Buy Back Your Time: Smart Strategies for Busy Women

Narrator: 00:01:00

Welcome to Money Roots, the podcast where personal finance gets personal. Each week, Amy and her guests dig deep into the world of finance, making it more approachable and understandable for everyone.

No matter where you are on your financial journey, from savings and investments to budgeting and planning, well bring you practical advice, inspiring stories, and expert insights. We believe that everyone has the potential to grow a healthy financial future, and we're here to help you nurture it.

So whether you're a financial guru or just starting to plant the seeds of your financial knowledge, this is the place for you. Get ready to uncover the tools and strategies that can help you thrive financially.

So without further ado, let's dive into today's episode of Money Roots.

Kate Welker: 00:01:48

Hello and welcome back to Money Roots. This is Kate Welker joining you again this month. And today I'm excited that you have myself on the line.

You've got Carrie Bean, you've been hearing from quite a bit the last couple months. And then we also have Becky Eason joining us today. Hello, ladies.

Narrator: 00:02:06

Hi.

Kerrie Beene: 00:02:06

Hello.

Kate Welker: 00:02:07

We thought we'd bring all three of us on because today's topic, we want to talk about ways in which women are buying back time. And as the three of us are currently kind of falling to that, busy professional women, juggling families, children, careers, all the things.

Time is a resource that's very limited, and we feel like often we don't have enough of it.

So that would be very helpful and relevant to talk about some things that either we are doing or we're hearing from people we're talking to about ways in which they're paying for services to buy back some time.

So we're going to jump right into it, and I am going to hand it over to Becky to talk about something that I know she has been really great at doing to buy back some time for herself. Yeah.

Becky Eason: 00:02:58

So I'm really excited to talk about this topic. One service that I've been utilizing a lot to buy back time is actually like grocery and various delivery and curbside pickups.

You know, this is something that I never thought I would really utilize because I do enjoy going to the store.

But in a busy week when I just don't really have the time to enjoy that trip to the store, I find that when I'm watching tv in the evening, I just get on my phone, I'm able to fill my cart and then either select a delivery time or a curbside pickup. Yeah, it's great that. I love that. It also allows me to fill my cart based on previous purchases. So all of those frequently purchased items.

It's just like a click of a button, and it's already in my carta.

Kate Welker: 00:03:51

Do you feel like you do a better job of actually sticking to your shopping list, too, when you do you order online?

Becky Eason: 00:03:58

Absolutely. Yeah. The weeks that I do go into the store, I come home and I'm like, why did I buy this stuff? It's so many, like, impulse purchases.

Whereas when I do the curbside or the delivery, it's just what I need.

And a lot of times, I'll fill my cart, like, the night before, and then before I actually place the order, I go back through and say, okay, do I really need that or not? And usually I end up taking. Taking a couple items out.

Kate Welker: 00:04:26

No, I think that's a huge one.

Becky, you and I were discussing this week that I had done this, and I tend to enjoy grocery shopping like you do, but we've just had such a lot going on the last few weeks, and I'm like, we need food. And I didn't. For me, it was just the time and the energy, and so I ordered it, and I'm like, this was phenomenal.

I was kind of excited that I had just been able to add a service and save me the time to go to the store and just go through that whole process.

And for those of us with children, taking children into the store can be a whole nother very long topic to discuss, but bringing them in just the extra time or distraction or things they pick up to not have to worry about in the store.

Becky Eason: 00:05:08

Yeah, exactly. That's a huge.

Kerrie Beene: 00:05:10

I was curious. Do you guys. Oh, sorry, go ahead. Do you guys use the, like, delivery to your house? Is that an option for you guys?

Becky Eason: 00:05:18

Yeah, that is actually an option, and I do that quite frequently. With Walmart living in a small town, there aren't a ton of options available. But Walmart is one, and it's a very minimal charge.

There's a small convenience fee, but the products themselves actually are not marked up. So that's a nice little added feature.

Kate Welker: 00:05:43

Yeah, I. The other day, I did an Instacart order because I needed a.

