soon!I’ve been running weekly group coaching calls for my 40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course students, plus my usual monthly group coaching call for all course students as well!I was interviewed for 4 more podcasts.I taught at the Online Business Playground summit.I decided to revise my commitment to daily emails to give myself back some creative space & freedom.Interviews I Did:All of the Things podcastHer Empire Builder podcastDevoted Way podcastBrave New Girl podcastCurrent list of software I use to run my business:Kajabi for most things in my business:selling through their shopping cartteaching my courses through their learning management systemrunning my affiliate programActiveCampaign to send all our marketing emails.Optin Monster to create all the pop-ups, reminder windows & lead magnet forms on my website.Calendly to screen interviewers and book in interviews.Xero is my accounting & financial management system.I host my WordPress websites on WPEngine.

More tools of the trade here if you find that kind of thing useful!

[image error]How much I earned:Course sales: $30,000Passive income business: $10,000Investment property: $2,000Affiliate income: $1,000Managed funds: After having some stellar growth months, we didn’t get any net worth increase this month. Totally to be expected, and we’re not short term traders. We’re in it for long term growth.

Total income: $43,000.

It’s our smallest monthly income in over 12 months.

And it’s obvious I really took a lot of the month off from working. Between my back injury, the car accident, school holidays & our time away, I did bare minimum. And that’s totally okay. Right now, my focus is on my health and being a present mama to Baby Goth & The Excitable One. I’ll never, ever regret the times I put them first.

Plus: I used to earn that amount in a YEAR. I have to remind myself that $43,000 a month is nothing to be sneezed at.

I know bigger months will come again in their own sweet time. I’m glad I have a business (and investments) that allow me to follow my energy and what I need in the moment. And I’m really glad it more than takes care of me, my family & our philanthropic commitments even when I can’t and don’t work.

If you’d like a more in depth analysis of how I create & grow my income streams, and manage my money, these two courses are the best place to start:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Money, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of IncomeGoals for October

WORK GOALS

Release new workbooksRelease new workshopWeekly zinesBatch create 6 Business Success Series blog postsFinish another Project 10%Test tripwire productFinish Project X

LIFE GOALS

Do another 21 day challenge – decluttering & organisingWeekly pilatesDo whatever I need to do to get my creative juices flowing!Finish food e-courseGo for 10 walksFinish reading “Die Empty”

Hope this was useful pooky bears!

Thank you for being here, and thank you for sharing the journey with me!

Big love!

FREE GOODIES:

Daily-ish writingsWeekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasures

WORKBOOKS + PLANNERS

Calm Christmas PlannerGoal Getter workbooks for 2022 (COMING SOON!)

COURSES:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course

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21 Days Of Decluttering: Estate Planning Incase I Die From A Sore Vagina

Pooky bears,

As you know, at the start of this year I began to do 21 day challenges of new habits & experiments I wanted to try out. It’s been life-changing & one of the best projects I’ve ever done.

Here’s the overview list of all the challenges I’ve already done this year:

21 days without social media (now permanent!)21 days of a deeper digital declutter21 days of blogging21 days of meditating21 days of raising readers21 days of no spendingThis month I started a new challenge… 21 days of decluttering & organising!

Here’s my updated list of areas for me to declutter & organise

KitchenKitchen drawersMedicine cabinetLunchbox drawer & drawers aboveMisc kitchen cabinetPot cupboardCupboard under ovenTop cupboardsPantryRest of houseSpare bedroom cupboard Girl’s bathroom cabinetEnsuite bathroom cabinetHallway bookcaseClear hallwaysBeth’s roomBeth’s cupboardStarry’s roomChris’ officeChris’ archiveHallway consoleGames cupboardArt cupboardLinen cupboardMy art archiveShedExtra ProjectsFinish estate planningBuy a plant & plant stand for living roomVarnish painting to hang in our bedroom

I’m making tops progress, I reckon. Will I get all the projects done in 21 days? Probably not. They are more a menu of options. And I’m making far more progress in decluttering & organising with this challenge than if I wasn’t doing it.

I can already feel how much lighter & easier our space is with the work I’ve already done. Even Chris has mentioned how good the kitchen is starting to feel. And I feel positively POSH with having clear hallways instead of it being a meeting ground for boxes, DIY projects & stuff that needs to be moved elsewhere.

