When should you start planning for Long Term Care? - Expert Edition Episode 8 (Copy)

In this episode, Marie Thomasson of Modern Assets and I discuss Buy Nothing Groups and our experiences in both giving and receiving from these groups. This can be a huge tool we can use to either save or give back to our society for things we could have thrown out. We cover:

• What are Buy Nothing Groups

• Our experience in saving by joining these groups

• How you can also give back to help others

• The geographic nature of groups and how to find them

Learn more about Marie by visiting her website

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TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:00] Naseema McElroy: Welcome to the Financially Intentional Podcast Expert edition. Every Tuesday I'll be joined by an expert in a particular field that is here to help you get your money, right. These people are gonna impart some serious knowledge. Y'all. I'll be right here. Learning right beside. So be prepared to take notes and more importantly, be prepared to take intentional action.

All right, nurses on Fire. I am back with a huge surprise. We are going to have a bonus episode with Ms. Marie Thompson and we are going to be talking about buy nothing roofs. Now this is like super exciting to me, and by the end of the episode it'll be, Super exciting to you too, cuz you're probably , what the heck is a buy nothing group?

But yes, we are back with a bonus episode for you to talk about this because this has been such a powerful tool for my wallet . And I hope that it can be for you too. And not only that, I think that there's a lot of waste in society, especially in America and. There's pretty much everything out there that we need that somebody is probably ready to put in a trash can.

Our gift to the Salvation Army, which I don't really think is the best use of, or the Goodwill , which I don't know what they do with those things, but I know that they underplay their employees and have not great labor practices. But that's for another episode. But hey, Marie, welcome.

[00:01:38] Marie Thomasson: Thank you . This topic near and dear to my heart.

[00:01:43] Naseema McElroy: Yes, yes, yes. And so I'm gonna kick this off by just sharing my little buy nothing story. So I've actually been a member of Buy Nothing Groups for a while. The first time I heard about Buy Nothing Groups was from a podcast that I love Choose Fi podcast. And Brad was talking about how his wife is in this Buy Nothing group.

And I was like, what the heck is buy nothing? I gotta Google this. And so I just started looking up, buy Nothing groups and. There's one in like every city, every neighborhood, almost. Mm-hmm. . So there's a website, but mostly they're mostly active in Facebook groups. I don't know how you engage with them, but I do in, in Facebook groups.

Yep. And basically it's just a, like a collective of people. and I say, I wanted to say women cuz it is mostly women in these groups, like Moms and these groups. Either you can ask for something or you can post that you have something to give away. And I challenge myself because, , when I had my first baby, I spent so much money on all this stuff that everybody told me that I needed to have and that I needed to buy thousands of dollars and stuff that I'd never even used.

Mm-hmm. . And so this time around I was like, listen, I'm not going to do all that with this baby. I mean, I was in another. I was in a much better place financially, but I just had so much more just financial knowledge by the time I had my second baby. So I was like, I'm gonna challenge myself. I'm gonna see how much I actually have to buy for this baby.

And utilizing buy nothing groups and also just gift cards and stuff that I got. Mm-hmm. . When I was pregnant, I only had to spend $50. On my baby, on my second baby. And the $50 was because I spent it on this specialized skin to skin wrap. That I, I mean, I could have got that $50 back because I've talked to about them so much.

They're like, can I just, can we just pay you for ? And I'm

[00:03:27] Marie Thomasson: like, no. So I wanna know. Wait, so that's $50 is, was that like before? Before you gave birth or in the first

[00:03:37] Naseema McElroy: year? No, that was, that was all pre, pre-birth, but all the way. But after that too, I meant, no, after that I think I spent like $200 on cloth diapers, but that's a whole nother story.

Oh.

[00:03:52] Marie Thomasson: Did you buy cloth diapers new, or did you buy them used?

[00:03:55] Naseema McElroy: So I did a rental cloth, diaper rental, rent, the rental program. And then I ended up buying a whole bunch of used cloth diapers. But cloth diapers are gold. People sell those, they're , A lot of money. Mm-hmm. . So I spent that and I, it's so nice.

I actually just gave the whole, I had like this big old travel bag of diapers and I just gave it to my coworker yesterday, which is a full circle moment. Oh,

[00:04:21] Marie Thomasson: that's awesome. Yes, .

[00:04:24] Naseema McElroy: Anyway, so Yeah, so I, so before she was born, I only spent $50 for this wrap. And yeah, so buy nothing. Groups are near and dear to my heart.

