Vol. 43 - Bonus Episode: Buy Nothing Groups
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
We want to hear from you! If you have money questions or if you want us to assess your finances, please complete this form.
Stay connected:
Be one of the founding members of Greenwood Bank, apply here
Learn more about Marie by visiting her website
To read the full show notes, visit https://www.nursesonfirepodcast.com/cfp
How to subscribe, rate, and review a podcast
To learn more about the giveaway, click here
Subscribe & Review
Love this episode? Please subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.
TRANSCRIPT:
Naseema McElroy: [00:00:00] 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 by nothing roots. Now, this is like super exciting to me. And by the end of the episode, it'll be. Super exciting to you too, because you're probably like what the heck is the 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 this society, especially in America and. There's pretty much everything out there that we need, that somebody is probably ready to put it in a trash can or give 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.
Marie Thomasson: [00:01:04] Thank you, the topic near and dear to my heart.
Naseema McElroy: [00:01:09] Yes. Yes, yes. And so I'm gonna kick this off by just sharing my little by nothing story. So I've actually been a member of buying ethic rooms for a while. The first time I heard about buy nothing, groups was from a podcast that I love choose FII podcasts.
And Brad was talking about how his wife is in this buy nothing group. And I was like, what the heck is by nothing. I kind of Googled this. And so I just started looking up, buy nothing groups and realize that. There was one in like every city, every neighborhood almost. 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 it in Facebook groups. And basically it's just like a collective of people. And I say, I want to say women because it is mostly women in these groups like moms and there's groups that like either you can ask for something or you can post that you have something to give away.
And I challenged myself because When I had my first baby, I spent so much money on all this stuff that everybody's told me that I needed to have, and that I needed to buy like thousands of dollars and stuff that I'd never even used. And so this time around, I was like, listen, I'm not going to do all that.
But this baby, I mean, I was in another place. Finally. 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 going to challenge myself. I'm going to see how much I actually have. Dubai for this baby and utilizing by nothing groups and also just gift cards and stuff that I got.
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 like this specialized, like. Skin to skin rap. That, 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 it?
And I'm like, no, but yeah.
Marie Thomasson: [00:02:59] So I wanna know. Wait. So this $50 is, was that like before you gave birth or like in the first year?
Naseema McElroy: [00:03:06] No, that was all like pre-birth. but after that too, I mean, no, after that, I think I spent like $200 on cloth diapers, but that's a whole nother. Oh
Marie Thomasson: [00:03:18] no.
Did you buy cloth diapers new or did you buy them used.
Naseema McElroy: [00:03:21] So I did a rental cloth diaper rental rental program. And then I ended up buying a whole bunch of used cloth diapers, but cloth diapers are gold. Like people sell those. They're like a lot of money. So I spent that and it's so nice.
I actually just gave the whole, like. Travel bag of diapers. And I just gave it to my coworker yesterday, which full circle moment. Yeah.
Marie Thomasson: [00:03:48] Oh, that's awesome.
Naseema McElroy: [00:03:50] Yes. Anyway, so before she was born, I only spent $50 for this ramp and yeah, so buy nothing groups aren't near and dear to my heart.
Like. I got so much stuff off of there. I can't even tell you baby clothes. Wrap, like baby wraps, everything I needed for the baby. Zero to 24 month clothes. Everything. Yeah,
Marie Thomasson: [00:04:17] man, I can't, 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 Yahoo. , email list.
Naseema McElroy: [00:04:32] Oh wow. You always go with it.
Marie Thomasson: [00:04:35] No, it was really old school and it's such a huge improvement. So, , I've been in LA too long at this point, but when, when my boys, so, , I have twin boys and they're 10 now. So 10 years ago, I don't think that there was buy nothing groups on, on Facebook.
If there were, they weren't quite as big as these listservs That I was a part of, but , it was great. It was fantastic, but I was like driving all over LA trying to get stuff. And so, , like five miles and traffic in LA is, is a commute. Like that's like a commitment. So. , I mean, I've, I've literally driven like 45 miles to get like a little like Italian espresso maker.
And I'm like, why did I do that? I probably spent more on gas than I did on, , if I just bought the, the, the thing. So when the Facebook, like the buy, nothing groups are amazing because it's so local. Like, , when I, when I tried to get in there, they want to know what the cross streets and like, where are you?
Exactly. And And it makes it so that it's actually useful, right? Because , for you, what's the furthest, , like that you've had to drive or walk or, , whatever it is to even pick something up from someone or drop something off.
Naseema McElroy: [00:05:53] We are not far, maybe the next city. I think Berkeley, like from Oakland, Berkeley, that might be the furthest I went, which is like, 10 miles.
Marie Thomasson: [00:06:03] Oh, even that's still pretty big.
Naseema McElroy: [00:06:06] Yeah. I mean, it's only cause I was alone on one side of the city to the other side of the city, ? So on opposite ends of the city, not, it wouldn't have been that long. Yeah.
Marie Thomasson: [00:06:14] Okay. In LA it's literally like a square mile. And that's it.
Naseema McElroy: [00:06:18] Really? Wow.