This weekend I did some more kitchen organising, and also finished up something I’ve been wanting to do for YEARS.

Estate Planning!

Mmmmm, such sexy words.

Basically, it’s a folder that lives in our safe that has all the important information to make it super easy for someone else to manage if/when me & Chris kark it, especially if we kark it at the same time. We’re not planning on karking it anytime soon, but it just feels good to have it in place.

I followed Barefoot Investor’s Fearless Folder checklist to help me set up the document.

My document included:

Contact details of family membersContact details of accountant, lawyer, executor & staffCurrent net worthDetails of properties we ownDetails of other investments we own (i.e. managed funds & shares)Insurance details (life, health, home, car & motor)Bank account detailsLogin details (I wrote down the main password for Lastpass – my password manager – on a piece of paper, not digitally)

I also included a file with copies of:

birth certificates, marriage certificates & change of name certificatescompany registrationpassports & driver’s licencetax assessmentswill & power of attorney.

I’ve got to get wills & POA updated, but they can get added in later.

For the pièce de résistance of my organisational ascendency, I:

Gave one of my oldest (and most organised) friends a short document with how to locate the safe, the safe’s unlock code, what’s inside the safe & who to contact to let them know.Added a recurring item in my calendar to review the document yearly to check all the information is still correct or if it needs updating.

Anyways, I feel so fucking smug now I can barely tell you.

Smug and relieved that if and when shit goes down, I’ve made it as easy as possible on my family. Hopefully it won’t be for a long ass time yet, but In sha’Allah, as they say in Arabic.

Next up… rest. I think I’ve got a UTI, and when I was in pain last night I thought OMFG IS THIS WHAT I GET FOR ESTATE PLANNING? I FINISH IT, AND THAT VERY EVENING I DIE FROM A SORE VAG?

Sometimes I’m a wee bit dramatic – I don’t know if you can tell. But it WOULD be on brand for me, I reckon. A good way to go. Dying of a vag-related incident.

Anyways, time to rest… and then back on the organisational train when the time is right. CHOO CHOOOO!

Thanks for sharing in this journey with me!

Love,

FREE GOODIES:

Daily-ish writingsWeekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasures

COURSES:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course

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Brain Dump #382ish

Dearests,

Numbered list incoming!

Behold before & after of my physical inbox! It’s been a couple of weeks since I did a full Weekly Review so my inbox was prettttttty full. Managed to stroll through it in about an hour or so, and had quite the lovely time. It feels so great to be organised! I just dump everything in the tray that needs attention around the house, and then when it’s processing time, I go through piece by piece. It’s so simple yet so revolutionary for me… I know that if I put it in there, it will get taken care of instead of being lost to the pile gods.My eldest kid has been away at school camp for the last three days. It’s her third year doing it. And even though we knew she was having a 10/10 bonza time, we still felt like we were missing a limb. She’s back at last, and I’m so glad. It makes me realise one day in the future, she’ll leave for good, and I’m not quite sure how I’ll cope with that. I’ll be delighted for her, and I’ll also have to imagine a new kind of life for myself. I think I’ll become an eccentric semi-retired artist with enormous glasses who sleeps in every day and calls everyone darling. I guess… not that different from me now?My efforts at getting more organised are actually working like billy-o. When eldest kid came home, instead of letting her luggage languish for days, I actually… unpacked it straight away and started the washing. Then I even VACUUMED the luggage for sand. Chris was in disbelief: WHO EVEN IS MY WIFE? I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS LEVEL OF MARTHA STEWARTING IN THE LAST 20 YEARS. Anyways, I feel smug as fuck about it. Which reminds me: the washing is still on. I’ll likely forget about it and it will become a mouldy mess anyway. I might be making progress, but I still gots me some ADHD. HO HO HO.Earlier this week, we took youngest kid to the dentist. Usually, she hates it. This time, she had happy gas for the first time. I still get the sniggers when I think about it. My favourite moment is when the dentist let her watch her favourite Youtube channel Snake Discovery on the overhead TV, then patiently tried to explain to Beth what she was going to do inside her mouth. Beth, with wildly gesturing arms, says loudly: “LOOK LADY. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU DO IN MY MOUTH AS LONG AS I CAN KEEP WATCHING MY SNAKE DISCOVERY.” All hail the miracle of snake discovery!I finished making my brand new Christmas Planner & popped it up on Etsy. I’m so thrilled with myself for giving myself leeway to work on something different from what I usually do. It’s fuel for my creative spirit.I’ve been thinking about reducing my work hours even more. Maybe even taking some weekdays off entirely to live a semi-retired life. Read books, have lunches with friends, walk along river more. Batch create content well in advance. Then rock up to create when I feel like it. Not sure yet. Work is one of the great loves in my life, I just feel like I need to adjust things so that life feels sumptuous and satiated.Oh, one more. When I picked up Starry from camp, the first thing she said was: “How did Beth go at the dentist?” She’s so protective and thoughtful of her little sister. We’re so lucky to have these two sweet souls as kids.

