Why I'm turning my smartphone into a "dumbphone"

In 2016, I wrote this blog post, sharing the reasons I thought that every minimalist needs an iPhone. It was all for convenience: phone calls, calendar, quality camera, clock, GPS, notes and reminders, calculator, contacts, Kindle, email, music, Safari, weather, apps for blogging and social media, FaceTime, to be able to work online from anywhere in the world with wifi, to sync everything with my laptop and cell and with Nick's laptop and cell, etc.

In many ways, my smartphone made my life easier.

However, at the same time, the technology began to slowly (and really without me realizing it) take away my freedom when I lacked boundaries and contributed to a lot of anxiety because I felt trapped since I had built my entire business through social media and didn't see how I could ever part with it because of that. On top of my own reasons, I also couldn't stand watching how everyone around me was also glued to their own phones. It was like watching the movie Wall-E play out in front of me.

So, last November, at my 10-year-anniversary of launching my online business, I challenged myself to a year off of social media! I wrote this blog post explaining my decision, saying

"I was becoming more and more aware of my new daughters little eyes on me, wanting to copy everything I did.

I want her to read books, play with friends, help with chores, go on walks, spend quality time with us, learn about self-care and all the little things that are building her character, moment by moment. I don't want her to think screens and social media are the goal.

But, she wants to be just like me.

So, I have to be who I want her to be."

Eight years after arguing that every minimalist needs a smartphone, I'm now arguing that everyone should upgrade to a "dumbphone". I'm 11 months into my social media fast and not planning on going back. I haven't missed it and feel so much more peaceful. Instead, I plan to challenge myself further by using my iPhone like a good old fashioned phone as much as possible.

I'm cutting way back on texting, so call me if you want to get me. I'm paying more attention to the moment, while I take less photos to mark the occasion. I'm using my GPS only when I'm lost. And all my other apps? They're gone. No more googling, online shopping, browsing, listening to music or podcasts, checking the weather, reserving hotels and flights, paying off credit cards, keeping so many notes I never refer back to, checking email throughout the day or all the other ways I've found to waste time.

For now, I've got a very expensive dumbphone!

Once my iPhone quits working and needs to be replaced, I'll figure out the right phone purchase for me.  I'm hoping it'll be one of the old bricks or flip phones I used to love before things got so "convenient".

How about you? Have you ever considered upgrading your smartphone to a dumbphone?

HOW WE TRAVEL FOR (nearly) FREE!

     In the last 16 months, we've earned over $23,550 in free travel!

Let me tell you how...

In March 2023, I learned about Travel Hacking, applied for a recommended credit card and began putting all our spend on that one card, treating it like our debit cards and paying it off weekly so we don't accumulate debt. Between our personal expenses and our two businesses, Nick and I quickly hit the minimum spend and earned the sign-up bonus. Once we had done this with a few credit cards, we saved up enough rewards points to take our first paid-with-points trip. So we booked five nights in Clearwater, FL for July 2024!

Without Travel Hacking, we would not have been able to afford such a nice family vacation, so we were hooked and decided to keep using credit cards strategically to travel as often as possible.

Here is a breakdown of our free travel since July 2023:

5 nights with Nick and Ivy in Clearwater, FL

Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa

3 nights with my sister, Mary Ashley, outside of Atlanta, GA

1 night with my sister, Maggie, in Columbia, SC

1 night with my sister, Elizabeth, and our kids, in Charlotte, NC

2 nights with Nick and Ivy in Savannah, GA

2 nights with my friend, Emily, in Asheville, NC 

2 nights with same friend, Emily, in Charleston, SC

5 nights + flights in Cancun with Nick for our 16th wedding anniversary 

Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts, Cancun

7 nights + flights in Cancun with Nick and Ivy for Spring Break

2 nights with my friend, Emily, in Chapel Hill, NC 

3 nights + flights with my sister-in-laws in Key West 

1 night by myself in downtown Greenville, SC

3 nights + flights for family reunion in NJ

7 nights with Nick, Ivy and my parents in Panama City Beach, FL

6 nights with Ivy, my mom, 2 sisters and my nephew in Charleston, SC 

Hyatt Ziva Cancun

That's 50 FREE nights in hotels, resorts and all-inclusives in the last 12 months!

Also, many of those places, we also used points for flights and only had to cover taxes and fees from our own pockets!

Isn't that insane?

Plus, we've already booked another five nights in Cancun for our upcoming 17th wedding anniversary and seven nights to visit my cousin in London during Spring Break 2025, we have more points to spare as we try to decide what other travel we'd like to do in the near future and my credit score has increased!

Wild Dunes, Charleston, SC

If you're ready to save money, travel more and improve your credit score, I suggest you start with this personal credit card like I did. I love this one because you can transfer to Travel Partners like Hyatt and a handful of airlines.

Once you've hit the minimum spend with that personal card, I suggest you go through their business cards. This business credit card has an elevated offer right now of 120,000 rewards points!

Even if you don't own a business, you can still probably get a business card. Have you sold something on Marketplace? Count that as your business! Think of some way you've earned cash, even a side hustle, and use that to your advantage to sign up for some amazing business cards.