Marie Thomasson: [00:06:20] Yeah. So when I first joined the buy nothing group, it actually took me awhile to figure out which group I was in because they were all so close together.
Naseema McElroy: [00:06:27] I don't know. It's not that parceled out out here. It's like, it's like, There's a Bay here, like there's like big groups and then there's like an East Bay group. And then like now where I live, there's like a three city group. So, and that's pretty big, cause this is our big, yeah.
Marie Thomasson: [00:06:45] Yeah. So, so what has your experience been.
With getting stuff for, , stuff that, , like outside of baby clothes. And have you actually used it to, to buy like, or not buy, but to, to get household goods or,
Naseema McElroy: [00:07:00] yeah, I'd be as it for, for books for appliances around the house. I've used it for jeez bike. I got my daughter a balanced bike on there.
Like stuff. I would pay like a lot of money for, yeah. Yeah.
Marie Thomasson: [00:07:20] I find my experiences as it's kind of like a hobby, like kind of like a pastime. You, you kinda gotta like it.
Naseema McElroy: [00:07:27] Yeah, you do.
Marie Thomasson: [00:07:29] Because you, you, you have to be patient, , if you like going to thrift stores and just browsing and like you like the hunt, then you might like a Brian nothing group.
And if you don't, then you probably won't like it. That's that's my take,
Naseema McElroy: [00:07:42] the other thing, but the thing I liked most about it is I actually have gotten like maybe a 10th of the things that I give away, because I have a lot of things in my house that are like brand new or clothes that are like barely worn.
Like, how kids run? No, you know, Like grata shoes, like so fast and especially like baby stuff that aren't used. Like, I give away so much and like, it's connecting me with somebody like a mom, like who's like trailing my daughter. Well, she's surpassed my daughter. Cause my kids are always so small.
All the kids are as grow past them, but like, I'm like, okay, now her kids now her clothes are too small. Let me pack up all this stuff. You do a club. Closet purge and contact this person like, Hey, , do you want all this stuff? And it's like so much more impactful and I know she's using it. I mean, she's like seeing pictures, like how grateful she is.
And like, it's so much more impactful than me packing all this stuff up and dropping it off at the Goodwill. Like. It just feels so much better to me. Like, and so that's what I like most about it. Like not the stuff, all the stuff that I get, but like what I'm able to give and like how appreciative, Oh, I bought a TV off of, I mean, I've gotten a TV off of a buy nothing group tote, but like how appreciative people are to get these things like I've given strollers, like yeah.
, like things that I can easily resell for a lot of money, 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. Like I've given away like all kinds of stuff, like to people who really, really need them. So that's what I like most about the group is the.
The impact again, and 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, , because they don't feel like sorting through it, ? So I really loved the groups for that.
Marie Thomasson: [00:09:37] Yeah. I've I've seen a lot more people just since COVID where they're asking to like borrow stuff.
, just, , just for short term, , during COVID and I've actually asked on a few cations to, , to borrow things like a baby gate for , dog training and I'm like, I need it for three months, , like, and, and. And , stuff just pops up and people are so willing to, to share.
I think it's fantastic.
Naseema McElroy: [00:10:01] 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 like baby backpacks, like, Hey, do you have a baby backpack? Or sometimes people even are like, Hey, do you just have like Like a baby carrier to our 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. Like a place slower, you can like get things temporarily. You don't have to buy things. I think consumerism. And America is so bad and we just like throw stuff away or we just don't use stuff. Or we have like storage containers full of stuff that can be like going to use.
I just hate waste. And this serves me cause I know they got a Hertz and then 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, like it's getting used instead of taking up space in my house. So that's why I really like it. Yeah,
Marie Thomasson: [00:10:56] me too. I mean, I, I think that, especially because like so much crap just gets thrown into a garbage, , just because we, we like don't know what to do with it that that's like the first place to start is like, give it away to your neighbors.
Like it's a great way to make friends.
Naseema McElroy: [00:11:14] Yes, it is. It is. And that is, that's another thing too. Like I've built a lot of relationships off of the site, like, and I mean, people have been like, are you the lady that delivered my baby? Like. Yeah, come get this this may be like it's. Yeah,
Marie Thomasson: [00:11:36] man. That's a good memory.
I'm not sure. I remember the face of anybody who was there while I was screaming.
Naseema McElroy: [00:11:44] Girl, you had twins. I don't know. I don't remember nothing after they were born.
Marie Thomasson: [00:11:51] No, I, I don't remember. I don't remember much, thankfully, thankfully.
Naseema McElroy: [00:11:58] Yeah. Thanks for that. Thankful for that. That's how people have multiple babies.
Cause I remember being pregnant and being like people who have more than one kid are crazy and it's because of that forgiving, , that, that it, that you just forget.
Marie Thomasson: [00:12:13] It changes you that's for sure. But , just going back to babies and the buy, nothing, like I think of all the shit I had and Anna had at times too.
But like all the sh I had in my house and it's like, half of it, you don't even need, like, and in retrospect, you're like, , that like time period you could have gotten by for a few months because it's going to be miserable anyways. , no matter what you buy or what you do, it's probably not going to change the situation fundamentally.