Big hugs,

FREE GOODIES:

Daily-ish writingsWeekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasures

COURSES:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course

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A Glimpse Into My Finished Art Journal

Precious humans!

I just completed another art journal, so I thought I’d take you on a magic carpet ride through some of the pages.

I have been using this exact style of journal (a Mont Marte sketching journal) since I was 16 and my incredible high school art teacher introduced us into the practice of keeping an art journal. It serves as a place to experiment, record inspirations and develop a room of one’s own. It’s a cheap A4-sized hardbound journal with blank pages.

Me & my littlest talk you through my journal:

And here’s more pages:

I like that these kinds of journals are cheap because it never feels like I’m wasting anything. I have been drawing and collaging and painting and taking notes and writing in these since the dawn of time and I will continue to until the end. They are my special place.

Whatever kind of journal you use, I hope it becomes your special place too.

Big love!

FREE GOODIES:

Daily-ish writingsWeekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasures

COURSES:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course

The post A Glimpse Into My Finished Art Journal appeared first on Leonie Dawson | Goals, Marketing + Creativity For Glorious Humans.

21 Days of Decluttering & Organising

Pooky bears,

As you know, at the start of this year I began to do 21 day challenges of new habits & experiments I wanted to try out. It’s been life-changing & one of the best projects I’ve ever done.

Here’s the overview list of all the challenges I’ve already done this year:

21 days without social media (now permanent!)21 days of a deeper digital declutter21 days of blogging21 days of meditating21 days of raising readers21 days of no spendingToday I’m starting with a new 21 day challenge… 21 days of decluttering & organising. HOORAY!

We’ve moved a LOT in the last decade or so. This is our 8th house since 2010 (woops!) and they’ve spanned the height of Australia from Cairns to Tasmania. The houses have been hugely different sizes – from a one bedroom cottage to a seven bedroom mansion. We’ve bought a lot of furniture and STUFF for the different houses, and now we’re settled in this home and have been for two years, it’s definitely time to sort through and organise our stuff for THIS space.

We’ve already donated a lot of furniture to charity, but it’s time to do a deeper clean, declutter & organise of all the cupboards.

To keep me from being overwhelmed, my only goal each day is to do a little bit. Even just 5 minutes is great!

Checklist of areas for me to Declutter & OrganiseKitchenKitchen drawersMedicine cabinetLunchbox drawer & drawers aboveMisc kitchen cabinetPot cupboardCupboard under ovenTop cupboardsPantryRest of houseSpare bedroom cupboard Beth’s roomBeth’s cupboardStarry’s roomChris’ officeChris’ archiveGirl’s bathroom cabinetEnsuite bathroom cabinetHallway bookcaseHallway consoleGames cupboardArt cupboardLinen cupboardMy art archiveShedResources to keep me motivated & inspiredHome Edit workbookDeclutter checklist from Struggle Care.The Minimal Mom Youtube videosTidying Up with Marie Kondo on NetflixOrganizing Solutions for People with ADHD by Susan PinskyDecluttering at the speed of life – Dana White

Plus of course, I just finished reading & taking notes on:

Martha Stewart’s OrganizingOrder From ChaosFirst decluttering mission complete!

I’ve been wanting to do the kitchen drawers for a while because they annoy the shit out of me.

It also felt overwhelming so I thought I’d start just with 5 minutes of removing extra items we don’t use to donate to charity. And of course once I started, I wanted to finish. It took me about 50 minutes to remove everything out of the four drawers, clean them out and reorganise them.

