One of the books that I think everyone should read is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It’s a book that’s about much more than it seems – far more, anyway, than just a book about how to tidy and clean your house.
Those of us who consume content about financial independence and early retirement are, I think, on a mission to change how we move through the world. I know that I first stumbled onto the financial independence community because I felt that something I was doing just didn’t feel right. For me, life felt like it was on auto-pilot. I was doing all of the things I thought I was supposed to be doing without really thinking about whether the path I was on was right for me.
Too many of us do things without thinking about why we do it. There’s a lot of value, I think, in challenging your default settings and assumptions. Marie Kondo’s book, in my opinion, does exactly that. It takes something that seems pretty simple – cleaning and organizing your house – and challenges you to think differently, flipping everything that you think about cleaning and organizing on its head.
I’ve been in quarantine over the past few weeks, and with all the time I’ve spent at home lately, I thought it fitting to pull this book off the shelf and give it another read. In today’s post, I want to go over the big lesson in this book that has greatly impacted me and discuss how you can take advantage of tidying up to improve your own financial life in the tough times that we’re currently in.
The Big Lesson From The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
We should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of.
A few weeks ago, I made a decision that I was going to start getting things in my house back in order. My wife and I recently had a baby, and right now seems like an important time to declutter and make sure our house is in a condition that makes us comfortable.
The thing is that when you spend your entire life accumulating, it can be hard to figure out what you’re supposed to do with all of that stuff. It really hit me when I was organizing my closet and realized I had over 40 dress shirts. And since I quit my job last year, I’ve literally worn dress shirts just a handful of times. There’s really no reason for me to have so many of these shirts clogging up my closet.
Figuring out what to get rid of and what to keep can be difficult though. I’d always been taught that when I want to get rid of stuff and declutter, the first thing to do is to figure out what I want to get rid of. That’s the default way most of us think.
The big takeaway – and the one critical lesson that Marie Kondo teaches us – is this: challenge your defaults. Marie Kondo’s “KonMari” method essentially teaches you to switch your defaults. Assume you’re going to get rid of everything and only keep the things that you can convince yourself to keep. She refers to it as keeping the things that spark joy.
However you choose to think of it, that’s the important thing – if you want to make big changes, you need to change the default way you view the world. I took this to heart. Everything in my closet was destined to leave my house by default. It would only stay if I could convince myself otherwise.
Taking Advantage Of Tidying Up During The Quarantine
I went through my latest tidying up adventure by going through the categories of stuff in the order that Marie Kondo teaches. She tells people to first go through all of their clothes, then look at books, then papers, then miscellaneous stuff, and then mementos. I think there are pros and cons to decluttering by category, rather than by room (I personally prefer going room by room), but the point makes sense – when it comes to big projects like this, you need to break things down into smaller chunks.
From a monetary standpoint, tidying up can actually bring in extra income that can be especially important in times of crisis like the one we’re in now. Most of us forget that the things in our house have actual value. The truth is, if you’re willing to put in a little bit of work, almost everything in your house can be turned into cash.
As an example, I had a ton of dress shirts that I bought over the years. I ended up bundling a bunch of similar branded dress shirts together and sold them together as a lot. This made it easier to sell and came with the added benefit of getting all of my dress shirts out of my house in one go while putting some extra money in my pocket as well. It’s not a ton of money, but it’s at least some money in my pocket – a small revenue stream that consistently fills my PayPal account.
If you pull up my Ebay account, you can see that my running total of stuff sold over the past 90 days is in the $500 range. Some of that is from stuff I bought and flipped, but a good chunk of that money was made simply by reselling things that were doing nothing in my house. And importantly, selling stuff that I wasn’t using and didn’t need gives these items a second life with someone else, hopefully in a more useful setting.
An interesting thing can come about when you start thinking about the stuff you have in your house as essentially something you’re renting until you can resell. The Money Wizard broke it down very well in a recent post he wrote, explaining how you can buy something used and resell it later when you’re done with it. The difference between whatever you paid for the item and the amount you sold the item for is essentially the amount you paid to rent the item for however long you had it.
