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Intentional Spending, Minimalism, Money Tips

What We Absolutely, No Way In Hell, Do Not Spend On

If you’re plodding along on your journey towards financial independence by saving as much as you can from what you make, squirrelling away that money into investments, and adopting minimalist habits to create momentum for your efforts – congratulations to you. Intentional living really is the secret sauce to the FIRE movement, which includes understanding what you won’t spend on as much as what you will. Here are the things we don’t spend on ourselves to help us achieve our own FIRE goal faster.

Fast fashion.

Generally for me, any outfit that I can only wear a few times isn’t a good idea from a financial perspective, let alone an environmental one. It takes significant energy, water and labour resources to create textiles in the first place – so to only wear something once in light of that just seems like a terrible waste.

I also think the quality of fast fashion is lacking. Poorly made items disintegrate faster, are laden with harsh chemicals – like bonds and glues – and are not colour fast by design. Plus, the sizing of many fast fashion houses varies greatly, which makes buying clothing and shoes pretty confusing for me – I’m a 10 in some shops, 12 in most, 14 in the rest, and if something doesn’t fit, I’ve got to go through the hassle of a return.

All in all, I’d much rather buy staple pieces that I can wear for many years, or vintage thrift finds. I maintain a capsule wardrobe made up of 30 items across dresses, pants, shorts, shirts, tees, kaftans, pyjamas, and then seasonal things like swimmers and an Oodie. It works for me and I follow a one-in, one-out system when I buy something new so I don’t have to sit on too many items at once.

Things I could upcycle from what I already have.

I love the idea of a second life for my items, and upcycling is a great way to keep costs down for things you’d have to buy otherwise. For example, if I buy pickles or olives, or a sauce comes from a jar – I keep the jar. 



This is then used as a drinking glass, a vase for vines and ivy (our home is crawling with it) or condiment containers, like at Christmas when I make fudge, cookies, jam and lemon curd for gifting.

I’ve used old boots as flower pots, seashells as homemade soap containers and earring holders, hangers as jewellery holders hung on the back of my wardrobe door, an old toilet roll painted as a phone stand, old clothes cut up as kitchen rags… I’m sure you get my point.

It’s easy to go nuts with this so I think the key is being mindful about what you bring into your space in the first place, but my general rule of thumb is not to buy something if it’s feasible enough for me to make it myself from what I already have. This list is actually super cute if you’re looking for some inspiration.

Anything available through a loan service.

Libraries are one of our most underrated services in developed countries, and historically responsible for enormous levels of literacy and comprehension. Most of my books come through my local library, and I’ve thoroughly relished being able to bring my son in on this joy.

I’ll only read books through my local library (I did have Audible for a while during babyhood because reading paperbacks sent me to sleep – good old chronic sleep deprivation). Given I read between 10-20 books a year, this is a sound investment.

I also created a baby toy swap system with friends. We regularly swap toys to keep things fresh for our kids and reduce the need to fill our home with clutter, and I also researched a local toy library in my area which we pay a small yearly membership fee for to bring out toys on loan for a month at a time. It’s awesome.

Things designed for single-use.

In our home and car, you won’t find single-use items like paper towels, napkins, paper plates, Chux, disposable razors, dryer sheets or plastic straws or bags. That’s not to say we’ve never used these things, though. In the early months of parenting, we were exhausted and dumbstruck, and a lot of conveniences slipped in out of necessity.

I think this is actually a really important point to focus on for a moment. I’m not in any way demonising the use of single-use products if your life necessitates it. At various points in raising a child (newborn stage, while toilet training, when he has been sick) we have had to. I expect the same would go for looking after someone ill, or caring for a person with special needs. Sometimes convenience to preserve your mental health and wellbeing is important.

If you don’t need to, though, I think single-use items do come with a hefty price tag – and it’s one I’d rather not pay if other options are available. A lot of the cost of single-use plastics are built into the cost of the product or commodity itself, so it’s hard to separate out. But if you weigh up the cost of the one-time purchase of something that’s built to reuse, versus the multiple purchases of something only designed to be used once, it will quickly add up in the latter. 

We look for the reusable version of many products, and you best believe we use ‘em to death, honey.

Hype products or gimmicks.