I also, like Becky, love using Walmart because I know there's no markup, but the store, I just needed some other items, and it was more.

And I struggle with it sometimes, but it was important, and they did delivery, and it was much faster than I thought the curbside pickup would have been, like, delayed longer than I needed it. But we are lucky. Well, where Becky and I live, we are lucky enough to have a. Wegmans and our northeast people can appreciate the value of a Wegmans.

I know, Carrie, you don't have that, but they also have a really great curbside pickup option. So you can place your order, give them a time, and then just like they have a designated spot, you can just pull up and pick up your items, too.

Kerrie Beene: 00:06:20

Yeah, we have our local store did that a lot during COVID I saw more people using it, which it's a really small grocery store. I don't see as many people using it now. But we have Walmart here. But I live too far away, so I don't get to have the option of it being delivered.

But I would say I probably use Amazon for things that are like, really? You could have went to the store and bought that. You just get, like, used to it. So. Yeah.

Kate Welker: 00:06:49

All right, well, Carrie, I'm going to bounce it back over to you to discuss the way that you're buying back time for me.

Kerrie Beene: 00:06:58

I have been utilizing. Someone comes and kind of deep cleans our house every couple of weeks, and I've actually been doing that for quite some time now. And I love it.

And I'm actually a person that doesn't mind cleaning at all. I feel like it's a stress reliever and I don't mind the process at all.

But being busy as we're talking about, I don't always have the time to clean as much as I would like. And we're pretty good at, especially since my kids are a little bit older, we're pretty good at keeping the house picked up.

It's just that the deep, hard cleaning, that's hard to find time for. And at this point, we've had the same woman cleaning our house for a few years now, and we became quite partial to her and to her being in our lives.

She recently had to help take care of her dad some, and she was gone for a few weeks. And Alan actually made the comment like, I really miss her. I was like, I know how to do so. You get very used to having that.

And for me, at least, I don't know if it's borderline ADHD or whatever.

My environment's a really big deal to me, and working from home, I think it causes even more if there's clutter and if my house is really dirty, it makes my mind feel chaotic.

And so not only am I buying back my time, but I feel like I'm buying also a little bit of productivity, because if my space is cluttered or not clean, then it takes up space in my brain. Because I'm thinking about it, because it's bothering me. So I feel like it's twofold.

One is I feel good mentally, and then also something's getting taken care of. That's important to me. It's important to me that it's clean and everyone feels like their space is in good shape.

So I would almost, sometimes we talk about non negotiables when we talk with clients about their budgets or their cash flows. And so for me, having that service, it's a non negotiable.

Kate Welker: 00:09:06

Yeah, I was, you just let into it. I was going to ask you about the, almost like the mental health piece of it is just knowing that day you come and it's taken care of.

It's clean and it's organized, and I've heard that from a lot of people that it's like their favorite day of the week. And like you said, you don't, not that you mind doing some cleaning, but just knowing it's taken care of.

And you can, you know, have, have that time and space. And again, your space is just such a good space to come back to as well. Yeah.

And I think part of time, and when you're so busy with everything else, to be able to come home and just enjoy your time home, whether in your environment or not, running errands, like picking up groceries and doing those things, and kind of along that same line, we're talking about time.

It's also, if you've heard some of these podcasts, I know I brought up the concept of, like, mental load quite a bit, as a lot of us tend to be the one that carries the majority of the mental load in the household. So getting everything done.

And one thing that came to mind to me is not maybe something that you're going to be using on a weekly basis or monthly basis, like, you know, the groceries and the housekeeping. But I love anything that can get tasks done for me quicker. And one area where this has been impactful for me is travel.

So I like to travel, love to travel. But sometimes coming up with the details of the trip and putting them together can be overwhelming. It takes a lot of time.

I'm also one of those people that will pull up, I don't know, six hotel sites and compare and carrie, your favorite phrase is talking about analysis paralysis. I'll just get everything out there and I'll look at it and, oh, where do I want to go? Is this a good neighborhood?

Then I'll start going down like Tripadvisor and researching the actual, like the neighborhoods, the amenities. So I almost felt a little bit like it's a dying world.

