Mend It, Australia

Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively. Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand.  Amy Jo Martin

 

Brand is not a product, that’s for sure; it’s not one item. It’s an idea, it’s a theory, it’s a meaning, it’s how you carry yourself. It’s aspirational, it’s inspirational.  Kevin Plank

Us RUDE Guys have added a new concept to our brand that piggy backs off the ethos of Rude Record.  Mend It, Australia launches itself out in the community on the 10th February when we tinker travel, over an hour away from home, to volunteer at the Geelong Repair Cafe – Highton.

Our RUDE and Mend It branding reflects reducing consumption, reuse of available resources and the right to repair without interference.  Locally at Imagine Melton Zero Waste, we promote resource recovery and say no to landfill, preferring to champion alternatives, such as zero waste measures, like composting.

At Mend It, Australia Facebook page we showcase Australian and global mending, fixing and repairing events.  We post interest articles and videos about the mission to mend movement.  And most days, we also like to shout out about what we are reusing and repairing.  We hope our posts inspire our page followers to think twice before chucking things out and heading off to the mall to buy new.

As for this blog, RUDE Girl was writing a weekly blog post, however it looks like I will only be able to manage monthly/bimonthly this year, as we will be busy trekking around the countryside, participating in Repair Cafe events.

RUDE Boy has worked part-time for many years, as he is transitioning to retirement.  He has just told me he plans to fully retire this year in October [it’s not common knowledge yet, but who reads what I write anyways!]

We have been making some plans for this milestone forever really.  However, we started to focus more on it last year.  In 2017 we were involved in mending at Mend It, Melton [MIM] events in our local community but MIM did not work out for us.  Bureaucracy decided to take over and its reason for doing so failed to align with our Rude Record brand.   There are no more Mend It, Melton events in our local community, however I  still administrate the Facebook page here

Thanks to the bureaucratic meddling of Mend It, Melton, us RUDE Guys turned a rotten situation into a positive and voila, Mend It, Australia was created.  And our idea around flexible tinkering travel was born.

Stay posted for some stories back from our tinkering travels by following us daily on Rude Record or Mend It, Australia.

“BEAT THE MAN AND BRAND YOUR LIFESTYLE” ~ Karen Ellis aka RUDE Girl

Rudassity is Badassity

RUDE Boy came into the bedroom whilst I was in bed snoozing yesterday morning, and says “have you read Money in The Age newspaper yet?”  He was keen to let me know there were two relevant articles for Rude Record.

Here is the link to the first article by Catherine Robson Financial Planner at Affinity Private

http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/4598270/financial-freedom-through-frugality/?cs=9

Our Rudassity Philosophy is pretty much the same as Mr Money Mustache’s [MMM] Badassity Philosophy.  However we are no match for  MMM,  because Peter Adeney is a frugal-living internet sensation, according to Financial Planner Catherine Robson .  And just a quick peak at his blog, tells us RUDE Guys he is a frugal-living celebrity!

We we are not internet celebrities but we do walk our talk.  RUDE Girl retired from part-time work at 52 and RUDE Boy could have retired at 56 but is enjoying a transition to retirement program or what we call our ‘money for jam’.

We are not much into advice from celebrities of any kind, and do not need to follow MMM’s tips.  We have been doing most of these tips for decades.  However MMM’s words of ‘Badassity’ wisdom [in all it’s amazing detail] are not to be ignored, that’s if you want to retire early and rich. He, like us RUDE Guys, is definitely ‘on the money’ due to spending less than he makes.

Us RUDE Guys enjoy writing our simple blog and sharing some little stories but unlike MMM, we prefer to stay away from ‘how to’ advice on anything.  Why?  Because there is so much of it out there.  And oftentimes it is presented well and worthy of note, like MMM’s blog, for example. 

We prefer to inspire and hopefully motivate by storytelling in short blog format with a few pics and maybe a vid.  No financial gain is desired by us, because we are virtual volunteers, who are happy to share our frugal experiences, for free.