Like I got so much stuff off of there. I can't even tell you baby clothes. Baby wraps, everything I needed for the baby. Zero to 24 month clothes, everything.

[00:04:48] Marie Thomasson: Yeah, man, I ca I cannot even come close. , I can't even come close. I started, I started using the buy Nothing groups before it was actually buy nothing.

It was like a Yahoo. You know, email

[00:05:04] Naseema McElroy: list . Oh wow. You

[00:05:05] Marie Thomasson: oldschool. I know . I know it was really old school and it's such a huge improvement. So, you know, I've been in LA too long at this point, but when, when my boys, so, you know, I have twin boys and they're 10 now. So 10 years ago, I don't think that there was by nothing groups on, on Facebook, if there were, they weren't quite as big as these listservs.

That I was a part of, but you know, it was great. It was fantastic, but I was like driving all over LA trying to get stuff and so, you know, five miles in traffic in LA is, is a commute, that's like a commitment. Yeah. So, You know, I mean, I've, I've literally driven like 45 miles to get a little Italian espresso maker , and I'm like, why did I do that?

I probably spent more on gas than I did on, you know, if I just bought the, the, the thing . So when the Facebook, the, the buy nothing groups are amazing because it's so local, , , you know, when I, when I tried to get in, they, they wanna know the cross streets and , where are you Exactly. And and it makes it so that it's actually useful, right?

Yes.

[00:06:14] Naseema McElroy: Yes.

[00:06:16] Marie Thomasson: Because you know, for you, what's the furthest, you know, that you've had to, to drive or walk or, you know, whatever it is to even pick something up from someone or drop something.

[00:06:26] Naseema McElroy: Not far. Not far. Maybe the next city. I think Berkeley, from Oakland or Berkeley. That might be the furthest I went, which is .

10 miles .

[00:06:35] Marie Thomasson: Oh, even that's still pretty

[00:06:36] Naseema McElroy: big. Yeah. I mean it's only cuz I was on one side of the city to the other side of the city, you know, so I'm opposite into the city not, it wouldn't have been that long.

[00:06:45] Marie Thomasson: Yeah. Okay. In LA it's literally like a square mile and that's it

[00:06:49] Naseema McElroy: Really. Wow.

[00:06:51] Marie Thomasson: Yeah. So when I first joined the Buy Nothing Group, it actually took me a while to figure out which group I was in cuz they were all so close

[00:06:59] Naseema McElroy: together.

I don't think it's, it's not that parceled out out here. Okay. It's like there's a Bay area, a, there's big groups and then there's like a East Bay group and then like now where I live, there's like a three city group, so. Okay. And that's pretty big. Cause these cities are big. Yeah.

[00:07:16] Marie Thomasson: Yeah.

So, so what has your experience. With getting stuff for, you know, stuff that, you know, outside of baby clothes. And have you actually used it to, to buy , or not buy, but to, to get household goods or anything else?

[00:07:31] Naseema McElroy: Yeah, I've used it for books, for appliances around the house. I've used it for, geez, a bike.

I got my daughter a balanced bike on there. stuff. I would pay a lot of money. . Yeah. Yeah.

[00:07:50] Marie Thomasson: I mean, I, I find my experiences is it's kind of like a hobby, , kind of like a pastime. You, you kind of gotta like it . Yeah, you do because you, you, you have to be patient. You know, if you like going to thrift stores and just browsing and you like the hunt, then you might like a buy nothing group.

And if you don't, then you probably won't like it. That's the

[00:08:11] Naseema McElroy: other thing. But the thing I like most about it is I actually have. Maybe a 10th of the things that I give away, because I have a lot of things in my house that are brand new or clothes that are barely worn. You know how kids run?

Mm-hmm. , you know, grow outta shoes so fast and especially baby stuff that aren't used. Mm-hmm. , I give away so much and it's connecting me with somebody like a mom, who's trailing my daughter. Surpassed my daughter cuz my kids are always so small. All the kids always grow past them.

I'm like, okay, now her clothes are too small. Let me pack up all the stuff I, you do a, a closet purge and contact this person. Like, Hey, you know, do you want all this stuff? And it's , so much more impactful. And I know she's using it. I mean, she's , send pictures how grateful she is and it's so much more impactful than.