The amount of strength it takes to abstain from purchasing the latest wangle dangle for hair, beauty, skin, lifestyle, fitness, transport… It’s a lot. I like a shiny new thing. But, in my 31 rotations of the sun (and having worked in marketing for many years now), I can smell spin a mile off. 

So, I don’t buy hype products, and I especially don’t buy them as soon as they’re released – mostly, because companies are using urgency marketing and trying to feed a fear of FOMO, and that’s gross.

I’m a diehard beauty fiend and could spend all day browsing the aisles of MECCA. Still, I have one of each beauty product I use and I will never purchase another until the one I’m using is finished. When I do purchase a big ticket item, I make sure I’m really, really, really sure first. My TM6 (Thermomix) took months of deliberation. My Dyson Airwrap was similar (which I actually returned due to it not working for me). Our Mazda we bought secondhand after shopping around for weeks, and negotiating. 

The same goes for gimmicky toys. No shade on those who used those self-rocking bassinets… but like, over $1,000 for a baby bed?! Almost all of the toys we ever bought were secondhand, or loaned from a toy library. Our son doesn’t know the difference – and when he does, he’s been involved in the buying process, which can be a great financial lesson to teach a child early.

I saw on a fridge at someone’s house once that they were asking for $5 instead of birthday presents for their childs’ 5th birthday. It was going to go to his spending fund, so he could buy a big-ticket item he really wanted. It’s unconventional but I absolutely love this idea. It’s affordable for attendees, it reduces gift clutter and it allows the child to actively save and spend their money. I think that understanding this process for kids (and starting them early on it) is invaluable. 



When you’re budgeting for your own baby, here are some things you might consider too.

Things I spend on (but in a considered way):

There are some things I do think it’s worth spending well on, like:

  • Homewares. Everything in my home is alive and mostly from thrift shops – including throws, pillow covers, artwork and glassware. I would describe our home as jungle-chic. It’s eclectic, with lots of natural timber and lively greens, then pastels and pops of colour like bright yellow, orange and blue throughout.
  • Scents. I use high-quality, organic essential oils through diffusers instead of scented candles. These are expensive but worth it as we’re big proponents of aromatherapy. (No, I don’t push MLM products). 
  • Good quality nail polish. I always have my nails freshly manicured, but they’re usually the same colour – pastel pink or white.
  • Mattresses and bedding. We use flaxseed linen bed sheets and our mattresses and pillows are from Koala and Ecosa. Sleep is important to all of us and hygiene is good both in the way we sleep and what we sleep on.
  • Whole house water filtration. What we put on our skin and hair and into our bodies matters to me, and I also get hydra-facials every few months.
  • Fresh flowers, because I love them. They are such a treat.
  • The Thermomix as I said earlier. Partly because it made sense for us with a young babe who was starting solids, and secondly because we use it in the place of other separate appliances (rice cooker, steamer, peeler, chopper etc).
  • Travel. It’s a necessity, however there are ways you can keep costs down, like in the case for a honeymoon.
January 4, 2023/1 Comment/by Michelle
https://thatgirlonfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Pastel-1.webp 1500 1000 Michelle https://thatgirlonfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/That-Girl-On-Fire-Web-Logo-Header.png Michelle2023-01-04 22:12:262023-01-04 22:25:28What We Absolutely, No Way In Hell, Do Not Spend On
Intentional Spending

Let’s Talk Money, Honey: Honeymooning On A Budget

The wedding bells have finished chiming, the once-chinking glasses are all back in the special cupboard and it’s time for a little one-on-one, just you two. But how do you think about honeymooning on a budget when everything seems geared to cost so much?

On one of the most memorable trips of your life, the biggest planning hurdle is usually money. Different wants, mixed with varying expectations for each couple means that meeting-in-the-middle money management can suck the joy out of planning.

How much do we take? Is it possible to save on anything? What’s an average daily spend – particularly in different countries? What should we splurge on?

It is possible to honeymoon on a budget if you follow a few simple rules. Most importantly, remember that the honeymoon is your experience. There’s no right or wrong way to do it and no amount to spend that justifies it as a ‘honeymoon’.