However, like MMM us RUDE Guys are on a  global mission albeit a much smaller version to Peter Adeney’s, to hopefully make people think about consumption, and the lifestyle of liberation that frugality can offer up.

It’s funny because the last sentence in this article above states, ‘One DIY haircut at a time.’  That’s what RUDE Girl had planned after getting out of bed yesterday morning, for RUDE Boy to give my hair a trim.  Cost $0.  I make no money from paid employment these days, so I am not going to spend $50 on a trim.  Simple Rudassity economics.

And if your interested here’s the link below to the second article.  It ends with this sentence as follows:

“No one thinks that a house full of children’s toys is a sign of financial success, but that’s what many of us are unwittingly choosing.”

Us RUDE Guys have been to houses where grandparents also have toys galore for when the grandchildren visit or get minded.  We have also been to TIP SHOPS  with shelves and cots full of toys.

Beat The Man!!

http://www.smh.com.au/money/saving/do-your-kids-get-too-many-presents-theres-an-app-for-that-20170414-gvl8wu.html

Backyard Fun

The iconic Australian backyard is fast disappearing. In suburbia land size is getting smaller and people are building bigger houses. Danny and I grew up on the quarter acre block in middle suburbia. We played games like cricket, had family BBQs and climbed trees. Many Australian families still want to live life with some backyard. It is what we know and love. The Hills Hoist clothesline to dry washing outside in the sun and fresh air. The chooks roaming free. A place for the veggie patch. And a kennel for the family dog.

We live on the outskirts of Melbourne on a 600 square metre block of land in a very modest 1970s brick house. It has three bedrooms and one bathroom. We have a study so it is probably one of the bigger houses in the street. We have a front and back yard. There is no garage only a carport. We have two sheds in the backyard. One is a workshop and the other is for household storage.

We Beat the Man by owning a modest abode. We refuse to renovate it because we will retire to a beach location in a few years. I still cook in a 1970s kitchen. Everything is original 1970s decor including the bathroom. To modernise the look and not spend too much money we have been painting the walls and removing the wallpaper.

We have both lived in bigger and grander homes in our past lives. We have chosen to live this modest lifestyle in order to save for our retirement. The best thing is we enjoy living modestly. There is joy to be found in the most unexpected places. And our financial position is very sound.

In the 1960s and 1970s in Australia drill marching was a very popular sport for Australian girls. I was a marching girl during this period, and would practise my drill in the backyard. I was given a dare recently to march to Darlin’ by The Beach Boys. I had not marched for 30 years when Danny recorded this video a couple of days ago.

Please note that the clothes and Converse sneakers I am wearing are either thrifted or saved from landfill. Approximate total cost $3.00 (generous approximation)

Retire at Fifty

Karen and all the stuff in this photo are pre-loved

Thank you to those who are following Rude Record with my husband Danny and me from Melbourne, Australia.  I am very humbled that you have decided to share our journey.  Beating the Man or more formally anti-consumerism is a way of life for us.  It was how I was raised and what I chose to embrace as an adult.  Danny has a similar story and as a couple  we have been able to pay down debt fast.

It is a second marriage for both of us.  We came together in our mid to late 40s and knew we had to be smarter.  Our goal was to be in the same financial position if not better had we still been in our first marriages.  By this time all our children had reached adulthood and we were on the verge of becoming empty nesters.

Whilst we both had well-paying jobs we knew we could do more if we did less.  Let me explain.  I mean we could do more financially if we did not spend what we were earning.  And it became quite simple really.  Pay down all debts first and foremost.  How?  Very simply by not spending on stuff that we did not need and things we could easily do without.

At fifty I retired and Danny moved to job share working 6 weeks on and having 6 weeks off.

Should you want specific details on how we Beat the Man please feel free to comment and I will reply to your questions.