Packing all this stuff up and dropping it off at the Goodwill, it just feels so much better to me. And so that's what I most about it. Not the stuff, all the stuff that I get, but what I'm able to give and the how appreciative, oh, I bought a TV off of a, I mean I've gotten a TV off of a buy nothing group too, but wow how appreciative people are to get these things, get given strollers.

you know, things that I can easily resell for a lot of money. Mm-hmm. , it gives me so much more pleasure to give them to someone who I know needs them. I've given away an iPad on there. I've given away all kind of stuff, to people who really, really need them. So that's what I like most about the group is the.

The impact, again, that I get to make on people's lives. And I know that this stuff isn't going to waste, or like being thrown away in the dumpster, you know? Mm-hmm. because they don't feel like sorting through it, you know? So I really love the groups for that. .

[00:09:57] Marie Thomasson: Yeah, I've I've seen a lot more people just since Covid where they're asking to , borrow stuff.

Yeah. You know, just, you know, just for short term, you know, during Covid and I've actually asked on a few occasions to, you know, to borrow things like a, a baby gate for you know, dog training. And I'm like, I need it for three months. And you know, stuff just pops up and people are so willing to, to share.

I think it's fantastic.

[00:10:21] Naseema McElroy: Yeah. I, I, that is a good thing to bring up. Yeah. You can actually borrow stuff on there too. Like, a lot of people borrow camping gear. Mm-hmm. Like baby backpacks. Like, Hey, do you have a baby backpack? Or sometimes people even are , Hey, do you just have Like a baby carrier to, or a stroller that we can use to go on this trip, like a portable stroller so I don't have to buy a whole new stroller.

So think about it like that, a place slower. You can get things temporarily. You don't have to buy things. I think consumerism. America is so bad and we just throw stuff away or we just don't use stuff. Or we have storage containers full of stuff that can be going to use, I just hate waste and this serves me

Cause I know the kind of person that I am to know that the stuff isn't going to waste, it's being reused and, or even if somebody needs to borrow it, I mean it's getting used instead of taking up space in my house. So that's why I really like.

[00:11:13] Marie Thomasson: Yeah, me too. I mean, I, I think that especially because , so much crap just gets thrown into a garbage, you know, just because we, we, we don't know what to do with it.

That, that's like the first place to start is, is like give it away to your neighbors. Yes. Yes. It's a great way to make friends.

[00:11:31] Naseema McElroy: Yes, it is. It is. And that is, that's another thing too, I've built a lot of relationships off of the site, , And . I, I mean, people have even been like, are you the lady that delivered my baby

I was like, yeah, that was me. Yeah. Come get this. This baby's like it. Yeah,

[00:11:49] Marie Thomasson: man, that's a good memory. I'm not sure I remember the face of anybody who was there while I was screaming.

[00:11:57] Naseema McElroy: Girl, you had twins? I don't know. , you probably don't remember nothing after they were

[00:12:02] Marie Thomasson: born. No, I, I don't remember. I don't remember much.

thankfully, thankfully, thankfully.

[00:12:10] Naseema McElroy: Yeah. Thank for that. Thankfully for that. That's how people have multiple babies. Cuz I remember being pregnant and being like, people who have more than one kid are crazy and it's because of that forgetting, you know, that, that, that, that you just. It

[00:12:26] Marie Thomasson: changes you, that's for sure.

but you know, so just going back to babies and the by nothing, I think of all the shit I had and I had at times two, but all the shit I had in my house. and it's half of it you don't even need. , and in retrospect you're , you know, that time period you could have gotten by for a few months because it's gonna be miserable anyways.

Exactly. You know, no matter what you buy or what you do, it's probably not gonna change the situation fundamentally. And so being able to, to get stuff for free, it just make, and, and so much of this stuff, it's hardly used, right? Like, It's practically new,

[00:13:09] Naseema McElroy: if not complete or it new. It's new. I give, I'm telling you, I give away so much new stuff.

It's ridiculous.

[00:13:14] Marie Thomasson: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. . Yeah. I, I give away, you know, I, I was lucky enough that my cousin has twins. Oh, wow. Wow. Who were 18 months older than my boys, and so I got so many clothes from her and it wasn't the by nothing group. It, it's through Twins group, but it's, oh, you know, it's, it's very much the same idea, just people passing.

On clothes. I didn't have to buy clothes for my boys until the, until they were like six years old, I think. Yeah. That's so cool. So I think, and, and I like what you said, you know, , , you just have to make, especially if you, if with kids' clothes, you just have to make a connection once or twice.

Yep. Like the right person. And you know, , then you could just text them and , Hey, I got a bag of clothes for you.