Finally, download the Travel Freely app to keep track of your credit cards and points earned and the Hyatt app to dream and plan how to spend your points!

This Impressions by Secrets is where Nick and I are spending our upcoming anniversary. I see that it costs around $1,000 per night and we are staying five nights for FREE!

Don't miss out on FREE travel...If you need help, send me an email at nickandemilystewart@me.com and I'll share my advice based on what I've learned about Travel Hacking since March 2023!

Key West

Why there's no such thing as "overnight success"

It’s said that it will take you 10,000 hours to become an expert in whatever it is you’re working on.  

Here’s what that looks like:

-Right under 5 years of working 40 hours per week.

-Or just about a decade of working part-time. 

-But at just one hour a day, it’s gonna take close to 30 years.

We often see people who have “made it” and forget the minutes and hours and days and weeks and months and years and decades they have put in.

It’s not really a matter of talent, but of grit. 

For over 2 decades, I've watched my sister, Mary Ashley, paint, sew, crotchet, bake, play piano and create jewelry. She's spent her fringe hours crafting and learning. Not only have I seen her improve, but I have the jewelry and artwork from her past and present that shows the visible growth she's made over the years.

Check out her table at last week's neighborhood event:

Her products are beautiful!

But she's not an "overnight success". She's put in tens of thousands of hours at this point. Which means that you can also become an expert in something you're willing to devote your fringe hours!

So, what’s something you want to achieve? Become a well-known photographer? Own a successful small business? Win an Ironman triathlon? Be a famous pianist? Write a best-seller?

What is it that you want to be really good at, maybe even the best? Are you willing, like Mary Ashley, to put in 10,000+ hours of work to get there?

The years will pass anyway...we might as well work towards our goals.

Comment below with your dream that you're willing to put in 10,000 hours to achieve.

To see and purchase from Mary Ashley, find her on Instagram @maryashleyowens and on ETSY

How to pack for 3 nights in Key West in ONLY a backpack!

As I booked our flights to Key West, I found out that I was going to be charged $60 for a carry-on! That's nuts. A personal item is allowed, though, so I decided I'd simply bring a backpack since it would be free and challenge me to pack light.

Next weekend, we have another flight that charges for carry-ons and will each be taking only a back-pack, so this was good practice to confirm it can be done!

Here's my Key West packing list:

• 2 dresses
• 2 shorts
• 1 pair yoga pants
• 2 tanks
• 1 long-sleeved shirt
• 1 sweatshirt
• 1 bra/2 sports bras
  
• 2 socks
• 4 underwear
• 2 bikinis
• 1 hat
• 1 pair birkenstocks
• 1 pair tennis shoes
  
• sunglasses
• waterbottle
• kindle
• airpods
• 1 pair pjs/cozy socks
• minimal toiletries/jewelry
• a mixture of Peppermint and Digize essential oils
• a mixture of Valor, White Angelica and other calming essential oils

All this fit in my old LLBean high school backpack and saved me from paying for luggage or carry-on! It was the perfect amount of items for eating out, shopping, paddle-boarding, boating and hanging out.

What's the lightest you've ever packed for a trip? Please share in the comments below!

I QUIT SOCIAL MEDIA

Yes, it's true. I quit social media.

If you followed me online, you may have been shocked (or wondering where I've been), but it was actually something I considered for years before I indefinitely signed out.

Since I didn't have a smart-phone until 27-years-old, I rarely used social media other than loading photos after trips. And by loading, I mean from my digital camera to my laptop to FaceBook...my, how times have changed!

But in 2013, I began selling Young Living Essential Oils and found social media to be the best way to do it! 99% of my business was done online, which, for a minimalist and traveler like myself, was a dream!

Even better once I became a mom in 2020 and wanted to stay home with my daughter, while still earning money.

However, years of being online and coming up with daily content began to wear on me and I found myself constantly googling things like "How to quit social media and still grow a business" as I tried to find a way out.

And it wasn't just that I was tired of posting, but I was becoming more and more aware of my new daughters little eyes on me, wanting to copy everything I did.

I want her to read books, play with friends, help with chores, go on walks, spend quality time with us, learn about self-care and all the little things that are building her character, moment by moment. I don't want her to think screens and social media are the goal.

But, she wants to be just like me.

So, I have to be who I want her to be.

Eventually, I woke up one morning last November with this unrelenting conviction to get off of FaceBook and Instagram and, though I fought it for a few hours, I didn't feel at peace until I followed through.

Since that day, I've increased how many books I get through a week, taken more afternoon naps, hung out more often with friends, kept up with my chores with a better attitude, tried new recipes, enjoyed vacations so much more without feeling like I need to be posting about them, spent more quality time with Nick, spent more time in Bible studies and in quiet thought, slept better at night, stopped procrastinating as much as I have done in the past and even enjoyed my time with my daughter, Ivy, so much more.

Even without social media, my business is still thriving, and I feel so much more at peace since I'm finally honoring my convictions.  I won't say I'll never get back on, but for now, you can find me here, sharing my thoughts on my blog.

Have you ever considered quitting social media? Please share in the comments below.