We included our honeymoon in our wedding budget from the get-go, and clearly segmented how much we wanted to spend on each. This really helped us not to go over on either category, knowing it might eat into the other.

And although we didn’t ask for gifts for our wedding and made it clear it wasn’t expected, many people thoughtfully left us cash which helped pay for our trip. If you’re still in the wedding stage, I would highly recommend this over a registry. Experiences over things.

No rush, wait it out.

If you’re married in peak season, you’re probably travelling in peak season (if you go straight after the nuptials). So, don’t go right away – wait until low season and travel then, it’s much cheaper. Our wedding was in October but we didn’t head off on our honeymoon for another 7 months afterwards, and this also gave us extra time to save.

Keep a cash reserve to take advantage of deals.

Jump on deals as soon as they pop up, which might mean having a cash reserve ready. Virgin Australia announced a round-the-world ticket for $999 early in the year, and it was for two days only. Every other ticket I’d looked at beforehand was triple the price, so I jumped on it. Likewise, we booked a Eurail ticket at 33% off on a flash sale.

On a side note: we railwayed our way around Europe and this alternate mode of transport saved us a bunch – had we flown between every destination, we would have spent thousands extra. A simple flight from Vienna to Germany was over 400 Euros. Certainly not conducive to honeymooning on a budget. No thanks.

Plan what’s important to you.

I can’t stress this enough… agree on what honeymoon you want. This does the heavy-lifting of your budget for you.

  • Adventures and tours: Will you be out and about a lot? Consider that most attractions (even state-run or national trust) will have entry fees.
  • Hotels: Do you look at the details of hotels – the amenities, the towel thread count – with an eagle eye? If so, a more luxe hotel might be where you want to divert your funds.
  • Food and alcohol: Mega foodies need to make sure they have a significantly higher daily food budget.
  • Shops: Buying big-ticket items can be great to do overseas if the local currency is weak and the tax is refundable when you go home.

We got super clear on the honeymoon we wanted to have in three words: adventurous, exciting and busy. One of the few must-haves on our shared “joy list” (the things we’re happy to spend on) is travel experiences, so our budget had to account for that.

We were happy to stay in quirky hotels, not luxe ones. Food wasn’t a priority because I’m pregnant and vomiting food up really is a fun game of Will-I-Won’t-I? (Best-Get-A-Bucket-Just-In-Case). Shopping included a couple of items we had been looking at and researching for over a year (we saved hundreds buying overseas).

Limit eating out.

On the vein of food, eating out is actually really boring after a while. Traipsing around to find somewhere that suits both dietary requirements and looks like somewhere you’d actually want to eat three times a day sucks. We had at least one meal a day from supermarkets or deli counters which saved us an absolute bomb.

Look at travel sites as a guide only.

I never look at trip forums when asking the question “how much do I spend?” Why? Because it’s like asking a stranger how long a piece of string is. What constitutes a shoestring, average or luxury budget is completely dependent on the person and the variability is way too high. That, in money terms, is risky.

Instead, I research individual things. I look at the cost of restaurant menus of places we’d eat at, I look at attraction or entry prices for things that would generally interest us and the cost of transport for varying trips. When you’re honeymooning on a budget, this builds a picture of what it would really cost to be tourists, holidaying in the way that you want.

Ditch the plastic.

Unless you have an amazing travel credit card setup, I’d ditch the plastic completely.

Otherwise, expect foreign transaction fees, standard merchant fees, cash withdrawal fees and high markup currency exchange rates (this is a mid-market rate, aka “buy and sell midpoint rate” with a margin). Instead, use cash as much as possible and leave cash deposits at hotels instead of a card authorisation. Even if the charge is held, your bank may well still charge an international fee for hypothetically processing the amount into sterling (as all non-sterling currencies need to be).



Pay online in advance as much as possible.

Even if you only know what you’re going to do the night before. Look online and see if there’s a cheaper ticket for pre-booking – then pay by PayPal or reserve your spot to pay in cash at the deal price when you arrive. We did this for a number of experiences and saved anywhere from 25-60% on any given thing. All of our hotels were booked ahead of time through deal sites like Trivago and Booking.com, scoring us some great hotel rooms for $100 a night.

Share with everyone for the freebies.

