Note: the following content is intended to be educational but it does contain promotional material for Kaldi.

The "cancel your Netflix" advice is complete rubbish. There, we said it. 

Not because it's technically wrong. Yes, £12.99 a month adds up. We can all do maths. But it’s wrong because it fundamentally misunderstands how we live and function.

You know what happens when you deny yourself every small pleasure? You crack. Maybe not today, maybe not next week, but eventually you'll find yourself standing in H&M with four bags of clothes you don't need, wondering how you got there.

We've all been there. The guilt-spend after weeks of being "good." The overcompensation. The cycle that goes nowhere except making you feel rubbish about money.

There is another way, though. One that allows you to save and do the things you want without sacrificing every little pleasure life has to offer. 

Why "just stop spending" doesn't work

Ever seen someone try one of those extreme budgeting challenges? No takeaways, no taxis, no spontaneous purchases. They usually last about three weeks before they rage-buy a £400 coat they definitely didn’t need.

The problem isn't willpower so much as it is treating spending like an on-off switch when it's actually more like a thermostat. You need to find the right temperature rather than simply turn everything off and hope for the best.

Annoyingly, standard money advice tends to assume that spending is always frivolous. But most people aren't blowing their wages on champagne and caviar. They're buying lunch because they forgot to meal prep. Or they’re getting an Uber home because the night bus is grim. Perhaps they’re replacing that pair of jeans that finally gave up.

Life costs money. Relationships cost money. Sometimes even just existing costs money.

Deciding to go cold turkey and stop spending is, at best, unrealistic. Perhaps another way to look at it is to make sure spending is working for you instead of against you. 

What we mean by spending smart

Smart spending doesn’t require a spreadsheet or asking ChatGPT ‘how do I manage my money?” (though if that's your thing, fair play). It all starts with being honest without yourself about what you value. 

That Netflix subscription might be absolutely worth it. Those other streaming services you signed up for and never use (we’re looking at you, Paramount Plus)? Less so.

Or maybe you love clothes but couldn't care less about fancy restaurants. Perhaps you're happy with an ancient phone but won't compromise on holidays. That's fine. That's kind of the point.

Spending smart often means:

• Knowing where your money goes (even if you don't love what you see)
• Keeping the stuff that genuinely adds value to your life
• Ditching the stuff you're just doing on autopilot
• Finding ways to make your necessary spending work harder

That last bit is where things get interesting.

Making your spending pull double duty

We built Kaldi to solve the problem of now and later. All of us were sick and tired of feeling like we had to choose between enjoying life now and having money for later.

So, what if the shopping you're already doing could help you save and invest? Not in five years after you've collected enough points. Now. Automatically.

You shop at the places you already shop, be it Boots, Amazon, Primark, Morrisons, wherever. We give you cashback. That money goes straight into a pot where you can save it or invest it. Done.

There’s no meal planning or guilt. You don’t have to pretend you're suddenly going to become someone who batch cooks on a Sunday evening (especially when you can get cashback on HelloFresh when you pay with Kaldi).

Using round-ups works similarly. We bump your £3.67 meal deal to £4 and save the 33p. It's not revolutionary, but over time those 33ps become money invested you didn't have to think about.

Kaldi is a great way to discover investing and it can be a super smart for growing your money, but it’s important to remember that there are no guarantees and when you invest your capital is at risk.

The uncomfortable bit

Nobody wants to hear this, but there's no hack that makes financial security effortless.

Even with cashback and round-ups and all the tools in the world, you still need to be somewhat intentional about money. Occasionally, you’ll need to look at your spending and go "right, maybe I don't need another pair of Air Force Ones."

But – and this matters – there's a real difference between being intentional and being restrictive.

Intentional means you're making choices that align with what you want. Restrictive is when you're following someone else's rules about what you "should" do with your money.

One is sustainable. The other leads to that £400 coat moment.

What smart saving looks like in real life

Picture someone who spends about £200 a month on gigs and vinyl. Some people would call that excessive. But they've cut their food delivery habit from £150 a month to about £30, and they cycle everywhere instead of getting taxis.

Their spending hasn't changed. They've moved it around so it matches what they care about. And because they shop through Kaldi for most things, they're getting money back that they invest towards eventually buying a flat.

You don’t need to deprive yourself when you can be more deliberate about what your money goes on. It makes all the difference.

Spend money. But this time, make it count

You're going to spend money. That's not a moral failing so much as it’s being human.

The question is whether that spending is getting you anywhere, or whether you're watching money leave your account with nothing to show for it except stuff you barely remember buying.

Smart spending means your money gets you somewhere and doesn’t disappear into thin air.

And tools like Kaldi absolutely help. But the biggest shift is deciding that you're allowed to both enjoy your life and build a future. You don't have to pick one.

Netflix isn't the problem. The lack of a plan is.

So keep Netflix. Just make sure it's working for you and not against you.

Download Kaldi and start turning your everyday spending into something that helps. No restriction, no judgement, just your shopping working a bit harder for your future.

Just remember, when you invest your capital is at risk. The value of investments can go up or down and you may get back less than you put in. Investing may not be suitable for everyone. Consider your own financial situation and investment goals, and seek independent financial advice if needed.