I’ve done this same strategy over the years, buying used furniture, using it for a few years, then reselling it for almost what I paid for it. Certain brands hold their value extremely well – things from Ikea come to mind. Most of the time, you can buy any piece of furniture from Ikea used and resell it for almost exactly what you paid for it. In some circumstances, you can even make a profit. I remember a few years back when I bought a set of barstools for $85, used them for a year, then sold them when I moved for $90.
In short, if you take the time to implement some tidying in your life, you might find that you have some real money sitting in your house, tied up, doing nothing in the form of stuff in your closet and drawers. Get rid of that stuff, clear more space in your house, and maybe put away a little bit of extra money for yourself too.
Reset Our Defaults
I think most of us live our lives on a sort of auto-pilot, doing things simply because that’s the way things have always been. We do this with our lives and careers. And we do it with our stuff. Rereading Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up reminded me about this – how we default to things without thinking too much about why.
When it comes to stuff, most of us default to keeping things around us without thinking too much about why it’s there. I never needed to have 40 dress shirts or 100 t-shirts in my closet or dresser. When I was working a regular office job, maybe I needed some of those shirts. But really, I probably didn’t need all of them.
The lessons to consider from Marie Kondo’s book are this. Reset your defaults. The things we surround ourselves with should matter. We let stuff build up around us without thinking about why it’s there.
These past few weeks in quarantine have really challenged all of our default settings. On the home front, it’s made me much more aware of how much stuff I’ve let build up around me. My goal has been to do something about it. It’s still a work in progress.
I recently started reading The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker, which seems to have another take on how to approach decluttering a home. So far, the book has intrigued me. It might be worth reading both of these books if you have the time and inclination.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($50) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $50 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- SoFi Money ($25) - SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Brex ($250) – Brex is a free business cash management account that is offering new users a $250 Amazon gift card if you sign up using a referral link and meet certain requirements. It’s an easy bonus to earn and well worth doing. Here is my Brex Card Referral Bonus Step By Step Guide.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Spiral ($50) – Spiral is a fintech bank that's currently offering new customers a $50 signup bonus after opening a free checking account with them. The Spiral referral bonus is especially good because it's a free checking account and doesn't require a direct deposit to earn the bonus. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Spiral Bank bonus.
- Nearside ($90) - Nearside is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 signup bonus and a $50 referral bonus if you open a Nearside business checking account using a referral link. Filling out the application should only take you a few minutes. And the bonus terms are easy to meet. Check out my Nearside signup and referral bonus guide here.
- OnJuno ($100) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $250 or more. The account has no fees or minimum balance requirements. Even better, the bonus posts immediately after you meet the requirements. If you can meet the direct deposit requirements, OnJuno is an easy bank bonus that’s worth snagging. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Fifth Third Bank ($350) – Fifth Third Bank is currently offering new customers a $350 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements. This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you live or visit one of these states, make sure to take advantage of this high bonus. Check out my post on Fifth Third Bank to learn more.
- Varo ($50) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $50 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
- One Finance ($50) – One Finance is a fintech bank that’s currently offering a $50 signup bonus if you open an account using a One Finance referral link and have a direct deposit of $250 or more. This is a completely free bank account with no minimum balance requirement, so if you can meet the requirements, it’s worth doing. Check out my One Finance referral bonus guide here.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link.
- Brex. Brex is a free business cash management account that is currently offering new users a $250 Amazon gift card if you sign up using a referral link and meet certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $50 for opening an account.
- Albert. A great free app I use to track my finances and save more money. You can also earn a $150 signup bonus if you open a free Albert cash account.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Hey Kevin,
Effectively challenging those defaults we allow ourselves to take on is certainly the path to growth.
The concept of deciding what we want to keep it a great way to flip our usual methodology in life on its head. Rather than thinking about the things we want to get rid of, the friendships we no longer need, better to think of what and who is continuing to support our journey and urge us along life’s journey.
I’ll have to give this a read.
Take care,
Ryan