Share the news, far and wide when honeymooning on a budget. Honeymooners can boast things like room and experience upgrades, champagne, dessert and sometimes even gifts. But only announce it when you arrive – upsold honeymoon packages are a major rip-off in my opinion and I wouldn’t bother with them.

Other tips:

  • Look into the travel or hire car insurance that comes with your credit card (providing you pay for those things on the card). Some people don’t like credit card travel insurance, but we used our Suncorp Platinum insurance on a hasty return from a recent trip to India and they paid us back everything without any hassle. It depends on the underwriter.
  • Don’t feel guilty for not going out. We had entire days (sometimes in succession) where we’d stay in bed all day, reading, watching Netflix and napping. Enjoy each others’ company – I know my husband so much better now because we spent so many hours just talking, and that was my favourite part of the trip. You don’t have to be out all day, everyday just because you’re on your honeymoon.
  • Stay close to transport routes as non-conventional transfers to remote places can be expensive. The days you travel can also make a difference, so be open to taking unusual flight paths if they work out significantly cheaper – especially if you have extra time. And travel overnight if possible (night flights and sleeper trains – they save you on hotel costs).
  • Create two budgets. Live-Like-A-Local and Make-It-Rain. Use the first 70% of the time and the latter 30% of the time (…even while honeymooning on a budget, splurging occasionally is okay). Travelling should be equal parts plan and spontaneity, because what’s worse than spending guilt on holiday?
  • Keep a tally on your phone of how much you have left each day. It’s purely an admin function to help you keep it in check (you’d be surprised how fast you’d go over budget otherwise).

While it’s important not to debt yourself for a honeymoon, investing isn’t all about what you can grow tangibly. Emotional development, increased self-awareness and personal adeptness are also significant measures of growth you can bank in different ways.

I believe travel makes us better citizens, and directly increases our earning potential. We become more capable under pressure, stronger in experience and empathy (how we work with others) and better educated – all crucial soft skills for making moolah.

Travel is in my top-five fave investment vehicles, and by honeymooning on a budget you’re off to a great start.

July 9, 2019/0 Comments/by Michelle
https://thatgirlonfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/architecture-building-color-1902755.jpg 3648 5472 Michelle https://thatgirlonfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/That-Girl-On-Fire-Web-Logo-Header.png Michelle2019-07-09 19:06:582019-08-23 15:34:32Let's Talk Money, Honey: Honeymooning On A Budget
Intentional Spending

Here’s How I Saved Over $1000 By Doing Frugal February

Finding extra cash by starting a side-hustle is about as mainstream now as mowing your own lawn. It’s a great way to upskill, network – and of course, earn more cash. Beautiful, lovely cash that can be used for paying down debt, investing into the stock-market, buying property, donating to causes you care about. But what if having more money in your pocket at the end of every month didn’t actually require extra work? Say hello to Frugal February.

Frugal February is all about creating more money every month just by making more frugal swaps in everyday life. By excluding some of our discretionary spending, the theory is that we can collectively find more money in our budget, instead of having to work to earn it.

I put this to the test in February this year.

By the end of Frugal February, I had almost $1300 extra in my bank account, and as a small business owner with a goal to retire early by investing widely, this cash was a welcome addition to my portfolio. Here’s exactly what I did through Frugal February to save and find more money, and what you can do too.

All discretionary spending went out the window.

To start, I went through my budget with a fine tooth comb to omit anything that I didn’t consider completely necessary.

This included many convenience purchases, which are so draining on the wallet. Think coffee, lunch in between meetings and door-to-door transport. I also cancelled and rescheduled any social outings – seeing as it was only a month, I figured that I could go without for a short period of time.

The next step was prioritising food and transport as necessities, but tweaking the way I spent on them. I walked frequently (or caught buses when it was too hot to do that), packed snacks and meals in my bag, and kept tea in a thermos to fulfil the coffee itch and ritual sipping I so enjoyed when working.

I’m a big fan of using subscriptions that have pause features (without penalty), so I put all of them on freeze, stopped drinking alcohol and planned everything in advance to avoid any last-minute temptations from striking up.

I stopped letting marketers target me.

