034 Breaking the Twitch - Anthony Ongaro, Blogger & YouTuber at Break the Twitch

I talk with vlogger, blogger and entrepreneur Anthony Ongaro about how he climbed out of a mountain of debt and came out of the experience stronger by living life with more intention and integrating minimalism into his daily life. Long episode description: I was introduced to Anthony by my good pal Cait Flanders from Blonde on a Budget after I asked her if she knew of any guests who would be great for my show. She was right in pointing me to Anthony because he is seriously such a genuine, smart and inspirational guy. If you need some motivation to pay down your debt, declutter your house and live life to the fullest — Anthony is your guy.  In this episode, we discuss some of Anthony’s key philosophies that he often writes about on his blog Break the Twitch and talks about on his YouTube channel. What Does it Mean to Break the Twitch? When I think of twitch, I think of someone who has a weird eye twitch they can’t control. And that’s sort of the same thing that Anthony is referring to, but instead of an uncontrollable eye twitch it’s that uncontrollable twitch that makes you buy, buy, BUY! Anthony shares his story of his Amazon shopping addiction and how he eventually turned things around and broke the consumerist cycle to live a more meaningful life. Now his mission is to help others like him break the twitch too. It’s not uncommon to fall into a never ending shopping spree, but it’s not impossible to get out and make it right. The Dark Side of Convenience It’s rare that we ever complain about anything being too convenient, but that’s exactly what gets lots of us into financial trouble. When things like Uber, Amazon and iTunes are at our finger tips, it can be hard not to spend money like it’s not even real. But it is real and we need to be more conscious of how we’re spending it. This may mean deleting some apps on your phone or unplugging at night to prevent any late night boredom shopping. The key thing is to be aware and not always do the most convenient thing if it’ll cost you in the long run. Embracing Minimalism This was a big topic on the episode because we talked about it in two different ways. First, minimalism in terms of getting rid of material possessions to live a less cluttered life. Second, minimalism in respect to relationships and only maintaining relationships that add value to your life. As I mentioned near the end of the episode, after talking with Anthony I had a huge urge to go through my whole apartment and get rid of everything. And I did actually purge a few things from my closet and some of my junk drawers. It felt so freeing, so I hope you choose to try it out too, or better yet, do a minimalism challenge! Shownotes: jessicamoorhouse.com/34