But I have been researching that travel agents are actually having a very big resurgence because as more and more people want to travel and don't want to worry about the details, they are seeking out a travel agent or a travel service. There are some online travel services. If you have certain credit cards, they are more travel focused and rewards focused.

They have a travel division there as well. In my experience of using a travel agent in the past, and probably my best experience, it's been a while.

The world has changed a little bit since I've gone the full route and I've had both good and bad experiences.

Like full disclosure, but working with a really good travel agent, we talked about where we wanted to go, what we wanted to do, went back and forth about, you know, like, dates and prices and accommodations. But this individual lined up everything from transportation to the airport. Here's where the parking is, here's how much parking will be.

Any information we might have needed to know about the flight, like if you have an international flight, make sure you get here. I also am a, I like details. I need details to feel comfortable.

So providing all of those transportation from airport to maybe the first hotel that you're staying at, you know, as a layover or whatever, getting before you get to your destination. Here's travel to your final destination. Here's when to get back. Here's some places in the area or restaurants near your hotel.

Again, wonderful agent I worked with, the one time very full service. I've also had a more basic side, but just having someone to take that burden off of my plates to, I can be like, hey, I want to go somewhere.

I have this many people help me find these details, help me figure out if it's a good neighborhood or not a good neighborhood or, you know, a reputable travel like bus line has been huge for me. So that's something that I have really appreciated and have outsourced and used as well.

Kerrie Beene: 00:12:49

I think I, while you were talking, I have haven't been on vacation in a little while, but I was thinking about when we went to Disney World when my kids were younger, the amount of time I had invested in researching and planning and scheduling every single day, and I had no idea what I was doing. Like, I had, you know, no, I think I'm out of, you know, we went to Disney when I was a kid, but it's not the same.

But what is a fastpass and where are we supposed to eat and what park are we going to and not knowing what I was doing was a little bit overwhelming in the beginning. And the time I had invested in it by the time we arrived was probably insane. So looking back probably would have been a smart thing to do.

And I'm sure there's probably people that specialize in Disney, I can tell you.

Kate Welker: 00:13:35

There are, for a matter of fact, and even certain places, like, if you are someone that likes to cruise or do, or do Disney, a lot of times they have, like, a travel agent built into, you know, their resort or whatever that you can talk to. Um, one trip we had done was with a group of 20 people. This was over ten years ago, but we had a large group that we did.

We flew from western New York, went to Orlando, did a few days at Disney, and then went to a. To port Canaveral and took a cruise. And it was amazing. This specific travel agent was wonderful. It had lined up.

Um, you know, everyone could kind of do their own thing, but if you want to do a dinner, here's the group dinner. Here's where you're going, here's the reservation. I recommend this place. It was great just not to have to think about it and have it done.

So I know we just hit on a couple things that we're doing specifically and enjoying or ways out there, but there are a lot of other ways that we hear from clients and kind of just hit on. We want to maybe not spend as much time, but just hit a couple ideas that might be relevant to you in your life or things.

So, um, I'm going to piggyback off of something Becky said earlier on the grocery pickup, since we all need to eat. Something that gets overwhelming to me is planning meals. I actually. I really enjoy cooking.

Don't mind shopping, but sometimes just the thought, having the time to think out meals. So I have actually outsourced to a meal planning service that I pay for, a service that gives me a meal plan every week.

And then I go in and decide, do I want this or not? Because, again, sometimes tastes or preferences are different, but I select the ones I want.

It gives me a shopping list and the recipes, and I love it because it takes the mental piece out of it, the planning piece, and then I'm all ready to go and can get my groceries and just kind of move on with it. Are there things that the two of you have been seeing other people do or clients do?

Becky Eason: 00:15:25

Yeah. One that I'm seeing is small home repairs, you know, ranging from simple plumbing work or painting. You know, just something that you could do.

Or you could watch some YouTube videos on the weekends, but maybe you don't really want to spend your time doing that. So you could pay. You know, it's a little fee that you'd have to pay, but it's time that you could spend with your family instead.