I kept 3 bags beside me:

rubbishcharityrecycling.

I used a couple of plastic trays & a bamboo cutlery tray from Big W to organise.

I also moved all the wooden spoons & spatulas out of the drawers and into a large utensil cup near the stove. This is something that Martha recommended in her book, and so far I reckon it’s a tops idea!

Once it was done, I gave a tour of the new organisation to both my kids & my husband. They are the ones who put away dishes all the time, so I’m relying on them to put things back where they go.

Righto, I’m feeling motivated & inspired!

I’ll keep a log here.

Thanks for sharing in this journey with me!

Love,

FREE GOODIES:

Daily-ish writingsWeekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasures

COURSES:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course

 

 

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IMPORTANT: Revising my daily blogging commitment

Pooky bears,

In December last year, I decided to try a fun 30 day experiment of blogging everyday. It ended up being a wild joy and a miracle. I LOVED the ritual of writing each day, and along the way over 1300 of you joined in with the fun by signing up for the daily-ish emails. It totally reinvigorated my creativity, and I loved the connection I’ve shared with you all. It’s felt like writing to penpals!

After the month-long commitment, I decided to keep on going with blogging on weekdays – sometimes more, sometimes a little less. And it’s kept feeling like a joy and the perfect thing to do for the last 10 months.

And then it began feeling like it wasn’t as helpful anymore.

Here’s why:My creative cycle naturally has very quiet times, when I am either fallow, or incubating, or dreaming. I want to honour those times, and not feel guilty that I should be producing and creating everyday.There are other bigger creative projects I want to spend time on. Having the creative commitment to blog everyday can prevent me from fully diving into those other creations.I have a feeling that something new wants to be born through me. But I won’t know what it is yet. – and feel like I need to make room for it.So with that in mind, I’m revising my commitment on my “Daily-ish” emails.

Instead I’m calling it my “Everything” email list: you’ll get emails every time I blog. Sometimes that will be daily, sometimes it will be every few days, sometimes it will be weekly. I’ll share when I’m amped up & filled with energy… and quieter when I’m in my creative cave. Honouring those important natural rhythms.

I’m so thrilled to continue creating, sharing and connecting with you… just in a more relaxed, spacious, free way.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for being you. I’m so grateful.

Big love!

FREE GOODIES:

Daily-ish writingsWeekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasures

COURSES:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course

 

 

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Podcast: Bored Entrepreneur In Car Talking Shit

Sugarplums,

It’s me, the bored entrepreneur talking shit in a vehicle.

A revolutionary change for this podcast…

Not really, you know what you’re in for. Ha!

Explicit AF

Just to reiterate: this is one sweary motherfucker of a podcast. So if you listen to it around kids… they will defo learn some new vocabulary from Aunty Leonie. MWHAHAHAHA. ENJOYYYYY!

How to listen

Listen below, or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCast (or wherever else you listen to podcasts!)

Want to find all of my podcast episodes?

Just pop over here treasure!

You can also just sit on your couch and yell “OK Google! Play me “Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be Categorised” podcast!” and your digital servant shall administer to your needs.

Who gives a fuck about privacy when you can have a little robot assistant at your beck and call so you may never leave the couch again.
HONESTLY HOW GOOD IS LIFE.
THE END.

Big hugs,

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All of the Things Podcast!

Lovebugs!

So much good shit to share with you at the moment, I love it!

Veronica Lee Drayton from All of the Things podcast interviewed me and we had an absolute blast!

Here’s everything we covered, straight from Veronica:

We talk about all of the things, staying connected and actually deepening relationships off of social media, how to stay informed and on the pulse of activism that seems to live through social media (spoiler – it doesn’t), staying inspired, the personal creative benefits of stepping back from socials and then a explore into the business side, marketing and running a business without social media and why it’s actually a very ineffective and often costly practice to rely on SM for your biz.

Also lots of weird fangirling from my side and inside jokes between me and myself in relation to my adoration for this wonderful human.

Ready to listen?

Just click HERE and maybe while you’re at it, grab a cuppa and make yourself cozy.

This one’s a good’un!

Big love!