And so being able to, to get stuff for free, it just makes, and, and so much of the stuff it's hardly used, right? Like it's practically new, if not completely new,
Naseema McElroy: [00:12:59] or it is new. I give, I'm telling you, I give away so much new stuff. It's ridiculous. Yeah.
Marie Thomasson: [00:13:06] Yeah. I give away, , like I was lucky enough that my cousin has twins who are 18 months older than my boys.
And so I got so many clothes from her and it wasn't the buy nothing group it's through twins group, but it's, , it's, it's very much the same idea. Just people passing on, on clothes. Like I didn't have to buy clothes for my boys until the, until they were like six years old, I think. So I think, and I like what you said, , like, You just have to make, especially if you, if with kids' clothes, you just have to make a connection once or twice, like the right person.
And , like Ben, you could just text them and like, Hey, I got a bag of clothes for you.
Naseema McElroy: [00:13:49] Yes, yes. Yes. It's so fulfilling to me. You just don't understand to get rid of stuff like rent, like to purge my house. But then to also know that it's going to somebody who's really going to use it. Like that's like clutch to me.
Like that gives me. That brings me joy. Yes.
Marie Thomasson: [00:14:04] Yeah. So and yeah, I'm not surprised we're both, we're both big fans.
Naseema McElroy: [00:14:09] Yes, yes, yes. So you guys are by nothing roofs, 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 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 know any other platforms where
Marie Thomasson: [00:14:32] no. You know what it used to be that your Yahoo groups and that, that kind of That stopped after a while. I don't even remember now when it actually stopped and , for awhile it was kind of a no man's land.
I'm like, where did it go? And then, and then suddenly you're like, Oh, there's the Facebook buy nothing group. So a lot easier. I might add.
Naseema McElroy: [00:14:53] It is easier. It is a lot easier because like you say, you can do it. Yeah. Pretty locally. So you don't have to be going across the world just to get a tea cup. I mean,
Marie Thomasson: [00:15:04] yeah.
And, and the Yahoo groups, it was, it was a lot of work to have to actually go through and like look at all the listings and where the people were and, very old school. So. It's it's one of my favorite things about Facebook actually is the buy nothing group.
Naseema McElroy: [00:15:22] I think that's the only thing that's keeping Facebook alive right now are the groups.
So, and the ads, all the ad revenue, 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're not contributing to waste filling up landfills.
Your things are going to use. And there is 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 M in the group and ask if somebody has it. And like, sometimes like, Even if I didn't think to give it away, like somebody was like, Oh my God, I need a diaper genie right now.
I'm like, Oh, I have to, you can have one of these things, , like just put it in the group. And so, and it's the easy way to get things. So yeah. I love buying out nothing groups and hopefully you do, or you will.
Marie Thomasson: [00:16:22] Yeah. And I mean, even like, when we think about it, like, , anti-consumerism like if you care at all about sustainability, This is like 100%, , this is not easy, but it's easier than composting.
Naseema McElroy: [00:16:37] I love composting by the way. But I'm horrible at it. I love the thought of it.
Marie Thomasson: [00:16:43] Exactly. Have you ever used worms?
Naseema McElroy: [00:16:45] Yes, girl. I loved them. I loved the worms. I love grossing my kids out with them.
Marie Thomasson: [00:16:50] I lived worms until I got bugs all over it. Oh, I know.
Naseema McElroy: [00:16:53] Well, no, I didn't have that problem. I, the, my problem is, is that I compost all this stuff, but then I don't have like a real garden.
Like where it's going to go. So it just accumulates and I'm just like, what am I gonna do with it? No,
Marie Thomasson: [00:17:07] exactly, exactly. So this is, yeah, this is definitely easier than, than like composting and the rewards are probably like, maybe it's, I don't want to say greater, but, but maybe right. Cause he keeps stuff out of the landfill.
, you, you give things that you actually need, like your useful life. And for those of us, like who are, , like city dwellers or like in the, , suburbs where you don't really have the space to put all the compost then. Cause that's what that's actually like. I put composts like.
On on like, , by the cactuses, , my succulent,
Naseema McElroy: [00:17:43] right? Like
Marie Thomasson: [00:17:46] I've got really nice, like, , patches of dirt. So it's, it's not quite the same. , like feel good as it's just going, going through by nothing.
Naseema McElroy: [00:17:57] Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes. So check out your local buy nothing groups you guys. And I just want to hear all the nice things that you've ever either gotten an argument away on the group.
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. All right. Thanks for Ray.
Marie Thomasson: [00:18:21] All right. Bye.
Hey there I’m Naseema
My dream is for everyone to know that financial independence is attainable with a little intentionality. Learn how I can help you finally break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.
Join the Facebook Community
Join the Financially Intentional community and get access to resources to guide you on the path to Financial Freedom.
Watch these Videos To Learn How to…
Keep Listening
Here are some more episodes you may enjoy…
In this episode, we'll explore why disability insurance is important, how it works, and why it's important to have coverage.