Big Changes at All Life Stages with Amy Ogden
I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday season and a joyous start to the New Year. I spent my holidays working on my plans for the Financial Gym for 2018, cleaning my home, and relaxing as much as possible. I’m excited and energized for the new year and I hope you are as well. Speaking of new years, new years always make me think about making new starts. So today I’m talking Amy Ogden, Senior Vice President of Brand at J Public Relations and lifestyle blogger at Sips of Sunshine about the new start she made in what felt like late in life for her. She shares the events that led up to her big decisions and how it changed her life for the better.
What are we drinking?
Amy — Hot peppermint tea
Shannon — Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
Four years ago, Amy was living in San Diego and was Vice President for one of the world’s top luxury travel, PR, and social media agencies.
She was living a charmed life, was in her mid-thirties, but was bored and needed something else.
Amy always had a dream in the back of her mind to move to New York, but thought she missed her window.
On a visit in 2014, Amy was in NYC and had a peaceful knowledge that this was where she belonged. There was sadness in leaving her life in San Diego, but no fear.
When she told the company she wanted to move, they agreed to transfer her.
Her first hard lesson was that her stuff had no street value. She had to sell, donate, or give away all but seven to nine boxes of stuff.
She used Airbnb for the first two months in NYC, before committing to an apartment, and moved with only her clothing, makeup, and Vitamix blender.
Amy eventually decided to rent a very small apartment in the West Village. Moving to NYC was forced minimalism.
She never realized how much time and money she spent acquiring things before. Now, if she has free time, she writes a blog post, catches up with a friend, or goes to a Broadway play, instead of spending money and filling up her house with things she doesn’t need.
We’re robbing ourselves of great experiences, because we are fixated on stuff.
How you spend your money is how you spend your time.
Another lesson Amy learned is that she doesn’t remember or miss anything she got rid of. Now she has more time and space.
After moving to NYC, she realized she should have downsized even more.
When you spend money, think “What are you working for?” Don’t think “can I afford it”, but “where is its place in my life?” and “How can I get it home?”. She doesn’t have any extra space or a car.
She now buys the best brand she can afford, because she only has one. Quality over quantity has become a centerpoint in her life.
What can you do with your time instead of buying things?
When you free up your money from stuff, look at where in your life you could outsource that would make you happy. Reflect on where you can spend to save yourself time. Amy now can spend on a cleaning lady and a blowout membership.
Evaluate what you are spending on and decide if it is still worth it - don’t wait for a new year.
Amy calls herself a “bougie borrower”. Owning things isn’t exciting to her and she doesn’t have the space, but she still wants nice things in her life. She now subscribes to Rent the Runway unlimited. She also subscribes to Rocksbox for jewelry. There are so many ways to have nice things that you don’t need to own.
It is all about what you value and what’s important to you. There are so many extra costs with owning things.
Amy values having certain things that she can use and not own. There is freedom in renting and the time she reclaims.
Find out what you value and work backwards from there.
Don’t let story lines get in your way. You do not need to be young and broke to move to NYC. You do not need to own things to be happy.
Identify and work for your own story line, not someone else’s. It needs to work for you and your life, but it needs to be financially responsible.
Challenge yourself to look around your home and life and lighten up something - you will feel lighter. Create some space so you can breathe. Look at how you are spending your time. Pay attention to the role that stuff plays in your life.
TAKEAWAY: Let Amy’s story and the New Year remind all of us that we’re capable of making big changes in our lives at any stage of our life. Don’t let stories that you tell yourselfprevent you from making a big change that could lead you into an amazing next chapter of your life.
Random Three Questions
Do you relax with a massage or a hot tub?
Where is somewhere you’ve been that should be a bucket list item for other people?
If you were to win one million dollars, what would you do with it?
Connect with Amy:
If you want to make a big change this year in your finances and want someone to help you along the way, I hope you’ll reach out to my team at the Financial Gym. We have clients hitting financial goals everyday that they never could have hit on their own. You can schedule a free call here to find out more. No matter where you are in your financial journey, my financial trainers can help you get where you want to go. Head over or send friends to financialgym.com/friends to sign up today!