[00:13:57] Naseema McElroy: Yes, yes, yes. It's self-fulfilling for me. You just don't understand to get rid of stuff, from like, to purge my house, but then to also know that it's going to somebody who's really gonna use it, mm-hmm.

that's like clutch to me. Like that gives. , that brings me joy.

[00:14:11] Marie Thomasson: Yes. Yeah. So yeah, I'm not surprised. We're both, we're both big fans, . Yes,

[00:14:17] Naseema McElroy: yes, yes. So you guys buy nothing groups. If you, this is your first time hearing about it. Usually they're on Facebook. If you're not a Facebook person, just Google buy nothing groups.

I'm sure they have different platforms where they're interact, but yeah, I think it's most active on Facebook. But I don't know, I just, maybe that's just my do you have any other, do you. Any other platforms where,

[00:14:38] Marie Thomasson: no, you know what it used to be that Yahoo groups mm-hmm. and that that kind of That stopped after a while.

I don't even remember now when it actually stopped. Mm-hmm. . And, you know, for a while it was kind of a no man's land. I'm like, where did it go? And then, and then suddenly you're , oh, there's the Facebook by nothing group. So a lot easier . Yeah. It is easier. It

[00:14:58] Naseema McElroy: might, it's a lot easier because like you said, you can do it.

Pretty locally, so you don't have to be going across the world just to get a teacup, I mean, .

[00:15:07] Marie Thomasson: Yeah. And, and the Yahoo groups. It was, it was a lot of work to have to actually go through and look at all the listings and where the people were and, and very old school. So. It's, it's one of my favorite things about Facebook actually is the buy nothing group

[00:15:26] Naseema McElroy: I think that's the only thing that's keeping Facebook alive right now are the groups. So , possibly. And the ads. All the ad revenue. . Yeah. Because they have such good information on everybody. , but that's another story . So . Anyway, yes, please utilize your Buy nothing groups. I think this is a, just a good financial resource, but also just an impactful resource, a way that you know, you're not.

Contributing to waste filling up landfills. Yeah. Your things are going to use, and there's probably everything that you think that you need to go to the store and buy. You can do it in search of i s o in the group and ask if somebody has it. And sometimes . , even if I didn't think to give it away, somebody was like, oh my God, I need a diaper genie right now.

I'm like, oh, I have two. You can have one of these things. You know, just put it in the group. Yeah. And so, and it's an easy way to get things. So yeah, I love buy nothing groups and hopefully you do or you will .

[00:16:23] Marie Thomasson: Yeah, and I mean even when we think about it, , you know, anti-consumerism if you care at all about sustainability, This is 100%.

You know, this is not easy, but it's easier than composting .

[00:16:37] Naseema McElroy: I love composting, by the way, but I'm horrible at it. I love the thought of it.

[00:16:43] Marie Thomasson: Exactly. Have you ever used worms? Yes,

[00:16:46] Naseema McElroy: girl. I love them. I love the worms. I love grossing my kids out with them. I

[00:16:50] Marie Thomasson: loved worms until I got bugs all over. Ooh,

[00:16:53] Naseema McElroy: well no, I didn't have that problem.

I, my problem is, is that I compost all this stuff, but then I don't have a real garden. So it's just like where it's gonna go. So it just accumulates and I'm just like, what do I gonna do with it

[00:17:04] Marie Thomasson: now? . Exactly. Exactly. So this is, yeah, this is definitely easier than, than composting. And the rewards are , maybe it's, I don't wanna say greater, but but maybe Right?

Cuz you keep stuff out of the landfill. Yes. You know, you give things that you, you know, actually need a useful life. And for those of us, who are, you know, like city dwellers or in the, you know, suburbs where you don't really have the space to put all the compost then, because that's what, that's actually .

I put composts by the cactuses, you know, , right? Like , I've got really nice , you know, patches of dirt. So it's, it's not quite the, the same, you know, feel good as, as just going, going through by nothing

[00:17:50] Naseema McElroy: exactly. So check out your local Buy Nothing groups, you guys, and I just wanna hear all the nice things that you've ever either gotten or given away on the group.

Yeah. So yeah, if you didn't know, now you know, and if you haven't used it for a while, tap back into those groups because it is a great way to be sustainable and socially responsible. So it sure is. All right. Thanks Marie. All right. Bye.

Thank you for listening to my Mommy's podcast. Bye-bye bye.

Hey there I’m Naseema

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