Quick Pop! with Cait Flanders

Chris: Just
take your time. It’ll be fine. All right, question number one: When’s the
last time you’ve had popcorn?
  Cait
Flanders: Probably some time in the last couple of months for sure, but it’s because I’ve been buying occasionally a bag of Chicago Mix. Have you ever had Chicago Mix?   Chris: I
have. That’s a good choice.
  Cait
Flanders: Oh,
it’s so good.
  Chris: Well, you answered my second question was … well, maybe it’s not the answer. Is that your favorite flavor?   Cait
Flanders: Yeah,
I think so.
  Chris: I
know you do a lot of traveling. Did you go to Chicago to actually get that?
  Cait
Flanders: No, and actually that is a city I haven’t been to yet.   Chris: Really?
  Cait
Flanders: I’m hoping that I go sometime next year. My old roommate from Toronto from years ago, she’s actually moving to Chicago now. I’m hoping to go see her.   Chris: Well, this kind of leads into the next question because in your book you talk a lot about traveling. I wanted to know what was your favorite place that you traveled to during that period of time where you were on your shopping ban?   Cait
Flanders: I kind of have two answers. I went to New Orleans for FinCon and loved it, but I also did a road trip with my friend, Sarah, from … well, we technically flew into New York but we went up to Boston and then went all the way down to Virginia. I mean, everything about that road trip was really fun. I loved DC. We’ll go with that.   Chris: You’ve
been to way more places in the US than I have. I think that’s … that means
I actually need to do more traveling.
  Cait
Flanders: You
have a great country. It’s very beautiful.
  Chris: It’s
huge. There’s a lot of places here.
  Cait
Flanders: Yes,
it is massive. I’ve been to a lot of them. I’ve driven over a lot of them,
but it’s beautiful.
  Chris: If
someone tomorrow gave you a plane ticket and they said you can go anywhere
you want in the world for free, someplace you’ve never been before, where
would you go?
  Cait
Flanders: I
think right now probably Switzerland.
  Chris: That’s
a good choice. Obviously, I’ve never been there since I don’t travel
anywhere, but it looks beautiful in the pictures.
  Cait
Flanders: I’ve
never been. There were a bunch of answers that I wanted to say. I was like,
Switzerland, Germany, Norway. A bunch of stuff came up, but I’m like, we’ll
go with that one.
  Chris: I
don’t think anybody can fault you for that answer. During your ban, your travel
… or not your travel ban. During your shopping ban, what was the hardest
thing for you to give up?
  Cait
Flanders: It sounds so ridiculous, but I’ll tell you why. The hardest thing to give up was to-go coffee. The reason though is because of anything else I was buying … I learned very quickly that and books were the two things I bought the most often. The reason it was hardest to give up to-go coffee was because that was something I bought almost every day. That meant every single day I wanted this thing and then had to be like, oh, I can’t do that. Okay, what do I do instead? I’m like, you’re changing a habit almost every day reinforcing this new behavior. I can’t even say it’s like, oh, I missed it, but I wanted to buy it more than other things. That would be different for everybody though.   Chris: In
your book, you mentioned a lot that you enjoy reading. What has been your
favorite book that you’ve read in the past year?
  Cait
Flanders: Oh,
that’s really hard.
  Chris: I
know, that’s a hard question to ask.
  Cait
Flanders: Because I will say I’m with you in that I also had a reading challenge for this year, which I will not meet. I was attempting to do 52, which would be one a week, but I am at 34. That feels really good because past years I was probably in the 20 range. Actually, no. This isn’t a hard answer. I just don’t know if it’s out in the States yet. You might be able to get it online, but there’s a book called Notes on a Nervous Planet. The author’s name is Matt Haig, H-A-I-G. I honestly think he’s one of the most important writers that we have right now. He also wrote this book called Reasons to Stay Alive where he kind of not only documented depression he had 15 or so years ago but also includes just a lot of stats and helpful notes just for anyone who is suffering with anxiety or depression. Combined, they’re great, but Notes on a Nervous Planet, I think, is really important right now just for, honestly, the state of the world. That would be the one.   Chris: That’ll
be on my list. Thank you for that.
  Cait
Flanders: You’re
welcome.
  Chris: I
need to come to you for my book recommendations.
  Cait
Flanders: Yeah,
yeah, any time.
  Chris: The
last question I’ll leave you with is … and this one, I know one can be a
little more difficult, what is something that you’re most proud of
financially?
  Cait
Flanders: I
actually am going to say just … I first created proper awareness around my
numbers in 2011 when I was maxed out with a bunch of consumer debt. I think
just the fact that I’ve maintained an interest in paying attention. I know
what my spending is. I know the balances in my accounts. That stuff that when
I was younger I used to just ignore. I think just that I’m still always
paying attention.
  Chris: I
love that answer because it is something that you can kind of get into a
comfortable place after you’ve accomplished something and fall right back
into old habits. That is really important to be mindful of those things. Even
though maybe you put yourself in a better position, you can always go back.
It’s always very easy to go back. You’ve made it to the end of the questions
here. Hopefully, it wasn’t too difficult.
  Cait
Flanders: No,
and I survived.
  Chris: You
did. You made it through. I mean, if you can get through this that means you
can get through anything. Thanks, Cait. I really appreciate you joining me.
Everyone who hasn’t listened to Monday’s episode, go and check that out. We
talk about Cait’s book, The Year of Less, one of my favorite books of 2018.
Definitely make sure you check that out. You can follow Cait on Instagram.
Cait, sorry, I don’t want to mess up your Instagram handle. How can people
follow you?
  Cait
Flanders: Yeah,
just @caitflanders.
  Chris: @caitflanders.
I should have known that. That seems pretty easy for me to remember.
@caitflanders is where you can follow her and see some great pictures of
Canada. Plan your next vacation and get up there.
  Cait
Flanders: Yes.
  Chris: Thanks
again for joining me, Cait. Appreciate you coming back.
  Cait
Flanders: Thank
you.