FREE GOODIES:

Daily-ish writingsWeekly love lettersPodcast: Leonie Dawson Refuses To Be CategorisedA library of free treasures

COURSES:

Behind The Scenes of a Multi-Millionaire’s Finances in 2021 (only $7!)Sales StarMarketing Without Social MediaMoney, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income40 Days To A Finished Book40 Days To Create & Sell Your E-Course

 

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My 21 Day No Spend Challenge: How It Went, What I Spent

Pooky bears,

As you probably know, at the start of this year I began to do 21 day challenges of new habits & experiments I wanted to try out, but not commit to forever.

Here’s the overview list of all the challenges I’ve already done this year:

21 days without social media (now permanent!)21 days of a deeper digital declutter21 days of blogging21 days of meditating21 days of raising readers

Over the last month, I started a new challenge: reducing my spending.

Here’s the guidelines I created for this challengeIf I do need to buy something – don’t add anything to the order. Just buy the one thing, not six other random things!I’m going to likely keep a public log of what I am buying to bring extra clarity around it. (Didn’t end up doing this – I haven’t been online much this past month. I’ve been happily immersed in kid world instead!)I’m going to not buy online for the next 21 days. I just get into this habit of buying even more stuff so I qualify for free shipping.Definitely no buying from Amazon!I have a stack of books (both printed & Kindle) to read.My kids are flooded with books, so don’t need me to buy anymore. We can get back into the habit of using the library instead.I’d like to experience more nature instead of shops. Consider the beach or a bushwalk instead?Consider cooking more at home instead of getting takeaway.Hot zone shops where I always end up buying stuff: Chemist. Big W. Target. Pillowtalk.I only recently did an Expenses Challenge to cut extra costs out of my business and personal spending (just like the one we do in the Money course!) – I don’t know if there’ll be much to cut out this time. But I’ll have a looksee at it and see if I can!

As I shared when I started this no-spend challenge… it probably wasn’t the best time to start. But it will never be the perfect time, so might as well explore it anyway!

1 Sept

I’ve injured my back again which rather fucks my plans for doing a no-spend challenge. I can’t stand long enough to cook, so takeaway it is. Plus, I’ll be seeing my osteopath a couple times a week for the next wee while. And I’ve already been to her so often this year I’ve maxed out my health insurance to contribute. Also: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUCK.

3-5 Sept

We headed off for a couple of nights to visit our in-laws. First nights away in years! We ate a buttload of takeaway, including food from this brilliant 1950sish diner. Also went to the amazing Story Bank – the birthplace of the author of Mary Poppins! It’s a stunningly renovated historic building, and the museum is a wonderful idea. Highly recommend!Did manage to resist buying anything from the museum gift store, so that’s a first!

6 Sept

Had car accident. Thankfully, we’re ok & kangaroo was ok. Car was… not ok. It will be in panel beaters for a couple of months. We were insured. Excess will be $800. We pay a higher excess in return for lower yearly insurance fees – we very rarely have accidents so that made most sense for us.Thankfully, have second car – an 11 year old Hybrid. We had been considering selling it and investing the cash instead, but I’m glad we have it for moments like this…

7 Sept

Littlest kid asked for something she could wear to give her end of term presentation. She wanted to dress up as Steve Backshall from Deadly 60 as she is presenting a biography about him. She asked for a pair of cargo pants, and I told her we could buy some if she was going to wear them not just for the presentation. She was keen, so we went for a hunt. We found a pair of cotton cargo pants in the boy’s section of Big W for $18. I resisted the urge to add more to my order and just grab what we actually needed. When we took it to the counter to pay… we discovered they were on sale for $10. AND we had a rewards voucher for… $10. FREE PANTS! A FREE PAIR OF PANTS! My level of satisfaction was through the rooooof.Had to spend cash on my ailing back though – hobbled over to the pillowstore to get a body pillow for jamming my derelict hips around while I sleep.

9 Sept

I’m struggling with reducing amount on food and takeaway, especially when I’m not able to cook due to my back. I’m wondering if this whole no spend challenge is a feckless task.

There’s only a certain amount I can reduce my expenses, and a million ways I could just increase my income instead. If I exerted a LOT of pressure, I could potentially bring down our expenses by $2,000 a month. OR… if I exert a LOT of pressure on income production, I can bring in an extra $100,000 a month.