It’s in a businesses’ interest to incessantly market to us, and we now live in a society where that’s so normalised, we struggle to identify when it’s even happening. I have conducted major email and browser cookie culls before, but was surprised at how many had slipped through the cracks since (and how many purchases I’d made without thinking).

I unsubscribed from everything, mercilessly.

It was strangely cathartic and opened up a new challenge of looking at local, free marketplace hubs for things I needed to buy. As it turned out, I was in the market for an iMac – which I found secondhand but in great nick for $140. Sure, it’s a 2007 version, but it works a dream, looks like new and had been completely refurbished.

I also made a new face serum using existing beauty products I had left over from other purchases. It took me half an hour and cost nothing. Honestly, it’s one of the best I’ve ever used so far for my skin.

Something borrowed, something re-gifted. Nothing new.

People often think that frugal people live like Ebenezer Scrooge, but anyone who knows me knows that I love treating people with gifts. It’s a real joy to give things to people you love and care about. But sentimentality can be expensive, and it’s only getting pricier.

So, instead of ducking to the shops in preparation for a dinner party, birthday celebration or Valentine’s Day – I turned my attention closer to home. In any given cupboard, I had unboxed candles, beautiful homewares with the tags still attached and lovely wines that had never been corked. And I’m not alone – how many of us have a bunch of stuff gifted to us from Christmas that would probably never otherwise see the light of day?


That wasn’t all, either. I went to a business dinner wearing a labelled dress I borrowed from a friend. And one other friend told me she borrowed camping gear for her first time in the wilderness (aka a caravan park). She hated camping so much she’ll never do it again… what a waste that would have been!

I jumped on the Do It Yourself bandwagon.

Something I’m definitely working on in my finances is calling in help for things I could do myself. I’m not averse to dropping off items to the dry-cleaner or alteration place, or using a house cleaning service or a car-wash – but for Frugal February, everything stopped.

I pulled out my dusty sewing kit for one of my favourite items of clothing when the seams tore, pulled up my sleeves to clean our car inside out on a weekend morning, and even braved the darkest depths of the kitchen sink cupboard to seal the water heater drip tray waste pipe when we realised it might be letting bugs in.

A lot of those things I’ll continue to do.

Discounts on everything became my modus operandi.

Whilst it wasn’t the most enjoyable exercise, I spent an afternoon one day ringing around all of the subscription providers I had contracts with, and point blank asked for a discount. My goal was to haggle down my monthly fees, even if just a few dollars – it all adds up, especially if a few providers agree unanimously.

I began with open-ended statements like: “When I took a good, long look at my last bill, I felt like I was paying too much.” This was to see what they would suggest (perhaps it might be more than I was going to ask for, and I didn’t want to short change myself). If they didn’t immediately offer a better deal, I asked outright: “Is there anything you can do before I start shopping around?”

To my surprise, many were quick to comply, and were even happy to. Some needed a little more persuading, but ultimately, offered a small discount after a while. Overall, I’m now better off $600 for the whole year, which is around $50 per month in additional savings. All for the time it took to make a few polite phone calls.

Frugal celebrations only, thanks.

Frugal February falling on Valentine’s Day is both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, it feels a little like you’re missing out – but on the other, you stand to save so much. Many retailers and restauranteurs will openly admit that the markup on their products and menus (often fixed price) is much more than they’d otherwise get away with charging – but on that day of the year, the demand very much exists.

This year, we replaced flowers, dinner and gifts for a homemade meal, cards made on Canva and a good old planning session of the next years’ share portfolio asset allocation. Sounds like a riot, I know – but to us it was actually fun. Just like the gift-giving thing above, we buy into the idea that the only way to show affection or appreciation is by buying stuff. It’s not.

We can have a great time and be thoughtful without digging deep into anything physical – and it doesn’t just have to occur over the month of February. Any month can be frugal with enough prep and motivation, so get out there and see how much extra you can accrue.

March 6, 2019/0 Comments/by Michelle
https://thatgirlonfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/beverage-caffeine-coffee-612252.jpg 3456 5184 Michelle https://thatgirlonfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/That-Girl-On-Fire-Web-Logo-Header.png Michelle2019-03-06 14:25:202021-02-05 21:19:00Here's How I Saved Over $1000 By Doing Frugal February

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