Kate Welker: 00:15:53

I love that one.

I actually have a project, Becky, that you just motivated me to call someone that needs to be done, and I keep putting it off, and I think I'm just gonna call somebody to come take care of that for me. It needs to be done in the fall, and we are in the. In the height of fall.

Becky Eason: 00:16:07

Yeah. And it just cleans up that mental space, too, because it's one last thing you have to keep thinking about.

Kate Welker: 00:16:12

Mm hmm. Yeah.

Kerrie Beene: 00:16:18

I think there's one thing that it isn't necessarily a service, but I heard it years ago, and I think it's something that helps me when we're busy, and that's the two minute rule. So if something's going to take less than two minutes, just going ahead and doing it. So I find that rule really helpful.

And this isn't necessarily a service, but it's an app, and I actually can't even remember the name of it. There's probably a billion like this. But it's a routine app.

And so sometimes when I feel busy or overwhelmed, I feel like, what are the things I should be doing? So I went on this app, and I created my morning routine, and when I.

When my brain feels, you know, clustered and, like, there's too many things in it in the morning, you know, of course, after I've had my coffee, I'm like, okay, what should I do? Well, I'll just look at that list.

And it's not that it has to be done in any certain order, but then I'll say, like, okay, what are, like, the six or seven things that I've put in my morning routine that kind of set my day up for success? And if I can check, you know, three of the six off, then I already feel better about my day. And it's. There's simple little tasks.

So I would maybe consider that a service, I guess.

I guess an app that helps you be more productive or just get things done that you want to get done when we're so busy that we don't know what we should. So, that's one that I've found that I'm using. I actually use it a lot, and it has, like, morning, afternoon, and evening.

Very rarely do I make it to the evening checklist, but I just find that the morning checklist is like, okay, I want to set myself up for success today. Yeah. So that's a weird.

Kate Welker: 00:18:14

Well, it's almost like you're outsourcing thinking, Carrie. And I kind of like. I kind of like that in a way. Like, can you just think of. Can you think for me at the same time?

And I want to end with one that is maybe a little bit more. I'm not going to use the word extreme. Maybe more extreme. And you would definitely have to be in a spot that you had excess income.

And we understand not everybody is there sometimes just this, maybe the things we're talking about, you just can't imagine having the resources to do that yet.

But when you get to the point considering if you have the funds, actually considering a household employee, and there are lots of ways you could implement this, but kind of. I'm going top tier. We're going to end with top tier. This would be hiring someone that could really be almost like a personal assistant to you.

And whether that is, if you have kids that need to be run around nannying, housekeeping, cooking, cleaning, just that whole list of things that come under responsibilities in the household to be taken care of. Sometimes it ends up being fairly cost efficient to have one person that you can hire, whether part time or full time, to be part of your household.

So I would encourage if you are someone that is making an income level, that you could support that, and you have made maybe extra resources and you're just figuring out, I need to make my life a little bit easier and enjoy my free time more, what could I do? And of course, there's a lot of tax, not tax implications. You want to be very careful in how you're hiring that person and paying them.

But it is something that I'll just throw out as the end is kind of the top tier of unloading a lot of things off your plates and having someone there to help you. So we hope that this was helpful to you. And I said that was final.

If you would like to help outsource financial work, I would always recommend to reach out to a financial planner to get your finances is off your plate and have someone else take that burden on for you and give you the overview you'd like. The team here at rated planning group would love to have a conversation with you.

So think about your time, think about what's important and if there's little ways that you can outsource those responsibilities to give yourself a little less mental load, more space, and enjoy your time off.

Narrator: 00:20:18

You'Ve been listening to money roots, your go to podcast for making personal finance accessible and approachable. Thanks for joining us today. Amy and her guests have enjoyed guiding you through the roots of your financial journey.

Remember, whether you're planting new seeds of financial knowledge or nurturing the growth of your existing financial plans, money roots is here to support you every step of the way. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram for more resources.

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At rooted planning group, they're committed to helping you cultivate a thriving financial future. Until next time, keep growing your money roots.