Plus, my expenditures can increase my income. Getting that $10 smoothie a day tends to mean I have the energy for work. Spending $160 a week on osteopathy when I need it means I can function (and work).

I get that not everyone is in the same position – I am remarkably privileged. And I can only make the decision that’s right for me and what my particular setup looks like.

What if instead of no spend I changed the rules up to fit me and my life for right now:

No buying products onlineNo adding extra things that we don’t needContinue to do monthly net worth tracking, and investing as much savings as possible.

I’m not sure. I’ll keep moodling.

10 Sept

Read THE UNSETTLERS by Mark Sundeen. It’s three stories of people living deeply unconventional lives – including giving up money and living self-sustainably. I love reading these kinds of books – it falls into the same category of other past favourite reads of mine like:

Living The Good Life – Linda CockburnThe Moneyless Man – Mark BoyleThe Way Home: Tales from a life without technology – Mark BoyleThe Man Who Quit Money – Mark SundeenThe Salt Path – Raynor Winn

This quote near the end of Unsettlers had me cackle. It describes me to a tee:

“You don’t like to rough it. You don’t like to be cold, or to split wood in the snow. You don’t like to garden. You don’t like to fix things. You like to hire someone to do it. You like to take a hot shower every night.”

It was true. I was not the type to fill my boots with snow just to get a closer look at an owl. I was the type to read a book about such a person. Or write one. I was in the category of most simple-life dabblers: seduced by the idea of it, repelled by the hardship.

I’ll read ALL the books about not using money, living off the land and camping for a year. Will I do it myself? FUCK.NO. Ha!

11 Sept

My eldest kid has grown out of all her short-sleeve tshirts. The weather has just suddenly changed to HOT, so we ordered five shirts. She’s now at an age however when she chooses all of her own clothes, so she ordered online with me and I went to collect for her while she was at school.

It’s hilarious – my ex-Steiner baby who used to live on princess dresses and rainbow hats now exists on a strict diet of… black. I call her Baby Goth.

Here’s the conversation we had:

“Oh honey, I picked up your summer tshirt order today. So summery! There was a black tshirt and…”

(and immediately she got the joke I was going for, and we recited together)

“a black tshirt and a black tshirt and a black tshirt and a black tshirt!”

Then we cackled like witches. Me and my 11 year old Baby Goth. She’s a rad human.

In terms of no spend, I DID succeed in not purchasing anything more than just what we needed for Baby Goth’s Summer. That’s a real win!

14 Sept

Again: my timing with this challenge hasn’t been great.

We just spent $2,500 booking 2 weeks of holidays over Christmas. We haven’t holidayed in… 5 years? It’s more than time.

Have to remind myself: this has been about reducing overspending, not about not spending anything altogether.

18 Sept

We’re definitely way down on getting Amazon packages in the mail, so my plan to not order as much from it has worked! Hooray!

20 Sept

I started doing Christmas and birthday season planning as it’s rapidly approaching (both me & my husband are November babies, and both our Dads are December babies). My new organisational flex goal of the last few years is that I now have all Christmas shopping and prep done by end of November. Yes, why thank you, I AM a smug wanker!

I ended up pre-ordering some of our favourite rituals that we’ve been doing for a few years now. Sometimes these pieces can be tricky to get if I leave it too late. Plus, I spend less money when I plan what I purchase way ahead of time.

I pre-ordered:

a gingerbread house kit from Gingerbread Folka LEGO Friends Advent calendar for my girls to share in DecemberChristmas pyjamas for my girls.

The advent calendar & pyjamas are given to them December 1. The pyjamas end up getting worn all year around – they just love them.

For my birthday, I usually go away to a hotel by myself for a night. At the moment though, I feel like I’ve had enough alone time… I need some PEOPLE, dammit! I’ve booked out my favourite B&B for a night and am going to have a slumber party with some of my women folk. SO KEEN.

I also ordered myself some graphic novels & interior design books for the family to give to me as my birthday present. Me & my husband usually buy our own main presents, and then gift each other little things (like a custom journal or giant mug). Neither of us have receiving gifts as a love language, so we’re fairly practical.

22 Sept

Started reading Shop Your Wardrobe: a year without clothes shopping.

23 Sept

I was going to do an expenses review for life & business using the spreadsheet I share in Money, Manifesting & Multiple Streams of Income. I usually do it at least annually and save thousands. I did my last one a few months ago, so when I went to review, there wasn’t much to cut out. I should take this as a win: I’ve got good financial systems & habits in place already.

24 Sept

We’ve had some electrical issues, and need to replace some of our switchboard. Got a quote: $1200. HA. OF COURSE.

26 Sept

I don’t think we’ve succeeded on not buying ANY books this month… we probably bought half of what we usually do.

28 Sept

I’m excited – it’s nearly the end of the month… which means financial reporting time!!!

I’m not even joking – I am so excited when I get to do it.

I track:

how much income the company has brought inhow much my personal net worth has increasedhow much money I invested that monthhow much closer I am to my retirement goals.

Doing this definitely puts my focus on the things I want to grow!

29 Sept

As I write this, our dishwasher has just blown up. I think we need to get it repaired, or it may need replacing. This all makes me cackle. In the month that I decided to do a no spend challenge I:

had a car accident, paid insurance excess of $800 and are without our main car for 2 monthsbooked our first holidays in five years and spent $2500injured my back again which required a fair bit of medical care & aidsneed to replace our switchboard for $1200likely need to replace our dishwasherdid a bunch of Christmas and birthday orders.

All in all, it’s been one of the most expensive months of the year.

HO HO HO HO HO.

THE IRONY!

Still, I have to keep reminding myself: this wasn’t about no spend. This was about taking control of the OVER spending and consumption. Stopping the places where I unconsciously bought more just for the sake of it.

And I reckon I did a decent job at being mindful of that.

Plus, with all the money I saved from not overspending, I can spend it on exciting things like A HOLIDAY!

(Also: insurances and electrical appliances and all the rest of life’s calamities!)

Are all my 21 day challenges life changing?

Nah. But they don’t need to be. They are just a great way to exploring new habits & experiences. I love the opportunity to research more, play with it, and see what’s the right fit for me.

Going without social media as a challenge was by far the most life changing shift for me, and it ended up becoming the Marketing Without Social Media program because so many people asked me about it. I’m still grateful for all the experiments I’ve had so far though. I’ve learned so much and it’s been a real thrill!

I also tried out something new but didn’t turn it into a 21 day challenge – I started using David Allen’s Getting Things Done system and keeping a physical inbox plus weekly reviews. It’s been freaking BRILLIANT, and I’ll continue doing this permanently I reckon.

Will I do a no-spend challenge again in the future?

Absoloodely. I did it a couple of years ago. It’s such a great way to cleanse the overconsumption palate and bring more mindfulness in.

What 21 day challenge will I do next?

I’m not sure. I think I need to finish this one up first before the answer becomes clear for the next!

Here’s my current list of challenge ideas:

All divided up into helpful categories too! NOICE!

Health

WalkingOrgasmsYogaWhole FoodsNo sugarCooking from scratchDancingRing Fit

Creative

PaintingDrawing comicsJournalingArt journalingThe Artist’s Way methodology (daily morning pages and weekly artist dates)

Balance

HolidaysNo Phone

Home

Decluttering & organisingDIY & renovations

Work & Productivity

Opt-insLaunchesMiracle Morning methodologyFranzen checklist method

In terms of what I’m leaning towards, I think it’s probably 21 days of decluttering & organising.

It’s what I’m naturally doing anyway.

I’ve got a couple of resources to use as guides as well:Home Edit workbookDeclutter checklist from Struggle Care.

I’ve also found The Minimal Mom’s Youtube videos helpful as well.

And I’ve got a few books that I’ve already started reading:

Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD by Susan PinskyDecluttering at the speed of life – Dana White

Plus I just finished reading & taking notes on:

Martha Stewart’s OrganizingOrder From ChaosHaving said that, I may wake up tomorrow and completely change my mind and do another challenge!

Or do none at all for a while. I always need to feel like I have the freedom to change my mind whenever I need to. The Leonie of Today isn’t always the best expert for what Leonie of Tomorrow needs!

I hope you’re enjoying these fun experiments as much as I am!

Thank you, as always, for sharing this journey with me.

Big love!

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